Catching Up

It is 1am and it is raining and I'm currently on insulin pump suspension duty.  Benedict has had yet another awful hypo and despite treating him with apple juice, his blood sugars are still dangerously low.  Makes a change from them running dangerously high which they have done the past two mornings, cue sick bowl and ketone test monitor!  In fact since my last post, I've been lucky if I've had three full nights of sleep!  Never a dull moment round here!

Thanks be to God and homeopathic medicine, I think I am at last turning a corner in my own health.  The flu symptoms lingered longer than I would have liked, but hardly surprising since sleep has eluded me these past few weeks!  First it was Pip with the norovirus and then Benedict got sick and since then the diabetes has been totally whacky.

The middle of the night duties have afforded me plenty of quiet reading and pondering time and this has been a much needed balm fro my soul.  I'm currently reading this book:

 

 

I filched the picture from amazon but the quality is not great, so just to clarify the book is titled "Landmarks, an ignatian journey" by Margaret Silf.  I've read up to chapter two and it is essentially a modern day interpretation of the spiritual exercises as laid down by St Ignatius.  I ordered this book from the library late last week and  it is interesting to learn that our new Holy Father is a Jesuit and so he'll be more than familiar with this type of personal prayer journey! 

 

 

The learning zone has been very quiet these past few weeks; I have had not the wit, enthusiasm or energy to undertake such a task, so Benedict kept himself amused with reading and more reading.  Trying to find books that would interest and challenge him is becoming increasingly difficult.  Some of the material on the library shelves even I would not wish to read!  Our choices for this week are as follows:

 

The Machine Gunners ~ Robert Westall

The Kingdom By The Sea ~ Robert Westall

The Mystery Of The Spiteful Letters ~ Enid Blyton

Boudica, The Secrets Of The Druids ~ Caroline Corby

Sparrow, The True Story of Joan of Arc ~ Michael Morpurgo

Twist of Gold ~ Michael Morpurgo

Not Bad For A Bad Lad ~ Michael Morpurgo

 

Benedict has already finished the Machine Gunners, which as the title suggests  is based on the conflicts of the Second World War.  At first glance the book seemed reasonably "harmless" but there was quite a disturbing account of the main character finding a dead pilot in the woods, interestingly enough however I think this part of the story "went over Benedict's head" and he did not realise the full ramifications of what he had read.  So there's a lesson for me here and that is to either use the books as a read aloud platform or for me to read them first and vet accordingly.

 

We actually managed a trip to see Kathryn on Thursday, she was looking well and cooked a lovely lunch for us all.  "Midge" is also doing well but the little tinker is lying in a very awkward breach position and so a c-section is on the cards.  We should know within the next week or so, the date for delivery.

 

Pip continues to enjoy her time at pre-school and forest school.  She has made some lovely friends and enjoys contributing to all aspects of learning wether it be in group discussions, free playtime or problem solving. On Tuesdays and Fridays, Pip is only there until lunchtime so Dave takes his computer work and sits in the local tea rooms!  I think he enjoys the peace and quiet ... oh and also the cake!

 

Well, I'm off to make a warming cup of tea, so I'll leave you with some random pictures of these past few weeks:

 

 

Painting the inside of the daffodills for St David's Day.  We had potato and leek soup and Welsh Cakes for tea that day.

 

 

 

 



Benedict's God Father came for supper and the two of them had fun playing with jigsaw book.

 

 

 

We have found a lovely art teacher, who visits on a Friday after lunch.  She is a friend of Kamila, who is our friend in the Czech Republic.  Erika is Slovac and is an accomplished textile and mixed media artist.

 

 

 

Working on the planning stage of his shield design.

 

 

 

A spotty shield for Pip!

 

 

 

A coconut and lime cake for Mother's Day lovingly hancrafted by Benedict.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kathryn bought me this perfume and a miniature size bottle of beauty balm and hand cream.  Sara and Pip were absolute stars and cleaned the whole of the top floor and tidied the downstairs.  I also spent the afternoon with my friend Debbie, knitting and chatting.  She bought me a bunch of daffodills and we all enjoyed eating the cake and drinking tea.

 

 

 

 

My quiet place!  Yes it is the greenhouse!  Despite the temperatures barely hovering above freezing I was cozy and snug with my hot water bottle and blanket.  My intention was to pray and I did but I also benefited from a much needed "cat-nap"  Our now deceased cat Holly was not daft, she could often be found snoozing in between the pots and plants.

