Batman's House

When handing us the first post at our new house the very friendly postman welcomed us enthusiastically to the area. He was obviously immensely proud of his home turf because he spent some time standing on our doorstep extolling its virtues & informing us of various local attractions that we must visit forthwith! One place was Wollaton Hall, the film location for Bruce Wayne's mansion in the recent Batman films. It is an awe inspiring building set on the top of a hill & surrounded by a vast expanse of parkland complete with deer. They wander freely, apparently oblivious to the fact that the local golf course is interwoven through their pastures. In turn, the golfers also seem unconcerned about their proximity to such large numbers of stags as they strive to achieve a birdie at the ninth hole. It certainly makes for a comical sight!

So the Davies tribe passed a very pleasant, hot & sunny afternoon at the park with a large group of people including Lee's parents, a college friend of mine & her family as well as a family who live a few houses down from us who have recently moved here from my home town of Stevenage! It's certainly a small world. We are looking forward to exploring Batman's estate further over the next couple of years. Maybe we will find the Bat Cave one day?! Or perhaps we might stumble across the well.... ;-)

A Little Princess

Today Annie~Joy celebrates her 5th birthday. It seems no time at all since we were in Liverpool Women's Hospital very early on a sunny Monday morning waiting for her to be born. In contrast, today we were dashing all four Davies children to school before Lee & I went for a run together! When we picked AJ up from school at lunch time (she is easing her way into full time school for a couple of weeks) we went off for a birthday meal at Frankie & Bennie's just the three of us. The boys have school dinners so we have been eating a main meal at lunch time so that we can all eat sarnies at teatime & save on washing up & faff! When AJ's ice cream arrived at the table it came complete with a candle in the top! The whole restaurant sang happy birthday to her as well which was lovely!

Afterwards we headed to the Disney shop to buy our little princess her very own princess! She was over the moon with Aurora! And to top it all off at teatime she saw her princess cake which she spied in the cake aisle at the supermarket almost a year ago & has dreamed of having as her own birthday cake since then. I have to say, the cake tasted delicious even though it wasn't homemade! AJ was delighted with her sleeping beauty cake but there was some confusion from one of her brothers about who the cake was of. A certain boy thought that there was a princess sitting on top of a huge pink pumpkin! Time to get re-aquainted with all those fairy stories for that boy I think! Gave us all a good giggle anyway! ;o)

All in all, Annie~Joy has been well & truly spoilt today! But she deserves it. After all, it isn't every day you turn five is it?

Tabernacle Insipration!

The kids came out of Sunday School, sorry I mean JAM & Frij, this morning armed with cool bible magazines. Jordan was inspired by today's reading (all about the Israelites building the tabernacle) & as soon as he came home from church began building a den with AJ. I was summond into the living room to see their handy work when it was almost complete. I exclaimed 'What a lovely tabernacle den!' to which AJ said 'It's not a tabernacle it's a house. Look! There's the fridge!' Sure enough in the corner was a pile of play food & a stack of plates & cups. Well, you can't argue with that can you?!

As with any major building project there have been many alterations, changes of plans, negotitaions about site location & the use of particular building materials (Luke wasn't that keen to give permission for the builders to use his blanket but consented in the end so long as he was allowed in too!). But at last the magnificent den was completed! Now our house is filled with the sounds of excited children deciding where cushions should be placed & how to make the den even better. So far the construction hasn't collapsed but my bag of clothes pegs is getting emptier by the second & there is a load of washing almost ready to go out on the line......

New Beginings

We've exchanged blue uniforms for red & now Miss AJ is old enough to join the boys at school. How time flies! We are all learning new routines, a new route to school, new rules, new everything! I think we all like it so far but it's all very different & a little bit alien. Here's to a good start to the new school year!

Pastures New

The Davies Tribe are busy settling into our new surroundings. Today we have been for a lovely walk around the nature reserve. It's been a welcome break from unpacking boxes & organising our new home. Our computer isn't set up yet but hopefully 'normal' blogging service will resume shortly! Hope all who read are well. :-)

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Festival Farewells

This morning we went for brunch at Tavern Co. For the past few years it has been Davies Tribe tradition to go there as a birthday treat. We decided to go there one more time as a farewell before we move to Nottingham next month. After spending a pleasant morning there munching doorstop toast, free range eggs & pancakes with maple syrup we went for a lovely walk around the newly restored Festival Gardens. We had a fun time running up & down the 72 steps by the Japanese gardens, watching the newly hatched coots & mallards, watching the water boatmen skate across the lilly filled ponds & pretending to be little billy goats gruff trip trapping over & under the many bridges.

