Thursday 31 May 2012

A sneaky review...

I know I already posted my reading list for this month, but I am going to do a sneaky review for a fantastic book I've just finished reading.


Mugabe and the White African is the story of one family's experiences in Zimbabwe as they battled to keep their farm in the face of immense aggression, intimidation and pressure. It was a truly moving read, and opened my eyes to the seriousness of all that has been going on their for the past few years. What a story and what a tale of courage, determination and dependence upon God.

I highly, highly recommend this one for a gripping story, eye-opening recounts and a fascinating insight into life in Zimbabwe.

Enjoy.

Wednesday 30 May 2012

We're on the move...

The day has arrived. My child is no longer one of those amuse-herself, leave-in-one-place-find-her-there-an-hour-later, all-things-dangerous-out-of-reach kind of children. No. She has reached a new level in her growing up.

It's called being mobile.

And its opened up a WHOLE new world for her.

And for me.

Yes, I am now frantically rearranging my lounge, locking away my cleaning products, sticking plastic plugs in all the electric sockets, removing laptop leads, washing powder cartons and television cables from sight, while still trying to leave a few things out that are "out of bounds" but won't do her any harm if she does touch them, for training purposes!

I'm kicking myself. I should have been prepared for this. She's been attempting it for about three weeks now. In fact, it was such a long time, I'd begun to doubt she'd ever get there. And that was my problem. Yesterday took me by surprise.

Yes, she's still slow. Yes, she only does about three crawls at a time, and yes, she's still on the wobbly side, but she can do it.

And that's what scares me...

Let the fun begin!



Tuesday 29 May 2012

Bert, oh Bert!

We have a new member of our family. He arrived on Thursday evening in my sister's handbag. His name is Ernie, and he is Ava's new best friend.


My daughter is a massive fan of Bert and Ernie... I stumbled across this quite by accident when I discovered this re-write of Lena Meyer-Landrut's Eurovision winning song "Satellite" to the title of "Bert, oh Bert!" Ava loves it... I mean seriously LOVES it... she is GLUED to the screen and enjoys dancing along to her hearts content... (dancing highlights at 25 seconds, 45 seconds and 1 min 10!!)


And just watch the first twenty seconds of this video to see her reaction when she realises what's coming...!


Yes, Ernie is now a certified member of our household... now all we need is a Bert!


Oh, and in case your interested... here is Ava's beloved "Bert, oh Bert!" video!



Monday 28 May 2012

The BBC in Brighton!

Yesterday, at 10am, the BBC showed a live service from CCK in Brighton (Church of Christ the King). CCK is a church Dave and I visited a couple of years ago with some other very good friends of ours who have recently planted a church there. CCK is home to Lou Fellingham and Stuart Townend, and the place where the movement, New Frontiers, a worldwide family of reformed charistmatic churches, began under the leadership of Terry Virgo a number of years ago.

Link to BBC iPlayer 
It is a thriving, gospel-centred, lively church with a heart for their community in Brighton and it was SO great to finally see a church on television which actually depicted what Christianity is really all about...

Not a loads of laws to follow
Not a gathering of outdated, odd people who follow some brainwashing cult
Not a hyper-traditional, dry service

No... it was full of life, full of Jesus and full of the life-changing work of the Holy Spirit.

Thank you, Christ the King, for pointing us to Jesus.


Friday 25 May 2012

Homemade Garden Tent...

Yesterday, Ava decided to nap for two hours in the morning, leaving me plenty of time to do morning devotions, and few chores around the house and then get all creative. I've been adoring these little material girly tents around and about... the kind you can buy at Garden Centres, or make when you just happen to have a free 6 hours (what mother has that?!) Pinterest is currently littered with them so this morning, when I had a spare half hour, I decided to throw together a little garden tent for Ava...

Ta - da!


It was actually DEAD easy to make, and took me about 20 minutes to throw together (the little lady woke up just in time - just as I had finished putting the material over the tent!)

Here's the play by play for this easy homemade tent - you need...

