Cheshire Oaks

I had a whale of a time at GAP this week as a nice lady had brought a craft activity. Yes it was intended for the children, but i was thoroughly occupied colouring in a paper-plate angel! Ruby did one too!
It was the last GAP before Christmas so we brought snacks.
Then in the evening Jojo's cough got worse & he was wheezing uncomfortable. DH took him to the walk-in so I could go to BSF. I'm so glad, I really needed BSF and to paraphrase the lecture principles slightly, "Lack of prayer leads to a huge Palaver" is what stuck with me today.

It turns out to be tonsilitis. It's quite different to the tonsilitis Lola had a few months ago. So he's off today . Thankfully DH is off work today to do his Christmas shopping so he can look after him while I meet some christian home edders today.

I am living in a rollercoaster of busyness, tiredness & crazed emotions at the moment & I miss BSF leaders SO MUCH! I really need to accept I'm not there any more, I left the group, but I didn't leave the Lord behind, maybe I'm acting as if i did.
Please pray for me to get back into a good morning routine as, (As i think i've mentioned, ) Lack of prayer leads to a huge palaver! And that's what i'm in right now.

Thinking of changing my noah's day to wed after christmas, and volunteer with the adults with learning disabilities. When that group started I began praying whether the Lord would like me to get involved, as I have very little experience in that area & I would like to learn. So I am planning to go, purely to make my week flow a little easier.

Been to Cheshire Oaks today, an outlet shopping centre, meeting up with christian home edders of the region, there were approx 7 mums and 17 little uns from 1-15.

It was a lovely blessing, some have known each other many years & their children are good friends. We got to know some a little better, we were huddled at the covered playground there, having a picnic/Mcdonalds, and then K got some hand-me-downs out of her car & we were all grabbing stuff - this is what Cheshire Oaks was built for, right?!
It was great fun, and i swapped prayer requests, so I can get down to pray for these precious families.
My Ruby went off to a choc shop with 3 teen girls, so that's progress!

One of the things we recieved from K was a candle making kit, you can imagine Fred has really enjoyed himself & made a huge mess with that!

Thanks Lord for another day of fellowship & blessing!

Family Reunion 2012

Wow! We just came back from a Wonderful Family Reunion! It was held at my sister's house, which IS just big enough to house the entire family of 16!
There was plenty of talk, laughs, fun..wonderful food mainly prepared by my bro-in-law BN, I got some help with Fred's behaviour from my sister-in-law CJ, who is now a family link worker or something.
Everyone was lovely, it was wonderful having the 8 kids aged 2-13, all getting on well, we had hardly any tears or fighting! All the kids had a go at charades, which was lovely.
We went to some parks, saw some planes, went to BN's office & messed it up, (!) DH and I had a nice walk, it couldn't have been any better!
It was very much like christmas without the stress or expenditure!
I will try to put some pics up - I didn't take any,but plenty of other ppl did.
I LOVE my family!
Admittedly, Fred smashed their ipad, and I managed to lose my return ticket (!) but all in all it was a super experience!
We took the obligatory family photo, and my brother had an app on his phone which put all our faces on each other's heads, that was bizarre, and A & CJ introduced us all to the internet sensation, baby monkey (riding on a pig), now we cannot get the song out of our heads!

The Lord's Provision! Mysterious & Perfect

I am so thankful to the Lord for His kind provision!
I gave up my job in December, knowing the Lord wanted me to spend more time with the children. I didn't know it would be THIS much time!  And so we have been on a rather tight budget since then, a testing time for me - some months I have trusted in Him & been utterly amazed with His provision of free food, almost on demand!
 Other months I have worried, borrowed & gone overdrawn...  I wouldn't trust Him, I basically rejected His offer of blessing.
Today I finally got confirmation that Fred will receive DLA (disability living allowance) which is a very reasonable amount.
 I AM SO BLESSED!
WHY DID I EVER DOUBT HIM?!

I have lovely friends.

I had a lovely chat with my friend June yesterday, I have hardly seen her since she had her 6th daughter on new years day. We caught up & encouraged each other, commiserated over our oldest children becoming teens and discussed our responsibilities in church.
Last night I got help filling in Fred's DLA application (disability living allowance) I think he will get some small amount of money each week to help us manage all the extra time & energy it takes to raise him compared to a "normal" child of his age.
That would be nice, though I can say with assurance we can certainly live without it!
Thanks God for my lovely friends! x

Money!

I have been trying to live frugally this year 2012 - And by this I mean NOT borrowing money OR going slightly overdrawn when we run out of money/food. And trusting the Lord will provide. I am not asking anyone for anything except HIM. (see China Inland Mission financial principles!) And it's true, it is kind of up-to-the-last-minute stuff, but I must report it is GOING WELL.
Thank you God for providing!