HOLIDAY TRADITIONS

We all celebrate our holiday with a special family tradition, or a heritage tradition. Upon our travels the last few weeks I began to think about this as we entered and exited many cities and countries. Watching all the people and places that we encountered along our journey, it was a delight to watch people enjoy their heritage and where they have come from. Interesting to watch how they celebrate their country. We had the pleasure of visiting Koln Germany over the American Thanksgiving holiday!! It was just beautiful. The traditional German Christmas Market that was in front of the dom was spectacular. They celebrate in a big way. Everywhere you would walk everyone was sipping on a traditional mulled wine in these cute little cups. I regret not trying it but I do not drink and it is something I am not sure would of been good for me. BUT next time I am definitely going to try this with the crowd and I will be sure to get a photo of it all!

The trees were nicely decorated there and all the shops were filled with festive decorations. We traveled to many cities throughout England and Europe the last few weeks. We were down in London for the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving and it was really busy with lots of people shopping ( Recession?? I didn't see or feel one there) . Somehow within the crowd I managed to lose my camera so I am REALLY lost right now with photos and having a hard time getting my thoughts together for my blog because I usually use my photos for inspiration and all the words come to me. London was GREAT, and yes there was another Christmas Market in Hyde Park that I took Anna Claire to. It was a bit of a walk from our hotel but we spent a cold morning there and it was refreshing.

This now brings me back to the USA, that is where I am right now back in the Good Old USA!! I am currently in Buffalo New York, nice and cold and snowy. Visiting many friends & family. It has been a GREAT week, the kids are getting really excited for Christmas. On Sunday, I will fly down to some SUNNY, warm weather at our house in Florida and I REALLY can't wait. I've had enough now with the snow blowing in my face when I clean the car off, and enough sitting in the car waiting for the window to defrost from the freezing rain. All while my nice sunny, warm, fresh house down in Florida awaits me, and my nice warm swimming pool sits and waits for us too!! :) Can't get there fast enough. BUT this brings me back to TRADITION and spending your time with your loved ones, and keeping FAMILY TRADITION when you are miles and miles away from everyone. I managed, I came home, I visited, I gave, I received and above all I upheld the FAMILY TRADITION. We baked, we ate, we celebrated life, we celebrated one another. I had a reunion with a long, lost relationship with a dear cousin and that was the BEST gift of all that I could of received this holiday season. Love to you all........

THANKFUL FOR......

The season is upon us and it is a time that I look back and reflect over all the things, people, places that I am most grateful for. I do this every year at Thanksgiving time, even though I am in England and there isn't an American Thanksgiving here to celebrate, I have this place to write about my most grateful gifts that God has bestowed upon me.

It has been quite a year for us AGAIN! We had a wonderful weekend in the English countryside and I will post some photos of our time here today. First off, I am most grateful for our precious Anna Claire who turned 2 years old on the 31st of October. Yes, Halloween day and she is such a "treat" for us. A true miracle, nothing like it. She is a very special little girl and she gives me strength, faith and hope each day. For what she has been through is an amazing defeat! I can't believe it's been 1 year since her open heart surgery. She is growing and doing very well. We will have more hurdles to jump over, however, we are very good at going above, around, through and beyond anything that comes at us!! So I am most grateful for God being at our side so we can do this and be here for our Anna Claire.

I am most grateful for my husband, who provides for us, cares for us, and takes such "GREAT" care of Anna Claire. He is truly the best father any child could have. He is the most patient man that I've ever met, very loving and protective. A simple, no non-sense man, filled with a great sense of adventure and dreams that you can't even imagine. The best part is he is now able to make all his dreams happen and I am grateful to be able to help him do this. It's important for a man to feel successful, to feel like a GREAT DAD and above all to be the "MAN" in the house. I love having a MAN in my house, he gives us a great sense of direction and if you listen carefully he won't ever steer you wrong. You have to be still..... shhhh.... and listen for a moment. You will truly be awarded.

We are blessed with good health, gorgeous children, that I can't wait to hug & kiss and enjoy our holidays with. Soon we will be back over in the United States of America to bask in the sunshine, hug our kids and play in the sand...... I am simply grateful for all these simple things in life that come our way......the simple things that are already there if you just sit still and take the time to find them and to listen..... nature, people and the sky are the most beautiful things that God has provided!! Love to you all at this special Thanksgiving Season. Take time to sit and think about the things that you are most grateful for.

CHRISTMAS IN FIVE CITIES

http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/share_skin?work_id=5053043&type=embed

A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS VIDEO IN THE FIVE CITIES THAT WE WERE IN LAST YEAR! We are counting this year and so far we think we are going to be able to match it AGAIN! YEAH! I can't believe it! I never thought I would see the day that we would of been able to celebrate Christmas in five cities ever again! And yes, I will be posting all our happiness while doing so. Have a blessed day!

WEEKENDS IN ENGLAND

The weekend is upon us once again here in England and I'm so thrilled. I've counted and blocked in each weekend from now until the end of this year and boy are we ever busy! We are going to head up North a bit tomorrow to another big city here called Leeds. Their Christmas Market is opening this weekend and "I LOVE CHRISTMAS MARKETS", they are very big here in England and Europe. I will bring our nice camera and take lots of pictures so I can post them for our families back home to see. We don't have Christmas Markets like this back in Buffalo.

Next weekend we are going down to LONDON to celebrate Christmas there. I've been reading up on many of the events and Christmas Winter Wonderland Markets that are being held in Hyde Park and many other places. We will be down there for 4 days and I am so looking forward to the busyness and lots of people. All the Christmas decorations, lights and themes will be in place. I am very excited for this. Again, I will bring the camera.