* Four wooden posts (two longer, two shorter)
* A hammer
* String
* A large piece of material
* A blanket

Step One: Hammer posts into ground so that they are steady and secure...
These posts were leftover from our craft room renovation last summer. I NEVER throw wood out - I believe it will always come in useful! Here I just made sure it was sanded off and splinter free!

I put the two taller posts at the front, and the smaller ones at the back and made a trapezium shape, so that the tent is larger at the front, and gets smaller as you move back...

Step Two: String a frame around the top of the four posts, knotting and looping so that it is secure...
I literally used some garden twine and initially tied it off at the back post, so that it would be out of the reach and eye-line of little fingers... I looped it round each post a few times so that it was extra secure. If you want to make it super-secure, you could hot glue it, or nail it, but I wanted to keep it detached so that I can take the little tent up and down without getting in a big tangle each time!


Step Three: Add carpet...
OK, not really! A blanket will do... something to stop that itchy grass bothering those little legs, and to keep those ants/general creepy crawlies at bay. I just folded the blanket in so that it fit the shape of the frame!







Step Four: The tent top...
All you need here is a seriously large piece of rectangular material. I picked this stuff up a couple of years ago at a gorgeous material shop in Matlock... it was something like £1.99 a meter so I took about 3m worth! I layed it over the top of the frame, wrapping it tightly around the frame legs at the front and pulling it taut over the frame. I then tied some bunting that I made just before Ava was born (not shown in this picture) around the top of the frame to hold the material in place.


Then I just put Ava's cushion in, her cassette player (picked it up for £3 at the charity shop on Wednesday! Brilliant! I have SO many story tapes for her, but I didn't have a cassette player to play them on - nowhere seems to sell them anymore - so I was SO chuffed to find it. But that's another story!) and a basket full of toys... happy as Larry!







Why not have a go?! It's provided hours of outdoor entertainment and sun protection here!
x-x-x

Thursday 24 May 2012

Sun days... (finally!)

It seems that the summer has FINALLY arrived here in London - about time too! We are making up for it this week with paddling pools, BBQs, trips to the park, picnics and lots of garden fun! I'm not going to risk missing it all this week as, knowing english weather, this could be the only summer weather we get this year - so I'm determined to make the most of it!




When I was living in Austria and people found out I was English, they'd always say "Oh! That's where it rains ALL the time!" It used to really irritate me; it does NOT rain all the time in England, I used to think, and actually, the weather in Bregenz (aside from long months of snow) was not disimilar to London weather at all.

That was in 2006, though, and any Austrian who tells me now that "it always rains in England" I would, begrudgingly, be forced to agree with them. We all laughed a couple weeks ago when our Pastor at church said "Its been raining for a month", until I stopped and realised he was absolutely right! It has basically rained every day for nearly 2 months until this week - so boy, are we deserving of some sunshine!


Loving the sunshine!
This is the face you make if you accidentally eat sun cream!
Anyway... long story short... I am VERY glad to have lovely weather at last!

Wednesday 23 May 2012

April/May Reading...

I've been meaning to post this for a couple of weeks now, but hey-ho... life's been busy and I've had other things to get my head around!

Anyway, this is what I've been reading the last month and a half... I've had a total fiction-fest... and have returned to some of my all-time favourite authors... see if you can spot the pattern!

The Fiddler: Beverly Lewis
I'm a massive Beverly Lewis fan... I've blogged before about my fascination with the Amish, and Beverly Lewis, whose roots are in the Amish Plain Culture, is a fantastic author who brings the Amish way of life to life... This story is about a professional musician who, as a result of a car breakdown and bad weather, finds herself stuck in Amish country for a while. Lewis always takes her readers on a journey with the protaganist (Amelia) as this young lady discovers there is more to life than simply performing as she gets to grips with the simplicity of life, and hears the truth about Jesus. As always, Beverly Lewis is excellent and I can't recommend her books highly enough

The Inheritance: Tamera Alexander
Alexander's books tend to be set in the wild west in the 19th century, and this one is no exception. McKenna Ashford moves to Colorado in search of a fresh start, but finds that things take an unexpected twist on her arrival. Thinks aren't straightforward, but again, McKenna goes on a bit of a spiritual journey, learning to trust God in the face of difficult circumstances. I just love Tamera Alexander's character portrayals and they are just great, relaxing, good reads.


