So I haven’t written a blog post for weeks, there’s a good reason for this. Timothy doesn’t sleep in the evenings and the other children don’t leave me alone all. day. long. I love looking after them all, but it can get quite intense when you don’t have a minute to yourself.

Anyway I’ve managed to carve out a few minutes and so I thought I’d squeeze in a quick update.

Last week Phil, Timothy and I went down to London to support Jonathan who, along with his team mates, had got through to the finals of a Dragon’s Den style competition. The finals took place at Mansion House in the City of London (The Lord Mayor’s House). We were invited to support him and so Super Nana and Super Papa looked after the other children whilst Phil and I were away.

I was unsure whether Timothy would be allowed to join us and so I emailed ahead, asking whether I could bring him. They welcomed him with open arms and he was a bit of a star. He had a mention in the speeches, and the Lady Mayoress came up specifically to meet him. He was a great conversation starter, and Phil and I got quite adept at holding a baby, a glass of wine whilst feeding each other canapés!

One lady commented that I was being very brave and inclusive bringing my breastfed baby. I think I ticked their inclusivity box for the night 😁. People were just so delighted to see a baby and it made me think that perhaps we hide babies away?

A breastfeeding baby, carried in a sling can be so easy to take out, depending on their personality. Timothy is just the right age to travel with, as he’s old enough to not be exhausting, but young enough to not be crawling. Anyway, it was a wonderful night away and Phil and I had chance to talk and eat out without chatter from the older children. Four hours each way in the car, with a sleeping baby, was a huge luxury in terms of quiet time together.

This week we’ve got a couple of birthdays coming up and so I’m busy planning parties and presents. We make a fuss of the children on their birthdays, making them each feel really special. They choose all their meals and they can choose how they want to celebrate. We have a birthday budget for a party and a present, and then they decide what they want to do. They often choose to take a couple of friends to a trampoline park or the younger ones might go to soft play. They each have a meal in the evening with just Phil and I, which is always very special.

Elizabeth has recently started at school, in year 9, as she would like to take GCSEs at school, as a couple of her older siblings have done. She is thankfully settling in very well. It’s always a bit nerve racking sending them into school, having home educated them, as we want to ensure we have prepared them sufficiently to slot into their year group. It appears that Phil and I have so far passed muster!

In all seriousness though I think it’s a shame that our education system rates success by academic grades, as people are so much richer than that. Human beings have such a variety of skills and many of these can’t be graded, but all are valuable. We hope that, with home education, we are giving each of our children the foundations of faith and the opportunities to discover their gifts. We then send them out when they need experts to further their learning in specific areas.

Sorry this update is somewhat lacking in depth, but hopefully I will be able to find more time to blog as Timothy grows and settles in the evenings. In the meantime my ramblings will at least remind you all we are still here and that I haven’t forgotten to post updates.

Sending blessings to you all.

4 thoughts on “London with a Baby and an Update

  1. Hermione Thomas says:

    I love your birthday plans and I imagine your children are going to have such fond memories of their birthdays. What a blessing.

    • Thank you for encouraging me. I’ll try and remember to write even if I can’t muster up any profound thoughts! Blessings Vx

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