Finding joy in the everyday

Being a mother is hard work and it doesn't stop when your child becomes an adult, in fact it can become even harder. These last 12 months have been extremely difficult for our entire family and whilst I would like to say I wouldn't want them repeated, I have learnt a lot about being mother and a Christian. A mother never stops learning and every time a new problem or issue arises, mothers learn how to respond and we all do, even when we don't realise it. My son turns 22 today and its a joyous occasion. One year ago he wasn't in a good place at all, 12 months along there have been many improvements but I am realistic and know we still have a road ahead to tackle.  As a little boy he was the sweetest cuddliest child but like any little boy he wasn't perfect and was very capable of getting up to all sorts of mischief! Interestedly - it is not only my son's birthday today, it is also my oldest friend's birthday (a lady I have known since we were bab...

Look at what my son made this evening - Stollen - and it tastes gorgeous.  He raced around to our place with one of the Stollen he made and left his wife and her uncle to eat the other one!!  I have so much I have plenty to take to work with me tomorrow and share with my colleagues.  I am sure they will also love it.  My eldest son has been trying out German Christmas cooking over the weekend and so far he has done a marvellous job.  This is why you should teach boys to cook as they make excellent cooks as adults.  Yesterday he made a big batch of Pfeffernusse which were better than the bought varieties I have eaten. I just love tasting his cooking!!! Now I am off for some more Stollen with my cup of tea. 

If you have teenagers (in particular boys) you might relate to (all or some) of this! When my son comes to visit, the first thing he does is check out the fridge, I have leftovers and he wants to eat them!! He thinks my leftovers are always better than his. I do have to say that my sons never trashed the house, it wasn't worth it!!  I don't tolerating trashing and they knew it!!!  And they were also quite good at cleaning - once again, when mum says to clean, mum means it. Yes, I was always tough with my kids when it came to helping with the cleaning. No mess in my house:))))  Have a wonderful weekend.

My sons make me laugh sometimes. At Christmas I sometimes give them gift ideas for their father or myself - being boys they do need some guidance in this area!   This Christmas I found a lovely necklace (below) that wasn't too expensive ( I am conscious of the price as I don't want them spending large amounts of money on gifts!) that I thought would be good if they were stuck for ideas.  I showed the necklace to my youngest son (who has just started to work in a restarant) and said this would be perfect and I would have T and C stamped (their first initials) on the little tags. He said he thought the necklace was lovely.  I said it was $30, and he replied " Thats far too cheap to spend on you,  mums should get far more expensive gifts" !!!! Butterfly necklace by Flights of Fancy (Madeit.com.au) The next evening my eldest son rang and asked if I could send the link for the necklace.  He also liked it, but to echo his brother, " Mum, that's ...

When your baby is this tiny it is hard to think of them in 25 years and what they will be doing. A parent always dreams of their child's future, but so often it is the dream the parents want and not necessarily the one the child will follow. They may have other other dreams that take them down a completely different path.  But no marter how things turn out, we all want our children to be happy, settled and find someone to love forever.  My eldest son is getting married. . . . today . . . 2pm . . .  Whilst I am thrilled to pieces that my son is getting married, there is little sadness in my heart as I know he now belongs completely to someone else and not completely to me. However, being a son, I know that he will always need his mother just perhaps not quite so often. The strings that tied us together is now broken but the bonds remain forever.  Therefore shall a man leave  his father and his mother, and shall cleave until his wife, and t...

M y son gave me a lovely surprise on Satruday. He baked and drove arond to my house (I hope he didn't speed) with these beautiful crusty breadrolls just in time for my lunch.  The butter melted on the roll as my husband and I shared one. They were SO good.  I had one for lunch with the baked ham and lots of mayonnaise, yummy:) I was always determine the teach my children to cook, to love food and to understand what healthy food was (compared to rubbish foods). This wasn't hard to do as they were expose to cooking, the preparation of food, the smells of food cooking and the buying of food all their lives (just as I was as a child).  This teaching hasn't stopped, whenever I learn some new about food, I pass it on to them so they too have this knowledge. This is how we were all taught about food, sadly I think it is a dying skill. Each Saturday I would bake the weeks supply of cakes, muffins and biscuits, you can imagine how good the house smell as all this was...

