Facebook Friday

Image from Grammarly.

Thanks Karen.

….and don’t forget to enter the giveaway…..

Facebook Friday

Great stories of recent days!

Our friends Pete and Leila with Abram.

First our lovely friends Pete and Leila are blessed by the adoption of Abram, and then my cousin Stuart and his wife Annie welcome two Kenyan boys Johnny and Wisdom into their fantastic family!

My cousin Stuart, his wife Annie, and 3 of their children. Grace, Johnny and Wisdom.

I can’t work out who is more blessed, the boys or the families that have welcomed them. What a great privilege it is to know both these fabulous Christian families and to rejoice with them in their new members.

Some of you might be familiar with Pete and Leila’s long road to adoption story. They were part of a story on Sunday Night on Channel 7,  a few months back and again just after they welcomed Abram.

My cousin’s story is a much more private one. The family moved to Kenya almost two years ago with the hope of training farmers. You can see what this looks like here on their blog  They have an orphanage as neighbours. It was only a matter of time…..

Facebook Friday

In case you missed this ‘do good’ story during the week.

Thanks Rory and Duncan.

Facebook Friday

 

Sushi Go by Phil Walker-Harding

A new friend of our family has been designing games for a while now.

Here is a great opportunity for you to help get the next game up and going….and get some awesome Christmas gifts along the way.

My endorsement: We have played Archeology and Dungeon Raiders and are fabulous family games which take up very little space! The video for this one looks excellent. Ally

Click on the Sushi and go straight through to how you can help. Thanks…… and stay tuned. I think a giveaway of Dungeon Raiders would go down nicely very soon.

Book Club: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Image from The Book Depository.

As I mentioned in my last review, my book club read this a while ago….and I neglected to post a review….. so we will see how my memory serves me!

The Help by Kathryn Stockett was a great read. Fascinating and concerning, convicting and humourous.

Set in Jackson Mississippi in the 1960′s, the book falls into the category of historical fiction, but reads like the ‘book within a book’. This was a time of segregation, violence and the silencing of half the community.

The story swaps between three different narrators, two  African American maids and the educated child of a well off white family.

It’s a story about telling your story. Speaking up for what is right and good, whatever the price. It’s also a story about love, genuine friendship and secrets.

We loved it.

I think it helped that Australia didn’t share in this type of oppression and segregation….although we have other issues! It would be hard to read as an American…I would imagine, especially if you grew up during this time and thoughtlessly went along with it!

Image from The Book Depository

We thought we were all capable of this same sort of ‘following along with the norm’.

We talked about what issues are with us that would cost to speak out about, but are compelled to.

We felt quite trapped in the ‘mind your own business’ mentality we live in.

Those of us that had seen the movie thought it had left out a pivotal experience, which resulted in the movie missing the gravitas the book achieved. Did anyone else experience this?

All in all a great read and a fabulous holiday read ….if you are looking for something this summer.

Next book: This Charming Man by Marian Keyes.

 

 

How Pinteresting is………… letter writing?

Click on the image to see a collection of inspirational pictures with a letter writing theme.

Well here it is…… How Pinteresting!

Meredith suggested a collection of images to satisfy here letter writing phase. I took the theme where-ever it choose to go in my mind….. so I hope I have fulfilled the brief

She also wrote a great post a little while back about using 20 minute time lots to put pen to paper, that might interest you here.

I just love this image of vintage packages.

So what’s next? You choose. Remember it’s interactive, and if no-one chooses I will have to bore you with my collections.

Facebook Friday.

Some of you may have noticed that for a while now I have worn goggles on facebook in support of free swimming lessons, because for a while now I have felt quite passionate about kids learning to swim.

Swimming is the ONLY extra curricular activity we insist our girls do, because it’s about safety not about having elite athletes.

I’m not looking for gold medalists, I’m looking for them to be competent strong swimmers….and we have watched the fun follow.

Fortunately, we  have been able to fund this desire, but many are not…. or don’t realise the importance until it is too late.

‘Royal Life Saving’s earlier estimates that 1 in 5 kids are unable to swim 50 metres may be overly optimistic and it is now believed that more than 1 in 5 may not be able to swim at all. Today, an estimated 600,000 young adults are at risk; tomorrow and in the next decade we fear this figure will double.

Royal Life Saving believes that the rapid increase in drowning in young adults aged 15-24 years is undeniably linked to a fall in the swimming and water safety skills of children in Australia over the past 10 years.’

from the petition site.

Here is the most alarming bit!

‘The National Drowning Report, released by the Royal Life Saving Society last month, found 45 drowning deaths in 2011-12 among 15- to 24-year-olds, a 25 per cent increase on the five-year average. More than 600,000 young adults in that age group are at ”extreme risk” of drowning, the society says.

More teenagers are drowning despite overall figures remaining flat over the past decade, with about 300 Australians drowning every year.

from smh.

The Royal Life Saving Society have decided to petition Government organisations to make learning to swim compulsory in Australian Primary Schools.Please sign this petition.

How Pinteresting are…… caravans, trailers and airstreams

Thanks Ali for this pinteresting idea.

Some of you will know I am not really a camper.….. but I used to imagine I could live in a trailer or caravan when I was little . Yes, big dreams indeed!

Here are some pretty ones.

Click through to see some other beautiful ideas.

I love the Rene Magritte painting as the colour palette in this one.

Now I need another idea! Anyone ……?

How Pinteresting is ………… art making with books?

Portraits made of books. Image from My Human Computer.

Yes ‘How Pinteresting?’ is still interactive. Please leave your ideas for pinning in the comment section below.

But….to continue with my extended book week posts, I have put together a group of images related to the book.

You can find them by clicking here.

And don’t worry Ali….. I have pushed your idea for pinteresting caravans and airstreams until next time…… hope you don’t mind.

How Pinteresting ….. book week costumes?

I love this idea! Image from Disney family fun.

As there were no current takers for the interactive Pinteresting series I decided to pre-empt the upcoming book week celebrations, with a collection of 50+ ideas for costumes.

In the collection I have made sure there are lots of simple “last minute’ ones and many ‘no sew’ ideas.

50+ book week costume ideas.

I have tried to be fairly generic, and stuck to books over movies.

This years theme is “Champions read” and parades are approaching fast (August 18-24)

Let me know what you think….. and if you use any for your children.

This ‘cut-out doll’ idea I love……. but I am not sure I will be able to persuade one of my two to do it.

We will see.

For some ideas from past years, you can see them here and here and here.

Lots of these costumes we still have and are happy to lend, if you live close.

We love a good dress up at our house!