Teaching little children!

Hello!

It would seem that I have ended up in the "family business" after all- teaching. Last month I was asked to be a Primary teacher at church. Primary is the name we give to children's 'Sunday School'. I usually have a group of five children aged 6-8 and I teach them for about 35 minutes each Sunday morning. They come out with the funniest comments. I was trying to explain the word "sober" (as another word for serious, not to do with drinking!) and a clever little girl, Julia, put her hand up and asked, "Err, do you mean sofa??" Another funny moment was when the children were aked what they thought "poor in heart" could mean (to be pure and humble, not literally lacking in money) and there were ideas from "Ooh, I think that means they're dying!" to "That's what you get when you eat too much"! It's a laugh a minute.

Oliver has a sad but new trait... he gets very angry when sees that we have food that is different from his. He squeals and screams until I realise that he just wants a bit of my toast (instead of his cereal), and once I give him a bit he is blissfully happy and gobbles it down.This morning I came up with the cunning plan to make a barrier with the milk carton and a box of cereal so he couldn't see the toast I was eating (he had banana). It worked! :)

Oliver also gets frustrated if we don't feed him quickly enough. If there is as much as a second gap between Ben feeding him a spoonful of yoghurt, him swallowing it and the next spoonful he grunts and flails his arms wildly!! Agh, I can't believe our 10-month old has a temper already!!

Apart from that, he continues to delight and amaze us, although I'm convinced he will NEVER say anything apart from "Dada". We repeat "Mama", "Duck" and "Dog" to him alllll the time, but he just smiles in acknowledgement, and launches back into how much he just lurrrrves Dada! But it is lovely hearing him croon himself to sleep telling the world about his Dada, and then wakes doing just the same thing! What a silly sausage.

A Wonderful Weekend

We had a very busy but lovely weekend!

On Friday we went to Ickworth park and gardens (again, I love it!) for lambing time!! We pretended it was to show Oliver the lambs, but really it was for us! We also stumbled across a grass sofa in the gardens- a brilliant idea and surprisingly comfortable too! A nice lady, who we later found out was the President of a photographic society, took a photo of us because my camera had run out of battery, and they're going to use it for a National Trust newsletter! Ah, fame at last :)

We spent Friday evening and Saturday with my family for a pre-Mother's day hommage to my Mum, involving a slightly chaotic picnic and lots of fun and games, and also our friend Harriet's wedding, which I sang at. It was lovely to sing with some friends from choir when I was growing up.

On Sunday we went to see Ben's Mum for M's day, and enjoyed having Ben's brother and sister (plus other halves!) there too.

Our Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson

Another very wonderful thing about last weekend was that it was our church's General Conference- a series of sermons and music, broadcast via satellite and the internet to all our churches and homes across the world, twice yearly. It is where we get to listen to the most up-to-date counsel from church leaders and what we believe is what God wants us to hear and act on today. It was truly inspirational and I made tons of notes- now just to try to be better every day...!!! (The difficult bit!) It was also the 75th anniversary of the church's welfare program, which is now pretty huge and does amazing things around the world, always one of the first on the scene giving supplies and aid to people in need (Japan, Haiti, Chile to name a few) Links to the conference are found here- http://lds.org/general-conference?lang=eng

Again, a wonderful weekend!

Sunny Saturday!

Last Saturday we went to the London Temple and spent some time with our families. It was a really gorgeous sunny day (at last!) and the Temple and grounds were particularly beautiful.

Olly Woo and Nanny T.

And the ducks too! I love this photo.

With Twigger Grandparents!!

The five of us together.

Then we went back to my sister Jaz, Tom and Sebby's house, and had a great time!!! More pictures of the babies together to follow...

What a wonderful day! :)

