Rainy day fun!!!

It's been raining hard here all day long. After having made tents, and peg dolls, and cookies, the girls all playing together in the playroom while I painted for half an hour, we decided to go for a walk and splash in some puddles! Along the way we spotted a duck (cue much quacking from Baya!), found flowers to pick and a tree to climb in!! Sometimes I think we forget the simple pleasures - the girls love splashing in puddles, and fresh air after a day indoors is always enjoyable!

Words of wisdom

The Victor
Poet: C.W. Longenecker 

If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don’t
If you like to win but think you can’t,
It’s almost a cinch you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost.
For out in the world we find
Success begins with a fellow’s will
It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are.
You’ve got to think high to rise.
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win the prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But sooner or later, the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can.

Giveaway at "Walk Slowly, Live Wildly"

Sara from "Walk Slowly, Live Wildly" is offering the chance to win a copy of “Not So Fast: Slow Down Solutions for Frenzied Families”  by Ann Kroeker.

“Life is not a sprint. Yet, we live in the land that values and even glorifies speed — mind numbing, adrenaline-churning, distracting, dangerous speed. And few families can sustain that pace over the long haul. Those that try end up with indicators that it’s time to slow down. Is that pace of life inevitable? I don’t think so, because as I look to Christ and try to discern in Scripture His pace, there’s something I can’t help but notice. Jesus never seemed to be in a hurry.”

-Excerpt from Not So Fast, by Ann Kroeker

If you'd like to be entered into the giveaway go here to read Sara's post and leave a comment!

our weekend..

We've had a great weekend, my niece came down from London on Friday night. Having not seen her for over a year we had a lot of catching up to do!!!

We went out for a wander round some shops and a bite to eat on saturday, then came home where the girls kept her busy colouring in and reading!

Saturday night, Roxanne and I watched 'The Time Travellers Wife' which I've been waiting to see for ages, loved the book and the film was pretty good in comparison!

This morning we went to a car boot in the underground carpark of a local shopping centre - did seem a little strange not being in a muddy field! I did manage to find a few bargains however. We stopped at starbucks on the way back for a much needed caffeine boost.

The girls (and I) were a little sad to wave her off on her train tonight - does make me wish we weren't so far away from everyone!

And now... after a busy weekend, and two late nights... I'm off for a soak in the bath and (hopefully) a BIG sleep! x x

International Postcard Swap for families

I came across a link the other day for this 'International Postcard Swap for Families'. Basically if you sign up, come May you're given 5 names to send postcards to, and in return you recieve 5 postcards from families around the world! Since L and K love recieving mail, I thought this would be a great thing to be part of. There's still time to register if you want to join in, you just need to head over here: Playing by the book

List 3: Things to be thankful for

:: My 3 beautiful daughters

:: A husband who works so I can stay home with the girls

:: The time to paint and create

:: The lovely people I’ve met through this virtual world

:: And the lovely people I've met in the real world

:: Finding myself, regardless of the pain from leaving the past behind

:: The freedom to unschool my girls

:: A world of limitless possibilities

I can go from being all "Happy, Happy" one day, to totally and utterly miserable the next. At times like that it's hard to see that there is beauty and good all around me. I might add to this list as I think of more, just to remind myself that life is good ALL the time x

Gardening

Found my mojo hiding somewhere, have given myself a kick up the butt and got going on some gardening (a little later than I planned but still..)

We've decided that we just don't have the time to commit to our allotment and do as much there as we'd like, it's difficult for me to do much on my own there with the little one, it's a half hour walk there and back, so it takes a big chunk of time out of my already full days to even pop there for a 'quick' watering session.

So we're going to do our growing at home, we have onions and garlic in the allotment so when they are harvested we'll make a final decision as to whether to keep it or let it go.

I managed to find some great bags in town the other day, similar to what I'd seen in an organic gardening catalogue, to use to grow our potatoes and squash in (and for a fraction of the price!)

We got the first lot of potatoes in yesterday, and the next bags are filled up and covered, soil warming watiting for more things to be planted in them.

Also yesterday I sowed lots of seeds: peppers, mint, oregano, butternut squash, chili peppers and sunflowers for the girls! Am going to buy some new strawberry and tomato plants as I lost all last years babies when we moved house.

A little weaving....

One of the gifts I was given for my birthday last week was a peg loom from my mum. I managed to find half an hour to have a quick try of it yesterday!

(ignore the small sleepy looking child in the background!!)

I just put a few of the pegs in, so that I could get it finished quickly and see how it went...

 was really fun and easy.. .girls have plans for me to make lots of rugs and blankets for their dolls and cuddly toys!