Hers & Hers

Annie-Joy loves to do what I do! If I make a card, she makes a card especially if it's a Hello Kitty card. (Yes Mya- that is your card!)
I have a red bag and so does Annie! they are full of different things though- that's sun screen & a changing mat peeking out of my bag!! Annie's is full of teddies & a strawberry bouncy ball! When I bought my red shoes Annie decided they were hers & that she would wear them round the house.
Today I took AJ to have her feet measured. She needed new shoes & there was a choice of white, brown & hot pink or red. There was no talking her out of having the red shoes! I did put my foot down at paying for a matching handbag though (nice try Mrs Clarks sales lady!). So now AJ & I are red shoe & bag twins!! :o)
During half term AJ visited the hairdresser for the first time. She LOVES her new haircut courtesy of Madame Pompadour! :o)

Snow Days

Liverpool pretty much ground to a halt after Christmas with a fresh fall of snow! The boys went back to school for the second day of the Spring term only to be sent home after lunch for fear that no-one would be able to leave the school that night as the snow fall was so heavy! Annie-Joy & I waited in Timmy & Luke's bedroom to wave as they came home from school with Lee in the car. (Lee had a half day at work as he was taking Luke to the hospital but the appointment was cancelled due to the bad weather).
The kids played out in the street pretty much all afternoon. It was icy cold & the snow fell heavily & steadily for several hours. I took this photo of AJ's snowy boots to 'match' last year's one (seen bigger here ).

Annie loves snow. She enjoyed sweeping it up in her hands....

....and holding it up to admire it.

At one point I saw a little thought cross her mind as she turned back to see if I was watching her...

...and then moments later she put the thought into action! I think she liked tasting the snow!!

The boys from the street made huge snowballs again with real team spirit. This one was REALLY heavy! It was made into another snowman & dressed in an Everton scarf this time!

The weather took a turn for the worse & we all piled inside to watch telly or something warm. I made everyone hot chocolate with marshmallows on top too.

By next morning the sky was perfectly blue & the sun shone brightly. It was bitterly cold still!

As soon as they were able the children piled out into the garden to play in the snow after I had taken a few untouched snow photos. I love all the toys topped with a thick layer of white. Timmy looked at our snow covered garden bench & said 'Well, that's not a good place to sit today is it?'

The toys didn't stay untouched for long though...

...and soon everyone was throwing snowballs & driving trucks about to gather snow & the like.

Jordan & I had snowball fights long after the others had got too cold & gone inside again to play! Then we had a competition to see who could throw a snowball & make it stick highest on the house! I am very proud of mine way up under the sill of the twins bedroom window! Jordan almost got a snowball as high up as me. We played this game all week which was great until Luke decided to throw a great huge stone at the french window with an almighty thud!! I had just popped inside at that moment & had to rush outside again to re-establish rules for throwing at the house!! Yikes!! That could of been expensive!!!!!

After a week's extra holiday the boys went back to school again. It was so much fun having them home in the snow! Ten days after we built the Everton snowman he was still lingering in our front garden! I think he saw the second week out too! He was obviously well built to last so long! :o)

He's a Poet....

....and he knows it!! :o) Jordan came home from school today very excited about the poem he had written in class. It's an acrostic poem. Here it is, just as he typed it out for Grandma & Grandad tonight;

L overly place to be
I ncredible places with lots of buildings like the three graces & the glass building
V ery good view if you stand on top of a hill
E xciting places to go
R ealy good things to do
P easful places sometimes
O terspool is good for cycling along
O ver head trains
L ambannas and the liver birds are nice

Jordan says it's a very special poem. I think he is right! :o)

The Snow Duck

Just before Christmas we had snow fall mysteriously & quietly during the night! There was much excitement! As soon as they could the children piled out into the street to play in it, along with everyone else!
Jordan....
...and Timmy rolled snowballs all round the street & with the help of several of our neighbours they made.....

....this fabulous snowman! Jordan & the boys next door did give him a name but I have forgotten it. I liked to call him our Community Snowman because everyone pitched in to help make him!

