A Little Celebrating!

Let the fireworks explode, the streamers unravel, the balloons fill the air, the music play! Today, we celebrate 700 posts at Ferns by the Fireside!

I asked you to tell me what you would like me to write about on this landmark occasion. ;) Okay, it's not really a landmark occasion but it feels like somewhat of an achievement!

So, here goes.

Amanda said "I would like you to talk about the expectations you had for your blog when you started. How is it different, and how is it as you imagined."

Well, I started my blog back in 2008 when several of my friends had started blogging. I thought "yay! a chance to write!" I do love to write my thoughts and express myself through the written word. It also seemed like a good way to journal our family's life. As for expectations, yes, I think it's pretty much been what I expected. I expected it to be fun, fulfilling, to bring me joy and be a way to connect with other women who blog. It has met all my expectations. :) I didn't know I would continue to blog for so many years, and so regularly. And I can't imagine that changing really. I could probably do this forever quite happily!

Renata said: "Congratulations on almost 700 - that is impressive! I really like Amanda's ideas. Also would you share how your faith in God has been strengthened through this difficult time you're currently going through".

Great question. Well, my faith in God is very strong at the moment. I do find, like most people, that when life is going along swimmingly that you tend to rely very much on yourself. It's easy to think that yes, we are in control and yes, we have our life quite sorted and everything is fine, thank you very much. :) When difficulties arise, whether it be poor health, troubles in relationships or an issue with a child, we turn to God in prayer. I believe He uses these times to strengthen our bond with him. This season for me has been a reminder that the world is a fallen, broken place. The ideal I had for my family is currently not the reality and that makes me so sad. For a long time I have clung to visual pictures of the "ideal" life - I have striven hard to meet these ideals, and they haven't always been realistic. This isn't in itself a bad thing, I would actually consider it a positive thing. But. God is teaching me that despite our brokenness, His love prevails. In spite of our circumstances, He is here. He truly does never leave us or forsake us. He is very present here in this home - He provided the children and I the perfect home in the perfect location, at the perfect time. He has taken care of finances. He has surrounded us with people who love us unconditionally. And He continues to provide the children and I with opportunities to grow and experience joy. All of this reminds me what an awesome God He is, and how very much He loves his children. So I guess the answer is - God is using this experience to draw me closer to Him, and for that, I'm very thankful.

Jen said "I would love to hear why you started a blog in the first place."

Thanks for your comment Jen - I think I answered your question in my response to Amanda's question! I started it to journal my thoughts and keep a record of the things happening in our family. :) The children and I love looking back on older posts as most of our best photos have been uploaded to the blog!

Melanie said "When I put my daughter to bed, each night I have to come up with a story about when I was little, so maybe you might write us a story about when you were little? Either that, or your 700 favourite books? (hehehe)"

Hmmmm...... I think I'll go with telling you a story about when I was little! As much as I love books, listing 700 of them would be somewhat too time consuming. ;)

Wow Melanie, first let me tell you that I love your bedtime tradition! My kids would love to hear more stories of when I was little!

They like hearing this story. When I was 8 months old I reached out to a little orange teddy bear when I was sitting in my pram, in a pharmacy. I was insistent I wanted him. :) My Mummy bought him for me, and he became my most favourite toy. She tells me the story of early one morning when I was about 15 months old, waking up to a blood curdling scream. She raced into my bedroom in the semi darkness to find me cowering in one corner of my cot. Orange Ted was right down the other end in another corner, and I was pointed madly at him. On closer inspection, Mum realised that his little black nose had come off, and was sitting in the opposite corner of the cot! I was seriously freaking out! Right then and there, at 4am, Mum sewed Ted's little nose back on. And I promptly fell back to sleep, cuddling him in my arms. :) To this day, I don't cope gracefully in a crisis situation! If one of my kids has a badly scraped open knee, I feel like cowering in the corner of the room just as I did when Ted lost his nose!! Of course, I don't. ;) Ted went on to have many more adventures, such as falling in the family swimming pool and losing most of his stuffing. Mum had to sew him a brand new body. I must remember to post a photo of him for you - I still have him, sitting in my bedroom. :)

Trish said "Congratulations Saminda! I would like to know what advice you would have for a new blogger just starting out."

