Half term round up, more Compassion, and anything else that occurs to me!

So Half-term is over. The kids were off school on Thurdsay, Friday and Monday.

We travelled up to the cottage on Thursday afternoon late. In the interests of the environment we decided just to manage with the one car, so we were well packed in, and I had George in his cat basket on my knee. He travels well, once he is convinced we are not taking to him to the vets.

At this time of year on the north coast of N Ireland the weather can be very changeable (i.e. if it is not actually cold and wet at the time, then it probably will be soon). So when we woke up on Friday morning to a glorious sunny day, we headed for the beach, and chose Portstewart Strand.

This was followed by lunch in Coleraine, some shoe shopping for the kids, a play in the park, and home for some competitive Wii-ing. (On a side note, I got a Wii Sport age of 25 last week, but I digress..) On friday night we managed dinner in a restaurant in Bushmills, thanks to the wonderful baby-sitting/knitting skills of our good neighbour at the cottage.

Saturday – dry again, so off to Ballintoy this time. Quite a bit colder, but we enjoyed clambering about, watching the waves and getting some good sea air in our lungs.

On Saturday night I returned home for a friend’s 40th party (wig or funny hat was required – I wore a pink curly wig, and fortunately have no photos to share). Here, however, is the card I made for the birthday girl – a poor substitute to a pic of me in a pink curly wig I know, but trust me, the better option!

Credits – Kit Shabby Fall Garden and Playing with Wire, both by Gina Marie Huff, Weeds & Wildflowers. Based on a sketch template by Tara Dunstan.

On Sunday morning as part of the church service, 6 of us were dedicated as members of a new Pastoral Care Team. The intention is we will support our ministers with visiting etc. It is both exciting and daunting, and I would appreciate some prayer.

Meanwhile our plan to only have one car over the weekend nearly backfired, as (for once) my husband had to deal with our son Sam having croup. Somehow croup usually visits our family when my husband is away. The propsect of being on his own with the 3 kids, with no car or car seat was not a pleasant one, and he did not get much sleep.

When I returned on Sunday afternoon, everyone seemed well recovered, and were ready for…yes, you guessed it…..another beach! We went to one of my favourites, White Rocks, near Portrush. There were so many surfers, canoeists etc in the water (all in wet-suits I may add, this is the North Atlantic in Februay) and a lovely holiday atmosphere. The kids even had ice-cream!

Monday morning, a last walk, not on the beach, but near Runkerry Strand, along the vintage railway track between Giants Causeway and Bushmills.

We don’t often do 4 beaches in 4 days, but the weather was so beautiful it would have been a shame to miss it.

Finally, here is a sign we pass on our walk at Runkerry

In case you could not see past Sam, who was obstructing your view of the sign, or could not quite understand our accents, here is the sign:

So, the Compassion Bloggers are now all home safely from their Ugandan trip, and I expect to be moved even more as I contiue to read their blogs and experiences. However, the most long-lasting impressions I have so far, have come from the vidoe clips being shared. Today I wish to share another with you. If you have time, please watch.

All the bloggers involved are listed in THIS post.

So if you made it through all of this post, thanks!

Take care until I ramble/blog again.