We found a sort of order in the disorder this morning. It helped that the activities for Theo were largely food based. We did a sorting task based on healthy and unhealthy food. He translated this as ‘yummy treats’ and ‘good for you’. Which meant he put all the things he liked in the unhealthy basket and everything he didn’t like in the healthy one. He got top marks on that game.

The second task involved real food addition. This went really well until he started eating the food and messed the maths right up.

Maddie also very much enjoyed her insect sorting game. Until she thought Theo’s work looked much more fun and edible and gave up on her maths to do his instead. By then he was off eating an orange and couldn’t care less about the maths so that was all good.

I then pulled out my secret ‘I knew it was going to be a rainy day’ activity of painting the salt dough cupcakes that we made yesterday. I know, I’m getting braver with paint. Or just more closely supervising the antics. Although Maddie still ended up with one eyebrow painted blue, despite my watchful eye. I can’t claim credit for any of these activities of course. They all come from helpful super-parenting groups. Written by people who are much less scared of glitter and shaving foam than I am. But I was particularly pleased with this one, if all goes to plan it will have provided three days worth of entertainment – the making of the dough, the painting of the cakes, and tonight I dutifully put them all in cupcake cases on a tray in the toy kitchen, and they’ll be there in the morning, ready for play. Or, the more likely outcome, which is that they’ll be confiscated and binned after a few minutes of children either persistently trying to eat them, or throwing them at each other’s heads. I’ll keep you posted on the next exciting instalment.

These are the three pretty princesses who pranced around for a while after lunch. In this photo you can see the smallest saying a perfect ‘cheese’, whilst the middle child states all his reasons for why he should have Elsa’s hair. And the biggest adamantly refusing his demands, even though he pleaded, ‘but I don’t have the long hair like you, mine is all short, so I neeeeeeed the hair.’ You can see by her face she was not to be easily swayed.

I didn’t take many photos today because my phone had an unfortunate incident where it fell out of my pocket into the toilet. Whoops. The screen is already very smashed which renders the splashproofness into not very splash proof. So for a large portion of the day the home button wouldn’t work but everything else would. Which meant I had to ask Siri for everything. ‘Siri, open WhatsApp. Siri, open Barclays. Siri, open Safari.’ Poor Siri sounded so hen-pecked that I let him (her/it) have a rest. And then miraculously it healed itself.

To be fair, there wasn’t much to photograph as the afternoon for the children largely consisted of them watching The Jungle Book followed by another Disney plus spin off from the Jungle Book in quick succession. They then went prowling around the house, claws out and hissing at everyone they passed. Like they needed to do impressions of wild animals!

The day of rain caught up with us though and when I was trying to make dinner they were running around like the cheetahs they’d been imitating. So I made what may prove to have been a parenting mistake. I taught them ‘What’s the Time Mr Wolf?’

Maddie got it very quickly, then started adding lots of rules to the original rules. Micah understood, but shouting ‘dinner time!’ and roaring was far more fun than the boring ‘two o clock’ part. And Theo, who loves and hates anything involving suspense, giggled and squealed and ran around in circles. But they found it hilarious and it gave five minutes entertainment so I counted that a win.

It was really encouraging to join a church online evening to pray tonight, to see a hundred other faces all calling on God to bring healing and comfort and peace. I miss community. I love my family to pieces, and there’s so much good for our kids in being cocooned with us. But there are so many others that I’m grateful for and I miss seeing, hearing different perspectives, and being encouraged and challenged by. And I’m really missing seeing my friends and families babies! I’m not getting my baby fix, and they’re all growing up!

Sorry, I digress. It was so good to ‘be’ with others, even online. To be reminded of how big God is and of how much He loves people.

I was encouraged today by Psalm 103,

2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. – Psalm 103:2-8

The story Theo picked this evening talked about the Star Maker, the One who created the stars, coming down from heaven to become a baby and lie under the stars He had made. And He came because He loved us. And He wanted community with us. He cares about our hard days and our grieving hearts and our messy broken stuff. He cares about the people who are vulnerable and hurting and anxious and sick. He listens to my cries in the garage and my tears at the news and my fears for my family and my anxious children’s worries. And He cares. And He brings help and healing and hope.