Oh what a beautiful day

Today I can remember why we live on the Sunshine Coast. The weather is just beautiful and we are wearing just t-shirts. The mornings have been a little nippy but we are pleased for the days. A couple of weeks ago we had three lots of interstate visitors, one from South Australia and two from NSW and the weather was not too kind to them. We just love the rain and the sunshine as we know we need both.

We have our eldest granddaughter living with us as she is going to the University of the Sunshine Coast. It is so lovely to have someone young around and makes for more conversation.

God is so good to us in giving us all we need. A roof over our head, food on the table, clothes to wear and people to love.

What a beautiful country we live in

Last week we had a few days down south east Queensland. We went to Mount Alford. What a magic place, it was so beautiful. Even though the weather was not too sunny the view from where we stayed was so peaceful. We went to a place called Queen Mary Falls, it was also beautiful. We stayed in a lovely B and B that was just so comfortable.

I have some beautiful photos of my granddaughters oversea expedition of the last year or so and they were beautiful too but we do have a lovely country to live in Australia and I thank God continually for his goodness to me to live here.

What a week can bring

We are well into June now and half the year has already gone. I am loving the weather here on the Sunshine Coast because I can wear warmer clothes and can actually do things without getting so hot.

Last week we lost a dear friend, she was 94 going on 95 so she had a good long life but all the same it is a loss to the family and friends. The last time I saw her she just wanted to go home to be with the Lord and was very peaceful. The thanksgiving service was so lovely, her grandchildren taking part and just saying how much they had loved her and all that she had taught them. She did beautiful craft and passed that onto her family.

I have just made muffins this morning as we are having a friend for lunch, pumpkin soup, toasted sandwiches and muffins, sounds great.

This is the day that the Lord has made - We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Life gives us a lot to look forward to

Here I am again contemplating what lies ahead. I can't believe that it is going to be June in a couple of days, nearly half the year gone already.

This week we will celebrate our 48th wedding anniversary, believe me it has gone so fast. I can remember when I was young if someone had a 50th wedding anniversary they were really old.

Also this week our Kylie will be back from her great adventure in Europe and Switzerland especially. It will be so good to have her back on Australian soil even though we may not see her for a few weeks.

Saw a lovely movie last week called "Letters to Juliet", it was so refreshing to sit through a love story about a man and woman who meet and marry many years after they met when they were very young. Of course not a true story but one that makes you think that love is still in our lives even when we get older.

A little bit tired today

Today we went to a friends 90th birthday party. It was lovely, she is a little bit hard at remembering who we all were but when you told her who you were she seemed to remember. She is a beautiful christian lady who has served her Lord over nearly a century. She has always had a bubbly personality and always friendly. I remember when I first moved to the Sunshine Coast just on 30 years ago she was so kind to me, introducing me to people, taking me to bible study and just making sure that I was not left on my own. You remember these things about people and more so when you see them honoured in the way she was today.

We have four people honoured in the last couple of weeks for their birthdays and I guess we won't get another invite for a long time. We've had a 90th - 70th - 50th - 40th so feel very social. Shows you how old you are getting when your friends are getting older too.

I am tired tonight but happy that we were included in the party today.

Busy week, but very happy

We have had a busy week this last week. Firstly we had a surprise visit from our darling daughter and two of our granddaughters. We did know that they were coming but not until the last minute only giving us a little time to get excited.

On Saturday night our youngest child had his fortieth birthday party. It was lovely to celebrate with him and his friend who was turning 50, so together they had a 90th birthday. Lovely to catch up with friends once again.

Monday our son had been given a birthday present of a tandem jump from an aeroplane. I spent a lot of time praying and when he jumped, so did my heart. Anyway as usual things I worry about didn't happen and he had an incredible experience although I asked him yesterday if he was ready to do it again this weekend and he said, I don't think so.

Monday afternoon we had a lovely time at a friend's 70th birthday party. It was also liovely to catch us with folk we hadn't seen for a while.

A busy week but a lovely one.

FAMILY

I have been doing a lot of contemplating life lately. Last night I couldn't sleep very well and listening to overnight talk-back radio I heard a guy talking about depression. He said that most of the things we worried about are enlarged in our minds and make us depressed if we have this tendency.

It made me think of the things that I have been anxious about and realise that most of these things have either never happened or if they did, not near as bad as I had thought.

I thank God for his grace to me and the fact that He is always with me. And I thank Him because I have such a loving family, a husband, two beautiful sons and a beautiful daughter, a lovely son-in-law, a lovely daughter-in-law and 12 grandchildren.

Yesterday we had a trip to Brisbane for a medical appointment and I am so THANKFUL that we live on the Sunshine Coast, the traffic was horrible. It's still raining here, the grass is so green, I guess it will stop soon.

Easter Time

Well it is the Tuesday after Easter now. We had a very quiet time this Easter, went to church on Friday and Sunday. The services were just beautiful, the pastor so lovingly spoke of Jesus' death on Friday and on Sunday a day of rejoicing as "HE IS RISEN".

We did go to morning tea, the movies and lunch yesterday so that filled in a day. We went to see the movie, The Blind Side. I really liked the movie and it tells how you can make a difference in one person's life. It was based on a true story and was lovely.

We are getting a new lounge soon and I am looking forward to doing something different in my lounge-room. I am not really a person who wants changes all the time as we have had the old lounge for just on 40 years (so you can see I don't do this every week) so I think we deserve a new one, we laughingly said it will do us out.

Had a quick and lovely visit from our family from Dubbo a couple of weeks ago, it was lovely to see them and we say it is better to have a little of something than nothing at all.

