Tarrers in St. Andrews

NEWS

2009-07-19T01:40:00.004+01:00

Hey there, those few (very few, I imagine) who still check this blog for news from us. This news is so big that I had to post it even though it has been nearly 8 months (8 months! Boy has time been flying!) since I have updated this. So here you go...

SETH PASSED HIS VIVA TODAY!!!! That means that he successfully defended his PhD dissertation. I sure am proud to be married to Dr. Tarrer:) God has truly blessed us with the time, resources, and opportunity to spend time overseas and for Seth to complete this degree.

We're doing well . . . no promises to update this again anytime soon. Our internet at home is super slow and takes forever to upload pictures. I'm working part-time and the boys are 5, 3, and 1 now and require so much energy that I am often to tired to want to spend time at the computer. Not to mention that I realize that the blog name is pretty out of date. "Tarrers in Birmingham" doesn't seem nearly as exciting.

But while I am at it I thought I would post a couple of somewhat-recent pictures of the little guys (if I can get them to load)...

Costume Fun

2008-11-24T21:57:00.002Z

Here's my three little guys dressed up a few weeks ago. You can tell from his chin that JP enjoyed his Halloween candy! Owen was a monkey but he didn't really like wearing the hood with the ears. Sam was Buzz Lightyear. They had a blast at our church's Fall Festival, and even got to ride a horse.

Meet Faith and Benjamin

2008-10-15T17:43:00.002+01:00

Our newest family members, hermit crabs from Destin, complements of the grandparents. Sam named his Faith, after a friend at school, and Owen named his Benjamin, after a friend at church. Not the most exciting pets in the world, but certainly lower maintenance than a cat or dog. And they can get pretty feisty at times.

My baby turns 1!

2008-10-15T17:16:00.002+01:00

In case anyone is still reading this...

2008-10-08T01:21:00.003+01:00

Well, it's October and I'm finally getting around to putting up a few pictures from June and July. We had a very full summer and have really enjoyed being close to family again. It's been a wild month and to catch everyone up, Seth left his job last month and is now working part time at our church. His other job was requiring more time than had been anticipated and his PhD work was suffering. We didn't see any way for him to ever finish the degree that way, so here we are. His job at church was a true blessing... only about 15 hours a week, at least half of which are times when we would be there anyway. I am working more than I am used to but I do like my job and am done by lunchtime so I still have lots of time with my little guys. Seth's back to nearly full time work on his thesis/dissertation and is planning to finish up early summer.

The boys are great. Sam is loving preschool and talks about his friends Faith and Cole all the time. He is so proud to take his own lunchbox to school everyday. Owen is so much fun. He loves to talk and sing about anything and he's enjoying spending a few mornings a week with his Granna. It's hard to believe it's been nearly a year since we turned into a family of five. JP's first birthday is on Sunday. Maybe I can stay on top of things and get a picture of him on this blog soon. I have a feeling he is going to like cake!

Two and a half months later

2008-08-10T20:49:00.004+01:00

Wow, it really has been awhile. And we're not in Scotland anymore so I suppose I should change the title of this blog. But for now, a few more pictures from April/May, better late than never.

Seth took a trip to Geneva, Switzerland, with his friend Patrick. This is Seth in John Calvin's pulpit.

Another picture of Seth posing as John Calvin, this one is outside the Reformation history museum.

Issac, JP, and Josiah... These 3 little guys were all born within a month of each other. If we ever manage to have some sort of St Andrews reunion, I think they will have great fun playing together!

This picture was taken in early May and I can remember talking about how cold I was and that I was ready for a hot Alabama summer. After a few months of 90-100 degree weather, I have changed my tune:)

Sam with his friend George, the crossing guard outside the school in St Andrews. They were good buddies, mostly because George liked to pass out candy to the kids every morning.

Missing you, Caleb, Joshua, and Abigail!

So what have we been up to since May? Moving into a new house, starting a new job (Seth), resuming an old job (Mary), playing with family and catching up with old friends, getting snow cones, trips to the zoo, playing in the sprinkler and slip-n-slide, trips to the lake, starting preschool on Wednesday (Sam), pulling up and cruising along the furniture (JP), and getting into all kinds of mischief (Owen). I'll try to get up some more recent pictures soon, but no promises. At least Teresa (and the rest of you too) doesn't have to look at the picture of Seth on the mountain any more when she checks this blog for updates.

A first attempt at catching up

2008-05-30T11:07:00.002+01:00

So JP has been up around 4am the last three mornings and he has been particularly content until about 6am so since I am awake anyway I thought I would go ahead and try to make good on my promise to post a few more pictures. So here ya go. I still have some of Geneva to come later.

Seth and Jake took a dayhike to Lochnagar.

Home Sweet Home

Seth and a couple of his office mates from the Hadow Room.

Some of the people who made the last 2 years so special.

Just checking in

2008-05-28T11:42:00.003+01:00

I thought of avoiding posting for awhile because I am so incredibly behind in adding pictures to this site. I have so many to get to one of these days... Seth's trip to Geneva, Seth's dayhike, the boys growing up by the minute, some friends in St Andrews, etc, etc, etc. It's been so busy here lately but I wanted to let everyone know that we're back! And we are homeowners! We arrived in Birmingham Monday night after one of the hardest days ever. Then we bought a house on Tuesday and we'll move in on Saturday after a few days of work refinishing hardwood floors. Then Seth starts work on Monday. So, there will hopefully be many more pictures to see eventually, but for now I'll just leave you with this one that I wasn't sure I wanted taken after being awake for nearly 41 hours at the time but I am now thankful that Rachel got out the camera. (Yes, that's 2 adults, 3 kids, 2 strollers, 3 carry-ons, 2 carseats, and 9 pieces of luggage!)

Easter, a picnic, a 6-month-old, a birthday party, and some very sad tulips

2008-04-13T19:51:00.005+01:00

JP's half-birthday was yesterday. Hard to believe he's already 6 months old. He's growing so fast and is getting close to being able to sit up on his own. He is eating a little more solid food; trying a new one each week. This week was butternut squash. I was roasting it in the oven so that I could puree it to make baby food and it made the house smell so good that I had to wonder why I didn't cook it for the whole family. So I found a butternut squash soup recipe and it is a new favorite around here!

Not much to say about this one. Except that I think it is about time for a haircut.

I think you could say that spring has sprung in St. Andrews. On this particular day it hit 60 degrees. But the next day it was back in the 40's and our days have been cold with rain and some snow ever since.

Owen and Sam eat Easter dinner with Joanna, Laura, and Shannon. We had a really nice time with several friends. What a blessing it is to have "family" here to share holidays with!

The kids at church sang on Easter morning at our church. Sam is the one in the plaid trousers ("trousers" is one of the few British words we have had to adopt out of necessity... if you say pants, one would think you are referring to underwear).

Sam has been on a break from preschool for the last 2 weeks. We had a nice day and took full advantage of it by walking to town to join Seth outside his office for a picnic lunch. It took Sam about 45 minutes to walk a mile or so. I used to let Sam ride on the front of the stroller like you see in this picture until we ended up with a flat tire. As awesome as the BOB is, it apparently wasn't designed to have an extra 31 pounds sitting atop the front wheel. That was a $30 mistake on my part. Now I just have to make sure we leave our house with PLENTY of time to spare (Sam is a bit pokey).

Sam was adamant that he be able to carry his PBJ and apple in his Spiderman backpack (thanks to Aunt Rachel for a great Christmas present:) to the picnic. He was so excited about it that he stopped everyone we met on the sidewalk. "My name is Sam. I'm three. I have a Spiderman backpack."

I don't claim to be much of a gardener but I have to give the credit for this masterpiece to my middle son. Yes, he snapped the soon-to-be-in-bloom beautiful red tulips right off the stem. Every single one of them. I was near tears.

Another picture from the picnic I mentioned earlier.

Yes, this one is out of order too.

At a birthday party this week for our friend Andrew.

So now you have an idea of what we have been up to. Sam starts school back tomorrow. The countdown is on and we'll be heading back to Alabama in just 6 weeks. Seth has been super busy. He's presenting a paper at the Rutherford House Group conference in Edinburgh at the end of the month. Last weekend he joined his soon-to-be boss in London. He sat in on a few meetings and was able to do a bit of sightseeing and visited All Souls church where he had the pleasure of speaking with John Stott (one of Britain's greatest 20th century Evangelicals). He's also excited about an upcoming trip to Geneva, Switzerland. As for me, I'm doing well and really enjoying my three little ones. It's late and I am tired so I'll stop writing for now. Love to you all!

Baa Baa Black Sheep

2008-03-21T09:18:00.004Z

Unfortunately, I think their musical ability came from me rather than their daddy...

I'm 5 months old now so mommy says I can have some real food

2008-03-12T18:45:00.004Z

Boy am I hungry!

Hmmm...I'm not so sure what I think about this.

Nope, definitely don't like it. Keep that stuff away from me!

I'll just eat my bib instead.

What to do on rainy day in Scotland

2008-03-12T18:38:00.004Z

Aren't I cute?

Love those boys!

2008-03-01T20:13:00.002Z

Those are my cuties. I sure do love them!

