Birth -Days

Although she is at one end of the globe and I am at the other, my dear friend Sue and I not only share a love for the faith but a baby born on the same day albeit ten years apart!

Twenty six years ago today I gave birth to this "I'm forging my own path" gal!  She never ceases to surprise us with her varied interests and love for learning.  It was Sara, who patiently taught and encouraged me to knit socks on double pointed needles, up until that time I had been quite content knitting on two!   This was the same gal who struggled to master knitting at the age of 13 and so taught herself to crochet instead, so much easier when you are left handed :-)  Soon after she rocked that challenge of the two sticks and has gone on to design her own knitting projects in the form of a tube skirt, free form round cushions on her honeymoon camping trip and a jumper for Pip complete with a monogram motif.  

Sara meandered many paths in young adulthood from pottery and art, to youth ministry and class room assistant, finally settling on the more permanent and well suited path of horticulture and garden design.  She always challenges me to think the best of others and " not to sweat the small stuff."  She also has a very generous heart and instead of selfishly sharing her birthday solely with her beloved husband, they welcomed her baby brother along for the ride and he had an ace day in Manchester, visiting the Lego and Disney stores amongst other things.

Dave, Pip and I did our usual trip for the little flowers meet and on the way home we popped into Barton Grange to buy a last minute present for Sara!  I forgot to take any pictures of the goodies but we bought a wooden painted folk fairy to hang on the door, a cute fox hand sewn ornament and an irresistible snowman Christmas jumper!  Apparently, Tom had to dissuade Sara form buying one in Manchester, just in case she was given one as a present!!  Little did he know :-)

  

Whilst I have shared the joy of remembering times past and a big hug from my littlest big girl, my dear friend Sue shares a completely different story.  Thomas would have been sixteen years old today.  He was born on the 9th of November 1999 and died a day later.  His projected short lifespan was not unknown, as Sue  discovered that he had a diaphragmatic hernia at her eighteen week ultrasound.  Medical science has moved on in the intervening years and  nowadays surgery can be done to repair the opening.  Sadly this was not the case for Thomas and yet despite the prognosis, Sue and her husband Andy went ahead with the pregnancy.  In a world where the life of the unborn is at risk and so many babies are aborted, they chose life for Thomas and in so doing he was born into the loving arms of a mother, father and the wider family.

In addition to the family visit to the graveside and a picnic on his birthday, over the years many teddy bears were bought at Christmas, Easter and Birthdays as a way of honouring his short life and presence in the family.  Needless to say, the family have amassed many teddies over the years and so it was earlier in the years that Sue had the wonderful generous idea of sending a "Thomas Bear" to various friends and family members throughout the world.

  And so it was early on in May, a welcomed furry friend appeared during a very poorly time in the family.  I had hoped to blog about our visitor, but my time here in cyber space has been very remiss and I missed the opportunity.  I knew however that one day I would write about him and Thomas and so without further ado let me introduce you to:

 Aquinas Bear.

I cannot remember the name of the tree but Andy cuts and engraves the name of Thomas, his birth details and the words "with love" followed by a heart.  The heart of that family is their love for God and that love is then multiplied many times over in the people they meet in real life as well as online. 

Dear Sue, thank you for sharing Thomas with us and for your love, friendship and prayers across the miles.  May you experience God's presence in a very special way today as you celebrate Thomas' birth in your family.  Mother Mary, comfort the family with your loving presence, most especially during those moments of sorrow at a life not lived.  In Jesus, name.  Amen x 

 

MG Visit :: Sara 25th Birthday :: Martinmas

We had Mary Grace to stay over the weekend.  Kathryn had to work on the Saturday morning, so she dropped MG off on Friday night and then returned after finishing work.  It is quite tiring these days looking after a toddler ... I must be getting old :-)

 One very tired Ergo wearing Grandma ~ I had been up twice in the night!

On Sunday we all travelled to Grange for Sara's 25th birthday.  Tom's mum had made a lovely lunch of soups, salad and cheese.  We brought cakes and scones for dessert.

 Mixed winter salad with nuts and apricots and cheese.

 Mixed vegetable soup.

 MG, Kathryn and Sara wearing part of her birthday present from us, a snuggly black hat.

 The view from the lounge window!

 A yummy gluten free chocolate cake.

 Poppy the cat asleep in Mum W's knitting basket!

Today has been an at home day.  Pip should have been in school but after having got dressed and sorted for the day, she broke down and cried about how difficult school is, that it is work all the time, that she never gets a star in star assembly and basically sobbed for over half an hour.  So we made an executive decision to keep her at home.  She played with the coloured blocks and after lunch made her Martinmas Lantern:

 Playing.

