The good news and the bad news....

The good news is that (amazingly) I have managed to get an entry into the Olympic Park run on 31 March next year...it's just 5 miles but finishes in the Olympic stadium....the first person across the line on the day, as I understand it, will be the first person ever to make it across the line at the stadium at a proper event! So I will be running alongside 4999 other lucky ballot winners....the bad news is that it's the day before the Reading Half Marathon which I also have a confirmed entry for (doh !)

Let's face it....I don't have a hope in heaven of winning but I might just step up the training a little bit in preparation !!

Other good news is that the house selling plans all seem to be going smoothly....draft contracts have been sent, survey has been completed....so today we're over to New Malden to do some packing !!

Last night....

Ellie and I went out last night to the Hexagon Theatre in Reading to listen to Rob Parsons from Care for the Family. They are the organisation that ran the bereavement course where we first met. He's such an inspirational speaker, has some brilliant insights into parenting and families and what's really important....as expected he gave us lots of food for thought.

At the end of the evening he asked us to all write the names of children that are important in our lives onto a paper cut-out of a hand...there were only 4 pre-printed lines available which made us both chuckle (we added an extra one !!).
On the bottom of the paper cut out are the words from Isaiah 49:16 :
"I have engraved you on the palms of my hands".

Rob prayed for our children. I cried. Ellie cried too. We held onto each other !

Fabulous evening....boy, do we know how to have a good time??!! :-)

One down, one to go....

Sold subject to contract.....hooray !
Have told purchasers that we want to exchange and complete in 6 weeks. Hopeful I know but there's no chain so we'll see.

Good news !

Happy Birthday...

Today would have been Karena's 50th birthday.

This picture was on a birthday card given to Karena from a dear friend 2 years ago...on the back it says, "Wait in hope for the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, Lord, even as we put our hope in You (Psalm 33)"

True then...true now.

Did some games with the children tonight before bedtime...it was good fun!

Sunday...

Fab day....church was fantastic....Jesus really is alive and real and it's very good good news indeed!!
This evening we did family games and had lots of laughter...Boggle was probably the highlight...most of the words the girls came up with we'd never heard of !!
Laughter-what great therapy !!

Another day in the office....

Aaaah…where to start…?? Monday was not a good day.
If only I could explain in words the gut-wrenching magnitude of the emotional angst that I sometimes feel. This time it was all set off by a very dear family member who was struggling with the journey that we are all on….and so, off the precipice I dropped too…..and boy did I drop !!

Sometimes I genuinly wonder whether I am going to end up in a mad house….yesterday tho I ended up in tears in front of my boss at work….he thought he'd done something to upset me (he hadn't)….as a temporary Contractor, crying in front of your boss probably isn't the best way to make them want to keep you…..but that's neither here nor there really I suppose….
Certainly the idea of some drugs to help the mood swings seems like quite a possibility….hmmmm

Today I awoke with (some of) the words of John Newton's classic ringing in my ears……

Amazing Grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now I'm found
Was blind but now I see.

Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
And Grace will lead me home.

When we've been there 10,000 years,
Bright shining as the sun
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we first began…..

I'm so glad that Jesus isn't gonna let go of me, no matter what…cuz when I'm dangling on the edge of the precipice it's only Him that really keeps me from falling even tho it's Ellie's arms that hold me tight….
In truth, I'm really looking forward to the day of no more pain, no more sorrow, and no more tears….until then tho I'll just keep riding my bicycle…so I'm gonna buy a brand new one….and will call it therapy :-)

Vows....

We went to a fabulous wedding this weekend in Cheltenham....I could barely hold it together during the service, as we declared the greatness of God in song and some bible truths about that great day when we will meet Him face-to-face....I had that bubbling sense of "I'm really gonna lose it here...." as tears fell down my face.
Then there was the vows - "....until death us do part"....That part of the wedding service always used to feel so 'in the future'...nowadays it feels very much 'in your face.' They're not just words of course - vows are good and weighty. This vow to our children has been on Ellie's and my mind over the last several weeks - from our wedding day....

I, Craig/Ellie, thank God for [children's names]... I commit myself to their well being, and my love, time, energy and resources to nurturing, guiding and caring for our new family.

We're working very hard at this, and it's pretty exhausting for us both to be honest...there are piles of unopened mail, answserphone messages and lists of unfulfilled tasks - just because we haven't got around to them by the time the day is over with children in bed....but it's our commitment to bring up our 5 children together, giving of ourselves....until death us do part. If we do nothing else in this life but fulfil this vow to the best of our ability, then we will be happy with that, and we will have served our children well I think.