As with most of our adventures the walk was not without a bit of drama. Much of the grass land was very boggy so it wasn't long before a certain little girl fell & got rather muddy! She soon forgot to stay grumpy when she saw the waterfalls & ornate Chinese buildings though & was then content to explore with her bottom half almost completely cover in black goo! Super Mum came to the rescue clambering up the rope ladders to save Luke who got in a panic at the top of the climbimg frame & was clinging on upside down for dear life! As I grabbed him from the top beam & rested him on the net below he exclaimed 'Praise the Lord! I didn't die! Praise the Lord!' His genuine gratitude was completely heart felt & spontaneous! Beautiful!

On the way back to the car I introduced the kids to 'Grandmother pop out of bed' much to their delight. Annie~Joy could be heard in the backseat saying to the huge white bell she held in her hand, 'It's ok I'll look after you! I'm taking you home to a new bed little Grandma!' Sweet!

And now we are back home, ready for a cuppa but in no need of food thanks to the hearty brunch at Tavern Co! AJ has a new set of clothes on & Lee is loading up the washing machine again. Soon we shall start making the teachers their end of term thankyou gifts together. I can't believe the school year & this part of our Liverpool adventures are nearly at an end......

Liverpool-Chester Bike Ride!

 Jordan, Anne & I completed the Liverpool-Chester Bike Ride this morning! We cycled the 4 miles or so down to the tunnel start. It was very very busy!

 Jordan was very excited to be doing his first big bike ride. We were interviewed by North West Tonight as we lined up at the start to begin the 25 mile ride to Chester. The start was rather dramatic- not for us but for many other people who crashed or got punctures or had bike chains fall off even before we were through the 3 mile tunnel section! Thankfully I don't think anyone's injuries were serious more a case of dented pride I think!

Jordan did a sterling effort of cycling all the way to the finish line. Some of the ride was along horrid busy roads but most of it was along quiet, idyllic country lanes & some beautiful bridle ways & Route 56 cycle path. About 8 miles from the finish we saw that some kind people in a big posh house had left free chocolate biscuits & drinks out by the roadside for the passing cyclists. Jordan really enjoyed the chocolatey boost! Bless that household for their generosity & thoughtfulness! We completed the ride in 3 hours & were met by the Davies support team at the Countess of Chester Hospital where we ate a lovely picnic made by myself before we left! My friend Anne also accompanied us which was great having someone in front as well as behind Jordan to keep an eye on him as we rode. We are all extremely proud of Jordan & his effort. If you fancy sponsoring him please go HERE Jordan cycled in memory of his favourite Great Uncle Ben raising money for MacMillan. Well done Jordan! :o)

Edit: And the icing on the cake for Jordan was seeing himself on the local news being interviewed about the bike ride! 3000 people rode the routes today & only two were featured in the news item. He was very proud & announced 'I never knew going on a bike ride would get me on the telly!' He can't wait to tell his friends at school tomorrow! :o)

My First Triathlon!

 This Sunday morning saw me braving the wet & wild weather down by the River Mersey preparing to compete in my first triathlon! Alone in the transition area after my friend Kate & I had registered I felt a little small & lost! (Kate was in a different race distance to me that started half an hour before my wave). My bike felt like a 'cheap' bike next to the Cannondale & Claude Butler bikes & my Aldi wetsuit was entirely inferior to the Orca wetsuit wearing competitors who knew exactly what they were doing & where they were going!! I couldn't do my wetsuit zip up so had to ask the man stood next to me for help. My mobile phoned refused to send or receive texts for some reason so I didn't get all the messages of support until long after I had completed the triathlon! But all was not lost! I am never truly alone because God is always with me. As I stood in my wetsuit, bare feet on the wet, cold tarmac, the bells of Liverpool Cathedral peeled out across the waters. I felt as though God was reassuring me that His Spirit was there washing over the whole area. I felt peaceful.

 I made my way down to the swim start, barefoot. several of us wished the race organisers had told us that there was quite a walk over cobbles, stones & gritty tarmac from the transition area to the swim & that flipflops would be a good idea! I know for next time. Still, I took my time & made it to the start in time to see my friend begin her swim (although I have no idea which one she was as everyone was wearing black wetsuits & yellow swim caps!). My wave wore blue swim caps & included the youth supersprint racers. Some of them looked very young & extremely nervous! The water was freezing! It literally takes your breath away when you jump (or plop in as I did!) in. When the claxon sounded I hung back to let the fast swimmers go so as to avoid being crushed or kicked. Slow & steady was my plan, 'Don't compete, just complete!' was my race moto. Within moments of the start several swimmers either side of me backed out of the race & were towed to dry land by the water safety canoes. I just kept swimming, slow & steady! Half way round my goggles steamed up & I could hardly see anything! The safety canoe men either side of my little group of swimmers were fantastic, encouraging us all along & keeping us motivated. The water was choppy because of the windy weather, something I had no experience of when swimming in the docks even though I have done several training sessions in there over the past few weeks. I completed the 400m swim in 14 minutes (although the official time is 17 minutes due to the fact that the time chip sensor is way up the top of the ramp so we all had to stumble out of the water & climb a hill before the time chip on each of our ankles registered that we had completed the swim).

