Busy week

The kids went back to school on Tuesday, and I worked through a big list of stuff, and took the kids up to Youth on Tuesday night.

On Wednesday 8th, I went with Donna Wright and Jo Blackhurst (Mums from school) into Huntingdon, to get some bits for an activity I was running on Friday night, and some storage wallets for all my new dies. We went to Starbucks, then Donna and Jo came back to mine for the rest of the day and we made cards... accompanied by some singing of old school hymns! (When a Knight Won His Spurs etc!) 

In the evening I picked up Jo Blackhurst, and we went to church for a Relief Society activity, where we decorated notebooks to become 'Gratitude Diaries'. The message was beautiful, and we really caught the vision of it, though I didn't end up decorating my book, as I had a really good chat with Hannah Martin all night!

On Thursday 9th I had another big To Do list (including picking up Lucy's prescription and going to the Post Office to post some wrist bands to Oliver Cain - one of the Young Men from church who emigrated with his family to New Zealand. We give out wrist bands each new year to the youth, and he told me recently he had worn the one we gave out last year literally all year!) In the I evening drove myself and Carys Robertson, our Stake Young Women Secretary, to Bedford Chapel for a Youth Committee meeting.

Yesterday (Friday 10th Jan) Harry felt sick and had the day off school. He played pretty happily though, and I spent most the morning on the phone discussing the youth programme with President Hirst. In the evening I drove Carys, Lucy and Jack to Northampton for Seminary Monthly Meeting, and Beehive/Deacon Forum. I was running the Beehive's (name for 12-13 year old girls' group) Forum, and did a card class, making birthday cards for sending to the rest of the girls at church. We got over 40 made! We had to leave a bit early, in order to be back in time to pick Tom up from a friends' house at 10pm (a compromise on him not staying for a sleep-over.)

Today (Sat 11th Jan), I got ready slowly, went to Tesco, made a cheesecake, then drove to Buckingham for 1pm, for a celebration of one of my Counsellors on the Stake Young Women's Presidency's birthday. We had a beautiful meal which we all contributed to, followed by a really wonderful discussion. Gill had asked us each to prepare something on 'celebrating women' - a story, poem, or thoughts about our own womanhood, or women who have inspired us. I only knew a couple of people in the group very well, and some not at all, but it was a really lovely experience - very personal and uplifting. I read out a letter Granny (Jean Flinn) wrote to me not long before she died, with her story of how she joined the church. Grandpa never joined, and she raised her three sons in the church by herself.

Here we all are. (Taken with my camera on self-timer!)

Granny.

I got back just after 6pm. Everyone was playing happily, and Jack went out for a pizza night with his church class to Emma Wade's house - the Youth Sunday School Teacher.
I had a message on Facebook from a girl I met at University, who I haven't seen for many years, suggesting we meet up next week, as she is driving past not too far away - so that's nice!