Our New House

Due to many requests for pictures, I finally took some today and am sharing them with you. Our house is part of a development in Quedgeley called Kingsway, just south of Gloucester. Our 3-story house is on the end of a line of other houses. In the States, this would be like a townhouse. Next to it is our garage, which is accessed from the back of the house.

**Warning! The house isn't decorated or organized yet. Just bear this in mind while looking through the pictures.

When you enter the house, the stair case is directly in front of you and the hall leads to the lounge, kitchen and back garden.

Our kitchen is quite small, but there is much room for improvement! We plan to makeover the kitchen either by adding more cabinets or by ripping the whole thing out and starting from scratch. This, however, may have to wait until next year.

This is the lounge/family room. As you can see, it's quite small, but we're thinking of adding a small conservatory/sun room to the back to enlarge the space a bit. Again, though, this will have to wait. For the time being, our dining table is stuck in the corner to the right of the picture. No, there's no where else to put it, not even in the kitchen, hence the reason for wanting a conservatory.
The garden/backyard... again, very tiny, but at least there's enough space to have a go at gardening come Spring. There's a gate to the right (not shown) that leads to the garage and our parking spot. The patio is large enough for a grill, which we're glad about.

The half bath, or "cloak room" as it's called here, situated under the stairs. Jeff put up the towel bar and toilet paper/loo roll holder just this weekend! We still need to put up a small mirror over the sink.

That's all on the ground floor... now up the first flight of stairs... there is a large guest bed room, but it is so cluttered and unorganized that I decided not to take a picture. Basically, it looks like our master bed room (below). Both the guest room and the master bed room are located at the back of the house.

This is the full/family bathroom on the first floor. The cabinet sitting next to the tub is still waiting to be put up.Next to this bathroom is the smallest of the rooms, which we use as our office, and is located at the front of the house.

View from the window by the stairs. You can see it's still a building site across the street.
Now up the second flight of stairs to the master bedroom. You can see the lovely sliding glass doors to the built-in closet. Perhaps we'll get rid of this in the future, too. Yeah, there are still boxes stacked in the corner, and I have no idea what's in them! Oh, yeah, and our new bed... seriously a fantastic purchase!
This is our en-suite/master bathroom. The mirror, glass shelf and loo roll holder (not shown) were also put up on Saturday.
Across the hall from the master is the third bedroom, which currently serves as a drying room for our laundry. However, the couch pulls out to a double-bed, so we can have even more guests, of course minus the drying racks. Oh, and the hot water tank is in a closet in this room, though you can't see it in the picture.
That's a tour of the house! I kind of felt like I was on MTV Cribs... but minus the mansion, the cars and all the bling... you also didn't get a peak inside our fridge... so sorry.

Christmas in Garvagh

Happy 2010! Today I have the chance to update you on what's been going on in our lives the past few weeks.

After returning from Ohio on December 5, Jeff returned to work and I started to pack up the flat in Bradley Stoke. On December 13, I hopped on a National Express bus in Bristol and rode to London to visit Bron and her family. Bron was over from Munich on a surprise visit to see her sister, Rhonda, perform a lead role in the Messiah. Bron's mom and dad have been living in London this past year, though they have now returned to New Zealand. It was a great opportunity to spend time with her family and to meet some of her London friends. I even got to catch up with a friend of mine from my au pair days in Munich; Joanna Burcham now lives by Heathrow airport. Though the time spent was quite busy, it was well worth it.

We spent Christmas 2009 Northern Ireland, my first British Christmas. On the morning of December 23, Jeff and I flew from Bristol to Belfast. The UK has experienced more snow this year than in at least a decade, so we were lucky to make it without any difficulties. However, upon landing in Belfast, the fog was so thick that we didn't even know we were about to land until we actually felt the plane hit the runway. The thick fog didn't help driving on the icy roads up to Garvagh. Gordon's flight from Edinburgh was supposed to arrive the same time as our's, but because of the severe weather, his flight was canceled. Luckily, he was rescheduled on a later flight that arrived that evening. Sharon arrived from London the day before.

Christmas morning was quite relaxed. We sat in the lounge while Beverly passed out presents to each of us. From Jeff's parents, we received a Pampered Chef serving tray and a wood wall decoration.

Robert is opening a large box of Tunnock's Tea Cakes... so yummy!

Christmas dinner was held early in the afternoon: honey dew melon sprinkled with cinnamon, turkey, ham, roast potatoes, other veg, all washed down with homemade ginger wine (non-alcoholic). Christmas pudding and custard was served a few hours after dinner. Of course, no British Christmas would be complete without crackers (behind the plate), filled with a corny joke, a cheap toy and a paper crown.

Gordon with his crown on.

After dinner, we took a walk through the winter wonderland...

