A day at the Victoria and Albert Museum:

Here are a few images from mom and dad's visit to the Victoria and Albert museum today. You can see the magnitude of the exibits that they visited by how small they are in comparison. Tomorrow we are off to Cambridge to walk down memory lane!!

More of Mom and Dad in London:

So - here are more pictures from the last few days. Today mom and dad are out at the Victoria and Albert Museum and Harrods. I am staying in to take care of Nicole who is not feeling 100%. The good thing is, I am getting to rest as well from the last hectic few weeks. Anyway - enjoy the pictures!

Brad

Mom and Dad in London!!!

So, I know that it has been two weeks from that last entry - but Nicole and I have been running around trying to get things ready for mom and dad's visit!! They are finally here. This trip has been planned since before we moved here and Nicole and I are so excited to have them in the UK. The thing is - I doubt that we will let them come back to the US!! So far we have walked around Southwark to Bourough Market, seen the Globe Theater, walked around St. Pauls, been on the London Eye, walked around Spitifields Market, and gone to church. And that is just in the last 2 days!! We have loads of things planned during the next week. I will keep it updated with our images along the way so that our family and friends can enjoy mom and dad's journey. Love to you all!!

Brad

Bleeker as a Tourist in London:

Today we took Bleeker to a few tourists sites. We had wanted to do this in New York and never got around to it - so we thought that we should take advantage of it today. He road the bus, hopped on the tube, pooped in the Westminster Tube Station (Ha!!), chased pigeons in Trafalgar Square, saw the changing of the guard at the Palace at Whitehall, went by Big Ben and even stopped by to peep in the windows of Westminster Abbey. I think that he was worn out - becasue when we got home he collapsed on the couch!!

Brad

More Venice Pictures:

Here are more pictures for you to enjoy!!

Brad and Nicole

Venice, Italy:

For my 30th Birthday / Valentine's Day, Nicole and I went to Venice, Italy for 4 days! We had the best time!! It was truly magical! I had been to Venice 10 years ago, but Nicole had never been and it was a dream of hers to go. Everything about the trip was AWESOME!!

To start off, everyday was Sunny and Nicole and I got a little burnt on out faces on day. We also had the BEST FOOD!! Nicole and I are big fans of seafood and pasta and the combination of the two is what Venice is known for. We followed Rick's Steve's food suggestions and can I tell you - never doubt Rick Steve's! He is the man!! The places that we went were mom and pop type places with no English on the menu - but we ended up with great food!! Our hotel was also so cool. It was an old mansion on the Grand Canal that was built in the 1400's and owned by a poet. The first night we stayed in a huge red room right on the Grand Canal, and were then bumped to a smaller - but cute, yellow room on the side canal.

Venice's Mardi Gras (Carneval) starts next week and we lucked out on this trip buy getting to see the pre-Carneval activities. This weekend it was Kids Carneval and we saw children dressed up in Disney characters, Zoro and even old venetian aristicrats. They had a great time and we had a great time watching them with their parents!

We also had the best time people watching. The Italians are the best dressed people in the world. We have never seen so many beautiful 80 year old women (dressed in fur coats) in our life!! Yesterday we walked around the "locals" area and loved seeing the Italian families interact with each other.

There are so many things to say about our trip. I always say that when people return from Venice they cannot do it justice buy their words as it is to beautiful of a place to articulate. I hope that our pictures do it some justice. For those of you who have been before you can reminesce from your trip, and for those who have not been before - go to expedia.com and book it now!!

Have a great Velentine's Day everyone!

Brad

Watoto Children's Choir at Hillsong London:

Today at Church we had the Watoto Children's Choir from Uganda. This choir and the Watoto Ministry started in 1994 and have helped 1.7 million children in Uganda with AIDS and HIV. Today at church the theme was "Becasue We Can". We at Hillsong believe that the world's poverty should be and can be taken care of by the Christian community around the world. Our pastor encouraged all of us to either help the Watoto Ministry, help in a ministry that caters to homeless children on the streets in Mumbia India , or sponsor a child in Rawanda. Nicole and I decided to sponsor a child in Rawanda and cannot wait to start that relationship!! If you would like more information about the Watoto Ministry go to www.watoto.com or www.hillsonglondon.co.uk.

Last Saturday at Bourough Market:

Last Saturday, Nicole and I decided to soak up the winter sunshine and walk down to the Bourough Market. Now for those who don't know, the sun rarely shine in the UK during the winter - so those days that it is bright and shining - you get out no matter how cold it is!! We decided to take the 20 minute walk down to the Bourough Market underneath the London Bridge. The walk is AMAZING as you go past St. Paul's Cathedral, walk over the Mellinium Bridge, pass the Tate Modern and stroll by Shakespear's Globe Theater. Once you arrive at the market there are many cheeses, sausages, olive oils, jam, jellies, and breads to sample. It is great and Nicole and I love going down to the there. Here are a few images from the day!

