This isn’t really a check-in. It’s more of a few pictures to show some of the things that have happened since we came back from Derbyshire.

So, we cleared, cleaned, painted and organised Sophia’s new room.

We’ve been exploring. We’ve been to the farm, to Retford for a party, to Tappy Toes, to the hairdressers and to a fundraiser for Alder Hey.

I’ve had my 20 week scan and am very much enjoying my dancing dumpling. Although, the return of the heartburn and migraines is not cool.

We’ve enjoyed some beautiful weather. Every year I’m surprised how much better I feel for sunshine. Not only does it generally improve my mood, but more laundry can be done which makes the washing baskets feel less overwhelming, which makes me feel calmer!

With the help and excellent driving skills of my Dad, we swapped our 4 foot spare bed for Isabelle’s cabin bed and our old cot. Our old spare bed is now at my Mum and Dad’s, and Soph has a bed stored in the garage for when she grows out of the toddler bed.

Church has been busy to say the least! We finished the sermon series on Leading Your Church Into Growth, had a big celebration for Pentecost last week and today I did the 9am Book Of Common Prayer service, a big baptism at the 10.30 and the 6 monthly memorial service at 3pm. It was a shock to the system!

I’ve also been ‘on tour’ a bit. I spoke at the Deanery Mother’s Union service at St Peter’s Formby and talked about Christian Aid at St Giles Friday prayers. On Wednesday, I took Nathan’s 10.30 communion so he could go to St Peter’s and do their midweek service.

Meetings wise, we had our Archdeacon’s Parish Review. This is not OFSTED, but it was definitely something I wanted to go well. I also chaired Deanery Synod for the first time because our Area Dean is in Uganda. Another meeting I very much wanted to go well.

There have been some tough moments: I was called into the local hospice on my day off a couple of weeks ago to say end of life prayers with a gentleman and his family. I was pleased I went when I did – he died an hour later. We’ve also lost a much cherished church member this week, and it’s been an honour to be with him and his family at various points over the last fortnight.

The other headline is that Sophia has now been nappy free in the day time for 7 days! She even managed to stay dry all the way from Crosby to Retford on Saturday afternoon. What a star!