Book Sharing Monday

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-legged-Cat-Picture-Puffin/dp/0140549633/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240859660&sr=8-2
Our-bk-for-today-was-about-a-three-legged-cat:
Mrs Gimble's cat would love to prowl, but has only three legs. Mrs Gimble's brother, Cyril, travels, but he is thinking of stopping because his head is cold. When Cyril visits Mrs Gimble, he picks up the cat instead of his hat - which keeps his head warm and allows the cat to travel. Very-topical-for-us-as-we-have-a-three-legged-cat-called-Bramble.--Space-bar-is-dead-so-not-much-info-today-sorry!!!
Jo

Book Sharing Monday

I saw this on another blog and had to participate since, as most of you know, I am a total book fiend. Today our book was Eddie's Garden and How to Make Things Grow by Sarah Garland. A friend bought it for my Eddie from a library discard sale and it has turned out to be a wonderful book, worth far more than the few pennies she paid for it. It is about a little boy called Eddie who wants a garden and so he, his mum and his baby sister, Lily, go about growing plants and vegetables in their back garden. On the way they learn about pests and how to control them (slug hunting at midnight) and what plants need to grow. It's a lovely book and my ds2 particularly enjoyed it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1845070151/ref=sib_rdr_dp

If my camera had any charge....

If my camera had any charge, today I would have taken pictures of...

My house: even after a massive cleaning and decluttering weekend, the boys have managed to spread Lego throughout it's entirety again. Sigh.

My lettuces: they are coming along so nicely and I can't resist pulling off a few leaves and having a munch now and again.

My little boy sat chewing straw on the smallholding whilst I was weeding; with his sunhat on he looked like a proper country bumpkin.

The same little boy during and after his mud eating session.

That littlie again, asleep under a blackcurrant bush in the sunshine; not quite a gooseberry bush....

The smallholding; it's looking so good now. Wendy and Emma have worked tremendously hard, and I suppose I've helped a little.

Ds1 and his chum dam building in Wendy's brook.

Ds2 actually picking up a fork and digging.

The chickens because they look so beautiful at this time of year, their glossy feathers sparkling with sunlight.

The wonderful flowering cherry in Wendy's neighbour's garden.

...and lots more I expect. But unfortunately my camera has no charge, so you will just have to imagine.

Jo x

Busy busy

Well I had some time off today when a very dear friend took the boys to the park for a couple of hours. Yes I even let my littlie go. I would have missed him terribly except that I was far too busy making habitable ds1's bedroom. Imagine wading through a sea of Lego and dog-eared Beanos, strewn with random articles of crockery (which are not really allowed in the bedroom I might add). That's how it was this morning. NOW it is an oasis of calm and orderliness. Three binbags full of clothes and toys no longer required have been despatched to the charity shop (or at least are waiting to be despatched in the back of the car) and several items have disappeared via Freecycle. Yesterday I gave the same treatment to ds2's bedroom, and with some shelves I managed to liberate, we now have a very organised home ed section in our family room. Overloaded of course (I do have a tendency to buy and buy and buy books) but organised nevertheless. I feel like there is light at the end of the tunnel for my badly in need of tlc home. I mean I would love it to look like something out of Country Living, but with three small boys and a distinct lack of funds for home furnishings, that is not going to happen. But at least it is a little cleaner in a couple of corners. Long may it last.
Jo
x

Happy Easter!!!!

Matthew 28:6 (New International Version)
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.

The boys got up to a treasure hunt this morning. Daddy had organised it in the wee hours so we were still a little sleepy but they were very excited. A trail of eggs filled with goodies led to their chocolate eggs and Easter gifts. They each had a bag filled with the following:

Chocolate pebbles to remind them of the stone that was rolled away

Chocolate coins to remind us of the price Jesus paid for our sins

An empty egg with 'He is risen' written on a slip of paper inside.

An egg filled with jelly beans and a copy of the jelly bean prayer.

