Poured Out

The last 2 months here in the USA have been wonderful.  We are so grateful to the Lord and His people for providing us with accomodation, vehicles, many meals and sweet fellowship.  I really did TRY to narrow down the photos . . . but still ended up with quite a few I wanted to share.  I hope you will enjoy them.

We arrived in Chicago on April 28th . . . Aunt Carol wasted no time in buying Joel a Chicago Cubs t-shirt (baseball team for you Brits!)  It took him a few days to figure out that baseball wasn’t the same as football.  He kept demo-ing his “baseball” skills with huge kicks! At various random moments, we’d hear a Joely voice shouting, “Go Cubs!” (or as it was a few times, “Go Cups!”)

We made lots of great memories in Chicago with Aunt Carol.  Here are Hannah and Mariah at the Brookfield zoo . . the animals were hard to spot that day but at least we got up close and personal with this lion.

We were able to connect with many old and new friends in Chicago.  The girls loved dressing up at the home of some of our good friends.

Aunt Carol was a wonderful and gracious host during our 3 week stay with her.

The weather was beautiful most of the time we were there and so the children really enjoyed riding bikes outside.  Mariah is sporting her new Little House on the Prairie bonnet in this photo.

We got to go visit our good friends, Roger and Maxine in another part of Illinois. Here are Joel and Mariah with Roger.

One of our favourite outings in Chicago was our visit to Kline Creek Farm, a living -history farm set in the 1890s time period.

I don’t have any photos that will do the Creation Museum justice, but here is a funny one of Hannah holding up a dinosaur outside the entrance.  It was a fantastic visit that we will never forget!

Ride ‘em cowgirls (oh, and cowboy!)

Here’s all of us (minus me, who took the pic), eating in Noah’s Cafe.

From Chicago, we flew onto Oregon where the highlight was getting introduced (or re-introduced) to Matthew and Claire!

Story-time with Auntie Amy!

The girls absolutely adored their baby cousin, Claire.  They were all eager for their turn to feed her!

Here is knight Matthew posing with the not-so evil dragon Joel!

We had a special visit with our good friends, Gabe and Kari Meiers, home from Boliva where they are missionaries.  Hard to believe that this crowd has been produced from just 2 couples!

Mariah amazed us all at church family camp by declaring that she was going to do the “zip-line.”

She was the first Mead family member to do the zip-line (which became a highlight of camp for the girls!) at just 5 years old.  The girls and Peter also did the giant swing where you drop about 50 feet from the top of a tree.

Joel preferred to hang out on the nearest motorized vehicle, declaring that when HE was five, he’d do the zip-line.

Couldn’t resist throwing this one of Hannah in here.  Thanks for the glasses, Kari.  They were a hit!

Wherever you saw Claire, Aliyah was usually nearby.  Aliyah has a very special way with babies and small children, actually all our girls do.

Gathering eggs at our friend Chris’ house . . .

We also got to ride her horse, which was a real adventure!  Hannah did great, even though the horse hadn’t been ridden in 1.5 yrs!

Hannah spent lots of time talking with Grandma about the “good old days.”  Here she is in Grandma’s wedding dress.

At the Oregon Museum of Science and Industy, I think this was one of the funnest moments the kids had with their cousin Matthew – hiding in lockers.

We made so many special – and goofy – memories with Matthew . . .

. . . and of course with Claire-Bear too.  She is sweetness personified.

Here is Mariah and her friend Katie – all dressed up!

Our friends, the Fishes, were very gracious hosts.  It was wonderful to spend time with them and of course their dog Heidi, who Mariah was never far away from! (She seems to have conquered her fear of dogs on this trip.)

Matthew and Joel with Mo’s hats on . . . during our lunch at the beach.

Joel surprised us by insisting on ordering Mo’s famous clam chowder (which he’d never eaten before).  He and daddy ate every bite!