We are doing well. I haven't posted on this blog much lately because our lives have really been rather run-of-the-mill. Seth has been working (lots) and I spend my days getting Sam to school, grocery shopping and cooking, and trying to keep up with three little ones. While it is quite exhausting, it makes for a rather boring blog. So I'll be brief. Sam continues to love school. He talks about his friends Dylan, Callum, and Ben...they like to build castles with blocks and chase each other around the playground. His favorite part of the morning is probably snack time - usually fruit and milk but occasionally they get to cook. This week they made carrot soup. He loves to draw pictures, always "for daddy". I try not to take that too personally. Owen is growing up so fast. He talks in entire sentences now and copies everything his big brother does. When it is his turn to pray at dinner, he says "Dear God. Amen." He has so much personality! We started calling John by the nickname JP occasionally and it has really stuck. Sam and Owen now correct me if I call him John. He's a super sweet baby and starting to sleep much better at night. We just moved his crib out of our bed this week and into his own room. This means that Owen had to move into Sam's room. It's only the 3rd night but so far they have done pretty well with it...we'll see!

We've started the countdown until our flight home in May...87 days now I think. Hard to believe. Seth will have to make a few more trips across the ocean in the next year or so but these might very well be my last 87 days in St Andrews. There are so many reasons we are excited to be going home but we are also so very thankful that God gave us this opportunity to spend a couple of years of our life here in Scotland. It's been quite an adventure.

Happy baby

2008-02-21T16:15:00.003Z

SNOW!

2008-01-26T15:42:00.000Z

Yes, we had to go to Alabama for snow! Seth was with the Sam and Owen in Auburn visiting the rest of the family when snow was predicted for the next day and threatened to make travel conditions pretty bad just when we needed to be packing up to get on an airplane. He came home early and as it ended up we only got maybe a half-inch. Still, that was enough to get us southerners pretty excited. The boys built a little snowman and had fun making snowballs. There is a fun video at the bottom. Enjoy!

John's baptism

2008-01-26T15:28:00.000Z

John was baptized at Altadena Valley Presbyterian Church while we were in Birmingham. Owen tried to steal the show during the baptism by jumping around like a frog (even saying "ribbit ribbit") so Rachel had to take him out of the sanctuary. John was great. We are so thankful that God has given us this wonderful blessing and responsibility. What a joy our third son is!

70 degree weather in January

2008-01-26T13:24:00.000Z

More Christmas Fun

2008-01-26T13:09:00.000Z

Building towers with Aunt Ann

Some members of my high school track and cross country teams...we had a reunion with 5 decades of runners while I was home. It was fun to catch up with old friends.

Granna and Grandpa Jim with all 3 boys.

Our church group had a supper club while we were home. It has grown exponentially in the last few years. This time I think there were 25 adults and 25 children...wild!

Christmas Fun

2008-01-25T16:23:00.000Z

Sam was so excited to get a Spiderman backpack for Christmas. He says he wants to put a lunchbox in it with macaroni and cheese.

It was great to catch up with friends in Auburn.

Sam and Owen went with Granna and Aunt Rachel to Nashville for the day to visit "Ice", a celebration of the 50th anniversary of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The building was cooled to around 10 degrees and even included a big slide made of ice! They only stayed for about 15 minutes after all that driving!

Owen warms up with french fries at McDonald's after the Grinch experience.

A highlight of the trip was the chance to play with cousins MaryBeth, Caleb and Josh.

Sam "helps" Aunt Rachel cook.

I love my husband!

Other highlights of Christmas were a trip to the Christmas tree farm to pick out a HUGE tree with Grandpa Jim and Granna, making the 2nd annual "Choo-Choo" cake with Granna, a hand-knit hat for John from Aunt Ann, a new scooter for Sam and a kitchen for Owen the Chef from Ma and Grandaddy, chasing Rocky the chocolate lab, a dinner date for Seth and me, and a trip to the zoo in 70+ degree weather.

It's been awhile!

2008-01-25T15:59:00.000Z

Just a note to let you know that I do realize that it has been well over a month since I have posted on this blog. And I even promised pictures in December. This time I really do intend to make every effort over the next day or two to get caught up. Until then know that we are back in St Andrews (we arrived on Tuesday). It has been a much harder transition for us this time. Getting 3 kids adjusted to a 6 hour time difference is a challenge. And to complicate things Sam cried out a little after midnight last night with a 103 degree fever. He's doing better now but not his usual pleasant self. And no preschool today so we've been stuck indoors which doesn't do a lot for my mood. There have been many wonderful things about our Scottish adventure but international travel and cold, rainy weather are not on that list! I don't want to seem like I'm complaining too much so I'll share the highlight of our week...the Airbus 330. We flew KLM/Northwest this time and realized that all this time flying Delta and Continental we have been missing out on individual "entertainment on demand" televisions on the back of each chair with dozens of movies (including plenty for kids) to choose from. So cool. More to come later...

Back in the USA

2007-12-15T21:08:00.000Z

Well, we made it back after a really miserable 24+ hours of traveling. We missed our connection in New York and ended up with an 11 hour layover. Yes, ELEVEN hours with 3 cranky boys. Pretty darn miserable but we finally arrived to record highs here in Alabama (it's been in the 70's!). The boys have been having a blast with their grandparents and cousins...pictures to come later.

For now, I'll leave you with a little holiday entertainment (Seth and my dad's favorite...)

Sam just stands there...

2007-12-02T13:33:00.000Z

Today the 3- and 4-year-olds recited a verse they had practiced in Sunday school. Sam decided to just be a pretty face and let the girls do all the work. The video isn't too clear but Sam is the second from the right. Just click on the play button.

Published!

2007-12-02T13:29:00.000Z

Seth's first publication...it is a short book review rather than a long article but still exciting to see his name in print!

Deep thoughts

2007-12-01T16:23:00.001Z

Happy St Andrews Day!

2007-12-01T16:17:00.000Z

Yesterday was St Andrews Day, the feast of Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. To celebrate, Sam's preschool served neeps and tatties (mashed turnips and potatoes) for snack. Neeps and tatties are traditionally served with haggis..."sheep's heart, liver, and lungs, minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for several hours". After a year and a half we still aren't brave enough to give that a try!

Thanksgiving, etc...

2007-11-24T18:49:00.000Z

I was so thankful when we got an invitation to join some friends at their house for Thanksgiving. That meant no cleaning for me and no turkey-roasting...what a relief! We loaded up the boys and some cornbread dressing, sweet potato crunch, and a chocolate-pecan pie and enjoyed a wonderful feast with a few other families. The picture above is Shannon, Joanna, Sam, Abigail, Laura, Kayla, Owen, and John...just missing Jacob.

John is now 6 weeks old and gets bigger and bigger. The health visitor came to our house this week for a developmental check and he is doing great although his tummy does bother him a bit. Lots of gas (or "wind" is the word the health visitor used). She gave me some pointers for doing baby massage that might help, we'll see. She also made an appointment for him to get his first round of "jabs" (that's British for shots) in a few weeks.

Sam continues to love preschool. They've taken a series of 3 field trips to the forest outside of town where they spend the morning exploring. His teacher tells us that he is a "delight". Seth was invited to his class on Thursday to talk to the kids about American Thanksgiving and how our family celebrates. He only had one response when he asked the kids what they were thankful for...one boy said "chicken". Funny.

Owen is talking more and more. He just took a book to Seth and said "Read it now Daddy". Yes, he is a bit bossy.

Seth is working long hours at the office and I am hanging in there, trying to get sleep when I can. We'll be heading back across the Atlantic in just a little over 2 weeks and can't wait to see all our family and friends and introduce everyone to baby John...if we survive the plane ride that is!

4 weeks...

2007-11-11T19:33:00.000Z

Well, John is 4 weeks now and doing great. He is a sweet baby and is growing everyday...he already weighs 8 and a half pounds...hard to believe. I am pretty tired, but doing well. My mom was here for 2 weeks which was a huge help. Now it is just me most of the time with 3 boys and I have to admit that it is pretty exhausting. But they are so much fun too. A few more pictures for you to enjoy...

Painting with Granna.

Seth watched Sam, Owen, and John one afternoon while I took my mom to high tea at the Old Course Hotel. Very fancy!

Yes, I do realize that this picture is sideways but I am too tired to care. This is Sam's hook at school where he hangs his jacket and changes his shoes everyday.

Owen was a frog for a Halloween costume party.

Sam went to the party as a monkey.

This is the only picture I have of the whole family.

A walk on the beach.

This is one of my favorite pictures. Our friend Rachel made this hat for John. Isn't he beautiful?!

This is Josiah, John, and Isaac. They were all born within a few weeks of each other.

Only four more weeks until we get on a plane for the states. We have been to the consulate in Edinburgh to apply for John's passport, which came in the mail yesterday. His picture was taken when he was only 3 days old! We can't wait for our family and friends to meet him. Sam and Owen are pretty excited about the trip too. Love to you all!

More pictures of our wee lad...

2007-10-25T19:15:00.001+01:00

Meet John!

2007-10-13T17:48:00.000+01:00

He's here, and 2 weeks early! John Phillip Tarrer was born last night, October 12th, 2007 at 10:27pm at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, Scotland. He weighed in at 2920 grams (6 pounds 6 ounces) and was 50 cm long (19 3/4 inches). John is doing great and has spent most of his first 20 hours or so sleeping. I am doing well and was able to leave the hospital before noon today after a long night in the maternity ward (only curtains between all the moms and crying babies...not much sleep possible!) Seth was not allowed to stay the night. We have wonderful friends who were great to help out with Sam and Owen and tonight we enjoyed one of the best meals I have had in a long time. The pasta and homemade foccacia bread hit the spot and I can't tell you how thankful we are for an amazing community of people who are there at a moment's notice to help wherever they can. My mom will be here on Saturday for a couple of weeks to help out and Seth and I will take John to the US consulate to register his birth and apply for a passport.