It's great to see you blogging Trish! I like that you have chosen the theme of gardening. I think with blogging it's good to have a basic theme - it helps give your blog an identity. :) My advice would be to fall into a rhythm of blogging that you are happy with. Don't lay pressure on yourself to blog more often than is realistic. With four beautiful little people in your life, I know you are busy! So keep it simple. Sometimes blogging regularly - even just a short post with a picture and a caption - a few times a week can help keep the flow of your blog. But I have had, at times, weeks where I haven't found the time to blog. Accept this and don't put pressure on yourself! Blogging should be fun, and a reflection of who you are. And don't blog for other people, blog for yourself. :) Having said that, please include some photos of your gorgeous kiddos in your garden - I don't see enough of them!

Amanda said "Congrats Saminda! I would like to know your favourite Bible verses (maybe your fav 3?), why and what they mean to you. I love hearing how God uses His scriptures in peoples lives!"

This is a hard one. I have so many favourites that it is hard to narrow it down to only 3. One of my favourites I have in my sidebar - Psalm 4:23 - "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." I also cling tightly to Proverbs 3:5-6 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." :) Um...... only one more! Well this next one I love so much that I bought a canvas with the verse printed on. It hangs in my kitchen, where I spend most of my time.

Psalm 46:10 - "Be still and know that I am God". For me this is a daily reminder to slow down, to breathe, to trust, and to listen to what He is telling me.

I also asked my children to share their favourite verse with you. They both chose the same one! Psalm 23, The Lord is my Shepherd. :) They really love this verse, I think because it's full of the quietness of God's strength, and all His promises to us.

And finally, Wendy said "Saminda, I would be interested to know how you feel that complete strangers can follow your life through your blog and you have no idea who is looking. I have met you through a friend, but have been following your blog and would love to know your perspective on Internet and personal security as I would be afraid that people could know so much about myself."

Wow. Big question! Do you know, this is not something that genuinely worries me? I don't know why - many bloggers I know use false names for their children and basically keep all personal details private. I understand their desire to do this - I have just never felt the need to, for myself. For me, there is something exciting about the not knowing who is reading the blog! I tend to hear from a long lost friend (or someone I barely know!) from time to time say "oh, I love reading your blog!" I actually enjoy thinking about who may be reading and enjoying seeing our family grow. Having said that, I don't tend to give very personal information away (though I do tend to share my emotions fairly openly; this is just how I'm wired!) But as for the town we live in, the school my children attend, etc., these details are not included in the blog for privacy reasons. Maybe I just hope and trust that the world is still a fairly honest place? This is probably naive but I pray that whoever's out there reading is genuine- family, friends, or friends I just haven't met yet. :)

There! I hope this has answered your questions and I thank you, faithful readers, for sticking with me through 700 blog posts! I know some of you have been reading since The Beginning. :) Have a great weekend everyone.

700th Post is Coming Up!

Oooo, I just noticed I'm only 8 posts away from reaching 700 posts!!!! Amazing!!!

So I wondered..... what should I post for my 700th post? Tell me, please. :)

I'm not going to run a contest where I choose one person - instead, for every comment left on this post, telling me what you'd like me to share / write about / post photos of etc. etc., I will do as asked. I will include what each of you asks me to, in my 700th post. Depending on the response I get here, it could be a mammoth post. :D

This will be fun!! Roll in the comments... and, go!

Edited to say: Thanks to those who have already commented. Please, if you ever drop in and read my blog, if you are a long-term follower or a brand new reader, I want to hear from you! It's a chance for me to discover who is out there, and for you to let me know what you enjoy reading here or have always wanted to know! :) Many thanks.

I Love to Write

I really really do. Sometimes I can't think of a way to coherently tie my thoughts together, so I avoid putting pen to paper..... or fingers to keyboard...... but not today. Today, I want to write. So I will.

