We've Moved

Thankfully we haven't "moved house" as our British friends would say, but we have moved blogs. Blogger has been good to us over the past few years, but I got the itch to change things up and have now been lured away to Word Press. Perhaps this is a classic case of the grass seeming greener, but there was only one way to find out.

You can now find our blog at: sweetsimplicities.wordpress.com

And then there were three...

After my last post on December 5, I continued waiting in good company for another 6 days for our little one to make an appearance. With each passing day I was getting more and more anxious, not because I was tired of being pregnant, but because my parents' departure date was getting closer with each day that went by. I was desperate for the baby to come so that we could have as much time as possible with the baby AND with my parents! But we waited as patiently as we could and finally in the earliest hours of December 11, my labor began. (I don't know if anyone has ever been as delighted as I was upon realizing my water had broken - I was overjoyed!)

We arrived by taxi at the hospital just before 2am, and it was just about 12 hours later that our daughter, Emeline Rae, entered the world. My mom and Tony were a wonderful duo supporting me through labor and though we were hoping to have my mom with us for the birth, she wasn't able to be with us because the delivery was a bit more complicated than expected and only Tony could accompany me to the "theatre" - the operating room where she was born. We were reunited with my mom a couple of hours later in the maternity ward and spent the rest of day falling absolutely head over heels in love with little Emeline.

The past 4 weeks have been the most memorable of our lives and though it is hard to believe four weeks have already gone by, in many ways it seems like she's been a part of our lives forever. We've learned so much about her and are always anxious for her to wake up from her naps so that we can cuddle her and just observe as she is taking in the world around her.

Having my parents here when she was born was wonderful, and knowing that Jon and Lindsey were coming with little Kate just a few days after my parents left was the only thing that made our goodbye bearable. We thoroughly enjoyed having Jon, Lin and Kate here with us over Christmas and we will treasure that time together for years to come. Edinburgh had a white Christmas this year, which is a real novelty as we rarely get even a dusting of snow, let alone enough to cover the city in a shimmery white blanket!

We've been flying solo since they had to leave on December 30 and though there are still so many things to learn as new parents, we do feel like we're getting into the swing of things slowly but surely. Tony returned to school last week and Emeline and I have been spending our days together here at home while the freezing temperatures and icy sidewalks have been lingering in the city.

We have so many things to be thankful for and each glance at our little girl serves as a tangible reminder of God's goodness and faithfulness in our lives. Emeline is an absolute sweetheart and we can't wait for the adventure that awaits us as she continues to grow up!

(We have an exorbitant number of photos of our little darling, so I'll do my best to pull a few favorites out for now!)

Waiting in Good Company

Well, I'm officially 3 days overdue which I know isn't much, but it has obviously put BABY even more to the forefront of our minds than it was before! I know I must be huge now because everyone who comments now assumes I am very close to delivering, whereas before they would politely congratulate me and ask about the due date. : ) I enjoyed being able to give a single digit response during the last week, and now it's quite satisfying to be able to say I'm in fact overdue.

My mom arrived on Thanksgiving and we've been having a wonderful time with her while we're waiting for this little one to arrive. We've had only 2 or 3 days of rain since she arrived which has been a blessing and we've been able to get out and do a lot of walking and exploring in the city over the past 9 days. I felt such a sense of peace about the arrival of this baby when she arrived and it's been an absolute joy to have her here with us while we're waiting for Baby to make an appearance. We've had fun catching up and enjoying quality time together and are now hoping the baby will come soon, but are trusting in God's timing and in the comfort that he knows the exact details of this little one's arrival. We'll definitely put an update here when the time finally comes, but thought I'd at least get one last blog post in before then!

Generosity

As of 3:30pm today, I am officially on maternity leave. I feel a sense of relief on some level, but I still don't think the reality of what is coming next has really sunk in yet. Despite all the baby stuff that is now set up throughout our flat, it's just hard to believe that this active little baby in my belly is actually going to be joining us as an autonomous human being in the coming weeks. I keep wondering how I will feel when labor begins - part of me thinks I might burst into tears over the sheer velocity with which our life will change in the proceeding days. I'm beyond excited to finally meet this little one and to transition into this new phase of life, but I have to admit that the rate at which everything will happen is a bit intimidating to me!

