Hello and happy Monday (sorry it’s not Sunday, I forgot, yada yada yada…)

But it’s June, hooray! May was lovely with all those bank holidays but blimey, I didn’t know if I was coming or going!

But that being said, our party last weekend was fab! It was great, with lots of people popping in over the afternoon & evening but not too many people that I couldn’t catch up with everybody. And the cake, red velvet, and half 30, half 60, was perfect.

It was also great to spend the day in Retford on Monday, enjoying the splash park and spending time together – see Dad and Sophia in the photo at the top. We also purchased the best babyccino yet. It’s from Rondo Lounge in Retford, from the range of restaurants called ‘The Lounges’.

On Tuesday we drove home and dropped Soph off at nursery for the afternoon so we could get some jobs done. The rest of the week involved meetings, planning, service preparation, a funeral visit, Sweaty Mamas, another family party and the trinity Sunday service yesterday where my colleague gave a stonking talk!

Another particular highlight of the week was our day off trip to Southport food and drink festival. We all had such a lovely time, soaking up the sun, trying so much tasty food and having a ride on the miniature railway. There were crafts and activities for the kids, live music and dance performances. It felt like a mini holiday! Sophia even made friends with a little boy from Turkey called Aran. She stole his strawberries and then gave him a hug, and they were both very disappointed to say goodbye.

Challenge: supporting people at church through a hard decision.

Ta-Dah Moment: I’ve been without a spiritual director for nearly a year. A SD is somebody who walks with you in your journey and helps you unpack what God is doing in your life. I’d been with my former spiritual director for nearly five years when she moved away last year, but it’s taken a bit of time to go through the process of getting a new one. Anyway, I’ve now got somebody to go and visit, so we’ll see how that works out.

God moment: praying with a grieving family, and seeing them moved by it. I’ve no idea where they are with God or what their faith is like, but it’s an honour to pray with people at this time in their lives.

A couple of Mum Moments: Sophia randomly saying ‘Holy, holy, holy’ at the end of the eucharistic prayer yesterday. Seeing her make friends with little Aran so quickly!

Next week: I’m very excited about the pet service happening on Sunday! I’ve never led this kind of service before, but I’m ready for chaos and Jesus to reign!

Sophia’s new words: pway (play), pwam (pram), scrim (icecream). She’s almost got Granny down too, who is now ‘Gwanny’, but has been ‘Nanny’ for a few months and was ‘Gaga’ before that!