Independence Day Update

Hi Everyone

Yesterday was July 4th / Independence Day here in the US. A day that is celebrated with much fanfare & patriotism. There were celebrations happening all over Dallas. We decided to get into the spirit of things & went along to the Frisco Freedom Festival. Frisco is one of areas where we may buy a house. It started at 4: 00p.m. with a Party in the Plaza which included homegrown singers, dancers and bands. There was also a children's expo (jumping castles, face painting etc) and food stalls from many of the local fast food outlets. Across the road from the Plaza is the Pizza Hut Park Stadium & at 5: 30p.m. we went there to watch a soccer match between FC Dallas & Chivas USA. Not the most exciting match but this is probably also because we weren't supporting a particular team. It would have been really nice if it had been an American Football match. We got sunburnt this late in the day. This was followed by a really great concert featuring Clay Aiken & the Philharmonic Orchestra. For those who don't know, Clay Aiken came second in the American Idols show a few years back & has gone on to be really successful. The evening ended with a spectacular fireworks display that was reported to be the biggest in North Texas. It was certainly as good as anything you see at Disney World. Independence Day is traditionally celebrated with fireworks.

Another exciting event we attended was the Police concert at the American Airlines Concert hall. The Police (a rock band) & particularly Sting (lead singer) have been Murray's all time favourites. He was in his element & loved every minute of it. I'm not really a loud music person but I really enjoyed it. Over the years I've heard the their songs played so many times that it was great seeing them live. From time to time Murray gets offered tickets at work for concerts. sporting events etc. We would like to go & see an American football match & an ice hockey match sometime.

Last week we heard that Kelly has been accepted at SMU. We are very proud of her as she has been awarded a SMU Distinguished Scholars Merit Scholarship. This is based on her school results for the last 2 years, school participation & achievements & her SAT results. If she maintains a SMU Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 she can have the scholarship for all 4 years. We don't really understand exactly how the GPA works as it's not just your marks, its also affected by other things e.g. the number of courses / hours you take. Kelly will start in the Fall semester - late August.

Murray was telling a colleague that I thought clothes were really expensive here but apparently you have to know where to shop. There is a strip mall called Premium Outlets not far from where we're staying. It must have nearly 100 shops selling all kinds of clothes & shoes including the popular brands e,g. Nike, Billabong, Guess, Polo, Gap etc & some really expensive brands. They aren't factory shops selling rejects.They sell last seasons clothes or surplus clothes from this season. The prices are so much cheaper than at the shops in the regular malls. We all really need to get some more clothes as most of ours are in the container & we will only see them when we eventually buy & move into a house. One thing that is considerably cheaper here is cars. We now have 3 of them.

We all eventually found recommended places to have our hair cut - another scaringly expensive thing. Kelly & I went to the Paul Mitchell Training School. You have your hair done by someone who is qualified but hasn't completed the 'hours requirement' needed to graduate. It was still a little daunting but certainly a lot cheaper than normal salons. Murray & Shaun were totally ripped off. They paid $23 for a cut & then had to give a $5 tip........ $28 EACH! Work that out. They certainly wont be going back there. Shaun came back looking like a Marine - fortunately his hair grows fast.

We have continued going to Stonebriar Community church & are really enjoying the services. Last week we were blessed again by the most amazing worship music. The 60 voice choir sang again & both them & the congregation were accompanied by a Baroque Ensemble (harpsichord, flute, clarinet & bassoon) at one stage & a Brass Quintet (2 trumpets, trombone, tuba & timpani) at another point. Between Murray & Shaun they knew all the instruments. We haven't decided yet if this is the right place for us as a family so please continue to pray that God will guide us very definitely.

Shaun is well & truely into his university work now. Even though he thoroughly enjoys what he's doing & is really good at it, I think it must be really frustrating. He's doing some huge programming assignment & it seems to continually go back & forth between "it's not working" to "sorted it out". I quess that's the nature of the work. Murray is enjoying his new job & even though he's working as hard as ever he always makes time for family. We really need each others support at the moment - some days more than others. I can't wait to get into our own home but the house hunting still goes on. So much to see but very little that fits the requirements.

I must end off & sort out supper. Hope you're all keeping well.

Love to all
Heather