I'm sitting on the couch this evening feeling overwhelmed by the generosity of the people in our lives. There is a big box full of pampering items for momma and essentials for the baby sitting on the coffee table, so thoughtfully put together by my coworkers as a send-off gift. A changing table from one of the members of our Board of Directors at work is to the right, stocked with baby gifts from the shower my mom and sister threw back in Denver this summer. Our stroller, which I am in love with, is next to it and will always be a reminder of my parents amazing generosity and thoughtfulness. I have bags of clothes passed along from a dear friend here in town, along with books and resources from my sister that have been my companions of the last 9 months. We have a crib, baby bath, monitor and Moses basket all given to us by coworkers. I'm just amazed at the provision of all these things by the generous people around us. God has supplied for all our needs, and we feel so loved and cared for as we're walking ahead into unknown territory. It really is humbling to just look around and see these many reminders of the generosity in this world, as it's easy to lose sight of it with the many tragic news stories and reports of suffering in this world.

Looking at the next week, I'm hoping to do a few more posts with pictures from recent events and perhaps a pic of my massive belly in celebration of maternity leave. I am so excited to have some free time on my hands - oh, I just can't wait to soak it up tomorrow!

A little cultural lesson...

November 5 is Guy Fawkes Night, or Bonfire Night, in the UK. Anyone out there ever heard of this before? I certainly hadn't until we moved to Edinburgh, but with fireworks going off outside tonight and the smell of bonfire that filled the air earlier this evening I suppose I am now not only aware of, but somewhat experienced in the British tradition.

Although we were living here at this time last year, I didn't actually learn about this tradition until this year. Why? Because last year I was holed up in our flat desperately looking for jobs and manically filling out applications with little to no contact with the outside world. Oh, there are no words to express my gratitude for being out of that situation!

Guy Fawkes Night is the annual celebration of the day back in 1605 when Fawkes and a group of conspirators were discovered and stopped in their attempt to kill King James 1 and most of the protestant aristocracy by blowing up the House of Parliament. The plan was uncovered, Fawkes was arrested, and he and his conspirators were subsequently tried and hung.

The Brits now commemorate that fateful day every 5th of November by burning effigies of Guy Fawkes, setting off fireworks and lighting bonfires. It's quite the celebration going on tonight!

Happy Guy Fawkes Day!

November??

In the middle of September I remember looking at my calendar and eagerly anticipating the arrival October, which I expected would be a calm and far more low key month than the ones before it. Inevitably my calendar filled up with work responsibilities, an ever growing personal to-do list as we're preparing for the baby, and mid-week social engagements as we've been trying to get more connected in our community here. And now we've turned the calendar page into November and I can hardly believe it!

November holds a lot of exciting dates for us and I'm so glad it's finally here! Here are the highlights:

This weekend: a mini-vacation from the chaotic work schedules we've both been managing - our last chance for a little getaway as a couple before the baby arrives and life becomes wonderfully different.

Nov 14/15: our 2-day intensive prenatal classes (I'd be curious if this qualifies as an "exciting event" for Tony...I think I'm speaking for myself on this one!).
Nov 18 - my last day of work!
Nov 19 - maternity leave begins! I've got big plans for the following 2 weeks before my due date - lots to get done!
Nov 26 - not just Thanksgiving, but also the day my Mom arrives in Edinburgh!
Nov 28 - my original due date, which I'm still attached to even though I know it will most likely come and go along with my new date of Dec 2.

And then we're into December which holds a whole other bundle of exciting events - my dad coming for the last part of my mom's visit, my sister, brother-in-law and niece coming for Christmas, and most definitely the arrival of Baby Bolos (hopefully earlier in the month than later)!!

Beyond the routine responsibilities that have been keeping us busy this last month, we've managed to have a lot of fun. I've been thoroughly enjoying the autumn season and all the beautiful colors and crisp, cool air that come with it. We enjoyed having a weekend visit from a friend studying down in London. We've been spending time with new friends and settling into our new home church by joining several groups. And we've been mesmerized by the active little baby that now has the ability to shift my entire stomach from one side to the other as it moves around! Life is full and I'm grateful for the connections we're finally starting to make after being here for a year.

