Time for a cuppa

Perfect mug, eh?

Bulldozing...

...his way out of his second year and speedily into his third. We have a cheeky little two year-old. How did that happen?!

Quite proud of how the crazy cake turned out. We were going for a digger, which I've since been informed by my construction-site-operator brother is actually a bulldozer. That's fine, it's in the right family of vehicles at least! Or is that a false statement too? :) We initially made a chocolate orange marble tea loaf/cake but quickly realised we needed more cake to work with for the shapes we were going for. This was all just based on a picture we saw of a similar cake but having no recipe to work with made it extra challenging and therefore extra fun! When we realised fairly late on in the evening that we needed more cake (when does one ever not need more cake, incidentally?!) we decided there wasn't time to make another chocolate orange loaf we settled on whipping up a quick Victoria Sponge with which we could make the rest of the body of the bulldozer. This would work okay visually since the whole thing would be covered by fondant icing (which by the way took literally hours to colour. Insanity!) What I hadn't really thought through was the fact I was using chocolate orange buttercream like glue. And like there was no tomorrow! Victoria sponge and chocolate orange buttercream is an interesting taste experience. 

It was a lottery as to what kind of cake you got but overall I think it was a success. Noah recognised it as a digger and that is all we cared about. Hooray! Happy second birthday little treasure. What a ride it has been so far. A bulldozer is certainly appropriate for representing what you've done to our lives - and our house! We love you more every day and that's a fact.

Re-Entering the "Blog-osphere"

At the risk of repeating myself (again): Oh my life. How has it been more than EIGHT months since my last blog post? Actually, I know exactly how but I am still pretty shocked. It is so tempting to just abandon this blog altogether and start a new one as life is certainly in a different season to where we were when I started this blog. However, I don't want to keep starting new projects so the blog will just have to move with the times and evolve.

But first it needs resurrecting! So here I am. Making a tentative statement that I am back. Let's see if it lasts.

Another little taster...

Little video from the farm trip today....

Believe it or not, this was when Noah had calmed down a little bit and I was able to even contemplate taking my eyes off him for two seconds to video him. Before this he was running soooo fast squealing a LOT towards all the animals. So funny, but equally exhausting! Lots of photos tomorrow in a whole other post!

What a difference a year makes!

28th February 2011

28th February 2012

(Oh and yes I'm wearing a waterproof - it was the only thing I could find at very short notice that could be easily cleansed of painty toddler handprints!)

An Extra Day to.... Blog?

Oh dear, I've lost it on the blog front again haven't I! I just checked in and realised it was exactly a month ago today that I last wrote a post. If this had been last year (or the two years before that) it would technically have been over a month ago, but 2012 is a year of the leap. So I can be consoled over my lack of effort by telling myself that I'm still managing to pop onto my little blog at least monthly. Not that it makes much of a difference to anyone but I like to scribble a few random thoughts, anecdotes or pictures to remind me of what's gone on when I look back. To clarify, I don't scribble the photos; I upload those. Except actually, I do have a photo to upload of a picture I kind of scribbled, kind of sketched.

I hadn't even thought about drawing since before I had M.E but having got stuck into creating Noah's 3rd & Bird mural, and then some canvas paintings of In the Night Garden characters, I've rediscovered a forgotten love of arty things. I'm hoping to start sketching things every now and then, if only to feel like I have basic skills besides nappy-changing and nursery rhyme-singing, worthy and valuable as I believe those skills to be!

Watch this space....

Until March 29th, if not before, night night ;)

Weakness

"My grace is sufficient for you"

"My power is made perfect in your weakness".

I am so thankful to God that He reminds us of this powerful, incredible truth on a regular (nay, frequent!) basis. In our family right now it is a huge part of how we're getting from day to day - or more accurately, from night to day. If you're feeling weak or broken or burnt out or beaten down, you're in the best possible place for God to reach you and do the work He needs to do in you; the work He desires to do in you will enrich your life in the long run.

When we feel strong, when we have everything under control, when we know exactly what to do and how to do it, when we have the strength required for the task ahead, we can forget all too often that we need Jesus.

For those who are weak, struggling, in pain, worn out, (insert whatever weakness is yours here)....our need for Him is so great that we just cannot ignore it. Leaning on Him can sometimes be the only way we get through a day or a week. It's then that we see His power at work; we see Him do things and bring us through situations which we could not overcome or achieve in our own strength. I totally understand why Paul said he "boasted" in his weakness. It can almost be a relief to realise that we aren't meant to battle through these things all alone. Thank God that He allows certain situations and challenges to bring us to the end of ourselves so that we can find Him. He's there, waiting to perfect His power in our weakness. I believe Him when He says His grace is sufficient. It is always there, it never runs out and it lifts my head and heart. And when we accept that grace, we allow His power to shine through. Please Lord help us to do that.

Why I'm not "religious"