simply timeless

Christmas Morning I awoke reluctantly, when I heard the excited children awake and eager to begin with the presents I had only been sleeping for 3.5 hours since my 2 am Skype with my family back home But then I remembered It was Christmas morning, and I was going to church I was excited about this  I was able to sneak in another 45 minutes of 'rest' before getting ready for the day It's Christmas!  Hmmm no snow....   But what a lovely day it turned out be Thank you for all the love your poured out to me, in mail, emails calls etc. Every single bit meant more then you will know. I saved my mail for Christmas morning as a gift to open. And I also was given a lovely gift by C&A to open    I was so blessed by it all. And from a dear friend of mine who wanted to remind me that love knows no distance. Mandy Joy, you are a blessing and a joy in my life.  I went to Church, and was encouraged and enjoyed celebrating the birth of Jesus. I had a d

It's official, at least at this present moment. It will be a green Christmas here in England. The picture I took this afternoon, has been such a strange site to behold since the day I arrived.  I never put together, England, and Palm trees. And yet, everyday I look out to the back yard and there it is in all it's 'tropical' glory, feeling wrongly placed, in my opinion. However,  this year I can say I celebrated Christmas where the palm trees grew. Seriously you will see them all over the places in random yards. But the other amazing thing about this picture is that there are 2 roses still in bloom. I can't say that I have ever seen roses in bloom on Christmas day. Now I can :) I have been visited with the gift of full blown cold. Right in time for Christmas. So today I thought I'd go for a walk and treat myself to a little Christmas Eve lunch. It was nice to get out and walk and breath in fresh air. Merry Christmas to all my bel

The big question is, will there be snow in England for Christmas?? I am beginning to suspect that it will be a green Christmas.  The kids believe that tonight will be the first snow fall. Right now it is raining...will snow follow? I have grown accustom to Christmas being particular things; each part being a different shape, colour size etc, and when put together becomes a beautiful picture. For instance, snow (although there has been a couple instances in my life where snow was not delivered in time for Christmas morning, and it didn't feel like Christmas) a real Christmas tree, my family, Candle light service on Christmas eve etc. They all come together and form what is Christmas for me. This year however, the picture is going to look much different. My emotions are starting to betray the courage and control I have been trying to wear. As the day approaches, every where I look, and everything I hear is in celebration and preparation of Christmas, of the birth

Oh it's that time of year again. When I get all excited for a nice night in, wearing comfy clothes, a huge mug of hot chocolate in hand, curled up on the couch by candle light watching my all time favourite 'Christmas movie'.  I am not sure it would be considered a Christmas movie per say, but they do always air it around the end of November.  I guess I could blame my aunt for this one. She started a lot of my movie habits. :) 'Little Women' has held a dear place in my heart since I was young, and now it just doesn't seem like Christmas without having it as a part of my December. Just before I crossed the pond I had the joy of going over to my aunts for one of our sleepover movie weekends. Her daughter-in-law was able to join us and her oldest granddaughter was able to steal away from her busy life as well. We decided upon 'Little Women' to my delight. I would not be deprived of watching it this year! You have to understand, I have seen th

One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other. ~ Jane Austen And thus the journey has begun.  For at least a year I had a random advertisement for GE behind my alarm clock. It was a small print, overview calendar  showing  the year to come. And on top was a picture of a group of people in a canoe somewhere in the world, on a missions trip. I'm not quite sure why I put it there. I suppose it was a quick reference to what the date was for the day. But then I just sort of left it there for quite some time after. Every night before I went to bed I set my alarm and I would always look at that picture.  The remarkable thing, is that amongst all of those faces I was looking at the face of my soon to be roommate, upon my arrive to the HA. She has become one of my dearest friends. I had picked up a post card from GE (while on campus) that I really found to be beautiful. W hen I got home I put it in the same spot, behind my alarm clock . It was a picture of Big Be

A while back I had to pick my brother up at work and take him to our place to pick up his car. Or something like that. I can't quite remember the specifics. But what I do remember is when he got in my car he said something along the lines of 'Your car smells like a girl, or smells nice...' Me being the sharp and quick one that I am replied with 'Really?" I definitely wasn't on my game at that moment. However it got my mind thinking. I get in and out of my car often, usually multiple times a day. But I don't smell what my brother had smelled in my car that day, anymore. My dad got me an car-air-freshener for Christmas in my stocking last year. When I put it in for the first while it was all I could smell. It was a nice smell, mind you, but slightly overpowering and obvious. Now, I don't notice it at all. Yet since that day with my brother so many people mention the smell of cherry in my car. Which is the scent of the air-freshener. But I however don'

It's all about perspective; or so I have come to understand. Life always doesn't go according to plan, or to dreams, for that matter. There are many days I wake up thinking 'How can this possibly be my life' it looks nothing like the life I had once hoped for, and planned for. When I was 16 I had so much hope and ambition. I had a bit of fear of the unknown, but the sky was the limit and I was excited for what was to come. I had many areas of interest that I now have come to believe became my stumbling block. My inability to make a decision. Always worried about making the wrong choice. And in turn it has becoming the very thing that has paralysed me. Rather them making a choice, taking a risk, I sit on my hands in fear and let everything pass me by. Somehow I have come to believe it is the easier choice, the safer choice. But now, 1o years later, I feel like a prisoner to my fear, bound up standing on the dock watching the ship passing me by. Yet there are days I w