Three trains, 1 plane, 2 trains, and a car later

The two of us on the way 

Now in England for a very short stay

Reuniting friends may

Just as they say

Be "the best thing ever"

Tons of talk and tea

Box forts, minecraft, the sillies

Jet lag's mid afternoon zzz's

Shopping and history

So much to do and see

Today in Bath

We visited the Roman baths

A fascinating place

Especially with audio tour players

Feeding extra information in stories into our ears

Absorbing even the less than enthusiastic girls

Jasmin says all museums would be more interesting with these

And Mom agrees

A feat of extraordinary architecture of so long ago

Delightful network of indoor heated swimming pool

For relaxation and healing

The time distance driven home

By the contrast of ground level then and now

A few facts we learned:

England has hot springs

Roman presence in Britain was so established

Later English rule revived and used Roman baths

Roman and local gods were combined

These sacred healing pools were lead lined

Lunch cafe sandwiches

Rounded out with hot chocolate 

Topped with whipped cream and marshmallows

A stop at the bank to exchange outdated pound notes for legal tender

And then a walk around the town

Girls shopping with precious spending money
Absorbing England beauty and sense of history
In everyday buildings and surroundings

Cross-world Countdown Day 2/1

Not sure if tomorrow counts as a day in the countdown since it is departure day
So is today supposed to be day 2 or day 1?

A special breakfast bake with Aiden
Nutella rolls instead of cinnamon buns

Yet again a tidy and clean of the kitchen
A sort of the extra recycling waiting for garbage day

Some time talking over all the jobs left yet to do
And the food plans for the week mommy's gone

Wallets cleaned out of Canadian cards and cash
And restocked with our Asian cards and cash

Passports, permission letters, tickets all set
Suitcases all weighed yet again

The last bedroom prepped to paint
But that can happen after Jasmin and Mom leave

It is sunny outside, so off we go to say goodbye
To the river, a favourite place to play

The clay mud is too cold for more than a few minutes moulding
The wind rather brisk for long rock play

But it is good to be out and free
To have this time to lock in the memories

Jasmin to a friend's for last play goodbye
Supper with NiNi and YeaYea

A last load of laundry
A last comforting pray and snuggle with Aiden

A last read snuggle with Grace
We're off tomorrow

Cross-world Countdown Day 4-3

We've tumbled through the weekend
But we come to the end of it
Full of thankfulness
And confidence
We're ready!

Saturday morning began with a scramble of pancake breakfast and last minute preparations
Like vacuuming one last time, packing yet another box
Then an influx of willing helpers: a team from church
To deliver our give aways to various places around the city
Appointed through a fledgling network born to share church family resources

And then, a beautiful time out for a dear friend's birthday party
That became an even more precious time of sharing and prayer together
New and old friends joined as sisters in Christ - time just whizzed by!
And directly from there to a supper at the home of church members
Sympathetic as a family who has moved enough to know the needs

And an evening of gathering bits and pieces
Testing suitcase capacities and weights
Reconstructing temporary beds (we gave away two of our beds in the morning)
Settling kids in for the night in the familiar rooms made strange

Today more firsts and lasts
Grace and Jasmin presented to the grade 5-6 large group in Sunday School
And received blessing gifts and a party goodbye
We're so well-blessed by our church family!

A potluck lunch and goodbye blessing time with our small group
We've only been together a year and a half
But, oh, how God has woven our lives so tightly together in that time!
Multiple hugs, tears, meaningful words, Scripture blessings,
Rambunctious kid play, shared laughs, all not quite enough to convey what we want to say

This evening a Skype call to Imma,
A final recording of a movie made with neighbourhood kids
Finishing the final scene just in time,
And a flurry of freezer meal preparations
For this in-between week when Dad is cooking

So tomorrow, we can spend time together
Hopefully also some goodbye time
In our favourite outside places locally
And a final supper with NiNi and YeaYea

Cross-world Countdown Day 5

We've worked hard all day
Yet it seems like there is little to show for it
Still piles of things, boxes stacked in the hall
Still 2 suitcases open
Still too much stuff

But

A marathon of phone calls done today
Closing accounts
Switching to overseas status
Changing contact information
Double checking and fixing money routes

Suitcase contents rejigged to be under the weight limit
(Mom forgot (!) that 2 have to be only 50 lbs instead of the usual 75)
A borrowed bike returned
Saturday laundry and vacuuming done early
Must-have groceries bought

And

Dreams of Penang triggered while booking guesthouse accommodations
A retelling (again!) of the long journey it will be for Aiden with Dad and Grace:
Ottawa - Detroit - Seoul - Bangkok - Penang
Three planes and a train
And then, set up a new house - and rest awhile...