Good morning All!

As I sit to type this, those of you in North America are still sleeping… it is ten in the morning here and we’re enjoying our first breakfast in Europe… my favorite discovery so far… good bread! I forgot how different (and wonderful!) the breakfast breads are. Yum!
We left our haven with the Kohn family in New Hampshire two mornings ago at eight to pick up Meg and head to the airport. A quick stop at the bank to put money IN (novel,now that we’re unemployed and homeless!) and we were off. I have to say that the 24 hours of travel to get here could not have gone better if we had scripted it. The check in agents for Delta airlines were actually thanking US for the state of affairs with our six bike boxes (88 inches total LxWxD measurement…each!)Add to that 9 checked bags, 14 carry-ons, including the violin and guitar, five kids and a partridge in a pear tree… you get the idea. Needless to say, we were a bit of a parade entering the airport… you should have seen us in Heathrow leaving, without the help of the McDonald family to wrangle the boxes. Yikes.
Our flights were on time and went perfectly. Ezra’s observation: “Airplane food is kinda yucky, Mama.” Bright boy. Highlights, for the kids, included the in seat TV units that allowed them to play Tetris. Highlights for me included the five hours or so of sleep each child got, making Day One in London a bit better.
Thanks to the generosity of my good brother Olu Muyiwa Kuye, in Edmonton, AL Canada, we were tucked into a cushy Sheraton near Heathrow by this time yesterday morning. The kids slept another four hours while Tony and I assembled bike after bike. Every single one came through perfect. How’s that for the combined power of prayer and duct tape! We were even more delighted to cap the day with a glass of wine and hors d’oeuvres in the lounge that came free with the room (thanks, I suppose, to the million or so Sheraton points on Olu’s account!) Everyone was tucked into bed by 8:30, including parents. We slept twelve straight hours.
This morning dawned bright and clear. We’re all suited up in our bike suits, eating breakfast. Tony noticed that there were 37 minutes remaining on one of the community computers in the lounge, so, of course we’re making use of it! Sorry, but we weren’t spending 15 pounds for e-mail! We’ve spoken to the Knosens, who are hosting us in London. In a few short minutes we’ll mount our steel steeds, and head out to try our hands at riding on the left side of the road with the flow of traffic through the burbs of London.
Thanks much for all of the love and prayers you’ve sent our way in the last few days. I think I can speak for the whole family, including our rental-Meg when I say that we were all humbled and overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and encouragement and tears on our family. Who knew you liked us that much?