Bump and snow.

The snow has arrived....

The girls had great fun in it,

but soon got cold and wanted to be back in the warmth..

so we made warm carrot and coriander soup for lunch.

A friend of mine wanted to give me some maternity photos,

to add to her portfolio and a treat for me...

Today is the first day of Advent- I have some ideas to do with the children,

hope you are all enjoying the count down to Christmas. 

                                                             

    

Breathe it in...

This post will be a mixture of recent thoughts, 

events,

findings and sharing.

This time of year is so beautiful,

I just went for a walk across the green on my door step,

the trees swaying in the wind,

the orange leaves falling,

in their multitudes, covering the floor like a thick blanket of 

soft colour.

I was sitting inside and I had my window open and the breeze was calling me to come and walk!

So pretty!

"He walks where I walk, 

He stands where I stand,

He understands.

He knows my frailties,

shared my humanities,

tempted in every way,

yet without sin..

God with us,

so close to us,

God with us Emmanuel!"

Everything I looked at,

displayed his beauty and His glory.

He is beautiful.

So close to us.

Creation speaks of His presence.

I found myself praying for friends,

family,

my unborn child,

my daughters..

that they might

 KNOW

of Gods goodness,

his LOVE,

in 

abundance!

Here is Jessie,

learning the verse,

"I have come that you might have life to the FULL!"

My prayer for sure....

Heres my other little sausage,

on stage,

singing how great it is to have a friend like Jesus,

My prayer is that she will always feel that!

I was going to post on other things,

but I think this sums up how I feel right now...

breathing in His goodness.

Be blessed.

:-)

Moving forward?

I found myself recently asking God a question,

"What is the key to living a spiritually balanced, pleasing life?"

I knew it was a very broad question,

that had many elements,

but I am keen to know how to please God in my life,

receive His blessing and accomplish all that He has for me.

I know we are all given purpose and goals and vision,

and we can make the mark sometimes,

fail other times.

Sometimes we can be full of peace and security,

despite the darkest circumstances,

other times we can be over run with emotions,

fears,

anxiety and seem to miss God's best.

So I asked him this question.

I know that we can come to God and ask Him questions,

I remembered this lovely verse:

 Keep on keeping on at God. Keep asking - you'll get it. Keep searching - you'll find it. Keep pushing the doors - you'll get through. If you don't ask, you won't recognise the answer. If you don't search, you won't remember what you're looking for. If you don't push the door, you won't know if it's been opened.

I was given a picture in my mind,

of an old fashioned cart,

motionless on a rail track.

This, I felt represented, 

 the foundation of the word of God.

The law of Moses,

our safety net,

our boundaries,

Gods standards for our lives.

This is the vehicle in which we travel.

But this was not enough on its own.

The vehicle was mot moving.

It contained us,

held us,

but it was not enough on its own.

Something was missing!

Then I felt God speak the answer to my heart.

His Spirit,

Our obedience,

combined,

were the motion in the wheels.

It was all very well having the foundation,

the rules, 

the knowledge of His word,

but without these vital ingredients,

we were not moving forward.

Humility,

willingness to follow Him,

pliability,

Being open to His will,

willing to be soft clay in His hands.

This was the force that moved us along 

in His will and purpose.

Know His word,

Know His ways,

Follow His Spirit,

all of your days.

When autumn leaves, fall by my window...

I love this season,

Autumn,

the fall,

so crisp,

cold,

the reds,

oranges of the leaves,

the cold air,

cozy homes,

and family walks.

Here are some of our autumn days..

Scarecrow Ellie for her harvest festival.

Our harvest service at church..

The children doing a taste test in the service.

(Jessie trying an olive blindfold)

(Ellie's picture of me at church)

Our autumn gatherings.

Jessie got a grown up hair cut- lots off!! 

It was harder for me, she was so keen!

Ellie & Jessies drawings of God.

Jessie's drawing of God, with her Nanna talking to him, in his castle!

Hope you are all enjoying this season :-)

Fill ya's in...

Hello one and all!

I apologise for my absence,

I have been so busy with new schools,

being pregnant,

church events,

making a nursery,

trying to study and complete my course before this baby arrives..

the list goes on.

I'm afraid to say that blogging became a latter priority!

But a quick update.

I am 7 mnths pregnant now,

both Jessie and Ellie are settled into their new schools,

and things have been moving and changing around in expectation for our new arrival.

Baby nursery - owl theme.

Nursery incomplete, but everything we need in one place!

baby bump..

Jessie having a mamma hug with bump.

Girls on their first day at new schools..

Hoping you are all well and looking forward to catching up with you more soon. 

:)

Faint- refreshing.

Jeremiah 31:25
"I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint."

Song of Solomon 2:5
Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples,

Do you ever get those days where 

you are absolutely shattered,

drained,

tired and weary?

I have had a couple,

the last few days.

Partly due to the fact that I am 5 months pregnant and

daily growing!

Sleep is limited,

breathing is sometimes difficult,

and just the extra weight and strain 

normal pregnancy brings.

However I knew it was deeper than that,

Somewhere in my depths,

I was crying out,

for a touch of God.

To bask in his peace,

his love,

his Joy.

Having the children home for six weeks,

a busy husband,

a new baby to prepare for..

I just felt out of energy.

I needed to get into the

secret place

and ask God to firstly,

forgive me for being away,

trying to do 'life' in my own strength.

Then to ask for a fresh touch from Him.

His refreshing!

I put on some worship music

Kari Jobe,

and closed my eyes and prayed.

I had a wonderful vision.

I was like a little girl,

in a busy crowd of people.

I was being overwhelmed by them.

I clung onto my comfort blanket and just opened my mouth.

I screamed out,

"JESUS!!"

At once, The crowds began to part,

forming an opening,

where I saw Jesus...

running!

He ran straight toward me,

cradled me in his arms like a baby,

and carried on running,

pushing through the crowds to a field beyond them.

He carried me to an apple tree,

My tree.

He lay me against the trunk and picked an apple,

saying to me,

"Eat and be refreshed!"

Then I saw a servant running toward us,

holding a golden dish,

containing water.

"Drink this" 

said Jesus.

I drank.

Sometimes we need to remind ourselves 

of his faithfulness to us.

His willingness to 

RUN

to our aid 

when we feel overwhelmed.

He is faithful to meet all our

needs,

and strengthen us!

I love Him. 

Wedding photography

This week I got a chance to be a wedding photographer.

I love photos,

but have never done something so big before..

I shared the responsibility with a friend,

and we positioned ourselves at varying angles though out the day.

The weather was glorious,

the sun shone,

people smiled,

it was a wonderful day!

Here are some of the photos.