Meant to Be...

2014 brought us to northeast England.  It brought us an opportunity to make memories in a foreign land.  We took a leap that will be one of the biggest of our life.  This year has brought us closer to each other.  We learned to depend on each other in ways we have never had to before.

I discovered the role and importance my career plays in my identity while uncovering new gifts that make my heart happy.  I have become comfortable living in a new place.  I have put myself into new situations that have tested my confidence.

This past year has brought excitement, fear, challenges, and successes.  Through each of these, I have been shaped and transformed.  Challenges have been hard, accomplishments have been sweet, and some of the changes have brought me to tears. 

Some days I question if it was the right decision to step away from the comfortable and into the foreign.  As I look back on this past year, where I am today, what I have achieved, and how I stepped out of my comfort zone, I am sure these are the lessons I am meant to be learning in this season of my life.

As we prepare to ring in 2015, my wish for this upcoming year and you is this:

As we end 2014, remember the lights are always on!

~W

Merry and Bright...

Christmas traditions have always commenced on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend in my life.  The tree is decorated with lights and ornaments, and a wreath is hung on the door.  Carols ring throughout our house while the oven is constantly occupied with baking cookies.  Our beautiful personalized stockings are hung.  Christmas Eve mass is celebrated.

Christmas traditions are sprinkled throughout the month of December.  Old traditions were ever present this Christmas, our first in England, while some new ones were added.  While the ornaments that hold the memories of past vacations and life events did not make the trip to England with us, new ornaments given with love by neighbors adorned our tree this year.  These new ornaments will forever carry memories of our adventure in a foreign land and the friends that became family.

A truly American ornament to remind us of home from our Welsh neighbors!

Our kitchen smelled of the usual Christmas cookies for many days.  As I boxed up cookies to give to friends, I was flooded with memories of baking along side my mom.  Every year as a child, weekends in December were spent whipping up batches of our favorites.  There was a notable Christmas treat missing from my kitchen this year...my mom's scrumptious fake toffee.  The yearly lesson on how to make the perfect fake toffee has become a part of my Christmas.  Standing in my mom's kitchen vigorously stirring the pan of sugar and butter, my mom and I would chat about life happenings or reminisce about my childhood Christmases.  She would tell me to put some muscle into it and to not stop stirring while I would just hope that maybe one day I could make this Christmas staple without her help.  After a few prep talks, I was ready to tackle making this myself, only to discover that I could not buy the essential ingredient...saltine crackers!  Though I have been known to import tinned pumpkin, I could not justify shipping saltine crackers in!

The smell of peanut butter blossoms, sugar cookies, gingerbread, cornflake cookies, and spiced pecans filled my kitchen, while mince pies were baking in my neighbor's oven.  My misconceptions of mince pies led me to politely decline every time I was offered one this December.  The mention of mince pies would conjured up visions of ground meat in pie crusts, which did not scream Christmas or tasty.  Once my misconceptions about this traditional British Christmas treat were set straight, I indulged in many and have added them to our Christmas cookie list!

Homemade mince pie baked filled with raisins and currants, not meat!

In my opinion, the Christmas season is launched as soon as the Thanksgiving dishes are cleaned and put away.  Thanksgiving marks the end of autumn and the beginning of the Christmas season.  Thanksgiving meals are not a part of English life, but the Brits have not missed out on the opportunity for a large festive meal.  Christmas dinner is a crucial element for the English.  Our first Christmas dinner was with our church group.  We feasted on the usual Christmas dinner fare...parsnips, potatoes, brussel sprouts, carrots, and ham.  On Christmas Day, we sat down for Christmas dinner with our neighbors.  With our paper crowns on, we indulged in the standard Christmas dinner fixings.  Tasty Yorkshire puddings, carrots and pears, peas, pork, stuffing, and pig 'n blankets filled our plates.

Throughout the Christmas season, love from family and friends was present.  It was felt in each Christmas card received, every present opened, and all the meals shared.  Our first English Christmas was rich with new traditions and lots of love.  As we enjoy our twinkling Christmas tree for a few more days, remember our lights are always on.

~W

See it: Alnwick Castle and Gardens

It is time to catch up on all of our adventures from this fall.  In early October, we visited Alnwick Castle and Gardens with AJ's parents.  I was particularly excited about this outing, because Alnwick is a residence for the Twelfth Duke and Duchess of Northumberland and has been in the Percy family for generations.  As beautiful and fascinating as I find castle ruins, I felt a need for a change in scenery for our Saturday adventures!

The entrance to the castle grounds

We entered the castle grounds through the door above.  This castle was once described as the most heavily fortified castle in 1138.  This castle stands as a landmark of the Norman Age.

The castle grounds looking to west after walking through the walls surrounding the grounds.

English weather was very cooperative on the day of our visit.  We were treated to glorious sunshine that truly highlighted the beauty of this castle.

