London + Friends = Joy

Shelty is here!!!!

What a weekend! Nothing makes enjoying England better than enjoying it with good friends. On Friday, Janice and our new friend Lisa were able to come see Spencer and I in Canterbury. I was so happy to show them around the town we've been living in for the past few months. Coming from Spain, the girls were a little shocked by the cold weather here, but they were troopers and adjusted just fine. After a tasty pancake breakfast in our kitchen with a number of friends, we spent the rest of Friday exploring Canterbury and checking out some of my favorite parts of this town.

Stuck between traffic on Westminster Bridge

Big Ben, Janice, and my new raccoon hat :)

The next morning we left Canterbury (Spencer, Janice, Lisa, our English friend Doug, and I) for a full day in beautiful London. Spencer and I had a fun time playing "tour guide" since we had been to London before (of course, we had a bit of help since Doug is from England). We hit a number of the big sites: Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, British Museum, Kings Cross, and the London Eye. However, one of my highlights of the day was our evening in Hyde Park at the annual Winter Wonderland. It was like a county fair on Christmas-filled steroids. We ate some chocolate covered waffles in the German Christmas market, and walked around the park, checking out all the attractions, rides, and shopping booths along the way. It was a wonderful day.

A night in Trafalgar square friends

Trafalgar Square

Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park

Spencer, Doug, and me at Big Ben

On Sunday, we went to Hillsong London for church, which was an experience all on its own. The church was massive, and full of people from all over. After church, and a bit of strolling down the shops on Oxford Street, we had to say goodbye, one by one, to our friends Lisa, Janice, and Doug. The time with those friends was priceless and I am so glad I got to spend it with them in London. After our sad goodbyes, Spencer and I spent the evening going to random parts of London we had yet to see, since we had an all day Tube pass. We enjoyed each others company as we moseyed around the city, and saw places like Fleet Street, the Tower Bridge, and the famous Harrods department store. After wearing our feet to the bone, Spencer and I called it a night and went to our friend Miles' place. He was so kind to let us stay over for the night, because we'd be getting up early in the morning to pick up our friend Chelsea (Shelty) Price from the airport! We could barely sleep though; we were just too excited to see her.

Fleet Street

Tower Bridge

Shelty is Spencer's dear friend from high school who I have been blessed to have in my life as well. She came here all the way over from school in Nebraska to spend a week in England with us and I have been looking forward to it ever since she bought her ticket to London. We arrived with a small sign that read "Welcome Shelty Price" as she came running down the airport to us. It was unreal. We couldn't believe a great friend from home had come here. We had such a good day today in London, and I can't wait for everything we are going to do this week. I'll be sure to blog as often as possible because I know we will be doing a lot. Now, we are back in Canterbury, Shelty is recovering from her jet lag (I am so proud of her for staying awake all day today after a long flight), and I am ready to fall asleep as well. This weekend, I truly experienced God's gift of joy. Goodnight everyone!