Get Real Baby

Its been a while since Lusi has challenged us to a get real baby - she's been a little busy with her new baby Zippi.

Anyway she has challenged us to blog about a room in our home and the memories it brings.

So I guess my challenge to myself and to you too is to document your life as it is right now. Room by room. Memory by memory. I'm starting with the place that I am most often in and just basically went around the kitchen and took photos of things that mean something to me or that I might want to remember in years to come. But I want to emphasise that this is not an exercise in what the room 'looks' like as much as it is what kind of feelings and memories that we associate with the things in that room.

I have tweaked it slightly to share some memories but also to let you see "ME" in my home. The real me I guess. So here is my family room warts and all.

So really I spend a lot of time alone our family room. john & I have very different tastes in TV so he watches in the lounge & I watch in the family room.

Really I do tend to dump a lot of stuff in the family room.

But its also full of memories - mostly Johns as this room is full of furniture from his family home and his grandparents home.

This chair with my coat on it was a broken down chair with no seat when we found it in the "shed" but I convinced John it would become a great reading chair for work - that didn't happen so now we have a beautiful charger in our family room.

The case on the blue desk is full of old photos many of them we do not know who they are. But they were precious enough for my mum to keep so they will stay in the case until we can decide what to do with them. I have put a few of the old pics in frames down my hallway even if I don't know the memory behind them. I did take a pic of the case opened but for some reason it didn't load when I it tried to.

I adore candles so I have lots of them around the family room. Some night I burn them all and turn off the light and enjoy some candlelight and aromas. I also love to play with wax and have a wonderful scar just above the elbow on my right arm form when I was once playing with the wax from some stress release candles that were given to me for Christmas one year.

Another piece of furniture with family memories for John is the pianola. he remembers the nights around the pianola with his parents and grandparents as a youngster.

There is not a lot of things around our home from my childhood but on this pianola is a vintage canvas I made recently of my parents wedding.

And much to Johns horror the pianola also has become a bit of a dumping ground. i really don't like putting things away, but I have been embarrassed into putting them away now.

I am a quilter and have many quilts laying around the home. You will often see my kids wrapped in a quilt. These are definitely memories in the making. The one in the basket was the first flannel quilt I made. Royce claimed it straight away and loved it so much that it is sooooo falling apart from him dragging it around the house with him. I can't bring myself to throw it away because it really could tell us lots of stories.

My chair, many prayers, tears and fun times have been had on this chair. again many memories in the making.

This last photo is of my scrap stuff that I took to the SWS scrap day yesterday. S usual just dumped in the family room until I finally got around to putting it away late this afternoon.

So there's a glimpse into my life with a few memories thrown in.

I would love to finish by sharing the very first memory I have of this our 2nd family home.

We had lived at Greenwell Point for almost 20 years. We were busting out of the seams and were considering putting a shed in the backyard for our son to live in. But it was getting a bit stressful as we were not agreeing (son & I that is) on the size. On the day b4 Johns 50th birthday he took us on a drive to supposedly show us a new type of shed. Unbeknown to us John had decided to look for a new home - he rang a real estate and told them you have one this one chance to find me a home and then proceeded to list off all the things we needed.

Well we started coming down this private driveway when John finally tells us that are in fact looking at what he believe will be our new home. WELL I burst into tears as I never thought John would ever leave Greenwell Point. I cried through most of the viewing and yes John did find our new and possibly our dream home. When I got to the kitchen my mouth just dropped as it has the biggest walk in pantry with bench space all along the back wall and loads of shelving for appliances, John turned to the real estate guy and said "Yep that's the reaction I said she would have". We have been here for 4 years next week and I still wake up thinking how blessed I am to live in this beautiful home and for the loving husband who found it for us (with God's help of course).

5 things I am thankful for

1) Our beautiful home

2) My wonderful husband who despite the fact that he is very predictable does still sometimes surprise me

3) Two beautiful young adult children

4) Great friends

5) memories

GET REAL BABY

Lusi's prompt for Get real Baby last week was "what wears you down". It has taken me almost a week to get to it. LIFE!!!!!!