 Lantern Making.

 Finished Lantern.

 Lit Lantern.

I also managed to make the kids a Martinmas gift of warm hats and I also bought them some much needed winter pyjamas!

 

The Wedding Dress

When it became obvious a while back that Sara could not find a dress that she liked and that fitted the simple theme of the wedding, I stepped up to the challenge and offered to make her dress.  Time was of the essence and I did not want to trawl around fabric shops looking for a pattern or the fabric, so I perused online and sent Sara a few suggestions for pdf patterns and the one she chose was this one. 

So right before Chanda's visit Dave and I spent an entire afternoon printing, gluing and cutting the pattern:

Whilst Chanda entertained Pip I worked on the toile for the bodice using old cotton sheeting and I was glad to have done so, as Sara was in between sizes and in the end needed the smaller size!  So on Thursday evening of last week the dress was cut out and I worked all through the night (yep, I saw the sun rise!) to make the bodice and skirt pieces.  It might seem kind of crazy to work a night shift but Sara was returning to Threave today and I wanted the dress made before she left so that I could make any adjustments as necessary; after all the wedding is exactly a month away!

On Friday morning my friend from prayer group who is also an experienced seamstress came to look after Pip and she cast her expert eye over the proceedings thus far and concurred that the fitting was correct.  The rest of the weekend was spent clipping seams and underhemming thet interfacings so that they would remain in place.  Once I had pieced the whole dress together Sallie popped by yesterday for the final reveal and she declared the job, well done!  Phew!!  So here is the dress as modelled by Gertie:

 Front view with sweet heart neckline.

 Curvy Sleeves.

 Back view ~ the dress wraps at the back.

 Back cross over in detail.

  Close up shot of the butterflies.

The only outstanding job is to hem the skirt but I cannot do that until Sara has purchased some shoes!  I must admit she looks lovely in the dress and the material was just the right choice, Sara loved it as soon as she saw it online.  It is a dress that she can wear again and the natural element totally fits in with the them of the wedding ~ the wedding invites were botanical print notecards, the wedding flowers also contain herbs and other foliage and the tables will each be named after a favourite tree/plant.

I think I can now breathe a huge sigh of relief!  I am working on a waterfall cardigan for me and have bought two very reasonably priced dresses from ebay I am sure one of them is bound to be Ok... I hope!

 

Eleven on The Eleventh

Benedict had a fab birthday and apart from deciding the meals for the day, he finally recieved a working Mindstorm Lego Robotics Set!  We chalked the older model and its incompatability with our software down to experience and bought this year's version the EV3, this will keep him busy for a little while methinks!

 Serious Lego Building.

 Sorted and ready to go.

 Artistic shot of the wheels!

 Looking quite grown up.

First model built, only another thirty to go!

Birthday Breakfast ~ drop scones, strawberries, cream and chocolate sprinkles.

In amongst all the birthday chaos, Sara was also having a wedding hair practise session with our hairdresser, Sam:

 Curly Girly.

 Sam, working some magic.

 Back View.

 Just Lovely!

Time Passes

Despite Pip being at school, I still haven't nailed a set rhythm and consequently I am amazed at the weeks whizzing by.  At one point I had wondered if there was any need to keep this space running, but I do enjoy looking back and seeing how the kids have grown and changed and I do appreciate those dear friends who pop by and leave words of encouragement and love, so without further ado here is a round up of this past fortnight:

Pumpkin pancakes with pecan nuts and maple syrup and butter sauce, served with crème fraiche ~ yum.  We also made pumpkin spice muffins and the must have Halloween treat, pumpkin pie.

 

 

We made a trip to see the relatives and top on our list was plenty of hugs and kisses from this sweet gal:

 

 Growing up quickly, seven months already!



 

 

 

 



Grandad having a precious cuddle.

 

 

We had a lovely half term break when Pip was on holiday from school.  It was nice to plan our days, come and go as we pleased and most importantly for Pip to recharge her batteries!  We scooted along the prom, played in the park, had friends visit us and hung out at home.  On all Hallows Eve the rain poured, thunder raged and lightning flashed so we had no trick or treaters calling at the door, still we had our lantern and Benedict's workmanship to cheer:

 

 

What started off as this, became this ...

 

 

 

... an apple crate and then this ...

 

 

 

... a decorated tray for the soul cakes.

