One Month!

We survived our first month as expatriates!

I can't believe it's been a month already... the time is really flying by. In our short month here, we've already moved once (ha!) from our temporary "short let" to our college-owned house which we're still settling into little by little. It's as incredibly wonderful as a 200-year-old house can be, and we're thrilled to be living here in this location. We've met some fantastic people and have made wonderful friends.

Collin has begun his course (that's how they say it here, rather than "classes") and is loving every minute of it all. He was elected among his peers to Chair the Management Consulting Club at Oxford and he has several direct responsibilities added to him because of that. But that's exactly how he loves to live-- BUSILY! :) He's eagerly calculating a vision for the group and is hoping to have his committee of officers appointed soon so that he can have some relief and so that the group can continue to build energy and momentum for the year. We're so proud of him, and it's honestly a ton of fun for me to get to watch him do this all over again. (For those who didn't know us when we dated in college, Collin was elected twice to be the President of his class at Texas A&M his junior and senior years. So many aspects of this are a complete flashback for me and it's fun to get to watch him doing this again.) He is an effortless leader, and it's refreshing to see him have the opportunity to exercise that ability again --nearly a decade later. He's thoroughly enjoying seeing new face after face, learning about different lives and hearing different stories. We are both enjoying the thrill of seeing the world with new eyes.

Tomorrow Collin will Matriculate and I cannot WAIT to take pictures of that! (Family is not invited to the actual ceremony because the hall is too small to hold everyone, but I'll snap some pictures on the grounds before they march away.) He and his classmates will dress in full sub-fusc and will march through the city and into the Examination Schools (a building where all exams for anyone attending Oxford University are taken) for the Matriculation ceremony. Matriculation is not something I'm familiar with being from the States, but even here in the UK it is done several different ways at different universities. The mandatory sub-fusc dress is an Oxford thing and is by no means "normal." :) (But then again I would venture to guess that most traditions at a University founded in the 11th century may look strange to us as 21st century beings!) At any rate, OUR Collin gets to dress up like Harry Potter in a cloak with a white bow-tie and a mortarboard hat tomorrow and gets to participate in a ceremony that initiates him into a Brotherhood with the likes of Knights and Prime Ministers, Scholars and Presidents, world-renown inventors and entrepreneurs, scientific pioneers and Nobel Prize winners. Nerdy white bow-tie or not -- any way you slice it, that's pretty cool.

The girls and I are SO very happily "dwelling in the land and cultivating faithfulness." :) We've found several of our neighbors have turned out to be sweet friends and we're continuing to meet new people daily! We're finding our new normal and cooking-up a routine. I'm loving that there are so many different opportunities for stay-home Moms with young children here. Several drop-in playgroups, kids classes, Mums groups, etc. We don't spend much time at home since we have such a small amount of toys here, but it's really good for us to get out and be immersed in this new world of ours. Everyday it seems we discover a new store, cafe or park... Oxford is SMALL compared to most cities in the UK, but it's like the tiny town that seems to grow as you discover it! They have everything you could want or need. It is beautiful and lovely in every way and we are truly enjoying life here.

Avery has made several new friends and is currently on a wait list for school. If she is offered a spot, we will TAKE it! :) The government will pay for her to go to school for a 1/2 day, 5 days a week. For a 4-year-old, you can't beat that! (I won't tell you how much we were paying for preschool in Dallas!) She occasionally says things with a tiny British inflection- not the accent, but just the same inflection. Although, when she pretend-talks for her lego people, they use a British accent... so that's funny to watch. Occasionally I'll read their bedtime books with my best British sound. Avery isn't a fan of that. She usually gripes and asks me to use my "nice voice" and not to "talk like Oxford, England." Julia, however... finds it hilarious.

Jules loves it here. She enjoys the garden (backyard) and having a fenced-in grassy area to run her legs and explore. She's thrilled having stairs in the house and likes that Avery usually lets her sit in the front seat of the stroller on our daily adventures. She is actually ...drumroll, please... OFFICIALLY out of diapers!! (Or "nappies" as they call them here.) Potty training in a foreign country has been/still is a beast, and I'm sure she'll still have the occasional accident but for the most part- we're done! And Julia also uses an "Oxford" voice when she pretends with her toys, but it sounds absolutely nothing like a British accent, whatsoever... Still hilarious.

As for me: I'm happy. I'm learning so much about myself just by living in a different culture. I love meeting people who don't look like me, talk like me, think like me, act like me... and allowing those friendships to enrich my life while I take every opportunity to pour myself into those individuals, as well. I've already had several "Aha!" mind-expanding moments, or ideas that seem to be original, and it feels like I am somehow taking root in creativity-rich soil or something. Just looking out our kitchen window makes me want to paint. I bought a sketch pad and some soft graphite pencils... Can't wait to get a chance to use those. I haven't sketched since College.

God is good and we are blessed. Thank you all at home for covering us in prayers. We feel it and we appreciate it more than you could possibly know. Love and hugs to all!... and more to come! (I have TONS of pictures I haven't yet posted, so forgive me if the next few posts are all pictures and no words. Surely if you've actually read through all of this, you're ready for a little less chatter anyway!) :)