First Sunday in Glasgow...

We had a lovely first Sunday (15th December) in Glasgow. We joined my sister and her family in visiting Queen's Park Baptist Church for their morning carol service. It was absolutely lovely to hear some familiar hymns again - and then to share in fellowship over mince pies and cups of tea/coffee in the church basement. Yum!

Later that day, we went to the Riverside Transport Museum, one of our favourite museums from our last visit in June 2023. We enjoyed all of the exhibits, and it was also special since my Horizons work colleagues Christian and Eve joined us for the afternoon. Christian stayed with us here in Detroit back in July. They drove up to Glasgow that morning to spend a couple of days at a lovely hotel nearby.

The beautiful ceiling of the church.

The lovely exterior of the church.

Cool slogan seen throughout the city.

With the Tall Ship Glenlee docked outside the Riverside Museum.

View back towards the museum.

PS Waverley, docked in Glasgow. (PS = Paddle Steamer.)

The new Govan-Partick Bridge at the museum. This pedestrian/bicycle bridge was still under construction the last time we were in Glasgow.

So many amazing old cars...

Trains and underground tubes...

And old tram buses!

This was by far the children's favourite exhibit. The Sinclair C5 display.

Shirley gives it a go!

The children put out a fire!

Old fire engine. 

Cousin Rhyenn with Eliza and Anya.

Blurry selfie in front of the Riverside Museum. :)

First few days in Glasgow...

Our first couple of days in Scotland was a time of recovering from flights and reconnecting with family. Both Candace and I had a long nap on our first afternoon, while the children helped their aunt put up Christmas decorations on the tree. It was wonderful to see my family again, and our three children immediately connected with their older cousins. 

We had the privilege of taking in a basketball game the first night we were in Glasgow. One of my nephews plays for the U-16 team of the Caledonian Gladiators. His team won 101 - 22, and Jesse scored around 20 of those points. Here he is scoring a basket. We were so proud! 

My sister's house is also a stone's throw from the centre of Glasgow, which gave us the opportunity to explore many of the Christmas Markets. The children even met Father Christmas and his elf assistant at one of the shopping centres in the city!

The Barclay's Bank building on the Clyde River.

Walking over the Squiggly Bridge into town.

Blue sky peeking through the almost-constant cloud cover.

Fun at the Christmas Market. Anya takes Barbie's car for a spin!

Shirley and Eliza enjoy Santa's Runaway Train.

Riaan and Candace prepare to enter the Grinch's lair!

Fun with remote-controlled cars at Hamleys.

Family selfie. Someone was tired!

Beautiful Christmas tree at Buchanan Galleries.

Eliza and Riaan meet Santa. :)

Flights to Scotland...

Back in September, Candace and I first entertained the thought of travelling to Scotland and spending Christmas with my sister and her family. We're the northern hemisphere Crawfords, after all, and it felt somewhat fitting that we should be together for Christmas. We took advantage of extremely inexpensive flights with Icelandair - that landed us in Glasgow a mere 8.5 hours after departing Detroit (including a stop in Reykjavik - pictured below)! 

Despite being delayed departing Detroit and only just making our gate in time for the second and final flight to Glasgow, our flights were largely uneventful. We arrived safely at Glasgow Airport at 10h00 in the morning on Friday, 13th December. My sister was waiting at the airport to welcome this weary but excited family again. Eliza ran ahead of me and gave Shirl the biggest hug. She dearly missed her auntie!

Thursday 12th December dawned snowy in Detroit... But thankfully the airport is more than capable of clearing snow.

Safely checked-in and awaiting our first flight to Reykjavik.

Climbing away from Detroit.

Eliza was so excited to have her own television for the best part of five hours. :)

The Icelandair Boeing 737-MAX 8 that took us to Iceland.

Approaching Glasgow on the final flight.

Happy reunions with my sister at Glasgow Airport. What a wonderful visit we were to have!

Candace's Birthday...

Hot on the heels of Riaan's birthday on Saturday, December 7th, was Candace's birthday on Monday, December 9th. We had a pretty low-key day, as a result of upcoming travels. But it was good to celebrate this lovely lady who really is the backbone of our family and who means so much to each one of us. :)

Happy Christmas 2024...

I'm a bit late in putting up our annual Christmas wishes, but better late than never. :) We've had an exciting couple of weeks, spending the festive season with family in Glasgow, Scotland. The photo here is after the Christmas morning service at Glasgow Cathedral. It was beautiful!

I hope that you had a fantastic Christmas - wherever you are in the world - and that the New Year of 2025 is an incredibly prosperous one!

Riaan's Ninth Birthday...

Our eldest child turned nine on Saturday, 7th December. He made out a detailed schedule on how he wanted to spend his day, and we were able to largely accomplish everything on the list. He started the day with pancakes and presents, followed by a trip to Home Depot for their children's craft project. 

We came home to watch his choice of a movie, Ice Age 5, and were then out again for a family walk at Fair Lane Estate. From there we visited a local coffee shop for birthday hot chocolate, before returning home for the traditional Hobbit's Breakfast for supper.

The day was concluded with a trip to watch the Detroit Lutheran Singers perform their Christmas concert series. It was a fantastic evening to wrap up a pretty long, fun day. You can see how much Riaan has changed since last year by clicking here. 

Traditional birthday biscuits from Grandma.

The joy of presents.

Building his Lego Technic snow plough.

Home Depot craft project. 

They built a rectangular snow globe.

Our three precious children at Fair Lane Estate.

Exploring the woods.

So proud of this growing boy.

Hobbit's Breakfast for supper. Yum!