September - a month of new starts and good intentions

If you asked me last week if I wanted the kids to go back to school I'd have told you no, I'm not ready. Summer has gone too quick and I want to spend more time with them but actually they went back to school today and I know it is a good thing. They need the discipline and routine and actually I need some time to myself and time to focus on what needs to be achieved right now.

My husband and I had lunch together today and then sat on the bridge and really chatted, not one interruption from a little person and it was perfect. I just need to make sure I make the most of every day as I never know when things will change and I might be back in a full time job or living in a major town again.

I thought I'd do myself an Autumn bucket list to focus myself and remember where my priorities are, this is what you will find me doing in autumn and it can probably all be summed up as taking care of myself.

What about you, have you set some goals?

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A year in photos - weeks 27-29

I've been sitting on the edge of the blogging scene in recent weeks and this has suited me just fine.  Life is busy and the most important thing I can do is live it and enjoy it, not just write about it. I've been trying hard to stay chilled and to live in the moment instead of projecting and worrying about what might happen.

Here is what we have been up to in the last 3 weeks (and when I looked through my photos there was a serious lack of images in comparison to other times so I'm taking that as a good sign that I've been having some down time and not fretting about taking photos) -

A day with our family and also some of the wider Ashburnham family to Birling Gap and Seven Sisters cliffs. Lots of walking and fun.

Capturing a Mummy and daughters selfie, look at the joy in their faces - priceless.

A day to a local play park and gardens. It was a naff place in all honesty but we still had a nice time playing games together like crazy golf and air hockey.

Fun with our pastoral group, getting to know each other and playing games. It is such a privilege to be part of the lives of so many young people.

This next picture probably sums up best what I have been up to most in the last couple of weeks and that has been volunteering and working where I live. I've really enjoyed working in bookings, doing a couple of hour stints in the tea room and also doing the social media stuff. It is the tea rooms 1st birthday this weekend and I thought this was a good capture of the current staff.

It was the girls birthday this last week and they are looking very grown up and gorgeous. We had a fun party for them and it was super that my parents could be there.

I've also had some good times out with my husband thanks to some wonderful babysitters, we went to a party and for an Indian and then out for lunch and cake another time. It makes such a difference when you can chat without interruption.

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If you like what you have read and want to stay up-to-date then subscribe by email for free and receive blog posts directly to your in-box - just click the link Subscribe to Mummy From The Heart... by Email or perhaps you like to keep all your blog reading in one place, if that is the case you can follow me on BlogLovin too!

Has Life Meaning Without Faith?

I was pondering this question just yesterday morning.  I am not sure where it came from to be honest, but it just popped in my head and I started to think about my life before I became a Christian. It was immensely different.

Take it back 10 or more years ago and ask me if I was happy and if life was OK and I would of course have answered that I was great and life was pretty near perfect. I earned very  good money, went out partying loads and had a long-term boyfriend I loved.  We owned our own brand new apartment and had a nice car each (mine paid for by work), private healthcare, decent pensions and we were planning our wedding.  I regularly had beauty treatments, went away for spa weekends and had multiple oversees holiday each year. Everything I dreamed of as a child was mine or within reach. Sounds good, yes?

Work-Life Balance

I have been thinking a lot about balance just recently.  More specifically getting the right balance between being busy and relaxing.  I have a crazy innate desire to always be on the go and I know this is not healthy, so my aim is to change that.  I wrote recently about making sensible choices and I think that has been a step towards my being more chilled and not so hyper.

Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans

John Lennon

When I think of balance, the term Work-Life Balance comes to mind and I started to think about this and decided it's a strange term.  Surely work is just a part of life? I suppose the term 'life' is being used in this case to describe what I think of as relaxation or fun.  I googled work-life balance and was surprised to find 32,800,000 results.  OK a popular thing to tap into then!  There were centres for work-life balance and lots of companies trying to sell you the secret formula, but I do not believe there is any secret formula, for me it is about looking for my inner peace and that all starts for me by turning my day over to God.