Getting to Know the Neighbors

Just in case I haven't said it, we love out Flat- it's super quiet and clean.  We've met some of our neighbors who live in the same converted Victorian house and they have all been so friendly and helpful- from mowing the lawn and moving the rubbish bins out for pickup, to sorting mail and giving directions when we need to locate something in the area.  We are so thankful to live with such nice people. 

After a friend helped me locate some canned pumpkin I made some treat's to share with them as a thank you.  Yummy!

Autumn

So it turns out that decorating for Autumn isn't such a big deal in London.  I was so bummed!  No Target dollar bins with knick-knacks for above the mantle, or grocery store's stocking pumpkin spice everything.  I had to really work hard to get a "Fall" feel to our flat, but I think it turned out great in the end.  

 Thanks Nicole for the tip about finding Pumpkin Puree at Waitrose!!!

Paralympics

We were given tickets to see Wheelchair tennis at the Paralympic games.  I know what you're thinking.  How does that work?  It's hard to describe, but let's just say they made it look easy. It was, by far, the coolest thing I have seen in a long time.  These men were waaaay better tennis players than I am, and they can't even walk! 

We spent the morning walking around Olympic Park (I felt like I was at Disneyland) and had a lovely day.  It was super warm, I actually got to wear sandals.  Gorgeous weather, nice company, and a very exciting set. Thank you Wendy!

I have to admit, this was my favorite part of the day 

Hello and Goodbye

Life in London can be a bit transient- we've had to say good-bye to several friends who were here temporarily on work or study visa's.  Always encouraged to know we will see each other again in heaven someday!

Yesterday we said goodbye to Sau, who was here in London completing a Master's program.  She is on her way back to Singapore next week and we will miss her piano playing on Sunday's and her amazing cooking!  

Nicole, an American friend who grew up just a few miles from me, is on her way back to Newport Beach with her husband after two years in England.  We celebrated with tea and window shopping.  Not a bad day.  Thanks Nicole and we'll be praying for you and Brent as you transition back into life in the States!

With all these goodbye's it was nice to say "hello" to someone.  Matt and Tina Valjeon visited Gracelife yesterday and Matt preached a great sermon.  They recently planted an Afrikaans  church in South Africa and are in London visiting their daughter.  Matt was in seminary with Tony's brother Wayne in Los Angeles and sends his love to the Kuypers down under.  

More Pix from Wendy's Ruby Shower

Monica, Wendy (the beautiful bride) and Inutu

We had everyone finish the sentence "A Ruby is..."

Then they turned it over to "Wendy is..."

Praying for the massive amounts of food we ate!

 Donna sharing her devotional

Making a Rehearsal Bouquet out of the gift paper.  

Apparently it's not a tradition in the UK, but Wendy loved the idea.

Friends from Home

We love our church and are so thankful for the many, many friends we've made as a result of attending Gracelife London.  I honestly don't know how we would have made it without them all.  

It's a fairly new church, only about 20 months old, and our pastors, Tom and Ross, are recent graduates of the Master's Seminary in LA.  Though they are both originally from the UK they took their lovely families and spent several years in So Cal studying, then moved to Central London to begin Gracelife London in January of 2011.  Because of their ties to the seminary and Grace Church we've had many visitors from the States, including pastors, teachers from the seminary and several missions teams.  They've done everything from concerts in the park and street evangelism to construction (one team built a new bathroom complete with shower in the basement).  

The most recent team was from Kindred Community Church in Orange County.  It was such a blessing to see friends from back home and to be encouraged by some Americans.  I thoroughly enjoyed visiting, worshiping and serving with them and wish we had gotten a chance to spend more time together.  We did make time to get ice cream one night.  

Thank you Kindred Team!

A Nice Surprise

Someone special bought us tickets to see Vivaldi by Candlelight at St. Martin-in-the Fields.  We had dinner in the Catacombs before then enjoyed a fabulous concert.  Thank you!