Resurrection Day Aproaches

As I was going through the mundane task of putting laundry away, I turned on a praise/worship CD. (I did this mostly because I had stayed home from church on Sunday because I wasn't well and missed out on the singing/praise) I was soon brought to tears of wonder, thankfulness, and humility as I listened to the words of this song. If you haven't heard it please take some time to find it somewhere. (I know that isn't very helpful, but Dean is out right now and he's the one who knows where to go for music online.) Consider the words of this song as we lead up to this weekend where we remember Christ's death and resurrection and what that means for us every day!

The Power of the Cross
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

(Refrain)This, the power of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame,
bore the wrath-We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Every bitter thought,
Every evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees;
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two
Dead are raised to life;
“Finished!” the victory cry.

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

(Final Refrain)This, the power of the cross:
Son of God-slain for us.
What a love!
What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Book Day

Today was World Book Day.At school the children had to come dressed up as their favourite book character.

Abigail chose Pippi Longstocking and Samuel chose The Gruffalo. Two fanstastic characters if you know anything about them, and if you don't you should look them up!

Well, I must say that I am very thankful for hot glue guns and duct tape! I spent most of Wednesday with the glue gun! I must say my kids looked fantastic!

One great thing was that I didn't have to stick any freckles on Abby's face...although she did think about adding a few more with brown pen! We did put wire clothes hangers through her braids to make them flick out, poor thing, it was not without a few pokes to the head! After I fixed the wire in her hair she then informed that it was her PE day and she would have to change for Cricket! YIKES! She managed with the help of her teacher and at the end of the day her hair was just as flicked out as when she left the house.

Samuel was the only Gruffalo in the whole school! He did a great job protecting his purple prickles all day. He did loose a few of his turned out toes, though! I had glued some cardboard toes onto the outside of brown socks (which he was wearing over his shoes). They came off during the lunchtime play, and although his teacher did allow him and a friend to go back out and look for them, they only found three toes.

Neither of my children won the class prize...much to my dismay, especially for Sam's costume. But they are both winners to me!

Half-Term Happenings

Every 6 weeks or so the kids get a 'Half-term' break. It's a pretty good deal, actually. No rushing out of the house in the morning, packing lunches, or making sure everyone has all the parts of their uniform that they need. It can also be pretty tough when your kids set up their own 'half-term agenda'. Abigail posted a list in our kitchen of all the things she wanted to do during the break...things like: shopping, bowling, swimming, baking, visiting friends, seeing Nanny, etc.

Most of Abigail's hobbies include a lot of attention from me, or my wallet! Samuel is a little more laid back about things, his list included things like : tv, computer, dvd, k'nex, transformers, and an occasional jaunt to the park. I tend to have a slightly different agenda. Most half-terms begin with a trip to the library. It's a good 20 minute walk from our house (they usually stop moaning after the first 5 minutes), and I like to stock up on books and dvd's to fill in some of the "Mom's busy" time during the week.

We had a pretty good week. Lots of little trips out to the park across the road. Fun with friends. Abigail was fortunate to have had 2 sleepovers, which made things a little more quieter in our house. Samuel spent a lot of time building with K'nex and Mecano sets that he got for his birthday. (I must admit at one point I was helping Sam engineer something, while helping Abigail add to her blog, and I managed to talk to my mother all at the same time! Thank goodness Aleah was having a nap!!)

Anyway, here are some pictures of the kids over the week. ENJOY!

Aleah and her cousin,Noah, talking to Thumper (rabbit) and Lizzie (guinea pig) that live at Nanny's house.
A week or so ago, the kids school raised money for the British Heart Foundation by holding a skip-a-thon. Here is a rather poor video of Abby and her friends showing off their 'routine'. Abby is the 2nd girl in from your left. (sorry, no sound)

Happy 7th Birthday - Samuel Mark

Today we celebrated Samuel's 7th birthday! It was a day long awaited by Samuel. He has been counting down the days since Christmas! FINALLY, it arrived! Although, this morning seemed to drag on for him a bit. You see, we have a 7 o'clock rule in our house. All children must stay in bed until 7 o'clock. Samuel woke a bit earlier than that and came in to our room once or twice to inform us that he didn't think his clock was moving properly...it was taking soooo long to get to 7 o'clock! Well, needless to say, 7 o'clock did arrive and he and his sisters joined us in our bed to open presents and cards. Samuel was very happy to recieve a few TRANSFORMERS from his sister and us, as well as some books sent from Grandma in China. He had a nice surprise waiting for him in the kitchen....

After a quick breakfast we picked up one of his friends and met some of the family at the bowling alley. We had a great time bowling, even Aleah had a turn. When we finished bowling it was back to our house for Daddy's speciality....PANCAKES! Samuel opened a few more presents and everyone had their fill of sweet and savoury pancakes. Happy Birthday, Samuel...you are loved!

Florida Family

I've just recently returned from a trip to Florida for the funeral of my beloved Grandfather. I was able to take Aleah with me and stay with my youngest brother and his family. It was great to see my Florida family again. We were also fortunate to be able to spend some time with my granfather's youngest brother...'Uncle Kenny', and his daughter Charanne.

I was able to enjoy some Florida sunshine and take Aleah to the beach for the first time. I spent a morning with my Grandmother who is holding up quite well under the circumstances. Aleah gave her lots of kisses and cuddles to cheer her up. We were able to eat lunch with her and look at lots of pictures.

Throughout the week, Aleah had a wonderful time playing with her cousin Avonlea. She especially enjoyed being the the back garden and playing on the playhouse that Uncle Robbie built.

On Saturday, the day I left, all of my brothers were able to come over to the house with their kids. We had a good time together eating, joking around, playing 'guitar hero', and making valentines with the kids.

The Bates Family

The Bates Family
Here is a picture of me (Kris) and my brothers during my recent trip home for my grandfather's funeral.
I will be posting more pictures of the trip soon. But, you can see more and find out more from my sister-in-law's blog site (Rob, Kelli and kids) link.

Superbowl Salute

I know it's stupid but I stayed up to watch Superbowl 42! How did I do it? A plate of beans and and tank of coke! (with the odd cup of tea during the 4th quarter!) I'm no expert but that was a game and a half! I love the film 'Madagascar' and so I was routing for the New York Giants! That is a weird Englishman's logic for picking a team (plus the fact that there's nothing wrong with the Old England Patriots so I wasn't going to cheer for the New England Patriots!) Any way it's 3am so i'm off to bezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz