Happy 70th Birthday Farnder

I was blessed to spend this past weekend with relatives, at a location two hours away from home. I slept in a swag, laughed at fairy lights that looked like 'sunglasses', watched a massive game of family cricket, aw-ed at the cuteness of my cousins and most importantly celebrated some special birthdays. One birthday in particular was very special, my grandpa's 70th. An inspiring and amazing man I call Farnder, who I see as one of the most wise men I know.

On the Sunday, we woke in time to enjoy eggs & bacon for breakfast and be out of the caravan park by 10:30am. Four cars conveyed towards a park for family photos and present time, with the company of some CB radios for commentating and conversation. Our journey continued to the no-power Claire Main Street for ice creams and refreshments before driving to the main area Farnder grew up in. It was incredible. I learnt where Farnder's childhood homes were - His and His Grandma's. We drove past some amazing old buildings, one being Farnder's school (now a B&B) and arrived at St John's Lutheran Church and cemetery. Spending the weekend learning about the history of family was so much more than I expected. I'm still smiling from the love and enjoyment of celebrating a very special birthday. Family is everything.

Thankful

Sitting on the couch watching the sunshine turn into a thunderstorm is glorious. The smell of the rain hitting the warm ground is one of the best and it has left me thinking of some of the things I have to be thankful for.

 Thankful for times when I can share a giant donut with the love of my life. 

 Thankful for bath times to relax and forget about all the worries in the world.

 Thankful for times when God teaches me wonderful things about being a women of God. 

This book is great, based on Titus 2

 Thankful for puppies that make our hearts melt and love us without judgement.

 Thankful for hair styling to lift my spirits and make the wedding feel even more closer.

Thankful for game nights with friends.

 Thankful for anniversary dates with Mr J and spontateous Christmas light hunting. 

Thankful for the Christmas season coming up fast. 

A season to celebrate Jesus's birth and the act of giving. 

& always thankful for a wonderful family. 

Gratitude turns everything into enough. 

What have you been thankful for lately? Big or small. 

Four Year {Dating} Anniversary

Today marks the fourth year since Mr J asked me out. 

So blessed to have such a crazy and super amazing man in my life. 

One month, twenty-nine days, twenty-three hours and six minutes until I can call him my husband. 

In love. 

Letters

{everyone has something to celebrate}

Dear University, I can't say I'm extremely sad to say goodbye to you for this year but thank you for challenging and teaching me a few things. Dear Koorong, I could spend all day with you. After browsing and reading the blurbs of books for a couple of hours, I walked out having started my Christmas shopping and gained a book for myself to read during my break. Thanks. Dear Christmas, forty-three days until you arrive. In the meantime, your carols are lifting my spirits daily. Excitment is high to celebrate the birth of Jesus! Dear Mr J. Thankyou for making me smile when I'm down and giving wonderful advice. I love how the Lord works through you.

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Gratitude

Gratitude turns everything into enough. 

Lately I have been thankful for a new summer dress and the sunshine to wear it in.

For coffee and cronut dates to please say please.

For close friends to relax, talk, laugh, play board games and eat with.

For times to share the love.

For pageant days to pick up chalk, draw on Adelaide main roads and feel like a big kid

For cute cafe's that make yummy chai lattes and refer to me by name

For a fiance that is brave enough to face a baseball head on and smash it out of the park.

For nights when Mum and Dad sleepover.

For plastic plates to prevent dishes and for mum's that willingly do the dishes anyway.

For Dad's delicious bacon and egg mcmuffin with orange juice.

And most importantly, for quality family and friend time. 

What have you been thankful for lately?

Body Shop Party

After a morning at the pageant and an afternoon watching Mr J play baseball eleven friends and family directed their selves to my home for a Body Shop party. After we squeezed ourselves into one of the three rooms of my home, our feet received a pampering, while we had time to relax and socialise. I feel so blessed that I have such amazing friends and family. I give a big thank you to those that joined me at the first 'big' gathering in my new home. 

Here's to love, laughs and nights with the girls! 

Countdown

{photo taken on 2nd December 2009}

1436 days ago Mr J asked me out. 

86 days until I get to marry this handsome brown haired man.

Super excited. 

A Thursday Drive

A drive that would have taken me eighty minutes five months ago, took Mr J and I one hundred minutes today. It was wonderful to drive through the hills again, see the country side and smell the fresh air. We arrived at Victor Harbour for fish & chips for lunch, accompanied by numerous seagulls and a seagull-wannabe, the magpie.

Letting out our inner-children, we challenged each other in a game of mini golf. We putted through whales, lighthouses and obstacles to finish the game in a draw. Many high-fives to Mr J's hole-in-ones! 

We finished our time near the beach, talking to Nana and Pa for a good hour or more before peeking through some display homes and travelling our long drive home. 

Thankful for a man in my life who I can call my best friend, for relatives, for Thursday's free, for petrol money, for sunny days and for God's creation. 

