Oh England...

Well, much has happened in the last little while! Donovan got a job for next year, which is fantastic, and on Tuesday of this week he got a call from our agent and he got work for Donovan for the rest of year! True, Donovan has to commute to London everyday (which is slighty insane) but, it doesn't matter! Because, God is providing for us like we knew he would and all we can do is be greatful and uber thankful!!!!


In other news, my mother panicked when she heard that Air Transat flight attendents might be going on strike so she moved her and my sisters dates to come over so they are coming July 16th-August 18th with my Dad joining us on July 5th. I am so incredibly excited and I just can't wait!!!! We will be going to the Lake District for a week and along with that we will be seeing many wonderful things!!

Yesterday I had a nice long chat with my wonderful sister-in-law Sarah and we were chatting about how hard it is not to procrastinate about the things you know you have to do but you really don't want to do. Like housework, excersising, eating healthy, devotions. Those four things are things I know I need to do everyday but I always try to put it off with procrastination! So, I have been trying really hard lately not to procrastinate the last couple of weeks. It is really hard but I just pray and push through.

When we first got here and Donovan worked every day we got up together, ate breakfast together, did a devotion together, then he would leave I would get dressed, tidy up Breakfast dishes do a devotion then either read or stretch or go for a walk or sometimes watch something but now that is all we do! Watch TV. Somedays I just want to delete all movies we have on the laptop. Yesterday when Donovan left I ended up going back to bed and didn't get a whole lot done. Two loads of laundry and one load of dishes and of course, supper.

This morning was a different story and I want every day to be like this! I felt like I was ready to conquer the world. I woke up with Donovan, ate breakfast, he left I did some computer things and around 6am I put on some music did yoga, ballet, and some weights, then I went for a nice brisk walk was done at 7:30am had a shower, then I moved the laptop to the bedroom and put away all of those clothes that I hate putting away, did another load of laundry, made the bed and the bedroom was clean! After that was done I did a hour of reading my Bible, praying and meditating. It has been a good day. So, now it is 4:18pm and I am off to finish up the dishes and plan supper. I ask for prayers as I try to stick to my routine and my goals that I set for myself. It can be so hard to break old habits and that is what I am attempting to do. :)

Praise the Lord!

Well, things are slowly progressing and prayers are being answered and life is coming together! On Monday (June 13) Donovan had to go down to Maidstone, Kent for 2 interviews, he left at 5:30am and didn't get home until 9:30pm. Then on Tuesday (June 14) he had to go to Sandy, Bedfordshire for 8:30am which meant that he to be up at 3:30am because he had to walk to the train station because no buses run until 5:45ish. He got home at 2:45pm and told me that the interview went very well and that they offered him the job on the spot and he accepted it! So, we will be moving to Sandy, Bedfordshire (or area) at the end of August! Donovan will be teaching History and English to mainly year 9 and 10's and maybe some 11's. He is very excited to be able to have his own classroom and he is already full of idea's on how to set it up. The contract is for a full year but if we want to the school is willing for us to stay longer. So, we are leaving it in God's hands and His will to be done!

In other news we are both still not really working so we don't have a lot of money to get us through till September, so please pray that we will be able to find some part-time summer work. Other then this not a whole lot is going on! I will try to write a longer update in the next couple of days...but for now, this is all I've got! (It isn't even 8 in the morning yet....not quite alive, and with no coffee in my system yet.) Must get coffee then I will write more!

Rain, rain, go away!

I am finally getting a taste of what the weather is really like here in England! It did not rain that much during the winter which was very unusual, that is what we were told anyways. Then in March, April and the beginning of May we were having 7- 9 days straight of 25 degree's sun, no wind, no rain, no clouds. Now, we are on week two of drearyness. I want sunshine again please. I liked it. I won't complain if I am warm...I'll enjoy it! I don't want to wear a coat outside anymore! I want to wear the shorts I bought!! Anyways, I'm done complaining about that. The nice thing is, it isn't too cold. Humid and rainy. My hair loves it. :P

In other news. Donovan did not get the job that he applied for, apparently they were interviewing him for second in the department (and did not tell him) so, he went in thinking he was interviewing for a normal position. So, we weren't disappointed. He is substituting today, which I know he is very greatful for! He has interviews next month for jobs for September. Some of them are for around here and others are for elsewhere in the UK. On the job front for me, I have to get some paperwork filled out for working at schools and the Starbucks has finally opened here in Northampton so I will be applying there. The awesome part about that is...it is a drive-thru store and only the 6th drive-thru in the UK so I am pretty sure they will hire me when they find out I have expierence. That is what I hope for anyways.

I am sure I have more I could write, but I have been working on this since about 9 this morning and it is now 2:30. So, time to be done and I will post another update in the near future!

