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Him: Class item at assembly this week

Her : In her happy place...listening to music for her next dance piece.

My 52 weeks project

Joining in with Jodi's project

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Him: Kung Fu Panda - Book Week 2014

Her: My gorgeous girl

My 52 weeks Project

Joining in with Jodi's Project

Thursday Thankful List

* The invention of Skype...makes those far away seem close

* Soccer wins

* A happier husband this week

* Animal onsies and making life easier for book week

* Inventive teachers exciting their students

* School assembly items

* Possessing basic face painting skills to be able to help out in class

* Generous donations for a worthy cause

* Friends to share the load

* Easily convinced kids to hang at home

* Carpooling friends

* Free access to great books at the local library

* Yummy husband cooked meals

* Another sleepover with the cousins

* Worn out kids who take no time at all to fall asleep

#738  It's Friday!!!!

Counting my way to One Thousand here

Distracted

{ Life can feel like my lounge room after a Lego playing session}


I have been doing a lot of thinking lately......

This year feels like it has been full of distractions.....

I have been distracted from some of the things I wanted to do well this year......

Read more books, be consistent in this space, be less grumpy with my kids, encourage less screen time for my boy, spend more time cultivating meaningful friendships, being there for my sisters and helping with their families, keeping house and good food on the table, being so much more organised at work, leading the teams I do, lots more super quality time with my gorgeous man.....

But I feel I have let myself be distracted...

I have let busyness get in the way...

Laziness to settle in......

The expectations of others to overwhelm me...

Let my strong roots come loose,

I have taken the path of least resistance too many times,

and yet fought battles I should have let go.....

Life at times has felt chaotic and retreating to the quiet, feeling like the only option,

Over scheduling and trying to be everywhere at once 

At times the urge to pack us all up and start again somewhere new and exciting is strong....

yet the pull of familiarity is equally as strong.

I have spent time reading how to quell the "chatterbox going on in my head" and listened today to Pastor Steven Furtick on how we can stop distractions squeezing the life out of us.

The year is not over and I know I don't need a 1st of January to make a change.....I can do very little about what I think is going to happen, what is happening around me out of my control or outside of my sphere of influence.....I can however remember I am in the place I am for such a time as this...make the most of opportunities, love my kids and my man as much as I can, be generous and keep counting the goodness that my life has going on right in this moment.....

Tomorrow will take care of itself and I will hopefully have what it takes to tackle it head on.....

{I can't imagine how much more out of control my head space would be if I allowed myself a Facebook or Instagram account......!}

Thursday Thankful List

* A be kind to me day that was much needed.

* Spending time reading some encouraging words to help with the mind state.

* Having friends that will pray

* Having my husband home all week....who prepared most of the nightly meals

* Delicious and inventive meals made by the Mr

* A kind hearted teen supporting a friend in need

* Good friends who look after each other

* A kind stranger helping me out of a predicament

* Cousins who just love to hang out with each other

* The silence that comes with having three excited boys fast asleep in bed

* Co-workers who step in to fill the gap

* A starving teen who raised money for a great cause

* The discovery of the green drinks to start the day

#722 Book week still a week away for us....hopefully time to come up with an idea.

My other lists are here....let me know if you are thankful for anything this week.

A little creating...

Shameful but true.....the only crafting being done in our home is not being done by me......

Meg is so motivated to try new things...here is her latest...

Raiding my shelves for the perfect piece.....

Following a YouTube instruction how to......( this generation have it so easy and so many things at their fingertips.....)

....and within an hour she has a Kimono that she is proud to wear.......

Maybe sometime soon I will appear here with a clever Reinvention /Refashion or one of those many clever ideas that I used to have ...but until then you will just have to be happy with a "Meg Creation" instead.....

Joining in with Leonie and other clever peeps.

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Him: The only part of cleaning the car that he will do willingly.

Her: The 40 hour famine weekend.....she made it.

My 52 weeks project

Joining in with Jodi's project 

32/52...a week behind

Him: You know it is nearly Spring when the paint brushes and ice cream comes together.

Her: Yet another creation of hers...this time a colorful Kimono top.

My 52 weeks project

Joining in with Jodi's project.

Cure Brain Cancer

It is too late for our Taylor.....

but  it doesn't have to be too late for other children.......

The awareness is being raised.....it has to be....the statistics show that Brain cancer kills more children then any other disease......

We have some true champions for the cause....some of the most skilled and best in the field....the thing stopping them changing the statistics....

Awareness and funding!!!

So here check out the petition that you can sign

Listen to this heart breaking story.....

If you can share, talk or give.......please do........it needs to change.

