Hey Y'all!

We have had a few lovely days of sunshine recently. We did not even need jackets! The weather can change so fast though and On Monday it began to rain - freezing rain and then later in the day it began to snow heavily. We enjoyed Debbie coming to visit last Wednesday. It was nice to go exploring Amish country again. I hadn't been there since the beginning of January due to the snow. On Friday I hosted a Lia Sophia Jewelry party. We had a great time and lots of the other MMS ladies came. We enjoyed some more tablet, (made to perfection by Debbie - under my guidance of course! ;0) And some home made empire biscuits and chocolate fondue. Calorifically wonderful! I have since been dieting! The children were really good and went to their bed promptly at 7pm and stayed there!

We visited the city of Columbus with Debbie on Saturday and just enjoyed exploring the shops. We explored a good shop called "Trader Joes" and managed to find some Weetabix really cheap. Made in Canada though but Matthew and Andy are both really enjoying a little taste from Scotland. We took Debbie to visit the MMS hanger for the first time and see where Andy was working. Andy was busy investigating some problems with the electrics on the plane. Abi and Matthew are always thrilled visit Daddy at work and get to climb inside the planes. Not many little boys aged two have been in a plane as many times as Matthew! Debbie was due to leave on Tuesday but the weather looked a little dubious and so she left on Monday instead. It was just as well as she would probably not have been able to leave on Tuesday. The schools were all cancelled again and the roads were very slippy. Just as I am feeling better, Andy is now full of the cold! Pray he recovers quickly. He is trying to study his electrical theory topic and this with the cold is not a good combination. I am wondering if it is because the air is so dry here that our sinuses have been affected. I know you are problem thinking it is just winter colds etc but I am not convinced. Most American houses I have been in all have a humidifier and they say it helps to reduce nasal congestion. The electric heaters we have make everything even more dry and I really notice that you do not need the air vent on in the bathroom much during showering. I guess all the kettle boiling from tea drinking and cooking steam is actually helping the air and I notice the windows do not steam up much when cooking like in Scotland. I go about hanging wet towels around the house to get some more moisture in the air. Very interesting discovering the climatic differences between Scotland and Ohio.

While Andy is investigating electrics I am busy exploring the connections between humidity and nasal congestion!

Abi is doing fine. She has just finished her fourth oxford tree stage 2 reading book. She now knows how to write "To mummy" and "To daddy" on her pictures which is a real delight She is really enjoying a little preschool learning CD on the computer and can sit there and navigate her way through the activities herself with the mouse. I keep having to take all the paper out of the printer as she likes to print her pictures and we were running out of ink far too quickly! Matthew loves to play with the toy kitchen and make banana soup and pancakes. He sets out the table for his teddy and prepares quite a feast! He helped me set the dinner table tonight for the first time and checked with Abi if this size of fork would be okay for her to eat her dinner with. He likes very much to do his "school work" at the same time and he has now discovered the pencil and eraser. Usually the kitchen table is covered in eraser shavings by the time we have finished. He was very upset when the eraser would not make his pen marks disappear however. I hope you are all having a good week where ever you are. We are keeping in touch with the world news both in Libya and New Zealand as well as the UK news. Looking forward to all our supporters news. Please feel free to write and send pictures of yourself to us so we can always remind the kids (and ourselves) what you look like! : 0)

The Great Thaw!

At last the snow is melting! The temperature has been above zero degrees C the last few days and Abi and Matthew and I were able to get out exploring in the garden and meeting the neighbours cats! The presenters on the weather channel are talking like winter is now over, perhaps not yet for Ohio, but we are really enjoying being able to get outdoors at the moment. Last Monday I began antibiotics for a sinus infection and am feeling so much better as a result of that and prayers. Yesterday ( Monday) I ended up with a visit to the eye doctor with as I had a throbbing red eye since Friday. Turns out the white of my eye is inflamed for no apparent reason and was prescribed some Antibiotic/steroid eye drops. You have no idea just how amazing the NHS system is in Britain till you go to the pharmacy here and they charge you $74 for the smallest bottle you have ever seen! The eye drops cost almost as much as the doctor's appointment! We are SO thankful that MAF cover our medical expenses or I think we would have returned home by now bankrupt! LOL! My spirits are high however, and I am hoping that my body has now adjusted to America and I don't need to see another doctor for at least a year! : 0)

Last week we were able to have our visitors as planned. Jessica and Olivia and baby Jonathon were able to come over on Wednesday and were pretty much here all day! We had a lovely time and are off to their house tomorrow morning so the kids can play together again.

