Firstfruits of faith

It goes without saying that I'm very proud of my children.  But yesterday when clearing up pieces of paper from the study I found a draft letter my 9 year old daughter had written.  When I read it, I must admit it was a strange feeling to be proud yet incredibly humbled at the same time.

Simple, but powerful.  Sometimes us adults need to be reminded.  This puts me in mind of Luke 6:35-38.

Dear REInspired

I am writing to thank you for a great afternoon at your church.

My favourite part was when I went into Julie's group and watching the Narnia clip because when Julie read out the statements she found on the website about victims of crime it really gave me the knowledge of how important forgiveness is.

I learnt that forgivness is very important because when someone has done something to hurt you although forgiving is hard we will get nowhere if we try to hurt them back. 

Yours sincerely

Maddie

Winding up the kids

I love winding the kids up with a goofy tale now and then.

This evening while sharing a tray of cheesy salsa nachos I entered into a conversation with Andy about how years ago, did he remember the scientific experiment held on a group of cows who were fed cocoa beans with their usual diet to see whether they would ferment in their udders to create chocolate milk?

Quickly catching on, he embraced the joke and heartily agreed it was a great experiment.  The children were fascinated.  Seeing them being gullibly drawn in I then extended the story  to include the cows that were found munching in a strawberry field, and how scientists were so impressed with the results of the cocoa bean batch they wondered if strawberry milk could be yielded from this group.

I was doing well, I was keeping a straight face.  It was a struggle.

I crumpled when I told them the banana experiment went wrong because the cows couldn't peel them with their hooves.

I adore their faces when they realise they've been pulled a fast one.

School stuff

Maddie is learning about the Aztecs this half term. Last night she came home with the dreadful homework grid, but she was elated. On it was a task to make something with chocolate.

14 cook books later, Maddie found her recipe.

Chocolate terrine. I've never known a kid so keen to do homework.

Eleanor on the other hand, was elated for another reason. Today the children in her year are having a pyjama day. The idea of hauling herself out of bed and not bothering to get dressed was pure joy for her. But it wasn't until we'd packed her dressing gown and slippers, put on her coat and shoes and were heading out the door that she announced chuckling her little heart out that, 'Oh Mummy, I've forgotten my knickers - hope my jammy bottoms don't fall down!!'

A quick pack of the missing pants and we hot-tailed it to school breakfast club so she could change.

Joshua however, grunted when I asked what his topic was this term. 'Dunno, but my new teacher is nice'.

So, day one of the new half term is over.

How long till Christmas?

The Channel Divide - Day 4

The chocolate theme carried on last night for Maddie, but this time with Andy. Hot chocolate fudge sauce cake with lashings of fresh cream, and for Eleanor a big chocolate muffin.

Yesterday the girls finally admitted to missing Joshua with Eleanor declaring she'd give him a big hug when he got back and Maddie echoing the sentiment. His last full day in France was yesterday and as I write, he'll have probably just arrived back in England after what looks to have been an absolutely fantastic trip. I know he'll be worn out, tired and hungry, but full of information about his time away. I can't wait for him to get back.

Here's yesterday's events.

Thursday 15th October 10.45pm

Today started off with a visit to Dieppe where we were immersed in the French language, identifying French shop signs, before going to a Creperie where we had to order, eat and pay for a delicious crepe (all in French of course!!)

We then had a quick lunch stop back at the Chateau before heading off to the Neufchatel cheese farm. We all learnt about the cheese making process (all in French!!) before having the opportunity to taste some freshly made cheese and buy some to bring home (let's hope that the coach doesn't smell too much on the way home!)

Our first evening activity was either fencing or the climbing wall which everyone enjoyed a lot.

Now onto dinner......yes, Thursday night is snails and frogs legs night! Needless to say, there was plenty left over after the tasting! We then had a main course of pasta bolognaise followed by a cheese plate and chocolate eclairs.

After dinner it was time to party on down at the disco! There were lots of impressive moves on the dance floor (which we have photographic evidence of!) and also some not quite impressive moves (again, photographic evidence available....!!)

We are going to miss the Chateau (and France!) when we leave tomorrow but we are also looking forward to coming home to see everyone.

