New life unfolding...

Today has been an example of some of the benefits of having family close-by...

I had a lovely morning at home with the kids who played nicely in various ways including strewning cooked spaghetti around the living room while I was upstairs... and also having an extended bath together :) We then drove to my parents' who looked after them for the afternoon while I went out!! Doing something non child-friendly is pretty much unheard of for me but today I went wedding dress shopping with one of my bestest friends in the world and it was really lovely :) We even had nice food between appointments, and a Starbucks before heading back - bliss!

I feel totally rejuvinated and even willingly threw myself into the washing up upon return, which had been piling up for days and thus had taken over the kitchen! Taking a bit of time out with people now and then definitely boosts my emotional energy thereby making me a better mummy and happier person :) I am so blessed to have parents who are eager to enable me to do that; children definitely benefit from happy mummies :)

I'm also feeling excited about getting involved at a church here in Sheff. I felt overwhelmed by the options at first and we intended to go somewhere not too big so it would be easy to know everyone etc, but it looks like we're settling at my sister's church which is bigger than the one we went to in Liverpool... God knows what he's doing - our eldest asks to go there and knows other kids there, and Josh is finding the current series on Life Shapes interesting (basically about modelling your life on how Jesus lived his life, and using shapes to help you remember the principles, if that makes sense... It works for Josh anyway, coz he's quite visual)...

I figured I'd be happy wherever as long as the family was happy but I am feeling particularly excited about being part of this church - the speakers so far seem so wise and humble, there's lots of practical help available for real life issues (eg we're signing up for a course on money management run by Christians Against Poverty), and the small group we went along to last week in someone's house for a bring & share brunch is exceptionally family-friendly and there is no pressure whatsoever - it's genuinely relational and we all really enjoyed ourselves there and felt welcome and relaxed :) They do various things from making food for the homeless through praying for each other to going out for meals, doing joint craft activities and more. I'm inviting any of them that want to, to ours to bake bread next week from the sour dough culture I have fermenting away, and the boys and I are going round to the leaders' for a liquid soap-making play date next week, which I'm hoping will make good Christmas presents (ssshhh)!

My sister and her husband are moving to America in a few weeks. I had thought we might just take up their place in their friendship group (..joking! ..sort of...), but it turns out it doesn't work like that!..

Night night xxxxxxx

All Change

Ahem... Two years on and I'm still here, raring to go with this blogging thing...

Lots has happened since my last post (not surprisingly...)

Josh got a new job in Sheffield, we have now all moved there having (just) survived 5 months of him living there Sun-Fri during what turned out to be a very l-o-n-g probabtion period, and our eldest little man has started school (something we never intended, even if it is a somewhat unconventional one)!

As a result of all this, and not least thanks to my family living in Sheffield, we are all feeling a lot happier than we had been :) I feel like we've been dragged through a hedge backwards over the last 3 years, but things are definitely settling of late and it's like I'm finding myself again :) Still a lot going on but that's the journey of life I guess!

The house we're renting is in a lovely setting. The area doesn't have the best reputation in Sheffield but I didn't want to be cut off in suburbia (not that we could afford it), plus we pretty much live in the park save a stone wall (our street isn't actually a street - it's a walkway up the side of the park) - so in the words of our eldest a few days after we'd moved in, "Isn't it nice we live somewhere so quiet, mummy" :) We're actually in walking distance from the city centre so it's a convenient location too, as well as being so close to the Peak District which has already provided a good few days outdoor explorations :)

That'll do for now - hoping for some sleep amidst night weaning my now 2 1/2 year old! He's doing well with it bless him xxx