HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Gramps is Released

Hi family

Last Sunday was a special day for me. After 7 years I was released as Branch President. My emotions are very mixed and I do feel at times totally lost for want of things to do, but that will change. This week I have busied myself preparing for a handover meeting with President David McCall. He has asked me to continue with the programme, so I shall get busy on that this afternoon. There is someone I am visiting for him, every Saturday, and I am just back from that visit, and yesterday I spent half a day in the chapel carpark cutting back the hedge around the carpark. So I am keeping busy, but it is not the same as being responsible for everything and everyone. On Sunday morning before I was released a problem arose with a member, so after I was released I told President McCall and in the evening he asked if I would sort it out, which I did with a phonecall, after which I went down stairs to do the washing up after lunch, put the phone in the apron pocket and forgot it was there. For the rest of the week I fretted that without a phone I couldn't call anyone and no one could get through to me. Well on Thursday evening I put the apron on to protect my clothes from spaghetti I was eating and found the phone and did in fact find a message which went something like this "Hi, Norman, Judith here, just trying to contact Val, bye!". Well that taught me something that when you are released nobody needs to talk to you anymore so no one does.

I should enjoy the rest, shouldn't I, because I know it is only a matter of time wbefore the Lord calls me to something else. I do notice that I have space in my head to think of other things, the worry lines have gone and I am starting to smile a bit more.

Well Sunday was a very spiritual occasion, and I shall write the highlights and my reflections in my journal. The Stake President said some nice things about me and one or two members said some very special things to me afterwards. I got to give a talk which was from the heart, unprepared and Val said I spoke well. David, Rachael and children came to us straight after Coventry Sacrament meeting, but, being bishop, David couldn't leave immediately, so they didn't make my release, but were here for my talk, which was nice, and after I had finished I was able to leave the stand and sit with the family which was nice.

I know that I have been truly blessed through this calling, I know that my marriage to Val had been strengthened through this calling, and I believe in my heart that our family has been blessed through this calling, but I do admit that for many many months I had felt weary and wanted to be released. However, Tom, gave me a blessing in January which said that there was still work to be done and I really was expecting to be released in 2010 rather than now.

In our dark living room, with the curtains closed, on Sunday evening, I took a lovely , though grainy film, of Elodie which shows her energy and desire to be able to get onto her front. Val took a longer one of the children playing quietly. with me at one point saying a few words about my release. I was shocked to see that I look and sound like my dad. How did that happen?

Love to you all

Norman/dad/gramps
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Wow - 6 months old!

Amazingly, our super sweet Samuel is six months old today! He celebrated the day by having a rotten cold with a bit of a cough (definately better in the day and upright though than he has been for the previous couple of nights), but also by having his Mummy a bit more than he has over the past few days (Young Women in Excellence was last night so the hard work is all done for just a short while), and by having a bit more of a family day as we celebrated Thanksgiving - a day late! :o)

It was more of a relaxed day than it would have been yesterday. We still didn't get as much time as I'd hoped we would - no surprise there as there is always something - today it was half of the family waking up ill, and the two oldest in the family (you guess who!) waking up very tired again after two little boys being awake and crying through the night. Well, by lunch time we were able to have our devotional, read a lovely thanksgiving book together, and get a fair way with each child making a Christmas decoration of their choosing - all similar, with personal variations. Then when I put some white fairy lights up in the living room and dining room just for fun (I wanted to last night, but just went to bed like a good girl), suddenly all of the children were amazed, excited, and all in a VERY Christmassy mood. Impromptu dancing, singing and playing of Christmas carols on the piano and a Christmas CD! Wow - what an impact! So they played while Michael and I got our dinner ready and cleared up from all the crafty things we'd been up to. Here are a couple of pictures to share from there on in...



Samuel especially loved the roasted butternut squash,



... and also the chicken he pinched off my plate while I wasn't looking (actually I was picking up some food he'd dropped on the floor)



He is enjoying a few different tastes of food at the moment - pineapple, parsnip, squash, brocolli, green beans, pitta bread, etc. He is leading the way with starting on solids, and so for about a week now has been 'eating' a few things. He hasn't actually got to the stage of eating yet - just chasing around a bowl or the table, holding, squishing, chomping, tasting, moving the food around a bit in his mouth, then back out it comes - the actual swallowing is next to develop, so when he's ready ... For now, he's enjoying being a slightly messy part of family meals though. :o)

Samuel was playing happily with his feet this evening, before a nappy change, and I find it so enjoyable to watch him do that, that I tried to take a photo. First sight of the camera always means stop what you're doing though! Well, I liked the pictures anyway. Do you see those lovely blue eyes he still has? The last one is a bit too dark, but he looked so funny. His tongue was working over-time because he was excited, like it does at meal times.





