Date Night, Walking the Cliffs and Beautiful Sunsets

Happy Thursday friends, how are you today?

I'm doing well but getting desperate for the end of term, there is so much going on and the kids are getting more and more tired. I really struggle to understand why primary school children still have homework at this time of year, mine just can't focus... but not long now!

It has been a fabulous last week in general and here is just a few of the highlights -

1.   A great date night with my hubby. We went to see the film Absolutely Fabulous and it gave us a good few belly laughs and we also enjoyed a fabulous authentic Italian meal. I'd highly recommend Rustico Italiano in Hastings, East Sussex if you are ever local. Such reasonable prices and the food was exceptional.

2.   Cliff walking with our Pastoral Group at Seven Sisters and the Birling Gap. This area of outstanding beauty managed by the National Trust is truly beautiful and really worth a day trip. We have been here dozens of times but I never tire of it. You can walk for miles or just lie there and take in the glory of God's creation. I'll be blogging separately about this soon.

Thanks to Erica for this great picture

3.   The most amazing sunsets where we live. I never recall sunsets like this when I lived in Hertfordshire. I don't know if it was because I was so busy that I just never saw them or if they are just better here in East Sussex. I can easily get drawn into this photo below if I look at it for too long, that central cloud formation along with the sun is stunning.

4.   My Girls School performance. The girls were in a 90-minute production a couple of times this week at school and they both did a fabulous job. I couldn't believe it when the Head Teacher said they had all memorised just over 4200 with all the songs they had learnt. That is some going at 8 years of age.

5.   Accepting myself - even just a little! I'm generally very critical of my visual self and I find it a real challenge to see past my fat and wonky smile to see a friendly and attractive woman but I really like this photo that a friend took of me at the weekend. I wasn't expecting the photo and it wasn't staged, so I feel this is just a fair representation of me and how most people must see me - I'm OK. I look like someone I could be friends with.

Thanks to Joel for this picture

6.   Meeting my Coachee. I mentioned last week that I'm going to be volunteering with a charity called TLG (Transforming Lives for good) and I'll be meeting a child for an hour a week for the whole school year to give them my undivided attention with the focus on them, their self-esteem and their wellness. On Tuesday I met my child and their Mum and I am super excited to get going in September.

I knew it felt right to take on this volunteer opportunity but I was apprehensive that I might not have the right skills as I've never done anything like this before and whilst I like spending time with kids I'm not much of a play person. I don't think I need to worry though, God is on my side and I could really see his hand in this first meeting.

So you see, my week has been ace and I expect this next one to get even better as it is my little ladies 9th birthday. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I'll catch you soon. Mich x