Sam is the proudest big brother around!

Owen isn't too interested in "baby John" and is happy to keep his distance.

Seth with our fabulous midwife Maureen. She was really wonderful during a pretty long hard labor (compared to my first two) and even stayed an hour after her shift ended to finish the delivery and be sure we were taken care of.

This might have been the funniest part of our Scottish birth experience...almost within minutes of delivery we were brought a tray of hot tea and toast...just about the last thing I wanted at the time!

God has truly blessed me with 3 wonderful healthy boys (and a great Super Dad/Husband!) Thanks for your prayers!

Pictures from our trip (at long last!)

2007-09-24T17:16:00.001+01:00

A few weeks ago we had the chance for a much-needed family weekend getaway. We rented a tiny car and took a daytrip to Loch Leven castle and an over night trip to Inverness. Along the way we stopped at the Highland Wildlife Center (sort of a zoo/safari experience) and we took a cruise past Urquhart Castle on the Loch Ness. We drove home the long way to take in the sights and picnic at Fort Augustus on the Caledonian Canal. It was a great trip...the boys were really fantastic travelers. Owen was actually upset to get out of the car! Sam's favorite part was the chance for us all to sleep in one "family" room at the cheap, but surprisingly pleasant, hotel...or maybe it was the trip to Pizza Hut and Toys R Us. Seth and I enjoyed getting out of our lovely but tiny little town of St Andrews. I finally feel as if I have seen more of Scotland.

Just a bit over 4 weeks until my due date. The health care is much more laid back here than in the US. In the states I would now be seeing a doctor for weekly checkups. Here, I am still only going about every 4 to 6 weeks. Unless the baby is late, I will probably only have one more appointment with the midwife. I had a really nice joint baby shower last Saturday with 2 other pregnant ladies. We are so thankful for the wonderful community here! I will try to post some pictures from that when I get them. We also had the opportunity to make a test drive to the hospital in Dundee. It took only 30 minutes and I feel sure that Seth could do it a bit faster if need be.

Sam continues to love school and Owen is enjoying (temporarily!) the extra attention from mommy. Seth is trying finish writing a chapter of his thesis this week. The term here starts on Monday and so there are some new faces in town, not to mention longer lines at the grocery stores. We are having a new family to dinner tonight. Well, on to the pictures, which, unfortunately did not load in any particular order and I don't have the energy to fix that right now...Sorry about that!

This is Owen and Seth on the Loch Ness cruise. No, he really wasn't this miserable the entire time, he just didn't want to be held still for this picture. He is a pretty independent fella these days!

The view of Urquhart Castle from the boat.

Sam loved the 2-story boat. He went up and down and up and down and up and down.

We stopped for a picnic lunch at the Caledonian Canal locks in Fort Augustus.

We bought Sam a child seat to go on Seth's bicycle so that Seth can help transport him to school once the baby comes. He is proud of his new helmet!

The boys at Loch Leven castle. A beautiful warm sunny day! You have to take a motorboat ride to get to this castle which is on an island where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned long ago (yes, that is the extent of my history lesson for you today).

We drove by this beautiful church in the tiny town of Collessie.

At the Highland Wildlife Park.

Our best picture of Nessie.

Watch closely to see this horse attack our rental car at the wildlife park! We were only able to catch the very end on video. Seth thought it was pretty funny.

Owen says hi

2007-09-21T13:42:00.000+01:00

Owen's game

2007-09-06T19:22:00.000+01:00

One of Owen's favorite games is to grab a toy that Sam is playing with and run away with it. This video was taken last Saturday at the little putting course at a park just outside St Andrews. Sam was not happy when Owen ran off with his golf ball. The park was fun...golf, playgrounds, trampolines, a train, rowboats, and a picnic area. A few more pictures are below:

And this last one is Sam with his friend the worm. He loves to "play" with them in our garden.

We are looking forward to an exciting weekend trip. We have not traveled much since arriving in Scotland nearly a year ago and realized that, with a baby coming, we are running out of time. So we found a discount hotel room and a weekend rate for a rental car and are going to spend a night in Inverness, a town in the Scottish Highlands about 3 hours north of us. We plan on taking a cruise on Loch Ness and if we manage to take any good pictures of Nessie we will be sure to post them here.

Update after 3 weeks...

2007-08-25T20:45:00.000+01:00

So sorry for the long break. For the most part it has been a fairly slow 3 weeks (not much going on) but there have been a few exceptions. I've just figured out that I can put videos on this blog so I thought I would share one. Last Saturday was a perfectly miserable day, weather-wise. Nonstop rain. Yuck. If we had been in the US, we might have taken a trip to the indoor playground at Chic-fil-a or to the mall just to walk around. But in this tiny town, with no car, rainy days mean being stuck indoors. Thankfully, a package from Granna arrived that morning. Among other things was a Buzz Lightyear costume, which Sam wore all day. The video shows Sam shooting his laser at mommy and daddy.

I am feeling allright, just tired, with sore legs/feet at the day's end. I am now just over 8 weeks away from baby boy's due date in October. I am tired of being pregnant but totally not ready to have 3 little guys to take care of. In a few weeks some friends are giving a baby shower for me and two other girlfriends here who are expecting (all boys!). We'll be going to a little place outside of town for afternoon tea. Yet another friend had a baby at home 2 weeks ago. The baby was coming quickly so I ran over to her place to help get the bedroom ready (waterproof mattress pad on, etc.) Ten minutes after I arrived the midwife got there and 10 minutes after that baby Abigail was born! What a crazy experience... I was thankful the midwife made it as I was getting worried that my friend's husband and I would have to deliver the baby ourselves!

Our excitement this week was Sam's first day of nursery. "Nursery" is what we would call preschool in the states. "Creche" is what would we would know as a nursery (like at church). He absolutely loves school and his teacher said he has been "fantastic". He goes for 2 1/2 hours each morning, which means a bit of work for me since it is about a half-mile walk each way, twice a day. His favorite things about nursery are painting and the "big slide" outside on the playground. Here is one of Sam's masterpieces:

Here, the boys and I read Curious George (Sam's favorite!)

This is Sam and Owen outside of a Doocot. A "doo" is a pigeon. The monks at the St Andrews Priory in the 16th century would keep the pigeons here until they ate them. This doocot is just off the Lade Braes, a beautiful 2-mile trail that runs beside a stream and goes through town. "Lade" means stream and "braes" are hillsides.

It is hard to believe how much Owen has grown in the year we have been here. When we came he was just starting to sit upright on his own. Now he is a full-blown toddler: talking, running, playing, and trying his hardest to keep up with his big brother. (And yes, his hair keeps getting lighter and lighter!)

Seth is hard at work on another chapter of his dissertation. The new term won't start for over a month and then things will get a bit busier. Hope all of you are doing well. As always, we love and miss you and appreciate your prayers!

A haircut, a picnic, and a new coffee table

2007-08-04T19:32:00.001+01:00

We've had a pretty run-of-the-mill week but we did manage to take a few pictures to share. Here goes...

Check out these beautiful long blonde locks...they won't be there for much longer.

Yes, we bought this picnic table today and carried it almost a mile to our house...Oh what fun it is to live life as a pedestrian! It took the place of our coffee table, which was getting scratched up by the boys' playing. It's great for snacktime, coloring, and it will be nice to have when we have friends over for dinner, as most of them have several kids too!

Sam's new best friend is Jesse, the cowgirl from Toy Story 2. Our friends the Liebengoods let Sam borrow her and he loves her! She has even taught him to yodel and say "yee haw".

Lazy days in St Andrews...we avoided the crowds in town for the British Women's Open (that's golf, in case any of you don't know) and headed for our favorite picnic spot. Here Sam is enjoying his apple.

Owen likes apples too.

Owen watches Naomi play in the sand on Thursday. Our playgroup met at the park and moved to the beach because the day was so nice. Below Sam and Izzy splash about.

Aunt Amanda

2007-07-27T20:16:00.000+01:00

Congrats to my little bro Charlie and his now-fiance Amanda, who will be getting married in June! I can't seem to find the picture I have of Charlie with Amanda so this one with the dogs with have to do. Sam knows Bayle as "big dog" and Rocky as "little dog" although I imagine Rocky will be a pretty big dog soon too.

P.S. I realize it has been awhile since I have updated this. The reason is that have taken no pictures nor have we done anything very blog-worthy in the last 2 weeks. Since the purpose of this site is mostly to share pictures of the boys, I thought I wouldn't bore you by rambling on just for the sake of it without having much to say. We are all doing well. God is good and we are thankful that he sustains us each day.

This might be my new favorite place in St Andrews

2007-07-16T09:29:00.001+01:00

Yesterday we had the kind of weather I had been imagining when I thought of summer in St Andrews. Beautiful, sunny, warm, with a very slight breeze. We took the opportunity to visit Allanhills farm, where you can pick your own strawberries, raspberries, and gooseberries. (We stuck to the strawberries). It took us about 30 minutes to walk to the farm, but we were so glad that we had made the trek. The place was great, with a playground for the kids, picnic tables for our PB&J lunch, and fantastic views of the town. (If you look closely at the first picture you can see that Owen wasted no time eating his sandwich). We brought home plenty of strawberries to eat and freeze. And I am planning on making a pie tonight! They were a bit more expensive than the berries I used to pick with my mom in Chilton county, but they are the best I have tasted. We'll probably be back before the season ends in September.