To Love Anew (Bonnie Leon)
This was a Kindle freebie (which I'm gutted to find they seemed to have stopped doing! Anyone know where you find the Kindle limited collection free books now?!) so it was the first Bonnie Leon book I'd come across. It was a really interesting read as it followed the story of two "petty criminals" who get shipped to Australia from London as a result of unfortunate circumstances (being in the wrong place, at the wrong time). I found it fascinating to read, as its an area of history I'm not so familiar with, but it showed how the fresh start in Australia was actually the best thing possible for many Londoners at the time. Really enjoyable.


A Lasting Impression: Tamera Alexander
This was a book I borrowed from my sister (books get passed around a lot in our family!) and its pretty different  to other Alexander novels. Its based on a real place and real people in post civil-war America and tells the story of a house, Belmont, and its inhabitants. Its the story of an Art-forger who comes to work at the house, escaping from her previous life, and hoping to bury her past forever... but of course these things are never possible. Some of the lines spoken by the characters in the book are actually lines taken from letters written by the real life inhabitants. A really good read which, although skeptical at first, I seriously enjoyed.


The Sacrifice/The Prodigal/The Revelation: Beverly Lewis
You know sometimes you have books that you go back to time and time again? This series is one of them... Beverly Lewis' Abram's Daughters. It is the story of Leah Ebersol, an old order Amish Girl, and a web of circumstances, deceit and revelations that change her family's lives forever. There are five in the series, and I read the last three, as I re-read the first two again last year. SUCH good stuff and I literally gobbled through all three in less than a week - that's how good they are. If you take away one recommended read from this month, go for Beverly Lewis Abram's Daughters series (the first and second books are called "The Covenant" and "The Betrayal"). CANNOT recommend highly enough!


The Redemption of Sarah Cain: Beverly Lewis
Getting bored? I told you I'd had a fiction fest! And I totally stuck to familiar favourite authors these past couple months... This story was great... a really different Beverly Lewis book about a young woman, trying to overcome ghosts of the past, who suddenly finds herself sole guardian to five amish children. The story is about her coming to terms with her past as she learns to trust God and to let go of the chaos of life and embrace amish simplicity. Has also been made into a film (although I haven't seen it!)

My current reads...

Mugabe and the White African: Ben Freeth
I got this book for my Dad for christmas, and, now that he's finished, have nabbed it to get a look in. I just started it tonight, and boy, I can tell its going to be a tear-jerker already. Its about a family of white farmers and their fight against Mugabe in the face of his destruction of their home and property. Pretty hefty stuff, but I think it'll be a good one... I'll update you on that one next month...



Shepherding a Child's Heart: Tedd Tripp
This one was recommended to me by countless people before Ava was born, lent to me by my parents, and then bought for us by friends when Ava was born, so I've finally got around to opening it up. I'm only three chapters in, but already I can see its just so full of wisdom, and I'm being challenged to think through how Dave and I will attempt to shepherd Ava's heart, rather than just produce a moral obedience in her life. We want her to respect and love and give and be generous because that's her heart... not by force or coercion. A tough call, but a great reminder to look to God's wisdom and pray daily for our little girl.


PS - Someone asked me the other day how I get so much reading time... I genuinely ONLY read when I'm feeding Ava (three 20min slots in the day), when I'm in the bath (after Ava's gone to bed!) and when I'm on public transport... (given that I don't have a car, I'm on the bus for at least and hour a week). I LOVE reading, I always have - it is THE most relaxing thing for me, and in the middle of a hectic period of life, is probably why I've gone for the easy-read fiction.

