Wow..two months since my last blog. Totally consumed with wedding planning for my daughter Claire...and the day came last Saturday. What a beautiful bride she was..and a handsome groom Rob was also...a fantastic day - beautiful weather, fabulous bridal party, wonderful friends and family...a day to remember that's for sure. God is so good to us. It all came together so well...the lovingly gathered pebbles from the NZ east coast decorated the tables, with stamps and rubons randomly on some stones...love, forever, you-for-me, etc...tealight candles floating in hurricane vases, driftwood and beachy bits and bobs amongst the stones...I was really happy with how they turned out...and think she was too.

Were there things I wish I'd done better? Yes...did they really matter on the day? Only to me, probably! There was no time to think about little things that later seemed very important to me..so will be a little more prepared next time! (maybe! famous last words, huh?!)

What was I not prepared for? The preparation on the day went by in such a blur...so much to organise, not lots of time to relax and enjoy the last moments with my daughter before she walked down the aisle...now I realise I should have planned some private moments with her...but more than that, what I wasn't prepared for was the low after the high...unexpected in the extreme..,on the days that followed when the happy young couple had flitted off for sunny romantic shores...Didn't help that my darling hubby left for the other side of the world the very next morning...so felt quite alone in days to follow...still..sigh. Once everyone was gone and life was 'normal' again, it felt quite empty and meaningless. Think i love my kids more than they'll ever know! My lovely daughter now happily married and with a husband to take care of her...feeling a little obsolete there...silly I know! But I'm realising I need to be needed by my kids, I guess. And with Steve away a lot perhaps that is a greater need in me than most mums...ah life's full of little revelations isn't it?

So today I will 'scrap' the kids wedding card...which got missed in the busyness of the last weeks...want it to be so special and worth preserving...so while they enjoy their last days in the sun, I hope to make something beautiful and meaningful for them...my heart to theirs.

Ciao fellow bloggers...have a blessed day.
Jessie

Wedding bits and bobs...

Oh and did I say what fun I've had preparing the wedding favours...little white calico bags stamped with a gorgeous french stamp and tied with string...freyed edges to make them more rustic...tying in with our rustic, beachy theme. Am scouring the beach (well actually, I WILL BE scouring the beach) in the days to come for great items to individualise each table at the wedding! yay...fun times!
ciao bella's!
jessie x

LIVING ON PURPOSE

Hey fellow bloggers - February nearly over...where is this year going??
Had the most awesome weekend last weekend up north staying with my great sister and her family, so I could go to opening night of GREASE, which my fantastic daughter Emma was acting and singing in...she played Rizzo...and what an amazing night it was. We had great fun dressing in character for the night - 50's gear and really got into the songs and spirit of Grease. Totally blown away by my daughters performance - what a gift she has! ANd we went backstage after and met some of the cast - that was really cool. Her dad didn't make opening night, coming from the other side of the country, but got there Saturday, so i bought two more tickets and I went again! Then I returned south, and HE bought another ticket and went again!! haha...it was an awesome experience.

Back to life at home...further wedding planning going on - not a day goes by that I don't thnk about all the little details to be completed. Only 8 weeks to go!! yikes!! Verrry exciting tho...I guess I"ve always looked forward to the day/s when my kids would tie the knot...so doing my best to not be 'mumzilla' and just step forward for what Claire wants me to do and step back for what she doesn't ...and trusting God to help me discern which is which!! haha...God is good!!

Speaking of God - such great God encounters this weekend at our church Connect Summit - launching the year for us as a church. Our years theme is OVERFLOW and it's all about living on purpose...making a difference in the lives of others, being discipled and discipling, being the change that the world needs, starting in our own community. God is so faithful. Had THE most challenging day yesterday dealing with teenage angst (well, my angst over teens!)...trying my best to put Phillipians 4:6 into action (you know, worrying about nothing, praying about everything, trusting in and thanking God for the answers)...but struggled to do so. Don't you love the world of texting...sent a few fam/friends quick txt to pray for me as I felt so overwhelmed...and as the day progressed I felt the peace of God descend and finished the day at the beginning of our summit...soaking up the presence of God and surrounded by believers - was a great place to be after a day of feeling so inadequate.

