Things You Don't See in Frisco, Texas

I was walking down the streets in Richmond and could hear some charming music up ahead of me. I thought to myself, 'How nice, they are already getting festive over here for Christmas.' When I got closer I could actually see that it was only one man playing an accordion!! Do they even make accordions in America anymore? I think my mom and/or my aunt took accordion lessons as a child. Too bad neither of them can entertain us with some music this Christmas!!

We'll Always Have Paris

If someone had told me four months ago that my family would take a quick weekend trip to Paris, France I would have thought they were CRAZY!! However, that is just what we did this past weekend!! It was amazing.

We left London on Friday evening via train, and arrived in Paris around 9:00 that night. Our hotel was a quaint little European hotel, perfect for what we were looking for. The location was great and we spent all day Saturday and Sunday seeing the sights of the City of Lights.

Saturday morning began with an adventure to the top of the Eiffel Tower. All three of us made it to the top...a real triumph for me as most of you know! We ate a nice lunch at a cafe' not too far from there. After lunch we hopped on a bus tour to show us the main sights of the city. The tour allowed you to get on and off at each sight as you wished so this was just perfect for us. The weather was pretty cold so it was nice to keep the walking at a minimum. We spent Saturday afternoon in the Louvre. I think even if we spent an entire week there it would have been a challenge to see the entire museum. But WOW, what an experience to see some of the most famous pieces of art in the world! After seeing more of the city on our bus tour, we ended our day trying to get some good pictures and eat dinner....both somewhat of a challenge in a place where you don't speak the language!! At any rate, here are a few pictures from our first day in Paris.

Sunday morning we headed over to Notre Dame. We ate some breakfast nearby and did a little shopping as well. Then we toured the famous cathedral. It was very inspirational. There was a mass going on when we were there, so to hear the organs and songs while looking around was very moving. We rode on our bus again to see some of the things we had missed on Saturday. We ended our day with a boat tour down the Seine River. It was great to see some of the things that you miss while on the streets.

Our Parisian experience included a two-year-old, as you can imagine, our sight seeing was a little different than perhaps it would have been otherwise. However, Christopher was a real trooper and went two days with a minimal nap in his stroller and didn't have any real meltdowns. We are so blessed with him!!

Here are a few more pictures!

Notre Dame

Cory and Christopher outside Notre Dame.

Yes, this is Christopher STANDING up on his seat on the TOP of the double-decker tour bus. He had gone up there with Cory and I saw the picture later. Nice one Daddy!

So Baby Locke will one day know that he/she has been to Paris too!

Our little romantic moment.

Burgers and Butterflies

In general, I am a huge lover of food. Pregnant, I am an even bigger fan of things that will satisfy my almost always growling tummy. Unfortunately, the British have a different idea of what people eat than what I do. If you have visited here before, you know what I mean. Well last night we discovered the BEST burger place...even by American standards. I realize some of you may find it strange that I would decide to blog about food, and this may even be true, but it was a good burger!! Here is a picture of Christopher and me enjoying a tasty milkshake at the Gourmet Burger Kitchen.

On a more serious note, Christopher and I visited Kew Gardens today. This is a 300-acre botanical garden owned by the Royal Family. It is home to some of the most extraordinary plants on the planet. The grounds were truly beautiful, even though the weather wasn't that great.

Today I decided to abandon the stroller and do the baby-wearing again. It is so much easier getting downstairs in our apartment (there is no "lift" here), and getting on and off the bus and train. However, wearing my 30 pound boy does start to hurt my back eventually so Christopher was a real trooper today and he did lots of walking!!

As you might imagine, he was not too interested in the exotic plants, although the leaves and trees were a real treat for him. We spent most of our time there in the "Climbers and Creepers" playground, a unique interactive indoor botanical play area. He had a great time on the slide, playing in the dirt pit, and watching the butterflies.

I know there were lots of areas I didn't get to see of the Royal Gardens but at some point you have to decide whether you are there to sight see or entertain your child!

Mum or Mom?

Today I had the opportunity to see what the local stay-at-home-mums do with their kids. The church we attended last Sunday hosts a group called The Little Bunch, a playtime for toddlers and mums. It operates on a "first come first served" basis, accommodating around 20 mums and their kids. So I headed over there around 9:30 this morning to see if there were any spots still available, and there happened to be just one left when I got there.

We met in the church from 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. There were a variety of toys and activities set up for the kids and chairs lined the walls for the mums to sit in. Here's the part that I really got a kick out of. About halfway through, a sweet little old lady came around and took tea or coffee orders from all of the mums Then we moved into another room and had tea and biscuits!! (the kids had juice or water, not tea) It was great. All the kids sat around a table in chairs and enjoyed their biscuit and juice while the mums stood behind them and sipped their tea. I really wanted to take a picture but I was already feeling foreign enough and I didn't think snapping a photo like a tourist would help me out.

