Almost Christmas

Mummy finished work on Friday, everyone at work is very excited about meeting you and has given mummy lots of presents for you. Tomorrow mummy and daddy will be travelling down to Bournemouth to see all your family there.. your Nan and Grandpi, Great Nan and Bampa, Uncle Steve and Uncle Matt, Auntie Wendy and Uncle Royce, Auntie Katie and Uncle Alan, and your cousins Amber, Leah and another baby bump. Hopefully we'll get to stop off at the Temple on the way up to York to see more of your family that love you already - you are so loved. We'll see your Grandma and Grandad, Uncle Joe, Auntie Hannah, Uncle Ben, Auntie Jan, cousin Sally as well as Great Grandma Widdowson, Great Grandad Widdowson and Great Grandma Munzer, oh and Auntie Jean and Uncle Randy. Wow! That's a lot of people! and there's more family too.. you just wait.

We are so excited to see you. Daddy really can't wait. I keep telling him not to get too excited because although you could conme early you might also be late (your due 24th January). Daddy was being silly this morning.. he said he might go and register your name as Felix, even though I say that its a cat food name.. I don't think he will really though.. hopefully you'll like whichever name we choose for you. We are thinking really hard, we want it to be special.

We love you baby! xxx

In my tummy!

Hey Baby! Just thought I'd write you a little note. You seem to be moving around a lot at the moment. Sometimes we even get to see you move! Daddy likes to know when you're moving around too, so that he can feel you. We love you so much! The other day I found out more about the day you come into the world. Mummy is a little worried about how all that will go, but with Daddy there all will be OK, and we are so excited to see your beautiful face. Love you loads! Mummy xxx

Mummy loves you!

There's just over 4 months until you're due to come into this world. I'm so excited to see you. I want to hold you, and kiss you and see you looking back at me. It's hard to really comprehend that such a wonderful baby is growing inside of me. At times it's easier than others. Today you were moving around while the Sacrament was passed. I like to feel you moving around inside - it makes it more real to me. Daddy likes it too, it is great when he gets to feel you too. It seems that you like Daddy's warm hands holding my now very round tummy. You move more. Hopefully in the coming weeks you'll start kicking lots! Maybe we can then see you kicking and not just feel you. I just can't wait to hold you. I love you!

A Message from Daddy

It was so wonderful to see the first little pictures of you, as you seemed to look out at us, and kick your tiny arms and legs to say hello. I remember your mother and I laughing with joy as we saw that together, and realised again how lucky we were to get to be your parents.

Your wonderful mother has sometimes felt unwell, and often feels tired - but she is so happy to go through these things for you. This is because you are so special to us; our first child, the beginning of our family.

We both love you very much. We'll do everything we can to prepare, so when you come to us, we'll be able to give you everything you need to grow up healthy and happy.

One day you will be able to read this, and know just how much we loved you, even now, before we can hold you in our arms. Thank you, our sweet baby, for bringing us so much joy and love!

Temple and Family Fun

This last weekend we went off to London, and then around to Newbury. The events were, firstly, our Stake Temple Day, and secondly, the Family Fun day. Both were great experiences, and I enjoyed getting to know Helen's side of the family much better. All the kids were having a great time on the bouncy castle as soon as the rain had finished, and I got to chat to John, a nice guy with a recording studio and a love for the Beatles.

The temple is amazing - I only have to be sitting in there for a few moments, and I start to receive inspiration.

Us at the Temple Hosted on Zooomr

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

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Originally uploaded by Munzerr.

It was really nice to be able to call our Dad's this afternoon, and have a little chat with them. I'm so proud of my Dad - he's such a huge inspiration in my life, in general. It's been really good recently to have been able to chat with him and discuss his book that he's been writing and editing. I've never known someone with so many ideas, and so much motivation!

As I set goals for our family with Helen, I want to be able to be as faithful as he has always been. Thanks for taking time to chat with me, Dad! It really means a lot.

Our New Allotment

I wish we had a camera! All we could do yesterday to record how messy our new allotment was to video it a bit. But believe me, it's in a right state - but that's the idea, right? Helen was off work again, so she came with me, and I did a bit of digging, turning over big clumps of the hard, clay earth.
Some of the other allotments are beautiful, though. I felt really inspired to make ours into something beautiful and productive. We want to plant flowers and some veg. Some of the other plots have chickens, but I don't think we'll be down every day to acommodate that kind of diversity.
Today I'm going to try to chop down a good proportion of weeds, so we can cover some earth in black plastic until we're ready to use it. Any tips are gratefully received! Here we go!

Helen Blogs

OK.. so it's been a long time since I blogged, and I don't think I have once on our family blog.. but, well.. Andrew is just sooo much better at it than me.

Today our Dyson arrived.. yay! Thanks to our good friend George... and I've read the manual, put it all together and even had a quick vacuum around.. but now I just want Andrew to be home. He is off filming in Weston-Super-Mare all day today, and we're not sure quite what time he will be back.. I might go and see how much of the jigsaw I can get done before he comes home to keep me busy.

An Afternoon With My Dream Girl

Helen Sits
Originally uploaded by Munzerr.

This afternoon Helen and I didn't go out - we just stayed in - did jigsaws, ate ham sandwiches, and enjoyed the sun streaming in through the windows into our beautiful little flat. You know, I can't think of anything in the world I'd rather do.
I'm so blessed to have so much that I can love in my life. Helen and I beginning in our little home together is the best thing that's ever happened to me.
Tomorrow is work, and I'm going to be an extra in an Elizabethan battle scene - how cool is that?!

Nieces are Over!

I honestly thought it would be much more difficult than this! The three little angels were so good, and by the time we had finished watching our film, they settled right down, we said a prayer, and they fell asleep. It's the first time we've had them over to stay, so we thought they might make a bit of a fuss - but if they're like this, then wow! We'll have them over anyway, as often as Linda and Richard want to let us have them. Tomorrow they are going to the temple, so it gives them a good opportunity to do that as a couple.

Kids are so wonderful. I'm amazed at how they make me feel - they take away feelings of selfishness and self-interest, and make me just so grateful for the beauty of life! We play and laugh, and I forget anything I might have been worrying about before. It's probably a bit different when they are your own kids and you worry about them more, but I really feel ready for that.

Tomorrow, we told them, they'll need to have their energy, because we're going on an adventure. We might end up at Blaise Castle again, for a bit of a walk. Ain't life great?

A Whole Lotta Love

A Whole Lotta Love
Originally uploaded by Munzerr.

Tonight Helen and I had the missionaries over for dinner, with their investigator Dave - he's a funny guy. As for the photo above, no, these are not our current Elders.
Believe it or not, they are both now returned missionaries, and married. The one on the right is my dear friend Adam Little. What can I say? The things some missionaries do to make a photo interesting.
Seriously though, I'm really excited about having our missionaries come over for dinner regularly. It's a great way to bring the Spirit into our home. I love being able to bear my testimony to investigators, and share with them the feeling I have about the truthfulness of the mission of the Saviour, and His prophet Joseph Smith.
We did a nice meal - lasagne this time - then did the dishes. Helen hasn't been feeling very well the last few days. Happily, she seemed a little better tonight. I love her so much!

(I'm also hoping she'll blog here soon, too!)

Munzers Are All Over!

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Originally uploaded by Munzerr.

Today was really fun! As a day out with the Munzers from York, we enjoyed the Bank Holiday, firstly by walking around the Blaise Castle estate. That place is amazing - and our walk co-ordinated perfectly with the rain not falling on us! Then we came home, had some lunch, and watched 'The Sound of Music' on TV, remembering all the places we saw on our honeymoon in Salzberg. Inspired by that, Helen and I showed Mum some of our wedding and honeymoon videos, and then we went out for the evening to the Clifton Suspension Bridge, and the little walk around there. As you can see in the photo above, Dad had a good time on the play equipment there!
Truly, there's so much to see in Bristol. And it was nice to spend a bit of time just enjoying it, and not worrying about getting loads of jobs done, for a change. Bless her heart, mother couldn't stop helping out though - she did the dishes twice, and helped with both the meals.
In the evening we had Family Home Evening together - songs, a lesson about taking upon ourselves the Saviour's name, and a game.
I love my family!

