Daddy's Girl

What do you think to this then? Have to say these were taken towards the beginning of what turn out to be a very long process - one that unsurprisingly Beth tired of more quickly than Will (or I!)


I guess if we were really clever we would be able to upload the result (Will are you reading this - there must be some software at DPM that can 'covert it' from good old cassette)


Thinking we won't Blog before Christmas so hope you have a fab time - especially all of you with new little people (and believe me there are hundreds of you....you can rest in the knowledge that when you are up at a crazy time in the night, feeding - again, loads of other devoted mums (and dads??) are there with you!) Congrats to you and all your beautiful Little people!
(Does that makes sense to anyone other there??)

Christmas Comes Early

Thought you might like this - really is an early Christmas for the bear, although as she tells everyone - "I don't have them cooked" yep that’s right another Makower delicacy

Long time no speak?

Well doesn't that always happen after saying I had too much free time things have just piled up ... must be Christmas or something! Not sure I actually have any exciting news from all the busy-ness though, just a few more pics for your perusal!! Enjoy :-)

Will's all new myspace artist page!

To check out Will's all new myspace artist page, go to this link:



Check me out!

Blogging Disease

I'm addicted - either that or I have too much free time!!

So far I have survived my first full week of being alone (although still got tomorrow to go!) Actually thinking I have planned too much in . . . no surprise there then, but at least I can admit it! Haven't quite managed to do the shopping . . . normally get milk etc today, but due to heavy rain drove to toddler group and due to huge, new, 'family' car decided I couldn’t risk parking in mini Tesco's car park!!

Thought I'd add another picture to the ever-increasing set - I think I'd like to call it 'The Perfect Children'. Don’t they look peaceful.

Pure Cheese

Thought you might like the latest snaps - can't quite believe the gorgeous people are my family!

All doing ok - getting a bit more used to each other, but also discovering Tom's little foibles - like 3 hour screaming sessions - luckily during the daytime! (You wouldn't think it from the picture would you!)

'Family Time'

Absolutely loving this 'family time' we have been given. Not sure what makes it so different from time off together we have previously had, but it is so unlike weeks we have had before (maybe because there are 4 of us now??!!). Don't know just seems really chilled and a time to catch up and enjoy each other’s company. Obviously the fact that I get to lay in until 9:00/10:00 (although in my defence I am up 1 out of every 3 hours in the night) and the wonderful people from PVC (see www.pottonvineyard.org.uk) who are doing our dinner every night, as well as loads of support from family and friends .... helps. Guess I am just in a really sentimental mood - the calm before the storm of Will going back to work next week - but it is fab and I feel like one of the 'most blessed' people around right now.

Progress Report

Doing good! Obviously fairly sleep deprived, but still feel 100% better than I did while I was pregnant. Also can't quite believe he is here - a bit like with Beth can't get my head round the fact that just a few days ago he was my bump and now he's on the loose!! He's pretty good all in all, feeding well and very gorgeous!

Beth is doing really well, making an excellent big sister - very concerned and helpful. Loving Thomas and Will, but a bit hacked of with me it seems! No bedtime hugs and kisses for mum at the moment.

Thomas photos

See also http://ntlworld.photobox.co.uk/album/4283711

Baby Newsflash...

The headlines in Makower baby world are as follows…

· It's a boy!
· He's called Thomas
· He was born at 1.23 a.m. this very morning (Tuesday 17th October 2006)
· He weighed in at 8 pounds and 5 ounces
· Mum and baby are still recovering from the whole ordeal but doing okay!
· They should both be able to come home this afternoon, once they've been in 12 hours to rule out infection (the waters broke at 6 a.m. Monday morning, quite a long time before he made his appearance, hence the risk of infection)
· Without going into gory details, the early phase of labour seemed to last a lifetime (!), but the most intensive ‘pushing’ phase started whilst Ema was having a bath.
· The midwives and staff just about managed to get her out of the bath and get the baby delivered on the bathroom floor. This phase was excruciating and horrible to have to watch her endure, so heaven (and all the mothers out there!) only knows what it was like to be Ema at this point?!

For photos of baby Thomas and a first hand account of the roller coaster ride from the brave mum herself, watch this space!!!

