3 Sleeps to go

Only three sleeps to go until our scrapbooking retreat, and only two sleeps to go until my friends, Barb and Sal fly in. I am really looking forward to the weekend away to scrapbook. I have got organised and have prepared at least 9-10 layouts to do (In the past I have never managed more than 6 layouts for the whole weekend).

As a result, although I have been scrapbooking this past week, I have no layouts to share yet. (Hopefully I will have a lot to share next week though)

I have my scrapbooking gear all packed and sitting in the hallway - just need to upload some more fonts on Steve's laptop (I am getting to take it this weekend) and pack the printer and I am all ready. It seems bizarre that I am only taking a small overnight bag with essentials in and yet this huge suitcase which is choco full of scrapbooking supplies. There is also a sneak peak at my plastic bags of layouts to do and complete.

Steve got to have a bit of a play around with the new camera on the weekend - I reverted back to my good old Fuji FinePix - (need a different lense for the Nikon to get real close ups - might have to go on my wish list for Birthday or Christmas)

I did manage to get a couple of photos of my man playing with the new toy though.





Life has been hectic again this week - my friend Karen has been back in for a few days. Her mum had a hip replacement last week and wasn't doing so well - a few days in intensive care. She is out now and seems to have picked up but her wound is not healing as quickly as they would like it too. Barb and Sal arrive on Thursday and then my sister and neice will be in on Friday for three days. (At least Steve and Chloe will have someone to look after them whilst we are away). They have to be in town for an Orthodontist appointment first thing Monday morning. A weekend shopping though seems in order for them before hand. Still lots of things they need to get to have their house fixed (From the floods earlier in the year)

I don't think generally we realize just how much those floods have affected people's lives. Karen and Pete are still living in the shed - four months down the track and nothing has been done on their home yet - it has been a mammoth task just to get tradespeople in to quote - still need to hear back from the insurance company yet. Jude and John are in much the same boat - although they have been given the go ahead to have work done now - you have to be able to find a tradesperson to do the work. Nothing is easy for them.

We had a pupil free day at work on Monday and had a behavioural psychologist come and speak to us - had some interesting ideas presented to us - not sure I agree with everything she said, but it was definately food for thought. Tomorrow is sports day, and the libraian and I get to be referral officiers. We get to look after all those child who can't cope with the changes to rountine. Think of us - we should be in for an interesting day.

Thought this was an interesting quote this week - thought I would share it with you.

I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody. Bill Cosby

REally there is only one way to be successful .

This is what the bible actual says

What does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 10:12

He's been caught

Saw in the paper today that the guy who raped the 15 year old after work last Wednesday night has been caught. Whilst I fell angry that he has caused this young girl so much grief - this guys was only 18. Because of his selfish act his life is destroyed also. He will undoubtably go to jail and so he should - the whole thing is just so incredibly sad. It still concerns me though that in the last 6 months there has been so many woman assaulted here - obviously he is not the person responsible for them all - it is a scary society we life.

We had our monthly scrapbooking day last Saturday - think I spent as much time chatting as I did scrapbooking. I did manage to finish a CJ I had at home (which means I am finally up to date with them- well until the next one arrives) There were two parts to this CJ so on the left hand page I have journalling (hidden) on "What Scrap of Faith means to me" and then on the right hand page I have made a little booklet (which pops into a pocket behind the photo) which documents why I love to scrapbook. I really had fun doing this CH and I was really happy with the way it came together,

I also managed to do one other layout which was kinda like a letter to my daughter. This layout was pretty simple and came together quickly.

This week, I have started preparing some layout ideas for layouts to scrap at our retreat in 10 sleeps time. My girlfriend Barb and my good friend Sal from Scrap of Faith are both flying up to come scrapbooking with me and I am so looking forward to it. So far I have prepared bags with 4 layouts to do. I need to organise some photos this weekend.

Not a lot else here happening at the moment. Trying to take things a little easy as we have a few very hectic weeks ahead of us.

This week a few of us have been complaining about the thankless task that housework is - it is neverending and just a plain drag. Well Sal challenged us all to think of it in a positive light and look for ways we can be encouraged by doing our housework. (Now I never said this was going to be an easy challenge.)

In Philippians 4:8 it says

8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. I need to think of housework in terms of being true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy.

Sal challanged us to look upon it in a positive light and look for ways that will help us to see it as being excellent and praiseworthy. Here are some of the ways she sees that it can be an encouragement to her

It blesses my family.

I feel great with a clean house

God will grant me time and strength to do it.

It burns calories .

I feel a great sense of accomplishement when it's done.

My home is welcoming to others.

When she puts it like that - there are a lot of reasons why we can do it and enjoy it - so although I know that this is not going to be easy - I am taking up your challenge Sal to look at housework in a more positive light.

Hope you all have a great week.

Life isn't always fair

Tonight I am feeling pretty angry and sad. We have had two devastating incidents in Rocky this week - last night after Steve had left to go pick up Chloe from work, I got a phone call from her to say that either her dad or I had to go into the shopping centre and the store to pick her up, she was not allowed out into the car park on her own. As Steve didn't have his phone on him, I ended up having to drive down as well. Appartently one of the young girls was raped the night before as she finished work and walked around to the back of the store to get a lift home. She was attached and taken into a stair well leading to the underground carpark. She was only 15 - a couple of years younger than Chloe. It all happened accross the road from the school I work at - in fact a lot of the parents sit on this wall each afternoon as they await their children. It makes me angry that our children don't have the freedom to walk out of work safely to their cars.
Also one of our little children witnessed his dad being bashed the night before too by a drunken neighbour who came into his house and knocked his dad unconcious. His dad is now in hospital in intensive care in an induced coma, and this poor child had to witness the lot - sometimes life is so unfair. Spare a thought for these families and remember them in your prayers - their lives have changed forever.

I have had another week of scrapbooking this week, and I am enjoying the chance to have a bit of time to myself to scrapbook. I have done a few of the May challenges from Scrap of Faith, so thought I would also share. It has been a pretty quite week here, Steve is much better and is back at work - feeling a little stressed though as exams start in a couple of weeks and he still has so much work to catch up on with the kids. In total this week he has over two weeks off on sick leave. This is a first for him, normally he would be lucky to take a couple of days a year. Anyway these are the layouts I have done this week. The first one is just a layout I have done for me. It is a snap shot I took of Chloe one day at the gardens - she was totally unaware that I had even taken this photo, but I just love how she was totally enjoying watching all the kids have a ball on all the play equipment.

This second layout is for one of the Scrap of Faith Challenges. Challenge 5 - Mystery Challange - "Meet with God". Scrap a layout or OTP which shares where you meet with God. This might be your Church, your Bible study group, the top of a mountain, the shower ... wherever it might be where you feel you meet with God.

Although i regularly spend time with God at home in my bedroom or office, it is the times that I sit watching the sun set or the waves rolling in on the beach that I am really aware of God's aweseomeness and his power. I guess being a creative person, watching a sunset like this reminds me that God is also creative and that each sunrise and sunset are an expression of his creativity, as the colour is splashed across the evning sky. Scenes like this really do bring me into the presence of God and makes me want to worship and praise HIM.

This third layout is for Challenge 3 - Word Challenge - The word for May is "WORLD". Do a Layout or Off the Page project based on "WORLD". I loved doing this layout, we serve an awesome God who not only created the world but the Universe, so infinity bigger than we can ever comprehend, and yet he loved us and set his son to die for us so that we would have a relationship with him in Heaven forever. I was really happy with the way this layout turned out.

Have had a little time to play with my new camera this week. I still have so MUCH to learn, am still a little nervous about taking photos that are really important to me, so tend to still grab the old camera for those important shots. I am trying to play with it more and take photos of things around me so that I can learn more about how it really works. I wonder if I will ever get the hang of it. Still these next few photos are just some shots of some of the things around me that I love.

Love a good foot massage, some girlie flicks, my JOY Journal, some of my pretty matching cushions, my hot chocolate, slippers, my wedding rings, Chloes fun cushions, and the ornate carvings of my full length mirrow. I really think I need to do a course though and might need to look into that.

These last few photos were also taken with my new camera. This is my sweet baby sound asleep. Each evening she comes out to give her dad a hug, and ends up getting him to tickle her whilst she watches a bit of TV. She didn't last too long on this occassion, she was out like a light within 5 minutes.

There is a never ending battle to get one young lady to keep her room tidy - this photo is just to document that it can be done - just doesn't last too long like this. Still we perservere, and hopefully one day it will happen.

Not much else to share this week - tomorrow we have our monthly scrapbooking get together - I am looking forward to catching up with some of the girls - it seems ages since I have seen quite a few of them. Meanwhile I need to go organise some scrapbooking to do. Might also have to go have a bit of a shop in the morning before I go - heard that Embellished has just received another big shipment of new stock. Yum Yum.

Trust you all have a great weekend.

Just leaving you with this quote which I read on Mel's blog.

What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind...
LET IT BE SOMETHING GOOD. Amby Nic Montage

Happy Birthday My Beautiful Daughter

My Baby turns 17 today. Just want to wish you a wonderful Birthday Chloe - I know today didn't quite turn out like your usual birthday, but I still hope you had a wonderful time and that you know just how precious and just how loved you are. We missed you being home to celebrate it with us this morning. Chloe is a Form Senior this year and had to go away with her Year 8 class on their Form camp which was held over the last couple of days. This means she wasn't home this morning to open her presents with us and then she wasn't at school today to celebrate it with her school friends. Tonight she and her friend Grace were having a girls nights sleep over party at our place to celebrate both their 17th and 20th Birthday party, but Steve has come down with the flu again this week and on top of that has also got infected sinuses , and has spent the week in bed again, so it all had to be changed at the last minute, and we just ended up going over to church for a BBQ dinner. (Not quite the same as a sleep over - and even more disappointing since Chloe had taken the day off work to continue her celebrations. In fact lots of things have been canned this weekend - the progressive dinner has had to be relocated also (although I am still going to be doing the desert.)

