Christmas.

Needless to say, it's been a busy day.  But here are some of the highlights...
We kicked things off at about seven, with the boy getting up to see if anything had arrived by overnight reindeer.  This was perhaps a little early for some of our houseguests, but they played along!  Sure enough, the stocking had landed.  We did his presents, and one of ours each before breakfast.  We hit church at half ten (well, ish...) and were treated to a tableau.  We went to the village church today, as it's a little more convenient than driving into Burton, and possibly more what Anna's family is used to.
Then it was home for lunch.  We have the advantage of two kitchens (one industrial), which made cooking large amounts of food much easier.
I dug a couple more parsnips this morning.  Two of them were intertwined, thus:

 Once peeled and trimmed, they looked almost architectural. 

What's more, they doubled very nicely as a fine piece of headgear.

We had an amazing lunch.  Turkey and ham, spuds, parsnips (honey roasted, freshly dug, that is!), red cabbage, sprouts (yuck), carrots, pigs in blankets, great stuffing, various other 'trimmings'.  All in all a great deal of meal!

Joshua's spent a fair amount of the day riding around the house on his new bike.  This has been great fun (he put his helmet on after his first fall!) and he's loved it.  He's also enjoyed all the other things he received today, and they've all had a decent amount of play time!

I've had some really fab presents today, including an all-singing-all-dancing meat thermometer/timer/general kitchen tool from Anna, which was used a lot today!

Really grateful for lovely family to share the day with, and looking forward to seeing my side of the family as they descend over the next few days.

Tonight, Joshua and I talked about why Jesus came to earth.  He told me that Jesus came because there were some bad people, who were doing what God didn't want them to do.  I filled in the gaps and we got there pretty quickly.  A distinct improvement on last night's conversation, which went

Me:  What's the nicest present that God gave us at Christmas?

Joshua:  Uh, Buzz, Buzz Lightyear?

Oh dear :)

But seriously, what an amazing gift He did give.  I think of the explosions of angelic choirs heralding His arrival, and the sheer enormity of His coming to earth, but tinged with the knowledge of the Father about the destiny of His Son, for the sake of His children.  I think back to just before Christmas four years ago, looking at the very real possibility that we might lose Joshua, and I just can't fully grasp how God made the sacrifice He did.  He must love us a great deal indeed.

Dig it.

  So, here's what happens when you've planted some lovely parsnip seeds way back in who-knows-which-month, and you think to yourself, "I know, I'll leave them in the ground until we need them.  Because they do fine just left in the ground.  In fact, the consensus is that these things actually taste nicer (sweeter) if they've been subjected to the odd frost."

So, the odd frost comes and goes.  Then, all of a sudden, you're in the middle of a 'cold snap', which includes temperatures below -10C.  And it's almost Christmas, and you desperately want to get some parsnips on that table that haven't come from Tesco.  And so you have to dig.  

 But, looking on the bright side, I've learnt a few things from this.  First of all, there's the fact that it may be worth taking the parsnips out when the ground isn't frozen solid.  Secondly, there's the knowledge that it is actually perfectly possible (and, to be honest, slightly easier than I had first feared) to take parsnips out of the ground using a pick axe.  Thirdly, (and this was more of a reminder than a new gem of knowledge, having spend my youth doing cross country runs in the snow in the foothills of the Himalayas) there's the fact that it is quite easy to work up a sweat, even in sub-zero temperatures.

 And here's the end result.  We'll probably take another row up (this is less than half a row really) before Christmas, so that we can have really freshly harvested parsnips on our Christmas table.


In other related news, we were given an awesome present today.  Some friends of ours gave 'us' a gift of seeds and tools that, through Oxfam, they had sent to a family in need (probably in Haiti).  Given how much they know I love doing stuff in the garden, I thought it was a fantastic present.  I'm hoping that the Haitians don't have the same problems with their parsnips though!

Birthday Boy.

That's what I called this post last year, and it seems apt, so I'll stick with it.
Four years on. Every now and again, I try to think what I was doing four years ago. I have to say, it's got less pleasant as the day's gone on, but the outcome was ok :) Still can't believe it's four years. (I know, a bunch of you say the same, but with bigger numbers!)
We had a party today, which was more low-key than last years mammoth. No inflatable ball pool for starters! We did, however, have a cake. This time it was Rex, and I've written all about it on the other blog, so won't go through it all again.
There were no friends from nursery this time (he's increasing his time at school, so nursery will be finished at Easter). One from church, a couple from (his) school and a bunch from (our) school.
Anna did loads of amazing stuff for it - craft table, biscuit decoration, huge spread of food, pin-the-tail on the very old donkey, pass the parcel. Everything to make the perfect party.
Once again, we failed in the 'blowing out the candles' shot. We have a before shot, an after shot, but no 'during' shot. Oh well. Maybe next time.
Today I've been more conscious than I think I was last year of the blessing of having him at all. After the horrendous first few days, it seems all the more precious to have time with him, and to celebrate birthdays and other big events. He's amazing, and such a gift. Thanks God for giving him to us, Anna for having him, God again for keeping him with us, and Joshua for being him! Love you all.

Oops.

Done it again. Posted elsewhere when I meant to post here...
Oh well, check it out anyway!