PPS - As you can see, I currently have two books on the go... often the way! I tend to have one "brain" book and one "chill" book. That way I can choose what to read, depending on what mood I'm in... Chill book doesn't mean trash - I try, generally, to read stuff that will help me, and not hinder me, in my fight against the sin of my own heart, but also like to read stuff that is just creative and well written, beautiful and healthy. I can vouch for every single one of these books.

HAPPY READING!

PPPS - for the fun of it, check out this reading speed test - I'm sure its a load of rubbish, but its quite fun nonetheless!

Tuesday 22 May 2012

Home days...

We've had a quieter couple of weeks recently, and I'm loving just having some lazy home days with my girly! Lots of playtime, storytime and music, and plenty of opportunities for me to get on with the housework!

 This girl ADORES music! There's nothing that settles her more than listening to Papa play guitar (or attempting to play with him!!)

Bedtime story time! "The Gruffalo" is Ava's current favourite! She's starting to actually appreciate looking at the pictures now, rather than just trying to eat her books, and its nice to see her appreciating certain bits - repetition and animal noises never cease to make her smile! Of course, Maxi (her dog) is always present when a story's being read!

Am I a terrible Mother? When I desperately need to do housework, I plonk her on the floor with her toy box beside her and she spends the next 45 minutes to an hour gradually emptying it and playing with each toy as she goes along. It sounds awful to let your 9 month old play on her lonesome for so long, I mean, I know independent play is good - but is an hour in one go too much?? Seriously though, I cleaned my oven the other day while she was happily playing away!

Stage two of the clean-up... I daren't show you what it looked like before, or after the first round of spray. It's all looking beautiful and shiny now though (and I'm determined not to let it get in that state again!!)

And to finish up, here's my clever girly showing off her party tricks... to Dave's delight, her word of the moment is "Papa!" (sorry its sideways, I can't rotate it without buying some fancy Quicktime software!)



Happy Tuesday!


Monday 21 May 2012

Resolution 20: Food! Glorious Food!

20. Resolved, to maintain the strictest temperance in eating and drinking.

I am a BIG food fan... I love snacky stuff and I am a TOTALLY savoury girl (I'll choose starter over pudding any day) with only a slight (!) weakness for Sour Mix Haribo. Food is great, and I'm so grateful to God for creating food that is appetizing and delicious and vibrant! He could have made it dull... we could have needed a diet of gruel that we needed to eat and would satisfy us, but instead he created a vast variety of flavours and textures; sweet and sour; spicy and mild...

HUGE amounts of Jesus' time were spent around the dinner table; he ate with his friends, with his family, he ate at weddings and funerals, he celebrated at the dinner parties of religious guys, and had meals at the homes of the social outcasts. Jesus ate, and drank, and did it all for the glory of God.

Food and drink are GOOD things... God-given gifts that we are to enjoy... but we are also to be careful with them. They can so easily become idols - I can think all the time about what I eat because food curbs my anxiety/brings comfort OR I can think about food all the time because I don't want to get overweight - I count every calorie and can't enjoy it... both of these attitudes are not reflective of what God wants our attitude towards food to be. David Kotter, co-author the workshop series Eat and Be Content, had a look at what the Bible had to say about our relationship with food... 

It was clear that the Bible didn’t provide a menu for every day, or restrict people to only foods mentioned in the Bible for health.  Nor was there a requirement for believers to be a certain size, shape or weight.  But the Bible did speak to the heart of the issue.  The focus was not on food but on the act of eating.  Eating for ungodly reasons, such as reducing anxiety or masking feelings of guilt, is really a form of idolatry in the heart. I learned that overeating was a moral problem.  Believers were exhorted to eat for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).  Only through the gospel can believers hope to eat this way.  Only the gospel empowers believers to overcome these sins and gain discerning wisdom. All other diet plans and good intentions by themselves were bound to fail.

