Cycle ride around Grafham Water

Graham took the day off work today as arranged and after he had dropped the children off at school, he loaded the bikes into the car and then we drove to Grafham Water. The weather was chilly to begin with but then the sun came out and it was really warm and sunny. We did one 10 mile lap round and then stopped for lunch at The Wheatsheaf in Perry. By now it was really warm so we soaked up the sun whilst reading the papers.

We decided to do another 10 mile lap of the lake, which took one and a half hours. We then drove home and met the children from school. I thoroughly enjoyed the cycle ride and nothing beats being out in the open air with the sun warming my body and cycling at speed feeling the cool breeze on my face.

Anyway, must go and tackle my mountainous ironing pile and supervise homework. I'm counting down the days until I start my PhD. Tomorrow is my last free day and have so much to do including organising a glazier to come and put a new pane of glass in the back patio door where Rosie shattered the existing one following throwing a stone at the wall which missed!

Kneeboarding at Box End

We've had a great weekend despite Graham being away. I took the children to Box End yesterday afternoon for a kneeboarding lession on the lake. They loved it. The weather has been fantastic which helped. It was a great way to spend a few hours.


The sun is shining again and I've been sat in the garden reading the papers. Charlie has returned from rugby after losing quite dramatically, but he doesn't seem bothered by it.

Graham will be back later this evening. He has had a great time playing golf and I'm looking forward to tomorrow when he is off work so we can spend some time together. We plan to go on a bike ride if the weather remains fine.

Looking forward to going to church soon.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful to God for protection on the roads today for all my family. I have been particularly disturbed this week as I have seen three accidents ( with ambulances, police cars and blocked roads) all within a 24 hour period, two on the same road and all three within a mile of each other. Charlie and his friends witnessed one walking home from school. The cyclist involved is in a coma with severe injuries. There is more traffic than ever on the roads and I pray that God will keep us all safe, whether we are driving, cycling or walking through the busy town centre.


I am thankful for the good final few days I have had at work. It was emotional saying good bye to everybody yesterday. I had coffee with a colleague who is also a friend first thing which was nice. At least I know I will still keep in touch with her. Another colleague who was on her day off came in especially with a card and present for me ( new John Eldridge book ) and a plate of mars bar chocolate rice krispie cakes for the children. I will dearly miss this lady who is such an ambassador for Christ. We started praying together first thing in the morning and have decided we will meet up every fortnight to enable this to continue.

I am thankful for the opportunity to take a friend to Church on Tuesday evening to a dinner with live music and after dinner speaker. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

I am thankful for the conversation I had today with a lady at Cornerstone. As a result a friend and I will be able to help her clear her house which will please social services by demonstrating that she is being proactive.

I am thankful for new opportunities in my life IE cell group and PhD

Monday 22nd September 2008

What a wonderful, warm and sunny weekend we've just had. We went to Harry's prize giving on Friday night. He won the year academic music prize. We are so proud of him. That was the first senior school prize giving ceremony we had been to and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

On Saturday Charlie played rugby at Haileybury school. He won his game and felt he had had a good match. Whilst Charlie was away the rest of us took our bikes to Grafham Water and cycled the 10 mile perimeter, stopping for drinks and ice creams. The weather was glorious and the countryside views and smells of cut grass made the day idyllic. Graham and I plan to do the same in a couple of weeks time when Graham has a day off work and the children are at school.

In the evening we went to friends for dinner from church with some neighbours. We had a great evening and we all took some books to swap. After dinner we rummaged through the books on the floor and I came back with a couple of interesting ones.

Yesterday Graham took Charlie to rugby in the morning. Rosie played tennis with a friend in the village. I cooked lunch. In the afternoon I sunbathed in the garden before taking Harry early to church for band practice. I was on welcome duty and offered to take an eighty year old lady home after the service to save her booking a taxi. It was so funny as the dear lady couldn't remember where she lived! I drove up and down the road where she lives three times before she managed to locate the sheltered accommodation which she lives in! Bless her.

Church was brilliant as usual. Charlie went back to his friend's and then returned to church for a film evening. Graham and I are being so challenged at the moment and are going to be leading a cell group at home on Saturday mornings between 9.30am and 11am. We both struggle with attending a midweek evening group and really felt God challenge us when away at Shuttleworth about stepping out and leading a small group. We aim to start it in three weeks time with some help from our current cell group leaders who are going to stand down.

I went to the cinema later on in the evening with three friends. We saw The Duchess, a film about Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire. I thoroughly enjoyed it and thought Keira Knightley portrayed the role really well.

Today, so far, I have been to the gym, had coffee with a friend, unloaded the Tesco home delivery, cleaned the lounge and hoovered.

A Time for Everything

Ecclesiastes 3
A Time for Everything
1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

9 What does the worker gain from his toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.


The above passage is particularly poignant in my life this week as I am coming to terms with the reality of being at the end of an era and at the beginning of another one. It is painful saying good bye to many people. I also realised today that I may have to stop volunteering at Cornerstone which I don't want to happen. I
thank God that He is in control of everything.

We have had a good week with a lovely evening spent at friends in the village on Saturday. The children are enjoying school and are back in the routine of sports etc. Harry is starting a climbing course this afternoon after school which he is keen to do.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful to God for the following:

Graham and the children- Graham's change of job which means he is able to spend a lot more time at home

Health- went to the gym and ran for 30 min, rowed for 10 and stepped for another 10. I felt energised afterwards and after Cornerstone completely blitzed the playroom this afternoon. I filled two black bin liners full of rubbish and sorted out toys which Rosie has grown out of.

