40 before 40: not long left now

Happy New Year!

It's only 10 weeks (or 70 days) to go until I enter a new decade! So, time for an update on how I'm doing so far...

Completed

Read 40 books - At the end of 2018 I have read over 100 books (final number to be confirmed in two days time), so this challenge has been well and truly achieved! Here's a link to my reading blog if you are interested!
Join a book club - At the beginning of the year I joined Bookish Mamas, which is a Facebook-based book club. It was originally aimed at mums, but lots of people on there aren't mums now. It's exposing me to books that I wouldn't naturally read, and gives the pleasure of a monthly discussion about the book.
Go to a weekend Bible Conference - In April I attended the Hillsong Colour Conference in Wembley, London, with my sisters, cousin and friend. It was an amazing weekend, with great singing, Bible teaching and time to be me. It was just so refreshing! I have already booked to go again next year and am looking forward to it!
Cook on a fire pit - We got a fire pit as a Christmas present and have been looking forward to some warmer weather to use it. I know that a true 'forest school' family would have been sitting around it in the January snow, but we wanted warmer weather to try it out for the first time!! Last weekend gave us that opportunity and we enjoyed sausages and marshmallows cooked on it. Looking forward to a summer of fire-cooked food!
Visit a new place - On 6th May we visited Coventry; we attended the 50th anniversary of Tearfund at the cathedral. Before having children I worked for Tearfund for seven years. It is a great charity and does amazing work. Back to Coventry... what a beautiful pair of cathedrals; the old derelict building which was destroyed in the war and the new striking building built overlooking the old. Coventry as a city seems to be pretty normal, but the area around the cathedrals is very pretty.
Learn a new craft skill - I started doing modern calligraphy last year, but I am now learning the more formal 'Classic Copperplate' calligraphy. This is much harder work than I had imagined, but the lettering is beautiful! Must keep practising!
Volunteer for something - I am currently volunteering at my children's school and am going in a reading with a class of children each week. This is one of the highlights of my week and such a great opportunity to keep children reading!
Grow something from scratch - Caleb and I attended an allotment playgroup during the summer and we did planting and digging and watering and weeding. We planted a bean seed in a cup which was then transferred into a trough in the garden: we enjoyed one meal's worth of beans! I also planted some tomato and strawberry seeds in hanging baskets; the strawberry seeds didn't sprout, but the tomatoes did and had a lovely sweet flavour. They didn't get very big though!!
Go glamping - In the October half term we had a lovely week in Somerset in a log cabin. This cabin had no power, so we cooked and heated the cabin using the log stove, and used candles for lights. The best day was when we cooked our chicken casserole on the fire pit and ate outside! It was an amazing week and we have already planned to do it again next year.
Walk 400 miles - So far I have walked 1,074 miles in 2018! I have now signed up to Race at Your Pace for January and I am aiming to walk 125 miles; my plan is to achieve that each month and hit 1,500 miles in 2019!
Go for afternoon high tea - Well, I managed this twice this year! The first was whilst we were on holiday in Cheddar, and I enjoyed an 'Afternoon Tea' for my lunch; Caleb had the children's version, and we both struggled to finish it! The second was a few weeks ago as part of my Christmas celebrations; this one was lovely as it included some christmassy treats!
Go to a Christmas Market - I had a lovely day out at the Birmingham's Frankfurt Christmas Market with my friend Beth. We enjoyed wandering around the stalls, enjoying the festive aromas of gluhwein, sausages and sweet treats (especially the heiße Schokolade in our special mugs!) and some shopping!
Cook a new recipe every month - I have enjoyed this challenge, but I wish I had kept a list of what we have tried! One thing we have enjoyed as a family are Daddy's Travel Meals - each time Steve travels for work we try something from that country. We have tried food from India, Italy, Hungary, Germany and Mexico; this has been a great way of getting the children interested in food from other countries.
Do something I loved as a child - As a child I loved swimming and was actually quite good at it; I even swum for my town a couple of times. Back in the summer I started swimming regularly and really enjoyed it, but last term it slipped (which is silly as I had more time with both children being at school). In the New Year I will restart this as it is something that I definitely loved as a child, and still love now!
Share meals with 40 different friends - I have completely forgotten to count the number of people we have shared meals with! But I have learnt that hospitality doesn't have to be perfect; I don't need to serve a michelin starred meal with an immaculate house! My house can be messy and friends can just come and share food. Bring on the hygge!

In Progress

Read the whole Bible cover to cover - I am continuing to read through the Bible, and know that I need to put more effort into it; not only for this challenge but also as a Christian I should be reading my Bible more! I have just bought the first part of the Bible on Audible (read by David Suchet - amazing voice!) which I am looking forward to listening too - only 45 hours to listen to!!
40 dates with Steve - We have had a few but need to up our game and be much more intentional!
Find 40 geocaches - Oh dear, only 11 found in 2018! That means I have 73 days to find 29 caches... Game on...
Send 40 letters/postcards - Do Christmas cards count??!
Finish a cross stitch - I am still working on a Little Miss and Mr Men cross stitch that I started about 7 years ago before our Little Miss was born! I am determined to get it finished now...
Learn to play Clair de Lune on the piano - hmm... this is not an easy piece! And I need to practise more, as well as getting the piano tuned so it doesn't sound as bad as it currently does!
Do 40 Random Acts Of Kindness - I signed up to do #40acts during Lent and this was a great challenge. Due to ill health I didn't manage to do all 40 acts during the season so I will continue and get them done this year.
Complete couch to 5k - I have done two weeks of this and am actually getting excited about getting back to it next week. It'll be tight to get it completed but I will do my best!
Get my bmi into healthy zone - On 18th April I bravely walked into my first Weight Watchers meeting having decided that I needed some help to achieve this challenge. I have now lost over a stone in weight and my BMI is in the middle of the overweight range so things are definitely moving in the right direction. Another stone and a bit will see me into the healthy range...
Raise £400 for charity - So far I have raised £294.56 for the British Heart Foundation and £20 for Heart Failure Aware (£314.56 total). £85.44 left to raise!
Complete 40 calligraphy pieces - Over the year so far I have done 17 paid pieces of work; I also took part in #30daysofbiblelettering in October and managed 16 pieces. So 33 in total. 7 pieces left to complete over the next 10 weeks! (Check out my Facebook page for my work: https://www.facebook.com/meandmyinkpot/)
Learn to take a decent photograph with my camera - My old faithful camera has slowly died in the last few months due to a scratch on the lens, so I am getting a new one with my Christmas money. I am looking forward to getting used to a new camera and all it can do.
See a musical on stage - Not quite a musical, but Zoë and I have booked to go and see The Nutcracker ballet on stage in February. I'm so excited about this.

