Spring is bursting out all over....

Hi there folks.

The sun is shining and the daffodils look spectacular along our road. We even have some in our garden, along with some primroses and a few crocuses. Just seeing them and feeling a bit of warmth from the sunshine gives a whole new perspective on life.

Not that I am much of a gardener to be honest. It seems to me that the more work you do in a garden the more you have to do. Our garden isn't huge and my Dad likes to come and do stuff in it which is great and relieves me of the burden of non-gardeners guilt.

As much as I may say that I am just leaving the garden to grow as God intended it I do tend to wander down the road looking with unhidden admiration on my neighbours gardens with their perfectly mown lawns, their beautifully trimmed roses and their immaculately gravelled pathways.

I wonder if the state of peoples gardens reflects the state of their minds? Neat, tidy, possibly a tad too neat or, like me, chaotic, untidy and shambolic? I bet people have done studies on stuff like this, even PHDs.

It is my theory that you can tell a lot about a person by their cutlery drawer. Now here is no room or excuse for untidiness or shambolics. A cutlery drawer should be a work of art where thing are put away properly and in their rightful place. I get very, very upset when my cutlery drawer is messed about with; it's not a pretty sight. And I'm sure there are PHDs on that using words like"Fruitcake" and phrases like "needs to get a life."

My linen cupboard however is a tip. Maybe this balances me out and makes me as normal as the next person, but then everyone is normal til you get to know them.....

Signing off dear people.

Much love,

Rachel.

Well, that went well, didn't it?? There was I back in September issuing forth about how I was going to be a more regular blogger, update my posts on a more frequent basis and now it is the end of January and I have done nothing.

Truth to tell,I have not been at my most ravishing best. Since half term back in October one by one my children and husband and finally myself have all succumbed to various and horrible bugs and viruses. At Christmas we were all a heap of germs flopped out on the sofas, reading, playing on the Wii and sleeping, coughing, sneezing and believing death was imminent.

Death did not come and most of us are now better but I have to confess that these past few months have been hard. I didn't even write Christmas cards!! I have felt under a dark cloud, far from God and weepy. Not nice.

My Mum has had a brush with cancer, my sister and her husband have separated and it's just not been great. But, of course, that is life and with four kids, a busy husband etc, etc, etc you just keep going don't you? I guess I just haven't had any spare resources for anything other than just keeping everything ticking over.

So, that's me really....a bit of a heap at the moment but hanging on in there, trusting that the sun will shine and that my energy levels will rise.

Hope you are all ok.

Much love,

Rachel.

The Finer Things in Life.

I think I am reasonably easy to please! I don't ask for much to be honest. A trip to the loo without anyone shouting out wanting to know where I am is always a pleaser, getting the washing dry is fab and a cup of tea with a friend is the icing on the cake. But now....I have had a taste of some finer things of life and sisters, I like the taste!!!

The vicar that lives here bought me and my friend across the way some biscuits. These are not just any old custard creams or bourbons. Not for me the dreariness of Asda Smart Price (no offence, Asda!) NO! These are biscuits from a place I normally cannot even dream about...Harrods!!! OH MY GOSH. They are indeed the most sumptuous biscuits I have ever tasted. My husband is WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!

My friend and I are being very restrained. We are limiting ourselves to just one a day...that is how special they are and eeking them out like this makes them all the more special. They are a real treat.

I must confess that since the children went back to school I have indulged in one or two other treats as my reward to myself for having got through the summer holidays without committing any heinous crime. My treats have included two new glorious items of underwear from a rather lovely new shop in the city (I feel like a new woman!) and getting my hair cut at a somewhat up market hair emporium.

And now back to reality. The school run is underway, the washing is never ending, my brain hurts each day as I try to think of yet another meal to cook and helping the children with their ever-increasing amounts of homework. Tonight was maths..mean, mode and median. To be honest I don't even know if I've spelt those words correctly never mind understanding them!

Now that the summer is over and normality is back (Ha ha) I shall endeavour to blog more frequently. I have missed doing it and now that we have gone wireless which means, apparently, that because we have more than one computer with internet access, I will not always be last in the queue to get on it. Huzzah!!!!!

Mind you, the house is quiet with everyone out during the day. We have had a great summer with some time away and good times at home and visitors and friends but I must admit I like a bit of structure and routine in my life so am always glad to see September.

SO...here's to a more regular blogging life, more cups of tea with fabulous biscuits, and energy, strength and enthusiasm to cope with the mundane but necessary things of life.

Much love,

Rachel.

Girlfriends.

My lovely friend who lives across the road has been away. Only for a week but it has seemed like years. We drink a lot of tea together.

My fabulous cousin has been really busy so we have not chatted so much. We share so much and pray together over the phone.

My sister, who is busy woman and another very dear friend have all had lots on their plates. So have I. We talk a lot.

Another friend has put up with me cancelling dinner with her..twice. We laugh a lot.

So the past couple of days have seen lots of catching up with each of them and it has been wonderful.

My girlfriends are amazing women...they inspire me, encourage me, listen to me, laugh with me (and sometimes at me!!) eat chocolate with me, pray with me, clean my kitchen while I catch up on much needed sleep and generally make me feel better about myself when the going gets tough.

I cannot imagine my life without them. Their wisdom, humour, tea-making skills and love are what makes me who I am. I am truly grateful for them and thank God for bringing them into my lives.

Girlfriends are a gift from God and I thank Him for blessing me with fabulous wonderful girlfriends.

With love,

Rachel.

A very English weekend.

We are just at the end of a very English weekend. It has been our church flower festival based on the theme of the hymn "All things bright and beautiful," (not one of my favourites I have to confess...).