Other gifts included: 2 finger puppets for Ed, a Lego bag made out of Daddy's old jeans for G and a first attempt at a Waldorf style dolly for Will.

We are now going to read an Easter story together, take Jesus out of the Lego tomb and head off to church for early Communion.

God bless you all.

Jo

Good Friday

Because I couldn't bear the thought of three yelling children at a cross vigil in the town centre we went to Evesham yesterday, where a special weekend was being organised by the Northumbria Christian community. It was awesome. We didn't do very much, but we prayed the stations of the cross and had some meditative time out in the abbey. I really love the reflectiveness of their approach to God. I have decided to start using the Northumbrian prayer offices as part of my devotional time, and perhaps for family devotions as well. You can find out more about the Northumbrian community on their website.
http://www.northumbriacommunity.org/
If you go on the downloads section you can listen to some lovely celtic worship songs.
Thinking that we might try to get our Sun(spit) holiday in Berwick upon Tweed now and visit some of the ancient celtic worship sites.
Jo

Kool aid dyeing

http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall02/FEATdyedwool.html
http://www.koolaiduk.com/
Since FairClaire told me about undyed wool in a local farm shop I've been itching to buy some and dye my own garments/skeins. I'm interested in natural dyeing but a little daunted at the prospect. Kool Aid dyeing is very intriguing though, and it doesn't seem too complicated either. Watch this space.

Lots more Easter blog posts coming soon.
Jo

Passover

This year one of my resolutions was to build more, rhythm and joy into our lives. We have tried to do this by being 'present' in the moment and trying to celebrate the every day. We've also started to take note of some festivals that we consider important. Today we celebrated Passover. We are not Jews but we are Christians, and the Passover story is an important part of our heritage. It reminds us that however enslaved we are by satan in whatever terrible situations, our God is a deliverer and a redeemer. So we had a huge cleanup in anticipation of friends joining us, and then we ate our Passover meal, complete with Sedar plate and Haggadah service. It was wonderful; I think the kids were a bit bored in places but overall we all thoroughly enjoyed it, and I think the experience will be repeated again next year, unless of course our Saviour returns....

Frustration

I gave DS1 his Home Ed ideas book today. He was thrilled and immediately got to work on writing down some ideas. The main one was to do a project on Lego history. So we all came upstairs into our bedroom (where the computer with internet access is) so that he could do some research. I brought card, glue, sequins and pens for DS2, planning to make an Easter garland to hang up as part of our Easter decorations. That was about an hour ago. And where are they now. Off,... playing. To be fair, DS1 is building something to do with the Easter story in Lego for the season table. DS2 is making a mess. I have made eggs, crosses and flowers for our garland which I really enjoyed. WHY can't they join in????? It is sooooo difficult. I know boys don't like doing crafts so much as girls, but I wish they would last longer than 10 minutes. As for the internet research, he printed out one picture and then watched this, which is very funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVrIyEu6h_E
Hoping for a better afternoon.
Jo

Palm Sunday

I love Palm Sunday and the build up to Easter. Almost as much as I love Christmas, in fact. Maybe more, actually. Anyway, last night we made a fab Palm cross from The Children's Year book, although with paper cockerel and sun due to time and energy constraints. We managed not to eat all the sweets and raisins and strung some of them on to the branches. There were even a few left in a basket to hand out as treats at church, along with some paper palm branches ds2 and I made this morning. It was wonderful. Of course, the response at church is that people think we're completely bonkers but never mind.

Tonight we went to a Palm Sunday celebration service in Worcester and heard Robin Oake speak about the death of his son and the need for forgiveness. It was awesome; I totally admire that family. It makes me feel terrible that earlier in the day I got upset about someone being a little derisive about our Palm Sunday treats. He told a brilliant joke which brings it home wonderfully:

What is a custard Christian?

One that gets upset about little trifles.

Lol. Definitely me. Something to pray about and work on with the Lord's help methinks.