You can really go off people...

Joshua's going through a moany couple of days. A lack of sleep is the most likely cause, though he sadly doesn't believe me on this, and thinks that 6ish is the right sort of time to get up. This makes for a grumpy daddy... It is also coupled with him being annoying (I know, this from the cutest boy in the world does seem unlikely, but there you have it...). Yesterday it was this:
I'd started one of those 'photo mosaic' puzzles. It's Homer Simpson and I'd got as far as doing the edge and his face and both arms. Can you tell? No, that would be might sweet son 'helping'. Mind you, it's difficult to stay cross when within half an hour, it's all gone quiet and you find said son thus:
How can you be cross with that?
We've had a bit of snow recently. I have to emphasise a bit. A tiny amount has settled, not nearly as much as most of the rest of the country has had. Much to our disappointment. Anyway, it was enough to build a snowman.
Joshua, somewhat unnervingly, kept referring to him as 'little brother'. (I wouldn't say there was that much family resemblance myself). Particularly disturbing when he was blithely saying that, when it got hotter, little brother would melt. Odd boy.
If you're wondering about the scale of this snowman (which you probably weren't, but hey), then this next photo will give you a fair idea.
His eyes were raisins. Oh, and this is a shot of 'little brother' as his head fell off.

A few favourites.

Well, he's been coming out with them thick and fast recently, so here are a few comments from the last couple of days that I particularly enjoyed.

"Night night Henrietta", as we were locking the ride-on mower safely into the metal container it lives in. I was a bit confused about the name, as he'd christened the mower Bessie the day before. This afternoon, as we went out to do some more gardening, Joshua said, "we've got to be quiet, because Bessie is tired and will be sleeping."

"This is the best game I've played ever." Sounds very sweet, but considering he was, at the time, sat on the hall floor playing with the multiswitch for the Christmas lights, it was actually a little bit sad. In fact, when we had to go out, he reassured himself by saying, "yes, I can finish this game later."

"Daddy, daddy, daddy (shouted in a sort of emergency-related tone) there are THREE on." He was referring to the number of episodes of Bob the Builder that were on the telly. "There were two, and now another one has come on, so there are three on Daddy." Wow, I wish I could get so excited about such things. As it happens, I think he'd counted incorrectly, but I won't mention it...

Chores.

I figure that 3 is plenty old enough to start doing a few little jobs around the place. This week, we started with laying the table. Seemed, pretty straightforward to me. However, it's obviously not as easy as it appears ...
So, having established that table-laying wasn't really something that featured in his skills matrix (as they say), I thought maybe something a little more outdoorsy would be more fitting.Three problems spring to mind though:
1) He can't reach the brake (is that a problem? well, given his steering, yes)
2) He can't reach the lever to engage the mower blade
3) When the mower blade is engaged, he isn't actually heavy enough to be 'registered' by the seat, and so the power cuts off (it's a safety feature - blades engaged + driver off seat = powercut) I guess the bright spark who designed the cutoff feature figured that people driving would be over the age of three.
In all seriousness, we had a fantastic time mowing today. He's a bit nervous of the mower, which, frankly, isn't something I altogether discourage (though he clearly doesn't take after his father) because I reckon that a dose of anxiety may be useful in protecting him from doing silly things as a general rule (living in hope!). That said, he was more than happy to sit on my lap as we chuntered up and down the orchard hoovering up the leaves along the way. The aim wasn't actually cutting the grass, just clearing the leaves. Today was the first time in a while that it's been anywhere close to dry enough for such a task - I tried a couple of days ago and the leaves were glued to the ground with all the moisture (combo of rain and fog) we've had recently.

Have I mentioned that the boy is REALLY into taking photos at the moment. I could merrily set up another blog dedicated to photos he takes. But maybe four blogs is quite enough. For now, I'll just slip the odd one in here.
Unfortunately, he goes for the element of surprise, rather than taking time to compose his shot. This generally results in a picture that is less than flattering of the victim it features.

Funny fitness.

Ok, this was the funniest thing I've seen from him in a while. Fine, I missed it on camera, and here he's just stood there with hands on hips. But let me explain anyway. You can probably tell that the room he's standing outside is a gym. He wandered up to the window, saw what everyone inside was doing and started running on the spot, and looking through the window. It was absolutely priceless. I have no idea if anyone inside actually spotted the three-year-old outside copying them, but it was certainly amusing from my angle!

Those photos I mentioned.

Let's see if we have more luck this morning...
Oh ... hang on. I've just remembered these are off the 'new' camera. And therefore huge. Maybe I was just been uncharitable about the slowness of the computer...
Quick resize operation ... back in a minute...
Now some from the garden.

Outdoor activities...

Well, it was Sale of Work weekend, which made for a wild 24 hours...
I think about £9000 was raised by the event as a whole this weekend, so that's good stuff. We got to 96 apple crumbles, though they haven't yet all been sold, so are back in our fridge and freezer...
I really feel I should make 4 more, as it seems silly to do 96, and then stop, but given we haven't sold them all, perhaps I should call it a day. That then gives us a target for next year!
Anyways, it's pretty much all over now (apart from the sale of the last few crumbles ... maybe I should go around the neighbours and just give them away!
But the main reason for this post is to catch up with some photos... First, a couple from today, starting with Joshua doing his Cossack thing:Then some more from the garden (yes, there really are that many leaves on the lawn!)