A few picture highlights from recent events:

A recent walk through The Meadows

Our new Moses Basket for the baby, kindly lent to us by my manager at work

Tony's hands on my ever-growing belly!

A gorgeous autumn sunset in Edinburgh
(this is our neighborhood, by the way! I still love all the chimney stacks around here...)

First of many...

Yesterday morning Tony taught what will most likely (and hopefully!) be the first of many classes in his philosophy career. With undergraduate classes now underway here, Tony's responsibilities for the fellowship he received from the department have kicked into high gear. This year he will be doing 6 hours of "tutoring" per week, which is similar to being a teaching assistant in the US. This semester he is working with undergraduate students from a huge (500+ students) intro level philosophy course. Since the lecture class is so big, they break the students up into small groups of 14 students for a one hour seminar where they discuss the class material and get more personalized teaching from PhD students. Tony is really looking forward to the semester and the opportunity to work with these students over the course of the semester.

In other news, summer has officially bid us farewell here in Edinburgh as the days are now noticeably shorter and the infamous Edinburgh wind has returned. I don't really understand how wind can be a seasonal thing - I would have thought it to be a geographical one that wouldn't change with the seasons. But unless the past 4 months of still air were a fluke, the wind does seem to be seasonal here - and it's back!! This also means that even my best efforts to keep my hair in a presentable state before walking to work, church, etc. are now futile.

Baby Bolos seems to be growing well as my belly is getting bigger and bigger. I've hit my baby bump with the refrigerator door several times in the last couple of weeks, nearly knocked over the pot on the stove by hitting the pot handle with my belly and have noticed small collections of crumbs resting on top of my belly after eating crumbly things lately...so apparently I am getting bigger than I even realize!

We've started meeting people at our new church and Sunday felt like a major turning point in our quest to get connected. We saw many of people we've recently met through the two groups we've joined (a parenting class and a theology reading group) and actually sat with someone we knew during the service. For the first time in a long time I feel somewhat at home in a church and I'm so thankful that this is coming together as we're preparing a major life change with this baby on the way.

Anniversaries

The past month has been filled with significant dates and it has made for a reflective and sentimental few weeks for me. August brought with it the anniversary of when we moved to Peru in 2007 and the anniversary of leaving Peru in 2008. Yesterday marked the day of our move to Edinburgh last year after a blessing of a visit in Denver (yes, airfare was significantly cheaper on Sept. 11), which carries a lot of memories of saying goodbye and leaving family and friends behind indefinitely. Today marks our arrival here in Edinburgh, which brings a whole different set of emotions and memories with it. Suffice it to say that we're much happier to be one year into this where we can look back and laugh at all the chaos and confusion that clouded our first few weeks here!

These past few years have held a lot of change and transition, a lot of hellos and goodbyes. It feels good to know we'll be here for another 3 years, though its a bit weird to think that by the time we finish we'll have been here longer than we've been anywhere else since we've been married. Our hearts are still tied deeply to the kids and work in Peru and I'm still trying to find the emotional and practical balance of how to manage that while moving forward with our new responsibilities and involvements here. Looking back over the last year I think we were in a bit of holding pattern, trying to adjust to life here and prepare for what would be coming next. Now that Tony's received funding and we know we're staying for 3 years we've been taking many more steps to connect with our new community here. We're excited about what the next 3 years may hold and are ready to jump in!

As mentioned above, we've been doing a lot of laughing and reminiscing over the many things that we found so confusing when we first arrived here one year ago. While English is obviously our shared language with the Brits, we did have a learning curve for certain terms and phrases. A few examples:

Knock on wood = touch wood
Six and one half dozen of the other = a six and two threes-ies
Sick = vomiting (something I caught onto after getting a panicked look from my coworkers when I said I was sick! "Ill" is their term for feeling sick.)
Dinner = tea
Expensive = dear
Knock up = wake up
Sleep in = a long lie

We recently took a quiz on American vs. British English to test our progression over the last year. Take it and see how you do! US vs. UK Vocabulary

