Christmas Piccies

Our Christmas Tree

Home made fudge and biscuits

Our Advent Wreath on Christmas day

Candy Canes

The Dresser in my kitchen

Stepping Back in Time

Back in September I booked tickets to take the family to the open air museum near to our home. It is set in the mid to late Victorian era and to say that I love to go there is probably the understatement of the year. They are normally closed at this time of the year but had openened for a ticket only Victorian Christmas event. We collected the children from school and drove straight there, the poor children had to get changed in the car when we got there. I am not sure who was more excited, the children or me. Ok I think that it was me. Anyway, when we got there we were served hot mulled wine, juice for the kids and either mince pies or donuts. And then we made our way to............

Your transport awaits to take you back in time

You can either take the bus or the open air tram

Upon arrival to the Town, Santa awaits to see you


The Town, all lit up and busy. Carol singers singing,
Hot mulled wine and Hot Roasted Chestnuts for your pleasure

Your cold? Perhaps we should get warm by the Range.

With no electricity thought, this is how dark it actually

was without the flash

Perhaps we should go next door into the Parlour

There is a roaring fire and Gas lighting.

Back down to the market square to listen to the band

Perhaps we should have a look around the shops

Or perhaps we should go back to the house

This was the most wonderful evening, if there is another one next year I WILL BE THERE.

It is like opening a Charles Dickes book and jumping right inside. The gifts the children received from Santa were authentic, Diablos. There were stalls selling a variety of goods, I couldnt resist and bought a kit to make a Rag rug. I think that it will go into the kitchen when I get around to making it.

Christmas

Christmas was wonderful, there were some slight hicups along the way but the Holidays were still wonderful.
The children enjoyed opening gifts and spending time with both of our families. It was nice for all of the children to get together and play, this is quite rare for them all to be at the same place at the same time so fun was had by all.

I guess that the dampner for the holidays was that we all have a cold bug which resulted in my poor hubby spending christmas day fternoon asleep in the chair and the next two days in bed. He sadly missed going to my sisters house and been with all of the family (including all the kids, or was this planned??????) and has been quite unwell. I have been keeping him supplied with hot drinks and the children have tried to cheer him up..LOL.....
We were also disturbed at about 12.15 on Christmas night / Boxing Day morning by hammering on the door. We were still sat watching TV and opened the door to the porch to see a man standing in his PJ,s shouting for us to open the door. After our initial reluctancy to do so we discovered that he had called to tell us that he had just seen someone stealing our motorbike which we had parked in the drive and they were pushing it away down the street. Well Hubby drove after them whilst I called the police, they came with dogs, two cars and even the helicopter, they caught one person but were unable to get the other and the bike has never been seen again. They went into a park/field at the end of the road which is not lit, the police searched as they thought they would have dumped the bike and we went down at first light but it was not there. All of this equals one unhappy Hubby. I would not put down on here what i would like to call these people, what makes them think that it is ok to enter another persons property and take something that they have not had to pay for and which doesnt belong to them. GGggggrrrrrrrrr... Well it is a great big heavy thing and I would say that I hope it falls on them but then that would not really be a Christian thing to say especially at this time of the year, BUT REALLY !!!!!!!!!!!

Moving on.. We still enjoyed our Chrsitmas and wont let scumy people spoil it for us. I will have piccies when I can get Hubby to sort this cable out for me. I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and here we look forward to the New Year.

Catching Up

Well I am sorry that I have not posted in a little while but we have all had a cold bug and have been unwell. On top of this we have been busy preparing for Christmas, it is the day before christmas eve and I still have alot to do before family arrives tomorrow afternoon and things get even more hectic. The tree is up and the presents are wrapped and all that is left to do is tidy this pig stye up, this however is quite a job in itself. I have so many pictures that we have taken over the last few weeks and I am still waiting to be able to put them on the computer so that I can bore you all with them (ha). This I think will have to wait until after christmas I am afraid but I am sure that you are all far too busy to be looking here anyway.
If I dont get back on here before the big day, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

GOD Bless

ICELAND

Did I ever tell you that I have been to Iceland? No, well let me share some pictures. These were taken on the first day of Summer and it was so cold. Living in England you learn not to expect too much with the summer weather but this so "COLD". Our trip there didnt go as planned due to the weather and rough seas but it was still a beautiful place to go to.

Very very cold, I am wearing many layers of clothing in an attempt to keep warm.

Traditions and Memories #1

What is your most treasured Christmas memory?

