tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216796218700418262024-03-06T07:39:23.150+10:00Beks JourneyBekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14404030401492806150noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621679621870041826.post-28461433498847462502011-08-26T13:47:00.000+10:002011-08-26T13:47:50.292+10:00Getting settled and kitchen reno part 1We have arrived in Bowen it has been a crazy few weeks and I have been keeping my head down to get my mind around it all. I have been very over whelmed with the job in front of us. This week has been an improvement I have not been waking up wondering what on earth we are doing moving to Bowen, leaving our friends, family, good school church life and civilisation lol. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDsnD8mtYe6E0BrVKVVpuus-6WwT4AdEW5WIbDVz0Pd513m2Wyqq_iH7Qrx4-EZDGtaWassr61i2a-Hw-jCvRARXDMhvcE_VOoCgQ67zl92nJcN1EDBPR3yWZ3Px5L61Sj6_bcGlh0OD8/s1600/row3-photo1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDsnD8mtYe6E0BrVKVVpuus-6WwT4AdEW5WIbDVz0Pd513m2Wyqq_iH7Qrx4-EZDGtaWassr61i2a-Hw-jCvRARXDMhvcE_VOoCgQ67zl92nJcN1EDBPR3yWZ3Px5L61Sj6_bcGlh0OD8/s320/row3-photo1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center">This is the childrens fav spot at the moment :)</div><div align="center"></div><br />
The kids are enjoying the beaches and love being able to go any time we want, they have been whale watching from Flagstaff hill (we just missed seeing some whales). This afternoon I am taking them to the jetty to see if we can spot some Dugons. Last week we went to our fishing hut, it is great to be able to have a place to go for a weekend. Love how all we need to take is a tent and food everything else is already there makes camping so much easier.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglGPGAV0aLtn00gkDqXpxvYmmKKfZz8s0N4WaPplOCUh_q-FjAfmDwdxKXdB5TOB88_RWyirKuFpr5mK3N_wmx-Y0jB6-0Z_0TpCMHpX3HmxyF8G8y_lre1ExursSRlM1O5HgMszODc9U/s1600/DSCF1240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglGPGAV0aLtn00gkDqXpxvYmmKKfZz8s0N4WaPplOCUh_q-FjAfmDwdxKXdB5TOB88_RWyirKuFpr5mK3N_wmx-Y0jB6-0Z_0TpCMHpX3HmxyF8G8y_lre1ExursSRlM1O5HgMszODc9U/s320/DSCF1240.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center">My little man relaxing in the hammock at the hut</div><br />
The house and yard needs a lot of work, my two year time frame for getting the place fixed up has been revised to a five year plan. Also the house has shrunk since I was last here I am sure the bedrooms were bigger........At the moment the house is a huge mess I have to pack up my parents stuff and clean before I can unpack, so you can imagine there are boxes everywhere. I have nearly finished the kitchen and have picked out some new paint for the walls.<br />
<br />
The Kitchen is the first room that I am going decorate. Here are some of my before pictures, however the wallpaper has been already removed and sample colours have been used around the kitchen.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7b51aCmWzLA95NiGDulSAkDZt5Otpi7DF1tjxy6Kbn7DPiOWlTclNg4ZEqbRP14o2Vovab3LaUoWSwQ79mqD7D8mEmPGX8x8_UKG_apfVXMhGUQtvCHCtiWfTnV0MwC5vNiAGJ56evVg/s1600/DSCF1249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7b51aCmWzLA95NiGDulSAkDZt5Otpi7DF1tjxy6Kbn7DPiOWlTclNg4ZEqbRP14o2Vovab3LaUoWSwQ79mqD7D8mEmPGX8x8_UKG_apfVXMhGUQtvCHCtiWfTnV0MwC5vNiAGJ56evVg/s320/DSCF1249.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> The first thing that has to go is this green paint, the photo makes it look a little dull, it is a lot brighter.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE_mjLH77EsUr6BdGRfGs2IeCYsf85Lf_59oBV0cfGPiWz9EYjWp6QNGXZ3M7qxW_cpp42fLJmQvRSrCatvP7ULJZ8szfwi6qTMm93xbmgwiNl24Z5ERs9zFtSQazrhlIZNwr0ZoT9TNU/s1600/DSCF1250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE_mjLH77EsUr6BdGRfGs2IeCYsf85Lf_59oBV0cfGPiWz9EYjWp6QNGXZ3M7qxW_cpp42fLJmQvRSrCatvP7ULJZ8szfwi6qTMm93xbmgwiNl24Z5ERs9zFtSQazrhlIZNwr0ZoT9TNU/s320/DSCF1250.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> This is a sneak peek at the colour I will be painting the walls it is a brown based white. I have gone with this colour to tie in the wooden trim and the brown on the tiles. Down the track I will be replacing the tiles/splash backs, tap fittings and the cupboard but as this was only done a few years ago it can wait till I have done the things that really need to be done first. I am hoping a fresh coat of paint and some decorating will make a huge improvement.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOYIJP6hKK5acNglMqT4wTzXUL8HPWDtf_JvvkLjV03oskdLd-jJeSHQV_EwXRgs-ghmWMOYomktm3YGem2CTkpcX11LeSHH8YmGQponSMfswd2ny6iikh2gaBqiPBbssAAuUceAdLc5E/s1600/DSCF1251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOYIJP6hKK5acNglMqT4wTzXUL8HPWDtf_JvvkLjV03oskdLd-jJeSHQV_EwXRgs-ghmWMOYomktm3YGem2CTkpcX11LeSHH8YmGQponSMfswd2ny6iikh2gaBqiPBbssAAuUceAdLc5E/s320/DSCF1251.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> This wall will be painted a few shades darker and the fridge and new shelving will be going in.<br />
As you can see there have been a lot of paint testing, a much as I am itching to get into painting I know that what looks nice in the shop under all those lights may not look the same at home. I took 3 samples home and had a play with them until I found one that I liked. <br />
When trying sample paint I paint a patch on a few walls as the paint looks different in each area depending on light. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn0y-T1kV9FYwry9BpSVLBl3-45fIbQx25SwZNGQlwMMEGeUblEeLEp2KS5PAN8b-pBTn3GrwOgTIKuxqFyRQGYJI9e5NNS42RbXB7vM1MpWGvduPIfi4W8kVnNbPg4SHsvukLMeNY9zs/s1600/DSCF1252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn0y-T1kV9FYwry9BpSVLBl3-45fIbQx25SwZNGQlwMMEGeUblEeLEp2KS5PAN8b-pBTn3GrwOgTIKuxqFyRQGYJI9e5NNS42RbXB7vM1MpWGvduPIfi4W8kVnNbPg4SHsvukLMeNY9zs/s320/DSCF1252.JPG" width="320" /></a>.</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am hoping to have the kitchen finished by next week fingers crossed and hoping my baby sleeps.</div>Bekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14404030401492806150noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621679621870041826.post-71737308335504901232011-07-19T16:54:00.000+10:002011-07-19T16:54:46.048+10:00The end of an era ...Just when you think you have your life organised, things change. That is what has happened to me this week our plans of moving in January have changed and we are now going in 2 and a half weeks. <br />
<br />
I am really struggling with this move I know it is the right thing, I know we have been called to help in this church but...... my heart feels different. I really love the lifestyle here. I am very comfortable, we attend a great Church, the kids go to a good school that is attached to the church, even the ballet school the girls attend is run by a christian, and I think that is the problem. The last few years I have become very comfortable with life and where we are.<br />
<br />
So here we go about to jump in boots and all out of our comfort zone.Bekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14404030401492806150noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621679621870041826.post-10738636801117161702011-07-18T11:33:00.001+10:002011-07-18T11:39:49.627+10:00Was a bit over whelmed this weekend so did lots of baking on Saturday. In an attempt to get my mind off trying to work out what to do and how do we go about doing it. Anyone who knows me well knows that when I have a lot on my plate I create something, crafting, painting or bake (not just everyday baking it has to be creative cooking). Since the craft room is in the process of being packed up I baked.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQ9lnY6turV2DNdCQESlukHbJtgTglDqDznjqB6O-54Vo1HHmTiKLGKJH2NEDhiVN9ZIaycPRO7jeh0thy5pS4oHsq_4rpAQBf9gVzWDxWjYjHF61uDWDnw5WuP-ioQiYc2RqJ1fF52E/s1600/P1010379.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQ9lnY6turV2DNdCQESlukHbJtgTglDqDznjqB6O-54Vo1HHmTiKLGKJH2NEDhiVN9ZIaycPRO7jeh0thy5pS4oHsq_4rpAQBf9gVzWDxWjYjHF61uDWDnw5WuP-ioQiYc2RqJ1fF52E/s320/P1010379.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I did add fine toffee drizzled all over but hubby put this in a container before I could take a photo.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Check out my <a href="http://beksfamilyfavouriterecipes.blogspot.com/">Bek's family favourite recipes</a> for the recipe, more to be added in the coming days.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I better get back to packing up the <strike>junk</strike> craft room.</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Bekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14404030401492806150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621679621870041826.post-43175771206686356792011-07-13T15:11:00.001+10:002011-07-16T11:25:11.903+10:00I have started to get the house organised and to pack up a few items we are planning to go to Bowen in a few weeks to show the children where they will be living, check out schools and take a load of stuff up.<br />
<br />
Packing up has made the move more real, still torn about going, today I took a break from packing and did some baking and craft.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYZJBM-cRi_BuiTJQAH87lMBwGS_RVCMDl4LbX3XftAadApYoTeEUM2e3OqYPXB8hPqIeQMEQMXLNhhITqeIlQS0NsjGoVIgWyKquRiMpf-2eyW-i6eSVNlE7mpi2nvhk2LPWa-cuH4Zg/s1600/P1010341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYZJBM-cRi_BuiTJQAH87lMBwGS_RVCMDl4LbX3XftAadApYoTeEUM2e3OqYPXB8hPqIeQMEQMXLNhhITqeIlQS0NsjGoVIgWyKquRiMpf-2eyW-i6eSVNlE7mpi2nvhk2LPWa-cuH4Zg/s320/P1010341.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I made choc self-saucing pudding, homemade ice-cream, meringues and Puff triangles. You can view the recipes at <a href="http://beksfamilyfavouriterecipes.blogspot.com/">Bek's family favourite recipes</a>. Lately I have been getting back into cooking from scratch. I grew up on a hobby farm and we made most of our sauces, jams, jellies, ice-cream, yogurt, cheese and the list goes on ..... from scratch. I have been quite alarmed at what additives are being put into foods, especially foods that only have 4 ingredients to make from scratch but the bought product contains at least 10 ingredients such as ice-cream. Bekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14404030401492806150noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621679621870041826.post-67255110644448443132011-06-20T11:59:00.001+10:002011-06-20T13:22:13.414+10:00The short version of why we are moving.... Writing this while holding a grumpy baby, on hold on the phone, occasionally chatting on facebook and while eating breakfast.<br />
<br />
As you know we are moving soon this has happened so suddenly, I though I would be living in Toowoomba for years and years. The move has taken us both by surprise as neither of us thought we would ever move to Bowen. Even though I grew up there I moved away when I was 17 and was sure I would NEVER return.<br />
<br />
The past year it seems like the doors have been closing in my husbands face with work then two weeks ago he went from full time Salary to part time work. We had been feeling it was time to move on from his career as it was not very family friendly working for 5am to 8am in the mornings and then 2pm till after 8pm at night plus extra hours during the day, some days he could work 12 hours or more. <br />
He was also away most weekends and for a week 4 or more times a year. Last Wednesday the possibility of moving to Bowen was presented as an off hand comment. Within a week this comment, lead to us moving to Bowen, housing arrangements have been taken care of and being called to help out in a small Church.<br />
It as quite funny as two weeks ago I actually let go of my dream to own my own house any time soon. I had just had another house inspection and handed the long list again of all the things that needed to be done. I was sooooo over renting but felt that I had to hand over this dream that I had been hiding in my heart. and said whatever happens I will be happy to serve God and do his will. It is not that is was a bad or wrong dream but in a way selfish what I wanted. I was starting to resent renting and this was starting to show by how I was keeping house. Then just under one week later we are offered a house for very little money, on a big block. Big enough for the kids to be kids on, have chickens, pets grown our own veggies, renovate everything I have been secretly wanting. The last few days the words from a word that I had been given when I was a teenager keep coming back to me Ï will grant you the desires of your heart if you follow and obey me."<br />
<br />