IMPORTANT UPDATE

We will be catching a slightly later Eurostar train tomorrow (to give us a bit longer at the market in the morning) and we estimate that we will arrive back at *********** at approximately 4pm.

See you tomorrow!! Au revoir!

The Channel Divide - Day 3

Wednesday night was declared 'Hot Chocolate' night. I didn't realise until a friend pointed out to me that this week was Chocolate Week. Had I known that I'd have started this all on Monday and got maximum mileage out of the celebration!

So, supplies were gathered in for the ultimate hot chocolate sensation. Squirty cream, mini marshmallows, hundreds and thousands, chocolate chips and toffee sauce. This was going to be goooood!!!

Pour in the hot chocolate, load on the toppings, be careful not to let it topple!

A quick lick of the lips, wring of the hands and we're ready to dive in!

YUM YUM YUM!

Meanwhile, across the Channel, Joshua had also been busy.....

Wednesday 14th October 8.50pm

Today we went to Rouen which involved lots of walking but also lots of exciting sightseeing! We explored and learnt about the Notre Dame Cathedral (not the Paris one!!), learnt the story of Joan of Arc and saw where she had been burnt at the stake, ate lunch in the park and went shopping!

When we got back to the Chateau, we had some free time. Some of us played football and made some French friends whilst others had some chill out time in the dorms (well maybe not quite so chilled out....!). Then it was time for our group activities which were either archery or climbing wall.

Food tonight was mixed cold vegetables to start followed by fish and rice. We then had a cheese plate and an apple pastry for dessert. Evening activity tonight is team tech which involves lots of thinking (oh dear!!!!!!).

We think the late nights and long days may be beginning to catch up with us, however we are determined to carry on having lots of fun and new adventures!!

The Channel Divide - Day 2

Eagerly logging on Tuesday night to find out what Joshua had been up to I was pleased to see the teachers had taken time out of their really busy day to update us Mums and Dads on what the children had been doing. Sounds like they're having a great time.

At this point I wasn't missing him too much. I knew he'd arrived safely and I knew he was having fun with his friends. I could relax.

Having one less at home does afford the opportunity to spend a little more time with the other children. This week, Maddie and I have declared that each evening we should have a girlie treat, of the chocolate variety, before she goes to bed.

Tonight was chocolate fondue night. I usually avoid doing this kind of messy stuff before bed, but with the cunning use of a tealight, metal pie dish and a peg, we mustered up our own mini-fondue and tucked into melted chocolate, maderia cake cubes, marshmallows and apple chunks.

We're going to introduce Joshua to this when he's back - he'd love it. And whilst we were enjoying this little luxury here's what he got up to on day 2.

Tuesday 13th October 9pm

Another busy day in France! Breakfast was at 7.45 this morning after what turned out to be a late night with 28 excited children deciding that they didn't actually want to go to sleep (quote 'we stopped talking at 3.20am....!!). We have had a great day out visiting the WW1 underground tunnels at Arras followed by walking through the German and Allied trenches at Vimy Ridge. We then went to a very impressive memorial monument, also at Vimy Ridge.

When we arrived back at the Chateau we headed straight down to the beach with some frisbees, giant jenga, a basketball and a rugby ball. These were surplus to requirements though as the children just wanted to build stone trenches!! At least they have been inspired!

Dinner tonight was carrot salad for starters followed by pork meatloaf and beans. Dessert was a cheese plate and yoghurt and after all of that we even managed to save some room for Will's birthday cake!

The final activity for today is either archery or fencing. Hopefully bedtime tonight will be earlier than last night as we have a full day out tomorrow exploring Rouen!

Maddie's Dreams

I don't talk a lot about Maddie on here. Probably because she's the quietest of my four children and tends to go about her business with minimal fuss. Unless she's having a monumental strop, in which case that all changes and she turns into a one woman Kevin and Perry show.

She also has the driest sense of humour and often can't understand why me and her Dad are crying with laughter at something she's said, as she's so serious when she says it. She has a wonderful knack of coming out with ripping one liners without realising just how funny she can be.

Her writing reflects this and when I'm clearing up I find numerous scraps of paper around with her thoughts written on and sometimes they make me sad because she's written about something that's upset her, but other times I have to wipe the tears from my face as I'm laughing so hard.