I am having trouble just deciding on one. I have so many memories around the Christmas time from my childhood through to the present day that it is hard for me to choose just one. I guess that what sticks out the most for me is the time that was spent with family. I am one of FOUR girls and my Maternal Grandmother also lived with us from when I was about 6 months old so there was always alot of us on Christmas Morning. We were not allowed to go downstairs until every last one of us was up, this meant waiting for my Gran to wash, get dressed and apply her face before we could go downstairs. Dad would always go down first to check if Santa had paid us a visit during the night and then we were allowed to go down and open our stockings. Santa was always generous to all of us and there was always the traditional Orange and Raisins in the bottom of the stockings. Next we would open presents from under the tree, there always seemed to be so many of them and they would be handed out ONE at a time and we would always sit and watch that person open their gift before another would be passed out. This was a nice way t open them but if your gifts had somehow been pushed to the back or the bottom of the pile it seemed to take an age before you would get one. LOL...

Christmas mornig in my own house is very similar, stocking are hung downstairs and the children dont come down until we are up and ready. Andrew will "check" to make sure that Santa has been and we go down to open presents. I am trying to change afew things this year as last year my poor Daughter was so overwhelmed that she didnt seem to know what to do with her presents and was sat with a glazed expression on her face. It is not that we go overboard with buying them things but I think that the day can get a little overwhelming for little ones. Dont you think?

The picture by the way is the view from the front door of the house that we lived in when we were first married. Tiny tiny house but lots of wonderful memories.

Merry Christmas

www.glittertools.com

The Last Day

I cant beleive that it is the last day of November today. Where has the time gone? This past year seems to have flown by and here we are getting back into the spirit of Christmas and shopping and baking and all the other things we get into this time of the year. We dont decorate too early as we have usually bought a real christmas tree and feel that if we get it to early then there will be nothing but a twig left by the time christmas day arrives. This year i think that we may give in and buy an artificial tree, this is due to the lack of space as the real thing seems to take up the whole room and also when you come to take it down there is a huge shower of needles and no matter how many times you vacuum the room you are still collecting them by Halloween.

Before we get to decorate we still have lots of things to do around here. Like many people we decide to do home improvements in the last couple of weeks before christmas so currently my house looks like a building site and the laundry monster has come to pay a visit. So this weekend in amongst going to church and two different parties for the children there will be alot of housework going on. PAH !!!! I could do with a week of work to get everything done but working in a school does not allow for me to take time off during term time. Wish me luck, I think that I will need it!!!

There is something about this picture, I dont know what it is but all I can say is that I would LOVE to be there. It could be the simplicity of it, people who know me will know that my dream home would be in the middle of nowhere and neighbours miles and miles away. BLISS!!!!

I couldnt wait

I know that it is still November and that my American friends they have yet to celebrate Thanksgiving but it was imposible for me to wait a moment longer to Christmas" my blog. I look forward to this time of the year and with the news that my dear friends from America will be visiting England during the Christmas Holidays and we will get the chance to spend some time together it has made it even more exciting... Oooooo I JUST CANT WAIT.

I feel like I am 5 years old again and waiting for Santa to come on Christmas Eve and not a 32 year old mother of two children who should lets face it "GET A GRIP".. I have been annoying my dear suffering Husband for weeks with talks and plans for the Holidays, I think that I suffer from OCD as I have every week until the big event planned with what we are going to do and places that we will visit. I have trips planned, Craft Fairs to visit, baking to do, cookies to decorate and the list goes on and on and on.. Hehehehe I cant help it.

By the way, the picture above just says christmas to me. This is what I always dream of re creating at christmas for my family.

Remember

Sunday was Remembrance Sunday, in years gone by I would always go with my Gran for her to leave her poppy for her brother who was killed in the war.

Now whilst I certainly dont forget the day and would have normally attended church his year we did not. We decided to take the morning off and we went to the climbing wall for a little family time. I still cant get used to watching my children free climb up a wall (with no ropes) which is about 5 metres high. There is of course a HUGE instructor waiting for them at the bottom and should they decide to exit the wall he is more than capable of catching them. It was so nice to be together as a family and be out doing an activity,sooooooooo I have decided that we need to make more of the time we have together doing something nice rather than the trip to the supermarket for the weekly shopping or trying to get some kind of order around the house.

For the next few weeks I hope to put some posts together about the things we have been doing, it could be anything from chilling out to watch a movie with popcorn or a walk along our beach on a really cold day or even me trying to come to terms with the fact that my children can climb this wall and will do it even if Mother is sat with her nerves on edge. Oh and yes they think it is great to trun around at the top and give me a wave as if to remind me that they are 5 metres up. eeeekk!!!!!!!

5th November

Remember remember the fifth of November,

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason why gunpowder,

treason Should ever be forgot...

Bonfire night came and went, I used to hate it as a child as the fireworks were so loud. It is my Sisters Birthday so there was always another reason to celebrate it. "Happy Birthday" by the way. Bonfire night always holds memories of the huge bonfire in the field at the back of our house, Jacket Potatoes coking at the bottom of the bonfire and of course people calling "Penny for the Guy" but you dont seem to get people calling with a Guy. I think that we have gone down the Halloween route here and have forgotten some of the older traditions. I bet that there will be lots of kids who have no idea what "Penny for the Guy " means, mine included.

Anyway we decided that we would go and visit friends and perhaps my little one would not "FREAK OUT " when he was in other company. Well he did us proud, we have gone from the little boy who had a major melt down at the mear mention of fireworks to the little boy who would stand at the patio doors, with fingers in ears (just in case!!) and watch. He even held a sparkler which is again a big deal for him, I took a photograph of him doing this so that next year when we hear the all too familiar whine "I dont like fireworks" it can be whipped out as lasting proof that he DID actually enjoy himself. Hehe........

So it is now the weekend and I have just left work and can put my feet up and not hear he sounds of "Miss, he said this" or "Miss, she hit me" and the tug at the arm of my clothes to get my attention. Although having two children and a husband I guess there is still plenty of whining in this house. It is just so nice to get o the weekend to spend some quality time with our own children and leave work at the school gates for Monday (although I must confess that I LOVE my job).

I hope that like the christmas tree on the top of the blog, it is far too early to decorate the house yet but as there are no pine needles to pick up in blogland I thought I would decorate the blog. This is just the start and I have other decorating plans for the next couple of weeks. Have a fab weekend whatever you are doing, if I can get the camera to work on this computer I will get some photographs put on here for you to look at.

GOD Bless

The Weekend

Wow we have had a busy weekend. The Tooth Fairy has yet again graced our home with a visit, he has lost another tooth and again is so proud. On Saturday we went to stay with family for the weekend. This gave DH and I the opportunity to call at some shops ALONE without any children, now whilst I love to take my children to places it is so nice to have the chance to be out without them. My quest was to find some christmas cars to give to people at Church, now whilst I am sure that these people have a sense of humor I was not sure if they would appreciate a card showing a place of brussles sprouts with one dressed up as Santa so I was looking for ones that had a more traditional feel to them. Anyway after the trip to the town we went to the town Firework display and then back home to let off our own fireworks.

On Sunday I took the opportunity to go to the Cemetry and visit the graves of some loved ones. I wish that I had taken the camera as the cemetry is so beautiful and with the leaves dropping onto the ground it was simply stunning. I know that it sounds strange to be taking photographs at a cemetry but honestly you had to be there.
Whilst walking around you could see grave stones underneath the trees practically hidden from view, upon closer inspection they were graves dating back to 1867 and some even older. I guess that nobody goes to visit these anymore and the trees which would have been small at the time have now grown and are now covering them from sight.

I think that the colours of Autumn are simply stunning, the trees are turning shades of red and gold and then they fall to ground. The smell of the air changes I think, There is a slight dampness to the air and you can smell fires burning. I think that we need to make the most of the chaning seasons as they quickly turn to the next season, which of course will be Winter.
As we are now in November my mind has been occupied with ideas for Christmas. I have nearly almost all of my shopping done and have ideas for the rest that I need to get. Next week I will be baking my Christmas cake and Christmas Pudding, should I dig out some christmas carols to listen to whilst I bake or would classical be better? Hmm I will have to think about that one.

I hope that you all have a great weekend, I am off to look up some recipes for treats for the children to have for Bonfire Night. GOD Bless xx

Whatever will they think of next

Christmas should be downgraded unless other religious festivals are marked on an even footing, a Government think-tank has said.

The Institute of Public Policy Research has suggested various ideas to make the UK more multicultural.
It also wants "national culture" barriers to be torn down to help immigrants settle into the UK.
In a report due to be published in coming weeks, the organisation said: "If we are going to continue to mark Christmas - and it would be very hard to expunge it from our national life even if we wanted to - then public organisations should mark other major religious festivals too.
"Even-handedness dictates that we provide public recognition to minority cultures and traditions."
It emerged in 2006 that three out of four employers were not putting up Christmas decorations in the workplace for fear of offending staff of other cultures.