Happy Thursday! 

16 Reasons Mr.J Deserves A Dozen Cupcakes

#1 For letting me experience, fall in love with and crave his egg and bacon specialty #2 For making a yellow unicycle with glow in the dark wheels look so fun #3 For having a greater love for dishwashing liquid and a sponge than me #4 For introducing me to the scrummiest ice-cream that doesn't create dishes #5 For encouraging my dreams, even if I don't know what they are #6 For letting me ask one hundred and one questions during a movie, although I know it must frustrate him like a mosquito in an ear #7 For researching how to make candles because he thinks I would be good at it #8 For being an awesome prayer partner and advice giver #9 For being my selfless wingman and accompanying me to markets such as this one #10 For being a gentleman and opening every car and building door for me #11 For having the best hiding spots for our travelling journal #12 For providing me with blankets and tissues when I'm blowing my nose more than an elephant #13 For conversations reminding me what I have to be thankful for #14 For introducing me to vanilla coffee while late night assignment writing #15 For making a baseball uniform look so attractive #16 For loving and forgiving me everyday of the week.

So flipping excited to share a home and a life with this incredible man.
Only one hundred and four sleeps to go.

SAYCO 2013

My long weekend was spent serving God at SAYCO, just like the past two years. I couldn't imagine spending my October long weekend any other way!

Friday

Shopped in bulk here

Shopped in non-bulk elsewhere

Packed the car as full as it could get

Started our hour drive to camp

Bought lunch here with Mr J's voucher from here

Arrived at camp

Un-packed the car

Ate dinner

Met, talked, listened and enjoyed the community of the SAYCO team

Made nickelodeon slime

Made many litres of jelly

Bed time

Saturday

Woke at 6:45am

Helped set up a bouncy castle and velcro wall in the wind! 

(For some reason wind and boucy castles don't get along?!)

Passengered in a buggy to help move luggage to camp sites

Ate lunch

Camp began with worship

Set up for carnival by directing face painters, fairy floss, popcorn, booths and live music

Ate dinner

Worship

Set up nightlife with painting, nail polish, make up, henna wii and floor games.

Nightlife opened and so did the bouncy castles, popcorn and live music once again

Team meeting

Sharing of blessings and positive stories from the day

Bed time

Sunday

Day light savings started

Lost an hour sleep

Woke at 6:45am for breakfast

Sold chocolates and snacks to campers from Snack central

Worship

Helped Mr J prepare for his tribal and messy games

Purchased over 100 tennis balls

Filled hundreds of paper bags with flour

Ate lunch

Witnessed messy games

(involving flour, water baloons, shaving cream, spaghetti, baked beans, slime and jelly)

Ate dinner

Worship

Communion

Dance party 

Bed time

Monday

Woke at 7am for breakfast

Began pack up

Worship

Ate lunch

Passengered in a buggy to help pack up

Relaxed and celebrated the camp with some amazing people

Home time

Shower time

Tea time

Sleep time

God worked in so many wonderful ways over the weekend and I feel so blessed to have been apart of it.

His grace is enough!

God is Love

After listening to this sermon online from a church based in Washington, Mr J and I gained a greater understanding of the definition of love. A definition in which is challenging but with the help of our Lord, we want to learn and master to the best of our ability.

"Love is seeking (and choosing) the highest good for the other person, even at great cost to yourself" 

As it says in 1 John 4:7-12, God doesn't have an attribute of love but He IS love. Therefore, by loving others in a way that God loves us, we are sharing our wonderful Saviour with them.

This teaching from God, was the basis behind my latest DIY cushion (see photo above) - all you need is a plain cushion, letter stencils and a fabric texta.

Date Day

Our orginal idea of date day at the Adelaide Show was out of question as work is prority but that didn't stop us from enjoying the morning together. Another lovely cafe provided us with tasty food, freshly squeezed orange juice and a beautiful seat outside. Mr J's big breakfast was certainly big and my fritatta was certainly homemade. Yum. We then strolled though Rundle Mall until we realised the clouds becoming grey. We turned around to try and beat the rain, but it bet us. Our hair was wet but through many laughs and the scenery of the botanical gardens, that didn't faze us. On our way home we detoured roadworks and although Mr J won't admit it, we may have lost our way for a bit. What a great day and great memories!

 

 

 

Date Night #2

Our last date night, I cooked. This time Mr J was the masterchef. Who says men can't cook? Mine certainly can! I was treated to lamb cutlets with rosat vegetables, followed by my favourite dessert, apple crumble and icecream. Mr J knows me well.

Scrum-dilly-umptious!

As we waited for each course to cook, we had quality time together asking each other questions that we sometimes forget to ask in our busy schedules. We told each other how we felt most loved during the previous week, we shared some stresses on our mind and most importantly shared how we could pray for each other in the week ahead. I have a keeper!