heeelllooooo..!

Dear friends… sorry for not blogging in roughly a millions days… I have no excuse really… not really that busy, just relaxing, enjoying post-dissertation life..! I would love to say that I have been out sun-bathing every day, but sadly it has been a bit overcast and rainy here over the past few days. Phil and I had a good weekend: on Friday it was our seminary end-of-term BBQ (complete with grey clouds – like a normal British BBQ..!) which was great fun. Sausages and kebabs was followed by “Amazing Grace”, the film about William Wilberforce. I was expecting a sort of middle-of-the-road Christian film: you know the kind, nothing too exciting or inspiriing, nothing too dramatic and probably a bit preachy, but it was actually excellent..! I thought it was very moving, well acted and challenging… with some beautiful moments. I would recommend it.

On Saturday night, we had some friends from the seminary over to watch Eurovision 2008. This was actually the first time that I have ever watched Eurovision, but I think that it might become a highlight of the year… it was brilliant! One of my particular favourites was the entry from Latvia. The band was called ‘Pirates of the Sea’ and the song was called Wolves of the Sea. It included the incredible lyrics:

“With a hii hii hoo and a hii hii hey!
We’re hoisting the flag to be free
We will steal the show, Jolly Rogers go
We are wolves of the sea.”

Oh yes! Not only was this my first Eurovision, but we watched it with real European people too..! In attendance were representatives from: Lithuania and Bulgaria (sadly not finalists), Ukraine, Russia, and Serbia (the hosts for Eurovision). It was so much more hilarious watching it with ‘proper’ Europeans… anyway, if you want to enjoy the delight of Eurovision for yourself, you can watch all the videos etc here. It should bring you many many minutes of joy. 

On Sunday, after church and obligatory Sunday-afternoon nap, Phil and I began tackling the garden to the house that we have been house-sitting for the past year or so. We hadn’t mowed the lawn in… well… a wee while, so the grass was… erm… bountiful, you might say. We haven’t finished yet, so perhaps I’ll try to get some photos so that you can enjoy the full effect of the before and after garden..! I’m pretty happy with what we have done so far, but there is still a fair bit to do. I think that we’ll be really really happy with ourselves when we’re done.

One very sad piece of news which we received at the beginning of last week when our translator spoke to the social worker who is helping us through the adoption process here, was that we will only hear from the Magistrate (the next person along from our social worker) at the earliest, in September. We have not yet even got a letter from the Magistrate saying that they have started working through our paperwork. Considering that this is one of the first steps in the process, this is quite bad news for us. After we have received that letter, the next step is that they will invite us for psychological testing, then we have parenting classes, then we should go on the list of people waiting for children. When we began this process, we were expecting that we would proceed through the various steps at roughly the same time-frame that our friends who have adopted here did. However, so far, we are months and months behind them. Of course, we know that its different for each couple, but by most standards we are way behind what we expected. The Magistrate explained to our social worker that the reason that it is taking longer than expected is that there are more people entering the adoption process than previously. This is really great news, and we are happy that more people are wanting to adopt children here, but on the selfish level, it makes us feel very frustrated. If we have to wait until September before the Magistrate even begins working on our paperwork, and then invites us for our interviews, we have a long road ahead of us. We never thought that it would take us nearly 12 months to move from step 1 to step 2, and we were planning on leaving Prague in July 2009… so we are in a difficult situation. If we look at the progress of other people that we know who have gone through the process, from the time that they had their interviews til the time that the whole process was completed took over 12 months. At the moment we are so behind their time-frame, we don’t know how long it might take for us. We don’t feel like we can commit to being in Prague for as long as the process will take, as we have been told that it can take years and years. But that means that we either have to choose to go along with the process until we leave Prague, hoping that it will go quicker than it has so far; or we have to decide, based on our experience so far and what we have been warned by our social worker, that this is perhaps a ‘closed door’. We have been thinking, talking and praying about this over the past week, and although we feel like we have come to some decision, we would still appreciate your thoughts and prayers over the next wee while… as we work out what we should do. Its been hard news to hear, but at the same time, we were praying that we would either get a green light and that things would move forward, or we’d get a red light and have at least some end to the seemingly endless waiting with no news whatsoever. The annoying thing is that this is kind of a reddish-amber light: its not a complete ‘no’, but its not exactly encouragement-city either..! I think that this is the hardest part – the ‘what if’ questions. What if we wait? What if we don’t? What if we regret waiting? What if we regret not? Argh! Please pray that we will have peace with whatever decision we make. Thank you so much! We have really appreciated your thoughts and prayers for us so far.