So now we have to pack and find a new school :( I love the school they are in and really don't want to take them away from there. Have to make new friends and get to know my old friends again. So I am now on a recruiting mission anyone want to come with us. Below I have added some pictures to see if you feel led to come with us. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfK8VCPW3PgEDJgPXHwmS_KXgxUDxVvWf6RKvnAwpG58WcCq28M559M9EitmifJGO-eAIiXPB7TipODyMlwpW3kgXnoXoR_BzfvcNBhpb_uyOc9ZqyvX19mxPE6KuFdMeKKJp55nfKwQw/s1600/grays+bay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfK8VCPW3PgEDJgPXHwmS_KXgxUDxVvWf6RKvnAwpG58WcCq28M559M9EitmifJGO-eAIiXPB7TipODyMlwpW3kgXnoXoR_BzfvcNBhpb_uyOc9ZqyvX19mxPE6KuFdMeKKJp55nfKwQw/s1600/grays+bay.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRRvIo8UzdQ4U7eE98ijxCXCk16eoJUzG3Lmq7tvA6IDhEH7NzWXPmoI1I1xXIrfRyUaEV4aqYDgJ1mG87A5K1JVlwg7DgTZiXqvKeawl8-CxHdXBUT7ml4nINfpZV5OQItpgK35FIqcI/s1600/thumbnailCA0L6EF9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRRvIo8UzdQ4U7eE98ijxCXCk16eoJUzG3Lmq7tvA6IDhEH7NzWXPmoI1I1xXIrfRyUaEV4aqYDgJ1mG87A5K1JVlwg7DgTZiXqvKeawl8-CxHdXBUT7ml4nINfpZV5OQItpgK35FIqcI/s1600/thumbnailCA0L6EF9.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimo1D9G-T3-Tv1El0_PKfHDSPlZsDlv2hiwfd8Iwb8TrfwhNRI8sHiY27aeL5JhhwqPS6Muu5dmDu78dYVZfWMDV6VVeZG9xHbb31HcfYWU1coS1bohWkubWOKJL-HL7ScINjVK6QU1cE/s1600/thumbnailCA0YCA1Z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimo1D9G-T3-Tv1El0_PKfHDSPlZsDlv2hiwfd8Iwb8TrfwhNRI8sHiY27aeL5JhhwqPS6Muu5dmDu78dYVZfWMDV6VVeZG9xHbb31HcfYWU1coS1bohWkubWOKJL-HL7ScINjVK6QU1cE/s1600/thumbnailCA0YCA1Z.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPkZbTS6d0mpdIUgLJV4wJefmm0jFFW0ld26HwpNb_v1EWrsjjNZty2-NZaj_lkst9__sg-uwjoK2WTgs798IZZxu2CcJaFP_D82jhKK0OlxUzfQyiJ71IAesgnoNp7GT7MRutxlLVIrM/s1600/thumbnailCAUI5JKJ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPkZbTS6d0mpdIUgLJV4wJefmm0jFFW0ld26HwpNb_v1EWrsjjNZty2-NZaj_lkst9__sg-uwjoK2WTgs798IZZxu2CcJaFP_D82jhKK0OlxUzfQyiJ71IAesgnoNp7GT7MRutxlLVIrM/s1600/thumbnailCAUI5JKJ.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRYbvKjk82iy89RXq3r8N30VnQkRf_A69iWYyti7rdewMQMasH2e7tmUOo-0De6Ul4hD0q9oZm-MKHOaYHkWo2pGNaFrCjy8q5PvWpYWQ0l2DiKrDLfyZv5ds3Phcg2qkq-MjkFkF9DaM/s1600/the++big+mango.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRYbvKjk82iy89RXq3r8N30VnQkRf_A69iWYyti7rdewMQMasH2e7tmUOo-0De6Ul4hD0q9oZm-MKHOaYHkWo2pGNaFrCjy8q5PvWpYWQ0l2DiKrDLfyZv5ds3Phcg2qkq-MjkFkF9DaM/s320/the++big+mango.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihcYPD_c8FAmqsobZNDOd1a544KmSUe_pxv-eYT0LzNLAmiH0Lkg_qJPfBm_wEWNMrTYvMuMSx-MqR-jiZrKeuCZtvRxYs_25Cs8I849bR8rj4G4JEQMlo9lshdyL5IjMiOLMQPJ32aes/s1600/thumbnailCADVY035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihcYPD_c8FAmqsobZNDOd1a544KmSUe_pxv-eYT0LzNLAmiH0Lkg_qJPfBm_wEWNMrTYvMuMSx-MqR-jiZrKeuCZtvRxYs_25Cs8I849bR8rj4G4JEQMlo9lshdyL5IjMiOLMQPJ32aes/s1600/thumbnailCADVY035.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZbqEsvKJvvciiIon04fzUY3CcuvyoWRZuIArImAqHPSmeN4MhM587MR8_6CSEfmExR4EaUL9Y5Sqsc1GFU5l-pz-G2HDKumK9LbpZychCQNtA0c72GpmtB6LIOOHPnE03xD5iibVRYyg/s1600/cedar-creek-falls-400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZbqEsvKJvvciiIon04fzUY3CcuvyoWRZuIArImAqHPSmeN4MhM587MR8_6CSEfmExR4EaUL9Y5Sqsc1GFU5l-pz-G2HDKumK9LbpZychCQNtA0c72GpmtB6LIOOHPnE03xD5iibVRYyg/s320/cedar-creek-falls-400.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center"> </div><div align="left">I have been having trouble with blogger I am unable to leave comments, I have been reading what you guys are up to but just can't comment at this stage. Joyfullmum loved your last post. </div>Bekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14404030401492806150noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621679621870041826.post-9872039637650955892011-06-15T18:39:00.000+10:002011-06-15T18:39:23.258+10:00Here is a lovely blanket rack I purchased from someone on eBay. I am going to do paint it white, it will be perfect for hubby to hang his clothing on that he wants to wear again, instead of on the end of the bed!!!!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOWbZaTKHxqffaOYGAOh5bHsXOKbx5WkoDW867PxLLnTg8m8p_gI7f-hcxx-7mZEosOlvkSYt1E_53fcZFyrHSiQ44qS8b7clo6XVukg6omUTsybddWW3j9ncrzwm0OlJXzW1GCiGJ_uw/s1600/1015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOWbZaTKHxqffaOYGAOh5bHsXOKbx5WkoDW867PxLLnTg8m8p_gI7f-hcxx-7mZEosOlvkSYt1E_53fcZFyrHSiQ44qS8b7clo6XVukg6omUTsybddWW3j9ncrzwm0OlJXzW1GCiGJ_uw/s320/1015.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFgrAq96ae01QurGCeCDmRop7iv83VvGj0OiGSX5-EnkEgZNYFqencVpd3TRfFaXuraoCiWwMynzAhxA3AKwxSGE6sER9t5zmLbV2LCw2XTrYMRNGmjdFsvVdT6YzasdX0-JCtT_Ay0pE/s1600/1014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFgrAq96ae01QurGCeCDmRop7iv83VvGj0OiGSX5-EnkEgZNYFqencVpd3TRfFaXuraoCiWwMynzAhxA3AKwxSGE6sER9t5zmLbV2LCw2XTrYMRNGmjdFsvVdT6YzasdX0-JCtT_Ay0pE/s320/1014.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Today I was feeling a bit down about having to move to a new town (and needed to get away from a clingy, screaming baby for a few hours) so I went out and purchased some renovating and decorating magazines and a tin of white paint:) I am excited about having our own place that we can do up and having a bit of land to plant lovely gardens, have hens and space for the children but just wish it was not so far away. It is not that I don't want to go and do what God has called us to do it is just I don't want to do it in the location he wants us to go to. At least I have the house reno plans to help me keep my mind from having to move.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK9MMlX042LkTqEIi8T8aKfcYIRxv9UNJEYRIinyEh_EB3T0GxI3o_vKqOoOAhMhgxpZm1q74sZSGHGvjj9Vb-OASC3jdRjUC_YxsgepICyDsyxoN_0_cqj_YSP4lLbZDkVzhpY2D-wgw/s1600/1008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK9MMlX042LkTqEIi8T8aKfcYIRxv9UNJEYRIinyEh_EB3T0GxI3o_vKqOoOAhMhgxpZm1q74sZSGHGvjj9Vb-OASC3jdRjUC_YxsgepICyDsyxoN_0_cqj_YSP4lLbZDkVzhpY2D-wgw/s320/1008.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I went window shopping to get some decorating ideas and found these wall decals. So glad I found then today as I was going to purchase a set from ebay, these were half the price from <a href="http://www.houseandgardenonline.com.au/">House and Garden</a>.<br />
<br />
This writing will be going on the patio wall after I bag and render the walls. The front patio in this house is like another room without 2 walls the patio leads to the front door and will be the perfect games/reading and morning/afternoon tea area.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAmAWDzjZDBuEmsCpACPSYxpSZB8t_fhJEsNd4MTQrQikQiJ1m-SlqyBh7c7mNYzHk9-WNn4RK52RtAcp5mAvmOGMKwKbbObfh6pC86e5gmP1kEUkYAK6U61ze-6S4jAlTaDdZbIsAZg/s1600/1009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAmAWDzjZDBuEmsCpACPSYxpSZB8t_fhJEsNd4MTQrQikQiJ1m-SlqyBh7c7mNYzHk9-WNn4RK52RtAcp5mAvmOGMKwKbbObfh6pC86e5gmP1kEUkYAK6U61ze-6S4jAlTaDdZbIsAZg/s320/1009.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This book I purchased today is divided into 4 areas and has little pockets where I can put clippings and paint samples. I am going to divide the book up into 4 areas bedrooms, wet areas (bath room, toilet, laundry, kitchen), living areas (lounge, dining room and office) and outdoors (patio's and gardens)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cq_i0JSEQX76V0Dg743VO8MXpS5rQ53wbuYcCeI68Ki2VPQeIwCFlqDLmvasG4u3IfeLx1v_a2lWFR3N3zZKCQ3hmv9PKBR33bP8IZB02odK6dVnbMJH6BJCgkAL0yKFrho-0xn_AMo/s1600/1011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cq_i0JSEQX76V0Dg743VO8MXpS5rQ53wbuYcCeI68Ki2VPQeIwCFlqDLmvasG4u3IfeLx1v_a2lWFR3N3zZKCQ3hmv9PKBR33bP8IZB02odK6dVnbMJH6BJCgkAL0yKFrho-0xn_AMo/s320/1011.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
My stash of Mags I got, when I went to <a href="http://www.mitre10.com.au/">Mitre 10</a> I found all these free plan project planners I grabbed a heap covering everything from rendering, painting to building guinea pig cages and forts.Bekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14404030401492806150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621679621870041826.post-7573428621715351352011-06-14T08:54:00.001+10:002011-06-14T09:43:55.053+10:00Back again :)It has been 6mths since I last posted can't believe we are in June already, where has the year gone. It has been a very busy year so far, in March we welcomed the newest member into our family a little boy. <br />
<br />
I have started doing some craft again and am about to embark on a huge challenge, life has taken a turn and we are being led somewhere I never though and actually said I would not go unless God really wanted me to, but more about that later.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9oxAcBwMzIAfco6Wql6UtOQtZP9s_LTl7NgJGH-XOXf1XJhKuRyvEHhtSOOBWQXD2ws5KfDPSt1RZ224loN4fOcezIwBWEzwnkuxUa-PFtMmnHWVUP-WzkSEWaEBiEn3NWrIXKo-nZt4/s1600/home-tools400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9oxAcBwMzIAfco6Wql6UtOQtZP9s_LTl7NgJGH-XOXf1XJhKuRyvEHhtSOOBWQXD2ws5KfDPSt1RZ224loN4fOcezIwBWEzwnkuxUa-PFtMmnHWVUP-WzkSEWaEBiEn3NWrIXKo-nZt4/s320/home-tools400.jpg" width="258" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>I am planning to be blogging more and will be blogging the house reno I will be starting in the new year which I am sooooo looking forward to I am so over renting and house inspections every three mths. Bekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14404030401492806150noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621679621870041826.post-30754176329382949542010-12-16T09:06:00.003+10:002010-12-16T09:27:13.052+10:00Cookie Exchange<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgey22Yhj94NTFlKc5O5SXzsoMHFPfQ27srK-ZOCvCY7zQgwSzJXnuWBKCSGGEodlZEx6T03pJJSkcvre_o4360Lx2MaC2roXlcwf8s6atLTz_EyrTunk_bNJOrYaZJL3mcwh_kLSO-uAs/s1600/DSCF0941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgey22Yhj94NTFlKc5O5SXzsoMHFPfQ27srK-ZOCvCY7zQgwSzJXnuWBKCSGGEodlZEx6T03pJJSkcvre_o4360Lx2MaC2roXlcwf8s6atLTz_EyrTunk_bNJOrYaZJL3mcwh_kLSO-uAs/s320/DSCF0941.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This year one of the ladies in our church had the great idea of having a cookie exchange. The basic idea is to make one batch of cookies, slice, or something like that. Make 10 for each person, bag them up, and a plate to share then get together and have a cuppa and swap our goodies. It was such a great idea and so helpful to me, I usually do a lot of Christmas baking but have not been well enough this year to do as much as I usually do. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMmRCj-MYAm6QbbHpAE_ZYaMPoKlMhWiTvkcOewX6PDdY8y1DRD2K4QEOncukYAsEZnxJkM5ifYzuTDKlyId44jJsNJKJeosNAvWnOOsdJ-CnL5sOur1qgbIffuWviRY9Zejcynz1AlJU/s1600/DSCF0942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMmRCj-MYAm6QbbHpAE_ZYaMPoKlMhWiTvkcOewX6PDdY8y1DRD2K4QEOncukYAsEZnxJkM5ifYzuTDKlyId44jJsNJKJeosNAvWnOOsdJ-CnL5sOur1qgbIffuWviRY9Zejcynz1AlJU/s320/DSCF0942.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yesterday a few of the mums from playgroup came over and got to feast on all this. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I made <a href="http://beksfamilyfavouriterecipes.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-tree-biscuits.html">Spiced Christmas Tree Biscuits</a> you can get the recipe <a href="http://beksfamilyfavouriterecipes.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-tree-biscuits.html">here</a>. The day I baked for the swap was the hottest we had had in ages, the mixture did not like the heat at all. </span></div>Bekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14404030401492806150noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621679621870041826.post-3057685374044865732010-12-14T14:50:00.001+10:002010-12-14T15:02:23.365+10:00It's beginning to look alot like Christmas<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Such a long time has passed since my last post, my computer got a virus and we lost everything on the computer, I got bronchitis and school holidays have started. That mixed with the continued morning sickness has meant I am so not ready for Christmas and have not been blogging or on the computer much. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I finally started to get the house decorated last week for Christmas and though I would share a few photos and some traditions I have started to make Christmas decorating less stressful with you children under foot.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While my hubby and I do the "boring" jobs like set up the tree, string the lights and do the little fiddly things I have a few things that I get the children to do to keep the busy while they are waiting to trim the tree.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOxzSd50GWyVD8aqUhwk9f0yCH4e0oODyZaVrzjMi7dX5XH7smHQndTVrVhHT6c05PNnYMX5MysCYUPsT54a9uAMl3VVuW6UQSYXVAYUX11X-M-zmyM-jS9LlsXLzaK9h6lD36v7HYIN8/s1600/DSCF0939.