I was glad I went. Christopher seemed to enjoy the interaction with the other kids. He gets tons of that at home and for the past week his only friends have been his Mommy and Daddy. At any rate, the mums over here do basically the same thing we moms do in the states...they just get to do it with a really cool accent!!

Do You Believe in Coincidence?

I personally, do not. I believe when "coincidental" things happen that the Lord is trying to show you something, answer a prayer, help you see something in a different way, etc.

Well, if you have talked to me much at all about this London adventure, you would know one of my biggest hang-ups was how I was going to get around the city with my two-year-old. I mean the tubes here are great transportation but they are not exactly stroller friendly. After these last few days of sightseeing here in Richmond I was really getting antsy to explore some other areas. I mean, I am in London after all and there is so much to do! The biggest problem with this is to go beyond Richmond means to take the public transportation - a bus or train.

I finally decided that I would take Christopher to the Science Museum today. We would need to take the bus to the train station and get on the tube, but I would not need to change lines or anything after that. All we would have to do would be ride the train several stops and it would end up where we needed to be. No problem right? No problem except for the massive amounts of stairs that make up almost every tube station in London...and I have a stroller with me.

Well, wouldn't you know that as soon as I arrived at the Richmond tube station (the starting point of my journey) I came across two other young mothers complete with multiple toddlers and multiple strollers!! We mommies like to look out for one another, even across the Atlantic, so they were so sweet to help me get my stroller down the stairs, through the gates, and onto the train. If that wasn't enough, they were also headed to the Science Museum and they were able to help me again once we got there and point me in the right direction to all the great kiddie activities.

Like I said, I don't believe in coincidence. We serve an amazing God who continually helps us out in big ways and in small.

Blisters and Birds

Most of you know that I recently walked in the Breast Cancer 3-Day. A 60 mile walk that takes place over the course of three days. Although this preggie did not walk the entire 60 miles, I still managed to make it for about 40 or so. That being said, I only got ONE blister the entire weekend and it didn't come until day 3. Interestingly enough, I have somehow accumulated THREE blisters walking around here the last two days. Yesterday I'll take the blame, as I wore shoes that were sure to create blisters in only a matter of blocks, but man they were cute! Today however, I wore my most comfortable shoes and after a short walk, I was hobbling home only to find yet another one had sprung up. Can anyone explain this?

Also, I have discovered a new fear. I have several strange fears that some of you may or may not know about. Among them are fire, no escape, wasps, and I think I mentioned in an earlier post deer. Well today I can add birds to that list. I took Christopher down to the Thames River this morning to see some boats and feed the swans. Well all you have to do is simply lift the bag you are carrying and birds from all over the place swarm you instantly. I'm sure anyone watching me had quite the laugh as I hurriedly gathered up my son and our cheerios to escape the mass of white and grey wings flapping in all directions.

Christopher on the other hand, has no fear of animals at all, thanks to his Memere' and Grandad's farm. So I couldn't disappoint him and leave right away when I had been talking about feeding the swans all morning. So we found a nice spot near the water where the birds were at a minimum and we could feed the swans as intended. He had a ball. I couldn't get him to take his eyes off the birds for a minute for the pictures but here are a couple that I snapped.

Thank Goodness for Weekends!

Everyone looks forward to a good weekend right? We spend our whole week counting down the days until one gets here. The best thing about the weekends when you are new to a foreign country, you have a two year old and another one on the way, is that your husband will be around to hang out with you!

On Saturday, we drove up to Oxford and did some sightseeing there. I think our favorite thing there would have to be Christ Church. If you are a Harry Potter fan, you might recognize it as Hogwarts School. The grounds there were absolutely beautiful. The round building you see on the right is Radcliffe Camera, built in 1749 it is a reading room for the Bodleian Library (not pictured). We kept thinking how interesting it would be to attend college in a place that is also such a tourist attraction...Lubbock, Texas doesn't quite attract a big crowd!!

Today, Sunday, we went to church at a small church Cory had attended a couple of weeks ago. The people were very welcoming and friendly. I think it is such a neat feeling to worship in another country. It is a great reminder that God is so much bigger than our own everyday worlds we live in. After church, we took Christopher to Richmond Park. The park is the largest open space in the entire city of London. It is filled with wooded areas, open grassy areas, rugby fields, and tons of DEER!! The deer traveled in herds and were in several different places in the park. Some of them were quite friendly. King family members, I now have a new definition of deer fear!! Amazingly, you would completely forget you were in the middle of a huge city here. It was a great time!