My man...

Nice to have my hubby home from his fishing trip.

Verses for the day...

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12

"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of this world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:4,5

God is showing me very clearly that these verses are for me in this season of my life.

Cosy blanket...

If I could crochet I would make this blanket for my day bed but I can't, so I won't...

Richard Scarry bargain...

Jack loves reading Richard Scarry books. I always loved them as a child too. Looking for 'lowly worm' or 'goldbug' on every page. I have even kept some of my old books for Jack. 

A few weeks ago I dropped in at my favourite op shop and couldn't believe me eyes when I found a 'Richard Scarry' Doona Cover. I have never seen one before and didn't even know that they printed fabric. I also bought an old double quilt and my Mum cut in down to single size and sewed it with binding (such a perfectionist) and now Jack has a special reading quilt that I am going to put in the family room with his books.

Misty Mountain holiday...

In May, we went away with our beautiful friends, Tiff, Luke, Ellie and Tegs. We finally got to see this place they have been telling us about for years. We had such a great time. Here are some pictures of Misty.

This is a beautiful spot where I would love to build a holiday cabin... There are incredible views of the mountains from this spot. I love the big tree here. And yes, that is Laura swinging upside down in the tyre swing.

Jack loves tractors.
This is the swing near the house we stayed in. I had to look the other way when Chris was pushing Jack on the swing. It went a little high for me and was on the edge of the hill...

We enjoyed 4wding on the 3000 acre property. I am so thankful to God for providing us with a 4wd so we can explore and create family memories together.

Ok... Chris would like everyone to know that this is not our 4wd. We had to roll backwards down the hill to get out of the way. Oh and did I mention the cartwheel Chris did when the stick he was pushing on, broke...

Misty Coffee drive...

One day at Misty, the Smithies took us on a drive to this nearby town and showed us an amazing little coffee shop. The scenery on the way was so beautiful. We stopped heaps and Laura took lots of photos.

Me and my girl...

The scenery was amazing...

Gotta love the creek crossings...

Jack has discovered baby cinos and loves them...

Just enough light...

Sometimes only the step I'm on,

     or the very next one ahead,

          is all that is illuminated for me.

God gives just the amount of light I need

     for the exact moment I need it.

At those times I walk in surrender to faith,

     unable to see the future

     and not fully comprehending the past.

And because it is God who has given me

     what light I have,

          I know I must reject the fear and 

          doubt that threatens to overtake me.

I must determine to be content where 

     I am, and allow God to get me where I 

          need to go.

I walk forward, 

     one step at a time, 

          fully trusting that 

               the light God sheds

                    is absolutely sufficient.

Someone thinks I'm special...

Look what I found on the front doormat when I got home today.

Thanks hubby...

NEWS FLASH!!!

My hubby started his own blog last night. I am so proud of him.

Now we can stay up late at night and blog together... :)

I have put the link to his blog over in my favourite blogs if you want to have a look.

Oh and while I'm here, I don't mind if people read our blogs but please leave a comment so I know you've been here. Thanks for dropping by and reading this....

These are a few of my favourite things...

This is the magazine my beautiful friends gave to me for my birthday as a yearly subscription.

This is my other favourite magazine that I have been getting at the Library for free.

I love the simplicity of this kitchen but I would add my 'Cath Kidston' teatowels and Donna Hay Cookbooks.

Love to have something like this for Laura's party later in the year...

Verse for the day...

"Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest"

Matt 11:28

"He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul..."

Psalm 22:2-3

"I'll refresh tired bodies, I'll restore tired souls..." 

Jeremiah 31:25      The Message Bible

I love this picture...

My beautiful girl...

Laura just showed me this photo that she took yesterday. I love it. It reminds me of a photo of my Mum when she was younger. I think my daughter is so beautiful. Not just on the outside but on the inside too. I love the relationship we have together. I am very blessed to be her Mum and share our journey of life together. I love lying in her bed late at night, laughing and talking together. We are creating memories that will last forever.

Rainy days...

This rainy weather makes me want to hop into bed and snuggle up under the doona with a good book. (And a cup of tea and block of chocolate on the sidetable) :)

Great day with the family...

We weren't going to let the windy, wet weather stop us from having fun on our family day today so we went down the coast to Timezone at Surfers Paradise and had a great time. The kids loved it. Jack had his first dodgem car ride.  You can buy a pass that includes 2 hours of games and rides, dodgem car ride, mini golf, laser game and other games too. Then we finished off with Subway, Starbucks coffee and Baskin and Robbins icecreams.

A trip down memory lane...

Finally after waiting for 9 years, God fulfilled his promise to us for another child. It was God's perfect timing. We were so looking forward to his birth and my bags were packed early waiting to go to the hospital. After waiting so long, Jack decided to make me wait 2 weeks past my due date. It's funny how you can picture in your mind what it will be like when you have your baby... visitors coming and sharing the excitement.... somehow I missed out on that and we had no idea what was about to happen after his birth... God told me to Fully Rely On Him. (and boy did I need too).

After being told when Jack was 2 days old that he had been born with complications, we waited patiently for an ambulance to take us to the Royal Children's for surgery, only to find out that the power in the ambulance wasn't working and they had to turn off Jack's drip and heater.

Chris and I followed in the car and watched as the ambulance had a tyre blow out on the gateway. We then had to wait for another ambulance to pick us up on the side of the road.

I knew that God had special plans for our son and the enemy was trying all he could to discourage us but we knew Jack was safe and that God would be with him.

Finally the second ambulance arrives.

Jack in intensive care with me and Auntie B. 

Bern and Robb surprised us and came up and waited with us in emergency and then stayed through the evening and into the early hours of the morning while Jack had his surgery. Bern made me up a bed in the kitchen area of intensive care and then made me toast after midnight. We really appreciated having them there to take our mind off what was happening.

Back in the children's ward. A week I will never forget....

After testing been done on heart, lungs and lots of ultrasounds Jack was given the all clear that everything else was okay.

Now I was looking forward to getting out of hospital and bringing Jack home...

I almost ran to the car on the day we were allowed to leave.

My caring daughter...

Laura was there for the birth of her brother and she was so amazing. She held my head between contractions and looked after me so much. It was an incredible experience to have her with me as a support person and I will never forget it. 

As soon as Jack was born she starting crying with relief and excitement and went running out to tell family that were waiting out in the waiting room.

Laura gets to cuddle her little brother.

I love the way Jack is holding her finger.

I love being a Mum...

I love these photo's taken after we arrived home from hospital. 

Jack turns 3...

It's hard to believe that Jack is 3 years old.  We waited so long for him to arrive and now the time seems to be racing along so fast. It makes me want to stop and enjoy every moment because you never get to go back and have them again.  I love waking up in morning and snuggling into my little boy. I love the way he looks up into my eyes and tells me "I love you heaps, Mummy". I love the way he sings songs to me. He has brought so much joy into our lives. 

Jack had his Digger and Dumpers Party this morning with his friends from church. He was so excited. It was worth staying up last night past midnight and rising before the sun this morning to make it special for him. I couldn't have done it without the help of my amazing husband. Biggsie printed all the signs for the backyard and made the amazing cake. He also printed matching shirts for Jack and himself. We kept his shirt a secret until just before the party and it was worth all the effort to see the look on his face when he saw the backyard and his new shirt.

Thanks also to big sis (Laura) and Teg's for blowing up all the balloons and my special friend, neighbour and relative Tiff for spending the afternoon cleaning up with me and chatting.