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOxzSd50GWyVD8aqUhwk9f0yCH4e0oODyZaVrzjMi7dX5XH7smHQndTVrVhHT6c05PNnYMX5MysCYUPsT54a9uAMl3VVuW6UQSYXVAYUX11X-M-zmyM-jS9LlsXLzaK9h6lD36v7HYIN8/s320/DSCF0939.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I get the children to decorate their own special tree, this tree they put on the decorations they have made at school and playgroup and any fav's they have made in the previous years. They have so much fun decorating this I let them do it all and resist the tweeking urge I get. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0y_tr7T5ZkS7nnQRKABKkRa8eBWvS3eYaq_zaMc59FpCskzC_jI1ujOOlDoE5tQqq669FmXzLebIpHUSpOwf2odjtdwzzFfJhICp8YD-aTWLYTBFmAllXtztsN-1qf1B82i16s7Pahus/s1600/DSCF0940.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0y_tr7T5ZkS7nnQRKABKkRa8eBWvS3eYaq_zaMc59FpCskzC_jI1ujOOlDoE5tQqq669FmXzLebIpHUSpOwf2odjtdwzzFfJhICp8YD-aTWLYTBFmAllXtztsN-1qf1B82i16s7Pahus/s320/DSCF0940.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is a simple metal tree that I ordered from ebay from the US and it is perfect for the kids.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEaZvw9FaD9eXBWaZFY-cYKciyK858otC3Nt8XYp-C7zrjNZPwJqCFo56GUhsYOQBWyRqSKPnLp9A2gERb6RBB5TVmM3kKZIw60bu-Qf8m-JIotD0G-BX7geCZjyfYadQR-ZE8W0ECXww/s1600/DSCF0938.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEaZvw9FaD9eXBWaZFY-cYKciyK858otC3Nt8XYp-C7zrjNZPwJqCFo56GUhsYOQBWyRqSKPnLp9A2gERb6RBB5TVmM3kKZIw60bu-Qf8m-JIotD0G-BX7geCZjyfYadQR-ZE8W0ECXww/s320/DSCF0938.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On top of the TV cabinet I put most of the stuff the children have made or their favourite decorations.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The next thing I get the children to do is fill any glass bowl or vase, display plates I can find will baubles. They love doing this and it keeps them busy for ages. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9A7nyFBNcNrYXW0ZLHI5c74u05xWsV9ZvTr_63dcpLG48cVft-Wxa-FR8uWNbLlsJOp6hI2ufniouW5dkl8GVpRUzb2XEYN6tCVGCa2AoL9hiYBCh2YN0PsTKmVSoIEp93WyEQFnf6VI/s1600/DSCF0936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9A7nyFBNcNrYXW0ZLHI5c74u05xWsV9ZvTr_63dcpLG48cVft-Wxa-FR8uWNbLlsJOp6hI2ufniouW5dkl8GVpRUzb2XEYN6tCVGCa2AoL9hiYBCh2YN0PsTKmVSoIEp93WyEQFnf6VI/s320/DSCF0936.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgLme7IbBOi8MyiKXhGP9topELiND2Wc1q5QgMGHHQNbV10CBnapBxXiQAmIrSrjMgSVxrtMhdAql2FUyjJYm778aNzeDNFO0V4FDer0XrBRci-uTDCHOFMNDfOYhyphenhyphen95zaf4DRH3obIZ8/s1600/DSCF0932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgLme7IbBOi8MyiKXhGP9topELiND2Wc1q5QgMGHHQNbV10CBnapBxXiQAmIrSrjMgSVxrtMhdAql2FUyjJYm778aNzeDNFO0V4FDer0XrBRci-uTDCHOFMNDfOYhyphenhyphen95zaf4DRH3obIZ8/s320/DSCF0932.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I went to take a photo of the tree I discovered someone had moved all the ornaments. I will tweek it and post a new photo soon.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The next 3 photos of some easy and pretty decorations my children made. I use glass baubles and get them to fill them with glitter and pretty things in what ever colour theme we are going with that year. These glass baubles can be used year after year, just empty them and full them up again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZtrNJOqTP7GFbuZNIDN6foa32INnyLFjEyR6-p3TeeDIASilN90LH32Da39EjBzl_OO8A0Dlj1l1vygvhBP9EH8ontIphbjRF6haT0jm9kKWzdh53qkKiRTKoUCu28XppKWfLMp0UXTo/s1600/DSCF0929.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZtrNJOqTP7GFbuZNIDN6foa32INnyLFjEyR6-p3TeeDIASilN90LH32Da39EjBzl_OO8A0Dlj1l1vygvhBP9EH8ontIphbjRF6haT0jm9kKWzdh53qkKiRTKoUCu28XppKWfLMp0UXTo/s320/DSCF0929.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUCx3maMXqbVpwZ2oNW8xrv6Wu2EEZTi5HHoGQsL0QZNodSDOYIYl9LsD0FEWRyLPiJsx1pHjFL9Z98QogmA4nyxcoi4fr2bxQP7N2V_jIklOBCLdBOPhpmWOh9FYSDXfEL54FNScPVU/s1600/DSCF0930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUCx3maMXqbVpwZ2oNW8xrv6Wu2EEZTi5HHoGQsL0QZNodSDOYIYl9LsD0FEWRyLPiJsx1pHjFL9Z98QogmA4nyxcoi4fr2bxQP7N2V_jIklOBCLdBOPhpmWOh9FYSDXfEL54FNScPVU/s320/DSCF0930.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Last year I got the Children to paint wooden Christmas shapes then we covered them in glass glitter.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Q0yob_utqQMw79FrpsUkQ4uFsnHO_IPS6rQB7HSMgE6JnIs9LPUSDyUbvpX2Q4KKZZ_WX5W4xj1poqmflC1s6L-wVFmk_iFToIwCNCTSoH-OOpdoAoNhz1z7xif_Nt0kXBtAkQ1o2Z4/s1600/DSCF0931.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Q0yob_utqQMw79FrpsUkQ4uFsnHO_IPS6rQB7HSMgE6JnIs9LPUSDyUbvpX2Q4KKZZ_WX5W4xj1poqmflC1s6L-wVFmk_iFToIwCNCTSoH-OOpdoAoNhz1z7xif_Nt0kXBtAkQ1o2Z4/s320/DSCF0931.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrDmS-UeQkTpRDWqoEmQwzctF4vGLkaQc67hvdqksCwmEWP6sOnTc6IDcgG0ZMF81u11y-Z3h00GWSbZnFgwPz9fZmWQr3KNjKH4hBIVgTIgvMD7c7gfLO7RwMg54nLL4OQYDgLuHoDaQ/s1600/DSCF0934.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrDmS-UeQkTpRDWqoEmQwzctF4vGLkaQc67hvdqksCwmEWP6sOnTc6IDcgG0ZMF81u11y-Z3h00GWSbZnFgwPz9fZmWQr3KNjKH4hBIVgTIgvMD7c7gfLO7RwMg54nLL4OQYDgLuHoDaQ/s320/DSCF0934.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A bit of a close up of the tree I usually do not use tinsel but the children love it and it is only for a few years. I also usually use white fairy lights but this year my hubby got to the lights before me and let the children talk him into using the coloured ones. Oh well. My neighbour is getting me a real Christmas tree 4 days before Christmas for the family room and I am going to decorate it :) </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Every year I splash out and get one nice Christmas decoration this year I got this sign cute hey :)</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuxaEXKhyl2Ch3-1CUptgtSw4heEr0fni4fmsBSlZ7FSbFXGK2IvZ6J8XhdHlS_efYLrcTtet5_-n9-qY6i8Y__Kcy9sxggiIojQpiwF8lFWke6krk6dDOUUDv2HDyBzBUIDJyY2bPEo4/s1600/DSCF0927.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuxaEXKhyl2Ch3-1CUptgtSw4heEr0fni4fmsBSlZ7FSbFXGK2IvZ6J8XhdHlS_efYLrcTtet5_-n9-qY6i8Y__Kcy9sxggiIojQpiwF8lFWke6krk6dDOUUDv2HDyBzBUIDJyY2bPEo4/s320/DSCF0927.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHqeMP2q_JOCMYYNirUi8IBcxdX7bA5X54HdPnB8qZyJMTuONhX9h-_EQ1Oer4VorGmqzZlfWJ8HjncHCoau0SOPcRLRv5ilBHhulE9ReCcHycquPLIyEWfIv_E3CimhwCGZtBk5L2zlg/s1600/DSCF0924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHqeMP2q_JOCMYYNirUi8IBcxdX7bA5X54HdPnB8qZyJMTuONhX9h-_EQ1Oer4VorGmqzZlfWJ8HjncHCoau0SOPcRLRv5ilBHhulE9ReCcHycquPLIyEWfIv_E3CimhwCGZtBk5L2zlg/s320/DSCF0924.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last year I made these little trees as table center pieces they were so easy just glued beads on little glittery Christmas trees. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQaHD3BcZYHmbls6h6q5oc84Y8NllG2p0Z1wjR1ofPm2EHgT_UCIqxkSnwDxS8ixZ8lWrVSNsX5QgAl2ccXle-AdiPJkNhuxcOimUXL8flegR90Xer61hh8xfFVle6opnB7zzYP44Zds/s1600/DSCF0926.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQaHD3BcZYHmbls6h6q5oc84Y8NllG2p0Z1wjR1ofPm2EHgT_UCIqxkSnwDxS8ixZ8lWrVSNsX5QgAl2ccXle-AdiPJkNhuxcOimUXL8flegR90Xer61hh8xfFVle6opnB7zzYP44Zds/s320/DSCF0926.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNhhszQID0mB0lA-KlxVO_xcUB4zFKOFLrclerIJQVIaMtG_EruExrSfArsJ_SPfxEci5y-dZ8zdEcrW7bILJPOV0EtyibS7UzfplPR9GzML652YV9JOht_7bCqoL2LYg3sP4Rzc62GrE/s1600/DSCF0928.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNhhszQID0mB0lA-KlxVO_xcUB4zFKOFLrclerIJQVIaMtG_EruExrSfArsJ_SPfxEci5y-dZ8zdEcrW7bILJPOV0EtyibS7UzfplPR9GzML652YV9JOht_7bCqoL2LYg3sP4Rzc62GrE/s320/DSCF0928.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv5kvGAjIvp6ZVQtqQEC2jxVdVZpdWe_ywNWoWARBJqsm2tYHZHLNW21ZV_fjCeSmz8HRhcMWXm4oV-ou8D1Mezc-Cc77bk99Nc1bc6zOM9fXwP9ZtQRBdj-vkZL4VboJBf1zk3KvSv1o/s1600/DSCF0923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv5kvGAjIvp6ZVQtqQEC2jxVdVZpdWe_ywNWoWARBJqsm2tYHZHLNW21ZV_fjCeSmz8HRhcMWXm4oV-ou8D1Mezc-Cc77bk99Nc1bc6zOM9fXwP9ZtQRBdj-vkZL4VboJBf1zk3KvSv1o/s320/DSCF0923.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsHTxUTDNEBdyv0w2_hfODXzD97vGLXFlYnBS8QRr8eDHbYv7XjhclOTshGHcPeCZF1dpBxH_Q8MoNcozA_x6h_XnrAjpjgsdKpdb-5w_m6vqhrItXHJDAdJjeqd6_iWKs85DAjrZ01c8/s1600/DSCF0922.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsHTxUTDNEBdyv0w2_hfODXzD97vGLXFlYnBS8QRr8eDHbYv7XjhclOTshGHcPeCZF1dpBxH_Q8MoNcozA_x6h_XnrAjpjgsdKpdb-5w_m6vqhrItXHJDAdJjeqd6_iWKs85DAjrZ01c8/s320/DSCF0922.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXDRwkyyNmGfgmgw0uXRA7tWmbtxGh_eYslT0lawClLVPflry7UEcvK6pO6dZgUg5SJDp0XUxmbzHOdBx2NLI2BSoFlmIEfsqq1iBui7uCWEkucKumUJ8TgY8UCJdF0rWs7VTJ2SjNo7E/s1600/DSCF0935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXDRwkyyNmGfgmgw0uXRA7tWmbtxGh_eYslT0lawClLVPflry7UEcvK6pO6dZgUg5SJDp0XUxmbzHOdBx2NLI2BSoFlmIEfsqq1iBui7uCWEkucKumUJ8TgY8UCJdF0rWs7VTJ2SjNo7E/s320/DSCF0935.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I put out a nativity the children can play with every year, usually we make a stable and manger but this year things have not gone to plan. I also put out some stories about the true meaning of Christmas. In a later post I will tell you how we have handled Santa in our family. Both my husband and I have never grown up with Santa, and we really want to focus on why we celebrate Christmas and reflect on the real meaning of Christmas. </span></div>Bekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14404030401492806150noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621679621870041826.post-86512054513900342012010-10-17T12:24:00.015+10:002010-10-17T17:22:02.743+10:00GIFTING and the origins halloween<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday we attended a birth celebration. The family is from Zimbabwe so this was the first birth celebration I had attended, from what I understand it is cultural for the women to stay home after the baby is born for about 4 weeks and then they have a big welcoming celebration aka PARTY. :)</span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I love to give gifts homemade or bought. When I give gifts I love to include something homemade or special in gifts if I can, even if it is just the card that I have made. (Sometimes it is impossible to do and I did have a few years where I did not do this much. I had 3 kids 3 and under at the time) We need to be realistic on what we can do and realise there is a season for everything. As much as I love to make things and find it relaxing there was a year or two when it was totally impossible to do I had to focus on getting through the day, not on whether I had made a gift or card. One thing I found that even if you are unable to make a gift or card you can always be creative in the wrapping. Nothing nicer than getting a gift, that it is obvious someone has taken a lot of care in wrapping. And wrapping can be quick, easy and not expensive. A ribbon with embellishments, tea towel, it does not take a lot to dress up a gift. At the end of this post I will post some pics of nicely wrapped gifts. There are plenty out there google for ideas.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Okay back to the birth celebration, for the gift I made a name hanging for the baby Taanaye. It did not cost me anything to make I just used bits that I had in my craft box. This is such a cute and inexpensive gift to make. I usually make these for friends after the baby is born or for their first birthday. If you have limited funds it is surprising what you can make that is both unique and worth more to your friends than if you spent a lot on the latest designer outfit that the baby will soon grow out of.</span></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Sorry about the photos I was in a hurry and took them on my bed, next time I will take them on a white table.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Click on photo to make it bigger</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXgkpAGYWVivdt5ZcOO1dAqEPdNdhz92-GeaCAYK2HXGK2HTNCP9nTPPiB7Kr_VtvdhGr_-yOlX4dczRmnESjZbSVlYQvlz6qMbEDjARDLNy7VSYFlVVKPtLx8NEGJLmaenZz46o8iIls/s1600/DSCF0758.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXgkpAGYWVivdt5ZcOO1dAqEPdNdhz92-GeaCAYK2HXGK2HTNCP9nTPPiB7Kr_VtvdhGr_-yOlX4dczRmnESjZbSVlYQvlz6qMbEDjARDLNy7VSYFlVVKPtLx8NEGJLmaenZz46o8iIls/s400/DSCF0758.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I used buttons, scraps of material, flowers to decorate it. You can use anything. </span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a quick craft to do, the bit that takes the longest is putting the letters on this time I printed the letters I needed then glued them on, using hot glue ran some around the paper that I had cut down to size and quickly applied glitter. You can use sticker letters, little wooden or cardboard letters, cutouts from paper you are recycling. I once made one for a friends child who is into music and I used old sheet music. I will post detailed instructions and put a link here soon.