Anyway here goes

What wears me down really

* Unbroken sleep (I am waking up every 2 hours or so each night)

*Not being able to get out of bed to have my quiet time at 6am because of the above

*Never ending housework

* Arrogant people

*People who wont listen to my opinion or even worse talk over top of me

*Insecurity which washes ever me far more now than ever.

5 Things I am grateful for

A God who loves me so much that he died a humiliating, painful death so I could be his friend and for the forgiveness that brings.

A wonderful time on the weekend with my family (all 23 of them).

Catching up with my nephew who I only see 2 or 3 times a year.

Creativeness - God has given me a great gift of being able to make things that are beautiful, fun & very fulfilling especially that I can give them away to make someone else smile.

A fantastic Church family especially 2 wonderful friends/mentors/helpers God has given me In Esther & Brenda.

Lusi's prompt for this week is kindness..SO here goes:-

REALLY - I have been in such a bad head space lately that when I first read this prompt that I immediately thought of no kind acts.

REALLY - one of the kindest acts that I can remember is when two very precious ladies from Church turned up with almost a months worth of groceries as they knew we were going through a rough financial patch.

REALLY - The kindest, sweetest, loving lady I ever knew was joy - so aptly named and she was a real joy to be around- was so special to me and many other people. She always made you feel special. Would often send me home after dropping her off with a bag of lemons or pumpkin already peeled & cut up just waiting to be made into soup. She had a heart of gold and loved her LORD more that anything. She went to be with her Lord last year & I really miss her so much.

REALLY - my mum was a very kind person and taught me by her actions that it doesn't take much to show kindness to others.

REALLY - I want my children to grow into caring & kind adults. Haylee is one of the sweetest and kindest young ladies I know. Royce is still a work in progress.

REALLY - God has blessed me with two wonderful Bible study leaders (Brenda & Esther) who show kindness in everything they do. A great example of Christ's love in action.

REALLY - A kind word or action is not at all hard to do.................... A touch on the arm, a phone call even a smile.

REALLY - The prayers of wonderful friends including my SOF buddies have been such a blessing to me.

REALLY - I have a extremely kind friend who knows just what to say and how to say it. And I know she is always praying for me - there is no greater way of showing kindness than to pray for someone.

GET REAL BABY

I'm a little (well over a week ) late with this weeks Get real baby post. Lusi has given us an extra challenge and has added a prompt to each week. This weeks prompt is wait for it ............. holidays.





Sooooooooooooooooo



Really - I am in the last week of my 3 week holiday. I went to a health retreat spa for 3 days and the rest has been taking it easy at home. Catching up on some UFO sewing.


Really - the best Holidays I have are the ones that I go on my own to the Health retreat each year.





Really - I have only flown once and that was last November to go to the SOF retreat in Brisbane. Both kids had flown b4 their mum.





Really - we have only had 2 actual holidays as a family.





Really - the first holiday was a disaster. Should have known when we got to the other side of Nowra and stopped at Macca's to have breaky that when I reached across the table & put my shoulder out to go home, right then. So we spent 10 days with Haylee & I screaming at each other, we shorted out a caravan park when we washed the Royce's clothes because he had thrown up on all of them for all of that part of the trip. we then backed into a tree and spent 1 night in a tent in pouring rain and had to pack up camp also in the rain.





Really - on the second Holiday (to QLd to do 2 theme parks) - which was also a travelling one we gave Royce Actifed CC so he would sleep while we travelled. On the last part of the journey we decided not to and he talked non stop the whole 8 hour trip home, drove us all insane.





Really - when we went on holidays my quiet time with God always suffered badly.





5 things to be thankful for





God's word that encourages, comfort and guides me





Friends





Fresh eggs from my sisters chooks for the last week





A great sermon this morning on Prayer.





God's love, grace & forgiveness.