BLUEBERRY BLISS

It's Blueberry season here in NZ and where we live in the Waikato, it's Blueberry Country.
So off we went to pick some scrumptious blueberries with the whole family in tow.
We picked 7 kgs between 2 families. That may sound a lot.....trust me it's not, they are just too nice to leave hanging around.....even in the freezer. We have done Blueberry Smoothies, Blueberry and Lemon Yogurt Cake, Blueberry Pancakes and am planning Blueberry Cheesecake, Blueberry Pie and many more Blueberry Smoothies.....YUMMMY!!!

1 Corinthians 13 Christmas

Some Food for Thought!!

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows,
strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls,
but do not show love to my family,
I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen,
baking dozens of Christmas cookies,
preparing gourmet meals and arranging
a beautifully adorned table at mealtime:
but do not show love to my family,
I'm just another cook.

If I work at a soup kitchen,
carol in the nursing home,
and give all that I have to charity;
but do not show love to my family,
it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels
and crocheted snowflakes,
attend a myriad of holiday parties
and sing in the choir's cantata
but do not focus on Christ,
I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.
Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the spouse.
Love is kind, though harried and tired.
Love does not envy another's home
that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love does not yell at the kids to get out of the way,
but is thankful they are there to be in the way.
Love does not give only to those who are able
to give in return; but rejoices in giving
to those who cannot.

Love bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things, and endures all things.
Love never fails.

Video games will break,
pearl necklaces will be lost,
golf clubs will rust,
but giving the gift of love will endure.

--Author Unknown

PRE-CHRISTMAS RELAXING!

Amongst all the rush and madness that Christmas has become, we decided to take a few (4) days out to relax at the end of the school term. We have friends who have a bach in Whiritoa and had kindly offered for us to use it if we ever needed to get away from it all.....and we did. We took our kids plus my Brother (J14) and my Brother-in-Law (T15). We had a lovely time as it was wonderfully quiet at the beach. Here are some photos of all that we got up to:

PLAYING AT THE BEACH

CATHEDRAL COVE WALK















ALL PACKED UP, RELAXED AND READY TO GO HOME

HEALTHY HEALTHY!

Yes we are on a health binge (if there can be such a thing?!?! Oxymoron??)
I am going to the gym x3 a week at....wait for it.....6am in the morning (you do the maths.....that means I have to be up at 5:30am!!!). My trial period is over and now I'm paying good money to go there so I promised my hubby I would be committed to it (that was his condition to forking out his hard earnt cash...fair enough!).I think it'll be worth it...over 10 sessions I lost 6.5cm so that was encouraging. Bring on summer baby!!

The second half of the health binge is to do a detox. We (hubby and I) did the preparation for it over the last few days and today started to add in the herbs. Feeling fine so far........will keep ya posted on the up and coming 10 days.
The detox (The Ultimate Cleanse) requires you to stick to fruit, vege, plain yoghurt, olive oil, herbs and spices. And at that, if possible, most of it should be eaten raw, in a soup or a smoothie and the odd bit of steaming for variety. Not too much of a hassle for me as I'm a grazer and have no objections to eating things raw. Have noticed that a lot more time is required to prepare meals as there's lots of chopping up. I guess I never realised how many 'fillers' I use in our daily diet!
Check it out at the link above, Hubby has done it twice before and has felt refreshed and energised not to mention the fact that ALL food tastes fabulous afterwards.

FANTASTIC FUN & FRIENDS

Karen and her lovely kids meet up with my little whanau every fortnight for some like-minded fellowship and play. The last time Karen was at our place in the Tron we visited the Hamilton Gardens for some fun in the sun and exploring of all the lovely gardens.
We visited the Japanese, English, Italian and Modernist Gardens and investigated The Sustainable Backyard, Kitchen and Herb Gardens.
We had lunch under the shade of lovely fresh green leafy trees and the kids just loved the exploring. Here are some pics of our afternoon out and about......

Blue Caterpillars and Pink Rainbows

My darling JK was looking out his 2nd storey window from his bunk bed while waiting for his Mummy to tuck him in. Suddenly I hear him exclaim,

"Look! There are blue caterpillars in the sky!"

I wasn't quite sure what he was referring to but on further investigation I discovered a lovely sunset in motion. With a little more discussion, JK decided that there weren't only blue caterpillars but also pink rainbows. I love the way this little guy's mind works!

Mom's Overture

Here's a light little bit of relief for a Monday!

Remember:

Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly