Happy 2010!

It's another new year! Another one marked off and a whole yearful of unknown opportunities ahead. What will this year hold for me? Firstly, *sigh* I need to find more work. Hopefully a part time job with enough hours to quit some of my casual work. Looking for work is never easy or fun so hopefully I'll just come across something really soon. I can dream right?? For the eventful stuff my year holds...I become an aunty again (for the 7th time) in around a month providing the kid doesn't decide to come early. I will also turn 30 in May. It's my golden year this year. 30 on the 30th!! I plan to see out my 20s with a Roaring 20's party. Fun ideas rolling around in my head. But man, where has all that time gone! There's also three weddings coming--one of which is my own younger brother. I'm not sure what else out of the normal my year holds but I hope it contains gaining a better perspective on life and a better grasp on living it. I hope it contains growth mingled with lots of laughter and fun. And I hope God and I figure out our relationship and can enjoy it more fully again.

I hope for you that 2010 holds lots of laughter and fun and adventures that make you feel alive. I wish you a yearful of health and happiness. Have a great one!

eventful

My, my. It's been an eventful day and it's only just past noon!! I've already had a bit of a cry and a few chuckles. I'm sure thankful for fast, automatic reflexes. At work this morning the 4yo was playing with a little slinky and being silly he flicked it at me. Unfortunately for me he was close and it struck me hard in the eye. I grabbed my eye saying that it really hurt. I got up to go check it in the bathroom mirror and the 2yo followed me suggesting a tissue on the way. My eye was ok, appart from the pain and sting of the thud, thanks to those reflexes. Boy, it hurt! Thus the cry. Sort of. My eyes watered though I kept from actually crying. It was sweet to look down and see the serious concern and compassion on the 2yo's face. I smiled at her and told her I would be ok when she asked. I went and found the 4yo. He'd hid. I didn't yell at him coz he obviously realised the seriousness and that he'd really hurt me. I suggested he not flick it at anyone again.
The 4yo later supplied me with a chuckle though. I gave the 2yo a tissue to blow her nose which she did. "No," said the 4yo, "you gotta do a big blow like this." He then did a big blow himself. Only, he didn't have a tissue so he just sent the snot stringing down to the ground. "Eww," I laughed, "I'll get you a tissue too." Ha ha ha.
And call me crazy, but I chuckled when I was almost home too and noticed that the police in the middle of the street were doing random breath tests. They waved a few people through and then stopped me. He he. So I did a breath test...with no worries. Then I drove along two more houses and pulled in. Funny.
So with the weather warmer and waiting for a friend to arrive for our hotdog lunch, today is turning into a pretty fine day. ^^

livin' up the holidays

Oh yeah! This is the life. Ah, I sat down yesterday just after lunch with a book, some bikkies and a chai latte with the Christmas tree sheltering all the presents I'd just finished wrapping. Lovely. I read all afternoon. I only stopped to get ready for work. After about one and a half hours of work, once the kids were in bed sleeping, I read some more. It was a blissful day.
Hope you have some days like this. Ones you can relax and soak up. Ü

Preoccupied

I haven't been hanging out online as much lately, thus the elongated gaps between posts on my blogs. Christmas is almost here and in between the bit of work I have I've been busily working on presents and preparations. Did some more today in fact. That and getting sucked in to the Twilight saga. I finished book one yesterday and couldn't resist starting "New Moon" today. He he.

I wrote myself a to-do list the other week coz I was starting to stress over so many things on my mind that I wanted to do with the shrinking pre-Christmas time. Ahh. I had to remind myself that I certainly did have time to do these things so I wrote a list to help me prioritise and not forget something. It's been a successful help. I've finished and posted parcels and cards, finished some presents and done some baking today. And last Tuesday night was our breakup for home group for the year. We had a Christmas celebration by eating dessert. Delicious. Funny that we ended up with two rocky road icecream cakes. One I made. And I got my Christmas cards and the stars I crocheted done for a little Christmas wish to hand out. It's been so satisfying to cross things off my list and know I'm getting things done. Yay.

Christmas really is just around the corner. One week from tomorrow. I hope you have a lovely time this celebratory season--laugh, have fun, enjoy the delicious food and the wonderful relationships you have in your life. Merry Christmas to you all!

thanksgiving

Summer officially begins today!! And thankfully it was a pleasant enough day. Glad that the sun was shining for the first day of summer. It shouldn't be any other way. Haha. No guarantee in my city though. Still, the change of seasons is nice. And it was a nice evening for a BBQ. We had a sort-of Thanksgiving at home group tonight. We had a bbq dinner (very Aussie) with delcious deserts and loads of chatter. I must admit I did quite a bit of laughing too--with Danielle especially. Some great conversations. Interesting ones. Some that made no sense to me....ha ha, you can do all the theorising, Connor, I'll just read the story when you're done. And I'm interested to see how to attatch pig hair needles to the thread. And we heard lots about The Twilight Saga's New Moon and it's actors. Ha ha ha. It was a good time. We did a little "thanksgiving" when we realised how late it was getting already.
I'm thankful that even though financially life has been tough this past year with not a lot of work, I've always had at least enough to survive. I'm also thankful for friends and family that I can call my own little community to be a part of. I'm thankful that I can be real and be myself and they love me all the same. I'm thankful that despite the hardships of this year there are still moments of joy and laughter and connectedness and hope. I am thankful that the seasons change! It's not always winter. (And it doesn't stay dreadfully hot forever either.) I'm thankful that even in my doubts and my depressed feelings God stays right beside me. And I'm thankful for the reminder that God is FOR me and wants me to succeed in life and so He WILL help me.

fog in a dark valley

This year has been insane in regards to my personal life. The darkest valley of my days thus far I would say. You know you're scraping the bottom when you despair. It's such a horrid emotion. Doubts about God have caused most of the fog in my life. He's always been the one I hang onto for dear life in hard times. So when I despair and doubt and wonder if God is real and if He really loves me and such its a nasty undercurrent that pulls me down and knocks me about. When hope is down it's darn hard to get up and fight on. I had such a night last night.

Today I was reading one of the books I'm working my way through. Jennifer Rothschild in Self Talk, Soul Talk says there are four essential areas of life we stand on: Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual. And she likens it to a table. When one leg is loose and out of whack, the whole table gets wobbly. I've been feeling many wobbles in all these areas this year. I've only begun to see some light in this darkness recently as I've begun to seek God again in this thick fog. It's hard when there are still many doubts and mistrusts. Last night the doubts were unwelcomely invading my mind. Fighting is exhausting. The chapter today talked about the spiritual "leg" being the weight bearing leg and how we need to hope in God. She said to choose hope. Choosing hope is a difficult choice but not choosing it is to choose despair by default. Tell your soul to look up...something broader, someone bigger, somewhere better.

I paused to ponder the appropriate timing of reading this chapter for my life. Seems to happen often. Then I suppose I decided to hope. To believe that God really is here with me and actively helping me. Leading me to read the right book at the right time. I also thought of a verse that has been giving me hope... Psalm 23:4 "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid for you are right beside me..." Through. Through the darkest valley. Implying that there's a coming out the other side. Where is God? Not miraculously making me appear on a mountain or even a platau. What would I gain from that? No, He longs for me to grow and be better and stronger and have more faith and hope. He wants me to make this journey. He allows me to go through this valley because in the long run it will benefit me. But He surely doesn't leave me to it. He's right beside me, walking with me, seeing me through.

summerish

The weather is brilliant here! Technically it's spring but it's feeling like summer this week. Gorgeous day yesterday and sunny and around 30ºC again today and predicated so for most of this week. Being spring the coolness will come again but I'm certainly enjoying the sunshine. Nannying is a great job in weather like this coz I get to have summery fun! Check out some pics from my morning...

Hot weather clothes and protection (sunscreen rubbed in)**Icypoles**And our brilliant sandcastle with a moat

This afternoon I'm off to my other nanny job. Think we'll play with the water table. That sounds like fun.