On Thursday I took the children to the church where we had fun cleaning the nursery toys with some other ladies. It was great to meet some more people. On Sunday we even managed to get out the door and to the church by 9.30 am! This is when they have all age Sunday School. The adults can choose from several classes and the children have their age appropriate Sunday school classes also. Abi and Matthew have been able to be in the same 3-4yrs room all the time even though Matthew is not 3 till April and this is really helping them settle in and enjoy themselves with the security of having each other close. The Sunday service begins at 10.45am after the Sunday school. We usually bring Abi and Matthew into the service for a while and they go back through and play while we listen to the sermon. At present we are looking at discipleship and what it means to be a disciple. If you want to listen to the sermons they are on the web www.coshnaz.org/main.html

This weekend we got our pictures up on the walls and the last bed was assembled. Originally bunk beds, we now have them side by side. We thought Grandma would appreciate not having to climb up to the top bunk every night for a month! :0) As you can see we had some excited helpers, one helping with the bed, the other about to take her pram to bits!

Andy's work is going well. Each week he works along side a different person, and at the end of the week his mentor will give him feedback on his progress. Yesterday he was taking the wings off an aeroplane but I will get him to tell you more about his work soon. He has been trying out our old digital camera to take some pictures for the blog at the hanger but they did not work out so well - so more pics to follow at a later date. Andy has started the new rota and is in charge of opening up the hanger for three months. Then he will be in charge of closing up and will be the last to leave for the following three months. He is leaving the house at 6.40am at the moment. We have borrowed a car at present but we really need to purchase a second car and would value your prayers as we try to find the right car very soon. We almost bought a pick up truck the other week but it had an oil leak and was very old and a "little" rusty. Normally Andy would be quite happy to work away on an old car maintaining it but with his work schedule and studying and family life he does not have the time (nor the finances) to maintain a car that needs a lot of work. So we are still searching and praying.

Debbie Baisley ( Mi-mi) arrives from North Carolina tomorrow for a week! We are so looking forward to having her visit! On Friday night I am hosting a Jewelry party at our house (like the pampered chef parties etc) and am glad she will be here to help make the tablet and chocolate fondue! Yum! We may just have to have a dummy run before Friday! : 0)

Time to wake the kids up and get in car for Abi's dancing class. Then later tonight, I get to go out to an MMS ladies meeting a few houses up the road. It is a real blessing to arrive in a new country and have things already in place to go to and meet other people and grow as a christian. Very important for one's sanity when you have been with pre-schoolers all day everyday! : 0)

Snow Snow Snow!

Good afternoon/evening depending on what country you are in!

Last week in Coshocton it was quite snowy so the schools were cancelled for at least three days last week. Needless to say all of our activities were cancelled also. This suited me just fine as I have still been feeling really unwell. Called the doctor yesterday morning and the next appointment they could give me was in March! I was at the hairdressers yesterday and normally this is a nice relaxing experience but it became more a test of endurance with severe sinus pain and I ended up going to the Urgent care centre and saw a doctor and am now on antibiotics for a sinus infection so hopefully I will feel better soon. This is a picture I took out of the window this morning to let you see what we are looking at.

I managed to get out on Saturday to an MMS baby shower for Jessica and baby Jonathan. He was born at the start of January. It was a great chance to get to know the other MMS ladies better and celebrate the new baby. I took along some Scottish tablet for them to sample which seemed to go down well, others thought it too sweet. Jessica has two daughters also and one is the same age as Abi. We have arranged for a play date twice and had to cancel due to the weather. We have rescheduled this week for tomorrow so lets hope the snow stops long enough for them to meet. Abi is really looking forward to it.

Abi and Matthew are doing really well. I guess winter in Ohio is going to mean a lot of time indoors. In Scotland there was always lots of soft-play centres you could take kids too. Here in Coshocton there is really just McDonalds. We are very blessed to have a house that the kids can run about in and burn off their energy! Matthew is enjoying pretending to be a racing car everywhere he goes at the moment. Today we had fun painting.