Still the girls had fun - I thought I would share a few photos from the night. They had a fancy dress and had to come as someone starting with the first letter of their names. Chloe ended up going as a COP. It was easy, I got to raid the dress up box at school. We had cowgirls, and gypsies, glamour chicks, and goldilocks, and also Curious George. Didn't get as many photos as I would have liked as my batteries were going flat. Anyway Chloe just wanted to wish you a wonderful birthday and let you know how much we love you and how blessed we feel being your parents. Can't thank God enough for blessing me with such wonderful

wonderful

kids.

National Scrapbooking Day turns into National Scrpabooking Weekend

I have thoroughly enjoyed this long weekend. Steve had a lot of work to do here at home (clean out his shed after it was flooded from a burst water pipe next door) so I decided to veg out and get some scrapbooking done to celebrate National Scrapbooking Day. Well I was on such a roll, that it turned out to be National Scrapbooking Weekend in this household rather than National Scrapbooking Day and I managed to do heaps of layouts. It seems like I have done very little scrapbooking this year in comparison to other years so it was really great to just be able to sit down and get some of the photos sitting on my scrapbooking table documented. No exciting family news this week. Enjoying the peace and quiet after the last few hectic weeks we have had here, and I already know that this next weekend is going to be very busy. It is Chloe's birthday and she has organised a joint birthday Party with one of the girls from Youth Group. It's a girls night, they are all sleeping over on Friday night. I think at last count , there were 13 or 14 of them. Still not sure where they are going to all sleep (I mean that's if they do go to sleep) and then on Saturday night, the Youth Group are having a progressive dinner and they are all coming here for Desert. The theme is Mexican and I am supposed to make a Mexican desert. Any ideas, recipes or suggestions are most welcome. I can see there will be some great photo opportunities this next week. I am also going on some PD for work this week. The Libriarn and I are going to visit another school to check out their cataloguing program - we are about to change and update ours, so that will make a nice change this week. Chloe is also off on a Year 8 Form Camp for a few days this week (She is their Form Senior) It is a bit sad actually, she will miss her Birthday morning at home. She gets back that afternoon and an hour and a half later all the girs are due to arrive.

Anyway thought I would share the layouts I have been doing this weekend. I have had these couple of photos of Chloe sitting on my desk for quite some while - This first layout is for Challenge 1 of the Scrap of Faith Challenges for May. I didn't have a portrait photo so turned I it all around a bit. Love how it turned out. I am really love the browns and aqua colourings at the moment, and for some reason I really love this photo of Chloe I also wanted to challenge myself to do a couple of layouts using Patterned paper for a change. So both the second and third layouts have been done using Patterned Paper. Nearly all my layouts are done on Plain Cardstock, so it was fun to try and do something a little different. I think these coupld have worked. I love the "Phone Conversations" layout. This is gorgeous paper and it has been nice playing with flowers and do some girlie layouts. The fourth layout was inspired by a digi layout I saw on an online Gallery - have just been trying to find it again to give Credit to the person but I can't seem to find it.

I have some many photos of the floods from January that I wanted to do a page to document it as it is 17 years since we have had a flood and hopefully it will be a few years before we see another one. These last four layouts are just 6 x 6 layouts for my "Joy Journal". They all have hidden journalling tucked away behind the photos. I am really enjoying doing this little album. I am definately going to have to go and see though if I can get sime bigger rings to hold it all together, as the album is nearly full and we are only half way through the year. Not much else to share. I have been reading this blog this week. - Bring the Rain - I have been really encouraged though by reading their sad story - my heart breaks for them but at the same time their faith has been a huge encouragement to me. It is a beautiful story of God's faithfulness especially when life seems so tough and you wonder how on earth you can keep going.

My soul finds rest in God alone: my salvation comes from Him. he alone is my rock, and my salvation: he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. Psalm 62:1-2

I came accross this quote this week and thought I would share them with you.

"Having someone who understands is a great blessing for ourselves. Being someone who understands is a great blessing to others."

"The joy of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship. It is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him."

Just had to Edit to post to show you these photos.

Got to sit on the hillside behind Steve's school with my gorgeous family and watch the sun set this afternoon. We really do have the most amazing sunsets in Rocky

These glorious sunsets bring to mind the words of the Psalmist when he wrote

The Heavens declare the glory of GOD: the skies proclaim the works of his hands.

Psalm 19:1.

Yours O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor for everything in Heaven and earth is yours. Yours O Lord is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor, come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your Glorious Name. 1 Chronicles 29:11-13

Happy Birthday to a Wonderful Daughter

Just want to wish you a wonderful Birthday today Sarah - How was your surprise party tonight? I had a little chucke to myself as we talked about your birthday on the phone this evening. I know you will have a great time. You have been in my thoughts all day today - so wish we could have been there to celebrate your birthday with you. We have missed you so much today. You are a wonderful daughter and I am so blessed to be your MUM. Looking forward to seeing you at the end of next month.