Lots of pictures from a fun week in Scotland

2007-07-14T18:40:00.000+01:00

Today Seth and Sam went on an all-day adventure to Linlithgow Palace, the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots, for the Spectacular Jousting event put on by the Knights of Royal England. It was Sam's first time to ride a real train and he was very excited. We've also been potty training this week with much success and it was a fun experience to use the bathroom on the train. They saw the castle, watched knights joust (yes, real horses and lances), explored medieval weapons, watched a sword fight up close, ate ice cream, and played with friends from St. Mary's. A fun, but exhausting day.

The weather was finally warm enough for a nice walk on the beach, enjoyed by all!

Adventures in gardening. No, I don't know what I am doing but it does look better!

Potty Training: 12 accidents on Monday, 6 on Tuesday, 3 on Wednesday, then it was smooth sailing. He loves his Spiderman underwear. What a big boy!

After playgroup on Thursday all the moms took the kids to the beach at East Sands. Sam was hesitant at first but didn't stay out of the water for long after he saw what fun the big kids were having. In the picture below you can see Sam on the bottom left and Owen in the middle of the photo (wearing a yellow shirt and a diaper).

Earlier this week we had our friends Jake and Chris to dinner, Seth finished his book review, I went to Dundee for my ultrasound (the little guy looks healthy!), and we threw a farewell party for our friends the Hays' and Lincicums who are moving to Oxford this month:( They are wonderful friends who will be missed terribly. Whew, what a busy week!

Tag! Eight Random Things...

2007-07-08T19:11:00.000+01:00

I've been tagged by the Egan family.

The rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Mary's Eight Random Things:

1. My 6th anniversary was yesterday. If Seth and I had married one year earlier we would have had our 7th anniversary on 7/7/07. Too bad...

2. My son Sam started calling his little brother "E" because he couldn't say Owen. Now Owen calls Sam "E" too. So they have conversations like this: Sam: Hi E! Owen: Hi E!

3. One from Seth: My mom's maiden name was Merry Christmas. Seriously.

4. When we flew to Scotland last week one of our checked bags was stopped as it went through security. Chicken is really expensive here and our bags weren't filled to their weight limit so my mom offered 4 or 5 cans of chicken from her house. The TSA guy put on gloves and pulled out the cans, then used a swab on the cans and put the swab in some machine to test it. Crazy!

5. I am finding it really hard to adjust to the long days here in St Andrews. It is so strange to put kids to bed at 8pm, watch a movie, write some emails, and then go to bed when it is still light out. It's really only dark here from 11pm to 4am.

6. Sam and Owen created thier own game. They walk up to a tree and push on it with all their might, grunting as they push. We get rather strange looks from passerbys.

7. I love Coca Cola classic. It has to be really cold and preferably from a can that has been put in the freezer for a half-hour prior to drinking. I don't drink them much here in Scotland because it is more expensive and they taste a little different. I have yet to find a diet soft drink that I like.

8. My favorite movie is Life is Beautiful. If you haven't seen it you should. It might make you cry.

Ok, now I am supposed to tag 8 other people but I do not read that many blogs, so I'll do the ones I do read: Teresa, Jake and Chris, and Kate. They can take it or leave it. (This is not a chain letter and no bad luck will befall any of those who choose to ignore the tag completely).

Back in St Andrews

2007-07-06T19:17:00.000+01:00

Well, we have been back in Scotland for 3 days now and the best word to describe us is "tired". (And all we can think of is that the next time we make this trip it will be with 3 kids!) It has been one of the more difficult adjustments we have had. For some reason it is much harder for us to travel east. We got on the plane Tuesday after much trouble with airlines. Sadly, Delta has discontinued the direct Atlanta-Edinburgh flight that we loved so much. So we switched to Continental and, after a nightmare at the ticket counter, finally boarded our flight. Owen was pretty good except for about 45 minutes of continuous inconsolable screaming. I think we were pretty much hated by everyone on the back half of the plane. I must say that I don't worry about the other passengers nearly as much as it used to. All I am thinking of is surviving the flight. We arrived at our house with all of our luggage (after a trek through the airport...plenty of sercurity after the scare in Glasgow...dozens of guards with giant machine guns!) and tried to adjust to the 6 hour time difference as quickly as possible. Some wonderful friends brought us dinner so that we wouldn't have to worry about getting to the grocery store and cooking. The boys have been waking up around midnight ready to play, which isn't so fun for their exhausted parents. Tuesday night Seth and Sam watched Toy Story 2 at 1am. The adjustment has been complicated by a case of what we think is rotovirus in Sam and Owen. Wednesday night our small group came over for grilled chicken and a small 4th of July celebration. Wednesday and Thursday were nice days, weather-wise (much nicer than I was expecting, as we have been hearing about how rainy and cold it has been). Today we had a taste of the rain...ALL DAY. Our only outing was to the health center and "chemist" (British for pharmacy) to pick up a prescription-strength "nappy" (diaper) rash cream. I was really missing my car about that time, as I had to get 2 grumpy boys in raincoats and wellies and head out in the rain. Seth has been back at work since Wednesday.

Projects on our list of things to do.... 1. Gardening. Yuck. Seth and I know almost nothing about this subject but our garden is jungle and it is actually in our lease that we must keep it "neat and tidy". 2. Potty training. Not much luck in the past but we are about to hit this hard as Sam will be starting preschool next month. I also don't want to think of how much we'd spend on diapers for 3 children come October. 3. Another ultrasound on Wednesday. Yes, this requires another long trip to Dundee. They want to do this again as we are hoping my placenta has moved up enough to not cause complications during delivery. 4. Seth is writing his second book review for a journal to be published in the fall. I'm sure there are more but that is what is on my mind these days.

Overall, we are feeling tired but happy to be back as we have a renewed confidence that we are where we need to be. We are thankful for God's provision for our family.

I'm going to leave you with a few pictures of our trip to the lake last weekend...

Sam is 3!

2007-06-25T01:43:00.000+01:00

We had 2 small celebrations for Sam's birthday. Tonight he had a "bug cake" and opened a few gifts. Saturday we spent the day with our friends Brad, Gina, and Ryan and then had a cookout with some other friends who have a little boy who was born the same day as Sam. John Hinton and Sam shared a tractor cookie cake.

Owen, Sam, and John Hinton at the kid's table.

At dinner with our old friends Jesslynn and Caroline.

Enjoying popsicles on a hot day in Bluff Park. We went out for snow cones, but the place was closed so we decided on popsicles from the Piggly Wiggly grocery store across the street instead.

Fun times at the McWane Center... The Bob the Builder exhibit was the coolest. Sam also LOVED the IMAX movie about the Alps.

Despite what it may seem, things are not all fun and games for us here in the USA. I have been working part time in my old job as a speech therapist and Seth has been spending most of his hours at the Samford University library hard at work on his thesis. Another not-so-pleasant aspect of our visit was a trip to the dentist last week. No cavities, but still no fun! We have one more week until we get back on the plane...

Fun times

2007-06-15T02:31:00.000+01:00

Owen thought the hammock at the lake was great...even more fun with Aunt Rachel to play with!

Sam and Owen have a picnic with their Grandpa at Duke Gardens in North Carolina. Sam also fed the ducks but Owen thought it was silly to give perfectly good bread to the ducks, so he mostly fed himself instead.

Sam helps his great-grandmother celebrate her 75th birthday.

The boys are enjoying the warm (ok, hot, really hot) Alabama weather, wearing shades and short sleeves. We've heard it has been pretty cold in St Andrews so we are hoping it will warm up before we get back in a couple of weeks.

We had dinner at our friend Maddie's house last night. Sam was super sweet with her and is still talking about "hugging the baby". Owen didn't like it much when I held her...we may be in for a jealous big brother in October!

Back home

2007-06-01T20:12:00.001+01:00

This is a bit late but we wanted everyone to know that we made it back to Alabama after an uneventful flight. Owen was pretty miserable being cooped up for 10 hours on a plane but Sam loved it and cried, saying "up more" when we had to get off. We've already been to the lake and to Auburn and are on our way to North Carolina for a few days. We knew we were really back in the South when we were driving 280 to Auburn and passed a BBQ restaurant "Pok' and Beef" and a sign advertising a concert for a band named "The Hog Mountain Lug Nuts". I'm enjoying the warm weather although I think Seth is already missing the cooler Scottish days. Another update soon (with pictures, I hope...)

It's a ...

2007-05-21T18:35:00.000+01:00

BOY!!! Third time's the charm...or three strikes and you're out. Just kidding. We are happy to report that this little guy looks healthy. We even got to see him sucking his thumb on the ultrasound today; so cute! Sam and Owen are excited about having a little brother. We love you and will see you soon.

Just a few more days...

2007-05-18T19:15:00.001+01:00

Well, I started cleaning and packing a bit today. While cleaning the bathroom a few days ago I was disgusted to find something that looked like a big mushroom growing from behind the toilet. The linoleum was peeling back a bit and when I pulled it up more, I realized the floorboards were wet and moldy. Yuck! With Seth's asthma and Sam's allergies, we didn't waste time sending pictures to our landlord who has since sent a stream of plumbers and joiners (there's a Scottish word for ya; not exactly sure what it means, maybe a handyman?) to fix the leak and give estimates for replacing the floor. What a mess!

Seth is at a farewell party tonight for his former supervisor, Chris Seitz. The weekend will be spent on more cleaning and packing, with a bit of a break for an ultimate frisbee game in the morning. Monday we will make the trek to the hospital in Dundee for a second ultrasound and should find out if baby #3 is a boy or a girl. Tuesday we'll get on a plane...

