Easter Break

I received an email this week with the following story. Just wanted to share it, particularly at this time of year when we remember a son whose life was given so that we could have access to our Father in Heaven. Let's remember the price that God paid in sending his only son to die a cruel and horrible death so that we could have everything. I can't take the credit for this photo but it is a reminder of just how much God loves me and just how much Jesus suffered so that I can be forgiven and have eternal life.
A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.
When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war . He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son. About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.
He said, 'Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art.' The young man held out this package. 'I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.' The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. 'Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift.' The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected. The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son The auctioneer pounded his gavel. 'We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?' There was silence. Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, 'We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.' But the auctioneer persisted. 'Will somebody bid for this painting. Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?' Another voice angrily. 'We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!' But still the auctioneer continued. 'The son! The son! Who'll take the son?' Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the long time gardener of the man and his son. 'I'll give $10 for the painting.' Being a poor man, it was all he could afford. We have $10, who will bid $20?'
'Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters.' '$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?' The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections. The auctioneer pounded the gavel.. 'Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!' A man sitting on the second row shouted, 'Now let's get on with the collection!' The auctioneer laid down his gavel. 'I'm sorry, the auction is over.' 'What about the paintings?' 'I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets everything!' God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on the cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: 'The son, the son, who'll take the son?' Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.

FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, WHO SO EVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE..

.THAT'S LOVE

We spend four perfectly lovely days at Tannum Sands with our church family over Easter. The weather was perfect and the break was very relaxing. The kids all had a ball, they actually took bikes with them as Tannum has miles and miles of bike tracks. There was so much going on - the men went fishing, canoeing, four wheel driving etc. We all played cards and board games, and went for walks, some went swimming, others played tennis, and yet others went for drives. Tannum also has the Kite Surfing Competition over Easter so it was a pretty picture to see the sky full of Kites. We lay around and read books, visited each other for endless cups of coffee, in fact on Saturday morning, most of the girls went off to the Coffee Club in Tannum for coffee. On the whole we did what ever we felt like, when we felt like it, and it was a little hard to come home again and go back to work. We have booked again for next year. Just a few photos to share of our few days away.
This was our home for four days - very comfortable.












Just a small glimpse of the skyline with all the kite surfers. They really were magnificent to watch. Steve and I both went for a walk along the beach and sat and watched them at the end of the day. I gotta admit I enjoy just sitting on the beach at sunset with my wonderful man. We are both very drawn to water. It is a place where I feel very close to God, as I sit and watch the horizon and listen to the waves break upon the shore.














These are just a few of the kids that Chloe hung out with over the weekend. We hardly saw them - they were off having a ball together. Just a bit of a glimpse of our set up and the fun we got up too.
















Finally finished a layout that I have had sitting around for a couple of weeks now. I am finding it very hard to be inspired at the moment. I am sure that it has something to do with the lack of scrapbooking time I have had this year. I am sure hoping that my mojo returns in a hurry real soon.
In closing this week., just want to congratulate Beverley on her new DT role with S of F, and also a big welcome to Katie T who also joins the team.
Just another couple of quotes to leave you with
The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but to reveal to him, his own." -Benjamin Disraeli

"Friends are like pillars on your porch. Sometimes they hold you up and sometimes they lean on you." - by Sharon

Have a very Happy Week.

Looking forward to the Easter Break

Well only a couple more sleeps until Easter. I must admit we are looking forward to the break. We are going camping with friends from church for the four days at Tannum Sands. The boys will be out fishing for sure - kids will have a great time together and I will read. Taking some novels with me but also the laptop. One of my friends is really enjoying digi scrapbooking, so hoping to play around with Photoshop and see if I can at least do a digital layout.

Not a lot to share this week. It has been extremely busy with my Uni Orientation last week. We did have our monthly scrapbooking day last Saturday and I finally got to finish Nat's CJ from the round at Scrap of Faith. Just need to do a couple of journalling cards and pop in the envelope behind the photo and I can post it off.

Also managed to do a couple of little 6 x 6 layouts for my Joy Journal which I will share.

The first layout is all about the books I enjoy reading - it is also in some small way documenting the change in my job this year with me now working in the Library. A job I am really enjoying at the moment. The second layout is about clouds - big beautiful, puffy white clouds - so good to see them in the sky again after all the rain. The final layout is about our obession with Hot Cross Buns at the moment. We love to have a cuppa and a fresh hot cross bun smeared with a bit of butter. Oh not so good for us, but they sure taste divine.

Other than feelling constantly tired, Steve and I are almost over the nasty bug we caught a few weeks ago. Work has been great - I am continuing to enjoy my time in the library, and am still praying that it might become permanant.

Not a lot more to share this week. I thought I would leave you with the following quotes.

The happiest moments my heart knows are those in which it is pouring forth its affections to a few esteemed characters." - Thomas Jefferson

Keep Your Thoughts Positive
Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words.

Keep your words positive because your words become your behaviors.

Keep your behaviors positive because your behaviors become your habits.

Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values.

Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny
It is not what a man thinks HE IS
It is what a man "THINKS", he is

As a man THINKS in his heart, so is HE.
Proverbs 23:7

A House full of visitors & New Blogs to Share.

Some exciting news this week, I have a couple of new blogs to share.

First of all Scrap of Faith has a blog. Check it out here.

http://scrapoffaith.blogspot.com/

Each month, you will find challenges, and competitions, layouts, digi amd OTP's instuctions as well as some interesting and challenging articles.

There is a link to daily devotions as well as lots of other interesting information. Come pay us a visit.