We thoroughly enjoyed our very unplanned but pleasant celebration of Thanksgiving today. Unintentionally planning Young Women in Excellence for the day of thanksgiving left it as just happening on its own. I wouldn't change that though - YW in Excellence was a lovely evening, and I am thankful for it and for my counsellors and the young women who all did such a great job! :o) It was not such a rainy day today, but dry and sunny in some parts of the day, and a walk in the woods was what my body was craving. Rebekah was too ill to go outside as she just needed to keep warm, but just seeing the sun was a pleasant change.

Did you notice the corn smiley faces on our dinner plates? Everyone had a lot to be thankful for, and kept asking for more pieces of corn to put on the heart plate after using up the eight I'd given to everyone. The plate was half full when we were done. A very joyful evening. It feels nice to be grateful, not least for a wonderful little boy in our lives called Samuel.

BOO!!

Well we've been hiding for ages it seems. Not deliberately, just extremely busy. There's no real available time to put things on here normally anyway, but less than normal. As I said to Michael's Mum recently, I haven't been able to justify spending the bit of time needed to add to this recently, but at the same time, I've realised again how unsettling it is not to be doing it. Much like when I don't manage to write in my journal for ages (I suppose it's a little bit of a family journal for us, but also the best kind of communication we are able to have with family and friends. I have 5 people I am trying to write e-mails or regular letters to, and have been trying to for a couple of months at least, but there's never a moment to do it it would seem. So I figure that doing something here will probably help me feel better, share at least some fairly recent photos with all of you, and I'll be communicating with somebody again (if anyone looks that is!) and recording something too, even if it isn't in my journal. :o)

Another problem I've had for most of Samuel's short life now, is our camera not working. It won't stay charged even for one photo most of the time, and despite needing to invest some time to investigate why exactly that is (is it the battery charger, batteries or camera failing?), and it being important to me to have some good photos of him and everybody else in the family as they grow, the right time never presents itself. Luckily Michael and I each have a mobile phone now, with camera, albeit not very good ones, so that is where all pictures are being taken right now and have been for at least a couple of months. So the pictures are pretty grainy, but they're all we have. I hope you enjoy them anyway.

Here's a few from our "Not Back to School Picnic" just over two months ago (you could call it a celebration of "home" education), including one of Samuel the first time I put him in a swing. He was delighted, and giggled so much, but I never can catch that in a photo. I hope I'll manage to remember it without. :o)







More of Samuel in a swing, this time after going to a home-ed sports group. There's a park nearby, and as we rarely make it to playgrounds here with none properly nearby, and with Peter sitting through games of football, basketball and tennis but being too young to join in with everyone else, we make a stop at the park afterwards so he gets to play too. Rachel and Hannah, are of course playing at being a horse and jockey in the one of all four girls at that park. Somehow Peter never made it into a picture, but that's probably becasue he doesn't stay still long enough to get one of him (it's not always for want of trying!)






Swings again!! Peter was trapped twice in this park though, so you can see him too! Sarah was working out what trees were growing within the playground here, and doing a tally of how many of each kind there were. While she was busy studying the trees, Rebekah, Peter and Samuel had a lovely time playing in a park again! In fact, after such a long break from going to any playgrounds, and then quite a few in not such a long time, Peter is most days now telling me which park he wants to go to. He has the funniest 3-year old ways of describing them to me though, and I invariably can't quite work it out! We notice such different things at each place, me being 30 years older than him, that our descriptions don't usually match up too well, and it really does take some investigative work to understand!







Here's a dressed up little Samuel. Rachel was holding Samuel while Michael and I were both unable to, and when we looked again, she had him all dressed up, and he was totally happy with it too. :o) That was about a month ago. Yet again, he has grown through the next size of clothes, and those don't fit him anymore. At nearly 6 months old now, he's wearing 9-12 month clothes. He's a big, heavy baby, but so beautiful with it. :o)



Here's a cuddle with Rebekah. Rebekah is still going through a highly panicky/fearful stage and being with Samuel is one of the things that calms her just beautifully. She loves him dearly. One other great thing is a homeopathic remedy, and sometimes having her feet rubbed with massage oil helps too. I did a homeopathy course one morning a week for three weeks in October, which has started me off with being able to use homeopathic remedies at home without seeing a homeopath. There is a homeopath that has a clinic at our local Children's Centre every other week at the moment, so we are able to see her for some things, but first aid / acute things we're able to do at home with great success. It's been a real blessing for us.



To finish, a few fun sleeping pictures of Samuel. He is such a fun boy. He loves to feed, and play - always reaching out for things, and of course EVERYTHING goes in his mouth. He likes to sit or stand up with help, and most of all be carried, but wherever he is he rarely keeps still. Peter loves him a lot and loves to come and find him in our bed each morning, and spend sometime there with him wherever possible before the day really starts. Samuel hasn't been very happy the last few days - extra clingy and needy, crying more and not being settled at all at night (if Mummy's not there it's time to scream and scream until she is!) I think it's probably the teething going up a level, so hopefully will calm back down again soon. Here are those sleepy pictures:

Two months ago (at 3 1/2 months old)...



