Christmas holidays, fun and celebrations.

December has been a rather icy month. As you can see from this photo of 'Harry' he is covered with frost. Warming him up in the mornings was quite a challenge, especially as there was also ice on the inside of the windows as well (he has a small leaking problem). We decided that 'Tabitha' had to move out of the carport so that 'Harry', being the older one, could be protected from the elements.

On the 12th December the Boy's Brigade had a lovely Carol service which we all enjoyed very much, especially as they sang some of the favourite new ones, like 'Come and join the Celebration'.
Daniel's KS1 (key stage 1 is about the same as primary school level) Christmas Celebration also went well. Daniel was narrator number 17. He'd learnt his words off by heart and said them confidently without error. We were very proud of him.

It has become tradition in our family for the boys to go out and get a tree, so for the past 3 years Edwin and Daniel go out and choose a real Christmas tree which they bring home. This year they went out in Harry and brought home a tree. But....was it going to fit in the mini?

Yes!!! It does! Great excitement and jubilation.

Then, once in, it is up to Daniel and I to decorate it. We had great fun as you can see.

The day after school closed for Christmas, we decided to go and see Santa at the Nene Valley Railway. Waiting in the queue was great fun, especially with a clown entertaining you.

At last we reached the entrance... It was beautiful inside.

And Father Christmas was very friendly. After a short ride in the train with a snack of a chocolate bar washed down with juice for Daniel while Edwin and I enjoyed mince pies and coffee, my boys explored the station and just about each and every engine. As per usual, they were in their element! You'd never guess that we visit steam trains as often as we do!

20th December, the Sunday before Christmas, the Sunday School lead most of the service which is always great fun. Once again Daniel read his part beautifully.

Some creative fun is always essential during the holiday break.

On Christmas Eve we shared our Christmas meal with a friend, Sheila (a minister in our area). Unfortunately we were enjoying ourselves so much that we forgot to take any photographs. Anyway, I'll try and tell you all about it so that you can try and picture it for yoursleves. Our table was laid out with a gold and blue theme - gold table cloth with blue place mats (with gold and turqoise green patterns on), blue serviettes and turqoise plates, blue and gold candles. On the menu was:

Appletizer/mango with Sprite

Steamed Salmon with watercress and lemon butter

Honey and mustard roast gammon

Vegetable filo tart

Honey glazed parsnips

Brussel sprouts

Scan bran trifle served with Ice-cream

Cheese and biscuits

Coffee served with dinner mints

It all worked out wonderfully and we had a great time. Then it was time for Sheila to go home and prepare for her Christmas Eve service, so it was bed-time for Daniel who, as you can imagine, was very worked up and could hardly wait for the next day to arrive.

Thankfully he was soon asleep and we were able to prepare before Edwin was off to his service - peace and quiet, how long will it last?

Christmas morning....really exciting! Daniel was first downstairs and could not stop yelping with excitement. God continues to bless us in abundance in so many ways.

The next few days were spent exploring and playing games.

Slimy swamp is great fun. We had fun trying to see how high we could make this tower without it falling.

And when mom is on the phone to South Africa, it's great fun to empty the chest of all the games and puzzles and then climb in.... it is difficult for her to stop you!

Roller Hockey camp was wonderful. Daniel and his friend, Jack, were the youngest. They really enjoyed themselves.

We hope that your year was as busy and as fun as ours was, that you feel you have achieved lots and that God has blessed you in abundance through everything.

And may He continue to bless you in 2009!

Highlights of the year

Perhaps the best place to start is December 2007 as one generally always begins with January leading up to the beginning of December and then you never hear what happened over Christmas and the end of December. So here goes ...

December (2007) – We starting the month by making our own special advent wreath along with a printed sheet with all the readings, Daniel enjoyed it very much, especially the candles. Frosty mornings soon became the norm as Winter settled in and we soon got into the habit of dressing warmly no matter what it looked like outside. The month soon filled with activities, like a Christingle service , school Christmas play, decorating our ‘real’ tree, late night Christmas shopping, drives around the houses to see decorations, colouring in competition and Sunday school play, all leading up to our Christmas meal on Christmas Eve which we were privileged to share with our friend, Lorna Ballance. After the Christmas Day service in the morning it was home to open gifts and relax while enjoying snacks and good company.