 

 

 

  

Spectopularly Sick

Well last year we had the February blahs and this year the whole month has been consumed by sickness!  Weird viruses, chronic abdominal pain and gastritis (me) and to wave the month goodbye and good riddance, Pip has been really unwell with a horrific gastric bug, probably The Norovirus and me flu!

The washing machine and drier have worked double duty and Pip looks very thin, she hasn't eaten since Friday and has only just managed to keep down sips of water. I always know when she is very poorly because not only does she not move from her bed, but she has asked several times for a "boo feed" despite it being a year since her last nursing and "want a back carry."  Typically Benedict's diabetes has also been running haywire and I'm back to losing sleep on pump suspensions and middle of the night hypos.

Here's hoping March will bring much needed and welcomed changes.

Monday Almanac

Listening ~  To the wind howling outside and quiet in the house!  The children are elsewhere and I am  appreciating these moments of uninterrupted peace!


Reading ~  I'm on the second reading of "In Celebration of Simplicity, the joy of living lightly" by Penelope Wilcock.  You can read how I came to acquire this book  here

Memorising ~ I am assured that God works for the good in all circumstances.


Cooking ~ a really easy tea of baked potato wedges and an assortment of ready cooked meals from the freezer.


Learning ~ We've had an  interesting week in the learning zone:

Benedict ~   I've seen a big improvement in his attitude to number work and on several occasions I have been able to leave him with a set of questions and he's just got on with them.

We listened to episode four of 'A Christmas Carol' entitled Mr Fezziwig. There were five questions pertaining to character analyses and the concept of greed as outlined in this particular part of the book. Benedict and I both agreed that it would be best to tackle one question each day and this has worked well for us.

We've also been listening to Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons' and Benedict of his own choosing listens to "The Jazz Suit" by Shostakovich! He also finished his 'Flight into Egypt' picture and the results are pretty good.

I found some really good resources regarding our Anglo Saxon unit study and so on Thursday afternoon, we took a virtual trip around the British Museum! They have an extensive collection of Anglo Saxon artefacts.

During my trip into town last week, I managed to pick up a second hand copy of "The Chamber of Secrets" and that book was read within twenty four hours! I've also made good use of our online library catalogue and have been able to order a selection of Enid Blyton stories.

Sara has been using a power point soft ware known as Prezi. Thanks to her teaching skills, Benedict was able to put together a presentation on "Swallows and Amazons." He was really animated and enthusiastic about this new found skill and I can see that, this form of media will prove invaluable as time goes on.



Pip ~ As always she has had great fun at pre-school and forest school and here is the excerpt from the weekly newsletter:

• For our Scottish theme we listened to lots of vocal and instrumental music. We tried Scottish dancing and followed some children's interests by putting on a little show at the end of the week. We baked bannocks which was a fantastic recipe for the children to make independently and they all loved eating them for snack. Here's the recipe if you would like to try at home - the measurements are for one portion and can be made in a small bowl:

half cup of porridge oats
quarter cup of plain flour
quarter cup of butter
hot water to combine
Mix dry ingredients together, add butter and rub with fingertips to mix, use a spoon to stir in enough hot water until mixture is combined. Put on a floured surface and shape into whatever shape you would like. Cook at 200 degrees for about 10 minutes.

We also shared photos of one Dad who has completed all of the Scottish Munroes - amazing! We looked at photos taken in different seasons, we were observant about the clothing clues to decide what time of year it might be. We talked about different equipment for climbing mountains and saw photos with ice axes and ropes. Thank you so much for sharing.
We read poems from the Katie Morag books and tried out Scottish dialect from another book, we made flags and talked about where Scotland is.
We ended the week with our own version of the highland games where we tossed the caber, did some curling and had a scotch egg race! The children were all awarded medals - yippee!