Well, I say more from the garden, but my computer's just decided to stop letting me upload pictures...
Will post and then try again later.

The gospel in a pumpkin...

So, what do you think of Halloween? (or Hallowe'en, or however you wish to spell it...)
Part of me still wonders what I think about it, but here's what I've been thinking about it this year...
I wasn't brought up to think it was an evil thing (odd, perhaps, with a darker side, maybe) and I seem to have memories of having bat wings made for a costume one year. I'm pretty sure that was Halloween, but maybe it was just a costume party of our favourite nocturnal animals!
We bought some pumpkins this year (I tried growing them, but the size they got to, it would have been difficult to carve a gnat's face into them!), inspired partly by a fireplace I saw on the internet. The first one, I carved with flames in it. It looked great, but because it sat on the mantelpiece (rather than in the cold outside) it got rather furry rather quickly, so had to go to the compost bin.
The other pumpkins were carved this weekend and sat on our step to welcome people who were 'trick or treating'. So, is it good, or is it bad.
Well, this year, I've been thinking that Halloween in general and the pumpkin in particular gives a great outline for what we believe as Christians. I even chatted with Joshua about the pumpkin, and he got the point too. First, there's all the scary costumes. Kids love dressing up scary, it would appear. They are happy to wander around with axes and witches hats and 'blood' pouring from their heads. Weird. But would they actually like to meet someone wandering around with a real axe, with real blood pouring from their head? Perhaps not. But the desire to dress up bad gives the first point. We all want to be bad, to a certain extent. The Bible would call that sin, and it's a reminder that evil does exist in the world, and a lot of it comes from us.
The pumpkin, for me, is a reminder of the solution. (Not to pull a scary face, that doesn't tend to work very well in most difficult circumstances.) Here's a rough outline of my conversation with Joshua about it all:
Me: What do we put in the pumpkins sweetheart?
J: (After a little nudging!) candles.
Me: And what does a candle give us?
J: Light. (I'm not sure quite how he got this, because the question was a bit unclear!)
Me: Now, sometimes you get scared at nighttime don't you?
J: Yes.
Me: What is sometimes scary for you? (Hoping he doesn't latch onto this and become permanently terrified of the dark!)
J: It's dark.
Me: And what stops it being dark?
J: Light. (He's a genius, my boy!)
Me: Now, if the dark is a reminder of bad and scary things, then the light is a reminder of good things. Now, who looks after us all the time?
J: God? (We discuss this often, so it wasn't too hard to get there!)
Me: Yes, and the Bible sometimes says that Jesus is like a light. He is good and protects us, and when he's in us, we're safe.

Now, I wouldn't want to reduce to gospel permanently to a level that a three year old could grasp, because it's so much more than that too, but to me, the pumpkin has a light in, which drives away the darkness, which is precisely what Christians are promised. We have God's Spirit living in us, and He is able to drive away the darkness.

"Light of the world, You stepped down into darkness, opened my eyes, let me see..."

Outstanding.

Like the scarecrow in his field, we are outstanding.
We had Ofsted at the end of last half-term (just when you need it most...). They spent a fair bit of time with us, and because of Anna's amazing work in the house, they saw that the provision here was 'outstanding'. Their visit to us was pretty key, as we were the first big house visit they did, so we set the scene for the rest of the inspection, but the following visits they did to other houses, and the piles and piles of paperwork they trawled through (who'd be an Ofsted inspector eh?!) confirmed the fact that the school provides an outstanding level of care for its students.
Well done Anna.
(And everyone else, but I'm a little biased...)

Fly me to the moon

Here's a photo competition for you ... what is this?
Well, it's not much of a competition, because I'm now going to tell you the answer. So if you want to have another think about it, don't keep reading ... If you've got this far, I'm guessing you're not that fussed about spending valuable time coming up with the answer (and, let's face it, why would you?!). Yes, this is (drum roll) the view from my spaceship earlier today.
And here's Captain Courageous...

Just tinkering with the controls to make sure we actually get somewhere. I know it might look like he's sitting on my foot, but he isn't really - it's just that the branch I'm traveling on is almost horizontal, so I'm resting my foot on a nearby branch! You're probably wondering where we were heading - so was I! Turned out that, according to Captain C, our destination was "The ... place ... with the pirates", which I then abbreviated to 'pirate planet', which he conceded was a good name for it.
The thing that surprised me most (let's face it, I'm not in the habit of jetting off to far-flung planets, and my inexperience really showed on this particular outing) was that when we actually arrived at our destination, we weren't inundated by pirates. In fact, I don't remember sighting a single one. Rather, we were almost overcome by a rather terrifying swarm of aliens. (What's the collective term for aliens?) I wouldn't be able to describe them, other than to say that they were persevering - they seemed to keep coming despite the fact that we were zapping them with our laser twig... (I'm no alientologist, that's for sure!)
Unfortunately, while we were on our journey, this fell off the ship:
There were two major issues with this. First of all, when it fell off, it hit my head on its way down. Thankfully, no medical attention was required (a relief, given that the chief medical officer was me, and my junior medic was the football we'd taken along for the ride) Secondly, whilst it might look to you much like any other branch one might find on a space ship, it was, in fact, a vital component, which required some attention before our return to earth could be attempted. (Thus the delay in leaving, necessitating much zapping of alien hoards)
Anyway, to cut a long story short, Captain Courageous lived up to his name, and had us back in the air in no time, and it seemed only a matter of seconds before we were back home. This was a big relief given the state of the weather.
It's all calmed down a bit now, we even went for a walk later (yes, at Calke Abbey again - they've done loads of clearing of crops in the garden). Captain Courageous has bathed and is now tucked up in bed. I'll leave you with a self-portrait he took after his bath. I might send it off with our 'Pirate Planet' press release...