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEE6GZXumr0UqzrZ9DsGXnU-7BA9RaCeiSypmaIhNOs7qbH-SR2OHAOZnBcGFqOLxMOAHAmZ3kCEPpv2ZLl-E9m-CIiFL1IngylV1Bye859KxsJb-W9rAFHbdKVIp28dRuGVp1gQ8gFbg/s1600/DSCF0759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEE6GZXumr0UqzrZ9DsGXnU-7BA9RaCeiSypmaIhNOs7qbH-SR2OHAOZnBcGFqOLxMOAHAmZ3kCEPpv2ZLl-E9m-CIiFL1IngylV1Bye859KxsJb-W9rAFHbdKVIp28dRuGVp1gQ8gFbg/s400/DSCF0759.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYK8WEZYEPaf6qA8IqTcL6XCbWtZE4AnrS1QGIO5KAmaEtW-2WA7oi7D-PgXJdXjyuqCbMMHEUw5acf6nn6xjA7k75119YG69KuWTjdPW0LQY4Od19QkJ3EwJIXwiQTcaVfZLNZd-59c/s1600/DSCF0760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYK8WEZYEPaf6qA8IqTcL6XCbWtZE4AnrS1QGIO5KAmaEtW-2WA7oi7D-PgXJdXjyuqCbMMHEUw5acf6nn6xjA7k75119YG69KuWTjdPW0LQY4Od19QkJ3EwJIXwiQTcaVfZLNZd-59c/s400/DSCF0760.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-ofmrvTkD_rEnMuCVFQH6w64IDIXEEoxebykSo_5nmTL-J9ywxNeaWvOsm8Gswt74E_dT0YPN7OPtiIIEkyQR6-fw3YbIKTXVDSjzvLD2kVolljRDjJRxQvVVmDegTWCaoJXUTKnCJ4/s1600/DSCF0761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-ofmrvTkD_rEnMuCVFQH6w64IDIXEEoxebykSo_5nmTL-J9ywxNeaWvOsm8Gswt74E_dT0YPN7OPtiIIEkyQR6-fw3YbIKTXVDSjzvLD2kVolljRDjJRxQvVVmDegTWCaoJXUTKnCJ4/s320/DSCF0761.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7XeV7LsQKD_SgEkxd3EhXB3KL1djtCX-QZjO8Ji910cZ84fzBp_nhKaYZ9G4iCYen-g22D4Lezo85KKI5TQuYUqWkID9XoNMw64tMYZx8xzk-CVE_1YQt6akLjR9i-hcsqkaW9jys1Ag/s1600/DSCF0762.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7XeV7LsQKD_SgEkxd3EhXB3KL1djtCX-QZjO8Ji910cZ84fzBp_nhKaYZ9G4iCYen-g22D4Lezo85KKI5TQuYUqWkID9XoNMw64tMYZx8xzk-CVE_1YQt6akLjR9i-hcsqkaW9jys1Ag/s320/DSCF0762.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wrapped it all up in pink tissue and finish the package with a white organza ribbon. In the gift I also included a cute summer all inone and a lovely card. I put all of the gifts in a gift bag with lots of scented tissue paper.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxU9bCo4xDNFH-6nf5mdbVeNwWW479-jeJfs2_dpTnlTc1VOMJYiD5c0MauSb0K85MGB-uBNwcyaRK9a8Nvup9KZ6JmzYkwbAC0JcMQBMwlUSqfOMgVul10M2ydYUQxPO7l2ORlJBKR8E/s1600/DSCF0763.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxU9bCo4xDNFH-6nf5mdbVeNwWW479-jeJfs2_dpTnlTc1VOMJYiD5c0MauSb0K85MGB-uBNwcyaRK9a8Nvup9KZ6JmzYkwbAC0JcMQBMwlUSqfOMgVul10M2ydYUQxPO7l2ORlJBKR8E/s320/DSCF0763.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Wrapping ideas</strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christmas is coming up and one thing I love to do is use an ornament as decoration for the gift that they can reuse on the tree the next year. For the children I often use candy canes or Christmas candy shapes. I will do lots of posts about Christmas in November/December.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000211541">Waste-free Holidays</a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/wrap-it-up#slide_1"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD2mxg76trfI2z_RYUIIVqdnG14cufBsI5OgSPlsOezu1wQzAj0nSrWVlExwXLrqvipp6nbeO-NHCo0LAQFCKgdwD-o-GwD3FtXTKj3R46phT8kvJSF7_e0WBlOgTmRwPhQeMw3nuYj7o/s320/ka100340_hol03_conesclose_xl.jpg" width="257" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/wrap-it-up#slide_1">Martha Stewart</a> has lots of tips and ideas about wrapping.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XuWZTXX2LZO9XYpgRjMBGkflC-bRjhVVD5L8-g2v-qpaRS-pGxVBHat_FM9yj0ss66oOL-z_794_RMarJnAuYerXGPK53xNtituWvKf5ubJjA7cFUBrhwsOsjH8zkeR8oHeK6bXoBO8/s1600/imagesCAA2F5X1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XuWZTXX2LZO9XYpgRjMBGkflC-bRjhVVD5L8-g2v-qpaRS-pGxVBHat_FM9yj0ss66oOL-z_794_RMarJnAuYerXGPK53xNtituWvKf5ubJjA7cFUBrhwsOsjH8zkeR8oHeK6bXoBO8/s1600/imagesCAA2F5X1.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyd0FNHfTQcqOXqXhFQGtwINJ-RsxwCk5H-3OorIJJ6frCILpRxSElhWympuecw07-uK3vRnx2e3HxQQDVTAwKSlBv3vXSh6Nl2enycco9kju0-81mhviJUkBmXSoBU9X3YKsVNxD3aqo/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyd0FNHfTQcqOXqXhFQGtwINJ-RsxwCk5H-3OorIJJ6frCILpRxSElhWympuecw07-uK3vRnx2e3HxQQDVTAwKSlBv3vXSh6Nl2enycco9kju0-81mhviJUkBmXSoBU9X3YKsVNxD3aqo/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibYfqNxRSO6ySar3gIWZZVHyKAmejsyGP6ZnnBnmltqpEW0rJfW5s6XrhO1yZWdktsg9UBX0w2yHcgBPPApOMDjOi-Gbwg0qCoNgdqCOP8Ad2qcKiUjn4jsriYMSsFo3C3vAyPLiy-XZY/s1600/imagesCASIQEXJ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibYfqNxRSO6ySar3gIWZZVHyKAmejsyGP6ZnnBnmltqpEW0rJfW5s6XrhO1yZWdktsg9UBX0w2yHcgBPPApOMDjOi-Gbwg0qCoNgdqCOP8Ad2qcKiUjn4jsriYMSsFo3C3vAyPLiy-XZY/s1600/imagesCASIQEXJ.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslvTI25ejpv50KOToW8hkgJ_E4In3RLL38juNk6sQLciQWInQx34gnP4TpSQ6t6Qz0GJRcArscYu8tuo7aC9Bct6-nWZ0kWhyphenhyphenFLxouXWNyqkU6FpxJ8NZDW4OyPZhoEBXQ6zQzZlBdis/s1600/untitled.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslvTI25ejpv50KOToW8hkgJ_E4In3RLL38juNk6sQLciQWInQx34gnP4TpSQ6t6Qz0GJRcArscYu8tuo7aC9Bct6-nWZ0kWhyphenhyphenFLxouXWNyqkU6FpxJ8NZDW4OyPZhoEBXQ6zQzZlBdis/s1600/untitled.bmp" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicKLeOfuM8W5JXNC6rNnntrpe8IGIKSJJwFcNU7RW5Y4NB_YWbzaB2ejFXuNnD7BPgcytjl1DGRyyJylfeZHT4Io_9y8uCJ47ZoFW6xXJKZyzrz7MAKonf4KANSnh8YAXAk8kjPojg8QE/s1600/imagesCA74FS1B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicKLeOfuM8W5JXNC6rNnntrpe8IGIKSJJwFcNU7RW5Y4NB_YWbzaB2ejFXuNnD7BPgcytjl1DGRyyJylfeZHT4Io_9y8uCJ47ZoFW6xXJKZyzrz7MAKonf4KANSnh8YAXAk8kjPojg8QE/s1600/imagesCA74FS1B.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: orange; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Halloween</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2h18PYKVIj-_UcncmQRUs6RWQyinvI6wEgli_MdIRtnRxaKVqSXHkgKWMRnzwHdxBadLUO9ljiEpz3h_3ep54xSyctS7kBu6BIX0lnChvUqt8k6zXpJi2lNPAtZk6_v0tia42XUfUM7o/s1600/imagesCADC2XB7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2h18PYKVIj-_UcncmQRUs6RWQyinvI6wEgli_MdIRtnRxaKVqSXHkgKWMRnzwHdxBadLUO9ljiEpz3h_3ep54xSyctS7kBu6BIX0lnChvUqt8k6zXpJi2lNPAtZk6_v0tia42XUfUM7o/s1600/imagesCADC2XB7.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: orange; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week while shopping I noticed a lot of halloween items out. Yes it is that time of year again. Every year there seems to be more and more halloween items available and more and more houses and shops decorating for this holiday. In my old blog I did a post about halloween and its origins as I did not know much about the holiday as we in Australia never use to pay much attention to it. But with the world becoming a smaller place and the influencing of other countries and cultures through such mediums as television, Internet, some Aussies are starting to celebrate halloween. This <a href="http://joshua24v15-bek.blogspot.com/2008/10/halloween.html">post</a> gives the history and background to halloween, I looked into this as I wanted to know why we as Christians do not celebrate this holiday, and also wanted to be able to give informed answers to my children not just hear say. I would suggest you check my facts and research for yourself there is so much information out there and this post is a summary as I could have written a book with what I found out.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: orange; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I believe we should not just go on hear say, it is our responsibility to check the facts and the bible in regard to anything we are taught whether it is from the pulpit, books, newsletters, homegroups or blogs. We should be informed so if we are ever questioned as to why we do or do not do things we can give answers that are correct and backed by the word of God instead of answers like<em> because that is what we do</em>.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://joshua24v15-bek.blogspot.com/2008/10/halloween.html"><img border="0" ex="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPvJ9BkxSUVqieT8LnMZPkEB2RRwcFWTNbCnw5sVgKxwVRiEjZvm1TRpZRzMQtBMmMsyUcLsEwKENGxk2yWrIklmoIqjBZ1eg_exyd2FnjJWnMgv4pjy-bZBXwFut5mnRxNXwI1ryTq8M/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Click on the above pumpkin to go to the post.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><span style="color: orange; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some of the links in my old post are now not available I will find some more and link them here. So check back in a few days if you are interested.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: orange; font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.answers.org/holidays/halloween.html">What about Halloween.</a></span><br />
<span style="color: orange; font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.spiritwatch.org/occhallow.htm">Halloween : Treat or Trick?</a></span><br />
<span style="color: orange; font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.anointedlinks.com/halloween.html">Halloween - a harmless ritual? by <span style="color: blue;">by Jean Claude Boulenaz (Teen Challenge, Brisbane, Australia)</span></a></span><br />
<span style="color: orange; font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://heartofwisdom.com/blog/should-christians-observe-halloween/">Should Christians Observe Halloween</a> This is a great post lots of history and information backed by scripture.</span>Bekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14404030401492806150noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621679621870041826.post-47309010776710555932010-10-11T11:20:00.000+10:002010-10-11T11:20:58.261+10:00My Decorating Style<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we moved into the house we are currently living in 4 years ago and I changed my decorating style many people told me I must be crazy to paint my furniture white. And to tell you the truth a few years ago I would have thought the same, white furniture and young children just don't mix. Well it was the best thing I ever did, for starters you can see if it is dirty and if the coffee table happens to get scratched or marked you can either say it is part of the charm or take it outside and give it a fresh coat of paint. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is such a great style to have with young children you can pick stuff up cheap and make it over, then there is not concern if accidents happen. I would much prefer my kids to be able to be kids and learn to take care of things that are not valuable. How much more will they care for items of value. I also have never put things up when my children are toddlers, I taught them what they could and could not touch and when we went visiting I did not have to worry about them touching and breaking things. And yes one of my children was a strong willed child and it did take a lot more work this this one than my other two but it can be done. Will post about how I did this at a later stage.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">At the moment my decorating style is shabby meet cottage with french provincial twists and a bit of contemporary. I am not a true shabby chic as I am not really into lots of floral, lace and frills around the place. I love french and cottage kitchens and love white furniture and two toned furniture. I also love country stuff as well. Decorating with this style has made our house a lot more homely. And another great thing about this style you can pick up old pieces of furniture and give them a face lift. It is perfect for my stage of life. I love to mix and match stuff from different styles.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Here are a few photos of my house. You will see more in later posts.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPS8qeLxQN693YvVlBnBGJbLtcregK9QldDMQobFeDZk8Qq_dSbHU2P0_1m_GY8j_Ug23BOv5JiMzZ5U0oSOUjry3akwskUhbCdjZ_UIFlsGgV-KcRlKuumFDWuVqDj_1ljMBnooUbhNw/s1600/P1010848.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPS8qeLxQN693YvVlBnBGJbLtcregK9QldDMQobFeDZk8Qq_dSbHU2P0_1m_GY8j_Ug23BOv5JiMzZ5U0oSOUjry3akwskUhbCdjZ_UIFlsGgV-KcRlKuumFDWuVqDj_1ljMBnooUbhNw/s320/P1010848.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I painted our old coffee table white and put baskets under it. One basket for news papers one for decorating/craft magazines and one for knee blankets.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmLCtIoqNwzPu7hUq22Q687b6RkIszRDV1GLlN_CVMRs-0TVdBEDPyL9jXHoKnZysSMPC8PXlGDpqEwZP1DJLYgPfifelUUYIgyBTlgDEtTsX56ENFqXE0buNbMIDMeCbOncv3ni9K21U/s1600/DSCF0751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmLCtIoqNwzPu7hUq22Q687b6RkIszRDV1GLlN_CVMRs-0TVdBEDPyL9jXHoKnZysSMPC8PXlGDpqEwZP1DJLYgPfifelUUYIgyBTlgDEtTsX56ENFqXE0buNbMIDMeCbOncv3ni9K21U/s320/DSCF0751.