To Do

Decorate our bedroom - I am looking forward to getting started on this once the children are back at school! It have started our room a little later than planned as Zoë asked for her room to be done as part of her birthday present. I have come up with a colour scheme and some decor ideas...
Plant a tree - My parents have said that they would like to buy me a tree for my 40th birthday present, so I am looking forward to planting that in our garden in the spring. We need to decide what size tree will be best!
Have a 40th birthday party - Planned for March 2019! Though I do need to actually decide what I want to do... any ideas?
Eat a meal in a Michelin star restaurant - Steve has booked a day off near my birthday; do you think I can convince him that we need to have lunch out??
Try a new food - Hoping to combine this one with my Michelin Star restaurant visit!!
Make bread from scratch - Not too difficult, but I just need to do it! Maybe next week whilst the children are still off school!
Learn a new cookery skill - I need to decide what to do for this - any ideas?
Revisit a favourite city/place - I don't know where to go!

Not done

Have a family portrait done - I've decided not to prioritise this, but we've enjoyed getting some professional photos printed for our wall. 

Sleep under the stars - I can't believe I missed completing this challenge in the summer months! I will make sure that it is ticked off next summer.
Climb a mountain - I had hoped to get this one ticked off, but I have run out of time. Hopefully I can get it completed in 2019.
See the Northern Lights - This was always going to be the least likely one to achieve, but it was nice to dream!

40 before 40: 100 days in...

Today is a quarter of the way through my 40 before 40 year, and I'm feeling pretty positive! Lots of things have been done, or are well on the way, and other things have been planned into the year. I'm loving having a mix of challenges and some easier things for enjoyment too... I thought you'd like an update on how I'm doing. To make it a little easier to read I will put the completed tasks in blue, the started tasks in green and the 'not yet' ones in yellow...

1. Read 40 books - I am well on the way with this challenge and had read 34 books by the end of April, so this challenge should be completed in May. I have been blogging about them over on my other blog. Here's the link if you fancy a read.
2. Read the whole Bible cover to cover - hmm, this one has been started but needs a good input of time and priority given to it!
3. Join a book club - At the beginning of the year I joined Bookish Mamas, which is a Facebook-based book club. It was originally aimed at mums, but lots of people on there aren't mums now. It's exposing me to books that I wouldn't naturally read, and gives the pleasure of a monthly discussion about the book. 
4. Go to a weekend Bible Conference - In April I attended the Hillsong Colour Conference in Wembley, London, with my sisters, cousin and friend. It was an amazing weekend, with great singing, Bible teaching and time to be me. It was just so refreshing! I have already booked to go again next year and am looking forward to it!
5. See a musical on stage
6. 40 dates with Steve - We have had a few but need to up our game and be much more intentional!
7. Find 40 geocaches - I have found 3 geocaches so far. Need to get out and about more!!
8. Walk 400 miles - So far I have walked 312.79 miles! This month I am also walking a marathon to raise money for British Heart Foundation: if you'd like to sponsor me please use this link (all donations greatly appreciated) https://mymarathon18.everydayhero.com/uk/rebecca-dennis 
9. Send 40 letters/postcards - I have written 1 letter so far! Better get writing...
10. Finish a cross stitch - I am working on a Little Miss and Mr Men cross stitch that I started about 7 years ago before our Little Miss was born! I am determined to get it finished now...
11. Decorate our bedroom - Planned for the autumn after Caleb has started school!
12. Share meals with 40 different friends 
13. Eat a meal in a Michelin star restaurant
14. Cook a new recipe every month - This has been going well and I have enjoyed the challenge of a new recipe. May's recipe was a lovely Crunchy Tuna and Broccoli Pasta Bake from the Delicious magazine. (https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/crunchy-melty-tuna-and-broccoli-pasta-bake/)
15. Cook on a fire pit - We got a fire pit as a Christmas present and have been looking forward to some warmer weather to use it. I know that a true 'forest school' family would have been sitting around it in the January snow, but we wanted warmer weather to try it out for the first time!! Last weekend gave us that opportunity and we enjoyed sausages and marshmallows cooked on it. Looking forward to a summer of fire-cooked food!
16. Grow something from scratch - Caleb and I have started attending an allotment playgroup on a Friday and we have been planting and digging and watering and weeding. A few weeks ago we planted beans which are now sprouting and ready for planting into the ground. I have also planted some tomato and strawberry seeds in hanging baskets so am hopeful that I will have something to eat later in the year!
17. Try a new food
18. Make bread from scratch
19. Go for afternoon high tea
20. Go to a Christmas Market - Planned for November/December!
21. Learn to play Clair de Lune on the piano - hmm... this is not an easy piece!
22. Do 40 Random Acts Of Kindness - I signed up to do #40acts during Lent and this was a great challenge. Due to ill health I didn't manage to do all 40 acts during the season so I will continue and get them done this year.
23. Learn to take a decent photograph with my camera
24. Have a family portrait done
25. Go glamping - Booked for October!!
26. Learn a cookery skill
27. See the Northern Lights
28. Complete couch to 5k - I have completed Step 1 of downloading the app! Now I just need to get started, but it will be after May as I am doing the #mymarathon this month for British Heart Foundation.
29. Climb a mountain
30. Get my bmi into healthy zone - On 18th April I bravely walked into my first Weight Watchers meeting having decided that I needed some help to achieve this challenge. Over the past month I have lost 7lbs (half a stone), clothes are fitting better and my resting heart rate has dropped from an average of 67bpm to an average of 59bpm! And according to the NHS BMI calculator I am no longer obese, just overweight! Looking forward to losing more weight and getting healthier in the process.
31. Have a 40th birthday party - Planned for March 2019!
32. Raise £400 for charity - This month I am doing #mymarathon for British Heart Foundation. So far I have raised £149.53, but more sponsorship has been promised and is trickling in. Back in March I also asked for donations to BHF instead of birthday gifts and raised an additional £85. I am over halfway to my target!
33. Complete 40 calligraphy pieces - I have done 2 completed pieces and am currently working on 2 cards. I've not had that much time to do calligraphy recently, but am trying to get back into sitting at my desk. (Check out my Facebook page for more designs: https://www.facebook.com/meandmyinkpot/)
34. Sleep under the stars
35. Revisit favourite city/place
36. Visit a new place - On 6th May we visited Coventry; we attended the 50th anniversary of Tearfund at the cathedral. Before having children I worked for Tearfund for seven years. It is a great charity and does amazing work.  Back to Coventry... what a beautiful pair of cathedrals; the old derelict building which was destroyed in the war and the new striking building built overlooking the old. Coventry as a city seems to be pretty normal, but the area around the cathedrals is very pretty.
37. Plant a tree
38. Do something I loved as a child
39. Learn a new craft skill - I started doing modern calligraphy last year, but I am now learning the more formal 'Classic Copperplate' calligraphy. This is much harder work than I had imagined, but the lettering is beautiful! Must keep practising! 
40. Volunteer for something - I am currently volunteering at my children's school and am going in a reading with a class of children each week. This is one of the highlights of my week and such a great opportunity to keep children reading!

