Happy Sunday :)

Do you have this gorgeous sun where you are? I tell ya, i'm luvin it so much I feel like I could conquor the world! I know, I know thats very optimistic but my lil world is the only real domain I have and I know i'm making a difference...well, maybe a few decibels louder cos with the music being on I want to sing! For anyone that knows me will be shaking their heads about now cos they know I cannot sing for toffee, jaffa cakes or tea in China! But...I live in hope!! Lol
Church was lovely again today, everyone is so happy and hyped up on the sunshine. I got a lot of inspiration which i'm to ponder and pray about...a great way to find the truth about things...well non-manmade things anyway!
Jay is just putting the pool up for Charley now, the boy is so excited I've had to tell him three times to put his shorts on, he thinks its a bath!! Lol Bless him! His Bob toys are strewn over the front garden, Kirsten is laying on a blanket hoping for a tan and I'm working on getting dinner served sooner rather than later...good ole laptops eh?!! The poor dog is on a very long leash so he can roam the lower level of the manor and the front garden, but as he's still young I dont want him running off again...its far too hot to run the streets! He gives me the saddest eyes ever and I feel awful then for tying him up! Doh
The first blog prompt is up on my scrap blog tomorrow, I have chosen to do mine as a layout. It's all ready and waiting to be uploaded with the theme prompt. It's going to be a fun time for anyone that chooses to take part, cos i've used some of the ideas not only from my classes but from the Emotional Intelligence course I done last year...sound intense? It isn't, I have literally just adapted some of the phrases to suit everyday living. There's also inspiration from the Design Course I done too...the unfinished one cos my tutor suddenly died. I'm still waiting to find out when I can submit the other 7 assignments I've done, I really want this qualification and this course to be over without me having to go to regular college. I dont fancy the idea of childcare unless Charley is in regular nursery so i'm trying to get this course belted and sealed! Waffle? Oh yeah :) I can cos its my blog!! Hehe
Jay and I spent most of the day in the garden yesterday, clearing up all the debris from trees, sorting toys and jet washing down the paved area, he has finally got the lawn mower working so made a start on the neglected top part of the garden. I was stood up there, saw a frog hopping right by my feet and pegged it in the house! It was the shock more than the frog, but Jay stood and p'd himself laughing...I dread to think what the neighbours would have thought if they'd seen me!! Lol So I armoured up in wellies, 3/4 trousers and long, pink marigolds!! I hid the camera though...me's not that stupid!! Lol
Today we are eating dinner outside. I bought a new parasol which is so neat. It tilts and swivels and well just looks good! The sunshine makes living a whole lot happier dontcha think?
We are doing Family Home Evening tonight, cos tomorrow i'm out for a bit. Jay is joining us and has even prepared the lesson on Challenges. Very appropriate given a challenge I have right now!! Lol But it's all good learning stuff and I know it will empower us to make the right choices and understand why bad things happen to good people. There's a book by that title, have you read it? I recommend it, it's a great read for anyone that is interested in understanding life and the world we live in. I read it a while back and found a lot of simple theories that make sense of things that I hadn't given thought to previously.
Ok, time to serve dinner up and enjoy the glorious sunshine :)
Have a great day :)

Debsx

Eh?

What happens to time? I get on to do something, get side tracked with something else, someone talks to me, the phone rings, I get a text message and before you know it i'm trying to remember if I had a shower and looking at the clock and planning my bedtime! All I can say is zooomm!! My personal life is very busy right now, the kids have various things going on and I am left staring at a spinning clock. I even sat down to write one of my famous lists, only this time it wasn't a list of what I had to do it was a list of what I didn't do...(go figure!) and I was slightly stunned as to how I had managed to miss so much stuff.
So, here I am, almost midnight and i'm just reading through some old church history recognising that I am so lucky to have such a strong testimony of God and Jesus Christ that somehow I know I will manage to achieve what I NEED to achieve at the right time. With that relief I am now going to relax, unwind and waffle about some of the side tracks this last couple of days! :)
Charley has found a way to climb the tree that has no limbs (no digs for Jay who cut them off by mistake!!!), I love this picture because he wouldn't let anyone help him up, it was a warm day so out come the shorts...and wellies!! :)

Just before he got where he wanted to go the phone rang...darn it...and I missed the next shot!! :) But I know he achieved what he'd been working on for the previous HALF HOUR!! Thats ma boy! :)

That night we decided we would have a chinese meal, and because I had all my papers, boxes, buttons, photos etc over my desk AND the dining table we had to eat from our laps...which the kids thought was great...Charley, however, decided that to be a dog was a pretty good way to enjoy his dinner! Just for the purpose of the camera I allowed him two shots...then he had to sit back on his tushy to eat it properly! Yep, meanie mummy! :)