The Revival Begins

Earlier this week Tony said to me, "So I guess our blog is over, huh?" to which I replied, "No! I just haven't had time to update it in awhile." From there, the conversation went like this:

T - You realize you haven't put anything on there in over a month.
J - You realize we haven't been here much over the past month, and we've been busy moving and settling into our new place?
T - I think it's actually over two months since you've put anything on our blog.
J - And I've been back to the US twice since then, plus moved, plus have been quite busy (and exhausted) making a little person in this growing belly of mine.
T - I'm just saying, it doesn't seem like we're really going to keep up with our blog.
J - Well technically we haven't been keeping up with it at all over the last year, I have been. Maybe we should try to revive it.

So our attempt at reviving this blog is on. Never mind the fact that even before the most recent 2 month hiatus the postings were pretty sparse; we're trying to bring it back. And yes, I mean we. I'm going to be trying to get Tony to write on here every so often, though I may need to take the pink and green flowers off the background of the blog in order to help facilitate that. So if anyone out there still reads this, you can expect to hear more from us and can leave angry comments to whip us back into shape if we fall too far behind again.

An attempt at catching up for lost time would probably be overwhelming enough to kill the revival effort before it even gets started, so I suppose I'll just jump in at the present and see how we get on from here.

I'm sitting in our cozy living room in our new flat (a 2 bedroom flat to accommodate Baby Bolos in the coming year!) watching with delight as my belly is physically moving from all the dancing and stretching going on in the womb (a dance session that I likely induced with the bowl of ice cream I just finished, I should say). Tony is out at a send-off party for one of the guys he's been playing soccer with every Thursday night for the last year. Collectively we're grateful for the opportunity to still be here in Edinburgh pursuing this dream together.

Highlight of the week: the approval of a maternity policy at work that looks like it will provide me with a miraculous 6 months of paid maternity leave if our budgeting plans for living on 75% of my normal income prove to be feasible. The amount of shock that our American friends are probably feeling about this incredibly generous maternity provision can scarcely compare to the amount of distress our British friends are experiencing when they hear that there is no standard paid maternity leave in the US! We are simply amazed by this provision and humbled once again by God's provision for us.

With new found determination to be updating you again soon, that's all for now. Or as they say here, "That's me away!" Have a great weekend, everyone!

Grateful

There have been many things filling our days and weeks over the past month or so, and this morning I'm sitting with a cup of tea thinking of how much I have to be grateful for. Most of these things are deserving of their own blog post, but given my recent blogging habits it could take ages to get caught up that way, so I'll revert to a list format:

Biggest Bolos news: By the end of this year, "we" will be referring to three of us - I'm pregnant! The primary reason behind my lack of blogging in recent months has been exhaustion and illness related to this little miracle, and since I can use that as an excuse, I will! I am now 16 weeks along and am not only starting to feel better, but am starting to show a bit too which is just delightful. My original due date was November 28, but they've bumped it back to December 2 now. We had our first ultrasound at 12 weeks and it was an incredible experience. The baby was moving so much, doing somersaults and stretches the entire time, and I was absolutely amazed at how full of life this baby is already. Here's the first snapshot of our little one:
Most recent news: My dear sister and her husband welcomed their second baby girl, Kathryn (Kate) Elise, into the world yesterday morning. Everything went smoothly and safely, and we're so incredibly grateful for that. It's a bit strange being so far away for this kind of thing, but that leads to my next point...

Denver bound: We leave in less than one week for our two week visit home! There are no words to express how excited I am about this - I simply can't wait to be back in the place that is still very much my "home." Tony will be heading to NY for a few days to see his family while I'm in Denver on Auntie Duty. : ) We are looking forward most of all to seeing family and friends, but are also desperate for some Colorado sunshine, heat and summertime activities - as well as a lot of good, flavorful food!