It is Friday. It is late winter but already you can smell that spring isn't far away. The coming weeks will bring warmer weather and longer days. I'm looking forward to that. This has been a COLD winter - and this is a very very cold house. My next door neighbour Stan, a darling 90-something year old man who lives alone ("my wife died 4 years ago dearie" he told me through teary eyes the first time we spoke at the fence) tells me he has lived in very cold places in his life, and this winter Maryborough has been as cold as any of them. He is right. Spring can't come soon enough. These houses are built for summer's heat, not winter's chill.

This morning I determined when I woke up that I wasn't doing anything until I had finished reading Water for Elephants. I had planned to read yesterday but ended up having a friend visit in the afternoon and stay through until late last night. We managed to watch "Once" and "Julie and Julia" - both fantastic movies by the way! Julie and Julia is a must see if you're a blogger. ;)

So.... I read. I read and read and read. I ate some porridge and had my coffee..... 10am came around and still I read. I finished it about 10:30 - it was so wonderful, read it please!!

I got dressed and went for a blissfully uneventful bike ride round the park. I say uneventful because yesterday's ride was erm.... not. One of the pedals happened to fly off when I was half-way round the track. Thankfully I didn't topple or hurt myself (which would have been a typically me thing to do.... still, the pedal is close enough) - but as I rooted around in the grass looking for the lost pedal two pristine-looking joggers in their "proper" running gear jogged past me. "Ha, I'm ... I'm.... just having issues with my pedal" I stammered quietly as they glanced at me. They didn't reply.

Half an hour later I was home, having unsuccessfully tried to reattach the pedal and failed (you need a spanner or wrench or something - neither of which I own and certainly didn't have with me on my morning ride) so I walked the bike home, pedal in one hand, broken bike in the other.

A friend reattached it for me last night while I was teaching a singing student. And so this morning I was thankful to make it all the way round the riding track, and home again, uneventfully. It's a beautiful day outside.

Since then I have tackled some housework, begun my next book (Ahn Do's memoir "The Happiest Refuge" - he's an Aussie comedian and the book is highly recommended), baked a dozen raspberry and choc chip and a dozen apple and cinnamon muffins for the kids' lunch boxes next week, and tidied up the front garden beds a bit. They have flowers, strawberries and herbs planted in them, but they're not mulched so I'm having to pinch the weeds and grass out of them fairly often. Picked a bunch of petunias and daisies for the dining room table.

I then looked up the 2002 blog of Julie Powell which inspired the film Julie and Julia. It's fascinating! Wish I had time to read the whole thing - all 365 entries. :-)

And now..... well, I'm here, writing. Did I mention I love to write? If I could find someone to pay me to stay home and write all day long I'd be supremely happy. So long as I could break free and (be paid to) sing on stage every so often. Sounds perfect to me - any offers?

Alas, it is time to go fold the mount everest washing pile in my bedroom. Then a walk. Then roast a chicken and make a salad for dinner. Then coffee with my dear friend Petrina tonight.

Thanks for listening!

Home

When God is in your heart, love is in your home.

A good friend gave us this reminder (along with some strawberry and tomato seedlings - oh, and chocolate) as a housewarming gift. I love the little stone so much I've added a picture of it to my sidebar.

This is the outside of my new home. It has a cottagey feel. I really love the front verandah area, the lead light features throughout, the sculpted ceilings and the front garden beds. Just enough to potter in, but not too much to take care of. Since taking this picture William and I have weeded out those baby beds (leaving the Petunias and the daisy we planted the week we moved in), and have added some lavender, strawberries and tomatoes, parsely and rosemary. Just enough. :)

Thank you for your encouraging comments on my last post.

Melanie said "I don't believe you have been anyone but who you are in your blog" - she is right. I have never deliberately tried to be something I'm not - but I have put this pressure on myself at times. It's a personal thing, hard to explain. :) But thank you Melanie, and everyone, for sticking with me!

More photos of our new home to come, promise.

God's Grace. And Changes.

I sit here in this house, this gift of a house, on my gifted - borrowed - laptop from a dear friend, and I'm overwhelmed by Grace. Why Lord? Why do you care for us the way you do? We are so undeserving. I for one know I keep stuffing up. In my parenting. In the way I care (or rather, don't care) for others when I should. In my personal life.

