Christmas Cheer and New Beginnings!!

So it hasn't been quite as big a gap between posts!! I know! Shock Horror!

However, as usual I have been very busy. As many of you may know, Thursday was my very last day of Family Day Care EVER after 15 years! Now one might think that I would be feeling regret about my decision in the lead up to my final day. But let me tell you the truth of such things.

It was an answer to a prayer!

Strange?! Well, yes maybe. Especially as the prayer was said about 3 years ago and went along the lines of "oh and Heavenly Father I am not enjoying my work as much as I used to and I really need a change. I am so very grateful to have a flexible job when others have so little but I would appreciate a way that we could manage without this income at least until I finish my degree. I would be grateful for your input in this."

Well, something like that. And well, then we didn't discuss it much but from time to time I gave a little reminder and continued on . . . . .

But life has a way of changing. And you never know where it will take you. But I'll tell you the secret to big changes. It's all about making the decision. Yep, what unfolded was a set of circumstances that put me in the position to succeed. But God wasn't going to just make it happen, I had to play a hand. I had to take control of what I wanted and own it. I had to be the one to take the step.

It was a tough decision but it was the right decision. And so this week when I have woken at 1am and not been able to sleep again until 3:30am due to unusually intense anxiety, I have not wavered a bit from the choice I have made. Am I unsure of how the future will go? Hell yes!! Am I freaking out about the change?! Sure Am! But I have faith in my decision. I have faith in my ability to follow it through and I have faith in God to guide me along.

So here's to changes and new beginnings!

Ok, enough of all that. IT'S ALSO CHRISTMAS!!!

So, every year I like to buy my daycare children a Christmas present. But this year after having so much fun playing with all my dress up capes (them not me!) I decided to make them one each. Below is one of the girls ones modelled by a cute little friend.

All my daycare children loved them, which made me very happy! But 13 capes in 3 nights is not to be sneezed at! It was worth it in the end though to see them running around with their capes flapping behind them.

We have also been gearing up for Christmas and making some farewell and thank you gifts for teachers and carers. Below is one of our little stockpiles. I like to show my appreciation to the teachers for all the effort they put in throughout the year. Teachers usually go way beyond what is expected. And my kids really like to give something to their teachers. It also teaches our children to show appreciation, which is important.

Another thing we do in preparation for Christmas is add to the Kmart Wishing Tree each year. You can read about the Kmart Wishing Tree here http://www.wishingtree.kmart.com.au/
Now our usual routine is that we give our kids a certain amount of money (usually $20 which works out to a lot in a family of 7). We get the kids to do chores to earn the money first and then we head in to Kmart. We each choose a person we would like to buy for (boy, girl, young child, teenager, grandma grandpa) and we purchase a gift for them. The gift is then added to the Wishing Tree where they are distributed via the Salvation Army (The Salvos work in conjunction with Kmart).

You write a little note on a pre made gift tag which allows you to choose who it is for and write your name is you wish. I have always written my kids first name along with their age as I think if I was the person receiving the gift I would like this. Now we always let the kids choose their own category but I always ask the people in charge of the gifts at Kmart which category has received the least each year and I try to encourage that we pick those ones. Everyone enjoys this activity and we try to do it as a family although most years Heath misses out as it's hard for him to get away from work.

Anyway, this year has been even harder to get everyone together for whatever reason - work, school, wedding plans, getting ready for finishing up??? I'm really not sure? And we just hadn't got there yet. I was also struggling to find the extra cash this year but was feeling guilty and sad about it. So today when we were in town, we headed to Kmart. I had to cancel a layby that was no longer needed and I was going to use the cash refund for the gifts. I was feeling a little anxious about it though as I still havn't bought any Christmas food and I was quickly running out of money.

Anyway, while I was there I went to the service desk to enquire about an item we had paid for in a layby last week that was supposed to have been delivered to my house. I was then told that those items had not arrived in store and that they were very sorry but could only offer me a refund on the item ($99) AND get this . . . a $50 gift card for my trouble ( I really wasn't that troubled as these things happen!). I immediately asked the girl at the desk if we could still add to the wishing tree, to which she said yes! And the look on her face when I said 'Oh we'll use the gift card for that then' was priceless! She looked like she was going to cry (which made my day too). We were so blessed to not only be able to continue our tradition but also be given help with it. I was overjoyed. (I also added money to it from my $99 refund of course).

So me and Morgan decided to choose 4 gifts from our family this year (as no one else could make it to town with us) and so we asked which gifts were the lightest on this year. The girl said that teenagers were the lightest on followed by grandparents.

So our decision was made!!!!! With Asha tantruming the whole way (and I mean the whole way) we chose our gifts. Our spirits weren't dampened though by his crying and screaming (I did try to make him happy but 3 year olds have a mind of their own!).

So here's what we bought . . . .

A cup and bickie set for a Grandma.

A beautiful landscapes of Australia 2013 calendar and a box of favourites for a Grandpa

An Art Journal, set of paint brushes and set of oil paints for a teenage girl

And a Footy for a teenage boy.
I really hope that these gifts bring someone joy this Christmas and I hope we chose wisely. I also hope we can continue our tradition for many years to come.

And on a funny note, as we were leaving the Kmart car park I reversed out of my park and was hurled abuse (swearing and yelling) by a man and a woman who had pulled out at the same time a couple of parks down ( I thought they were waiting to pull into my park but alas I was wrong - as they told me and everyone else in the car park) But that didn't even dampen my spirits. So on impulse I yelled at the top of my lungs "Merry Christmas" to them (in a nice voice, I truly meant it) much to the amusement of Morgan and about 6 other people in cars who had seen and heard the whole episode! It was hilarious as I thought to myself "Well Maranda, You can't change the world but at least you can do a few things to try"

So anyway, It was meant to be that those 4 people got gifts this year. I would encourage you to do the same if you ever get the urge. It is a great system they have going.

On a lighter note, My friend Peta called in about an hour after my last child left on Thursday and we toasted to new beginnings! It's awesome to have people who care about what is hapening in your life and that's the value of a friend.

These next two pics are in the wrong order but the second one is the cake she also made me!!!

The flowers are from NCN (Northern Childrens Network) who I have run my business through over the last 15 years.

So there it is!! Christmas Preparations and a New Beginning. I hope you all have a very safe and very Merry Christmas. Remember to reach out to someone who might need to see a smile or have someone hold their hand this Christmas season. It's what Jesus would do! Oh and if you don't like reading 'God talk' Go read another blog! It's part of my life ;) Have a good day/night/Christmas/year/life!!!