After that weekend we will fly to Germany to celebrate our American Thanksgiving weekend! Andrew's mother will get to see the baby and we will meet with some relatives, this will make a very special time for us. Then back over here to Sheffield for two more weeks and off to the good old USA for our Christmas holiday. We will fly down to Sunny Florida for Christmas & I can't wait because the kids are flying down on Christmas day. We will be in Florida until next year.

I am hoping that by then the soup will be done simmering and we can get some direction from there as to where we are going. What will it be south with the nice French Cafe's OR up here with the Castles?? Either way I can't lose....... there is so much to discover and enjoy in life each day. When I wake up and look at this smiling face staring at me with those BIG blue eyes..... it doesn't matter where we are as long as we are all together, enjoying one another and living life!!

LET THE SOUP SIMMER....

Words of wisdom....a small test of my patience. My husband has told me to let the soup simmer.... I said, WHAT?? How can I wait a few more days? I have been on the edge of my seat now since the thought of us sitting at a French Cafe in the afternoon, sipping on some tea, having a little pastry and watching the world go by even entered my little head of mine!! The BIG guys are in London today all sitting around with lots of umm's, mmm... and nodded heads. Trying to figure out how they are now going to get the nice Tall American guy who is totally the right fit for this position, because he is so poised, fluent in French and has just a get-go positive attitude about him in their seats! AND his wife sits at home looking over the valley in South Yorkshire waiting for the soup to be just right. Waiting for the sign, the right crispness of the vegetables, and then I will go and pack!! Hey wait, I am all ready. Basically, I have felt that I've done my duty here, fighting with the healthcare system for services for our daughter for now let's see 6 months. Still no services. We will leave this for another posting...... as i wait for the soup to simmer... they will work it all out and before you know it I we will be sitting at the cafe waiting for our American friends to join us for some GREAT people watching.......

Autumn Walk on the Snicket

How many of my fellow American's have heard of taking a walk on the "SNICKET"? I am sure not too many from where I come from. When we moved into this house in the South Yorkshire part of England, a friendly neighbor came by to check in on us. She assured me that she would love to show me how to walk. Well, I certainly know how to walk, and where would I be walking to? EVERYONE walks here in Dore England. They walk to catch the bus ( you ride for free if you are 60 yrs. of age), the train, you walk to get your newspaper, talk to the vegetable man and of course do your shopping for the days meal. Then you walk home. However, you take these little path ways that are label "PUBLIC FOOTPATH" & then you find your way along. Well, I decided that I would venture out on my own with the "PUSHCHAIR" (baby stroller in America) -- and find my way.

Little did I know or was I aware that you need a small lesson in walking around here. When you start on one footpath it takes you to a road and then what I say, where do I go now? Everything is hidden and you have to look which way you think the path will go. Also, it's all uphill, down a hill, around a bend, and of course you have to get around all those high hedges everywhere, it truly is like taking a walk in a maze. Well, you have to walk on a small sidewalk to find the next footpath, then the next and so on.

As I found my way up into our little village of Dore. You will find exactly one butcher shop, one bakery, one cafe, a post office, a pharmacy, a flower shop, and then the vegetable and fruit man's stand. A pub that you can eat at if the time is right! Not between 2pm-5pm. I completed my walk back and found my way home.

Shortly after I arrived back home, my bell rang. Yes, it was the nice neighbor down the way checking in on me. I told her that I took a lovely walk up the hill into the village. She replied, and said "OH, you found your way along the 'SNICKETS". I said, excuse me, What? I took the pathways and she said, Yes, those are the snickets that I was going to show you. So there you go, I now know how tricky it can be to find your way through the snickets.

Mystery Awaits....

What the week will bring? This is what I wonder this Monday morning? There is so much that can happen, or there is so much that I will have to make happen. Andrew is flying down to Paris tomorrow to meet with a nice guy and figure out if he can help these people!! We know he can now it's just a matter of Can they figure out how to get him there? Even though we have only been here for 6 months it feels as if it's been 6 years. The struggle of trying to get simple services and things that would be easy for us back in America are such a struggle and so time consuming here. I am running out of patience for the health care system and services for Anna Claire..

Anyway, we will see what the week brings, as far as I'm concerned I did my duty here and Paris France here we come!!! :)

Quote

Life is short: Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably, & never regret anything that made you smile! 

RECONNECTING

I am so thrilled today that I have reconnected with some family back in Buffalo New York. It's been way too long. I have found my childhood cousin. Today I have been able to reflect back on all the great times we had and shared growing up together. Now here we are today, I am living in over the pond here in England and she is back in Buffalo and I am so excited to be able to have a voice again so that I can explain to her all that has happened for me to move on now with life, with events, with faith & hope...... the future awaits......

Reason for Blog

Our first entry, I've been searching for a way to get our thoughts, travels, and all the lastest happenings out to our family & friends. Our daughter has her own site because of a heart defect and Noonan Syndrome and it really is for her. So it was becoming difficult to put all our travels on there, then I went to Facebook to keep in touch with our older children..... well, that wasn't quite the fit either. I think perhaps I might of found a place.

We travel a real lot. We are from the United States. Born and raised in Buffalo New York, we've since purchased a house in Parrish Florida ( Not too far from the Sarasota/Bradenton Area) -- BUT we are living Sheffield England for the next three years. And in between all of this we are raising our daughter who is 21 months old and has Noonan Syndrome and had Open Heart Surgery last year. She is doing just great! We travel in between all the craziness!!

I like this place to write. Thank you, and keep reading on !