I am thrilled to announce that my eldest son will be getting married to his longtime girlfriend on the 1st August. This is also the day that my lovely daughter-in-law will turn 23. They met in high-school (1st and only loves) and have been together ever since.  They are perfectly matched, both a little nerdy, both have similar interests, both love each others company, do almost every thing together and very much in love. They had thought of having a biggish wedding with all the trimmings, but neither like to be the centre of attention and neither like the idea of money being wasted on weddings (both are very sensible with money). Instead they have decided to get married with only their parents and siblings in a private garden. It isn't everyones idea of a wedding (and I hope the family understands) - but for these two, it is what I would have expected. After the wedding we are going to enjoy a lovely dinner at a local Balinese restaurant. With so many young people d...

No one said having children was easy and it isn't. It is hard work, sleepless nights (both when little and when big), worry, stress and all those other things.  However all the effort (at times it felt like climbing Mt Everest) that one puts into their children, it is returned beyond measure and when I look at my 24 year old son, I burst with joy.  He isn't perfect, nor am I. We are human with all our faults . . .  regardless, mothers look upon their sons as if they were perfect:)   This photo was taken at our Mothers Day afternoon tea . . . mother and son.  My son and his fiancé took their mothers out for afternoon and spoilt us with a wonderful High Tea. I couldn't have asked for more.  Love your sons dearly. Even when they grow up and leave home as mine have, they still need their mothers.  I get regular phone calls for help and advice . . . or just to chat. I am pretty good at providing advice over the phone these days.  E...

It's not the amount of time a parent spends with their children thats important, it is the quality of the time.  Many parents are at home with their children but have the TV on (loud) or too involved doing other things to even notice their children. Many parents are busy rushing here and there taking their children to sports and other activities or to friends that they are too tired to spend time that counts. When you look at the statistics, parents spend very little time with their teenage children and they don't seem to realise what they are missing out on. Even though I am not with my sons all the time as I work, when I am with them . . . that time counts and I make the most of it.  It is moments like these that are precious . . . not only for me, but for our teenage sons and daughters. On the 16th I took my 19 year old son to the secondhand book fair and we had fun searching for books and then looking at what we had found. Afterwards we went out for lunch at a local pub....

Lakes Entrances, Victoria My son is currently travelling to Melbourne with his partner to spend Christmas with her family. Knowing that I am one of those mothers who worry about their children driving - he kindly sent me updates of his trip, posting them on Facebook as he went.  As Kat doesn't drive, my son does all the driving - and before he left we gave him the "little" talk about no speeding, taking lots of breaks, assume everyone else on the road are "stupid" and DON'T SPEED!! Not only did I know he was safe, I knew where he was and I could "enjoy" the trip with him. Including what he ate for breakfast and lunch. He wasn't always useful in telling me the location!! But it looks quite pretty. Before they left, they came around last night to say goodbye and give us our Christmas gifts.  My dear son is so thoughtful, he gave me a bottle of my favourite perfume and my favourite Chai tea and he bought his father a large bottle of chilli ...

A mothers heart always does a little leap when they see their child " all grown up " and I must admit, when I saw my baby all dressed up in a suit, my heart did that leap! He looked so handsome.   My son and his girlfriend went to their school formal on Wednesday evening and I raced home so I could capture this very special moment on film.  So there we were, Milly's mother and I clicking away taking as many shots as we could!!   When I started taking the photos it was raining heavily, however by the time I was leaving it had stopped so I was able to take a few outside. I think (maybe a little bias) that they look beautiful. ~oOo~