Heat Wave 2009: Two weeks ago we had what the Scots are referring to as a "heat wave" - several days of sunshine and mid-70 degree weather. I put on my flip-flops for the first time since we arrived on Sept. 12 and Tony even broke out his shorts. We spent every minute outside that we could and it was truly blissful. The sun is most definitely therapeutic. : )

Visitors! Quite different from our visitor roster in Peru, we've not had many visitors since we've been in Scotland. But in May we welcomed my brother, two cousins, aunt and uncle for a quick 36 hour visit to Edinburgh. They were traveling up in Sweden and were able to find a cheap flight to come see us over the weekend. It was absolutely wonderful to be with them, and having Mike stay in our living room was a treat. We stayed up late both nights because I could hardly justify sleeping when my brother was right here! He also came bearing gifts: Peanut Butter M&M's, Reese's Pieces, Twizzler's and other yummies that hit the spot exactly. He also brought me a Mother's Day card, which meant the world to me coming from my younger brother. : )

At the end of May we had one of Tony's good friends from high school come to stay for two weeks. Brian just finished his two year commitment with the Peace Corps in Ukraine and came over for a visit and to get some R&R. I'm not sure how much R&R actually happened, but we certainly managed to have a fun visit together. : )

So those are the basics from the Bolos household. Pictures will be coming soon, and with any luck the 2nd trimester will bring with it many more regular posts here on our blog.

Happy summer!!

Humility

This morning I encountered this post on humility, written by Dr. Groothuis, the lead philosophy professor that Tony and I had the opportunity to study under at Denver Seminary. In my experience, humility is a rarely addressed subject within Christian circles, most likely because of the challenge of teaching on it without violating it, as Groothuis points out.

I strongly encourage you to read the full post, but I leave you with a few highlights to consider and hopefully draw you in to the link itself:

• Without humility, others may hear of Christ from us, but they will not see him in us. He will remain more of a rumor than a reality.
• Humility is rooted not only in our being rescued from sin by the Savior; it is equally rooted in our position as creatures of the Creator. We are not the source of our own existence nor of any good that greets us. All is a gift from Another--the thunderous rush of the surging waves of the ocean, the luminous smile of a wife or husband, a good night's sleep, a moonlit night, a child's laughter. All is received by mere mortals. Adam and Eve in all their unfallen splendor owed worship and thanksgiving to their Maker. As do we.
• Our salvation was achieved through humility and for humility. Humility was the very instrument of redemption.
• If we understand the gospel and know who we are in Christ, we can trust the kindness of God himself instead of pridefully seeking the flattery and approval of others. We are free to be humble in Christ because we are completely at peace with him through his crucifixion and resurrection.
• Second, we should note what things particularly disturb us and then ask, "Am I bothered because this is evil and offense to God or am I upset because my pride is hurt?" Am I more outraged at not having my good deed applauded than I am over the fact that my friend was cheated by an employer? If so, my pride outweighs my humility. Andrew Murray puts it strongly: "All sharp and hasty judgments and utterances, so often excused under the plea of being outright and honest; all manifestations of temper and touchiness and irritation; all feelings of bitterness and estrangement--have their root in nothing but pride, that ever seeks itself."
• But humility comes when our self-esteem is grounded in God's gracious estimation of us rather than in the varying opinions of others.
• Humility is not optional for Christians. The humility of Jesus secured a salvation which makes humility both possible and necessary. It is not simply one virtue among many, but the root of all righteousness--because only humility puts us in our rightful place before the Creator and Redeemer. And only humility puts us in the ethical position to represent our Master with authenticity.

I hope you'll be encouraged by these truths as I am today.

Hiatus: Over

Trusting that late really is better than never, I'm back after an unreasonably LONG hiatus from posting on our blog. For me, writing a blog entry is one of those things that the longer you put it off, the harder it seems to sit down and do it. Why? No idea. But here we are in May and I'm just now writing. I'll be amazed if anyone is actually still reading this blog after the prolonged silence!

The initial break in posting was due to a wonderful 10 day trip home to Denver that I was able to take at the end of March. The beauty of working in the UK is the standard 6 weeks annual paid vacation that most people get from their employer. With the fiscal year ending in March, I had a portion of "holiday time" to take before the 31st, which happened to overlap perfectly with my cousin's wedding in Denver, which miraculously aligned with a wonderful sale on airfare between Edinburgh and Denver. It was meant to be, so I went! Poor Tony stayed here to finish his spring semester papers which were due the day after I returned, but I rewarded his faithful scholarship with lots of treats and goodies from home. : )

Pictures really do say much more than I could about the trip home, so here is a smattering of favorites from my trip home (highlighting my niece Nora because she's just so stinkin' cute!):

The Olson Girls at Blake & Emily's wedding!