But lately, she's been having dreams. In her own words, 'the most wonderful dreams', and she's been writing them down. The latest one has made me smile because I just love her imagination. Her dream last night wasn't so vivid, but it was lovely what she wrote. I'm reproducing it here, exactly as it is written. HSA stands for Hamster Secret Agency. For information purposes her hamster is called Humphrey.

HSA Night 1

Humphrey my hamster is an agent! Part of the HSA. He went to his blue house and pushed a bit of his food and lots of computers appeared in the plastic wall. He entered his code name, Humper Dumper. He fell through a trap door and as he fell it washed brush and groomed his fur. He fell into a rocket can and he shot off. He arrived at HQ and got told to defeat the rats he went off to the sewers in his rocket can.

HSA Night 2

Humphrey completed the mission. I don't know how but it was to good for words.

The End


Escape

I (Humphrey) was in a prison. My freinds were in prison. I was in prison because I had powers and my freinds were in prison because their parents had lied to the police and said they had done a crime. We lived under hard manners until one night we were so fed up, that we made an escape plan in the tiny model desert Imade with sand by drawing in the sand with our fingers. as we slept I came up with an idea.

I couldn't fly but I could throw well. The next night we gathered all we needed and hid it all under my huge bed. We worked hard so we got the priviledge to sleep with our cages unlocked. So that night we got out the stuff from under my bed and snuck off to the kitchin. We put the rope into place. We got our coat hangers and hooed them onto the rope and slid down. When we were all down it was nearly morning. "Quick we've got to get to Palace Mana". I said we got to the river I used my Environmental powers to make a raft with tress. We jumped onto the raft and used a long log to push us along. When we got to the other bank I quikly put the trees back into place with my powers. We ran to the big willow tree and climbed into the hole which only me and anyone good who's with me can go into. Once inside we stood in a circle and closed our eyes. When we stepped out we were in a open feild with a single tree. I ran to the willow tree in the middle of the feild and my freinds followed. We went to the trunk and there was nothing in the trunk or on it. I closed my eyes and told my freinds to to. When I told my freinds to open their eyes along with me the willow was lined with a door shape. I pushed the door shape open and went in and my freinds followed. Inside it as like a palace. "Thats why called Palace Mana!" said Sarah. And we lived there in secret until the end of our days. The end of my dream Escape.

Where Exactly Is He?

The conversation in the car this morning.

Samuel: 'God's with us ALL THE TIME isn't he Mummy?'
Karen: 'Yep, ALL THE TIME, it's like having your best friend over for breakfast, lunch, dinner and sleepover - how great is that?'
Maddie: 'He's by our side all the time isn't He Mummy?'
Karen: 'That's right Maddie'.
Eleanor: 'What side is He on?'

One day, I'm sure of it, I WILL crash the car!

Hushing Him the Biblical Way

Andy and I have for many years, spent a lot of time together in the kitchen. Before the children arrived we would spend hours together baking and making, clearing up, and generally enjoying putting a few meals together. Some days we'd cook for hours making enough batches of everything to put in the freezer for those busy, 'can't be bothered to cook tonight' days. We both miss those days and are trying to rebuild them again, which is hard when you have four little people all wanting to help!

Throughout this we have often messed around hiding ingredients, putting away something when we know the other one is about to use it, washed up utensils and put them away, turning heat down on the stove, turning it up - all that kind of juvenile stuff.

So, today, whilst preparing a salad the pots of crispy toppings were out and twice Andy put a pot away. Twice I retrieved it from the larder. At this point I told him to leave them out as I was about to use them, only to realise after he told me, that the pot he put away was a new one and the old one was already open ready to be used. At this point I jokingly told him to shut up.

At which, Madeleine, who all through this has been watching her brother in his culinary quest, commented, 'Mummy, you shouldn't talk to Daddy like that. It doesn't say in the Bible that you can tell your husband to shut up'. Totally bemused by this I asked her what instructions she thought were in the Bible for a wife to use in this situation.

Her reply.

'You must tell him to be quiet'.

HA HA HA!!!!

Chillin' and Larkin'

Usually my Sundays are spent flitting around like a wingless fairy clearing up the mess from Monday to Saturday and preparing for the mess that will ensue the following Monday to Saturday.

But next week is half term, the children are off school and I'm off work for the week, so no need to iron school uniforms, check book bags, double-check homework, clear bedrooms and so on.

