WELCOME BACK

to our

GOOD MORNING MONDAYS LINK UP

Hi there all, welcome back to our Good Morning Mondays Link Up.

I’m going to apologise in advance for all the baby pics I’m about to post ;-).

I can officially say now that we’ve had another beautiful little granddaughter, and to mark this amazing blessing I’m posting a picture of the little darling and myself (you’ll have noticed I don’t post pics of me very often).  Here she is not quite 24 hours old and she’s a real trooper.Because we had the other children, I was also blessed to see them introduce this little girl to her big sisters and brother. They hung on every word that their father spoke about the little girl, her name, the fact that she was a she. It was a beautiful moment. And just because I can here’s another photo of her with one of her big sisters having a cuddle in bed – so special.Well that was our excitement last weekend and nothing we did this week matched it. My husband had been away for the weekend in Sydney at a men’s conference, so he hasn’t met the little one yet. Their flights got delayed so instead of coming home on Sunday night they didn’t get back until Monday night. I guess in a way it was good because he had time to catch up with his cousin that we see only every 5 years and he got to spend some quality time with the other men who went with them.

He saw a bit of Sydney as well and they went for a ferry ride, but he was definitely glad to get home. Unfortunately he came home with bronchitis so he’s been under the weather most of the week and the children have also had colds. So it’s been a slow one.

We didn’t have bible study this week but I managed to get in a morning sewing on Thursday for the Days 4 Girls group and then we had our book group in the afternoon. We are nearly finished Fervent and we are looking forward to starting our new book after the school holidays.

Friday we both met with our friends to do our bible study and then the children had theirs. Friday is always a busy day but it’s good as well and stretches both our thinking.

Our no 1 son and his young lady and brother came to visit us this weekend and we had a great time together, getting to know each other. He’s gone again for a few weeks and then back for the summer shearing period. The dynamics in the house change when he’s home as they do when he is away, a bit of adjustment and then we settle back down again.

Well that’s about our excitement for the week, onto our link up….

Our top three this week were….All The Good Things by Paper Seedlings
The Cult Next Door by The Cotton Apron Renewed Hope: Happy Birthday ‘Hope Prevails” by Dr Michelle Bengtson

Thanks everyone for stopping by and linking up, it’s been great to see you all here.

Okay this week coming…. sort of back to normal, whatever that is !!

More school, back to bible study, more piano practice, another sewing day and the usual Friday run around and weekend.

I think I may have a friend coming for lunch one day and a chat which will be nice. I need to get some seeds into pots for the coming spring vegetable garden and start to think about what I want to plant and where it’s going to go.

We’ve had some amazing lovely days this week and the sunshine has been glorious. The ground is starting to dry up and you can feel spring in the air. It seems like it’s been a long winter but God promises that the seasons will change and life goes on.

Genesis 8:22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

I’ve been really challenged these past weeks about how serious we  are about standing on God’s word as being the truth, about not making excuses and fitting in with everyone else’s opinion because it’s easier. Sometimes we will need to stand alone and sometimes that is scary but we need to be strong and firm on what we believe.

There are tough times ahead my friends and our children need to know what it is to STAND FIRM and not allow our fears or others ideas to pull us away from what we believe.

Have a great week, and I pray that you feel God’s presence in your life everyday.

1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

Blessings xxx

WELCOME BACK

to our

GOOD MORNING MONDAYS LINK UP

Hi there all, welcome back to our Good Morning Mondays Link Up.

As you all know we’ve been waiting for our daughter to give birth to their fifth child, so this week we were on baby watch. We had our grandchildren for a few days so it’s been full on. They are great children and we really enjoy having them, but they really missed their Dad and Mum.

I can’t say yet whether it was a boy or girl (waiting on their birth announcement to go viral :-)) but the baby arrived after quite a wait on Friday night and we are thrilled with the new addition to our family.

I made two blankets for the baby, one for a boy and one for a girl, so of course one has been gifted and it gives me great pleasure to see the baby wrapped in it this morning at church. Here are the two blankets, both will be nice and warm.
So I guess anything else I have to say about the past week will fade into insignificance due to the birth, but what can I say, being a Grandma is such a wonderful thing and my husband and I take our roles very seriously. We are helping to lead and guide the next generation and we are keen to support and help our son-in-law and daughter do the best job they can. Actually they are doing an amazing job without us and we are blessed by their diligence to give God all the glory in all their decisions.