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-z5JdDjlXWQDLOdEpa8yTdr48sGqkFaOJyZkvSFWNPIEswPFTUAK1_yiZebyCyMgckgDD_jA4OL9yEValqfvex5efh8D_jX2yogcHQA8X4e6wkufHX6W4jmImZC1Hvkgiaf0VloO3Mo/s1600/DSCF0754.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-z5JdDjlXWQDLOdEpa8yTdr48sGqkFaOJyZkvSFWNPIEswPFTUAK1_yiZebyCyMgckgDD_jA4OL9yEValqfvex5efh8D_jX2yogcHQA8X4e6wkufHX6W4jmImZC1Hvkgiaf0VloO3Mo/s320/DSCF0754.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy6wQUz4pzv0o6m0v36ljj6RIuBRQ0A_FYKezgX2xb_UDRMvrs8CS63V5vRpbNaEJ3IU3wb9PxtveIQjN_Ir8njTan_wv1g18dI7OkhwNrL-NcXxmksaQLyUCz0x1AjXCiBnqaK1j9OHo/s1600/DSCF0755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy6wQUz4pzv0o6m0v36ljj6RIuBRQ0A_FYKezgX2xb_UDRMvrs8CS63V5vRpbNaEJ3IU3wb9PxtveIQjN_Ir8njTan_wv1g18dI7OkhwNrL-NcXxmksaQLyUCz0x1AjXCiBnqaK1j9OHo/s320/DSCF0755.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I picked this kitchen hutch up for next to nothing it had been used in a garage to store tools and stuff I sanded it and gave it a fresh coat of paint and new draw knobs.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtFFO2Mp0Uxe5uf8MKh9xCDJ76QnKy6AFrq5EEM5kuzRoiJcJCU3VcjFBtqYcvlzdAMMYrsdi2U4eK3zNP98rTPJxIM0Jauuk_ltiJlB1ln2cETAOSSmTp_qBRhr3C8yuHK0HgoyxlJyg/s1600/DSCF0756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtFFO2Mp0Uxe5uf8MKh9xCDJ76QnKy6AFrq5EEM5kuzRoiJcJCU3VcjFBtqYcvlzdAMMYrsdi2U4eK3zNP98rTPJxIM0Jauuk_ltiJlB1ln2cETAOSSmTp_qBRhr3C8yuHK0HgoyxlJyg/s320/DSCF0756.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes we even have a whitish dog, well where we live he is quite often tinted orange as he has a love for dirt and mud.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJJglstB_9HyRDo6Sv2vkl65VlyLfa5o_iKV7sKdKnTJSCNnLdDb80xNY98hNsKgg4NPS_PMlDk90fVfjnjANSVSQom5E8O83nqXBVyPrBk_GhwHhdCO21SXMhYMe20Wu7vCNkGXS2jZY/s1600/DSCF0147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJJglstB_9HyRDo6Sv2vkl65VlyLfa5o_iKV7sKdKnTJSCNnLdDb80xNY98hNsKgg4NPS_PMlDk90fVfjnjANSVSQom5E8O83nqXBVyPrBk_GhwHhdCO21SXMhYMe20Wu7vCNkGXS2jZY/s320/DSCF0147.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did up our old pine bed it was starting to look dull you know the look pine gets when it is getting old. I painted it antique white and got the spray of flowers sent over from America and it has made such a difference. I will be doing a post on our bedroom in the coming weeks. I gave our room a makeover as an anniversary gift for my hubby.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgModa2FfqU62FM_rMzCxBX2F9ZoGZtqCky3SPlgZOHLEXqIfZ9BjcfzR7iOyhcsPq9rhjldNjLEL73kwbiZXVHJJLQ3UcsLJV-3N1w-Eym2pw0PlXyUQ-iBjZHG92WADe5jrUD3OFItIA/s1600/P4110728.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgModa2FfqU62FM_rMzCxBX2F9ZoGZtqCky3SPlgZOHLEXqIfZ9BjcfzR7iOyhcsPq9rhjldNjLEL73kwbiZXVHJJLQ3UcsLJV-3N1w-Eym2pw0PlXyUQ-iBjZHG92WADe5jrUD3OFItIA/s320/P4110728.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moving here was one part of discovering me I had always been kind of tomboyish, trying so hard not to be a girl, but also wanting to be a girl but just now knowing where to start or wanting to look silly in the process. Learning to like me has been a long had hard journey one that I am still on. Growing up I was</span> constantly aware that I never really measured up, though no one would have known. How easy it is to hide how we feel inside. I am the Master of mask making. I was a pastors kid and ran the youth group, and Sunday school, song lead regally, shared in Church, while all the time feeling that I was not good enough. I had a good relationship with the Lord as he was my only real friend, but still struggled with who I was and that I was not good enough. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I have to remind myself daily that I am fearfully and <strong>wonderfully made. </strong>I am a child of God and was created by him and by not liking me I am telling God that his creation is a mistake. I am sure I am not the only one who battles with who they are, but once we start to discover God and his heart we can learn to accept our self. For me this is my struggle, the one thing I battle with, the one thing I do not want to pass onto my children. Oh how I want them to be secure in who they are and know they are amazing and measure up. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">So how did I get onto that oh that's right decorating, learning what I like and to put pretty things out is okay, to let people know I like china and girly stuff is okay. To want to make a nice homely home for my family is again okay. I don't have to keep all this inside I can let people see me and if they don't like it that is okay. It does not change who I am.</span><br />
<br />
<a class="lbsBibleRef" href="http://biblia.com/bible/niv/Psalm%20139.14" lbsreference="Psalm 139.14|NIV" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Psalm 139:14</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> declares, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” </span>Bekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14404030401492806150noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621679621870041826.post-86864741272950021862010-10-08T17:52:00.000+10:002010-10-08T17:52:48.913+10:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHORe5h91VmeGXP-Nn2LLfT5xCWYr7UQe_fHGWQe-8N4gebF0t-wNmI-BC0F4HjJmGsk8-vPcMpol-pmhhMq866EajtgwqZKKKV5wx-LeOEjc1WYDLeM61tGNv5k3WDy6MF3TWtVfpXSI/s1600/1374453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHORe5h91VmeGXP-Nn2LLfT5xCWYr7UQe_fHGWQe-8N4gebF0t-wNmI-BC0F4HjJmGsk8-vPcMpol-pmhhMq866EajtgwqZKKKV5wx-LeOEjc1WYDLeM61tGNv5k3WDy6MF3TWtVfpXSI/s1600/1374453.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I read these quotes the other day from a great blog </span><a href="http://www.chatswithanoldlady.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chats with an Old Lady</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. This is one of my favourite blogs to visit. I thought this was so in season for my life now. The quotes are from C. J MaHaney from his book entitled "<em>HUMILITY--True Greatness</em>",</span><br />
<blockquote><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Serving others for the glory of God. This is the genuine expression of humility; this is true greatness as the Savior defined it."</span></blockquote><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqZ56H2lLDC6UOUYpnNPNsP2kHbJKZpzJtMTh1YS_N2_fbj2yNnGkmiyT9lA5jsaJsnJmFU688DJXq-8NL0TOs5t7op_ersTKGDs8ocr6hiMRwtcK5GuTuDq0qhUwS-EO578Z37EOQ1A/s1600/BCP621-21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqZ56H2lLDC6UOUYpnNPNsP2kHbJKZpzJtMTh1YS_N2_fbj2yNnGkmiyT9lA5jsaJsnJmFU688DJXq-8NL0TOs5t7op_ersTKGDs8ocr6hiMRwtcK5GuTuDq0qhUwS-EO578Z37EOQ1A/s1600/BCP621-21.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I particularly liked this quote below:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple;">When God sees a mom with small children daily serving in her home, for <strong>HIS</strong> glory, He calls that <strong>TRUE GREATNESS</strong>! Isn't that encouraging?</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1G4Ix8iDInnK5JrUt_H9ScYtsuQt3dm7Fl37tjjgQJEUXyV2T2zkxZ-tmE5fk7iC_Y029UBBWiML6JrwjGkutJNufHZnAdcucuBDNx-IhB8bVKpeoh4O20Q4_DwJqFFUbf4R3tvUrxjY/s1600/pe0061506.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1G4Ix8iDInnK5JrUt_H9ScYtsuQt3dm7Fl37tjjgQJEUXyV2T2zkxZ-tmE5fk7iC_Y029UBBWiML6JrwjGkutJNufHZnAdcucuBDNx-IhB8bVKpeoh4O20Q4_DwJqFFUbf4R3tvUrxjY/s1600/pe0061506.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;"><br />
</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Galations 6:9 "And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFjophIPW1naiV4Cdd3zx8zLsOJO5h2Vr26lAgZ2WWbdxhYZaD2YxSPJXsXyys6M1yY1AMcB6BQJwOdkCA8tUldxOPvAqwPOTF7Kd7SYk2ED6gvQTv8vbv9C1OLMOEClcyTpca7UnTYB0/s1600/1785788.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFjophIPW1naiV4Cdd3zx8zLsOJO5h2Vr26lAgZ2WWbdxhYZaD2YxSPJXsXyys6M1yY1AMcB6BQJwOdkCA8tUldxOPvAqwPOTF7Kd7SYk2ED6gvQTv8vbv9C1OLMOEClcyTpca7UnTYB0/s1600/1785788.jpg" /></a></div>Bekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14404030401492806150noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621679621870041826.post-86160184702438414552010-10-06T13:39:00.000+10:002010-10-06T13:39:45.849+10:00A prophetic word for women & church leaders...<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I read this today and thought it was worth posting.</span> <br />
<div><h2 class="uiHeaderTitle"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A prophetic word for women & church leaders...</span></h2></div><div class="clearfix"><div class="mbs uiHeaderSubTitle lfloat fsm fwn fcg"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">by </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/lisabevere.page"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lisa Bevere</span></a><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> on Wednesday, 06 October 2010 </span></div><div class="mbs uiHeaderSubTitle lfloat fsm fwn fcg"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div></div><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I woke this morning with such an urgency to share the following excerpt from Lioness Arising. I believe it is an urgent and prophetic word for Church leaders and God’s women. I shared this portion with John and he said he wished EVERY church leader could hear it...so here is our attempt. Feel free to re-post and share as you feel led. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then turning to the woman, but speaking to Simon, (Jesus) said, “Do you see this woman? I came to your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet and dried them with her hair. You gave me no greeting, but from the time I arrived she hasn’t quit kissing my feet. You provided nothing for freshening up, but she has soothed my feet with perfume. Impressive, isn’t it? She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal.” (Luke 7:43–47)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we imagine that we are above the need for heart grooming, we start judging others. In judgment we deny others what we ourselves need. This is what happened to Simon. He needed his feet washed. He needed the greeting of peace. He needed the healing of an anointing balm. But since he thought he was above needing these things, he did not offer any of these rituals of greeting and grooming to his guests.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can’t help but wonder if Jesus has turned his face to the women as he poses a question to the legalistic leaders of our day, asking something like this: “You think the sin of the woman is too great for her to merit acknowledgment, so you ignore her. You imagine she is in some way less than in my charge to present the gospel, but I have highlighted the example of this woman—and thus exonerated women. You imagine Eve’s sin to be greater than Adam’s, and therefore you deny her daughters access to my table, but don’t forget that those who are forgiven much are all the more grateful. A place of honor will be found for these daughters, even if it is by way of washing and anointing my feet.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lovely lionesses, it is time we again give our glorious Lord something to brag about. To see this happen, I am willing to wash some feet and have mine washed. Let’s each be willing to do anything or go anywhere if it means Jesus will have reason to marvel when he looks our way. Simon thought this loose woman was falling all over Jesus, but Jesus called her awkward attempts lovely. Don’t worry if your attempts are awkward at first. Just commit to begin. I want us all to make this kind of impression on Jesus so that he would say of us, “I am impressed they have shown me so much love.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let’s do something wonderfully significant for our Lord. As we lavish kindness, grooming, and welcome on others, we pour out our adoration on him. Let’s anoint one another for his return and our resurrection. Let’s wash each others feet, even if it is with our tears. Let them fall unhindered until there is enough moisture to wash the dust and filth off the feet of the church. Let’s weep over our own sins and cry over the injustice levied on our sisters and children the world over. If the mercy that has been lavished on you is not enough to reduce you to tears, then allow the cruelty of the plight of captive daughters to move you. Your tears wash the feet of others and magnify our Lord. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(The above is an excerpt from “Lioness Arising: Wake Up and Change Your World,” Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group, 2010</span>.)Bekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14404030401492806150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621679621870041826.post-68666850110395639212010-10-04T10:11:00.002+10:002010-10-04T10:15:13.050+10:00Sunday Dinner<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Usually on Sundays I try and do a special dinner, like a roast as it is usually the only night meal my husband is home for. Yesterday I wanted to make an extra effort as he has had to work all day yesterday, also knowing that he will be working 15 hour day monday and tuesday and has not had a day off in a while. I also have been feeling better and have been neglecting my poor family in the meal department lately, We have not been doing our usual Sunday evening meal since I have had morning sickness. It is so nice to all be able to sit as a family and have dinner together, the girls love to set and decorate the table on Sunday's and my son loves to cook with me. It has become a bit of a tradition in our house.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0luB9nk-fxYp7erMhF8h_Quu1PLRT3C7NTazDZRJ5yrNxim1WWx1dY7RO3tmasHaCUwn7931GZ5BQHXYJ13Zea8hfHXGEZJSabIrb4wrhMCjx13TJ46Gtriz9OPStAxs5ZIu7f6aZDL4/s1600/DSCF0749.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0luB9nk-fxYp7erMhF8h_Quu1PLRT3C7NTazDZRJ5yrNxim1WWx1dY7RO3tmasHaCUwn7931GZ5BQHXYJ13Zea8hfHXGEZJSabIrb4wrhMCjx13TJ46Gtriz9OPStAxs5ZIu7f6aZDL4/s320/DSCF0749.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I try and introduce new foods, different courses to try and teach my children table edicate as well as to have a great family time, eating something different than what we have had through the week. We use the good china and glasses (not the usual plastic ones), nice napkins. I am a firm believer that if you do not instruct your children at home how to eat, how do you expect them to eat nicely in public. (also noting that children will be children and you never know what they will do and it is usually in public that they decide to try something new which embarrasses you). </span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday morning I put the slow cooker on with a corn beef. When I got home from church I started my <a href="http://beksfamilyfavouriterecipes.blogspot.com/2010/10/roasted-leek-garlic-and-bacon-soup.html">roast garlic, leek and bacon soup</a>, and for dessert made a pineapple upside down cake with cinnamon cream and ice-cream. (I have started a recipe blog just click on the highlighted words and it will take you there, I will be adding more recipes soon so check back later if you want the recipe for the cake or corn beef)</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://beksfamilyfavouriterecipes.blogspot.com/2010/10/roasted-leek-garlic-and-bacon-soup.html"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisH7CuwxGMEtWpALpeXmCgA3koJJACwwipr4vqBJHMlTjXc7xHsYzoZv5O7kq9DwyDwr2e_969XIu1CysQ3HW22Ilj_MZdlT1dFMlrqOCLtDDJwTYHDITCXNBf2OV86qln0SVtafcGYwE/s320/DSCF0750.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The yummy soup this is one of my favourite soups.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Usually when I do a corned beef I do the traditional onion white sauce boiled potatoes and carrots and either cabbage or broccoli. Today for something different I have made a potato and leek bake with steamed veggies on the side. I am sure if my grandfather (who is in heaven) knew what I did last night he would be most horrified and would be shaking his head at me. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I would have more photos but my camera went flat. Next week I will take a photo of the table set up by the girls.</span>Bekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14404030401492806150noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621679621870041826.post-12641503632778241622010-10-01T14:51:00.006+10:002010-10-04T16:14:11.490+10:00The story of my first pregnancy.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiliqXxbvQ0cghOg5aQW5yBImDkwtT2lEyXNOcnPPQ8Dt8IditK1KOItkkTw2o-ZoJI7mEES_cVhzVcCGX1Sbbh5XdrOTf17JyOXJbSipjk5woJ0MxxCFyRME2VVt_osk8-x9rvmaxxQ2g/s1600/untitled.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiliqXxbvQ0cghOg5aQW5yBImDkwtT2lEyXNOcnPPQ8Dt8IditK1KOItkkTw2o-ZoJI7mEES_cVhzVcCGX1Sbbh5XdrOTf17JyOXJbSipjk5woJ0MxxCFyRME2VVt_osk8-x9rvmaxxQ2g/s1600/untitled.bmp" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last night while driving home I was reflecting on my first pregnancy and birth. I though I would share the story with you. My eldest is really a walking miracle, everyday when I look at her I am reminded of the power of prayer, how special she is and how if it were not for God she would not be with us or she would need special care. Here is the short verson of my story there were many other instances when it was evident that God had his hand on us. I often think she must have such an amazing journey with God ahead of her because of what we went through to get her here.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">I should also clarify that I knew from early on that our child was meant to be within a week of finding out we were pregnant I felt that this baby was going to be a girl and I also had a name for her. I believe this helped with my faith that God would come through for us and that we were to fight for her both in the natural and in the spiritual. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta;"></span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My husband and I were very excited when we found out we were expecting. It was what we called a blessing by surprise the pregnancy came a year earlier than I had planned. (yes me planning again, looking back we can see Gods hand in this. If we had waited another year to have a child we would have had a mortgage, I would have just had a promotion with my job. When we felt the Lord telling us to move back to my husbands home town it would have been so much harder.) </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first 11 weeks of the pregnancy went well, I was not sick at all, at 12 weeks while at work I had a massive loss of blood. Luckily my doctor was about 2 blocks from my work so I drove straight there. She phoned my husband and we headed to emergency being told things did not look good at all and not to expect to much. I don't think I had ever prayed so hard as I did going to emergency. When I got to emergency I was rushed into a little room and soon passed a huge mass. Things did not look good but I kept praying and believing that my baby would be okay. After I passed the mass I had to go and have a scan, and to everyone surprise a healthy in their words "viable fetus" was visible. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">Soon after that I transferred from private care to public as I was told if anything went wrong they would send me to the public hospital. I ended up with one of Australia's leading experts on high risk pregnancy as my doctor and he assigned his top intern to be my doctor. The care I got from them, I would never had gotten if I had stayed in the private system. I was diagnosed as having subchorionic hematomas. Tearing and bleeding of the placenta. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">Things went okay for the next few months I still had bleeding every now and then at about 26 weeks my blood work started giving concerning results and my blood pressure was high. So from 30 weeks I was in and out of hospital with high blood pressure and wacky blood work. I had scans every week from 26 weeks and then every day or every second day depending if I was in hospital or not from 32 weeks. Every time I got admitted I also ended up with a room all by myself which was amazing. During this time I really withdrew into myself as I only had Glen to talk to so it was me, my husband and God. So all I had was God and my husband to lean on and to talk to about my fears during those long days sitting in a hospital bed. As I said I was in and out of hospital they could not work out what was wrong I had high blood pressure but did not have preeclampsia. I had funny liver function tests but my liver seemed to be fine from the scans I had. However the placenta was a worry and seemed to be deteriorating.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">At 37 weeks my doctor decided to send me home again, as he left the room to get the paper work I quickly said a prayer as something just did not feel right. Within a minute of me praying he returned and said he would give me one more scan and if everything was okay then I could go home and I would have to come back the next day for another scan. I went for a scan and as I was heading back to my room my doctor met me in the corridor and said he was going to induce me asap as my placenta was failing fast. If I had gone home she would most probably have died. So I got induced that day.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">The labour was long and hard. One of the things I really wanted most was a natural birth. I had prayed about this and the Lord knew the desire of my heart. After a few hours of being in labour my child was getting distressed, very week and there were no free surgery rooms. They started scrubbing and preparing a room and calling in a team to deliver my child by c section. At this point my husband went and sent a text to family and asked for prayer. Within half an hour of the request she was born naturally and had an great agpar reading. She was very small and weak but other than that she looked perfect. We were told there was a chance that she could have developmental delays or other issues due to the placenta not working, lack of oxygen and nutrients. She has shown no sigh of those things other than a tendency to get ear infections due to the tubes not being properly closed and strength problems which is common in children born before 38 weeks. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">Other issues arose at the birth I was hemorrhaging and the placenta was breaking up but through prayer again it all worked out perfectly no need for surgery, I was able to go back to the ward with my baby and went home 2 days after that. Which was a miracle as she had jaundice that went away very fast and I had lost a lot of blood and they thought I would be in for at least 5 days. When we chose her second name we found one that means God is gracious.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">God is really amazing trust in him and rely on him in your hard times he will be there for you. I have found time and time again that God is the only one to rely on, people let you down, and are often not there when you need them, but God will always be there. No matter what you are going through, hand your worries and concerns to him and you will find a peace no person can give you. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmoseZNtj2-ju6kZxrQ4JWz04Z8Q2EOAy9wscswSakPfZEHxkaIuh_cBW_aJIYoce34TP0q54F9c5O28J6JWC5BbWp3l2kxT4hYvcUkWbc1ebc4Rpz-UQQLEcXZGG-yoaLplhGmnEIv3Q/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmoseZNtj2-ju6kZxrQ4JWz04Z8Q2EOAy9wscswSakPfZEHxkaIuh_cBW_aJIYoce34TP0q54F9c5O28J6JWC5BbWp3l2kxT4hYvcUkWbc1ebc4Rpz-UQQLEcXZGG-yoaLplhGmnEIv3Q/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial;">Here are some of the bible verses that got me through this time.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #76a5af;"><em>Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.</em> <br />
Proverbs 3:5-6 </span></span><a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/faqhelpdesk/p/newlivingtransl.htm"><span style="background-color: white; color: #76a5af;">(NLT) </span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #76a5af;"><em>Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. </em>Philippians 4:6-7</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #76a5af;"><em>Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.</em> <br />
Psalm 27:14 </span></span><a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/faqhelpdesk/p/newinternationa.htm"><span style="background-color: white; color: #76a5af;">(NIV)</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #76a5af;"> <br />
<br />
<em>And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.</em> <br />
2 Corinthians 9:8 </span><a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/faqhelpdesk/p/newinternationa.htm"><span style="background-color: white; color: #76a5af;">(NIV)</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #76a5af;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #76a5af;"><em>I can do everything through him who gives me strength.</em> <br />