Just a day to chill and relax and what better way to start the day than with a bit of larking around.

Angry faces

Sad faces

Silly faces

Shocked faces

Happy faces

More Fun In The Snow

A well aimed one straight in my face by my lovely eldest son!

Making the snowman

After shedding scarves, gloves, hats etc. this is where we found Samuel. He'd sneaked upstairs, filled the sink and climbed in - to warm his feet up!!

The Best Thing About Making Cakes

Is getting to lick the bowl afterwards.

They're Mine and I Love Them

There are days when the children are happy and want pictures of themselves with their pet hamster to stick in the time capsules they're creating with their friends to stick in various back gardens.

There are times when they are sad because they're poorly and have to take a day off school.

And there are other times when they just love to goof around together.

Josh, Maddie, Eleanor & Sam
I LOVE YOU
Mum
xx

Motherhood

Wouldn't you be proud if they were yours?

School Reports

Joshua, Maddie and Eleanor.

ALL of them had outstanding school reports. They're achieving above average and significantly above average in every aspect of their schoolwork. They're well ahead of the levels they should be at and Joshua is rocketing years ahead in his science. Madeleine is showing signs of creative flair both in art and design technology and Eleanor has good negotiation skills, amongst lots of other positive qualities.

So I'm bringing up a potential forensic scientist, an interior designer and, according to Michelle, a hostage negotiator!

I was one proud Mummy today.

What I Love About Homework

With Maddie, it's her enthusiasm. She's currently doing a project about the Romans and had to pretend she was a soldier writing home about her experience.

Considering she's been in many battles she's in rather good spirits!

School Reports

School Reports

School reports - those dreaded envelopes sealed so skillfully by the teacher that any attempt to sabotage their efforts in order to sneak a peak before your parents read it were totally thwarted. Knowing that even the smallest rip in the seal would be detected by your eagle eyed parents as they were about to realise the culmination of your whole year's efforts were about to be condensed to a 4 page review. My school teacher was pretty cool about this. He let us read our reports and then WE had to seal the envelopes, on the very strict understanding that we NEVER, EVER told the other teachers or kids or parents or even the family dog that we were allowed to do this. You could always tell the kids that were going home to a butt roasting by the way they slowly licked the gummy seal, hoping with all their soul that they could lick away the awful comments penned by their subject masters. A whole year of regretting being the class idiot and wishing they'd worked a bit harder. Trying to think of ways to 'lose' the report on the way home, why was the sun shining on a day when you really need a big puddle to accidentally drop your report in on the way home? Why have a rabbit as a pet when you need a big dog to rip it from your hand the moment you get home in its excitement to see you?

This look of trepadation was the exact same look plastered all over my son's face when I collected him from school last Friday. The 'swot' look was plastered all over my daughter's face, so no prizes to guess who was bricking it the most. Joshua always does worry about our opinions of his achievements. He's a very sensitive child, very tuned in to the feelings of others and very eager to make sure he doesn't hurt anybody by his actions or thoughts. Like all kids, he has moments of anger and outburst, but usually his peformances are reactive, not antagonistic. He's had to work hard at controlling his outbursts and this year we've seen him really come on in leaps and bounds, trying hard to channel his emotions in acceptable ways. From a very violent, angry toddler he's growing up to be a charming, sensitive, caring, thoughtful and very lovely young man. He's the only 8 year old boy I know who opens doors for ladies when they come in or out of a building and he's the only 8 year old boy I know who carries the shopping indoors for his Mum and tests the bags looking for the heaviest one. His school report was testament to this when his teacher commented he cared a great deal for his friends. His approach to home learning was noted as 'an example to his class'. His input to class discussion and his determination to constantly question subject matter to full understanding made his teacher 'think hard at times myself'. He gained outstanding marks in all subjects and has built himself a fantastic basis on which to continue his education. I hope he keeps it up, he has so much potential but he's too modest to see it.

