amurica....the rest of the story.

hey guys,

i have hijacked mom's computer.

i know you saw posts of how cute i was and how many people i met in america on facebook.

this is what really happened.

my mom and dad, and our friends todd and josh got up really stinkin' early (3 am) to get to the airport in time for our trip to america.

we loaded all of our bags onto the cart (man i love my mom but bless her heart...she over packs) and headed to the ticket counter. i said goodbye to my grandpa and thanked him for the free accommodation the night before. his beard always tickles my face and makes me laugh.

i got to use my passport for the first time. when mom gave the guy all of the passports, he said that dad and i would need visas. we looked over at the other counter and todd had a problem and needed a visa too. it took around 45 minutes for our visas to go through and we had to run through security and jump on our flight leaving our friends behind.

as we got settled into our seats, josh ran up and told us that his dad (todd) didn't get to board. so i got a 16 year old adopted brother all the way to america!

 me and mom. not sure what i was doing with my face.

 

i am going to play and stay awake the whole flight!

 

 i'm going to....

wow, that was a quick flight! we landed in brisbane, australia and knew that uncle andrew, aunt emma and one of her friends were on their way to see us. we were going to step out of the airport just for a minute to see them. until we got to immigration.

i gave them my best smile and flirted it up with the lady at the desk but she was not going to let us into the country. she and her grumpy boss didn't think we had enough time in between planes to get out and get back in through security and customs. i hate to admit but they were right. i wish i had gotten to see my family though. they haven't seen me since i was four weeks old.

 mom exploded our carry-on baggage all over the place to organize everything for the long trip.

i gave josh a hug because he was my new brother for a little while!

as soon as we boarded in brisbane, i was so tired from flirting with all of the stewardesses and female passengers that i fell asleep. when we were allowed to take our seat belts off, they brought me my bed. and i slept.

 13 1/2 hours later and a completely different season...and we were in america!!

i was a little excited.

and a little sweaty.

thus the semi naked workout.

i slept on the plane but mom only had about an hour of sleep so she was super tired. we sat down and all three of us fell asleep. mommy woke up and had almost laid her head on a stranger's shoulder. she made a new friend.

we still had one flight to go and in california, we were going to have to separate from daddy. he was going to denver for a week.

waiting in line for our plane to nashville, we met a guy named Robbie Davidson. He sat down beside us in the crowded airport and began to chat.

mommy told him "with it being l.a., you think i would see someone famous! i don't think i would know them if i saw them!" as she chuckled, he pulled out a cd and said with a smile on his face, "have you ever heard of me?"

my first famous person!!!

he autographed his cd for me and he is really good! he is an up and coming artist but you can check him out on itunes! thanks robbie!

THE REST OF THE STORY...

i will show you in pictures

 my entourage was waiting!

kisses for grammie j

 tired at buffalo wild wings, i was ready to go home but i was so glad to hang out with my saba.

 momma promised matti grey that she would be the first one to hold me the next day. this was a quick shot before her soccer game.

 me, denise, grammie j and my cousin duke hanging out for the first time. the camera was not interesting.

we went to a place called Rick's. It has bbq. Mom is addicted. :) Duke slept on my momma's shoulder but I didn't get jealous. yeah right.

 matti gray wearing her polka dot gumboots that we brought her all the way from new zealand.

 cousin love.

 good effort mom.

that night we went to crossville to stay at my grandparents house.

the next day I got to meet my great grandparents FuFu and Gdad!

 i was sad i would have to leave her. i love her!

 momma...put some clothes on a brotha!

momma's friend bethany came to visit!

with her 2 kids tanner and kinsley ann

 tanner went fishing with a stick. i will learn his ways soon.

 mom sat me in the grass.

 hey look! grass!

 me and my great great uncle john

 my first time in a high chair

 meeting my second cousin brantley for the first time. i liked him!

 my first bible class ever! i was so excited that i couldn't sleep until 11 pm!

 this is sheridan. she rocks.

 mr. clyde. he is the man.

 this is my great grandma mema. she taught my mom how to sew and yard sale like a champ. we had two family parties at my saba and grammie j's house. these are pictures from those. i met a lot of new people!

this is mrs. janice. she babysat my mom and uncle jim.

cousin josh

cousin savvie

peek a boo uncle tony!

cousin keri and her girls!