Andy is getting on well at the hanger. One of his highlights last week was driving an aeroplane around the runway to listen to the engine and complete come checks along with another MMS apprentice Paul Jones. His tool box has now arrived - the colour was his choice! He was in the hanger on Saturday also marking up his tools so they don't get mixed up with the others. This will be his tool box which he will take wherever we go in the world and serve with MAF after the three years training in Ohio. Last time we visited the hanger they had a doughnut delivery. I believe the men are having ice-cream and cake this Friday afternoon also! Andy is settling in very well shall we say! : 0)

Time to go and make some lunch.

Hope you are all surviving the winter! Thanks for your prayers and support.

Heatherx

Hello February!

January got off to a great start with Andy starting his work and our shipment arriving. The house is looking like home now and we are settling into a routine. January has come with it's challenges and I have been recovering from a virus. Thankfully the rash I have had for four weeks is now fading - just in-time for the flu to arrive! I am through the worst of that and am not too bothered about being forced indoors by the weather at the moment. I managed to get out to the shops with the kids on Monday to just stock up on some essentials as we were preparing for possible home confinement and power cuts. There is a big winter storm hitting parts of America and Coshocton County has issued a Level 2 Emergency. ( Level 3 you are not allowed to go out on the roads or you will get arrested) Andy went out to Walmart on Monday evening to get a kerosene heater (just in case) and was shocked to find there were only two left on the shelf! Very glad we managed to get one! I am not sure how much snow is forecast for our area but I think the biggest problem at the moment is the layer of ice over EVERYTHING!You can see from the picture just how treacherous the ice is making everything. This morning I was watching the bin man hanging on to the sides of the bin lorry trying to get the neighbours bags into the back and then himself back into the drivers seat on the ice! Torvil and Dean eat your heart out! He was a professional! : 0) Andy left for work at 7.10am to walk across the road to get a lift and struggled crossing the road on foot. No one was going to drive their car on our hill however, and MMS later sent a pick up truck with studded tyres to pick him and another MMS worker up.

Abi and Matthew are doing well and we had a successful trip to the hairdressers recently. Thankfully none of them have had a cold or anything at the moment. Abi is very keen on her school work and is disappointed that I am not putting the same effort into teaching her at the weekends! During the week we usually begin around 9am and start with her little reading book. She is sounding out words and beginning to see the connection between them. Then we do some writing work and she is working through the alphabet. I think we just have X Y and Z to do. The home school pack is from England and I am really enjoying going through it with her. Then we do something like art work, science or cooking together, or music time. Last week we looked at dissolving and today we explored melting. Matthew joins in when he wants to. The snow outside was a gift and they had fun poking and tasting it. Then we put some near a heater and some in a colder room and they had great fun checking to see which pile of snow was going to melt first. Then came the chocolate! Matthew was melting his over hot water. Abi had her hairdryer and, not to waste the American version of a cadburies chocolate bar, we enjoyed dipping marshmallows and tinned mandarins into the melted mass. Then comes some math number work. Abi can now write 1-20 and is beginning to add up. This usually takes us to around 11.30 and then mum has a tea break! : 0) Due to the flu I have been trying to take a rest in the afternoon when the kids sleep. This works most days but I have learned not to depend on this nap, then I am not too disappointment when it doesn't work out. Some days by the time I have got Matthew to settle and myself into bed, the sleeping princess begins to awake and my head has barely touched the pillow! Mothers will all know that feeling! : 0) I hope this post gives you a little taster or what my days are like. I believe my first UK visitors have booked their flights! My parents are coming at the end of March and then my niece and friend are coming in June. Last Tuesday I went to the MMS apprentice wives meeting. We are currently going through the book of Acts together as a group. There were six of us there. I tasted my first "earthquake" cake! very nice - I shall be attempting to make it myself this week. We missed church on Sunday as Andy was also sneezing all weekend and we were both taking it in turns when to sleep and when to keep an eye on the kids. We are really enjoying the Hillsongs church services on the TV and I have them on record now. If anyone has never heard Brian Houston preach then have a go at downloading his sermons or find out when he is on TV- (God channel UK) ( WSFJ cable channel in Ohio). Andy and I are both so blessed and encouraged and challenged when we listen to what God is saying through him. We are looking forward to getting to our own church again this Sunday. Thanks for supporting us. I hope you all have a great week . God Bless. Heather