This time tomorrow …

… I will be with HIM:

And the two of us will be on our way HERE:

To experience and enjoy THIS:

While we are there, we will celebrate 10 years since we did THIS:

Perhaps by drinking a few of THESE:

We will definitely miss THEM:

But we know they will be very happy staying with THEM:

Ni sa moce! (that’s Fijian for “goodbye”).

Day Dreamer

“Day Dreamer” is the name of Paper Pesto’s yummy April kit, which I have been designing with.

There are still a few kits available. Click here to see a full list of ingredients. Kate has also offered to throw in some extra goodies for anyone who purchases a kit after seeing it here on my blog! So if you order one, make sure you let her know you saw it here.

Here’s my Design Team work this month. I hope you enjoy it!

BUTTONS

Journalling: You were so proud of yourself when you learned how to do buttons up all by yourself! 4 yrs old.

My new Cuttlebug got a workout:

How cute is this animal tape?!

DARE TO DREAM

Journalling: Ethan & Tyler, playing together in Ethan’s bed one morning. I love it when you play like this, with no fighting!

Little birds on branches were just perfect for cutting out:

MEMORIES

Journalling: Visiting the giant carrot in Ohakune while on our “snow holiday” in 2008. Tyler LOVES carrots and really enjoyed seeing this one!

Lots of cutting, tearing and paper curling:

BIRTHDAY CARDS

Again, I had fun with my new Cuttlebug. I made these birthday cards for my BIL and FIL’s partner, using up some of the scraps.

~~~

If you like the look of the “Day Dreamer” kit, make sure you head over to Paper Pesto and grab one before they’re all gone.

Did you know …

… that an eggplant can be transformed into a pretty neat looking car?

A few weeks ago, Ethan’s school had their annual Gala. The kids in his class entered some of the competitions, and he chose the Fruit & Vegetable Creation category.

Ethan planned what he wanted to make, drew a diagram, and listed the vegetables he would need for the job:

- eggplant (aubergine)
- carrot
- pumpkin skin
- orange skin

Rob did a little bit of “pre-cutting” the night before, so that Ethan wouldn’t have to handle a sharp knife without proper supervision (there are 28 kids in his class, and ONE teacher. Not the greatest ratio. Add sharp knives, and the ratio seems even worse).

Ethan assembled the car himself, and here’s the result:

Unfortunately it looks a little worse for wear in the photo, as he made it on the Friday and the Gala wasn’t until the Sunday. Also, by the time we arrived at the gala, it had been sitting in a hot classroom for several hours.

He didn’t win an award for his car, but he did win 4th place for a Little Gem Lettuce that he grew at school. It was yummy, too. Ethan & I nibbled on some leaves as we walked home from school, and now it’s in the garden.

Ethan’s school also had a “Fancy Feet” day a few weeks ago. The kids are supposed to decorate their feet and walk to school.
They’ve had a couple of these days now, and they are a lot of fun. In the morning, they have a parade for all the kids to show off their “fancy feet”, and the classroom with the highest number of children who walked to school that day wins a prize.

Since Ethan goes barefoot ALL THE TIME, I decided there was no point decorating his jandals. Instead, I suggested painting his feet. I thought a rainbow design would look cool, but he asked for tiger stripes:

It has been a long time since I was at primary school. Almost 20 years. I guess I was a bit of a nerd, because I really loved school. I even liked doing homework and assignments. But more than that, I will always remember the FUN things we did at school. At the time, I thought that life would always be so carefree and fun. Ah, the innocence of youth.

Ethan likes school, but lately he has been saying that he wants to be an adult. Mostly because he wants to stay up late, but also because he thinks it would be more fun to work than go to school.

Really?? I think not!

Happy Easter!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. We certainly did! I thought I’d do a bit of a recap of our weekend …

On Good Friday I drove my parents to the airport, and made it back in time for church (Rob & the boys were already there). It was good to spend time reflecting on what Easter really means to me.

Later in the afternoon, Rob & Tyler set off on their long anticipated road trip.
Rob took Ethan on one a few years ago. You can read about it here and here.
And this weekend, it was Tyler’s turn.

They headed up to Mangawhai Heads.
On the agenda?
Sleeping in the wagon, cooking on a gas burner, toasting marshmallows, doing “boy stuff”, sandboarding, swimming, and just spending time together.
Dad & Son.

I received this text message from Tyler at about 7.30pm: “we gone on a trip gunna stay there 4 1 day gunna do fun thngs we sleepn in the back of the boot at the forest i luv u mummy.”
I’ve actually saved it on my phone. Because of the CUTENESS.

~~~

On Saturday, I spent the whole day hanging out with Ethan (who was, after all, missing out on the extremely-fun-boys-only-road-trip).
We played Glow-in-the-Dark Mini Golf (fun, but expensive … and only 12 holes instead of 18).
We did a bit of shopping.
We had lunch at a cafe.
We turned the living room into a movie theatre (closed all the blinds and curtains, put cushions on the floor, made popcorn) and watched a DVD together.

Rob & Tyler came home just before dinner, and regaled us with stories of their trip.
They had a GREAT time.
Tyler loved sleeping in the car and eating spaghetti & sausages for breakfast. They trekked down Mangawhai beach to the HUGE sand dunes (about 45 min walk) and slid down them on the snowboard (I knew Tyler would love this). On the way home, they spent a few hours at Waiwera Hot Pools.

~~~

Sunday morning dawned early for me. I set my alarm for 6.30am so I could hide mini easter eggs in the backyard (and chocolate bunnies in the letterbox).
The boys had fun hunting for them when they got up.

We went to church to celebrate the fact that JESUS IS ALIVE! and the kids were reminded of the significance of the egg, which represents New Life.

In the afternoon, we took the kids to a nearby parking lot for some bike riding.

On Sunday night, my sister and I went to her “other” church for a Rebecca St. James concert, followed by dinner.
It was GREAT!