Kendall

sadie

aunt natalie and cousin solomon

hanging out with cousin schaffer.
a week later, we dressed up to pick daddy up at the airport and head back to lawrenceburg!

 a few days into our week and i got to meet melissa and lucy. i have seen them on skype but they are so much more fun in person! they had us over for lunch with all of mommy's teacher friends from her job before she got promoted to being my mommy.

 mrs. sandra. love her!

 lucy took momma's phone and took a picture of her baby in my carseat. :)

 mrs. deanna. i think she likes me.

 everybody.

ms. lester, mommy's principal

 

mrs. krista

 

the nest day we went to sonic (come to thin of it mom went to sonic twelve times) and then we went to the ballpark. my uncle jim was playing ball! they won!

 mrs. sandi

 yay uncle jim's team!

 this is my first bible class with duke. my favorite song is 'brennan pat the bible' and i liked everything that nice lady gave me to chew on!

 joy and danny tice

 ms. jennifer!

 i was a cool dude with my first spiked up hair do.

 miss miranda!!!!

one day, we kinda got locked out. so we played and took pictures while aunt kk went to get the keys.

 picking up chicks.

 i PROMISE! the wheel is supposed to be on my side!

 i like this red chair...a lot.

 chatting with my buddy.

mom has some pictures of me with her best friend allison and her girls but she can't find them so maybe those will come later.

oh my word.

cool old general store with old school toys.

on memorial day, we went to matti grey and duke's grandparents house for a cookout and a swim.

i am smiling...but she will pay for this hat.

mom and uncle jim got snocones...mom has wanted one for ages.

more rick's bbq on the day we left lawrenceburg.

matti grey said she wasn't going to smile...

and she didn't.

we left and headed to nashville to meet my new friend wren. she was two weeks old. these are pictures of me with her daddy gary and her mommy kimberly.

then we went to eat dinner with mom's aunt val and uncle john. cousin johnny and cousin bryan were there too. we stopped at cousin whitney's work to see her because she couldn't come and eat with us.

we made it back to crossville and the next day, i met my mom's friend marley. they have been friends for 25 years! they are ancient.

i couldn't stay awake during my first trip to walmart. i was overwhelmed that you could buy perfume, toothpaste and a treadmill in the same place!

these are some pictures on our last church night.

ms. alison

mrs. brittany

my first trip eating at sam and andy's in knoxville. it was saba's idea.

on our way to the airport! and the rest of our trip!!

mom is crazy and had a million more photos with saba and kaley and other family...but if you are like me in the last picture...these are enough!

thanks america!! see you again soon!

Think missionaries don't matter?

Today I spent my day with people who were won to the gospel and have a chance at salvation because of people who decided to spend time on the mission field.

They are my family and my friends.

I realized today that without someone letterboxing my father-in-law's house all those years ago...my husband might not have had the chance to go to Heaven.

Missionaries matter.

We had planned for a few weeks that Brennan and I would go and visit our dear family friends Wally and Maureen. I have been wanting to learn how to knit and Maureen is an avid knitter and someone that I love to spend time around. They live on the coast in Foxton, which is about a forty minute drive for us.

My mother-in-law Gaye went with us. Her and Maureen have been best friends for ages. They met at the church in Wellington. As we drove to and from Foxton, Gaye recounted the events of their friendship. She said she remembered the joy when Maureen decided to obey the gospel and the fervent prayers that Wally would follow her example. He eventually did and they haven't looked back since. They raised their family in the church and their example is widespread.

As a matter of fact, our preacher is their son.

And he and and his wife are the ones who introduced me to New Zealand all those years ago.

One of their other sons is a missionary here and spends time fulfilling a Good Samaritan Outreach program in America every year.

Missionaries matter.

After teaching me some basic knitting skills and playing with Brennan, we sat down to a lovely lunch. You can always guarantee two things about a meal at Maureen's...it will be healthy...and it will be good.

As we sat there laughing at stories from Wally, I looked around and felt the greatest wave of thankfulness.

Thankfulness to God for allowing me to have people like this in my life.

These people were won by missionary efforts and now are missionaries in their own life by the example they provide.

I was thankful that we can all be missionaries.

That each role we play is vital to the cause of Christ.

It was a good day.

On a side note, we spent the rest of the afternoon playing with his PAFT (Parents As First Teachers) sponsor and she could not believe how much he has grown. Since this time last month, he has learned to crawl on all fours, pull up on the couch and walk along it.

When you see it everyday, you forget how quickly they are changing!

OUCH CHARLIE!!!

