A Birthday Celebration For Our Lady

It was Our Lady's birthday yesterday and we were all so pleased to finally attend mass.  It has been several months since we last made church due to the down-turn in my health, but so far I have stabilised this week, so all is good :-)  The mass was also offered for our daughter Emma, as we remembered the anniversary of her final profession four years ago:

 Oldest and youngest, who have only met twice!  Once when Pip was too small to remember at her christening and then here at the wedding.  Pip misses Em and sends her emails and the odd letter when she can.  

The kids helped set a nice table for Our Lady and we even lit the birthday ring in her honour:

 Salad, crackers and crisps followed by a hot chocolate and twirl flake bar :-)

After lunch Pip finished her study on wheat and decorated the front cover of her book:

 One farmer singing our harvest song and scattering the wheat from his satchel.

A really good first week back at school.

Christmas 2014

Christmas caught up with me this year and this past week has been a bit of blur.  There have been times when I could have cheerfully hid under the duvet only to resurface somewhere in the middle of January!! Despite folk shopping til they dropped I found it incredulous that Selfridges were boasting the biggest online sales on Christmas Day! As usual the shops were heaving with shoppers on Boxing Day too so sad.  Apart from the occasional pint of milk or loaf of bread from the local co-op I have stayed well clear.

Our Christmas Day morning consisted of a cooked breakfast of ham and cheese omelettes, followed by heart shaped ginger biscuits, served with Christmas tea.  Benedict and Pip opened the presents that were under the tree and whilst they were ploughing through the Lego sticker books, I steadily worked through my packing list for our stay at Kathryn's.

 

As expected the journey to Kathryn's was uneventful as the roads were virtually clear, unlike our visit to friend's on the Saturday before Christmas!  A journey that would normally have taken 40 minutes took three times as long and we were crawling along the motorway at 5 miles per hour as opposed to the usual 70!!

 Opening presents at Kath's.

 Mary Grace on her sit and ride scooter.

 The fold up table and chairs from the caravan came in very handy as overflow seating!

 A very hungry MG tucking in!

It was a lovely shared effort between myself, Kath and my Dad.  The portion sizes were just right and that meant most folk were happy to snaffle a second small helping of their favourites!

After lunch we visited Dave's Mum and Dad and stopped for a light tea of soup and trifle.  Once home the littlest ones were settled and Benedict stayed up for a little while watching some old Christmas shows from the 70's!  Good old BBC usually manage to weave in some re-runs during the course of the Christmas break.

On Boxing Day morning we spent some time with my parents and then arrived at Dave's parents in time for lunch.  Dave's mum did a sterling job of organising, cooking and serving lunch for eight:

 Conveyor Belt Cooking!

 Turkey, Sausages wrapped in bacon, carrot and swede, brussel sprouts, roast potatoes, my left over nut roast and braised red cabbage.

The weather was particularly grey and there was a constant stream of rain throughout the day.  Grandad kept the kids entertained and when it was time to go home, Kath very kindly took Benedict and Pip with her and MG so that Dave and I could have some down time with his parents.  Mind you we did our bit later in the evening when, Kathryn went out with some friends once MG was asleep!  

On the way home on Saturday we spent some time with Sara, Tom and the Grange clan!  Tom's mum bought me some lovely wool, Dave was given some home made sloe gin, Benedict a meccano style steam engine and Pip a flower fairy craft.  

A view from their lounge window courtesy of Benedict and look blue skies!

We arrived back home just in time for a quick tea and whilst I was unloading the car, Dave kept Pip busy with a dinosaur make:

A funny, scary Pip!

Yesterday I spent the day at Leighton Moss with Pip and my friend Sallie.  We were greeted with beautiful blue skies, but boy was it cold!  We sang the song, "We are going on a bear hunt!" and Pip also followed Bertie Bittern's Christmas Trail:

 Clue number three, there were nine in all.

 Frosty Toad Stools.

A rare sighting of the Pipling bird, found roosting in the Tim Jackson Hide!!

Today has been a day of cooking and planning.  With a bit of luck I might just manage an end of year photo review tomorrow :-)

DPP :: Day Five and Six ~ Visiting and St Nicholas

Yesterday we visited family in Cumbria, it was not one of our usual trips as the sole purpose was to assist in the burial arrangements of Dave's Uncle Bernard.  He had been sick for many years and his health had begun to deteriorate quite markedly, yet despite this none of us had been prepared for so sudden a death. It looks like he died in his sleep and for that we are all grateful.

Whilst Dave and the others were trawling through paperwork, the kids and I went on a car ride to the coast road and then on to furness abbey for a look around.  We could not enter the grounds for it was near closing time and I did not have my Dad's resident pass which would have enabled a free entry for us all; mind you it was also blowing a gale and very cold, so we admired the ruins from the warmth of the car!

After our brief jaunt we called in to see Mum, Dad, Kath and Gracie:

Pip really enjoyed playing with her niece and the shape sorter box and I had loads of kisses and cuddles!  Mind you, this baba is a quick mover and doesn't sit still for long, she is an expert crawler!

It was St Nicholas Day today.  We were so tired last night that I did not remind the children to place their shoes in the hearth, but the good saint was kind and left a chocolate treat and the customary book in the bedrooms instead.  It was quite sweet listening to Pip's little squeals of excitement when she found her treasures including a note from the man himself. 

After Pip's art lesson and once the lunch pots had been cleared and washed, Benedict and Pip sat down to watch "Miracle on 34th Street" and afterwards we all enjoyed a steaming mug of cocoa and a small piece of chocolate:

As I type it is way past my bedtime and I am forcing myself to stay awake by knitting!  You've guessed it I am currently on Diabetes Watch!  In the past hour, I have ran several blood tests, completed an emergency sub cut injection to bring down dangerously high blood sugars and also stuck another needle in Benedict as a result of a full set change on the pump.  Poor guy he woke exhausted and feeling very sick and looking quite green.  Thankfully a cup of peppermint tea took the edge off the sickness and his blood sugars are slowly coming down.  With a bit of luck I should be in bed around half one!

Flowers for Our Lady

October is recognised as the month of The Holy Rosary and the particular feast day associated with this  is on the 7th October.  In an effort to do little things with the love and cheerfulness as St Therese would have done, we are offering our efforts as a spiritual bouquet for our Blessed Mother.   Each time we manage to complete our tasks without grumbling, bear a suffering quietly without complaining and make extra special efforts to be truly kind to one another, then we will place a flower on the following picture:

I hope and pray that come the end of the month the picture will be carpeted with flowers.

Emma's Day

Last Friday was a very special day for our oldest daughter Emma, as she made her three year vows as a religious sister.    In 2013 she will make her final vows and be a fully professed sister of The Home of the Mother.  We were unable to share in her day in a physical way but united ourselves to her spiritually.  Uncle Bryan and Aunty Maureen came and we prayed the joyful mysteries of the rosary:

Pip wearing her beads and listening to the Rosary.

After meal chats

Mucky Pup!

After tea we spied the berry bushes groaning with fruit and sallied forth in harvesting our hoard:

Benedict and Uncle Bryan concentrating hard

Dad doing his bit!

Pip helping too

All harvested... we filled six large bowls and collected 16lbs of berries.

In closing here is a special picture of our Em, taken earlier in the year when she was in Lebanon:

  

Sr Emma Maria of the Sweet name of Mary.

May God continue to guide you and bless all that you do, with much love Dad and Mum xxx

End of Week Round Up

We've been blessed with quite good weather and so the sandpit has been retrieved from the back of the shed.  It now has pride of place on the lawn which  needs a good haircut since Spring has arrived!  The garden is a love/hate relationship with me... I love looking at gardens, reading about them and watching gardening programmes, but when it comes to doing the doing, I see it as a chore rather than a relaxing hobby!  Still we have been blessed with a good sized plot of land and with soaring food prices etc I'm determined once again to do my bit for stewardship of God's good Earth.  With this in mind I think there might be hope for me yet as last night  I watched a brilliant programme entitled  "The Edible Garden" fronted by Alys Fowler, one of the presenters from Gardener's World.  Her task last year was to be as self sufficient as possible yet also to have a garden that looked as good as it tasted.  One of the principles she followed was that of Permaculture, so i've begun googling around for ideas!

It was also the Feast of Divine Mercy today and Benedict and I attended our local Cathedral Church for prayers, adoration and confession.  It was such a comfort to be in the presence of the Lord and to receive healing in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  A beautiful end to a lovely week, Praise God!

Special visitors - Aunty Maureen giving Pip a cuddle...

 

... and so does Uncle Bryan!

Benedict hasn't forgotten how to ride his trike!

More Soil Mechanics studies. Do we have a potential MICE* here? 

(*Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers - dad is only an AMICE - Associate MICE)

 

Thanks Uncle Bernard!!

A dear Uncle sent some lovely presents for Benedict and Pip.  First up is a Meccano set  model of a Space Shuttle... did a bird tell him I wonder that, we are studying space as a long term project?

Our very own Leo the lion a compadre for Benedict's Lenny.

As it was also the feast day of St David and therefore nameday for Daddy an extra special effort was made with the evening meal:  Baked potatoes, leeks in a cheese sauce and savoy cabbage, followed by apple crumble and custard.  We were also blessed with glorious blue skies that greatly uplifted the soul, thank you God!!   

Happy Christmas

The day didn't start too early and despite the fact that, Pip is full of a nasty cold and teething, we actually made it through till 7am before she woke proper.  This is her first real experience of Christmas, since last year she was barely two days old and it was lovely watching her unwrap her present from St Nicholas:

"What can this be?"

" Need to take a closer peek, help please mummy"

A Sunday Bunny with his own bible, just right for keeping me entertained in church.

Benedict woke an hour later than Pip and here he is opening his stocking.

The house was fairly peaceful at this point as he hadn't realised there were other presents under the tree!!

After a breakfast of scrambled egg, toast and fruit and for some chocolate!!  The present unwrapping began in earnest.  Pip still found the whole experience slightly bemusing:

"Another thing to explore?"

"It sure looks fun though!"

" These stacking bowls are great Nanna and Grandad thanks very much"

Benedict playing with the Stylophone that Sara bought, James May would've been proud!

Sara and Dad tucking into the Christmas meal: roast potatoes and parsnips, Brussels sprouts, carrot and swede, cashew nut roast with sage and onion stuffing and vegetable gravy.

The Head Chef having a well deserved sit down!