Bleeker Loves Peanut Butter:

Bleeker loves Peanut Butter. He has every since he was a puppy. When we have finished a jar of Paenut Butter we give the jar to Bleeker and he plays with it for hours. He Loves it!! What he can't understand is why he can smell the Peanut Butter, but can't get any. He eventually gets tired of it and moves on to something else. Please note that Bleeker loves JIF Reduced Fat Peanut Butter-as do we :-). Did we mention that we can't get it here in the UK?

Have a great rest of your weekend!!

Brad

Saturday with Suz...

This past Saturday Nicole and I met up with one of our good friends Suzanne Price. We know Suzanne from church and she was one of the first people that I met when we joined the church. Suzanne works for a PR Agency right behind our apartment, so sometime she pops by to say hello on her way home. We met her at Borough Market for lunch and then headed to the Tate Modern to see a display of white boxes. I know what your thinking - why the heck would you go see white boxes? The artist said that when you look at a box, you wonder what is in it, so she made a whole village of boxes. She filled random size boxes with white resin and the rest is history. Hey - it was free and a fun afternoon!! Anyway, we are thankful for our friend Suz and loved spending the afternoon with her!

Brad

Bleeker:

So - I just realized that I have not put any post with Bleeker lately. For those of you who want to know - he is doing great and has adjusted to the UK with full force. Nicole and I are so happy to have him here with us! He just is the best dog ever!!

Nicole took this picture of him while we were packing for Prague on Thursday night. He wanted to go as well! While we are away he stays with his dog walker who also has a dog. Bleeker has a great time and is normally worn out when we return!

B

Prague for Easter:

Nicole and I went to Prague for Easter!! We had the best time. Besides meeting up with the Stones (See below) we toured this most amazing city and walked our legs off. For those of you who have not been - Prague is amazing! Jeff and Anna Laughlin told us when we moved to the UK, that we must go to Prague - and now we know why. The architecture alone will have you a trance as well as the general mood and temperament of the city. During Easter they set up Easter Markets all over town selling their famous painted eggs, local crafts, and amazing food that we couldn't pronounce but we sure could eat! The people were so nice and helpful. They might not know English, but they can play a mean game of charades. Nicole and I were lost on the tram and this older lady helped us by demonstrating that we needed to go back under the river. When I say demonstrated, I mean "full on" theatrical act. We loved it!! We also loved the shopping in Prague. Some of the stores were the same that we have on our high streets here in the UK, but they were so clean and orderly. How many H&M's or Zara's have you been to that have everything hung in its section and on its original hanger - come on?? It was great! We also found that a vacation in Prague is a great value. It is not cheap - as it once was - but what you get is good for your buck. We also enjoyed a local restaurant in the Jewish Quarter called Svejk - Jon and Emily, you must go if you haven't - we had dinner for 110 Kr each, which is about 2 pound 50 pence. We had Pork Lion, pickled cabbage, and potato dumplings with horseradish - it was really good!! I could go on and on - but I will let the pictures speak for themselves. We had a great time. We are at home for the next 3 weeks and then we are off to Devon, Cambridge, and Barcelona in May. Let the good times roll!

Brad

Time with the Stones:

While we were in Prague, we had the great pleasure of meeting up with Jon, Emily, and Lillian Stone. Jon and Emily, with their two daughters Eloise and Lillian, are missionaries in Prague. They were kind enough to spend Saturday afternoon with us and we had an amazing time. Nicole and I think that it was the highlight of our trip. Emily and I have known each other for years and it was so great seeing her as a mother with a mission. I have also known Jon since Lee and am so proud to see how God is working in his life! Nicole and I sat with them in awe as they were explaining their goals and what the next phase of their life is devoted to. We had the best time - I do hope that they think so as well! We had a great lunch and then walked through old town Prague to the old Jewish Quarter to have some of the best ice cream that I have ever had. They even took us to the subway station and taught us how to use the public transportation network. We loved our time with them and hope that we can spend more time with them in the future. Jon and Emily - We owe you!! Also - next time we want to meet Eloise!!

To all of you out there who read this blog. Jon and Emily have an enormous opportunity to shape the hearts and minds of the people in Prague. If you would like to support them - which we will be as well - please send your contributions to the follow address below.

Church of God World Missions
2490 Keith Street, NW
Cleveland TN, 37312

Designated To:
Jonathan and Emily Stone
Project # 790-1037-001

April in Paris:

Nicole and I just got back from an AMAZING weekend in Paris. Nicole and I share a love for this town - so it is great to go there with each other. We see past the rude people and soak up the romance, history, music, and most of all - the food!! As you may know my mom's best friend who I call Aunt Daphie has been living in Paris for the last 8 months. She invited us to come over this past weekend and enjoy her little part of town. We had the best time. Her flat is in the oldest portion of Paris called La Marais. She is 5 blocks from Notre Dame and near the Louvre. It was so easy to get anywhere you wanted. We went on Friday afternoon on the Eurostar and came back last night. On Friday night we walked over to Notre Dame and the St. Michelle area of town. We enjoyed all of te lights while eating crepes! I had a Nutella and Banana crepe and Nicole ate a Banana and Honey crepe. It was so nice being with someone who is fluent in French. Everything seemed to easy!! On Saturday we headed up to Mont Matre to see the Artist painting and a great view of the city, we then headed back down to La Marais to go shopping! This area of town is like Soho in NYC. Every kind of boutique that you could ever want!! We then went for a 3 course French dinner on Saturday evening! Nicole had snails and I had Goat Cheese Salad and Chicken. On Sunday we went to a wonderful place for Brunch by the Louvre called Angelinas and has the best hot choclatte that I had ever had!! Becasue it was such a beautiful day, we walked up the Champs and had a great stroll to the Arc De Triophe. We hated leaving Aunt Daphie and Paris - but we will be there many more times between now and the time that we leave!!

More Bath Pictures:

Here are some more Bath pictures from last weekend!!
Oh - we took Bleeker as well, and he had a great time!!

Second Anniversary in Bath:

Nicole and I spent our 2nd Anniversary in Bath, England (March 24-March 26). Bath is a beautiful town about an hour and 30 minute train ride outside of London. The reason that it is called Bath is becasue of the Roman Bath's that have been there for 2,000 years. Bath also enjoyed a renaissance in the late 1700 and early 1800's as an elite place to come to dip oneself in the healing Bath waters. Today the entire town of Bath has been covered under the UNESCO historic society. All this to say - Bath is beatiful and a great place to visit. Nicole and I were lucky enough to stay at Michael and Judith Rawlins flat in the center of town. Michael and Judith our friends of the family that we all met on our many trips to the UK over the last 11 years. The weather was not so great - but we did not let it spoil our time. We went to the Royal Crescent, ate a lovely dinner at a place called Hole In The Wall, shopped, toured the Roman Bath's, and went to the Jane Austen museum. We had a great time and loved every bit of it!! If you haven't been to Bath, you must go!! You can imagine yourself during Georgian times walking around during the summer and enjoying the royal parties and activities. Such a great place!!