Curses and hope.

I noticed something this week. Perhaps I'm behind everyone else, but here it is:
You know in Genesis ... Adam and Eve mess up big time?
Sure, they blame the serpent, which is fair to a point. But how does God respond? Well, he curses the serpent, and he curses the ground. But Adam and Eve? No curse. Nada, rien, nowt. Punished, yes, but cursed? No.
Surely right there is a sign of hope.
So where does the curse come in for humankind? Well, "cursed is everyone hung on a tree". There it was - the curse. Delivered, borne and dealt with.

Fun weekend.

Well, I say fun, but it would have been funner if it had involved more sleep.
First, Joshua and I decided to pop to Cambridge (well, I decided - he didn't get much say in the matter!) to see our niece/cousin. Sadly, boy fell asleep on the journey down and thus refused to go to sleep properly at bedtime. Then, didn't sleep properly, woke me more than once, and generally deprived me of my human right to sleep. (I should speak with a UN representative - isn't there some sort of law about not torturing people by depriving them of sleep?) Then, on the journey back up, he was so tired, having not slept properly the night before, that he (you've probably guessed already) fell asleep in the car. That led to another night of not going to sleep 'til about 10.30, and another night of daddy ending up somewhat grumpy.
Thankfully, tonight he was out at about 7.00.
BUT that's a distraction anyway, Cambridge was fab (although I didn't get much sleep, but perhaps I'd mentioned that...) and it was a delight to see the gorgeous addition to the family. (No pics without parents' permission!).
We even went to Wimpole for a quick look around the gardens. Lovely time, and a very impressive pumpkin and squash display. (Photos on camera, not phone, and camera's downstairs, so you'll have to wait...)
Then today was a 'day off' and we went to Calke. Again :) It was Fine Food Fair day today (Fine was a description of the food, not the weather, which was, on the contrary, anything but fine!)
Lovely time, and we saw some of their pumpkins too.
Now, you're probably thinking that their pumpkins are somewhat more impressive than mine. And you'd be right. In fact, some of my pumpkins haven't even exceeded the size of your average apple yet... But, when you take into account the amount of bed space they have there, and the number of volunteers tending the gardens, then it's a whole different league. (That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it!)
In fact, this second picture gives you a good idea of the bed space. I just can't compete with that... Well, not without a lot of back-breaking digging, anyway!
Anyhow, it was nice to get out for a bit. We watched UP when we got home. Nice film, if a bit sad at the start...
And now I'm ready to go to bed. Maybe I'll leave it until after 8.30. Just seems a little more ... uh ... grown up.

From the mouths of babes.

I forget most of the funny stuff Joshua says.
It's a shame really, because he says a lot of funny stuff. (And it suggests I'm getting old, if I can't remember it!)
But a couple of recent ones:


Bananas are quiet, aren't they daddy.


Ow, my leg hurts. The penny is in my leg now. (If that makes no sense, you haven't read the story of the lost coin) There are lots of pennies in there.


J: Daddy, where does God live.
Me: Well, because he's not really like us, He doesn't live in a particular place. He lives everywhere - it's called omnipresent. Having said that, in His grace he does choose to manifest his presence at certain times and in certain places, but that's not where he lives. Does that make sense.
J. Yes, it does. It does.
(Brief pause)
J. No it doesn't. Daddy, daddy, it doesn't make sense.

(I'd just like to reassure you at this point, I do teach him stuff sensibly too!)

Me: Can you do a thank you prayer tonight?
J: I can't think of anything to thank for today. I'll do one on Wednesday.
Me: Uh, it is Wednesday sweetheart.
J: I mean the other Wednesday.


I keep meaning to write them down when he says them, so I can then blog them, but I don't. So many missed opportunities...

The icing on the cake.

Yes, it looks a little girly.
It's an award. (No, I haven't awarded it to myself, despite the bakewell tart)
And it's from Trees. So thanks very much :) (That's a person, by the way, not a wood...)
It comes with rules though, to which I will adhere as much as possible...
1. Thank the person that gave it to you.
2. Post it with pride on your blog.
3. List 3 things you love about yourself.
4. Post a picture you love.
5. Tag 5 other people for the award.