I have been down with a cold this past week so I’ve been a bit sluggish and the weather is so wet and cold at the moment. It’s that time of the year when we are really looking forward to the ground drying up and the start of Spring so that we can get into our garden and get the seasons vegetables growing.

It’ll be a little bit yet before that happens as the rain keeps coming. It’s a strange country we live in, we are having rain and cold, almost snowy weather and some of the country up north is dealing with a terrible drought. South of Sydney they are fighting bush fires all ready. It’s so hard to grasp.

To finish this week off here’s our granddaughter sitting so nicely waiting for her tea. She folds her hands and had to keep showing me her hands were folded – so cute.Okay that’s my news for the week, onto our link up.

Our top three this week were…How To Do A Thorough Cleaning On Your Home by 15 acre homestead The Ever Evolving Hallway by Penny’s Vintage HomeChurch Sister by Streams of April

Thank you everyone for stopping by and linking up.

Well this coming should be back to normal mostly. My husband has been away for the weekend at a men’s conference and then he was due home tonight but their flights got cancelled, so I now have to wait until tomorrow to see him. I miss him heaps and I’m definitely looking forward to him getting home.

We’ve got the usual bible study, book group, Friday happenings and then our no 1 son and the lovely Christian young lady he is courting will be visiting next weekend, so that’s exciting.

I’m hoping that we can visit our son-in-law and daughter at some stage as my husband hasn’t met the new addition so I’m sure he’ll be keen to do that.

Our message this morning was about how we respond to God’s call on our life, what excuses do we give and it was very challenging.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Psalm 23:1-3

May you allow the Lord to lead you to a place of rest and restoration this week.

Bless you all my friends xxx

WELCOME BACK

to our

GOOD MORNING MONDAYS LINK UP

Hi there all, welcome back to our Good Morning Mondays Link Up.

How was your week?? Ours started out slow and gradually built up a bit. We had the first couple of days at home which was nice, and then our no 2 son had his piano lesson on Wednesday night before our Bible Study.

Thursday the ladies and I met for a Days 4 Girls sewing morning and then we had our book group in the afternoon.

Our no 1 son left for NSW on Wednesday so on Tuesday night I served him up one of his favourite dishes, bolognaise sauce with sourdough noodles.These noodles are so easy to make and are delicious too. Mine always look fairly rustic and home made but taste doesn’t always equal looks.  Anyway we all enjoyed it!!

My husband and our no 2 son have been working on a present for a friends birthday yesterday.  These friends have bought a property and are going to use it as a ministerial retreat for missionaries or pastors who need to have some quiet, regroup time. They have a lovely property with beautiful views. So we decided that we would do a name plaque. Our no 2 son cut out the rose and then my husband worked at putting it all together, carving out the lettering and finishing it up. I think they did a fantastic job and our friends were as pleased as punch, which is all the thanks we needed. What a blessing it is to give.

We’re still waiting for our next grandbaby to be born and because I know the grandchildren are coming soon I did some baking and made some Anzac biscuits, these are easy and a favourite. So we are all ready now. It’s been a week of anticipation really.It’s been very wet here lately and cold so we are under water here at the moment. It is boggy and muddy, which is normal for this time of the year but the winter started out dry.

We’ve got church tonight instead of this morning due to a power cut so I’ve made a cake and bread rolls to have with the fellowship tea to follow. My husband’s Father’s class is having it’s graduation ceremony so another group of men who have gone from being good fathers to great fathers. We need to pray for our men that they would be strong and courageous to stand up again the enemy’s attack on their position in the family.

Okay my friends, onto the link up…

Our top three this week were…5 Ways to Tet Home in the Rain by Lisa Notes “Looking for Parental Guarantees” July 31 by Soul Survival
Selecting A Custom Student Planner by Domestic Deadline

Thank you everyone for stopping by, linking up and sharing your thoughts and comments with other like minded bloggers.

This coming weeks activities will all depend on when our new grandchild is born and when the other grandchildren are coming. Most of what I have planned can wait and we can have fun with the children. They are a pleasure to look after and there’s always fun and laughter.

