2011

2011 - The year of MASSIVE blessings and dreams fulfilled.

1 x Marriage, adventure started

1 x Wonderful Husband

1 x Name change

4 x Countries visited

60 x Hours on a plane

1 x Volcano climbed

1 x Glacier hiked

25 x Whales seen

18 x Hostels slept in

6 x Friends Weddings

3 x New Jobs (at the same time) (Self-employment technically)

1 x Dream career started

30 x Books read

1 x New Flat

4 x Tax Rebates

1 x New Car

Approx 5000 x Photos taken

Numerous x Prayers Answered

Numerous x New revelations had

1 X AMAZING GOD

Plus lots of new friends made, new fantastic music discovered, stunning sunsets seen, board games played, friends and family visited, babies cuddled, happy tears cried, hugs given and received

.... to name just a few things! :D 

Wow! Here's to 2012, hoping yours is full of love, hope, music and JOY!

Keeping the kids busy!

How to occupy the kids I nanny for, on a cold, rainy, winters day the week before christmas, when screen-watching is rationed!?....... Why, by making a Gingerbread House of course! :D

Sticking the kit together was a mammoth task and took me about an hour - nightmare! Got there eventually though and whilst managing to prevent the disappearance of too many sweets into mouths, here's what we achieved...

O Christmas Tree...

... Oh Christmas Tree, of all the trees most lovely!

Things to be Thankful for...

• I was horribly ill for the best part of this week, yet I am blessed to live in a country with cheap and readily available medicines, blessed to not have to worry about the financial ramifications of taking time off, blessed to have a wonderful husband and great friends to look after me! Feeling much better now :D

• Amazingly in my ill-est but also busiest week in quite a while I still managed to fulfil the  vast majority of my commitments including singing at a friends wedding and teaching my final songwriting workshop of the year at NGM! Prayer works!
• A beautiful winter wedding yesterday on a stunning frosty and sunny winters day, including christmas trees, mulled wine, mince pies and a yummy Hog Roast. That concludes the 7 weddings of this year - they've all been awesome! 2011 was clearly the best year to get married (not that I'm biased of course :P).
• Heating that works (despite all the bad things I've heard about storage heaters)
• Mike. My best friend, my chief cheerer-upper, my nurse, my hot water bottle provider, my paracetamol buyer, my hug giver and smile bringer - I'm always incredibly thankful for you!
• That the only way I am saved is by Grace, I couldn't achieve salvation even if I tried! That is a HUGE relief... cause I mess up A LOT, but His Grace is enough.
• Even more financial blessing! Mike and I have had 4 Tax Rebate cheques since september! The last of these arrived this week smack bang in the middle  of a conversation about how much we could afford to spend on a new car! We can now buy one next week - excited! Thank You God! Your timing is impeccable as always.
• I got to buy and decorate our very own Christmas Tree and it does look stunning :)... if I do say so myself! Photos to follow I'm sure.
• Tomorrow morning I get to sleep in and sleep off my weeks worth of sleep deprivation! (and then I have to write 14 reports but lets not think about that yet..... SHLEEEEEP!)
• Two weeks today is Christmas (if it had escaped your notice!). My first christmas with Mike - ever!! I have hand stitched stockings, purchased and wrapped all my presents and can't wait to head to Tenterden for family fun. 
• This time last year I had just arrived in Sydney, Australia. I can't believe it was so long ago, I have so many amazingly happy memories. Can't wait to return - this time with Mike in tow. Merry Christmas to all my Oz family!

Picture found {here}