Dear Jesus...

Dear Jesus,
                 Thank you for looking after us again this year.
This year has been full of challenges but also full of blessings. You have helped us through very difficult times, starting with our flooded out house. We were blessed by you as our family and friends helped us cope with the devastation.

You sent our family to help restore our house.

It was great to have help when the new carpets were fitted and our house felt like a home again.

When Chris lost his job in May, you helped us by making sure the bills were paid and that we had food on the table. You are continuing to help us this Christmas as we continue to go through challenging times. 

We have been truly blessed by you and I personally feel much closer to you as I continue to put my trust in you completely.

We are going to celebrate your birthday with our family and want to say "Happy Birthday Jesus"

Lots and lots of love Ann and Chris

XXX

Autumn 2011

Hello! I want to start this post by saying thank you to all the people who have been reading my blogs! There are over 600 views recorded! Wow!

We are coming up to the end of October and Chris has still not managed to find work. He has phoned lots of people and sent CV's but no one has invited him for an interview. The work that is around, here in Nottingham is very thin on the ground. We are still expected to live on too little money. This has not stopped us from smiling and laughing and trusting and praising God.

Last weekend we went to to see Georgina and family. They kindly paid for our tickets to travel there. We had a great weekend! Georgina gave us good food and we were blessed. I was surprised to see how much Christopher had grown in just a few months! He is now taller than me and growing up fast! Christopher is 13 years and 5 months old.

I last saw Emma in August and miss her loads! David put a recent photo of her on Facebook and she looks like she is getting tall too! Emma is 16 months old! I miss my children!

We have a great grandchild due in January and I am beginning to get excited about her arrival! Chris's eldest granddaughter will be having her first baby, even though the doctors said it would be unlikely! God is good and in control.

The news on the house is that they still might pull it down! Maybe as soon as next year! We should hear something soon.

Our health is not brilliant and we are both probably struggling a bit, but we are up and about and mobile.

In all of this God is central to everything we do, think and feel. He does have a purpose for our lives. I believe we are all here to see God's purpose and goodness in our lives. We really would not be getting through these hard times without him. I know things will get better and that will happen soon. Praise to God.

The Spider

It was a normal evening watching the television, when Chris looked up on the wall above me and said "oh! that is a big spider.."
I am not afraid of spider's, thankfully, this one was rather large though! I don't know what it's actual size was but it looked very big on the photo that Chris took...
The spider walked across the wall and went out of sight...
A few days later it ran across the floor in the Lounge and across the newspaper that Chris was reading! Chris caught it and took it outside to the bottom of the front garden."it will be back" I said as he closed the front door.
Later on that week I went upstairs, walked in the bedroom, put the light on...there was the spider poised above the bed on the side that Chris sleeps on...I put the light out and went to sleep. The next morning the spider was nowhere in sight! "it's o.k it's gone" I thought...That evening I got into the bath and guess what was waiting for me in the bathroom....

I was talking to a friend about the large spider in my house and they said "Are you sure it is the same one? There could be more than one of them!" I had not thought there could be more than one! I have not seen it for some time now so maybe it has gone.... Oh, just a minute what is that over there walking across my pillow?....

Living On A Low Income

Several months have passed and Chris is still looking for work...


Chris has worked for the last 40 years and only ever remembers being out of work once when he was much younger. He has been looking for work here in Nottingham but there does not seem to be anything available for him to apply for..I know it's true as I have been looking too, for him. I am still working part time in the day nursery and thankful for that.
I never realised how little financial support could be claimed in these circumstances. There is not much left to cover food once the household bills are paid. Why is this? Chris is desperate to work but what can he do if there is nothing for him? We can't make a job suddenly appear. We can't make food prices suddenly drop. Sadly, Chris just missed out on getting pension credit as the age it can be claimed has risen...
I don't know how families in a similar situation manage. Something needs to be put right so that people can buy good healthy food..
I am very good at making meals that can cover 2 days and God would never let us go without food.
I was given a few tips today that I had not thought of...buying food that has been reduced and freezing it..going to a well known supermarket just before closing time and getting other food that has been reduced like bread e.t.c Freezing milk in small quantities and only defrosting what I need for that day. I really like that tip! I would never have thought of doing that! Many supermarkets are selling 4 pints of milk for £1. ( bread also)
We have had a good weekend we have been out and about and walked to places when we would have normally got the bus. I think that has been good for us as it has got us out and given us some exercise! We have even been to a beach..In Nottingham city centre! It's great! It really does feel like a taste of the Seaside!
Still smiling!

Waiting

We seem to be constantly waiting for something..
All the waiting seemed to start Last December when the water poured down. We waited for repair people,restoration people,carpet people, insurance people, bed people! One of the beds was only just delivered last week!
Since then we have been waiting for all sorts of things to happen or arrive. I can honestly say that I can't ever remember having to wait so frequently for something to be happen.


