Shortest Day

Hooray- as from tomorrow the days will start to get longer.

Here are some photos of our lovely new kitchen.





Thank you Daune for the above. I guess I need to say what the five things are that I am addicted to:
1. God
2. Husband and children
3. Music
4. Reading
5. Friends- perhaps they should be higher up in the list than music and reading

Have had a busy weekend with exchanging of presents on Friday night with friends ( although felt bad as had only bought presents for the friends who will be in the Lakes for Christmas- still have two days left and we will see the other two families on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day )and a housewarming party last night with neighbours. Today was brilliant at Church. It was the Nativity play and Rosie was a Christmas present ( non speaking part ). I felt really proud as she had made her outfit all by herself. She had cut holes in a huge box and had wrapped it in Christmas paper and wore a huge bow in her hair. She looked great.

This afternoon I cleaned half the conservatory and was able to put the chairs and table back in place. I washed six chair covers and scrubbed the floor and cleaned the windows. I could not believe the amount of dust on the windows. Rosie had friends round to play and then we had a couple of guests for tea and mince pies including Graham's sister's partner. It was great to see him.

We spent the evening watching the Christmas Lark Rise to Candleford and yesterday's episode of Outnumbered. I have a busy day ahead tomorrow with an appointment at the surgery tomorrow morning for a flu jab then Lulu has a vet appointment in the afternoon. In between I have to clean the other half of the conservatory and replace the kitchen items which are still in the family room. I also have to do the food shopping for Christmas Day and deliver cards and go into town to buy presents!

Almost there

Photos of the village, our Christmas tree, Nativity welcome lights and Rosie.





I haven't done any work all week as I have been unwell with asthma from all the dust. I finally went to the Dr today and my steroid inhaler has been increased until I start to feel better. I have also been given a peak flow meter so I can adjust my dosage accordingly. Thankfully I haven't got a chest infection which I thought I might have as I was awake for a lot of the night coughing and wheezing. I think the 4 grams of vit c I have been taking daily for the last few weeks is helping. I have missed the department Christmas party at work today and probably the Christmas lunch tomorrow. Never mind. The kitchen is almost finished. Tomorrow will be the last day of decorating. It does look great and once I have thoroughly cleaned everywhere downstairs and am able to breathe freely I will be a lot happier.

Church was amazing last week. Luke's sermon was brilliant. Here is a link:
http://www.brickhillbaptistchurch.org/images/file/081214%20Servant%20of%20the%20Lord.mp3

We then went to the park for an outdoor carol service which we thoroughly enjoyed. Rosie has had a good couple of days with friends and the boys broke up this lunchtime. Harry had a couple of friends round for a jamming session. Poor Graham was trying to work from home today but found it too noisy. Charlie went into town with his mates and 13 of them went to the Chinese buffet for lunch.

My car came back today and we are hoping that it is completely fixed and safe to drive.

We have our last home group on Saturday until January. I am so enjoying them. Another couple approached me on Sunday and want to join in the New Year as they also find mid week groups difficult to attend.

Can't believe I have been writing this for almost a year. Not sure how or whether to continue. I must work out how I can print it out.

Light at the end of the tunnel

Another week goes by and the kitchen is still not ready. The tiles are now in place and the utility room is almost finished. The big American fridge freezer is in place and working which is great. The kitchen just needs to be decorated, along with the utility room and conservatory.

I've had another busy and stressful week. I am using my inhalers every day now and am still fighting off an infection. I have also been full of a cold for two days. The dust is everywhere and no matter how much I clean, it is back the next day. The car is back in the garage and after paying £1400 the existing clanging noise wasn't repaired and the car is now making a new noise.

I am really turning into Mrs Grumpy Old Woman.

On a lighter note. The children have had their school reports, and Rosie sung a duet in the carol concert at school and did a reading. Rosie has now broken up from school. The boys break up next Wednesday. We have a great day ahead tomorrow with our Christmas giving service at church in the morning. We have made two hampers to be distributed to families in Bedford which we will take with us. In the afternoon there is the outdoor carol service in Bedford Park. Just hoping it doesn't rain.

Nine of us went to the Kiln on Tuesday evening. It was great fun and I decorated a bowl which I will give to Rosie for Christmas.

Finally getting round to thinking about Christmas and I don't just mean Christ's birthday. We bought and decorated the tree today and put it in the lounge this year ( as it is the only liveable room in the house at the moment). It looks great. Harry and Rosie decorated their rooms and we had to have a competition to see whose was the best. Harry had ripped up hundreds of bits of white paper and thrown them on the floor for snow and had wrapped his guitars in tinsel (I tried hard not to think about the clearing up). As we walked in each room they played Christmas carols to add to the atmosphere. Rosie had a disco feel to her room with a fibre optic flashing tree and a psychedelic coloured box on her bed. They both looked great and we have yet to declare the winner.

Lulu is trying to climb up the tree and playing with the baubles. It's like having a toddler in the house again.