We do have our monthly Women’s Mission Meeting which would be good to get to because a missionary friend is giving her testimony, so I’d like to hear that. Apart from that and our Bible study on Wednesday night there isn’t much on this week. Most likely piano lessons on Saturday morning and then church on Sunday.

I found some great knitting ideas for the grandchildren for Christmas so I might get started on them this week because I’m nearly finished my other projects. These patterns are good because I can use my left over yarn from other items that I’ve knitted.

All right my friends, I hope this finds you well and blessed. I pray that God is working in your lives and that you feel His hand on you.

God bless xxxx

 

 

WELCOME BACK

to our

GOOD MORNING MONDAYS LINK UP

Hi there all, welcome back to our Good Morning Mondays Link Up.

We’ve had a good but busy week with medical appointments early in the week. Both younger children had to go to the dentist and then we were in Warrnambool on Tuesday for my husband.

Our no 1 son came home on Monday night. It’s been great catching up with him and all that he has been doing. He’s gone again this coming week and then back home for his summer shearing time in a few weeks.

It’s so great watching him grow and learn and rely more and more on God. He’s courting a lovely christian girl and it’s so nice to see them develop their relationship with God as the head.  This is such an important step that many young couples miss and it’s important to make sure that God is part of the partnership.

We started milking again and I managed to get some butter made this week. Butter has become quite expensive so it’s nice to cross that one off the shopping list each week.  I’m even using the butter dish I made earlier this year at pottery classes, and it’s still in one piece.I also managed to get some cheese made as well. This is a cream cheese so a soft one. This is the easiest one to make, just add starter and rennet and let it sit all day. Drain the curds overnight and then put in a container and add some salt and refrigerate. Easy and delicious.Next week we will be milking two cows so I’m hoping to get on top of the butter making and maybe start on some hard cheeses. When we make cheese we leave the cream in but when we need butter we separate it, and we actually prefer to drink the milk separated.

Remember last weekend we butchered the roosters??? Well I used one this week and made a chicken and pumpkin curry. I cooked the rooster in the pressure cooker and then put the liquid in with the pumpkin in the slow cooker and cooked it for the afternoon. I also put in curry powder, salt, the chicken, coconut cream and some peanut butter.When we got home on Friday night all I had to do was cook some rice and actually our no 2 daughter did that for me. It was so delicious and it was nice to come home and not have to worry what to cook.

We’ve started a new Bible Study and this week was our second get together. It’s on emotionally healthy spirituality and it’s definitely going to be good. It’s pretty full on with reading and home work but we are enjoying it all the same and my good friend and I also discuss it on a Friday afternoon.

This is nice because it sort of gives you a couple days to think and process what you have heard and then we come together and sort of even deepen it more. I really am blessed by this relationship and we are really developing a good friendship.

Our no 1 and 2 son went to our son-in-law and daughter’s place to do firewood on Saturday and spent the night. They all love catching up when he is home and our no 2 son got a treat to go with. We all pitch in with work around here and our no 1 son has blessed us with organising our firewood this year and our no 2 son has been doing a great job of loading it and stacking it here.

The first Sunday of the month there is always a fellowship luncheon after church and it is always nice to sit and chat with our church family over a meal. After church our no 2 daughter had her piano exam and she went really well. It’s a lot of hard work and she pulled it together really well in the end. Our no 2 son will do his at the end of the year and both children are looking forward to new pieces.

Okay everyone, onto our link up…

Our top three this week were… Ice Cream Cone Cake by Mrs Kringle’s Kitchen Prayer: A Holy Occupation by Thoughts on BooksShe Held Onto Hope by Streams of April

Thank you every one for stopping by and linking up. There is such a great range of posts each week to read and learn from, I hope you enjoy your visit.

This coming week we will, at some stage, hopefully have a new grandbaby. Our no 1 daughter is due any day now and we are excited and filled with anticipation. Children are such a blessing and a gift from God.

So while waiting for the baby we will be doing school and piano and work around the place. We’ve also got our book group and another sewing morning for the Days 4 Girls.

There’s the usual night time Bible Study and our get together on Friday afternoons and the children’s study to attend. Music lessons and then church. All good and all fun and all hopefully teaching us more about being like Jesus.

Well my friends, I look forward to hearing from you and how you have been going. I pray that you will be blessed and feel God’s presence in your everyday life.

Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Blessings xxx