Big Girls

I am of the firm belief that all females needs a Big Girl in their life.  In our previous church my children were almost magical; the children that came from nowhere.  They were loved from the very first with a fast and deep affection by young and old alike.  The older girls took to them and for the 5 years after adoption we were at that church they played with them, allowed them to be honorary members of their clubs, shared sweets with them, trusted them with their mobile phones to take pictures after the service etc etc.  These girls were from the age of 9-15:  my daughters loved them.  They still have the collage of photos on their wall which was presented when we left.  My eldest daughter still misses her favourite Big Girl and we have been here for 2 years.

We arrived at our present church and adopted children are 2 a penny here.  They were no longer the special children who just arrived but part of the general crowd.  It was hard for their mummy.

They play wonderfully with the children at church and a girl slightly older than them is part of that mix but she is so close to their age she doesn't really qualify for the Big Girl Status.  (I think they must be a good few years older than my daughters).

A few weeks ago a family joined.  They had a daughter and a son.  My girls were drawn to this Big Girl like Bees to a Honeypot.  She was bubbly, warm and friendly with them.  The other night we were having a girly time and somehow, we got talking about this subject.  I asked the girls 'Who is your Big Girl here?'  Without missing a beat my youngest daughter gave the name of this girl.  I hope this family stays.

They asked me 'Who is your Big Girl mummy' and I was glad to be able to name a wonderful lady in our church.  She is great, and good fun to be with. 

In my humble opinion every girl needs a Big Girl.  And I would like to be so bold as to suggest that the Bible agrees with me.  Read Titus 2.  So today I would say, find your Big Girl and be one to someone else.

I dunno.

I like this song.  I ask a lot of questions and I could have written this song. 

Hard-nosed Cynicism or the gift of Discernment?

As I get older I find the 'Grumpy Old-Women' on TV increasingly funny.  I couldn't tell you why really.  Maybe, it is the manic way some of them talk, or the droll view they have about life.  Whatever, it is great.  I quiet enjoy a dose of their cynicism once in a while. 

I think that I am turning into one - a Grumpy Old Woman I mean.  I have a hard-heart. Every now and again an inspirational email finds its way into my inbox.  I am sure I am supposed to be uplifted by them and take the message with me during the day.  (If they have a Bible verse on them I will take that and ponder on it during my day.)  I have to admit that some of the most heart-wrenching stories make me laugh.  You know the ones that are send around purporting to be a true story about some heroic man, woman, child or even animal.  Often my first response is to go to Snopes to check the veracity of the yard that is being spun story being told.  I don't really mind receiving these emails because they cheer my day but not, alas I am afraid, in the way they are supposed to.

I am female - I should feel my eyes filling up whilst reading this stuff but I don't.  I am a Cynic or in Christian cycles I could say that I have the gift of Discernment.  The latter sounds so much better but then I am not sure if there is much difference between the two really; just that the gift of Cynicism doesn't have quite the same ring.

Puzzled

I recently heard a news item about US Immigration and it left me a tad confused.  I must point out that I am not American, don't listen or read a lot of American news and only have a scant knowledge of American history.  What puzzled me was the force of the article against the people trying to enter America in order to get a better life for themselves and their families. 

The Continent of the Americas had been held in fascination for many centuries by Europeans.  Many travelled across to the seas to find it.  The 1400 and 1500s are full of daring adventures; Columbus discovered the West Indies in 1492.  I suspect that with this in mind many of the people aboard the Mayflower left the shores of my (sometimes not so delightful country) to escape Religious persecution; to start a new life for themselves in a new land.  After a long and arduous journey they landed upon the country we now know as America.  The country was already occupied by indigenous people.  It could be argued that the introduction of many Europeans was not good for these people; many were wiped out by European diseases for which their immune systems were not strong enough to fight.

As news of the new country spread more and more people from the European Continent chanced their arms to travel and discover a better life for themselves and their families.  Settlements were set up, towns were built and States were organised.  Eventually, after much history and war against the Brits Independence was declared on 4th July 1776.  A new country was born.

