A great promotional video for Occupational Therapy

For anyone who has ever wondered what it is that occupational therapists actually do. Because we're not always great at explaining it.

Just putting it in here in case I need it later.

Holiday reading

Both very good reads, although the two heroines are very different!

This year, we're trying a summer holiday Book Chat. The Hiding Place is our book for that. Gone With the Wind is just a book that I really enjoy reading, but hardly ever have time to get through. I also borrowed the impossibly long DVD of the movie from the library to get through sometime in the next week or two. Will need to fit that in around all the tennis coming up on TV.

Hope you are all enjoying some rest and relaxation out there!

Merry Christmas to you all

In the thick of it here...printing off vouchers for all the extended family who have said "just give us money" when we've asked them what they want for Christmas. We're giving them little home made vouchers for whatever they're putting the money towards.

Then we have to assemble a teepee and a sun lounge. Since the sun lounge is Chris' present, I feel like I should at least make a token attempt to put the bolt in with the Allen key that it came with. Maybe that one will be waiting until after the Christmas rush is over and we are all wanting to lie around beside the pool.

We're stuffed full of Christmas festive food this evening after our family dinner at home. After the entree we usually head down to the local Salvation Army church (the closest one to our house) to go to their Christmas Eve service, then we return home for the main course and dessert. This year, lots of ham and trifle was on the menu.

When we got home, the people across the road were giving their inflatable Santa see-saw a re-vamp. After a promising start a few weeks ago, it broke down so we haven't seen it in a while. It still doesn't seem to be going too well. Both the man and the woman who live there came out separately and I saw them poking at it to try and get it to work. I guess they only have to keep it going for tonight and then they can get rid of it.

But in amongst the busy-ness of Christmas Eve, I didn't want to forget wishing you, all of my readers (although I don't know how many of you are still hanging in there!?), a very blessed Christmas, as you remember the birth of Jesus, our Saviour and Lord.

xx

Amusing Santa photo

We don't make a big deal out of Santa here. He does visit on Christmas Eve and we leave out biscuits, carrots and a beer for him. That's about as far as it goes. The thought of taking the kids to visit him in a shopping centre and getting a photo of them sitting on his knee doesn't fill me with joy so we don't do it.

But this photo is pretty clever. Guessing it's photo-shopped rather than someone actually managing to set up that many dogs and to get them all to look in the same direction at the same time. Amusing nonetheless.

More Christmas from The Piano Guys

Watch for the spinning cello at around 2:50.

We caught up on our Advent calendar

We did a couple of blitz nights where we did four or five readings in one hit. Not ideal, but since most of our readings are just one or two verses, we got there.

Christmas music from The Piano Guys

Awesome stuff. Great film location too.

Proverbs 10:19

I think I need to memorize this verse. Yep, I've said the wrong thing again. I could blame it on exhaustion, but that would just be an excuse for my thoughtlessness. I wish I had the gift of being able to always manage to say the right thing instead of just blurting out something inappropriate. It's just too easy to be sinful and to hurt others without meaning to.

So, for my own benefit, here it is:

^A)When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
    ^(B)but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

Christmas music for your enjoyment

Our motives when singing in church....

Can I add the disclaimer up front that I'm sure none of the song leaders in our church are really thinking any of these things when they are singing in church.

That said, I think there is something in this to think about for all of us who sing in church (not just those up front). I know for me there are times when singing can be a lot more about my emotional response to or like/dislike of the song rather than about truly worshipping God.

Christmas and other stuff

Deb posted this on her blog. I think it's from a couple of years back, but it's still pretty cool, so I'm stealing her idea and posting it here as well.

Have had a few other things occupying my thinking space lately so I've been finding it hard to blog at the same time. Will enlighten you further a little bit later when I have some more time to spare.

On the good news front, I am still going okay on the chronological Bible reading plan. I've only missed a couple of days. I'm back in Genesis now, working my way through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the moment. Lots of action going on there. Interesting to read.

Christmas silliness

The house across the street from ours has one of these in the front yard. The owners put it out yesterday and left it deflated on the ground all day, but at night it came to life with light and movement. I even saw the guy who lives there taking some video of it in action yesterday evening. When Santa hits the top of the see saw's movement range, he does this little extra tip up like he's about to fly head over heels into the reindeer's lap. It's funny to watch.

I'm not sure I like his taste in Christmas inflatables, but I'm sure it will provide plenty of entertainment for the small people here in the coming weeks.

What my boys are reading at the moment...

I saved most of my books from these series that I had when I was little. I think I'm just missing Third Year at Malory Towers, the horsey one. I didn't enjoy that one as much when I read it because I didn't really have much interest in horse-riding.

It's such a proud mother moment for me to now see the boys getting into them. Hopefully they won't be too embarrassed that I'm revealing it here....

I might read them again when they've finished.

"It's sooo hot" she moans...

Too hot to think of anything. So here's something I pinched from here.

Chronological Bible reading continued

I'm almost at the end of Job now. What a fantastic finish. I love how the young turk Elihu speaks up, seemingly out of nowhere, and tells them all off for not acknowledging that God is gracious and just and that he can do whatever he likes.

I'm about to read Chapters 38 and 39 where God speaks. I actually read ahead a little bit into those chapters because they look so good. I might put up a few of my favourite quotes from them tomorrow.

Advent calendar fail

Two days in and we're already two days behind on our readings.

Although the felt one we are using for Rosie that adds a different bit to the nativity scene each day is on track. It's easy to find the five seconds that this requires.

Sigh. I thought I was doing well to have put the two calendars up on Thursday. I thought getting them up and visible early would be helpful with staying on track.

So it's three readings for us tomorrow...