Contemplating life

I have been thinking a lot lately of my life. I have been blessed in to many ways all my life. I have never gone hungry, I have always had a roof over my head and I have always had people to love me.

As you get older you do think more of your life and what has gone before you, and my prayer is for my family and loved ones that they will enjoy their life, make God their first priority and appreciate all that they have been given.

My baby just turned 40 this week, so when things like that happen you do start to feel older.

I have a few health issues at the moment and am looking forward to them all being finished, praise God they will be one day.

I am walking with a walking stick at the moment (hope it is only temporary,) but it does feel good except it gets in the way and I am frightened that I will trip over the stick and break my leg or something. This stick has a compass on the top of it so at least I shouldn't get lost. It will show me the way to Dubbo.

I heard a lady speak this week at our National Seniors meeting of her solo tripping all over the world. I think she started when she was 60 and has been travelling all of the place for the last 16 years on her own. She says she has had a ball and encouraged all us oldies in the meeting to get up and go. Wish I had her enthusiasm.

the cyclone is coming

I am sitting here at my computer wondering what is going to happen to the people of North Queensland tomorrow when the cyclone hits the mainland, especially the people in the Mackay area

It's still raining

It is still raining here on the Sunshine Coast, except today we did see the sun shine for a little while.

We are being told to get ready for this weekend for the "cyclone". I was talking to a older lady up the street this morning who told me she has lived here for over 50 years and has only seen a couple of cyclones down this far south in all that time.

We live on a canal and I always get a bit anxious when the tide is going to be very high and with the threat of a cyclone it is a little bit more worrying.

Never-the-less, the sun rises and the sun sets and God overseas all that is going to happen.

Here I am again on the beautiful Sunshine Coast, it's still raining. It has been for nearly two weeks.

The last 24 hours I have had a blood pressure monitor strapped to me and it reminded me of having a new baby. Every twenty minutes this THING goes off and records your blood pressure. In the night it only goes off every hour. I had quite forgotten how tiring it is to have a new baby and be sleep deprived. Anyway I am thankful that I live in a country where we have medical expertise to monitor these things.

I read on my granddaughters blog of 100 things to do before you die. I know I can't do any of the things of her list but I will make a list of my own things that I want to do. I want to be able to complete a crossword puzzle in ink. I have nearly done it a few times but always do some of it in pencil (I don't want to die yet).

I am thankful to God for every day He gives and the blessings he gives us along the way.

Life is good

I have just been thinking this morning of the beautiful Psalm 23 - The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down down in green pastures: He leads me beside the still waters.

People today seem to be always contactable, with mobile phones, laptops. My son has just been in the USA and we could contact him any time of the day or night if needed, which was a good thing in the circumstances with him away from home and me minding the girls, I felt safe knowing that he was there to make any difficult decisions about the girls (there was no problem and we didn't have to worry him anyway).

Sometimes we need to turn off the computer, turn off the mobile phone and turn to God who can "restore our souls and lead us in His way" We need the quiet times with the Lord to refresh us and make us remember that God loves us in all circumstances.

We have had so much rain here on the Sunshine Coast and today it is not raining so I am appreciating the fine weather for the day, but God gives us all things, the rain and the fine weather

I am having a fun time here with my SSC grandchildren while their dad is away in the USA. The weather here is so wet today that school has been cancelled. We decided to have hot chip sandwiches for lunch. Not too good for you but the weather is quite cool and it has been so hot and humid for so long it will be lovely to have something besides salad sandwiches for lunch.

Cooked a turkey last night, don't usually like turkey but it was delicious, had dinner with a lovely family up the hill, lovely to have fellowship with christians over a meal.

Looking out the window the trees and grass is so green as we have had rain for days and it reminds me so much that God gives us all things that we need even the rain. It has been dry here and hnow the place looks alive again

All my lost blogs

I have been faithfully trying to post something on my blog weekly and have noticed that it doesn't seem to be there. Where is Jordan!!!!!

Well I'll try again

I had a lovely holiday at Kingfisher Bay on Fraser Island with my lovely Sunshine Coast family, we had a great time together and Fraser Island is so beautiful with McKenzie Lake and Eli Creek and all the other beautiful places along the way. Being at Fraser Island reminded me of the beauty of this world that God has given us and we should take time each day to look and thank him for that.

Saw some lovely photos of my granddaughter Jordan on her mum's blog day of her 13th birthday. My has the time gone so quickly and I can remember all the stages of her life and she is just as beautiful today as she was then.

Also had a lovely phone call from our eldest granddaughter Kylie who is in America she has been in Switzerland for the last year and has now finished her au-pairing of three little girls, I guess she will miss them and them her after spending a year with one another. I was so excited to hear from her and have had so much fun the last year reading her blog.

Last Thursday night we had a trip to Brisbane to the Cliff Richard and the Shadows show at the Entertainment Centre. Boy - was it loud. But I did enjoy it as it had a lot of songs from my era especially. We were picked up at 4pm and then picked up all the other 50 or so people on the SSC. We arrived at Brisbane at 7pm -the concert was 8-11, then the trip home. The traffic was terrible (to be expected) and seeing we where first picked up we were last dropped off - it was 2am and as I am not used to having such late nights I have been washed out since. I am glad I went but have decided that I will not be going to the "Finale concert" if that ever comes. Sometimes we have to do things when we are older to prove that we are still alive.

This week we had another birthday in our family, Taylor turned 11. She is beautiful and it was lovely to see that people honoured her in the way that they did. We also had a birthday of our son-in-law, can't believe that the time has gone so fast since we first met him many years ago. You're still looking good Ken.