Our Team Retreat

Thank you!  To each of you who had been praying for our team retreat last week.  A small group of us had gone up to Wales a day early to set up, we were able to get all of the tents set up and the site cleared before the rest of the team arrived the next day.

The beginning of the week was very wet!  We joked about the fact that the incredible levels of rain is why the country is so beautiful and green.  Inside we were each praying for it to stop! Camping in the rain is even less fun then it sounds! We were all there to rest and have a chance to just 'be' together without the normal levels of responsibility and expectation.

Thankfully the end of the week brightened up and we were incredibly blessed with our time together. We were each able to leave Wales feeling rested and refreshed!!

We are already looking forward to next year!!

                   to help you experience Wales with us there is a recipe below for Welsh cakes!!

The Cooking Team  Each year during our team retreat we are blessed with a team to come and help serve with cooking the meals.  This year we had four people on the cooking team, the interesting difference from previous years is that these four are university students who openly said they didn't know how to cook! Eileen had the privilege of working with them throughout the week and what a blessing they were!  Every moment of food preparation in the kitchen was fun. Through the course of the week we worked on 900 meals!!

Looking through God's eyes!

The Carlisle Citadel

This week I (Eileen) am in Carlisle, England for a three day workshop.  The first day was great with a lot to think about and put into action!  I clearly now have to get into gear though.  This evening I am sitting here thinking of the list of things I need to be processing tonight for the sessions tomorrow and finding all the answers to the questions we have agreed to do over night.  It is amazing how some of these questions make you think.

One of the things we have been looking at is Numbers 13 & 14;  here is the statement they give.....
You are one of the children of Israel standing at the edge of the promised Land. That land of plenty you have heard about from your parents and grandparent. You are so close to your destiny.  You can see it, smell it, almost touch it.  You have walked for days through the desert to get here. You've even tasted the delicious grapes brought back by the spies. Suddenly you realise you will never get to the Land.  As a result of the report from the spies you have given up you enabling belief and taken on a limiting belief.  Why has this happened.

It made me think, clearly the answer is relatively obvious; The report from the spies was negative speaking of the people of the land.   Trying to process the question on a deeper level and thinking that there must be something more.  The word is amazingly simple and appears to be a single small statement.  We looked like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them!   It is the perception they have of themselves and there fear to of these people that cause their answer.  They are not looking at the land and it's people's through God's eyes.

I don't know what the correct answer is to the question they ask but I know that i will try to maintain the thought of looking through God's eyes.  I want to see the amazing in each day and the beauty of things around me.  My struggles are small when looking at them from above!

Zachariah and his corn!!

I love corn on the cob!

so tasty... i can barely sit up properly!

I will take an extra big bite, since no one is looking....

Zachariah continue's to be a blessing and adds fun to our daily life.  During dinner this evening we tried to have a normal meal but all he wanted was to have corn and more corn.....  He managed to eat the rest of his meal but only with the knowledge that he could have more corn. 

Corn on the cob is not something you find a lot in the UK, he will be so excited when we go home for the summer and he can have it much more often!!

Eden and her cooking....

oh... the first crepe is done........!!!

the final fold.....

the real test..... the first fold, the moment of truth!

Eden and her first Crepe!!



For those of you who know Eden you will know she is like so many other little girls who love to cook.  She has loved to learn all of the traditional cakes, candies and family meals.  She enjoys not only cooking but also planning the meal and sorting out what ingredients she might need.

One thing she has enjoyed in the last few years has been cooking or more often baking with her Uncle Francois.  Last weekend when we were at his house for Crepe's he let her have a try at making a one.  The above photo' is from her first attempt, we thought it was pretty good for a first try!

An Unfortunate Event

An Unfortunate Event

This is how the guests redecorated!!

The Burglars came to visit....

Last Sunday we came home after our evening service to find our house had been robbed.  This was such a shock and we were thankful that although they broke things, stole things and generally caused havoc no one was hurt.  They managed to get away with some things that will have no value to them but are not replaceable to us (photo's and such). 

We are thankful that we have home and contents insurance and they have proven to be both helpful and efficient. 

We would value your prayers as we continue to deal with the issue's caused by the burglary. 

Annie!

Each year Twyford High School (Caleb & Eden's school) put on an amazing production.  This year the chosen production was Annie!  Both Caleb and Eden wanted to be part of it but in very different ways. 

Eden was an orphan, an all singing, all dancing orphan.  She loved every minute of it.  The costumes, the singing, rehearsals every bit of it.  At the end of the week she was very tired but glad to have participated.  It was hard to get good pictures during the show but we did get a couple of Eden.....

I think Eden took this one herself.....

One happy orphan!!

Caleb wasn't as keen to be part of the cast but worked endlessly on the tech crew.  He worked tirelessly, even the weekend before the production being at the school all day on both Saturday on Sunday.  He loved every minute of it and is really enjoying being part of the technical crew.   He managed to put in all these hours in alongside studying for the exams he was having during that time.  

The Broken Ankle

The Broken Ankle

Having had a wonderful, relaxing family vacation in Canada with our family over Christmas we wanted to make sure we fit as much in as we could.  Aaron, Caleb, Eden & Nathan all had to head back to London so Zachariah stayed in Ottawa to enjoy a bit more winter life...

As we were heading back to London on the Sunday it seemed fitting to have one last thing before getting on the plane.  So Saturday night included 'Night Skiing'..... or should i say 'Night Falling'!!

When I fell, I actually thought i had only hurt myself a little, i wasn't able to make it down the hill and had to go down with the Ski Patrol... my sister enjoyed this event.  She was the one standing their laughing, pointing and taking pictures.   It was all in fun and games and in reality we were all trying to laugh through it sure that it was actually just a bad sprain.  After a few hours it seemed that maybe I was wrong and a trip to the ER might be necessary.  

At the ER they confirmed that actually I had broken my inner ankle.  Tracy (my sister) and I had lots of fun waiting at the hospital for my new accessory!

The first of apparently many ankle casts...

I thought if i tried to make the picture look pretty it wouldn't seem so frustrating.

We thought this would be a short lived accessory but actually the pictures above are the first cast and I am still currently in the 2nd cast and am still not allowed to have any weight put on it.  We are praying that after the next appointment i will at the very least have a walking boot.

I am hoping in no time at all to be out walking again.  I am also thinking i might give up skiing.... 

Zachariah turns 1!

Zachariah's First Cake

Zachariah turned one on January 17th!  He celebrated it at his Auntie Tracy's house in Ottawa.  This Picture is of Zachariah enjoying his first cake..... we thought he would like his own cupcake and although he thinks he ate it all by himself, i wish i had a picture of the floor!!