What a weekend!!!!

It really has been an emotional and exhausting weekend in our household, one of those inevitable weekends when you have children but one that you hope doesn't repeat its self!

It started on Friday- My day off!

Daniel was very agitated most of the day and really didn't want to do much, we met mum and dad for lunch but he wasn't really interested in eating ( very unusual for him!) and mum even commented that she would be surprised if he didn't come down with something....

All seemed ok at bed time and we settled down to a nice haggis dinner and a glass of vino, I had just gotten myself into a deep sleep when I was awoken by shouts of "mummy!" followed by the dreaded sound of sickness. That continued on the hour every hour until about 6 a.m..
Saturday of course is a work day for me and so I took myself off to do Kidschurch ( unfortunately not making it to the Hoo clear up as was still in my P.J.'s!!) having only had about 2 hours sleep. I felt emotionally shattered but not too bad and isn't it often the way when you are at your lowest awesomeness occurs. We had a family with 5 children really keen to have all children baptised and they also want to get involved in whatever we decide to do to help Chattenden and even came up with some really viable ideas...exciting stuff!

Having survived Saturday and a staff supper on 2 hours sleep I thought we were through the worst and looked forward to a fun filled Sunday! Again all seemed well, Daniel slept until 7am and although still was tender seemed much brighter and so I left him happily playing cars as I plodded off to work.
My first Sunday experience was a strange one that I can't explain, I was doing the sermon at both services and had been anxious about it having spent many an hour on it. I got up to speak and began with a little story, as I like to do, and then I felt a real pressure on my chest, it was like I had something sat there trying to stop me from speaking! However I took some deep breaths and slogged through determined to get the message across, the feeling passed as soon as I finished and I managed to deliver the talk at All saints without any difficulty.

I was just about to set off for home to collect the boys to go out for a much needed lunch when the phone rang and Marc shouting down the phone, Sue come home now it's an emergency, Daniel has a cut finger and its really bleeding!
I am not one for speed but I have never driven so fast ( within the limit of course!) in all my life. I was anxiously terrified at what I was going to find when I got home and very aware that Marc is scared to death of blood. I opened the door and found a very grey Marc holding onto Dan's finger for dear life looking like he was going to faint...To cut a gruesome story short I got them together threw them in the car and shot off to the hospital. it transpires Marc was cutting Daniel's finger nails and he wiggled!!
3 hours of waiting at the hospital with me holding pressure and elevating his finger it finally stopped bleeding 5 minutes before we saw the nurse and manged to get him relatively easily cleaned up!

So not the most relaxing weekend, we feel exhausted emotionally and physically but just so grateful that Daniel seems to be on the mend, he isn't badly hurt and Marc seems to have come out of his shock. We are also grateful that we have a system where we can just jump in the car, turn up and receive help! And  of course it is amazing how a quick arrow prayer can really help, it calmed me, a usualyl emotional wreck when Dan is hurt, into a person who could instinctively deal with a very messy situation. And finally how difficult but essential it is to have to switch from Rev Sue, to mummy Sue!

I wouldn't really want to make such events so public but they really have had a profound effect on us in many  ways.

What we really got out of today was a new friend courtesy of Medway hospital ( donated by the freemasons....but that's another story!) Welcome to the V-K household SNIP!

It's beginning to look a lot like.......WINTER!

Today has been a day I have been hoping for all week....but let me back track..

Since last Sunday we have been threatened/ promised/ teased with the idea that snow was coming to Medway...so, in my head I have been thinking of all the fun we could have, all the admin work I need to get done that could be done if I was snowed in and the general happy feeling snow creates in our household.
However, as Monday passed into Tuesday.....and then Friday I was starting to get really grumpy! Even my sister had snow on the Wirral and they never get snow, it was getting too much. By Friday the threat of snow was imminent, the sky was heavy and the flurries began, and then they stopped. We didnt dare go out far "just incase" and so I felt that the weather people had robbed me of my day off and any hope of snow.

And then it happened!

For some strange reason I had offered to cover both the 8.30 a.m and the 10 am service at Hoo St. Werburgh church whilst John and Sue are away. I originally was just down to do 10 am and was due in Upnor first but something in me felt that wasn't right and so convinced the powers that be ( my boss!!) to let me stay in Hoo. So at 7.50 a.m. I creep out of the door trying not to disturb anyone else and all looks cold and wintry but ok, still no snow but i had given up hope! Literally within 2 minutes of leaving the house the snow flurries started but again it felt quite fine and not really amounting to anything.
I then proceeded to spend a most wonderful morning within Hoo church, I led the 8.30 communion and then preached and presided at the 10 a.m talking about licorice allsorts and how they are like the church!! ( 1 Corinthians 12:12 onwards) I felt so welcomed in the church, I didn't feel nervous or under pressure, I enjoyed speaking to the faithful who had braved the elements and it was a real honour to preside and work alongside one of their wonderful readers. I really do think that I would struggle being a traditional vicar but if I had to be I would choose to be one in Hoo!

As our worship service came to an end the heads popped outside and discovered the snow was still falling and was sticking too so we had our tea and coffee and promptly trundled back up the road. As I approached our house I was greeted by a myriad of snow balls as all our neighbours were out playing, adults and children alike! I obviously had been desperate to play for a week and so didn't need any encouragement to get the wellies, hat, scarf and gloves on and so Marc, Daniel and I went and joined the upper Rivenhall Way snow ball fight/ snowman build. We had such fun and the day continued in the same fashion we later went out to discover our snowmen had been taken away on a sledge by some other children and so had to console ourselves with some mulled wine whilst the children continued to play..."Pioneering in the Snow" is my new mission :)