Yet He persists with us.

Thank God, literally. Because I wouldn't want to be walking this life road without His protection and grace. I simply wouldn't get very far.

I have just finished a book, once again gifted to me by grace, from a dear friend who apparently saw the book online and thought of me, having it posted right to my home ("why again Lord? I haven't been the friend to her that she deserved, yet still, grace....) - and it has brought both challenge and joy to my heart.

"Somewhere More Holy" by Tony Woodlief. Tony also has a blog I visited this morning, and I know I'll be back. :) Challenge - that I need to be more authentically ME in my writing. Forget any signs of false perfection in my blogging friends, for what you will be receiving (I hope) is honesty, the raw truth, and authentic, bare-souled me. For that is what I found in Tony's writing, and I so appreciated it! Joy - that I can see this parenting season, while my little ones are little, as more precious than I have ever seen it before. I got that from Tony too. He and his wife Celeste lost a child, see - so their perspective, their life experience, is somewhat different to mine. A little girl whom they lost to cancer - and what that did to Tony, his relationship with God and with his wife and the whole of humanity. Four little boys followed that little girl. He too has been shown grace in the wake of tragedy and sin (his own). Get hold of the book and read it, I insist. ;)

So, a blog overhaul is about to occur. It will still be me, yes, but a more honest me. A less "must make my blog look as beautiful as possible" me. I hope you'll still visit.

Please read my revised "about me" profile bit. If you're a new reader..... well, it tells you a bit about what's going on for me right now. If you're an old bloggy friend.... well, you know how much I love you all and I hope and trust you will hang in here with me through this life season I'm in. I used to think so much about me was defined by the choices I make - babywearing, homebirthing, homeschooling, country living, cloth nappy using, etc. etc. And yes, our choices do define us to a degree. But guess what? I was then, and am still, Saminda. I no longer homeschool and my marriage has broken down. But here inside, I am still me. I still cry, and laugh, and sleep, and eat, and love my children so much it hurts, and cook meals for them, and read, and sing, and blog.

I reached a point sometime last year where I was just plain exhausted. Like, really really exhausted. And I got sick, and spent numerous hours in hospital, and had tests, and was told I had a minor condition with my heart for which I needed medication and some lifestyle changes. A few months later, our children were enrolled in the local Christian school. And now, I find myself here. Instead of looking out the window and seeing trees, I see houses. I can still hear the wind in the trees, and the birds whistling, but I hear cars too. Lots of them. I can walk with the children to town to visit the library, or friends. Or walk the other direction and you get to the parkland / lagoon / walking track. It's a different kind of nice.

I am getting used to this new "normal", for us. My children's own resilience and trust and acceptance of this both overwhelms and challenges my own thinking. They are, truly, amazing little people. They have this trust of us - their parents - and if we say this is the best thing for our family at the moment, and tell them it's an adventure, and that it's fun and exciting having two homes (and we have done all of that, and more - we have never conveyed this change as a 'tragedy' to them) - than that's what they believe. And they are amazingly settled and at peace with it all.

I worry about them, and all of this, which I suppose is natural. But alongside my worry there is sunshine and children's giggles and music and friends popping over often and walks in the mornings and cosy dinners together at night.

God's grace abounds. I thank Him. And I thank you (in advance) for your acceptance of me. Writing is a release for me, and I look forward to doing more of it and being the most authentic me I can be.

Not really back at all...

I know, I know. I'm a dreadful blogger. I said I was back, but I'm not really back at all! I apologise. I'm sure many of you have given up on me all together. :(

There is a reason behind my absence. I wish I could tell you something wonderful like "I've been on holiday to Paris" or "We finally sold the house and we've been busy moving" or "I've been doing so many fabulous toddler activities with William, I haven't had time for blogging." ;) But..... no.

Nothing so great as that.

Things are hard at the moment.

We still haven't sold our home..... and financial pressures are causing stress.

There are other stressors I won't go into at this point - but they're preventing me from viewing life through that 'blog lens' - the one that sees the beautiful and the good in the ordinary. It's stopping me blogging. Right now, I have little desire to blog.

So for now, please know we're still here, I'm alive and well, my children are beautiful and growing strong.

I hope that sometime soon I am in a better place, and can pick up my writer's pen / keyboard once again. xx

Garlicky Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin

Garlic

Onions, potatoes, carrots, stock

Warm soup for my patient.

Oh, and the little brother!

Elijah's still not quite himself, but a little better.

And I must say a big WELCOME to my 2 new followers who jumped in today - warm greetings and blessings to you both!

A Little Neglect

Sorry I am neglecting my blog at the moment.

Life is plodding along nicely.

We are all well in health, the children are happy and blossoming beautifully.

I am exercising furiously (yes, a post on this soon I promise!), nurturing our home, loving my God and my family, and rehearsing 3-4 times a week. Life is full.

Time for blogging just isn't happening at the moment. I still pop in here most days though, and check in on your blogs. So please know I haven't disappeared - and I'll be back at some point!

Blessings friends. xx

A Parcel, Christmas Countdown and an Unwell William

Sorry, this post will be a mish-mash of bits and pieces! It's Christmas Eve and although I wanted to blog today I don't want to spend too long on it. ;)

I entered a giveaway on the beautiful Lovely Little Cottage blog a few weeks back, and won! :D My beautiful parcel from Elizabeth arrived this morning. What wonderful timing, the day before Christmas.

Thank you so much Elizabeth. Everything was so beautifully packaged! And the children thoroughly enjoyed threading their candy canes and decorating their angels. Please thank your children for me too for sending them!

We've had an awesome time counting down for Christmas this year. We've had several means of doing this. Our Jesse Tree.

Our felt advent calendar.

We've also been having treasure hunts most nights for wrapped Christmas stories. The children have taken turns. Over the past months I have purchased some little Christmas stories, as well as borrowing some titles from the library. This has provided the children with plenty of Christmas reading material!!

William has really got to know the Christmas story through all this reading. It's been great. He knows tomorrow is Jesus' birthday, he knows what the star on top of our tree symbolises, etc. And we can pull out all these books again next year!

We also try to break up the presents for the children a little, so they're not bombarded on Christmas Day. I want their focus to be on Jesus' birth, not just presents! So we break up the gifts with prayers for those the gifts are from, some singing, meals, and readings. Our Christmas gifts are usually given over 3 days, to give us time to enjoy and appreciate each one.

Today we also cut Christmas Cake number 2. I took so much of our first cake to gatherings, etc. (and we've clearly eaten too much...) that I decided to bake a second one so we had some for today and tomorrow!

And last but not least, we have a sick little boy this week. :( William started coughing last week, and after days of reading all I could get my hands on, I decided we had to get him looked at. To me all his symptoms were very characteristic of whooping cough, which happens to be going around this year. The doctor who examined him declared it to be viral, though gave us a script for antibiotics "just in case". Well. I know my boy, and I have seen viruses in my kids enough times to know this is different. He has the characteristic "whoop", and is coughing to the point of blue face and vomiting. So I got that script filled pronto, and am also dosing him up on some immune boosting probiotics, and lots of cuddles and lots of prayer.

Today, cuddling on the couch with his new little knitted cowboy and tin drum. And towel handy on his lap just in case....

He is responding well. Most nights he is coping better, though still wants to sleep with me and get lots of cuddles. :) I'm watching the other children closely for symptoms, but my reading suggests older children rarely get it to the point of it being diagnosable, just very mild forms. And adults very rarely contract it at all. Praying we all return to good health soon.

Merry Christmas my dear readers, I may not see you until the new year, so I pray you all have a safe and joyful holiday! xxx

Surprise Parcels!

I mentioned recently that during a blue week I was having, we received a beautiful package in the mail. There were in fact 2 packages which arrived a few days apart. Sweet Amy, whom I have never met but have been online friends with for about a year now, sent us lots of bits and pieces from her home in Montana.

My children LOVE getting mail of any kind, but an overseas parcel? Well that's enough to send them ecstatic!

