ENJOYING LIFE

Mr Charles Spurgeon said:

"It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness."


One of the most glorious things to enjoy is God's creation. We took the picture above when we did a bush walk through a National Park.

Even though the walk was hard in places, and a bit of a struggle with two little ones in mountain buggies, and it was A LOT further than we thought it was going to be - we have made a rich memory for the children of a day we really enjoyed.

Why did we enjoy it? It wasn't too hot, it didn't rain, there weren't too many people - all these things added to the enjoyment. But the best part was that we were together soaking up all the wonders of Creation.

There were the little waterfalls, streams and rocks, the stunning views that hit us as we rounded corners, the intoxicating blue of the sky, the deep rich greens in the bush all around us. And then a picnic on the beach and a paddle in the sea. (Paddle traditionally means ankles and up to knees in contact with water. Nevermind - Mummy did indeed have a change of clothes for small children who hadn't got the hang on keeping at least the top-half of their clothing dry.)

Even when we discovered that someone had inadvertently put the bananas in the BOTTOM of the backpack and they resembled baby food, it didn't spoil our enjoyment.

And when we returned home, weary and happy, our quickly assembled tea of cold chicken and potato salad on the table in front of us, we prayed and gave thanks to the Lord for everything He has given us to enjoy.

And we do.

Blessings
The Mummalady

ART!

I had a beautiful piece of fabric that I bought ages ago - intending to make cushion covers.

Today I finally got it out and spread it on the table to cut it.

But OH! It looked beautiful on the table - I decided not to wreck it by cutting it up!

I hemmed the edges and VIOLA! A STUNNING one-of-a-kind tablecloth to brighten our kitchen.

But looking at the table I knew there was something missing.

I asked my oldest son "Can you find something orange to put in the middle of the table for a centrepiece please?"

And this is what he came up with.

There is a bowl of lemons and oranges (that was my suggestion) hidden under the mountain of Smelly Bellys. You can see a tiny bit of lemon in the bowl on the left.

This child, as you can see, has an eye for the colourful - and a heart for the totally ridiculous.

Blessing from
The Mummalady

GIRLS' MORNING OUT

My little girl turned 7 during the week, and on on Saturday, Daddy stayed home with the boys and the girls took off in Daddy's little work car for some serious shopping!

She had some money from both sets of grandparents. A lot of thought went into what she might buy - discussing and making lists. So on Saturday when we actually got to the shops the joy of purchasing things was wonderful!

We make a point of never going shopping for "leisure" or "entertainment", so to have some birthday money to spend is a very special thing.

We bought morning tea - a sausage roll for Mummy and a chocolate croissant for Miss 7. This was a huge treat. :o)

Near the end of the expedition Miss 7 found some things to buy to bring home as presents for some of her brothers - the Smelly Belly being the major find of the morning - $2 in the Salvation Army shop. Our two oldest boys are Smelly Belly collectors. They actually already have this Giant Smelly Belly - Lolli Pop - but it's always fun to add more to the collection (apparently) and they have plans for making more movies with Smelly Belly as actors (gripping! What they lack in expressions they make up for in personality).

We also had a girls' library visit (one of the boys commented on the fact that he could tell that it was a girls' trip - quite a few of the books were about cardmaking and scrapbooking ...).

So we spent some money, had some treats and got some library books - but the main thing was that we spent time together. Just Mummy and her darling little girl. I often look at her and will myself to remember every little detail about her while she is still young. I know that I'll blink and suddenly she'll be 17.

But I'll still be her Mum even when she's grown up. And I cherish every moment and deeply thank the Lord for each of His precious children that He has chosen for me. For me to teach, care for, guide and love.

Amen
The Mummalady

HOLIDAYS EVERY DAY

We were out shopping today, the sun was shining, a cool breeze blew off the snowy mountains, the carpark was only half-full and people wandered in the relaxed way that I have come to appreciate so much in the small town we live near. It's like being on holiday every day. :o)

There are quite a few alternative folks living around here, it's good for the atmosphere - no big city rush, no stress, no "me first" attitudes - well, very few anyway.

And if we don't mind a few sandflies we head over the hill for the beach where the children can shout, run and dig and get "sand in the eyes and the ears and the nose, And sand in the hair, and sand-between-the-toes". For weeks afterwards we are reminded of our beach visit as we find sand in carseats, socks left rolled up in the bottom of the laundry hamper and the pocket of trousers that have been through the wash twice. But what harm is a little sand?

We are very blessed that the Lord has placed us here. If He calls us somewhere else, I pray that we will respond like Abraham did - willingly, in faith.

But in the meantime we just soak it all in, enjoy it to the fullest, and serve Him where He has planted us.