January – Can’t remember, I think we just chilled as we recovered from the busy time of Christmas. On the 1st January we visited Ely Cathedral which still had its Christmas tree up. Unfortunately the photo of Daniel next to it did not come out that great but at least you can get an idea of the size of it.

February – With the weather warming up a bit we started spending more time outdoors. Daniel decided to paint his Jungle Gym with wood protector and a day at Brandon Park was great fun.

March – Our trip to South Africa was perhaps the biggest highlight of the whole year. Seeing and spending whatever time we could with family and friends was treasured, especially for me being able to be with my grandmother just days before her 90th birthday.

April – As our South African holiday drew towards the end, the topping on the cake for us all was our last few days at our cottage at Betty’s Bay.

Daniel was in his element. If only it could have been longer...

Back in the UK we were soon back into day to day life with Daniel’s class presentation and school outing.

May – Started with Chicken Pox and I was soon counting the days when he could go back to school. A visit to Nene Valley Railway helped celebrate the last of the spots and back to school. Cuddling my friend Liz's new baby was very special. Creative week with pirates from Neverland, school charity run and the Soham Carnival parade were all part of the activities as everyone enjoyed the great weather. Daniel and Edwin even went on country bike ride.

June – Took Daniel to see the race horses doing their early morning exercises at Newmarket followed by a ride through a very cute country village. I set up a bucket to sell rhubarb at our entrance and made a few pennies for pocket money.

July – The hive of activity - Boys Brigade outing to Mepal Outdoor Centre, Medieval dress up at school, Manse kitchen window break, School Sports Day, Sunday School weekend at Snettisham, Manse Congregation garden tea and Daniel passing level 5 at swimming. With the end of the school year and the start of the long summer holidays.

August – So it was off to London for 3 days, followed by a trip up to Leeds where we met Edwin’s father’s cousin, Joyce, and her husband, Bill. It was a great mini family reunion. We always have a great time up in Leeds spending time with family and visiting the area. The holidays then ended with the purchase of a new addition to the family - Harold (Harry) a blue estate mini.

September – The news of the passing away of my dear beloved grandmother was very sad but I'm pleased that I was able to spend time with her when we were in South Africa and have many fond memories of the times we shared over the years. Life goes on and the beginning of a new school year, Pumpkin Fair and a visiting steam train were all great fun.

October – Edwin’s birthday, an outing to a model train exhibition for Daniel with Edwin, a family weekend at Snettisham, school photos (with evidence of Daniel’s haircutting skills) and school art.

November – School holiday project: create a vehicle which will travel over the island of Struay (where the story book character, Katie Morag, lives). Harvest meals didn’t help the figure; pumpkin preparation was great fun; not forgetting Bonfire night, Daniel’s birthday, the roller hockey accident, the first Winter snow and the Christingle service. I’ve always said the last two to three months of the year become very hectic for us. The greatest surprise of all was making contact with Edwin’s cousin, Alan. Alan did not even know that Edwin existed. It was his son, Ian that saw my advert trying to find Alan and his brothers, and made contact. We are all looking forward to meeting up. It looks like we will need to arrange a HUGE family reunion sometime soon in the future.

December – Not much to report yet. Daniel failed level 6 at swimming but has had a rough deal as his instructor not only missed quite a few lessons but was not a very competent coach.

It sometimes seems at times like life never takes a break - Just busy, busy, busy.... especially with all the extra-mural activities Daniel is involved with being Roller Hockey (Tuesday), Boys Brigade (Wednesday), Swimming lessons (Thursday), Roller skating (Saturday) and Sunday School (Sunday). We try and keep Monday free, as it is Edwin’s day off, to spend time together as a family. Friday are also kept free for Daniel to unwind after the busy week. Homework is done over the course of the weekend and as he loves his reading, he does that every evening before bed.

Anyway, I dropped Daniel off at roller skating so that I can spend time working on this and get it posted today....He is now home playing while I finish off. Better hurry before I am needed...