In this resolution, Edwards does not want us to stop enjoying the gifts of food and drink that God has given us - quite the opposite is true. If we keep food and drink in their right place - not over-indulging or over-analysing, we are much more likely to find true satisfaction in them.

As Paul writes...
So whether you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
- 1 Corinthians 10:31 - 

Friday 18 May 2012

Thursday 17 May 2012

In the middle of Motherhood

This poem has spoken to me so much over the past few weeks - thank you Mahaney girls! Kristin, daughter of CJ Mahaney, wife of Brian Chesemore, and mother to Liam, Owen, Andrew and Claire, wrote this about this phase of her life

I am SO with her! (And I only have ONE child!)


Where am I?
I’m in our bedroom, trying to stay awake during morning devotions.
I’m in the kitchen, pouring bowls of Rice Krispies.
I’m in the car, running errands to the soundtrack of my children’s worship cd.
I’m at the supermarket, and Liam is hitting Owen with his shoe.
I’m in the candy store, endeavoring to buy some peace and quiet.
I’m at the house, unpacking all our stuff from the move.
I’m in the playroom, picking up Legos and army men.
I’m at the changing table, disposing of another stinky diaper.
I’m in the kitchen again, preparing cheese & melon for lunch.
I’m on my hands and knees, wiping up Andrew’s spilt milk.
I’m on the bed, catching a nap while the boys sleep.
I’m at the park, running after Liam who is trying to escape.
I’m on the couch, comforting Owen who fell & bumped his head.
I’m in the lounge, trying to keep Liam’s dirty feet off the furniture.
I’m back in the playroom, picking up more Legos.
I’m in the kitchen, making dinner.
I’m on the phone, arranging a play-date with another mom.
I’m at eye level with Andrew, correcting him for complaining, and reminding him that he needs a Savior.
I’m in the bathroom, giving three cute boys a bath.
I’m in the boy’s room, reading The Gospel for Children. (I’m thankful it’s for mommies too.)
I’m in bed, wondering how many hours of sleep I’ll get tonight.
I’m in the laundry room, changing wet sheets. It’s 1:00 a.m.

Where am I? 
I’m in the middle of motherhood.
And there’s no place else I’d rather be!


Hope you find it an encouragement too!


Wednesday 16 May 2012

Tales of Tea...

Today I saw this...

I had a little laugh about it, a bit of an "it's so true" moment and then a "that's my husband all over" moment! Our household is one of Tea's biggest advocates, and probably one of the reasons it is still one of the UKs biggest imports. I do not lie when I say that my husband probably drinks double figures cups of tea every day...

I, on the other hand, have been on a bit of a "tea" journey over the past couple of years, and my tea consumption has varied quite drastically. 18 months ago I was probably on around 8 a day (pre-breakfast with quiet time, arrival in school, break time, lunchtime, post school staff meeting, arrival at home, couple in evening) and I was fairly predictable (milk, no sugar).

Cue pregnancy, and I couldn't stand the stuff... the thought of a cup of tea initially made me want to vom, and then I got through the morning sickness phase and just was totally disinterested. Really, I should have caught on fairly early that I was pregnant. I, however, had no idea, and just put it down to the flu I'd had when everyone was asking at me why I'd suddenly dropped the 8 a day habit.

Suddenly, the wider world of fruit and herbal tea was opened up to me... and I fell in love... with fennel tea (sounds rank, and to be honest, I'm not such a huge fan of it now the baby's out... but I thought it was the best thing EVER)

So for nine months, I consumed fennel tea to my hearts content, and dabbled in a bit of fruity stuff...

Post-baby, I'm now in a whole different phase of "tea-drinking." It's called the mama-only-ever-gets-half-a-cup phase. It's the phase where you make yourself a cup of tea, longing for that moment when your whole body relaxes as you take that first gulp of hot, caffeinated luxury, and never get the gulp because you start making your daughter's porridge while the teas brewing and 2 hours later find a cup of over-stewed tea on your sideboard. If you're REALLY lucky, you might get a couple of gulps before some disaster crops up (baby has maneuvered self across room and is making a beeline for laptop cable/washing powder/mobile phone - its like they have some magnet in them for anything that screams DO NOT TOUCH!) and you go and solve said disaster, to which child objects, so you distract them with some other toy/book/non-dangerous artifact, and lo-and-behold, your tea is cold again!