4. Go to a weekend Bible conference

10. Finish a cross stitch

15. Cooking on a fire pit

36. Visit a new place

40 before 40: The List

In March 2019 I will be turning 40; I'm not quite sure that I feel ready to be that old, but according to my birthday certificate it is definitely true! And the following year Steve will be joining me. We've decided to both do a serious of 40 challenges.

So, in the next 400 days I am hoping to do all of these challenges. I will give you regular updates as I go.

I'd also love any help I can get so if you want to join me or help me in one of the challenges then please get in touch!

1. Read 40 books in 2018
2. Read the whole Bible cover to cover
3. Join a book club
4. Go to a weekend Bible Conference
5. See a musical on stage
6. 40 dates with Steve
7. Find 40 geocaches
8. Walk 400 miles
9. Send 40 letters/postcards
10. Finish a cross stitch
11. Decorate our bedroom
12. Share meals with 40 different friends
13. Eat a meal in a Michelin star restaurant
14. Cook a new recipe every month
15. Cook on a fire pit
16. Grow some food from scratch
17. Try a new food
18. Make bread from scratch
19. Go for afternoon high tea
20. Go to a Christmas Market
21. Learn to play Clair de Lune on the piano
22. Do 40 Random Acts Of Kindness
23. Learn to take a decent photograph with my camera
24. Have a family portrait done
25. Go glamping
26. Learn a cookery skill
27. See the Northern Lights
28. Complete couch to 5k
29. Climb a mountain
30. Get my bmi into healthy zone
31. Raise £400 for charity
32. Complete 40 calligraphy pieces
33. Sleep under the stars
34. Revisit favourite city/place
35. Visit a new city/place
36. Plant a tree
37. Do something I loved as a child
38. Learn a new craft skill
39. Volunteer for something
40. Have a 40th birthday party

2018: thoughts and challenges

It's Epiphany today; the day that is set aside in the church calendar to remember the visit of the Wise Men to a toddler Jesus. It's also the day that I feel that I am coming out of the festive season and am ready to look forward to the coming year. I don't really do specific resolutions, but I love the idea of new beginnings. So, here are my thoughts on 2018.

Bible Verse and Word:

This year's Bible verse is:

"The joy of the Lord is my strength." Nehemiah 8:10

My word of the year is joy. What is joy? Is it the same as happiness or different? Over the year I am planning on digging a bit deeper into this word and what the Bible has to say about it. I'm also excited about doing some linguistic work and looking at joy in the original languages (שִׂמְחָה [simchah] in Hebrew and χαρά [chara] in Greek).

No-spend January (and more?)

A challenge that I have set myself for the beginning of the year is to stop spending money! I am trying to declutter and simplify my life, family and house, and one way of doing this is to restrict what comes into the house. Obviously I can spend money on essentials, such as food and fuel!

I have already had two opportunities come up: 

• first, the book club which I have joined has set a book to read which I don't own. Normally I would pop onto Amazon and buy a copy which would arrive next day. But I couldn't do that this time and I was floored! Until someone suggested a radical solution called 'a library' - you know, that building which lends out books for free (unless you incur a fine for late return). Perfect! And what a reminder to me that I don't always need to spend money.
• secondly, I need a radiator key to bleed a couple of radiators which don't seem to be working very efficiently. Again, I turn to the internet and spot a key which costs a couple of pounds... But I don't do it and ask on Facebook for someone to lend (or give) me one. Instead I get an offer of someone to come round and do it all for me, and in return I offer my husband's services to have a quick look at a child's bike which needs repairing. No money spent and two people have receive help.

I am actually quite excited about finding ways around my 'no-spend' January! Any tips to help me?

40 before 40

My big plan for 2018 links in with a challenge that I am setting myself. In March 2019 I will be turning 40 and Steve and I have decided that it'd be a great idea to have a '40before40' list of 40 things I need to do or achieve before my birthday. I am in the process of compiling a list and will share it at the end of the month when the final list is decided, but there are some exciting things finding their way onto that list... What would you put on your list?