...but had to make it back to the house
in time to watch the Queen's traditional Christmas day speech at 3pm.

The days following Christmas, we spent mostly relaxing, as we couldn't really drive any where due to the icy streets. We did, however, make it down to Belfast on Monday to meet up with the Ardverike crowd at a cafe and again on Tuesday for the Scott's Christmas party. We brought in the new year at a 11pm church service, followed by mince pies and tea after midnight.

One of the days, Jeff and I drove up to the coast and went walking on the beach. That sure didn't last long though! It was fr-ee-zing and very, very, very windy. We then drove around the north shore, got out at a few locations, braved the cold and wind then jumped back in the car to head to the next spot.

The sand was being blown across the beach.

Jeff walking towards the shore.

Me attempting to keep sand from getting in my eyes and trying not to get blown over.

Dunluce Castle

In the evening of January 1, we went up to Jonathan and Beverly Madden's house in Colraine. Ian Hynds joined us as well. Jonathan, Ian and Jeff have been friends for ages. After we finished off 4 of the best pizzas I've ever eaten, we played Mario Cart on the Wii and chatted. I was so glad to meet Beverly; we got on famously (though somehow I forgot to take a picture of her).

Joel and Rachel Madden

Jeff, Ian and Jonathan

We returned to Bristol on Monday, January 4. On January 5, Betsy Henderson came to stay with us for a couple nights. She was visiting friends in Birmingham. I picked her up at the Gloucester train station, and we went to a couple stores before returning to the house. By the time we came out of the second store, a bad snow storm came through and the streets were incredibly slippery. Cars were sliding everywhere. What should have been a 10-minute drive home, turned out to be at least a 45-minute drive, but we safely made it home. That evening, we drove down to Bristol (Bristol didn't get any snow until that evening) and took Betsy on a walking tour of the center of Bristol. Although it was very cold, we still managed to show her around. Then we went to the Gourmet Burger Kitchen for dinner. The following day, we had planned to drive to Cardiff, but due to the road conditions, we decided it wouldn't be safe. We were content just staying home. I drove Betsy back up to Birmingham on Thursday the 7th.

That's the latest from the Bolton household. I plan to post pictures of the house next. Thursday we fly to Munich to join MICC for their ski retreat.

Thanksgiving in Ohio

Jeff and I spent the past two weeks (Nov. 21 - Dec. 4) in Ohio visiting family and friends, shopping and...er... eating. We thoroughly enjoyed our time at home, but the time always goes too fast!

I'll try to give you a day-by-day account of our trip.

Saturday, Nov. 21: We flew from Bristol airport to Newark and arrived in Columbus on time at 5:00pm. Mom, Norm and Dad were there to greet us! The five of us went to Champps at Easton for supper.

Sunday, Nov. 22: I woke up at 4:30am (due to jet lag) and started the fun of scouring the Black Friday advertisements in the newspaper. I have always enjoyed looking at the "innards", so this was a great way for me to start off the day. Norm made his yummy slow-cooker oatmeal for breakfast. In the afternoon, Jeff and I stopped by the Sabo's house for an hour before heading over to my dad's. Ethan and Dominic were so excited to show us their new puppy, Koa, that Santa Claus brought them early (two days before we arrived). I was glad to see Pam, a friend of mine since freshman year in college, and Aaron even though it was brief. We then went over to Dad's for a little while before heading over to Sharon and Kurt Hilliard's house for Thanksgiving dinner #1.

Jeff with Koa.
The beautiful Thanksgiving table at the Hilliard's.

Tuesday, Nov. 24: We drove up to my grandma's house in Massillon, which is about a two-hour drive northwest of Columbus. After lunch at Grandma and Bob's, Grandma drove us to the McKinley Monument and Museum in Canton. When I was little, Grandma would take Jason and me there often, but it has been at least 10 years since I've been there. The three of us walked up the stairs of the monument, took a quick look inside and then went down the stairs again and into the museum. Though the museum is small, it is nice. It has been renovated since the last time I was there. The "old village" is still there, and we walked through the streets and into the stores filled with antiques. Grandma always gets very excited in the Gibbs' Toy Store; she points out the toys that were in her office when she worked as a secretary for Mr. Gibbs. That evening Bob, Grandma, Jeff and I played a few rounds of dominos... a must when we stay at their house.

Wednesday, Nov. 25: Wednesday morning, Grandma, Jeff and I made our annual visit to Amish Country, just 30 minutes south of where my grandma lives. We stopped at the Troyer's Trail Bologna store, where the bologna is made and sold. I've enjoyed eating this unique bologna since I was little. The smell of the smoking of the bologna just lures me in each time. We then headed down the road to Charm, where we went into the Keim Lumber Hardware Store that Grandma just had to show us. It was probably the most beautiful hardware store I've been to. The Amish sure know how to use wood to make a space beautiful! If you're ever in Charm, it's worth a drive through. We also bought my in-laws' Christmas present and ate lunch in Charm, then drove up to Walnut Creek for a browse through the Carlisle House Gift Shop, where I bought Mom two "oaknut" ornaments.

