All three of them lost teeth within a few days of each other
Life has been really full-on for us recently. Forgive us for not being very communicative! The Cor Deo intensive and invitational courses at the start of September were very encouraging times for us and Peter has now completed his four week September series on “The Basic Building Blocks of the Faith” at our church. He also preached through part of Ephesians as an evening series. He is aiming to get both series online, hopefully today.
A lot has been happening in our lives lately and I am struggling to know where to start describing it all. We are sending out prayer update later today to share some news. Please email us if you haven’t received it and would like to.
Ministry is often really full-on for us and if we’re not careful, every gap in the schedule gets filled and we are not allowing time for rest and refreshment. About a year ago, with this need in mind, we scheduled a vacation/holiday in Italy and the time has come for us to leave! We didn’t know how the timing would work out, but the Lord did. Coming off the back of this intense time in our lives, we do feel in need of a break. We were supposed to leave today but due to several of us being unwell, we decided to delay leaving til tomorrow morning. Please pray we will all feel well enough tomorrow, especially Peter as he does the driving. We have two full days of driving to reach the Val di Fassa, in the mountains where we are staying. Please pray for us . . . we need sleep and rest and time to pray and just laugh, play and connect as a family.
It’s been awhile since I posted photos . . . so here are some from the past few weeks. I hope it gives you a little peek into our family life. I know this post is already long . . . I did honestly try to whittle down the number I chose but . . . well, I love them all!
Kaylah loves her baby dolls
Hannah and her friend Esther at the missionary conference we went to in France
First day of school!! Joel tried to wear a “uniform” – Dad’s tie
Making applesauce!
Aliyah let Kaylah “help” in the project by loading her apron with apple cores . . .
. . . then she deposited them in the bin for us!
Recently, I read a book at George Muller to the kids and we watched a dvd about him. So we had fun visiting a little museum about him. Here we all are behind Muller’s desk.
The kids and I had a fun day out at Bowood House with Erin Searight (Cor Deo colleague) and her kids
Joel, Mariah and Jayelle
Aliyah joined them for “take two”
Kaylah loved the ball pit, as long as someone stayed near her
We found a caterpillar . . I love to watch Kaylah’s delight as she experiences the world
We put the caterpillar in the grass and Kaylah kept enjoying it
How many play-dough cookies did you make, Joel?
Peter’s Mum turned 70 last month and we took her out for a special boat ride on the Avon River in Bristol with Peter’s sisters’ family as well
Here’s Mum with all her grandchildren
Guess who Kaylah’s attached to? 🙂
Hannah and Mariah with their cousin, Rebecca
And Peter’s sister with two of her nieces
Our dear friend Frances and her husband, Simon, came over this week to help us do some yard work and plant bulbs. It was fun to learn from her and get our hands in the dirt! We all can’t wait to enjoy the flowers in the springtime!
Simon dug out an unsightly bush from our back garden and Hannah hauled it away!
As part of our gardening experience, we found a little frog!
That’s it for photos for now . . . time for a rest and final preparations to leave tomorrow. Thank you for reading this long post and for your prayers for us at this time in our lives. We feel the battle that rages unseen around us and we are trusting in our loving Father to carry us through.