  Mother and Child Reading by Frederick Warren Freer T o my grown-up son Author unknown M y hands were busy through the day; I didn't have much time to play The little games you asked me to- I didn't have much time for you. I'd wash your clothes, I'd sew and cook; But when you'd bring your picture book And ask me please to share your fun,  I'd say: " A little later, son " I 'd tuck you in all safe at night, And hear your prayers, turn out the light, Then tip-toe softly to the door. . . I wish I'd stayed a minute more. F or life is short, the years rush past . . . A little boy grows up so fast. No longer is he at your side, His precious secrets to confide. The picture books are put away; There are no longer games to hear- That's all belongs to yesteryear. M y hands, once busy, now are still. The days are long and hard to fill. I wish I could go back and do The little things you asked me to. From " Stories for the heart " ...

This lovely box of peanut butter and choc-chip biscuits were made by my 18 year old son on Thursday. He made a double batch so I could take some to work on Friday for morning tea, keep some for his dad and have a few for himself. They are so delicious.  Not only did he make the biscuits, but by the time I got home from work, he had cleaned the kitchen and done all the dishes.  It is times like this that I get that warm glow inside me, bursting with pride about my sons. I'm sure that every mother has those moments. And, on my birthday (Tuesday) he made a beautiful creamy chicken, mushroom and sun-dried tomato pasta for dinner and butterscotch pudding for dessert. He is a very good cook.  I have encouraged both my sons to cook (as my mum encouraged my brothers) and it is now something they both really enjoy doing. They even like doing the weekly grocery shopping, hunting for new ingredients, which I am sure their future wives will really like. My eldest son (who is 23) sai...

Mothers Day High Tea My beautiful son and future daughter-in-law took us (Kathleen's mother and I) out for high tea yesterday afternoon.  This is our feast.  We started with the sandwiches (no crusts!) Cucumber & Danish feta Ham & mesclun lettuce with autumn savoury onion and shiraz jam Smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers & dill with Darjeling first flush tea (this was SO delicate) Lovash topped with fresh basil, sun dried tomato & bocconcini Pumpernickel topped with ham, rocket & wholemeal mustard Rosemary salted mini toast with roast eggplant, olive tapenade & ricotta Cucumber with fets & spicy capsicum with Flowering white tea with Jasmine flower Fresh baked scones with clotted cream nd tea infused james Individual apple crumbe Chocolate cherry slice Citron tart Chocolate swirl tart with Sparkling lemon & ginger iced tea And finally. . . Rooibos Caramel tea infused chocolate truffle (in small gold boxes) served with Rooibos Caramel tea Th...

Yesterday I went to the funeral of a 16 year old boy - a suffer of depression who decided so tragically to ended his life.  So many students from his school attended, sadly for these young people, this will probably not be the last time they will attend the funeral of one of their colleagues - suicide is happening far to often, taking the lives of our youth and causing so much grief for families and friends. I don't have any answers to reducing suicide in this country -  just over 2 000 people in 2008 took their own lives, many 1000's attempted and even more considered it. More die from suicide than on our roads - however the campaign to reduce the number of deaths on our roads is far stronger and more determined than the message of suicide reduction in our schools and communities.  Tragically, 24% of all deaths for males aged 15-24 is suicide, this is completely unacceptable - sadly, mental health is not a vote winner. This young life lost will become another statist...

Adolescence is a period of rapid changes.  Between the ages of 12 and 17, for example, a parent ages as much as 20 years.  Author Unknown Our children can bring us much joy, they can also cause us much grief and sadness.  Teenagers are, well (very) difficult at times and I know many parents, me included who wish we could speed up the years so we can skip the teenage pains (or send them off to boot camp for a few years).  At times it can become a little too much. I don't think any parents goes through the teenage years without a number of fights . . . when words are spoken and then regretted. They can be over the silliest of things . . . the one with my son was over cans in the cupboard (don't ask).  Someone asked me the other day the following question " if you could capture time, what age would you like you son to stay ". . . my reply was " two ".  They were so sweet at that age.  Innocent, funny and just gorgeous.  At 18, things have change...