Little bits of you...

Hey, I am amazed everyday at the beauty surrounding us and of course I cannot get those images of God's awesomness as the ultimate CREATOR out of my head as the dvd, "Indescribable" still flashes in my memory. Louie Giglio, thank you for your passion and love for God and all he does for us and has done you are SOOO inspiring.

So, tomorrow I go scrap again for the first time in a couple of years. It is close to my heart and my creativity just soars as I play with paper, card and just "pretty" stuff. I love being a girl. I am so blessed!! I get to scrap my "big" girl,Talor her 2007 year. I have to sift through loads of gorgeous pics - man she is beautiful!!

Psalm 19

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after daynthey pour forth speech;

night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language

where their voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world. ( my favourite psalm right now)

Things that make me smile...

Hope gets so excited about swimming lessons

Talor has the most incredible giggle

tomorrow is Friday

friends birthdays

Today I am grateful for...

walks on the beach

the smell of sun on my skin

shaving my legs!

a hot bath

Row removed the noisy cricket from the kitchen

Vitamins

What a way to start the day - I drop off the "princesses" at respective schools then drive 3km to Fish Hoek beach, and well there it is, my vitamin for the day. The sunrise is always different and so is the sea but it is always magnificent and God, you just blow me away!! Thank you!!

Talor has a really busy Wed which now includes Hope and me as we venture to drop her and Kerin at Rythmic Gymnastics for an hour( the compulsory after school sport) and then a mad grab and dash, dress in car scenario to be at ballet ten minutes later. Us Mom's and siblings were frazzled to say the least but the girls just giggled and laughed there way through it all.

Already their very gentle, sweet young ballet teacher has told them she wants them to do an exam at the end of the year!? They are so excited especially as they had on all the new gear, shoes, stockings hair accecories etc. and did endless points and twirls. Hope is just not impressed as she too wants all the gear!

Then tonight it was off to "greet and meet" the teacher and see her classroom and listen to stuff we actually know. It was fun and I am so proud of Talor and how well and happy she is. I just love the way Gavin Kellar is so upbeat and stressed the importance of celebrating your child and having fun with them. may we NEVER become too serious or push them too hard.

I feel like that guy - "Doogie Howser" a T.V. programme years ago I used to watch. At the end of each program, or day he used to sit in his room and journal his thoughts. I remember thinking - man I want to do that - and here I am however many years later doing just that. Fantastic!!

Things that make me smile...

the smell of the ocean

the smell of a cappacino

clean sink

Today I am grateful for...

an opportunity to travel

bookshops

laughter

sand stuck to my toes

Energy

Energy is eternal delight - William Blake, poet

There are three people in my life who have a load of the stuff - i.e. energy!! I am sure I had it but it seems like years ago and somewhere along the way it slipped out of my grasp! I do remember right throughout school, especially junior school I never stopped. But then I had children and life as I knew it radically changed - no, I think as you get older and there are more responsibilities you have to make a concious and determined effort to - exercise, commit to Bible school etc.

"ENERGY" - force, vigour, activity (dictionary) Row is sure abounding with this '"eternal delight" stuff as he was up at 5a.m.!! and off to gym with Darryl then back with bright red face and bouncing around the kitchen making paw paw something and I think offering me but it was all a blur as I never really wake up properly until 9a.m. the earliest. I am definitely a "night person" (owl) !

We dashed to Hope's 15 min swimming lesson and found Grandpa's tortoise in the middle of the driveway and he was not going to move for anybody - at last something I could relate to today. He is on MY side - slow has its merits . They are not sure where the tortoise came from but he "delightfully" moves between Grandpa's house and the two neighbours and sometimes just stops, yup in the middle of the driveway?! I love that guy.

Then it was off home to say a sad goodbye to our new friends Anna Karen and Michael, who come from Norway. This is where it all starts making sense to me - Row has been hiking and talking quite a bit with Michael. He is 77 years old and only started marathon running at 56yrs! Row had to try and keep up with him on the mountain - many times!!! We have really come to know them and care for them and will miss them as they were great neighbours and friends. They will be back in November for 3 months again until end Jan 2009, as this is their third house!! They have 2 in Norway ( one is a ski cabin) they are off to ski now when they get back!!Oh, man, the boundless energy - it must be all the Norwegian salmon?!

Things that make me smile...

tortoises

Row's red face after gym

friends near and far

a cuppa tea again and again

Today I am grateful for...

energy reserves I know I have

watching the dvd "Indescribable" again - God you are really trying to tell me something!

astronauts

make up

Finding God...

Wow, that sounds so spiritual and resolute. Today I sat and finished all my homework for the first week of Bible School - its all done!! So far, loads of reading, I am actually going to read the entire Bible through which my Dad did many, many times!!! Essays start tomorrow but in all this "stuff" i really don't want to be caught up in the academics of it all but just quietly and within my own soul - find God. Each day in every detail!

Talor had her first long day at school until two, with only one break and we had homework for the first time. Hope is loving all the new little people, they have a bunch of 2 year olds now who have just started and apparently her friend Josie is teaching her Afrikaans!? It sounds more like a form of Bushman language with lots of clicking and laughing.

The girls are still in separate rooms but Hope is sure that the "giants " love her bedroom at night and between crying and loads of tears she insists she "needs" to be in talor's bed. Anything for peace and quiet at 9p.m. when our goal was for 7.30p.m.!!!!

I have to go in every night and just look at them sleeping - it is amazing!!! So young and all of life just waiting for them.

