Thank-you, Jesus

It was our Christmas pre-school yesterday and we sang carols and read the story of the birth of Jesus. Then the kids dressed up and made a tableau of the story. After that we had a present exchange but we prefaced it with prayers to thank God for sending Jesus and to than Jesus for special things He has given us. Each of the children said thank-you to Jesus for something. One of them said thank-you Jesus for my daddy and we agreed that was a special gift that Jesus had given us. The next couple of children picked up on this so I thought we were going to end up with a run of thank-yous for daddies round the rest of the circle but when it got to Joshua he paused, then said, "Thank-you Jesus for my mummy."  

I was taken aback and blessed.

Thank-you Jesus for my family. They are precious gifts from You.

Saturday Football pictures

Saturday football

Today was the last day of Rose's football "season" - all 4 weeks of it!  We have been doing Advent dinners on Friday evenings with 3 other families and the kids have not been in bed till 8 p.m. (you'll see why this is relevant in a minute)  They usually go between 6:30 and 7. 

Plus we have had other evenings out to celebrate variuos groups' Christmas celebrations so they have had babysitters (more lenient on bedtimes) and they are really tired.

Saturday morning we have to leave by 8:15 a.m. as football starts at 8:30.  Joshua would not co-operate with getting dressed.  He insisted on an inappropriate pair of trousers (too hot and bad colour for getting dirty as they invariably do) and so was screaming and crying before we left while we forcibly dressed him in our choice of shorts as I was not keen to leave him with Lea (our helper) as I didn't think he was in a good frame of mind for her to have to deal with.

When we arrived Naomi and Joshua did not want to get out of the car so Steve took Rose on to the field as he "coaches" her team - the Cheetahs.  Eventually Naomi and Joshua did get out of the car and we went to find a spot to put our bags.

Rose's team was playing the first game - there are 3 teams at her level so they play 2 games each week.  Before half time - they play 10 minutes each way - Naomi and Joshua were pestering for food.  I told them they could wait till the game was over.  When Rose got off the pitch at half time she was moaning too.  She was tired, she wanted food, she didn't want to play etc.

In the end, Steve had enough and told me to take them home right then which I did as they were melting-down big time by now.  It continued at home for a bit but they were reasonably calm by the time Steve came home.  I thought it was a sad way to finish though.

Nativity Play-Taylor style

Our children love playing with the two nativity sets we have.  The characters are the same - baby Jesus, Mary, the Shepherds, the Wise Men, the sheep, the angel -and occasionally Joseph when he gets remembered.  Some elements of the story are also evident - the angel announcing good news, the wise men travelling from afar, Mary and Joseph using the donkey but the Taylor versions have some twists.  Like jet fuelled angels who whoosh across the sky and bad men who put the characters in the jail (the stable) and other strange things not in the original story.  I don't mind so much because the basic story is there but it can be quite interesting to listen in to the latest Taylor version of the Christmas story.

Culture at the Cantata

Last night I went to the Christmas Cantata at GCF East - a local Church that quite a few Faith families attend.  I have been going there to listen to their cantata about 6 years now so it is sort of a Christmas tradition to me. (Steve says - "you've seen/heard one, you've seen them all").  Rose's teacher, Betsy, came with me.  Because this year they were doing the cantatas at the times of their services I could only go to the 4 p.m. service, which I realised after we got there was obviously the Tagalog (ta-ga-log) service as we were the only non-Filipinos in there other than some members of the cantata and the guest speaker (who spoke fluent Tagalog).  We were, then , rather conspicuous especially as we had arrived on time and most of the congregation arrived in Filipino time so we had seats near the front.  So the Pastor got up to do the introduction and mentioned the "foreign friends" - several times, in fact!  And every so often he would translate a phrase into English for our benefit.  It was a little bit uncomfortable.

Anyway, the programme said that after the last song they would be "welcoming visitors" so we slipped out of our seats at the start of the last song, listened from the back and left so we wouldn't get completely embarrassed if they singled us out (highly likely in my mind).

 

Shopping with Rose

Rose got to spend her first money today.  Because we'd had a busy weekend she didn't have her full amount but she had 20 pesos to spend which isn't a huge amount but there are some"vente" (pronounced bent-eh and means twenty) shops and stalls around where everything is twenty pesos but, unfortunately, not in the mall we go to after Church.  So we spent quite some time trawling the shops and stalls for suitably priced items but I was really impressed with Rose because I thought she might just spend the money on whatever because she could but, oh no.  She knew what she wanted - something pretty! She would say "I have one of those", or "I don't want that".  I think it gives a glimpse of her personality and I was pleased with her control.  We did eventually find a ballpoint pen that fit the bill and she is very into writing her letters an things so it was a good buy.

Identity

Rose has become very interested in the colour of people's skin- as in she has just begun to notice we are all different - and their nationality.  TCKs (Third Culture Kids) are known for their identity crisis of where they belong but I didn't think it would start so soon!

Rose and I were in the kitchen and she asked me what colour Americans were.  I explained that they can be any colour - black, white, brown.  She announced that she wanted to be a white American as she is white.  I said, "But, Rose, you are not American."  Rose was rather taken aback and said,"Really? What am I then?"  

I said, "British."

"What's that?" she asked, sounding a little concerned, I think!

"It means you are from England."  I replied.  But then as I thought about it, I said "Well, it's where mummy and daddy are from and it's where Granny and Grandpa live."  

Because she was born in the Philippines and has spent 4 out of her 5 years here so how can she really feel a claim to England?  No wonder TCKs struggle with that idea!

A Making Day

Weds. is Rose's day off school and we ended up doing crafty things most of the day.  We have introduced a new reward system with Rose which involves earning money so she wanted to make a money box to keep her well earned dosh in! The only suitable receptacle I could find was a big yoghurt pot so we decorated it with strips of coloured paper and cut a hole in the lid to drop her money in.  

After lunch we embarked on project 2 - making a Diego Rescue Pack Kite (a lot simpler than it sounds!).  This was made from instructions in the excellent magazine we are sent called Friends.  We went up to the playground and tested it out on the little field as there was a fair breeze.  I have to admit I did not have high hopes - generally homemade kites are pretty rubbish but this was great.  Rose was so pleased with it and of course that meant we had to make one for Joshua when we got home!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

We put our Christmas decorations up yesterday and the kids were seriously hyped while waiting.  Our friend Wendy came over too because she loves Christmas - she's already had her decorations up for weeks!

Anyway, after putting the tree together we put the lights on it and then the kids took turns (sort of!) putting baubles on it.  Wendy helped Naomi stand on the table and put hers on and I supervised the other two.  The tree did look a little bottom heavy when we had finished despite encouragement to use branches higher up!

But, as Wendy commented, their joy was lovely to watch.

Steve put the garlands up when he got back from football and the lights and Rose is having a blast with it all.  She really loves it all.

Tonight we started our Jesse Tree Ornaments which trace Jesus from Genesis to Revelation.

Sleeping on Pavements

Joshua asked us at dinner last night why there were men sleeping on the pavement.  In retrospect, he was probably talking about the building workers we saw having their siesta in the shade across the (6 lane!) road from the building site.  It is quite peculiar to me how they can lie there and "sleep" with all the traffic and pedestrians beside them.  

However, I thought he was referring to the street people we see from time to time and answered that it was because they are poor and cannot afford a house to live in.  Josh said we had to help them and it led to a general discussion of ways we can help the poor. I'm glad my kids see the poverty around us. I want them to challenge it and not accept it - it becomes so easy to fall into that mindset of seeing it everywhere yet not really seeing it.  

That's not to say there isn't another side to the Philippines - that of the extremely wealthy - and they need Jesus just as much but the challenge for us is what do we really need and what is just materialism/possessions for the sake of having them?  As we approach Christmas this question is highly pertinent to our family.

Our sermon yesterday was on "where do we store up our treasures?" A question we need to ask regularly.

Lesson in Values

We bought Larrry's Lagoon for the kids last week.  It is a Veggietales story - which they love.  This particular story is about forgiveness and the three of them seem to have really taken this on board.  Yesterday, I heard Rose and Joshua having a conversation outside while painting with water in the carport.  One of them was apologising and the other was talking about forgiveness.  I was impressed but even more impressed when, eating lunch in the mall, Rose spilt some of her chicken and peanut sauce on my trousers.  She said, "I'm sorry, mummy". I said, "What for?"  She said, "For spilling my food on your trousers."  I was actually a little taken aback. 

It has all reminded me of something I read recently asking how much time we let our kids watch TV and whether we are acknowledging the values they are being taught by an increasingly secular media.  It was suggesting we spend more time intentionally teaching our kids our values and beliefs - and in comparable units of time to what they spend picking them up from other sources.  How true!  

View from the "top"

I participated in my first Admin Council this week which involved three days of pretty intense discussion and also a lot of laughs - we have a group with a sense of humour.

It sort of felt like being in a different world as  - apart from returning for the Brookside prayer meeting on Tuesday night and helping put the kids to bed - I stayed at the Manila Centre for the two nights and three days (where we were meeting).   It did mean I had two good nights of sleep though!  Steve took the Wednesday off to look after the three kids and our helper and a friend of hers looked after Josh and Naomi on Tuesday and Thursday - although they had pre-school Thursday morning to keep them busy.  Rose travelled on the van with her classmate after school on Thursday as he is our managers' son and they are good friends so she had an adventure and we travelled home by taxi when my day was done.

Getting a taxi to take us home was a lot easier than getting a taxi to take me there. The first one we stopped agreed to take us (sounds strange but some don't like going to other bits of the city as they may not get the fare back.  Technically you are allowed to complain to the Government dept when they refuse to take you but I have never tried. It seems to me that would probably not be as straight-forward as it suggests!).  But on the way out to Quezon City, 3 taxis refused to take me and one wanted 500 pesos for a 120 pesos fare.  After 3/4 hour waiting I ended up getting a jeepney first to a place that a taxi would take me from.

I'm the Principal's Daughter

This is Rose's new phrase.  I think she actually picked it up off some other kids as we were at the playground the other day and she and some of her friends were doing something they shouldn't have.  An older Elementary kid said to them, "you can't do that" and his friend replied "she's the Principal's Daughter".  I immediately jumped in with "that doesn't make any difference - she is still not allowed to do it" but since then I have heard her using this phrase and her teacher said she has been saying it in class too. No doubt to test its power, knowing Rose!

Steve's birthday

Steve's birthday fell on a Sunday this year so we got to celebrate it as a family.  I had taken the opportunity while he was away to buy his presents and the kids helped me wrap them - they all took it in turns to stick sellotape on the wrapping - and most of the time we got it in the right place!  I did wonder whether it was a good idea as they saw the presents - and, naturally, they are not the most discreet at this age!  But, give them credit, they did not tell him a bean - even in the excitement of unwrapping - but I get ahead of myself.

We decided we would not remind them on Sunday morning that it was his birthday as we knew we would not have time to unwrap before Church.  Steve had a bit of a lie-in (oh, how that has changed with kids!  Staying in bed till 7 or 8 is a luxury now) then we left for church.  I had told Rose that he would choose where we ate for lunch as it was his birthday but we ended up at Wendy's (a McDonald's type place but we like it better). We have a habit of sitting at the table by the window because we can see the MRT (monorail type train) from there and the kids count the carriages.  Although Rose always gets to the teens and there is only ever 9 carriages max.!

Anyway, we got home and after changing and organising drinks etc. Steve opened his presents.  I think his favourite was a light sabre that I managed to find for him.  Josh decided he really liked it too so I expect he will be getting one for Christmas which Steve is happy with as they make a noise when you hit them against each other.

Joshua was most upset that daddy did not choose a birthday cake and we had not made him one - probably rightly so.  Not sure how that got under the radar because Josh had mentioned it in the run up to Steve's birthday too.

It rained really heavily in the afternoon so we did not go out as planned - Steve often plays football at school on a Sunday afternoon and we either swim - or, as the temperature has got milder, play on the playground. 

I also got Steve the mini Starbucks mugs of the Philippines they are doing but I managed to break a handle in transit.  But they are cool and a good addition to his collection.  He had spotted them a weeks or so ago when we were in Starbucks but I had already bought them so pretended nonchalance.

Welcome home!

Steve arrived home last night and I can't tell you how relieved I felt. I suddenly realised how much of a burden I had been carrying with him gone.  I have great admiration and respect for those who successfully single parent for significant chunks of time. Kudos to them!

He had a richly informative time and was excited with new ideas he had been fed so it was definitely worthwhile for him.

The kids had got so used to him being gone that he did not become flavour of the month like I imagined (and frankly, hoped!)  I was still first port of call till they got used to him being here again.  I empathised - I was beginning to plan in my head like he was not here.  But I am grateful he is back and ready to resume his place in our family. 