Cousins lunch @ Old Chicago's for Julia's birthday!

An afternoon at Wash Park with the family:

Baking Day @ my parents - caramel rolls and tea ring, so yummy!

Got in on my brother Jon's 30th birthday party!!

My brother Mike - miss him so much!

This photo highlights one of the primary motivations for my trip home: seeing my sister pregnant! I just love that little belly!Birthday dinner @ Hodges

The birthday boy and his girls!A morning with treasured friends Dana & Olga before the snowstorm hit!

Jon made wonderful calzones for dinner while we were snowed in on his b-day - so yummy!

Nora playing with Uncle Rick, whom she adores!

Nora and Grandpa playing in her cardboard house

Goodbye picture the night before I left

I had a wonderful time with my family and got to visit with a couple of dear friends which was a treat. Now we're just 7 weeks from our trip to Denver in June to meet Nora's little sibling when he or she arrives! Thankfully Tony will be with me for that trip because it's just hard to fully enjoy anything without him there with me. My cousin Chris got engaged the day I flew back to Scotland and they're planning an August wedding...who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and get to go 5 for 5 on weddings held while I'm living out of the country!!

Gettin' around Scotland

In the past month we've had several opportunities to do some traveling within Scotland, and it's been wonderful! I've had a dream fulfilled of traveling by train across the expanses of the UK, and Tony had a chance to fulfill a dream of driving on the other side of the road. My heart was about to beat right out of my chest after the first 5 minutes in the passenger seat and I gladly offered the front seat to our friend Christopher when we picked he and his wife up for our weekend excursion!

We spent Valentine's Day weekend exploring the region of Inverness with our friends Christopher and Jackie. Jackie amazed us with her adventurous spirit despite being 8 1/2 months pregnant with her first baby. We rented a car (and GPS, thankfully) to get us to our hostel, explored Inverness the next day (including the infamous Loch Ness), and then drove through Stirling on our way home the last day. We soaked up every moment of beauty in the open spaces outside the city and cherished the long hours of conversation and fun with our friends. My pictures from the trip can be seen here, but here are a few highlights:

Placid Loch Ness

Lighthouse along a loch in Inverness

Beautiful shells along the shore
(this is one of my favorite pictures of the trip!)

Trying to stay warm while exploring northern Scotland!

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to travel up to the University of Aberdeen to hear a lecture given by Alistair McGrath in the Gifford Lecture Series. It was a real highlight for me to put my academic thinking cap on and engage my mind with a fascinating topic - Natural Theology and the Quest for Meaning. The venue at King's Campus was inspiring and the whole evening typified what I thought it would be like to live and study in the UK. We managed to eat a quick dinner at Carmine's, a wonderful little Italian restaurant, before the lecture began. The food was wonderful - certainly the best Italian food I've had in 2 years - and was accentuated by the jolly Italian gentlemen that greeted us, took our order, made the food, and served it!

View of the ocean from the train ride up the eastern coast of ScotlandUnion Street - Aberdeen (The Grey City)

Then yesterday I had the opportunity to travel to Glasgow to attend an event for my work. I took the train out and back in one day, but had an hour to do some exploring before I came back. It rained on and off throughout the day, but it didn't deter me from marching around in my raincoat! I did manage to get hit by the 3 foot splash created by a car flying through a muddy puddle on the road (the second time this has happened to me, for the record!) and consoled myself by thinking of the laughter the scene undoubtedly provided for those who witnessed it.

Buchanan Street, Glasgow - shopping central!

A police booth? Haven't seen any of these in Edinburgh!

A statue in the park along the River Clyde

Bridges along the River Clyde

In St. George's Square

Reflections of St. George's Square on a rainy day

The charming entrance to a hotel along the square I would have loved to stay in!
Alas, my work budget only covers the train ticket...