You can view this article http://uk.news.yahoo.com/itn/20071101/tuk-think-tank-says-downgrade-christmas-dba1618_1.html

I mean I can understand the need to recognise other cultural festivities but why on earth should we have to downgrade our own to accomodate people who decide to come and live here. I honestly think that this is because due to mass consumerism people have no idea as to why we celebrate christmas. It really matters not to me if you are a Christian and celebrate the birth of JESUS or are Pagan and celebrate the festival of YULE, we are entitled to our own opinion and should not have to change our English ways of life incase other people ind it offensive. What is offensive to me is that we are been forced to change. GGGRRRRRRRRRRRRR

The Tooth Fairy has visited

I nearly forgot to mention that last week my dear son lost his very first tooth. He has been so excited to have his very own lose tooth, he has seen his sister loose teeth and be visited by the tooth fairy bu this one was all his. As last week was half term and the children were off school we helped out at the church holiday club, well on the Friday he came running up to me holding his mouth with one hand and a tooth in the other. He didnt care that his little mouth was bleeding all he was concerned about was that he is now a Big Boy (he is 6 you know) as his tooth had fallen out. He took great delight in leaving that tooth under his pillow at bedtime and was soon asleep with the anticipation of a visit from the tooth fairy. I guess he will never forget where he was when he lost this tooth, he had such a fun time at church that day.

Anyone for Halloween?

I really cant decide how I feel about Halloween. Part of me feels that it is just a bit of fun and an excuse for the children to get dressed up and then another part of me really doesnt like it at all. I dont like it when older kids knock at the door wearing their normal clothes asking for money "Penny for Halloween", they cant even get dressed up. The younger children who make the effort to be dressed up and have some kind of adult with them will be welcome to come to the house for "Sweeties". i dont even want to start on what the people at church feel towards the whole event. I shudder at the thought.

However my children dont miss out, Oh No....
We did go to a party this evening which is held at our church. It is a "Alternative Halloween party", the children are encouraged to get dressed up in their brightest of clothes, we make pizza, decorate biscuits, bob for apples and then instead of carving a scary face out of the pumpkin we carve out "Jesus" on one side and a cross on the other. Even the children who dont attend church who come always have a wonderful time. I guess it is one of those "Each to their own" moments.

Harvest Festival

Today was the Harvest Festival at my sons school...... OOOOOOh such a proud Mummy!
He got up and said his many lines and never looked uncomfortable at all. When he had finished he gave me the thumbs up and had a HUGE smile, he said that he had really enjoyed himself.
This is the child who would never leave my side and would cry every day going into school despite the fact that he was in his second year at school. I think that we have turned a corner and a confident little boy is emerging. YAY !!!!!! We are so proud of you son.... Love You!

Welcome October

Oh the time is literally flying here. I cant quite believe that it is October already. Things have been busy as usual here but nothing seems that interesting to blog about really. We are still enjoying vegetables form the garden. The courgettes are still growing and we have sweetcorn waiting to be picked for dinner on Sunday, there is still beetroot,leeks and onions. I am so pleased with what we have accomplished with such a small patch of earth. I would love to dig up the whole garden and plant veggies in the whole lot, but as we has new turf laid in the garden a year ago I cant really justify digging the whole lot up. However we do need new turf in the front garden so I could transplant it there couldnt I? heheheh we shall have to wait and see what happens with that.

I love all of the seasons as they all bring their own charm but I do love Autumn and Winter. I love the dark nights when I can snuggle up under a blanket and have candles lit around the room, I have to have lots and lots of candles. A hot cup of tea or hot chocolate is also another must have.



I am starting planning for the christmas season and have enjoyed having the sewing machine out for various craft projects to give as gifts. I have most of my gifts ready and only have my own children left to buy for. This is where I struggle, what on earth can I get them? I have no ideas. I once read a Victorian Poem which said;

Something they want,

Something they need,

Something to wear and

Something to read.

Or as some people have suggested, should we only buy three gifts which represent the three gifts given to Jesus by the Three Wise Men?

I dont think that there can be a right answer and I guess you have to do what fits your budget and your beliefs. I dont quite know what I will do but I do know that no matter what they get they will be delighted and the most important gift you can give a person is you and your time.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

PHILIPPIANS 4:13

Seasonal Delights

Please pay a visit to this web site. It is just full of Autumnal Goodness for you and your little one (or just you if you wish). Please pay Kelli a visit and have a look around.