Two funny stories

My kids often make me laugh - I love seeing things through their eyes and the ways they tell it.  This week Naomi had done something that made me laugh so I said to her, "You are a funny bunny".  She said, "I'm not a bunny....I'm a monkey"!!  (hmm, shows what I often call them!).  Then a few days later, we were taking a walk around our subdivision and Naomi was walking with me while Rose and Joshua were steaming ahead on their scooters.  I said to Naomi, "look at those 2 monkeys".  She said, "Where, mummy?  Where are the monkeys?"  I said, "there".  After a while of going back and forth I realised she was looking for real monkeys and I had to explain I meant her brother and sister!

Reflection

Steve has been gone since Thursday on an administrators' conference in Kito Kinabalu. It is also the end of our mid-semester break so Rose is not at school.  It has been fine so far, my friends have been good to me and provided me with good quality company and an extra pair of hands and eyes.

Today, though, bordered on the disastrous.  It started pretty well. Rose had ended up sleeping in my bed and it meant she slept an extra half hour.  (She always ends up in our bed when Steve is away, it's funny!)  Naomi slept till 7.  We left the house at 7:45 to go to church.  This weekend the traffic has been very quiet as it is a public holiday and as we were rattling along I realised I had not put the pushchair in the car for Naomi.  This is important because my youngest daughter has will of her own when we go shopping and she will happily wander at half speed to everyone else and in the opposite direction.  As it was just me and the kids today, I knew I had made a mistake. I also knew it was too late to turn back and get to Church on time - or anywhere near reasonable time.  So I gritted my teeth and we carried on.  We got to church early, so I had plenty of time to drop the kids off to their respective classes.  Naomi was great and Josh was fine - to begin with - and then went into massively clingy mode.  So we took Rose to her class - and she fell on the stairs on the way down and bashed her shins.  I think I began to feel the day slipping away from me from that moment!  Anyway, she went into her class and I took Josh back to his but he would not cooperate, so I ended up taking him into the service with me and he was very good - that was how badly he did not want to go to his class. This is why Steve takes him to his class because he is fine with Steve leaving him and Steve has no problem doing so even if he is a little clingy - which he has not been for a long time.  It was funny because during the singing of one song, Josh said "this song goes on for a longtime!"  Part way through the sermon Joshua started to hum, which I could tell was distracting the man sat next to us so we retired to the very back of the hall and that was fine.

Except that, while sat there my mobile phone fell out of my pocket and instead of picking it up and putting it somewhere safe, I was waiting till I got up. But of course, I forgot by then and I left it there.  So, I am unable to contact my husband - who was texting every night - or anyone else by mobile phone.  That is a pain in this culture as almost everything is arranged, organised, and/or confirmed by text.

I realised I had not got my phone on the way home when, again, it was too late to go back.  And, of course, I couldn't text any of my friends at the second service to ask them to look!

So, we headed to the mall and everything was good until after lunch.  We usually buy an ice-cream from McDonald's after we have eaten so I was waiting for our order and the kids were sitting in their usual place on the steps just off to the side. They came to me, nearly hysterical, as I was collecting the ice-creams because Naomi had run up the stairs and they couldn't see her and she wouldn't come down.  (This is one of the biggest malls in Manila with many people inside) So we had to leg it up the stairs to find her casually on her way back down.  Our next custom is to go to the coffee shop and I buy a Chai Tea Latte and the kids eat their ice-creams at the coffee shop tables by the ice skating rink.  (We go so regularly that they now ask me when I approach the till if I want a Chai Tea Latte).  As we were eating and drinking, Naomi decides she's had enough and wanders off to the nearby display - still with ice cream in hand - and knocks over the big S A L E letters, climbs on to the platform and through the legs of the nearest mannequin.  By this time the sales assistant has come out and Naomi is upset because she can't get out of the middle of this group of mannequins.  Between us we negotiate her past the mannequins and down without spreading ice cream on the clothes.  But then she runs off and as we follow, Rose realises she has left her "thank-you" card from Teacher Len for carrying the flag in the parade and she wanted to show it to her daddy so we grab Naomi, Rose and Joshua run back to the coffee shop table but, of course, it has already been cleared and Naomi runs off the other way again.  By which time my blood pressure is boiling, Rose is upset and Naomi is unrepentant.

At which point, we leave.

I usually have a nap on Sunday afternoons - it is often my lifeline - while Steve watches the kids but obviously that is not going to happen so we settle in front of a video and I doze on the settee in between questions - "what's that?" "why did he do that?" and so on.

It's a great afternoon so we go swimming.  Only, when we arrive at the pool, it is shut because the lifeguard is ill.  So we go to the playground - only the kids insist on keeping on their swimsuits, which I think will be ridiculously hot but they don't care.  One of the Elementary teachers asked us to bring up some batting to help decorate their classroom (mountains) and she suggests we go to the Condos (a block of flats near Faith Academy, where lots of Faith teachers live.) and swim there.  This is doubly great as we had already arranged to meet a friend there after we swam so we just arrived early (and woke her up!) and swam as her guests there.  Afternoon saved!

By the time we left, everyone was tired, hungry and ready for bed.

And, on reflection, and in perspective, it really wasn't so bad. Except the reflection I get of my character from time to time!

Message in Music

Today was a thrilling day for me.  On the way back from Calapan, Joshua was sat on Steve's knee and spent most of the journey singing songs he knew.  Some of them were the songs he has learned in his Sunday School class and some were nursery rhymes and some were from Christian albums we have.

Later in the day, Rose was walking around singing, "you've got to get God's love and give it away" and "Lord, you love me and you're never going to go away". 

It thrilled me because I see values and beliefs of our faith beginning to absorbed by our children. In fact, the other day Rose asked why Jesus died on the cross and while I am not convinced I gave her the best or simplest explanation it excited me that she is beginning to think through things she is hearing.

Now, I know there are those who would say she, and our other children are being indoctrinated but we all indoctrinate our children - whether it is with Christianity or whatever else we choose.  Besides, isn't that what the word means - putting doctrine in?  I make no apology for indoctrinating our children with the words and values of Jesus Christ and the Bible - I can think of no greater influences I want on their lives and thinking.

