Celebrations Abound!
Well, in case you’re wondering what we’ve been up to recently, we’ve been celebrating! Three things we have celebrated since our last post are in no particular order:
-Mike’s first year boards
-My giving notice to Starbucks
-Cheryl Crowe’s Birthday
Let’s take a look at each celebration to give you an idea of just how wonderful each item is!!
- Celebratory item #1: Mike’s First year board was held on May 22nd. This is basically an opportunity for him to present to the professor’s here what he’s been working on thus far. He gave them each a copy of his proposal and a writing sample, they had time to review it and think it over and then Mike sat before them to answer their questions and defend his work. All in all, this was a good experience for him. He feels like he was able to gain clarity on their expectations and desires for his work. While it was somewhat stressful to prepare for, he is glad to have had the opportunity to hear from them and get helpful feedback and encouragement for his future work…..he’s so glad that it’s over and done with though! From here on out it’s open work and research for him. There will be no other boards, just time with his advisor, Professor Hurtado, if he’d like more feedback. One year down, two more to go! We celebrated this accomplishment by having dinner at Bella Italia and going to see the Mike-chosen movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. We had a great time honoring Mike’s accomplishments! Way to go, honey!
- Celebratory Item #2: I’m very ready to leave Starbucks. I’ve given it a good go. While it began well, it’s been a stressful and frustrating experience that continues to bring me down. Therefore, my last day will be June 18th. It got to the point where I was getting anxious to go to work and having dreams about work…..just not good! I have signed on a fixed contractual basis with Office Angels, which is a temp agency here. I will be working 3-6 months at a time and covering for people’s maternity leave and extended holidays. While this is not ideal, it is a job and will continue to help bring money in.
- Celebratory Item #3: Cheryl Crowe had a birthday! Yay Cheryl! (In the brown top to my left, your right) And we celebrated her by going to Las Tesca for some tapas! We had a fantastic night of just being together and wearing party hats. Does it get any better?! While there, we were all flattered to have a gentleman approach our table and tell us how much fun it looked like we were having. (And he was right, we were having fun!) Apparently his brother fancied us but was too shy to come over himself….he wanted to take a picture of us….he was shocked to find out that each and every one of us was married!! (I think he was hoping for better odds than that). He was a bit embarrassed, but it was a hilarious part of the evening! So, we did let him take our picture, but only if we could proudly display our wedding bands….a tribute to our guys. We love you Mike, Brandon, Jonathan, Matt and Derek!!
So, let us know what your celebrations have been over the past month…we want to know! We love you all!
Marisa’s Visit
Hi all! Just a friendly little post to let you know of the fun we recently had while our friend, Marisa Covert, visited us! She was on her way down to do a year of missions work in South Africa with Helping Hands and decided to stop here along the way….what an honor! We had such a great time and I’d like to share the pictures with you! She was here the 6th to the 9th of May and if the you think the trip from Arizona to Michigan to London to Edinburgh sounds long…..just know that after being here for a few days she still had to travel 10 hours down to Johannesburg! What a trooper she is!
On the 6th Marisa arrived in the afternoon so we had plenty of time to get her to the flat and relax with a meal and some catching up.
We jumped right in on the next day with a trip to the Rosslyn Chapel. I’ll post a few pictures from our bus ride out there (about 40 minutes from the city centre) and some shots from the chapel itself….if you want to see the real deal you’ll just have to visit us!
Upon arrival back to the city centre I took Marisa to The Howard Hotel for a proper tea. This was her belated birthday present. I was having trouble thinking of something to get for her this year because I knew she was leaving many things behind in the states and couldn’t take many things with her to South Africa….so, I treated her to tea and it was lovely! We had a great time chatting the afternoon away with our tea and cakes. Take a look…..
That evening, though we had already eaten lots of food, Mike was gracious enough to cook steak and chips for us…it was SO yummy! And then we vegged just watching tv and relaxing from a long, but wonderful day.
The next day, Friday, Marisa and I decided to go on one of those bus tours of the city. We chose The Edinburgh Tour….unique name for a tour, I know. Anyway, I really loved this bus tour! I felt like I got to see a well-rounded view of the city itself and got a little history lesson along the way. Here are some of the shots…..
She really liked the cute little taxis here…this is only one shot of the many she took (just of the taxi’s)!
A gorgeous view of Edinburgh Castle.
A piper!!
We also took some time to see a church called St. Cuthberts….it was beautiful!
After hopping off the bus and catching up with Mike for some fish n’ chips for lunch, we went on a little souvenir shopping spree for Ris so she could get a few things to remember Edinburgh by….no, the silly hairy hat wasn’t one of them! She did get some great deals, however!
After shopping, we once again met up with Mike for dinner at Mama’s for some pizza…so yummy!! (But such a long walk down all those steps….you’ll all know what I mean when you come to visit us and we all walk down the steps together)!
Would you believe that Marisa’s trip was nearly to a close at this point?! The time came and went SO quickly, but we really felt like we were able to cherish each moment. The next day, Friday, I had to work, but Mike was around here with Risa helping her figure things out on her laptop and making sure she got help with laundry and such. I, thankfully, was able to be off work a bit early and came home to have a late lunch with Risa and Mike. Before heading to the airport we had a special time of prayer for Marisa and her journey to South Africa. God has called her to Bind up the Brokenhearted in South Africa and we wanted to lift her to His throne before sending her on from this place….we love you so much, Marisa, and are so excited about God’s plans for you in this year.
Thanks, all, for reading about Marisa’s visit. Hope it gives you a glimpse on what we’ll be doing when you come to visit!
Love to all!
