For beautiful mornings

I say thankyou.

Today I am grateful for...

CHANGE.

It's not something that I generally love. But today I am grateful for it.

Without change, we would not have bought our new home.

Without change, we would not be looking ahead to starting in a new church.

Without change, we would not have chosen to marry just over a year ago.

Without change, we would not be willing to try new things and move into the areas God is calling.

Happy Anniversary!

And may there be many more!

My ABC of Gratitude

Right, so on day one I committed to doing my 21 days of gratitude and today is day two which calls for me to use the alphabet as a fun and quick format for making a list of things for which you feel grateful. Share this list with your social network through email, a blog post or a Facebook or MySpace page.

So here they are. My ABC's of gratitude for today. :)

Art & Artistic outlets- looking at it or creating it. Nothing too serious- just fun, positive, smile inducing art!
Beautiful things- bunting, babies, blossom, blessings...
Coffee & chocolate- how can these two not go together?!
Diary- I've always kept a calendar diary and a journal diary of sorts. I am so grateful that I have.
Eggs on toast- poached- I am mastering the art of poaching eggs to perfection. Best served on sourdough.
Family & friends- What I couldn't live without.  I am grateful to have family and friends who love and support me.
Gifts- Giving and receiving... and wrapping!
Holidays- getting away from life as we know it and getting a fresh perspective. Also stands for honeymoon. ;)

Internet & blogs- a big part of my days. I am grateful for Google Reader and all the people who post their blogs!
Jesus Christ- who died for me (and you!) so that we can have a relationship with God and be saved. (John 3:16)  
Kindness- because it feels so good when someone is kind to you or when you are kind to someone else!
Letters- snail mail, email, drawings from the children, I'm grateful that I can show people I care through letters.
Mortgage- Ok, perhaps I am not delighted by this, but I am grateful for what it means. That we have a home and that we have enough money to more than live.
Nephews- I love my Cooper and Ty! They bring so much joy to our lives and smiles to our faces.
Open spaces- It's always refreshing and humbling to be in a wide open space and to take in God's creation.
Photography- for the creativity that I can demonstrate through it and for the memories that it captures.
Quiet- in a busy, fast world, I'm grateful for moments and places of quiet.

Roses- from my garden. They smell divine and remind me of the simple things.
Sandy cat- for the unconditional love and cuddles that he gives us.
Tobes- Mwah! Mwah! Mwah! I LOVE this man and am so grateful that God brought us together, for life!
Unity- being on the same page, having a shared vision and purpose, working toward the same goals.
Vietnamese food- bun, pho soup, crepes, gado gado, rice paper rolls... yum!
Warm weather- and the fun outside times that it brings.
Xoxo- kisses and cuddles- never can have enough!
Yellow and other cheery colours- to make me happy when skies are grey!
Zippy, zany children!- that greet me everyday at school. They can drive me bonkers but I am grateful for the joy that they also bring, for the effort that they put into learning and for the enthusiasm they have for life.

All images from my collection and weheartit

 What are you grateful for today?

The Gratitude Challenge

After giving it some thought, I'm going to participate in the Gratitude Challenge for the next 21 days.
Sure, it may be a little tricky, but at this time of the year, and with the events that we're tackling at the moment, I reckon that I could use some gratitude! :)

Keep your eyes peeled and let me know if you want to join in too?

Scrapping...

I've just been thinking. I love scrapbooking. I scrap for lots of reasons...

• I want to house my photos in a 'pretty' way.
• I enjoy the creative process.
• I love designing layouts.
• I enjoy the way that it brings me together with friends and that scrapping is social.
• I love the products and using old things in new ways.
• Most important though is that I want to remember... I want to remember the big events and the small moments of my life- for me, my family, Tobes and our children to come.

I've not scrapped in a few months, and I miss it. My stash has been in boxes throughout the process of selling our house... still in progress! Blogging has become somewhat of a digital scrapbook for me- a place to store images and the stories that go with them. 

I was looking through my Picassa albums just now and wanted to post some of my cards and layouts from last year that I had snapped. I love looking back and seeing what's changed and what's stayed the same.

And I can't wait to get back into scrapping again soon too! 