• We learnt a new circle game called, 'Doggy, where's your bone?' which was great fun and fantastic for personal, social and emotional development. There will be another new cricle game next week.
• Following children's interests we had a dance class area equipped with mirrors, dressing up, CD player and mats. The children made posters to advertise for a teacher and were soon very independent in working the CD player and making up dances - we ended with their show that they had planned: sword dancing, polka and galloping! Fantastic! We also followed up last week's interest in cake shops with a role play cake shop, currant bun production and singing and began the process of making salt dough cakes - more next week. There was den building and lots of imaginative talk as well as 3D junk modelling to support imaginative play - the cake shop was selling out of cakes that were being bought and taken into the den.
• Letters and sounds - we consolidated the first group 'satipn' with the children adding the last few sounds to their books. We played games, sang the action songs for each sound and used flashcards to recall the sounds.
• For maths we introduced a new counting song and a big bowl of giant pasta. Different types of number lines are now all around pre-school to support mathematical development during play. With the pasta game the number lines were used for one-to-one correspondance, numeral recognition and to aid problem solving using the language of addition and subtraction such as more, less, too many, how many more etc. We also introduced labels into the snack area, with a variety of numerals, shapes and number language such as 'lots'. If you are interested in knowing more about developing mathematical awareness at home please come and have a chat.
• Forest school was a mixed bag. On Wednesday, due to high winds we didn't venture into the woods. We talked to the children about the strong gusts of wind and why it might not be safe to be in the woods and then we went on a walk to feel the wind, listen to it, look for signs of the wind and also have a good run around in it! We did some digging on the allotments and used the compost bin to tidy up. We used secateurs to snip the willow and tidy it up a little. We sheltered from a rain shower in the willow den and enjoyed hot chocolate. We found some eggs under a rock that we thought might belong to a snail.

On Friday we listened to beautiful bird song on our walk and tried to imitate the call of a coal tit. We found primroses and snowdrops in flower. We took crayon rubbings of bark and stone comparing texture and colours. We followed up on our theme of trees by looking at erosion that has exposed tree roots and feeling them and their curves. We went to find some trees that had been cut down and looked and felt the rings. Later we found a letter left by Blub Blub the alien (visitor the previous week) - the children were excited to be given a plan to make a giant 3D tree on the ground (a symbol that could be seen from high up). There was great team work to make this artwork with a trunk, roots, branches and twigs. We looked at photos of woodland animals and placed them where they live on the tree and even talked about food chains with the children commenting on the mouse not wanting to live near the fox. Finally we had a surprise visit from Blub Blub's friend, Goo Goo! She had seen the big tree on the ground and come to learn from the children all about trees and animals that use them. Fantastic sharing of knowledge and understanding from the children.

Phew ... I must remember not to panic when reading this!   No seriously, the staff at pre-school are an amazing bunch of enthusiastic gals but they are tied to OFSTED inspections and mercifully I am not!


Planning ~ to take each day as it comes and not stress about the small stuff!


Pondering ~ 'Bloom where you are planted.'  Those words are our home school motto for this year. They are a reminder to me to keep my eyes on my own work and accept the circumstances in which I find myself on a daily basis.

As a result of a flare up in my health, I've had to re-evaluate how we do things around here. In so doing I have also had to accept that I'm not failing the kids if I do not have our days or week worked out in advance; that rhythm and routine although worthy are just not feasible for us as a family. There have been at least two occasions this past week where I have been working the late shift monitoring Benedict, finally crawling into bed at 2am, so it is unreasonable of me to accept that I should then be up and doing five hours later! This has been a hard lesson for me to learn.

I am however mindful of the fact that come September Pip will be home a lot more than she is now and that she is definitely a 'let's get things done' kid, so with this in mind I'm already working on a small list of activities that incorporate both my good and bad days.

Thankful ~  For medication, acupuncture and knitting therapy, I'd be a mess without them for sure!

Captured ~ Pip and I  had some fun on Friday with an easy to do craft and science activity:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vinegar, food colouring and glitter.

 

 

 

Adding the bicarb wrapped in a small square of tissue.

 

 

Watching and Waiting.

 

 

Understanding.

 

 

Excitement.

 

 

 

Fun!   

 

 

Gratitude Sunday (posted on a Monday!)

We've had an unusual week these past seven days.  Pip went down with stomach flu and spent forty eight hours virtually comatose on the settee:

 

I should have been at 'make and cake' but God is good and I had my respite of sorts sat in front of our fire knitting in the lounge cum sick bay.

 

 

During this time Benedict put his craft and design skills to good use and made this:

 

 

 



It has since had a partial coat of paint and battlements. 

 

 

Whilst all this was going on Kathryn spent two days in hospital as she was experiencing some unusual symptoms, that might have indicated early labour.  Needless to say there were countless phone calls and much consternation.  She finally left for home having endured two lots of steroid injections which resulted in a very sore leg.  Thankfully her and 'Midge' are doing fine.

 

 

Hardly any wonder therefore that my already 'swinging in the balance' health took a nose dive and a considerable relapse ensued.  I've dosed up with meds as well as homeopathy and acupuncture and I'm currently riding out the storm.  I've finally had two nights of full sleep as Pip has fully recovered, so this goes a long way to aiding recovery.