The worst case is the wake-from-nap tea. This happened to me yesterday morning, and occurs at least three times a week. I had put Ava down for her nap, and immediately went into nap-time-superwoman-mode. This involves dashing around the house like a madwoman, juggling piles of washing under one arm, mobile phone in mouth, dirty nappies under other arm, ironing pile between knees as you attempt to waddle down the stairs without dropping any of said items. Once down, I literally zoomed through my to-do list... empty dishwasher, put on wash, nappies out to bin, clean bathroom, get through ironing pile, write to-do list... and then... that glorious moment - MY DAUGHTER IS STILL ASLEEP! Time for a nice hot cup of tea...

- Boil kettle (still sleeping)
- Put decaf (!) teabag in mug (still sleeping)
- Pour in water (still sleeping)
- Stir teabag and add milk (still sleeping)
- Remove teabag (still sleeping)
- Sit down on sofa (still sleeping)
- Lift cup to mouth - (Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Mamaaaaaaaa!)

See, at the end of the day, if the saying at the start of this post is true, us Mum's are in trouble...

because tea can't fix it if we can't drink it!!!

Dedicated to all other Mum's in the Mama-only-ever-gets-half-a-cup-(if-she's-lucky!) phase!

Tuesday 15 May 2012

The one with Craig David...

This story begins in Croatia, last summer, when a very good friend of ours, Theo Coyne, popped the question to his long-term girlfriend (and another very good friend of ours!), Lisa Potter-Dixon. The date was set, and wedding plans were underway. This was going to be a wedding with a difference!

Photo courtesy of Lisa Potter-Dixon.
Never ones to settle for the ordinary, the happy couple were determined to make this wedding unique; as massive Craig David fans, they hatched a plan - wouldn't it be amazing if they could get him to the wedding...?

Operation #GetCraigtoourwedding was born...

Countless tweets and facebook statuses ensued until the culmination of the operation was reached on Thursday night - Theo and Lisa did a take on Craig David's "Seven Days" with a twist and released it onto the international stage that is Youtube... everyone waited with bated breath... would Craig respond???


Within a few hours, Craig had tweeted back... to be honest, I think everyone was just really excited that he'd seen the video, and had actually responded personally to Theo and Lisa... OK, he wasn't going to come to the wedding, but still!


We all thought that was probably the end of it... the big push to get him there had at least resulted in a personal message to them and the promise of a little something for the wedding.

BUT...

In the early hours of the morning, another tweet arrived...


WHAT???!!! So he's coming??? Seriously?

About a billion and one tweets, facebook messages and text messages followed, as everyone tried to get their heads around what had just happened! We were all in utter shock but SO SO pleased for these guys (who really deserve it!) We are VERY excited to be celebrating (and Dave will be co-best-manning) a wedding with Craig David this summer...

Roll on August!

BIG congrats Theo and Lisa... mission accomplished! Now all you need to do is make this wedding one to remember (which I have no doubt these two will pull off with NO problem!!)

Amazing news, we love you guys, and are looking forward to an unforgettable wedding!

xxx

Monday 14 May 2012

Resolution 18: Getting perspective...

18. Resolved, to live so, at all times, as I think is best in my devout frames, and when I have clearest notion of things of the gospel, and another world.
- Jonathan Edwards -

"Live at all times with your eyes fixed on the gospel, and on the hope of heaven"... that's what Edwards is exhorting us to do here. Two little phrases that are short to say, but huge to live... and so easily laid by the wayside. Edwards is saying that the best way to live (in his "devout frames") is when the gospel is clear in his head, and heaven is real in his heart...

