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Mystery of the Magical Werecats

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N(10) has written and illustrated her own books for years ( here's an early example) - she's really quite prolific, her approach being to do lots and lots of them quickly: they're generally not coloured, and mostly just outlines of the action. D(8) is very different in his approach, he's meticulous and methodical and very much a perfectionist: he's worked on the same book for almost a year now. Mystery of the Magical Werecats is that book, which the kids started together last Easter when they met a new friend, Caleb. N quickly lost interest and moved on to the next project, but D stayed with it and refined the story, adding to it and illustrating more. He wouldn't write anything, though, because his approach to writing is still that he won't do it unless he knows exactly how to spell things. So unless he's got one of us parents to ask how to spell every word, he doesn't bother to write. This is where their collaboration as a team worked so beautiful...
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Song of a 10-year-old's heart

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N(10) has been learning to play the guitar for a little while, but she's only just started creating her own songs. This just blew me away - I was able to type along as she sang this - a spontaneous song of her heart... I have nothing to add, just leaving these words here for a permanent record. I will love God always And you should love God too I really think Everyone should follow him Even though you might not want to I’d advise you that you should do I want you to be a Christian If you don’t then I’ll pray for you I just want to be with people who will understand I know how to be with others, and go to church with others too You might not want to be a Christian But I am, so that you can’t question I love God, no one is like him Though I love other people too But I quite like people who love God If you don’t, then I’ll debate you Hopefully you will one day be one I want you to please do I love God and won’t worship others Only God is my best friend Jesus came down to forgive us Al...
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A colourful tapestry of jobs

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I had this idea last night - in the early hours, after Cody the dog got me out of bed to let him out for a wee - and it seemed like a good thing to do at the time. Keeping in mind that this blog is, first and foremost, for my children to read when they are grown so they can get to know me better, I thought they would enjoy reading about my professional failures and successes... where I've been, where I got to, and why. So it's mostly for them, but if you're interested enough, grab a cuppa! Summer Jobs The summer after my mother died, I didn't work even though I legally could have - I was about to turn 16, but life was stressful and I was recovering not only from my mother's death but also from a gallstone operation. The summer after that, there was a very short lived stint at Toys-R-Us . Two days, I think - maybe it was just one day, a morning and an afternoon. This job taught me that it's the lowest jobs that are often the hardest, both physically and in terms ...
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2024: Our Year

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This is the yearly roundup post - as I've done almost every year for 2023 ,  2022 ,  2021 ,  2020 ,  2019 ,  2018 ,  2017  (2016 seems to have been skipped as I got to grips with mothering two little ones), and  2015 . Family photo in Austria This year brought a few tweaks and changes, and growth of course, but it was a much more settled year than previous ones. A lot of travel though! Let's start with that... Travel We kicked the year off with our usual short sun-seeking week in Spain - Benalmadena for the third time, although I think we've had enough of that place now and may look elsewhere in future! Unfortunately, D(7) was ill some of that time (very rare for him, and impeccable timing!) so he missed out on some of the fun. The Butterfly Sanctuary Both in March and at the end of August, we visited Norway for my work with Churchear (posts: March and August ). I was involved with Churchear for several years quite intensely, putting together a ...
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