Our family hasn’t been to the beach in years!  Even though it was cloudy, it didn’t rain and we actually came home a little sun-burned.  It was a glorious afternoon of wading (swimming in Hannah’s case!), sand castles and time with Auntie Amy, Matthew and Claire.

The Papworth lady descendants.

Joel, daddy and Matthew built a sand castle.  When they were done, they marched around it 7 times singing “Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho” and then smashed it!

This was the result!!

Feet that so often walk on the soil of countries so far away from each other . . . together today.

It’s been a special trip . . . but now it’s time to hit the road for home, walking the path that God has for us.  We look to “that day” when there will be no more goodbyes to family and precious friends and we’ll have all eternity to enjoy the Lord together.

We fly out on Thurs. a.m. Portland time and arrive in London Friday a.m. London time.  All the Meads are excited to return home to the adventures God has ahead for us.  We think we may have found an ideal house to rent in Chippenham and are in the process of applying to rent it. Please pray that God will keep it for us til we get back if it is truly the place He has for us.  Thank you for your prayers and love for us.

PS Believe it or not, I might have some more photos to share when we get home. I haven’t downloaded for the past week or two! So watch this space.

OK, so we don’t have to take alliteration so far.   The girls had fun yesterday thinking up tongue twisters to demonstrate alliteration.  Who says school has to be boring?  Today we have some more fun of a different variety.  Our homeschool club is joining with another homeschool group for a sports club which will be held every other week in a park not too far away.  The weather is cooperating nicely and our sunshine continues.  (Quick, soak up the vitamin D while we can!)  The children were highly pleased (that is an understatement) to see the funfair arriving yesterday at the common across the street.  So far, they are not setting up for business but you can be sure Joel-the-hawk-eye Mead will let us know the moment they open.  Oh, the torture of waiting when you are 3! Just to get in the spirit, the girls set up their own fun-fair in the back garden yesterday complete with games to play, refreshments and music.

To give a little taste of homelife . . . we have currently starting reading a Bible that was given to us as a gift -The Jesus Bible Storybook.  So far, we are really enjoying it.  We are memorizing Romans 12:9-21 at the moment too – quite the bunch of convicting verses.  In other subjects – we are winding our way through the 17th and 18th centuries in our walk through world history, Hannah is learning her times tables and trying to master cursive handwriting.  Aliyah is working on subtraction with borrowing.  Mariah is coming on really well with her reading and is starting to sound out words she sees on signs, etc.  Hard to capture in a nutshell all the goings on at the Mead house, but that was a feeble try!

Finally, here are some photos from the birthdays last month.

Aliyah’s 7th birthday was the first one in birthday season.  Here she is with her new American Girl doll, Kit – a special present from Aunt Carol.

A week later Hannah and Aliyah had a joint birthday party with some of their friends.  Peter and I took 6 girls to the science museum which was a lot of fun.

I got away with making a joint cake for them this year too!

I can’t believe I have a child nearly into double digits – makes me feel old!

The very next day, we celebrated Mariah’s 5th birthday with our good friends, the James family, who are soon to move away.

Mariah has been playing with a stuffed rabbit lately, so when she asked me to surprise her with her birthday cake, I decided to do a rabbit.

A few days later, Peter’s parents came to visit and we did one more small joint birthday celebration, this time with blueberry muffins (I had reached my quota of cakes made!).

Grandpa and Grandma gave Mariah a princess outfit.

By the time Hannah’s real birthdate came around (2nd March), we had already done our main celebrating.  But we got to meet some new friends in a very nice park.  Hannah picked out a picnic spot for us in the forest and the children ended up eating their lunch in a tree!  (A fitting birthday treat for Hannah, our outdoorsy girl.)

Poor Joel enjoyed all the birthday festivities (even making it up a tree for lunch) but was left wondering when HIS birthday will ever come.  Sorry Joel, not til November!

