Living in Madrid or London?

As I've had a chance to explore more of Madrid, I've found quite a few comforts that I enjoy and that make the transition here a bit easier. Many of you know that I have a bit of a love affair with tea. I can't exactly pinpoint when this love started, but for many years now I've enjoyed hot tea as if I were in fact British and not American.

As Charlotte and I were roaming around last week, we stumbled upon a cute shop called Living in London. It was full of decorative items, knick-knacks, and such. Then I saw that a couple of doors down was another Living in London shop. I went inside and found....a tea room! Oh, I was excited! But I was also apprehensive. My Spanish is pretty much non-existent, and what I do know I'm nervous about using. So I shy away from any activities that would require me to be on my own using Spanish. I decided to wait until the weekend for Brendan to join me at the tea room.

We went on Sunday afternoon and sadly it was packed. Being a small space anyways, it was going to be impossible to get the stroller/buggy/carriage (whatever you care to call it) in with so many people. I was sad, but the good news was that we found a pastry shop after leaving the tea room and tried Spanish hot chocolate and some wonderful sweets. :)

I finally got up the courage to go to the tea room on my own (with Charlotte) earlier this week. I went during a time of day when I knew it would be pretty empty - 12pm/Noon. That is not lunchtime here...the Spainards don't eat lunch until later in the afternoon (probably because they don't eat dinner until 10pm). Below you can see some pictures of mine and Charlotte's first tea party. You can see she wasn't very interested, but I'll give her time to be as excited as I am about tea - I guess she should probably at least be able to sit up on her own to get much out of it.

It was wonderful for me! The tea was great, as was the Tarta de manzana Louise (I used my Spanish dictionary to figure out what this was - I deciphered words like "biscuit", "butter", and "apple" and decided I'd try it out). I also built some confidence in using my limited Spanish on my own.

{Living in London Tea Room}

{Charlotte enjoying the tea party}

{My tea spread = Happiness}

4 months with our sweet Charlotte Grace

Our little booger is now 4 months old. She is chubby, full of smiles & giggles, and is just a sweet, happy baby! As you'll see in some of these pictures, one of her favorite things to do is touch her toes - she's even attempting to put them in her mouth! She also still loves to stick her hands in her mouth, so its a good thing she doesn't do anything to get her feet dirty. :)

Brendan titled the first picture "The Dilemma" - which school will she choose OR which parent does she love the most?! (Probably the one who is dressing her!)

Oh well, both outfits won - but you can tell she looks happier in the red & black! I also finally decided to put a bow on her - not that I'm opposed to bows, but her head is rather large and round so I didn't really think they looked very cute on her. But I was getting tired of people asking if she was "nino o nina?". So, Brendan suggested a bow - again - and this time I think she actually looks like a cute little girl.

I really can't believe how fast she's grown. Yes, I know everyone says this "They grow so fast!" but I think I really needed to experience it to believe it - because those first couple of weeks were anything but fast, I thought that newborn stage would last forever but I was soooo wrong. Charlotte has her first visit to the Spanish pediatrician next week for her 4 month check-up. We'll see how that goes, I'm sure it will be worthy of a blog post. We'll at least be able to update y'all with her weight in kilograms and length in centimeters. And hopefully someone in the office (besides the doctor) speaks English! :)

Brendan's Mom Serving in Afghanistan

Check out the video below...shows Brendan's mom, Karen, serving our country in Afghanistan. So thankful for her and our other family members (Ryan, Megan, & James) who serve our country!

Our First Week in Madrid

Our first week in Madrid is coming to a close. Brendan started his new position on Monday...he'll have to write an update on that...but things are pretty busy for him since he is transitioning from one position in his company to another. We are still in a temporary apartment (see video in previous post) and it is very small! Charlotte's Pack n Play is set up in the dining room/kitchen area...not an ideal living situation.

