God-incidences

So yesterday started like any other ordinary day…got the morning routine done and older kids off to school and preschool. I then had to go and get a bloodtest done because I am being closely monitored with my Neutropenia. I am back on the injections twice a week again now which has been a concern because we there are some which do not recommend taking them while pregnant… and I am 28 weeks pregnant now with my 4th child.

As some know I have been very unwell now for  months with a persistent bout of bronchitis. After 6 courses of antibiotics is just wasn’t getting to the point where I felt better and I could feel myself slipping into the darkness of depression again. I needed a lift… I needed something to keep me going because sometimes being strong for so long really takes its toll. I have had to find alternative places to inject as I used to do it in my stomach and of course being pregnant that doesn’t work too well.   I have known that many people have been praying for me and supporting me by way of assistance at home or by dropping meals around and this has been very much appreciated.

So going back to yesterday’s events… I had a busy morning entertaining my beautiful 19mo daughter and put her down for her usual sleep about noon. I usually then use the days my 4yo is at preschool to just chill out on the lounge or something or get some sewing done… but yesterday I was so weary I just felt I needed to lie down in bed… I never seem to be able to sleep properly when I do this but yesterday I was granted two hours sleep in my bed… a much needed rest to help me recover from my illnesses. I got up thinking I should quickly grab a bit to eat before needing to pick up my kids and while my little one was still quiet. I walked past my door and saw something on my front door mat.

At this point I need to go back a bit. Early in August (over a month ago now) my husband went to church and it happened to be a service I couldn’t go to… I think I was unwell or I had a cake decorating class .. anyway I wasn’t there and he was. The sermon was on Proverbs 31, you know the one about the Noble woman. Anyway as I came home hubby was really keen to show me the sermon outline sheet and was excited about what was in it but couldn’t really express in words why he was keen to show me. No matter what he did … he couldn’t find the sheet… it had just disappeared. We thought of asking for a copy but there wasn’t one at church the next week and then I was going to email the minister who gave the talk but life and busyness and sickness just took over and we forgot all about it.

So anyway… back to yesterday… it was a blustery day.. it was windy enough to blow open my side colourbond gate.. but there sitting still and unmoved on my front mat was a piece of paper… you will never guess what it was!  It was the sermon outline… in pristine condition.. after we had have rain, wind and bushfires… there it was just sitting there waiting for me to pick it up! Someone was trying to tell me something… give me some encouragement. I picked up and was like… “You’re joking! How did that get there?” I wondered if someone had placed it there… but how would that explain how it wasn’t moving on a windy day??  Still pondering all this I then checked my letterbox and found a lovely posted package from a friend I hadn’t had much connection with in the last few years but she was aware of my health situation via facebook. She had sent me some lovely chocolates and encouraging card and a little book for me to read. It just lifted me and made the world of difference to how I had been feeling. This friend has encouraged me like this in the past and I feel very blessed to have had her in my life as a Godly sister.  It was funny because I looked at the bottom of the chocolates and the expiry date happened to be my birthday next year.. (not that they will last that long) but it was a reminder to me that God is in the ordinary things and he has this way of just telling you “Hey… I’m still here watching you and making sure you are ok” . An nice reminder he cares about me… even in the little details.

Later that night I was able to listen to the sermon based on the Prov 31 passage online… I felt encouraged and uplifted… not only by what was said in the sermon but the fact that hubby was excited about it and wanted to encourage me in my current endeavours and tell me he values me and how I am being his wife and mother to our children.  This encouragement came at just the right time…  he is now away for a few nights on school camp… and so this encouragement from him will stay with me and sustain me as I manage on my own for a few days.  

Now all this might seem a bit silly to anyone else but it has really meant a lot to me and I am thankful for the reminders. I feel all this has come together at just the right time just when I needed it and just how God planned it to happen. I love those God-incidences… he is always there… he loves me… and he is so Good!!!

gotta get back on track…

well its been ages since my last post… so much has happened!