Birthday celebrations weren’t the only fun we had last month.  We had a friend come visit us while on her way to India to do mission work.  Her plane arrived at the same time that Peter’s did when he came back from Portland.  When we got home, jet-lagged though she and Peter were, they spent a long time playing worship songs on their guitars with Hannah while the rest of us sang (Joel using his fake guitar and microphone) and Mariah chimed in on her new glockenspiel.  What a blessing to be a part of the body of Christ!

We are enjoying having Peter back . . . I am so blessed with a truly wonderful husband.  This morning he has given me a morning “off” to relax and catch up on some things while he does schooling with the children.  I have spent quite a bit of time writing some book reviews for our bookshelf (watch for them to appear soon), reading some very good blogs and now am putting these photos on the web.  This afternoon, I am going to have a Bible study with my friend Priscilla – I have been very blessed and encouraged by our weekly times together.  We have just finished studying James and now we are starting 1 Peter.  God’s word is truly our life and breath and I long to know it and feast on it more.  Tonight I get to go and meet with the ladies from our homeschool club for some fellowship.  I guess today I am being thoroughly spoiled with time “off.”  This week is looking very busy so hopefully it will recharge the batteries for the busy days to come.  Here are the photos:

Our giant snowman built during the snowy days of January (they have now passed and been replaced by the rainy days of January!)

Peter wanted me to take a side-view photo so you could see the snowman’s parsnip nose!   He also had prunes for eyes, smile and buttons, and red peppers for ears! Of course, he had to wear Daddy’s Man U scarf.

They also built a big snowfort, from which to launch their snowball weapons. (They were playing the English vs. the Saxons so yes, it was an educational activity!)

Check out this icicle!  It was nearly as tall as Joel!  Peter broke it off through one of the upstairs windows so it wouldn’t fall and pierce our lawnmower shed.

Little Bunny Foo-Foo?

Guess who my hero is? Yup, it’s Daddy!

P.C. Mead locking the criminals in prison (er, the playroom . . . not unlike many current prisons? just kidding!)

December was a special month for us.  Last year, we spent most of the month being very ill, so we were thankful for relatively good health this year.  Here are some photos to give you a peek into our family life this past month.

Snow was a big feature of the second half of the month.  We took time for a much needed new website photo amidst the first few flakes that began to fall.

After church on Sunday, someone had a pan that worked great as a sled!

Peter took the kids sledding a couple more times and even Grandma got in on the action!

Making a gingerbread house . . .

And cranberry muffins . . .

And “snowballs!” (NOTE: spot the finger in mouth!) We ended up with lots of plates of goodies to deliver to neighbours and friends.  We tramped through the snow to deliver the nearby ones!

One evening after an early supper, we took the train into the centre of London to see the big Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square.  It was a cold, but fun trip.  Here are the children shivering on the train platform.

Here we are in Bristol playing a Christmas board game with both sets of grandparents.  We were happily unaware that on the way home, our car would break down and we would spend a cold evening in our car while we waited for help.  Thankfully we had blankets with us so we could’ve been much colder!  We were finally rescued by friends about 1:30am – an adventure we won’t soon forget!

Princess Mariah in Bristol . . . (new pressie from Bristol grandparents)

Hannah and Aliyah found creative uses for their new scarves!

And it wouldn’t be Christmas without performances . . .  Here is Hannah playing “Mum” in the homeschool play.

Here’s the whole group (our three girls are in the middle) singing . . . “Follow the Bethlehem Star.”

More singing . . . (Aliyah’s dressed as an inn keeper)

Even Joel got to take part in the church play.  Here he is with Shepherdess Aliyah.  He was beyond cute, trying hard to sing at the right times and also trying to hook the microphone with his crook!

Mariah was a very sweet angel . . .

Hannah singing with the youth choir . . .

The children received some very nice presents.  Here’s Mariah with a new dress . . .

And Joel finally has a “real” microphone to sing with! (he can stop using hammers, bananas, etc)

Christmas feast

“We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!”

