England, Dinosaurs, and Harry Potter (among other things;)

Hello there friends and family!

The past couple weeks have been a bit of adventure, a bit of challenge, and a bit of travel (for one of us;).  Aaron was able to take an unexpected trip to London and Oxford 2 weekends ago to represent LCC at the Oxford Conclave, an annual event where a small group of college administrators think and talk about significant issues facing higher education. This year's theme was faith formation.  It came up quite unexpectedly, Aaron booked his tickets 2 days before he left; it was such an incredible opportunity! Here are his comments and pictures:

The Oxford Conclave was an amazing experience.  I spent three days with the presidents and chaplains of six faith-based colleges--five from the US and one from Lithuania :)--discussing best-practices and challenges of faith formation of college students.  My time included long, early-morning runs through the old cobblestone streets of Oxford, around the beautifully manicured parks, and along the Thames River as the sun rose and the fog cleared.  I enjoyed long conversations over high tea at the Randolph Hotel and a cold beverage at the pub where C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien spent a fair bit of time, The Eagle and Child.  It was an opportunity of a lifetime.  It will no doubt be one of the highlights of the year.  The only thing that could have made it better is if I could have shared it with Betsy (:

From my end of things (Betsy again), after looking up flights and realizing we would not be able to eat for a few months if we all traveled to London (so expensive!!!), I settled into a few days of self-pity.  For those of you that don't know, I was fortunate to study just outside of London for a semester while I was at Calvin.  It opened my eyes to our great big world, and was such a formative time in my life.  Needless to say, I really wanted to go and take our kids.  I could picture it: me with Quincy, Annie, Jackson, and Nala gracefully getting on and off the tube, walking around quietly in the museums while discussing art, eating fish and chips...a girl can dream, right?;)  

God certainly did quite a bit of work on my heart that weekend, wrestling with what unconditional love really is, what it means to be a supportive wife and a fully present mother, and what God really has us all here for.  I'm still working much of that out in my head (a post yet to come), but those few days were a reminder that we are all here at LCC and in Lithuania for reasons beyond what we anticipated, and that I have much learning to do.  

But back to life in Klaipeda.  Last week, the kids and I visited the Dinosaur Park near our house. After Nala worked through her initial fear of huge dinosaurs that moved (a bit) and made noise (sometimes with painted blood dripping from their teeth), we had a great time!  We were the only family there for most of the time.  We learned a bit about dinosaurs, found yet another GREAT park in the back to play in, and I put Quincy and Annie in stocks.  At least I know where we can go if they really start to misbehave;).

 Seriously, this was the coolest climber I have seen.  Maybe one of these for the LSA plaground?

Quincy's comment in the stocks, "This hurts mom, I can't stay in here much longer!" I think that was the point;).  Still not sure what the stocks were doing at the Dinosaur Park:/

Last week, LCC had it's community night, which was great fun.  Annie and Quincy both said it was one of the most fun nights we've had here so far.  It was a night set up for students, which included dinner and lots of activities.  Quincy ran his first 5k with his friends, he said "it was very tiring, but fun." Annie, Jackson, and Nala had their faces painted, and Annie left with a plate full of treats from the cake walk.  It's fun to see how being on Calvin's campus so much has helped our kids be comfortable around college students.  And the LCC students were so kind, we were able to engage with several students from different parts of Europe and from the US (there are quite a few study abroad students at LCC).

After the race, Quincy wanted you all to see him sweaty:)

We've also continued to head to the beach frequently.  The weather here has been spectacular the past couple of weeks, sunny and low 70s.  Not everyone thinks that's beach weather, so we had the beach on the spit to ourselves last Sunday night.  So great!

And a little update on the kids.  Quincy is reading a lot.  I have never known him to be a reader, usually it's a challenge to get him inside from playing to read, but now we have to prompt him to get out of the house.  In August he read 16 books, and he's on pace to pass that in September.  He is currently re-reading the first 3 Harry Potter books, prompted by his gift from Aaron while he was in Oxford, a Harry Potter scarf (some of the movie was filmed at Oxford).  Quincy even helped watch Jackson and Nala for a couple days so I could finish the first book, a requirement so we all could watch the movie:).  And from Quincy "I started my drum lessons.  They are a lot of fun and I'm learning a lot every time."  And so are we when he practices at home;)

Annie has come into her own the past couple of days.  We found a couple of babysitters (so Aaron and I can go out at night, and so I can have a morning to myself), and Annie has willingly stepped up to help keep Jackson and Nala happy and occupied;)  The gleam in her eyes when she knows she has done well is priceless!  And she admits to having learned things in school finally;)  I can tell that her reading has improved since we've gotten here and she enjoys reading on her own now, but what she really loves is doing science experiments!

Since we've been here (and really at home too), Jackson has been the hardest for me to read.  He seems to be settling in more and more, and his speech is improving daily (Aaron even noticed a difference in the short time he was gone).  He now has full conversations quite easily, his speech teachers would be proud:)  But when he's tired, his communication decreases and his lack of flexibility is evident.  Sometimes he just wants to be one of the big kids, but isn't always able to keep up.   On the positive side, he and Nala are definitely developing their own relationship too:)  The chase each other around our flat and outside, they can make each other laugh hysterically.

Annie and Jackson also enjoy Quincy's drum lessons, because we found a nearby store that sells DOUGHNUTS!  A new weekly stop:)

And our sweet Nala:)  She is a hoot!  Our favorite things she says these days: "Try some?" which means she wants to eat what you have, "Try some!" which means she wants you to eat what she has, "See 'm ___?," which means she wants to see what you have (like See'm book?) , and "See 'm ___!" which means she wants you to see what she has (See'm phone!).  It's all in the inflection:)  Her vocabulary is quite large, and she adds more words everyday.  Given Quincy's current love of Harry Potter, Dumbledore is her new favorite word;)

Well, much love to you all!  Thanks for your prayers;)  God is moving, and we're doing our best to pay attention and follow!

bw and aw (approved by quincy and annie;)