Thursday Thankful List

* A "conga line" of pelicans flying over head - spectacular

* Hair cut day...my favourite

* Being in the right place at the right time to give a hug and reassuring words

* Seeing those who are heavy burdened leave playgroup smiling and lighter

* Time chatting on the phone that was long overdue to a dear friend

* The airplay that a cause near to us is having on the airwaves and among our community

* The opportunity to help out family

* New growth and colour in the garden

* Encouraging friends

* The ease of a problem solved with one phone call

* Newborn baby cuddles

* Reassuring cuddles in the night

#708 Sunny drying washing days

You can join in with your thankful list by leaving a link in the comments ...I will be sure to pop over and say hello

The rest of my lists are here

 

Ten on Ten for August

After kick starting the day we spent the morning at church...it is way to frenetic to snap pictures so here's the rest of the afternoon...we had such a spectacular Spring day......

 

* Blitzing has become the norm for everyone in this house....we all start the day with our own combinations

* Lucky there was some quiche left over for lunch today.

* A new addition to the garden ...maybe some added motivation for the real ones been dusted off

* Will the limes actually fruit...lets hope so..

* I wasn't the only one enjoying the sun

* The chickens have been repositioned for the ready of Spring

* Musing over how to get our broccoli much more productive...

* and why the cabbages look good but are not that full either...

* My boy saw this and knew it was perfect for our garden...

* Shame these are weeds.....they are always so whimsical and fairy like...

So that was a day in August.....joining in with Rebekah for another Ten on Ten

Thursday Thankful List

* The appearance of Spring for two whole days

* The most spectacular foggy morning on the not so spring like day

* The amount of green veggies and fruit everyone has eaten this week thanks to a new gadget.

* The independence of our 9 year old to blitz his own green shake concoctions

* People who are beaming with ideas...and are keen to make them happen

* Warm beds and home days to soothe when nasty bugs attack.

* Dirty knees - the mark of a good soccer match

* Cups of Tea dates with sisters

* A motivated teen on a DIY  "rampage"

* Seeing our "junk" being picked up by hopeful recyclers instead of heading to landfill

* A safe street for riding kids

* Secret nighttime flower drops on a friend's doorstep

* Warm fresh baked muffins for a new neighbor

* A full fridge and pantry at the completion of shopping day

* Hearing the school siren from my kitchen knowing the little guy is so close to home.

* The abundance of clever people sharing their how-to's on the web. 

#695 An opportunity to see our teen dance in front of her peers.

My other lists can be found here
I would love to know if you are joining in. x

Welcome to the street..

I did something that was strangely out of my comfort zone yet something I felt compelled to do......

Bake some muffins and take them warm over to the new family that moved in next door to us.

Since when has welcoming someone new into the neighborhood become such a hard thing to do....I had so many what if's...

what if they had food allergies, what if they were suspicious of my intentions, what if they just thought I was plain overly nosey......

Well gladly acting on my compulsion to just be an old fashioned neighbor,  I met with none of the above what if's......instead I  met the loveliest of ladies, met her 9 month old and found out that they were even keen to have a ready made babysitter living next door ( score for Meg) .

I knew that if I didn't pop over briefly in the first few days it could become awkward to make the move.

Have you ever wandered over with home baked goodies to welcome a neighbour....was it a good experience?

I should share my very quick and delicious muffin recipe with you just in case the need ever arises to share them with your neighbours.

 2 cups of self raising flour

3/4 cup of sugar

3/4 cup of milk

1/2 cup of oil

1 tsp of vanilla Essence

2 eggs

1 cup of choc chips

1 cup of frozen berries

Mix dry ingredients together

Mix wet ingredients together

Mix wet and dry together

Bake in oven for approx 15 mins

 

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Him: A boys natural environment should be outside

Her: Finding her foraging in our wardrobe more and more...and not just for her mums clothes either.!

My 52 weeks project

Joining in with Jodi's project

Things that have been inspiring me.....

Now this would be cool to give a go






I showed this at Kids Church last week.......


and this one

Thursday Thankful List

* An excited teen heading off to creative arts camp

* Coffee dates with friends

* New undercover washing line for wet day drying

* Thoughtful apologies and promises from a nine year old

* The joy of the teen receiving accolades from her teachers

* The generosity of that same teen to share the limelight

* The most lovely of families I meet with weekly

* The accessibility to good fresh produce

* Soccer games resuming.

* Fresh hot muffins to welcome new neighbours

* Time in bed to rest from illness ( "campitis" catching up on the teen)

* Family devotions to encourage and teach

* A sunny weekend forecast

* Cool beanies to cover up some healing

* The independence that the little guy is showing

* Quiet Fridays home

#678 Friends joining in with my Thankful lists- Go over and say hello to Kel who has some awesome thankful things on her lists.

My other lists are here...I would love to hear if you are making lists of thankful things too.