 

It was quite timely when a package arrived that lifted our spirits and was greatly appreciated, thanks Dorina 

 

 

 

An origami crane mobile.

 

 

 

Beautifully made and the birds twirl gently in the conservatory, reminding me of a loving connection that spans across the miles.

 

 

The school room has been fairly quiet in these parts but I remembered some sage advice from my dear friend Eva and so we've kept up with maths and english and let other activities slide.  I did however find a fab art and music appreciation resource from harmony fine arts  This mum also runs the handbook of nature study blog which also incorporates the 'outdoor hour challenges'.  So I went ahead and purchased the grade five curriculum which encompasses the medieval and renaissance period, as I knew this would tie in neatly with our history study. 

 

 

This week we've been looking at Giotto and Benedict's challenge was to talk about 'The flight into Egypt' and draw his own version of what he saw:

 

 



 

 

 

 

He has added colour today and as a result the whole image has come to life.

 

 

Thanks to some Godly timing; I don't believe in co-incidences, they are God- Incidencies a quiet message appeared in my email box and it was just what I needed to hear.  Even more it provided me with a written down strategy, so grateful.

 



 



Time

Our unit study for these next few weeks is focused on time and the various ways it can be measured. But what about how we spend our time?  how is time wasted and frittered away?  If you get a chance watch this video link and be uplifted and challenged to spend each and every moment wisely:

Frugal Friday

 I thought I'd write a list of our food menu for the past week and how our £65.00 shop translated in reality.  Our food for the week included a variety of fruit and vegetables, milk, cheeses, eggs and a samll amount of meat, namely 250g minced lamb and a medium sized free range chicken. With judicious portioning the chicken alone constituted four of our meals!

Sunday ~ Root vegetable bake with greens
               Chicken and vegetable korma with rice.

Monday ~ Chicken and vegetable soup.
                Homemade gluten free pizza and salad.

Tuesday ~ Shepherd's Pie made with lamb, vegetables and cannellini beans in a
                 rich tomato sauce.
                 Caramelised onion, apple and camembert tart served with peas:               



Ready for the oven.

 

 

Cooked and ready to eat.

 

 

Wednesday~ Leftovers ( curry, shepherd's pie and tart) 

 

                    Chicken and leek pies with mixed veg.


Thursday ~ Lunch with our home ed friends, so no cooking for me!

                  Chicken and mixed veg frittata with oven baked spicy wedges.


Today I've made three different soups:  mixed vegetable, celery with potato and courgette with potato.  One we had for lunch and the other two are now in the freezer.  Our tea was a good ol' standby, baked potatoes, houmous and winter slaw salad.

I made our weekly food shop last night as their was a severe weather warning of snow today.  As a result Aldi was out of the question so unfortunately Sainsbury was my next best and nearest bet.  I swear you can add at least twenty pound to your bill the moment you walk through the doors!  I'd estimated the shop to come in at £80.00 and in fact it was £100.00 and there was only one miniscule portion of meat in the basket aswell!  See there's that infamous twenty quid discrepancy and guess what it didn't snow!!  Gah!


I'm still grappling with the whole SOLE model of sustainable, organic, local and ethical in addition to shopping within the constraints of a tight-ish budget.  A friend told me all about her local farmers market and so I'm going to give them a go and see what transpires.

 

 



Homeschooling (it's what we do)

I know that the title might seem just a tad obvious but for me that one word, "homeschooling" was ridden with angst, pondering and much soul searching this past year.  When we first de-registered Benedict from the school system as a result of his ongoing medical needs, someone mentioned to me that, "homeschooling becomes a way of life" and my inward reply at the time was "not likely!"  You see I had every idea that he would eventually enter the "system" and in turn Pip would follow in his footsteps.


Over the course of these past few years, I've enquired about schooling for Benedict and in my darkest moments even threatened to send him to school when he's not doing what I want him to do!!  I'm a bit of a slow learner in this respect and God is ever patient with me, much more patient than I could ever hope to be with Benedict or Pip, but as time has gone on I've realised that learning in an efforced and regimented way just doesn't work.  The brain shuts down, the listener switches off and nothing is gained whatsoever. 

 This doesn't mean that I do not value education but it has to be from where the child is at and taking into consideration their own individual learning styles, strengths and weaknesses.   Education is not a one size fits all policy.  With this in mind an interesting milestone was by-passed this week, for you see I had until January 15th to register Pip for a school place starting in September.


