Our family is really settling in here. It’s beginning to feel like home. That being said, let me tell you what an adventure we had in getting to this settled in feeling…
We left on a Thursday afternoon at 4PM. The first flight was fine—Orlando to Boston. The kids were great and they even fell asleep. That was a blessing. Our next flight was to Iceland where we would stop over before heading the Manchester. Pretty uneventful, except that I really wanted to get some sleep and the kids were no tired in the least. Shucks! Maybe I should’ve listened when people suggested I bring some Benadryl along. Oh well. I count it a victory that I survived the whole experience without drugging my kids. Score one for Mom! We did however have one casualty on the journey. Somewhere along the way we left one of our carryon bags.Better a bag than a child I guess, but the bag is still missing. We’ll probably never see it again. I guess it helps that after we’ve unpacked we can’t seem to remember what was in the bag.
When we arrived in Manchester we went through customs. It was a breeze. I guess they aren’t very suspicious of a white family of four with visas. We checked out without much trouble. When we passed through into the baggage claim all our bags had arrived. Score again! Then we found the representative from the University and arranged bus travel to Sheffield. We had an appointment to visit with the housing people and arrange our housing before the weekend. Well long story short, the bus was late leaving and we were WAY late to our appointment. I had thought to call them ahead of time and let them know, but that only gave us their sympathy. Because there were no hotels left in Sheffield, they were nice enough to extend their work day so we could have a place. Oh wait, they forgot to mention something. The bathroom is in the attic…on the third floor! Of course my first thought is, that’ll make potty training an adventure. As we go to look at the property we were given the warning that if we didn’t like it we shouldn’t sign the contract because we’d be stuck with it for a year. On the other hand, if we didn’t take it, there were no hotels so we’d be sleeping outside. Lovely.
Luckily, we liked it enough to call it home for the next year. Originally we thought we’d have to get a baby gate for the kids, but they’ve managed the stairs marvelously. Here are the long awaited pictures of our new home.
It’s a two bedroom home and the kids have a bunk bed. I think they’re still a little young for it, so for now they’re sharing a bed. Luckily for us they don’t seem to mind.And then the adventure continued. Now that we had a home, all we needed was to find a place to shop so we could get some sheets for the bed! Oh wait, “didn’t we mention? All the shops close at 6PM it’s now 5:45. Since they’re all downtown (about a 20 mintue walk) you won’t make it. Sorry.” Alright then. No food, no sheets, and it just happened to be COLD. Well, if we weren’t sleeping on the street at least we’d feel sympathy for those who were! So we ate cereal for dinner (the last of what the kids had left over) and went to bed hungry and cold. Since we had slept less then 2 hours of the last 24, I figured I was tired enough it wouldn’t be a problem. Well, Ian and I both woke up at about 2AM ready for the day. I cried. I was cold and homesick and this wasn’t turning out like I imagined. We stayed awake for two hours before we decided to put on more winter clothes and try to get back to sleep. Of course of top of all of this Atley wanted to sleep in our bed because he was scared. I count it a tender mercy that Holly slept through the night without trouble. Babies are so good at going with the flow.
Finally, we got back to sleep and had a great night’s sleep. Too great even. We didn’t wake up until Noon the next day! Wow. I guess a 5 hours time change would be a little more difficult than we thought. But, we did get up. No towels yet so we used a sweater of mine to dry off with. That was weird. We went into town and bought tons of stuff we needed. We found a grocery store that was open o we didn’t have to eat cereal, bought towels and sheets and even some pots and pans. That was a relief. Next all we had to do was figure out how to get to church the next day!
We found our bus route and walked to the stop the next morning so glad to have a sense of normalcy in the craziness. Unfortunately, as the bus approached, it passed us right by! Great! So we called a cab. It only cost us £10 to get to church. That’s like paying $15-$16. I guess that shows you how badly we wanted to go. When we arrived the taxi dropped us off at the gate, which was shut and locked. No cars were in the parking lot. Well, if this is stake conference, isn’t this the stake center? Where is everyone. Once again, I cried. Things that were so simple were becoming so difficult and all I wanted was to hear and familiar gospel message and meet people who I had something in common with. Well after a short and sincere prayer on my part that someone (anyone!) would give us a clue as to what was going on, someone did drive by the church! She told us it was Stake Conference and that everyone was at a theatre downtown because they were expecting two general authorities. She volunteered to drive us there while giving excuse for why she wasn’t there. At that moment she could’ve been on her way to the local pub and I still would’ve found her to be sent by the Lord. What a tender mercy and a great blessing.
That theatre was the most ornate place I’ve ever been to church in. The irony of it was the theatre wasn’t far from our house and we could’ve easily walked there. Oh well! They switched up the Stake Presidency and we enjoyed testimonies borne in a British accent. Our kids were acting up, so that made it difficult to enjoy, but I was grateful that we made it. We walked home and enjoyed the rest of the Sabbath day.
The following week was a lot less eventful. We found a better place to get groceries and some other things we were still needing. Ian registered for classes and attended his department meetings. It was a busy week, but it didn’t quite feel like home.
The following Sunday came and we found a different route to church that worked much better for us. We arrived at the building a half hour before it started, but we were so excited that we made it and that the building was open! We were able to meet members of the ward including the Bishop and the newly called Stake President. After church we met the former Stake President and his family and they invited us home to have lunch with them. It was a great afternoon and I only hope that we didn’t over stay our welcome. They brought us home in the evening and finally, after meeting with our new ward family, it feels like home!
I cannot express the joy the gospel has brought to our family these past couple of weeks. When things were uncertain and we felt alone or afraid, we felt the inclination to pray and were always blessed. Having people who instantly care about you is an advantage only the gospel could bring. The members of our ward have a Christ-like attitude that brought us in to their family feeling loved and wanted.
So that was the adventure in getting here. Crazy, I know. But as I said, we feel like we’re at home. Ian has already finished his first week of classes. We’ve had a hard time understanding some people. The lady at the grocery store told me that if I brought reusable bags I’d get a point (on my loyalty card). I thought she said a pint. A pint of what I couldn’t imagine, but she had a good laugh when I told her that.
One of the funniest things I’ve heard is when the Bishop was calling after Holly to come into his office. He said, “Come on jellybean!” I think I like that nickname for her!
More to come on the funny things we’ve heard, but for now I think you’re probably tired of reading about us! We think of our family and friends often and hope this post finds you all well!
