A Very Fun Escapade!

Actually, I have passed by the Fillebrown House probably 100 times on my walks by the lake, and never have I felt any curiosity to go inside.  It has always looked dark and depressing to me.  But I saw a sign this week saying they were giving a few tours on Saturday afternoon, so yesterday, Timothy and I made a quick decision to run over and take a tour!

Since we had a bit to wait for the tour to start, we took a very fun and
bumpy ride around the lake area on an authentic fire wagon!

Then we had a tour of this house with a group of just 6 other people. It was SO amazing to me! Not dark and depressing at all!  A place I could actually see living in and enjoying it!  It had most of the original furniture and much interesting history.  

The highlight for me was when Timothy (totally coerced by a few of the women!) performed for the group  on the 1842 concert grand Steinway which was in the extended entry way of the house! The video I took was too large for the blog, so if you want to hear it, just let me know!

England Trip 2015

 We met the Huntleys at the airport in London, and then traveled by bus to Oxford and on to the small town of Eynsham, where we spent our first week.  Here Grandpa and Grandma, John and Sam are waiting for our bus at the Oxford station.  You can't tell by the picture, but the temperature was very chilly! We got to our final destination late at night, very, very tired!

 The next morning, Mark and Chrissy Richter and their son, T.J. joined us for breakfast!  They just happened to be at Oxford for a friend's wedding!

 Sal and Otto traveled from Germany to spend time with us too!  It was such a tremendous blessing to see and spend time with these family members!

Mark, Chrissy, and T.J. Richter

The town of Eynsham is a beautiful historic village with the old English style of shops and homes.  Hedges of bricks, rocks, or flowers seemed to surround all the yards, and everyone takes pride in beautifying their yards with flower gardens, no matter how small the space.  Very beautiful!

 We walked everywhere we went.  Here we are on our first Sunday walking to church.

I took this on the way to church to show the old thatched roof!

Every day we walked outdoors in beautiful Eynsham, either to go into town to the shops, or to the parks.
 
 

 

 

Had to have Fish-n-Chips of course!

 Walking anywhere in Eynsham was fun because of the beauty.
 

My favorite for sure was the lavender along the walkways!

Most of the homes had their own name.  I took this picture for you, Agus!

 

John and Sam with their new treasures that Dad and I bought at a fun charity shop.

 

On the edge of town, the streets and houses are newer, but still made to look like the older style.

We were able to spend some time in Oxford also in our first week since it was only 6 miles from Eynsham.

Yes!  Those are pig heads!

 

We had a picnic at this spot in Oxford...

Lois LOVES to play with her right foot. Here she is perfectly content!

Paul, Daniel and Timothy took a day to walk the Thames ("Tems") River all the way to Oxford.  An all-day venture, but much beauty experienced!

A few more pictures in Oxford... 

One of the days Paul, Daniel, Timothy and I ventured out on our own to London!  We did about 20 miles of walking before we got home at around 11 p.m., but we are glad we made the effort now!

Victoria Station

Yes, the red phone booths are for real everywhere!

Starting our racing tour with an entertaining tour guide!

Westminster Abbey

Big Ben

Thinking of Joseph

On the way to the palace!

Buckingham Palace

Paul and I on the grounds of Buckingham Palace

Before Leaving London

And a few more pictures of Eynsham, before we moved to a different town at the end of the week.  You will notice that hedges, gates, beautiful doorways, and flowers are all a big and beautiful part of the scenery...

We stayed at this home just for one night before leaving Eynsham.

I enjoyed the back garden with the kids.  Can you find John, the little monkey?

Then we moved on to the week of the missions conference in Woodley near Reading, England. Here the Wycliffe missionaries from different countries that work with Central African Republic met.  Daniel, Timothy, Paul and I had the job of teaching and caring for the youngest children during the conference, which was from Monday through Saturday. 

Daniel and Timothy had the privilege of meeting these young people

Our most gracious hosts were Martyn and Jenny Ailyffe

Every day Jenny made us a traditional British breakfast!

We could walk right out our host's back yard to a beautiful park and feed the ducks!

 We were with the children about 9 hours each day, but it was amazing that they did not seem to get tired of us!  

 These pictures were taken at a park that we walked to every day that was about 1/2 mile from the conference church.

One free afternoon we had fun out on the town!

This was a VERY fun store! It seemed to have anything you'd need!

Having a break out in the courtyard!

It was a great privilege to be a part of the 2015 England Conference!