Joshua's 4th Birthday

You know, when Rose was born, people told me "Enjoy it while they are small, it goes so quickly", and I smiled and nodded, thinking 'yeah, right'.  And, of course, I now realise that phrase is so true.  My son is already 4 years old!!  I remember when he was born like it was yesterday - and I hope I always will - and the intervening 4 years have gone quickly.

Steve delayed going in to work and we opened presents in the morning as it was a busy day (preschool in the morning, party in afternoon).

Joshua chose to have a party on the playground (his choices were: swimming pool or playground as he was inviting 7 boys and I did not fancy having them all in the house!).  Of course, it was not just 7 boys, anyway, because - other than his sisters - there were siblings of the boys as it's difficult at this age to not include them.  And, actually I think that helped make the party as they all enjoyed it and participated.  Steve organised a photo scavenger hunt which they all enjoyed - tearing around all over the playground looking for letters. We then played duck, duck, goose and had the traditional (and very British) Pass the Parcel before we ate.

We had hot dogs for tea, which was easy to make with little bowls of extras but I think most of the kids were eager to skip to the cake!  Josh had chosen a construction site cake (we have a book of birthday cakes that the kids regularly peruse) which was easy to make.

One of the other boys blew out the candles before Josh - because he just wanted some cake!  So we relit the candles (I only had 4 matches which was risky and almost backfired on me!) and Josh attempted to blow them out but he wasn't really blowing properly so after numerous tries, some of us helped him.

He was tired but I think he had a great day.

Click here for more photos

Manic Monday

Today was a lot busier than it normally is.  I was helping in Kinder, usually go shopping on Monday mornings and had Bible Study.  I knew it was going to be tight but I thought I could do it.  Then a friend texted to ask if I could have her kids between 12 and 1 while her helper had lunch as she was at LTO (driving license renewal, which can take forever).  That was fine, but I knew that probably the shopping was out as I would not have enough time.  Especially as Steve and I were going out to do Birthday present shopping at 4:30.

We had rearranged our Bible Study because Crystal has had her baby recently by C-Section so we couldn't meet last Friday and we have two weeks of no school on Fridays coming up and won't be able to meet then either.  So, I went to Kindergarten for my half hour between 8:oo and 8:30, came home, got Joshua and Naomi ready to go and left for Bible Study about 9. Traffic was very good - only took us 10 minutes.  Sometimes it can take 45 minutes!!  Crystal and Mel have family visiting so it was fairly busy at Crystal's house and there were introductions flying around.  So we probably didn't start till 10 so I mentally crossed off shopping for sure as I wanted to feel free to be involved in the Bible Study without worrying about the time.  It was really good because we had extra adults around so we left the children (7 between us) downstairs with them and went upstairs to study.  I think it was the least interrupted group we have had!!  We finished about 11:30.

I had another text saying I didn't need to look after my friend's children so we quick grabbed lunch (Josh was having a major paddy because he hadn't eaten anything all morning since breakfast - because it was new people and he was so involved in his play he never asked for a snack) and headed off to shopping.

Josh likes to ride in the seat of the trolley (they are different here - just the bog standard one seat and much smaller) and Naomi likes to walk.  Well, I have finally got her trained to walk most of the time beside me. For a while I had to put her in the trolley as punishment because she would run off all round the shop and sometimes we couldn't find her for ages (our supermarket is as big as Tescos) and this would get Josh upset.  Now, we have to pause every so often for her to rejoin us but she's usually close by!

Today, when we got to the spice section she grabbed two bottles and would not put them down. She ended up carrying them round with us round most of the shop. Except when we reached the sweet aisle and then I looked round and she had a bucket of marshmallows in one hand and was just grabbing a string of gumballs in the other.  I said, "Naomi we are not having those. Put them back".  So she dropped the gumballs there, in the middle of the aisle, walked up to the place she had got the marshmallows, put them back and then picked up her tow bottles of spice she had left  on the shelf above!

I think an assistant finally took them off her (or more likely she dropped them when she starting speaking to her) when I had rounded a corner because I heard then talking to her and then she came flying round to find us minus the bottles.  So then she decided to pick up two bottles of flavouring instead!  But this time I convinced her to leave them where they were.

The rest of that shopping trip was uneventful but when Steve and I went out we had a classic cultural experience. We went into Planet Toys - looking mainly for toys for Joshua's birthday.  I asked an assistant about basketball hoops and he led me to the "best" one (which it was).  However, when he realised we had not finished he said, "what is your child, ma'am?  Boy or girl? How old?"  Then he and 4 of his colleagues trailed us around the shop bringing toys: "here, ma'am. What about this, ma'am?  This is only.....". It was fairly wearing, to say the least. Steve said, "don't ever talk to an assistant again".

Satisfying Saturday

Today was such a good day.  It started with Steve being manipulated about 7 a.m. so it was a pretty early start but we had to be up at school for 8:30 anyway because Rose is joining the Saturday morning football league that some of our parents organise and run.  It was on the Elementary playground this week as the "big boys" (High school teams) were playing games on the big field.  When we got there it was chaotic with kids everywhere - all over the playground, all over the field, all over the apparatus.  I was wondering if it was going to work.  But then order was imposed and suddenly there didn't seem to be so many kids!!  Steve is coaching Rose's team.  They are mostly beginners.  They played 2 or 3 games (I was mostly preoccupied with Joshua and Naomi on the playground) and Rose finished hot,sweaty and very happy.

After dropping everyone home I got a reprieve for a couple of hours and went with a friend to Taytay (the fabric market, got some cool panels)  then on to Starbucks in the Taytay mall.  We bought one of their Mozzerella, Tomato and Basil bagels which were good.  It was kind of funny as we both bought one but pronounced it in our own ways.  Amazingly, the staff understood me - possibly because I was pointing to it at the same time!

I came home, Steve ran up to school, I got the kids ready to swim and we drove up to meet him there.  The pool was a great temperature (it has been a little cold for my taste lately), the sun was out and it was a great couple of hours.  We knew it was time to leave when Rose started to get upset over everything - she was pretty tired after such a full-on day.

We got home, made popcorn and watched Ratatouille (Steve slept through the first half).

After dinner, we watched the rest and then it was bedtime for the kids.

It was a really good day but I think having the break made it much more fun for me.  Even though it was a relatively short time, it got me away from my "full-time work" and when I returned, I enjoyed my kids. 

Getting to the other side

Today Josh insisted on wearing pyjama trousers under his regular trousers and a white t-shirt under his red sleeveless one. Fashionable but hot I would think!!

