Lots of laughs

We love it when our kids mix up lyrics and make us smile. "Here we go round the mouldy brush" is one we heard from our daughter Sally this week. Kids say so many funny things, and in all the challenges and difficulties of family life, we must not lose our joy! The Bible tells us that "the joy of the Lord is our strength." Sometimes we are so intense, so heavy, so grumpy! But God wants us to be happy, and to treasure and share happy times together with him and with each other. He wants us to have a healthy family life. The Bible tells us that "a cheerful spirit is good medicine". So let's be happy, remembering that our life, our children, our family is a gift from God and never forgetting to take time to laugh and enjoy life together!

Feel free to share some of your own funny stories here with us too...

A Slippery Patch

Whilst reminiscing earlier in the week about last winter's activities we were reminded of a trip Simon made to the ice rink with our son Levi. Pops had had lessons earlier in the year as a birthday gift and managed to achieve to level 4 without much difficulty. Levi, however, was a different story! I am no authority on ice skating and, unable to even stand stationary on the ice, my opinion doesn't really count for much, but I am told he spent more time on his bottom than on his feet. However, usually a good sport, and always game for a laugh this did not throw him off course, and each time he fell he just kept getting up for more! On recounting the experience, however, in his defence he emphatically stated he was really quite good at ice skating. The reason he fell over, apparently, was because he was on a slippery patch!!!!

How about this for a laugh!

It was Poppy's birthday party today & Levi & Sally were due to make a trip out with Daddy to allow for a slightly more grown up girly time at home. However, having seen the cake, delicious food, games, and other birthday paraphernalia; we encountered a small mutiny! They wanted to stay and participate! Thankfully, Poppy was very mature and understanding, and agreed that they could stay and play waiter and waitress. However, on dressing in their smartest clothes I overheard a short conversation between Levi and Poppy which made me laugh out loud! Levi was suggesting that he put on rollerskates and do his waiting on wheels!!!!!!!! Of course we immediately stepped in to avoid any unnecessary trips to casualty, but the thought was very entertaining! It doesn't take much imagination to visualise the soup splattered walls and cream covered children. It got me thinking though...perhaps we should sometimes allow our children to learn for themselves, explore their own creative ideas and experience the consequences. It would certainly make for good entertainment and could even help raise funds... just remember to keep a camera handy!

Poppy Joy!

This year we celebrate the 9th birthday of our oldest daughter, Poppy Joy, our little miracle blessing, and testimony that God works all things for good and turns our sadness into joy!

The year before she was born, Simon and I were married, 15th August 1998, one of the best days of my life! Whilst we trusted in God's perfect timing, we were convinced from the outset that we wanted to start a family soon afterwards. Sure enough, before long we found out that we were expecting our first baby. We were delighted, and told everyone our great news! Things seemed to be going well, but then suddenly, when I was 11 weeks pregnant, we lost the baby! It was completely devastating for us both, like a bad dream. In my naiveity I had never heard of anyone having a miscarriage and I had never expected it would ever happen to me. Our church friends and family were very supportive and we hung on tightly to God to help us through the darkness, knowing that he was with us and continuing to have faith that he would turn our sorrow into joy and that, as the Psalm says, "his goodness and mercy will surely follow us all the days of our life!"

God is always true to his word! Amazingly, miraculously a year to the day after we lost our first child, Poppy Joy was born, on Poppy day 1999. Our beautiful, wonderful little baby girl! From this point on things would never be the same again! Sure enough, her name, Poppy Joy, was truly significant! God really had turned our sadness into joy and enabled us through her to remember his amazing love and provision for us!

Nine years on we remain thankful to God for Poppy, and pray that she will continue to grow into the woman God has created her to be, that people will always remember Jesus through their friendship with her and that she would bring God's joy into the lives of many many people. We are proud of the person she has become and look forward to the many adventures that lie ahead. we love you Poppy! x

The Danger Zone!

Yet again Levi returned from school today with the usual accident report, and tales of football and nosebleeds. It never fails to amaze me how many of these little notes he can manage to rack up in a week. Playground headbumps are the most common, and an encounter with that concrete skull is not easily forgotten! Talking with friends it appears I am not alone in this experience. It seems that little boys were designed for such things; climbing, adventures, cuts, grazes and all things hazardous!!! No matter how we try to remove from them all traces of danger and provide them with safer and calmer pastimes, somehow whatever they do soon mutates into an adreneline sport or an opportunity for some foolery or another!! I was flabbergasted today at how my son was able to transform a simple cake baking task into crashing, smashing slapstick, bringing a whole new meaning to the phrase 'beating' the eggs! In spite of the daily challenges I am very thankful for the kids God has blessed me with. I love their character and humour (well most of the time anyway!) and I am learning to laugh at the loudness, and craziness which threatens to drive me closer to insanity on a daily basis. Life in the Dean house may be loud, lively and sometimes a challenge, but it is certainly never dull!!!!