Jeff and me in front of the Troyer's Trail Bologna store, in Trail, Ohio.

Thursday, Nov. 26 - Thanksgiving: Sadly, the time at Grandma's went quickly. Next was Thanksgiving dinner #2 at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in North Canton with Mom, Norm, aunt Linda, uncle Dan and Grandpa. It sure was good and very filling! We then spent the afternoon at Linda and Dan's. Linda bought me a Johnny's cake, my favorite, since I miss out on other Johnny cake opportunities, i.e. birthdays, throughout the year. I did manage to eat a slice of the cake later in the evening. Yum-o!

A few pictures with Grandma and Bob before we left.

Thanksgiving Dinner at Cracker Barrel.

The yummy Johnny's Cake.

Me and Jeff with Grandpa.

Friday, Nov. 27 - Black Friday: I wanted to give Jeff the full American Thanksgiving experience, so of course he had to experience Black Friday - the day that stores open crazy early for "early bird" sales. At 3:10am, we got up, got dressed and went to Kohl's with Mom and Norm. Mom was after a $10 waffle iron. We arrived at Kohl's at 3:55am to find a line of people wrapping itself around the Kohl's store. Luckily, since the store opened at 4:00am, we only had to wait 10 minutes or so outside... and it was cold! The swarm of people made a bee-line to the kitchenwares, just like us for the waffle iron. People were grabbing anything they could get their hands on. The line to check out was wrapped through the aisles to the back of the store. Ahhh... typical Black Friday madness... and Jeff got to experience it. We shopped in Kohl's until 6:30am, then went to Dick's Sporting Goods to buy a couple of pairs of Merrill walking shoes, then went to Bath and Body Works to grab some good bargains there. We were back home by 8:30am and exhausted! But we didn't have time to rest! A few hours later we were on the road again, headed to the Indiana boarder to meet Colleen McConnell, our close friends from Munich and one of my bridesmaids, at the Bob Evans in Richmond. She has spent the past year in St. Louis attending a seminary and was in Indianapolis over Thanksgiving to visit her dad. It was really nice to see her again especially since we don't know when our paths will cross again since she's moving back to Toronto at the end of the month. After our time with Colleen, we drove over to my dad's for the evening.

Jeff, Colleen and me at Bob Evans in Richmond, IN.

Saturday, Nov. 28: Lisa, my step-sister, came over in the morning to spend the day with us. I haven't seen her since her operations, so it was a relief to get to talk with her and fun to spend day together. Norm, Mom, Lisa, Jeff and I went to The Morgan House in Dublin for lunch. It is mainly a large gift shop, but also has a dining room that serves sandwiches, salads and the like. It's tradition to go there each time I'm home. In the afternoon, we broke out the Christmas decorations. Jeff helped Norm put up the Christmas tree, while Lisa and I unwrapped ornaments. Mom collects acorns - or in my family "oaknuts" - so there plenty of oaknut ornaments to unwrap and hang on the tree. I really enjoyed decorating and spending time with my family on this day, since I hadn't decorated a tree since before I moved to Germany, which was 6 years ago.

The Oaknut Tree

Mom and Norm

Sunday, Nov. 29: The Sabos invited us over for our third Thanksgiving dinner. It was so nice of Pam to cook an entire meal for us! Dominic set the table and even thought to decorate the table with leaves he found in the backyard. While Pam was preparing dinner, Ethan was playing Santa Claus... it was so cute. He'd go up stairs, wrap some of his toys, bring them down stairs, and then say "Ho, ho ho!" and place the wrapped "gifts" under the Christmas tree in the window. We even got to unwrap them! After our delicious dinner, we had a bit of time just to sit and talk. Then it we were off again... this time to Mike's (my step-brother) new house in Hilliard. We were only there for a half hour or so, then we headed just south of his house to Allison, a friend since 8th grade, and Scott Wenger's new house in Galloway. After a tour of their house, we headed out to dinner at Apple Bee's, where we talked for 3 hours.

Ethan (right) and Dominic Sabo.Pam, Dominic, Ethan and Aaron Sabo at their home in Columbus.
Me and Pam Sabo.

Allison Wenger and me.

Tuesday, Dec. 1: Jeff and I drove downtown to meet Dad for lunch. We went to First Watch. Jason, my brother, and Angela, his girlfriend, returned from Columbia (South America) on Sunday, so this was our only opportunity to see them. They live in Cleveland, so we met them in Ashland, at a Bob Evans (where else?) for dinner. They told us more about their trip and brought us goodies to try.

Us at Bob Evans.