Laura, goat babies, Matt and Hazel..!

Continuing on the journey from February ’til now, in early March our dear friend Laura visited us in Prague. She has been our most regular visitor, and so we don’t need to do the whole touristy thing anymore… we can enjoy just spending time together, chatting, and finding new places to have coffee..!

 Coffee with Laura in Ebel’s… a favourite haunt of Phil and I.

 Easter treats at the Easter market in Staromestka Namesti… hmmm… chocolately fruit..!

 Easter market in Staromestka Namesti.

 

Just after Laura left, our IBTS pygmy goats had their little babies. There were two kids born to each mother but sadly one of the kids died. The three surviving kids are adorable! The mama goats’ names are officially Fossil and Fuel… but they are called different things by different people. They are mostly known as Grace and Gloria. Grace’s babies are Albert (black) and Abigail (white), Gloria’s baby is Alice (black with grey ears).

 Mama’s and two of the babies: Albert on the left and Alice on the right.

 Albert and Abigail.

 Gloria and little Alice.

As we didn’t want to have any more little goat babies running around yet, we had to make a decision about little Albert… either he had to be castrated and stay with his family, or be sold to a farmer to live his days in freedom and bodily wholeness! We decided to do the more kind thing and a farmer came and took him away last week. Hopefully he will be a happy little goat wherever he is now..!! He certainly won’t be as spoilt as he was by the IBTS community though.

Matt and Bethan came to visit at the end of March too… which was really great. Unfortunately their visit came within the last two weeks of my dissertation deadline, so I had to be at the computer at bit more than I would have liked, but we still had a great time together. We had lots of interesting chats, enjoyed pancakes on Saturday morning (Delia Smith’s recipe cooked by Matt and Bethan… so yummy!) and even enjoyed some early spring sunshine on Sunday afternoon. It was their first time in Prague, and I think that they really enjoyed it. On the Saturday evening we went to a very good Greek restaurant in Dejvicka called Kavala… the food was delicious, the waiters friendly and the atmosphere relaxed… it was a lovely evening. We also took Matt and Bethan for some Czech food on their last night in Prague, which they thought was actually pretty good..!

 Matt with his Czech gulas and beer: the perfect meal!

After I handed in my dissertation, Hazel and a friend of hers called June, came to visit us. We had a fun time, did the usual tourist route from Hradcanska to the Castle, down to Malostranska across Charles Bridge to Staromestka Namesti. It was great..! We went to an amazing place for dinner… the food was so good, and the wine even better! It was in an old cellar, with vaulted ceilings, lit by candle-light alone… it was gorgeous.

 Hazel and June.

 Dining area.

 Phil and I enjoying the lovely wine..!

So… that is a quick gallop through things that you’ve missed so far..! Still to come: our trip to Madrid last weekend for our friend Ellie’s wedding, and our visit today to Karlstejn Castle. But at least we’re within the last two weeks..!

Christmas and New Year

Phil and I have had a brilliant Christmas and New Year. For Christmas we were with my parents in Kent and we are now in Northern Ireland with Phil’s mom and extended family. I have had a few people saying that they would like to see more photos…. so here goes:

 Phil and I with the newly decorated Christmas tree..!

Family on Christmas day. (Bethan is the photographer..!)

Phil enjoying his fish and chips at the coast (Broadstairs), where we went on Boxing Day.

My Northern Irish family..!

There are many more on Facebook… so if I actually know you, and you actually know me, and you’re on Facebook then have a look there..!

Tomorrow is my birthday. The big 2 – 6…! Flip. Can’t believe I’m over 25 years old. I’m nearly 30..! I had a great Kent ‘birthday’ before we came to Northern Ireland. We went out for breakfast, all the Ellishes, Phil, I and Elspeth (one of my lovely flat mates from University) to a class place in Westerham called ’Food for Thought’. It was really great. If I have a bad day tomorrow then it is an Ellish tradition that the birthday-person is entitled to walk around in just their underwear for the day..! Hopefully it won’t come to that as its pretty cold here at the moment..! I’m sure that my Northern Irish family will make sure that I have a lovely day..! :)

Christ is risen! Phil is baptised..!