Firstly I am 12 wks pregnant with bubby number 4!! Crazy but planned and true!!

The impact of this is huge though as I cannot take my neutropenia medication while I am pregnant so I really need to be aware of my body and its limits right now in many ways.  I am thankful that this pregnancy though I will not need to work… the first pregnancy I won’t have to work a single day… for the way God has taken us through such financial hardship I am thankful as if we didn’t make the choices and plans we did 18 months ago  I would need to be working right now just to pay our credit card repayments.

I am struggling a little keeping up with my routines and it is a frustration to me when I was doing so well for so long! but what can you do but take it 5 mins at a time and just do what you can do.

I know I will get back to being a fit healthy me gradually and the routines will take their place again as they can…

any suggestions on how to stay on top of things while pregnant with kids would be appreciated!

making all things new

Well am back for another random post…
I have had a difficult few months with sickness in the family.
I am hoping to try and get a little more organised in my home without the same old burn out that always happens.
So I am going to follow 20 days to an organised home on the Organised housewife blog.
I am also going to be working on myself… not just my home and am starting a 10 week challenge tomorrow to be a healthier me… by eating better and moving more. I am following FitYummyMummy…. its a great site for mums!
My baby is 6 months now and I feel I need to get myself in a better headspace.
We shall see how it goes.
Heres to getting sorted inside and out!!

Simplify your life {Week fourteen: Time management – Planning}

Time management…
I love finding new ways to be organised with my time. I am a list maker… I love them… but I hate it when I can’t follow them perfectly.
Anyway, todays post is about how I manage my time, how I plan my tasks and what I have found works for me.
This is part of the simplify your life challenge… which ironically I haven’t had much time to complete.. so.. thought this one was a good one to pick up from.
Some of my time management tools are handy and on my iphone. I have apps with lists of my daily routines on there and can click through them when they are done… easy peasy.
I also have a calendar where I jot down important events and appointments so I can easily see at a glance whats on in any given month or week. This forms my basis for how I plan my week. I can look at what is coming up and tweak any meal plans etc around the things that we have going on.
I will plan my meals on the weekend based on what is coming up and what is in the house already (which is slowly but surely getting easier).
Once I have this weekly plan I jot down in my notebook how I am planning to get through my days. I have given up on writing down specific times because there is always something that happens to throw timing out the window… eg… stopping to feed the baby or get a snack for the toddler!!
I just simply make a list of the “day” that needs to happen and work through it in order… sometimes skipping things if there is a “time sensitive” task… such as doing the school run. This way I feel in control of how Ï spend my time and making best use of it, while still being flexible enough to stop and focus on those people in my life that I need to be organised for.
I have this funny little joke with my hubby… he thinks I am a little ocd on my tasks etc… So I made up the saying “ROUTINES SAVE LIVES!!!” Well that really quite ridiculous… but they do keep my sanity and it does mean we are all clothed, fed and enjoying living in a reasonably well kept house, while making it to our important things on time (mostly!!).
I have found it really crucial to make sure I book in time with myself to do the things I like… so each month I will set myself a little goal of the ‘fun’things I want to get done in the month… and then plan that into my weeks. Things like scrapbooking, knitting and sewing. All of which I feel guilt free for spending time on because for the most part I create things either for other people to meet there needs… or something for others to enjoy.. .and it gives me joy in being creative so why not pencil in time for myself… especially when it blesses others!

Getting healthier…. on my list of things to do!!

Just posting in here to keep me accountable…
I am planning on starting a Lose baby weight program as of Monday… silly to start this weekend with all the chocolate and hot cross buns around… but I am starting on Monday.
I have lost weight before and I know how rewarding… and also how hard it is to stick with. So I am planning things ahead of time so that I don’t fall into the trap of if you fail to plan you plan to fail!
Measurements done… not sharing at this stage tho…
Goals: My goal is to lose the belly, get fitter and have a healthier diet… Why? It feels good, it looks good and its good for my breastmilk supply which in turn is good for my baby! So it helps fulfill my role as mother too… I will have more energy and feel in a better mood.

