It's the little things..

Today we had ten visitors coming as well as Andrew and his two children who stayed over from last night so we did some baking this morning and made some cherry bakewells and then some lavender biscuits.. And yes, the kitchen looked as if an atomic bomb had gone off afterwards! The cooking was a huge success and will have to be repeated again tomorrow as there is nothing left! 

The children were up early and very excited that Sophie and Marcus were still here so before long the house was full of fun and laughter but my blood did start to boil when they all started practicing their screams in the kitchen. They all went up to the tennis courts in the park and I calmed down again;) 

Andrew and the children left with many promises to meet up again very soon and then our lovely guests started to arrive.. 

Firstly Sheena, our lovely aunt/great aunt, then my sisters and mum. One of my sisters was diagnosed with a huge brain tumor three weeks into our trip.. and as you can imagine I was very pleased to see her and realise that she was alright. A little later we were joined by Toby, Guys brother. They all bought little welcome home gifts for the children and it honestly truly felt like Christmas - all day!! It was so good to see everyone and know that they would be with us in an hours' time, 2 hours time.. It's really as if I have to keep pinching myself to realise its real. 

It's so lovely to look around and see mess and not feel it has to be cleared up straight away because we're not in our own home. It's fantastic to think the children can scream as loud and for as long as they want to because we are in our own home (and I know that these things weren't a problem when we were staying with people) but its so great to NOT have to control the children to that extent. 

It's the small things that make this life we live so wonderful, not how much money you earn or how nice your house is.. It's the peace I feel when I relax; it's the happiness I hear in the children.. 

So tomorrow we have another mad day. We are expecting one of our old helpers who is arriving with his friend, to move, chop and stack some wood for us. (It's a huge amount!) 

Doesn't look like much from this angle but this pile is waist height and has increased from this amount:

This is the front of our house. So our helpers are here for two weeks and Guy is convinced that it will take then that long to get this lot of wood sorted out. 

It's back holiday Monday here too so I can't phone the school to see if the children have to wear uniforms - I think they must do if I have been given a price list for every item.. They will be wearing yellow polo shirts and navy jumpers with grey/black bottoms - should I buy then proper trainers and football boots etc? It's crazy and a little frightening to think I've got to them go into this big bad world. 

I realised another thing today. Now, I'm not religious, but I really do feel so incredibly blessed to have spent this amazing year with the children (and Guy of course!) Not many parents have the opportunity to do this and I really am thankful. So to have been with them when they experienced so many things for the first time, to have held their hands when they were worried or frightened, to have seen their fear turning into joy as they were conquered, to have had that, to have been there and lived with every moment.. I am so thankful. Words aren't really enough. 

Sxx