Getting the Gospel clear
When it comes to the gospel, C J Mahaney says, "Never move on; never lay it aside." All of life revolves around understanding the gospel... it should impact on everyday life - my choices, my thought-processes, my words and my actions. Christ died for my sins, once and for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring me to God (1 Peter 3:18) While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). That affects my attitude to the daily tasks of homemaking (Christ joyfully laid down his life for me... even though I didn't deserve it, how much more should I joyfully "lay down" my life for my daughter as I change ANOTHER nappy!), it affects my self-esteem (Society tells me that being a stay-at-home mum is not as admirable as a successful professional career, Jesus tells me the servanthood is real greatness), it affects my attitude to my sin (my doubt and self-criticism would tell me that I am sometimes too messed up to be acceptable to God, Jesus tells me that he died for me while I was sinful... that nothing I have done or will do is too much for him to forgive). The gospel should be the lens through which I view all of life... All too often, the world's wisdom is how I view life. Jesus calls me to something different...

Getting heaven in focus
So often my head is filled with things that feel so very vital, and yet are so unimportant in the grand scheme of things. I woke up, the other night, at 4am, worrying about what my husband was going to say between songs at church the next day - RIDICULOUS... a) he was going to be saying it, not me b) what was I going to be doing about it at 4 in the morning!! Yet I lay in bed for an hour worrying myself silly about it!!! Sometimes the little things in life really get all our attention, other times the issues are big and overwhelming and real, heartbreakingly real; heaven speaks into both of those situations. It helps me let go of the silly little overwhelming things and says "they don't matter - fix your eyes on what does matter and entrust the little things to God. Heaven helps me stand firm in the big, hard issues of life and says "this pain is temporary, I have a plan for you and this season isn't forever"

Friday 11 May 2012

Spring! Spring! Spring!

I'm hoping that we're finally going to see an end to this rain and see some spring sunshine soon... I love this time of year. Late spring with its (supposed) sunshine, blooming buds and that smell of freshly cut grass... it always makes me think of that song from Seven Brides for Seven brothers (GREAT film!)


Oh, the barnyard is busy in a regular tizzy,
And the obvious reason is because of the season
Ma Nature's lyrical, with her yearly miracle
Spring, Spring, Spring.


All the hen-folk are hatchin'
While their men-folk are scrathin'
To ensure the survival of each brand new arrival.
Each nest is twitterin',
They're all baby-sitterin',
Spring, Spring, Spring.

It's a beehive of buddin' son and daughter life,
Every family has plans in view.
Even down in the brook the underwater life
Is forever blowin' bubbles too.

Every field wears a bonnet with some spring daisies on it,
Even birds of a feather show their clothes off together.
Sun's gettin' shinery, to spotlight the finery,
Spring, Spring, Spring.


This kind of weather makes me want to fling the patio doors open and give the house a good ol' spring clean. I tackled a fair bit today, and baked a marble cake too with a new recipe. Nice enough but a bit dry... should have stuck to the familiar! Oh well, we live and learn!

This spring theme has put me in the mood to update my decorations... think Easter decorations are ready to go away now... on to some fresh spring themes I feel!

So that's my weekend project: I'll post some pics of my spring decorating next week... but here's some ideas in the meantime from Pinterest!








Happy weekend everyone!

Thursday 10 May 2012

A challenging question...

I was asked this question on the blog last week...

How can you call your baby daughter a sinner? Surely she's done nothing to be regretful of...

It's a great question; thanks for asking, because there's probably a few people out there wondering the same thing. My daughter isn't a particularly bad kid - in fact she's been a very easy baby - contented, sweet-natured and lots of fun. So how can I call her a sinner?

In many ways, she hasn't done anything willfully wrong. She's spent her eight months of life doing exactly what babies do - demanding her needs get met. If she's hungry, she lets me know about it... she can scream the place down! Her little world revolves around her... when she wants/needs something, there's no thought of anyone else's needs, or of patience while Mama just finishes what she's doing. She wants her needs met and she wants them met now. She's no different from any other baby on the planet...

