It's been a while

Hi folks

Well, I felt it was time I updated my blog but since I have no questions to answer I'll just have to tell you what's going on in the world of Tim.

Where to start.....alot has happened since I last blogged. Everton (they're the blues)are actually in the top half of the table, which hasn't happened for as long as I can remeber, I dressed as a woman (not for the first time I might add)for 4 3 nights on the run, I've turned 30 and wedding plans are moving along swiftly.

Can I say I was part of the cast of a Panto - Rumplestiltskin.com which I helped direct and produce just before Christmas. I was one of the gorgeous princesses.



Rachel bought me a fabulous presie for my 30th. I got to drive a Porsche Cayman and an Aston Martin Vantage round a very wet track which was great fun!!!! We went down to a racing circuit called Thruxton and stayed in a quaint little B&B in Thruxton village, it was fab.



Me and Rachel went down to London recently, we went round to Buckingham Place to see Liz, but she was either out or asleep. We also meet up with YWAMMERS Kate, Karen & Ralph. We shared a meal together and spent ages walking up & down Portobelo Road in Notting Hill trying to find the book shop and door from the film.

Well there is loads more I want to share with you guys, but it's getting late and I'm Shattered. I'll be back soon, keep those questions coming.

Tim

Well here I am again with lots of questions to answer. Thank you for all your comments and messages, it's great to know I'm not just gaining a wonderful, gorgeous, loving woman like Rachel, but I'm gaining a YWAM family too.

So here goes;

Firstly a brief explanation to those of you who dont know what I meant about being a BLUE. There are two major football clubs in Liverpool. Liverpool and Everton, Liverpool wear red kits, Everton wear blue kits. Liverpudlians would argue there's only one major club and Evertonians vice versa, you get the gist.

What do I think about missons and have I ever been on one?

I think missons are great and a vital part of our Christian ministry. Whether they are short or long term commitments they have a great effect on both those who go out on the misson field and those who recieve the missonaries. We have in our church (All Saints Childwall) a couple - Daniel & Elizabeth Moor - living in Papa New Guinea. They live and work with the people of a small village there. They share the Gospel with these people and they are currently working towards having the Bible translated into the native tongue of the village. There are also a number of my friends going on short missons this summer. Jonny is going to Africa with Soul Action, Jess is going to Thailand with Tearfund, her brother - Simon is also going away, but I'm not sure where or who he's with, he has been looking at different missons and Ywam was one of them. And Hannah is going to Nmibia with Oasis. I know they will grow spiritually, in confidence and stature whilst they are away, sharing in fellowship with others.
I myself have never actually been on a misson, although I did consider it. When I first became a Christian, I'd only recently finished Uni doing Design Communications (multimedia). It was then, someone mentioned to me about missonary work. I looked into joinning MEM (Middle-East Media), it certainly apealed to me and I set up a meeting with one of the people from MEM. It didnt go very well, there were certain issues at the time, I couldn't see a way around. Finance was a biggie, but also I felt like they were just going through the motions with me, almost as if I wasn't good enough to be considered, I'd only been a Christian for 7 months and for them it wasn't long enough. I guess they were just making sure I knew what to expect. They never came back to me and I didnt persue them.

If you don't mind I'll do the hobbies, fav sport 'n' what I do for fun (continued) in one go, as they're all kind of related.

In my own down time, like I said I do all kinds of things. I love to read, draw, muck about on my imac with photoshop, watch movies, listen to music and sing away (I cant sing at all and I tend to sing the same songs over and over). I absolutely lurve Disney's Jungle Book and at random moments start singing "Now am the king o' the swingers waoooo, the jungle VIP....." or "well it's a doob er di doo, I mean a dooby dooby dooby dooby doob er di doo..."
I also love drinking coffee (Rach tell me off for drinking too much of it) especially in Starbucks or Nero's. A coffee there with friends is fab.
Active fun? fun? Just kidding, I do like to do excercise, badminton, weights, rowing, etc. but I have noticed of late that standards are slipping. I'm content you see, that's what having an amazing girlfriend does to you, now she's my fiance there's no hope.
Sadly, I dont ski or snowboard (not much snow in Liverpool - expect 'snow in a can'). I have said to Rach though, I would like to learn, so we can go on skiing holidays together. I can only imagine myself being a human snow ball at the bottom of the slope.
Fav sport... hmmmm....I absolutely love watching F1 Motor Racing. I'd love to race a McClaren F1 around a track. I also like watching the tennis, any athletics, oooow and did I mention a love playing pool. Rach is getting good, she actually beat me for th first time the other day, Well done! Well done! Yeah, I wont be lettin' that happen again.
I wish I could give you I real technical answer regarding Englands hopes of winning back the ashes, but sadly I dont really watch it. I did watch an England vs West Indies match the other day with Rach and her Dad and I really enjoyed it. They're slowly getting me into it. At this moment in time, I'd much rather play Cricket than watch it. There's hope for me yet.

