My Daybook: 14th April, 2019

Outside my window…
it’s early morning, the paddocks are brown as the drought continues. There are no kangaroos this morning, they must be searching for shoots further afield, nor are there chooks scratching, I lost my patience with the chook poo around the yard, they are free range no longer

I am thankful…
for an Awesome Saviour who died on the Cross for me! As we head into the final days of Lent, with Holy Week beginning today on Palm Sunday, I’m reflecting how incredible it is that Jesus died an agonising death for me! how great His love is!!…. “for God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16)

I am thinking…
family, the countdown is on, only days until we have all our children home again!! So excited 🙂 PC’s mother arrives tomorrow for a week, Sons Two and Three arrive home Holy Thursday night and will be home for over a week, PC will also be enjoying holidays at the same time 🙂 Son One and fiancee arrive later during the Easter Triduum for a flying visit. My mind jumps between planning: bedding arrangements, food lists, activities whilst all home and excitement along with the younger children’s excitement, oh are they excited. Realistically I know the time home will go all too quickly

Learning all the time…
School holidays began on Friday, thus concluding Term 1. It wasn’t our most productive term, nor was it our worst, Term 2 will bring a clean slate with fresh possibilities. We have a whole slew of books to read over the next several days of Holy Week as we lead up to Easter Sunday. If you haven’t yet checked our our Mega collection shared in ‘35 Amazing Easter Books for Children & Teens‘ be sure to, that’s what we’ll be reading

Celebrating the liturgical year……
I LOVE Holy Week, it’s my favourite part of the liturgical year 🙂 The liturgy is so rich, so tangible, beginning Palm Sunday through to the Easter Triduum; Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil and culminating in Easter Sunday, the whole week just oozes with the love of Our Lord for us. There will be many incredible, heart squeezing moments over the Easter Triduum. A personal favourite is little ones falling asleep during the late Masses, quietly sleeping in a blanket under the pew, we only have one little one left in the pew now, this year Bass will be serving on the altar alongside his big brothers

From the kitchen…
it’s all Easter meal planning, a low key affair as our Easter meal is basically the same each year.  I simply need to pull up the spreadsheet, check if anyone suggests changes, then print. All baking and creating will be done on Easter Saturday and with all children capable in the kitchen, food preparation isn’t difficult

I am creating…
have you ever wondered precisely just how to recognise a living book? What if you are ‘out in the wild’ and come across a possibility, how will you know to grab it?  So you don’t miss any treasures I’ve created a 10 step checklist for you, available on top right sidebar.  A huge thanks to my dear friend Larteasha for her graphic design work, so appreciated

I am working on…
a special project for you, it involves Australian books and history, two of my favourite interest areas combined, I’m extremely excited about this and I’m halfway completed. Yep I can’t wait to reveal all

I am going…
it’s not long now until our Son’s Wedding, the countdown is on. After Easter I’m planning on shopping for my Mother of the Groom dress, I have an idea of the style that appeals to me, something soft and flowy. I’ve already popped in to our local Bridal Shop for a quick look, when I asked to see MOTG dresses I was first shown, straight, heavy fabric two piece suits, um if I was decades older, maybe I’d be interested, nah not really

I am hoping…
to lose more weight before the Wedding, I’ve lost 5.5kg (12lb) over the past 3 months, but I have a decent amount more to lose before ‘D-day’, or rather W-Day. My focus has been mostly on diet and to a lesser degree exercise. I was excited last week to achieve my first midweek 8km(5mile) run/walk

I am praying…
for our Son and his Fiancee
for my sister-in-law and brother, only weeks until their second baby is born, it’s been an emotional pregnancy
for PC’s brother and his wife who are expecting their first baby, she is in her 40s. We are soo thrilled!

I am pondering….
a conversation had with an elderly lady in her 80s. Forty years ago she lost her son when he was just a young man, her grief is still so strong, the crippling grief of a parent losing a child. Several times during our conversation she re-iterated how lucky I am with my beautiful children, our large family (her words, she has watched them grow up). One of her life regrets was the choice to have only two children, she wishes now she had chosen to have more. This is not the first time I have been approached by older women, fifty years plus, telling me the same thing, that I am so lucky and they wished they’d chosen to have more children. These conversations, they humble and deeply sadden me

I am reading…
Let Her Fly: A Father’s Journey and the Fight for Equality by Ziauddin Yousafzai. Ziauddin, the father of Malala, has long fought for equality, first for Malala, his daughter,  and then for all girls throughout the world living in patriarchal societies. Taught as a young boy in Pakistan to believe that he was inherently better than his sisters, he rebelled against inequality at a young age. He vowed that his own daughter would have an education, something usually only given to boys, and he founded a school that Malala could attend. In 2012, Malala was shot for standing up to the Taliban by continuing to go to her father’s school, and Ziauddin almost lost the very person for whom his fight for equality began. So far it’s a fascinating book about a fascinating man

I am listening to……
nothing, I’ve a line up of great podcasts to listen to but haven’t made the time to do so. I’ve been asked to start a podcast myself, it’s something I’d enjoy, yet I hesitate as I can’t even find time to listen let alone create. Though I suspect one would be different to the other, decisions…

I am hearing…
silence as the household is still asleep. Thank goodness daylight savings has finished, hooray! This means bedtimes are now earlier and consistent and we’ve ‘axed’ screen times in the morning so the children are sleeping in. Earlier to bed and latter to rise means their growing bodies are getting the sleep they need

I am struggling…
it’s all good at present, in fact I’m feeling rather sangfroid, I wonder how long that feeling shall last as the week ‘heats up’

Around the house…
dusting off the deep cleaning lists, preparations for Easter translates to the children being keen to earn money to buy Easter eggs for siblings. Really hoping whilst PC and the big boys are home for a week’s holiday we achieve a few items on our ‘to do’ list too

One of my favorite things…
having all my children home, but I’m sure you’ve guessed that 😉 This will be Son One’s last time home before he is married, a milestone to recognise. We can’t wait till ‘daughter to be’ is officially part of the family, though she already is really

A few plans for this week…
enjoying one day at a time, focusing on the now, not looking too far ahead as the ‘big picture’ could cause me to hyperventilate, so much to do, so much happening. Lists to dust off and execute. Shopping; monthly, extra family home, Easter meals, Easter eggs. Easter cleaning; cobwebs, windows, wall washing. Traditions; books to be read, pysanky eggs to paint, Resurrection eggs to find. Altar Serving practice, likely 2-3 times. Liturgies; Confession – 2nd Rite of Reconciliation, Easter Triduum; Holy Thursday, Good Friday; Stations in the morning, Service in the afternoon and the Easter Vigil, some children going again on Easter Sunday. An incredibly awesome time rich with family and Faith.

A little peek at my day…
Today, Palm Sunday is the ‘lull before the storm.’ Morning Mass with the three boys serving, then shopping for a few days food to tide us over till the big shop later in the week. Also Easter egg shopping, with all the children pooling their monies together to buy eggs for their siblings, this equals a whole lot of chocolate, benefits of ten siblings 😉