King's Daughters

Eric & I had a lovely 2 weeks in the USA to visit my mom & dad! It was a fantastic time of rest & catching up with family. We arrived home last Wednesday morning after 3 aeroplanes & a bus trip from London. It is great to be home but it seems that all that rest has already been used up. Eric & I can't sleep!!! Since we have been home last Wednesday we have been averaging 3 hours sleep a night. All I want for Christmas this year is some sleep ha ha. It's been a week now & we are getting desperate for sleep - any suggestions?

Nevertheless is John Kirkby’s story of the adventure of starting Christians Against Poverty. In 1996 John and Lizzie Kirkby set out on a faith adventure. John felt God call him to give up his successful career in the finance industry to do what he could to help the poor and needy in his home town of Bradford. John did what he was best at and devised simple budgeting systems that allowed people to reduce their debt whilst living a decent life. In doing this John found that he could share the life transforming faith he himself had experienced some four years earlier, and people’s lives were changed before his very eyes. I have read this book & couldn't put it down, it has really changed our life & given us strength to get through many difficult times. Eric at times said he had to put the book down as he couldn't continue reading - he was wondering how anyone can get through what John managed to get through. Eric & I have also had to privilege of meeting John Kirby &

It's that time of year again - what fun! I love all the gift wrapping, baking, parties and all the fun around Christmas time. One of the things I like to do is sort out the children's toys to see if they need anything new. Well needless to say this year they don't need anything new, what they did need was a ton of batteries for all the old toys! Look at the photo above, these are all the toys that they never played with because their batteries had run down. Well, thanks to my wonderful mom and dad who bought us a giant pack of batteries, they are now all working! I do however realise why I let the batteries run down though - all these toys are noisy!!! Oh well, all good fun. So what are you doing to prepare for Christmas? Love

One of the nicest things Eric ever said to me is; "I don't care about your past, I care about your future". The best part is that he totally meant it, he has never brought up my "colourful" past or used the mistakes of my past against me. Sometimes I even feel like he doesn't believe the stories I have told him about all the bad things I have done in the past. It is so amazing to be loved for who I am not not based on what I did (good or bad) in the past. In the photo above are two of our most wonderful friends, it's so important to have great friends who will also leave the past in the past. One of my best friends ever, Michelle (above), has seen me at my best & at my worst, she has seen me single & married - and still she is my friend (whew!). I can't tell you how amazing it is to have a husband & great friends who all believe in my future & don't judge me on my past!

Hey there King's Daughters! Eric & I are having the most amazing time on holiday but thinking of you all every day. God has been so amazing by providing us with this unexpected gift of a good, restful holiday. There is lots of news but before I get into the news... who can guess where we are? Check out the clues in the photo above & tell me where exactly in the world you think we are!

Men need respect & women need love. If we simply learn to meet the one main need that our spouse has then we may eliminate many other battles or problem areas. Ephesians 5:33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband . This is all that Eric needs to either make him or break him as a man. When I show him that I respect him he is stronger but when I disrespect him, especially in front of people, he is a broken man with no power at all. As women we don't realise the importance of our respect, it either releases our husband into his full potential as a man or without it we cripple our man & make him unable to be what God has called him to be. Here are some tips for wives: 1) Go to God - he already has all the answers & will very happily help you 2) Watch Your Words - communicate only words of life that will build him up, if you have any complaints just shut up & chat to God abou

It's that time of year again! I love all the festivities, food & fun of Christmas & I am just starting to get into it by baking our Christmas cake so I thought I would share the recipe with you. The photo above is of last years half eaten cake ha ha. 800g mixed dried fruit 75g glace cherries cut in half 200ml brandy 300g plain flour I t ground cinnamon A little freshly grated nutmeg 125g ground almonds 150g softened unsalted butter 150g dark muscovado sugar 4 large eggs I t cocoa powder Pinch of bicarbonate of soda 6t apricot jam 450g marzipan 900g ready-to-roll fondant icing · Soak the glace cherries in the brandy for 24-48 hours. · Lightly grease the cake tin & line with greaseproof paper. · Sift the flour with the cinnamon, a pinch of salt & a little nutmeg. · Whisk the butter until creamy & add sugar gradually until light and fluffy. · Beat in the eggs & add the flour mixture & almonds, then the fruit and its liquid. · Add the cocoa and bicarbonate