Thursday, March 29, 2007

Thursday 29th March

I thought this made for very good reading and was a welcome reminder of how I should be living.

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/2007/2032_Things_I_Have_Learned/

On a completely different note I want to wish Smurph a very happy birthday!!!

Off to London tomorrow for a girlie weekend of chatting, chatting and more chatting, think we might try and fit in a show aswell. Had a mad week at work trying to get drawings finished and also outside of work sorting out house stuff, but everything seems to be moving in the right direction.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Sunday 25th March

Yipee!! Our offer has been accepted and we finally have a house. Now I know that things aren't always that smooth and things in England aren't as easy as in Scotland but we continue to pray that if this is Gods will then everything will go as planned. Tomorrow we start to put things in motion and if all goes to plan we could be in our new house by the end of May :)

What a wonderful weekend

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Saturday 24th March

Well if I thought last week was a bad week, then it was nothing compared to this week. Firstly I went back to work and felt like I was treading water for a few days whilst I tried to catch up on the week I had missed. We had an important meeting this week at work and even though I knew my project leader was off I knew that the Director was coming to the meeting with me. That was until he told me on Wednesday that he wouldn't be going....meaning I would have to not only attend this meeting but chair it and explain all the projects by myself. I didn't sleep too well on Wednesday night and had a long nervous morning. But thankfully with a lot of people praying the meeting went well and I don't think I said anything too stupid.

As if that wasn't bad enough, we got the dreaded call from our landlord on Monday saying that they had accepted an offer on the house we are renting and we would have to be out in 2 months. Fear and panic set in as we have still not been able to find a house yet. Never one to give in we trawled the property website and found the last 9 houses with 2-3 of them being serious contenders. We had decided that this Saturday we were going to find a house and buy it. Failing that Plan B would have to kick in and neither of us wanted to have to rent again.

So after a worrying week we set off this morning nervous and excited :) About half way through the day we had only seen one house that we liked and sadly it was at the top end of our budget. One of the houses we thought was a possibility was awful, so we plodded on in the hope that the other 2 would be better. Then I received a call from an estate agent saying that a new house had been added and would we like to see it. Now, normally when we get these calls we say no thanks and have a look at it on the internet first (they usually are horrible), but since this was are last weekend of looking I thought 'Why not'. So it was arranged to be our last viewing of the day, but to be honest we thought nothing of it because we still had 2 other possible houses to see. Sadly one of them was in a not great location but we would have compromised and bought it if all else failed. Then we went to see our last possibility (which we had seen before and knew we liked). This one was to be a real winner as the owners weren't in a chain, however upon arrival they informed us that their chain had fallen through only 3 weeks ago. We left this house very low and thinking that Plan B was far too close for comfort.

So two little sad people entered the last property which looked nothing special from the front and maybe a little too small, but once we entered the house and saw the amazing view out the back to open fields and farm land we almost instantly fell in love with it. Everything about this house was perfect...the location, the views, the interior. I suppose the only downside was that it was smaller than some other properties we have seen. But as the reality of the situation set in we knew that we could make this into a lovely family home and although we wouldn't live here forever it would be a great little home for the next 4-5 years.

On the drive home we had a mixture of relief and excitement. We both loved it but worried that we were being pushed into it. However by the time we got home we knew it was the one and we have put in an offer...so watch this space.

It was an amazing answer to prayer and it's great to see God's hand in this whole process. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for us. Points for continuing prayer would be that the offer is accepted, the whole process goes smoothly and that the timing works out with us leaving our rented accommodation.

Thanks you

The View

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Tuesday 20th March

Below is a map showing all the countries I have ever visited. What a priviledge to have have been able to do this. Check it out for yourself.



create your own visited country map
or check our Venice travel guide

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Sunday 4th March

What a week it's been! I've been off all week sick and spend most of it in bed. Thankfully I am now feeling much more like myself and was able to entertain Cheryl and James last night. We had a great time watching the Rugby (until Ireland were stripped of the title) and playing the PlayStation. Both Cheryl and I have become a little obsessed with Bebo, its a great way to meet up with your friends and people you haven't been in touch with for a while. Check out my Bebo page (link below). It was great to see them again and we are looking forward to getting up to Glasgow to see their new house :)

Another unsuccessful weekend of house hunting has left Phil and I feeling rather deflaited but we are encouraged to know that lots of people are praying for us and we know that in Gods time we will find the right house were we can serve him. Sadly I may have to come down off my Architectural soapbox and buy a NEW BUILD, my most dreaded thought. But if it means we can get moved to Sandbach sooner and become more involved in our Church then maybe thats what we'll have to do.

