Legoland!!....

The day had finally dawned....

We arrived with different emotions. Some were unenthusiastic, but there was one who couldn't believe the day had finally arrived...

The only question was what do we do first?.....
...a visit to New York perhaps?
...or Paris?

what about the Sydney Opera House?...

...or even go as far as the Taj Mahal?...

We even saw the inauguration of President Obama...

...yes all made out of Lego!!

There were a few famous people/robots we had to meet...

One of them even challenged Andrew!!

There were rides that the girls enjoyed....

This is what happens when you don't eat your dinner in Legoland!!!!

...at the end the day we left with one very happy and contented little boy...
Legoland was a great day out...

Here is my honest assessment of it...

It is definitely geared towards little boys up to 12 years of age (who are into Lego). There a few things girls will enjoy also, princesses, pink bricks etc,. I felt it was over priced for what was in there. We had some coupons which kept our prices down, buy online they are $10 cheaper than gate prices. There are a some good rides for the whole family and 1 or 2 that Andrew didn't even face. If you are wanting thrill rides don't go here. The food inside the park was like anywhere else...good but overpriced, budget for it and share a 'feast' lunch at the Castle part of the park.

On the whole our family enjoyed the day. It is not like Disneyland where you will save up and every 4-5 years perhaps return. It is definitely a 'once in a lifetime' trip, so make the most of it while you are there. My suggestion would be get together with any other family that has boys and plan have a dad and lads days out, let the mums and daughters go shopping or whatever else they fancy. It saves money and everyone is happy!!
especially those little boys!!

Travelling south...

Wednesday 29th July

We started on the long haul to SoCal.

We planned to stay overnight with our good friends The Elliotts in Riverside,CA.

It is always an adventure there with all their wild life. Andrew had a great time chasing lizards, watching hummingbirds, catching june bugs, seeing wasps catch terantullas...seriously, this did happen..sorry I didn't get it on camera. So here is what I did catch on camera of our adventures there.

Chilling on the patio...

renewing fellowship with friends....Alistair and Lizette Winters... I spy with my little eyes...Lizards...this one just came out for a few seconds before retreating back under the umbrella stand...

Old Ben, he came with them from Scotland... The Hummingbirds were hard to capture on camera..they are fast

Even though it was July, Pastor Elliott was able to catch a june bug and put a string on his leg..watch the video below and you will see what happened...

What a safari we had just in the back yard and our holiday had only begun!

I almost forgot to let you see the glorious sunsets at the Elliotts resort.Spectacular or what?You would think it was some faraway tropical paradise...well I suppose it is!!

Truly the lines have fallen to us in pleasant places...

A day at 'Wackford'.......

Ok, so Dad had been to Kentucky and returned, I had finished decorating our bedroom and a big promise was to be fulfilled to the kids...a day at the Wackford Aquatic Centre.
It was to be a day of relaxation and fun.

...and it was. Rob and I chatted some, read some, swam some and watched the kids dive..This is Deborah it was about her 10th time.. no fear

...it was Andrew's first time, he was a little cautious

...as for Esther she doesn't just jump in...she decides to do a forward flip!! ...oh and Andrew did find the courage to take that BIG step!!! It was a great day by the pool, sadly Lois missed some of it, she had to work and could only make the last couple of hours. I'll be posting the rest of our holiday time over the next few days...stay tuned!!

We're all gone on a summer holiday.....

Hi everybody.

Sorry I have not been around for a while.

Summer routine,

for some reason does not give me so much time to blog!!

We did have a week of VBS which was great. Over 50 kids both from the church and from the neighbourhood.

Too much decorating to be done!!

Now, however we have managed to get away for a few days. We are heading to Oceanside near Legoland for a couple of days.

Today we are spending time with our good friends and fellow expats the Elliotts in Riverside.

I forgot to bring the cord for my camera so I can't upload my photos, something to look forward to when I get home.

Hope everyone is having a good summer and praising God for His grace and favour.

Learning from a Little Letter....Part II

A few weeks ago I had started to pass on the lessons from the little letter to Philemon we were studying in our midweek prayer meeting.

Here is the second part....

Paul's Commendation of Philemon's Christianity

A. His Gratitude:v4-5

Philemon's love and faith toward the Lord Jesus was seen to be genuine, what we might call his love vertically, and his love was also seen horizontally, for all the saints. v5 In other words Philemon's relationship with the Lord Jesus translated into a relationship with his church.

If Paul knew us would he be able to say the same about our Christianity?

B.His Desire:v6

In Greek 'sharing the faith' is the word 'koinonia' which means fellowship which includes serving, giving, sharing, partnering for the sake of Christ. Paul's desire is that Philemon's engagement in 'koinonia' will result in him growing in his experience of all good things Christ gives. What Paul challenges Philemon and us with is this...'it's great what you are doing - do more!' There's always more that can be done in the work of Christ. We can always love more, be more hospitable, pray more, read more, we must never think we have arrived.

C. His Delight:v7

Paul testifies of receiving much joy and comfort from Philemon's faithfulness and the fact that the church has benefitted from it. He was the kind of man you would want to be around, you would be refreshed by his presence.

Application:

So this leaves us with the a few questions...

What kind of testimony do I have..with my Pastors, with the church?

Is it clearly marked by the graces of love and faith?

Does it translate into ministering to the saints in the church?

In what ways does it manifest itself?

We serve a great omnipotent God who has sent his Holy Spirit. By His help we can open our mouths, our arms, our homes, and our bank accounts all to the Glory of God.

Philemon - 'the blessing of a good testimony'

Happy 4th of July everyone....

Final Anniversary Installment....

Elephant seals, Cambria and Sunsets.....

These seals were all over this small beach. They made a real strange noise but were very relaxed and happy soaking up the rays.

Cambria.... This little town took me by surprise, I had not expected such quaint English charm in the architecture.

neither had I expected such glorious sunsets....

We left this part of California with wonderful memories and a determination to return....

A Testimony to Opulence...

Hearst Castle

So, if you can imagine the great halls of Edinburgh castle, breakfast room from the Spanish, ceilings of the Cysteine Chapel, a few Greek statues, the baths from a Roman villa, throw in a dining room from a French Castille, and there you have Hearst Castle. Everything is finished in the finest marble, granite and gold. I have to say I wasn't greatly impressed as we looked at it from afar but when we arrived up at the house it truly was impressive and had all the mod cons of the day. You certainly could imagine all the stars from Hollywood strolling around the grounds, going for a horseback ride, cooling off in the Grecian pools, or having a game of tennis.

Originally known as "Camp Hill," its wilderness offered a place for family members and friends to "rough it" on camping trips. Despite elaborate arrangements with separate sleeping and dining tents, Hearst envisioned more comfortable accommodations. His simple instructions to famed San Francisco architect Julia Morgan in 1919: "Miss Morgan, we are tired of camping out in the open at the ranch in San Simeon and I would like to build a little something"

And this is what he came up with......

Having said that, the view of the Central California coast is hard to beat.

There is tremendous story behind the building of this home. It took a lot of patience and endurance to complete this magnificent home. However, we were reminded of the words of Christ, "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul."