My beautiful cousins

When I was growing up I used to sleep over my cousins houses, or they would take me out shopping or to the movies or something. And I LOVED it. They were all older and cooler then me and I thought it was awesome that they took an interest in me.
Well now the tables have turned... My cousins are all married with kids, and I'm the older 'cooler' (even if I do say so myself) older cousin. And I LOVE having them sleep over and taking them out.
Just the other weekend I had Charlotte and Miah stay with me I loved it. It's all fun from the minute I picked the up to the final kiss and hug as I leave.
The drive home was full of conversation laughter and lots of singing. Then a squishy night the three of us all tucked up in my not so large bed. The next day was a little shopping trip, where we bought lots of crafty things for our... da dah da daaahh, scrapbooking afternoon. We commandeered the dining room table and scrapbooked a bunch of awesome photos of all my little cousins.
The kids pages turned out really well...




By Charlotte





By Miah

A movie night with a few friends of mine Emma and Rachel, and there nieces and nephews watching Toy Story 3 and eating loads of POPCORN.
P.S. A big thanks to Ethan, you were awesome to let my cousins come over and watch your movie with you guys, and they were girl cousins at that!
So Sunday morning and our last day together, I show off my beautiful girls at church, :) not really; but they were really well behaved, thanks girls. Then I decided to spoil them with a trip to Maccas for lunch with my sister, before the long drive home (to there house that is).




I love these crazy girls... all three of them.

So just before I have to leave these gorgeous girls I hung out with them and their families at the carols night. We had fun, face painting, jumping on the jumpy castle and singing. I also got a chance to hand with Bec and Craig (my cousin and her husband) and their boys Ezekiel and baby Elias.




Zek and his 'scary dinosaur face paint'




Elias chillin' with his big cous Steph.


I love, Love, LOVED having the girls for the weekend. xx

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House sitting

I have written a few posts about house sitting so far, but this one I hope will be different, because the experience of house sitting was very different this time round.

Not only was I house sitting with two of my best friends, for 3 weeks I might add. But it gave me a first hand taste of what 'moving out' would be like. And I loved it...

You see I live at home with my mum and dad and as much as I love them I am so ready to move out, and now after this I want to even more.

Other then strengthening my desire to 'spread my wings' so to speak, I also really enjoyed the experience of spending a lot of face time with Rachel and Emma my before-mentioned friends.

This might be a weird comment to make but when you think about it you might spend all day with your friends but you still go home to your own bed and you don't see them every morning when you wake up. But the experience of being with your friends all the time and learning to live with there little annoyance, and they with mine was really good. I think it strengthened our relationships and gave us the opportunity to learn lots of little things out about each other.

Over the three weeks we watched a lot of movies, both scary and funny, and Em's favorite tv show Private Practice which Rach and I kinda really began to like. We went bike riding, baked a banana cake.

On one of our last nights there Emma cooked dinner for us, it was an amazing roast, with carrot, potato, sweet potato, and cauliflower cheese (the best I've ever had).

The last day we spent cleaning and even that wasn't that bad. It was really sad to leave the freedom of living away from home and living so closely with my friends. I really missed them the next morning.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

let go...

Why is it so hard to let go and let God?

As posts in the past have suggested I am finding it hard to ‘find a future’ for myself. At the beginning of this year I started at an adult school with the intensions of gaining a TER and a position in the vet science course at uni. Well a lot has happened since then...

After just a term back at school I decided (rightly or wrongly), that it wasn’t for me. I pulled out of my classes and went back to a minimum wage income at my job of 6 years. Don’t get me wrong I love working there. It’s such a friendly atmosphere and I have been blessed with the best boss you could ever ask for; but it’s not a career.

So were to now? I have a passion for children and youth, and for animals. The saying goes don’t work with children and/ or animals, but the truth is that's all I could ever imagine doing. So all I need to do is find a career that encompasses one or both of these passions, right? And fits perfectly into my preconceived idea of the perfect career, right? Well somehow I don't think it's as easy as that.

I may have omitted the fact that I also have a passion for God and serving Him. But what does that look like? I don’t know. And to be completely honest I'm scared to find out.

See I am scared that if I LET GO of my preconceived ideas and what the world tells me is a suitable career, and a healthy enough pay packet. And LET GOD take reign over my future, guide my path, challenge me in ways I never thought possible; then well I wouldn’t be in control.

This is and has been a huge struggle of mine for many years. I am a self admitted control freak who NEEDS to learn that GOD SHOULD be in control, and I am simply the vessel He MAY choose to use. My hopes and dreams pale in significance when it comes to what the Lord can achieve with a willing, eager, and faithful vessel.

Why should I conform to the ways of the world, their actions and their way for thinking? Should I not break free of the strong hold of this worldly thinking and be set a flight by the power, might and strength of GOD? And dare to dream the impossible, because through Him the impossible is made possible; if we have faith and we are in accordance with His will; A will that we will never know about if we don’t have a relationship with Him.

Four on Friday

I just realised I really like alliteration, I use it in most of my titles.
So Four on Friday...

I was blessed with the task of babysitting the four Rouse kids, over night on Friday night... That's right I had 4 kids under 8 over night all by myself, and as you all know nothing ever goes exactly according to plan, so I'll share the highlights of our wonderful 24 hours together.

• First up was the challenge of strapping the car seat into the car. It took us about 10 minutes to workout how to adjust the strap so we could anchor it in the boot. Then it took about 10 minutes to fold the stroller up, poking and prodding and pulling almost every part of the darn thing to get it to collapse, Before squeezing int into the back seat. Car seat, stroller and Anika all secularly in the car and off I was.

• Then came the school run, one kid there 4 kids on the way home sounds simple enough, right?!?.... well 3 school children equal, three: schoolbags, lunchboxes, homework packs, jackets. and 4 children equal eight legs. Ok head count, 3 kids .... 2 kids ... 5 kids (were did that extra one come from?) ... 4 kids, all rounded up and with bags on backs we were set to go.

• Dinner time, was so easy (thanks Flick), dinner all made and ready to stick in the oven, garlic bread on the side. awesome. A little argument about who got the privilege of sitting next to me. (very flattering..... see Emma Miss Stephanie is the best). 3 dinners devoured and the other two not so keen on finishing theirs, even with the prospect of ice cream. (sorry mum, not ratting anyone out)

[as a side note I should make you aware that I go to a home group on a Friday night as do the Rouses, and I was determined to get all the kids ready at to the home group on time, a few doubted but that just made me more determined]

• Home group time arrived, the kids bathed and in their jarmies, and their teeth were brushed. Pillows, blankets, teddy's all acquired and in the car along with the kids. done. Arriving at home group and jumping out the car Harry says "Miss Stephanie I forgot my slippers.", One kid forgot slippers, one forgot a pillow and another forgot their blanket, but all in all not a bad effort.

• Setting the kids up in bed, I gave them a few minutes to read. then lights out, they of course mucked up a little, but with a gentle reminder at the prospect of Maccas for breakfast I didn't hear another peep.

• Whilst at bible study, my car was egged, the last thing I needed when I had 4 sleepy children, but what can you do but soldier on... Settling the kids into their beds back at 'home', I set out to wash my car, I had to find a bucket and cloth, and wash the car under the illumination of a little light under the carport. Grrr.

• Sleep, that was defiantly a highlight.

• Jo and Anika woke up first at 6am. Not happy Jan. But Joanna played quietly in the toy room, and Ani snuggled with me for a while, so cute. Then Harry and Jessie got up at 6:30am, and it was time for snuggles with Jess.

• Anikas outfit, was adorable. The others are old enough to dress themselves, so I was helping Ani, she wanted to wear her bear dress, but it was too cold so I put leggings on a top underneath, she looked so cute.