On Wednesdays Rose does not have classes so we went out to the mall (Sta Lucia) as I had promised her we would buy a Zagu (a kind of slushy drink my kids love) as I did not shop at my usual supermarket (Cherry's) this week where I always buy Josh and Naomi a Zagu and one for Rose - which I keep in the freezer till she gets home from school.  I was sure they would have a stall at Sta Lucia - which actually we did not find.  And I did not want to venture into the old side as I had Naomi in the pushchair (the only way to control her when we got out, and she hates it) and there are mainly stairs that side, and not many escalators.

Anway, we had lots of fun because we ventured up to the very top floor - which is the cinemas and a fun-fair section.  There was a bouncy castle inflatable with an obstacle course and slide which I have not seen there before (I don't go up there much) and it was 50 pesos for 20 minutes play so all three went on and enjoyed that. We also bought candy floss (12 pesos, imagine what it would be at a British fairground?) to share.  Naomi was not sure about putting the blue stuff in her mouth, which was amusing.  After doing bits of shopping I succumbed to McDonalds - that's the frustrating thing about malls opening late here (10 a.m.) - it's lunch time while we're out. We eat lunch about 11:30 at home.  And the kids get cranky if I go much past that.  

Rose chose to sit where everyone walks past which I explained was not a good choice as we get stared at.  Sure enough, we were in the middle of eating and chatting when this older lady came in and started talking to Rose, telling her she liked her and how smart she was (not sure how she could tell that after looking at her) and stroking her hair. Then she started on Josh - I thought she was going to rub all his hair off.  Bless them, the kids just carried on as if nothing was happening, although Rose stopped looking at her. Neither of them would talk to her as they didn't know her but it didn't deter her. She told me where she was from and that her kids were grown and it was good to see children with their mum.  Eventually she left and we were all relieved.

After that we went to Starbucks (I had a free voucher burning a hole in my pocket) and I asked Rose to push the pram while Naomi and Josh walked beside me as we crossed the road to get back to the car. I deliberately did not cross till there was a genuine space but as we got almost to the other side of the very wide road a motorcyclist nearly hit Josh because in true Filipino fashion he made no attempt to stop (or even slow down) for people on a zebra crossing, but carried on motoring even though we were on the crossing before he had even come onto our road. This despite the fact there were 3 children on the crossing. Can you tell I was narked?

But such is the culture we live in.

Dedication of Cadd Theatre

(More photos at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=162963&l=b35be&id=789895076)
This was a big week for Faith Academy. It was the dedication of the new auditorium - the Cadd Theatre. It started with the actual dedication service - which I did not attend as it was quite packed and it was Wednesday, Rose's day home and I did not fancy taking three small children to a two hour dedication service. By all accounts, it was well done - but I think I made the right call - at least two school children from Elementary fell asleep during the affair! Following that was 2 days of a Middle School/High School concert in the theatre and dinner theatre afterwards. On Sunday, there was a final celebration service with singing and an address from Paul Tan-Chi.

It is a gorgeous building and amazing facility. God provided the funding through a Korean Church group in the US who wanted to bless the school for its efforts to extend its educational provision to greater numbers of Koreans. They are the same group who paid for the swimming pool and I think they are considering the next project!!

It means we will have graduation on campus from now on which can only be good!

The acoustics are amazing, everything about it blows me away but the funny thing is that for our kids the theatre will always have been part of their school and not this amazing thing we have all watched being built from scratch and anticipating from before the funding was ever confirmed. Same with the swimming pool - our kids have no appreciation for what it was like here without that great facility. We use it so often now, yet a couple of years ago it didn't even exist!

I'm sure there is a spiritual lesson in there!

However, the most amazing thing about it all is that Rose won the first prize for Kindergarten for the art contest that was arranged for the dedication. The judges assured Steve it was not fixed as her name was not on the picture when they chose it!! I have to be honest, I never thought a child of ours would win an art competition as it's one area neither of us has any talent in!

It is difficult to get fresh milk here although we do have someone who brings some to school every Tuesday and Friday and we are good customers of them but the rest of our milk is UHT long life boxed stuff (which ironically is called "Fresh Milk" because it is not powdered!). This makes me laugh as when my mum drank UHT I hated it but now I have grown accustomed to it.  Anyway, all to say that we had to throw 3 litres away this week as it fell under the China melamine scare.  It took a while for me to get rid of it as it felt like throwing away money and I kept hoping they (the people in the know, I guess) would decide this brand of milk was OK after all.  But I decided better to be safe than sorry so it went.  Lea, our helper, often updates me on what the Filipino news has listed as "potentially dangerous" and now we cannot buy stikos (my kids love these chocolate and wafer sticks), or Cloud 9 (a local chocolate bar - although I finished the box first!). They have even disappeared from the shelves of our supermarket.

I think what annoys me most about all this is that when you examine the products the Filipino company's name and address is emblazoned in big type on the box but then in small letters is "product of P.R.C.".  Which is pretty sneaky as it doesn't even spell out China!  It annoys me because a country that has millions of poor people who would benefit from a job has copied the West and farmed (sorry, outsourced) its production to another country so that, presumably, they can make more profit.  And, yet, I find it strange that Chinese workers must accept lower wages than Filipinos because they earn ridiculously low wages as it is.  Maybe it's a lower level of regulations and incentives to invest?  Either way, I think the West and its precedents have a lot to answer for. Not least, when the bottom falls out of it all. 

Lea tells me that the shoe manufacturers just down the road in Marikina (famous for its shoes) have announced they will have to suspend business because the Chinese imports are cheaper (and, frankly, less well made). How crazy is that? Countries refusing to protect their own businesses - as we in the UK know to our cost.

Terrible Twos

Naomi has really hit this stage full tilt!  Everything is either "No!" or "I don't want to". Including those contrary moments when she actually does want to but can't bear to not be in control.  She has this fabulous pouty mouth thing she does at the same time which makes me want to laugh  - when I am not sighing with frustration!  This morning she insisted she wanted Peanut Butter on her toast but then threw a tizzy when I gave it to her and shouted "I want peanut butter". I was (I think understandably) bemused at this point until she said "and I'll get it" and then I realised she actually meant the Chocolate/banana spread which she can get herself from the fridge.

