Welcoming in the colder months

The weather over the past week has started to feel quite wintery, and consequently we've both had colds too. Feeling a bit better today, so to cheer myself up I've started planting some vegetables and pretty flowers that enjoy the change of season. (Only a few more weeks until it's actually winter!) I thought it might help me not to resent it so much, but instead to welcome it with all of it's nice qualities: hot chocolate, ugg boots, lovely knitted scarves, warm soup and crusty bread, and enjoying the warmth under my quilt as I stitch away at it...*sigh*

The little pea that could.
He's grown heaps just in the past two days!

On Saturday I went to a good old fashioned clothes swap - pay $10 entry fee, and fill a bag with whatever goodies you might find. It was a fundraiser for one of my friends at church who is shortly leaving to go on the Logos ship (the new ship to replace the Doulos). It was great! I picked up some great black jumpers and cardigans, 2 dresses, a skirt and a top.

There were quite a few clothes left over afterwards that no-one wanted, so I scoured through these last remnants before they were sent off to the Salvos, to see if there were any that would make good fabric. So far I've only made this little elephant from a short sleeved jacket, but I've also got some knitted jumpers that were a little worn in some spots, so I think they would make great soft toy monkeys (or something similar) I'll post them once I've figured out how to do it!

Yesterday I made these lovely homemade muesli bars... 

They are really easy (the hardest part is going and getting all of the ingredients!), and really good for you. They've got: rolled oats, quinoa flakes, linseed, sesame seeds, sunflower kernels - all lightly toasted - and then some dried apricots, apples and sultanas, along with soem melted honey and butter. It's essentially the same as making honey joys, but healthier :) I worked out that with this combo, they are a source of iron, fibre, omega 3, magnesium and protein! The good thing is, you can control what goes into them, unlike the ones from the supermarket that are packed with sugar and are pretty expensive!

This afternoon I quickly put together a door sausage for our front door - usually a bit of a daggy household item, but I thought this Florence Broadhurst print was rather trendy. 

But I don't think I made it quite long enough. Poop. 

Oh well, it'll have to do - It'll keep most of the cold air out!

That's what I've done thus far to welcome in winter.

How are you coping with the cold snap?

Cute as a button

I've been planning to make a dress for my niece for her first birthday, and yesterday afternoon made this one to test out a pattern I've had for a while. It has turned out pretty well, so I think I'll probably give it to her anyway! It was really quick to make, so I might make some more for the next stall we do at our church's Art and Craft show. 

And after trawling the net for some more ideas for little girls dresses, I found one that looks like it would be very quick to whip up. Might give this a go tomorrow (I think I've got just the print for it...)

See Ellen Luckett Baker's blog:
http://thelongthread.com/?m=201006

A little bit more cuteness

Oh, and I guess I should supplement today's serious, deep post with a little bit of cuteness in the form of Lydia, our niece on the Southwell side of the family. These photos are a few months old now, but still cute all the same! She's a very pretty baby...

Lydia and Uncle Marty

At Jane's 40th birthday party, Jan 2012

Lydia's first swim, Dec 2011

Jai, 8 weeks old

So I thought yesterday's post was a dose of cuteness, 

but then my brother sent through these photos of our nephew and I. just. melted... 

This is cute!

Num! Num! Num!

 This is 'Stompy' the dinosaur (the one on the left!). We gave him to Jai when he was born. 

Wish they lived closer...

Jai Samuel McCaffery

Marty and I have just got back from Adelaide, on our trip to visit our new nephew, 

Jai Samuel McCaffery.

 He's pretty cute! Jai and I got to have nice long cuddles each morning while Mummy and Daddy were getting ready for the day. We're good friends already.

 Amazingly, Aaron and Claire had us stay with them for four days, so we had a little taste of what life is like with a new born; very tiring, but pretty special...

I love being an aunty!

Here she is!

Drum roll, please... Da da da daaa! 

Here she is, our new niece Lydia! She's very cute :)

 

And here's something I could easily get used to looking at...

Lydia Nicole Francis

I'm an Aunty! My sister-in-law Clare (Marty's sister, not Aaron's wife) gave birth this morning in the wee hours of 2.53am to a baby girl called Lydia Nicole Francis. She weighs 4.15 kg and is 54cm long. We are told that they are both doing well and we can't wait to meet her! I'll post photos soon. Now to hunt for the perfect present...

Where the heart is

Over the past couple of weeks Marty and I have been forced to reevaluate our priorities, to the point where I've actually quit my job over it.