1. I've just done that. Cheers!
2. Uh ... it's a bit pink, but that's probably good for the whole pride thing ... :)
3. They would have to be ... (random selection)
My sense of humour (I think I'm probably alone in this)
The time I get with Joshua (Is that about myself?!)
The fact that I've got so many fabulous friends, but most of all the fact that God is willing to befriend me!
4. Flip. Just one? I'll have to come back to that some other time...
5. Well ...
I only really follow three blogs ... or three bloggers, more accurately. So I can't really give away five awards. However, those I follow (and let's face it, I wouldn't bother if they weren't worth following!) are:
Trees
Sophie (I've opted for the 'travel blog', as it feeds my wanderlust cravings)
And somewhat randomly:
Nester
(I think one of the top two (who I do actually know - I'm not just stalking!) must follow her and I found it and thought it had some nice looking 'decorating-type' stuff. Now I'm the 'house' guy, I like to have a look at what other houses look like...)
So they can all have an award (despite the fact some have already had it...)
Also, one blog I found recently is
Kristian
Who writes so openly and poignantly and is the guy who did the birthday message for his wife that 'went viral' recently...
So there you have it.

The Village Show.

Well, it's that time of year again...

Last year's entries were thus:
Three roses in a vase - second place
Lemon curd (made by the girls) - second place
5 eating apples - second
3 cooking apples - second
3 pears - second
...3 herbs in a jar - second
5 sweet peas - third
Coconut and cherry cake - no prize
2 courgettes - no prize

So this year ... (Drum roll...)

5 potatoes (grown in the bin) second prize (new entry for us)
5 tomatoes (various models) no prize (it didn't *say* 'of one variety', but maybe they expected me to do that...)
truss of cherry tomatoes - second prize (new entry for us)
3 cooking apples - second prize (a non-mover)
5 eating apples - no prize (darn - dropped out of the top three this year)
3 pears - second prize (non-mover)
1 squash - third prize (another new entry)
and
wait for it
Bakewell Tart
FIRST PRIZE!
In fact, a Bakewell tart so wonderful that it scored 19/20 points, and the WI judge wanted to take it home with her! IN FACT - it was only just nudged out of the first place (and the prestigious Repton Village Show 'Best produce in Show' cup) by a raspberry jam that ended up with a score of 19.5/20. What an awesome result. Apparently, the raspberry jam judge and the bakewell tart judge had to sample each other's produce in order to settle the debate on which one was worthy of the cup. And all that without ever having referred to the WI handbook on how to perfect your entries for the show.
I have to say, I was pretty chuffed. I should point out that it was, in fact, a joint effort, with the pastry made by matron. The ironic thing is that it was *supposed* to be a task for the girls to do, but they ran out of energy after decorating their cupcakes, so I made the filling and stuff and cooked it. I have to say, I was quite pleased with the outcome, though obviously I couldn't taste it, as I didn't want to spoil it before the show. I did try to buy it back in the auction, but my £3.40 wasn't enough to bag it.
So, not quite as many entries this year, but really chuffed with a first prize. Particularly nice having old dears looking at your baking and saying, 'ooh, that looks lovely'.

We also had a lot of fun (and a lot of mess) decorating cupcakes with the younger girls last night. Our kitchen suffered horribly (as would anyone brave enough to eat the cakes!) but it was good fun to do, and amusing to see the look on the faces of the show organisers when I told them I had ten entries for the '3 decorated fairy cakes' entry in the junior section. They all were awarded 'highly commended'.

Spare any change?

How would you envisage the perfect start to term in a boarding house? I suppose it would be a feeling of preparedness beforehand, a smooth integration of new kids, good meetings with parents, plenty of excited returnees? Well, we did have most of that, but read on to discover what else we had on day one of term...

I'll set the scene first. It's just shy of 6.00pm. The three of us are in the main entrance of the house, greeting and chatting (well, Joshua's not so much greeting and chatting as just playing and climbing up the outside of the stairs). Suddenly, he comes to me making some odd noises and odder faces, and exclaims, "Daddy, I've eaten my money." My first response? "You silly boy". I should point out that he wasn't choking, struggling to breathe, looking like he was going to start vomiting or anything like that. "It hurts", he said, followed by, "how do we get it back?". We wait, I told him. Anyway, we headed off to have tea, which he was too tired to eat, and then I put him to bed. He was out like a light at 7.00. I figured I'd have a bit of an early night, having done some lesson preparation (yes, I'm teaching again...) and was about to turn in just after 10.00. I thought to myself that perhaps it would be friendly of me to check with the all-knowing internet what to do when your child swallows a coin. So I went on Google and typed in, "What do I do when my child swallows a coin?". Well, given that the first few sites were American, I was being repeatedly advised to 'consult your pediatrician'. "Really?", I thought. I mean, he seemed absolutely fine to me. So I rang NHS Direct. They were insistent that he should be taken at once to A&E. This was despite the fact that I pointed out that he could breathe, eat, drink, and was currently FAST ASLEEP. They remained adamant. So I 'phoned the local A&E. It's a huge hospital, and they have a separate children's A&E. I figured I'd outsmart them ... "Would it be best if I brought him in in the morning, so he could be x-rayed if necessary?". But they weren't so easily swayed. "No, we can x-ray him now if we need to - bring him in." (Am I sounding like a mean parent here? I was just aware that he seemed fine and was sleeping quite soundly.) So it was about 11.00 o'clock that I got him out of bed and put him in the car. He woke up, somewhat predictably and, equally predictably, was a little confused about what was going on. I explained we were going to the hospital because he'd swallowed a coin, and they might want to take a picture of his tummy to see where it was.
Well, we got to the hospital and were signed in. We hadn't even sat down in the waiting room when Joshua was called up. "Great", I thought, "this'll be a quick one." We went into exam room 4, and the nurse produced a metal detector (seriously!). We explained that we'd find the coin with it, so Joshua dutifully stood still while it was waved over his chest and tummy. After a while there was the distinctive 'bleep' of a metal detector having found a coin (I'm glad we weren't due through any airport security this week!). It was just below the breastbone, which she felt was probably the right place (the wrong place being the end of the wrong pipe - at least he'd swallowed it rather than breathed it in!).