• Macca's was fun, ordering was chaos, but we ended up with everything we needed. I also bumped into someone I knew and the Rouses didn't, they were surprised to see me with 4 kids until I explained that they were not mine, I was babysitting.

• At the park, the kids were riding their bikes around, and climbing on the jungle gym, I look up and Anika is right at the top, then she insists that she can climb down all by herself, standing by to catch her if she falls, she climbed down with quiet some thought and skill, shes growing up so fast.

These are just a few glimpses of our wonderful time together, I love the Rouse kids, I love all kids, and I really enjoyed spending time with them. ... but once Henry and Flick got home, I was ready to go home and have a Nana nap.

Thanks for all the great memories.

only 2 years, but yet a lifetime

On the 7th of this month it was the second year anniversary of my Dads operation. For those of you who don't know this was a huge and highly risky operation; and on that day God graciously granted our prayers for a safe and successful procedure.

Also on that day God gave me an inner peace like I had never felt before. I had to let go and put my trust in God that He was going to do what was right according to His perfect will. He rested his had upon my shoulder and let me know that He was there no matter what the outcome, good or bad, He was there.

It had been what seemed like a lifetime, but in fact just 4 or so hours had passed, Dad was out of the theater and in a stable condition, but the road to recovery was not going to be an easy one.

6 days after his operation he was moved from the cardio ICU (intensive care unit) to just the ordinary ICU.

Day seven the 14th of April, it was Dads birthday. Still in the ICU he was only permitted 2 visitors at a time. Baring cake in one arm and gifts in the other Mum was devastated that the nurse wouldn't let us all in (Mum, my brother and sister and myself) to wish him a happy birthday. At that time Dads Doctor was walking past and inquired, he escorted us in we sang Happy birthday, Dad blew out his imaginary candles, we sliced up the cake and he unwrapped his presents. It was a memorable but slightly abnormal birthday.

...before the operation the Doctors told us that Dad was never going to be 'cured' but the operation would extend his life. And that after his opp he was going to get worse before he got better...
They were spot on Dad did get worse, but then he got better, he could do things and it was as if he had a whole new lease of life.

* * *

So people ask me "how's your Dad?" from time to time, and I think how am I supposed to answer that? It's hard because I am with him everyday, I don't notice the slow but steady decline in his health until something really strikes him and we are forced to take a step back and re-asses.

Like just recently Dad was a little under the weather so he went to see his GP, who sent him to the Hospital. It was nothing major thankfully, however they were thorougher and kept him in all long weekend, which he was not overly thrilled about.
But stepping back and looking at the big picture I realise now that Dad isn't well, in fact I would say he is the same now (if not worse) then before he had the operation.
I try not to dwell on it because it makes me far too sad, but knowing that my father is just going to get progressively worse, slowly but surely until.... well that's just not a happy thought.

Thankfully I know that he will live forever in eternity with the Lord almighty, and that makes me happy, but selfishly i want him here with me. I think about my wedding some day, will he be there to walk me down the isle, or to see his gran kids.
But then I think of how hard it must be for him, the same thoughts he must have about missing out on life's milestones, or the frustration he must feel when he can't complete a simple task without taking a break. I pray that God my ease his burdens and worries, that he might to feel that inner peace that I felt that day 2 years ago. And that I might be a support for him and that I may to rediscover the indescribable feeling of handing it all to God and resting solely on Him.

The best year of my life

So I was going to write this post about how a friend said that her 19th year was her best of her life, and how I'm still waiting for the best year of my life.

Then she told me why it was her best year. She said it was because of the big 'fork in the road' decisions that she had to make... And how that changed her life.

Reflecting back, my 19th year was full of big life, out look and attitude changes for me too. It was a year of blessings and challenges. Trials and support.

Thank you Lord for a year of so much learning, breaking, moulding and shaping.
And thank you friend for helping me realise that the best year of my life wasn't necessarily a year of all 'ups' but the year in which God developed and refined me the most.