Ordinarily I would not post a picture of me that wasn't somewhere near presentable...however as this one was taken whilst Prince Charley was on his own photography adventure I am making an exception...as comfortable as I was I was only sleeping, total of about 4o minutes and Jay was actually on another chair...so there's no need to go reaching for the phone to call child services!! LOL Why does your hair get in such a mess when you stay still, yet it lasts quite well all day when you're moving around? Go figure!! :)



This next shot is my favourite! My daughter is growing up so fast that I admit to forgetting to treat her as the young woman she is becoming. Tonight she attended the Young Women's introduction evening called New Beginnings which was themed on Hollywood glitz and glamour. She is totally against skirts and dresses so I reluctantly ok'd this outfit. After highlighting her hair and straightening it for almost an hour, another hour for make-up and a lot of fussing over shoes or boots, this is what she looked like. Naturally she looked better in person than on the photo! :)

So now I'm sat here, still wondering what I did today, yesterday and the day before because for the life of me I cannot put enough together that covers the whole 72 hours!

One of the things I do remember doing though was going to Gloucester Police Station to produce my documents for my car. It appears that someone has attempted to insure my car that is not me or anyone I know! I spent almost an hour in there with a PC that was very nice, very helpful and very competant at his job. My papers checked out, he believed me as did his Super Intendant so after he spent an enormous amount of time on the phone to my insurance company it was finally revealed that it was actually the insurance company who made a mistake! The apparent new owner of my car is a real live person from Shrewsbury but the policy number is one that was cancelled back in 2004...even though that policy was taken out on 24 March 2008! Confused? Yeah me too! I have been released without charge or caution!! Lmao No I wasn't arrested or even given a producer, lmao, I just was suspect when I tried to call my insurance company about something and they couldn't identify me to the car nor my policy number, which if you remember back a month or two ago, the car was being repaired in the garage and my insurance company enlightened me that my excess was a staggering £200! So I KNEW they had me on their system for this car!!

Bl**dy insurance companies!!

So, that drama over, I am now planning a busy weekend. I'm not totally sure what with specifically but as I have achieved my planned weekend quota by way of fairy chores, it's going to be a time of work, scrapbooking, invoices and then Sunday with my kids! Bring it on!! :)

Oh yeah, thank you for the emails regarding the wedding cake and the cupcakes! Though I haven't come up with a conclusion yet I do appreciate the suggestions and the ideas that I have received...most of which are in my thinking thoughts to try out! :)

I am having a ride to a relatively local craft shop tomorrow, I want to get a specific selection of cardstock and brads for a project that has been requested...now normally I will play around with projects that i've been asked for but I admit to not having much confidence in my own stuff...however, this one project has been in my head for a little while but only when I read the lady's ideas that I made sense of it, and she put it so much better than I could have!! :) Initially the project is for a group I teach who suffer from depression and the professionals are using funding to find a selection of ways to help these ladies (and 2 gentlemen) to start finding a focus and not let the fact that their lifetime need of meds over ride their self worth. So far I hear some fantastic stories, their memories are so warming and funny, sad and tragic but each one that shares something is starting to come alive again, to remember where they come from and realise that they are a part of this plan. It is truly a magic job I have, just one memory shared is such a blessing to me and that person. If you get the opportunity to share your scrapbooking for a deeper meaning than your family, I say go do it, its so important to reach out to other in any way we can, and our photos hold so much more than any newspaper, magazine or night out.

When Jay's around I will have to get him to retell me the conversation between him and Charley the other day while they were washing up...he became Doctor Charley and Captain Charley all in ten minutes! I became Doctor Mummy later on (probably after I told him how wonderful he is!!) and the dog became Doctor Jake! Those are the moments that I wish I could record with more than words...so now my camcorder is on charge and a spare battery pack is sat in the ready waiting for the next time I hear him and his brilliant imagination!!

My HS:MS is two days behind, pretty slack eh? But i'll catch up tomorrow...hopefully! :)

Ok enough waffle...its time for me to go get Jd's headache back!! :D Oh how mean I is!! :D

Debsx

HS:MS SOS

SOS:

This is going to follow on from my previous post this is a picture my friend Wendell bought me and had sent over from the States last year...it takes pride of place in my living room not only because of his friendship but because it is the Salt Lake Temple, the head quarters for the Lds church and more importantly because its the House of God, the one I want to be going through on my 40th birthday in October...something I have always wanted to do since I learnt about the temples around the time of my baptism in January 2000. To me it is the ultimate place to be, though any temple is, I have a desire to go through this one on this milestone in my life :)

I think of all the pictures of temples this has to be my favourite, such a great shot especially as the squares are the reflection of a pool of some form outside, so it was actually taken looking at the temple through the reflection of the water! Talent or what?!!

Of course then there is the reason for the temple in the first place. When I was baptised 8 years ago I was able to go to London Temple 2 weeks later and I have the most amazing experience ever, the whole feeling is something that I can only compare to the actual baptism itself...keeping that feeling outside the temple is highly hard work, one that i'm not sure a mere mortal like me can do without regular trips back to the temple...for a top up, so to speak...it is truly like no other feeling we can possibly have!