Have a great weekend!

Brad

Bleeker's Bath:

Bleeker hates baths. Well, I should say that he hates them if they last more than 1 minute. Anyway, Nicole got a few pictures of him in the tub yesterday. He is crazy - and we LOVE him!!

We have many things planned over the next little while - so stay tuned for more. Can I say that I am still shocked at how many people view our blog!

Have a great weekend - or what is left of it!

Brad

Mexican with Martha & Lindsey:

Last night we had our friends Martha & Lindsey over for dinner. We had been planning this for the last six months and finally did it!! We met Lindsey and Martha at our first Friday night dinner party at Church. They are such great people and we are so happy to have them in our lives. We had them over for Mexican food which is something that they don' do well in the UK. We made chicken enchiladas, homemade guac, Mexican rice, refried beans with chilies, and chips and salsa. They loved it!!! We were so happy because we had to change all of the recipes. We forgot that in the UK you could not find black beans, cream of chicken soup, or chopped green chilies. Anyway, we had a great time and they loved Bleeker. They have requested that we bring him to their place next on Electric Avenue!! (That is right, the street that the song "We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue!")

Brad

Bleeker Blackmon:

For those of who don't know, our dog Bleeker made it to the UK safely from Atlanta last week. I meant to do a blog about this earlier, but time got away. We are so happy to have Bleeker back with us in our home as it just did not feel the same without him. We are so thankful to mom and dad for taking GREAT CARE of him over the last six months. They became very attached to him over that time and it was hard for them to see him go. For those who were worried about him, he is fine and adjusting to his new home. It amazes me that our dog has been to more states and countries than most people and he seems to adjust everywhere he goes. This picture captured Bleeker in his favorite spot. He loves looking out the glass door onto the square below. Nicole and I love him dearly and thank everyone for their prayers for his safe travel to the UK.

Brad

New Year's Week in Cleveland, Tennessee:

The last week of our United State's Christmas tour was at mom and dad's house in Cleveland!! We were so excited to see mom and dad, the grandparents, and Bleekie!! We had the best time and loved every minute of it. We did not want to get back on the flight to London and thought about staying and leaving everything we had in the UK, but the only thing that helped was knowing that Bleeker was coming back home with us after 6 months of separation. Mom and dad had been so great taking care of him and had fallen in love with him. We felt so bad taking him from them, but they wanted him to come with us as well - we just all love him so much!! Mom and dad were so great in Cleveland - they always go above and beyond. They had a huge New Year's Eve meal for us and then we opened Christmas presents, went shopping (our favorite past time!), went to the new Starbucks in Cleveland (that's right - Starbucks in Cleveland), hung out with the grandparents which we adore, and ate at the Bald Headed Bistro (our favorite place to eat). We also got to see a few people while in town like Sarah Hershman and Kara Laughlin while at Beckys (These are the sisters of Anna and Jeff our dear friends in NYC that we miss greatly), and Sarah Cantrell while coming out of the BHB. Cleveland is not the place where we see tons of people as most people we knew there have moved away from college so it was so nice to see these three. It was an amazing week and made me want to be closer to home in the future.

Brad

Stop-over in Ceasar's Head South Carolina:

On our way from Goldsboro, North Carolina to Cleveland, Tennessee, we stopped over to visit Elizabeth and her mom and dad at their mountain house in Ceasar's Head, S.C. - just across the stateline from Brevard, N.C. It was so great seeing Elizabeth as we miss her greatly!! It is odd not being around someone that we love so dearly. We used to see her nearly every weekend in New York City, but now we are on opposite positions on the globe - she chose the warmer climate of Los Angeles and we chose London - what we were thinking? Anyway - thanks Elizabeth, Mr. Charlie and Mrs. Nancy for the great food, a great night's sleep, and that AMAZING company!!

Brad and Nicole

A Few More Family Pictures from North Carolina:

We could not post all of the photos from North Carolina on the last entry. So here are more photos from North Carolina. These Photos are from Aunt Sherri & Uncle Buster, the Daniels men, and the Daniels girl cousins, and of Ben and me.