And yes, she was a little surprised when I asked to take the photo.
Having established where it was, she said, "I'll write that down, and then the doctor will decide whether or not to x-ray ... there's a bit of a wait I'm afraid."
"A bit of a wait?" I thought. "Surely I'm not going to have to still be sitting here at midnight?!"
Anyway, to cut a long story short, at 1.00am, Joshua was getting increasingly persistent with his "Daddy, can we go home now", questions. A little while after 1.00, the doctor came to see us (we'd spent a bit of a time in a 'quiet room' we'd found, which had the lights off and the door closed. Much nicer than the chaos of an A&E waiting room). She did the metal detector again, and concluded that it had gone down the right pipe, and would be out again in due course. The first and only time the NHS has given me a money-back guarantee...
So we crawled into bed at 1.30, proud of the NHS, but not particularly impressed with Joshua's timing!
The next morning at breakfast, our resident matron looked over when we walked in and, with a beaming smile on her face, asked, "any change?"

The letter R

Regulars may recall that nursery have a 'letter of the week'. (Well, fortnight, actually, but let's not be picky).
Having been away, we'd somewhat lost track of what letter it might be, but I thought it was probably R. We discussed this, and Joshua wanted to take his sword (he's still not too hot on the whole letters thing - I said maybe next week). As it happens, he was clutching a frisbee as we left the house. Said frisbee had the words 'flying ring' emblazoned upon it (ok, it wasn't a frisbee, it had a hole in it - more like an aerobee, if you remember them).
We got to nursery (him still clutching frisbee) to discover that it was, indeed, the letter R. I asked what he was holding and he said 'a frisbee'. At this point, I assured him that it was, in fact, a Ring. A flying Ring if you're going for accuracy, but a Ring nonetheless. This threw him slightly, and I suspect he was left slightly befuddled as I hastily departed.
On the journey home after pickup, the whole frisbee/flying Ring topic resurfaced. I explained that if we called it a Ring, then it could count for an 'R' and thus earn him a sticker.

"Sometimes, you can call something more than one name", I concluded.

He piped up, "Yes, I can call it Ralph, or Frisbee, or little throwing thingy".

Wet Wales.

We've been away. But I'm always reluctant to say we're going away before we actually do, just because all you have to do is look me up on Google and hey presto, you can come and rob me blind while I'm sunning myself in Spain (or Wales...). But that's probably just paranoia... Especially as we have on site security... Anyway, I digress!

Just thought I'd upload a couple of shots of our most recent trip to Wales. We were there for a few days, hosted by some fabulous friends of ours. Joshua's big passion was the swing.

As you can see, he got some 'good air', as they say. It was on a slope, which meant that you could walk backwards up the slope and then propel yourself off, giving the impression of having gone further that you really had (though you were definitely high up!).
Just out of shot, to the left is this:

Which, for the uninitiated, is Snowdon. Well, it's dead centre, a long way away...
Fantastic views. There are better pics on the camera (these were 'phone) which will come along in due course. Just thought you might like to see a wild boy on a rope while you wait.

I have a goodly heritage.

Well, some time to reflect.
I was invited to an MK retreat this week. Specifically, I was invited to be on the panel for questions on the last day - I was there as a 'survivor' - an MK who'd 'successfully' made it through what for many of us is a long and painful transition. (Forgive me if I sound melodramatic) When I think of the phrase 'burning up on re-entry' (spaceships and the earth's atmosphere) I often think of being an MK and the process of 'coming home'. Though that's a bit of a weird phrase for it, because all of us MKs know that, when we return to our passport-country, we haven't come home - we've just left it. Anyway, the retreat this week was in some ways quite an emotional time for me (though I didn't cry ... in-joke ...). I remember going to MKOasis back in '92 and onwards. What an awesome support that was for me. And I owe such a great deal both to those who led me through that period, and those who walked the same road with me. You have my eternal gratitude.

And for those who don't quite get that, bear in mind that when you're speaking to a Missionary Kid, or perhaps any Third Culture Kid, who's just returned to their 'homeland' (normally the place where their passport hails from, and often the place they were born and visit from time to time to raise more money!) that you're likely to upset them with the question: "what's it like being home", or, sometimes even worse, "you must be so excited about being back home". You see, when an MK returns to their passport-country, they may well think that they've left home, not returned. And it's often not a sort of romantic, 'that chapter is over - a new one can begin'. No, it might well feel more like the book of their life so far has been slammed shut, and put to one side. No more pages to be written - the story's over. And the temptation for the MK is often to stick with that old book. Maybe it's because we feel that if we keep re-reading it, it won't really be over, and of course there's the fear that if we put the book down, we might begin to forget: and for many of us, there would be little worse than that.