362 Diddly Doo

Today we got into the car and decided to go for a bike ride in a local forest. After taking a wrong turn we ended up near to the village where we lived when I was a child. So we carried on and I was Home , the above picture shows you the County Pub that my parents ran when I was a child. It is in the middle of nowhere, no neighbours just mother nature for company. I have not stepped inside since the day we left and it felt kind of strange going back inside again. I dont think that it has changed since the day we moved, it is still quite dark inside and there was a roaring fire to sit beside. The pool table still sits in the games room and it all just seemed the same.
I was able to share stories with the children like, the Duck races I used to have when the pub flooded due to the melting snow (it is built into the hill), playing music on the Juke Box, and how I would rush to the phone and answer "362 Diddly Doo" instead of any of the other ways one should answer the phone in a business. 362 was our telephone number then, they are of course much longer now.


Here are the children having a walk by the river near to the village.


The water falls.

Blessings.

Autumn is here

Can you believe it is here, Autumn or Fall. The weather has certainly changed as there is a slight chill in the air each morning and the heat from the sun only just warms you through. It is certainly a welcome sight for me, I love the changing seasons and each one brings with it its own charms. Autumn is the time of year when we get to snuggle up in darkened, candle lit cosy rooms with a cup of hot chocolate. The leaves start to change colour and crip before they fall to the ground but we still have a slight warmth to the air before the coldness of winter sets in.

Anyway I have not blogged for a little while as things have been busy so time has been focused elsewhere. I am however preparing for Christmas and have had the knitting needles working away and also sewing. The sewing machine is yet to come out but I will need to get started on that as soon as possible. I wont show any pictures of the finished projects until after christmas as I dont want certain people to be looking at their gifts now do I ? But lets just say that I have piles of fabric waiting for me to get started on.
My plan for christmas is to have everything bought, wrapped and ready to go by December 1st. I hear you laugh but you have to have a goal to aim for. Currently everything is on track. This will mean that I have the month of December free to spend with the children, I have lots of trips and things planned for them.

The children have gone back to school and are now in the swing of things, they were happy to get back into the normal school routine. Returning back to school also means that I have the pleasure of returning back to work, working with a bunch of five year olds certainly does wonders for ones nerves! I am so glad that I am fortunate enough to be able to work part time.

For those of you wanting a little organisation for the Holidays check out this link.

Holiday Grand Plan

Blessings

Where would you like to live?

When I was taking the pictures from the post below I was walking along thinking about or "Country Home" and took a couple of pictures of homes that are set in the nature reserve. Of course they are not real houses in the sense that people live there, but where would you like to live?

Perhaps a log cabin is your choice!


It has a cozy interior.


Perhaps you would like a country cottage,


Or perhaps a log pilehouse is more your cup of tea.

In the city

Stricktly speaking we are city dwellers, although I do live right on the outside of the city.. I HATE city life, there is always so much hustle and bustle and everything is so anonymous. I guess this is what appeals to lots of people, you can walk down the street ar through the town and never speak to a soul. I know that one day we will move again as this was only ever a temporary stop (are you listening we WILL move) but there are some good things.

1 We live on the coast and so can always enjoy a walk along the beach.

2 As I previously said we live on e the outside of the city so there is
country side around us, you just have to go to it.

I recently took the children out for the afternoon to a local nature reserve. You can just walk around looking at the birds and other wildlife without a care in the world. You can loose yourself and beliterally ANYWHERE in the world. Just take a look at some of these pictures, would you think these were taken in the city? A city that people turn their noses up at, where people have actually asked if there is electricity and think that we are stuck in a time warp.

ENJOY !!!!

GOD

Today I could hear my six year old son singing from his room whilst he listened to one of his CD's, I could hear him sining:

"GOD Loves me just the way I am"
"I am happy to be me"
"My GOD watches over me"

PRICELESS

Holy Island

We recently had a trip to Holy Island
This is somewhere that I have wanted to visit since about the age of eight. We took the tent with us and decided to camp out for the night. The weather on the day we arrived was stunning but with the wind and rain the next day we only stayed overnight. However we were able to cross the causeway and spend afew hours looking around the priory and village. we didnt go to the castle but you can see it in the distance in the photograph.


Beautiful Beaches




Lindisfarne Castle




Lindisfarne Priory

Airshow

Every year here we have an Airshow, there are many different events but of course the main one is the Air Display. Aircraft from many different countries take part. The highlite for me is "The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight". We did miss some of the display due to J refusing to get out of the car due to the noise of the aircraft. Sadly the day before the show we were on the beach and a low flying jet came across the beach and scared him silly, so now we have a little boy who was scared of the noise.



Note the people standing on top.


HMS Albion



Beach Landing