To December Daily or not?

Bubble cup

Yum! :) I had a watermelon ice blended drink with coconut jelly and Tobes had a pineapple juice drink with coconut jelly. I always look forward to one of these. We get a 2 for 1 in the Entertainment Book each year.

 Do you like bubble cup? What do you recommend?

Some great downloads

Here are some links to sites that I don't want to forget! I love them and hope that you will too! :)

Download awesome printable art by a range of artists.

Download templates and stationary for free! 

Specifically themed for weddings, but can be used for other fun projects too

New templates are added each week for you to download and use. 

Templates are based in Word and can easily be customised.

All of the above sites allow you to use their  products for personal use- not for resale or profit. 

The Social Network

Tobes and I went to see The Social Network today. The teachers that participated in our Year 2 sleepover earlier in the year were given some free movie tickets (yay!) so we cashed them in today over this movie.

I'm sure that there is an element of fiction in this portrayal of the story of Facebook, however I have come away thinking more about the site and how it works.
I, like 1 in 14 people in the world have a Facebook account, and I use it regularly.
It's been responsible for connecting me with people who I've not seen in years. We had a Year 6 reunion planned through facebook some years ago which was great.  Facebook was the means by which an email exchange began between Tobes and I and led to our relationship beginning. I get to see photos of my friends who live far away and keep up to date with their news in real time, even so far away.  Sure, there are people who I am 'friends' with that I will not see or likely communicate with, and I occasionally 'cull', but I can see the merit of Facebook if used carefully with strong privacy settings!

What do you think of Facebook?
Have you seen the movie?
Will it change the way that you use the site?
I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts.

A sweet start to today

In Melbourne today we gave a public holiday for a horse race, the Melbourne Cup. I love horses but not racing so much. But I'm grateful for the holiday!

We shared dinner with some special old friends last night and slept in this morning. I love it when we're not rushed in the morning and can have a quiet chat and snuggle before officially starting the day. It's obe of the things that I was most looking forward to about being married! (Don't tell anyone but I'm actually still under the covers now!)
Tobes is playing Guitar Hero in the back room and we plan to see a movie later on in the day.

For me, this day usually symbolises the last relaxed one before beginning report writing. I've done a little bit (a very little bit) so far and will get more into it this week. Tobes is heading interstate for work for a few nights in the coming weeks, which although sad (I hate it when he's away) it means that I'll get some solid work done. :)

We're still waiting on the house to sell so we're a bit up in the air if we're moving in 3 weeks... Mental! We are trusting God and believing that He's got it all sorted.

Enjoy your day, be you working or reaping the benefits of the race that stops the nation!

Operation Christmas Child

This year at school once again we've been supporting Samaritan's Purse by putting together these boxes. They are filled with a range of items for children of varying ages. You specify on the lid of the decorated box a gender and age range for the recipient and they are then sent off all over the world to children in less fortunate situations than us.

It was suggested that each grade fill one box. You need to raise $9 per box for postage and so I suggested to my kids that they contribute something from their own money box and that they could ask their parents to match their contribution. I was amazed when P in my grade came in with $50 one morning and then with another $20 the following morning!  Others contributed money of their own and items for the boxes.

I took myself off to the dollar shop and K-Mart several afternoons later with their money and came back heavy laden with goodies for many boxes. T-shirts, socks, pencil cases, school supplies, face washers, tooth brushes, tennis balls, small cuddly toys- enough for 5 boxes and all for less than $50!

The grade and I loved putting the boxes together, carefully choosing which child would most appreciate certain items. The care that they showed throughout the process was inspiring. I teach in a very affluent area and these children have no need for anything material.  They take for granted their position so it was great to see their eyes and hearts be opened to others.

We sealed each box with a letter from the class and I prayed over each box too, that the child would find some joy and sense the love of Christ through each gift.  We'll never know the individual stories of those who received the boxes, and I'm sure that there are other ways that our funds could be used for greater impact, however this project is so tangible to my little 6-9 year olds and I know that they will always remember the experience. Hopefully it will inspire them to continue a habit of generosity and to think of those who are not as financially blessed as them over Christmas time.