Friday, 27 April 2007

alone


Alone

From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were; I have not seen
As others saw; I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone.
Then- in my childhood, in the dawn
Of a most stormy life- was drawn
From every depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still:
From the torrent, or the fountain,
From the red cliff of the mountain,
From the sun that round me rolled
In its autumn tint of gold,
From the lightning in the sky
As it passed me flying by,
From the thunder and the storm,
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view.

Edgar Allan Poe

Thursday, 26 April 2007

We are capable of so much more than we think

MUM!! My sand castle looks like a dragon!

John and I took Imogen to Mwnt today for our lunch after a food shopping trip. We practically had the whole beach to ourselves. With June sunshine in April we enjoyed an hour of 'forget about all the jobs that need doing at home' :)

Tuesday, 24 April 2007

The unexpected



William celebrated his 8th birthday yesterday, he wanted an mp3 player (a sign of having older sisters and brothers). We took them all swimming and decided that taking 11 children swimming is actually a form of abuse! :) They climbed on us, jumped on us, half drowned us, all in the name of FUN! We actually had a wonderful time and were so proud of their ability to swim considering their parents neglect in taking them swimming as much as we should. Caleb requested that he might take his swimming suit off and swim naked - free spirit there.

Saturday John and I walked to a local converted mill that sells everything and anything looking for a second hand bike for Jared. We found one that suited him perfectly which we have to surgically remove from him just to get him to school in the morning. Amongst the bric o brac and old furniture, there was a unicycle. We have been collecting circus toys for some time and now own a diablo (thanks to our friend Sylvan from Germany) ,Poi and the three stick thing (sorry don't know what that is called). So with a bit of bartering with the very nice old welsh man who has owned the converted mill since it was a working mill. He told us is cost him £2, 000. Anyway I digress, we left the shop with Jared's bike and a unicycle! John and I have already had some interesting experiences on it, using a narrow bridge with perfectly placed hand rails for support we have found out how difficult it is. Apparently it takes 10 hrs on the unicycle to conquer it. Ceilidh seems to be the closest so far. So anyone up for a challenge?

Thursday, 19 April 2007

Haunting paths



Most who read this blog will know that John and I live in an old woollen mill.

From the moment we moved in we have heard unusual noises and felt a presence of someone. I don't know what you feel about the idea of the existence of ghosts or even echoes from the past vibrating into our time. Who knows? We have often heard footsteps up to our bedroom door and opening it expecting a child to be stood there complaining of a bad tummy, need for a drink of water, my right foot itches, etc. We open the door to find nothing.

Today I again visited the Welsh woollen museum down the road from us and as I walked among the spinning wheels and machinery a strong gust of the past blew through me. Observing images of the workers looking at me from a time gone, their hardened faces and believable smiles, it makes me wonder what the stories of the workers and their lives lived out under our roof where like. We know they had a local football team and our village was once more than just "the spar" and a hairdressers, but it was a bustling, busy village, with a butchers, a fish mongers and many other little shops. I wonder what we have lost and what we have gained and at what cost?

As I pass our ghost on my way to the loo in the middle of the night tonight, I will wonder what this soul thinks of us and our twenty first century lives?

Tuesday, 17 April 2007

Togetherness


I have really felt a sense of togetherness recently. Standing around Caitlin's birthday cake, whose candles ablaze remind me of the time swiftly passing. I often not only take photos with my camera but in my mind, like a seized moment in time I grab all that is around me and stuff it into the filing cabinet in my brain under 'please don't ever forget this!!!!!!!' An important file that is often called upon in a low moment.
So in this moment I share with you a little of my paradise. Hoping that in the future I don't look back and see that this was my 'paradise lost'.
Yesterday John and I took the kids to the local park, bikes, basketball and football in tow. We ran around helping little ones on climbing frames, middles size playing football and the big ones basketball. During this multi tasking mayhem we look across at each other and smile knowing that we are sharing a little bit of heaven :)

Sunday, 15 April 2007

Sweet spring sunshine


Obviously Caitlin's birthday had it's effect on John, collapsed in a heap into the grass and begged for mercy for having all these children who cause sleep deprivation and excessive noise pollution! Her and Ceilidh had 13 girls for a sleep over and at 1am Mum turned from cool, fun Mum into monster from the black lagoon!!
Sunshine brought on more hysteria with a day of chocolate, more chocolate which equaled too much energy and water fights and frightening amounts of giggling and screaming.
Although John's collapse could of been caused by the bill from the roofers who have just finished patching our roof, guttering and fascias. No European holiday this year!