And lastly, a shot of the beautiful flowers Tony had waiting for me after a long day of work last Saturday. It took a week for them to bloom this fully which has made them even better - I love waiting to see the true beauty of flowers when they open. They've been indulged with glorious sunlight pouring through our windows in the afternoons lately.

What a lucky girl am I.

Are we getting old?

We have been asking ourselves this question for a number of reasons recently, but the top three are:

1 - While I have been finding (and plucking!) gray hairs for a couple of years, I noticed a significant increase in gray hairs while we were in Peru. And now Tony is joining me with a handful of silvery hairs showing through his dark head of hair.

2 - I've noticed a downturn in my capacity to remember details, which is unsettling for someone who is known for having a good memory! Experiences have always stuck in my mind better than facts, but I now seem to retain even less factual information than before. Upon sharing this with some friends who are, if only slightly, younger than us, it was affirmed that I'm not the only one realizing this. The suggested culprit? The internet. Our friend is doing mind games to help him stay sharp and I'm setting out to do the same.

3 - We talk about the weather - all the time. I'm still convinced that this is natural given our move to a new climate and the amount of joy we get from warm bursts of sunshine. But still, we do talk about the weather more than we ever have before. Hmmm...

But we're quite comfortable with all of these signs that we are in fact seeing the signs of growing older at the young age of 28. : ) The real reason for sharing this is to justify our reasoning for devoting a post to the changes in weather that we've enjoyed this past week!

Over the winter months I learned that no matter how mild it looked outside, it was bound to be freezing when I walked outside. So after two days of being pleasantly surprised by the mild weather earlier this week, I finally trusted the view from the window and brought out my spring coat. It was the first day since late October that I've left without my scarf and mittens. It was wonderful!

This weekend I noticed several shops have planted flowers in their pots and I'm wondering if a) we're all so eager for warmer weather that they've planted flower prematurely or b) it is a sign from the locals that warmer weather is indeed coming. Let's hope for the latter!

I never heard the outcome on Groundhog Day this year, but it's looking up for Edinburgh!

Learning to Be Brief

I have recently become aware of the difficulty I have in being brief when it comes to writing. I recently gave into peer pressure and participated in the Facebook chain letter activity and posted 25 random things about myself. Only one entry was less than 2 lines long. I have recently heard several people expressing their distaste for writing long emails, but have to confess I prefer writing thorough emails to brief ones. This probably explains why my email inbox is currently loaded with messages awaiting responses - I don't have the energy to write good responses after a long day at work, so they remain unanswered rather than receiving brief responses. I think this is also the reason my blogging activity has been so low - I can't bring myself to write brief entries when there is so much to say since a previous entry, and I just don't have the energy to write thoroughly at the end of a day. I have trouble with being brief - just look at the length of this explanation about the issue of brevity!!

I recently read a challenge for people who utilize email at work to keep replies at 2 sentences. I interpret 2 sentence emails to be cold and unengaged, so I'm challenging myself to keep work emails to 5 sentences this week. Maybe one paragraph would be a good start for personal emails? And to break my cycle of waiting until I have time to write a good update on here, I'm going to post a list of brief updates from recent weeks here and then try to post more regular, brief updates. Being brief doesn't come naturally, so no promises on the length of future posts, but we'll see how it goes.

For now, here is a random list of recent happenings that seem worthy of mentioning to those of you who kindly follow along with us via this blog:

1 - We just got home from a weekend trip to Inverness with our friends Christopher and Jackie (previously featured here as 2 of our Thanksgiving guests). We had a wonderful time and enjoyed many hours of great conversation, an uneventful but exciting experience for Tony driving on the "wrong" side of the road, and hours of soaking up the beauty of open space (something we've missed while living in the heart of the city). We've come home feeling so thankful for our friendship with C & J and refreshed by the beauty of God's creation.

2. There was no sighting of Nessie while we were gazing out on Loch Ness, for the record.

3. We have had 2 occasions of snow in the past month that were significant enough to collect on the ground. This has been a welcomed surprise and genuinely brightened my spirits for the entire day on both occasions.

(The snow coming down in front of my office building)

4. Tony is studying diligently and excelling in his work as a philosophy student. He received the highest mark in his class last semester and I am so proud of him. He is becoming more and more involved with the department and is enjoying the work with his adviser. Studying here has been a very fulfilling experience for him and I couldn't be more satisfied by hearing that from him every week.