This is the expansive eastern side of the castle residence as well as the Postern tower.

As a residence of the Twelfth Duke and Duchess of Northumberland since the mid 1990s, this remarkable piece of English history is also a home.  Due to the great expense of maintaining such a place, visitors are invited to tour the castle and grounds.  Photos were not permitted within the castle itself.  As I walked from room to room, there was a museum-quality of historical artifacts, art, and photographs.  Each holding significance to the history of this castle and the family who owns it.  Sprinkled among all of these artifacts were personal mementos and photographs that document special family moments.  While I cannot possibly imagine a childhood running the halls of this castle, playing board games in its great library, or crawling up with a book in one of its alcoves, all of the personal family treasures that dotted the tour, reminded me this is a home of a family.  It is a place where children have been raised, parties held, holidays celebrated, and family memories made.

These are two of the towers surrounding the castle grounds. 

Alnwick Castle was a defensive development on a bluff over looking a river with a moat that was impenetrable.  Through the years, soldiers stood watch in these towers and on the walls to guard against raids by the enemy.

The Stage Coach stored in the Coach House

In the livery, an impressive historical artifact is stored.  This coach was once a royal coach, which carried the Third Duke in 1825.  The Third Duke served as the representative of King George the IV to the coronation of Charles X in France.  The coach was repainted in 1902 with coat of arms of the Seventh Duke and Duchess for the coronation of King Edward VII.  While this coach has been witness to great moments in history, it has also been used during personal family events.  Mostly recently, this coach carried the Twelfth Duke's daughters on each of their wedding days.

Portion of the gates surrounding an area of the Alnwick Castle

The Twelfth Duchess of Northumberland, the current resident of the castle, has taken on the task of creating whimsical and innovative gardens within the old garden walls.  She has employed some of the greatest garden designers to create an experience for visitors second to none in England.

The paths among the topiaries that create a peaceful and serene experience with nature.

Portions of the Anlwick Gardens the highlight an emphasis on creating a imaginative experience.

Among the various sections of the garden were produce, topiaries, and a vast array of flowers.  In a separate gated section of the garden was an area designated as the "Poison Garden."

Entrance to the Poison Garden warning trespassers of the dangers on the other side of the gate.

Behind these locked gates, the Poison Garden is home to some of the most deadly plants.  This mystical portion the Anlwick Gardens was created to feed the curiosity of children.  The Twelfth Duchess of Northumberland felt that children were drawn to information on how plants killed people and the gruesome nature of the death.  On the particular day that we visited, we were only able to peek over the gate. 

Wall and gate on the castle gardens

As we strolled the castle grounds, we passed this wall and gate.  The sun beamed down on the autumn leaves, and this moment felt truly English.  This moment was the imagine I carried in my head for months as we prepared to move the land of tea, cathedrals, castles, and scones.  As I snapped this photo and soaked up the beauty surrounding me, this adventure felt like a dream.  Remember the lights are always on as I reminisce about our glorious day in the English countryside at a magnificent castle.

~W 

Hometowns...

For ten days in November, I took the back roads and did not use the satnav.  I listened to my favorite radio stations, heard the newest country songs, and sang along to all my favorites.  I drove past the harvested cornfields.  I munched on chips and salsa at our favorite Mexican place.  I sipped ice tea and ate frozen custard with Reese peanut butter cups even though it was frigid outside.  I savored my favorite salad while catching up with some of my favorite people.  I laughed with coworkers and told of all our adventures and misadventures living in the UK.  I dipped my veggies and chicken strips in ranch dressing.  I read the local paper and knew exactly where each town in the articles was located.  I walked the aisles of Target with a Starbucks in my hand.  I sat at my parents' kitchen table and talked for hours just like I had on so many Fridays before the move.  I could predict the weather for the whole day by just looking out the window.  I made purchases at shops, and no one asked where I was from in America or why I was there, because I just fit in.  

For ten days, I was in familiar territory.  I was comfortable.  I knew the landscape.  I was a local.  When my feet hit the ground in the airport, I felt at home, even though I knew I was now just visiting. 

While I felt at home and like I could easily slide back into my Midwestern life, each conversation and story of our British life were gentle reminders that I would shortly be boarding a plane home to the UK.  This Midwestern town , with all its familiar sights and sounds, is not my home anymore, but a place that I visit.  It has been a rough transition for me to think of the UK as home, but that is where home is.

At the end of the ten days with a few tears in my eyes, I boarded the plane back home to the UK.  Until I moved away, I never realized the security living in my hometown gave me.  It is truly where I was born, where I was raised, and the place that holds some of my most precious yesterdays.  Moving away from my hometown is part of the adventure.  Some days it is tough...really tough, some days it is thrilling, some days it is terrifying, and some days the UK is even starting to feel like home .  As I get back in my routine and recover from the jetlag, remember the lights are always on in our home in the UK.

~W