Sunday

Didn't go to church this morning, as it was the annual Outdoor Service. I have extremely clear memories of being at that service in 1999 with Benjamin, so happy and full of pride in him, and I don't think I can bear to go now. Or maybe I could bear it, but I want that memory to remain his, and not be overlaid with others.

Instead I tried to take it easy, having been woken for the second day in a row at 5.30am by Isabelle, who wasn't inclined to go back to sleep after that. Tamsin took the hint I had left out the night before, and started filling in a handwriting workbook, as she has shown much more interest in writing recently. She enjoyed it, but didn't take well to being corrected as to how to write some of the letters. "I'm doing it my way", she said. "I'm only trying to show you how to do it more easily", I said, and she responded, "but I like doing things the hard way." Hmmm, what can you do? Leave her to do it whichever way she likes, in the hope that the correct way of writing will gradually sink in if she watches others do it, or keep on trying to show her the right way? I certainly feel it bodes ill for anything that I might try and 'teach' her in future!

Bill did some fantastic stuff in the garden, preparing for Tamsin's Dora the Explorer birthday party next Saturday. There's going to be some sort of treasure hunt/exploring thing, so he's constructed a whole adventure playground sort of affair, out of old fence panels, LOL! In the meantime, after a lot of effort, I have managed to track down and obtain a Dora Talking House, whew! Tamsin doesn't even know such a thing exists, yet, but once I saw it I really knew that's what I wanted to get her, but whenever I located a supplier, they stopped being able to supply it by the time I wanted to order. Eventually found an Ebay shop that could send me one.

I also put another coat of paint on one of Tamsin's little toyboxes that we got months ago and have been meaning to paint (still one more coat to do on this one, and then need to do the second one); tidied up the living room a little; had a good long nap with Isabelle to try and catch up on some sleep; had a picnic on the lawn for lunch; set Tamsin to 'painting' with water on the patio, and then she 'washed' the windows (i.e. made them dirtier); cleaned out the chickens; and tried to get my head round the busy week ahead.