Our cute nieces!

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Originally uploaded by Munzerr.

These are our three cute nieces that we had over last night. This was from last bank holiday monday, when we went to a castle in wales with James and Lorna, our friends, too.

From left to right, Naomi, Liesl, and Emily! We love em!

Having the Family Over

One thing I really like about having our own little flat is that we can have guests over. Last night we had Linda (Helen's sister) and our three cute little nieces. They came to church with us, then we could make them a bit of a pasta meal, and play some games before they went on their way.

Then we had our friend Alex Tovey over, and got to hang out with him for a while. Then an afternoon nap of course - it's Sunday!

Finally, my family - Mum, Dad and Ben - came down for a couple of days! So we got the bed settee out again, and they're all sleeping in the other room. It's such a good feeling to have our little home full of people we care about, that we can feed and enjoy company with.

As an extra bit of news for the day, we got a call from Sam Crewe today, to announce that he and his longtime girlfriend Ceriss Conisby are engaged to be married! Their big day will be in December. As I told him on the phone, it couldn't be two nicer people - we love them both, and are well excited for them.

The Funeral of Christopher Henry West

We just came back from Uncle Chris's funeral, in Cornwall. We travelled there with Elaine, my aunty, and Grandma Munzer - and what a sweet memorial it was. Chris was such a kind and gentle man, and the tributes paid to him were all so sincere and heartfelt. I felt a wonderful sense of family unity as I saw Chris's relatives, who are related to me, being so thoughtful, as is obviously in their nature to be so.

Funerals always make me think about my own life, and what I can do to be better. It might seem like a bit of strange idea, but for that reason, I find funerals quite inspirational. Chris's funeral was one of thanksgiving - he had lived a life of 91 happy years. I hope my own (one day) will be the same way.

Life is still cushdie! I recommend marrying someone as wonderful as Helen (if such a person exists in the single world now!)

An Exciting Week Ahead

Amazing how things happen at once! Last week was the last week of Early Morning Seminary, the last week of University term time, and Tuesday will be my last shift at Borders. Along with that, I gave a talk at Stake Conference on Saturday night - so now I feel like all the burdens of my life have been lifted off my shoulders!

Today has been a blissful day of relaxation and uplifting Stake Conference. I'm amazed how Conference sessions seem to line up with important chapters in my life. For example -

General Conference, October 2002. I am preparing to go to Oregon, during my 3 weeks in the MTC.

General Conference, October 2004. This is the day I return home from my mission. I'm very jet lagged.

Stake Conference, Bristol. May 2005. This is the day I first meet Helen.

Stake Conference, Bristol. November 2005. This is the week I propose to Helen.

Stake Conference, Bristol. May 2006. The last week of seminary, work and Uni. I start to think about what I'm going to do to earn money during the rest of University life.


It's a very exciting time. Helen and I are really enjoying being married, and still getting to spend lots of time with our friends. We were over at our friends Sam and Ceris's house today, for a lovely roast. The plan is that we'll have the missionaries over later in the week. We have a goal to deep fat fry less things!

Our First Dinner With Guests!

Well, this may seem a little bit domestic and cheesy to some of my audience, but I'm really excited about cooking Chili Con Carne for the missionaries and another couple tonight. I'm going to Ikea to buy some placemats this morning, and we're going to make it really nice.
Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not much of a cook, but having been given lots of lovely utensils and appliances, I think the time has come for me to step up to the plate. (ha ha ha...)
So here we go - cooking adventure extraordinaire, tonight!

Our Family Blog

It's a new family - the new Family Munzer! We've been married three whole weeks and one day now!

Woah!

Hooray!

Life is wonderful. I can't believe how good being married to Helen is. She's just the perfect woman to have as a wife. I'm glad I found her before anyone else did!

Phew!

So we're going to have a blog, because both Helen and I like blogging. To start with here's links to our photos for our wedding....

http://www.flickr.com/groups/ouraprilwedding/pool

And a photo of us! More later.