Later i'm going to post some funny pictures of my #1 son...cos I can!! :)

Hope your Sunday is a great one :)

Debsx

Spiritual Sunday

Is it just me or are Sundays truly reflective days? Each Friday evening I plan out my Saturdays that enable me to live the Sabbath the best way I can with my family, my Saturdays don't always need much work in the fairy chores dept but thats only a part of preparing for a Sabbath, you see, after doing my regular things for 6 days, be it with the kids, work, scrapbooking, writing letters etc by the weekend I need to free my mind of such things for just one day so I can focus on what my life is all about, God. If you are not interesting in religion then now's the time to click off this blog....:)

You see, as a Mormon I marvel at the inspiration, guidance and promptings that we each receive individually and collectively, this is often by personal and family prayer, scripture study and going to church meetings but we also have a vast variety of talks, videos, movies, books, stories and other things to give us a deeper understanding, motivation, inspiration and assurances of our lives and world around us. Our Prophet, President Thomas S Monson is yet another awesome person who has been called by God to lead the church and prophesy to the world...each time I hear him talk i'm either laughing or crying...he's funny, charming, sincere and very, very in tune with Heavenly Father and that just emenates from him.

So, Sundays is my one day where I limit certain things, stop others and do more of another...though I read my scriptures every day I make a point to study, ponder and pray regarding them on the Sabbath, the kids often use their Book of Mormon Stories (the kids version of the Book of Mormon) at the same time and we talk about what we are reading, how we can translate it into our lives and enhance our heartfelt desires, qualities and responsibilities. I also like to browse other blogs of my fellow Lds friends and learn more of them, laugh with them, cry with them and tease them....as you do! My Lds blog is one of total spiritual and uplifting motivation and inspiration, though private only to me as I use it as a study journal, it is great to have something fancy to just drop out those thoughts and feelings and make sense of them as you go along!

Today I have read a blog by a fellow Lds mum and scrapbooker and got so much from her that I have decided that I want to 'pay it forward' and share some luvin from here too...so whatever you believe, whatever your religion, culture, colour or race....I want you to know that just by being in this world, doing what you do, God is always watching, loving, guiding and protecting you...even on bad days and terrible times...they are our growing and strengthening trials which we much try to endure and learn from the best we can...I hope whoever has got to this far now will feel the urge, desire, need....use whatever word that you like...will go forward and tell someone just how much they are loved and respected.
In particular I would like to mention a few people who are a blessing to me in my life:

* Jaymie, Scott, Kirsten & Charley - my kids are my life, even on bad days! :)
* My Mum & Dad - for being the best they can be and never giving up on me
* My brothers & sister - because we come from the same family we still offer so many differences :)
* The Prophet, President Monson, his counsellors and other other leaders of the Lds church - for all their dedication, inspiration and the way they love, live and know the word of God and live to share it with the world
* My friends - Elaine, Sonia L, Sonia P, Kirsty, Sharron, Sara, Kim & Mikey, Bexx, Claire, Chris, Jd, Colin, Lois, Karen, Julie and Tina - a different kind of friendship with each different person that I wouldn't trade for all the money in the world (well maybe if I have another big gas bill!!)
* For my kids and my health - just over a year ago I had a major operation that truly changed my life, now i'm top of the pots and happy as tappy can be :)
* My life challenges - although being homeless almost broke me mentally, emotionally and spiritually I am thankful for the experience I had (as well as the support and friendships) because like any other trial, challenge or whatever terminology you prefer to use, I grow from them, I mature, I learn and I understand, I know the depths of despair on many levels, and BECAUSE of it I also know the highs of laughter, loving, friendship, secrets, feelings, peace and just being.

I have crossed paths with a whole lot of what this world offers, good and bad. Heartbreak, assault, divorce, abuse, childbirth (the ouch side!!), road accidents, operations, breathing machines, psychologists and a whole lot more...I've also crossed paths with holding my newborn for the first time, walking down the isle knowing I was doing it all for the right reasons, seeing my child survive a serious road accident, see another child come back from the brink of death when a Priest blessed him. I have experienced the consuming love for my mum when she is ill, sad or just struggling with life, my dad makes me laugh, reminds me to never give up and kicks my butt if I dare to be beat, my friends let me moan, laugh, cry, scream and just shear break down when my world feels like its falling apart...
...but most of all...each of these people dont only come into my life...they allow me, invite me, keep me in their lives as well.

Today I am renewing my gratitude for what I DO have in my life, however small, however insignificant...the fact of the matter is, they are in MY life and if I wasn't here...where would they be? My life has a purpose, has an importance and has significance...whether I miss that sometimes or not...I am proud to know, feel and be important to a variety of people around me...in real life and in my virtual online life.

So....how speshal are YOU?

Debsxx