But that's exactly the point. My daughter is wired to be self-centred. There's nothing she can do about that... she was born that way. She was born to want her way and, now that she's hitting eight months, I'm starting to see that surface in more willful decisions (whereas previously it was needs based) She delights in pulling on the curtains while I'm changing her nappy, even though she's starting to realise that displeases Mama, she will repeatedly do something I've told her not to... and when you look in her eyes, you can see she understands, she knows... Ask any parent on the planet - they didn't teach their children to be disobedient... its every child's nature to push boundaries!

Sin is literally self-centredness. Its putting ourselves and our needs before others, and ultimately, before God. My daughter was born sinful - she can't help it because she was born from a sinful Mum and Dad into a sinful world.

I praise God every day that he sent Jesus to free us from the sin that entangles each and every one of us... even our little ones.

If you still have questions, please keep posting them... I'd love to talk to you more about it.

Wednesday 9 May 2012

Monday 7 May 2012

Resolution 17: No regrets...

17. Resolved, that I will live so as I shall wish I had done, when I come to die.

We've all seen those movies, haven't we? You know, the ones where people are on their death beds saying "I should have...", "I wish I'd...", "If only I'd..." or "I'm so sorry I never..." I think that's a very real fear for people, that they'll look back on their lives with regrets...

We all have that desire to make our lives count, to feel like we've achieved something for the world, that we've had influence, that we won't be forgotten. We try so hard to make our little stamp on the world, desperate for some kind of recognition to bring meaning to it... our children? Our jobs? Our contribution to society?

How wonderful to know I can live my life without that pressure. To know that my life has meaning purely because Jesus gives it meaning; that I don't have to be this wonderwoman wife, mother, career-woman and society-changer. I am free to be me because of Jesus... 

If I follow him all my days, I can live with absolute certainty that I'll have no regrets...

Friday 4 May 2012

CWOA: Redeemed at last!

WOOHOO!!!

So... after much too-ing and fro-ing between CWOAs PR department and our advocate, Nicole, we have finally received decent  compensation from CWOA...

We are now the proud owner's of free tickets and priority passes for another trip to Chessington. A much more appropriate response than the £5 sweets voucher I feel... Nicole has been an absolute star and fought our corner tooth and nail, and it was all worth it in the end.

We can now sit back and laugh about the whole fiasco!

This was Nicole's report of what happened...


We cut to the chase about compensation.  She said that they could only offer us a £5 voucher each to spend in the shop.  I pointed out that the cost of this to them was less than £5 as it includes profit margin and I felt v offended by this.  She then said they could offer us priority passes for a future visit - I said we didn't really feel like coming back any time soon given the way we were being treated.

At this point I said that my friend stuck with me was a prolific blogger and, having blogged about our experience, had received several expressions of disbelief at the way we had been treated.  This wasn't good for CWOA PR so how about free tickets so that we could return again and have a better experience - we would then be minded to let all the people following our plight know that Chessington put it right.

She then offered 75% of tickets on a return trip.  I said this was getting ridiculous - was I expected to haggle with her on the level of discount?  Said, look, we're both v busy - how about you just give us all free tickets with priority passes and then you can just finish this call.  She said yes!  At first she would only do 4 for those of us actually on the ride but I said that the 3 people not on the ride had also had their day ruined by the stress of looking after the babies.

So, we have 7 free tickets plus priority passes being posted to me!

She asked if she would have to phone all the others, I said I was pretty sure that wouldn't be necessary but asked for her number in case anyone else wants to speak to her. Poor girl, I actually feel a bit sorry for her!

Hope that's ok with everyone - how about we go again before the school summer holidays?!  Can't promise I'll be going on Dragon's Fury again tho.......

Nx

I'm with Nicole on that one!

Happy Bank Holiday weekend everyone! I now officially put an end to our Chessington fiasco. All has been made right, and I'll be sure to report on what I hope will be a very enjoyable return trip to what is, at the end of the day, a great fun park!