Off to the UK to see my 4th grandchild for the first time 
and apartment hunting 
.
What a fab trip, Marmight.
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I am excited because..........my foster son is coming to visit today. Hooray!! 
(He's also bringing his closest friends with him to visit his 'English family'.)
Nearly sixteen years ago a young teenage boy from Taiwan came to stay with me for a week while his homestay family went on holiday. He was here to learn English and although he had attended the local International School for a month or so he spoke barely any English and understood very little. He was overweight, shy and culturally adrift and we did our best to make him feel at home. We were so successful that at the end of the week he refused to leave us and return to his homestay family and begged us not to send him away; after several urgent phone calls between his mother and the school we were asked if we would allow him to stay for the reminder of his time in England and we agreed. He lived with us for almost a year and a half, taking holidays with us, celebrating birthdays etc. and eventually, at his family's request, I became his legal guardian. He did 'O' and 'A' levels and then went on to do a Foundation Degree, a BA (Hons) and finally a Masters Degree; returning to us for weekends and holiday periods. Eventually, after eleven years in the UK, he went back home to his first family in Taiwan where he now works as Business Manager in the family firm.
Since we first agreed to him living with us he has been a son to The Wonderful man and me, and a brother to my children. When he left I was devastated; I really thought I would hardly ever see him again, but he has managed to get home most years - and sometimes several times a year when he's heard I'm ill. He came home to attend their weddings when my son and daughter each got married and visits as soon as he can when there are new babies. I love him to pieces and am counting down to his 6pm arrival in great excitement.
What are you excited about?
Lovely story...enjoy his visit
So here he is! With me and with his friends who are from China, on their first visit to England. It's lovely to have him home.
It's a funny thing, but almost every international guest we have comments on how good my food is. Now I'm a good cook, but most definitely not exceptional, so I think the stories about English food being very bad are so entrenched that the bar is set very low. I did a roast for dinner yesterday and a traditional cooked breakfast this morning and they ate every scrap with a constant commentary about how good the food was. I think that post-war Britain got a reputation for bad food that has persisted, which is good for me because all my guests get a lovely surprise when they enjoy my cooking.
I'm looking forward to putting my Christmas decorations up, wrapping the presents, Christmas Lunch x 2 & best of all Christmas Day with my family & watching DGS1 unwrap his presents & DGS2's as well, DGS2 will be 7 months old
To all those people for whom this is a difficult time, I hope that your troubles will pass or become bearable and that good and exciting things will come again in the near future. 
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