Another Year.

Food is very important to me in true Chinese fashion. So, to celebrate another year of my existence, we decided to head into Bristol in search of so scrummy grub and we chanced upon a new noodle bar. This is what we had to start....spring rolls, steamed dumplings, battered prawns and satay! This feast truly helped to lessen the pain of homesickness which tends to set in on special occasions. But this was only the beginning.


Those of you who know me well, know that I am a sucker for a good laksa. This was a VERY good laksa!

T had a Char Koey Teow. It did taste as delicious as it looks. If only the blog had smell-o-vision too. We had a lovely day together (holding hands, as Papa would say). The lovely day continued when we went out to a local pub for our supper and experienced the best chips either of us have ever had....Ever.

All in all.....a very good day. All in all....a day of blessing. All in all.....reason to give thanks.

Love is......

Hah..bet you thought I was going to end that with "never having to say you're sorry". Wrong....

Love is:

• Taking out the compost even when it is ooozy and gooey and could really walk out on its own given the chance
• Holding someone's hand (or hair, back) when they are being sick
• Throwing someone's snotty tissues away that they have left randomly dotted about the house
• Scraping the ice of someone elses car (as well as your own) at subzero temperatures
• Anything to do with the cat litter/wee/slimy water bowl
• Lying on someone's side of the bed to warm it up before they get in
• Washing up the roasting dish (which still has the remnants of yesterday's roast in it)
• Cooking Malaysian food for a homesick someone which involves firing up the petrol stove and stir frying outside the house, in the dark and in the cold.
• Putting up with grumpiness that is brought on by tiredness (which is the norm!)
• Taking out the rubbish and the recycling in all weathers
• Washing someone else's car that you don't even drive (which is incidently covered in cow muck and all manner of other farm matter)

Love is....all of the above and more.

Love is my boy. Well, boys but the small boy's list is somewhat different and for another time.

Snowy Steps

Here is the start of our little expedition to the lake. The snow came up to well above the Munchkin's wellies.

Fun in the Snow!

This is the BEST snow England has had in at least the 15 years I have been here. We tried to make the most of it before it all went away again. Here isMunchkin with his new friend!

SNOW!

This was what it our road looked like this morning at noon. It had been snowing since before midnight last night and the snow is still falling now!

So after deciding to stay off the road, we decided to go for a little walk in the snow. There was snow everywhere and it was about 6 inches deep so despite a valiant attempt by Munchkin (he walked all the way down our road with the snow up to his little knees), we put him in the Munchkin carrier and off we went down to the lake

The snow had turned the lake at the bottom of the road to ice but this didn't put the resident ducks off quacking for some food. We didn't have anything for them unfortunately, but Munchkin did try to fit in by flapping his little arms and running in and amongst them quacking!

It was winter in every sense of the word. A little haven of calm and peace. There was silence apart from the odd branch breaking off because of the weight of the snow (and the odd quack from the feathered ones - and Munchkin). Somehow, this made everything better. A little much needed tranquility after a week of realisation that things are not as they always seem, not as they appear to be.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

The Munchkin has been busy today. He awoke to a blanket of soft, fluffy, snow which he took great pride in making his mark
on. He then went off to Poppins' house where (because schools had been closed) he was taken out to the fields to play in the snow! "He fell face down," said Poppins "And I thought he was going to cry but,he just grinned at me through the snow on his face and said Snowy!!!"


T and I decided that we were going to leave work early to ensure that we got home before the BIG Freeze so we got Munchkin mid afternoon and brought him home to play with his own snow in the back garden.



We weren't sure till we got home that the snow was still going to be there. But there it was! So T built a snowman who, Munchkin decided needed lots of cuddles. It was one of THOSE moments.... to be cherished for a long time to come.

Give thanks with a grateful heart...

We have much to be thankful for today.

For one, Munchkin's God daddy is one year older...and hopefully wiser, and hopefully, he still has all his limbs intact after a days skiing in Swissyland.

But....by far eclipsing the above (Sorry, Pasc!) is the wonderful news that some rather special people are going to be parents. They have been waiting a long time and today, finally, it was confirmed that baby Liam is coming home.

What they don't realise, I guess, is how much their journey has touched so many lives. How their story is inspirational and how their triumph has renewed hope in the power of prayer and faith. I know I shed a tear of joy and thanksgiving today when the news came through.

We take so much foregranted. This great news has made me recount my blessings and give thanks, with a grateful heart for all the blessings that we have received. Indeed, the weak are made strong, the poor are made rich through the power of faith and prayer.