It wouldn't be Christmas without it

Make a Smilebox recipe

Mexico

This blog is out of order, but I had a wonderful trip to Mexico to see Cliff & Mary Huffmire. It was a blessing to me!



Mary Huffmire took Kristen and me to their favorite Mexican restaurant on our shopping day before we went to Guadalajara to spend the night near the airport. We had a super early flight, and it was fun to have a girl day.



I had the privilege of going to Mexico with Pastor Chris, his son CJ and Kristen, Mary Huffmire's niece. Pastor Chris taught the Leader's Retreat, and it was awesome. I loved the part where they laid hands on and prayed for each family and group from each church.







Cliff celebrated his 60th birthday while we were there. The church does a cool thing. They sing a song of blessing and everyone comes around and hugs him or shakes his hand. It's a nice tradition I think! Cliff was excited to baptize Joe on his birthday. Joe's life was changed by Jesus, and he was baptized as a profession of his faith. After church and the baptism, we had a potluck, which they call con vivio. It was yummy!

York

"You Must Go to Bath"

It is like stepping into another world. Jane Austen's world. The city of Bath took me by surprise. It is quaint, unique, and has a feeling of being isolated. But it's just a feeling. Known for its Roman baths and Jane Austen museum, Bath was a fun day trip - only 1-1/2 hours from Oxford. So glad we didn't miss it.







Alan & Anna are fun to traipse across the country with!

Paris

We took a train from Frankfurt, Germany to Paris, France through some of the most beautiful country in the world.





If you have seen the Bourne trilogy movies, a couple of these things might look familiar to you.



Notre Dame cathedral. What an amazing example of gothic architecture.




The Louvre Museum. It was closed the day we were there, so we just walked around and took photos of the outside. It is amazingly HUGE!

An Evening with C.S. Lewis

While in Oxford today, we realized we had missed the C.S. Lewis walking tour. So we bought the little book and decided to learn on our own. Alan & Anna had been to his house in Headington and remembered how to get there. So Alan drove their new, used car and took us! "The Kilns" is in the middle of neighborhood now. When it was built it was all by itself. The C.S. Lewis Society has a natural preserve just beyond it, trying to preserve a bit of the land and huge pond of Lewis' time. The house next to The Kilns was named Narnia!







After seeing Lewis' house, Alan drove us to Holy Trinity Church in Headington Quarry. Buried in the churchyard is C.S. Lewis. His tombstone is so humble that it took us awhile to find his grave. What a peaceful place.






Can you see the Narnia illustrations on this window? It is probably beautiful from inside, but we weren't allowed inside the church.

A Day in Oxford

We began the day with lunch at The Eagle and The Child, the pub where C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Inklings met every Tuesday night. They would sit in this very corner and critique each other's work. We were lucky to sit there!



We visited St. Mary the virgin Church. In the photo below the church you can see the podium where John Wesley and Charles Spurgeon have spoken. After Spurgeon taught from the Bible, he said he would probably never be invited back. That was true.




Bikes, bikes and more bikes. The ads say "If you were bicycling you would be there by now!" And it's true! Biking is the fastest way around the city. We walked from Alan & Anna's flat (apartment) because it is impossible to park in the center of town. Biking would have been faster!



We walked the 99 steps up the Carfax Tower to see the city from the top.



The Bridge of Sigh's at Hertford College. The students walk across the bridge to go from their dorm rooms to their class rooms. They don't even have to go outside! It is one of the most beautiful attractions in Oxford in my opinion.