So a big thanks to my friends and family (you know who you are!) who stood in the gap for me yesterday.

Well I trust and pray you have the most awesome week - choose this day whom you will serve...and LIVE ON PURPOSE!!!
blessings
jessie x

I'll huff and I'll puff...

Well, who'd have thought walking 30 mins a day could be so addictive?! This sweat trickling down my face really is quite good! I like it! I'm not one of those girls who finds sweat rather...well...sweaty! I KNOW IT'S GOOD! It's simply my unwanted kilos melting away and dripping off me...long may it continue!

I have begun the "trim down, tone up" mission as I head towards my first daughters wedding in April...and what better time to sweat it all off than these hot hot days - AT LAST summer has truly hit sunny Nelson! yay! - not so good stuck in front of an oven all day producing delectable food for the punters that even I am not letting pass my lips! Not because they're not delicious, mind you...because they're TOO delicious! ;) No, I am constantly amazed at my ability to resist temptation to eat bad(or rather extremely good!!) things these past three weeks...it must be God! Couldn't do it on my own! But do it I have...and will continue to do so until those nasty extra 8 kg are gone, gone, gone!! I'll huff and I'll puff....

Anyways...as I drip onto the keyboard, I can safely say I don't think THAT'S too feminine...so off to the shower I go, then bed for a decent night's sleep - before I begin to wander thru cyberspace and suddenly find it's midnight!

Goodnight fellow bloggers...happy days!
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Isn't She lovely...isn't He wonderful...

Well it's the morning after my beautiful daughter Claire's engagement party...Claire and Rob...certainly a match made in heaven. So this is what it feels like to have a child prepare for marriage...and four more to go!! Such a great night we had...lots of friends and family, tho not quite enough dancing! What is it with us kiwis...too shy to get up and shake our groove thing! (unless the lights are low,low,low...) But we had lots of fun learning new things about Claire and Rob and random people offering 'pearls of wisdom'...(from the "claire - let him stop doing dishes long enough to go hunting!"..to the "learn each other's love language, and what makes them 'tick'") Great advice on all fronts, funny and serious! We shared dessert together - an abundance of berries, pavlovas, brandie snaps and fruit crumbles to be sure - we are DEFINITELY in New Zealand! haha...I even got to take an apple and rhubarb crumble home that was untouched...mmm...i feel a very unhealthy breakfast coming on!! (thanks Damian!)
Anyway...now the countdown to the wedding...three months to go and so much to do! I just know it's going to be a beautiful wedding...so goodbye fellow bloggers - time to have a cup of tea, a dish of crumble and enjoy the memories of last night
ciao for now...blessings to all...jessie

A drive to the coast...

Steve and I..Off we went to the east coast to find smooth white pebbles for a decorating venture I have in mind...the paddocks were like golden waves of the ocean in the incredible wind thru the Awatere..looked just as I imagined the American prairie looked in Laura Ingalls book series, Little House on the Prairie. Beautiful books...they were the most magical thing I'd ever read (and possibly still!) at 11 years old...they let your imagination run away to a world long forgotten, yet a yearning in my young heart to have lived that life grew each time I picked up the books and immersed myself in their pages...ah, the magic of reading! ANYWAY...I digress. The coast was beautiful..as far down as Kekerengu...stopped for tea at The Store - an incredible place built with Huge round posts as support beams and lots of concrete sculpture, rusted wrought iron fittings and tin topped tables...HUGE double sided fireplaces - must be amazing in winter - and RIGHT ON THE BEACH!...down some steps, across the lawn and there you are...magical. Would be a great place for a wedding reception...pity it's in the middle of nowhere!!
Anyway...that was my yesterday...home at 10pm...fell into bed...a day well spent with my darling hubby...
ciao for now. x

and did i forget to mention...

Oh and by the way...if you love scrapping (scrapbooking without the book!) check out the posts below that I follow...apart from the Julie and Julia movie, Tim Holtz site inspired me to blog also...he is an AMAZING scrapper/creator...also Heidi Swapp and Carol Wingert...I think I love scrapping equally as much as I love cooking...is that possible???

We are all just so blessed to be created with such great imaginations and to be able and willing to share that with the world...what a blessing. I am so inspired by those people. Check them out!!

ciao bella!