Perfect Sister

Thought you might like this pic of Beth being the perfect sister .... safety checking all the bits for the baby!

12 Days To Go!

Well now counting the days (like I haven't been for ages!!) Was thinking I'd like it all over and done with, but after spending Friday morning at the hospital all the memories of Beth being born flooded back, so I am now much more content to wait until d'day.

Thought you'd like to feel thin by viewing my gorgeous physique! (is the belly too much??!!)

worshipcentral

Saturday was one truly awesome day spent at worshipcentral, a new school of worship to train and equip worship leaders, musicians and worshippers. Led by Tim Hughes, worshipcentral is based at Holy Trinity Brompton and run in partnership with Soul Survivor.

It worked really well on a few different levels. Just the worship times themselves were full-on, passionate, spacious and vibrant. The ministry times were profound and powerful. The talks and seminars were thought provoking. The chance for the group of us that went to hang out and get to know each other better (particularly during the extended meal breaks) was great. The opportunity to re-connect with others across the worship music scene was really encouraging.

I think the vision for it is amazing and the whole dynamic of having a gathering of worshipping community is incredibly powerful and something God loves and shines on I think. It feels like God's doing a new thing across all the divides of denomination, movements etc and it's really exciting and a priviledge to be a part of it all.

The atmosphere of 850 worshipper's hearts all joining as one in praise to God was just electric and so totally Spirit-filled. It felt like home and a place where you could really be free and God could 'take the shackles off your feet so you could dance'! I absolutely loved it and so did the 6 others from the Potton Vineyard Church music worship team that i brought along. We all came home buzzing, all fired up, inspired, challenged and motivated afresh.

Check out http://worshipcentral.org.uk/

Phototastic

Finally got round to getting the afore mentioned pictures.

The prestigious (or should that be pretentious??!!) Potton show took place the weekend of the 9th/10th September. The ever diligent people of Potton (and surrounding villages) competing in the various classes and categories from heaviest onion, to most pointed carrot, most delicious rock cakes (men only), to best animal made from fruit and veg . . . and the list continued (150 classes in all!!). The entrance fee was a steep 20p per item, but we pushed all thought of our dwindling bank balance aside and I entered 4 of the photographic classes and Beth 2 of the Under 5 categories.



Well what a result... I got third for my sunset photo (50p prize money!) and Beth not only first place in 'picture any subject/any media' (£1 prize!) but also 'Outstanding Exhibit' out of all the Under 5 classes - we were well proud!!



Beth really had no idea what was going on and wouldn’t even collect her ‘cup’….. the reality sunk in when we used her winnings to purchase a BigCookLittleCook DVD – oh yes now all we hear about is her (watching) her prize!

Likin' This

Nicked this from an acquaintance’s blog - the ideal in camera phone!! Really appealed to the texter in me!



Will says I need to put up more pics, and I will, just need to remember to actually get them!!

Scary

Have reached that stage when everyday foods go out of date AFTER my due date – thus forcing my brain to imagine eating the cheese (as it was in this case) after the baby has been born!!! Help we have another small person on the way!!!

You know me don't really like to deal with stuff until it happens - or afterwards in many cases!

Pyramids, Grease and General Madness!

Well we seem to have finally hit the ground after a mad and hectic few weeks.

Holiday club last week - that'll be the Pyramid bit of the title. Pyramid Rock and we did. All a bit crazy with me the big, fat, pregnant one heading it from the front - must say I did rather savoured napping with Beth when we got home! Really enjoyed it - despite it being mad and a bit disorganised, for me was overwhelmed by the number of helpers (some from PVC and others simply bonkers!) at least 55 over the week (most doing every day) not a bad ratio to our 105 kids!! Will add some pics when I remember to get them!


Then the renowned Party on Potton biannual extravaganza, a four day event with various evening entertainment - Grease Night, Big Band, Family Disco and the stupidly popular Stars in their Eyes (Potton Style!), plus family stuff going on in the day including the Carnival, Potton Olympics, dog show (with my favourite category being 'most treats eaten - dog and owner') etc, etc. Needless to say we had a fab time - proper family stuff and to top it all off our float won first prise in the Carnival!