One month ago (at 4 1/2 months old) - playing sleeping lions... :o)




There is so much for quite a while now that hasn't even been made mention of on here. Things like our holiday, a special visit to the temple, a craft stall we ran in the summer, or anything else that we've been up to really!

We've also been having an extended clear out and move around. Five out of eight of us now sleep in a different place in the house! We've been weaving, tangling up our fingers, reading, going places, studying (that's Michael), doing church things, and generally living life. When I manage to, I'll add bits here and there, but we'd love to hear from you too. :o)

Love you all lots!

X X x x x x x x

WELCOME ELODIE !!

We just wanted to say welcome to the world little Elodie Grace. We wish we could be with you right now to enjoy some warm baby snuggles, but in our thoughts we are giving you cuddles and kisses. We hope that Mum, Dad, Edan and Elijah are all enjoying your beautiful little bundle of love, and we look forward to seeing you as soon as we can.



Thank you so much David for sending us a couple of photos. Hope you don't mind them going on here. Please let me know if you do and I'll take them off. Elodie has so much lovely hair! Who do you think she looks like right now, other than herself of course? Do you think you'll be calling her Elodie, or shortening to Ellie or something, or maybe just wait and see?

We'd love to hear the odd line about what she is like and how things are going if possible sometime, with or without photo doesn't matter (although they're lovely to see too). Best we can get from here. Enjoy looking after yourselves and each other for now though. We hope you are feeling well, strong and looked after Rachael, and hope David gets a break from work (and maybe church too) for a short while to help a little and get to know your new little girl.

Lots of love from all of us in Brighton
X O X O x o x o x o x o x o x

Pictures from your Coventry Cousins

We thought you might like to see some pictures of Uncle Doby, Auntie Rachael and cousins Edan, Elijah and Pumpkin.
















Uncle Doby on Sunday evening relaxing after a very busy day before the boys go to bed.















Auntie Rachael and Pumpkin, who we expect to meet in a week's time




















Edan and Elijah helping Granma to carry bags from her new car




















This was taken I think on a phone camera before Christmas - two little shepherd boys















Another mobile phone camera photograph of Edan and Elijah collecting conkers in the woods during Conference weekend this October - look carefully and you can see Rachael and Pumpkin in the shaft of sunlight.

Bte for now. See you soon to the Brighton Krugers. See you soon to the Coventry Millses

Love from Gramps and Granma

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6pm in our Garden in Puxton Drive

I thought you might like to catch the flavour of Autumn in Puxton Drive. The garden is down at heal but the neglect is beautiful. We love the Autumn colours.

While mum has been resting following her operation she has loved to see the big tree through the garden window. When we finally move to where my ankles will allow me to cope without stairs and steps and banks to negotiate, mum will miss the tree. I wonder whether we can take it with us?


Yes, everything's slightly out of focus - sorry, that's me!

Plant pots on the patio

The bird bath, leaves and netted pond. I have already bagged half a dozen bags of leaves, and the fall has only just started! Anyone for leaf mould?

Oh dear, too late, just missed the glorious sune set.

David and Rachel, Eden and Elijah bought mum / granma a cloud spotters book for her birthday and she loves looking at the clouds to spot what type they are....and of course because they are beautiful.

Mum's / granma's trees

Remember to look sideways at the garden shed

A favourite corner of the garden - bird table, chimney pot and shrub(s) with dad's / gramps's bench

The patio - I got the table out in the Spring, but never got round to bringing the chairs out from the garage

Pond with net to catch the leaves - I hope the fish are all right under all this beautiful growth

Bear with sore nose!

Mum's new car from the doorway - it's lovely to drive....

More blue than silver and with a DVD player, so mum / granma is able to play DVDs on her journey to work. She is enjoying listening to Light Keepers, which you gave her for her birthday.

Sunset just missed

From the bedroom window, aerial view

I made a good job of trimming the hedge, didn't I? All by hand with secateurs and shears - no electrical trimmer as I would not have been safe....the effort of cutting with shears, though, put a strain on my arms I still haven't quite recovered from

The stepping stones from the bedroom window.

That's all for now - keep happy, keep warm and keep the Gospel in your lives.

We miss you all and hope it won't be too long before we can see our Brighton family again.

.......and as I know Rachael and co look at the Blog we are looking forward to a new baby in our Coventry family soon. I'm driving mum / granma to work tomorrow and she will soon, we hope, have her old energy back and be able to come and see you and the boys.

Love from dad and mum, gramps and granma xxxxxxxxxxxxx