However, moving on...the church looked incredibly beautiful. Many people have spent hours putting together amazing flower arrangements and displaying very lovely works of art.

I am always in awe of people who can do wonderful artistic things. I received an "F" for art at school and can clearly remember the art teacher, when I moved on to college shouting at me across the art room," What the b....h... have you painted that cheese board .....brown for??" It is a phrase that still haunts my dreams!!!!!

What makes these occasions very English, of course, is the fact that we are so stoic. We are totally at the mercy of the weather and yet we carry on barbecuing vast quantities of sausages and burgers in a howling gale, brewing up more tea than you would believe possible and parachuting much loved teddies off the church tower. That's why I love being English!

It has been a great weekend. The Bishop came yesterday and I lead a "Songs of Praise" service in the evening with testimonies and some fabulous traditional hymns.



So now the big clear-up begins and by 7pm this evening you would never know it had happened. I am hoping that the Vicar who lives here will take a couple of days off as he has worked non-stop and hasn't had a day off for several weeks and he is knackered. As it is half term here it would be good to have some family time.

Well, this vicar's wife and mother of twins plus 2 must go and put her head around feeding everyone.

Much love,

Rachel.

A whole jumble of thoughts.

Hi lovely people!! Where have the last few weeks gone?? They seem to have passed me by in a blur of chicken pox, the usual round of mundane household chores, which frankly are boring the pants off me and an increasing number of senior moments.

It's these senior moments that trouble me most. In the past few weeks I have forgotten to cook for my family. It is most disconcerting to be leading worship and just as I was about to announce the creed to suddenly have flash through my mind that I had forgotten to put the lunch in before leaving for church. My beloved family were less than impressed.

I lost a child...or rather I didn't. A friend asked me if I could look after her son after school one day. He didn't show up. I panicked. I spent 30 minutes looking the streets for him. It felt like eternity. I went to the school. Everyone was concerned. I finally caught up with him in the park. He told me that he was coming the following week. He was right. I was wrong. I was also embarrassed and had to inform the school. I felt a right twit. The school laughed at me. Hardly surprising.

My girls have started Brownies. They love it and I love the fact that they belong to something that I belonged to when I was a child. The first week they came home full of excitement. "Did you dance round the toadstool?" I asked. They looked at me with the withering look that only seven year olds can give. "NO!" was the reply. "Oh we used to dance round a toadstool when I was a Brownie." "Well," said one of my little angels, "I think things have moved on a bit since your day mummy!!!" Words failed me....

Chicken pox is not pleasant. The twins have just come through it. The first one to get it wasn't really ill...just spotty. The second one was so ill. Really nasty. Today they are both back at school. The sun shone all day so I changed the beds and washed the revolting scabs away down the drain. How satisfying...I am a cheap round.

I have a lovely new mobile phone. It's a very long story as to why and how and if i wrote it all down it would take so long I would get arthritis so I shan't bother. What I will say, however, is that I hope one day I shall actually be able to work out how to use it. Thank goodness I have a 13 year old daughter to show me how.

I am so grateful to God for his strength these last few weeks. There never seems to be a minute to call my own and tiredness is constant. But there is much to be thankful for, especially for his love for me even when my behaviour is that of a dotty old lady. Wonder what I will be like when I really am old....

With love,

Rachel

Thawing out....

We have been away and it has been glorious. It was unbelievably cold but if you insist on going to Skegness at any time of the year you deserve to be cold!

We went to Spring Harvest which is an annual event that takes place at very cold Butlin's holiday resorts. Thousands of Christians wearing several layers of clothing, gloves, woolly hats and carrying large Bibles get together for worship and teaching and general jolliness as we all make the most of the Butlins swimming pool, fun fair and delights of the East coast.

It is always a great time and good to get away from the phone and doorbell and general day-to-day busyness of parish life.

The children are always delighted that we actually have time to do things with them and swimming is a hot favourite...for them, not for me. I actually do like swimming but it's all this taking your clothes off malarkey and all the performance of having to shave your legs before hand that seems to blight the whole experience to be honest.

This year I did manage to take them all on my own. This is no mean feat as my son is always ready in two seconds flat, my little girls not long after and then my eldest daughter and me last as we have to have the obligatory "Does my bum look big in this?" conversation. The answer to her question is, "No, you look gorgeous." When I ask the answer is not the same!

We make it through to the pool .....Me trying to look very cool and together while at the same time trying not to let my self be seen and then getting into the pool with immense speed if not grace.And then...there is the art of trying to keep my eyes on small children who are totally fearless, full of excitement and possibly still on the side of being not-quite-swimmers-yet.

It's interesting to note that since these swimming outings my hair really does appear to be greyer and my brow more furrowed..and all this before the deep, deep joy of finding a family changing cubicle and making sure that all are properly dressed.(can't be bothered to get dry as no matter how hard you try it is impossible to get dry after swimming). After ensuring everyone has everything you then have the joy of everyone being grumpy because they have all used up so much energy that they are starving!!!

But God is good and we were able to be part of some fabulous worship and some great bible teaching. The children had a wonderful time and it is such an encouragement to them to see that they are not the only kids who have Christian parents and that actually it is cool to know Jesus and that is a huge encouragement to us.

It all spurs me on especially as I went there feeling really exhausted and a bit low. It's an awful feeling to believe that you just cannot keep up this being a Christian thing. I guess that's why we need each other so much...to give each other a prod in the right direction and keep each other going.

Well, must sign off. Me and the vicar that lives here are about to transform our sitting room into a tropical island. Our babies are going to be 7 tomorrow so we have a whole host of girls coming for the party of the year. That will really not help the grey hair situation will it???????

With love,

Rachel.