Visiting Edinburgh Part 1

If you were thinking that this post might never arrive, I was with you a little bit! But I've realized that if I don't just put the pictures together and write about our time in Edinburgh than I might never do it, so I'm finally doing it.

Anyway, on to our trip. As I said earlier this month, it has been 3 years since we moved home from Scotland, and I've been reflecting on that a lot lately, and shared some of my thoughts in this post. Though we love our new life, we regularly and fondly think back to our time back in Edinburgh, so when the opportunity presented itself for us to visit last year after our trip to Heidelburgh, we were right on board. We would be in Edinburgh for 3 days, and the only mandatory part of our agenda was a public lecture that Chris was giving at New College one afternoon. We decided that we wanted our trip to have as few commitments as possible so that we had ample time to roam the city and do or see whatever we felt like. And that is exactly what we did.

We chose our hotel based on it's close proximity to our favorite weekly breakfast date, the incredible coffee shop Chocolate Soup. We went there every morning, ordered our favorite old drinks and pastries, read the free paper and just soaked it all up. It was a perfect start.

We both realized pretty quickly (when planning the trip, and had this affirmed when we arrived), that all that we really wanted from our trip was to re-live some of the small pieces of our old life that we really missed. So after breakfast we wandered around the city. We headed up to New College, where Chris had studied, because we wanted to see some of his friends who were up there working, and because we wanted to walk back through a building that had been an important part of our time there.

So that's what we did.

I had conflicted feelings about taking pictures while we were out everywhere.

We have a better camera than when we lived there before so a part of me wanted to document some of the places that we loved so much in a higher quality.

Also, since we'd been away for a while I wanted to get a few shots of things that I had never thought to take pictures of while we still lived there.

However, having my camera out all the time and snapping pictures on the streets made me feel like a tourist even though I still felt like a local. Honestly, as soon as we started walking around we both felt like we had been transported back in time and did still live there. So having my camera out and being in awe of everything was kind of strange and I didn't like it.

I ended up taking pictures on the first walk on our first day, and once on the second day, and other than that left it tucked safely away in the hotel room.

For lunch we made our way down one of our favorite streets to the best pizza shop in town and another one of our weekly loves,

Mamma's Pizzeria.

We have lots of fun memories of this restaurant and brought everyone who came to visit us to Mammas, so it was a necessary stop.

Again, we got our usual, ate it happily, and once again discussed how strange it was to feel as though nothing had changed.

After lunch we headed up to the City Center,

past our first flat,

and down to Princes Street Gardens to soak up the beautiful weather and scenery.

We stopped in a few of our favorite shops across the street, and then headed back to our hotel. On our way, we passed one of my favorite hair salons that had a sign out saying they had openings right then, so I decided to run in for a haircut and Chris went back to the hotel for a nap.

If you're thinking "you went and got a haircut?" I know, it may seem a little odd. But one of the great things about Edinburgh was that there were so many students in the city and so many places that wanted their business, that you could often find incredible deals like the one. Basically, if this salon had some openings right then (I can't remember what they were called now, standby, I think?), then you could get a haircut for half off. But it was a really upscale salon, where they started you off with a scalp massage and pads over your eyes, served you cappuccino or wine while you were getting a trim, and HALF OFF of your appointment meant you still paid less than at a cheap place!! So even with the exchange rate, I still paid less for this upscale hair cut than I would have at home. Score!! It also kind of made me feel like, "Oh it's just a normal day in Edinburgh, we went for a walk this morning and then I'm getting a haircut this afternoon." :)

That night we had reservations at this incredible restaurant that we always wanted to go to, but were saving for a very special occasion and never made it, the Witchery.

The Witchery is located right beside the Edinburgh castle, and it has a beautiful gothic/romantic atmosphere, and incredible food. It was wonderful. In light of us having a day doing things that felt pleasantly normal and common, it was a nice reminder that this was a special occasion for us. Chris' Templeton Award was a result of the research and writing that he had done in Edinburgh, so it felt just right to celebrate this honor at the best restaurant in Edinburgh.

