I can’t believe it’s the end of November already. Where did this past month go?! Life has been full for us, as always with our family and with other ministry. For Peter – speaking in various settings, spending time with lots of people, and preparing for full months of preaching in December and January. For me – homeschooling, church activities and relationships, running the household, and managing to fit in some reading here and there (I aim to put some new book reviews on the site soon).
I am feeling really excited about the baby coming . . . I am 31 weeks now so it’s nearly time for the countdown. I am definitely feeling an urge to nest and prepare for the baby’s arrival. I need to finish some Christmas preparations first, then I can start getting the practical things ready for the baby. I don’t want to leave it too late as Christmastime will be busy and then I’ll be in my last few weeks. I’ve been doing a bit of reading about childbirth (it’s been 5 years, so some refreshing is in order) and have been fascinated by what I’ve been learning – a lot of it to do with the role that fear plays in a labour and birth. I have been inspired to view the birth, not as something to dread and fear, but as something to joyfully look forward to, to approach it with faith and to trust my body to do what God designed it to do. I’ve got a prayer card made with specific requests about the birth, of course trusting God to do what He sees best. If you want to pray with me, email me and I’ll share some of what we are praying for with you. In the meantime, the whole family is enjoying feeling our baby’s kicks and wriggles. Hannah loves to kiss my belly and the children especially enjoy it when the baby gets the hiccups. 🙂
I’ll post some photos now, so you can see a bit of what we’ve been up to. Even though we didn’t really celebrate Thanksgiving this year, we are thankful for so much!
Bunnies everywhere! We still have 3 white ones left and they need to go to new homes asap, so let us know if you would like one!
The children have been so helpful to their pregnant mummy. They've been getting good practice with cooking, housework, etc. Here the girls were trying to see if they could peel an apple in one long string. I think they did it!
Mariah and Joel and I have been reading about "Clothing and Fashion" through history in one of their school books. Here they are in "Roman" dress. Check out the loincloth Hannah made for Joel!
During Bible time with Peter, the kids' recently watched the Visual Bible- Book of Acts. On their own one day, they decided to act out a story with Paul, Acquila and Priscilla (left to right!). Hannah narrated. I was impressed how much info they remembered from Acts . . and the play was hilarious with the togas falling off and "Paul"'s main focus being the blueberries that were a prop - his snack (notice the purple round his mouth!)
More dressing up . . . Hannah made Joel this cape for his birthday out of some leftover playhouse curtain material. Very sweet of her.
Joel's big birthday surprise from us was Daddy putting up a bunk on top of Mariah's bed. He now proudly sleeps on the top bunk!
Joel shares a birthday with our friend Chris (who did Cor Deo this year). For months Joel has been asking if he could have a joint birthday party with Chris. Well, his wish happened! Chris and his lovely new wife, Sarah, came to visit and we had a great time celebrating. Chris and Sarah gave Joel a cool lego police helicopter and Joel had made Chris a squirrel out of Hama bead. Here are the birthday men with their presents!
Happy Birthday Joel and Chris! (Joel picked a tiger cake this year as he is super into big cats.)
He even got a big cat suit as a present from some relatives. It is quite the costume!
Mummy and the four Meadlings . . . mini-Meadling still hiding inside. 🙂
As part of their Christmas present to us, my parents got us tickets to a concert in Bristol last Saturday, the "Mini Messiah." It was a fun introduction to Handel's beautiful music about the life of Christ. I got tears in my eyes when they sang the Hallelujah Chorus . . .a little taste of heaven.
And we got to out for pizza afterwards too!
Yum!
All in all, it was a fun evening.
Thanks so much for your prayers for us. December promises to be a busy month. Peter will be preaching for the first 3 Sundays, morning and evening, focusing on Christ as Prophet, Priest and King. Please pray for him as he prepares and for hearts to be changed as they listen to God’s Word. Pray for me to stay peaceful in heart and devote enough time to things I need to do, as well as taking plenty of time to rest (which I know is important but easier said than done!). Pray that Peter and I will stay close to Christ and to each other. Please pray for our children’s heart to really be touched by God during the Christmas season too.
