Hey there everyone and welcome back to Good Morning Mondays.

What a great weekend we had celebrating our no 1 son’s 21st birthday.

First of all though we celebrated our no 2 granddaughters 2nd birthday. She just so enjoyed getting to blow her candles out and it was a great time with her dad and mum and her other grandparents, great grandparents and her aunts and uncles. It is so wonderful when family come together to celebrate like this.

Our No 1 son was home all week which was such a blessing. We miss him so much and we are so happy to be able to spend some quality time with him. He is such a great young man and we are both so honoured to be able to call him our son, he is a special gift from God that is for sure.

Our son-in-law and daughter and their children came down on Thursday night to help us get ready for the party. They are such a help to us and we wouldn’t have achieved everything if it wasn’t for them.

We then had a friend and her 3 youngest sons stay on Friday and Saturday night. This friend is the mother to the young people that our son now works with. She is such an inspiration and encouragement to us and she shares her heart so openly and challenges us in our walk with the Lord.

After cooking the pig on the spit on Friday we sat around the lamb on the spit on Friday night. We had a wonderful time of fellowship and singing. There were accordians and a guitar and some lovely voices, it was great fun.

By lunch time on Saturday the young people that he works with turned up and we had another 8 to feed for lunch. I had made a big batch of vegetable soup which we all devoured and it warmed us up nicely.

They are such a wonderful bunch of young people and we are so pleased that our son is working with them in a Godly environment. They challenge each other to keep their eyes fixed on God in all that they do.

By 4 pm most everybody had turned up and they had started the clay bird shoot by then. Most everybody got to have a go and I hit one of the clays first off but my aim when down hill after that. I really enjoy this sport and it is a lot of fun.

We had the roast pork and lamb for tea which was accompanied with scallop potatoes and various salads. For desert we had pavlovas, mini cheesecakes, a most delicious trifle and cake. There was enough left over to feed us all on Sunday lunch and a few more meals this coming week. I like leftovers!!!

Our no 1 daughter made her brother a birthday cake and it was just wonderful.If you look closely, you will see a very bogged 4wd ute and a caricature of our son shooting. She had even put on trick candles that wouldn’t be blown out – the young children had great fun with this.

The speeches were just lovely and those that spoke talked about our son’s soft heart and caring and generous nature. His friends told of his commitment to them and his sense of humour.

After nearly everyone had left, we brought out the instruments again and had another praise and worship session. It was so encouraging to see the young people openly worshiping God around the campfire.

So all in all a wonderful night was had by all.  We went to bed at about 1 am but some of the others didn’t get there until after 3 am.

Our no 1 son left with all his work mates on Sunday afternoon and we probably wont see him now for at least 3 months. So this weekend was very special for us all.

On another note I finished the beanie I was knitting for our grandson and it was a perfect fit and I think he likes it.

Last but not least here is granddad with his granddaughters. They have a lot of fun together.

Okay onto our link up…

Our top three posts this week were…Z is for Zacchaeus by Debbie at Bible Fun For KidsEducating Girls by Jo at Stop Have A ChatMaking Pumpkin Seed Packets – Happy Harvest Gifts by Jes at Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth

Thank you for stopping by and linking up, I really appreciate it.

This week we have to get the house back into order. There is only 7 days until the eisteddfod so we will be doing piano practice and school as well.

Not much else is happening this week. It is getting quite cold now and it has been raining so everything outside is a bit muddy.

I am starting on another cardigan for our other granddaughter and I need to sew some jumpers for our children.

I would love to hear how God is challenging you at the moment and what you have been up to.

I think of you all often and I pray that you are all well and that God is working in your hearts and lives.

Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”

Blessings to you all dear friends xxxx

Hey, hey, hey!!! everyone, welcome back to Darling Downs Diaries and our weekly Good Morning Mondays Link Up.

How has your week been??? Is it cold and wet or hot and dry where you are???

It has been wet but at the moment it is a bit warmer and drier but there is rain predicted for later in the week.  Actually the prediction is for cold and wet weather and right on the day of our son’s 21st birthday party.

We will be getting a fire going and putting up shelter around the place to keep everyone nice and warm and the wood stove inside will be roaring as well.

I really like our wood stove it is just great. It is our only heating and I also really like that we can stay warm without it costing us an arm and a leg. Power is very expensive these days!!!

We put this stove in when we first moved here about 6 years ago. There was a freestanding wood heater here and we sold that which helped us get this lovely cast stove.  We made scones in it the first night we lit it this year and they were delicious with jam and cream.

We had a good week this past week and we have finished moving the rooms around. I still have a bit of sorting to do in my sewing room and our no 1 son has some stuff to go through but we are really pleased with the results.

It is so nice to have a whole room to store my stuff and not have it going from one end of the room to the other.  I haven’t finished getting the quilting frame together as the sewing machine on it needs to be looked at but I am looking forward to getting back into quilting as well.

My husband and the children picked our pumpkins today and they are now stored in a trolley on the front veranda.

I will need to keep an eye on them each week and make sure I sort through them and keep any rotting ones and use them first. I even thought that I might grate and dehydrate some when they start to turn, but we will see.  I have put some of the smaller ones aside to sell out the front and will get them out there this coming week.

Our front yard is looking very green at the moment and my husband is mowing the lawn as I type this. We need to get it into better shape for next weekend. We are so blessed to have lovely grass for the children to play on and this stays green all summer, with a bit of watering.
I finished the vest I was knitted for our No 2 son and it keeps him lovely and warm. He seems to be growing up so quickly and I don’t think this will fit him next year so I have told him to make sure he wears it heaps.I have moved onto knitting some beanies and the first one is for this son to match his vest and then one for our grandson. I really like knitting for the grandchildren, it makes me feel like a real grandma.