We went apartment hunting with a relocation company last Friday and looked at numerous apartments. Thankfully, we found more than one that would work for us, so we'll be moving into our permanent apartment in Madrid towards the end of February. We found a place that is fully furnished so moving & settling in should be pretty easy. It is in a great area of town...Brendan will be able to walk to work (about a 15 min walk) and their are numerous small stores and park areas nearby. What sold me on the place was the tea and chocolate shop next door! Although Brendan told me not to spoil myself there!

Charlotte has finally gotten back to her normal sleep schedule - yeah! She's actually sleeping longer at night, but I think that might be because we have blackout shutters on our windows so none of us know when it is morning and time to wake up! She's seemed to go through some changes since we've been here - we think partly because we've moved and she's in a new location/culture/etc but also because she's probably going through a growth spurt. She struggles with taking naps during the day - she did this before but now thinks she needs to be in someone's arms in order to sleep. :( While I love cuddling with my girl, I don't want her to make it a habit plus it makes it difficult to get anything else done. This is getting better though...as I type this she is taking a nap in her Pack N Play! Another big change has been her baby chatter. Brendan mentioned earlier this week that he didn't think she was "talking" as much, then out of nowhere on Wednesday she started babbling like we'd never heard her do before. Brendan did an "interview" with her that we'll get posted over the weekend.

Charlotte and I have found a few mercados (grocery stores) and have done some exploring so that I can figure out what I can cook here. I've used my Spanish/English dictionary to figure out what some items are...and I think I'll just steer clear of some items! It has been interesting to figure out how to use household appliances in another language - and measuring system.

We found a good Mexican restaurant - surprising, I know - but I am kinda struggling with the different times that people eat here. Lunch is around 2pm, then tapas after work around 6-7ish, and dinner is not until around 9 or 10pm. Obviously this doesn't mean that we have to eat that late, but the frustration is that many restaurants close during our normal dinner hours (5-8pm). We are slowly finding places that are open during this time. Just another cultural change we'll adjust to.

Living la vida abundante!

I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:10b

In an earlier blog post I (Anne) mentioned that I had spent some time the night before we left for Spain thinking about our life over the past 2 1/2 years. It wasn't intentional; I was just laying in bed and was in that excited sleep mode....you know how you felt the night before Christmas when you were a kid...so I just couldn't get to sleep and my mind started wandering. I know in a way it was triggered by leaving our home country and so many friends and family in North Carolina and Texas. My mind wandered to those people and the memories we had made with them over the past 2 1/2 years....I say 2 1/2 years because that is how long we had lived in Raleigh and it really marked a drastic change in our lives.

I remembered when we first decided to attend church in a movie theater - Southbridge. And then getting connected to our first community group which led to some amazing friendships with brothers and sisters in Christ - and most importantly led to Brendan's salvation! I thought of our families and the different things that were going on in their lives. I realized that all the memories I was thinking of had a theme - people's lives being changed by a relationship with Jesus Christ! Then the verse from John 10 came to mind - the abundant life.

Christians often talk about the abundant life - we tell each other that it is what Jesus wants for us, which is true. But I think we don't often know what the abundant life really is. So many of us haven't actually experienced it so how would we know what it means to live the abundant life God has called us to? While wandering through my memories, I found that the life I am living now is the abundant life. And it is not a life filled with stuff or money or lots of friends on Facebook! I believe Christians experience the abundant life that Jesus wants for us - that He came to this earth for - when we earnestly seek God's plan for our life. When we seek Him, we see the opportunities He gives us everyday to be used by Him in helping others experience His love/grace/mercy - to experience a personal relationship with Him.

What could be more abundant than witnessing God change people's lives right in front of you?! What's funny (or ironic) is that God was changing people's lives in front of me for many, many years before I moved to Raleigh, but I wasn't really that in on the action. I wasn't earnestly seeking God and instead my eyes were focused on me instead of the opportunities God laid out in front of me to be used by Him in other people's lives. So glad to be living the abundant life NOW, and I'm excited to see what opportunities God gives us to further His kingdom while in Spain!

La vida abundante! Don't miss out on it!

Our Temporary Apartment in Madrid