We have been concentrating on other things while we wait..For me it has helped take my mind off the thing I am waiting for and helped me to be more focused on the here and now, rather than tomorrow.
I am even more sure that God has a plan for us and for some reason he has put a temporary stop on our 'journey' I say this as Chris suddenly does not have a job and we must take one day at a time to get through.. It is as if God was preparing us to have  to 'wait' all these months.
While we wait for the next part of our journey we are becoming more focused on God and what he wants to say to us... 
God is our provider for everything we need..
I don't know what the next step is but I know God is putting everything in place and providing lots of support for us as we wait...

Seeking God Not Things

http://www.ucb.co.uk/index.cfm?itemid=88&testdate=01+May+2011
Seeking God Not Things
When we are looking to do something different what helps us to make our decision?
I know that working with children has been something I have loved doing and have done most of my life, in one way or another. How did I come to do that? Well, I looked after my younger brothers when I was quite young myself, as mum went out to work in the evenings in the local chip shop. Then later when I was still only 15, I looked after my brothers and my dad as mum was in hospital after a serious operation. I helped in my children's school, then went on to do the NNEB. Being with children was just a big part of my life, that it seemed the natural choice when it came to a career. It was not actually what I really wanted to do....
I always wanted to be an actress! I used to love singing and dancing in my back garden! Whenever there were family gathering's I used to 'boss' my cousins into putting on a 'show'! As a teenager I loved it when I was chosen to be in the school play! My audition was standing in front of the school head master and reading the part that I would hopefully play! It was great fun! Some people from Nottingham Playhouse even came and helped with lights and make up!
I was not a born again christian in those days, so did not think for a minute what God might want me to do!
Now as an adult it is very important to me that I follow the path that God wants me to be on. I would not want to make choices about what I do with my life without his input. For me that means reading my bible, worshipping him, praying, being with other Christians and seeking him on a daily basis. 'Things' are not actually very important...being in the right place and helping other's know him is what I am called to do as a christian.
So...where do I go next?...Where do you go next?....The best way I know is God's way......

Our First Trip in A 'Limo'

A few weeks ago we had our first trip in a Hummer....
The Hummer is a very long car, which seats 13 people (I think! )
We were invited to travel in it to a very special party for a young friend of ours. It was his 18th and was a Hollywood theme. Oh what fun! We got ready in plenty of time and then went outside to join the others, as they waited for the car to arrive... In fact two long cars came..Wow! After lots of photos, Just like in Hollywood, we tried to get in as gracefully as possible...Some had to crawl in..some were helped in..and some of us were small enough in height, not to need much help getting in!
Once everyone was seated and music chosen, off we went...down the road around the corner..stopping all traffic as we swung out on to the main road...it was funny seeing out and no one being able to see in, through the darkened windows!
We travelled around Nottingham for an hour...We found the non alcholic bottle of something fizzy and fruity..it was very nice..just did not have the Alcohol in it! Lots of photos were taken en route..
When we arrived at the venue we had the delicate operation of climbing out again...then there were more photos standing in front of the cars...
I would say if you get the chance to go in one then do, because it was such fun and we were well behaved and did not shout out of the car at people we passed! If you want to shout out at people you pass then that is up to you...Ha ha!

Monday 27th December 2010 -The day the water came down

Monday 27th December, bank holiday Monday, 5:40am, I woke up to hear water pouring down outside my window, I thought it was rain...
I woke up and heard what I thought was rain pouring down the window. I got out of bed and went over to the window to look out and was amazed to see water covering the entire window. I pushed the window open and leaned out to look down and saw huge amounts of water splashing down onto the path below. I then looked up and saw water pouring out from under the roof tiles. I quickly closed the window and woke Chris up. He went upstairs to the neighbour who lives above us to try and alert them to what was happening but no one was there.
As I put the phone down, after speaking to the council repairs team, water started to drip through the bedroom ceiling...

Water started to pour through both bedroom ceilings at five different places, including light fittings, after about half an hour. We turned the electric off then started grabbing buckets, bowls, pans, anything that could possibly catch water. By this time water appeared in the lounge and dining room drenching everything it came in contact with...Beds, carpets, wardrobe,clothing e.t.c Water poured down the walls.The more we emptied the containers the quicker they seemed to fill up..
We had to give up at this point, the damage was done...and it was bank holiday Monday...
I have never seen anything like it in my life! The repairs team reached us Four hours later..the water continued to drain through for four days..

Thankfully we were not hurt and did not lose anything of sentimental value and we are insured. The mental scars are something else though...
I am very thankful for all the help and support we have been receiving and for Cara looking after us so well when we had nowhere to sleep.
We have been both totally shaken up by it all but are aware that God has been keeping us safe and is blessing us in so many ways.
The big clean up is ongoing but one day soon we will have a nice new bed to snuggle into and the day the water came down will become a distant memory...