This is by far the best 5 pounds we have spent since we have been here. We picked up this tricycle at a church charity sale on Saturday and Sam has spent hours riding it in our back garden.

We had a cookout with our church group on Wednesday night. The guys are, of course, manning the grill. That is Patrick, Seth, Chris, and Dave.

Everyone was amazed at Owen's ability to scarf down a half a hamburger in no time! What can we say, he likes to eat.

We celebrated Julia and Michelle's birthdays with a cake. Sam, however, couldn't resist lending his services to help extinguish the candles. It's not long until June 24th when it will be his turn - he says he wants a "bug" birthday cake.

Congrats!

2007-05-12T09:06:00.000+01:00

Congrats to my sister Rachel who is graduating from law school at Alabama today. We're proud of you and wish we could be there!

Good News

2007-05-09T19:33:00.000+01:00

We heard today that Seth passed his GRO! Yes, that means that he is well on the way to having PhD behind his name. A friend of ours has a little boy who described it like this: "My daddy is going to be a doctor, but not the kind that helps people." :)

Sam is officially scheduled to start preschool (called "nursery" over here) on August 22nd. We turned in his forms and took a tour of the school today. It's a fantastic place filled with lots of fun things to do and he did not want to leave. He will go every morning for a few hours.

Today we also scheduled our second ultrasound, which will be next Monday, the 21st, the day before we fly home. We should be able to find out if Sam and Owen will have a brother or sister at this appointment!

Just an update

2007-05-05T21:11:00.000+01:00

Hello! Hope all is well with all of you. We are doing well and looking forward to a visit home in just a few weeks. We've been missing Alabama a bit lately and talking about the things we'll do and places we'll visit when we get there. After the excitement of seeing family and friends, next in the conversation is usually food. We talk about Mexican food, Brio, and Moe's mostly, along with my mom's yummy cooking. This week I had a brunch with the ladies here and I brought cheese grits. It was several of the girls first time to try them which was fun. Tonight we had company and made sweet tea (with ice, which is a bit rare over here). So no worries - our southern roots are still alive and well.

We've finally made some decisions about the future this week. We will be staying here in St Andrews (no big moves to Toronto or Durham) next year and feel really good about that. Seth finished his term this week so seminars are over and no more tutorials or essays to grade. He'll be travelling to Edinburgh with a few other guys on Friday for a conference on Jeremiah at the University there.

I am feeling pretty good, just a little (ok, a lot) tired and am starting to grow around the middle. I will definitely be ready to search through all the boxes for my maternity clothes when we get home. The first picture is Sam with his friend Joanna Egan, who he is crazy about. He also loves the Dillers, pictured below. (Andrew, Naomi, and Sophia, Owen behind her if you look closely, and Sam in our back gardern)

Bugs and Bathtime

2007-04-26T18:39:00.000+01:00

Sam's new favorite thing to do is look for bugs in our back garden. He was so excited today when a ladybug crawled on his jacket. Owen's favorite time of day is bathtime.

Baby's first picture

2007-04-17T18:27:00.000+01:00

I had my first appointment today at the hospital in Dundee. Getting there is quite a journey, a 15 minute walk to the bus station and then 2 separate buses. The midwife (I won't see a doctor here unless there are complications) set my due date as October 26th. This is a picture of a picture (we don't have a scanner), so it is not the highest quality, but you should be able to make out a big head on the left and the little feet on the right. It was a long afternoon, 5 hours from leaving home to my return, but it is wonderful to see a healthy active baby. Thank God!

This picture is supposed to say "Now I'm the big brother!" but we could not get Owen to cooperate well enough to get the entire piece of paper. Oh well.

Research Update

2007-04-16T17:37:00.000+01:00

Today Seth turned in a bunch of work for his supervisor and another professor to evaluate. In a few weeks he and the other first year postgrads will, hopefully, be promoted in status from "general research ordinand" to "PhD candidate". He is sitting here next to me on the sofa and is now going to tell me exactly what it is that he is doing...

The working thesis title is The Law and the Prophets: True and False Prophecy in the Modern and pre-Modern History of Interpretation. The majority of the research will focus on the Christian tradition's interpretation of the prophetic disputation in Jeremiah 28. (The picture above is Rembrandt's Jeremiah lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem). It is Seth's opinion that the way forward in this issue is through the location and enumeration of what is called a "family resemblance" (Vergegenwartigung) that he is seeking to extract through a series of test cases. The reason is that the last 200 years of prophetic research has (often uncritically) utilized a historical-critical method in its attempt to explain and interpret the prophets as individuals. Seth hopes to show that there is intentionality in the canonical portrayal of the prophets, their opponents, and the situation. This project is both an Old Testament and hermeneutical survey of the discipline's attempt to make sense of an often neglected but, in Seth's opinion, central issue in scholarship's approach to the Old Testament.

...so there you go! Thanks for loving and praying for us while we are here. It is great to have such wonderfully supportive family and friends. Tomorrow I have my first doctor's appointment where I'll have an ultrasound and finally get a due date for the baby. I'll update soon with the details!

Watch out for the meat-flavored crisps!

2007-04-14T20:14:00.000+01:00

For a treat, we picked up dinner at Subway in town tonight and took it to a little courtyard for a picnic (or "picpic" as Sam says). I picked out what I thought was a bag of BBQ crisps (the word for chips over here, as chips are french fries). After eating one and noticing a strange taste, I looked more closely at the bag and realized I was actually eating BBQ Pork crisps. Yuck! I should have known to beware...I have noticed at the grocery store several strange varieties including prawn (shrimp), steak and onion, peking duck, roasted lamb, and chicken to name a few.

The last few weeks here have been really beautiful, sunny and in the 60's. Today we went to a soccer field with our friend Jake. Seth and Jake threw frisbee while Sam kicked a ball and Owen wandered around eating dirt and picking up rocks. Seth's big deadline is on Monday, he'll be turning in a chapter of his thesis along with an outline and bibliography. That will be a relief, as he has been putting in long hours lately. I will have to get him to help me with the next blog and give you a better update on his research, as his focus has changed quite a bit since we arrived here in September.

Easter in Scotland

2007-04-09T19:13:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was Easter (and my birthday too!) What a fun day it was. Seth and the boys made me waffles for breakfast and then we went to church. After church we went about cooking a ham from the butcher shop in town. This was a new experience for me! Our small group from church, 4 families for a total of 8 adults and 6 kids, came to our house for dinner. What a spread! We had ham, homemade bread, mac and cheese, green bean casserole, pineapple, mashed potatoes, layered spinach salad, celery sticks with blue cheese spread, deviled eggs, pecan pie, cookies, coconut cake, and easter bunny cake. It was all delicious and I am sure that no one left hungry. It was great to have a big holiday meal with part of our little "family" here in St Andrews. After dinner, the kids hunted Easter eggs in our backyard.

Time Out

2007-04-08T09:40:00.000+01:00

Whining and pushing his brother are the most common offences.

More pics of Rachel's visit

2007-04-07T20:38:00.000+01:00

This is Owen at the beach. It was a GLORIOUS day, 70 degrees and sunny. (This may not seem warm to you Alabamians, but over here it was quite a treat!) Owen was a little scared of the waves and wasn't so sure about the sand between his toes.

Owen also had a great time visiting the castle here in St Andrews.

Sam LOVES towers: real ones, lego towers, sand castle towers, etc.

On Friday night, Seth kept the boys while Rachel and I went to Edinburgh. This is the view from our hotel room! We visited the castle, rode a tour bus, saw some art by Monet, Van Gogh, and Raphael at the National Gallery, went to a nice lunch and a pub dinner, and enjoyed relaxing in the hotel room.

Here are Sam and Rachel in the Great Hall at Stirling Castle. Below is Rachel, Seth, and Owen at Stirling Castle.

Sam with the tallest of his favorite towers, the Wallace Monument in Stirling. Below Rachel and I are at the top of the 220 foot tall tower. The last picture is all 5 of us with a "Braveheart" statue.

Aunt Rachel in St Andrews!

2007-04-02T21:08:00.000+01:00

Rachel arrived yesterday and I can't tell you how excited Sam is to have a new playmate. They have built lego towers and train tracks, dyed Easter eggs and read books. Tonight we all went to Anstruther for the famous fish n' chips. We are heading to Stirling for the day tomorrow to visit the Wallace Monument and Stirling Castle. On Friday, just Rachel and I are going to take the train to Edinburgh to do some sightseeing and spend the night. Seth will stay home with the boys. I am looking forward to a night away from my darling children!

A new Tarrer on the Way

2007-03-18T20:07:00.000Z

That's right...we are expecting #3 in October! Owen is excited about getting to be a big brother and Sam will surely enjoy having a second little one to boss around. We won't have an exact due date for a few more weeks, when I will take the bus to the hospital in Dundee for an ultrasound. Things are done rather differently here than in the states, but we have heard that they take very good care of their pregnant moms.

No more news yet from Seth's former supervisor about what will happen next year and where we will be. For now, Seth is working with his newly-assigned supervisor, Dr. Mark Elliot, whom he really likes. They have a meeting tomorrow over lunch to discuss several things related to the big deadline that is coming up (the GRO...it means Graduate Research something...not sure what the O stands for). That's when he presents his work so far for evaluation and then his status changes from "General Research Student" to "PhD Candidate". He is working super hard and is a bit nervous about it all, but I am sure that he'll do great.

