Once Upon a Time....

…..a boy and a girl moved to a far away land.

My husband, Luke, and I have just moved to Edinburgh, Scotland and in order to keep our friends and family up to date on our new adventure I'm writing this blog to document our new life.  I'm typically not a blogger so my posts will mostly be short and sweet and will probably contain more pictures than anything, but today will be a wee bit longer in order to give you the details of our transition.

Last October, Luke received his acceptance letter from the University of Edinburgh School of Divinity.  Over the next 12 months, he will be working on a Masters of Theology.  New College is the home of the School of Divinity - and it's pretty much a castle.  Located right on the Royal Mile, it sits next to the Edinburgh Castle on top of an extinct volcano.  From the front door of the school you have an amazing view of the city.  He starts orientation on Monday and is super excited to start classes on the 17th.  

Since October, we've been preparing ourselves for this enormous move.  Unfortunately we spent 6 months "preparing" but we weren't able to do anything yet.  It wasn't until April rolled around that we were finally able to start sorting through all of the stuff we had accumulated in our 5 years of marriage and decide what we wanted to bring with us, what we wanted to store and what we could sell.  We had our first garage sale and were able to offload a considerable amount of stuff.  

It wasn't until June that we were finally able to apply for our Visas.  I'll write more about Visas later because you'd think that 2 people with college degrees would be able to successfully complete an application.  Apparently not.  Fortunately we got everything straightened out prior to submitting our application and we heard back about our approval in about 6 days.  

Throughout the summer, while we were in the process of completing the Visa application and waiting to hear back, we started prepping our house to rent.  Because the market is not as hot as it once was, we would have taken a hit by selling our house now.  Fortunately we were able to find amazing renters.  When Luke told the guys in our IDC Growth Group that we were praying for renters, our friend Jason told him that they would be interested in our place if only it were three bedrooms.  Erica & Jason were looking to move closer to Erica's job in Knightdale and fortunately our townhouse is about 5 minutes from there.  And while our town home was 2 bedrooms when we bought it, all we had to do was add a wall to Luke's office to make a 3rd.  

So we called our friend Isaac who owns his own home improvement company.  He and his business partner were able to put up the wall in record time and - Voila! - 3rd bedroom.  

Once we knew we had renters, it was time to make our plans to move out.  There were a few things that we wanted to store including an antique vanity that was a gift from my Grammy & Grandad and most of our cookware.  We rented a Relo-Cube from ABF and had it delivered to our house.  Once it was loaded, they came back to pick it up and transported it all the way to Kansas City where our stuff is stored at my mom's.  

From there we started our nomadic tour of the midwest and our friends and family.  We got to see our friends Rick & Megan and their little boy Ricky in Louisville, KY.

(Picture stolen from Megan Parker)

We spent a few days in KC unloading our stuff and then headed to Clever, MO to visit Luke's parents.  Lindsay and Ryan were there as well with their baby Maddox.  And Melody came to visit with her baby Judah.  

Mr. Judah

Then we headed to Rogers, AR to visit the rest of Luke's family.  We spent an amazing week there and got to see almost all of Luke's relatives and a few close friends.  

The Ramilo Henry's

The Ramilo Henry girls - including Luke's goddaughter Caroline.

From there we headed back to Clever for the weekend.  Luke's dad is the pastor of First Baptist Clever and George gives Luke the opportunity to teach whenever we're in town.  He did a great job and everyone really enjoyed it.  

Luke's parents

After that we were able to spend a couple of days in Branson - the town in which we met and lived prior to moving to North Carolina.  We got to see so many of our close friends while were there and spend some great time with them.  We miss them all so much and are so glad that we've been able to stay close.  

John, Amy, Jonah & Elizabeth Atkins

Steph, Nathan & Jackson Huddleston

And then back to KC to actually spend some time with my family.  Luke was only there for about 5 days before he caught his flight out.  My mom cooked her family famous fried chicken and the whole family gathered for an evening of fun and games.

My extended family

My immediate family

Once Luke hit the ground in Edinburgh he was in charge of finding our new home for the next 12 months.  That's a big job for a guy but he handled it like a champ!  Within just a few days he had secured a flat and opened our UK bank account.  With those 2 tasks complete, Luke was able to spend the rest of time before I arrived exploring the city and doing what he does best - study.  

While I was back in KC, Luke was able to explore the beautiful city of Edinburgh and take the most beautiful pictures - which only served to make me more and more anxious to join him.  Luther and I finally left the states on the 30th after a quick trip with my mom to Chicago.  When we landed in Edinburgh the sun was shining.  I made it through customs with no problems, collected all my luggage and found Luke waiting for me just outside the door.  I was so excited to see him!  

Because our flat wasn't scheduled to be available until September 1st, Luke had been staying with an acquaintance from the university.  Having a house to go to when I landed was amazing and so much better than a hotel.  The Craigs were amazing and such a blessing to Luke and I.  Unfortunately we found out on the 1st that the landlord had scheduled some additional work to be done on the flat without notifying the letting agency so the flat wasn't quite ready for us.  Fortunately the Craigs are amazing people and allowed us to stay with them for a few more days.  George even decided that Luther would probably rather stay at their house than live in a flat.  Unfortunately for him, mum thought differently.

The Craigs' house and garden

Having the few days at the Craigs before we were able to move in was nice because it allowed us to explore the city together not having to worry about unpacking or shopping or any of the other things that come with moving in to a new place.  Luke took me to the Royal Mile and the university.  We walked through the Princes Street Gardens.  Climbed Calton Hill.  And had lunch at a cute little patisserie in Stockbridge.  

Princes Street Gardens 

Edinburgh Castle

Calton Hill

The boys resting after our hike up Calton Hill

And then we finally got to move in to our flat on September 5th.  Let me just tell you that Luke did a great job!  We're in a great area of town.  We have multiple parks nearby where we can walk Luther.  There are a ton of restaurants and shops within walking distance.  And Luke can walk to school in 20 minutes.  

Today I spent the day unpacking our suitcases and getting settled in.  Tomorrow I start hitting up the charity shops to begin decorating our flat so that it feels more like home.  Once we get things in order I'll post some pictures.  

Luke starts orientation on Monday so I'll be working on my CV in hopes of finding a job.  Until then, Luther and I will be on our own to roam the city.  

Thanks for reading.  We are so thankful for the support system we have in the US and for all the prayers that have been answered over the past 10 months.  Please continue to pray for our transition into British culture, for a church home, for strong community, for Luke's studies and for a job for me.  We love you and miss you!

Aubs, Luke & Luther