Christmas, 2008

Anna arrived early Christmas morning. She's the only one of our children who could come this year. We had a great time though. She's so low key and easy to have around. We ate Christmas dinner at the church with about 50 other folks who were without family. It was fun. In England before eating you pull a cracker with the person next to you and then you wear a silly hat through the meal. Here we are serving the food with our hats on. Anna struggled to make it through the day and ended up asleep on the couch with Curious George. We basically took walks, played games, talked, she slept, we worked some. One day we went to High Halden, but Paul's already blogged about that. For our birthdays we went to see The Secret Life of Bees and made a day of it in the city and that was fun. Paul also got me a mini laptop to have when we travel so I don't have to share with him. Overall, it was just a nice time of being together. I wondered if I would be sad that there were only the three of us, but although we missed the others, we really had a good time. Life is getting back to normal. English classes and Bible studies start next week, Paul goes on Saturday to meet with one of the Presbytery committees, he's busy in his office, etc. We find ourselves wondering what God has in store for us and our family in 2009. We are excited to start another year with Him.

Some Time in the US

Paul and I had some meetings in the US early December and decided to take the rest of our vacation and add it on to see our kids and Moms. We started out in Chattanooga with Anna (and her housemate Esther) who lives in our house in St. Elmo. We spent a week redoing our kitchen floor and other odd jobs then having Wil and Amy over for Thanksgiving dinner. The floor turned out looking great.

From there we went to see Wil and Amy. It is always so relaxing in their home in Murphy, NC. They live out in the woods so it's peaceful and beautiful. We played lots of cards and got to see one of their indoor soccer matches. It was nice to visit their church and meet some of their friends.

On to Orlando to see Erik, Rinnie and the girls. It was so fun to be with them all. We took Erik and Rinnie out to dinner the first night and it was good to have uninterrupted conversation and catch up on what's happening with Erik's business ventures. The rest of the time we spent playing with the girls and talking with Rinnie. We made a gingerbread house and cookies, went for walks to feed the ducks and read a ton of books. We miss our granddaughters so much.

Next stop was our Moms. Paul went to Las Cruces and I went to Quarryville with my sister, Sally. We both had good visits and found our Moms to be doing pretty well. I was very encouraged, actually, since the last time I saw Mom she could hardly walk. This time she was walking some (with her walker), eating better, holding conversation, and singing Christmas carols. Her voice may not be what it once was, but she loved singing. I think the most special moment for me was when we were ready to leave she prayed for my sister and I. We were both in tears, hearing Mom's sweet voice talking with the Lord about us.

After our meetings at MTW we went on to Kirk and Sarah's. It was great to see Sam since the last time we saw him he was just born (March 2008). Joanna was so cute. When we got there she said "Come on, Granny, here's our room". So we shared a room with Joanna and just had a blast. We got to be there for her third birthday. It was fun chatting with Kirk and Sarah, and just spending time together. We went to see the house they are buying so are happy we'll be able to envision them there once they finish the renovations and move in.

After that, we were on the plane back to London to get ready for Anna to arrive Christmas day. But that is another blog post..... If you'd like to see more pictures of our time in the US you can go to: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1885549&l=c9450&id=624702564 and
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1885332&l=5898f&id=624702564

Another Historical Exploration

On my birthday this past Monday Liz, Anna and I went to High Halden, Kent, south east of London, to visit the hometown of Stephen Mercer. He was the father of Rinnie Mercer Fuller and maternal grandfather of my maternal grandfather, Harlow Mercer Fuller.

We visited St Mary’s Church in the village of High Halden, which is a Church of England church. You can find information and see pictures of it at www.thefriendsofstmarys.org and at www.kentchurches.info by looking under High Halden. This church dates to the 13^th century. We didn’t look for gravestones there since I don’t have any indication we have ancestors buried there. According to the information I have, Stephen Mercer and all his six siblings were born in High Halden, so they may well have been baptized in that church. In about 1829 they all immigrated to NY state and did well there.

We visited St. Mildred’s C of E church in Tenterden, a larger town just a few miles from High Halden, and found John & Mary Mercer’s gravestone. They were the grandparents of Stephen Mercer. The dates fit with the family records and “The Mercer Family” dates. Some of the inscription is unclear, especially around the lower names, presumably of other children who died at younger ages and are buried in that site. Nearby is the stone for Thomas and Charlotte Mercer of a younger generation (died 1849 & 1874), but I don't know how they might be related. If you want to download the pictures in this post just right-click on them as choose “save as”. Paul