Out, about and away      Looking back, our year has been punctuated by a surprisingly high number of jaunts away from home giving much appreciated respite from the ridiculously hectic, and occasionally impossible, schedule we have, especially  during term time. The idea of human cloning is deeply worrying and scarey but, I have to say that there have been many times this year when I found myself wishing that it was a reality so I that  could, indeed, be in several places at once. Most of our trips have been mentioned on other pages so I will focus on the very special one that saw me joining my two UK based sisters in the Rose and Crown, a delightful country pub on the border of Staffordshire and Derbyshire for a wonderful overnight get together and ramble in the Peaks. We had talked about doing something like this for...well, a long time, so it must go down as one of my major achievements in 2009.

Room with a view    Part of the justification for moving to our current house, in addition to reducing the number of arguments caused by noise pollution, was to be able to offer guests a bed more easily. Having singularly failed to do this as often as we had hoped in our first five years of being here, it was wonderful to be able to give Ben, our newly appointed church youthworker, a roof over his head for his first six months in the job. He fitted into our chaotic household seamlessly, showing us new depths of clutter and messiness that can be achieved - a notable achievement in the Griffiths' abode. He was missed by all when he moved to his permanent accommodation in July.

Life with a view   There have been a number of happenings, milestones and end of eras  to cast into sharper focus this middle age that I find myself experiencing (apart from needing glasses for reading AND driving, stiffening joints and the offer of a hearing aid should I wish to take it up...which I don't).  I'm no longer a primary school mum, ending a twelve year era. John's gall bladder suddenly came to the end of its life and had to be removed at short notice (now that was an interesting week where cloning would have been handy). My aunt came to the end of her life this side of death and, with no other family, the sorting of her flat and belongings fell to the Butlin clan, a poignant task making me wish I had known her better. A new era dawns with Andrew applying to uni - hard to believe and suddenly makes the season for raising children feel worryingly short. All three are a source of great joy and it's a real privilege to watch them moving towards adulthood with unique style. The wedding of John's sister, Bronwen to Colin was very special, not least because it demonstrated that life doesn't stop at 50 and that our children scrub up beautifully when required.

God with a view   I find myself thinking that the nurturing of love, faith and hope would be so much easier  if it wasn't for the church. Why is it that people who profess to follow the way of Jesus get it so wrong, so many times (myself included)? Suffice to say that I am struggling with church and, combined with a life that, whilst fun, enriching and fulflling, leaves little breathing space, I am struggling to see God clearly. I take heart and encouragement from the honesty and wisdom of fellow travellers including my YHA walking mates, my old school buddy, Nancy, the likes of John O'Donoghue, Adrian Plass and John Bell, and last but by no means least, my soulmate, John, whose extraordinary maverick creative spirit is a constant source of inspiration as well as irritation!

May this Christmas and 2010 be, for us all, a soul enriching time.

With much love, Karen xx