Wow what a weekend. I have just come back from our Annual staff weekend together....and I am wiped!
For a woman who likes structure, I kinda liked the agenda for the weekend, very relaxed and informal....but nevertheless there is still lots to process.

I really enjoyed it and had a real sense of corporate/family togetherness ....and a sense of a new adventure....

Just to say on the family front Jen is having a grommet op this week, so we would ask that you pray all goes well with that

Blessings

New beginnings, new routines

Within the last few weeks we have had a lot of things going on... So what else is new I hear you ask?
But on the 18th/ 19th of August we had a few changes.
In Scotland the 18th was back to school day...Jen went into P3. However that was not the only significant event ....cos my dad turned 75.
So what about the 19th .... that was Douglas' first afternoon at playgroup.

Yes it is all change now...for the first time in over 6 years I have time in the afternoon without kids (when it is not a work day.)

Douglas is taking to his new routine just fine loving playing with cars and making new friends. I am also adjusting to having some kid free time. I am trying to incorporate a brisk walk into my day after I drop Douglas off....it is surprising how nice it is to walk at my pace more often.

Having said that however, it does help to pass the time :)

Holiday Club

Well its the last week of the summer holidays (didn't those 7 weeks go fast) and we are involved in the church Holiday club. This is our 3rd year in a row that we have done this as a family and if I am honest I dreaded it this year.

With all that has happened (plus last year we had said we would take a break from it) this year loomed..

However, once I got back into the swing of an early start and all the bouncing beats ....I am really quite enjoying it....

My role is kinda one that I created for myself a few years ago. I like photography and I quite enjoy writing and playing about with DTP stuff...so I do a daily news sheet with pictures of what has happened.

Now the kids also see a video of the previous days events at the club, so why bother with the news sheet some may ask?

Well its simple, the kids can take home a sheet that informs the parents of what the club gets up to and of course they also receive the story or passage of scripture. It may seem surprising but in this age there are so many households that don't have a Bible it is good that the kids can take home an extract....
I must admit that in days gone by (pre family) I used to spend more time on the comments and writing. In previous years, I have been known to write my own version of the story. There were two main reasons for this - the first being that it is hard to get a Bible version suitable for 5 to 11 year olds and secondly if I write a paraphrase version then there is less to worry about copyrights.

These days I tend to use Bible versions that allow you to put sections in without having to approach for permissions.

I realise I have not posted here for some time. The last few months have been quite difficult. After my fall I have had problems with my head which has resulted in frequent headaches.
This has made blogging hard to do.

Ministry wise I have been unable to do very much - due to the headaches....although I did have a very good day training the Kirkcaldy street Pastors in April. I am therefore taking some time to reflect on things at the moment.
Meanwhile my wee boy has turned 3 and before I know it he will be at Play group in August ...time flies doesn't it?

Lots of stuff getting in the way.

Once again it has been a couple of months since my last post - In the early part of the year I slipped on ice and suffered concussion. That took a lot out of me.... Then there was more illness in the family and on top of all that we have had almost daily problems with the local youngsters...
The result of all this is that I have either too tired or had headaches which has put me off composing blogs.
I had looked at doing a Masters degree at the tail end of last year but I have come to the conclusion that the timing is wrong. I would love to do something, so its just a matter of what to do and when.

My church is doing a bible in a year challenge which I am finding very interesting. I have finding that because there are loads of folk doing it, it is easier to keep focussed and keep going.

I feel because of all the illness it has been a bit of a slow start to the year. I have got less done than I thought. Perhaps that is no bad thing as I was forced to slow down.

When asked how bad things were - my response was simple, "I am in bed watching High School Musical 2" It says it all really...

I am slowly getting back to things but I do feel worn down.