I've been working in sales for 5 months and have had to work most weekends, meaning that I have seen less of Marty than ever in our relationship, and have seen my parents and friends so infrequently that I feel very distant. It is a good job and pays well, but I was starting to reconsider how important it is for us to buy a place to live, and at what cost to our relationship with one another, with others, and with God? With a roster that consumes my weekends and is very inconsistent and unpredictable, I haven't been able to commit to many things outside of work, and ministry has been ineffective (if not non-existent).

So we committed it to God in prayer, and thankfully he answered quite quickly and with a 'yes', not a 'wait'. I got a call last week from the art director of Hi-5, where I completed my design internship last year, asking if I'd be available to fill in for her costume and props designers who are unable to work on this season of filming. It is the exact position I know I'd be happy in, and I'd get my weekends back! The only downside it that it is short-term (3 months) and we will have to find something afterwards. But God provides. I know he has something in store for us.

This decision to take the job has caused us to trust in God and not to put our trust in the 'security' of owning a home. It means that we will have more time to invest in relationships, which are more eternally significant anyway. Praise God for his provision, and amidst that, his desire to teach us to fully trust in Him.

And here's to a fun three months ahead!

Being There

I've heard it said (it was probably at the cheesy end of a movie) that 90% of being a good parent is simply showing up. I think its the same of marriage. There are inevitably going to be times in marriage - when things go wrong, when one of us stuffs something up, or when one of us receives some terrible news - when there is nothing you can say... you just have to be there for one another. It's in these times that words cannot express sorrow nor can they heal wounds. We just need to know we're there for one another. Sometimes silence can be more soothing than any words, as long as there is a hand to hold in the darkness.

Its in these times that I realise most clearly that I cannot be everything to my husband. Only God is powerful enough to soften his heart, to comfort his weary soul, and to carry the burdens he no longer can bear. Only God can make a difference to the future of such circumstances, and give him assurance that there is indeed hope ahead. These are the times when I can do nothing else but fall to my knees before our Heavenly Father and commit everything to Him in prayer because I have nothing left to offer.

Mum's Pumpkin Soup

There's nothing like Mum's cooking. This is one of those recipes that reminds me of my childhood. The other night Marty went away with some mates to Canberra, and since he hates pumpkin, I took the opportunity to indulge in it for just one dinner.

Mum's Pumpkin Soup
1kg pumpkin, diced
1 sweet potato, diced
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic
water - enough to cover vegetables well
2 chicken stock cubes
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp crushed coriander seeds
milk to taste

Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil in a large pot. Saute onion and crushed garlic until tender. Add chopped pumpkin, sweet potato, coriander seeds and cumin and stir over high heat for a few minutes. Add water and stock, simmer covered for about 20 minutes. Puree using a stick blender in the saucepan (or transfer to a regular blender). Stir in milk until correct consistency is reached. Serve hot with sour cream and crusty bread. Enjoy!

Healthy desire vs. pure idolatry

Something that my husband is well aware of is that I have a particularly strong (and growing) desire to have children. I have always loved kids – their curiosity, their joy, their unconditional love, and just how darn cute they  are! I’ve babysat a lot of kids over the years, and it would be so special one day to be able to raise our kids the way Marty and I want to, instilling our own Christian values in them (something I can’t do with other peoples’ kids). And with several of my close friends starting to have babies, the ‘cluckiness’ just keeps intensifying! (Mum and Dad, don’t get excited, I’m not pregnant. Just wanted to clear that up!)

But this has caused me to question lately, at what point does a desire become idolatry? Modern idols are not carved out of wood or stone – they can be anything… food, sport, success, career, social acceptance, a spouse, a house… They can be something inherently good, but if we choose to put them in the place of God in our hearts, that’s when they are transformed from a desire to a coveted object/idea. (That’s the conclusion I’ve come to anyway). But it can be so difficult to read your own heart sometimes and distinguish where your heart is on that spectrum. Perhaps a good way of gauging it is by asking “what do I spend most of my daydreaming thinking about?”. If it’s the thing you desire, then it’s probably time to re-prioritise and to start praying for God to give you a renewed hunger for Him and for His Word.

I’m still considering whether or not children are an idol for me, but I know that either way I need to be on guard, because Satan is prowling around like a roaring lion, and will try to use anything he can to twist my heart and my priorities away from God. Even if it isn’t, he will try to tempt me with something else in the future and I need to be ready, clothed with the armour of God