A case full of cute!

Being a crafter means I spend many enjoyable hours trawling through craft sites - as a result my facebook ads often feature craft materials which to be fair is great, though I ignore most of them!!

Shortly after Christmas with one Christmas present  project on the go already an ad popped up for the cutest little knitted dolls - and with a nieces birthday in April I couldn't resist!  I wasn't quite prepared for the learning curve knitting  with a bamboo and wool mix in 4 ply on four miniature needles - something I hadn't done before.




























I was so please with the result - not perfect but very cute.




I found a case in The Works (pre-lockdown!) and knitted a blanket and mattress with some spare yarn.
















I made a sheet and pillow from some scrap fabric to finish the bedding.

















Hope a little girl has fun playing with her dolly.

BeingChurch

Locked out of our building unable to meet in person has made us revisit church. For us church was never the building but the people who met together in that building. This is where being church rather than going to church takes on real meaning. Many have learnt new skills adapted and changed.
We as a church have recorded services drawing on some of the congregations amazing technical skills, we have Zoom coffee, we meet in zoom house groups. Each day we have coffee together catching up, chatting and laughing together.
We have utilised WhatsApp to allow people a chance to chat, to ask for help and to ask for prayer

 - utilising an army of prayers lifting people to God, interceding for people.
It has been uplifting to share experience together, to be the encourager one day and the encouraged another day - to learn from each other and to help carry each other  through this crisis.
It has been encouraging to see children taking the names from our prayer board and taking them to heart praying for them each day.
For our children and young people we are seeking to engage in different ways, but for our Christian families the spotlight  has returned to where it always should have been, to the home and the way faith is lived out in their families - it is in the conversations, the insights and the witness that we are in this time of crisis that will impact the faith of our children far more then the teaching and craft we provide.

A New Normal

 There were moments before the Lockdown arrived when the thought of being quarantined with my knitting and books appeared an attractive proposition.

 Of course the reality is far different from this, this is not a holiday.  I guess many things we take for granted: freedom, social interaction, spontaneity,  meeting with friends. Even a simple coffee out, take on new significance when we are no longer free to do them.





We have all had to discover what is important for us and find new ways of doing them - we have had to let go of what is familiar and normal and discover a new normal and with it the acceptance that this time is potentially prolonged and certainly open ended at this point.

The first challenge was how we did education - what school would look like without a school! This experience has been very mixed, a sense of grief for the loss of independence and of social interaction - not simply talking to friends but shared experience, of response to each other and their environment and endless chatter about absolutely nothing at all!

The key for us is a schedule combined with the flexibility to change and adapt - we started with all three children in the same room now one works in her room - tidied for the occasion!! Whilst the other two co-exist!

There are lots of ways to approach learning from home and  to be clear I don't think there is a 'right way', it is certainly not a one size fits all experience. For us a clear schedule has allowed Keith to work effectively from home and gave the girls a defined start and finish bringing much needed structure to their day.

It also meant weekends could feel different - opportunities to sleep later, to watch movies and play on their phones. We have the opportunity to take a longer walk all together slightly later than our usual 7:30 stroll!

Sundays for us feature church, its part of who we are  and in itself help make this a different day.

School work is set by school so really to define it as homeschooling is a slight misrepresentation. What I am doing is supporting and directing, being mum rather than their teacher. What does that look like - well mostly printing, getting into programmes and forums and generally trying to keep them on track whilst refereeing the numerous disagreements!

I've learnt some new computer skills over the last four weeks, and some maths I'm not sure I even did the first time round!!

I have also learnt that being a team is about playing to your strengths and not seeing it as failure if sometimes you need to bring in the skills of others!

So happy that I married a maths teacher - even if he hasn't taught for 19 years1

Glad Game

I love the story of Pollyanna.

For those who have no idea Pollyanna is the story of a girl who placed in a difficult situation plays the glad game - seeing something to be glad about in every situation. Her life has an impact on those around her as they also learn to play the 'glad game'.


With so much fear and anxiety in a situation beyond our control one thing we are doing as a family is playing the glad game.
Before each meal we all have to find one thing we are glad for. Somethings are obviously repeated but it has helped us as a family to focus and be thankful for the things that we have rather than the things that for a season we have had to give up.

Part of our lockdown scrapbook.

It is the simple things that have become so important in our day - sunrise on a run, birdsong on our daily walk, being able to purchase food and finding new ways to cook.


Today I did not want to play the glad game. I had had a difficult day and we had not communicated well as a couple or as a family. In normal life this would have passed quickly and we would have moved on  but in this pressure cooker environment things expand far more than they would normally. Having told the family at
teatime I didn't have anything to be glad for we sat and ate almost silently (almost unheard of in our house!)  - and I realised that that wasn't true - even now there were things I was glad for and we could work through this. So we played the glad game over pudding, and whilst the children played in the garden, differences were resolved and a way forward found. It was a reminder that we constantly have to adjust and adapt, we need to forgive and move on, but mostly we need to keep talking - to keep those lines of communication open.

Home baked Hot Cross Buns

Home Baked Bread

Whilst sometimes needing to find time alone we are glad for company and friendship, and try to connect regularly with those who are on their own. A good morning to a neighbour - from a safe distance, a smile and a wave - helps to reduce the sense of isolation. There are so many things we are glad for!

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Take a break!

With two teenagers and a pre-teen in the house I needed somethings that they could do to refocus when tensions became raised, or they had become frustrated. Both of these have occurred over the past two weeks - though possibly not quite as much as I feared!

I had seen a sensory trail on a link several months ago but the only link back to it was via Amazon where it was unavailable so I decided to make my own.

We have a relatively small space in our hall and it needed to be robust enough to survive said teenagers!! so I cut simple shapes out of felt. Circles, squares, handprints and footsteps. In addition I printed a finger maze and spiral to go on the wall.

Initially I set the trail, but as it was taken up each afternoon the following day I asked my youngest to set it up - however she chose - she made it far more physical and really enjoyed it - incorporating the stairs.
Todays version included a chair squat and the plank!

Simple things that gave them time away from their computer and a chance to re-centre.

Content

At the start of the year I was challenged to choose a word for the year - something that I would be reflecting on over the year, something that might challenge or inspire

After much deliberation I chose...

It summed up many things. That desire to be at peace where I am, in the situation I am in. Not looking at others, not measuring myself by any standard but God's

Little did I know just how challenging this would be in 2020. 
All normality swept away - my freedom gone, my choices limited.

 It wasn't supposed to be easy but seriously this is a whole new ball game !

Over this time I have been drawn back to a book I received at Christmas based on Psalm 23.

A Shepherd looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Deller.












Being content is to recognise my master - the shepherd who leads me  and who cares for me whether it is in the green pastures or the dark valleys. The master who seeks to lead, guide, protect and care for me whatever the circumstances. So while my circumstances may have changed God remains the same. So right now I choose, I choose to rest in the green pastures and pray for those walking through the valleys.