Maddie's report was equally as impressive. Outstanding achievement in all subjects. She has attained grades above the national average in her Year 2 SATS and has matured greatly during the year. She still has a tendency to become overdistraught at things that don't pan her way, but her methods of coping are maturing now. She's able to see the bigger picture and to understand that when things go wrong it's not a life changing travesty that will scar her forever. Her approach to subjects which intimidate her are inspiring. She struggled with Maths at the year beginning, but instead of shying away, she faced the fears, worked hard and applied herself. She was rewarded with top marks for her effort, achievement and content. Her ability to become totally absorbed in drama, art and creativity have already been marked as 'unique' by her teachers, even having her submitted for a talented child programme, more of which we hope to hear about soon.

So, Joshua and Madeleine. We're proud of you and what you've achieved this year. You have potential in you that has only just started to bud. Work hard and let it blossom. I love you both.

Crafting

Maddie and I have started crafting together.

She has a wonderful little book called 'Fairy Things To Make and Do.'

We made a Flower Garland.

If you have a little girl, she'll love doing this and it only takes a few minutes to make each one. It's really simple and best of all, the only mess is a glue stick.

Everyone and No-one to Blame

Still migrating....

Sometimes parenting is easy, sometimes it's hard and other times it's just confusing.

Maddie went to the pantomime last night with the Brownies and I gave her a £5.00 note to take along to spend on sweets, drinks or a souvenir - whatever she wanted. I didn't expect any change and I told her to be careful not to lose it.

She came home after having a great time to say she'd spent £1.00 on an ice-cream and had put the remaining £4.00 in the charity box! Now, I've got nothing against charity boxes and I'm sure the charity in question is doing an admirable job with the funds it receives. But a child emptying their purse into it, completely oblivious as to the value of the money she's emptying is not quite right.

My reaction to this was less than sympathetic and as I hollered at her about the stupidity of her actions, demanding an explanation as to how on earth she felt compelled to put ALL her change in the tin. But the anger started to extinguish as I tried to work out just exactly WHO was at fault here.

And it certainly wasn't Maddie. And amidst the tears and sobs ensuing from her convulsing body, consumed with regret, confusion and apologies, I had to assure her that it wasn't really her fault and that I was wrong to be angry with her. As well as administer lots of reassuring hugs and cuddles.

So, whose fault was it?

Was it me? Did I give her too much? These places charge extortionate prices for the smallest gifts, so I figured that £5.00 would cover a souvenir and something to consume. I've been to these places long enough to know that £5.00 would be the minimum to spend - so no, I don't think I did give her too much?

Did I consider her understanding of the value of money? No, I didn't. She's 7 and has no idea about the value of money and why should she? She's a child. It's not in her job description to know about money. That's my job.

But what about the adults accompanying her? Why weren't they assisting her? Why weren't they making sure each child was being responsible with their money? Why did they allow 7 year old children to queue alone and assume they knew what they were doing with their pennies? But then, is it right to assume they would consider my daughter would empty her purse into the charity box?

What about the vendor that gave her the change? Was he so busy that he'd moved on to the next child before witnessing where she put her change? Did he see her do it and not say anything?

So, I don't know who to be angry with. Maybe I should put it down to experience and circumstance.

One From Last Year

I'm starting to weed through my other blog, the one I don't post to anymore. But before I totally delete it, I'm pulling out threads that have relevance or have just made me chuckle. This post was from last March and it was entitled 'The Spaghetti Tree'.

I love the stage of a child's life where the transition begins from believing everything you're told to finally having the courage to question whether your parents really do know it all.

It happened today at the dinner table. Having requested spaghetti bolognese for dinner and being told there was no minced beef in the house to make it, we rambled on to how it would be great to be able to grow our own ingredients for it at the allotment. Maddie asked where spaghetti comes from, so immediately my response was to tell her it was from the spaghetti tree.

Now, Maddie's not easily fooled. Some days she's sharp, others not so. Today was the latter. Tucking into her fish and chips, she stared in amazement and incredulity taking in the notion of a real spaghetti tree. Then the pause.... the cogs whirring....., then 'you're pulling my leg aren't you?'

'No, I'm not, the spaghetti tree is real, I'll show you on the Internet'.

Then the Google search unearthed that wonderful BBC hoax of 1957 where the nation were fooled for 3 minutes by the reports of a bumper spaghetti harvest and the decline of the spaghetti weevil. I showed her the pictures.

I nearly got away with it, until her even sharper brother spotted the subtitled side heading indicating the April Fool's Day prank.

Laughs all round and confirmation that the old ones are still the best.