Okay enough about me, onto our link up…

Our top 3 posts this week were…Monday of Many Blessings Link Up from Our Home of Many BlessingsBusy is not a badge of honour by Jo at Stop Have a ChatOn My Bookshelf (May 2016) by Debbie at Simple Joys of Home

Thank you for taking the time to stop by and link up, you are all such a blessing.

Our No 1 son is coming home on Monday night (yay) and we are all looking forward to that.

We will be spending the week getting ready for his party and we will put a pig on the spit on Friday and some lamb in the smoker and then just reheat it on Saturday night. This saves having to clean up all the mess when everyone is here.

It is our 2nd granddaughters birthday this week so I am going to try and make her a dress and even maybe a hat to match, but we will see.

Our son-in-law, daughter and their family will be here maybe Thursday night but definitely Friday so that will be great and we also have another 10 odd people coming to stay Friday night as well. There will be a couple of caravans and some swags lying about and it should be great fun.

I am going to make some mini cheesecakes and some pavlova nests as well as some other sweet delights for desert and my daughter is going to make some delicious sausage rolls to have for afternoon tea to keep us warm.

Hopefully there will be left overs and I won’t have to cook much the next week.

It is only 2 weeks until the Eisteddfod so the children will be doing plenty of practice for that. They are looking forward to it and it is the musical highlight for them each year. Then after that it is only 6 weeks until their exams so we will be focusing on their technical work then.

All right I think that is about it for the week and next week. I would love to hear how you are all going and what you have been up to if you have time and I think of you all often and I pray that you are all well and that God is working in your hearts and lives.

Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”

Blessings to you all dear friends xxxx

Good morning and welcome back to our weekly link up. I hope you all have had a good week and I am glad to be back after our weeks break.

My husband took me to the lovely town of Warrnambool to an apartment. It was quite wet but we really didn’t mind because it was just great relaxing and doing not much of anything.

This is the inside of the resort from the car park. The units are quite nifty and painted and built to look like beach shacks. They are lovely and neat inside.  There is a day spa attached to the resort as well but we didn’t go there.

They had a great buffet breakfast which we had the two mornings we were there and we ate up which meant we didn’t need too much food for the rest of the day. We definitely know how to holiday on a budget.

Our son-in-law and daughter looked after our younger two children and their older brother took them up there on the Saturday.  He then headed off again on his work travels and he won’t be home for a month.

It was an emotional farewell again and we had a wonderful week together even though he had to work. We spent the nights talking and sharing and it was great. As I said he will be back in a month and then we will be celebrating his 21st birthday. They grow up so quickly. We are having a pig and sheep on the spit and a clay bird shoot, so it should be a fun night – hopefully it doesn’t rain.

I managed to get some more tomatoes processed before I left and did another 8 bottles. Our son-in-law and daughter also blessed us with a box of carrots that they had grown and I managed to get the whole box dehydrated.

I grated them before drying and they went really well. I can now use them in soups and stews and cakes. I re-hydrated some for a casserole and they came back really well. I am amazed at how well this system works, and I am enjoying using it.

I finished the cardigan I was knitting for our oldest granddaughter for her birthday. I was a week late but I think she was okay with that. I finished it while we were away and it turned out very nicely and fits her really well.

I am now finishing a vest I started last year for no 2 son and have started on the front after finishing the back.

This weekend my daughters and I catered for our aunts 70th birthday. She had a BBQ and hot vegetables.  It went really well and she had a great time. Our No 1 daughter made her a crockenbush cake and it was magnificent and delicious.

We are moving our son’s bedroom up into our top room which is a really large room with all my sewing stuff, quilting frame and a heap of junk. This is a big job both cleaning up their bedroom and my area. I hope this means that I can keep all my sewing stuff in the cupboards and it will be able to be kept more contained. At the moment there is no cupboards and there are heaps of plastic crates.

It is turning out to be a bigger job than I thought but once it is done it will be good. I am hoping to finish it next week, but we will see.

Okay onto our link up…

Our top three posts over the past two weeks were…

Grandmother’s Aprons by Daniela at My little old world
3 Steps to a More Natural Lifestyle by Debbie at Simple Joys of Home

Rest in Peace, Sweet Baby Brody by Cheryl at Homespun Devotions

Thank you everyone for stopping by and linking up. I know that I haven’t been as active as I should be on this blog and I am struggling to get to it each week but please don’t desert me. I so appreciate everyone of you and the time that you take by stopping by here and linking up and encouraging me with your kind words. This means so much to me and to my husband, you are all such a blessing.

Well, what’s on this next week, I hear you ask??!!!

My husband’s fatherhood course is still going and he will be off to that on Monday night.

I will be schooling the children and finishing off the room moves and getting my sewing room up and sorted.

The children’s eisteddfod is in 5 weeks so piano practice will definitely need to happen and we will also have violin lessons again on Wednesday.

We are starting to clean up around the house for our son’s birthday party and I am starting to plan that all in my mind at the moment. After this coming week I will start writing things down.

My husband is off next weekend to do the training to run this Fathers course himself. There are 4 men from around here going and they fly out on Friday afternoon and get back late Sunday night.

I’m not very keen (and neither are the children) about him being away for two nights and we all miss him terribly but it is so important that men are trained to be the best husbands and fathers they can be.

I think of you all often and I pray that you are all well and that God is working in your hearts and lives.

Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”

Blessings to you all dear friends xxxx