My one hang up is the cost… doesn’t it always seem to cost more to eat healthily… cost is a big issue around here at present… but I suppose that you need to start somewhere and that the cost of being unhealthy can in the long run end up more anyway.

My plan is to have smoothies once or twice a day, replace highcalorie, high sugar snacks for healthier and more satisying ones.
I plan to force myself to walk more again by getting hubby to take the car to work so I have to walk to do the school run (this worked so well when I couldn’t drive cos of the c-section… so now I need to remove the temptation to be lazy!!)
I also need to remove from my sight any tempting foods. Its just too hard when the choccie bikkies are staring you in the face!! I will allow myself some little indulgences of this nature but no more than 2-3 time in the week. (wow… hope I can stick to that).
My ultimate goal is to lose about 13kg… so we shall see how long this takes me.
I plan to log my food so I know exactly what is going in my mouth and I will aim to build up gradually in terms of my exercise.
There…. I have laid out the bare bones of what I will try to achieve…. so now.. I have to JUST DO IT!
Who’s with me?

Its time….

Well I figure that because today marks 6 weeks since my beautiful baby girl was born, that I had best make an effort to get back to blogging…
I am happy to say that I feel a bit more relaxed about getting everything done right now than what I previously have after babies.
I am working on prioritising what is really important… a constant task really, especially with a newborn. The other day I had a great big plan of what I wanted to do while my eldest was at school and my 3yo was at preschool… only my bub had other ideas and decided she wanted to feed most the day! So plans sometimes by necessity need to go out the window!!! Its ok.. I was actually thinking in my head while trying to settle her down after the first 2 hours… its ok… I am exactly where I am supposed to be right now.. the ironing, washing, folding and everything else can wait… it isnt’the end of the world. It has taken a long time for me to come to that kind of thinking. Even now I have pockets of mess in my house… they just have to wait because I can’t do it all. I can do what I can after I have spent time with the people I love and fulfilled their needs.
I am certainly keen to have a cleaner house, lose the baby weight, get some time to sew and scrapbook… but these are things that I can set aside for when they are the most important thing for me to do…
I plan to go and try to do some more of my 52 week simplify my life challenge… but today’s post in a nutshell I suppose is about the fact that just by changing my mindset… I really feel I have made huge progress in simplifying things.
Now… back to what is most important.. right now that is turning off my beeping oven… my cookies are done.. 😉

HLS challenge week 3 Family mission statement

Our Family Mission Statement 2012

We are at our best when we work at things together.

We will try to prevent times when we are tired, stressed and grumpy but we will accept each other when these feeling come up.

We will find more time to relax with each other and do things together.

We will help each other by being responsible for our own things and be patient as we learn and grow.

We will increase our opportunities to read the bible together and pray as a family and a couple.

We will treat each other well and work through our challenges.

We will aim to make our home a safe and joyful place where we love to be.

We will come together as a family each day for a meal to connect, share our experiences and suggest things we can be grateful for.

With God’s guidance we will make choices and decisions based on: love, kindness, perseverance, respect, forgiveness.

So.. what’s really important to me?

