Back into it

There is something about the scent of a fresh morning that gets me every time.  The absolute stillness (on a non-windy day) the way the clouds are rolling back to reveal what is about to come.  Yip ... if I've had a good night's sleep I'm a morning person.  This past night the baby only work once - then again at 5.30.  So, pretty much not must point going back to sleep after that. 

I had been up to week 3-4 on the Couch to 5K program, but after hurting my back a couple of weeks ago, I gave myself some time off.  So this morning was my first morning back into it.  I started again at week two.  Wasn't too bad - well, not as bad as I anticipated.  I could feel my back a little, so I'll keep taking it slowly.  But you know what - even more than knowing I was running off the M7Ms I know I"ll scoff tonight (have to decorate a birthday cake) was the quiet time whilst listening to praise and worship music.  God and me.  Time to thank Him for the amazing blessing of living where we do (even if we're in the middle of job hunting and have no certainty as to where His next path for us is - prayer point please!).  The blessing of having been woken so that I had enough time to have this space without rushing.  The blessing of seeing and smelling His creation - that scent of the world waking up.    The blessing of knowing that when we fall down - He picks us up, stands us up, sets us on the path, and while we keep taking wobbly baby steps, He knows that we will fall again and, AMAZING GRACE HOW SWEET IT IS, He picks us up again, as we do a little child - and holds us firm while we try again.

Have a blessed Tuesday peoples!!

Last day of October

Hasn't time flown?
I am enjoying the wonderful weather that today has bought us.  It is probably between 22 and 25 degrees outside - and it is wonderful!!  The washing is drying, the garden has had some weeds pulled (that is serious muscle building work) and the kids are now tucked in bed.  So ... I am about to finish a clothes order and then it's speed cleaning time!!  Wish me luck!

Sunday Thoughts

Zechariah 8:14-23 (King James Version)

14 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath , saith the LORD of hosts, and I repented not: 15 So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not. 16 These are the things that ye shall do ; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: 17 And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate , saith the LORD. 18 And the word of the LORD of hosts came unto me, saying , 19 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace. 20 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: 21 And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying , Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also. 22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. 23 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew , saying , We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

As I read this – I am thinking of how the internet connects us for positive things – and through it, there are many people speedily praying before the LORD for one-another, despite boundaries of language, geography or culture.   Thank you to the members of my Maximize your Morning group … you’re amazing women and give me strength and encouragement to seek the LORD anew each morning.

Week rushing past

And just as I sit down to write a big long post ... the baby has started to cry, so it'll have to wait.

Blessings to you all.

Food for thought

Last night we watched a DVD called "Robber of the Cruel Streets" about the life of George Muller  It was only an hour, part documentary, part drama but it gave an amazing message.  It really made clear about taking God and the Lord at Their word, complete trust and faith in God alone....

Like I said ... food for thought.  I would recommend it.

Menu Monday

I haven't done this for awhile - but here is how our week dinner wise is going to shape up ... we're nearly finished a week of emptying the pantry/fridge/freezer - I would encourage you to do this if you're able.  It will mean a bigger shop next week, so somewhat false economy BUT it means all the older stuff gets used, and those odd cans of things you pushed to the back of the pantry because you changed your mind about a menu item - do get used up.

Monday - Roast Lamb with spuds/carrots/cauli
Tuesday - Leftover roast lamb (hopefully) risotto - frozen peas/carrots/corn/onion OTHERWISE vegetarian pasta
Wednesday - town and shopping day.  We'll probably have chicken nuggets (not the healthiest, but need to finish the bag in the freezer) coleslaw and oven baked chips
Thursday - Lamb shanks with lentils and garlic mash
Friday - Lamb chops with rice, fried cabbage and homemade tomatoe sauce
Saturday -Mince and pasta (using leek/capsicum/onion/mushroom)  Make sure i fry a double batch of mince so can get Sunday's meal ready also
Sunday - Shepherds pie.

That's it folks ... our week in food.  Lunches are currently sandwiches with apricot chutney and cheese.  We're experimenting a bit with breakfasts as the kids are just not into porridge at the moment.  We have one gluten free - so he gets cornflakes and fruit while the others are having weetbix and fruit.  DH and I are enjoying muesli.

Psalm 81 - Meditations for a Sunday

1 Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. 2 Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery. 3 Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. 4 For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob. 5 This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not. 6 I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots. 7 Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah. 8 Hear , O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; 9 There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god. 10 I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide , and I will fill it. 11 But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. 12 So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels. 13 Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! 14 I should soon have subdued their enemies , and turned my hand against their adversaries. 15 The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever. 16 He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.

Colorwork

Lamb time

The pet flock grazing - makes lawnmowing easier.

One of our pets from two years ago had twins ... one of these.

The one is tinsy tiny orphan - currently not looking like he's going to make it, but we're trying

Isaiah 65:25  (King James Version)
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.

Ouch!!

