And then we told the kids...

Parenting is a big deal. There's a tightrope of getting it right and completely stuffing it up that parents walk every day. This can be something like cutting your 6 year old's sandwiches into triangles as opposed to squares or telling your children that you will be uprooting them from everything they are familiar with to go and live in a different part of the country...

We had no idea when to involve Esther, Eli and Jemimah. We almost told them when we were browsing through houses we couldn't afford on Rightmove and then we bottled it. We almost told them a number of times but then over thought it and didn't. It was really hard to know when the 'right time' was. And then we had that letter through the door. And to be honest, it really helped to force the issue. We really had no choice but to tell the kids our plans.

So, just before Easter this year, we told them. Initially we were planning to sit them down together and chat, but we decided against it. And that was definitely a good move. We know our kids and we know what they cope well with and what they don't. Our 12 year old, Esther finds it hard to process emotion in a group setting, even with family, so we decided to tell her a day ahead of the other two, on her own. This also helped her to feel like she was finding out first.

It helped so much to have a story to tell. We went through the whole story from start to where things were up to with her - we had asked her to save her questions until the end! And she had a lot. Understandably. She was upset at the idea of leaving her friends, her school, and all of her familiar routines here. But she couldn't dispute how God had spoken to us. We spent 2 hours (yes, that's right...2 hours!) chatting it through with her and then we prayed together at the end. She had said that she was about 5% excited about moving to London, but her prayer was so mature and so beautiful. She had a picture of God blowing the obstacles out of the way on the path - referring to the crossroads picture we had been given.

One down!

And so the next night I told Jemimah. She is 6. The conversation went something like this;

Mum: Jemimah, can we have a little chat? I've got something important that I need to tell you.

Jemimah: Ok

Mum: Well, you know how we've been talking a bit about moving house? Daddy and I feel that God is telling us to move to London.

Jemimah: Oh, thank you Mummy, you kept your promise

Mum: (no idea what she is referring to) Errr yep

Jemimah: Is Yoda (our cat) coming too?

Mum: Yes

Jemimah: And my new wardrobe?

Mum: Yes

Jemimah: And all our DVDs?

Mum: Yes

Jemimah: And will I have to go to a new school?

Mum: Yes

Jemimah: Ohhh that will be embarrassing! Are we moving to London forever?

Mum: Yes Jemimah, until you are a grown up

Jemimah: I'm going to stay there when I'm a grown up too. Can I have a hot chocolate now?

And that was that! Two down.

We then went through the whole story with Eli by himself and he was absolutely blown away by the story. He couldn't believe all of the ways that God had spoken to us and was also amazed at how his dream fitted into the story too. He was so positive and enthusiastic...

...and then it hit him. He would be leaving his friends, his football team. And then he cried. A lot. And we understood. Esther then came home from Guides and was such a brilliant big sister - she told him how she felt, which endorsed his feelings and then tried to encourage him by reminding him about all of the potential footballing opportunities there would be in London! And then Tim and I prayed with Esther and Eli.

We were now a family on an adventure together. It was such a relief to have told them!

Next blog post: Friends