What a wonderful Easter Sunday! I hope that your day was filled with the joy and hope that comes from knowing that Christ is risen indeed..! On this great day, Phil was also baptised… and I had the honour of being involved in his special day. As I’m practicing to be a minister (ie, minister-in-training/ student minister… whichever you prefer!) I got to practice my baptising skills on my darling husband! We had a great service at a nearby hotel, where there is a round pool, which was really cool as everyone could stand around and see Phil getting dunked. Phil gave his testimony superbly and Hazel did the reading: it was really great that she could be here to be part of Phil’s baptism weekend. Ian (our church Moderator) and I actually baptised Phil, and it was really special. It was fine getting him under the water, but it took a bit of a shove to get him back up to standing afterwards! Obviously, being a little short, it was a bit of a challenge… but it was fine in the end! Here are a couple of photos… Notice the white baptismal robes..! Aren’t they great? Phil and Ian were particularly excited about the prospect of wearing robes. We had the choice to wear them or just wear our normal clothes, but the boys were all for the robes… so I thought I would also… I felt truly angelic!

Ian and Phil going into the pool.

Ian and I getting ready to dunk Phil.

Unfortunately, we ran out of space on the camera for post-baptism photos, but don’t worry, he really did make it!

Have a wonderfully relaxing Monday..!

This is what studying is like!

I finally started actually typing words in a Microsoft Word document! Oh yes, the essay is being created! I have been reading for what feels like months… well, it has been months… and this afternoon I finally actually started writing down what I have been thinking/ranting/reflecting/reading about. I have 691 words… only 4309 to go! This really brings back memories of living at 70 Thirlestane road with my lovely flatmates Sue, Saz and Elle. We would all compare how far we each had got on particular essays, and reward ourselves with Neighbours and tea breaks… or by short middle-of-the-night power naps (Elle!). Essay writing just isn’t the same without them! (sigh) I guess Elle and I will just have to soldier on in Edinburgh and Prague respectively, and try to distract each other with MSN, at least!

It is a week ago since Thanksgiving, but I didn’t get round to putting up the photo that I took when Phil and I went to our American friends for a good traditional Thanksgiving meal! It was fantastic! Debbie is a wonderful cook, so we had a feast… it was pretty much a Christmas turkey sort of affair, with some excellent Thanksgiving additions: namely, sweet potato something-or-other (oh so yummy!) and pumpkin pie. And we also got a plate of turkey (and potatoes, veg…) and dessert to take home with us! Phil was in heaven..!

So, we had a great night. They are a really wonderful family, Phil and I babysit the kids, Nick and Selina, fairly regularly, so we know them pretty well.

Another photo which I meant to post ages ago is of the Thomas family… with their new addition: Anna Grace. Matt and Jenny adopted Anna in September, and we had a welcoming and blessing service for her at our church, Sarka Valley Community Church.

Anna is so smiley and cute, but she doesn’t seem to like smiling for photos… we tried, but this was the best that we could do! She can hardly sit/stand still for two seconds, so I was pleased that we even got a photo, nevermind a smile! Anna is a real character and is completely adored by everyone in the IBTS and Sarka Valley communities. Seeing her tottering around and smiling at everyone makes me feel very broody… but I think that chapter in our lives will have to wait a little longer!

Anyway, I should probably get back to the essay-age. I am learning how to cross-stitch tonight… oh yeah! My mother would be proud..!

Phil turns 26! (well, last Tuesday..!)

 Phil with his cake, complete with candles!

Its official, Phil is an old man! He is closer to thirty than twenty. Isn’t that scary? Anyway, on Friday 27th October, Phil’s mom Hazel and a family friend, Ruth Hamilton arrived in Prague so that we could all celebrate with Phil his 26th birthday. We did the usual touristy things: including Prague Castle, St Vitus Cathedral and Charles Bridge… obviously all activities punctuated by many coffee breaks!

 Phil, me and Ruth in the Castle gardens.

It was really good fun doing things around Prague with ‘the girls’ (as Ruth and Hazel were dubbed) and we all had great craic together.

 Phil and Hazel, Prague’s old town in the background.

Tuesday 31st October was Phil’s official birthday, but unfortunately he had a normal working day, followed by football in the evening for him, and leading the Youth Alpha group for me. How very romantic! I think we were all celebrated-out from the weekend, so we will probably do something special next weekend, just the two of us.

This week has been really hectic, so its great to finally be at the weekend… I think that some work might need to be done, but much relaxing is on the menu too! Hope you all have fantastic weekends, wherever you find yourselves!