We have especially enjoyed the books you sent Amy, as well as the delicious Barbeque sauce! Oh, and I love my vanilla candle. It gets lit at least once a day. :) Thanks so much again for your heartfelt generosity in this package, your prayers and your friendship!

50!!!

I just hopped on today and noticed that I now have 50 followers!! Thank you to the lady from Much Moore Fun for joining me! :D I so don't blog to get followers, but it's been sitting at 49 for so long.. it just feels nice to jump up to 50. :)

Clearly it's the little things which bring a smile to my face these days......

A Few Encouraging Links

"Clearly there is an appropriate kind of sheltering.

When those who are opposed to homeschooling accuse me of sheltering my children,

my response is always "What are you going to accuse me of next?

Feeding and clothing them?"

R.C. Sproul

Fantastic post put up by Rebecca. The above quote is included. If you have been wondering about this issue, particularly from a Christian perspective, do yourself a favour and go and read Rebecca's wise words. She is a seasoned mother with 5 girls ages 2 to 13 - she knows her stuff!!! I found it very encouraging.

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I also wanted to share the link to Ann's blog. If you have never visited 'Holy Experience', you must!! :D Ann's writing is wonderful. Just allow a bit of time, have a cup of tea beside you, because you won't want to leave her world once you enter into it!

This post on how to make homeschooling consistent, contagious, about curiousity, and a continuum of your real life, was very helpful to me this week.

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I hope everyone's having a lovely Friday. We are fortunate here, it's a public holiday for the local show! Only we're not going to the show, so we've just had an extra weekend day together. I've been reading, tidying, washing and working on Will's birthday present. Photos to come!

Cutting Back

I have been reading much lately about women deciding to quit blogging, for various reasons. For most, it is the sheer distraction of the computer, luring us away from our real-life duties and into the virtual world. On a hard day, the virtual world can be a comfort, filled with ideas and inspiring pictures to help us on our way.

I have also heard many people shunning the 'beautiful' blogs out there...... blogs where the mother is content, the children happy, the family strong. This I will not do. I know (as we all should) that blogs are a snippet of real life. No-one has a perfect life. We are all human, all sinners, all flawed. All striving to do our best with what we have been given. For me, I gain so much from reading the inspirational, the beautiful, learning of the peaceful lives other families are striving to create. Homeschooling advice from seasoned homeschool mothers. Recipes. Craft ideas. I can then apply these things to my own life. Should this not be our goal as women? Always learning, always growing? And striving for peace and beauty and love in our homes?

Lately, I have felt the pull of the computer. It ebbs and flows, as does life, but right now it is luring me in. Blogging is a bit of a passion. :) And one I'm not going to give up. Blogging has taught me to seek the beauty in the every day. And reading those blogs which encourage and teach me and fill my cup - well, I'd be foolish to give that up!

So. I'm telling you all this to simply share that I'm going to be cutting back. I will not be posting frequently, at least for awhile. I want to concentrate on some other things........ working in the garden daily, playing more with the children, baking bread more regularly again, and making some birthday gifts for the boys (birthdays coming up soon!). I'm thinking I'll just do weekly posts on the weekends. I will catch up on blog reading at that time also. If I post during the week, it will just be little posts. One photo of something significant, a quote from a book I'm reading, that sort of thing.

I love you all, and wish you a very happy Mother's day!! Hope you all feel special today, as you should - you are shaping little ones who will change the world. xoxo

A Giveaway For My 500th Post!!!!!!!

Yes, it truly is 500 posts!!! I can hardly believe it. I'm glad I noticed the counter actually. I think my 500th post deserves to be something special!

Firstly I want to say just how much I have enjoyed this blogging journey. It has been a wonderful creative outlet for me. I have learned a lot about myself, and have enjoyed recording the daily happenings of my life. Blogging is quick, it's easy, it's cheap, it's creative and it's fun! Not to mention a great way of keeping in touch with far-away family, and of making brand new like-minded friends. I appreciate all of you readers so much, I'd like to offer a little giveaway as a thank you for reading, writing, and for encouraging me!

