How We Spent the Holidays

Well, we are back in the UK and settled in nicely. But, I did want to send around a little message and let you know what we’ve been up to. I am assuming most of you know that we travelled to the States, albeit for too short of a time, over Christmas and New Years. I’ll tell you a little about our trip:

We left London just before a massive front hit the city delaying flights for three days because of fog. Thankfully, none of that affected us. And, we had a short layover in Chicago, so our great friend John (of the infamous John and Heidi) rescued us from the clutches of the manic airport and took us to a travel plaza…we shared a few precious moments with John…unfortunately Heidi happened to be working that day. But, not to worry…they are coming to visit us in March! Hooray!

After all our flight and connections, we arrived in Little Rock, AR a little jet lagged and anxious to see everyone. My (Jason’s) family greeted us at the airport. They were there to simply provide us with transport. They let us borrow one of my family’s trucks. Now, this truck is probably a normal size truck in the States but to me, it felt like a tank. I’m pretty sure that you could fit the car we drive here in England in the bed of this truck. Anyway, once we got over the initial shock of the tank-ish truck I had to get used to the road again. I mean, it’s been 10 months since we were in the States so driving again on the other side of the road took a bit of adjusting. Not to mention, the size of the road…the road itself seemed like I could land an airplane on it. Additionally, Sarah had decided she wasn’t going to drive the whole time we were in the States. She said that it had taken long enough to get used to driving in the UK and she didn’t want to have to relearn it again. So, once we got back into the routine of driving we went straight to Sarah’s house in Ft. Smith.

We stayed in Fort Smith until Christmas. We saw all, or most, of Sarah’s family/extended family and we even had some of our best friends (the David’s, the twins, and the Suels together again!) come to visit us there. Then, on Christmas, we made our way down to Camden and stayed with my folks for 5 days. During this time we got to see most of my family and extended family and a lot of old high school friends that I haven’t seen in ages. It was good to catch up…especially since I probably won’t be coming to my 10-year reunion this summer. We went out to eat and then stayed up late talking about old times. Finally, we went to Little Rock to see some folks there and then we were on to Bowling Green, Ohio.

We had the best time in Arkansas, and we were interested to see how our time in Ohio would compare. And, to be honest, it was awesome! We got to see most of our friends there from our church and from my grad school program. In fact, we arrived at about midnight on a Saturday and I got a phone call from the worship team wondering if I wanted to help lead worship on Sunday morning…just like old times. Needless to say, I accepted and had a blast. Like I said, we caught up with a lot of friends there and shared some laughs and some tears.

My mother probably said it best when she pointed out that we will probably never have another time when we see all (or most) of the people that we love in one trip and over a two week period at that…it was truly a blessing. So, thanks to all of you who made a special effort to see us. It truly made us wish that we could see all of you on a more regular basis.

Then, it was back to the UK and that means back to work. I am, at this very moment, heavily involved in preparations for directing “The Wind in the Willows.” The show goes up around Easter time and we are beginning the process of rehearsals. It’s hectic for me…parents with all kinds of questions, etc. But, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t relish the opportunity. It’s exciting! Sarah’s back to work too. She is still enjoying all the experience she is gaining and loving what she does.

Because we had a little free time over the Holiday season, we had the opportunity to plan. So, here is what you can expect to read about in the coming months:

February – Ski Trip to Bulgaria (with best friends Claire and Jez!) and Keane Concert
March – John and Heidi Visit
April – Wind in the Willows, Jason Runs another Marathon, European Weekend Trip
May – European Weekend Trip, Justin Timberlake Concert, Church Youth Retreat

Okay, we’ll write again soon with updates. Hopefully when we write again, we can report that we had a great time skiing in Bulgaria and no one suffered any broken bones!

Turn off your computer and give someone a hug,

Jason (and Sarah)

Pictures: 1) Jason, Sarah, Heather, Shannon, David M., David J., and Brett...Great friends hanging at the Abbotts 2) The Suels and the Abbotts ready for Church on Christmas Eve 3) Suel Family (get into the antlers on the wall!) 4) Eating with friends at Easy Street in BG, Ohio