My Top Five

First+things+first%3A%3Cspan+style%3D%22font-size%3A+large%3B%22%3E+My+Top+Two%21%3C%2Fspan%3E%0D%0A%0D%0A%3Cdiv+class%3D%22separator%22+style%3D%22clear%3A+both%3B+text-align%3A+center%3B%22%3E%0D%0A%3Ca+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-NicVxD6iT5I%2FTWJqyMzYJeI%2FAAAAAAAAANc%2FXDMn6ANhEQ0%2Fs1600%2FSDC11730.JPG%22+imageanchor%3D%221%22+style%3D%22margin-left%3A+1em%3B+margin-right%3A+1em%3B%22%3E%3Cimg+border%3D%220%22+height%3D%22320%22+src%3D%22http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-NicVxD6iT5I%2FTWJqyMzYJeI%2FAAAAAAAAANc%2FXDMn6ANhEQ0%2Fs320%2FSDC11730.JPG%22+width%3D%22240%22+%2F%3E%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3Cdiv+class%3D%22separator%22+style%3D%22clear%3A+both%3B+text-align%3A+center%3B%22%3E%0D%0A%3Ca+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-joPALLfbp08%2FTWJrA5YNSaI%2FAAAAAAAAANg%2FEvupF8MGD4o%2Fs1600%2FSDC11733.JPG%22+imageanchor%3D%221%22+style%3D%22margin-left%3A+1em%3B+margin-right%3A+1em%3B%22%3E%3Cimg+border%3D%220%22+height%3D%22320%22+src%3D%22http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-joPALLfbp08%2FTWJrA5YNSaI%2FAAAAAAAAANg%2FEvupF8MGD4o%2Fs320%2FSDC11733.JPG%22+width%3D%22240%22+%2F%3E%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%0D%0A%28I+love+my+%3Cspan+style%3D%22font-size%3A+small%3B%22%3Ecuddly%3C%2Fspan%3E+men%21%29+%0D%0A%0D%0AAnyway%2C+as+part+of+a+lesson+at+church+yesterday+we+had+to+list+our+%3Cspan+style%3D%22font-size%3A+large%3B%22%3Etop+fives.%3C%2Fspan%3E+It+was+quite+difficult+to+whittle+things+down+but+I+thought+it+was+rather+illuminating.%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%3Ctable+border%3D%221%22+cellpadding%3D%220%22+cellspacing%3D%220%22+class%3D%22MsoTableGrid%22+style%3D%22border-collapse%3A+collapse%3B+border%3A+medium+none%3B%22%3E%3Ctbody%3E%0D%0A%3Ctr%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22background-color%3A+%23e06666%3B+border%3A+1pt+solid+windowtext%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.05pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0A%3Cb%3EThings%3C%2Fb%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22border-color%3A+windowtext+windowtext+windowtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3A+solid+solid+solid+none%3B+border-width%3A+1pt+1pt+1pt+medium%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.05pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0AJournal%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22border-color%3A+windowtext+windowtext+windowtext+-moz-use-text-co06666%3B+border-color%3A+-moz-use-text-color+windowtext+windowtext%3B+border-stylem%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.05pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0AInternet%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22border-color%3A+windowtext+windowtext+windowtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3A+solid+solid+solid+none%3B+border-width%3A+1pt+1pt+1pt+medium%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.05pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0APhotographs%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22border-color%3A+windowtext+windowtext+windowtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3A+solid+solid+solid+none%3B+border-width%3A+1pt+1pt+1pt+medium%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.1pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0AMusic%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22border-color%3A+windowtext+windowtext+windowtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3A+solid+solid+solid+none%3B+border-width%3A+1pt+1pt+1pt+medium%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.1pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0A%3Cdiv+class%3D%22separator%22+style%3D%22clear%3A+both%3B+text-align%3A+center%3B%22%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0AScriptures%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E++%3C%222border-color%3r%3Eoz-use-text-color+windowtext+windowtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3A+none+solid+solid+none%3B+border-width%3A+medium%3A+none+solid+solid%3B+border-width%3A+medium+1pt+1pt%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.05pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0A%3Cb%3EPlaces%3C%2Fb%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22border-color%3A+-moz-use-text-color+windowtext+windowtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3A+none+solid+solid+none%3B+border-width%3A+medium+1pt+1pt+medium%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.05pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0AItaly%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22border-color%3A+-moz-use-text-color+windowtext+windowtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3A+none+solid+solid+none%3B+border-width%3A+medium+1pt+1pt+medium%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.05pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0AThe+Temple%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22border-color%3A+-moz-use-text-color+windowtext+windowtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3A+none+solid+solid+none%3B+border-width%3A+medium+1pt+1pt+medium%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.05pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0AOur+house%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22border-color%3A+-moz-use-text-color+windowtext+windowtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3A+none+solid+solid+none%3B+border-width%3A+medium+1pt+1pt+medium%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.1pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0ACornwall%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22border-color%3A+-moz-use-text-color+windowtext+windowtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3A+none+solid+solid+none%3B+border-width%3A+medium+1pt+1pt+medium%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.1pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0AM%2BD%E2%80%99s+house%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E++%3C%2Ftr%3E%0D%0A%3Ctr%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22background-color%3A+%23e06666%3B+border-color%3A+-moz-use-text-color+windowtext+windowtext%3B+border-style%3A+none+solid+solid%3B+border-width%3A+medium+1pt+1pt%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.05pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0A%3Cb%3EPeople%3C%2Fb%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22border-color%3A+-moz-use-text-color+windowtext+windowtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3A+none+solid+solid+none%3B+border-width%3A+medium+1pt+1pt+medium%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.05pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0ABen%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22border-color%3A+-moz-use-text-color+windowtext+windowtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3A+none+solid+solid+none%3B+border-width%3A+medium+1pt+1pt+medium%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.05pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0AOliver%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22border-color%3A+-moz-use-text-color+windowtext+windowtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3A+none+solid+solid+none%3B+border-width%3A+medium+1pt+1pt+medium%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.05pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0AMum%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22border-color%3A+-moz-use-text-color+windowtext+windowtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3A+none+solid+solid+none%3B+border-width%3A+medium+1pt+1pt+medium%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.1pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0ADad%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22border-color%3A+-moz-use-text-color+windowtext+windowtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3A+none+solid+solid+none%3B+border-width%3A+medium+1pt+1pt+medium%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.1pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0AJaz%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E++%3C%2Ftr%3E%0D%0A%3Ctr%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22background-color%3A+%23e06666%3B+border-color%3A+-moz-use-text-color+wtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3A+none+solid+solid+none%3B+border-width%3A+medium+1pt+1pt+medium%3B+padding%3A+0cm+A+71.05pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0A%3Cb%3EResponsibilities%3C%2Fb%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22border-color%3A+-moz-use-text-color+windowtext+windowtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3A+none+solid+solid+none%3B+border-width%3A+medium+1pt+1pt+medium%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.05pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0AFeeding+Oliver+and+raising+him%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22border-color%3A+-moz-use-text-color+windowtext+windowtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3A+none+solid+solid+none%3B+border-width%3A+medium+1pt+1pt+medium%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.05pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0AGeneral+good+wifeyness%21+%3A%29%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22border-color%3A+-moz-use-text-color+windowtext+windowtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3A+none+solid+solid+none%3B+border-width%3A+medium+1pt+1pt+medium%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.05pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0ACooking%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22border-color%3A+-moz-use-text-cot-color+windowteindoindowtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3A+none+solid+solid+none%3B+border-width%3A+medium+1pt+1pt+medium%3B+padding%3A+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.1pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0ACleaning%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22border-color%3A+-moz-use-text-color+windowtext+windowtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3A+none+solid+solid+none%3B+border-width%3A+medium+1pt+1pt+medium%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.1pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0AShopping%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E++%3C%2Ftr%3E%0D%0A%3Ctr%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22background-color%3A+%23e06666%3B+border-color%3A+-moz-use-text-color+windowtext+windowtext%3B+border-style%3A+none+solid+solid%3B+border-width%3A+medium+1pt+1pt%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.05pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0A%3Cb%3EGoals%3C%2Fb%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22border-color%3A+-moz-use-text-color+windowtext+windowtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3A+none+solid+solid+none%3B+border-width%3A+medium+1pt+1pt+medium%3B+padding%3A+0cm+5.4pt%3B+width%3A+71.05pt%3B%22+valign%3D%22top%22+width%3D%2295%22%3E%3Cdiv+class%3D%22MsoNormal%22%3E%0D%0ALive+in+heaven+after+I+die%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Ftd%3E+++%3Ctd+style%3D%22border-color%3A+-moz-use-text-color+windowtext+windowtext+-moz-use-text-color%3B+border-style%3AName=

