Saturday 20 September 2014

The Extrovert

I chose to venture out by myself this morning. It's early on a day where I could sleep in but I thought I'd seek something else instead.

The water is still from a distance but up close it's moving, alive with current and creature. Even a boat slips soundless by, filled with five sleepy eyed souls.

It is the beginnings of peace this morning vigal, country spot near city home, takes me backwards across adulthood towards my well spent adolescence where I practiced hearing his voice, longing in my loneliness to touch just the edge of his robe.

I am not often found in silence anymore, our happy marriage is full of words and my extrovert heart drinks them greedily, not recognising the signs of excess. 

When will I learn the need for just a moment to expand my lungs and my heart, to move from my place lolling at the back of an apathetic crowd, 
run and leap and climb a t
ree for even just a glimpse of him.


Only rarely when I can't sleep do I creep from our bed, carefully uncurl myself from warm arms, tiptoe across the room and open the window wide. 

I don't know why but doing this opens something 
in me, reminds me of a time when the only way I knew to say goodnight was with my feet resting on the roof, chapel of stars over my head.

Wednesday 10 September 2014

The Long Silence.

It has been a while since I sat down to write. This wasn't by design, rather a product of a busy busy busy six months or so!! As I have tended to average a once a month blog post in recent years I thought I would do a month by month summary...so fasten your seatbelt......

                                                                            April

Matt and I told were finally told that his final interview for vicar training the date is scheduled for  November 2014 which means not actually starting to train until Sept 2015.

We had been hoping for more of a May 2014 interview and a Sept 2014 start

So we felt a bit like this.....



Shaking ourselves off, we went on a mini pilgrimage to Holy Island Lindesfarne which was a great help and the views weren't bad either!















 All things considered, we decided that we would stay in Sheffield at least until we knew the BAP result and signed a housing contract for another six months.


which means we get to continue to live here....







(Wills fantastic artistic rendering of our first home)














                                                                      May 

We celebrated my 26th in style in Shropshire with 10 pals for my birthday celebration which was lovely and involved circumnavigating the river running through my parents back garden in an unreliable but jaunty blow up boat!!!

I also had my long awaited coursework hand in which was the culmination of a year of jolly hard work! The rest of May is frankly a bit of a blur...!


                                                                       June

I had my final assessment and started to apply for jobs in nurseries. Matt decided that he was going to leave his management job at church in the autumn and started to look for potential possibilities.
We went to Will and Rach's beautiful wedding in Glasgow and saw my lovely pals Emma and Drew in Stirling. I found my job! Covering a maternity leave in a sweet private nursery with a nice garden and an eccentric boss. As the Assistant manager and Early Years Teacher.

                                                                        July 

Start new job,  find out that my manager is not eccentric so much as deeply crazy, my job is Assistant Manager/ Early Years Teacher, Head Junk sorter, Resource Developer and Key Worker.
(I manage not to cry.) 


                                                             Reunion of home friends!





                                    My baby brother announces his engagement (WOOP WOOP)




                                                                   Jonny and V




Then we went on a camping holiday to west Ireland with Rosa and Teague,

Question: How much stuff can you fit in the back of a three door yaris?!!


Answer:





Christine moved in for a month before heading out as a missionary to Jordan for 6 months!

Matt finds a new job working for Voluntary Action Sheffield!

                                                                    August 

Work Wedding Work Wedding Work........

LEE ABBEY!!

sunrises, sunsets, swimming in the sea, missing sharing a bed with Matt, enjoying getting to know the teenagers again. praying in the chapel tent, falling in love with the bible as spoken word, hanging around in the fire shelter with dear dear DEAR old friends, feeling the call to community again.

Then we departed late into a starry Devon night and hot footed it all the way to Shropshire to catch up with the beautiful fam, we've gone from five to nine people in the past three years and we're all still finding our feet!!!




                                               (I taught Teddy how to read)


We waved Christine off and welcomed the lovely Line into our home, she hails from Norway and will be living with us for the year! We are learning how to do family well together. It feels beautifully, blessedly natural for me and Matt to extend the family invitation and we are enjoying Line very much.

speaking of me and Matt, on the 24th of August we celebrated....



Which was amazing!!!! Cant believe its been so long/short amount of time!!!!!!


                                                                             September

On and on the world turns. Here we are with the Autumn fast approaching. What a blessed, crazy, fantastic few months its been!!

I will endeavour to be more faithful with my writing over the next few months!!!

kisses