We arrived in our new town of Dumfries, Scotland, on April 1, and in the past 38 days, life has changed drastically. Of course, there is still so much to share regarding the final weeks of packing up our life in America, and most of all, our moments of saying goodbye to beloved family and friends, as well as our actual travels (and fun and worries on our British Airways flights) but for now, I'll start with where we are... and at the moment, that is actually living in Scotland.
 |
| Enjoying the local playground |
We arrived on the day the school Easter holidays began, which means that Luke and Maggie would not be able to attend preschool for the first three weeks of our time here. With full time care of the children, setting up our new home, and a business trip for Chris thrown in the mix, my writings regarding our adventures have been sorely neglected. Excuses, excuses.
So now more than a month after arriving here, I share some of our story.
 |
Luke & Maggie enjoying
their "babychinos" from
Starbucks during our
first week in Scotland
|
The kids seem happy, and seem to understand that we are living here now. They often talk about people and things back in "'merica" as well as seeming to understand the vast distance between where we are and where we used to be. They frequently ask about when some treasured people will come visit us here in Scotland. Maggie especially has a growing view of what Scotland is. We realized upon arrival that she believed Scotland to be her Granny and Papa's house, not an entire nation. (Touching down in Glasgow, I said, "Here we are in Scotland!" to which Maggie replied firmly and with great annoyance, "This is NOT Scotland!" Um, okay.) In fact, they are adjusting to life here quite well, much better than I ever could have expected. I suspect the growing pains will occur as they start to really understand the scope of distance and time.
I am managing well despite a few moments of homesickness in the first couple weeks. I am happy to report that I have made some friends in these past weeks. Having friends here has really helped with feeling more comfortable and more at home. A visit from my American pal, Robert, also really eased the feelings of homesickness, as hearing another American accent and reliving old memories together made me feel so much better.
 |
| A fun visit with Robert during the first days in our new home |
 |
Note the steering wheel is on
the right side of the car in the
picture above... and below is
a very happy me on the day
we got our car! |
I am beyond pleased to report that I have mastered the Scottish roads, and can now safely drive! This is huge news for me! Prior to arriving, one of my biggest fears was the need to learn to drive a manual car since I had only ever driven automatics before. Chris attempted to teach me ONE TIME for several minutes in his Mustang over 8 years ago, but I swear that car had the stiffest clutch of all time, and I walked away defeated, and I refused to ever try again (even though I really wanted to be able to drive a stick). Well, here, automatic cars are few and far between. They are available, but not widely so. My very patient father-in-law gave me about a week's worth of lessons followed by his assurance and approval that I was road-ready. I've been driving all around town, on the left side of the road (on the right side of the car) going around roundabouts and doing hill starts! Who would've thunk it, huh? It sure does feel good to achieve a goal I've had for quite some time, and it is so wonderful that it is also a really useful tool.
Chris has been extremely busy with work, but has been enjoying more time with his parents, as well as with our family. We have been spending time together at weekends doing family-oriented activities, like swimming, hiking, walking, picnicking, and visiting local parks and playgrounds. There have been other highlights as well, like Luke and Maggie starting "nursery," a trip to Ireland for a long weekend of Irish wedding festivities (believe me, that weekend deserves a post of its own!), learning the Scottish grocery stores (they are more different than you might think...), and the kids learning how to ride bikes.
 |
| Drumlanrig Castle |
 |
Pointing out the castle as we begin
our "enchanted forest" walk |
 |
| The "enchanted forest" walk at Drumlanrig |
 |
| Posing by a stream at Drumlanrig |
 |
| At Drumlanrig Castle's Adventure Playground |
 |
| This is the slide our kids mastered! |
 |
| Silly boy with "sweater hair" during sunny outdoor lunch in Thornhill |
 |
| Enjoying a coffee while kids play at school |
 |
| First day of nursery! |
 |
Tea and scones (or hot chocolate and
grilled cheese... either way it's yummy! |
 |
| A spot of tea (or hot cocoa) |
So life in Scotland so far has been good, and I certainly hope it continues to be a positive experience for us. I plan to post more often, so stay tuned, although we have a trip back to the States planned in just a couple weeks, so expect to see some American highlights of the upcoming summer as well.
To end, here are some Scottish things to enjoy....
 |
| Lots of little lambs with their grown-up friends hanging around! |
 |
| And if you're driving, watch out for sheep crossing! |
 |
| A Scotch egg.... just because! |