  Throughout the course of the previous autumn term I vascillated between homeschooling and sending her to school and in the month of December I nearly drove myself mad trying to reach a conclusion.  It was only during the course of the Christmas break that I was able to truly "grasp the nettle" and wrangle with this concept and I realised that the Good Lord was only able to help me once I had placed my feet firmly on the intended ground:


"If any of you lacks wisdom , he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given unto him.  But when he asks he must believe and not doubt , because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord, for he is a double minded man and unstable in all he does."

James 1 v 5-8

Once the decision had been made a peace swept through me and a silence enveloped my being.  I know there will be difficult days, there always are!  God doesn't promise us freedom from adversity, what he does promise is that he will hold our hands through trials and tribulations.  We are never alone.

So here's to another year of letting go of preconceived notions and ideologies and embracing our family learning journey wherever that may lead:

Impromptu den building complete with a makeshift "campfire" consisting of a rolled up towel and flannel!  That boy sure has a whole heap of imagination!

Yarn Along :: Simplicity :: The Kindness of Strangers

I've made good progress with the Sunday Sweater, the body part is finished and I'm now working on the sleeves:

 

This pattern is a dream to knit with and I'll definitely be knitting one or two of these for our soon to be grand-daughter.

 

 

 

My reading material is uplifting, thought provoking and challenging.  The book itself was kindly given to me by the author herself.  I follow her blog over here and as the title suggests it truly is a quiet place of pondering.  Pen writes with authenticity and humour and her musings always give me much food for thought. 

 

 

 

 This book has been on my wish list for sometime but in an effort to reduce monetary expenditure I felt awkward about another non budgeted spend, so I left a comment on Pen's blog asking if I could borrow a copy.  Not only was a copy mailed to me but this lovely card contained the following words:

 

 

 

  " No need to return this - keep it or pass it on whichever."

 

 

 

I'm already half way through the book, not bad considering it arrived only yesterday afternoon!  As Pen states this is not a "how - to" book, it is written in a spirit of companionship and encouragement, for dancing to a different drum beat can at times be a lonely walk.  The suggestions on these pages goes beyond the usual clear out your clutter, shop within a budget and buy only what you need.  It challenges the reader to truly embrace and follow Jesus' teachings in particular:

 

 

"To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

 

Micah 6 v 8

 

 

So we think about the purchases we make, are they necessary and ethical?  Are we being a worthy steward of not only Mother Earth but also our finances?  For in each and every purchase we make " is a political choice, an environmental choice and a spiritual choice."  

 

"Christian simplicity affects our management of time, money, possessions, speech, what we do, eat and hear, our relationships, our resources, homes, transport, the way we dress.  It requires discipline especially at the outset.  But as we journey, a wonderful sense of freedom permeates our lives; the light heart that is necessary to walk gracefully in Christ's way."

                                                                                    Penelope Wilcock. 

 

 

Thank you Pen for your words of wisdom, I'll let you know how I get on!

 

 

San x  



This past week

We've seen lots of friends, it's feast or famine around these parts!  Our home ed friends from the north joined us for our usual Thursday gathering.  The boys did their own thing and the girls decorated cup cakes which we shared for afternoon tea:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday we had a visit from some long standing friends, they came for tea and left late on in the evening.  The kids had a blast charging around upstairs and the parents had relative peace and quiet downstairs!  We finally had chance to exchange Christmas gifts and they were gratefully appreciated on all sides.  Our God Daughter A, loved her gift and so teddy enjoyed a ride home in his very own papoose:

 

 

 

 

I made the carrier using the design from the "Growing Up Sew Liberated" book, there was one for A and one for Pip.

 

 

We are making concerted efforts to shop frugally and so thanks to Aldi our weekly shop came in at £65.00 not bad for a family of five.  I still have some gluten free flour to buy, but even with this added on our bill will still be less than £80.00.  I also tried out a yummy recipe that my friend had blogged about here:

 

 

 



Root Vegetable Bake.

 

 

I served ours with leafy greens and omited the parsnips and switched to swede instead.  A very simple yet tasty dish.

 

 

 

Benedict worked with Shein this morning.  Whilst I was looking for home ed web resources Sara very kindly took Pip for a walk and then the two of them made our favourite pizza.  After lunch Benedict read "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator" by Roald Dahl and Pip spent some time with the knitting fork:

 

 

 



 

 

 

It's been a quietly productive day snuggled around the wood stove as the weather outside has been very cold and grey.  Some parts of the UK have experienced snow, we've had sleet rain instead!

