Cassie's Cuddles

Look at the bargain that I found at my local op shop.A whole bolt of material for $5! I also got this one.Bargain eh? Now all I have to sew, um…I could always pass it on to a mission that I know, if I don’t use it, I just couldn’t pass it up. (now, that sounds like a hoarder speaking, ugh!)Can you see the red toadstool lamp? So cute! I only window shopped, really…

For the last couple of weeks I have been visiting a friend who is sorting through all her belongings, due to her ill health. She had a quote for her entire house contents any was only offered $250, how aweful! In one of the boxes that wasn’t looked at, she had 6 Barbie dolls that use to be hers when she was younger. I said that I would try and sell them for her, because I spoke to a man about 6 months ago at a local toy shop shop who said that he collected them ( no comment on that hobby). To cut a long story short, I went to him, and he gave $50 for them, nice eh? At least she got a little extra to put in the kitty now.  It must be a very dramatic thing for her, to throw out most of her little treasures…Take a look at this awesome event. A spider attacking a praying mantis, amazing. I went downstairs to  close the curtains, and saw this. I woke Alycia up to see, I knew that she would appreciate it. A little violent I guess, but fascinating.

Now to wet your appetite, look at this. MMMMmmm..It’s Cadbury too, yummy.. Note to self (Cassie, divert your eyes).

with the help of my trusted assistant, Alycia.Well done Bron, sorry Vanessa, maybe next time? Bron if you could email me your address again, that would be great. My email is cassie@hoodfamily.org.au

I went out with the ladies from my church today, it was lovely to catch up.  We had some yum cha, which I really wasn’t a fan of. I felt like I was eating raw chicken skin, gag. Did I say that the compay was lovely?I liked the yummy mango pudding.We also picked up Cassandra’s new glasses. She really wanted red ones.Wow, look at these cool scrapbooking stations. Maybe I would actually scrapbook if I was this organised.I’m taking part in a spring swap. My buddy lives in Scotland, cool eh?

Jared picked up 6 copies of his doctorate yesterday. It looks impressive, don’t you think?

What do you get a boy who is turning 21, and dresses like this for a wedding (the groom dared him).He also has just started dating/courting a girl. So we ordered this for him, or should I say her?Now he can chase her, lolRemember the giveaway, just leave a comment here:https://cassiescuddles.hoodfamily.org.au/?p=3203 I will draw a name out of hat tomorrow.

My dear Stephanie turned 16 on the 23rd of March. Where has the time gone? She is such a lovely girl. She has her own mind, but she is always respectful to us. She loves her family, but most of all, she loves the Lord. Stephanie has amazed me by reading her bible faithfully each year, and she tries to obey it. She is a delight to us.This is an Indian outfit that I found in an op shop, she loves it. It was so funny to watch the gifts that she was given. Camden gave her a packet of lollies and a toy that was his.We gave Steph some crochet books and wool. Yesterday she went and got her Learners permit. How scary is that? Jared has just taken her for her second drive. I watched as she drove out of her driveway, oh man!She is so tiny in that big blue bus!

Remember the fabric stash giveaway, just leave a comment here:https://cassiescuddles.hoodfamily.org.au/?p=3203 to enter.

check out this book I bought yesterday. These are so cute. If I made these, I wouldn’t let you eat them 😀This is my girl, bonding with her daddy. Believe it or not, they were watching Rumpole of the Bailey. At least she got a cuddle eh?

For your opportunity to win a 3kg  postal bag of fabric, just leave me a comment, and then I’ll draw one name out of a hat on Sat. I asked Alycia to take a photo for me, so here it is.

This sums up our week, another blur. We had a friend stay for a few days, and now we have her back again. My parents moved house, and Lachlan has three early morning starts (that means me leaving the house at 5.30am), have I said that before?Here is Camden cooking up a storm. He made chocolate chip cookies and anzac biscuits. They were yummy.This is Jared and I at my 18th, naughty ain’t I?Do you believe that Jared and I would have been married for 20 years in July? Wow, doesn’t time fly?I bought some postage stamps this week. I was asked if I would spend $2 more so that I could support the QLD flood relief. How could I say no? So I bought the stamps, and felt bad that I felt like I had been manipulated into buying something. I’m not good at saying no to such things, if Jared was there, he would just say “no”Cool car eh? I’m really sneeky now with my camera, I just had to show you the car. Don’t worry, I have standards, I don’t take photos of people in bathing suits etc…

Tomorrow, I will have a giveaway. Free Fabric!! I will fill up a 3kg postal bag, with lovely fabric. I’ll take a photo tomorrow, and then all you have to do is leave a comment, and I’ll pull a name out of a hat on Sat.