I am now volunteering for half an hour each Monday in Rose's Kindergarten Class. It's amazing what you can do in that short space of time.  I am sure it will make me a better Secondary teacher too.  Today, I asked Mel if I could leave Josh and Naomi with her.  And, bless her, she was happy to have them.  I prepared Josh yesterday and today he told me, "I'm going to Zeb's and you are not staying".  I was pleased he was comfortable with that. Naomi chipped in, "And we don't cry 'cos you are coming back".   I merely said, "That's right" but inside I was chuckling. I was also intrigued that she is internalising that concept of me coming back after leaving her.

Josh keeps telling Steve and I and Rose that he would really love to go to KILA (Rose's Filipino pre-school) next year and then to Rose's school which is quite the step forward for him.

Bubbles

It seems like I find time on Thursdays to write or something because here's another Thursday post!!  And, it involves another adventure of Joshua and Naomi!!

So, today I attempted to maintain a more supervisory role of my two darlings and got the bubbles out to play with (I think it was Josh's idea, actually).  I thought that was a great idea and fairly simple to keep on top of. I could sit in the chair on the porch and they could blow bubbles to their hearts' content (well, probably 10 minutes!).  However, as of course you've probably realised it took its own little twist.  Josh decided he would like the bubble machine - a good idea, I thought. But, no.  It decided it wasn't going to work so I got the screwdriver and and opened the battery compartment.  They haven't been changed since Uncle Simon bought it for them so it was a good bet. I was surprised to find 4 batteries of the biggest kind, which of course we did not have in the house.  

So, we decided to settle for old-fashioned bubble wands and mouths.  I found one wand easily enough but, of course, couldn't find the second for a while but did eventually and everything was still under control at this point.  Joshua and Naomi were having fun blowing and chasing and clapping bubbles. Naomi tried to blow a few herself but didn't have a lot of success but was happy chasing Joshua's.  I had to go back into the house for something else and when I came back out Joshua had spilt - well tipped - out all the bubble mixture over the porch and the two of them were sliding on their tummies all over this soapy mixture over the porch - which was pretty lethal by this time.  They said they were being like penguins on the snow.  How could I cramp their style?!

When I got tired of that they went in the shower to get all the soap off but this time under my watchful eye the whole time (am I learning?).  Cleaning the porch was another matter and even a few days later there were patches of extreme slippyness.

Thursday September 11th

Today Joshua and Naomi got all the tubes of toothpaste (at least three) out of the cup in the bathroom and by the time I came to check on them in the shower the toothpaste was everywhere - all over the shower, all over them, all over the floor. Is there anything worse than toothpaste to try and clear up?  It did remind me of the illustration that Steve often uses of once toothpaste is out of the tube you can never get it back in again (with the point that our actions and words can never be taken back once they are out there). It was at that point that I realised they had also emptied the liquid soap into this concoction! I think I kept my cool pretty well, considering...

On a more bizarre note, I put a piece of bread in the toaster for my breakfast and could hear it rustling.  Having heard of this before, I hurriedly checked to see if a gecko had got trapped. Unfortunately it had. The spring had caught it so it couldn't escape and its tail was stuck to the element. I stopped the toaster but, obviously it was too late.  It affected me more than I expected - being a fairly non-Animal lover!

Naomi's birthday

We had a low-key celebration of Naomi's birthday. Rose and Joshua were pretty excited about the fact but even though Naomi kept saying "it's Naomi's birthday" I don't think she was really that clued into what was going on.  I think it became clearer when the cake and the presents made an appearance!  We had been having ongoing discussions about what the cake was going to be for weeks. Joshua was determined for her to choose something from the cake book (this is actually one of their favourite books to browse on a frequent basis!).  I'm not sure if it was her, Josh or I who eventually chose but she got a whale cake.  I think it was recognisable as a whale.  You can decide from the photo!

Naomi did get really excited by opening the presents and we had to hold Rose back from helping her too much.  She liked everything but particularly the dresses and the "spotty dog" shorts and T shirt. It's a wonder they're not worn out already!!

For more photos click 

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid =155031&I=8232d&id+789895076

Thursday 4th September

This morning (and I realise the date this is posted is somewhat different to the date of the blog but that's how organised I am!!) Josh had climbed into our changing table and was liberally spreading nappy cream all over his legs and Naomi was stood next to him putting it on her arms. I stopped them and put them in the shower.

It was preschool and I was feeling tired before I began - not a good start! But it went well. I was particularly pleased by the colouring by numbers sheet.

Later, I was trying to copy some DVDs for Steve and got so frustrated with Joshua and Naomi grabbing CDs and throwing them around that I locked them out of the room while I finished.  Josh climbed on the stool (he is beginning to figure out he can reach all kinds of places previously inaccessible to him on the stool), got hold of the keys for the door and was trying to unlock it. When he couldn't get the right one he then got the keys for the car and, as I thought, was just playing with them to get the alarm on the car to go off.   When I was finally ready to go and see what they were up to, I realised they were outside our gate (because I had left the car on the road), they had got the car unlocked, were inside the car and merrily playing with all the buttons and wands.

In the afternoon I taught Josh how to do hopscotch.  He had the idea of jumping but couldn't grasp the hop.  He did a good job of throwing the bean bag and making up his own game though.  Of course when I went to get the video camera - which was inevitably out of charge - he and Naomi had given up on the game.  And Naomi was more interested in looking through the viewfinder than being on the recording! 

End of the week

Last night I was woken about 4 times by Joshua and once by Naomi so I was pretty tired by the time I had to get up.  Our usual morning consists of Steve getting up about 5:10 and Rose often gets up then too. It's usually only about 20 minutes before Joshua and Naomi are also up.  Steve watches them while he gets ready for work and I stay in bed till he leaves at 6 - he has a lift up to school. Then I usually get up, have a shower, make sure Rose has her socks and shoes on and she leaves about 6:40.  Today I was so tired I dragged myself out of bed at 6:20, made sure Rose was ready to leave should her lift come and got in the shower to try and wake myself up.  Rose shouted me the car had arrived and she was going, bye! My daughter is very independent!

While checking my email - all of 10 minutes, I could hear Joshua and Naomi talking and playing and mentioning broccoli but they weren't being that dangerous quiet so I wasn't too worried.  However, when I did go and see what they were doing, I was not happy.  They had taken the whole roll of toilet roll and thrown it in the shower base so that it was all pulpy and were calling it broccoli. Maybe I should have been delighted that they have an affinity for a green vegetable, or that they have such creative imaginations but I have to admit neither of those things was the first thought I had! After expressing my displeasure at the waste of using the toilet roll in such a manner - which of course means nothing to them - I made them help me pick it up. 15 minutes it took us. Thankfully, the day did not build on this foundation!