Now, I guess maybe I should point out the obvious at this stage - it's not going to be the same for all of us. I guess it depends somewhat on the reasons for leaving. Some MKs are, I guess, the reason for leaving themselves. The most obvious reason would be, like Tim (my older brother) coming back to complete education. We came back as a family to England for his A levels, so maybe it's slightly different for him in that sense. He'd also graduated from school, so had perhaps had a fuller 'closure' that removed some of the reasons for wanting to return to Pakistan. (Feel free to comment on this Tim!!)

But the fact is, if the country (or countries) where you've lived as an MK means anything to you when you return to your passport-country, it'll always stay with you. It's a part of you. You can't lose it in one sense. It's secure in your heart. It might be over, but it's not gone, and it won't be forgotten. Some of the memories will fade, but that would happen anyway (we all get older!). I guess the difference is that new memories won't be made there any more. But the book that was written there is your story. And the new friends you make will want to learn about it. Ok, I'll be honest and say they probably don't want all the details. Comparing this country to the other one, the weather here to the weather there, your new friends to your old friends, and so on, will eventually wear thin for them! Think of it as a wedding photo album. In the initial period after a wedding, the bride and groom (ok, usually the bride!) love showing their wedding pics to everyone who can spare the time. There's the relatives who couldn't make the wedding, and the friends who didn't make the guest list, there's the old lady down the road who loves that sort of thing, then there's the postman who delivered all the cards, the milkman who just happened to come with his bill when you had the album out... But as the time passes, the album is more and more likely to stay on the shelf. Is that because the wedding stops being important? No, of course not. And every time the album comes out there's a flush of excitement, and the memories of that special day. Maybe it's the same with your memories of the home you've just had to leave. In the early days, it'll be at the forefront of your mind all the time. But as time goes on, it might fade a little. That's not something to worry about. You aren't betraying your heart - it's still perfectly secure. And there will always be times when the memories will be brought out again amidst smiles and feelings of longing to be there again, just for a little while.

I prayed a lot about what to say at the retreat, (mainly because I was scared!) and there were two particular verses that really stood out for me. The first was the 'old' version of Psalm 16:6 which includes the phrase: "yea, I have a goodly heritage". (For you young'uns, 'yea' there means 'yes', not 'yeah' or 'yippee')
This is a verse that cropped up for us as a family when we came back to England. The house we ended up buying was called 'The Heritage'. And it was called the Heritage because of that verse. I said to the young people on the MK retreat that they do have a goodly heritage. It's an awesome start to life. It's a huge privilege, I think, to be an MK. (It's also lifelong - your parents might stop being Missionaries, but somehow you never stop being an MK). Obviously, many people have found being an MK a burden more than a joy. But for me, I'm immensely proud of the heritage that God had granted me and my parents have forged for me (thanks mum and dad!). As MKs, the past we have is a good gift from God, and one that we can cherish. However, we shouldn't live there. If the past doesn't let go of us, or, more to the point, if we don't let go of it, we'll never have the chance to turn and look ahead to the future. It's a huge wrench for many of us. And it's not a decision as much as a process. For me, I think it involved both untangling myself from it, and plucking up the courage to release it as well.

And as I've already alluded to, the second verse is to do with the future. It's my favourite verse in the Bible. The reference (Jeremiah 29:11) is engraved on the inside of our wedding rings. And it's this:

"for I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

I'm not sure I'd be able to think of a more appropriate verse for Mish Kids. It's a message that's brought at a time when God's people are at an all-time-low. They've been uprooted from their country, the country where God had placed them, the country that they love, the country where they feel secure (sounding familiar?) and brought to an inhospitable place. They don't belong, they don't fit in, and they don't really want to either. And God makes this extraordinary statement. It seems too good to be true, but it actually isn't. It is true. It comes just a couple of chapters before that spine tingling bit in Jer 31:31 - '"the time is coming", declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant"'. This promise is the start of something pretty major. I think it's a promise that can equally apply to MKs. God knows the plans he has for you, and they're plans for hope and a future.

And then, of course, there's the whole question of where home is. I'm not gonna say much about that (I've said plenty already about everything else!!). But I will say, hard though it has been for me to accept, I didn't really leave home when I left Pakistan. Neither did I come home when I returned to England. The Bible tells me that, in fact, I haven't got home yet. And my longing shouldn't be for any home I've left, but for the home that God has prepared for me with Him. The thought that I'll feel more at home there than anywhere on earth is both staggering and exciting.

Needles are smaller than they used to be.