It was a great day.

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March Part 3: The Good

I felt a little bit guilty after I posted the extended record of our sickness the other day, so I just wanted to point out that it has not been an entirely horrible month. There have been plenty of other things happening in our family, and plenty of good things among them that I'll share.

Chris

Chris has 2 more books that are finished now and about to be released/available for pre-order. The first is Jesus Among Friends and Enemies here, which he co-edited with Larry Hurtado, who is the Head of School at Edinburgh's Divinity School.

The second is Jesus' Literacy: Education and the Teacher from Galilee here. (The cover image hasn't been released yet.)

This week Chris has been in Tennesse doing the 2011 Kershner lectures at Emmanuel School of Religion.

Last week he received a contract to make these lectures into a book as well, so that was really exciting! Needless to say, he's been busy, since these books and lectures are all on top of teaching, grading, and traveling to various campuses for the Templeton lectures.

Erin/and baby

I am doing great, especially now that I'm finally recovering my energy after being so sick. Thanks for all of your consolation and "tell that doctor to leave you alone" comments after my last harassed visit with my OB!! I went for my 28 week checkup this past week, everything is going perfectly for me and baby, and my weight is exactly the same as my last visit-no gains or losses in the last 3 weeks. I was happy with this. The OB made no comment on it whatsoever. None. She annoys me. But baby and I are healthy and that is all that matters. According to Baby Center.com, the baby is now the size of a chinese cabbage.

Speaking of the little lady, last week I made one of Jayce's old onesies into a little dress and hair clip for her. It was fun...at least in theory. Actually, the end result is fun, but sewing a little skirt onto a tiny onesie is not a job for the weary. There was stress, frustration, picking out stitches and turning a blind eye to the uneven back. But from the front it is sweet and it makes me happy. I put the tutorial on LTC here.

I made her crib sheets as well, 2 sets! Both are with this fun elephant print fabric and I just love them. I do not have a thing for elephants and don't have an elephant theme in the room, but the fabric is so soft and I just thought they were too cute not to make into something big enough to really appreciate the pattern. I have finished the bed skirt too but you'll have to wait until next time for pictures of that one. The bedding and my projects are all coming together nicely and I'm thrilled about that now that I've entered the third trimester and that energy dip is right around the corner!

Jayce

Jayce is just so fun, as usual. I was going to share a few of his recent sayings that have cracked me up, but there are so many that I think I'm just going to dedicate a post to it next week. Instead I'll share this hilarious (to me, anyway) image with you.

I imagine that it is funny even without explanation, but I'll share anyway. I had set up the self timer and was testing the light and my camera settings while Jayce played nearby in the room. I didn't tell him that the camera was about to go off, so as he was running across the room after a ball it started clicking away and really freaked him out, as you can see. It was hilarious! He yelled "Ahhhhh" at first, and then slowly made his way forward, smiling at it and eventually standing right in front of the lens. In these pictures you can also see me in the background, at first waving my hand trying to get him to move out of the way, and eventually bent over laughing at the ridiculousness of it all.

I didn't bother editing and saving these pictures, but I still might do it. It's one of those funny moments that I'll want to remember, but just in case I don't, this picture pretty much sums it all up.

Happy weekend!

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Any Christian Standard Readers?

Still playing catch up here a bit, but has anybody been reading the Christian Standard this past August?

If so, I hope you caught 2 different articles penned by Chris and his father Andy. There was The Pastoral Call of Corporate Leaders in the August 15 issue, and Why Some Corporate Practices Should Have A Home in the Church in the August 29 issue. I was so proud to be sitting in church by my husband, and reading his writing in a magazine that I had grabbed off of the church's magazine rack! :)

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One of the World’s Leading Young Scholars Lives in My House

LCU’s alumni publication, The Restorer, recently did an article about Chris receiving the Templeton Award.  Below is a snapshot of the article, and if you want to see a PDF of the whole magazine, I put a link here.