We went to my Bible Study and we were studying Eve - from the Women of the Bible book - and it was very interesting.  There was more to think and apply than I had imagined. The main thought revolved around what is "one flesh" and how does that look in our marriages?  I'm still working through that.

We watched the next 4 episodes of Bleak House in the evening - a group of us are watching together. It has us hooked.  I have enjoyed watching the collections of Heroes and House and others which at least means you can do a few episodes at a time and not have the tension of a week's wait!   

Rose's first day at school

Rose has been ready to go to school ever since we arrived back in the Philippines. We had to make a countdown calendar for her because we could not bear being asked every day "Is it tomorrow I go to school?". At that point she still had 19 days left - how fast that has sped by!
So, it was never going to be a traumatic transition - at least for Rose! When I dropped her off on Tues she immediately put her bag in its space and walked into class with hardly a backward glance - as did the rest of the class I think. I am in two responses - I'm excited for her and I know she's ready but I am sad that our time at home together is finished for this stage. Joshua found it difficult losing his playmate and was very touchy. But I know he and Naomi will play together more because they did when Rose attended KILA.
The funny thing was that after one day they had Weds off because our Kindergarten Class only do 4 days and have Wednesdays off every week! But she is happily off again today with Ros who is taking her each day.

Staff Retreat

Staff retreat was a real blessing in many ways. It was a blessing to be able to go because the committee subsidised families this year and provided child care for all ages. It was a blessing to be able to socialise and fellowship with the staff and play rugby. It was also challenging and encouraging and i think Mark Anderson did a great job with his messages. I particularly liked the way he had researched the school and tied what he was saying into making us evaluate what we do.
It was good too to re-evaluate our passion for being here and feel God's confirmation in choices we have made.
It was also good to be reminded that my foremost passion right now, for me, is my kids. Already I am facing Rose beginning school and all that entails in terms of my time with her and other influences that she will be open to. I do not have long to make good on what God has entrusted to me in my kids.

Flight back

This has to have been my worst flight(s) ever. Firstly the online check-in was being a nightmare and because we had booked Naomi's seat separately she ended up checked in when the rest of us weren't so I couldn't do our seats together. Then the booking would only recognise Steve, Josh and Rose and I was nowhere to be found (made me a bit panicky for a moment!) So in the end I asked Steve to ring Emirates (I am not good on the phone). They said it was no problem and they would do our seats for us. However, they did warn us that the flight from Birmingham to Dubai was very full.
Lots of the family came to see us off which was great and I have to say security was a breeze compared to last time when we queued for ever.
Once on the flight we realised our seat choices had not been recognised which was OK as we had seats by one another but across the aisle. Josh went to sleep almost straight away and the lady on the other side of him was very gracious in helping me pick up things and letting him stretch between us. Rose, too went off fairly soon. Naomi? No way. She was the energiser bunny, determined not to miss out on anything - like there's anything to miss on a 9 hour flight. Eventually she went off after about 3 hours.
The next flight was the horrid one. Steve was sat with Rose and Joshua way up the front of the section in front of us and Naomi and I were back in the next section. It was actually OK until Naomi fell asleep so I went to see Steve and once the kids realised we could move they kept "visiting". To top it off, I began to feel ill and was pretty sick for the last few hours of the flight which was not pleasant. Again, I had a lovely man sitting by us who was very helpful and gracious. But I did not enjoy the trip - and my Tv was not working so I kind of watched films on other TVs in front of me which was interesting to see how much you can pick up without the words but not a great way to be entertained!
But i do heartily recommend Emirates. It is nicer to have two fairly reasonable flights instead of one enormous flight and the crew are lovely.
The most BIZARRE part of our journey back was when we went through immigration (which is great now they have a special line for I-card holders). Firstly, we were missing Rose's I-card but he said he would waive that and we would have to check if it was still on the aeroplane as I had had it when filling in our landing cards. Then I realised the guy had not given me back Steve's passport. When I went to ask him for it, he said "I never had your husband's passport!". But he had waved him through!! When Steve went to report to the Emirates desk to ask them to look on the 'plane, the man at that desk said "What are you doing here, then?" I think the Immigration guy was in for an earful or worse. Emirates were already on the case and had found our documents by our seat and were already tracking us down.
We arrived back at home about 12:30 a.m. and Rose was good about going to bed but Naomi and Joshua thought that having all their toys around was the greatest thing ever - I think it was like Christmas for them. They just wanted to play and even though we attempted to get them in bed Steve ended up sitting up with them in the playroom till about 4 a.m.
It took a good week to recover from jetlag and we have had many nights with kids up for a few hours - although at least willing to lie in a bed rather than play downstairs! Or trying to keep them up later so they will sleep through.
But it does feel good to be home!

London

Even though this was a while ago now. It was another highlight of the "holiday" back in England to do some of the sights in the capital. It was slightly surreal to be with Wendy (one of my friends from Faith) in London but it was an amazing day. We started by going to Harrods and being horrified by the prices of kids' clothes. (Think about how long they last!!) We had lunch in Hyde Park with the sun out. We walked down to Buckingham Palace. We did the Houses of Parliament - from the outside! - which truly are a magnificant sight. I wanted to do Westminster Abbey but it was 12 pounds to go in which I thought was slightly steep. Next time!! But - courtesy of Wendy's lovely godmother - we got to go on the London Eye. Very worthwhile. You get amazing views of London from up there. We met up with Steve - who was doing one of his courses - and had dinner and then Wendy's godmother also paid for Steve, Wendy and I to attend Joseph with chappie who won the reality show. Excellent.

Merchant of Venice

For Tim's birthday I bought him and Ali a ticket for MoV and a pair for us - and they were literally two pairs as when I looked for 4 together I got rubbish seats and when I looked for two pairs I got four seats next to each other but the pairs were different prices because they were on the end of the row so slightly different views!! They turned out to be good seats too which I was not expecting!
I love this play, it intrigues me. Is Shakespeare merely reflecting the prejudices of his time or asking us to question them? Of course, some of our answer is based on the performance and hence interpretation we see but I am not sure I can ever answer the question definitively and I'm not sure I want to. I think I prefer it open to question so I am not disappointed! Either way, I don't think it really matters as it is what message we take away from it that is the most powerful and, arguably, the most important.
I do have to admit, though, that I think Antonio is a slime bag and even his friendship with Bassiano doesn't redeem that for me. Interestingly, this performance showed him very frightened by Shylock in the courtroom which I have never seen before and it worked for me. Shylock was the belligerent character at this point which, again, is unusual I think but they carried it off.