Today was our first trip to playgroup. We have been waiting for a while to go as they have moved different groups around.

I think it will be a good way for me to not only meet other moms, but to reach out and let the know how cool Jesus is. :) Brennan will make some friends along the way too which is cool.

His friend from today was Charlie who is six months old. His mom is from England so I imagine he will talk like the kid in the ouch Charlie video on youtube. If you haven't seen it, look it up...it's hilarious.

Charlie's dad is in the army and has never seen him in person. Charlie's mom is really

sweet, although Charlie was not happy with her for making his footprints in paint (mom activity for the day).

Next to Charlie, Brennan looks four years old.

Don't believe me...

Ok...maybe the camera angle. :)

Next week is Boogie down with Baby.

Get ready Brennan! Momma's gonna boogie!!

Mrs. Mabel's Wishy Washy

I'm going to be honest...I don't like sickness.

I'm done with it myself and Brennan is improving but now...Jared stayed home with something today.

I feel like one of those people who makes up sicknesses so I have something to talk about. I wish they were made up!

Regardless...I will mention it never again! :) [except to say that because of theses sicknesses and no break in the cold/wet weather---I am headed to the laundry mat because I am overrun with sheets and baby clothes!] THEY HAVE DRYERS!!! :) I will get all of my laundry done in one day...hallelujah!

Brennan was such a happy baby this morning that he wanted to try his hand at eating a real banana. He just gnawed on it and even though it looks ginormous, he was safe. I was close and watching, but he loved it! I think he felt like the big man.

I got A LOT done today as far as work that I do for Jared, so around noon I decided to take Brennan on our walk so Jared could nap in peace and quiet. Brennan needed a nap too but Jared coughs up a lung and wakes him up...so it was a win-win.

I wanted to stop by my favorite antique place in the village down the road so I out Brennan in the carrier for our walk. His stroller doesn't fit through the store and he is more likely to grab things.

Not the best idea I have ever had but I accomplished my walk with a 22 pound monkey hanging off my front! and Brennan accomplished a nap to boot!

If you are wondering if there are still good people in the world, there are.On our walk, I dropped my EFTPOS card. It's like a debit card but you seriously can't use it if you don't know the pin so I knew Jared wouldn't be upset about it. I searched all the way home and stopped in several stores to ask if they had seen it. I got a call late this afternoon that it had been turned in at the bank in town. Thank you Lord!

Could you please unsnap his BabyGro?

Today was a great day filled with worship and awesome Bible class kids. One of the little kids Mark always asks me if Brennan is baby Moses. He looks so disappointed when I say no. He is also the same one that sings...'When the devil's in the way...USE THE FORCE!' love that kid.

Grandma came home with us for lunch and went to a matinee screening of Man of Steel with Jared. :) I think she felt quite special going on their date!

Brennan was just so cute this morning, I couldn't help but take a picture. (surprise). He looks like he may take off running at any moment...and he very well might do that.

Last night/ this morning he started crying and pulling at his ears and that continued this afternoon so we decided to take him in to the doctor since he had been so sick in the last week.

The good thing about NZ is there are doctors that stay open until 10 pm!

When we got to the doctor, he was nice young Englishman that was friendly to Jared and me. He asked me where I was from, how we met and what we did. 

He asked me why we brought Brennan in and I told him several different things. As he was examining him, he told me several different ways to hold him so he could check his ears and then he tickled Brennan's belly and said, 

'Could you please unsnap his baby grow?'. 

I always like to do things without having someone repeat themselves (no comments from you dad...) but I think the confused look on our faces was proof we had no clue what a baby grow was. 'Oh I am sorry,' he said, 'I thought I was in England for a minute. Could you unsnap his vest?'

crickets.

onesie. he meant onesie.

i felt really, really dumb.

the only way we figured it out is because he lifted Brennan's shirt, pointed to his onesie underneath and said...' Can you take that off?'

Apparently, BabyGro is the brand name for a onesie in the UK.

An American, a Kiwi and a Brit...it was all sorts of international confusion.

In the end, Brennan doesn't have an ear infection but has a few blisters on the back of his throat. No antibiotics (they don't give those out much here) but some paracetamol (similar to motrin) and keep an eye on him. Apparently there is a pretty bad virus going around here that has hospitalized several people, so he was glad it was not that.

After his diagnosis, I figured that he knew a lot about us from the questions he asked at the beginning, so we should ask about him. After finding out that he worked for the NHS in London and is a surgeon, we talked to him for a little bit about the church. He said he was raised old school Catholic and when he became and adult, he decided he wasn't religious. We still invited him along to church to and told him we would be looking forward to seeing him.

