The Very Young One

We visited the very young one last weekend. Theo is just 8 weeks this Friday and he is growing in favor and in size. He now holds his head on his own and watches faces intently. As he was watching me this weekend a brief smile would ripple across his lips. What fun and joy a new life brings and what a great way to celebrate my own birthday.

 

 

Lent a time to remember Jesus' temptation

Today is the first day of Lent for 2014 and I see it as a time to remember the testing of Jesus and his victory over temptation, persecution, rejection, opposition and ultimately death. I'm posting some of Betsy's Lent Calendar ideas in the form of a quiz on facebook, but here I just want to start the season by providing a link to my song "Get your bread from Jesus" which is about his victory over temptation in the wilderness.

 

This drawing of Jesus in the Wilderness is by Susan Clark and one of my favorite.

 

 

 

Pancake Day

Pancake Day is the day before the start of Lent. It is a tradition in the UK dating back hundreds of years. People fast during Lent to share in the Lord's experience of fasting in the wilderness for 40 days and they used to give up all animal products like meat, eggs, cheese, and milk. So pancakes were an easy way to clear out the cupboard and ensure the foodstuff would not spoil.

 

Our pancakes include flour, eggs, and milk and are served by squeezing lemon juice over the pancake before sprinkling on a little sugar. We served over 150 today at the Chaplaincy.

 

 

 

Gingerbread Returns

The girls wanted to make a gingerbread house so we got them one for Christmas. It turned into a half term project this week and it was really quite simple thanks to the Germans who packaged it!

 

 

The Englishes are growing

Well, it's been a month since little Theo was born and Barb has been helping the girls for the last three weeks. They came to our house to build a gingerbread house (a follow up from the gingerbread man last summer). We've been swimming and riding bikes and going to parks and making wooden spoon puppets this week. It's nice to have a full house again.

Blazing Bo

Elephant Trainer

Icing Maker

Big Blue Boy

Baby English has Arrived!

Betsy went in to the hospital at 10am on Thursday and stayed all night and they did not get a delivery room until 6am Friday morning.

Baby English, Theodore Christian English, was born at 9:30am GMT weighing 9 pounds and 21 1/4 inches long

we are celebrating the new arrival ... here is his picture!

Back in Hightown

Well it's been over a week now and I am back in Hightown Luton enjoying the mild weather and connecting with friends and co-workers. Betsy is expecting any day (my dad says it is today so we will see) and Barb has gone down to Bromley to assist her in any way she can. I've been riding the bike a little and today I had my first jog down to Wardown Park. Somehow I feel a bit of stability creeping back into my soul. I have almost completed the Mac to PC transfer so this is the end of my Mac experiment and I must say I am much happier (and more pocket money) back on a PC.