5. We officially have plans to be back in Denver for 2 weeks at the end of June. We'll be there to dote on Baby Hodges when he or she arrives, celebrate my brother Mike and niece Nora's birthday on June 30 and soak up every minute of being with family and friends during those 14 days. We are THRILLED.

6. I get the standard 6 weeks of paid time off every year as part of my work contract - 6 weeks! The Scots are horrified to hear that Americans do not receive this same benefit and simply cannot imagine what it would be like to work under such conditions.

7. I have been shocked to hear several people say how much they love my American accent. I couldn't believe it when my coworker told me she could listen to me talk all day!

8. I have recently started knitting again after a friend back home encouraged me to wander into a knit shop and get a refresher session on what to do. It's taken 2 months to finish a scarf, but it is nice to have something tactile to do at the end of the day. I'm hoping to try a simple hat pattern next...should be interesting.

9. We hosted a small Super Bowl party since it was broadcast on a local channel. Our guests arrived at 10pm, the game started at 11pm and most of us felt our beds calling us at about 2am. I stayed up through most of the 3rd quarter but Tony was the faithful fan and stayed up until 3:3oam to finish the game. It was our only viewing of NFL football for the year, so I suppose it's understandable.

10. This "brief" post is quite long so I'd better cut it here. More frequent posts will be coming as I set out to embrace brevity when possible.

Burns Day

January 25 marked the 250th birthday of Robert (Rabbie) Burns - a.k.a. Scotland's favorite son or The Bard. Burns was a poet and lyricist and is now the most celebrated literary figure in Scotland, though in Edinburgh it seems Sir Walter Scott is a close second. Much of Burns' writing is in Scots which requires an interesting attempt at deciphering on our part. The most likely piece of work that you Americans out there may know of Burns' writing is Auld Lang Syne, the song most classically sung on New Year's Eve. Here's a little taste of Scots for you, the first couple of verses from Auldt Lang Syne:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne ?

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my jo,

For auld lang syne,

We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp !
And surely I’ll be mine !
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

The traditional way of celebrating of Burns Night (the anniversary of Burns' birthday) is attending a Burns Supper, which we did on Friday night. It was the most cultural Scottish experience we've had yet! The format of traditional Burns suppers has not changed since his death in 1796. It traditionally includes a Ceilidh (pronounced: kay-lee), which is a traditional social dance (for you Colorado folk, think square dancing to Scottish folk music!) and a tribute to The Bard through several readings of his poetry and closing with a rendition of Auld Lang Syne.

Haggis is the most famous traditional Scottish dish; why, however, we do not understand. It is made of minced sheep "plucks" (heart, liver, and lungs) and is prepared by boiling it in a sheep's stomach - think of it as a sausage. Thank goodness they served vegetarian haggis as well!

Despite these questionable ingredients, haggis is indeed a well loved dish here in Scotland and is served in nearly every pub around. Rabbie Burns loved haggis so much he composed a poem titled Address to a Haggis, which is now the most famous poem recited at a Burns Supper, just after the presentation of the haggis.

The Burns supper we went to was hosted by the L'arch Community here in Edinburgh. We were introduced to L'arsh through a friend of ours who works in the community here. We were really impressed with their vision of living in community with adults with learning disabilities, giving dignity and value to every member. Simply by 'doing life together' the assistants are able to offer the members with learning disabilities the opportunity to do things that they would rarely have a chance to do if living in a formal care facility.

The highlight of the night, perhaps the month, for me was watching the gentleman in the photo below respond to the tune of Amazing Grace when it was played by the string band. He slowly walked up to the stage and sought help to position the microphone in the right spot. The band started the tune over again and he sang, truly from the depths of his heart, as the room fell quiet and listened. I caught a glimpse of the beauty of pure worship in the room that night and it humbled me more than I can say. All evening this man had caught my attention because he reminded me so much of David, my dad's cousin who passed away not too long ago after a full and long life. He brought so much joy to so many people's lives and it was a treat to be caught up in many memories of him throughout our evening.