Pottering

I haven't posted much recently about how we are going- so here are some thoughts.

On the whole we feel pretty settled- although we have begun to feel pangs of desire for Sydney. We definitely feel the weight of the blessings which we have here- which we may not have had in Sydney, but we do long for deeper familiarity with people, places and things. Summer over here has been grim- its pretty much been raining for the past two months- and kinda cold. So we are staring to feel that a little. And the days are getting shorter again...

Andrew and I were chatting in bed last night and were trying to remember the last time we 'pottered' (no ref. to Harry!). We have a very lovely elderly gentleman who lives next door to us- who seems to have all the time in the world to potter. He grows tomatoes- they are his babies- and he seems to watch them hour by hour- checking for snails.... Maybe he doesn't feel like he's pottering- maybe its hard work...but it looks to us like he's pottering. I remember I used to potter...alot...but at the moment everything seems so hectic- even a 'leisurly' stroll to the park is a bit of an expedition. We feel like we go from one thing to the next- to the next- to the next. Its the nature of life this side of heaven I guess- and a stage of this life- that will pass- but one which I need to relish in the joys- as they too will pass.

We have three weeks holiday in August. We are regretting not making plans to go abroad for some guarenteed sunshine- but are praying for some here. It should be a good time to refocus- have fun together and think about the coming months and how we can use them to best serve God. And read some HP.

Andrew is loving his work- but needs a holiday and some time for exercise. Don't want to write too much on his behalf...
I am feeling spritually and physically refreshed after a few days away on a conference a couple of weeks ago- and a day in London with Amy last week- probably the reason Andrew is in need of a holiday- lots of time on his own with the kids...
F is loving life- Shrek is the latest obsession. We are working on listening and obedience.
J is loving her big brother- but hating the toilet. We are having a go at losing the nappies- not too much success at the moment. We'll give her til the end of the week to make SOME progress and then may try again next year.

I am very thankful that the sum of our problems is lack of sun, lots of wee on the floor and a bit too much on.
We really are on the whole very content- but its harder to write about all the good things!
Better go get J's birthday cake out of the oven- yes we have made it through the first two years of JB!! I love her so much.
xx

more random pics...

Here are some recent pics of the kids- for those interested.

Bye Bye Aimes and Rory

One of my very best buddies, Amy is leaving me! After living in London for 3 years Amy and Rory are moving back to Sydney. Even though we haven't seen heaps of each other in the last 6 months- it has been great when we have- and it's been great knowing she has been in the same time zone for a short while. We will miss you both- and hope you come back to visit sometime soon!
Amy came up from London last week to hang out with me and the kids- poor thing- I dragged her along to Finn's Sports day among other things. But it was lovely to chat, catch up on things, and be so encouraged by all the work they have been doing for God in London. Amy is a true inspiration when it comes to evangelism- a real gift.
I am heading down to London for a day next week- to say good bye- really looking forward to it!

The Godmother

A visit to York

Its still raining- yes- the worst Summer that anyone here can remember. But for those who may have been wondering- the floods have not hit our part of Sheffield- we are just a bit soggy.
Since our last post we have done a couple of things worth mentioning.

Last week was my 30th birthday- and I had a great one. I have really been reminded of how much God has blessed me in the past six months. One of my big prayers was that I would make a friend quickly. Last Thursday night one of the lovley girls at church organised drinks and dessert (or puddings as they call it) at her place for my b'day. It was a really fantastic night- loads of girls from church- some of whom I have become quite close to- and others I am still getting to know. I felt very spoilt- but also very blessed.

Thankyou also to all my wonderful friends in Australia who sent me birthday wishes. I miss you all loads- and think of you much more than my phonecalls/ emailing would suggest. And to those who missed my birthday all together- I miss you too and you make me feel a whole lot better about myself- as I am so very hopeless at remembering birthdays!! I'm working on it...

Breakfast in bed!


The next day- we headed to Hull- for one of the highlights of my time here in the UK so far! Hull is supposed to be a bit of a deadend city- not much there to see or do.... But on Friday night our very own Colin Buchanan was performing for the kiddies. I am a huge fan of Colin- and as usual- he was entertaining- and sang out his fantastic tunes and we all bopped along. I was amazed by Jai- who really got into it and was dancing her little legs off. Pitty about the smelly nappy throughout the whole show. F loved it too-Colin sure brings the gospel to the mouths of very small children.


After meeting Colin and convicing him to visit our church next tour- we headed to York where we had rented a town house for a weekend break. I loved York- beautiful old city- very Roman- lost of ancient architechtural remains- great shopping- and a good kid friendly pub!

Still raining



We visited the National Railway Museum- which was great fun for the kids- probably even better in a couple of years.