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Do you elf, or do you leave it on the shelf? For many families the fun has begun – the elf’s cheeky antics entertain their children in the morning, as it spills the milk, covers the house in toilet roll, goes parachuting with Mum’s knickers and takes Barbie prisoner. As a Mum who f…

My family enjoyed the first Frozen film (only watching it on DVD as taking 4 children under 5 to the cinema would have been insane!) My boys were Olaf fans – he featured on a “memorable” birthday cake with white icing and large carrot nose shoved in. I even made Christoff outfits f…

How did they grow up so fast? For those of us with Year 5 children the open days have started. For those of us with Year 6 children the application deadline is looming. It can feel very overwhelming when faced with this choice and with the chat amongst other parents. What to choose? Church school, g…

There are lots of reasons why my kids ask me this question – from what they are allowed to watch or play to the events they are allowed to attend, to whether they can have a mobile phone or a social media account (no, you’re in primary school). The current seasonal variation is “Wh…

We were attending a family wedding down south with our sons who are nearly 3 and 18 months old. It’s the posher side of the family. Imagine the scene: pretty rural church, attractive marquee in the grounds, airy sponge cakes, flapping bunting – basically if Bake Off did weddings… …

Sand is still in their shoes, postcards are on their way to grandparents and suntans have not yet faded; but nerves and worry about the new school year have already started. I know a 7 year-old; let’s call her Ella. She gets very anxious about school. Friendships are hard to navigate. She’s up in …

If you missed the parenting fail series we did recently you can read them all here! We did this series so that other parents, as imperfect as we are, know that they are not alone and that in each of these fails you can find Jesus. Enjoy reading them, laugh a little and see Jesus in our brokenness. F…

It’s taken me quite some time to get the train track ready. The figure of 8 and suspension bridge are engineering masterpieces; even the play figures waiting at the station look impressed! The creativity corner is oozing with options – fresh paper on the easel, paint dabbers standing to …

A friend was recently walking with her seven-year-old son, Billy. He asked her how we can be sure that Jesus is real if we can’t see him. She told him about the eyewitnesses. Luke starts his Gospel with a great introduction for just such a purpose: Many have tried to give a history of the thin…

Has anyone seen the car keys? I know I had them yesterday … Depending on the age of the children in the house, the ‘obvious’ places to look may be down the back of the sofa, in a dressing-up handbag, buried in the garden, or underneath a sprawling heap of backpacks, lunchboxes &am…