Knuckling down

I am determined to finish my PhD and am aiming to submit on 31st December this year. So in an attempt to be less distracted by the Internet whilst I am working I have de-activated my Facebook account. However I am now on Twitter and am hoping that this won't distract me either. We have had a heatwave here in the UK during the last few days which has been a lovely start to Autumn and makes the prospect of the predicted Arctic Winter more bearable. We headed over to Cambridge on Saturday ( just the two of us) which was great-we're still thinking about moving back once Rosie has finished her GCSEs, which will be in two year's time.

We are all well and enjoying some of the challenges in our lives at the moment!

New season

The last month has flown by! The highlights include:
A fantastic holiday-the weather was stunning and we visited Italy and enjoyed 3 days on Lake Garda.

Children back at school. Rosie is settling well at her new school and has been picked for the hockey team which she is pleased about.

Two conference presentations for me. One at the University of Geneva and the other here at The O.U. Geneva is such a beautiful city and I managed to visit the reformation museum and learnt about Calvin's life and saw the house where he lived and the chapel where both himself and John Knox preached.

The new season is almost upon us with a distinct drop in the temperature and the nights are drawing in.

Lots happening at church and I am thankful to God for so many things, particularly that He never ever lets me down and is with me all the time in everything that I do.

My boy is home! Thanking God for the safe return of Charlie and how He has protected him during his month travelling and doing community work throughout China and Hong Kong. He has so many stories to tell us and we stayed up late last night so he could show us his photos. What an amazing time he has had.

The other two are at Newday and are also having a fantastic time with over 7000 12-19 year olds. One of Harry's friends who he took with him became a Christian-praise God. They are back tomorrow lunchtime and then all my chicks will have returned to the nest for a short time anyway!

Graham and I went to Interlaken on our own for 3 days this week. We had a great time and did the big walk- I didn't ache as much afterwards this time probably as I had climbed Helvellyn 10 days earlier. Prior to that my mum came down for 5 days which went well. She can't communicate properly but she had a good time and managed the train journey well. We took her over to see Graham's parents too.

I had supervision yesterday to discuss my thesis and for the first time I was told that I could possibly submit it at the end of the year! I have so much to do though but will do my best to finish it asap.

Our family holiday approaches which may be our last one for a while as Charlie won't want to come away with us next year. Looking forward to being together before the new season for all of us- Charlie's final school year, Harry's GCSE year and Rosie starting a new school. Exciting times ahead though.

Mountains

I've had a productive couple of weeks which has helped to take my mind off missing Charlie. 10 days to go until his return and I can't wait to see him. We are all really missing him.

I've completed a complete draft thesis which is a milestone for me even though it made me realise how much work I still have to do.

We are thinking of taking in a German boy for a year starting from next September and the family came to dinner last week as they were in the UK for a holiday. The boy is exactly the same age as Harry and everybody is keen that he comes to live with us for the year. We will just wait and see what Charlie's plans are before we decide.

I am aching so much after a climb up Helvellyn (the third highest mountain in England) on Saturday. I had a great time though. The weather and views were superb and spending time with three friends was lovely. It was the break I needed after the hard work of the previous couple of weeks. We were only away one night but it felt longer as we did such a lot during the time we were away.

The summit of my metaphorical PhD mountain is getting closer with another steep climb ahead before I reach the top! My funding runs out at the end of next month so I have applied for a very part-time lecturing post (6 hours per week) to start in October.

Looking forward to our holiday next month and a couple of days away on our own next week whilst the children are away at Newday.

Celebrating

So much has been happening recently. Two birthdays, 20th wedding anniversary, Charlie preparing for his month's trip to China on Wednesday, big presentation to the faculty, Graham's mum in hospital but now home and children's last week at school with musical evenings and prize giving.

We enjoyed our wedding anniversary and went to Cambridge for the evening. We had dinner at the hotel where we had our wedding reception. It was so lovely to go back and we are still thinking we will return to live in Cambridge one day, if that's where God is leading us.

I'm feeling very churned up inside about Charlie going to China. Whilst it will be a once in a lifetime experience for him I will miss him so much. A full month without any contact. The longest time away from home has been 6 days so it will be hard. Just praying for God's protection.

It is Rosie's last week at her school and she will join the boy's school in September. More change ahead.

Harry did D of E last week and returned a bit worse for wear after doing about 15 mile hikes for two days.

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Tuesday, 8th June 2011

A great couple of weeks have been had by all. Highlights include:


Short trip to Interlaken-bad weather but went swimming and walking and it was a time of relaxation. I read Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa, an amazing powerful novel about the life of a Palestinian woman and her family. The novel spans four generations and gives a profound insight into life in a Palestinian refugee camp and the atrocities of the Israeli-Palestinian war. It was written from a Palestinian perspective which I hadn't really considered before, when thinking about the Jews return to the promised land. It just made me want to read about the experiences of Palestinian Christians, so I am waiting for This Side of Peace by Hanan Ashrawi to arrive from Amazon.


Amazing times at church-a day drip to the beach with the twenties group, powerful and life-changing talks about how God worked through Nehemiah and God ministering to people during the Alpha Holy Spirit evening.



Rosie will be 13 on the 14th! My baby will be a teenager. Her party is on Saturday. 17 girls will be having a manicure here. It is also Graham's mum's 80th and we will be having a small party for her here the day before.


Next week-end three friends and myself will be going to Interlaken for the weekend to do part of the Alpine Way, from Schynige Platte to First. The walk will take 6 hours. Really looking forward to it. Last year we climbed Helvellyn and decided to go continental this year. However, next week will be busy as I have my next draft chapter deadline on Thursday. The following week I will be presenting at the HSC conference which I'm not looking forward to.

Charlie's exams have finished and he has been busy doing jobs for us around the house as he needs to earn some money to help fund his trip to China next month. Harry is in the middle of exams and is off school timetable this week. Rosie is winding down now until the end of term and end of an era on the 8th July.

It will be our 20th wedding anniversary on the 22nd!