Life instead of Death

Most people know me as a very positive enthusiastic person who embraces life. Lately I have been letting the cloud of homesickness engulf me and I haven't really been that person...I miss that person. I miss being all bright and positive. On Saturday I was super hyper and I realized later when I was talking to my sister...I haven't been that happy since just after I moved here. What changed? Then, on Sunday when we finally went to church and I was listening to the sermon which was based on the reading from 1 Corinthians 15:54b, 55. "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" I realized that I had been letting death have victory over my life. I have pretty much stopped doing my morning devotions and I rarely put on worship music during the day anymore. I have been listening to lies and letting myself be depressed and negative. I have been pushing down my real feelings and not listening to the truth. Then last week I got a letter in the mail from my dear friend Katie Blum. And she told me not to be afraid to whine, complain, vent, and rant to people I trust and that got me thinking. I feel like all I have been doing is complaining...but I haven't. Not to my friends anyways. Just to myself and how healthy is that? Then last night I got terrible back spasms and this morning I am set up on the floor all drugged up and feeling horrible and realizing that this is a wake up call for me. I have so much to be thankful for! I have so much to praise God for. I need to choose life everyday and fight against the death that tries to swallow me up. I need to wake up every morning and declare life over myself, my husband and our life here. I need to tell depression to get out and be a light amongst the darkness.


I started this blog wanting to keep people up to date with our life and many times I have started to write something like this and stopped thinking "no one wants to hear this, they just want to know what we do day to do." Boring! So, starting today I am going to start afresh. I am going to stop listening to lies and listen to the truth. I am going to embrace life and love where I am! I am sure that homesickness is still going to creep in when I see pictures on my niece and nephews, when I see my friends doing fun things, when I talk to my mom. But I can choose life. So I am going to!! :)


Thank you for your prayers and little notes of encouragement. Every once in awhile I get an email or letter and it lifts me up. :) Thank you for those. I will try to send my own as well. 

The Royal Wedding and other things...

Yesterday was the Royal Wedding. When I started telling people that we were moving to England the response was "You'll be there for the Royal Wedding" and my response was "I don't really care." But, yesterday, along with millions of people, I was sitting on the couch watching the wedding and I am glad that I did. It wasn't as exciting as it was to other people, I didn't cry, but I do have a larger respect for the happy couple. I wish them all the best and I bless them in the years to come. Donovan even watched with me! I think the best part was when the Bride's brother was doing the reading and Donovan said "They are so British!" Then he proceeded to grin.

I love that about living here. Everybody is so British! People have been telling me right from the beginning right through to yesterday that we fit in really well here. I haven't wanted to agree as of late because I am so terribly homesick and trying really hard not to be negative abou the whole situation. But, we really do suit living here. I just need to figure out how to fit in better. That includes finding a job (keep reading) and a Church home.....

The break is officially over (we are just in the middle of lots of Bank Holidays.) and Donovan still does not have a new position. He is done at Weston Favell and we are just waiting to hear from these other two schools about a job. But, since last week was a three day week and next week is a four day week I don't really expect to hear anything until later in the week. For right now we are just praying that our food will mulitiply and that nothing happens unexpectantly before he finds a job and gets paid. So, please keep that in your prayers.

In other news...I finally applied for a job! Go me!!! I should hear something next week about that as well. Now, I just have to go get my own bank account, National Security Number, and I should be good to go!

And!!! Eighty-Eight days before my mother and sister come!!!! I am so excited! It is going to be a lovely time.

The loveliness of Oxford

Oxford. The city where many amazing people went to college, taught, thought, wrote, and just lived. The city that is so old and so full of history that you can feel yourself getting smarter as you walk through the streets and hallways that so many great people before you have gone.

This was the one trip that Donovan was looking forward to the most. Mainly because J.R.R. Tolkien went to school here, taught here and lived here. He also wrote Lord of the Rings here. Pretty much every moment of the two days I would catch Donovan with a huge smile on his face. Oxford is also the home of the Blackwell's bookstore. It is the largest bookstore in the English speaking world. The basement floor has 3 miles of shelving and there is no fiction on that floor. The bookstore itself is 4 floors. But, the basement was the best part. So overwhelming...it seemed like it went on forever! The top floor is the rare books and used books, Donovan found some treasures up there.

We pretty much spent the entire time going into buildings from the 1200's-1500's, going into bookstores (Donovan bought a book of poetry by Tennyson) and of course, we couldn't go to Oxford without going to "The Eagle and Child" The pub where The Inklings (J.R.R.Tolkien, C.S.Lewis and other writers) would sit, smoke their pipes, drink a pint and chat about thier books.

My favourite part of the trip was going for high tea at "The Grand Cafe" The first coffee shop in England. Built in 1650.We had scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream, the greatest thing ever, and of course tea!

Everything in Oxford is old and oozing knowledge from every corner. We felt our I.Q.'s go up within seconds. We loved it so much and are planning on going back many times throughout our time here in England.

To experience more of our trip go on over to Facebook and take a look at out pictures.

Spring, Spring, Spring!!

Donovan's Easter break starts tomorrow and we can't wait! These last two weeks have been really hard on Donovan. He was switched to a different classroom without any plans for two weeks and since the kids have been having a different teacher every term since September they don't even know what they are supposed to do. So, he is very glad that as of 3pm tomorrow he is done! Now, they are trying to create a position for him for after the break but if that doesn't work he will be Supply teaching in Northampton (Substitute Teaching). Then in June he will be going to Bedford for a day of Interviews for September and of course his agent is already looking for him in other places as well.
Nothing for me yet...still looking though!

Yesterday it was a beautiful day of 21 degrees! So beautiful and today it is 16 at the moment. I already went for a walk and enjoyed the birds chirping the wind blowing through my hair and the warm sun beating on my face. I have heard that this is not normal Britian weather and to enjoy this while I can. So, I shall!

Well, that is that for now.

Cheers!