~~~

On Monday, we made our annual trip to the Royal Easter Show. Usually my parents and sister come with us, but this year we went on our own.

The undisputed highlights of the show this year were the ZM Circus and the Cadbury Magic Show. AMAZING. For some reason the carnival rides didn’t excite the boys that much this time (which was good for our bank account!) but all 4 of us enjoyed driving the Dodgem Cars, and the boys had a go on the giant slide (it’s a must every year).

After the show, we headed out to the airport to pick Mum & Dad up. A very looong day, but a good one!

~~~

This year, I had to bribe the boys to get a nice photo of them.
I promised I would take “lots of silly photos”, if they would smile nicely for the first couple.
And here are the results:

What I Don’t Deserve

An excerpt from “Easter: Celebrating What We Don’t Deserve” by Lori Borgman:

“We are a people concerned with getting what we deserve. We deserve child care, health care, good schools, good jobs, easy commutes and a comfortable retirement. We deserve smoke-free air, a strong stock market and happiness in our marriages.”

“When you listen closely, you hear the many things we deserve sprinkled throughout conversations: We deserve our money’s worth. We deserve to be treated respectfully. We deserve good customer service.”

“It is no small irony that though we often live life pursuing what we may falsely or rightly believe we deserve, the holiest holiday on the Christian calendar celebrates not getting what we deserved.

We deserved something all right. Wrath. We richly deserved the penalty for sin, self-centeredness, arrogance, pride, greed, gluttony, hard hearts, mean spiritedness and all the rest. But, the thing is, we didn’t get it.

Christ did.

He took what I deserved, every lash, every hit, every piercing. He took what I had coming. He paid the price I deserved to pay, was crucified, dead and buried, and on the third day rose again.

They say a good way to distinguish between grace and mercy is to remember that grace is getting what you DIDN’T have coming, and mercy is NOT getting what you DID have coming.
Easter is the celebration of mercy.

The next time I open my mouth about something I deserve, may God freeze my speech mid-air and bring to mind the joy and thanksgiving of not getting that which I deserved most of all.”

Loving it

My friend Angella wrote a post about the things she loves about being a Mom (you can read her post here). She then emailed me to ask if she could tag me, and I said “sure”.

So here are 5 things I love about being a Mum (because I’m a Mum, not a Mom).

I love …

1. Unconditional love. Although my boys are at the age(s) where they can (and do) express their feelings rather forcefully (for example, saying “you’re a meanie!” or “I don’t like you!” after I have told them off), it never takes them very long to come crawling back for a big cuddle, telling me they love me and that I’m actually NOT a meanie and they really DO like me. YES!

2. Seeing my children experience new things for the first time. The way their eyes light up, the excitement in their voices, the sheer joy in their hearts. I love that I can evoke those feelings and emotions in them, simply by introducing them to a new thing or taking them somewhere for the first time. Like our trip up the Sky Tower a couple of weekends ago. It was such a simple excursion, but one that made them SO happy.

3. Watching them sleep. There is something so special about watching a sleeping child, and even more so when that child is yours. Sometimes I just sit on the edge of the bed for a minute with my hand on theirs, listening to them breathing, and I pray for them.

4. Going on “dates” with my boys. Last night, I took Ethan to see the local high school’s production of “High School Musical”. It was fantastic, and he loved it. He was even singing along to a few of the songs (so cute). Getting home at 9.45pm on a school night was a bit crazy, but since Term 1 is nearly over, I figured he could handle it.

5. All the notes and pictures I receive. It warms my heart everytime I get a picture from Ethan, or a little note saying, “I love you Mummy. You are the best Mum in the world” (and just quietly, I get a LOT of them). Likewise, I smile everytime Tyler draws me a picture, often signing them “Tyler Blair” (because that’s how he writes his name at Kindy).
And yes, I have kept every. single. one. of my boys’ drawings, notes, cards and letters.

~~~

I don’t really like tagging people anymore, so I’m not going to. But ANYONE who wants to can share 5 things that they love about being a Mum/Mom. Either as a separate post on their own blog, or just in my comments section. I’d love to read them.

Challenges!

I’m off to The Sketch Book Retreat tomorrow. A whole weekend of scrapbooking. With an extra hour thrown in thanks to the end of Daylight Savings. WOOHOO!
I’ve been looking forward to this weekend for soooo long! The last retreat was awesome, and I know this one is going to be even better.

I just wanted to let you know about a couple of challenges.

First up is the new April Challenge at Scrap The Boys.
The challenge is to take inspiration from the billboard below. You could use the beachy feel, use the look as a sketch, pull out certain elements (eg. surfboards, swirls, trees, etc), or use the colour scheme and/or paint effects.
This challenge ends 30th April, and once again there are some great prizes to be won.

Here’s my take on it. I was inspired by the surfboards, plam trees and swirls.

I also posted (early!) the Friday Night Challenge at The Sketch Book.
My challenge is to create a layout using Black, White and only ONE other colour.

And here’s my example:

Yes, I know my “white” is more of an “off-white”. But hey, I set the challenge, so I can break my own rules, LOL!

I hope you all have a great weekend, and I look forward to catching up with some of you at camp!