Michelle Tant

Just recently I have been so busy you would not believe it. Between the course, my family, church and work there has literally been no time to think. This has been a bit frustrating because despite all those things, I really want to do more! I am missions secretary for my church and before midwifery I was able to be very involved in fundraising and I loved trying to motivate the church into giving to our projects. It was very satisfying but now I do feel like I am letting them down a bit by not being so active. Thankfully others have stepped forward, things change and I do believe God fills the gaps which is liberating! It does leave me with the question of usefulness and ministry though. As a Christian I am 'called' to love and serve God and to do it to the best of my ability and with all my heart, soul and strength. This motivates me to do my best in all parts of my life but  I have to say I wondered briefly if going into midwifery was me being a bit self indulgent. I was d...

In January 2010, a massive shattering earthquake hit Haiti with the epicentre in the capital of Port au Prince. In Haiti now there are an estimated 1.2million orphans. Entire communities were destroyed in the space in seconds and families devastated forever. In my church we have a couple who are involved with the charity Direction for Life, him as a Police Chaplain and they responded to the disaster by going out there with a team and making contacts, channeling aid and welfare to the people needing it most. They now have a vision to create a community for some of the orphans.10 x 3 bedroom houses with 'house parents' to become family to children. School as well. These things cost money and so I've been thinking how to raise a bit of cash. Kev and I haven't been able to travel for some time now. I know some people travel all the time with their kids, it just hasn't happened for us. Anyway, we've done a fair amount of travel in the past and we've a...

Today I watched history as our nations favourite Prince got married to the lovely Kate Middleton. I wish them health and happiness in their marriage, they seem very sweet. I'd say that Brits in the main have been very happy to see this wedding, not least because there's the general feeling that we've had quite a bit of bad news on a world scale lately. It seems the world loves our Monarchy so it felt like a world event. Here in the UK people have been celebrating, apparently there was 5500 applications for street parties for today and our (choke) Prime Minister said to celebrate and don't worry about the red tape so presumably there were many more. We watched the wedding at home then had a BBQ with friends to celebrate. My kids dressed as Princes and a Princess, hence my picture today. Congratulations William and Kate. Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.9

In a few days I will be thinking about what to pin down as my new years resolutions. Never mind that every year they invariably fall by the wayside mid February (cough... January) but I like to remain optimistic and make them anyway. Starts the year off with an excellent sense of purpose I always feel. However today, we are in the middle of what is known to some as Crimbo Limbo. That awkward space between Christmas and New Year. No one really knows what to do with themselves, the kids are going nuts because nowhere is open for us crazed parents to take them and I can't (read 'wouldn't inflict on myself willingly) take the children shopping with me to bag me some bargains in the sales. So now seems as good a time as any to reflect on the past year. There's been some highs and lows as with any year. A big high goes to giving birth to my beautiful baby daughter on 1st June. Unexpectedly at home and what an amazing experience. And what a delightful child, so sunny ...

Naturally for starters there's my 3 heart wrenchingly precious children and wonderful husband but sometimes it helps me to remember that I like things, and that those things make me happy. Some of them are fairly standard and I would defy any warm blooded woman to say the first one doesn't ring a bell. -chocolate -being warm -savoury and sweet together like cheese and grapes -people who wear their hearts in their sleeves -rainbows -freshly changed bed linen -my animals -driving big cars -driving my 1967 VW Beetle -hugs -where the light refracts and makes speckly pattern on the floor/walls, we call them fairies here hmmm, well as I'm falling asleep in my phone I suspect now im not really fit for anything but sleeibgImm. I shall continue this tomorrow! Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.9

I have so much to be thankful for. My loving husband, 3 beautiful crazy children, a family that cares for me, a roof over my head and beliefs, activities, interests and hobbies that fulfil me. I've travelled quite a bit and in 2002 spent some time in Belo Hotizante, Brazil. Kev and I did some street work, taking food and other stuff to dome families living under the arches of a bridge. We met a woman living there and she wasn't well. Her floor was mud, her walls were packing crates. We knocked on her door and spent some time with her. We asked her if there was anything else we could do for her to help. She replied "I might not have much that you can see, but I've got a big heart and that's all that matters". This lady was a mother and grandmother. Her 'under bridge' community doted on her. She loved and was certain of their love. She was the most thankful woman I've ever met and I still feel humbled now thinking about her. I'm thankfu...

I looked on BBC news website today for inspiration to blog. The two headlines this evening are the North and South Korea conflict and the Will and Kate marriage plans. One of them scares me half to death and the other gives me a warm fuzzy feeling and it didn't take a genius to work out which. One of them causes me to worry about a future tainted by nuclear arms. The other causes me to think about a young happy couple embarking on their future together. I did actually start to write about how I feel about the Korea situation but it degenerated fairly quickly into morbid speculation which to be honest is not my usual style and so is a bit indicative of my feelings on the subject. Perhaps I need to leave that where it is for the time being. I feel quite positive about the upcoming Royal nuptials. Friday 29th April 2011. Apparently the nation gets an extra bank holiday, though when I mentioned going to London that day, hubby looked at me like I'd just spontaneously gr...

I've long been a bit of a Royalist. I love Englands Royal family. For all that they are supposed to be the upper of the upper class, I think that on the inside they are just a family like the rest of us. Trials and tribulations to rival a few soap operas but that's life isn't it. Unfortunately Prince William has had a more dramatic upbringing than most. Who doesn't remember where they were when the news broke of Princess Dianas death...? He and his brother lost their mother and they essentially had to grieve in the public domain. In lots of ways Prince William has had a bizarre life but somehow he's managed to turn out a seemingly nice well adjusted man. I'm happy (in a kind of abstract 'oooh, love the Royals' happy) for Prince William and his lovely Kate. By all accounts she's a very down to earth person. Let's face it though, they already have a better chance of a successful marriage than Charles and Di seeing as there's no-one...