I really had a hard time when I first moved here asking people to church. I didn't want to seem weird and make people uncomfortable BUT then I realized...

I would rather be known as the weird girl that goes around town making people uncomfortable by inviting everyone she meets to learn about Jesus! I don't want people looking at me on judgement day and saying...'WAIT! You were my only chance but you didn't want to make me uncomfortable?' Doesn't seem like that would make much sense when it really comes down to it!

Ok...this really wasn't going to be long. The baby is in bed and I have got to get there myself!

Enjoy the Lord's day!

duck...duck...hockey

This morning, I got up and knew it was going to be a good day! I had more energy than i have had in a few days and I am excited to go to worship and teach bible class tomorrow!
I let Jared sleep in (or so I thought). He was watching a movie on his computer when I went to tell him breakfast was ready. We had some lovely brown bananas so I thought I would make some banana bread for morning tea.

Weird that i make stuff for morning tea. Think of it as a kind of second breakfast. lol.

We got bundled up and decided to take our walk to the Esplanade. It is probably a mile and a half from our house. I think it is one of my favorite places in Palmy.

Brennan fell asleep on the way and through the rose gardens where they camellias are in bloom but was awake enough to see the ducks at the duck pond and hear all of their quacking. When we went into the Esplanade, there was a bunch of kids about 7 or 8 playing field hockey.

It was neat to think that in a few years, that may be where we are spending our saturday mornings watching Brennan run around that field. Although, Jared says he will more than likely play rugby. :)

Jared took Brennan to the grocery store so I could do a quick clean of the house without having to stop. Isn't he fantastic? I may or may not have used to vacuum as an air guitar during Bohemian Rhapsody...

VITAMEATAVEGAMIN

Luckily, I don't need Vitameatavegamin to get to feeling better but I do think a little VITAMIN D would help! Brennan needs vitamin D too so after 2 days of being home bound...today we decided that against ALL odds, we would take a walk. As we were strolling out the end of the driveway, it began to sprinkle. I guess I am getting accustomed to living in New Zealand because I charged ahead with no umbrella or stroller cover, knowing that it wouldn't last long enough to need it.

These are pictures form our walk this afternoon.

 mom...where are ya?

 all snuggled in his handmade blanket from Aunty Allison.

At the end of our street is the Manawatu River. We made it there right as the sun was shining its last rays of the day. Remember it is winter here...and even though the trees are bare, the grass is still green! 

 those are houses on top of the cliff.

 Sunset behind the golf course that goes along the river.

I took for granted the ability to get out of the house and breathe the air!

Thank you Lord for your beautiful creation!

quakes and queasiness

This morning around 3 a.m. Jared awoke to the screams of a 7 month old and a yelp from a 28 year old.

Brennan woke up hungry and as I was trying to pick him up and get a bottle fixed, I got sick.

Luckily, Jared to the rescue. Fixing Brennan a bottle and letting me rest. He didn't have to be into work today until 11 so he got to sleep in a bit to make up for the middle of the night craziness. I officially have whatever he had. He seems to feel a bit better so maybe it won't last long for either of us.

Around 2 o'clock Grandma and Grandad came over so that they could check on us but also for Grandad to say goodbye. He leaves tomorrow for a four week mission trip in the Solomon Islands.

As we were discussing details of his trip, he stopped mid-sentence. I was little concerned by his face.

He said...'do you feel that? we are having an earthquake.'

As slight as it was, it went on for some time and those things make me nervous!

It's hard to explain but even if the whole house isn't shaking dramatically, it creates and uneasy unsteady feeling. We really trust the earth to stay solid beneath our feet!

Speaking of scary moments, I'd like to share my worst mom of the year experience that happened a few weeks back.

Jared was not well and I had to run to town. We had several places around the Square to go so I had put Brennan in his stroller. He fell asleep and I thought that I might grab a turkish doner kebabs for our lunch.

SOOO GOOD.

When they were ready, I reached for the bag momentarily letting go of the stroller.

Brennan sailed out the door and headed straight for the street!

Luckily, an older English gentleman caught him at the edge of the sidewalk.

He gave me a disapproving look and I sheepishly said thank you before scurrying my way to the car.

So by giving Brennan extra sick boy cuddles, does that make up for the fact that I sent him careening into traffic for turkish food? :)