The days are getting much much longer and it is a bit warmer. Spring is definitely here! It is so fun to have flowers bloom in a garden that you didn't even plant! Daffodils are everywhere. We are really looking forward to a visit from my sister Rachel in just 2 weeks. Well, that pretty much catches you up with what is going on around here. I am attaching a few random pictures for you to enjoy. The first is Sam and Nora, a little girl that I watch on Friday mornings (check out the paisley carpet...we know you are jealous!). The second is the boys and me at the castle last Saturday. We love and miss you!

Sam's wellies and Owen's new word

2007-03-01T18:29:00.000Z

Here is Sam all decked out to go outside and play in the rain. He loves playing in puddles with the frog boots he got for Christmas from his Granna. We call them his "wellies", which is the word the Scots use for rain boots.
Aren't these just the cutest little fellas you ever did see? If you look closely, you might wonder just what it is that Owen is sitting on. If you guessed a potty seat, you would be right. Sam has been in the slow process of potty training for a year now. Owen is talking more and one of his new words is "tee tee". Cute!

Hospitals, American Idol, and Uncertainty

2007-02-24T19:21:00.000Z

Hello everyone! We have had a pretty eventful week and are just plain tired. Sam has had a persistent cough for a long time now which, along with some other things I won't go into because it would take too long and it is almost bedtime, led to a string of doctor and hospital visits. A wonderful friend drove Seth and Sam to Dundee to go to a specialist (really just a pediatrician) on Friday night. The doctors think his problems may be asthma related with a virus on top of that that is aggravating the asthma. But all we can do now is try all the asthma treatments and see if they help. So the contraption in the picture is an adaptor that makes it possible for a 2 year old to use an inhaler. For now he has to use it every 3-4 hours. He's on another inhaler and another medicine as well.

I don't know if I have mentioned before how horrible the television is here. There are only 4 channels and the shows are, for the most part, awful. The scheduling is crazy; a show might come on at different times every week and then not at all the next week. Anyway, I haven't turned on the TV in over a month until this afternoon and to my surprise, I found myself watching American Idol. No, I have never been a loyal viewer of the show, but it was a pleasant surprise to find after surfing the first 3 channels. (Channel surfing, by the way, doesn't take too long for us).

Our other big news is that Seth's supervisor, Chris Seitz, resigned from the University on Wednesday. He is looking at a job with another school, but we will not know all of the details for at least another week or so. We may follow him or we may end up staying here. So if you are reading this, please keep us in your prayers as there is much uncertainty in our lives right now.

Have you had your pancakes today?

2007-02-20T22:13:00.000Z

Today is Fat Tuesday which also coincides with the celebration of "Pancake Day" here in the UK. Pancake mixes and syrup (very different from pancake syrup in the US - no Aunt Jemima) all go on sale at the grocery store and everyone eats pancakes for dinner. Other than this strange holiday of sorts, I don't have much to report. We are doing allright. I took Sam to the doctor today for a persistent cough. The doctor told us that it could be asthma-related but we are going to give it a few more weeks before maybe trying an inhaler. Owen is difficult as usual, but growing so fast. The picture below is from a trip to the park this past weekend. The days are getting noticeably longer every week, a welcome change from the dark days of December and January.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2007-02-14T20:36:00.000Z

In case anyone was wondering, Valentine's Day is celebrated here in Scotland about the way it is in the states. Lots of flowers and chocolates. We, however, did not have a babysitter (we sure miss living closer to grandparents at times like these...) Our small group from church met at our house tonight. It is 4 families, a total of 8 adults and 6 kids. Crazy, but fun. Now Seth and I are going to sit down and watch a movie. We are doing well, the boys are getting over colds, and we have enjoyed 2 beautiful sunny days (following 4 days of nonstop rain). Seth is busy with research - he has a chapter deadline looming on April 15th (tax day of all days). He's also "tutoring" for an undergraduate class this semester, which involves teaching and grading of essays. So, just thought I would give ya'll an update on what we are up to. We love and miss you, as always.

SNOW!

2007-02-07T20:26:00.000Z

While Owen napped yesterday morning Sam played in the snow for the first time! He loved it. It was sunny and the flakes were huge! It only lasted about half an hour and then was gone. We hear that snow is pretty rare here since we are so close to the coast; we are happy to have been able to enjoy it!

Simple Pleasures

2007-02-04T14:54:00.000Z

One thing we have really missed since being here in St Andrews is waffles. We have tried pancakes but it is just not the same. So we finally broke down and ordered a waffle maker. It came in the "post" on Friday, just in time for Saturday morning breakfast. Yum!

Owen Birthday Pics

2007-02-04T14:45:00.000Z

Owen's aunt Rachel made him this chocolate cake and gave him the "sleepy duck" blanket.

One year old

2007-01-31T20:49:00.000Z

Happy Birthday Owen! I don't have pictures now because I am on a different computer but I will put some up later. We had some friends for dinner tonight and Owen got his second taste of birthday cake. Needless to say, the Tarrers have discovered their fourth chocoholic. Owen's friend Judah gave him a cool tractor toy that we are sure Sam will enjoy. A good time was had by all.

Nothing runs like a Deere (#2)

2007-01-28T19:47:00.000Z

A long day

2007-01-23T20:03:00.000Z

Well, we made it back to our house in St. Andrews around noon today after a very long day. Today's trip confirmed that Sam can sleep just about anywhere and that Owen cannot. If you don't believe us, ask those sitting around us, a number of whom moved to empty seats the moment the plane doors closed. There were only 60 of us on the entire flight. Sam was able to lay across 3 seats and slept about 5 of the 8 hours we were in the air. The rest of the time was spent eating, fussing, watching The Lion King, eating some more, and changing diapers. The boys are in bed now and our fingers are crossed that their sleep schedules will not be affected for long. So far so good. We miss you and enjoyed the time we spent with each of you in the states. Sam and Owen had a blast. Sam's trip was filled with excitement: playing with cousins, making a "choo-choo cake", perfecting his basketball skills, slaying dragons (and his brother), being bit by a bird at the zoo, and Mondays at Moe's, just to name a few. Owen changed so much. Over the last month he has learned to walk, say "bye-bye", "mama" and "dada" consistently, clap his hands, shake his head yes and no, and escape from his brother's tickle attacks. As for Seth and me, it's back to the grind, if by grind you mean long days of studying, walks on the beach, play dates, and LOTS of family time. So, it's good to be back but we miss you much. Now, if the weather would just warm up a bit...

A day at the zoo

2007-01-20T22:52:00.000Z

A year older

2007-01-10T03:09:00.000Z

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Seth turned 28 today (January 9th, although it says the 10th on the blog. That's cuz it is set for Scotland time.) He already celebrated with a cake at his parent's house and a birthday dinner (shrimp and grits...yum) at my mom's. Tonight we had another cake and next week we plan on dinner, just the 2 of us, at Brio. Don't you wish you got to celebrate four times?

Nothing runs like a Deere

2007-01-09T20:20:00.000Z

Sam's new hobby

2006-12-31T03:31:00.000Z

For Christmas, Sam got a few swords. A plastic "Dragon-Slaying" sword and a pair of foam swords (similar to the one in the picture, which was taken at the Stirling Castle gift shop). Sam LOVES to duel with his daddy. They chase each other all over the house. Our one rule is that he can't fight civilians (those without swords).

A Christmas Poem (by Seth Tarrer, 2003)

2006-12-25T22:44:00.000Z

I woke up this morning
With much on my mind;
So much to do;
And so little time.

I hopped in the shower,
And used shampoo too;
My teeth they were brushed,
(I'm recovering from flu).

On sweater, on pants,
On my favorite shoes;
I walked my dog Jack,
Then glanced at the news.

...and here is what I saw...

11 months gone,
The time's finally here;
Stores hustling and bustling
With holiday cheer.

Now in order to get
A fresh focus this year;
Please open your minds,
(that space 'tween your ears)

Imagine an alien,
Coming to town;
What madness, what mayhem,
He'd see all around.

If given a minute,
To stop and reflect;
He may raise his voice,
"Let me interject."

"I've traveled great distances,
Seen planets and moons;
But you're acting less human
Than fourteen baboons."

"You spoke of some reason,
Some purpose, some "Why."
But as of this moment,
I fear that's a lie."

If that were the case,
As our alien claims;
Our snapshots of Christmas
Are in need of new frames.

In order to get
The whole picture, I say;
"Let's start at the top,
For it's better that way!"

In a land far away,
On a hill not too steep;
Stood several cold men,
Looking after some sheep.

It'd been a hard day,
They looked forward to rest;
As they pulled their coats tighter
And cinced close their vests.

When all of a sudden,
There came a great blast;
They froze where they were,
All but Jared, he passed...

Out onto the ground,
When he finally came to;
He saw creatures above,
And thought, "What should I do?!"

It turns out that angels,
Can read shepherd's minds;
Don't you know that it happened,
Several times?

It'd be grand to relate,
How down through the years;
God has used funny things
To open men's ears.

But now's not the place,
The time or the when,
To engage in such tales;
I've a story to spin.

Back to the standoff,
We've wasted some time;

The shepherd were frozen,
In place where they sood;
No one moved, no one flinched,
They stood still as wood.

Now, the shepherds had given
Up hopes of survival;
But imagine their shock,
To hear of revival!

The angels it turns out,
Were not there for blood;
They'd been dispatched as messengers
Of ultimate good.

The shepherds could hardly
Believe what they heard;
God had sent them a savior;
John called him the "Word."

A babe had been born,
Not too far away;
In Bethlehem sleeping,
He now calmly lay.

The shepherds then, probably,
Hurried to leave;
For who could miss justice's
Gracious reprieve?

They packed up their bed rolls,
Coffee pots too;
And off to the city,
They virtually flew.

