AfTeR gEttiNg EaRs PiErCeD

Visiting Friends Up North

Charlotte having a go
my hero
Carl cookin' oatcakes (bacon, cheese, mushrooms and even baked beans heated under the grill on an oatcake which is a healthy version of a crepe in my opinion, and nicely rolled up with some brown sauce...I am sooo hungry now!)

playin' games
Lil Liza



We took off for a weekend with friends. We had a fun drive up north Friday evening to stay at Carl and Sarah's house in the midlands (Shropshire I think). Simon had a wee migrane so hit the hay but woke up later when C+S got back from their date so we could all have a chat. It was our anniversary weekend and we enjoyed a lovely Indian take away to celebrate with our mates. I loved seeing Sarah's house (I want to be like her in the artsy-creative-talented dept.) and getting together with them as it had been a few years. They are lovely. Carl cooked oat cakes for us in the morning and were simply fabulous hosts to our family. We attended church with them and I was overcome with emotion after we walked into the meeting and sat down, they had already begun to sing the opening hymn and I started to sing as I walked in because it was a familiar song. After we sat down I felt this choking emotion swelling in my throat and tears were running down my face, I turned to Simon and was laughing at myself because I really had no idea why that would suddenly happen. I quickly realised it was the wonderful saints singing around me, the members in that ward were so into singing, it was loud, and the Spirit of God was a powerful force coming into my ears and penetrating my heart. I was so grateful to them. Each time we sang it happened again. It was such a gift to me to feel that. We had to drive back home Sunday as the older girls had a New Beginnings meeting in our ward. While we were there we did some fun shopping at a huge discount mall. We felt like we were at home in America with so many sales and cute things. The girls liked the Claire's shop, I liked the Pumpkin Patch, and Animal outlets. We all liked many many discounted items and came home with some goodies. It was an alternative to our walk in the rain... the girls were quite satisfied with the trade in activities, the boys...well, they would rather clean a house I think than go shopping.

Sage is a YOUNG WOMAN.

Before.....
Our dearest second daughter Sage has just had a birthday and a very important one at that. Turning twelve means that Sage is considered a Young Woman at church and gets to do fun things with girls aged 12-18 once a week and also attends a class with her age group on Sundays. AND.....She was able to FINALLY get her ears pierced. We went to Claire's at the mall and a strange man looking like he was trying to stay fifteen long past fifteen was the one who did the piercing. She was very nervous but determined. We were going to choose birthstones for the studs but we didn't see any birthstone studs so I told her to choose the ones she liked best. We both liked the flower diamond looking ones. Here are some photos of her around her birthday. She is a beautiful girl and I enjoy her company. She has recently started to love to cook and has decided to cook dinner on Monday evenings to help me out while I am going to school. What a sweetie. Her favourite foods to make are cakes and sweet things:) A girl after my own heart. (if you want to really see her new ears then click on the photo and it should upload a large photo:) Sage is always found with a book in hand. She cannot get enough Stephanie Meyer and rereads all of the Twilight series and The Host as she has been collecting them again since we moved here. The first time she read them they were either library books or lent from friends apart from the first one which she got for Christmas in 2008. She has remained a devout fan and I am happy to see her so into something. Ainsley gets to have a free ride as she has Sage read aloud to her. They stay up much too late but what a great reason to stay up, reading with your sister, or simply reading.



After.