Philippians 4:13 </span></span><a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/faqhelpdesk/p/newinternationa.htm"><span style="background-color: white; color: #76a5af;">(NIV)</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #76a5af;"><em>... the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.</em> <br />
Deuteronomy 31:6 </span></span><a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/faqhelpdesk/p/newinternationa.htm"><span style="background-color: white; color: #76a5af;">(NIV)</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #76a5af;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #76a5af;"><em>No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.</em> <br />
Romans 8:39 </span></span><a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/faqhelpdesk/p/newinternationa.htm"><span style="background-color: white; color: #76a5af;">(NIV)</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #76a5af;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #76a5af;"><em>... but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.</em> <br />
Isaiah 40:31 </span></span><a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/faqhelpdesk/p/newinternationa.htm"><span style="background-color: white; color: #76a5af;">(NIV)</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #76a5af;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #76a5af;"><em>Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.</em> <br />
Matthew 11:28-30 </span></span><a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/faqhelpdesk/p/newinternationa.htm"><span style="background-color: white; color: #76a5af;">(NIV)</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #76a5af;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #76a5af;"><em>Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.</em> <br />
1 Peter 5:7 </span></span><a href="http://christianity.about.com/od/faqhelpdesk/p/newlivingtransl.htm"><span style="background-color: white; color: #76a5af;">(NLT)</span></a><span style="background-color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #76a5af;"> </span></span>Bekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14404030401492806150noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621679621870041826.post-39434137010739730492010-09-29T19:45:00.001+10:002010-10-01T17:22:32.401+10:00Kitchen Shelf<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have painted all day and the shelf is finished and the kitchen has been rearranged.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhquA17jdkpjMC78aOfSnxLpAHwD68Ht0mKIKOZedyXa-PVRUujzAYZoiWEbWB0wM0aR7L2okn5TgBtPReAOvTR0F3HheOHXmCXF6Pr4ex-H8y9ppu9BAeQP2EjcHnQbcEq3qqMGTcrFr0/s1600/DSCF0743.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhquA17jdkpjMC78aOfSnxLpAHwD68Ht0mKIKOZedyXa-PVRUujzAYZoiWEbWB0wM0aR7L2okn5TgBtPReAOvTR0F3HheOHXmCXF6Pr4ex-H8y9ppu9BAeQP2EjcHnQbcEq3qqMGTcrFr0/s320/DSCF0743.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It will probably get changed around a bit can't decide if I like it standing or on its side with the kettle in the self.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also finished the picture frame but can't decide which photo to put in it. Will add a picture of that in my next post.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="TimesRoman12" style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>You are valuable because you exist. Not because of what you do or what you</b></span><span class="TimesRoman12" style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><b> have done, but simply because you are.</b></span><span class="TimesRoman12" style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><b>--Max Lucado</b></span>Bekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14404030401492806150noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621679621870041826.post-19778020945810375382010-09-29T09:47:00.004+10:002010-10-01T17:24:13.740+10:00Home Living<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday I read a lovely post from Linda at <a href="http://homeliving.blogspot.com/">home living</a>. The title of the blog was </span><a href="http://homeliving.blogspot.com/2010/09/homemaking-class.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Home Making Class</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Oh how I wish there was something like this when I was growing up, well even now for that matter. Growing up my mother was sick a lot so my home skills are largely self taught or I learnt from my father, we lived along way away from my extended family and my grandmother who started to teach me how to knit and sew on her holidays wit us passed away when I was 11. You see my mother did not know how to cook or do anything when she married my dad, as she had a lot of challengers as a child and her parents were told she would never move out of home if she lived past her childhood years. So she was never really taught home skills, my father is an amazing cook and he taught my mum who now is a great cook. But having a mother who was ill a lot while growing up, meant that I had to learn how to keep house and cook at a young age. By the age of eight I could cook most meals including roast, lasagna, bake bread, cakes, milk the cow and goats, could do washing, ironing, most cleaning jobs. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think it is so important that we teach our children cooking and home skills, even if they do have a disability, you never know what will happen in the future. As in my mums example by the grace of God she achieved things in life that people and her doctors never expected her to. Not only did she get married she also had a child, was a pastors wife and a great writer. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am trying to teach my children things while still letting them be a child. This is something I have really struggled with, I do not want to rob them of their childhood, but I also want them prepared for life when they leave home. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A class like this would have been so great, for both teens and us married ones, the older generation have so much wisdom and knowledge to share. Rhonda has a great blog called <a href="http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/">down to earth</a> she shares lots of great ideas on home making, baking, gardening, craft and much more. It is great to find an Aussie blog like this. Laurie from <a href="http://www.tipjunkie.com/">Tip Junky</a>, also has lots of great ideas.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">In Australia our high schools provide a subject called home economics, this is compulsory for year eight and then is an elective for years 9 to 12. It focuses on cooking and sewing/craft. I did home economics from years 8 to 12 but only really learnt the basics.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Yesterday I went op shopping with my children we were looking for curtains or something that I could make into curtains for the kitchen but instead we found...... A brunch coat for me, a near new school dress for my eldest for $6 which is amazing as she goes to a Christian school and it is unusual to come across any of the uniforms in op shops. And a shelf.</span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqVrHhPMN6XxZGzheLS8zxudCVzGs_NBxJ5Ba3qKnb9690210x_HycXrvloGnbefyU50PGCrun8e4gFEbwqOAqu56piVLpThp1f4AqIdzPpPd6Hj4O4bvZ7MdJx0tpf3QhD6fbrmxEkBw/s1600/DSCF0740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqVrHhPMN6XxZGzheLS8zxudCVzGs_NBxJ5Ba3qKnb9690210x_HycXrvloGnbefyU50PGCrun8e4gFEbwqOAqu56piVLpThp1f4AqIdzPpPd6Hj4O4bvZ7MdJx0tpf3QhD6fbrmxEkBw/s320/DSCF0740.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Yes a brown old used shelf. But with a coat of white paint a little sanding here and there and some pretty things it will turn into a kitchen self for my kitchen bench.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjshdV9aDESkvLbDWh6_3F2wtq20DlzxpxmcwFrSlN0QnHKMtGqNna_Ene-KVTN33oH8IKMtG9PIVgvco5Nv0h9Hb0UybvMtgX5pkr_xIEtmFIjhyphenhyphen_b3bzKJ_bvj1m4HmFl-rnneFUBOvU/s1600/DSCF0742.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjshdV9aDESkvLbDWh6_3F2wtq20DlzxpxmcwFrSlN0QnHKMtGqNna_Ene-KVTN33oH8IKMtG9PIVgvco5Nv0h9Hb0UybvMtgX5pkr_xIEtmFIjhyphenhyphen_b3bzKJ_bvj1m4HmFl-rnneFUBOvU/s320/DSCF0742.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some ideas of what I might do with it once it is painted.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd2xKQfJfcxzzBWpnJ_znmm_LQGXhjlQSNmUqEdU6W_pTSuKo9XLDMc6_bm6aYlHcWXF1STMAFrDb9z_z3uD6pu5tD5GP4lR0NsjI7P6e6AsT2k3I1p2yf4aXG97ErUPoUfr5EWh0qDMc/s1600/DSCF0741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd2xKQfJfcxzzBWpnJ_znmm_LQGXhjlQSNmUqEdU6W_pTSuKo9XLDMc6_bm6aYlHcWXF1STMAFrDb9z_z3uD6pu5tD5GP4lR0NsjI7P6e6AsT2k3I1p2yf4aXG97ErUPoUfr5EWh0qDMc/s320/DSCF0741.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And while I was looking for the paint in my very messy craft/junk room I came across this picture frame I have been meaning to paint.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1ZShbQCe8r6TI6qtUTzIFPW1MhneURcgbtp3_cxXo2TO5XX8h1i4CKsh76JmWRNeu5N9LSap3CKsXaCYB7DWU_pUsVHoC7fNdiM3KKBX-KDqP8qTWmmJz2U8JT5oIzNYmjpqddRRYLE/s1600/P1010928.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1ZShbQCe8r6TI6qtUTzIFPW1MhneURcgbtp3_cxXo2TO5XX8h1i4CKsh76JmWRNeu5N9LSap3CKsXaCYB7DWU_pUsVHoC7fNdiM3KKBX-KDqP8qTWmmJz2U8JT5oIzNYmjpqddRRYLE/s320/P1010928.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrgx_VMIjqJkkQ0a6yOYMjA6dvpl8DpyhIzVP63Egee6yTh39wIfTXZ_tpbn6P1fQOPGU4H3LHqcf3rUa3h6PiKtUZbD9b0NZ4dGLRKxP3bh452y6vA8MF2DBpPgr67_H4ygE_wShZSc/s1600/P1010927.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrgx_VMIjqJkkQ0a6yOYMjA6dvpl8DpyhIzVP63Egee6yTh39wIfTXZ_tpbn6P1fQOPGU4H3LHqcf3rUa3h6PiKtUZbD9b0NZ4dGLRKxP3bh452y6vA8MF2DBpPgr67_H4ygE_wShZSc/s320/P1010927.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So two more jobs to add to my list.</span></div>Bekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14404030401492806150noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621679621870041826.post-27421847206472233172010-09-28T10:19:00.022+10:002010-10-01T17:46:19.201+10:00What to do.<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don't you just love school holidays :) no morning rush. This morning my daughter wanted pancakes, we made the pancake mixture, I went off to be sick again (at the moment this is a common occurrence in our household) the my husband came home from work and cooked them for me:)</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-wICt4NsyvS_N80T0evV4GSvQcfPhcGVhgwOi6XOilvyx5ysdn0dOzW6G3gOIkfWx_Qq78taLc_9g0zSzRPEH9uPMgzjCHgoCut-TyT4whKi-H5Sgv_UVqdkeiidOJ3PXsrnbXRliimM/s1600/DSCF0732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-wICt4NsyvS_N80T0evV4GSvQcfPhcGVhgwOi6XOilvyx5ysdn0dOzW6G3gOIkfWx_Qq78taLc_9g0zSzRPEH9uPMgzjCHgoCut-TyT4whKi-H5Sgv_UVqdkeiidOJ3PXsrnbXRliimM/s320/DSCF0732.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8gb9DRvZIJDqEkB3Uvr9xBl6EEgY4w9eybrWx5AWE10UKLDKTRteOpialwyjSvN34yf0RS9YlqvZWIG-YhvOWJr218X7V0QPyZs-1VztSQxiQ8DENj3x42WeKGTxn1K1xm41dxs3qrwY/s1600/DSCF0731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8gb9DRvZIJDqEkB3Uvr9xBl6EEgY4w9eybrWx5AWE10UKLDKTRteOpialwyjSvN34yf0RS9YlqvZWIG-YhvOWJr218X7V0QPyZs-1VztSQxiQ8DENj3x42WeKGTxn1K1xm41dxs3qrwY/s320/DSCF0731.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What a great way to start the day :) (I mean the pancakes, not being sick)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what do you do when you have had 14 and a half weeks of the worst morning (all day) sickness, no social interaction other than school pick up. You teach yourself to crochet, make a list of projects you would like to finish. Well actually I only have done that in the last week. To be totally honest, the last 14 weeks have been very challenging, lonely and frustrating for me, but also a time where the Lord had to teach me a few things. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For those of you who do not know me, I am not one to sit down and do nothing I am always on the go, doing this and that. I actually find it very hard to just sit and watch tv or blob. I feel that I must be doing something that I am being lazy if I just sit. (This is something I am working on and having a very lade back husband has helped me allot) So you can imagine how hard it has been for me not to be able to do anything, had trouble cooking, cleaning, just getting through the day was a challenge. I was nauseous all the time, had head spins, sooo tired and the smell or though of food made me ill. Even the smell toast or peanut butter had me running. The Lord showed me 2 things the first was am I a Mary or Martha. Here is the little article I wrote for our church ladies newsletter. (Now when I wrote this I did not know I was pregnant I had actually been suffering from morning sickness)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: TTE12B2008t00; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: TTE12B2008t00; font-size: large;"></span></span><span style="font-family: TTE12B2008t00;"><span style="font-family: TTE12B2008t00;">Luke 10 : 38 - 42<br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: TTE12B2008t00;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: TTE12B2008t00;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: TTE12B2008t00;"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: TTE12B2008t00;"><span style="font-family: TTE12B2008t00;"></span></span><span style="font-family: TTE12B2008t00;"><span style="font-family: TTE12B2008t00;"></span></span></span></span><br />