If you have young children still in nappies then you might be interested in checking out my friend Nat's new blog. Nat has a passion for MCN's (Modern Cloth Nappies) and has started a new business venture. She makes the most awesome MCN's - so cute and trendy. She is a wealth of information, so definately check out this site.
http://www.patootiesnappies.blogspot.com/

Not a lot of creating got done this past week, but we have had a house full of visitors. I have also been very busy workwise preparing for our Regional Orientation evening for the Uni which is being held this Wednesday night. I have spent most of the weekend ringing students. Next weekend I plan to scrapbook.

We have had a pretty busy week with visitors also. My really good friend Karen from Emerald had to bring her baby into Rocky to see a Cardiologist and her little man has to have an operation in the near future. It was great seeing her and catching up. We were to go spend a weekend at her place last month, but because of all the flooding it just didn't happen, and it will be quite a while before we do get out to visit them, as their home was affected by the flooding and at the moment they are living in a couple of caravans in their shed. We did have a great time catching up though, and I only wish her visit could have been under better circumstances and for a bit longer.

My sister and niece have also been in for three days, as my niece had to come get some braces on her teeth. It was so good to catch up with them also. We were both pretty busy during the day, but we did get to hang out at night. We even managed to go to the movies together and see the "Bucket List". It was a great movie and worth seeing if you haven't already seen it. Not only did they have dental appointments, but as they home was also affected by the floods in Emerald, they were in here shopping around for quotes to replace some of their furniture, etc so their time here was also pretty busy. Still it is great to have them living so close and nice that they get to come and visit us more often.

Chloe has also had a pretty busy and also a pretty good social life this week. She has been busy with both school assignments and work. Last week, she got to spend two days on the river here, practicing her power boating skills. As part of her Marine Studies, she gets to go for her boat licence this term. She also convinced her dad to take her out on the river this afternoon so that she could get some more practice in. School was never like this when I went. She has also had friends over for a sleep over.

I did manage to do a couple more pages for my JOY Journal which I will share. Also have a couple of tags that I need to respond too.

Both Katie and Jodi have tagged me - fortunately with the same tag so I only have to do it once.

The RULES:

1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog

3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog

4. Tag 7 people and link to them.

5. Comment on their blog to let them know they ahve been tagged.

Ok here are my weird and random facts.

1. I rock backwards and forwards when I am very tired (as if I am still nursing a toddler)

2. I can't stand mashed pumpkin, and yet I love pumpkin soup, roast pumpkin, pumpkin cake or scones etc.

3. I have broken my arm, finger, toe, and fractured both my ankles.

4. I once did a painting of Cat Stevens in 10 minutes (was too ashamed to show anyone) and yet got the second highest mark in my art class in Senior at school.

5. I won the Year 10 Public speaking contest in High school.

6. My husband is also my childhood sweetheart - we started dating in High school.

7. I am afraid of snakes.

Here are the rules to the second Tag.

1. You must post the rules bfore you give your answers.

2. You must list one fact about yourself for each letter of your middle name.

3. Each fact must begin with that letter. (If you don't have a middle name, just use your maiden name.

4. After you have been tagged, you need to up-date your blog with your middle name and answers.

5. At the end of your post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (be sure to to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and need to read your blog for details)

Love anything chocolate

Eats way too many sweets

Interested in learning more about photography

Giving nature

Hates snakes and creepy crawlies.

I know I only need to tag five people for the second tag, but I am going to tag the 7 of you to do both tags.

I tag

Anthea

Carol

Kell

Jane

Natalie

Gayle

Barbara

Thought I would end off this post with a photo of my eldest daughter which arrived in my inbox this evening. She has also been out practicing her photography and has taken some great photos recently. She has sent a few photos in that I will try and share over the next couple of weeks,

This next two photos are of some of the native plants which are flowering in our garden at the moment.

An Finally, I found this quote this week and thought I would share it.

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, “I used everthing you gave me" Emma Bombeck

A quiet week

Well last week was pretty quick - Steve spent most of the week at home still recovering from the flu, and whilst I went back to work, I was exhausted by the time I got home each afternoon, so a little nanna nap was in order.

Steve had a busy weekend as he was at a work Professional Development Seminar all weekend, which left me alone at home. Saturday was great - didn't get to sleep in as I had to get Chloe to work, but I did manage to get some Uni work done, the washing all done, the house swept out, and bathrooms cleaned, and I still managed to have a rest, have a read, have a friend over for afternoon tea. fit in a small grocery shop and cook us a roast dinner - and although this all sounds busy, I actually felt like I had a relaxing day. It was good to finally feel as if I was starting to get on top of things.

I even managed to do a couple of layouts on the weekend. I was really happy with the one I did of Sarah - turned out better than I imagined, and it was fun just to sit down and scrapbook for me. Gayle thought you might be interested to see how I used those yummy papers you sent me too.

Anyway thought I would share them with you.

I

The other four layouts are just a few more of the 6 x 6 layouts I am doing for my "JOY Journal". I still have a few more photos that I want to add to my journal. I figured that if I did one a week for the 52 weeks, I would manage to document some of the things I am thankful for and some of those things that I do or have that help make me feel joyful. Last year was such a hard year that I thought this would be one way to help me focus on the positive things in my life. You know though, I am loving my new job, and I surprised both Steve and myself last night when i actually commented to him that I was actually looking forward to going to work today. It has been a couple of years since I have felt like that.

Well there is not much else to report this week, thought I would leave you with this

10 Things About People Who are Consciously Grateful By Brian Zahnd

1. They feel better about their lives 2. They are more optimistic 3. They are more energetic 4. They are more determined 5. They are more successful 6. They are more joyful 7. They exercise more 8. They have fewer illnesses 9. They get more sleep 10. They are more likely to help others

Finally, people who are consciously grateful have a higher quality of life.
So……… there’s some great reasons to be thankful.