Advent 2017: 16 December

Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours 

Just a friendly wave each morning, helps to make a better day 

Neighbours, need to get to know each other 

Next door is only a footstep away 

From the Australian TV show "Neighbours" 

(Tony Hatch / Jackie Trent)

Sometimes plans go awry and I am continually learning to be flexibly organised! Yet again this advent has thrown curve balls at me resulting in changes; I'm sure you're actually relieved not to have to read daily updates of the Dennis advent!! Anyway, I thought I'd share with you what we have got up to this weekend.

For a few years now I have like the idea of inviting neighbours round for Christmas drinks and nibbles, but it's not been possible for various reasons. This year we planned and managed to make it happen. Do you know your neighbours? We moved into a road of 36 houses last January and it's been slow getting to know people. There are some people who do the school run at the same time and we say hello and wave; or there are the neighbours who take in parcels for us (and vice versa) and we say hello and thank you; and then there are those that we just don't see. How did we shift into such an isolated existence? It wasn't long ago that roads like ours would have been a real community.

We decided to do something about this and posted Christmas cards to nine of our closest neighbours, as well as inviting them round to ours for a Christmas Open House. Out of the nine only two families were able to make it, but that is two more that we knew before! It was lovely to spend time with them and put names to faces. But the thing that blessed me most about those who weren't able to come were the lovely replies we had; we now have names and the embryonic form of a neighbourly relationship. Maybe, step-by-step, we can rebuild a sense of community in this street, as well as sharing our faith with people.

In other news we forgot to do our From Christmas to Creation story due to the busyness of the day, and we opened our Wrapped Books from 14 and 15 December but ended up reading something completely different! My Advent Readings this week have been more about Mary, but more about that tomorrow when I will summarise the week!

Advent 2017: 4 December

Yesterday was the first Sunday in Advent. I have been brought up as a baptist and evengelical which means that I have never really experienced Advent with candles and liturgy. After being part of a forum for Christian Mums I have grown more interested in the liturgy and am spending some time this advent taking part in a Bible study which is being run by an anglican friend. Here is my candle for yesterday and here is a special prayer from the Anglican Church liturgy which can be used every day during Advent:

Almighty God,

give us grace to cast away the works of darkness

and to put on the armour of light,

now in the time of this mortal life,

in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;

that on the last day,

when he shall come again in his glorious majesty

to judge the living and the dead,

we may rise to the life immortal;

through him who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever. Amen

Our Wrapped Book today has been one I have been very excited about. It is one of our new ones and comes from an American company via a friend at school. It is called The Miracle of the First Poinsettia: A Mexican Christmas Story. (This was going to be particularly poignant as Steve was meant to be travelling to Mexico today but the trip has now been postponed to January.) It's a lovely story looking at how 'a gift from the heart is the best gift of all'.

We didn't get to look in our Advent Adventure Tin today until dinner-time so it was too late to 'go on a wintery walk and collect pine cones' but we will definitely keep that one for the weekend, especially as we have a Forest School morning planned on Saturday!

This evening we were thinking about waiting and waiting... Generally children find waiting very hard and mine are no different! Our From Creation to Christmas story told us how God had promised Abraham and Sarah a baby son, and that they would go on and have as many children as the stars in the sky and grains of sand along the seashore. That is a lot of children! But they had to wait until Sarah was in her 90s... not sure I'd want to be starting to have children that late in life. But we were reminded that from Abraham and Sarah would come Jesus (many many years later) - again another link to the Christmas story.

After planning my Advent Readings yesterday I have found another possibility today. Recently I have been part of a community called Mummy Meditations which has been looking at women in the Bible. Last month it was Sarah (mentioned above) and this month we are looking at Mary, the mother of Jesus. This will be a fascinating study as it is very easy to assume I know all about Mary, but I suspect a lot of my 'knowledge' is based on popular culture stories and traditions, rather than on the Bible text.

Advent 2017: 3 December

"They put a big tree in the middle of the living room and say "don't touch". Didn't work in the Garden of Eden and it's not going to work here." Honest Toddler

We had another very busy day today as we go to church on Sundays. So the day started with a pain au chocolat breakfast, followed by our Real Advent Calendar: this is telling us the Christmas story sentence by sentence which is a good balance to our sweeping overview stories in the evening.

In the afternoon we headed off with some of our church to a local Care Home for the elderly and those suffering from dementia. We go once a month to take a simple church service, but this was the extra special carol service. It was so lovely to see some men and women who are really not with it come alive at the sound of a familiar carol. Our Advent Adventure Tin activity for today was to do something for someone less fortunate than yourself: I think this (as well as packing shoeboxes yesterday) fits this perfectly.

When we got home we had a fun afternoon colouring in Christmas cards for our friends. I think Steve may have coloured the most, but it was a chilled activity that everyone enjoyed.

Our From Creation to Christmas story was a sad one today as we read about how Adam and Eve were disobedient and ate the fruit that God had told them not to. We went on to talk about how we are disobedient, but more importantly how God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins. It was good to see them link the story we'd read with the reason for the celebration of Christmas!

Wrapped Books - to be updated when I find the book and remember what it was!!

Today we were given a gift of The One True Gift by Tim Chester. This book has 24 readings which I will probably use for my Advent Readings.

Advent 2017: 2 December

Watching Tom Kerridge cook

It's only the 2nd December and already everything is muddled! But that is for a very good reason...

Today I spent the day at the BBC Good Food Show at the NEC in Birmingham with my mum, aunt and one of my sisters. What an amazing day it was - loads of yummy food stalls, demonstrations and freebies, as well as good family time. I would definitely recommend going, but take a suitcase for all the stuff that you end up carrying!

Steve had the children during the day: they enjoyed a morning packing shoeboxes for disadvantaged children, youth and elderly around the world. We're not sure where these boxes were heading but the ones collected at our church are going to Romania. It's such a good idea to be teaching our children about giving to other less fortunate than themselves and widen their horizons.

