Challenge Accepted!

I like to stand outside early in the morning whenever I can, to look at the sky, breathe in the fresh air and have a few quiet moments enjoying the beauty of the clouds and colours as the sun is rising.  It really is beautiful... like God has painted a picture just for us to enjoy.

Marley and I went outside this morning and I stood there shivering cold (weird huh?!) and took another picture to capture the moment. (Photo on the left).

Val made a lovely comment on Instagram about putting that picture alongside the one I took on the weekend (photo on the right) for a wall hanging.

And then...Val's comment gave me a great idea! (Thank you V!) To take a photo every single morning for 1 month (ha! ANOTHER PROJECT! I cannot be stopped!) early in the morning of the sky, just like the photos above. Then who knows.. I could really go nuts and create a photo collage, oh oh and even put some nice music behind it.. right.... Challenge accepted!

Tomorrow, it begins!

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Another week, another family trip out for dinner.

I'm pretty sure Jacob enjoyed his Pasta.

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Can you believe it... our house is still spotless! This, my friends.. pure miracle. :)

Hey guess what.. here is some random information for you. It looks like Sam and Jacob are left handed. (Confirmed by Sam's teacher and we have a sneaking suspicion after watching Jacob for some time that he is following the trend!)
Which is weird considering there is no one left handed that we know of in either of our families. They are special :)

This afternoon Lewy and I had a meeting with Sam's teacher, to get the update of how he is settling in and the curriculum for the year. Impressed. He is learning so much. Apparently, Sam is quiet (ummm? Sam?) and he is very well behaved, listens and does what he is told and gets on well with everyone. Well well. It would seem Sam saves his naughty behaviour for home then! ha! No no, it's all good news and we were just so happy and impressed with the school, the teacher and how Sam is going. What a little soldier he is.

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Tonight's activities. Glass of red, in my pj's, watching the Academy Awards that I taped yesterday... I've been looking forward to this all day. :P

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And finally. Bear with me while I delve into some revelations I've had lately.

So, the other day I posted about just loving and caring for those around us.

Well, after that. I was at the shops (during my alone time), on a Saturday.. at Morley. So yeah, it was busy. As I was pushing my trolley through the aisles, I was thinking about my goal to love and care for those around me.. and subconsciously, I was stopping to let people pass me at the shops and letting them have right of way.  Some people said thank you, and we shared a smile and quick joke about how busy it was, and some just went past without a second glance back.

I realised then.. that I am pretty good at loving those I care about. I will go out of my way and try to be the best friend/daughter/sister/mother/wife etc etc I can be. And it's actually pretty easy to love, care and consider my loved ones.

But what about those times when I come in contact with someone who rubs me up the wrong way? Who is rude and inconsiderate? Do I still love and care for them.. or do I stand up for myself and snap back? I hate to admit.. I'm pretty good at getting my back up if I feel someone is doing wrong by me or someone I love. Especially in the workplace, and to strangers. I'm not proud to say that plenty of times I have become just as angry as those who have shown anger to me. In the past I have thought this was standing up for myself and not putting up with being treated badly.

Now? I don't think this is what I have done. In actual fact, I have reacted out of defence, out of emotion and out of anger. That is not loving and it is not having compassion for others. The TRUE meaning of love, is to love those NO MATTER what.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
(Ask me if you want to know where I got that quote from :P)


Oh boy. I can only hope to love like that. And honestly, I can't love that like without a little help. Which is why, I'll daily pray for help and for guidance. 


It's a daily journey and one that will continue always. And let's face it - what a goal to work on achieving.. to love EVERYONE, no matter what.

As a side note.. I just wanted to say thank you to Claire and Val for sending through those lovely notes after my blog the other day. Your kind words mean the world to me and make me smile so much :)

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16 weeks until America. 16 WEEKS! I have recently gotten in touch with another beautiful friend from my YWAM days (Iz it's Jessica!), and we are working on being able to catch up shortly once I arrive in LA. This trip.. is going to be surreal.

Okay, wake up everyone.. I promise I'm finished!  LOVE to you all :)