 







Yarn Along Day Book

I'm joining Ginny again for the weekly knitting and reading link up.  Last night I finally finished the last of my Christmas knitting!!  Yeah, I know we are post Epiphany but  only just, so in my book that counts.  I had hoped to take a shot of the garment lying flat but when Benedict realised it was for him, he immediately put it on declaring, "thanks mum, this is just great!", lovely boy!

Wrapped up warm wearing his woolly pully!

 

 

I am currently working on this long awaited project:

 

 

Thanks Ginny!  so far so good!

 

 

I am reading : 

 

 

 

 

This book is an ongoing read and is always next to the bed. Essentially it's a work book based on the rule of St Benedict and my current challenge is "Benedictine Hospitality" not just within my home but in the wider community and beyond. 

 

 As with all things change starts within myself  and through that experience, I can only then truly reach out to others.  I find it easier to see Christ in the lonely, the outcast, the stranger but I lose count the number of times I fail to see "Him" in those I love dearly.  Not because they fail to be a reflection of him but that I fail to respond with compassion, patience and love, especially during difficult moments.

 

 

All is not lost however and this chapter has some wonderful suggestions such as "making room inside yourself for another person" and  by creating that space we are then free to welcome them as they are, to love them wholeheartedly and to see their God-given talents and gifts. The following well known prayer is also a very useful focus:

 

 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

 

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

 

where there is injury, pardon;

 

where there is discord, union;

 

where there is doubt, faith;

 

where there is despair, hope;

 

where there is darkness, light;

 

where there is sadness, joy.

 

 

O Divine Master,grant that

 

I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

 

to be understood as to understand;

 

to be loved as to love.

 

For it is in giving that we receive;

 

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

 

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

 

 

I am pondering:  on that spiel listed above and attempting to put it into everyday use and believe me, I get lots of practise around these here parts!

 

 

From the learning zone:  We are quietly working through the "Maths of Practical Life" courtesy of Live Education.  We read an  interesting story about two countries who each had their own way of signifying not only time but weights and measures.  This caused untold havoc when the two countries met along the border at the yearly fair ... rioting featured heavily in the outcome! 

 

 We've also enjoyed watching some very good documentaries, Coast is always a favourite and Benedict was riveted to a programme about this place.

 

 

 

 

A snack time TV dinner!!

 

 

Pip has also been busy.  On Monday it was just the two of us and we cracked open the glue and paint and had some fun:

 

 

 

 

We had been talking about the changing seasons and although we have been lacking wintry weather (up until this morning!) we made a collage of a snowman.  Pip enjoyed ripping up the cotton wool which is my least favourite activity it gives me the goosebumps!  Here is Frosty in finished mode:

 

 

 

 

In truth I think the best part for her was the "free form" or should I say "free from any instruction/interfering mummy" art process and it was magical to watch her come alive as she narrated her painting stroke by stroke:

 

 











Taking Shape.

 

 

 



"Santa on his sleigh with a rainbow overhead."

 

 

She also had fun re-building a bookcase under the watchful eye of daddy:

 

 



 In her element!

 

 

 

Despite having been out all day today at pre-school and forest school she was still raring to go once she came home and enjoyed playing number recognition with the Bingo:

 

 

 



Loading up the whizzy machine.

 

 

Numbers on the board ~ she knew most of the single digits so I just read out the number in its entirety.

 

 

Plans for the rest of the week:  We have friends visiting tomorrow, a cleaning day on Saturday and plenty of knitting and reading in between, hooray!

Package from America :: New Year Yarn Along

A treat arrived in the post this morning and what a treat it was:

Thanks Eva!

 

 

 

Opening.

 

 

 

Gluten Free Magazine.

 

 

 

 

Some lovely tea and a cute teddy bear tin for individual sachets.

 

 

 

We also received a gluten free pizza baking mix and a packet of "Highlander Blend" coffee made over here.  I love the fact that despite adverse circumstances Jeremiah 29 v 11 was named and claimed.  This same verse was "given" to me by a dear friend and religious sister and during times of difficulty I am always "reminded" of those plans the Lord has for me, such a comfort.

 

 

I'm still working on some Christmas gift making which is OK given the fact that it is still within those twelve days of Christmas!  I've finally finished the liesl for our daughter Kathryn:

 

 

The wool is from the patons Eco chunky range which is undyed yarn.  I think the colourway is "storm", essentially it is a very dark grey shot through with lighter tones.

 

Not much reading going on in these parts but Benedict and I have been sharing "A Christmas Carol" audio book, will that do?!