Source: Old Woman With A Sore Back Using A Cane Clipart by DJArt

imageenvision.com 

This has been me for the past few days!!  Has made it pretty hard to rejoice - but with the help of some amazing friends at the end of a phone - we're getting there - slowly.

 

Philippians 4

4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say , Rejoice  5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9 Those things, which ye have both learned , and received , and heard , and seen in me, do : and the God of peace shall be with you.

Morning

The day has dawned a beautiful spring morning.  The kids have been sunscreened for the first time.  It is a day to be thankful for.

Lamentations 3

²¹This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
 ²²It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
 ²³They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
 ²⁴The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
 ²⁵The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
 ²⁶It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

Have a blessed Sabbath - where ever you are.

It's Early

It's a very early morning here.  DH starts the docking run today - so it's away for a long day.  But on the bright side, it's a sunshiny day (hopefully) and I think we may indulge in a picnic outside for lunch today.

One of the cards DS got in the mail for his birthday - too cute not to reproduce

The last couple of days have been nice.  I am finding myself getting more in the groove.  We're having some issues with bubba only wanting to be feed to sleep, so we're trying to feed till doozy then put him down.  Last night was a bit of a not so fun run - I'm trialling dream feeding him - but it was still every 2-3 hours.  I think we should expect some teeth popping through soon!!!

Photo catch-up

Close-up of blocked shawl

Blocking shawl - not quite properly I think, but it worked pretty much

One old shower curtain chopped up

One new bib created!

Rushed

Well, I'm doing some sewing ... one old shower curtain, large amount of bias binding and some ribbing = new bibs ... pics to come tomorrow hopefully.

Sundays

Well, actually I'm writing this on Saturday night and I'm going to try out the auto post function.

We've got very snotty kids at the moment, and Mr.4 sounds hoarse and isn't a happy camper, so we're not heading into church tomorrow.  But we are blessed that we can listen over the internet if we wish.  Another option we often use is sermon audio.  Some of the speakers we regularly listen to are Paul Washer and Joel Beeke.

I hope you are all having a blessed Sabbath day!

Winner

Well, I must have the record for the least amount of entries for a give-away - only two, which still meant that I had to ask DH to choose a number ... I went up to him and asked one or two?  He said "What? What for?" (that was predictable).  I replied "Never mind, one or two?"  "Two I guess" - so comment two it is.  Tamryn I will pop the buttons into the post for you next week.  Gramma 2 Many - thanks for commenting and I have popped over to your blog also and wish you and your family God's blessing in your lives at the moment.  May you be strengthened by Him continually!

Feeling Loved

We're in a rental, and the only flowers we have are one bush of some type of lilies that grow by themselves.  Yesterday Mr.1 came up to me with them all in his hand, stalks bent and bruised, and said  "Mama, I picked some flowers for you!"  So I rescued them and put them in a vase and they now have pride of place on my kitchen windowsill. It's the little things that just melt your heart.

My house and room

I'm thinking about what my house would look like in my head - I'd love to find and post a picture but I'm unsure of the copy-right rules. 

In my head all the rooms are sparkling (and I have a cleaner LOL) and there are nice painted boxes with baskets of unbroken toys  in the corners.  Bookshelves hold books with all the pages.  In the nursery there would be a cross between a lazy-boy and a rocking chair.  Our room might have a four-poster bed, with a table for sewing and crafting. 

I guess we all have our dreams and apirations of what our house would be like.  I was reading a thread on my bulletin board about how competitive (or not) mother-hood has become.  Sometimes via others, the media or even our own brains we feel like we're not quite making the cut when it comes to our homes or our kids or ourselves.   You know what ... we don't have to make the cut!  Motherhood - and even just being a woman is hard enough without beating yourself up about what you are and aren't doing.  I'm blessed to have friends who remind me of that, and don't mind me ringing up at the drop of a hat to have a vent.  

So ... right now ... I'm going to clean up my room, because that is good for me to do (guess if i make the kids clean their's I better do mine).  There isn't a four-poster, but there is a baby snoozing under a duvet.  There aren't co-ordinated boxes of scrapbooking supplies and sewing material, but there are empty Huggies boxes filled to the brim with stuff that needs some sorting.  You know what ... there are things that just need a good going-over.  And while it's quiet ... I'm going to attack it. 

See you later ... remember to be kind to yourself (and all things in moderation including cleaning!!)

Knitting

I did it!!  I have finished my first shawl!!  I did have to undo the cast-off as I did it way to tight, and it took me a good couple of months to re-do that BUT it's all done, washed and blocking as I type.  Photos to follow.

Blog-tober

I have decided to give this a go.  I'm thinking about writing about some more serious topics, and some not so.  Let's wait and see how far we get ...

Currently I'm negating my 3km run/walk by eating the left-over sweets from DS1's birthday party ... what are you up to?

The Cake

Well, my biggest one just turned 4.  Not sure where the time has flown.  He wanted a train cake, and above is the result.  It even managed to make it to the park in one piece.  We had a wonderful time with friends - and the weather came to the party as well.

In other news ... give-a-way will close Friday 7th October at 8pm NZ time.