Good evening and happy Friday!

Sorry for not checking in last week. The bank holiday really threw me in terms of what day it was and before I knew it, it was Sunday morning and I hadn’t blogged! Anyway, I’m here now to catch you up on all that’s been going on.

Some highlights:

The weekend before last, we saw my Mum, Dad and my Aunty Jan and Uncle Alan which was really lovely.

The off street party at Christ Church on Bank Holiday Thursday was great. There were rows of tables in the carpark for food and lots of activities. I did facepaints and Sophia had a whole mini milk, so a great time was had by all!

After a day off in Southport (we were going to the Food and Drink Festival but rain stopped play), we went to St Giles Jubilee party on Saturday afternoon. Again, there were long tables groaning with food! Nathan carried Sophia’s highchair over from home so she could sit in her own seat and we all had a lovely time.

On Sunday Sophia and I went to The Good Shepherd and took the communion service. We then piled into the hall and sat at another long table and had another lovely Jubilee meal! We had a bring and share, my first at TGS, and I was quite pleased with how my meringues came out.

To be honest, by this point Sophia was not at her best. But I was shattered from three parties in four days, so it’s fair enough that she was! When we got home, she and I snuggled up on the sofa and watched the concert from the night before.

As well as all the Jubilee fun, I’ve had chats with some very wise and wonderful people, I’ve been donating spare fresh Foodbank food to Croxteth Community Garden and I even made it onto the ITV 6.30 national news talking about the cost of living crisis!

Challenge: I’m still finding Sunday mornings tricky with so few volunteers.

Drain: Summer Fair prep!

God Moment: Yesterday I was called out to give last rites. It was a beautiful and powerful moment, and a real privilege.

Ta-Dah Moment: Doing Nathan’s expenses!

Foodbank has been mixed. Last week we fed 6 people and this week we fed 24. Recently we’ve had lots of donations of fresh Yellow Lable food which needs to be eaten on the day. With numbers lower than normal, I’ve been taking spare food over to Croxteth and it’s been lovely to connect with the community garden there.

Mum moment: where to start?! Getting Sophia’s feet measured and buying her first proper pair of shoes! Seeing her get better and better at scooting about in her walker so much so that you’ve got to watch your toes or she’ll ram into them! She’s started saying ‘ma-ma bur-bur’ when she’s hungry and wants a feed. She can clap her hands, she’s nearly got tooth number 6, she has discovered nostrils (mine, not hers)… it seems like she’s changing so much at the moment!

If you’re here, thank you for reading along. It’s been a busy fortnight with lots going on and much to think about. Every work day I’ve been at my desk after 10pm and today (a Sophia day) I did a load of work once she went to bed. It’s the first time I’ve done that since starting back part time. I’m feeling a lot of pressure at the moment, but I really hope that I don’t make a habit of skipping Weekly Check-ins because I love writing them!

Until next time x