All the while the Indigenous people were being pushed back and out of their land.  The settlers were taking over; all to get a better life for themselves and their families.  Unfortunately, the Indigenous people of America didn't have a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help them stop illegal immigrates coming into their country and taking over their land and livelihoods.

I could go on but I think I have made my point.  I would love to know why the people coming to the US and trying to make a better life for themselves are seen in such a negative way by a few Americans.  Why is history not remembered? 

And then again, maybe I am sticking my nose into business that really doesn't belong to me.  I am puzzled, that is all.

Life begins at 40!

I am told it does anyway.  This year leading up to my 40th birthday I have taken up running, picked up the knitting needles again and taught myself that skill and put myself behind the wheel of a car for the first time since I was 20.  I am waiting for the confidence with the latter before I take my test.  Once that is mastered I can work on getting myself into a plane; not to fly it you understand but to conquer my fear of not being grounded.  I have to do this as I have places to go and people to see.

Anyway, back to my 40th birthday.  What seems like an age ago now, my husband asked me what I wanted to do to celebrate it.  I didn't want a party as I joined him on his.  I asked if the 2 of us could go away together and get someone to look after the girls.  I was asked many times through the months 'What are you doing for your 40th?'.  I could honestly say that I didn't know and that my husband was sorting it all out.

Fast-forward to last week.  I had sort of imagined we would go away to a local town over night and my parents would look after the girls.  Last Tuesday they turned up on the doorstep!  It transpired that my mum had persuaded my husband to take me away for 3 nights.  So on the Wednesday we drove to Bath; a city we both love.

We stayed here:

 We visited here:

Yes folks, I managed to encourage my husband that a Spa would be good and for the most part he enjoyed it.  The swimming pool in the picture is on top of a roof and gives views of the city of Bath.  We had a great time.

We eat at the Spa and the following places over our stay:

Las-iguanas

Greenpark Brasserie

The pictures are from Green Park Brassiere where we eat whilst listening to a live Jazz Band.  It was a lovely evening.

We managed to fit in shopping, Coffee Shops and a visit to the American Museum. 

I had a wonderful birthday.  I have to confess that on the outward journey my stomach was in a knot at the thought of leaving the girls for 3 whole nights but the experience was wonderful.  The next big thing is our 20th Wedding Anniversary in 3 years time.  I must get my passport for that and start praying now.  :)

Thanks to my husband for all the secret arranging that he put into this fantastic break. 

My Grumpy Old Women moment

No post, I changed my mind about hitting the 'Publish Post' button.  I do that sometimes. 

Some posts are best left in the recesses of my mind.  I don't want to scare the children.

Operation Cost Cutting

A few weeks ago George Osbourne announced the first budget of this Parliament.  He made cuts.  It inspired me to go through our finances and see where I could make savings.  (My mother has been urging me to do this for years but I am stubborn and fought against it).  I was shocked when I calculated how little money we had left at the end of the year when all our outgoings (including children's clubs etc) were taken off.  The money left was theoretically  to provide clothes, holidays and treats for a family of 4.  It would also have to cover any unexpected costs. 

So Operation Cost Cutting was launched in our household with vengeance.  As Chancellor of the household I have implemented some changes.  We have separate monthly budgets for food, petrol and extras.  I had to relent a little when I saw the confused and terrified look on my husband's face; so this system isn't as hard and fast as was originally planned. 

My husband was dispatched to the phone to find the best phone and Internet package.  This nearly caused him a coronary but bless him he has secured us a good deal.  Well, we think it is good but time will tell.  Oh and the TV is going completely.  We watch a lot but purely because it is there.  The programmes that we follow are very few and far between so the monthly cost is not warranted neither is the yearly licence.  As long as we don't watch things live we can get most of what we want on the Internet (we made sure we got a larger monthly download limit for this purpose.)  We may have to sweeten the girls with a DVD box set of the A-team series. 

It is my job to see what I can save on the Gas and Electricity bills.  Some of the deals require the money up front which seem a little odd so I will keep looking into that. 

So readers if you have any ways of saving money then please let me know.