I’m not refering to clutter, something much worse, Cancer. I have a friend staying at the moment who has cancer, it’s her second bout, she has been told that she only has about 5 months of wellness. She is only 37, and has two children. My heart breaks for her.

I just read on Melissa’s blog about a young girl who is only 11 who is suffering from cancer, how sad. Mel has organised, and she is hoping that we might join her in sending some stickers and a note card (or if you are feeling really generous), a Blythe Doll. It may not heal, but it will encourage her. Imagine what her parents are going through too, the agony of seeing your child suffer so much. I hope that you will check out Mel’s blog here,http://melissagoodsell.typepad.com/day_to_day/2011/03/stickers-for-emma-can-you-help.html and send a little something, or even just a card. A little love can go a long way.You can be a wonder Woman too, please help if you can.

Oh man, I have left writting on my blog too long, I have too much to tell you. I hope that I don’t forget anything. Now, I’ll have to check my photos to remind myself of what I have been up to. I have continued to de-clutter, and yet, I still think that I could do more :C.I found Cassandra doing this, and this..I wondered what she was doing, and then she showed me this.Exercises found in an Archie comic, haha.This is some of the fried chicken that I made. It was nice, but it didn’t taste like KFC.I have been going through some old photos, this is Jared and I cleaning each other’s teeth. It must have seemed romantic at the time, athough I must say it is rather gross, now that I think of  it.Awh, look at my boy, isn’t he handsome? This is the top that goes with his (cough, cough) kilt! We all like the top.Stephanie was a bridesmaid. She did a lovely job. The wedding it’s self was lovely, they had God honoring vows.

One chap got a little over dressed 😀

We are now falling into routine with driving, I do the early mornings, and Jared has been wonderful doing the evening runs. I feel so much calmer sharing all the driving, I am so thankful for the break in doing it all. I can enjoy it for 6 months, and then Jared will be back at work, and I better get an extra energy boost to deal with it. We went for a lovely drive up The Basin-Olinda rd. How have we not done this before? These are my sweet girls in the back seat.Look what I found on the table, I think Steph is trying out some languages..

Tonight when I tucked Cassandra into bed, I found a lolly under her pillow. To make matters worse, I ate it. She has a good sense of humour, she had a little laugh, phew!

So many things happening around us are sad. I know a friend in her 30’s dying, someone else with cancer, people going through divorce, floods, earthquakes, and if you spent your time dwelling on these ones, you can feel that there is no hope. Someone wrote on Facebook Recently a verse found in Revelation Ch11 that speaks of a large earth quake, and yet the survivors were in awe of God and still praised him. This has really been on my mind. How often do bad things happen, and people automatically blame God, and yet, not praise him for our every day blessings. The greatest blessing being our free gift of Salvation in Christ. Scripture doesn’t promise that life will be without sorrows, pain or trials, but he does promise to never leave or forsake us.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l16QwIGu970

Saying all this, one of my favourite hymns at the moment is this. This isn’t the best sung, but I love the words, and this is true for me. May it be true for you too.

Not again!! Cassandra had a helpful brother who put her glasses on her bed for her.Now we are trying to decide whether she can do without them for two weeks until her next eye appointment, just in case her prescription changes.

Isn’t Alycia cute? She has lost another tooth. She is such a sweetie, she brought home some flowers for me the other day, paid for with her own money.I received my Cookies and Cream swap this week. This is it.Two cute little cards. This is what I sent her.I forgot to take a photo with everything out. You can peak through though. I made another gratitude wrap, some stickers, a ring, and a few other items.ok, so the ring is upside down, but it’s still cool.I took my little princess out for a treat yesterday, she was so happy to be with just me. You see your children in a different light when you have them by themselves. I’m so thankful for my blessings, God has been so kind to Jared and I in giving them to us to train, and love.

I am still de-hording, in fact I am watching “Horder” right now! My kitchen cupboards are full, so I have had to give away a few items. et me give you an example of what a few cupboards looked like. Actually, after seeing the photo, I’ll think that I’l leave it up to your imagination.

Then I began in the boys room, ugh! This is seriously the worst room in the house. I hate going into the dirty sock room. Both boys collect everything. I bagged 4 garbage bags worth of stuff, and the room still isn’t up to scratch. I am a crazy woman right now. I opened Camden’s cupboard and nearly fainted.In this cupboard I found two skirts, Steph’s odd socks, Cassandra’s leggings, and Alycia’s and a pair of Jared’s undies. This is what happens when I ask Camden to put the washing away, well, he did didn’t he?Better? his undies and PJs are in the drawers. I have the rest hanging up.Agh, the face says it all. Tomorrow, I’ll tackle under the bed (groan). I have an early start again tomorrow, so I should think about ging to bed now. Night!