It’s been a fun 2 week break from school but come Monday, it’s back to the books. (Not that Christmas vacation has stopped them reading piles of books!  ‘Aliyah even pulled out her math book the other day and did a page.  She said, “I can’t stand not doing math for this long!”)

PS We’ve just added a family values poster on the right hand menu.  I’ll just add the thumbnail here for you to click:

It’s feast or famine with me usually . . . here are a bunch of photos to help you see what our family has been up to in October and November!

Here is a result of a “puzzle fest” hour!

The girls . . . all dressed up for a party.

We are in the middle of Week 10 of our school year.  Lots of learning going on . . .

We managed to get several nature walks in during October before the nasty November weather hit.

One of the big projects recently . . . potty training Joel.

He’s doing great!  The girls have been superb potty training assistants (what do they need mum for anyway?!)

Another big boy step . . . we’ve taken the side off his cot.  Our baby has grown up!

Aliyah with Daisy . . .

And Hannah with Dandy (Dandelion)

Dressing up remains a favorite playtime activity

Doctor Joel!

The girls are loving their swimming lessons.

I put Joel on a time out in his room one day and later found him “reading” his favorite Bible story (Daniel and the lions).  Awww.

My aunt Carol came a few weeks ago and surprised the kids!

The next day we left for Exmoor for a week’s break.  Some gracious friends let us use their lovely house.  This is the view out the back garden.  The girls were thrilled to find horses.

We enjoyed the wildlife on a few drives through the moor. We got very close to a moor pony.

Also saw loads of sheep – and cows too.

All the rain we had that week made for some beautiful rainbows.

The children had lots of fun outside and inside we read, played games, did puzzles and watched movies.

And the big event recently . . . Joel’s 3rd birthday!

He’s been requesting a train cake for about the last 6 months!

Blow them out Joel!  Our family celebrated with a couple from our church and their little boy.

Among other presents, Joel (our music lover) got a drum and a little guitar. Thus, a band quickly formed!  Oh yes, he also got a Roman soldier helmet for his much-loved hat collection.

Happy Birthday, Joel the Builder!

We are currently in Bristol spending some time with Grandma and Grandpa Mead after a great weekend of ministry in the Forest of Dean. (more detailed report to come from Peter, I’m sure).  Tonight Peter will speak at his parents’ church and then we’ll head home tomorrow.  Please pray for Peter as he is quite swamped with a million things to do at the moment!  And pray for me as I finish collecting signatures for the parliamentary petition re homeschooling.  I will present them to our MP on Saturday.  If you are interested in signing the petition which opposes the government’s attempts to take away the rights of parents to be parents, please let me know.  Thanks so much for all your prayers.

Yesterday, we had a morning in the garden trying to clean it up a bit.  After a few trips to the tip, cutting the grass, cleaning out the rabbits’ hutch, and attacking bushes with shears, it looks much better!  Mariah and Joel alternately frustrated us with their arguing (actually it was toward lunchtime when they started that!) and entertained us with their singing!  Here is one of the more melodic moments . . .Mariah singing accompanied by the tennis racket!

In the process of cutting the grass, Peter inadvertantly ran over a . . . . worm.  Ah, the cruelty.  The girls were really upset and tried hard to revive Flower, the worm.

I kind of forgot about Flower . . . we fed our hungry children, had our traditional rest/read time in the afternoon and then went out to a special farm where we got to have some special Italian gelato . . . .yes, you are seeing correctly.  They are blinking in the bright English SUN!!

After the ice cream, we headed to the fields to pick raspberries and strawberries.  We were amazed at how many berries we were able to pick at this time of year!  Of course at the end of the picking session, Joel ended up with a grand total of ZERO berries in his basket!!  The berries combined with the chocolate ice cream he had had, made for a lovely sticky face! (I kissed off one smashed berry!  The things we moms due when we don’t have wipes!)

