Thinking About

Romans 8:38-39

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Hey ! Its Been A While

When I was a stay at home Mama I thought a lot about blogging, and if anything 'blog worthy' had happened that day. Often I would take a photo 'just' for the blog. Nowadays, I simply forget. Spending most of my day away from Oscar means I often haven't much to write about, except dinner with a tired grumpy 6 year old followed by a very reluctant boy thrown in the shower, some computer time, usually followed by a melt down right before bed, and then my little guy crashed out later than I would like.

I am willing to accept this is a 'season' of our lives, I couldn't stand it if this was the new normal. I haven't been doing ANY baking of late (except for 2 Betty Crocker cakes for a baptism), and my creative pursuits have not been for leisure, rather all geared for the shop.

I hope to change this pattern and being more conscious of it is surely one way to identify where we can change things.

We have a house guest for the next week and partly because of this a very full calendar, with either invitations out or people for dinner almost every night of the week.

I have a few projects in mind for the new year (including learning a new language, gulp!), and I already have a to do list as long as my arm. Next year is going to be an exciting year on a personal level, and I hope also for my little household. I would like to be able to record our journey here for all posterity (or until I change my blog name, again!).

Today in church one of the Brother's asked, 'what does the Gospel mean to you?' and I answered,
'Ask any mother what is the most important thing to you, and most of them will tell you its her children. I would be hard pressed to split a knife between the importance of my children and the Gospel. They are tied in very tightly. My children are my world, however its the Gospel that dictates how I raise them and how we survive the highs and lows as a family'. Life without purpose, work, eat, sleep, would be a life severely lacking in the joy that only children and loved ones can bring.

I started this blog as a documentation of our life, and I have felt sad its gone into decline. So, for December I am going to try a post a day. It will be difficult, since I haven't even managed a post a week lately. But I know that in a few years time I will be thankful for the evidence I have laid down the Christmas Oscar was 6.
Thanks for the messages saying you missed us, I wondered if anyone was actually reading !

ps. we have settled in to the flat well, the view is not as dramatic as a grave yard, however its not bad.

Valerie

Get Thee Behind Me Oh Hideous Week

This week has been a total stress pot from start to finish, the highlight of which saw Oscar pulling a refrigerator shelf out by accident and spilling full pots of cream, yogurt and sour cream onto the kitchen carpet (who thinks kitchen carpet is a good idea!). It in itself would be fairly stressful, however since it occurred the night before our flat inspection the stress levels hit the roof.

We are in need of a good tenant recommendation because the landlords have decided to sell and we need to move out (by November 10th). It is a nightmare property hunting here because there are so few places available. On the day we got our notice the local paper headline said 'No New Properties Built In The Last 3 Years, Despite 7000 Families On The Waiting List'  

I have spent the week trying to give my kids, my flat, my shop, my family, my friends, my church and my God a fair share of my attention, and really I feel spread too thin. Throw in a parents evening with one parent absent, and a no show (or as it turns out late show and incomplete), amount of child support, the constant battle of bed times V's video games/Facebook/Skype/You Tube/messenger, and I am done.

Here I am now, lying on my bed in my work clothes too tired to even get undressed.

Not yet totally defeated however, I am still able to dig deep and count some blessings,

• an excellent parents night report
• Aimee has a job interview
• I got trendy new glasses for next to no cost
• I had freezer meals made to cover the gap
• I saw a potential flat
• the landlords said the flat 'seemed ok'
• the kitten survived her holiday at my sister's
• and on checking my phone I found Oscar had taken some pictures after dinner at my Mother's house

And if you are a member of MY CHURCH then you will be like me and looking forward to General Conference weekend.

Have a great week END.

Quiet Time

After church we strive to do things which keep us connected to the Lord. Its not always easy with an older child and a smaller child who both desire to be connected to some sort of technology at all times. A stroll on the beach, and a fuss free dinner (fajita's), are great, but then what? This week I have a movie lined up, and some reading / activities at the ready. I guess the movie is 'technology' but so long as its wholesome I feel I am going some way to keeping us on track.

What ever you do on the Sabbath I hope your day is blessed with peace and happiness.

Scripture Sunday

1 Peter 1:24-25

24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

Glory

our street, 5pm today

Me

Monday 29th December 2014

The view from my window in the morning

Faded flowers in the church foyer

A View Of The River From Church

A Cheeky Little Cat On The Garden Wall

Candles And Our Savior

A Selfie In My Dressing Gown

My Bedside At Night

Faith Friday

Do Latter Day Saints Believe In

The Rapture?

Valerie

xxx

some summer

Elder Davis 

. . . . . lost 2 baby teeth

Getting To The End

As we reach the end of the school year, in fact its the end of Oscar's time at nursery, things have gotten quite hectic. Every day seems to have some sort of scheduled activity. We are all really looking forward to a little break.
Here are some snaps from the last few days.

Elder Davis sniffing some alcohol free whiskey flavouring -

the cake in the foreground was banana and peanut butter and it was awesome.

We have had some glorious days

Oscar made a laptop from a cardboard Amazon box

We got a crew together to paint my Mother's garden fence

I have been nibbling on this whilst watching episodes of 24 on Netflix 

and crocheting a black and white blanket for my bed.

We made paper chains with the missionaries and talked about each family member being a link in a chain.

I have also been to a funeral, and had several church meetings. Duncan has started a new job. Aimee has been for 2 college interviews. Oscar has had a tummy bug, and become obsessed with loom bands, 

and also . . . . . . 

. . . . . lost 2 baby teeth

Over the next few days we have, the last days of nursery, the last rehearsals for Oscar's theatre show, a birthday party, the actual show, church, an online course starting for myself, and a very special 'viewing' (more on that to follow).

Not exactly the lazy days of summer, yet.

This Time 2013          This Time 2012          This Time 2011

Valerie

xxx

At The Weekend