The Advent Adventure Tin challenge for today was to collect items for a Christmas Eve special evening. We are going to be away with family, and at their Carol Service so we have decided to collect ideas for another night (probably Christmas Eve eve!)

Both children got to open a Wrapped Book present today: Caleb opened The Snowman and Zoë-Grace opened a collection of Little Miss and Mr Men books. The Snowman is on Zoë-Grace's school book list so we'll be encouraging her to read that one to us! It is one of my favourites which is why it was the book for 1 December.

We finished a very busy tiring day with our From Creation to Christmas story about the creation of the first humans, Adam and Eve. We talked about how they were the most wonderful part of creation and that we are just like them: we are the most wonderful thing that God has made. Psalm 100:3 says "He made us, and we belong to him." How awesomely simple!

(Still not decided about my Advent Readings!)

Advent 2017: 1 December

The 1st December always seems to come round so quickly after Zoë-Grace's birthday, but this year I am feeling pretty well prepared!

Today was an exciting day as we started the Real Advent Calendar before school - when else are you allowed to eat chocolate at breakfast!! It's also going to be a test to see how well Caleb can cope with dairy chocolate - eek!

For everything else we had to wait for Zoë-Grace to get back from school! Then we opened the Advent Box and discovered all the goodies... It was great fun and filled that awkward, tired hour (or two) between school and tea. As well as trying on new pyjamas and jumpers, and looking through all the craft and activity books, we also had a game of Hunt the Nativity. I had hidden all the characters from our Happyland Nativity set around our lounge (including Joseph behind some nail varnish). Once all the excitement was over we snuggled down with some hot chocolate (in our Christmas mugs) to watch The Polar Express which was our new film this year.

Before I tell you about our From Creation to Christmas story, I must give a massive shout-out to Teresa from King's Krafts who has made all our lovely felt ornaments - thank you. (I made the tree!) Our story today started at the very begnning of the Bible with the creation of the world. We talked about how we need lego bricks to make a lego creation, but God was able to make the world out of nothing! How amazing!

In all the excitement of the Advent Box we forgot to open one of our Wrapped Books today but that just means two for tomorrow!

We did remember to look at the first Advent Adventure Tin activity which was to put on Christmas jumpers and music and start the Christmas Party - I think we managed to do that quite well! I thought I'd use this to tell you about some of our favourite Christmas albums. First up we enjoy Colin Buchanan's King of Christmas - it has loads of great catchy songs for the children which are grounded in Biblical truth, though it is very Australian but that doesn't seem to bother my children.My favourite this year is John Rutter's Colours of Christmas - I just love the richness of the choral singing.

And as for me, for my Advent Readings, well, I've been too busy to decide today, but I have had a great day with my family!

Advent 2017

Evening readers!

Four years ago I had a great advent plan and I managed to blog about it every day. I have loved reading back over what we got up to then and thought that it'd be a good idea to do the same this year. Three years on we now have a 6 year daughter and 3 3/4 year old son, which is a completely different kettle of fish. One main difference is that Zoë-Grace is now in Year 1 and Caleb is at pre-school for 2 whole days, which leaves me with a lot less time to do various activities with them. But they are older and so their understanding is great, which is very exciting!

So, what do I have planned for this year...

With the children:

Advent Box - I love the idea of a Christmas Eve box, but it is our tradition to go to a Christmas Eve Carol Service (or Crib Service) which means there's not really any time for anything extra. So we started a new tradition of an Advent Box. This box contains all our Christmas DVDs and CDs, craft and activity books, nativity set, as well as new Christmas pyjamas, jumpers and hair bobbles/hats etc. This box requires pretty much no effort except for making sure that it all gets put away properly at the end of the Christmas season!

From Creation to Christmas (also known as a Jesse Tree) - At our evening meal we are reading a story from the Bible and hanging a felt ornament of that story on our 'tree'. The stories start with Creation and progress through the Bible always pointing at the reason for Jesus' birth. We have been developing this idea and making it our own, such as adding in the story of Joshua and Caleb to keep our own little Caleb happy. I do have loads of possible activities to do with the children relating to each story, but am expecting to not have as much time to do them as previous years. We'll see what happens! As I have said in a previous blog, I need to be "flexibly organised".

Wrapped Books - All our Christmas books have been wrapped up and we are opening one each day. I have pruned out some of the more babyish ones and introduced four new books which I am very excited about as I think they are books which will grow with us for many years.

Advent Adventure Tin (by Tinspired) - This is a new 'adventure' this year as I have no idea what it's going to be like! We have Tinspired's Date Night tin and have really enjoyed the ideas shared in there so we are looking forward to working through the creative ideas in the tin and hopefully finding some new adventures! (For more information go to https://www.facebook.com/tinspired/)

We have also been gifted with two lovely chocolate Real Advent Calendars with the Nativity story, so we will be using those in the morning (and sending the children off to school with chocolate fuel in their little bodies - mwa haha!!)

Myself:

For me the Advent season focuses on expectation and anticipation of Christ’s birth which is celebrated at Christmas. I know for friends in the Church of England it is much more and I'm hoping to explore a bit of their deeper knowledge of Advent this year.

We are obviously doing quite a bit as a family so I don't want to add much to my schedule, I have a few ideas but not settled on anything yet. Hopefully I'll decide soon!

Tuesday Mornings

Tuesday mornings are now 'me time'. Once Zoë is at school I take Caleb to his new preschool and then I have 3 hours to do what I want and need. Over the past few months I have been learning how important it is to look after myself as well as my family, and I have been inspired by this quote:

"Taking care of myself doesn't mean 'me first' it means 'me, too.'" L.R. Knost, Two Thousand Kisses A Day 

Some mornings I have gone out and done some shopping (so much easier without a 2.5 year old helper who has recently been potty trained and wants to investigate everything we see); next week I am off to the gym to see if there is anything I can use with my heart condition (eek!). 

