We Did It...

We’ve moved!

People laughed at me, mocked me even for my optimistic timescale for the day (i.e. getting the van loaded and unloaded at our new place by 1.30pm)… but I passed with flying colours. Not only was every single item out of the van and 5 car loads by 12.30pm, but we were completely unpacked by 6 in the evening and could then settle down for pizza and friends.

This was not done without a butt-load of hard work and help from friends, however. Big Steve turned up with a massive van, Mikey Allen was unpacking and fixing bits in our house all afternoon- seeing the Church pulling together and helping out was very stirring.

It’s now a 10 days into a new life chapter with Liz, and I love it. It’s our house with our stuff with more space! I love walking into our living room and seeing how nice it looks and thinking that this is my life with Liz. We’re very blessed to be here. There is something about moving which is painful- the upheaval of solid roots and all that is familiar with it- but I love that I get to lay these new foundations with my wife.

Part of our new life together is the presence of close friends, something we craved at our old place. Mark and Hannah (who worked with Liz at Young Life) now live about 5 metres away on the floor below (we’re in a block of flats) and a new girl at church lives directly across the hall from us! We see Mark and Han every day and love it- they are so much fun to be around and we can totally be ourselves with them- plus they have the cutest baby who loves my face!

Life is pretty good right now- I love that I get to do life with a wonderful and caring woman by my side.

Marriage comes recommended by Phil…

Babies Galore...

There is, currently, a huge baby boom going on at Church... it's ridiculous! Something like 15 babies will be born this year, and plenty more are due for next year! One of my Groomsmen has recently had one (moreover, his wife has) and another Groomsman's' wife is pregnant and due late November!


This excites me a lot. Firstly, I love children (on a Sunday morning I rarely talk to adults because of herds of children that I find myself being stupid with). I have some quality banter with a 7 year old who supports a rival soccer team; a 4 year old girl who is moving to Turkey this time next year regularly tells me that 'Phil' means 'Elephant' in Turkish; a 5 year old boy will punch me non-stop for as long as I'll let him for want of being turned upside down and carried around for a while. They are fun, have great energy levels, and are probably the most genuine people in the world!


Secondly, as I embark on the magnificent journey that is marriage, and look into baby planning etc on the Marriage Preparation Course, it's great to have close friends who are kind of a life stage ahead of you. One day I will be sucking all the kid rearing wisdom I can out of these folk!


Third... it means I can pretend I'm massive (which I am... see previous post) and take fun photo's like this:





Don't get me wrong here, I am not broody in any way. Right now (well, in 15 days time) Liz will be my family, and that's all I'm after and what I want. In fact, I hate kids. Leaving my parents to start up my own family will no doubt be tough- they are the most amazing people I have the honour of knowing- but I am very much looking forward to cleaving to and figuring out how to be family with Elizabeth Kate.