Scrumptious Little Boy

Bag-erific!!

One day the itch to make a bag came upon me.
So in true "Laura-Motivation" style, it was done on that very day!!
I used the Tutorial from Tiny Happy and was very happy with the results.
Fun and reasonably fast to make to...all things I love!




















I gifted that one to my sister Emma who loves a bit of vintage in her life.

The great thing about it was the denim on the outside of the bag was given to me by Emma and the flower fabric on the inside was a good find at the local Salvation Army Thrift shop. In fact I got a few goodies that day including vintage bark cloth with a Horse-themed print all over it....I know a little sister who would just LOVE to have a tote bag made from that!!!

Good Kai and Mahi

Having quite a few cultures represented in our family unit, I have always wanted to learn the cultures (ie. cooking, craft, language) of each one. Being bought up in a Dutch family I can speak conversational Dutch and know enough about the culture to navigate it. I can cook Dutch meals and sing Dutch songs to my kids. That's one down.
My husband represents the Maori and Samoan cultures. To get a better grip on the Tikanga (protocols and traditions) of Maoridom and to fulfill a desire to learn the Maori arts, I enrolled in a Raranga (weaving) course at night school.
I have done 4 weeks of the course and am just loving it. Our tutor, Tia, has such a beautiful heart and is so encouraging and knowledgeable. So far we have learnt to harvest our own Harekeke (flax) and prepare it. We have made a bouquet of flowers all woven from one piece of work.............


Rourous (food baskets) and a wall hanging (sorry no photos yet!).............

And.....a plasticbag holder..........



This week we are going to start our Kete Pikau (backpack bag) so it is all very exciting. I love the challenge, the character development (great way to practice perseverance and patience!) and the company of the 5 ladies.

In addition to my weaving I also attempted a traditional Maori meal of Boil-up.
It consists of stewing meat, potatoes, kumara, pumpkin, cabbage and dough-boys.
I felt very proud when my husband's verdict was, 'just like mum's boil-up'. Yay!!
I found a great website with Maori recipes
These recipes have cooking times and quantities which is FAB as most recipes are passed down through the family so everybody has their own variations. Have a go!!

~~Our 6th Anniversary~~

I just spotted some photos from our Wedding Anniversary back on January 19th.
So here is a post in hindsight.......

On our Sixth Anniversary we took our lovely children to their Opa and Oma's home for a day and night of fun with the rest of the whanau.
We headed off to spend the day doing whatever we wanted without having to think about feeding and napping little people on time. We popped in and said HI to our dear friends Dave and Rae on the way out to Raglan. Consequently we stayed for a leisurely lunch and a good catch up (at that stage they were waiting for the arrival of their firstborn Eva-Elise). We then meandered out to Raglan with a stop at the Bridal Veil Falls (55m high) and enjoyed the sights and sounds.












Then we spent a leisurely 3 hours out at the beach, Ken surfed, I read my book, we swam at 7pm and basked in the warmth of our summer sun.



All of this outdoors worked up a bit of an appetite so Fresh fish and homemade kumara fritters for dinner. Followed by a coffee at The Tounge and Groove.

What a wonderfully relaxing day, spending time together, just being.

Time like this is so refreshing to one's relationship and binds us closer together.

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