Today I am curled up on the sofa with my hot orange squash, blanket, Christmas music and books; I need to have a look at the huge pile of books I want to read and plan what to read and when! So, onto my pile of books... I will always have multiple books on the go as I read different books at different times! But my Tuesday mornings are special times where I get to read for a longer chunk of time without interruption...

I am currently reading two books that would qualify for my Tuesday morning reading slot: Hands Free Mama by Rachel Stafford and Ordinary Mum, Extraordinary Mission by Anna France-Williams and Joy French. But I need to read one, finish it and then move onto the next one... so I have decided to focus on Hands Free Mama which I started first. This is such a challenging book but I am excited to get back to it. (See my previous blog on #becshandsfreejourney) When I have finished it I will get back to Ordinary Mum, Extraordinary Mission.

Right, I'm off to read... See you later!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In case you're interested the other books in the pile which are returning to the bookcase are:

• The one true story by Tim Chester - daily readings for advent from Genesis to Jesus
• Having a Martha home the Mary way by Sarah Mae - 31 day plan to get a new vision for your home
• Life Management for Busy Women by Elizabeth George - looking at making the most of time and living to God's plan
• A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George - practical, scriptural insights on pursuing God's priorities in my life
• Everyday Talk by John A. Younts - ideas for talking freely and naturally about God with your children
• The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman - looking at how different people show and receive love

Flexibly organised

Looking back (very belatedly!)

The older I get, the more of parenting that I do, the more I realise that I need to be flexibly organised! As a stay at home mum (SAHM) it's easy for days and weeks to pass, and for me to look back and think 'what have I actually done?' Now, I know that the children are alive, dressed and fed, and the house is in a semblance of tidiness, and I have taken them to swimming, ballet and toddlers, as well as days out to the zoo and parks... But, it's nice to also have some key events that we can look back on!
A year ago I posted my plans and aims for 2015... Did I manage to keep them? Mostly, though moving house half-way through the year did bring disruption as we started new activities and found new places to play and explore. So, here's an update on my three 'plans':

Alphabetical 

We had planned to teach Zoë and Caleb Bible verses from each letter of the alphabet, but I didn't plan far enough ahead and soon this fizzled out. But they did learn 4 verses which is better than none!

Mummy Time

My daily Bible reading is still hugely sporadic and something I continually strive to improve on. As well as trying the 5 minute New Testament, I have also tried reading some books and using Explore notes (from The Good Book Company).
I have been working hard to finish A Mom After God's Own Heart and am very nearly there, with just the last few study questions to finish. It has been a great book to read and I have taken away so many encouragements in how to be the best mum that I can. I definitely recommend this book, plus the extra study book to any mum's reading this!!

A verse for the year

I love this habit of choosing a verse and then learning it throughout the year. I had 4 verses; one for each member of our family and they were written onto cut outs of our hands.

Looking forward

Family

2015 was a big year of change for us as a family and 2016 promises to continue to be full of change too... I'm pleased that although everything changes around me "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." We're involved in a new church (6 months after starting at this 'new' church), Steve is planning on changing his day off which will affect us all, and Zoë will be starting full time school in September. I want to make the most of the time that I have with her

We've been getting into a good Bible reading routine with Zoë and Caleb. Steve has been reading a verse from a Psalm each day and both children have been doing really well at remembering it. We also ask each other 'what do you want to thank God for today?'. This is always a special time as we share the highlights from our day.

Time with children 1-2-1

Me time (re-named from Mummy Time)

"Taking care of myself doesn't mean 'me first' it means 'me, too.'" L.R. Knost, Two Thousand Kisses A DayBooks
- Finish A Mom After God's Own Heart
- Hands Free Mama
Friday walk

Verses for the year

Grow #oneword365

We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father,who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. Colossians 1:9-12

#mymarathon

If I told you I was going to do a marathon I can just imagine some of the reactions that I'd get!! Since attempting to run jog walk the 10 mile Great South Run many years ago I have stayed clear of anything vaguely running related. That is except for running after very speedy children who are trying to escape! But I have now taken on a challenge to complete a marathon... How on earth are you going to do that I hear you ask? And why? Well, let me explain...

I am going to be doing the British Heart Foundation #mymarathon in May challenge. The great thing about this is that I can do it at my pace! So I will be walking 26.2 miles in April, which works out at roughly 7 miles a week. It will be a challenge, but one that I think is doable. Caleb will be with me for the whole walk, probably on my back or in a pushchair, but I'm hoping that Zoë will be able to walk a 1/2 marathon with me during the month.

Yes, I know I said April... I think I need to give you much more of the back story about why BHF and why April! Let's rewind just over 2 years...

Caleb Peter was born 2 weeks early by semi-elective caesarean at midday on Monday 17 February 2014 at the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford surrounded by a large team of medical staff, including a cardiologist, three anaesthetists, a midwife, a surgeon, plus many others.

Early on in the pregnancy it became apparent that my heart was not coping with the strain of pregnancy and was in fact functioning at 50% of its capacity!  My condition was complicated by the fact that I had no symptoms and therefore my consultants were unable to predict how my body would cope with labour. Despite numerous appointments and tests my obstetrician and cardiologist struggled to decide on the safest way of delivery. Each time I saw one of them hoping for an answer the decision seemed to be delayed.


Decisions continued to be delayed as my test results and lack of symptoms were confusing. I had preferences for the birth, but I trusted my medical staff to make the best decision for me and the baby. In addition to deciding between a c-section (under general anaesthetic) and a short natural labour, they were also trying to decide which hospital would be best. The more confused the medical staff were, the more convinced we were of God's protection on me and our baby, and his total control of the situation.


The beginning of February 2014 brought more delays and lack of decisions. Finally on 12 February a decision was made: an elective c-section under general anaesthetic on 24 February at Stoke Mandeville (SMH). I felt very relieved and was able to start getting final prep done and arrange childcare for Zoë. And yet on 13 February that decision was revoked… my anaesthetist was not happy for me to stay at SMH and passed my care to the Silver Star unit at the John Radcliffe in Oxford.

