Travelling, travelling, travelling

What a week! We got our residence permits from the Latvian Government on Tuesday and they are good for five years and then we set off for England on the Wednesday. I feel so American at the moment "if it's Monday it must be Northumberland" (Ok I am writing this on Wednesday/Thursday and therefore it must be Petworth in the South of England but since I am trying to write about one week at a time I shall pretend it is Monday). 

Our travels first took us to London to visit Matthew's girlfriend's parents and we had a good time with plenty of good food. Unfortunately the next day it took six hours to do 150 miles the traffic was so awful, there are some things I do not miss about England and the traffic is definitely one of them. We arrived in just enough time to park Matthew and his girlfriend at Emma's (our eldest) and take Emma and Ben (Emma's boyfriend) out for a meal. This was our opportunity to get to know Ben before he goes to Australia for a year. It was nice to stay that night at some relatives of mine in a very soft bed - the Latvian beds are so hard Ian and I were getting a bad back and in one hotel we even asked for extra duvets (comforters) to sleep on.

We got to travel around some of our favourite places in Derbyshire with Emma and her friend on the Friday, (no not Ben he was cycling to Manchester, only around 50 miles away in wind and rain), we even had some cake in our favourited café that we used to visit so often when we lived in Derbyshire. My American friends, if you ever get the chance to visit England go to Derbyshire it is so pretty and quaint, with lovely old stone cottages and loads of small cafés with cakes and tea, you will love it.

We had a chance on Sunday to eat fish and chips with some old friends of ours from our church in England. It was good to share where we were at and the the prophecy we had received. Talking about what we are doing and the path God is leading us on is beginning to actually excite me, it didn't feel very exciting leaving America because I was too tied up in the details of the move but I think I am beginning to relax now and enjoy the journey. 

Our next trip was up to see Ian's mum in Northumberland. It is always tricky as we recognise it is hard work for her when we stay but she loves to see us. We are so grateful to see the love and the care Ian's brothers and their wives show to his Mum especially now she is on her own. We couldn't do the travelling we do with an easy conscience if we didn't know that his brothers were around. We travelled up to Northumberland with Matthew and Elena and one afternoon we took them up Scotland as it is only just over an hour away from Ian's mum and Elena - being a Londoner - had never been to Scotland and that seemed a good enough reason to go. 

Lastly here is a picture of the daffodils especially for my Colorado friends. Spring is one season I have really missed because of the flowers. The first signs of spring comes with the snowdrops in February and then you have the crocuses followed by the daffodils. Now other plants are beginning to bloom such as cowslips, hyacinths, tulips and oh so many more; we might not have seen much sun in the sky but there is plenty on the ground.