Seriously, they must be. I went for a tetanus booster today (a garden related accident prompted me to check and sure enough, I was due...) and I barely felt a thing. I'm sure jabs used to really hurt when I was little ... but maybe I just fussed a lot. As mentioned previously, Joshua didn't moan one bit about his, so I was glad that I didn't break into sobs, or collapse, or anything like that. Just took it like a man.
Having said that, playing the piano tonight (in a somewhat vicious fashion) did suddenly cause my arm to go very achy. I was practising for church on Sunday (my piano debut in this 'new' (been here two years) church, which is scary) just before Joshua's bedtime. I finished and asked if there were any songs I could play for him. "Baa baa black sheep, and Wheels on the Bus, but baa baa first." So I played through them both (he wandered off during Wheels, but did come back before the end, which was jolly decent of him). Then we had a crack at Twinkle Twinkle little star. I asked if there were any others. He sort of mumbled something, and I asked what he said. "Can you play ... uh ... moto the goat?"
Me: "I don't think I know that one sweetheart, where do you sing it?" (I figured it must be from nursery or something)
J: "Nowhere - just practise it and then you'll know it"
Me: "Uh ... so in order to know the song, I just have to practise it?" (Can you see the flaw in his plan?)
J: "Yeah."
So we had a go. This is as far as we got:
Moto the goat had a very shiny coat, (that was my line)
He lived far away down the lane (Joshua's)
Then I played those lines a couple of times (he was right - it did need practice) I then asked what came next.
"The goat fell into the lock" (Joshua's line, but perhaps you'd guessed)
I needed clarification on what sort of lock we were talking about - a canal lock might have made some sense, but I couldn't see how a goat could fit in the door type lock.
Me: "What type of lock was it sweetie?"
J: "It was the locky thing with a key - the goat fell in, and that's the end of the song"

So there you go, now you know the song too. Except the tune, that is, which is pretty much made up as you go along. Hope everyone's summer is going well (unless you're on the bottom half of the planet, in which case I hope winter's going well).

A close shave.

Well, we finally did it. He went for a hair cut. Not just a 'lets-remind-ourselves-of-what-your-eyes-look-like' trim, but a full-on, 'hair-more-appropriate-for-a-few-days-in-Spain'.
So here he is before the shocking deed. (I'll explain the transport later!)
That was taken last Friday. As you can see, flowing locks and very little face on display.
Then, on Tuesday, we decided we'd walk to pick him up from nursery, and on the way home, Anna suggested we pop into the hairdresser to see if they could fit him in for a 'quick' cut.
They could.
This is most of the way through the job. (Check out the very cool kiddie cape he gets to wear - he's actually quite a fan of having his hair cut, which is odd, given how infrequent it is!)
There was a lot of hair that came off...
This is the finished article.
Looks very different indeed! But more suited to a few days in Spain. Needless to say, everyone has commented on it. Nursery this morning was a round of, 'oh, who's the new boy?' comments. Of course, the comments will carry on into the new term, because no doubt everyone will have something to say about it!

Blogging.

Just spent about an hour writing this.
Will blog about life presently.

Is it just me...

Or is this a slightly odd news story. (BBC News - headline 'Death rates at lowest ever levels in England and Wales')
Death rates going down?! I'm pretty sure it's something everyone does in the end. Is it just an awkwardly worded headline, or are we trying to hide from the inevitable. I mean, it's not like it's going to go out of fashion is it.
"Yeah, people used to die, but it's just not really the done thing any more - it's so passé"
Surely we need to know the truth and know the hope... One without the other is just empty. So death will come, but when Jesus came, He conquered it, and it's Him I'm trying to live my life for.

New camera.

Just had the new camera delivered. Very exciting.
First ever pic:

And then we headed into the garden (slightly gloomy day though...) for some more:
Slight problem I can see developing here though ... that just took 1 minute and 35 seconds to upload... Wonder what a 'large' one takes...


Oh dear, a full 1:47

And finally, how about a 'small' one...

Weird. 1:48. Oh well. Maybe it's a connection difficulty rather than anything else.
Will upload others when I have lots of time to spare!

A little trip out.

Bit of a random post, but hey.
We went to Calke Abbey a while back. It's ten minutes down the road and our regular visits make our National Trust membership worthwhile! Anyways, we took Granny and Pops, and had a nice wander around the gardens and a picnic. This time, for the first time, we went to see the ice house. Basically the oldy worldy version of a freezer, though you didn't plug it in, you collected ice in the winter to fill it with, and kept it nice a chilly for as long as the ice lasted! Pretty natty. Here are a couple of pics:
This first one is looking into the ice house from above (there were kinda skylight holes)

The second one is obviously looking up from inside! (I put the camera phone through the bars to take the first one, if you're wondering!)
Pretty cool.

Not only did we 'find' the ice house on this trip (it's a little way beyond the gardens and we'd never bothered going that far - lazy, I know!) we also came across a hide! Some bloke built it with donated materials and you can watch birdies from it (and deer, if you open the side window).
Here are some deer (though not seen from the hide) and a small boy who seemed quite happen to frighten them off!
Perhaps I should just point out that he's wearing 'short-trousers' it's not just that we haven't bought him any clothes for months...

But perhaps the most exciting thing was this:
Joshua was allowed to ride on the buggy with Granny and Pops AND he got the front seat AND the lovely man who was driving let him press the button on the remote to open the gate at the end of the drive! What a lucky boy! He doesn't look thrilled in this picture, but he was really :) Daddy did still manage to beat them up the hill, but felt a little worse for wear afterwards...

And here are my fave photos from the day: