Glad to be in Glasgow

The last three months were...busy. Like I'm not sure I've ever been so busy before. I sat down to blog several times, but the posts were either whiny or wordy, and I never hit publish.

To quickly summarize May and June,
-We obtained UK visas after jumping through about 348984 hoops. It was WAY more work than we thought it was going to be! All's well that ends well though, and we are grateful to be here.
-We rented out our house to a sweet friend who gets to live there with her sister. Total answer to prayer for both of us.
-We found a great foster family for Sullivan. She has already sent us three emails, a picture and a video of Sullivan playing with his "foster sister" Maggie. We are so very thankful for this situation.
-We filled up a storage unit with our stuff (how do we have so much stuff??); sweet-talked our parents into taking our cars; and shipped everything else to Glasgow. We are looking forward to being reunited with those possessions (like the pants I desperately need, joke's on me!) since we are waiting until we have an address to receive them.
-We received tons of help from friends (I'm looking at you, KPro and Ellen!) and our families. My in-laws spent a week helping out while I did VBS at church, and the kiddos had a blast playing with Grandma and Pops. My parents filled in a lot of gaps and we definitely wouldn't have made it here without their help. Thanks to everyone who helped us get here, in big and small ways.
-We had a wonderful visit with my sister and her new baby, and enjoyed playing in the pool and doing lots of Charleston-things while she was here. Haylee is the sweetest niece ever!
-We managed to take care of the kiddos, and so far they appear pretty well-adjusted despite the complete chaos of the last few months.
-We said goodbye to family and friends in Charleston, hopped on a plane, and just like that, we were in Glasgow (actively working to repress how "fun" the plane rides were).

On the whole, we LOVE being here. The people are incredibly friendly; the buildings are old and cool (there's lots of HEY WE LIVE IN EUROPE! moments); and mostly we are so busy making a living (Thomas) or trying to make the transition as seamless as possible for the kiddos (Ashley)  that we feel contented and settled. Or as settled as you can feel when you are living in a hotel and spending all of your free time looking for a flat, all while trying to explore the city and make it feel like home. Flat-hunting is a whole post in itself, but suffice it to say, being on House Hunters International as so many suggested is starting to look a lot more fun...We are confident that God has a place for us, though, and hopefully we are honing in on one that isn't too shabby, too expensive, or too small.
The kids are doing awesome. They quickly adapted to the time change--much faster than we did--and haven't seemed to mind that we are living in a two-bedroom suite in a hotel. Lillian has charmed the desk staff, and they give her 2-3 apples from their bowl every time we walk in and out. Needless to say, Thomas and I have eaten our body weight in apples this week. Malcolm is her favorite, and she screams "my favorite man is here!" every time he is working, much to his delight. She also loves all of the city accouterments. There is always a button to push, an escalator or lift to ride, a bus or taxi to spot, a pigeon to chase, a busker to watch, a train/subway car to board, etc. When she's in a really good mood, she runs down the sidewalks screaming some combination of songs from Frozen, Rio or various nursery rhymes. People seem to enjoy her vivacity, and her Southern drawl is mostly decipherable to them. We are marveling at the fact that she will be 3 at the end of next month.
Elliott continues to be a rockstar little guy. He started out the move with a nasty double ear infection, quickly catapulting us into the NHS world--free doctor's visit and free medicine, even out of hours! Huzzah! He is cutting his second tooth; cruising around all the furniture; and eating everything in sight. We call him Mr. Chubbs because he loves all food. Last night at dinner, Lillian was messing around as usual, not really eating, and we all looked over to see that Elliott had grabbed her plate and was cramming her sandwich into his mouth. He is a champion stroller (pram) rider, which is good since he is logging quite a bit of time in our behemoth of a vehicle. His other nickname is "Mr. Congeniality" because that pretty much sums up his take on life thus far. His birthday is also next month (SERIOUSLY HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!)
Thomas and I are doing quite well, too. His new office is small but really cool, for lack of a better word, and he is enjoying the work he's beginning here. He continues to balance work and home life really well, which I am thankful for. I am having fun figuring out how to "do life" in a completely new environment without the built in support of family and friends, and with certain challenges like not having a car or a nest just yet. It's so nice at night to just hang out and relax after the incredible busyness of the last few months. Scouring the real estate pages for new lettings (rentals) and laughing at the absurd number of quiz shows that the British watch are two of our new favorite pastimes. We are thankful for God's abundant grace in getting us here, and for giving us this opportunity.

More to come from Glasgow soon. If you read all of that, I am impressed. Here are some pictures as a reward. And I'm pretty proud to say that none of these are Instagram or Facebook repeats. Mostly we just take a lot of pictures.

Accidentally stumbled upon a 4,000+ person parade on Saturday. You can see that this flag-bearer is opposed to Scotland's independence referendum, which will be voted on in September.

Lillian sewing her book at the Gallery of Modern Art last week. All of the museums in Glasgow are free, and most are kid-friendly. WINNING.

Elliott's contribution to her book at the GOMA

Master of mischief, perhaps. How hilarious is this label?

Watching some buskers on a nearby street. She told me, very seriously, at the end that "he's not Papa" since my dad also rocks out on the guitar. 

I am starting to understand why there are so many indoor play places in Scotland.

#reallife #lifeinahotelroom

Pretty typical street scene--chill E, up-to-something L, rain

Playing, aka eating a crayon on the floor of Wagamama

Pure delight on the subway

When all four of us are together, the subway is the way to go (I can't do it by myself with the kids and the stroller).

A "beach" in front of the Riverside Transport Museum. Just like home! Minus the long sleeves and pants, of course

Selfies on the subway in our gold "spawkles"