Peace amidst chaos

It is still a bomb site here with so much dust I am having to use inhalers. However I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. The units are up and the work surfaces down, but still can't use them as they need another two coats of treatment oil. I can, however start to put things back in the cupboards which is great. Next week the floor will be tiled and the fridge plumbed in and walls plastered and painted. Hopefully it will be ready for Christmas.


Last night we went to hear Rosie sing in a carol concert in aid of a local hospice which the school support. It was really good and Bedford Town Brass Band were excellent. Charlie has gone away with church for the weekend to Letton Hall in Norfolk. Harry has 'welcome to the family' this morning at church and Graham has a men's breakfast after his golf lesson. We are going ahead with home group this morning and I'm sure it will go well. The new lady is definitely coming this morning and another couple want to get involved after Christmas. Rosie is going to Winchester for a netball match this afternoon.

Plans for the rest of the weekend include cleaning, kitchen work and then chilling and relaxing. A friend popped by yesterday morning and along with the builder they both told me about a really funny TV series called 'Outnumbered.' I had never heard of it. It is a sitcom about a family with three children and is very funny as the children part improvise. I went on BBC iplayer and watched two episodes! Yes it is worth watching-seeing as I never find anything worth watching on TV these days, and I think all the family will enjoy it. Apparently it is on tonight. We were due to have a family round for tea today but have cancelled it.They kindly invited us but think we will stay at home.

Thursday 3rd December 2008

Having a very busy and stressful week unfortunately. Left my car lights on again yesterday which flattened the battery. I had to wait for two hours until the AA arrived. The house is still a building site and we are now without a sink and an oven. I keep telling myself that it will be worth it! The builders have made an excellent job so far and I love the oak work surfaces. My first Christmas card arrived yesterday. I've no idea when I will get round to thinking about Christmas! Can't bear all this commercialisation and it's only December 3rd.

Waiting for the snow to arrive.

'Now faith is the substance of things hoped for' Hebrews 11:1

Friday 28th November 2008

I've had a really strange week with conflict, car breakdown, asthmatic wheeze, a building site in the kitchen, and that is just me. Graham has had a stressful week at work, Harry has had several nose bleeds, and Rosie has been mega busy with sport, ballet and other groups. Something really awful happened when Graham wasn't sat at his desk and the reality of the situation hasn't really hit me. The window just behind him fell onto the desk. His office is now cordoned off and investigations are taking place into why the accident happened. Charlie has had an ok week thankfully. I went to see a good friend of mine this afternoon to pray about things. She has also been feeling burdened and oppressed, particularly following the Thanksgiving week at church.

However, amidst the feelings of chaos I know that God has been with us and is teaching me to walk more closely with Him. I also had a positive supervision session at work and feel I am progressing quite well.

I have finished The Last Sin Eater this week and have started a novel by Sadie Jones- The Outcast which is great. Can't believe it's December next week and I won't be able to start Christmas preparations like make Christmas cakes until the kitchen is finished which looks a long way off at the moment.

Have had to cancel cell group tomorrow unfortunately. We've also got a busy weekend planned- well the children have. Rosie has hockey at 8.30am, then her grade 3 ballet exam and then the school Christmas fete followed by a sleep over. Harry has got a party and Charlie is playing rugby for the school. In the evening we're going out for a curry with four friends.

Saturday 22nd November 2008

The above is a photo of the campus church taken at dusk on my way home this week. I have to walk past it on my way to the car park each day I am there and it just looks so out of place as it is such an old building compared to the high tech modern buildings on site. However, for me it is a reminder that God is the same yesterday, today and forever and I can just imagine people worshipping there hundreds and hundreds of years ago. It is also demonstrates how dark the evenings are becoming now. It is dark just after 4pm. Roll on Dec 21st and the start of the lighter evenings.

Had a couple of good days, but felt frustrated yesterday. We had a letter from the Borough Council about needing building regs to remove the conservatory doors. We have two options. We either replace the doors or apply for building regs and employ a surveyor to conduct a heating loss assessment. We won't get the go ahead with the regs as the conservatory is too big. So, it looks like we'll have to get some doors. We didn't know we couldn't remove the doors and feel misguided by our builder.

The kitchen is now due to start next Weds. It's a good job we're going to have a breakfast bar put in now that the doors have to go back on as the table will be less accessible.

Anyway it is so cold here. The temp has really dropped and we're expecting temps of -10 degrees today with the wind chill factor. We went out last night to some friends for dinner in the village. We had a good time. Graham and his golf mates are very funny when together.

Looking forward to the weekend. The children are busy with hockey for Rosie this morning, rugby for Charlie this afternoon and Harry is at a friend's for a sleepover and will return later. We have our home group late morning which should be good as a new lady is coming along. This afternoon I need to go into town to look at fridges and Graham plans to have a couple of friends round to watch the rugby.

I then need to crack on with some work this evening. I managed to do a lot yesterday but went to the gym and then to Sainsburys so need to catch up.