If you can remember,
Way back to high school;
The method of pregnancy's,
Not single, but dual.

Every child everywhere,
Has a mom and a pop;
It has always been so,
This will probably not stop.

But...

There was a young girl,
Of not 16 years old;
She knew all these things,
She'd been constantly told.

Her name was Mary,
And Joseph her beau;
And all over town,
Or where ever they'd go,

People knew who they were,
Nearly twice every hour;
The offer was made to
Throw them a shower.

Whenever she heard them,
Mary's heart always sank;
Cause she knew that a child
Had been placed in her tank.

An angel had visited her,
Some time before;
And told her God,
Had her in mind for a chore.

The creator of all
Had watched man in his mire;
And now, through this young girl,
Could He birth his Desire.

This child would be different
From all 'fore or since;
His name would be Jesus,
He'd bring recompense,

Between God and man,
From above to below;
This would be the best news
Any human could know.

There had once been a time
When creator and man;
Had perfect communion,
Had walked hand in hand.

But man was found guilty;
The sentence was treason:
He'd forsaken his king,
he'd abandoned all reason.

Both Adam and Eve fell to
Grevious deceit;
They had listened as Satan said,
"Take it and eat."

So they ate of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil...

As hopeless as this
Situation appears;
Plans had been in the works
For the last zillion years.

God had known that we all
Will eventually stray;
So he chose quite a rather
Unorthodox way...

To rescue a people who
At every turn,
Would much rather have
Their own way and then burn.

I know that this last bit was
Perhaps a bit tedious,
But we needed the past for
The story to speed us...

Back up to the place where we
Left pregnant Mary;
Whose predicament could
Easily be labeled "quite-scary."

Poor Joseph as well
Faced a difficult task,
If Mary's dad knew he would whup
Joseph's...

Mary carried a baby inside
Of her womb;
Who would one day be birthed
From a miserable tomb.

One would think that God's son,
Come to earth would receive;
A welcoming like you would
Never believe.

But instead he faced hardships
At every turn;
A close friend, it turns out,
Would selfishly burn...

The promised messiah
Thirty pieces his price;
But that cursed transaction
Cost him paradise.

He forfeited glory
In order to profit;
But if given the chance;
He would probably drop it

And run from those leeches
Who sought Jesus' head;
"To turn in the savior?
I'm better off dead."

These are the thoughts
He may possible think;
Imprisoned where silver
Won't buy him a drink.

We can't comprehend
The full magnitude;
Of Bethlehem's manger and its
Stable crude,

For our loving God,
Who was before time;
Through Christ put his feet
In humanity's slime.

And Christ, the new babe
Now laid in the manger;
Made unapproachable God no
More our mortal stranger,

He willingly gave up all his
Kingly rights,
And humbly weathered earth's
Dark lonely nights.

And defeating all manner of evil
He stood,
To be unjustly rewarded with cruel
Roman wood...

He hung there displayed for all
Eyes to scoff;
And for those who believed,
It seemed God's plan was off

The hope of their freedom
Was held by his kin;
But to Pilate and Herod he was
Turned over by them.

Instead of parading and
Flexing his might;
Jesus brought to men's blindness
The sweet gift of sight;

So things may be seen
The true way that they are;
And to view God up close,
Not just from afar.

So we may know the truth
Apart from festering lies;
And have the scales taken
Off of both our blind eyes.

All this healing was done
Late one black afternoon;
As Christ took on and paid for
Our imminent doom.

And bore the sin curse
We so rightly deserve;
And by this atonement did God's
Son reserve...

A place for his children,
Beloved, to dwell;
Long after the tall waves
In deep oceans swell...

Long after our watches
And clocks cease to run;
And heat and light no longer
Fall from the sun.

December and Christmas can
Easily become
A time that our hearts and loves
Grow coldly numb,

Let not the main reason
We gather and celebrate
To gifts or to Santa or to
Family relegate;

But let our small souls
And affections' gaze turn;
To the furious love of our great
God that burns...

And chases and woos
Our wandering hearts;
And seeks to shed love and
Grace to impart

To sinners such as
You and me;

This is the real message
At the heart of the season;
A babe in a manger can
Forgive me of treason,

Against the creator of
My own flesh and blood;
Against the one God
Who alone is called GOOD,

So as our families all celebrate at
Christmas this year,
May this little reminder
Ring loud in our ear:

Christ was born in a manger,
He's the hope of all man;
And still offers full pardon to
Believers, Amen.

'twas two nights before Christmas

2006-12-24T03:52:00.000Z

Sweet Home Alabama and Owen's first steps

2006-12-16T18:17:00.000Z

We made it home after a very very long day of travel. The taxi ride was an hour and a half, then 10 hours on a plane, then less than an hour in Atlanta to get through customs and recheck luggage, then another 45 minute flight. The boys did better than we expected. Sam watched Nemo, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and the Backyardigans. Our friends Jake and Chris were on the flight and let us borrow their computer for Sam's DVDs when the battery died on ours. Only a few people nearby seemed bothered by our noisy kids and the couple behind us had fun playing with Sam and Owen (we think this may have had something to do with the 10 or so whisky drinks they both drank throughout the flight:) At long last we made it and it is great to be home. It took the boys 3 days to adjust to the time difference, not nearly as bad as the trip to Scotland in September.

Our other news is that Owen took his first steps yesterday! Just a few, but definitely walking. He needs a little practice but we imagine he'll be keeping up with his big brother in no time!

See you soon!

2006-12-11T18:31:00.000Z

We've spent the last several days packing, Christmas shopping, cleaning, delivering holiday cookies to friends and neighbors, and tying up loose ends. We are excited about being in the South again soon. Our flight leaves in the morning. Can't wait to see everyone!

P.S. Sam registered for school today, which he'll begin in August! Here, children start at age three and go just for a few hours every morning. It isn't compulsory until age five. I think Sam will love it.

A lesson in Scottish vernacular

2006-12-10T13:12:00.000Z

There are occasions when we feel that we live in a very foreign land. Yes, we all speak English, but the Scots have some peculiar words. We thought you might enjoy a brief vocabulary lesson from time-to-time. Here ya go:

a dinnieken=I do not know
bairn=child
pants=underwear
trousers=pants
spot on=just right
keek=peek (like peek-a-boo)
midden=bathroom
ain=one
noo=now

These differences can from time to time cause some awkward situations. When Sam broke his leg and needed an x-ray, I asked the nurse if I needed to remove his pants. She looked at me strangely and said no.

We are preparing for a trip to the states. We'll be leaving on Tuesday morning. Please think of us and pray that the boys, particularly Owen, will tolerate the 9 hour flight as well as possible. Sam is getting over a stomach virus, so we are hoping that it doesn't spread to the rest of the family. We are looking forward to seeing everyone but will miss our friends and this little town that we have grown to love.

Scotland's hero

2006-12-05T20:20:00.000Z

Yes, William Wallace (better known to most of you as "Braveheart") is a pretty famous guy over here. Yesterday we drove to Stirling to visit the Wallace Monument and Stirling Castle. The monument is over 200 feet tall and looks over the city of Stirling, where William Wallace fought the Battle of Stirling Bridge. The wind was incredible and they actually closed the top of the monument because of fear that tourists might be blown off! Inside the tower are 246 very steep winding steps. The coolest part of the visit was seeing Wallace's sword, over 700 years old! It is 56 inches long (that's how tall I am!) and it is believed that he must have been at least 6'6'' tall to wield a sword of that size. Pictures: #1 Sam with Wallace's sword #2 View from the base of the Wallace Monument #3 Dad and Sam in the King and Queen chairs in the Great Hall at Stirling Castle #4 Dad and Sam make the climb up the spiral staircase #5 Sam and Mary from Stirling Castle with the Wallace Monument in the background. ***Note: I realize that Owen is a bit under-represented in these photos. Rachel, this is not because he is a second child. It is simply because he cannot walk yet and spent most of the day in the stroller. ***

The view from the top

2006-12-03T16:53:00.000Z

We took my dad and Catherine to the top of St. Rule's tower today. It was a first for all of us and we picked a great time to do it, the weather was just beautiful. Very, very windy but beautiful. The boys loved the tower, especially Sam. The stairs to the top were steep and winding and they made me just a bit nervous but thankfully Sam did not insist on walking. We also strolled along the old course, by the castle, the cathedral, the roundel, St. Mary's...basically saw all the sights of St Andrews in about 2 hours. That's the beauty of living in a small town.

Happy St. Andrews Day!

2006-11-30T19:15:00.000Z

Today is November 30th, St. Andrews Day. It is celebrated all over Scotland and is a particularly big deal in our little town. There have been festivities all week. Today the castle and cathedral let people in free and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, where the rules of golf were established, was open for tours. Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland and the cross of St. Andrew is on the Scottish flag. Legend has it that a Greek monk brought some of his remains to Scotland.

A few other bits of information... Seth was very happy to find a bike today! He bought one at an auction here in town and got a pretty good deal on it. It will save him time getting to and from his office (about a 15 minute walk). My dad and Catherine will be here on Saturday for a short visit before heading to Prague for a meeting. We're looking forward to showing them the sights (Mary is looking forward to having someone else to build Lego towers with Sam-he could do this for hours and hours! Owen loves to "help") We were at a friend's house this week who convinced Sam that he could blow out the lights on their Christmas tree. Every time Sam would blow, he would flip the switch and turn off the lights. He was thrilled! This has, however, presented a problem as more and more Christmas trees are popping up and they don't all respond the same to Sam's blowing.

