Meredith Carson... Across the Pond and Back Again...

Since we are all moving back to the US this summer, I find myself wondering if I can still be Mama Carson Across the Pond ?  I suppose I will still be across the pond from all of my British friends, right?  Perhaps my title will need a bit of a tweak.  I am open to suggestions.  I am also open to the immense feelings of "reverse culture shock" that I expect to be experiencing this summer. Soon you will be able to read about all of the things I miss about the UK.  You can look forward to reading about my yearning for the almost daily walks that my friends and I take along the Taff Trail.  These walks out in the fresh air really feed my spirit, and there is practically nothing that we haven't discussed whilst walking.  (I mean it.  Nothing. Trust me on this.)  I am finding it difficult to imagine finding a way to fill the void that will be left when I no longer have my morning walks with Sonia, Jo, Rose, and the others who join us on oc...

All of my babies are growing... growing up and growing lovelier and lovelier by the minute.  These clever girls are keeping me on my toes with their developmental milestones and general fabulousness... Lili has been rocking back and forth revving up her motor all week... I am just waiting for her to take off. Sophie just lost her first tooth.  The expression on her face right after her Dad pulled it out was priceless.  This pic was taken a few minutes later.  She is one excited little girl.  Her mama proudly held it together and didn't cry like a silly woman. Emma is now reading novels and developing an astute understanding of human relationships, queen bees and wannabees.  (She and Lili have also toyed with the idea of starting up a book discussion group.) When life is getting you down, a round of applause delivered by a delectable, half- naked, little elf is pretty much just what the doctor ordered. YAY!! No, no one is pregnant....

We girls made up a lovely little picnic and headed out to the green at lunchtime today.  This was followed by some frisbee throwing with a friendly dog and a few rousing hands of Go Fish!  I love Saturday and sunshine.  Happy Weekend! p.s. Kool-Aid is gross now that I'm a grown up.

I have not been feeling exceedingly inspired about writing lately despite the fact that the weather here has been very beautiful and inspiring.  I have been trying to get out and take walks as much as possible this week.  Walks with friends are always preferred, but today it was just me and Lil and my iPod.  Justin Timberlake is still my boo. I think I have had a lot on my mind.  My brain has been reeling over all of this "Icelandic volcanic ash chaos."  I have been watching the BBC a little too much.  We got lucky in that we got back into the UK the day before Eyjafjallajokull erupted.  Our travel plans weren't affected at all, but my heart goes out to all of those who have been stranded for days and days... especially those with young children.  Travel with little people is harrowing enough when all goes according to plan. I've also been thinking about the fact that George is supposed to return to the US without us again in Ju...

There was beautiful sunshine in Wales today despite the fact that there is an invisible cloud of Icelandic volcanic ash somewhere up in the stratosphere over our heads.  So all of us girls threw on our sun dresses and set out (with George, who opted not to wear a dress) to the Amelia Trust Farm in Barry.  We spent a little bit of time checking out the animals, including the lovely new baby lambs.  But we mostly enjoyed the garden and the forest trail (also knows as the Wild Piglet Trail). Lili was completely enchanted by the experience.  She was anxious to explore every leaf and stick as well as my shiny earrings.  I enjoyed vicariously experiencing her awe and curiosity.  To her EVERYTHING is new and worthy of exploration.  Typically for Lil, exploring involves grabbing the new item and chewing on it with her drooly, gummy mouth for as long as it remains pleasant.  Often we grown ups forget to notice all of the little, o...

I climbed into my bed back here in Wales with a sleeping Lili at 3 o'clock this morning.  We had a successful house hunting trip to Michigan and are now feeling like we will be ready to "do this" when summer rolls around...soon!  We found a great house just outside the city.  It has lots of woods and a firepit out back.  This means you can come over and make s'mores if you want to. I don't have any photos of the house since we weren't exactly sure which house would be "the one" until we left Michigan.  We were negotiating with two different sellers, which put us in a pretty favorable position.  When I'm able to get pics, I will share. To break up the trip a bit for our littlest one, we stopped for the night in Dulles on the way in and out.  This means that before we returned to the UK, we were able to spend the day with everyone's favourite uncle, David.  We also got to enjoy a lot of sunshine.  (Let's just not discuss the ...

Sophie dressed me this morning when I told her I didn't think I had an Easter dress.  Taking one look at her sundress and black leather boots, I realized that she was obviously qualified for the job.  So I sat down on the bed and left her to it.  Happy Easter to you all! "Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime."  ~ Martin Luther

The sun peeked its head out today, so I went out for a brisk walk in hopes of dislodging some of those Cadbury creme eggs from my thighs.  When I returned, I found this delightful sight!  Rub-a-dub-dub, three kids and George in a standard sized British bathtub.  I'm surprised there was any room left for the water! I'm not sure which one is cuter? Happy Easter weekend!

There's no business like show business... This may be just a taste of what I have in store if Lilianna decides to follow in her parent's theatrical footsteps.  What is most funny is that my Sophie is the one who set up this scenario.  She even stuffed the top of the hat with toilet roll so that it would sit at that perfect jaunty tilt on little Lil's head.  Sophie and I definitely share a sense of humour and an appreciation of all things fabulous... "Everything about it is appealing..." There is a little game I like to play at my house.  Usually it is my own little secret game, but sometimes George catches on to the fact that I'm playing.  The game involves singing a line from a random song within earshot of someone else in the family.  Then I just wait... only a few seconds before that person unconsciously picks up where I left off.  I don't know why it amuses me so.  I love the fact that it seems completely involuntary....

"How long do you wanna be loved?  Is forever enough?  Is forever enough?" Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words. I am counting my blessings today... and remembering how I used to be that flexible once. When I reflect upon what Good Friday commemorates, it seems rather incongruous to call it a "Good" day.  But if you celebrate Easter, you know that it is all good in the end.  Our egos and human cruelty cannot kill God.  The story has an extraordinarily happy ending.  So instead of wishing you a "Happy" Good Friday, I will just say that I hope today you catch multiple glimpses of grace and that you experience a few moments of true peace... like when a baby sighs and finally rests her head on your shoulder.  Thanks be to God.

On her big day, Sophie looked outside and saw throughout the course of the day: sunshine, rain, wind, hail and snow.  Well, we ARE in Wales, aren't we?  Turning six was a great thing to do on March the 31st, and Sophie insisted she felt a little taller the moment she woke up in the morning.  During the day, she and Emma went off to Sport Stars camp, while I prepared the house for the celebration.  This included, of course, baking and assembling her berry-licious birthday cake, which was divine if I do say so my own self.  I also prepared a Mexican feast with fajitas and burritos and all of the trimmings.  It was nice to set a table without having to include knives and forks.  We were joined by our adopted family, the Collinses, and they coped well with our crazy meal wrapped in tortillas. Sophie took ages contemplating her wish, but the candles were eventually blown out. I love this picture of sweet sisters not posing at bit...