The privilege to volunteer at Cornerstone.

All the clients who attend and I'm particularly thankful for the small positive changes that are taking place in their lives.

Friends.

Francine Rivers- I am half way through Lineage of Grace which is a tremendous read. I really feel I am being transported back into old testament days each night when I read about the lives of amazing women of the bible such as Rahab, Ruth and Tamar.

My home town ( above)

Leaving Lunch

I'm feeling quite emotional after my lunch today. My colleagues gave me some beautiful earrings, a huge bunch of flowers and some chocolates. We went to Mama Mia's and had pizza which was very nice. I came to the conclusion that I wouldn't miss the actual job but will really miss my colleagues. They are such a great bunch of hard working, dedicated women. It is such a shame that their many talents and skills are no longer recognised or needed for their role. It is so sad how the current changes within the NHS have resulted in an erosion of health visitor services.

Only two more weeks and four more working days to go. My diary is choco block with visits.

The children are all well and seem to be back in the swing of school. Rosie played hockey tonight. Both boys have had a lot of homework tonight.

Looking forward to the drop in centre tomorrow.

The Village Show

We all enjoyed the village show yesterday. The weather was fine and sunny which helped as rain had been forecasted. Harry manned the Hook a Duck stall. Rosie won the fairy cake competition which she was really pleased about. However the above photo of Lulu ( the most beautiful kitten in the world) which Rosie took didn't win anything. Obviously there must have been a mistake!

I am behind with my bible reading and must spend time in His presence. I know when I get close to God that He draws close to me. I have been so easily distracted during the last week. Today has been hectic with the gym first thing then food shopping. A friend from work called round and stayed for lunch, then another friend popped round and then the builder. It is now 3.30pm and the children will be home from school soon.

Graham's birthday- Box End and Cambridge

We've had a very busy but good few days with the boys starting back at school on Wednesday.

Cornerstone started back on Thursday. It was great to see the clients after the summer break. However the harsh reality of how these women and families had struggled during the long summer were apparent. Hardly any of them had managed any kind of a holiday or break with their children. One family had been to Brighton for the day. One lady arrived with a bruised face and had been subjected to domestic violence only that morning.

It was Graham's birthday on Thursday and after he came home from work we went to Corner5 the new restaurant at the wake boarding lake at Box End. I had organised a surprise night away in Cambridge for Graham and had arranged for the children to go to various friend's for the night. The surprise element backfired slightly though as he read an email I had sent to a friend outlining the idea. I then accidentally let it slip where we were going on the way to the restaurant. I was so cross with myself!

Anyway, we had a lovely day yesterday. We drove to the Garden House Hotel at lunchtime and after checking in we had a long walk around Cambridge City centre. The weather wasn't very good though so we didn't visit any colleges. We did go to the new Grand Arcade shopping centre which has a variety of designer shops but wondered how students would be able to afford to buy anything from them. We had a coffee in Starbucks and then went back to the hotel. Graham went to the gym and I swam for forty minutes in the small pool.

We quickly got ready and then set off to meet old friends of ours at an Indian buffet restaurant. This was a surprise for Graham that more or less worked. He was suspicious as the restaurant was a twenty minute walk away and kept asking why I had booked a table and why we had to be there so early. The food was amazing and it was good to catch up with our friends who we have known for over twenty years.

We drove back home this morning and one by one collected the children. I'm not very good at being away from them. I know I will be terrible when Charlie leaves home.

We stopped off at home briefly to see Lulu who had been looked after by our next door neighbour and then drove to MK to see Graham's parents. We stayed just over an hour and then came home so Graham could play golf.

I am feeling extremely tired and am glad we have an evening in at home. I plan to watch the X Factor and have an early night. Tomorrow will be a busy day as we have the village show in the afternoon. We are manning the Hook a Duck stall. Church starts back in the afternoon and it is also the start of the rugby season for Charlie.

Monday 1st September 2008

Harry has gone VW Camper van crazy and wants us to sell both our cars and buy the above so we can spend all summer in it travelling from one Christian festival to the next! His new school bag has a camper van on the front as does his new pencil case and swimming bag.

Can't believe it's the first day of September

We've had a great weekend. Our best man and family came to stay. It was so good to see them and to catch up with their news. Their two lovely children are growing up very quickly and it was such a joy to spend time with them. We went to The Tuns on Friday evening, cafe in the park Saturday and church on Sunday. Graham and his friend took Charlie and the girls to watch Bedford Blues thrash Manchester on Saturday. In the evening we played Buzz which I didn't do very well at.


So far today has been spent hanging washing on the line, cleaning the lounge, kitchen and conservatory, mopping floors and hoovering first thing after I took Rosie to school. Harry and I then went to school to buy two new lots of sports kit, then to MFI to look at kitchens and finally Homebase for a loo seat and weed killer. What an exciting life I lead.

Back home Charlie who had just got up had made himself one of his fry ups for brunch. He will be in for a shock on Wednesday when he has to get up at 7am. Charlie has just said he has had the best summer ever and gave me a big hug. Priceless.

The weather is lovely today. In fact I think I will snatch 20 minutes to read my bible outside in the sun before we go into town to buy Harry his school shoes and then collect Rosie and her friend from school.

Started back weight watching today! My friend and I plan to go along to WeightWatchers on Thursday. I know I have put on weight during the summer so it is time to take control again. I will start back at the gym on Thursday too which will help.