Luke didn't join in the big snowball making but made himself a 'cute snow cloud' instead!

After carrying it around for a while Luke added little black stone eyes & a fluffy body.

He wanted to put his snow cloud man somewhere safe so we went into the back garden & saw the sandpit completely iced over!

Luke decided this was a safe place for the snow cloud & also a great place to ice skate!

Later, Luke asked me to give his snow cloud a carrot nose & there, sitting on the icy pond, the snow cloud became The Snow Duck. :o)

Oooooh Dedication!

Yesterday at our church family service we had Annie-Joy's dedication ceremony. For those who don't know, it's a similar to a christening but without the water! During the service the parents & Godparents publicly recognise that a child is a gift from God & commit to bringing them up following God's guide lines in the bible & to teach them all about God so that when he or she is old enough s/he can decide to trust God & follow his ways for him/herself.
The service was beautiful, fun & simple with great worship from the band & a fun talk from Pastor Dave & Phil. Each child in the congregation was given an activity pack with modelling clay, pens & paper & they used these to make & drew things they loved & were thankful to God for. At the end of the talk they were all given a chance to show them to the whole church (about 900+ people). Our boys LOVED it!
Do you like Annie's feet by the way? She thought you might! There were seven children being dedicated altogether & each parent was given a minute to read out a letter to their child expressing their hopes & dreams for their own child. Here is what I wrote for Annie-Joy;

Annie-Joy Faith

You are God's precious gift to us & our family. you are our fourth & last child but you are by no means the least! We chose your name carefully- in fact it took us almost until your first birthday for us to be sure that we had the perfect name for you! But God knew you & your name before you were even born. he told us through many different people that you would be a huge joy to us & in your two years of life we can say without a shadow of a doubt how true that is!

Annie means 'grace' & every day your very existence reminds us of God's undeserved grace & favour on our lives. We hope & pray that as you grow you will be a person who shows God's amazing grace to all those who share your life.

Annie-Joy, we hope that you will always delight yourself in God & know that the joy of the Lord is your strength & your stronghold to see you through your life. (Nehemiah 8:10)

And of course we hope & pray that you will grow in faith in your Heavenly Father throughout your life. In the words of Ephesians 3:16-18 we pray that Christ will make his home in your heart as you trust in him. that your roots will grow down into God's love & keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand how wide, how long, how high & how deep God's love for you is.

Annie-Joy Faith you are beautiful & we thank God for you. We love you!

After the service we had 25 guests & 2 dogs back to our house for a delicious meal cooked by Lee & my dear Dad followed by jellies & trifles made by my dear Mum. We had a wonderful time together. It was relaxed & fun to have so many people to share our celebrations with. Sadly my parents were unable to be there as they were snowed in!

I didn't manage to take any photos of the celebrations but I did a little photo shoot of AJ in her dedication dress in our newly tidied study. she thought it was a bundle of laughs!

She liked playing with the tiny lamps shades from a set of fairy lights that I have waiting to be put up in the study.

Here she is poking through the hole & trying to look into it saying 'Hello? Anybody in there?' in a silly voice!

She also liked the circles on my cushions. I like the sweet little white bow on the back of her dress....

.... and her sweet little tippy toes as she reaches up to the door handle.

She likes looking out of windows & standing in front of them too!

Annie-Joy & I made fairy cakes to eat after the dedication meal. AJ wanted to do it all so it took rather a lot longer to make them than I had planned. Good fun though!

I decorated them in pinks & creams with lots of glitter & sparkles. Annie made her own decorations next to me at the table with off cuts of fondant icing while I made butterflies & brushed them with blossom powder.

This is the cake that AJ chose to eat. Yummy!

And a totally unrelated photo of AJ pushing the trolley in Aldi on one of our Friday food shopping trips. Teddy came with us that day. I think he is delving down into the trolley in search of the bananas.... :o)

Hope all who read are well. Enjoy your day! :o)