Down Scares and Brand New Hairs...Our October so far

October has been a much simpler month in many ways, albeit much busier. There have been a couple of eventful moments amidst all of the routine, two of which inspired the title to this post. The first is courtesy of Noah, who always refers to our stairs as "da scares." Before recently it was just a cute phrase. Now it's taken on a slightly more literal meaning since he has managed to fall down them twice while trying to sneak out of bed at night. Thankfully he was completely uninjured both times. So far the door alarm his grandma in Minnesota sent seems to be doing the trick of scaring him back into bed so that he isn't scaring us as he plummets down those "scares."

The second event is much less exciting, except to me (and Elizabeth of course). That is the regrowth of my hair. I've started shaving again and now have a sufficient amount of hair that I look like I have a buzz cut. The weird thing is how soft it is since it's never been cut and how it actually lays down flat for me. Before chemo my hair would have never been this kind to me at such a short length. Now that we have a webcam those of you who know us will have to reach us on MSN Messenger and you can get a live view. :-)

It seems like our weeks since the beginning of my school term have been a whirlwind of schoolwork, classes, social functions for Elizabeth and the boys, and frequent walks down our beloved Lade Braes.

The trees are well into their autumn display and the leaves have begun falling in earnest. Rain has also become a rather common companion for us. Despite the soggy weather however, our spirits have not at all been dampened. We have gained a deep appreciation for the simplicity and relative innocence of life here. We have no television to distract us and no car to keep us away from home, but we have a phenomenal community. Here are a few examples of what I mean:

We've been able to get caught up on doctor's appointments at no cost.
We've had a child development professional visit our home and give us encouragement on potty training and the fact that our children are indeed relatively normal toddlers.
We have a front and back yard (or garden as they call them here) for our boys to play in.
Elizabeth and the kids get to go to a toddler play group, a ladies Bible study, and special events at the public library and other churches very frequently.
Gabriel gets to start nursery school next week so that he can be in the best position possible when he actually starts primary school.
Cars stop for us and willingly hold up traffic to let us cross the road.
We've had wonderful conversations with a variety of strangers we've passed on our way to and from town.
Terrific townsfolk constantly stop by our stroller (aka pram, buggy, or push-chair) to admire our "wee ones."

There are tons more things I could tell you, but I wouldn't want to make you too jealous. ;-)

I'm currently working on my PhD application for the James Wilson Programme (yep, that's how they spell it here). The great thing is that if I'm accepted then my studies will be fully paid for!! Right now I'm trying to write a good research proposal that tells the school what my study plans would be so that they can decide whether or not they want to admit me into the programme. If anyone has been through this process before and can give me some pointers I would greatly appreciate them. (Just post a comment at the end of this blog.) This is definitely new ground for me.

God has certainly blessed us generously (as have many of you), and we are so grateful for this time of refreshing. Now that we are all up to speed I'll try to post more often so you can get a real taste of Scotland and our life here (don't worry, it doesn't all taste like haggis).

Time to give my mind a rest so that I can gear up to begin my 15-page paper on the role of religion in the political philosophies of St. Augustine, Thomas Hobbes, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. I still need to come up with the topic for my other 15-pager on the methodology of studying international relations, philosophy, and history (obviously some prayer for divine inspiration would come in handy for this puppy).

As they say here in Scotland....Cheers mates!