Football crazy!

Well another sporting event of 2012 is under way and as the Vizor household adjusts to football every evening, we are already at the stage where two games are played at the same time.  What to do, which one to watch, can't decide...

...I know why not watch both of them and just move the TV from the bedroom down to the lounge.  The aerial is all set up as we have done this before watching the world cup!  It did mean that we had a good spring clean behind the lounge television as the cables were all sorted out.

The boys also had new mattresses delivered this weekend and so while we waited in for them to arrive we had a spring clean of the bedrooms as well.  Jacob was away on camp, so that made tidying his bedroom much easier!!  I hadn't realised he had so much floor space!!!

Last weekend we bought some new pots for the garden, but we weren't too sure about the terracotta colour matching the new patio.. This week Andy has bought some paint and taken some time out from slab laying to transform the pots.  Here's a before and after demo..

Before          and           after

With the rain taking a slight break this weekend (to be replaced by high winds) Andy has been able to get on with getting the patio, he had compacted it down, levelled off the sand and laid a layer of cement, topping most of it off with the new slabs.  I would have added a picture, but he covered it all up for the night while we were at church as it started to rain (again!!).

Can you tell what it is yet?

While Andy was out laying paving slabs, I spent time with Josh multi tasking.  I was cooking and he has putting together movie shows for holiday club.  I bought some new cookware this week so wanted to try some of it out.  I made the lemonade cupcakes again but doubled the mixture and made a loaf version as well with my new loaf tin and liners.  Just need to make the frosting for the tops now.

Cakes on new cooling rack!

So as it is Father's day today, we have an evening of football and Jacob must have been tired from camp as he fell asleep on the sofa and hasn't stirred once, with all the shouting at the tele!!!

With cooking, gardening and school Governor meetings, I haven't had time for any craft this week, but I have several birthdays in the family coming up this week so I must get on with making some cards to show you all next week.

This week's Bible verse comes from John's Gospel and is a wonderful though for Father's day:

Yet some people accepted him

    and put their faith in him.

So he gave them the right

    to be the children of God.

John 1 verse 12

Our prayer as a family this week is for those who are bringing up children without a father, that they may come to know their Father in heaven, who will also support them through the good and the bad.  We also pray for all fathers who are bringing up their children in difficult circumstances,.  We particularly think of the two children we sponsor and their families, Woldhino in Haiti and Neomi in Bolvia.

With God's blessings from my family to yours,

Jo x

Jubilee celebrations

It must have been a bank holiday half term as the rain has not really let up much all week.  However, we have got some jobs done in the garden.  During a rare sunny patch I got out and took some pictures of the changes we are seeing in the garden, both man made and natural changes.

Baskets in bloom

The hanging baskets are looking really good and are set off by the new fence, which is almost completed.  We have added some planting at the bottom of the fence to grow up through the fence.

The vegetable patch is also blooming and as I described to a neighbour all that we are growing I realised how much we had managed to pack into our small patch.  Our first crop of radishes are really flourishing and are needing to be eaten to make room for the second crop which are now coming up.

First crop

We remembered to plant a second row of the mange tout and sugar snap peas as well and have added some runner beans into the mix.  The broad beans needed some support and we were glad we did this early in the week as the winds have really picked up this weekend .

Flourishing vegetable patch

With the rain curtailing most of our plans to get out in the garden this week, I have had time to spend in the kitchen.  Jacob and I made lemonade cakes, complete with fizzy lemon sweet decorations.  They were great and tasted quite fizzy.  I found the recipe in the Hummingbird Bakery Cake days cookbook, which has cakes for all seasons and celebrations.  It was my aim when I bought it to make a cake from each section, so this was from the Summer Teas selection.

Lemonade cupcakes

I also made a chocolate cake to take to friends to celebrate her son returning home from a college placement and graduating to a full fledge apprentice with Network Rail.  The cake is from the same book and is adapted from the cupcake requirements to a triple sandwich cake.  I made some of the frosting runnier so that it would spread around the outside of the cake and then piped a message on the top in white chocolate - glad he liked chocolate.

We celebrated the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, with hand crafted bunting and friends round for lunch.  We rang the bells at church before last week's Sunday service to coincide with the start of the flotilla. Josh, Jacob and I also rang before the Queen's service on Tuesday, which was being shown in church on the big screen.

Jubilee bunting

I led the family service at church today, which included a baptism.  The theme was looking at how we separate our lives between church and the outside world.  However, we discussed that God is in all of our lives, not just the bit on Sunday and we looked at how we can use the Ten Commandments in all parts of lives to check if we are living a committed life.

The minister used a power tool as an example to ensure that we don't make our hobbies an idol or buy items that exploit other people.  I explained, using my phone, that things that take us away from God can be turned around and used to honour God.  I know that I spend time on my phone playing farmville when I could be using my contact list as a prayer prompt, or down load an app to prompt my Bible study.

This week's Bible verse is from Proverbs, a wonderful source of insightful teaching:

The Lord is a mighty tower

where his people can run

    for safety

Proverbs 18:10

Our prayer as a family is that we will look at our lives and ensure that we are committed to Christ in all that we do and not just the bits on Sunday.  We prayer that the family who came for baptism will have taken the message home with them and will want to know more about why we believe Christ has a part to play in our whole lives.  We also pray for Josh as he has his braces fitted, that we will be sympathetic and understanding to his pain as he adjusts.

With God's blessing from my family to yours,

Jo x