Blessings
The Mummalady.

LOW-KEY BIRTHDAYS

We've noticed a "thing" happening in the world nowadays.

Children's birthdays are getting ... well ... extravagant.

When our littlest guy turned one we joked about what sort of party we would have for him. A bouncy castle, mini-jeeps, little quad-bikes, a clown, pony rides, a marquee and catering for 50.

Instead we sang "Happy Birthday" to him, gave him his teddy (which he has named Bare Bear) and had a biscuit after tea to celebrate.

When the next little guy up just turned 4 not so long ago he got a Lego set, a resin rabbit for his garden, a tiny little torch and a wonderful morning tea! It was just the family as usual, and the wonderful treats you see on the photo above.

Miss almost 7 has her birthday this week. We have a few treats tucked away and something nice planned for lunch. Tea will be something she has chosen and the day will be special for her.

I was talking to someone a while back who reminded me about children's parties when we were little (he was as ancient as me) in the 1970's. When mothers cooked the food like lamingtons, cherios (not cereal like in America - here in NZ they are little red sausages served with tomato sauce), ginger snaps with whipped cream in them, individual jellies, hundreds-and-thousands open sandwiches, tiny little savouries and of course a cake.

The games were pass the parcel, hunt the thimble, pin the tail on the donkey ...

For the majority now it seems those days are gone. Parents have better ideas - they hire the entire gymnasium for an hour, and then take everyone to a restaurant afterwards or take 15 of their children's best friends for a horse trek or hire a bouncy castle and a juggler to put on a show or they get a "Party Organiser" to do the whole thing! And the parties get bigger and better (and subsequently more expensive) each year. What a stress!!

Birthdays ARE specials days. A time to celebrate the life of the child - to thank the Lord for sending that specific child into that exact place in our family. But the hype and glamour is misplaced.

I would like to encourage parents to really go back to basics with birthdays for young children. When they are older they might specifically ask for something special, but having been brought up on a diet of simplicity and the quiet life I believe the requests won't be too extravagant (or expensive!).

JUST ONE SOCK

Unfortunately we see a lot of these at our place. Just one sock.

We have a whole box of "one sock" singletons, waiting for their partner to turn up.

I love this picture though - son number 2 took it when he was sitting in the car. It's a silly thing to take a photo of, but how cool. :o)

He's got an eye for a good photograph.

Blessings
The Mummalady

THE VALUE OF MESSY PLAY

Generally - when you are four years old all the best things to do are messy.

Our first born DID NOT enjoy getting mucky. Once I enthusiastically suggested papier mache. He positively recoiled as I explained the wonderful process.

He joined in with the ripping of the paper, carefully wiping his hands down his trousers when he noticed the printing ink had slightly smudged his hands.

He stood back and watched as I made up the flour and water paste, interested in the science of the matter, but horrified that he might have to touch it.

I happily slapped layers of gloopy newspaper onto a balloon while he had a "well, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself" look on his face.

During this time his little brother woke up and I knew we'd better move the process outside.

Wise mummy. Suddenly we resembled the old song "When Father Painted the Parlour" - paste and paper everywhere. Not much on the balloon though.

Little brother needed a hose off afterwards - but he was used to that and joyfully turned that into part of the game.

Mucky Boy's famous line when he was little came about when he was walking right along the side of a deep muddy drop down to the water. His Nana said "Come away from the edge - you'll fall in and get all wet". His chirpy reply: "But that doesn't mind!"

These two boys are now 16 and 14. Not much has changed.

Mr 16 invents and constructs and uses his mind in wonderful ways. Very rarely will he get muddy - usually only as a result of rushing into a deep mud puddle to rescue one of his little brothers.

Mr 14 happily zooms along on his bicycle, oblivious to the buckets of mud spraying up the back of his jersey. He's the guy to call on when the goats escape as he fearlessly throws himself on them to catch them. And if he misses - ah well, it's only mud. That doesn't mind.

So after a few lovely rainy days and lots of mud and wet sawdust on the gardens which Miss almost 7, Mr 4 and Mr almost 2 love to run through and throw themselves in, an afternoon spent with Play Doh is an easy option for "messy play".

I can't even begin to comprehend the benefits of children being able to squish and mould and imagine and make things. Ideas spinning around their heads, trying something out, squashing it all up again to try another idea. The joy and innocence children have in just PLAYING! They don't sit for 10 minutes looking at the dough, telling themselves that it's no use even starting because it will never come out the way they imagine. What freedom!

But it's funny how when we came to put the Play Doh away there wasn't quite as much. And what was that blue lump the puppy was chewing?