Well work tomorrow, not really looking forward to it cause I have to do a weeks worth of work in a morning so that some drawings can be couriered over to the planners prior to our meeting later in the week. I think it'll be a few late nights this week until I catch up, not ideal when i'm still totally exhausted!

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Tuesday 13th March

Had a pretty rough day. Was sick during the night and took the day off work...still feeling poorly, poor me! We had a great weekend in London but I fear the coughing of my two little nieces has infected me with the Balham flu :( I'm hoping I'll be better by tomorrw as work is mad busy at the moment and I have too much to do to be sick.

Our lovely friends Cheryl and James are coming to visit us this weekend so I am very excited about that. It'll be nice to catch up although I seem to have seen alot of Cheryl recently.

Until I feel a little better, bye.

Friday, March 09, 2007

Friday 9th March

Phil and I have been lucky enough to take a well earned day off work today and we decided to come down to London for the weekend to visit Ali (Phils big sis), Michael and their too adorable little girls. We arrived late last night after a busy, long day at work and had a nice lie in til 9 this morning. Ali has entrusted the care of her two little angels into our care whilst she goes and does all the adult things she never normally gets to do, like getting her hair cut. At the moment they are both sleeping peacefully but I'm not convinced it'll last. We love coming down here to visit as it's always so laid back and we just chill out and enjoy spending time with family.

oohhhh no.....the crying has started, must go!

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Tuesday 6th March


Thought I was having a nice quiet night in until Phil informed that Andy and Kentin were coming round for tea and to watch the FOOTBALL!! They seem to be enjoying it and keep shouting at the TV. I made a great impromptu tea of enchillada's, it was was good even if I do say so myself.

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Sunday 4th March

Just back from a lovely weekend in Whitby. We arrived late on Friday night and had fish and chips for tea...always my favourite past time in Whitby. Saturday was spent catching up with Phils Mum, hanging pictures in her new house and going for a walk on the pier. It was the most glorious day and we enjoyed walking with the sun beating down on our heads. We went out for a gorgeous meal at a local viallge pub in Egton on sat night. Excellent food, if you are ever over that direction I can highly recommend the 'Postgate'. http://www.iknow-yorkshire.co.uk/accommodation/1387-The_Postgate_Inn-Egton_Bridge.htm

Today is Phils Mums birthday so after Church we went to the manse for Lunch with Jean and Andy. Andy had come over as a welcome surprise for his Mum. In the afternoon we had the privaledge of attending the baptismal service of 3 members of the Whitby Church and 1 member of the Pickering Church. What a joyful occasion and it was especially nice to see Roy Kemp being baptised.

We are home now and hoping to get to bed early before another week at work. Thankfully only a 4 day week as we are off to London on Thursday night. Can't wait to see my little nieces.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Thursday 1st March

After a little bit of thought, not much cause it hurts, I've decided to start my own blog. I'm sure with most things I do,, I'll get really into it for a while and then it'll fade into the background as more importnat things take over. But hey, we'll give it a try.

I got my new much loved car this weekend, although it doesn't have a CD player, but hopefully phil will buy me one as an early Birthday present. Cheryl (who came to see me this weekend), Phil and I went along to the Church quiz night and had a great time chatting to mostly new people. We then came home and whilst Phil watched Match of the Day, Cheryl and I chatted into the wee hours of the morning. I miss Cheryl and James now that we have moved so far away from them.

I am writing this blog on my newly aquired work laptop which has wireless internet connection, so no more cold nights working in the spare bedroom. I can now work from the comfort of my own living room, with my favourite TV shows on in the back ground. What more could a girl want.

This weekend we are off to Whitby to see Phils mum for her birthday. Really need to get her a card and a pressie tomorrow lunch time!! As always we are keeping ourselves busy and still looking for houses, even more so know as the house we liked has been taken off the market much to our dismay. We trust and pray our new house is out there somewhere so we can stop travelling to Church and get more involved in the mid week activites.