 From there it was back over the stony ground, barefoot to take off my wetsuit, dry my feet before putting on my socks, running shoes, jumper & bike helmet. I was pretty pleased to discover that this took me 4 minutes. Not bad! I unracked my bike & ran to the cycle mounting line which was, again, quite a long way! I was still very soggy from the swim but I really didn't mind at all! Lee & the kids plus some friends were all waiting to cheer me on. What a blessing it was to have them there encouraging me! I grinned all the way round the 20k bike course. It was a LOT of fun! I did enjoy overtaking folk even though most of them then overtook me before I overtook them again a little later on & so forth! My legs felt like lead by the time I got back to the bike dismount line. The ride took me 30 minutes.

 I walked as quickly as I could back to transition to rack my bike again before heading out to the run. This time I was only in transition for 1 minute 59 seconds! I had already decided before I got to the triathlon start that I was going to mostly walk the run section because I had spent most of the week running up to race day in bed with a nasty cold. I didn't want to pull out of the race, but nor did I want to push myself so hard I would regret it. In hind sight I wish I had pushed myself a little harder as I feel that I had it in me. Still, no matter! A 2.5k walk in 22 minutes it was. I was still grinning from ear to ear like the Cheshire Cat & so pleased with myself for nearly completing my first triathlon!

 I ran the last leg up to the finish line to see & hear my family & friends cheering me on. I was over the moon to see the time on the clock said 12:15 because that meant I had completed the triathlon in 1 hour 15 minutes (official time chip total says 1 hour 16 minutes). Not bad at all for a first attempt at less than full health I reckon!

 I'm very proud of the medal I won! I've never won a medal in my whole life so that makes this one extra special!

I reaslised I was still wet from the swim in the docks at this point as the wind was blowing rather strongly around the corner here- it blew my hat off during the run at one point! There was time to pose for a 'Yes I did it!' photo in front of the Albert Dock & the Liverpool Eye with my children before I headed back to transition to get my coat, leggings, soggy wetsuit & bike. I absolutely & wholeheartedly enjoyed the whole experience & I am looking forward to completing my next triathlon very soon! And of course, I didn't just do the triathlon for the fun of competing! I swam, rode & ran (or walked mostly!) to raise money for Stop The Traffik an organisation that helps to bind up the broken hearted & to bring freedom for those who have been sold into slavery all over the world today. If you would like to sponsor me please go to my Just Giving page here  Thankyou!

Three Boys in a Baptistry

 Our lovely three boys were baptised today by full immersion at our Anglican church! It was the first time ever that a pool has been used in the church so it was not only a momentous occasion for us as a family but also for the whole church community. Three adults were also baptised with our boys. The boys all had the chance to say a little bit about why they wanted to be baptised. It was very moving to hear them say how they want to follow Jesus & want others to know they are Christians. They were all signed with a cross after their profession of faith & after questions to their Godparents & Lee & I had been answered. (Appologies for the substandard quality of the photos- I had to take piccies without a flash & I didn't quite get time to get the correct settings for aquatic activity! As always, click on the photos to see them better if you like!)

 Luke went first as he was a little apprehensive.....

 He came up after the dunking gasping for air & much flapping of arms for quite some time before he composed himself & declared 'I'm alright! I'm alright! That was actually VERY good!' The vicar, Malcolm, then prayed a prayer of blessing on him.

 Timmy went next, already to hold his nose & his breath having seen Luke's experience!

 Down he went....

 ....and came up flapping & gasping almost as much as his twin brother had! Lee said 'You can tell they're twins with their identical responses!'

 Prayer of blessing before Timmy climbed out of the pool to find hid towel.

 Timmy & Luke stood, beaming & shivering a little, while their big brother was baptised.

 Down he went in a much more dignified manner....

 ....coming up from the water almost without flinching.

 It's been a dream for Jordan for a long time to be baptised in a pool. So glad he & his brothers, as well as the three adults, had the opportunity to be baptised in this way & at this time.