What Strengths do I bring to our partnership?

This one's a tuffy - good question. I think Audge summed it up though in her comment. I help Rachel shine and laugh. I always seek to support her and encourage her in what ever she does. I love her so so much. Although I might seem a bit waco, I do have a sensible head (it doesn't appear often). Although we spend alot of time together, I do my best to make sure her work comes first and I come second. After all, her nursing is what she left Ywam to do.

What do I do when Rachel is upset or 'in hiding'?

This might sound strange but she's not been like that since we've been together. Rachel has said that herself. Sure she has been upset over certain things, but I always remain supportive and just be there with her.


These are good questions, keep it up.

Things are getting juicy

Well I tell ya what, you guys are comin' up with some excellent questions. I being bombarded from all angles!! This is great though. Perhaps when I meet all of you, I can do some grillin' o' me own. Mwa hahahaa!
Lets get down to it then;

What do I do for work or fun?

Well I have a relatively boring job, I work for Liverpool's City Council. I advise people of all the wonderful things zzzzzz the council has zzzz to offer. Seriously though, it's a good job. You come across a good cross section of the public and sometimes have to deal with upsetting issues, such as homelessness, abuse or violence in the home and potential suicides (sorry this sounds really dramatic, the latter has only happened to me a couple of times). At least it's one of those jobs I dont take home with me.
For fun, I do lots of things (though my minds gone completely blank). It generally involves being around friends. I absolutely love playing pool! I go alot with Rach (she's getting better) and with friends. I seem to spend a great deal of time in pubs. I'm not an alcy btw - I tend to drive everywhere, so I'm always on the soft stuff, but we're always in pubs. I also like doing all the normal stuff too; I love movies - Shawsank Redemption is fabulous. Reading - fictional generally, but read non-fiction too (fav book would be "The Cross and the Switchblade" by David Wilkerson).
I love to draw, when I actually have time to pick up a pencil that is.

Am I a Red or a Blue?

Much to Rachels disgust, I'm a BLUE and proud of it!!!! I don't wind Rachel up too much though, my life wouldn't be worth living. It's all good fun.

Well thats all for now. I'll post some more responses tomorrow, when I'm more awake. Ta ta for now!

Getting to know me, getting to know all about me

Well I have to say, when I asked Rachel to marry me, I didnt quite expect to have a blog done about me. But you know, it's fine (so far), I've got some straight forward questions to answer, though I know they'll get tougher as we go on. It's questions like, "Have you ever been seen in public dressed as a woman?" that I'm not looking forward to. Besides, I'm doing this for Rachel. I know you've already told me this, but I'm the luckiest guy in the world. Can I also just say, I'm looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible in Texas in April.

Anyway, back to the questions;

What is my full name?

Timothy Graham Farmer - Just call me Tim. Please dont call me 'Timothy,' I probably wont answer to it, my friends might say it to wind me up. 'Timmy' is even worse! Dont get me wrong I love my name, but usingmy full name makes me fell like I've done something wrong. Rachel's always calling me Timothy for some reason.....

When is my Birthday?

4th January 1978 - I was a few days late. I was due on Christmas Day. I think I might have caused some upset that year. My Nan & Grandad came up for my birth, but they had to go home and just as they left........I was born!!! Hooray for Timothy!!!!!!!!

Do I have any Brothers or Sisters?

I have a brother (see photo), called Jonathan (Jon). He is 33 and is married to Sue who is 30. They have two children, Phoebe aged 2 and a bit, and Rowan aged 9 months. They are sooo qute and they love Rachel - who wouldn't.

Where and how did I meet Rachel?

We meet at an event - called Soul Purpose - my church was putting on for the young people of mine and Rachel's church. She came in with one of our mutual friends, Vicky. At this point, I hadn't seen Rachel. I had my back to her, as I was doing the powerpoint for the songs (although Vicky did tell Rachel about me, pointed me out - the back of my head anyway and said, "I'll have to introduce you.").
When they event finished I got up to talk to peeps, I turned round and there was a vision of beauty.....I have to say I was interested from 'word go.' But there is something you should know about me, I'm a bit of a shy guy, in the respect of talking to girls anyway. I knew if I went over there and drew on my reserves of charm and wit, I'd be a bumbling fool within milli-seconds. But ya know, it wasn't like that at all. The conversation was free followiing, sure I was nervous, but it just felt right.