Jason, Angela and Norm.

Wednesday, Dec. 2: Wednesday evening, we visited Laura, a friend I knew from college and I was one of her bridesmaids, and her family in Columbus. Since the last time I saw her and her husband Aaron, they've had two sons, Cameron and Nathan. We enjoyed catching up, being entertained by Cameron and seeing pictures of their trip to Austria a year ago.

Cameron, Laura, Nathan and Aaron Stonerock

Thursday, Dec. 3: We met my dad again for lunch and said our good-byes. We spent the rest of the day packing up our suitcases. That evening we took Mom and Norm to dinner at the Bonefish Grill in Dublin... very good.

Dad and me.

Friday, Dec. 4: All good things must come to an end. Our flight was just after noon. We had a 7-hour layover in Newark. Something I enjoy most about flying is the sunrise on the eastward flight (back to Europe). Take a look at these pictures.

The Past Few Weeks

I admit, it has been a while since I've last written a post, and tomorrow we hop on a plane to Columbus for a couple of weeks over Thanksgiving.

A few weeks ago, we went to Dyrham Park, a National Trust property about 20 minutes from our flat. It was just a nice way to spend a Friday afternoon, see the countryside around us and spend time together.

We took a drive over to Cardiff to visit Chakri and Karin Dussa and their daughter Anusha who were in town for 5 days while Chakri attended a conference in Northern Wales. We know them from MICC in Munich, but they now live in Prien on Chiemsee in Germany. It was nice to spend the day with them and catch up. We went to a pub called "The Traveller's Rest" for lunch.

This week, we were in Preston from Monday through Thursday, because Jeff had training for work. I got to go along for the ride and enjoy seeing friends. Tuesday evening we went to dinner with David and Sharon Palmer, Colin and Gill Cluskey, and Richard and Liz Laird.

David and Sharon Palmer

Colin and Gill Cluskey

Liz and Richard Laird

On Wednesday, I drove down to Manchester to meet an acquaintance, Maike, for lunch. She and I were each other's contacts when I worked for Sixt. She works for Travel Jigsaw in Manchester. I also got to meet others who I also worked with. Before meeting with Maike, I had a stoll through the Christmas market! It was quite international with people selling items and food from countries such as France, Germany, Spain and Belgium. At least I got to smell Gluehwein and smell bratwursts cooking away on a giant grill.

A Few of Our Favourite Hymns

While I was singing in church on Sunday, I thought of adding a few of our favourite hymns to the blog to share with you. Many times my eyes have filled with tears while singing these songs. "In Christ Alone" and "Be Thou My Vision" are my favourite, not only for the songs themselves, but for the words. Each are so meaningful and I feel I can truly glorify God with them. Both of these songs were also sung at our wedding. "And Can It Be" is Jeff's favourite. I'm not sure that "From the Inside Out" can be considered a hymn, nevertheless, I'm including it as one of my favourite.

In Christ Alone by Stuart Townend
Listen to this song by clicking here.

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

Be Thou My Vision, Irish Folk Song
Listen to it here.

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,
be all else but naught to me, save that thou art;
be thou my best thought in the day and the night,
both waking and sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, be thou my true word,
be thou ever with me, and I with thee Lord;
be thou my great Father, and I thy true son;
be thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Be thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight;
be thou my whole armor, be thou my true might;
be thou my soul's shelter, be thou my strong tower:
O raise thou me heavenward, great Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise:
be thou mine inheritance now and always;
be thou and thou only the first in my heart;
O Sovereign of heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, thou heaven's bright sun,
O grant me its joys after victory is won;
great Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be thou my vision, O Ruler of all.

And Can It Be by Charles Wesley, 1738
Listen to this song here.

And can it be that I should gain
an interest in the Savior's blood!
Died he for me? who caused his pain!

For me? who him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

'Tis mystery all: th' Immortal dies!
Who can explore his strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
to sound the depths of love divine.
'Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;
let angel minds inquire no more.
'Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;
let angel minds inquire no more.

He left his Father's throne above
(so free, so infinite his grace!),
emptied himself of all but love,
and bled for Adam's helpless race.
'Tis mercy all, immense and free,
for O my God, it found out me!
'Tis mercy all, immense and free,
for O my God, it found out me!

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
fast bound in sin and nature's night;
thine eye diffused a quickening ray;
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
my chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in him, is mine;
alive in him, my living Head,
and clothed in righteousness divine,
bold I approach th' eternal throne,
and claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Bold I approach th' eternal throne,
and claim the crown, through Christ my own.

From the Inside Out, Hillsong
Listen to it here.

A thousand times I've failed
Still your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in your grace

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
my heart and my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Your will above all else, my purpose remains
The art of losing myself in bringing you praise

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
In my heart, in my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out Lord, my soul cries out