Edinburgh

2006-11-26T15:33:00.000Z

We spent a great 4 hours in Edinburgh on Friday. That's all the time we had before we had to return the car. That's also about as long as Sam and Owen (particularly Owen) can handle in a big city before needing a nap. Edinburgh is a huge city which made driving a challenge. Getting there was easy since all the signs point to the "city centre" but leaving town wasn't so easy and we got pretty turned around. We spent the day touring the castle (definitley the best of the 3 we have seen so far), riding the huge ferris wheel (Seth and Sam), walking around New College where there is a big statue of John Knox, eating PBJ's and pretzels that we brought from home, and enjoying the German Christmas Market. We even saw a crazy guy dressed like Braveheart who would let you take his picture if you gave him money. It was a very full 4 hours and a memorable experience.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-24T19:15:00.000Z

Well, Thanksgiving in Scotland was a little different, but we still had turkey, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, and pecan pie. We can't complain! We rented a car on Thursday afternoon and drove to Dundee to have Thanksgiving dinner with the Rahaims, an American family that are serving as missionaries here in Scotland. There were about 20 of us. One of the girls who was there actually grew up in Hoover and went to Berry High school - what a small world! It was wonderful to have a big family together (even if it wasn't our family!) The picture above is of Seth with Linda Rahaim.

Since we didn't have to return the car until 4pm, we took a short trip to Edinburgh today (Friday). More on that later...

Picnic at a really old castle

2006-11-21T08:08:00.000Z

Well, my mom is gone now but it is nice to know that we'll get to see her and everyone else in just 3 weeks from today! These pictures are from a picnic we took last week. I wish I could tell you more about the history but when you tour a castle with a baby and a 2 year old, you really don't have a chance to learn much about the history. All I know is that it is really old, that it was destroyed and rebuilt in the 1500's, and now it is mostly just castle walls with a few rooms and a dungeon remaining. Still pretty cool. Sam loved it and also loved his peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

21 Gourlay Wynd

2006-11-19T16:39:00.000Z

This is where we live...21 Gourlay Wynd (pronounced with a long i, as in you "wind" a clock). It is a little house about a 10-15 minute walk from town. For the most part, we are really happy with it. It has 2 bedrooms and a study, which is big enough for Owen's crib ("cot"). It has a decent-size kitchen and living room and a bathroom where you can take a bath or a shower (many of our friends only have one or the other). We also have a washing machine and a dryer. The dryer is considered a luxury over here as many people hang their clothes to dry. We did this once or twice but haven't since. It rains alot in Scotland! In the winter people use racks that are laid over the radiators in each room to dry clothes. I have decided that the cost of the electricity to run the dryer is one I am happy to pay to not have our clothes spread all over the house all the time. The carpet throughout the entire house is flowered and doesn't match anything. Sam's room is peach on 2 walls with peach and pink striped wallpaper on the other walls. Thankfully, he doesn't seem to mind. We have a small front yard where Seth cuts the grass with an electric lawn mower - it plugs into an extension cord inside the house! We also have an enclosed back yard ("garden").

The best fish & chips in Scotland

2006-11-18T17:14:00.000Z

We took a fantastic day trip to Anstruther, a little fishing village in East Neuk ("nook"). We took a short bus ride and as soon as we arrived it started to rain. We quickly found a coffee shop to get out of the cold and dry off. Thankfully, the rain was short-lived and we were able to enjoy the harbor and lighthouse. Our primary reason for the trip was to eat at the Anstruther Fish Bar, known all over to have the best fish & chips (french fries) in Scotland. It really was very good. Come visit - it will give us a great excuse to go back!

Football and ducks

2006-11-15T21:27:00.000Z

Some friends had us over last Saturday to watch the Auburn/Georgia game on their digital cable. It was great to see college football after a few months without it, although the outcome of the game was less than desirable. Sam had fun with his friends Lucas and Rylan while his daddy watched the game. The other picture is of our favorite (very hungry) ducks. We feed them quite often and have learned that they will eat not only bread, but Cheerios, or whatever else mommy happens to have in her bag. We pass over this stream (or "burn", as they say over here) every time we go into town.

Driving on the "wrong" side of the road

2006-11-14T19:31:00.000Z

We got out of town today with a rental car for the first time. We drove up into the mountains of Scotland to a town called Pitlochry. (The town names are so funny here, we passed through Pickletillum and Wormit). The drive was beautiful and Seth did a great job navigating the roundabouts and staying on the left side of the road. We saw Blair Castle and a dam with a fish ladder, as well as some really cool Highland cows. Last night we wanted to make good use of the car so we took it to McDonald's in Dundee but were disappointed that there was not a playground! Sam and Owen are really enjoying their Granna. Seth and Mary were thrilled to get an entire suitcase full of Starbucks coffee, chocolate chips, cake mixes, pancake syrup, cornmeal, Crystal Light, graham crackers, goldfish, Ranch dressing mix, and peanut butter. These things are hot commodities over here! We are really looking forward to cornbread with dinner tomorrow night.

Only in Scotland...

2006-11-11T13:07:00.000Z

Research

2006-11-10T08:21:00.000Z

I had a few requests from people curious as to the focus of Seth's research. He is examining John Calvin's commentaries to be able to determine the extent to which Calvin can be brought into the current conversation in Old Testament Theology; particularly in the areas of Prophetic conflict, fulfillment, and the history of interpretation of some of the minor prophets (i.e. Jonah). So there you go. His primary supervisor is Chris Seitz, an Old Testament scholar who has worked with one of Seth's favorite interpreters, Brevard Childs. He has another supervisor, Steve Holmes, who will be contributing on the Calvin side. The pictures above are of John Calvin and Chris Seitz. I think you can guess who is who. We can't find one of Steve Holmes; sorry.

Our "wee blonde lad"

2006-11-09T12:41:00.000Z

That was the way a sweet Scottish lady described Sam when she saw us in town this morning. "Wee" is a word used here almost as often as "Cheers!". Wee just means little and Cheers ends most conversations. The weather is beautiful today but definitely getting colder and the days are getting shorter. The shortest days are in January I believe and basically the sun comes up after 9am and it is dark around 3pm. There summer makes up for this however when daylight hours stretch from 4am til 11pm. Hope you are all doing well. We miss you. Cheers!

Where Seth spends his days

2006-11-08T08:07:00.000Z

"The Roundel, a category A-listed late 16th/early 17th Century house with Georgian additions, was until last year in urgent need of repair, and has been refurbished and converted into a self- contained study centre for the University's world-renowned School of Divinity". That is a blurb I copied and pasted from a website describing the great place that Seth has to study. He has an office on the top floor. The building is divided into several rooms with 5 office spaces in each. Seth is in the Hadow Room, named for an old St Mary's president. There are also common rooms for students to meet for a "cuppa". "Cuppa" is the word used here that I believe can either mean a cup of tea or coffee. It is well known that the best view in the house is from the bathroom (see picture of Seth below), which looks over the cathedral ruins and sea. In other news, I am looking forward to a visit from my mom, who will be here on Sunday. She'll be bring several requested "essential" items that we cannot find here, including chocolate chips. (Can you believe it?! We made cookies by chopping up a chocolate bar). The boys are excited about seeing their Granna and showing her all of their favorite places.

Showing off my new teeth

2006-11-07T14:36:00.000Z

Our church

2006-11-07T09:03:00.000Z

Okay, not exactly. This is the St Andrews cathedral. It is where St Andrew's remains were brought a long long time ago (They have since disappeared). The huge cathedral was built but most of it was eventually destroyed by strong winds although some people blame John Knox and others at the time of the reformation. The church we attend, Holy Trinity Parish Church of Scotland, was built on the cathedral remains before it moved to the center of town in 1412. Now the cathedral grounds are a cemetery where you can find famous dead golfers. It's a fascinating place. Sam and Owen were not quite as intrigued as I was. You can see their very cool stroller in the picture. This is our transportation, as we have no car. So far I (Mary) am enjoying the pedestrian lifestyle although I may change my mind as it gets colder.

A broken leg

2006-11-06T08:31:00.000Z

Sam broke his leg a few weeks ago at a playgroup. He fell off a little toddler slide, only 2 or 3 feet high. We had to visit the St Andrews hospital for x-rays and then Seth took him on the bus to the hospital in Dundee for the cast ("plaster") as they say here. Dundee is about a 20 minute bus ride from St Andrews. The picture of Seth wearing the yellow helmet is in the emergency room. The boys fell asleep in the stroller on the way home after quite an exciting morning. Sam got to pick the color for his cast. Thankfully, it came off a few days ago. It is still a bit sore but he is doing really well. By the way, as an American, it is a very strange feeling to leave 2 hospitals without paying a penny and without filling out a single form!

A few more pictures

2006-11-05T14:21:00.000Z

We went to a Halloween party on Tuesday with LOTS of kids and lots of creative costumes. See, there is no Walmart in St Andrews so creativity is definitely a must. Sam was a turtle. I was a football player and Owen was my football. Sam had a blast carving his very first pumpkin, with a little help. He kept eating the pumpkin seeds.

First time to post a blog...

2006-11-05T10:06:00.000Z

Hello to all. This is a first for me (Mary) so we'll see how it goes. This picture is of Seth, Sam, and Owen on Swilcan Bridge at the Old Course in St. Andrews. I'll try to add more pictures soon. Today is Guy Fawkes Day, by the way. A crazy holiday that they celebrate over here with bonfires and fireworks. It is in memory of a guy who tried to blow up Parliament and kill the Pope. "Remember, remember the 5th of November".