It’s been a lovely week shared with friends. We returned from Disneyland on Tuesday evening and have been enjoying a quieter time back at the house in Santa Barbara. The children have been playing in the pool a lot and we’ve had a couple of trips out and about, including a gorgeous little boat trip […]
Month: November 2013
Loving: A bunch of Kiwis doing Thanks Giving USA
With our NZ neighbours visiting us in our temporary home in the USA we had the perfect reason to celebrate and feast. So we spent a relaxed day at home, preparing the table, for a Thanks Giving feast. Young Miss 3 delighted in sticking cloves into oranges, Miss 10 made up some name-places for the […]
Disneyland & California Adventures all decked up for Christmas
We visited Disneyland and California Adventure Park at the end of November, everything was decked out for Christmas. We stayed at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and it was breathtakingly decorated for the season. We holidayed with wonderful friends; our neighbours from New Zealand flew over to join us! They landed in LA, after some 14 hours of travelling […]
The Photo Gallery: November
When I read the challenge for this week’s ‘Photo Gallery’ at ‘Sticky Fingers’ blog I was stumped – one photograph for the month of November! How could I possibly sum up a month in one photograph? Then I had my light-bulb moment. This year we are in the USA for November and our contribution to […]
LOVING our New Zealand neighbours being here with us in the USA!
They arrived today! Our wonderful New Zealand neighbours. Our children are ecstatic and it’s magic for us adults to see them all together. Their ages span from three to ten, but all five children (three of them being our crazy girls) are like a little family in their own right. They mix up play between […]
Prose for Thought – Rain in the Black of Night
It’s been months since we’ve had consistent rain in Santa Barbara, Southern California. As much as I adore the sunshine, I do miss the ever-changing weather of our home in Wellington, New Zealand. Last night, and this evening, we’ve had proper rain – that lasts for more than an hour and leaves real puddles behind! […]
The Photo Gallery: Nature
I don’t enjoy seeing elephants in small enclosures. I’m thankful that the majority of zoos across the world are no longer breeding elephants. The ones that remain in zoos, are hopefully the last. They belong in the wild, or in large landscapes of protected land. They belong with their kin. When I do come across […]
He understands. He loves her. He will stand by her. She loves him.
So many people don’t understand. They make her feel weak for depending on medication. It’s not just the medication though – it takes much more than that. She has a family who understands, who appreciates her, as she is. She was born with strong sensitivities. Life, in her youth, was always a see-saw. Little things […]
Things that have made me smile this week in Santa Barbara
Love the girl that wants to give her Mamma flowers, whenever she sees an opportunity to pick them… though in many a situation I have to urge her not to pick them! Love Autumn here in Santa Barbara (though it’s the warmest, sunniest one I have ever experienced in my lifetime!). The days are definitely […]
Silent Sunday
A week in reflection: Moments to love & be thankful for.
It’s Friday. The weekend is nearly here, which means family time with the man of the house. It’s so much easier to keep all three of our children entertained when he’s at home. As much as I am enjoying having the girls all at home, I do have moments of feeling like I’m being held […]
The Sea Princess & the Pebble Shell Castle
The winding steps, walled with pebbles and shells, whispered to the Sea Princess on the beach. The beach castle needed her help. She peered through the gaps in the pebbled walls, careful of the witch, who could turn her to stone. The castle walls spoke to her, telling the Sea Princess to seek out a […]