Brad

Christmas in Goldsboro, NC:
Well, we just arrived back in the UK from 2 weeks holiday in the States...1 week with my family in NC and one week in TN with Brad's. What a great time we had! So great, coming back was difficult. But we wanted to post a few pics from the great time while there. We flew in on the 23rd and boy were we tired...it took us almost 24 hours to get to my dad's house! On Christmas Eve, we had a great night complete with the turkey dinner and opening presents with my dad and Joyce, my brother Brian and Shannon and their adorable 4 kids (Lindsey, Ben, Seth and Lindsey) AND my mom's twin sister, Aunt Brenda and Uncle Bob. They drove up from St. Mary's, GA to be with all of us. It was such a great time and we ate so much food!
Christmas Day, we had a break from the traditional and spent it with my sister-in-law's side of the family. We had a full-on Italian buffet, no turkey to be found and it was nice! No, no one there was Italian, but we pretended for the day. Then we played a game of Dirty Santa which is always funny - everyone brings a gift, good or bad, numbers are drawn, you pick a gift, and you can take any gift from anyone who has gone before you and they have to take yours! It's quite fun! On Monday night, we were able to see my entire side of the family on my dad's side which was great. I'm one of the only cousins with no kids, but no pressure here!
The rest of the week, we just spent time with my family and played with the kids. We managed to see my friends Jay and Cristie as well and catch up with them and Brad's Aunt Sherrie and Uncle Buster. So, it was definitely a fun-filled time, well spent with my family that we dearly miss! Then we packed up our bags, headed to the rental car lot, and drove to TN! Next stop, Brevard, NC to spend the night with our friend Elizabeth in her family's mountain home.

How Cute is my Wife?:

I could not resist putting this picture of Nicole up on the Blog. I love it!! I took this of her while we were out shopping yesterday. I am the luckiest man in the world to be married to her. I enjoy falling deeper in love with her daily and cannot wait to see what the next 50-60 years brings!!

Brad

Christmas Decorations in the city:

This post is for my father. He has asked and asked for us to post pictures of the Christmas decorations around London. So dad, today while Nicole was finishing up Christmas shopping for yours truly, I walked around this beautiful city and tried to capture the amazing decorations! (From the top: front door of Liberty department store, tree at Covent Garden, and Regent Street). I will say that I thought New York City went all out for Christmas, but this town doesn't leave a nook or cranny untouched. I had the best time this afternoon walking around and soaking up the atmosphere. How many times do we all stress ourselves out during this time of the year and don't take the time to walk around and look at what is going on around us? I am so thankful that I had this opportunity today to see the smiles on people's faces or hear the ooh's and ahh's of the people looking at the decorations. So thanks dad for your request - I had the best time doing it!!

Brad

McQueens:

McQueens is a flower shop that is right beside our flat complex. We love to walk by it everyday to see what sort of displays that they have out. They do an amazing job, but they are also expensive. Nicole asked them about Christmas trees and they wanted £30 a foot for a tree. Now for you guys in the states that is $55 a foot - no way jose!! Anyway - we are glad that they are near for eye candy if nothing else!!

Brad and Nicole

Our Connect Group:

That is right!! Nicole and I have taken over a Connect Group at Church. Back home we would call them Cell Groups. This is how we build a community during the midweek. It is amazing time every Wednesday night and Nicole and I are so happy to be leading one now - Although we both feel a huge responsibility for each and ever person in our group. The group arrives about 7:30 and we have a meal before we talk about our week and go over the sermon notes from Sunday. We love each and every person in our group and have built friendships that will last a lifetime.

Brad

Christmas Dinner Party:

On Friday, December 9 we had a Hillsong Christmas Dinner party at Tasha & Carmody's flat on Brick Lane. This is a great time for those individuals who have just started to come to church to meet more people and get plugged in. Everyone brought a dish and we had so much food, we had no clue what to do with it. There were about 40 people that came and we had an Amazing time! Nicole and I love meeting new people and help guide them into the church community.

Brad

Christmas in London:

We thought that we would add a few images from our Christmas decorations that we have around our flat. We decided to go with a white Christmas Tree this year to go with the entire Shabby Chic look and feel. We also love real wreaths hanging around and Nicole found this one at a flourist last week. We will take pictures around London next weekend and show you the sights and sounds of this great city!!

Merry Christmas - Brad

Jon and Dina Gowar:

Tonight Nicole and I went to Jon and Dina Gowar's house in Putney for dinner. Jon and Dina worked with me in New York at Lowe Lintas & Partners on the 3Com Account. Jon was actually my boss and Dina was my Media Director. They fell in love while we were all working together and finally got married. It is such a small world that 5 years later we are all now in London. It is so nice to have them around!! Dina is American and it is nice to talk to her about home, NYC, and all the odd things that we encounter on a daily basis. Tonight they cooked a traditional English roast which consisted of a pork roast, raosted potatoes, roasted turnips, brussels sprouts, peas & carrots, and toffee pudding with cream!! Needless to say, Nicole and I rolled back to our flat. We will have them over to our place after the holidays for probably takeout ha!!!

Brad