 Gorgeous, soaking wet boys enjoying watching the other people being baptised by their Daddy & the vicar.

 After the boys had got changed into dry clothes they were given their baptism certificates & lit baptism candles.

 There was nearly a small fire hazard as one candle almost caught it's box alight! It made us all laugh nervously as the curate jumped up from her seat pointing out the fire exits! Lee preached a cracking sermon (which I missed the end of as a certain young lady needed the toilet!). Lee used the poem Footprints & the song by Leona Lewis based on that poem as a focus for contemplation. He invited people to come up to the pool & use the baptismal water as a personal response to the unchanging, constant & faithful God who is with us whatever circumstances we find ourselves in throughout life. I found it very moving to put my hands in the water & feel it cooling, soothing & refreshing my skin as I cupped it in my hands & let it fall back into the pool. I felt it symbolic of God's Holy Spirit washing over me & restoring what life has broken & crushed. It is amazing to think that the King of all creation is interested in all the tiny details of each of our lives & that He longs to bring us peace, healing & wholeness to us all.

We were very blessed to have so many of our friends & family join us for the service. It was a real time of blessing & celebration. Here is a photo of the boys with some of their Godparents as well as Grandma & Auntie Helen (& Joyce playing flute in the background!). It was sad that not all those we love could be there to share the day with us, but we know that they were with us in spirit. The boys were very lucky to be given many beautiful cards, Bible verses & gifts. They are going to remember this day for many many years to come. We pray that it is the start of a life long walk with their Heavenly Father, who is the same yesterday, today & forever & who will never leave them or forsake them whatever choices they make or wherever life takes them. We love you boys & are so proud of you!

Blustery Jubilee Cycling

Today we made full use of the extra Bank Holiday in honor of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee by heading off en mass for a bike ride with my friend Anne & her family. The head winds along the Prom by the very high tided River Mersey were very strong & made the return journey from the Pier Head rather hard work for Luke, whose bike hasn't got gears. Annie~Joy gave up riding her bike fairly on in the outward bound journey so, much to her consternation, we locked her bike to the railings & she did the rest of the ride on the back of my bike. She was much relieved to be reunited with it on the return! We all enjoyed a well earned light lunch at the new cafe at Otterspool afterwards even though it was really busy meaning we had to brave the elements at the outside tables. A truly British way to mark the Jubilee I feel!

It was lovely to be out & about with the family & friends. We even saw several other folk we know on our trip too. It's always nice to bump into friends unexpectedly I think. Jordi & I cycled door to door & did 17.6 miles in total. Everyone else who couldn't manage the busy city traffic put their bikes in the back of our car & cycled 9.5miles in total. Good work by one & all! Feeling wind swept now...

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Jubilee!

We are joining the rest of Britain celebrating all things Jubilee & Olympic this weekend! The kids all went to school today dressed in red, white & blue. I painted each child's cheek with a union flag & tied AJ's hair with patriotic ribbon!

Straight after school finished the kids & I walked up to camp out on Edge Lane for an hour awaiting the run past of the Olympic Torch. It was very exciting! Lee meanwhile, was at the Pier Head rehearsing for his part singing in the choir for the Olympic Torch Ceremony tonight. Also very exciting!

And now we are home feeling hot & tired & in need of some tea. We have been refreshed by drinking some special 60th Jubilee edition Robinson's apple squash! I may even have a sandwich made with some Queensmill bread in a moment! Which reminds me, the change of name from Kingsmill to Queensmill had two old ladies extremely perplexed in Asda on Monday. One said to the other as they stood scratching their heads, 'I think it used to be Kingsmill dear but I'm not sure.' I feel the same way when they powers that be decide to rearrange the shelf placement of my favourite products! A trip to the supermarket can certainly be disconcerting sometimes! LOL! Happy Jubilee weekend everyone! God bless the Queen & God bless you all too! ;-)

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Down by the River Jordan

This morning Lee & I went running down by the River Mersey this morning. We ended the run by going through a lovely little bit of woodland. There has been so much rain lately that the usually tiny & almost missable River Jordan had flooded its banks making the path impassable! It looks rather splendid though, especially the reflections of the trees in their spring green leaves. The wildlife is certainly enjoying it & making the most of it while it lasts. I wonder how long it will take to drain away?

May Day Fun!

It was a very wet Bank Holiday here today but fun was had none the less! We've spent time together as a family, played games, completed really difficult jigjaws, been to the park, watched The Plank (thanks Dad!) & said goodbye to my parents chicken, Sussex, who is going to a new home. In the car on the way home from my folks house we introduced the kids to the BBC radio play The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy after we went to the Sci fi themed concert at the Philharmonic Hall yesterday, which was absolutely brilliant! The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra are amazing! More about that another time though. All in all, we've had a lovely day. I hope you have too. :-)

Breakfast in Bed!

