This Is What Happens When You're Not Looking

As I said before I have a new camera and I'm really enjoying taking photos of as much as possible, trying to figure out if something will look good as a picture or not. So after tea Teenager was doing homework, girls are eating dessert and Baby Boy is in his high chair having some milk which he LOVES by the way, tea time for him means yummy food and a bottle of milk.

Husband was in the garden doing garden stuff and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to take some photos, and it was. The sun was shining and everything looked so fresh. I got some great shots. Have a look at my photo gallery my favourite so far are the bee pictures.

Anyway I was outside for a little while and when I came back in this is what I see. Baby Boy has made a mess. My first reation was "Oh no" but then I thought "photo op".So here he is in all his messy glory, and it wasn't so bad to clean up. After all "No use crying over spilt milk"

Hooray For New Life

So I have a new camera, it's great; I can finally get some fab shots of the family.  I'm taking pictures of everything, close ups of flowers, of the kids, even of husbands eye! Don't ask me why maybe it's just because I can. Then today I saw a bird on the feeder and wondered if I could zoom in and catch it (through the window).

Now I'm no professional photographer but I think considering that I took the photo through the window and had a very shaky screen as I was zoomed in so much it turned out pretty o.k. But all this is beside the point the point is that when I looked to see the photo I realised that it was a baby Goldfinch.

You can see from my last post why this is so exciting for me. I have been seeing the Goldfinches on a daily basis for about a month now but this was the first baby I have seen and to capture it on camera feels great.

It is so wonderful to be able to appreciate the beautiful creatures God has made.
"My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one,...For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come.." Song of Solomon 2:10-12

Teaching Life Lessons

When we first moved to this house a very big woodpidgeon flew into the large window at the back of our house during a really rainy day and died. We figured this to be the case as there was a bird outline on the window, it probably thought that our window was just an extension of the garden seeing the reflection in it.
 I had not yet developed my appreciation for the beautiful birds so I let husband dispose of the bird and that was the end of it.
A few days ago when baby boy was on the potty we were looking at the garden talking about what we could see trees, birds leaves and so on when I noticed a dead bird lying on the ground right by the window where we were. It was a goldfinch and a baby one at that with a fly flying around it. I knew it couldn't have been there very long as it wasn't there at the last potty trip. I felt sad seeing the fly buzzing around it and so I went outside to see what I could do.
I put it into a cardboard box and then went on the internet to see what I could do with it. I just didn't feel right throwing it away like a piece of rubbish it looked so beautiful like it was just asleep.
Now don't get me wrong I know it was only a bird one that I hadn't even seen before as it was a baby and it wasn't even technically a pet either but seeing the little creature there all I could think was that this little bird was recently alive flying around, a creature of our marvelous creator and I felt like it needed to be buried.
All the girls and baby boy were interested to see the little bird many times actually and baby boy even wanted to touch it which I didn't think was such a good idea though.
We waited for husband to get home and before bedtime we went into the garden to bury the little goldfinch. We talked about how we should thank God for making such a lovely bird, for making all of the animals and for giving us life too. We talked about appreciating our lives that are a gift from God, and then we sang 'All Things Bright And Beautiful' as husband put it into the ground. There were even a few tears too.
Maybe some of you might think this all sound a bit much but I felt it was important to help the children see the importance of life and that life also ends. As they have not known the hard grief of loosing a person that they know or love I felt this could give them a small insight into somthing they will eventually have to deal with. As parents we are constantly trying to prepare them for whats to come in their future, so this was a perfect opportunity to do that and remind them that God is in control of all things.
"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time"    1 Peter 5:6

The Royal Wedding

Did anyone else do anything for the royal wedding?

I didnt' think I would, I'm not the type of person that has paid too much attention to the royal family. Yes I knew about the significant events that have taken place over the years, but I'd never really put much thought into what any of them were doing. So when the engagement was announced to me it seemed more about celebrity.  I thought that there was too much hype and I certainly wasn't planing on getting caught up in it. But as the weeks approached I must admit I did find myself listening a bit more to what was going on and I started getting a bit caught up in it all, buying myself a t.shirt that said "IT COULD HAVE BEEN ME", just for fun of course. Then a few days later I bought the girls t.shirts with crowns on them and even bought the baby some shorts with red white and blue on them. I also bought some yummy food especially for the day and a celebratory biscuit tin with William and Kate on the lid. Mustn't forget the paper plates with the union jack and plastic cups to match of course. I considered buying flags but I thought that would be too much. I was sure it would be just another day, but when the day arrived I turned on the T.V just to see what all the fuss was about and found that  I was completely hooked. (Obviously I was already hooked I just didn't know I was hooked).

Watching all the processions, the guests arrive, the two princes arrive and waiting to see 'that dress' how could anyone not get swept into the excitement and joy of the day.

Even oldest daughter was enjoying it all saying "mummy we should have bought those flags after all".  So in the biggest rush we could muster we gathered paper, straws, crayons and sticky tape and proceeded to make our 'do it yourself ' flags which we very much enjoyed waving along with the many others on T.V. 

As I was so caught up in the day it got too late to cook the yummies so I made 'flag sandwiches' which the girls loved and oldest daughter made a clown cake and decorated it red white and blue.

All in all I prepared for and celebrated a day I really didn't think I would and thoroughly enjoyed it too.

 My behaviour was the prefect example of how a person can be so easily swayed, I got so caught up in the romance and spectacle of it all, it took me back to my own wedding day.

Hopefully this couple will be an example to many young people.

"Marriage is honourable in all".Hebrews 13:4 

It was lovely though to watch a man and woman who love each other commit themselves to one another, to hear the hymns, to feel the joy and hope that many many people who were watching could be moved in some way seek and find God for themselves.



Clown cake by oldest daughter



                  

Holiday Fun

I found a site online http://www.frugalfamilyfunblog.com/ where the creator Valerie had a holiday at home with her husband and children. It looked like so much fun that we did the same thing over the easter holiday.

On the plane

We went to Australia for the day on an aeroplane husband was the check in and the pilot. After that the girls went camping overnight. It was so much fun, the sun was really shining that day so it felt like we were away for real.

Jumping in the sea

I would really encourage anyone to try this with  your children and get creative, our next holiday will be somewhere cold so we will be wrapped up and probably skiing.
The girls jumped in the sea a lot, swam, surfed and floated. When it was time for tea in true camping fashion we had hot dogs and then headed to their camp site (the bedroom). They stayed up late giggling and chatting and had to be told a few time to go to sleep.

Inside the tent



The tent





 It was definitely a success and I'm sure your children will love it. I was left feeling uplifted and grateful for my children.
"Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright"

Writing postcards