Matt and Bethan’s wedding, Saturday 29th July

Matt and Bethan got married at Bessels Green Baptist Church on Saturday afternoon! It was a beautiful sunny day and Bethan and Matt both looked lovely! The service was moving and thoughtful and Neil Durling once again was funny and challenging. The reception was at Kippington Hall, which was such a gorgeous venue… big windows and sky-lights and stunning flower arrangements on the tables. The food was very tasty and although there wasn’t a big dance afterwards, the whole thing was so enjoyable and very classy! Matt and Bethan did do the first and only dance of the night… a salsa which they had been practicing (much to my delight and glee!) for a few weeks. I thought that it was going to be completely twee and geeky, but it was actually pretty good! It was especially entertaining because Bethan’s dress straps fell off! But she was the picture of calm and just kept dancing away!

This is our family with our new extended family too! Bethan’s two sisters were bridesmaids and did a fantastic job, although no-one could out-do Matt’s best man, ushers and friends who were put to work as soon as they got to Sevenoaks. They were fantastic. Never have I seen groomsmen who actually do something useful, instead of just wearing a nice suit!

me and Matt…

It was really lovely having most of the Russell family (alas, not Pam) with us on Matt’s special day. Although I did really expect Jen to speak up at the ‘does anyone have any objections to this union’ bit! Jen and Matt were (in Matt’s words) ‘childhood sweethearts’. I don’t know if Jen always saw it quite like that, but Matt adored her! Pam and I had many a happy time teasing them about getting married. Ah well, nevermind… obviously Pam and I were lacking the necessary match-making skills!

All in all, a wonderful and beautiful day, enjoyed by all. Matt and Bethan are now travelling around South Africa for 5 weeks (alright for some!) and then will be going to live in Wales, near to where Bethan went to uni, until January. After that, probably a few months in Asia with OMF and then who knows?! My little brother is all married and grown up now, I can’t believe it. I’m looking forward to getting to know Bethan better and walking with them as all four of us learn what it is to be old, married and boring!

Phil’s Graduation June 2006

Phil’s Graduation June 2006

Originally uploaded by the ‘a’ word.

Phil actually graduated on the 23rd of June, so its a couple of weeks away now, but I wanted to put a picture up anyway! I’m really proud of him and he did so well. It is both challenging and hugely frustrating to be married to someone who has been through the New College ‘trial by fire’, but it makes for brilliant discussions! It was a lovely day, and the rain managed to hold off too. Hazel (Phil’s mum) and I enjoyed the ceremony and watched young Philip getting bumped on the head with the bonnet for the second time. Apparently a graduate from Edinburgh who now works with NASA wanted to take the bonnet into space, however the university cronies obviously weren’t too delighted with that idea. So instead, a piece of cloth has been taken into space by this astronaut, which on return will be sewn onto the bonnet, making it the only bonnet in the world (!) to have been made out of John Knox’s breeches, and gone to the moon!

Dad’s 50th birthday bash!

On Saturday night it was my Dad's 50th birthday party at 'Food for Thought' in Westerham, Kent. It was a really fantastic evening: great food, brilliant company and a lovely relaxed atmosphere. I was even brave enough to give a speech! Mostly I was filling in the guests on what it was like having Mr Douglas Ellish as my father, with witty stories and anecdotes (as you do!) but I also wanted to thank him for being a fantastic dad to Matt and I. He is generous, loving and caring. Dad has supported all manner of strange ideas from both of us and also been there to pick up the pieces when it is goes pear-shaped. I didn't get very far into thanking him before I could feel myself start to get a bit choked up though! So yeah, luckily for everyone else I couldn't carry on too much longer! But it was great being able to say a few words.

It sounds really odd, but Mom had organised a magician to come for entertainment. Don't imagine anything like what you may have seen when you were a kid (which is exactly what I did!). This guy was cool. He was 25 years old, short funky hair and wore a sharp black suit. He (Richard the magic man) did card tricks and some disappearing tricks also. I have never been so impressed by 'magic'! He came around to each table and did different tricks, so its not like he had the safe distance that a stage would give… he was right by your side! One trick that he did kinda stood out to me. Richard asked my mom to take off her watch and hold it in her clasped hand. Then he asked my dad to take off his watch. Richard then asked my dad what time he wanted to change it to. Dad moved it forward an hour. Then whilst holding my dad's watch in one of his hands, he placed his other hand over my mom's clasped hand, kept it there for a moment and then asked her to open her hand and reveal the time. Obviously it was exactly the same time that was on my dad's watch! How did he do it (we all cry!)? It was very good. We were well impressed!

The only down side to the evening was that my little brother wasn't there. He was supposedly 'revising' for his exams (a likely scenario!) No, really, I do believe that you were studying hard Matt. You were missed though! Good luck for all the exams to come.

I have tried but failed to upload a picture from Saturday night. If I have any success, hopefully you will see the results!