Once again, I just can’t help but share this great news, which we are only now starting to wrap our heads around.  We are beyond excited about the opportunity to return to Europe for a a little bit this summer where Chris will receive the award.  Furthermore, I am so proud of the hard work that he has continued to pour into his studies since the day that I first met him.  It has been more than enough to stand out in a crowd, despite having small Christian College credentials, and to gain recognition abroad and among elite colleagues.  I’m just so proud.  Okay, enough gushing for now.

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It’s An Honor to Be This Proud

Last May Chris submitted his thesis to be considered for The John Templeton Award for Theological Promise, given by the Research Center at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. 

And he won!!!!  Oh my gosh, he won!!!! 

We found out at the end of December, just before we left town to visit family.  Chris called me when he got unofficially informed by one of his references and former Head of School.  I was in the car at the time, and started screaming and laughing.  It scared poor Jayce at first, but he eventually laughed at my laughter.  Chris screamed and yelled in the hallway at school where he had received the email.  He was the only one there, which is apparently how it goes in that post-exam pre-Christmas season.  Unless you are writing in your office, which he was.  Last week when we arrived home from our Christmas travel, he had the official letter waiting for him, which caused another round of freaking out and celebrating.

The award comes with a cash prize, which obviously we are thrilled about.  It also comes with additional money to cover his expenses in travelling and speaking at universities upon invitation, and he has already been invited to 3 good ones despite the fact that the news hasn’t even been published on their website yet!  Furthermore, the award winners are expected to attend an award ceremony and colloquium held in Heidelberg Germany, so we’ll be headed there this May. Yaaaayyyyy!!!!

The award is given annually to only 12 post-doctoral scholars from all over the world, and is given for the best doctoral dissertation or first post-doctoral book related to the topic "God and Spirituality."  There were only 2 New Testament recipients and Chris was one of them.  If interested, you can read more about the award here.  I tried to wait around until things were announced on their website, but I just can’t hold it in anymore. :)

I have so many thoughts on this.  I am so proud, but still processing, just trying to wrap my head around it all.  I will never actually publish this post if I don’t just cut myself off though, I’ve been trying to write this for days and I keep going off on long tangents.  So perhaps expect a post (or more) on the subject in the future. :)

For now, please just excuse the fumbling and bumbling of a proud proud wife. 

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A Pre-Review

This past June, Chris’ book was officially released.  We’ve been waiting for it to be reviewed, and a pre-review appeared this weekend on the personal blog of the reviewer.  It is by Rafael Rodriguez, who is reviewing it for the Biblical Theology Bulletin.  Chris was in Seminary with Rafael, and I was eager to see what he had to say. 

First, I cannot resist posting an interesting side-story about Chris and Rafael.  Before Chris and Rafael knew one another, Chris was an undergrad and took a class that Rafael was the TA for.  As Rafael was grading the research papers from the class, he came across Chris’ paper.  The paper was so good that he pulled it out to show the professor who was teaching the class. This actually was not a compliment-it was so good that he was concerned that Chris had cheated.  It was particularly good for a basketball player, as I understand. :)  The teacher called Chris into his office, and upon discussion regarding his topic and the paper, realized that Chris had not plagiarized, understood very acutely what he was discussing in his paper, and was in fact a very sharp student.  That professor took an interest in Chris after that point, and came to be, along with his wife, some of our very best friends.  We still laugh about this, and I couldn’t help but share it.

Anyway, back to the review.  Rafael gives a very mini-synopsis of what he has read and what is to come, but it is already fairly complimentary, saying among other things, “After the last book I reviewed, it's a breath of fresh air to read a well-written, concise, and clear argument. On top of that, Chris is one of the most insightful NT critics I've met personally. Needless to say, I'm enjoying the book.” 

If you are interested in reading the rest of his thoughts on the book check here, or to see the book itself, check here.  I have previously stated that shameless bragging on my husband and kid are to be expected on my own personal blog.  And since I am a wife, though I care about his summary of Chris’ work, I looked for the “It’s great” or “It’s crap” statements, and was not surprised to find the former.

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