It has now been 5 months that we have been living with our neighbour Tracy... Neighbour isn't a strong enough word for this woman. She has become so much more to Steve and I. She really has gone out of her way over the last 5 months to show Steve and I what true hospitality, friendship, care-FULL-ness and love really is. I feel like I have gained a new family member and the way Steve and I get to attend her family gatherings so naturally, is truely priceless. I never expected to fall so madly and deeply in love with her and even though Steve and I are really excited to move to the community house, it will be with heavy hearts and many tears that we leave Tracy's. She truely is a Legand. She even would endure dinners with us when we invited over our favorite little neighbour Amara!

Steve and I have had an epic summer holiday. We started July off with a TREAT. We finally saved enought money to buy ourselves a new car. We were really proud of this because it meant that we actually had to talk about money and be adult-ish in our lives... and getting the car seemed to be a mark of success that perhaps we are becoming mature and capable adults.

At the end of July we got to take a mini Vay-Kay to the English Channel Island of Guernsey. Steve and I were really happy to go back to the site of our honeymoon and laugh as we rememembered what it was like being first married and totally gob smacked with each other. We did a lot of island smooches. And we got to go wedding dress shopping (well the girls, the boys went fishing) with Steve's little sister Hannah, who went and fell in love with a Guernsey Boy. She gets married next September! love weddings! 

A week after that we packed up our, new to us, car and hit the road. We had 14 days and we decided to go on an road trip through France and Spain. Sprance or Frain.... whatever you prefer. It was such a quality time of being together and learning about what we both appreciate out of life. I think as a Christian, soon to be leader of a communal house, the thing that struck me most about our journey was learning that people who are searching need clear and obvious signs of what is coming up, how to get there and what is on offer. It needs to be clearly visible and in a clear language that they understand. Our journey re-inspired my love for being a spiritual guide and some of the views and experiences we had were truely intimate relationships growing times between me and God. He really took care of us the whole trip and both Steve and I look back at the two week journey and see how God was with us and working things out for us every step of the way. We ended our trip promising each other that we would remember how God stood by us in the good and bad momensts of the trip and took it to be a very tangible promise for our future and time to come in our communal house. This also fulfilled a life long goal of mine to go camping in France!

When we got back from our road trip we got to help put on our "Big Gathered Sunday". Steve and I were in-charge of worship and we did this reflective workship activity. We needed some wood and we called in our our friend and creator of Anrik Creations (on a side note he makes amazing wood furniture all from recycled wood!). We used the wood we got and grabbed some sandpaper and encouraged people to imagine themselves as the wood and God as the sandpaper and to reflect on the type of contact God and them have as they sanded this bit of wood. Then we got people to write what they love most about God all over the bits of wood. It was really a great worship experience and I totally recommend trying it.

However... I also need to update loads of you on our COMMUAL HOUSE. So we get to move into the new house the weekend of 14/15 of September. We can barley wait. I went in to the house over this weekend to help Katy and Rich (very minimally) as they were moving out. I walked into the prayer room and there scrolled out on one of our prayer walls was my big ass written prayer to God about how deeply I wanted to live in a home dedicated to him, how we wanted it to be a house with multiple family names in it, that we wanted it to be a house of prayer for the nations. Next to that I wrote a prayer about how I wanted more Godly men to join our community and really bring the change our neighborhood is crying out for.... gentleness, peace, fathers. My throat got all tight and my eyes a bit misty (hold on just like they are doing now!)... God has really provided for us. I shook my head as I was reading back my prayers to myself... Steve and I are getting to move into a house that many of our neighbours call the "God House", we have mutliple family names moving in as a girl from our community AND a boy from Germany have committed to join our house-share!! plus with the addition of the German boy, God sweeps in and answered three of my prayers in one move (male, international and 4th person!... God be clever like that!). 

Steve and I went to B&Q a few days ago because we also have been allowed to choose COLOURS to paint into the house. I know to most of you this wont be that big of a thing, but for me, as we were gettting the paint I was thinking of that bible verse "Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world!".... Did you feel that... the shiver!? HA well I did... I am getting so excited to keep being the light... to show people the God-colors he painted them in and how beautiful this worls is when seen in His light!

Woah! Super Spiritual!

Taking it back to normals-ville, Steve and I have just bought tennis rackets at a bootsale and we went and played for the first time and really enjoyed it. we are hoping to get into it more! we even went and looked into joining a tennis club, but i don't think we are posh enough. :)

Steve also has been saying his poetry here and there at local gigs and festivals and we are hoping that he will publish one of his poems in a book before the end of this year. He starts school on Tuesday... so back to working world for him.

Plus we have been having lots of BBQs and our favourites are with our roomie Tracy and her family! 

I am most looking forward to throwing a housewarming party that rocks the freaking block, have a killer halloween gathering, enjoying a scrummy Thanxgiving with my brother who is going to visit from America AND having the most fabulous 30th Prom Themed Birthday Party in early December (keep posted for more on that!).

Just wanted to flag up this really great moment in life. The last day of August and in my mind summer... and just say I am so ready for this Autumn, this epic summer was just a taster of how things are going to go this next year. So LET THE GAMES BEGIN! :)