Wednesday, 11 April 2007

Attack of the killer swans




We had a fabulous family day out at Lake Coniston yesterday. It was a picturesque scene, picnic blanket, kids frolicking by the waters edge, we had the place to ourselves. Then it happened, they were soundless, stealthlike and swift! The killer swans!! It was Cerys who made the first mistake, poor innocent child, fed the swans some of her mini cheddars! That was it, they invaded the shore and bullied, hissed and pecked at anything in their path, it was carnage. John came up with the perfect plan to save us all - retreat into the hills, where we would be safe, taking any food we could we ran for our lives!!! They were relentless pacing up and down behaving more like a man u supporter than one of her majesty's great birds. Thankfully they had as much patience as a man u supporter and went looking for the nearest kebab shop leaving us in peace.
There is something quite magical about sitting by a lake with breathtaking views. The water gently rippling and all you can hear are the birds and a distant canooist. We were visiting a spot that I frequented as a child so it brought back many wonderful memories of swimming in the lake as a kid with my brothers and sisters. So a perfect day full of nostalgia, family fun and killer birds :)

John wore the kids out by playing 24 in (hide and seek 2007), they all fell asleep in the car on the way home. Poor Ceilidh was too ill to come (some bug), so stayed with Grandma who was ill too.

Monday, 9 April 2007

Ceilidh's birthday


Ceilidh had a great family birthday, full of mr bean's latest movie, pass the parcel and John's true or false game. She is very pleased with her new i-pod shuffle, clothes and huge costco cake. We of course are very pleased to have another teenager in the house :)
John and I are starting to notice all our coolest clothing disapearing to our older children, we can't believe we have adult sized kids! Cam has size 12 feet! John and I are starting to notice that our dictatorship is over, instead of our children running around doing as we say they question!
They are fighting for democracy!
How dare they :)
We used to lead and they followed. Now, we are doing what a politician once said "I see where the people are going and then I lead them there".

Sunday, 8 April 2007

Easter egg hunt


Today we had Turkey at Grandma's house and an Easter egg hunt. Watching each of the children and how they interact with each other when there is chocolate to be found can be interesting. First they raced out and Cerys was in tears as she was shoved by an older one, then I watched Jared take Imogen's hand and whisper "come on midge I'll help you find an egg". The rule was you could find an egg and if you wanted to find another and swap it you could. So of course they kept looking and changing and then they started to barter and exchange with each other and then there was tears as there was a realization that there was chocolate orange eggs. AAAAAaaaaaaggggghhhhhhhhh! John and I learned one important lesson this year - get them all the same egg next year :) (thanks for Grandma's Jo, Brenda and Barbie for the eggs this year)

Saturday, 7 April 2007

Happy Easter


For me Easter is always a time for new beginnings, a time to celebrate the fact that we can begin anew because of Jesus' sacrafice. We are surrounded by lambs in the fields, nesting birds, my children consuming Easter eggs from their Grandparents (Dunn, Burton and Fullwood - thanks to them), all reminding us of birth and re-birth. I have had a natural inclination to detox. A friend informed me the other day that in Chinese medicine they believe that this time of the year is the natural time to detox. Apparently if we just listen to our bodies at this time of year we will naturally be inclined to cleanse our bodies of junk. So for the past month I have avoided any refined sugar, finding it a lot easier than I thought. Perhaps this Chinese ethos is the reason. Or perhaps because the sun is finally shining in the UK we are turned to a more optimistic and healthy lifestyle. My favourite quote from the general conference we have just enjoyed was from Elder J R Holland, 'no misfortune is so bad that whining about it won't make it worse'. So my new beginning is less whining in my life. To enjoy the sunshine and stop complaining. Happy Easter!

Learning how to play chess again


I have been reading a book Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera and it begins with two characters who used to play a lot of chess together. This reminded me that although my brothers had taught me to play chess when I was young I had not played for many years and had forgotted the rules (as some of my children play I felt a little ashamed). John has taken on the challenge to teach me. We have really enjoyed playing and he has helped me win twice, I think my time is running out for help :) He is a great teacher. I have realised why chess is used as a metaphor for so many things in life.

John's new glasses

All this book reading and computer tap, tap, tapping has taken its toll on John's eyes. He now has to wear glasses. After an hour in the opticians, going from one pair to the next we met a compromise with these, (that's if the word compromise actually means me getting my way, and John accepting that I am mostly right :) What do you think?

Thursday, 5 April 2007

Jared peddles to victory


Today Jared learned to ride his bike at Grandma Brenda's house. I had my camera out and challenged him to just have a go. First time down the slope he peddled with no help at all and I caught it on camera, I got quite emotional. The determination to succeed and to please was inspirational. I also (probably inappropriatly) triumphed when he fell off his bike. Watching him get back on his bike and not letting the falls deter him. Snapping away I felt I had captured a moment in time that was precious beyond words. I think because I see in his spirit the determination that will carry him through life and makes me think "that boy is going to be just fine!" :)