Esther
Rachel Bateman
The highlight of 2002 was of course the arrival of Bateman number 3.
Esther turned up on the 6th June, the only one of the three
to arrive late and weighed 7lb 11oz. She
kept us waiting for 8 days but in the end came very quickly, a mere 11 minutes
after arriving at the maternity
ward
. I think this was
cutting
it a bit tight; maybe we’ll have the next one at home!!!
Esther is very happy with lots of laughs and smiles and she loves watching the
other two play.
Photo:
1
Esther Rachel Bateman
Holidays
This year saw our first holiday for us as a family of 5 – we thought we
might need a trailer to pack all our things but in the end it all fitted into
the car somewhere, except the pushchair
which
we left behind in favor of the baby carrier.
All packed up we headed for Harwich where we took an overnight DFDS
ferry to
Esbjerg
in
Denmark
. We spent a week in a holiday
cottage on the
island
of
Funen
followed by one night in a hotel and finally a night on the return boat.
While in
Denmark
we visited
Copenhagen
where the children had a great time in the science museum.
Joshua managed to set a record on the measuring scale they had for
shouting!
Photo:
2
Joshua at the
Science
Museum
We
visited a fishery museum where the sealarium was the main attraction.
We spent a whole
day
in Egeskov, a wonderful castle with several mazes, a tree top walk and
collections of motor vehicles amongst other things. We also visited
‘Koldinghus’ (a modernised castle), the Carlsberg Visitor Centre and took
a boat trip out to the
island
of
Lyo
where we did some walking.
Photo:
3
Egeskov Castle
Church
We are still
going along to the group of village churches near our home.
Our Sunday school, called Secret Agents, continues; we have a small but
regular group of children. Marcus
has also started running a few of the services at
Wanborough
church
. Worship leading isn’t his
strongest point so he has been introducing the
church
to a few ‘modern’ bits of equipment like CD player, video player, laptop
and projector. I think some of the
congregation prefer their more ‘traditional’ approach but others of us
enjoy the change of format.
Work
No change here,
we both still work for Barclays although Joy is currently on maternity leave
and thoroughly enjoying herself. She
plans to return in the spring, again part‑time.
Following a re-structure we now both work within the same area of
Barclays and when Joy returns to work we will be sitting about 10 feet from
each other in the London office!
Abigail’s
News
I’m the BIG
sister now, not the baby anymore
which
is really great. I was 4 in March
and in September I started school, just mornings at the moment, but I’m
looking forward to staying all
day
after Christmas. I still do my
swimming lessons and I also go to Musicland
which
I really like. When I’m bigger I want to play the violin
– just like Joshua, but for now
I will make do with the drum I had from a visit to Father Christmas this year
– Mum & Dad were REALLY pleased I chose the drum, can’t see why they
don’t love it like I do?.
Joshua’s
News
Hi,
I was 8 in the summer and I’ve just started in year 4 at school.
I moved up‑to cubs in September
which
is ‘cool’ as we do things like ‘wide’ games and making dens and we
went ten‑pin‑bowling last week.
I am also learning the violin at school
which
is also ‘cool’; I might take it with me at Christmas and show everyone how
‘WELL’ I play!!!! Had a bit of
a disappointment in June when Dad announced ‘You’ve got another sister’,
‘You’re joking!’ I said; that was not what I’d asked for.
Anyway, it’s fine now and it’s really cool playing with her and
trying to make her laugh.
Photo:
4
Children and Marcus's granddad
Late
News
Marcus took his
International Cash Management exams in October and we found out today that
he’s passed.
Marcus, Joy,
Joshua, Abigail & Esther
Bateman
Christmas