As you know, I love to garden. I love to grow and pick and eat my own produce. I think everyone should grow something. Even if it's just a pot of herbs or a lavender bush. Maybe a fruit tree or two. Or maybe a veggie patch.

I pulled up these baby carrots this morning! Very tiny but they smell amazing. Thankfully there are more on the way. Lots is happening in my garden at the moment. Bunnings recently opened in my town and last week I bought a few punnets to plant into the veggie patch. Broccoli, herbs, lavender and a few plants for making herbal teas. The tomatoes and capsicums are doing well. I love to dig, to water, to watch plants bloom and grow. It's not always successful, but I always learn something new along the way.

So. I encourage you to leave a comment on my 500th post to let me know you're out there - any comment at all - and you will enter a gardening giveaway! I will draw a random winner next Sunday 25th April at 12pm. 3 packets of organic seed will be sent to the winner so you can start or add to your own growing adventure! :) If you are an Australian reader, the seeds will be ordered from Green Harvest; if you are overseas I will order from a distributor in your town.

I'm looking forward to sharing my love of gardening with you, and would love everyone to play along!!

Comment away!!

A Parcel!

Thank you Sarah, your sweet parcel arrived in the mail today!

It is absolutely teeming down rain this morning, but my resolute Saraya wanted to go up our long driveway to check the mail anyway. Soon I could hear screams of "MAMA!! MAMA!!!! It's a parcel from AMERICA!!!" as she came running back towards the house, fair hair flying. I'm sure our neighbours could hear her too!

So thank you. I can't wait to get into both the book and the coffee. xo

A little break.....

You may have noticed I've been a bit blogging crazy lately. :)  It's mostly been for company and an outlet in the evenings when Stuart is busy with rehearsals or schoolwork, and I've been trying to be disciplined in the daytime and not check any other blogs..... and only emails a couple of times!

Anway, today my Mum and stepdad Ray are arriving (in about an hour, we've had a busy morning getting ready!) and I"m going to have some real, human, adult company for a few days which will be so nice.  I may or may not blog for the next few days.  The weekend will be pretty busy, with dress rehearsals both days so a bit of ferrying Saraya, doing her stage makeup (oh my goodness!) and cooking for / spending time with our special guests etc.  Actually I'm thinking we may have takeaway tomorrow night. :)

It will be so great having some help at home, and grown-ups to talk to.  Mum will be here until Tuesday morning; Ray goes home on Sunday.  I'll be able to watch So you think you can dance with Mum on Sun night which will be great- we both LOVE it and always talk on the phone Monday mornings!!!  This time it can be in the flesh, yay!  

Is everyone having a blogging break at the moment?  I've just noticed my comments have dropped substantially lately........ Too many posts?  Or is everyone busy or away from computers??  Just wondering!  Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Please leave a comment!!!

I found out on Heather's blog that it's apparently De-lurking week, encouraging all regular readers of blogs to leave a comment!!  I too can be accused of just reading, so often I'm doing it whilst breastfeeding or just holding Will, and only have one hand so don't leave a comment.  However, if there's a post I really enjoyed or found funny or helpful or just plain interesting, I do try to leave even just a few words!

SO, here I am, down on my knees (not really, but almost) begging (yes, I know it's really sad), that if you are a regular reader of my blog, please leave me a comment here and there!  Sometimes I forget that anyone is actually reading as comments can be few and far between (yeah I know, bring out the tiny violin, poor poor me ........), yet I often run into people who then comment on things they've read on my blog.  "You read it?" is my stunned reply.  "Oh yes, I check it every day!!" they say enthusiastically.  Okay.  Wow!

Please, just a few teeny tiny words to make me happy?  And so I know who's actually out there?

Truth be known, I don't blog for the comments, but I do really enjoy them!  

A Reflection on 2008

I was blog-hopping yesterday, and came across a lovely blog called There Is No Place Like Home.  (I know, the title got me too!).  Kelli had done a lovely post, reflecting on the year now behind us.  Feel free to participate if you like; there is a "Mr Linky" there on Kelli's blog to add your blog link if you wish to, or take a peek into other people's 2008.

