Inspiration

Sometimes school trips are just a day out in the world, but sometimes..........they are out of this world

Today I was fortunate enough to be present while this inspirational young man spoke to a group of junior sports ambassadors.

This is Jacob. You can read his story here.

http://www.tyhafan.org/jacob-our-paralympic-hero/

He spoke with confidence and feeling as he described his Olympic experience.

The children listened in silence as he told them of his training and commitment

to the sport he loves.

He showed us pictures of himself with world famous Olympians.  He has fantastic memories of the opening ceremony and the matches he played.

But most of all he is an inspiration to us all of how to face our trials and challenges in life, how to get on and not give up.  He has a fantastic team around him who have helped and supported him.

I feel blessed to have met you today Jacob,

Thankyou

To Bring You Joy

I was given these beautiful roses this week by my visiting teachers.  One of them had been given a similar bunch of roses and they had brought her such joy that she wanted me to feel that joy too.

Now, I have to say roses normally come into my house to die! but theses have bloomed and flourished and have brought a smile to my face each time I have passed them.  So today I wanted to capture and share their beauty, and maybe seeing them will make you smile too.  

One of our Favourite Holiday Haunts

For three years now we have visited "OUR STREAM" up in the hills.

There is never anyone else there and we just sit and read while the children paddle and build dams.

They sometimes take their bikes and ride around on the quiet country road.

We always take a picnic and we always stay longer than we planned!

Its just perfect.

Anniversary Break

Well here I am at last, the summer holidays are over and we are all back to work.  

On a lighter note....we now have a working computer from which I can upload photos to show you what we have been up to.

So here is post 1 of hopefully a few snippets of our summer.

We celebrated our 20th Anniversary in July and our parents gave us some funds to pay for a short break.  We decided on Symonds Yat, near to Ross-on-Wye.

We stayed in a lovely Inn called The Saracens Head from which you could call the chain ferry across the river.  We had a great, relaxing time and the weather was really quite sunny!!

Here are just a couple of photos of us two love birds!

This is the view from Yat Rock which was a half mile, up hill walk, through the forrest from our hotel.

Not long now

I have been waiting patiently to blog for weeks now but our computer situation is not conducive to blogging.  I love my iPad but I cannot seem to find out how to upload photos from it, even if I could they would be old photos because I can't get any new ones off the camera because of the computer issue! I have stated to my family that when the issue is resolved I will be blogging for a good few hours!

See you soon.

Please Take Some Time

Please take a moment or two to read the post on The Hansen's blog today called The Brave Little Soul. Even if you haven't followed their story you will be touched by this. This family have touched me recently in the way they have coped with their reality. Thank you Atticus for being a brave little soul and teaching me some important lessons.

Hidden Treasures

I needed to clear the card in my camera so that Gareth could have it for his holiday.

It still had all the holiday pictures on it so it was a long import. 

(625 pictures!!!)

Amongst all the shots of the fantastic scenery were some great shots of us just having fun and being us.

So here are just a few for you to enjoy.

We were just playing around with the camera and this is what we got.

Ross and Calvin returning from their adventure to the edge of the canyon.

I'm not sure what these two are up to but they were giggling alot!

This is Gareth squirrel spotting with his little sister.

So many things just lately have made me realize just how important these times are.  

Making the most of the little things and the happy moments can get you through the difficult bits of everyday life.

Also lately lots of my thinking time has been taken up with thoughts of other families that I am aware of that are going through the toughest of trials.  

Some of those families have faith in their Saviour and the knowledge that his atonement is for our sorrows and pains as well as our sins. Their strength and faith has strengthened me. 

I am really grateful for the lessons I have learnt through reading and listening to their journey's.