<div align="left">Mary Or Martha </div><br />
<div align="left">This past week I have been sick with the flu and then twisted my ankle. I had so many plans for the first week of the school holidays, outings, cleaning, you name it, it was on my list. Then I got sick and hurt myself and all my plans went out the window.</div><div align="left">I was reading the bible and read the story of Mary and Martha. The story stirred something in me and made me evaluate and think about my life, (especially the last few years since being married and a mum) my priorities. I pondered on the Western life in general.</div><div align="left">I am very Martha like, and I saw myself in a new light. Running to and fro, taking care of everything, doing and cleaning and always on the go, when the most important thing is to just be still and listen to His voice and have a worshipful spirit.</div><div align="left">Then I came across this quote on a friend’s facebook page.</div><br />
<div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left">“ S<span style="font-family: TTE12B2008t00;"><span style="font-family: TTE12B2008t00;">low us down, dear Lord. We’ve been like Martha, worried and distracted, instead of Mary, who spent time at Your feet, enjoying and adoring You. Please change our hearts..”</span></span><span style="color: purple; font-family: TTE12B2008t00;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: TTE12B2008t00;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: TTE12B2008t00;"></span></span></span></div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left">Learning to spend time at the Lord’s feet like Mary is a hard thing to do. It is easy to get distracted by life, the children, the fly on the wall, that ball of fluff on the floor.</div><div align="left">Many times I am so busy doing things that I miss out on what he has for me and miss out on a relationship with him. Our culture is one that is on the go all the time and it is hard to find the time.</div><div align="left">Don't get me wrong we need Martha but sometimes Martha can get lost with the doing, coming and going. My prayer for all of us is that we learn to fit a bit of Mary's nature into our lives everyday.</div><span style="color: purple; font-family: TTE12B2008t00;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: TTE12B2008t00;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: TTE12B2008t00;"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: TTE12B2008t00;"><span style="font-family: TTE12B2008t00;"></span></span><span style="font-family: TTE12B2008t00;"><span style="font-family: TTE12B2008t00;"></span></span><span style="color: purple; font-family: TTE12B2008t00; font-size: large;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: TTE12B2008t00; font-size: large;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: TTE12B2008t00; font-size: large;"></span></span></span><br />
<div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">Quote:</span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">It's exciting to live in complete oneness with the will of God. It is never dull or static because it is not a one-time, once-for-all commitment. It is something we have to work at constantly, moment by moment.--Evelyn Christenson</span></div><br />
<div align="left"><span style="font-family: TTE12B2008t00; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: TTE12B2008t00; font-size: medium;"><em><span style="font-size: large;"></span></em><span style="color: purple; font-family: TTE12B2008t00; font-size: large;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: TTE12B2008t00; font-size: large;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: TTE12B2008t00; font-size: large;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">So that was the first lesson then after about 10 weeks of being sick and having had prayer for the morning sickness I was asking God why, why, why. By this point was was totally frustrated, then he showed me that he had allowed me to this sick, he did not heal me as it was the only way he could get me to sit and listen. (I must not have learnt the lesson that he showed me about Mary and Martha). It was during this time that I was shown what he wanted me to do, just sit in his presence and pray and intercede for member and situations in my family. I was being called to pray. It was a time that I really needed to pray about a situation and the outcome was better than I could have imagined.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">The last few weeks the morning sickness is not as bad and I have a few hours during the day when I am okay. So I decided to learn how to crochet, something I have always wanted to learn. I started with "The art of crochet" subscription every 2 weeks I will learn a new stitch and at the end of it I will have made a lovely throw. </span></span></span><br />
<div align="left"></div></div><div align="left"><div align="left"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlN-RVbwj9ZuQNL3HmkPBar5vYCMB94tA3hTqchRZP5zYEJTu5CwifRCle7chcp8E_B4nX5AttlT1Dk6H_QKZterlnNouN76xxOCU-NLgssdAsQXKID5QC80LLZRRkOqTXyrSDMiVGgDE/s1600/DSCF0729.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlN-RVbwj9ZuQNL3HmkPBar5vYCMB94tA3hTqchRZP5zYEJTu5CwifRCle7chcp8E_B4nX5AttlT1Dk6H_QKZterlnNouN76xxOCU-NLgssdAsQXKID5QC80LLZRRkOqTXyrSDMiVGgDE/s320/DSCF0729.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Other projects I am planning to do as I get better are:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWb-QsRVakS8EAoh2rTG5-DbXnZJ_bosQaWe6oBvh1QloT0Vlz2CeQ5BP7dZSoIrzNcQ8NXI5tb2jRAbExVaN0urjGv7zweLj_jvoRrsNxGr1kZsQXUlkrpccIP1am1Vk8G_gz2p1jmIk/s1600/DSCF0726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWb-QsRVakS8EAoh2rTG5-DbXnZJ_bosQaWe6oBvh1QloT0Vlz2CeQ5BP7dZSoIrzNcQ8NXI5tb2jRAbExVaN0urjGv7zweLj_jvoRrsNxGr1kZsQXUlkrpccIP1am1Vk8G_gz2p1jmIk/s320/DSCF0726.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I painted all our furniture in our room white but I still have not found the right knobs for the draws</span>. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCOraZaYca4pbgXgxENQLctBomxbKDTKKSFKupcCcNk1hGOu08J7Ll8SmnktzF5c-L7xn2cyK5duWu8SSvI31YvC2yIvW20OZuGWR-lu7aoQ60M1Zve19o8XjxRnaIOndytHwUhZQ8G5g/s1600/DSCF0727.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCOraZaYca4pbgXgxENQLctBomxbKDTKKSFKupcCcNk1hGOu08J7Ll8SmnktzF5c-L7xn2cyK5duWu8SSvI31YvC2yIvW20OZuGWR-lu7aoQ60M1Zve19o8XjxRnaIOndytHwUhZQ8G5g/s320/DSCF0727.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This desk I got for my eldest from ebay for $15 needs some tlc, a new coat of paint and some new draw knobs.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu-ivM6FXPSvP1X7IzrpzwO72cFvSYfnWm2BgTAJPoQzrDbfazG0ydupn1zl9S3LmXSEGFdLjc8pB9Ig7m4yFOG6V3Bbe90b2F2MHAGe9iRnfb6Lpe1DVg6yfPdVQtXCGbRO6UacUAZWE/s1600/DSCF0728.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu-ivM6FXPSvP1X7IzrpzwO72cFvSYfnWm2BgTAJPoQzrDbfazG0ydupn1zl9S3LmXSEGFdLjc8pB9Ig7m4yFOG6V3Bbe90b2F2MHAGe9iRnfb6Lpe1DVg6yfPdVQtXCGbRO6UacUAZWE/s320/DSCF0728.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Thinking of painting this tallboy white to go with the girls room. Needs new knobs and am thinking of removing the panels in the cupboard and replacing them with mesh or over them in some pretty material, or paint a picture on them.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjPvnfPDH2jIO1JPXO0yhyRgE_W3YlBFCfpPq3vdawmt6ocdQOV-IGQOdlP-n6ojLOexVbLl7LzKGntPJfY_npWRdOKAMgXaoTGmvEU5UU7q0h4OBKXeh6Z_r4xo2c7948CuRsGV7R4zc/s1600/DSCF0730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjPvnfPDH2jIO1JPXO0yhyRgE_W3YlBFCfpPq3vdawmt6ocdQOV-IGQOdlP-n6ojLOexVbLl7LzKGntPJfY_npWRdOKAMgXaoTGmvEU5UU7q0h4OBKXeh6Z_r4xo2c7948CuRsGV7R4zc/s320/DSCF0730.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Oh my what was I thinking 9 years ago when I painted this change table yellow. In my defence I though it was a lighter colour. This need a new coat of paint and some tlc.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85q2tD6zU2ncMIqJVUQyuPYfIMGbgCEcfyYT8VTQvTEIYy9JYGj3JUJDAgzsBniQ3knx48Pcs8unGpvsPO5nXykPgClCHmQQBcsgn-oMQjIS7UVPC8jvRaK6UwMuUtRc-E8GpEGFJWM4/s1600/DSCF0725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85q2tD6zU2ncMIqJVUQyuPYfIMGbgCEcfyYT8VTQvTEIYy9JYGj3JUJDAgzsBniQ3knx48Pcs8unGpvsPO5nXykPgClCHmQQBcsgn-oMQjIS7UVPC8jvRaK6UwMuUtRc-E8GpEGFJWM4/s320/DSCF0725.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">And my lovely table I picked up over a year ago. I started sanding it needs to be totally sanded and repainted. There are 3 coats of paint on it and it was finished with this terrible poo brown colour :( </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">And get my sewing machine fixed.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">So that should keep me out of trouble for a few weeks. Will post as I finish each project.</span></div><div align="left"></div>Bekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14404030401492806150noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-621679621870041826.post-63661786027979237522010-09-27T10:16:00.002+10:002010-09-27T13:11:48.273+10:00New Blog New Start<span lang="EN-AU"><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="background-color: #6fa8dc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d85c6;">Well</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d85c6;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d85c6;"> </span>I have had quiet a break from blogging, life has been very busy, challenging and lonely we have been sent many curve balls that have kept our family on our toes.</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I went to update my old blog but could not sign in as I had forgotten my password so I decided to start a new blog. This blog will be slightly different to my <a href="http://joshua24v15-bek.blogspot.com/">last blog</a>. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This blog will be my ramblings of my journey as a stay at home mum and finding my way in a world that tells us that being a stay at home mum (or a mum) is not highly valued in our society. My greatest desire is to encourage mums both stay at home and working to find how God wants us to raise our children and run our houses. This have been on my heart for a few years here is a <a href="http://joshua24v15-bek.blogspot.com/2008/06/i-love-mums.html">link to a post I wrote in 2008</a> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-AU"><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="background-color: #6fa8dc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d85c6;">Next year I was planning on going back to work part time, I had made all these plans signed up to sell Australian made gourmet food and was looking at doing some admin work, even considered updating my teaching registration and do some relief teaching. But God had other plans, we are looking forward to the arrival a new member into our family due in March. After I found out we were expecting I spent a bit of time with the Lord, and was reminded that I once again had made plans for my life without consulting the Lord, and it seems he had other plans for us. One funny thing is that about a mth before we fell pregnant I felt that I was to start a group for mums next year with newborns up to one year. I thought yeah great that would be fun. I could do that been there done that but it seems that I am ment to be part of the group. We are experiencing a baby boom at our church at them moment with over 8 babies due early next year.</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-AU"><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="background-color: #6fa8dc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d85c6;">Some of the topics I will be posting on in the near future is being pregnant when you have other children to take care of, morning sickness, crafts and cooking, making a house a home.........</span></span></span></span></span>Bekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14404030401492806150noreply@blogger.com2