So basically, you take the first line from the first post of each month from last year (I didn't start blogging until April, so mine is missing Jan-March).  Add the photo from that post too, or the next photo you used from that month.  Here goes.......

"Ferns By the Fireside" - A look at 2008

April

"Well, this is it."

May

"It struck me today that some of the memorable, wonderful, want-to-bottle-it moments are completely unplanned."

June

"Elijah made us all smile this morning."

July

"Debi has invited us to post our favourite "sleeping baby" pictures."

August

"So the big question is : Do I look better as a blonde or with black hair?"

September

"My life is busy."

October

"He'll make a fine man one day"

November

"I can just tell this is going to be a rambling post".

December

"Shout with joy to God, all the earth!"

That was fun; so nice to look back on some of the photos and highlights of what was for us a year of many challenges. :)  Great to be starting a New Year this week - more on my thoughts / dreams / plans for the year ahead in coming posts!  Have a great Tuesday everyone.

Why do I blog?

I've been thinking a lot about this lately.

I launched into the blogging world quickly, once I discovered it.  I spent several nights many many months ago exploring a few blogs, and suddenly longed to have my own!  Since the day I started blogging, I haven't looked back.  I just love to blog.

It's interesting, thinking about why we choose to blog.  For me, it's a form of expression, an opportunity to put thoughts into words, a chance to capture and record the significant moments of our family's daily life.  I've realised as I've reflected this week that it's really this simple.  It's not a thought-out, predetermined style or format or method.  I don't write for a particular audience, or in the hope of receiving hundreds of comments or of changing people's lives forever. :)  (I know some blogs do this!)   It's really just a place to be myself and write whatever I like.  

My dear friend Cathy left a comment recently on my last rambly sort of post, and said that "If the eyes are the window to the soul, the blog is the movie to the spirit".  How well she put that, and what a lovely thought!

All the blogs I most enjoy reading are vastly different.  Some are poetical, some idyllic, some humerous, others practical and down-to-earth, others inspiring.  They all reach me in different ways, and I enjoy travelling along life's road with these bloggy friends.  My blog is probably a subtle mix of them all, yet still distinctly my own.  It's my safe haven of self-expression.

I have heard people say that blogs are a sugar-coated version of reality.  Well, some blogs clearly aren't as their writers seem to deliberately focus on the negative parts of life, lightened up a bit with humour.  I agree though that many blogs are a bit sugar-coated, mine included.  However, I defend this by saying that I'd rather not waste my time writing posts about cleaning the toilet or driving around town not being able to find a car park or having a small breakdown crying on the kitchen floor because I couldn't think of anything to cook for tea.  To me, these are the little annoyances of my daily life, not my highlights or joyful parts, or hopes or dreams for a better tomorrow.  I actually like my blog because it gives me a chance to focus on the positives!  The little things that make life beautiful.  As a stay at home Mum, days can kind-of go on and on pretty much the same; monotonous, challenging, and often thankless.  Yet I love to be home, caring for my husband and children.  The little daily joys, and the knowing that this is where I'm meant to be, makes it all worthwhile.  Blogging gives me an opportunity to deliberately remember the good bits and record them, and share them!  To take photos of the funny things my children do, or the nice things happening in the garden.

If I'm having a really really hard day, I'll either choose not to blog (often on those days there's no time anyway!) or I'll do a realistic post about the difficulties of homekeeping or mothering or life in general, or how much I hate staying overnight in hospital with sick children. :(

Most of the time though, at the end of the day when I sit down to blog, it's good to think about all the gifts I've been given........ my home, my precious family, and all the beauty around me.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things".  Philippians 4:8  

This verse from Philippians was read at our wedding, and it's one of my favourites.  It's kind of a part of me, I guess.

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So here is a question for you, just for fun:  Why do you choose to blog, and what do you like most about it?  Or, why do you like to read people's blogs?   Or, what sort of blogs and/or posts do you most like reading?  

I look forward to reading your answers!!

(and I don't know why Blogger has changed the size and colour of my font......)