 

 

He had fun in the workshop, tinkering with left over bits of wood and most importantly working independently.  I have made a momentous decision to stop "teaching" Benedict, which is quite a thing for me since I value education so dearly, but my attempts to offer lessons and varied work activities were met with increased resistance and hatred on his part.  After much prayer and hand wringing, I felt that God was asking me to trust that all will be OK and that in reality Benedict can "get an education" at anytime in his life and that my relationship with him was worth far more than any educational philosophy or method.  So we are spending time together, walking, talking, cooking and crafting and it feels just fine.

 

 

 

We made chocolate caramel apples courtesy of Martha, but in all honestly I think next year I'll stick to a plain old chocolate topping:

 

 

Team Work.

 

 

Sweet and Crunchy.

 

 

Pip has been working on some learning tasks of her own and as a result gained an award for " all her kindness to others, helpfulness in class and trying to do her best at all times."  She received a certificate, a badge and a visit from Mousey for the weekend:

 

 



We sent this picture announcing the award to Nanna and Grandad Nelson and big sister Kathryn.

 

 

We had an interesting weekend with our unexpected house guest.  Mousey sat in on Pip's art lesson on Friday morning:

 

 





Waiting patiently for class to begin.

 

 

 

Pip's finished piece, "a clown cat" inspired by a piece by Paul Klee.  This particular task was originally aimed at grade three children, I must admit I was amazed at her work and actually thought that it had been drawn by her teacher!  It's going to be interesting to see how her art journey turns out as time passes.

 

 

On Saturday we Skyped Sara and she opened her birthday presents from us:

 

 



Knitted socks from me ~ the wool I bought from my trip to Yarndale in September, I've still yet to blog that event!  The wool was hand dyed and named as "Winter Rose."  These were just a token gift as we had bought clothes for Sara at the start of term.

 

 

Pip wrote a birthday message for Sara and drew her two pictures, one of a recent trip to the seaside and the other of a steam engine!



 

 

On Sunday Mousey came to church with us ( Hooray!  Hooray! we made mass, so grateful, Thank You God!)  Pip had a lovely time in the children's liturgy and held hands with her friend Beth from school, so sweet!  After lunch Benedict and Pip cleaned and tidied the playroom and watched a Tom and Jerry Film as a reward:

 

 



Mousey in the car on the way to church.

 

 

 

Late last night I was attending to some home work of my own, I had to document Mousey's travels in the home school book ready for Pip to take with her this morning!  The things we do for kids eh?!

 



 

 

 



Changes

We have had some big changes going on around here, within the space of one week Sara left for university and Pip started school!

  Way back in January I blogged about home schooling as a way of life, but almost immediately after that post was written I felt that God was asking me to trust Him with Pip's education and that school was the way forward!  Several times during the course of the spring and summer terms I chatted to Pip about home schooling and her reply was always the same:

"No Thanks!  Benedict annoys me and I want to be with my friends!"

So she quite cheerfully attended a school visit at the end of the term and started on Monday 16th September:

 

 

 

 

The first week went very well and then we hit a wobble in the second week when reality hit home that it would be all day every day!!  We have however negotiated flexi schooling and so she has Friday as a home day.  There are some mornings when she says that she doesn't want to go but then very quickly decides that being at home would be boring and before we know it she is stood near the door ready to leave!  Pip  obviously knows and understands that home schooling is an option for her but for the time being would much rather blaze her own trail elsewhere.

 

 

 

On Saturday 21st September we packed up the car and travelled to Sheffield.  Sara's university digs are in the city centre and she is literally a ten minute walk from her place to her faculty and the library.  Public transport links are really good and she has both access to a tram and bus service virtually right outside her door.  She is on a landing with post graduate girls, so there are no noisy parties and chaos to deal with and the kitchen is always left immaculately clean!

 

 

 

All packed and ready to go.

 

 

 

 

At one point we were actually overtaken by this guy and his little car and at which point we all dissolved into fits of laughter!

 

 

Her access is at the far end on the right.

 

 

Her road.

 

 

Gathering her keys and information pack.

 

 

View from her window including the tram line.

 

 

For those us left behind in our gold fish bowl at number twenty two, life plods along slowly!  Adjusting to Sara being away has for the main part been a cinch and the wonders of Skype has meant that we can keep in touch very easily.  Settling into our own pattern and working alongside an outside imposed school day has been hard and there are times when I really do wonder if it is worth the effort and hassle. However having seen the effects of long term isolation on Benedict, I could not in all conscience knowingly impose such an existence on Pip without good reason.  So despite my uneasiness with testing, targets and playground skirmishes, having a foot in either camp is where we are meant to be.