The wedding service and reception

Sure enough, Friday morning Steve couldn’t get out of bed. That required the first change as Steve was meant to be ushering and making sure guests signed the guest book.

While we were supposed to be making and eating eggs and bacon everyone kept being called away. Sam and Sam (best man) had to go to the Village Hall to let the caterer in but he didn't turn up for an hour and a half so in the end they left to get breakfast and because Sam had to get ready to go to the registry office and while one was in the shower and the other eating his breakfast Emma rang to say the caterer had arrived. Thankfully they had left the hall open for him to get in.

While they were out the guy in charge of the P.A. rang to say they were waiting at the church ready to set up and it was not open so Tim had to go to the Hall to get the keys off Sam and then go to the church to open it for them whereupon we discovered the local school next door to the church was haveing some event and people were parking in the church car park which obviously we needed!

We rang a masseuse that one of mum’s friends had recommended and took him down in the morning and he helped free it a bit – enough to manage being at the wedding. It got a bit better by the end of the day but still meant he was hobbling around. Dad and Gavin had to help me manhandle Steve into the car and then drove him to the masseuse so we had breakfast in shifts which was probably a good thing as we only had one egg poacher pan! I went to collect Steve and then dropped Rose off at Ali's house so she could go with mum to the church.

I got back and Steve left with Tim to the church as Tim's seats in the car were higher. Gran left with Uncle Andrew and Aunty Ruth and I was not even dressed at this point! Because everyone else had left Joshua and Naomi were following me all over the house asking if we were going yet!

The wedding was lovely. It reflected Sam and Emma’s personality and faith in a wonderful way. They had lots of freedom because they had already done the legal bit so they were able to write their own vows which were beautiful. The church building was a little warm but it was a great service and I’m sure a great witness to their non-Christian friends. Sam had chosen his friend Sam (very confusing!) as best man who he has known from first school. He is not a Christian and he was really engrossed in the service and everything that was said.

After the service we went to Rock Village Hall and had photos and so on – it was pretty windy but stayed bright. Then we had a Hog Roast – the in thing apparently but I wasn’t that impressed. The caterer ran out of some of the salads and potatoes by the last couple of tables and there were no dressings or butter for the rolls or sauces for the spring rolls or samosas but other than that…..! But the chocolate fountain may have made up for everything else!!

At the start of Sam’s speech he brought out a cake for Rose and everyone sang happy birthday to her so that made her day.

For their first dance Sam and Emma did their own version of the wedding dance on Youtube which was hilarious http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvIvHrsLvSM to ‘In the Secret’.

Then after three trips bringing my family home – one for my Gran, one for Steve and Naomi and one for Rose and Joshua I decided I was not going to return again but waited up because my mum said they might need a lift home (the hall was only up the road from mum and dad's house). Just as well because mum's friend brought her home as she had done something to her leg while dancing. So I took her to the hospital to get it checked. She has pulled her Achilles tendon in a couple of places and has crutches and has to stay off work for a few days. So my day came full cycle – helping to dress my husband in the morning and undressing my mum at night!! And my brother Tim had to come to the house to pick up Sam’s flight paperwork because they had left it when they got changed!!

All in all A BRILLIANT DAY
(for photos of wedding: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=128370&l=8d086&id=789895076)

pre-wedding

I was going to say that the pre-wedding week was fairly plain sailing but how wrong could I be? So, the story goes back a bit……it starts when my brother first went to the registry office to ask for a registrar to be present at the wedding. He and Emma had already decided their church building was too small to get married in so they wanted to use the Kidderminster Elim instead. The registrar told him the building had never been registered as a church so she couldn’t come. So they had to arrange to get married at the registry office before the church wedding. So far so good. The pastor of the Kidderminster church however has been pretty rubbish at communicating with Sam and Emma and on Tuesday announced he had booked a funeral before the wedding which although they could still get married there left them no time to get the Church decorated or for the band to practice (who had not all played together before). Sam was so mad at first but my dad helped him sort out another church through one of his friends who is a local pastor. It ended up being a much better venue anyway and the pastor and his wife couldn’t do enough to help, they were so gracious and lovely.

Thursday night was a bit mad as the night before probably tends to be! I was painting my mum's toenails while she was ironing the mens' shirts as they were all provided still in their packets. Just before we went to bed, Steve threw his back out and we knew it was likely he was going to be immobile on Friday. I couldn’t believe the timing.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

We went to see Indiana Jones last night. When we were discussing it afterwards we couldn't remember the last time we actually made it to the pictures. I maintain it was when we were last in England and that we have not made it to the cinema while back in the Philippines this year! But we couldn't remember what we had seen! The film itself was OK and nothing more. It lived up to the Indy franchise in terms of action, and I am glad they acknowledged Ford's age but the plot was weak. And to think it cost us over £12 for the tickets (1000 pesos) - we could have bought 4 DVDs for that!! The UK is going to price the audience out of the cinema again. It cost another £5 for coffee and popcorn (I'm getting older - I like coffee in the cinema!). Madness.
Then, when we got home - after 11:00 p.m. - we got engrossed in the documentary on tribal wives and while it was very interesting, it meant we did not go to bed till after 12. What were we thinking? Naomi and Josh were up at 5:30 and though I managed to get them off again, Rose got up at 6:20. I'm still trying to catch up on sleep lost while camping so that was silly!

Camping

Camping was a lot of fun. Not least because of seeing my friend Claire and her family again. But it was so cold. I was wearing 4 layers most of the time and we did not take enough warm blankets for the nights. In fact, before we left my parents' house we were looking in the loft for more clothes and found our winter hats and gloves and scarves - how I wish they had come with us! But the weather was mostly dry - which was amazing. God was gracious in letting us get our tents up before the rain started and we had everything packed up when the next rain started!
We were camping right by a stream and the kids (all 6 of them that could walk by themselves!) spent a lot of time in it getting soaked!
Because it was midweek there were very few people there and we were relieved to be leaving Saturday as lost of people pitched up (pun intended!) on Friday once school had finished for the day.
But the most idiotic thing i did was forget to take my camera. Thankfully, Claire had hers so got some pictures.
for photos go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=125756&l=39209&id=789895076