In our church hymn book there is a hymn called Love at home, its a gentle but far from boring hymn that always, always brings a lump to my throat when we sing it. The words go like this:
There is beauty all around,
When there’s love at home;
There is joy in ev’ry sound,
When there’s love at home.
Peace and plenty here abide,
Smiling sweet on ev’ry side;
Time doth softly, sweetly glide,
When there’s love at home;
Love at home, love at home,
Time doth softly, sweetly glide,
When there’s love at home.
In the cottage there is joy,
When there’s love at home;
Hate and envy ne’er annoy,
When there’s love at home.
Roses blossom ’neath our feet,
All the earth’s a garden sweet,
Making life a bliss complete,
When there’s love at home;
Love at home, love at home,
Making life a bliss complete,
When there’s love at home.
Kindly Heaven smiles above,
When there’s love at home;
All the earth is filled with love,
When there’s love at home.
Sweeter sings the brooklet by,
Brighter beams the azure sky:
Oh, there’s One Who smiles on high,
When there’s love at home;
Love at home, love at home,
Oh, there’s One Who smiles on high,
When there’s love at home.
Jesus, show Thy mercy mine,
Then there’s love at home;
Sweetly whisper I am Thine,
Then there’s love at home.
Source of love, Thy cheering light
Far exceeds the sun so bright—
Can dispel the gloom of night;
Then there’s love at home;
Love at home, love at home,
Can dispel the gloom of night;
Then there’s love at home.
If you wanna hear it, just click here and enjoy. This is our family theme for this year. The emphasis is on individual and collective relationships, including personal self worth. To understand each of our roles in our family unit is going to be a big source of strength, security and grounding, especially for the children. Whatever challenges we come up against through this year I want my children to be home and know they have a foundation to start on, to relax on, to rebound from and begin again from. Love in our home starts with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, without the knowledge we have of them we are nothing more than individuals walking a world with rules, guidlines and expectations set and chosen by man, no inner peace just worldly fulfillment so long as we are complying. I want more than that for my children and myself, and through the Saviour, we can do anything.
Last year we themed our home on holding on to the iron rod in the times of darkness and on the whole I think we all done pretty well. Never did I imagine we would be challenged in the areas we were, but as I said to some friends just before Christmas, I for one am grateful for the challenge because I have the opportunity to let Kirsten find out the other side of life, it gave her a sense of worth knowing her dad was doing something for her, albeit not the best way and when all was said and done, she needed to find her own answers. All in all it wasn't a bad year, just a challenged one!
Anyway.........
Yesterday we went shopping to Asda, Princess Kirsten was looking for a particular top that she knew was available there but no luck, either they sold out of that store didn't do it. To compensate we had dinner there, she loves to eat out even in the likes of Asda! As I always have my camera on me she thought it was fun to walk round photoing all the things she wants to get, which made me smile, sort of, cos she had a wide range of things off her wish list for Christmas!! So now the ball is in her court, she wants it; she buys it. Simple!
Of course, the boy just couldnt resist his own true style of demolishing his gravy:
The last two days we have pretty much just chilled out at home. Having Kirsten back I wanted a couple of days for her to just readjust, settle in and find her feet. The state she was in the other night was totally heartbreaking for the hardest heart to bear. Since being back she's done nothing but grin, laugh and play. Today she and Charley made up a board game using a sheet of A4 and handmade cubes, they've played Operation, cooked pancakes and spent hours playing with Charley's favourite present, Fireman Sam Action Station. The house was a war zone but who cares, the atmosphere was relaxed and happy. I still haven't approached Kirsten to talk about anything but she has instigated the subject herself. I listened, said nothing and just let her talk and talk. Many things I already knew, as a mum knows with her child, but some stuff was new to me that gave me a lot to think about. The only thing I am going to share, in respect of Kirsten's privacy is the plan we have come up with regarding her education. I totally believe that she needs to be in main stream school, she's a very intelligent person and very sociable but that is declining and enough is enough. Instead of going back full time we have come to the agreement that she will go for Maths, English and Science classes to begin with. As and when she feels ready she can choose to stay for other subjects until she has comfortably integrated into full time education. The issue going on is, thanks to the lack of acknowledgement and dealings of her bullying at her previous school she has developed such a fear of schools that she can work herself up into a state just by mentioning it. No exageration. This is not going to be easy for her to move on with but between us we can do it, she is prepared to try, even if I have to sit on the school car park for the duration I will do it. We WILL overcome this fear and challenge.
She is close with my cousin Sharon and her hubby Darren, she loves nothing more than speaking with them on msn or on the phone or better still being with them. They have two boys so I think a girl is just the ticket, especially for our Shaz who needs SOMEONE on her team!! Lol I think anything they say to Kirsten will become more credible than if mum said it, which is good by me because she is learning in her own way. She's such a good person and has come a long way in the last two years that I'm surprised she hasn't ended up a fruit cake! Family has a much bigger impact on our kids than we realise, and its not till you dont have them around that you realise just how much.
I decided to bring Jay's computer into the living room tonight, which pleased Kirsten because her laptop parental controls need a password which only Jay knows, and he's at his girlfriends and doesn't know the password! So he has to sort that when he gets back and has let her use his till then, that means I still get to keep my laptop all to myself! However, we have spent a couple of hours tonight on msn with my neice, Sam, a fellow Aston Villa FC supporter I might add which was funny the voices they were making over the cam/mic etc making up a skit. I so wished my camera batteries were charged cos it was well worth recording!!
Charley went to bed quite early cos he didn't have a nap today, and some days he just needs one. He went through video's and dvd's before he nodded off. He came down at one point doing the cute and funny puppy dog eyes, speaking in a small, high pitched, feel sorry for me voice:
he said I'm sorrrrrryyyyyyy mummmmmmyyy, I love you
I said: What you sorry for son?
he said: For getting out of bed
I just couldn't help myself, I cracked up!!! All he really wanted was a warm strawberry milkshake!!
His latest ''issue''. We sat on his bed a few days ago, he'd got out the bath and I was putting some lego away. He gently turned my face to look at him and said:
why do we poo and wee?
I said: because we need to eat and drink but our bodies have to break it down, take out the good stuff and we get rid of the bad stuff in the toilet (or to that effect!)
He said: but I dont like having poo's and wee's
I said: I understand but our body needs it, we cant stop it
He said: well I dont want to anymore
I said: Ok, well lets see how it goes ok? (which is what I say when there really isn't an answer!)
Later on that evening I was getting him ready for bed, when I got his pants off I noticed a LOT of toilet tissue packed in there. I asked what it was doing there and he said:
So it can catch my poo and then I dont need to use the toilet!
I had no answer, to a four year old that was pretty ingenius thinking, definitely got me stuck for words!!!
Charley's latest favourite place to nap:
A game of cards that lasted a whole two hours! He would NOT let me win or quit!!
That's enough for me for now. I really gotta get my butt in gear with the catch up posts and stuff.
~*~Debs~*~
