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