Feel Good Friday: Spreading love the old-fashioned way

My youngest child is so full of love, he just can't help but share it. He is a giver, and he always thinks of others. And, lately, with the development of his writing skills, his love has taken written form. Every other day or so, he comes to me with a pencil and a piece of paper and tells me he needs to write a letter to someone he cares about. He often starts with "I love you." He writes from his heart (while I help with spelling and punctuation) and draws a thoughtful picture to go along with his words. He eagerly takes his letters to the mailbox, never expecting anything in return. He is a true spreader of love and joy, and I want to be like him.

Even if we aren't all writers, perhaps we would all do well to think about starting with "I love you."

Happiness on both ends of the mailbox!

What's the Deal?

We arrived at our new home in Deal, England, late Monday afternoon, just as the sun was preparing to call it a day, so we didn't really have a chance to look around. During the night, crazy rain, wind and fog set in, literally cutting off our view of our surroundings. It only let up this morning, so we were finally able to take a good look around and get the lay of the land. Deal is an adorable little sea town, and our house sits just across the street from the rocky beach and the English Channel. This afternoon, we drove over to St. Margaret's at Cliffe for tea. We also got to visit a lovely garden and walk a coastal path up to a lighthouse, which offered us nice views of the white cliffs of Dover, the Channel, and France. When we got home, Weston made a spectacular steak dinner for us, which was the perfect end to the day.

We only occupy the bottom floor on the left side of this townhouse,
but with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a large well-equipped kitchen,
it feels like a mansion compared to the last several places before this. 

This sits about ten paces from our front door!

One advantage of having the same address for more than a week
is the ability to have packages delivered.
It was like Christmas around here when our Amazon package
containing our Russian train entertainment arrived!

We had tea at the tea room on the right this afternoon.
You can see the white cliffs on the left. 

We enjoyed a day of sun, taking in some beautiful sights!

I was taking a picture of the Winston Churchill statue,
but when Clay saw me with my camera, he stopped to pose.

Simple Beauty

If you look closely, you can see France in the distance.

We enjoyed a wonderful walk along the White Cliffs of Dover.

South Foreland Lighthouse

Four Months

Four months from today, we will step onto a plane that will fly us off into a thrillingly uncertain future. I know well that four months pass in the blink of an eye. And, though there is still so much to do before we turn the page on this current chapter of our lives, there has been a flurry of preparatory activity in our household in the last couple of months.

• We have bought insurance, secured a lease on a car for our travels through Europe, and produced a lovely spreadsheet for our journey to help us track where we're going, how many nights we are staying there, how many days are left on our visa, and if we've already made a lodging reservation. 
• We've made firm plans for lodging in or near Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Berlin, London, Edinburgh, and Belfast, and we've put in requests for places in several other European cities. 
• We've already connected with some interesting people, one of whom grew up very near where Jeff grew up in west Texas and has been living in Germany for the past 20 years, renting out part of his quaint little house to visitors such as ourselves. 
• We've purchased new international phones, and deactivated and activated cell phone plans. 
• We've bought tickets to an amazing flower garden in Holland that is only open for six weeks out of the year. 
• We have learned a few German words, out of necessity.
• We've set up a virtual mailbox.
• We've made lists and lists and lists--things we have, things we need, things we need to get rid of, things we need to do before we leave, things to carry in our daypacks on travel days, things we want to see and do, etc, etc.
• We've discussed strategies for getting through airports (including turning our kitchen into a mock airport for the sake of practicing), staying safe, what to do if our bags are stolen, how to get along in tight spaces, schooling on the road, journaling, making the best of every situation, storing or selling our larger possessions, our eventual re-entry into the U.S. etc, etc.

Honestly, it's a bit of a whirlwind, and sometimes I have trouble keeping it all straight in my mind, even with all the lists. Sometimes, I get completely overwhelmed and just need to go to bed and start again the next day. But, for the most part, we are just chomping at the bit and ready to take on this amazing adventure. We are so excited and can't believe this dream will soon be a reality!

Brown Paper Packages, Tied Up With Strings...

...These are a few of my favorite things!

Jeff and I have recently ordered several things online, and so we've had delivery people showing up at our house every day this week. I have to tell you that I secretly get so very excited when I see the UPS/FedEx/DHL/mail truck on our street that I almost can't contain myself. And, secretly, I'm always VERY disappointed when it doesn't stop at my house. I may have mentioned that I LOVE to get fun snail mail, but a package just makes me flutter inside. And, apparently, it makes no difference to me that I am the one who ordered the package and know very well what's inside. I still get giddy--even if it's something completely mundane. It's a wonder I haven't become addicted to QVC or HSN or something. We are scheduled to receive more packages tomorrow, so I shall sleep in peace knowing I have something so exciting to look forward to. Sweet dreams to you, too.

Christmas Cards

One thing I really love about the holidays is getting Christmas cards in the mail--and we got our first one this weekend! I'm always a fan of fun snail-mail, but the Christmas cards generally carry news and/or pictures of friends and family, some of whom we don't see very often. So it's neat to see how everyone has changed and to learn what's going on in their worlds. Now, I'm not saying any of you have to send me a Christmas card, but know that if you do, it will be appreciated. And if you send a picture, you will even be awarded a place of honor on our fridge. Our cards go out for New Year's, so if you're waiting for us to reciprocate, just hang in there and know you have something to look forward to even after the other cards have been opened and the gifts have been put away.

Watch Your Mailbox

Our Thanksgiving invitations went out today! We're so excited! True to form, it is a themed party and not all that traditional. Stay tuned for more info in the weeks to come.

Going Postal

A few days ago I drove by my neighbors' house and saw that their brick mailbox had been knocked over and was lying flat in the yard. I thought maybe they were thinking of replacing it or, at the very worst, some teenagers in the neighborhood knocked it over for fun. Well, today I had a chance to get the story from my neighbor directly. She said they were sitting in their livingroom one day when they suddenly heard a loud crash outside. They immediately hopped up to look out the window and saw the mailman parked just in little past their mailbox. He sat there for a minute and then just went on. (At the time, the mailbox hadn't actually fallen over, but sometime in the night it did). The next time that mailman came by, they noticed a large, supicious-looking dent in the bumper of the mail truck. They have since contacted the post office and have been told that the mailman says he didn't do it, and it's pretty much his word against theirs. The problem with the mailman's story is that I have personally seen him run into another neighbor's mailbox, knock it over and leave it. Unbelievable, right?! You always kind of think of your postman as a "good guy." I guess that just isn't always the case. I do think I'll start parking my van a little closer to the house. Our house is the last house on the mail route and the mailman turns around in our driveway. I hate to think of the bruise he'll leave on Minnie, if we aren't careful.