BIRTHDAY!

This week saw Daniel turn 3..3 years old! I truly can't believe it... it seems only yesterday that I was in shock discovering after all this time I was pregnant and even less time that I was in Medway hospital alone the first night terrified beyond believe and only survived thanks to the wonderful Jenny Clements in the bed opposite.

Unfortunately due to the wonderful chicken pox, Daniel had to postpone his party and has been struggling to cope with too much, getting tired easily but we have certainly made up for it and he has had a wonderful birthday few days, spending time with his grandparents, seeing our neighbours and special friends and looking forward to a trip to Leybourne with some very special guests.

Daniel has really turned our world upside down...in more ways than one...he is our little miracle baby, hes a whirl wind, he's full on 24/7 but he is our ray of sunshine.

We have been truly blessed by everyone's thoughts, cards, presents and prayers for Daniel and we look forward to the next many years that we will celebrate with him.

Chicken Pox!

Spotty Maldoone!!

Well the inevitable has happened...Daniel has come out in chicken pox and just like his neice he has impeccable timing, he has missed the birthday party of a dear family we were in hospital with, we have had to postpone his own birthday party and no going out for mother's day outing! Oh yes, and I was due to be away with my curate training this weekend.

And so the collide of work, life balance comes into play yest again....the guilt of needing to be away to study with needing to be at home with my son...

After much discussion, reflection and contemplation Marc and I decided I should go over night and see how Daniel is so at least I could find out a bit about church law, show willing and get the notes I may miss if I come home.

So last night we drove in a flood all the way to Aylesford Priory, I checked into a cell like room a mile from the toilet and bathroom yet met my lovely fellow curates to learn about church law in all its fullness.

I did manage to stay the night, get through my morning lectures and then it became too much, I needed to get  back to Daniel who hadn't slept very well and just needed his mummy.

As guilty as I felt about leaving Aylesford early missing a lot of work and fellowship it wasn't anything in comparison to the feeling of guilt leaving a very poorly chicken poxy boy at home even though I knew he was in his dad's capable hands!

All I could think about was when he is older he will be saying to me...mummy when I was really poorly with the chicken pox you weren't there but you were at work! ( dramatic maybe but I can't risk that!)

So tonight I am sat in the warmth of my home having had a lovely relaxing bath a lot of snuggles on the sofa with Daniel and put him to bed...Yes I do still feel a little guilty of what I am missing but I feel that my priority this weekend is my son and with the decision I made I am happy...and just pray tonight he has a good undisturbed sleep and feels less agitated tomorrow! After all tomorrow is Mother's Day...where else would I want to be?

Busyness of life

It has been a while since being able to put letters to paper as life has just been so busy! in the last weeks I have done or been involved in a wedding, a wedding blessing, 3 funerals, 2 baptisms endless services, 2 marriage preparation courses and a wedding fayre! In addition to this is the usual toddler groups, visits, admin and trying to spend time with the family!

Life at times can seem chaotic and overwhelming but it is at these times that it is necessary to take a moment to breathe, look around and be grateful for what you have.

At the end of February my sister was due to go away for the weekend with her husband for her 40th birthday...a romantic weekend in a very classy to[p hotel in London with fine wine exclusive dinners, a trip to the ice bar and lots of other fun activities my brother in law had planned. Unfortunately as they arrived in Kent to drop our niece off, our 2 year old niece came out with chicken pox! It seemed that things would still go ahead until the moment they were due to get the train she took a turn for the worst and they just couldn't leave her. A long awaited trip, a break was put on hold and instead of the excitement of London they had a weekend confined tot he house in Kent!
This was obviously upsetting for my sister but we did all we could to try and make the most of this, afternoon tea with champagne was created for them, we had a wine tasting evening and cocktails. It wasn't the 5 star hotel experience they wanted but it was the best of  an unfortuate situation.
Selfishly I have to say it was a truly blessed weekend, we got to spend time as an extended family ( where work permitted for me!) that we hadn't anticipated and to appreciate the joys around us that we had each other.

I think life can so easily be taken for granted, we can plan, prepare and know how we want things to go but then something happens to knock us off course and we have to re asses.

This week I am determined to enjoy everything I have, to not take anything for granted and to show those around me how much I appreciate them!

A whirlwind of a week!

This has to have been one of the busiest weeks to date full of variety, excitement...and some frustrations too..

The week started great with the preparations for Lent and a Pancake Party in Taggs as part of our Cafe Church- church but not as you know it. It was great to see a few different faces, to engage in some great conversations and to have some fun thinking about true love...and to eat pancakes too!

My week then moved on to assessment...Marc and I received a visit from the church commissioners ( who gave a grant to the Diocese to pay my wage!) They came to find out a bit more about what we are involved in and to have a look around some of the areas where I work. The 2 people who  came to visit were fascinated by the many different ventures we are involved in and asked the questions why we had managed to make so many contacts. This question has been on my mind for some time this week, and the answers we came up with were simple, we love the people and the place in which we live; therefore we are willing and happy to spend time with people to make our home available to others and to be a full part of the community in which we live.

I also discovered how much I love the "pioneering" side of my job, I get so passionate talking about it to those who will listen and then begin to dream crazy dreams of how things could develop and grow.....WATCH THIS SPACE!!

After such an exciting day I then had to throw myself full throtle into occassional office duties, funeral visits, a wedding and 2 baptisms. I absolutely love being a part of people's special occassions it truly is a privilege but I realised more so than ever this week how vital it is for  those from the church to be as welcoming and hospitable as possible to those visiting us for us occassions. I had two occassions of frustration where traditional view points got in the way of welcoming. We really do need to think about how we welcome, interact and treat those coming into our buildings...it is such a big hting for them to do surely it isn't too difficult to pop a smile on!

My week finished with sheer job, yesterday on my dad's birthday I got to baptize 2 beautiful sisters who we have gotten to know really well through our Upnor toddler group. It is such a blessing to be able to be a part of such an awesome occassion and to help a family you have become friends with to celebrate.

So, it has been a week of frustration, of excitement of despair with the traditional and excitement with the newly developing.... Life certainly isn't dull!!

Home Alone!

This has been a really really tough week....but first let me track back

a few weeks ago we had a frantic call from Marc's older sister to say there had been a bit of a mess up with holiday dates and the first week in February Joseph our nephew would be home alone with no one to look after him ...can Marc go and stay!
My first reaction was yes take Daniel you will have great fun, my second was no I have so many days and weekends I have to be away with work I can't cope with an extra one...my third...It's gonna be tough but yes Marc should go and I will juggle work and Daniel.

So The week is upon us and it has been hard....trying to juggle meetings around Daniel's pre school sessions, trying to arrange grandparents to baby sit around their very busy diaries and trying to function on little sleep because I am a wimp and don't sleep well when the only adult in the house!

However, I have to say it has been exhasutingly full of blessings...I have managed to appreciate what a wonderful job it is I have where I can take Daniel in with me and also where I can dip in and out to fit around him, I 've appreciated other people's flexibility but most of all I have really loved the fact that my parents are willing to change things just to help us out and most of all how amazingly well Daniel has coped with all the changes this week.


This week I have had an exciting meeting about Cafe Church at Taggs and the opportunity to be able to advertise finally, I have met with an awesome and supportive Pioneer to share stories, I have been on some training, written a sermon, plannned a wedding and a funeral and done 2 toddler groups....However, I have also made 2 cakes, done 2 lots of washing, made a speed car run, done a puzzle, made a sand picture and loved spending extra time with my son ( and it's only Wednesday!)

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 :)