Annie~Joy brought me breakfast in bed last weekend! It was yummy! Hee hee! ;-)

Blooming!

I love spring when everything begins to awaken from the sleepy, cold, dark days of winter. Life in the Davies Tribe is reflecting nature at the moment with lots of new adventures & changes starting to take shape & come to life! These are exciting times! More about that another time though!

I hope all who read are well & enjoyed a good Eastertide. Love to you all!

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Biker Boys

After a birthday brunch with the whole tribe, the boys & I headed out for a cycle ride down a disused railway line. They were delighted to discover a 'secret' park in the woods. We stopped for a refreshments & a little play on the wooden asault course. Much excitement was had over the rope bridge which Timmy renamed The Bridge of Doom!

Signs of Spring

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Anatomy of a Doll

 In a moment of madness I decided it would be a fantastic idea to made Annie-Joy a doll! I'd never made a doll before & I do like a challenge! I found a simple pattern & searched the internet & my local haberdashery for supplies. With the aid of my lovely new fabric scissors (kindly purchased for me by my dear parents for Christmas) I cut out all the pieces required.

 It took quite a while to do but eventually the pieces were ready to have the interfacing ironed onto the back. Next I embroidered the doll's face onto the face piece! I was worried about sewing her together but it was surprisingly easy & very enjoyable! Sewing the head to the body was nerve wracking but I managed to end up with the face features lined up nicely with the front of the body. It was tough sewing through so many layers of fabric I can tell you! And the ears were SO tiny that they were a bit fiddly to hand sew onto the head once it was partially stuffed (I think they're a little lop sided but it adds to the charm I think!).

 Wool hair was added & the doll was complete (or born perhaps?!)! I made her a little fleecy nappy....

 .... and a little floral top....

 .... and a head band (which reminds me of what cleaning ladies used to wear back in the 60s I think!). More clothes will be made eventually (I hope).

 I was really pleased with my first (& possibly, only) attempt at making a doll! I think she is very cute!

 And Annie-Joy loves her very much!

Which makes the whole thing even more worth while & enjoyable, don't you think? :o)

The Church Mouse

 I have given up trying to catch up on a year's worth of un-blogged photos! However, piccies from the archives may make appearances every now & again. These photos are from February half term last year. Annie-Joy decided to make Valentine's cards for two of her friends. Jordan helped her write them a message each. We put them in some envelopes & walked around to their house to deliver the notes plus a little chocolate heart each. It was lovely to see the kids working together to do something kind for someone else. And it was totally unprompted by me or Lee which made it even more special!

 Every holiday the wonderful children's worker (see article about her here) at Liverpool Cathedral creates interactive prayer stations around the cathedral. (Here's what's on there this week). Our kids really enjoy doing them. This activity was all about water. There were children's bibles to read different stories about boats (Jesus & his disciples in the storm on Lake Galilee, Noah's Ark etc), prompts to think about how God is in every day life for each of us & a few creative things to do including making an origami boat & colouring fishes. The kids placed their origami boats on the fabric sea (which ran down from the steps of the raised font in the cathedral) asking God to help them when they're afraid & other prayers too. They spent quite a long time in stillness & quiet as they knelt before the water. It was lovely to watch.

 Then in the Whispering Arch we found Derby, the cathedral mouse. Sometimes he looked like Luke.....

 ....sometimes he looked like Timmy.......

 ....sometimes he looked like Jordan......

 .....and he even looked like Annie-Joy too! What fun!

 Last February the twins did their class assembly in front of the whole school plus all the parents. It was based on the Elmer books & was about embracing everybody despite, or because of, our differences. I can't believe how much the boys have grown since this picture was taken!

Today, I took them to the cinema to see Tintin. It reminded me how much they have grown too. The film was brilliant & we all thoroughly enjoyed it. The story line is quite complex in some ways, as well as being more grown up than what we usually see. I was delighted that they followed the more subtle parts & managed to work out some of the mystery (& so were they!). During one of the scenes where there is utter chaos everywhere & things being smashed, Timmy piped up at the top of his voice 'Well, that's a bit of a pickle isn't it?' It made me laugh! At the end we all went to use the toilet & I was really proud of the boys going in by themselves & then waiting outside of the men's loos for me to come back from the ladies at the other end of the cinema (I nearly got lost!! Haha!). It may be a small thing but it's a milestone for us! :o)