Getting back to Flower, today after church, the girls informed me that despite their best resuscitation efforts, Flower had died.  They were having a funeral and could I come, please.  I could not find the camera so I didn’t get a picture of Mariah playing the role of the horse, pulling the funeral hearse (child-size wheelbarrow) and Flower, wrapped in a tissue on top of a bed of straw.  Hannah (the preacher) announced, “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to mark the burial of Flower the worm.  Then she read what is on Flower’s gravestone: (click on it to make it bigger)

Then, Aliyah (the grave digger), dug the grave and laid Flower in it while Hannah sang “Alleluia over and over again.  I couldn’t help it.  I threw back my head and laughed really hard!!  They didn’t seem to take it personally.   My kids are so sweet.  Then tonight, when I came in to read to Hannah and Aliyah, they had prepared a special tray for me with mint tea and olives (my favorites – never had them together before though!) and blackberries that our neighbour gave us with a little note that said, “We love you Mummy.”  Ahhhh.  They are too sweet.  I had to take a picture to remember that moment.

Since I so rarely get time to post photos on the site (and several have requested photos of the rabbits!) I thought I’d put a few more on from this past month.  Here is Hannah with Daisy:

And Aliyah with Dandelion (Dandy): (oops, its Daisy again, I’ll try to get one of Dandy on here soon!)

Had to take this picture:

Joel has a thing for hats at the moment . . . this time it was a Kenyan hat with a builder uniform:

I don’t always have the patience to let the kids cook with me, but here they are helping me make pasta sauce: (sorry for the steam!)

How many Mead kids can you fit in a plastic car?

I told myself I’d get a first day of school photo, but I forgot til the end of our school day when we were all cuddled on the couch reading our science for the day.  Don’t you like Mariah’s school uniform?

And lastly, a photo of us at the wedding we went to last weekend.  The girls had been looking forward to dressing up for weeks.  And Joel . . . well, he good naturedly let us dress him up in his little suit we borrowed from his cousin, Matthew.

I am thankful for my family!  “It is good to give thanks to the LORD and to sing praises to your name, O Most High.  To declare your lovingkindness in the morning and your faithfulness at night.” (Ps. 92:1-2)  Speaking of night . . . it’s late at night here and Peter has just come home from being gone all day in Chippenham.  He had a tremendously encouraging day!  I will not make this post any longer than it is already and go and be with him.  Thank you to all of you who read our blog and pray for us faithfully.  We value you so much.

After a 16 hr. trip, door to door, I am home from my trip to Oregon.  I was greeted at the front door by gleeful children flying at me, shouting, “Mommy!!!!!!” (or was it “Mummy?”)  I guess I was missed!  Actually, Mariah kept declaring that she didn’t miss me, all the while clinging tightly to my neck with a huge grin.  Maybe half an hour later, she admitted she actually did miss me!  First things first, I got introduced to the new members of the family (rabbits), Daisy and Dandelion, in the first 2 minutes after walking in the door.  The kids also excitedly showed me 2 new bookcases that have joined the Mead library system.  Good investment, since my suitcases are filled with books from the US!  After opening my suitcases, passing around a few gifts from Grandma and Auntie Amy and Mom too, I took a shower to revive myself and we headed off to church as a family.  Yes, I was a little zoned out but it was wonderful to sit together as a family and see friends again.

My trip was so special.  Thanks to everyone who prayed for me.  I used the long flights (about 17 hrs. including layover) over for reading four books (don’t think I put a book down for more than a few minutes and that was just to eat!)  I need to put some more reviews on my bookshelf.  What a treat to feast uninterrupted on great books!  I had a fantastically wonderful time with my sister, her husband, my nephew Matthew (age 3) and my new niece Claire.  We didn’t do a lot of going out but just had lots of relaxed time together.  I got lots of bonding time with my nephew Matthew – I think this trip was the most concentrated time I’ve ever spent with him.  He’s so fun to be with – what a precious boy he is.  And what can I say about Claire, other than she is just beautiful!  I got lots of cuddle time and EVEN got blessed with some of her first smiles. (I felt a little guilty that they didn’t get displayed for her parents first, but I guess these Claire smiles will have to last me many months to come before I see her again!)  Amy and I just got to “do normal life” together.  Since we live across the ocean from each other, the time just being together was very sweet.  I will miss all of them so much.

