Visiting London

Two weeks ago I was able to spend the weekend in London with my dear friend Natalia. Ryan and I came to know Natalia through her brother and his wife, our good friends Eric and Ashley Durso, whom we met through Master's. Natalia and I really connected because her husband, Lavar, and two little boys are living a similar lifestyle as us. They also met at Master's and are now living in France while Lavar plays basketball. 

Natalia decided to take a little break and bought a flight to the UK so we could spend a fun, relaxing girl weekend together in London! She flew into Gatwick Airport, I drove down to meet her, we booked a hotel for a couple nights and took the train into London the next morning!

The Victoria train Station

 

 

The first place we took the bus to was Camdentown. This had tons of market shops.

We spent some time in Trafalgar Square.

 
 

  

 

After that we walked to Big Ben and then to Westminster Abbey.

 

  

 

  

From there we walked to Buckingham Palace:)

 

 

 

After that we had dinner at the Shakespeare Pub. I had the Big Ben Burger:) It was pretty delicious!

We also spent some time in Oxford on our way back to Leicester. We felt so intelligent walking around amongst all the Oxford students and were amazed by the architecture down each street. 

 

  

 

 

  

 

Natalia and I had such a great time. Although she said she needed a break from the boys and speaking French, this trip may have been more beneficial for me:) She was able to share with both Ryan and I great advice about many different things including different things we should expect in the future since her and Lavar have done this a few more years than we have.  They've seen a few more challenges with the language barrier and also taking care of their two children but it was very encouraging to hear how they've been taking everything in stride. We constantly talked about our lifestyles in the different countries and how we love traveling and being submersed in all the different cultures. We hope to make this a yearly tradition and maybe someday we could end up on the same league or the even the same team!!

Looking Back

February 9, 2010 is a date that changed mine and Ryan's life. A year ago yesterday we stepped foot in the land down under.

For six months Ryan and I were waiting and praying for news. Any news. News that would tell us we would be going to a different country. News that would allow us to pursue our dreams of playing basketball and share our faith in Christ to those we came in contact with. But on January 18th our prayers were answered. It was a morning I will never forget. Ryan received a text from his dear friend Siona that morning and it read, "Praying for you both this morning and praying that you are overwhelmed with God's goodness today." That was it. Short and sweet, and I literally broke down in tears. Little did he know that those short words of encouragement were going to be the definition and theme for us that day... that month... and all throughout that year. And little did he know that we had received an email only TEN minutes before from a basketball team in Geraldton, WA, Australia.

The email was from the general manager of the Geraldton Buccaneers. He asked Ryan to be a part of their 2010 season starting that March. We couldn't believe our eyes. We had been praying for an answer for so long and now the answer is right in front of us at the click of a button. God is Good. His Goodness to us is so overwhelming and so undeserving! Clearly knowing this was God's answer to our long awaited prayers and a wide open door of opportunity we decided to take the call and run through the door. This meant we had to leave in two weeks; the 7th of February. Not knowing what was in store for us, we were extremely excited to see how the Lord would provide for us and how he would use us in Australia.

The week leading up to our flight, we were trying to get our packing under way and focus on the last few days at our jobs as the excitement burst from our bodies. WE were going to Australia! We had never imagined it in a million years. But God knew best. He knew that our time in Australia would changed our lives forever. He knew we would face challenges that would strengthen us as a couple and bring us closer to Him. He protected us and provided for us. He allowed us to find a great church and make unbelievable friends!! 

The experiences and memories we had in Australia we will never forget. We don't always see the big picture of our lives and we don't always understand God's timing in our lives, but only in hindsight can we really see how the Lord was preparing us even today for our time in England!

We just wanted to thank you, family and friends, for your continued prayer in all our journeys across the world. God has been extremely good to us and has blessed us with more than we could ask for!

Glasgow, Scotland

A few weeks ago Ryan had a game in Glasgow, Scotland. On our way into Scotland The hills and farmland were covered in snow but you were still able to see the old stone walls that separated each lot of land. This was one of my favorite things. I felt like I should be seeing men walking around in kilts blowing on their bagpipes. 

As we first drove through the city in our big coach bus, Ryan and I gave each other a look that said "This place is awesome!" Literally, on each corner there were steeples from old gothic churches standing higher than any other point in the city. It had a much different feel than England. The buildings here are much more gothic in style and made from big blocks of stone rather than the popular brink in England. 

We didn't have a chance to spend much time in Scotland, but what we saw, we loved. Because we arrived and hour and a half before the start of the game I decided to take a gander outside and see what treasures I could find. It had recently snowed so it looked absolutely beautiful, especially as the sun began to set. 

There isn't much to this post, I hope to add more pictures of Scotland someday, but I couldn't let these photos sit on my camera and go unseen. I wanted to share some of the grand old buildings and beautiful structure of Scotland.

This is the building Ryan played in. I was able to capture the sliver of the moon in the second photo...

 

Across the street was a walking path along a river...

 

On the other side of the river stood one of the beautiful gothic churches...

 

Next to the church was the University of Glascow...

Diagonal from the stadium was another ornately designed structure. It was an art gallery and museum...