Kid's Birthdays ~ 2015

Shock horror here I am on my blog! 

I think I've missed a few years of birthdays on here (Does that mean I'm still 40?) It's so great having the record though, as phones die and I lose photos!! 

In birthday season of 2015 (Jan-April) ..... 

Miss E turned 18!!!!! Can you believe it?! 

She's got her licence now and has flown tne nest! Yep she's studying a communications degree in NZ and living with my parents. I've been blessed to fly over a bit this year to see her...& she's coming this way in a couple of weeks. Woohoo!! 

We celebrated her birthday in Sydney before she left -- A lunch with church family & also a party night with her 18 year old friends. 

She has a blog too now at www.ellatalei.com if you want to check it out : ) 

Jay is 16! My not so little boy anymore ...he often gets mistaken for older!

Jay has been into power lifting this year with his dad and done well in a few competitions he's entered. 

It was friends over for pizza and then off to the movies on his 16th ...

Lij has entered the teenage years!! We had fun with a couple of his friends at wet and wild on hs birthday... & He requested lasagne and a cheesecake birthday cake. He's such a good kid and loves anything rugby league. 

Choppy's now 11! My baby!! 

All he could talk about for his birthday was buckets and buckets of KFC.... so all the cuzzies came over (we were in NZ) and that's what went down!! He's got the moves that kid and loves anything sport and music!! 

Becca and my 4 loves!! They're so worth celebrating! xxxxoooo 

Where do you go when you're running low?

"Where do you go when you're running low? 

We all go somewhere (m&m's, shopping, a substance, etc) 

• Go to Jesus! • 

- Jesus knows what to do

- Jesus never leaves you empty

- Jesus always provides more & better."  - Josh Kimes 

"There's only so far you can go on an empty tank. Get alone with God; it's there you find strength for the journey and life and health for your soul." - Jerry G 

** Great messages at church today. We find all we need, and so much more in Him!! 

The night our lounge room became a fashion runway!

A few weekends ago we insisted a friend leave her 3 kids with us so she could go away for some much deserved rest and relaxation!

7 kids in the house... they were GREAT! This was the night they walked to the shop in their a Pjs ... (Lij!!!)

On the Saturday night we lay out a mat in the lounge and held a fashion parade - 

The kids brainstormed possible categories and we pulled them out of a hat as we went. Our contestants then had 5 minutes to dress up before they...

 * set * foot * on * catwalk *

School girls:

Superheroes: 

Nerds:

Date night:

Rock stars:

Sports players:

Farmer Joe:

Beachwear:

Oldies:

(Bwhahaha Lij!!)

International:

And when it was nearly time for bed...a Pajama party and pillow fight!!

14 year old J did a great job as DJ for the night, selecting a song for each category as it happened. 

It was such a fun night. What stars!

My favourite Mother's Day ever!!!

I feel so blessed. Thanks to my kids for a wonderful Mother's day!!

I never thought that I would be a single mum at this stage of my life...

But I can honestly say I love my life and feel so grateful for all I have. (Especially my four children!)

We had the best day on Mother's Day tiki-touring around town together ...

~  A stunning Autumn's Day in Sydney and picnic at Clarke's Point Reserve ... 

~ A spot of shopping at Birkenhead Point 

~ & our big treat of the day: Jamie Oliver's restaurant in the city for dinner. I could rave all night about the amazing meal and time we had together there.

Love being their Mum xxxx

Dinner recipe: Smoky chicken, chorizo & chickpeas

A family dinner recipe the kids keep requesting ...

It's a nice 'n cosy one now the nights are getting colder here in Sydney. 

We keep meaning to hunt down a big rustic dish from an op shop to serve it up in ~

Smoky chicken, chorizo and chickpeas: 

Ingredients:

600 grams of chicken thighs chopped

2 Tablespoons of olive oil

2 garlic cloves crushed

1 teaspoon of smoked paprika 

250 grams chorizo, sliced

1 can of chickpeas

1Tablespoon of balsamic vinegar 

1 tomato, chopped

1 long red chilli, sliced

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Method:

1. Toss the chicken in 1 tablespoon of the oil, paprika and cumin. Cover and marinate in the fridge
for at least 30 minutes. 

2. Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan over a high heat, and cook the chicken for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove from pan.

3. Cook the chorizo and chickpeas in the same pan, stirring for 2-3 minutes until they're golden.

4. Return the chicken to the pan, drizzle over the balsamic vinegar and simmer, covered for 5 minutes until the chicken is heated.

5. Stir through the tomato, chilli and parsley and serve!

Naturally flavored water

We've been trying out a few homemade vitamin water recipes we've seen online. Look how pretty they are in jars, photos are a must!!

The Classic: 

1 lemon thinly sliced

1 cucumber thinly sliced
1/3 cup mint leaves
1/4 cup of basil leaves
10 cups of water

Berry and lime:
6 strawberries or raspberries
1 lime thinly sliced
12 mint leaves
10 cups of water

The exotic
1 cup of pineapple cut in cubes
12 fresh mint leaves finely chopped
10 cups of water

Leave in the fridge overnight to infuse. 

Happy sipping! 

Love thy neighbour

P R A Y . . .
 

 

 SPEAK ENCOURAGING WORDS . . . 

 

& FILL YOUR HANDS . . .
 

 F O R  O T H E R S !

"Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile" - Mother Teresa

 

Lij & Choppy...

Lately...

 

Choppy gettn his swag on

 

 

When @ the supermarket...

 

 

A squid haka?!

 

 

...& sea-monkey!

 

 

Lij's facials. At laser tag...

 

& in Manly with Mammie!!

 

 

"I left my scooter outside the dairy..."

 

{A take on a NZ YouTube hit...not a real injury!!)

 

& some serious 'Vans' LOVIN right here...

 

 

... Never a dull moment with these guys x

Top 10 things about Mum

Hey Mums!

Here's a list of the top 10 things students around the world said they remembered and loved most about their mums . . . I think you'll find you do most of them naturally!

1. Come into my bedroom at night, tuck me in and sing me a song. Also tell me stories about when you were little.

2. Give me hugs and kisses and sit and talk with me privately.

 

3. Spend quality time just with me, not with my brothers and sisters around.

4. Give me nutritious food so I can grow up healthy.

5 .At dinner talk about what we could do together on the weekend.

6. At night talk to me about about anything; love, school, family etc.

7. Let me play outside a lot.

8. Cuddle under a blanket and watch our favourite TV show together.

9. Discipline me. It makes me feel like you care.

10. Leave special messages in my desk or lunch bag."



Celebrating these guys!

{Birthday catch-up}

 

L I J

 

In March Lij entered the double digits, 10!! Ahhhh this boy, he melts my heart...

 

We had after-noon tea and birthday cake in the park after school with his friends.

 

& oh that cake...my first 2 cake making attempts flopped in the old oven at our new place, so I bought one...which I then dropped face first into the grass when we got to the park. Ahhhh, quick pick it up and scrape off the top layer of icing...yep!! ha they loved it :))

 

Pizza & a movie that night with the fam bam...

 

J

And J, handsome az, became a teenager in April!! I love his smile xox

 

Miss E & Lij hosted a Mexican Fiesta in honour of their brother....it was FANTASTIC!!!!!!

 

There was dressing up, dancing, and even chocolate chilli panacottas for dessert. Well done guys, impressive...and heaps of fun!! J here dressed up as Nacho Libre, in wrestling mode of course...

 

& that brings birthday season to a close for the year. (The kids birthdays running Jan-April)

I count it such a privilege & JOY to be blessed with each of them!!!!

"...children are God's best gift"