Celebrate life


Saturday 24 December 2011

home is where the heart is



The Christmas tree went up last week and so did the decorations.


                                                           little feetsies.

I noticed how many hearts we have at home.




                                                           another angel

I have a confession... a lot of these hearts stay up all year round.
I just sort-of forget to pack them away and gradually they have become a feature at home.

When we had our first child, I absolutely knew that I wanted to create a home that had a lot of love in it. And these hearts just act as a little reminder, to me and my husband and my boys, to love one another. And the rest will follow.

Thursday 15 December 2011

I'm not ready

We're over half-way through Advent and I'm not ready.

The tree is bought but still in the back garden.

Some of the lights are up. Some, this year, don't work.



The candles are lit when it gets dark (I love my little angel peeking out from behind)



I've even put up some baubles (my son said this twig looked like reindeer antlers so I couldn't resist bringing it home)

When I went to the shops and saw everyone else bustling about, loaded up with bags and bags of stuff, I felt very un-ready. They all seemed to have it taped.

I really needed to remind myself that it's all the imperfections in my life that make me human. That being frayed around the edges and a bit ramshackle here and there is a good thing. That the BEST Nativity plays are the ones with old checked teatowels tied round little heads and Mary dangling baby Jesus by one foot.

all the extras are just that - extras

I never feel I'm 'ready', for anything

and I'm pretty sure God doesn't mind

Thursday 8 December 2011

I am grateful

for the birds singing this morning, at the darkest time of the year

for the wind being behind me on the second half of my run tonight

that I didn't inadvertently burn down through 2 days of the Advent candle today (thank you, boys, for keeping an eye on it)



for the mysterious, uncontainable creator God who sustains me.

Saturday 26 November 2011

those babies

Sometimes I help out in the creche at church. Now, my days of having babies are long gone, and as they get older my boys are less keen on being swooped on for a spontaneous bit of love and affection. But even so, a little part of me craves holding a wriggly baby. For a long time, I resisted this urge to cuddle a 3-month old, or to soothe a grumpy baby who would much rather be with his mummy than me. I wasn't sure how much cuddling was allowed, these babies not being my own. When I watched the other helpers (most of us are mums, and there are even a few dads) it was obvious that it was completely FINE to cuddle and hug as much as was needed. There is no limit to loving others.

So now I don't hold back. For the short time I'm with the babies I just cuddle and love them as much as they need. And drop lots of kisses on their heads. And yes, a little bit of my need for cuddles gets met too.

And that's not a bad thing.

Sunday 20 November 2011

some things I love

                                            
sunset AND the sea. Oh, my.




my sewing machine and a cup of tea.




Avebury, Wiltshire, in Winter




any tree will do, I'm not fussy.




my boys - here's one of them.




finding things in unexpected places.