Defining my values: Week 2 of the HLS challenge.
This one is all about defining my core values… it wasn’t easy really. I found it a real challenge but worthwhile to re-assess where I am headed and what I really feel at this stage of my life is important.
1.Faith
I am a born again Christian and I believe in Jesus who is my Lord and Saviour son of the one true God… there is none so great as him. I owe him my life but can never repay it. This is number 1 because the importance of this defines the rest of what is important to me in life. I believe that without my faith in God the rest of my life has no value anyway and because of the Grace of God I am accepted and loved because of Jesus.
I am inspired by the faith of people in my bible study particularly Louise with her hospitality, faithfulness in prayer and the way she mentors me. I love the constant reminder Marilyn is ever conscious of God’s sovereignty and the fact that despite adversity he is in control.
2.Love.
1 Corinthians 13: 4-8
“4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.”
Knowing I am loved by God is something I value so much. Love encompasses so much of what is important to me. I am encouraged by the fact that “love never fails”.
I really value the time I spend with those I love most… my family… we seem to spend so much time as mum’s doing stuff for our family we can tend to forget to foster a loving relationship with our family members… so for me re-establishing this as an important value is just what I needed. . My family is one of the highest priorities I have in this life… it is my place as a loving wife and mum to support them and create an enjoyable life for them.
3 Perseverance-
James 1:2-4
“2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
I have been inspired by this verse for as long as I can remember… it reminds me that I am a work in progress. That I should focus on making progress not perfection… because I won’t be perfect this side of heaven.
Perseverance in my own self-improvement and continuing to dig deep and develop my strengths and build up my weaknesses is something I try to keep working on.
I also have experienced a lot of health struggles in my life and so persevering through that has made this something I really value.
Persevering with my organization in my home and life is a challenge but I am inspired by many of the organizers I have found on the net in terms of how organized and logical their routines are… I love routine but need to persevere in order to keep it working well.
3.Learning
My husband and I are both teachers and so education is something I see as really important… but not just what we learn in school… learning new skills and passing on what skills other family member have.
For example I have started to learn how to sew and crochet… inspired by my 88 year old Grandmother. My mum taught me to knit years ago and I am still able to do that.
So now I have those skills to pass on to my daughter and my son if he chooses… and also teaching them what is really important in life… it’s all about lifelong learning.
5. Freedom
I love the freedom I have in Christ. The freedom I have in this country to live this kind of lifestyle. I look forward to my “me time” where I have the freedom to re-charge my batteries and energy to do all I need to do in my life.
It’s great to know that I also have the freedom to make mistakes and that when I do it doesn’t mean I am a bad person… this is something I have really struggled with and is part of what I need to let go of as it leads to my anxiety and depression.
I choose to use my “me time” to do, knitting, scrapbooking, reading, crochet, baking, watching my favourite tv shows and catching up with friends in small groups. I suppose more recently I can add blogging to my list as well. 
So there we go… my top 5 values… Faith, Love, Perseverance, Learning and Freedom.
I want to serve God in my role as a wife a mother and create a lovely space for my family to live where I have the time and energy to enjoy them and watch them grow. I want to spend more quality time with my husband and grow to love him more each day and appreciate the strength he is to this family. I would love to be able to have more time at home and less of my energy spent working for an income. I want to invest more time and effort in my God given roles as wife and mother, sister and daughter… friend.

Count your 2011 Blessings!! Week 1 HLS challenge.

Simplified life week 1 challenge…
So I need to start from a positive place and focus on what things did go right in 2011. Love this approach… as all too soon the new year moves on and you have lost your fresh start… but the year is never ALL bad!!
So lets see..
I was energised by the happiness of my little boy… while it is sometimes exhausting he really does motivate you to get up and go and play roaring dinosaurs or something around the house!

I felt really happy finding out I was pregnant for the third time round… we had been trying for 6 months and I was concerned it wouldn’t happen… but God granted the desires of my heart and I am happy and thankful.
Another happy moment in 2011 was celebrating my 10th Wedding anniversary and hubby had organised for us to go to where we had our first date. What a romantic guy!

I felt at peace knowing the date of my unborn childs birth… ironic in a way… but I have had 2 previous emergency c-sections and agonised over the birth plan through my last pregnancy… I really felt peaceful knowing it was set… though a c-section would not be my choice of childbirth again for my first one.. but for this time it felt great not stressing over whether or not I will go into labour or not.. just at peace knowing there is nothing I can do about it and my baby will be born at the appointed time.
Another thing that makes me calm and peaceful is listening to music… I found when I am anxious or uptight I can really turn my day around by listening to uplifting music… like “The Climb” or something.