What was the first thing I noticed about Rachel?

Well there were two things really. First let me say, I was attracted to her from afar, I thought she was gorgeous. When I first stood in front of her, face to face, it was her wonderfully blue eyes. <>This is going to sound really cheesy, but I don't care cos it's true, but I could stare into and get lost in her eyes for hours. Secondly, it was her accent and the sound of her voice, I just love it. Whether I'll ffeel the same way when she's screaming at me when I've forgotten our 50th wedding anniversary is another matter.

Well they weren't too bad. I'm quite happy to answer more, keep'em coming.

An open letter to Tim

Dear Tim,

Congratulations! How on on earth did you manage to snag one of the kindest, gentlest, warmest, funniest, wisest, strongest women in the world? If you are smart man, (and you must be, having just proposed to Rachel), you must be asking yourself the same question. I’m sure Rachel has told you that you are marrying someone who happens to have a very big family, one that stretches all over the world. We do really regard Rachel as a part of our family and we are so pleased for you both.

So here’s the thing: Rachel has been quite pathetic at telling us much abut you. It seems she’s been too busy falling in love with you to keep us well posted, and now you’re planning to marry her we would like to know every little thing about you. If this seems a little odd, I truly do sympathize.

In 1997, when I was dating my (now) husband Wade, while attending the anniversary party of our dear friends Don and Gwen, I was corralled by a group of Wade’s dear friends from YWAM. They had come there from all over the world. They had known Wade then for several years and had seen him go from a boy just out of high school, through all sorts of ups and downs, been all around the world with him and rejoiced to see him grow into a wise leader and dear friend (does this sound familiar Rachel?) then I rocked up and wanted to marry the boy without a resume. So they sat me down and said, “So, Joanna, tell us about your life.” (Ten pairs of eyes staring) I said, “The whole thing?” And they said, “Yes, the whole thing.”

So Tim, it is my joy to tell you I am now on the other side of the fence and I would really love to get to know you as much as cyberspace allows. I also know that there are many others (much more than 10 pairs of eyes) who, upon getting Rachel’s announcement today, looked at the lovely photo and said, “AWW Rach looks so happy! Who the heck is that guy?”

We have a tradition in our YWAM Vancouver family, know as “the grilling”. When someone comes on staff with us we sit them down and ask them anything. Anything. Small animal killings, arrests, explosions, nothing is off limits. Now you may say, “I am not coming on staff with YWAM. I did not sign up for your grilling.” True. But you just proposed to our baby sister and we have some gaps to fill. So here is my suggestion:

I would like to build a little “Meet Tim” blog. Our tribe does well with blogs. (Except Rachel lately, who is too in love with you to update her blog. Or maybe she is going to nursing school as well, but we’ll give you the credit, okay?) If this okay with you, here is my thought - I will build a little bog for you (and Rachel too). You will have the password and sign in name. Our tribe from around the world will post questions for you. You will answer them. You can take your time to answer them, but give us the goods. You can pick which ones you answer, but in our hearts we will give you more brownie points if you’re brave.

Now, if you want to opt out, that’s fine, but I think this will be less time intensive than us just sending a billion ‘reply all’ emails to our crew as we gather recon on you. Also, if you decide not to do this, there is no YWAM Mafia that will come and get you, but since it looks like Wade and I may actually be able to make to the UK next summer, it will be less painful than us passive-agresssively giving you something terribly ugly as a wedding gift and then you having to endure your wife trotting it out (out of sentimental reasons, of course) every Christmas and Easter and you would have to listen to your conscience say “why oh why did you not just answer their stupid get-to-know-you questions??”

All joking aside, I know you don’t know me at all, and email is a funny thing where you can not hear heart and tone. Know my warmest best wishes are with you and my heart is to be able to cheer whole-heartedly for BOTH you and Rachel as you start your life together.

Let me know what you think about the blog. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Lots of love,
Rachel’s big sister in Canada
(who is now crying as I type because I love and miss her SO DARN MUCH)

Joanna

Well, according to Rachel, Tim said yes. (Although it was noted that he did have a 'slight apprehension' about it, so apparently the man is not a fool.)

So friends, this is the place to get to know the man who's going to marry our Rach.

Post a comment with a question in it and apparently he will answer.

I'll go first - here's some easy ones, Tim:

1) What's your full name?
2) When's your birthday?
3) Brothers and sisters?
4) Where and how did you meet Rachel?
5) What did you notice about her first?

Stay tuned for the next post - which apparently, will be written by Tim!