Talor's friend Kerin is in the other "girls" class but they have still stuck together. They find each other at break and are now doing after school sports together. We had some time to spare so we dashed down to "my" beach just to get rid of energy and lots of giggles. They do not stop laughing those two!!!

Things that make me smile...

I am doing Bible school this year

my big sister did the same course 17 years ago!!

scrapbooking magazines

seeing Jason on skype tonight

Today I am grateful for...

a car to "taxi" my kids around in

choices

organic veg

marshmallow easter eggs

electricity

Time flies...

I am back tapping away at Row's trusty old laptop and it feels sooo good. Boy I missed the laptop and blogging this week, I mean Row, yes ROW and then blogging etc. You see this journalling thing is so helpful for putting everything into perspective!

It was a busy week as Talor decided on Rythmic gymnastics and to be a ballerina all on the same day!!! Hope is of course swimming non stop and there is no need for clothes as she stays in her costume all day most days. Great for laundry and electricity!!

I have started the year off with a bang as I signed up for Bible school this year! So much for movies, coffee,and pizza mornings and tanning on the beach which I know my brother in law(in England) thinks us stay at home Moms do all morning!!

I have so many stunning photos from our trip to Durbs and Underberg over Christmas and New Year that some time soon all my blog will be is catch up time of holiday pics. This particular one is my absolute favourite! We stayed in Durbs at my "big" sisters house for the first couple of days and the girls shared Alison's room(their 23year old cousin who was on holiday in Mozambique at the time) The girls new that they were not allowed to wake any of us up too early (they were awake at 6 am) so they found stuff to do until we sort of surfaced. Somehow this book caught their eye and we never did ask them or Talor how they enjoyed it!!!? Talor is reading amazingly well,I am stunned at her ability and the vocab she knows.

Things that make me smile...

Row is back from Joburg safe and sound

old friends

my children swim so well

photo's

I am grateful for...

braais'

swimming pools

great food

soft bed

birds - especially owls!

A great story...

I realised why I love books so much - and especially why I love reading non-fiction. I really battle to read a novel. I find reading about someones real struggles and journey fascinating. I gain much from other peoples adventures. So Row and I have such a love for books and we are definitely passing it down to our children.

Stories told like when you sit around a camp fire and just share "stuff" is what I miss. Then there are those amazing preachers or missionaries that can relate stories that have happened in their lives or even better from the Bible and you just go "oh, wow!" Thats how I feel tonight after listening to Ron Cline a missionary from america!! So clear, simple, funny and profound. Oh, I love it!!

I now know my decision to do bible school is good as it is fulled with the most amazing stories. So I pray for a fresh look at the Word just like Talor who absolutely loves her Bible and wants to read at every opportunity.

I think thats why I love language, teaching, quotes, movies, and now scrapbooking!!! Hooray for scrapping (thanks Mel) for all the inspiration.

Memories - Oh, I am so loving just journalling my thoughts with no pressure from anyone or anything!!

So I am going to encourage my kids to share stories always, I know Row's grandfather has loads of incredible stories and Row is busy writing his life story for the girls. I am so glad to be tapping away every day on my blog - memories, and then scrap away too more memories of last year and "happenings" this year.

We all take a deep breath as Row heads off for a week of meetings in Joburg. He is back on Friday night - we are sort of getting used to it as we are onto year 3 now! We are doing well. The girls will all crash in my room and I won't have the laptop as I thought so will only blog Mon and Wed when I gatecash a friends laptop!! Then Friday night as Row walks in the door I will grab his laptop and run for "time out"! I will be watching dvd's every night , I have them all lined up!

Things that make me smile...

Row is shining his work shoes

a great story

Talor is wearing my silk gown

Today I am grateful for...

I can hear

dvd's

aeroplanes

art

colours

clothes

Every second counts....

It really feels like like "every second counts" when I am trying to juggle putting the girls to sleep, dealing with hope popping out of bed and creeping next to me to just watch me type so that she doesn't have to go to bed, and me trying to type something coherent and well - hopefully meaningful!?

Time is just so damn prescious and "expensive" when you have little people around ALL the time.

Just got to kiss Hope goodnight again - I'll be back( hold that thought ,please!) O.k. Where was I?

No clue, lost all train of thought - Oh, I have been sooo desperate to blog and catch up! I have not been sick, in fact I feel really well - why am I so surprised? I have crammed in a movie - "The Jane Austen Bookclub" - very sweet, chick flick and such a treat to just sit and "blog" out of the real world for 2 hours. Great actors, cute story and I am hoping the Video Bar will work I am trying to download of a clip/trailer of a movie. So got to do more of the movie big screen theatre thing.

I admit the movie did make me want to read "Persuation" - so I grabbed it from the library, it's nice and thin - I just need to find those prescious seconds!!! Is it because I am celebrating my "Big" milestone birthday I feel so pressured to cram stuff in to my life?? What was I thinking before I had kids? I did not realise how much free time I had!

It's all Lance Armstrong's fault. He got me wanting his book about the enormity of seizing the moment. That got me to start a bookclub so I could get the book - and yup the rest is history.

I don't know if any of this is making sense - because Row is now waiting for me to finish up and watch a movie with him. Tomorrow I have the whole day with the laptop - who am I trying to kid. Maybe I need to wake up early before the rest of the household and seize the seconds.

Things that make me smile...

books piling up next to my bed waiting to be read

a really hot bubble bath

bathing with candles

full moon

Today I am grateful for...

genuine friends

braais

laughing until your tummy hurts

swimming pools

books

my girls LOVE books and reading