I only had one bad headache on Thursday afternoon/evening and then had one on the way home on the plane that mercifully passed after about 4 hours.  I was able to see my naturopathic doctor and have some tests done too so we’ll see what the results have to tell us.  Overall, I have been feeling quite a bit better.  Please keep praying  for healing and for me to find God’s grace sufficient when I am weak.  I was thinking a little bit about 2 Corinthians 12 on the way home on the plane (thorn in the flesh passage).  Are these headaches my “thorn in the flesh?”  I don’t know.  If so, God has a purpose in it (to keep me from becoming prideful – see verse 7) and can show his power through my weakness.

OK, off to put dinner on the table for the family.  Peter has done a fantastic job being daddy without me.  What a great husband I have to let me go across the world for so long.  Maybe the week has caught up to him . . . as I write this, he is dozing while sitting up on the couch!  As for the children, they are in the back garden with . . . you guessed it, the rabbits!  I will post some pictures below.

It’s been a relatively peaceful Saturday morning.  The children have been playing on their own happily, so I got to clean up the kitchen, make a new recipe I have been wanting to try (carrot salad) and take a long shower.  Nice.  I just peeked into the living room to see what they were up to (when they are happy on their own it’s always a risk to show my face in case they decide they suddenly need me desperately!).  They make me smile so much . . . so often I say to myself, I never want to forget how cute they are!  They are all dressed up – Aliyah and Mariah in fancy dresses, Joel in his little suit (he says he’s “suit boy”) and they are “on a plane,” well, really spread out on the living room floor, Joel strapped into a carseat, girls sitting on cushions, each holding a small box with a stuffed dog in it.  Aliyah’s is named Lady, Joel’s is named Rusty and Mariah’s is Fruit-o.  They have a “shoe rack” and a pile of pillows for “in case we need to sleep.”  All this is happening with Bach playing peacefully in the background! (They put on the cd!)  OK, silly me, I’m off to take a picture so I really won’t forget!!

I just took the picture and got some more information from them . . . they are on their way back from China where they adopted a little baby (thus, the doll in the photo) named Butterfly!  Now they are on their way back to America.

P.S. Small miracle that I put put the photo on this post!  It’s a little small but you can click to make it bigger.

Here are some photos from the last month.

Mom enjoys a cuddle with Bob the Builder! Joel is currently obsessed with all kinds of hats!

Whoah!! We can almost see her tonsils!

Mariah is usually full of all types of smiles.

Oh yes, Joel’s also obsessed with ladders!  (Yes, he does have a parent standing underneath him!)

The kids love to “perform” for us.  Here they are doing one of their shows.

A birthday cuddle with Mom.

We are growing all kinds of things in our garden this summer.  Here is the very first strawberry!

Oh, yes, if there’s no ladder nearby, Joel will pick something else to climb! When I told him to get down (after snapping the photo!), he argued with me saying he was being a fireman.

We all thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Logos Hope when it was in London.

This morning we harvested our first potatoes!

Well, we have had an unusually hot week.  Most people around here are complaining about it, but hey, its a reprieve from the usual British rainy summers!  Today we used the paddling pool (wading pool for your Americans) for the third time in the past week.  Thankfully, the experience was different from last year’s paddling pool experience when the kids came in with blue lips and drank hot chocolate to warm up!!  Today was actually quite hilarious.  I came out to find the kids “baptizing” each other in the pool!!  (Of course in the name on the Father, Son and Spirit and after a confession of faith!!)  No sooner had we put the video camera away, then we had to bring it out again because Joel was sliding extremely fast down our plastic slide and into the pool.  Why so fast?  Because he was naked!!  We shot some video for his future wife.   I will try to post pictures (appropriate ones!) tomorrow.