One thousand gifts: April

"Life's a piano. And it's easy to think that the white keys are pure joy while all the black keys are pure grief. But the thing is - black keys can make music too."  Anne Voskamp

A portion from this months thankful list: 

148: Pink nail polish

152: 4 o'clock sun streaming through my window saying 'this bed

        and those who sleep in it are blessed'

164: My lovely niece

171: Realising that I am terrible at something but pursuing it all 

        the same. And the hope that I might improve.

172: Hearing my kids yell at the television in Spanish (at Dora)!

178: A reminder to pray

179: Saturday afternoon drives

181: A precious girl and a pink doughnut

  187: Zeb saying 'Whoa' every time he sees an animal 

 190: Reading time

More info on the One Thousand Gifts project here.

Labour of Love

To all the brave and beautiful ladies,

Who bear the birth of their babes,

But miss their beginning breath,

and the burrow at their breast.

May your broken heart and your burdens, 

one day transform into blessings. 

 

A angel doll for an angel baby.

Based on my favourite doll pattern from here.

All the things they say

Elara: (After steadily moving her mug from table to mouth, and realizing it was empty) "Oh no! I've just wasted  my carefulness!"

India: "Mum, this is the story of the bumbabumba: One day a little girl was going across the woods, and when she went across the woods she thought that it was a windy day. But it was just her hair playing with her. And then her little sister Charlie said to her "The wind is blowing my hair, the wind is blowing my hair!" Then her Mum said to her "The hair is just playing around with you - Casper the cat always says that!" And then a little bubba came out of Mummy's tummy. The mama's baby growed up and saw a lion. She said to the lion, "Want to live at our home? We've got a playground". And they all got to school on time."

 Zeb: "Up. Down. Kick. Ball. Poo. Truck. Banana. More. Elara. Dog. Duck. Bubba. Pop. Nanna. Guitar."

Rations

It's not exactly long-life.

Or bland.

Or light-as-can-be for backpack carrying.

In fact my children count these as 'special' foods.

But for ANZAC day, it was a small way to learn a little about the soldiers, and the sacrifice they made,

lest we forget.

Feeling grizzly

I fell in love with this fabric!

 It's perfect for some hibernating clothes (these ones for a size 1 friend).                

Or some panel van pants for my boy...

 ...who is becoming 'as quick as a fox'!

(And how about some of this fabric for those of you with a 'little red'?) 

Winter is coming!

One thousand gifts: March

"All the minutes, they will have enough troubles of their own, but the days with this man, these kids, have enough joy, these days have more than enough Jesus - if I can see" Ann Voskamp

A portion from this months thankful list: 

107. The call of 'Mama' in the still of the night

115. A rainbow of macarons

119. New shoes as a reminder that my children are growing into young men and women

125. Finding meaning in a surprising place, when you are too exhausted to search for it.

126. An Op shop bargain 

127. Warm shower washing over me

131. The desire to be alive.

134. My Aunty Hed's laugh

140. Homemade dumplings

141. A growing love for my husband, even when life is tougher than ever
142. The first craft of the holidays

One thousand gifts: February

"Love has the long, real sight that sees what won't burn up. Love's priorities are things unseen" Ann Voskamp

A portion from this month's thankful list:

75. Getting to the bottom of a five-load-high pile of folding
76. A sweet voice singing "He's got the whole world in his hands"
77. Cool, breezy afternoons
78. Love notes, secretly slipped into lunchboxes
79. New little friends
80. Getting a glimpse of what Elara might be like in a few years time

99. Date nights and fairy lights

100. Trampoline jumping at twilight

101. India asking "Are those trees or huge broccolis?" 

102. The tenderness of a softly spoken, but honest 'sorry'

103. A song that stays with you long after hearing it

104. The stillness of morning

105. Genetics. And how my boy holds and plays his guitar like his Dad