I am really thankful for the people who helped me so much through the year with such sickness in the family. For each meal that was provided and people offering to look after my kids when I needed that support. It was very humbling for me taking this help but it was a real boost knowing I wasn’t alone and that support was close by. A lot of my bible study group have helped in this way… but others too!!
Some of the self care things that helped were going for my very first pedicure and getting my toenails done in bright red!! 

Getting together with family for a surprise birthday BBQ… thanks hubby for organising. We also had a lovely get together for both my kids birthdays this year.. nice to have these special times with some of the extended family.

Was great to delve into some new experiences in my “me time” last year.. I had learned to sew a little and make some presents for the family. I also had started to crochet a little blanket for my new little one when they are here.

I learned
-that its better for me to be solutions focused rather than problem centred.
-that I need to see how far I have come and acknowledge my achievements rather than being down on myself for not getting things perfectly right
-I am a worrier… and I need to work on how I manage my worry and anxiety levels because if I don’t it leads to stress and depression.
-I am valued, I am respected, I am a work in progress and I am loved!!!

So… bring on 2012 so I can continue this positive journey and share what I am learning to bless others.

Plans and Potential….?

I wanted to share about my crazy but also great day today.
I posted on my facebook status this morning that today had the potential to be a great day… well the irony of that statement as I reflect now is pretty amazing.
Today I had plans… my daughter was spending the day with her Nana and my son was spending the day with his poppy. I had a Dr appointment (OB check up… 7 wks to go!) for 10am not far from “poppy’s place”. Now I had planned so well that I had even arranged a picnic lunch for hubby and I and to go down to the river after my appointment for some “us” time (also cheaper than a restaurant..and we are on a very tight budget this month!).
Sounds like a great plan right? Beautiful weather… a little hot but beautiful, kid free for a few hours.. perfect?
So how did it all pan out? I got to the drs surgery after dropping of the kids and the receptionist says that my appointment isn’t til tomorrow!! Oh No! I explained that I was sure my reminder card said it was today and she took pity on me and said that the Dr would be in from 2pm! That was a lot of time to kill. But I took it anyway.
So hubby and I decided to go and do a bit of shopping (which we had also planned) and got to the shops. Hubby needed a drink so I tell him there is some water in the picnic bag…. only… turns out… he forgot to put the picnic bag in the car!!! I was about to boil over at this point… no food, no drink, no appointment…
So thinking about just trying to make the best of this disaster we did our bit of shopping and decided to go home again (30 mins away) and drop the fridge stuff at home, grabbed a cuppa and then grabbed the infamous picnic bag and went back to have our picnic….. finally!!!

It was lovely there and we even had time for a little stroll (though not far as I am feeling so huge lately at 32 wks pregnant!) It was then just about time for my new 2pm appointment so we went and did all that… everything good with bubby. Went to pay the account and the receptionist told me that we had come to the expensive standard checkup and it would be $300!!! Wasnt’ expecting that..but fortunately she was happy to get us to pay it next time… in 2 wks! Thanks God!

We picked up my son and started to head home… an exhausting and mixed up day… was nearly over. I then saw at the side of the road 3 doors… the exact type we had been unable to afford for so long … these were a little grubby but unused and the perfect ones we needed! I couldnt’ believe the providence of God at this time. We have been wanting these for ages and just havent’ found it in the budget… and yet at home we have the paint we need for it out as we were painting the babys wardrobe in it. Perfect!!

So I had my plans… and the day had potential… and as I just tried to make the best of things God’s plan was presented perfectly to me.. and I am so thankful!
I just think amongst all the planning we do to make our lives orgnanised and run smoothly we need to expect that things won’t always turn out the way we expect. Keep focussing on the potential of a situation and just make the best of it… you never know where it may take you!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”
Jeremiah 29:11