Our NewTown - grub and tucker

We have walked past this place loads of times and seen in the window a meal called the Lucy breakfast. As the cutest member of our family also bears that name and we love going out for breakfast, we decided to give it a try.

I can safely say the Lucy breakfast is a tasty treat. Lots of different parts and tasty flavours. Even Lucy herself shoved it enthusiastically down her gob. However I don't think we will be visiting grub and tucker again. Lucy likes to wander in cafes and do cute things like say hello to the other cafe goers. We were (politely) asked to keep our wandering daughter at our table. Fair enough. But an upset and restrained toddler is not our idea of good cafe times.
Also, our coffee was burnt. Badly. So badly that I could tell and I'm the furthest from a coffee snob you are likely to get.

Tasty food, cute cafe, not big enough servings for Myl, not child friendly and terrible coffee. A bit average all round but not a waste of time.

firecracker

It’s an exciting old world out there. So many things to do. So many places to go.

We’re sitting in a holding pen right now my family and I. Staring out at the world from the safety of this place we think, dream and imagine about the places we’ll go. 

Oh the places we will go! 

We’d like to travel the world going to new churches, seeing what they do. 

We’d like to meet people, become their best friends and tell the whole city about Jesus. We’d love to work in a church that does stuff. A church that moves, a church that is great at everything. A rocking band, brilliant preaching, hospitality like no other.

I think about these things and I want them now. I’m a little firecracker ready to burst. Ready to step out in faith and do things for the Lord. “Use me!” I say. I’m ready to pop and when I do I’ll make a big old pretty colour just for you!

But we’re sitting in this holding pen and in here I try things and a lot of the time they fail. I decide one morning to be bold and talk to that person only to say the wrong thing and feel stupid. 

I get all ready to open my etsy store and help make money and be industrious for my family and then the support dries up and it seems like not such a good idea. 

I decide to be a parent who thinks of God and not of what I “should” be doing and then I have a week of terrible naptimes and think I’m doing it all wrong. 

I decide to use this blog for good and write meaningful posts only to barely write any all year. 

For the first time in my life I have been reading the word, getting into it and loving it and all of a sudden the things I try to do keep failing. 

For the first time in my life I was angry at God.  “I’m doing this for you! Why do the things I try to do keep failing?”

But then I read psalm 46. “Be still and know that I am God” it says.

Who is the one that acts?

Who is the one with the plan?

Who is the one who knows what is right?

I’m this tiny firecracker wanting to burst and make a pretty colour. But the thing about firecrackers is that they only last a minute or so. After the colour fades and the smoke clears there is nothing left but an empty shell. I’ve got to wait, I’ve got to learn, I’ve got to grow. I’ve got to be still and know that He is God.

All I want to do is go out and be amazing but there’s a long road of making mistakes from here to there. I wish I could skip the mess and go straight to the amazing but that’s never the way it works. It’s hard to watch people who are out of the holding pen or standing at the gate and feel like I should be where they are. 

But I am sure that to be still and listen to God when he has things to say is something that brings great joy.

Sunday craftening.

I found this little poem/house rules on pinterest and decided to make a drawing of it for our house.

It's hard to follow these rules and our house is often very different to the one in the poem but it's nice to be reminded if the type of place our house could be.

In Fifteen Years

So I was playing round with this app that lets you put crazy hair on a pic of yourself and had a rare glimpse into our future.

Oh I laughed and laughed. Look at that tiny face with grown up hair.

Fishy fishy fishy!

We took Lucy to the aquarium on her birthday. We had planned to take her to the zoo but it was forecast for rain and only a few days before that Lucy and I got caught in a mighty downpour, in the middle of the park. We were drenched. I didn't want a repeat.

Even though it was a glorious day the aquarium was a good choice. Granny and uncle Ben came too and Lucy had a nice time pointing at fish and laughing at fairy penguins.

There is a great section at the aquarium where the sharks and rats swim over the top of you. It was incredible to see them so close up.

Lucy learnt a new word courtesy of granny. It is the noise a fish makes (?) and goes something like bitubutubitu Lucy likes this word. She says it a lot.

Twelve months old

My little girl is twelve months old.

She is no longer my little baby. She walks, talks, reads books, explores, and uses a spoon to eat... sometimes.

She is a little social butterfly. Even in the midst of separation anxiety he cranks out a killer smile (from mamas arms).

Lucy loves...
Mama
Balloons!
Being held and cuddled.
Falling asleep in the car
Duplo
Her new baby doll and stroller
saying bye bye and hello (waving)
Dancing
Reading books
Watering plants

And not so much...
Being alone/on the ground
Mama putting washing on the line
Sitting in the high chair
Strange beardless men
And for that matter, strange beardless women. although they are preferable.

She is a funny little thing. She can be very demanding and I'm trying to teach her please, yes, no, this is what I want rather than aaaarrgggggabooooorrrraaahhhhh!
But it's slow going.
We have tough days and nice day. This little girl is learning how the world works and it's confusing and exciting for her all at once.

What a roller coaster ride this last year has been! We are now entering the toddler years. I'd better get a helmet.

Party!

On saturday we celebrated Lucy's first birthday with a party in the park.

She had a lovely time even though her separation anxiety has set in an she spent almost the whole time in my arms.

It was a beautiful sunny day to be out in the park and was great to see so many friends that we have missed since changing churches.

I made fruit juice jelly, cupcakes and a number one women's weekly cake and we had a BBQ. We set up some balloons and Lucy had a nice time pointing at them and saying "ooo!"

It was nice to celebrate one year of her. It doesn't seem so long ago that we were eagerly anticipating her with my baby shower but she has grown an changed so much and I have changed too.

I don't have many photos from the day. (who has time for photos?) but I've got these ones of the number one cake and a small girl sampling it. I don't think she knew the smarties were food and gave them to me.