CATCHING UP WITH OUR COUSIN .....

This little girl just loved all the attention we gave her.

While we were in Ballarat over our sibling weekend we went off to see our cousin.  It was so nice to catch up with her and her partner and we had the best time.


My cousin is my dad's sister's daughter.  My dad was killed when I was 6 years old and when we were younger we used to go down and stay with her and her family on their Dairy Farm.  As we got older however, we haven't really had that much to do with them.  But then I guess that's what happens when people grow up, get married and have children.

We had a lovely time talking about the past and reminiscing about past times .... found out some family secrets too ... but can't give those away.  You know how you find out things that you never knew about family ... you thought things were one way and found out it wasn't that way at all.  Interesting times.  


We were so well looked after.  Our cousin had spent heaps of time baking before we came and we were very well fed while we were there.  Food and eating are such social things to do.

Isn't this nice .... fancy having such a lovely pond in your back yard.  I love water features (must be because I'm a Pisces and we are a water sign)

What a gorgeous outlook for a relaxing afternoon.  Somewhere to sit and think while looking out on this beautiful view.

This weekend made me realise how nice it is to catch up with family.  How nice it is to talk about the past and share the good memories that you have.

My cousin and her husband were just lovely.  They opened up their home to us and welcomed us with open arms and we all had a lovely time.  I hope that I get the chance to do it again in the near future.

SOMETIMES THERE ARE NO WORDS ..... DAY 13 of BLOGTOBERFEST

Sometimes there are no words .....

I read a story today, a beautiful and touching story today about a boy named NOAH. His story has touched me deeply and so I would like to share it with you. Noah was a young boy with many issues in his short life, but I feel that his being in this world made such a difference to all who came in contact with him. Go here to read about Noah .... I'm sure his story will touch you too. Noah's story is not only about him, but is also about his special family.

Reading about Noah has made me realise that whatever we have to face in life we have the ability to do it. I am so blessed to have 5 healthy children and after reading this story will be forever grateful.

A JOURNEY OF FAITH AND HOPE

Been thinking of what I can post about.

Nothing very exciting has happened lately, in fact once again I have been sick.
This time it's some sort of virus .... who knows what, coughing up brown muck (yuck!), killer headache, sore throat, hot and cold (guess that's a temp, but don't know cause I didn't get out the themometer and take it), tired and loss of appetite.
The loss of appetite is not such a bad thing, since I could do with losing some weight, although not eating doesn't make you feel so good.

I've been doing lots of resting in bed, which I think is where I should be right now.

While I have been in bed, apart from sleeping I have been doing some reading which I love and don't often get the chance to do. I have also been knitting a scarf for my daughter (19).

It's nice to get some time to read. The book I am reading at the moment is
BRINGING ELIZABETH HOME: A Journey of Faith and Hope
A good book written from the perspective of Elizabeth's parents, Ed and Lois Smart whose daughter is kidnapped from her bedroom at gunpoint at around 4am in the morning. Her sister is the only witness to the kidnapping.
Ed and Lois write of their struggle to deal with what has happened to their daughter and the endless insinuations that their family were somehow involved in her disappearance.

One cannot possibly imagine the terrible anguish that being woken in the middle of the night to find your daughter missing and not know what has happened to her.
Your world until this time, has been that of a good family life.
Suddenly your world is torn apart and you are faced with dealing with things that you never thought you would have to deal with.
You are never sure what has happened to your child or whether she will be coming home.

After 9 months of police investigations and searching for their child they are finally reunited with Elizabeth. I haven't come to that part of the book yet, but it must be so joyous to finally be reunited with your lost child.
The parents have a wonderful and strong faith in Heavenly Father and it is this that gets them through this terrible time.
One of the things that must have been hardest for the family to deal with was the insinuations that the father or uncle may have been involved in her disappearance. If you are innocent, and they were, then how do you not only deal with losing your daughter, but also people thinking you had some involvement in the situation.

17 AGAIN

I went with Miss 17 to see the movie "17 AGAIN" this evening.... a bit of an irony not lost on me. What a great movie. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

When we left home to go to the movies I don't know why but I just thought I don't want to go and see another kids movie. I said to Miss 17 "wish I was going to see an adult movie, not this kids movie". Pretty mean I guess, since it was her suggestion to go to the movies in the first place. Guess I thought it would be an OK movie, but didn't think I'd enjoy it that much. Of course miss 17 thinks that Zac Efron is one pretty cool dude (he's HOT apparently) .... nothing changes does it .....girls of 17 still like the cute guys that are pop stars or are in the movies. Well I guess he is pretty cute, and he does have gorgeous blue eyes.......but miss 17 said "bad luck he's way too young for you mum" ......LOL. Like I didn't know that anyway!!

Then that got me to thinking about how I had a crush on Donny Osmond when I was that age. Yeah, I thought he was "HOT" and cute and constantly listened to his music. I was in love with him too and it certainly helped that I am LDS and he was a good LDS boy. I still remember the day that a friend's father who was a chef working in a top restaurant in the city in Melbourne organised for Donny Osmond to ring our seminary (bible study) class one morning. We all have our crushes I guess on whoever is the popular one of the day.

I think 17 Again had a really good message. It's about being happy with what you have and not constantly looking back at the past with regrets. It's about appreciating your family and recognising their qualities. It's about loving your kids and really caring about them .... know what they are doing and really know who they are. I think too that it was about telling your family that you care about them and remembering the important things when it matters and not waiting until it is too late.

It was a funny movie with really good meaning and I for one would recommend this film.