"I didn't think a Mormon would sing in a Church of England choir??!"

Someone said this to Ben recently and I have thought about it a lot since. For those of you who don't know, this is the second year that I have sung with Magdalene College Chapel Choir. It is a typical C of E choir for one of the University colleges and we sing evensongs every Thursday and Sunday. I'm not sure if other people are surprised that I do this, so here are a few reasons why.

1. I think it's a great way to keep the Sabbath day holy.

2. It's the one thing I wanted to keep up after Oliver was born, and the only thing I do without him, so it's quite refreshing.

3. Mormons are Christians, so our beliefs and doctrines are fundamentally the same! I believe in the Godhead- that we have a Heavenly Father who created us and all things and loves us, a Saviour who atoned for our sins and enables us to live forever because of His resurrection, and the Holy Ghost, who comforts and guides us and testifies of truths. The difference is that we believe that God still speaks to man today through a Prophet, so we have further revelation and scriptures. We pray to the sane God but don't have too many set prayers (I'm still working on learning the ones for evensong!) although I recognise what is being said as prayers. Either way, the people who worship there are all trying to lead good lives and do what God wants us to do, and that makes us very, very similar.

4. Singing makes me happy and develops my talents! :)

5. After a really good or beautifully sung piece, I can feel the spirit and know that the words we are singing are true.

6. It's fun! :)