Ema's Fav Websites

Been looking around at others folks blogs' (well that is the point surely!!) and am stuck by how much they write, where as we just do pics it seems (must be confirmation of my visual learning/need for visual imagaing to do/remember anything and how I have drummed it into Will over the past 7 years!!) Anyway thought it would be a good place to post some of my favourite websites at present (I know you can do this as snazzy links but this just seems easier somehow !!)



Loving this site - fair trade, recycle and from the Philippines (memories of summer 2002) web address www.doybags.com



And this is fab too www.cardsfromafrica.com
Both shopping, but hey, well spent cash in my humble opinion.

Just caught up with Will's whistle stop tour of our life - phew!!
Thought you might like this Judith . . . and after all we all look so drop dead gorgeous!! Seems like ages ago - scary stuff

Special request for Beth monkey photo!!

Catch up! The Makower headlines 1999-2006

A new model of discipleship/leadership training
Grounded in reality by working part-time
Providing experiential learning
With a heart for their community and the world

Hello blogworld!

Just thought you might like to see the Makower headlines (as told from the Will perspective, by no means comprehensive) to fill in some blanks where applicable:

August 1999: Will & Ema tie the knot

September 1999: Ema starts her first teaching job at Barnabas Oley Primary School (http://www.barnabasoley.cambs.sch.uk/)

August 2001: Our first New Wine a crucial one as Will goes to seminar by Mal Calladine doing a case study of St Tom's, which plants a seed...Mission trip to Ecuador ends up with Ema wanting to move to South America!...Will's band 'Makower' call it a day after 3 years of nearly but not quites and much soul searching

December 2001: Will's worship CD 'Spirit Flow' produced in association with Listen-in Ltd (http://www.listen-in.com) gets finished

August 2002: Ema's mad emigration plans kept in check by her Phillipines mission trip...God's 'compromise deal' on mission involves moving to Sheffield to do the course formerly known as 'Tribal Training' at St Tom's (now known as 'Form')...a rare moment of Will and Ema hearts and minds in total unison!

August 2003: Next big leap into the great unknown involves rooting ourselves into Potton Vineyard Church in Bedfordshire, and, after some tricky transition time, actually moving to Potton itself in December of the same year!

January 2004: Will starts to get involved in the music worship team at PVC

March 2004: Will starts at Derek Prince Ministries (http://www.dpmuk.org) in what would turn out to be his longest stint to date in a 'proper' job!

April 2004: Ema goes on maternity leave

May 2004: Bethan Abbie Makower bursts into the world, and the world's still recovering!

July 2004: Jim & LIz Burke come full circle - Having become christians through the work of the church, they now take up the challenge of pastoring it...Pete and Carol Crouch (the founders of PVC) move on to plant another church in Ipswich

October 2004: Ema returns to work and Beth starts at nursery 3 days a week

November 2004: Beth gets dedicated

July 2005: Will & Ema get asked to join 'GNR8', the pastors' steering group

September 2005: Will & Ema start a house group called 'Acts 2' along with another couple at PVC, with the vision to aim for shared lives a la Acts 2!

January 2006: The Makowers discover there's another family addition the way, due 21st October!

And that's the edited highlights so far...as for the future watch this space!

Thought some of you might fancy being reminded of days gone by - check out our homepage http://homepage.ntlworld.com/themakowers/index.htm for some reason I can no longer access it - hence it being a bit of a time capsule.

Finally... managed to sort it!! Actually very easy when the computer is playing!

Did look for one of all three of us (*), but alas to no avail.

* Yes to those of you who don't know I am looking rather large in the picture - baby number 2 due 21st October. Don't know wherether it's a boy or girl, just hoping it is a bit more laid back than hyper, bonkers mad (but fantastic) Beth!

PS can anybody guess the exotic location of Beth's picture??

After being very sceptical of this whole thing - after all who would want to read all about our 'interesting life', I spent a good hour (or more!) reading everybody else's (that we've even met in our lives ever!) and it was jolly interesting :-) I have to say the whole picture thing appeals to me the most - being a visual person, so hopefully I'll sort out how to add photos ASAP

(just realised spell check is in American - can I change this??)

(PS added photo sept time - needed it for our profile)