We visited the John Radcliffe with bags packed on 14 February where they carried out a range of tests. They are experts in cardiac issue pregnancies so were not phased at all by me. They even have an obstetric-cardiologist who specialises in pregnant hearts, who is the most lovely doctor I have ever met! A new c-section date was arranged for 19 February under local anaesthetic so I was going to be awake for the birth which was a massive answer to prayer.

At 3am on Monday 17 February (whilst I was sleeping on a camp bed in Zoë’s hospital room where she'd been admitted with a severe UTI) Caleb decided to get things moving! Fortunately my mum had come to help so she was able to stay with Zoë at SMH whilst Steve and I went off to the JR. At midday, 9 hours after my waters broke, Caleb was born. During the c-section they were able to respond quickly and effectively when my heart reacted. Zoë was also discharged that afternoon and came over to visit us. At the time everything seemed to be happening at the worst possible time, but looking back we can see God's hand in so many aspects.


Caleb’s name was carefully chosen. The name is from the Bible and it’s written that Caleb “has a different spirit and follows [God] wholeheartedly”. Our physical hearts may fail (like mine did) but it’s more important that we follow God wholeheartedly.

Since Caleb’s birth two years ago I have undergone numerous tests including an echo, a 24 hour trace and an MRI. My heart function is still impaired and I am under the care of the cardiologists at the John Radcliffe hospital. (For those who are medically minded I have Left Bundle Branch Block and Dilated Cardiomyopathy with an Ejection Fraction of 30%!)

I am currently on the waiting list for a CRT-D device (pacemaker and defibrillator) and it is likely to happen in May or June, hence my decision to take on the #mymarathon challenge in April. The British Heart Foundation are at the forefront of heart related research and so I have decided to take part in their challenge. I'd love it if you could sponsor me and Zoë, and support the British Heart Foundation in their life changing research...

Thank you for reading!

My family

#becshandfreejourney

Facebook post from 20th February 2016

Back in August I planned to start ‪#‎becshandfreejourney‬ with the intention of 'putting down the phone, burning the to do list and letting go of perfection to grasp what really matters', but life got in the way and my book Hands Free Mama slowly descended down the pile of books to read... A couple of weeks ago I picked the book up again and was seriously challenged to 'put down the phone' and had decided to delete FB and other social media off my phone for a week. However, it seems as if God has other plans... My phone is broken and will not start, so I will be sending it off for repair and having a loan phone for a month. I have decided that this phone will be a basic phone (phone calls, texts and whatsapps) with nothing extra... I wanted to put my phone down and reconnect with my husband and children and I have been given the perfect opportunity!
Yesterday I felt bereft without my phone; today I have felt freed.‪#‎handsfreemama‬

Background

I am a reader. I love reading books, books of all sorts... But at the moment I am especially interested in parenting books. Not really the 'how to...' manual type of books, but more of the self-improvement 'how to be a better mother' books. Two books which I am reading at the moment are 'A Mom After God's Own Heart' and 'Hands Free Mama', both of which have been immensely challenging. More about a 'A Mom After God's Own Heart' later, but for now I want to mention 'Hands Free Mama'...

In the 4 years since having Zoë I have gone from having a basic phone which can make/take phone calls, send texts and take very basic photos, to an impressive smart phone which can do everything from phone calls to being a Kindle, from taking photos to surfing the web. And, like many other people, I have been sucked into the mentality that I need to be attached to this phone and the world inside it 24/7. But where has this left my husband and my children? I knew I needed to find a balance between simply living for the here and now, and using this amazing God-given technology which enables me to stay in touch with family and friends many miles away. 'Hands Free Mama' was recommended by a friend as a book which looks at finding balance, rather than total avoidance of technology. I have been reading it slowly and prayerfully over the past week or so and keep being rebuked and challenged for the way that I have had the balance wrong. One poem which really hit home is below:

Someone Has Noticed: The Inner Dialogue of A Child

It used to be what you greeted first thing in the morning.
Now you greet me.
You say, “Good morning!” and “How did you sleep?”
Your hands, no longer clinging to the device, are available to hug me, help me pour my cereal, and ruffle my hair.
Thank you for greeting me.

It used to be what you checked before bedtime.
Now you check me.
You make sure the covers are snug, the pages are turned, and the monsters are shooed away.
Your voice and your presence, no longer given to someone on a screen, remains on my skin as I drift off to sleep.
Thank you for checking me.

It used to be what you talked to for hours on end.
Now you talk to me.
You ask me about my dreams, my drawings, my latest jokes, and darkest fears.
With your eyes you listen, really listen, no longer summoned away by beeps and rings.
Thank you for talking to me.

It used to be what you held in your hand as you traveled room to room.
Now you hold me.
You hold me in your gaze, wrap me in your arms, and take my hand in yours.
Your hands are free … often leaving the devices behind … to cover me with love.
Thank you for holding me.

It used to be your favorite dinner companion, travel mate, and entertainer.
Now you seek me.
Your face beams at me through both your laughter and tears as I show you all the things I can do and all the things I know.
You say, “That other stuff can wait until later. Right now I am with you.”
Thank you for seeking me.

I used to think you couldn’t live without your electronic device.
But now I see there is something more important in your life.
It is me.
I am what you can’t imagine life without.
I am what you can’t bear to lose.
I am what holds your attention.
I am what illuminates your world.
You are choosing me.

And each time you do, I notice.
And my heart overflows with joy.
The phone is not so important anymore.
My childhood is not something you are willing to sacrifice.
Thank you for choosing me.

~Rachel Macy Stafford ©

So here is my public pledge as I start to change how I use my time...

The “Hands Free” Pledge

I’m going Hands Free.
I want to make memories, not to-do lists.
I want to feel the squeeze of my children’s arms, not the pressure of over-commitment.
I want to get lost in conversation with my spouse, not consumed by a sea of unimportant emails.
I want to be overwhelmed by sunsets that give me hope, not by extracurricular commitments that steal my joy.
I want the noise of my life to be a mixture of laughter and gratitude, not the intrusive buzz of cell phones and text messages.
I am letting go of distraction, disconnection, and perfection to live a life that simply, so very simply, consists of what really matters.
I’m going Hands Free.

