Rain, Rain, Go Away by Jacob and Ruth

 

This May my family and I swooped to England for 5 days.  We went to the United Kingdom because my Mom was born in England and has a throng of family members there. I'm half British! England was pretty fantastic.  We did some snazzy cool stuff there in the cold wet rain.  First of all we froze and froze and froze a little bit more because we had come from tropical Papua, Indonesia. 
My family and I stayed in my Great Uncle's House that was built in the 1600's. This house was made out of stone and wood, also slate was on the floor.  Many of the ceiling beams were thought to have come from an old ship.   

Near the house that we were staying in there was a little park with this contraption that was like a teeter-totter that would spin around and go up and down.  Nathaniel and I rode it in the rain.  Also we swung on a big tire like thing that had mesh in the middle. 

On the second day we were there we climbed up a mountain in the Lake District and saw the view.  We gazed into the valley and we could see:  sheep, stone walls, farms, lakes, and the town.  It was captivating and it was RAINING!

One day we drove to a castle.  The castle was closed so we couldn't go inside, but the outside grounds were open.  We explored the grounds and saw weird shaped bushes and trees.  There was also a bulky swan on the pond in front of the castle.  It was probably bigger than me.  The swan was sitting on a nest.  

My family and I ate a lot of desert in England.  We had desert at every meal except breakfast.  Our family motto, that we learned while we were in England was, "Every English meal is not complete without a decedent desert."  My favorite deserts were the pies made by my great Aunt Zoe.  Also I had a cream puff pie with strawberries on top, but it was so huge that i could barely finish it.
We met a lot of family members.  19 while we were there.  Most of them i had never seen before.  It was crazy to meet so many people in a such a short time.
Our trip to England ended but the rain did not.  In fact it is still raining in England. 

The above is Jacob’s impressions on England. He is writing many summer memories for school. Rather then retell the stories he is sharing, I thought I would just tag on additional thoughts.

Taking the family to England has been a life family dream of mine.  Ever since the boys emerged I desired to show them their heritage.  Happily boys kept coming!!!!  With every birth, the dream and reality of getting “THE FAMILY” to England was placed further and further back on the burner as the budget was stretched and strained.  The thought of flying 6 people to England was simply not an option.  So imagine my delight as the dream became reality this past May and we chose to fly “home” to America via Amsterdam/England.  My Dad, back in speedy internet America, helped research the best deals on airline tickets.   We just needed to pay the additional cost of our airline tickets, rent a car, eat, etc.  Generously, my Uncle and Aunt hosted us.  My other Uncle paid for our one night in the hotel.  It was certainly something we could never had done, without going as missionaries to Papua.  What a gorgeous fringe benefit.  A life treasure in our memory banks.

 

For me to show the boys England was such a treat.  We were privileged to be able to spend the majority of our time in the Lake District, which is still the beautiful preserved part of ENGLAND and what I wanted the boys to remember England as.  They were awed by the rolling picturesque countryside, despite the rain. : )

Also I wanted them to meet as much of the family as possible without us running around for hours on end in the car.  We all loved our time with Uncle Robert and Auntie Zoe.  Their hospitality was gorgeous.  Aunt Zoe could produce meals that she had stock piled in the freezer with such grace and ease.  A double treat was my Uncle Graham and Aunt Catherine were visiting also from America and so we had lots of nice chats with Dad’s brothers.  My Uncle’s hospitality and care made England on a missionary budget possible.  I will forever be indebt to them for their open hands and hearts.

 

Visiting Uncle Ian, Aunt Gillian and Tim was reassuring of God’s grace and healing, as Uncle Ian was well on his way to recovering from a nasty bout with cancer.  His smile and testimony of Gods providence was so heart warming.  There in Fleetwood we tasted the BEST English pastries and even found some “chips” with vinegar (French fries) despite the Fish and Chip shops ALL closing at 2:00 p.m. (we arrived on the door step at 2:05!).

Lastly, most of Mom’s siblings met us on a lovely afternoon when it finally was not raining.  We are still chuckling at all the cakes, ice cream and drinks they fed us.  Their laughter and joy and sincere interest in us was delightful.  We loved meeting up with the “Cox” side.  The guys were slightly overwhelmed to realize that ALL of these people were and are THEIR family. Cousins, Second cousins.  Aunts and Uncles. Surreal.

 

I will never take this dream come true lightly.  Now my 1/2 British guys, KNOW beyond having a taste for scones and trifle, a clearer picture of their heritage. Now that is sweeter then an English cream puff.