I choose them! #handsfreemama

Summer holidays

For the past three years the words "Summer Holidays" have instilled fear right into my very core... These words signify the end of routine and activities for six or seven whole weeks! Do you know how long that is?? When you have a baby or a toddler life doesn't change for the holidays but you're left with an empty diary as swimming lessons and toddler groups take a break. I have survived (as have Zoë and Caleb), but I've always enjoyed the arrival of September and the restart of a weekly routine.

But this year feels a little different to me... it may be because we're now slowly edging into the world of terms and preschools, or because I'm just more practiced at filling in my empty diary with events, activities and playdates! I am actually looking forward to creating a new six week routine that we can enjoy together...

So, I started by writing a nice pretty colourful list of places to visit and activities to do on an A3 sheet of paper. I've done this for a few seasons now and find it a really helpful way of coming up with ideas. Most of the ideas are very simple and standard but it's nice to have a list to look at when I have the blank moment of 'what shall we do today/tomorrow?' I then asked Zoë what she wanted to do and added them to the list (ideas included 'go on a bus' and 'sleep in a tent'), and finally I asked on a FB group for local ideas of places and events as we've just moved house and I didn't want to miss anything we could walk to... And here is our list:

The second phase in my summer holiday organisation is to have a calendar up so we can pop in date-specific events (such as the kite festival on Dunstable Downs next weekend). I now have two visual reminders of things we can do and when we can do them, and this makes me feel much happier!

I've also been looking through a book I bought recently called Play Through The Bible by Alice Buckley and I'm hoping to do a story a week. This book includes lots of ideas for helping toddlers to remember the Bible story. I'm been thinking that I might be able to combine some of the stories with ideas off our list.

So all in all I'm quite excited about the next six weeks, oh, but first we need to finish the term... Roll on Thursday!!

Jesus is alive!

Easter is a much harder story for preschoolers to understand than Christmas; for one the idea of death rather than birth is sadder, and coming back to life is a hard concept for them to grasp.
I had lots of great ideas for helping Zoë and Caleb to get to grips with this very special part of the Bible story, but as per usual I completely over estimated the amount of time and energy I'd have. Compared to last year I seem to be doing significantly less with Zoë, but I now have a very active 1 year old boy, medication-related fatigue and less time with Zoë as she's at pre-school. But I continue to try as it's important to teach them about God and to have fun together!

Easter Story

I had planned to spend 5 weeks looking at each stage of the story from the last supper to the ascension, but this was too slow as Zoë needed to know the end of the story and couldn't wait. I'd looked at using a book published by The Good Book Company called Play Through The Bible by Alice Buckley; this book contains lots of good ideas for activities to help preschoolers get to grips with the Bible. I'd also looked on-line and other books on my bookcase so had a huge range of ideas to pick from...

One of my favourite activities was the Easter Egg story - I filled 6 eggs with 6 items from the Easter story and then used it to tell (and recap repeatedly) the story. The items were a donkey, bread, grass, stone, nothing and cotton wool. Can you work out the main points?

We had lots of fun over the Easter weekend - here are some of the things we did...

• Visited family and did an Easter egg hunt, made Tomb biscuits and decorated a Simnel cake

• Visited Waddesdon with friends and experienced Colourscape and did another Easter egg hunt

• Visited Ashridge with friends and got Zoë's face painted and did another Easter egg hunt!

• And looked after Wispy the hedgehog who came and played in our garden

 

Mummy Time

I'm still reading through A Mom After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George and am finding it such a helpful and encouraging book. It's not easy reading, but you don't feel got at... A quote I found helpful in the last chapter I read is as follows:

On the one side, you must point them to God's way. And on the other, to enjoy any success in training your child for God and for life, you have to know your child, to know what makes him or her tick... Your children are individuals with special strengths and capabilities that should be developed.

Give us this day our daily bread

Dairy-free scotch eggs and 'cowboy pies'

I've been challenged recently about how providing food for my family is one of the main ways I can fulfil my God-given role of looking after my family. Elizabeth George, in her book A Mom After God's Own Heart, says:

Our goal as moms is to see that those in our family are not deprived of the food, nutrition, health and energy they need to handle daily life, prevent melt-downs and stay happy.

I've always thought that I've done ok, but in reality I know that I can improve in this area! I can learn more about nutrition and what Zoë and Caleb are actually eating. I can improve my meal planning to include snacks and preparation time to ensure that melt-downs are avoided as much as possible.

Enjoying his lunch!

As well as being challenged in what I'm reading, we're also going through some food issues as a family. As many of you know Caleb has been dairy-free since he was a few months old and, whilst we're slowly reintroducing milk, has a fully dairy-free diet which requires planning. Zoë was gluten-free for the first couple of years but more recently has tolerated a low-gluten diet. However recent illnesses suggest that this may no longer be the case. We are currently in a 6 week phase of high gluten consumption before a load of blood tests to see what is occurring... after that it may be that we have to be gluten-free too! And of course I'm allergic to nuts!

Cooking is great fun!

If we're a dairy-free, gluten-free and nut-free family then I need to swat up on nutrition to make sure we're not deprived of the nutrients we need, and I need to be more organised with my meal and snack planning. So, as a way of holding me accountable I thought I'd share some of my ideas here with you...
- chat with friends who are further down the line on the intolerance journey.
- include snack ideas on our meal planner
- plan meals with low preparation times and schedule in preparation in my day
- make/bake more of our own snacks
- research more ideas for df, gf and nf breakfasts and lunches to add variety and different nutrients
- consider a 4 week free course with University of Aberdeen on nutrition

I hope you'll enjoy coming on this journey with me as I explore how I can feed my family for the glory of God!