I am so excited to have finally finished another crochet blanket project! 

This one was a special blanket for my son, specially requested by him with a nod to a TV series he likes (Twin Peaks). I had aimed to finish it for him for his birthday last June, but alas when it got to May, I realised there was no way that I'd have the blanket completed by June. 

Thankfully (after a lot of perseverance)  I finally finished the blanket in time for Christmas! 

He loves it, and I'm so happy to have another blanket project ticked off my list (see below for a snapshot into most of my other blanket creations).

I do love the effect that zig zag (and ripple) blankets give. 

Christmas 2018 has come and gone, and along with that we shared Christmas with 5 new fluffy kittens.  Believe it or not, our Christmas and kitten experiences weren't quite the ones we were expecting.

Sometimes life can throw you unexpected curve balls... like when the white fluffy Ragdoll kittens you've been waiting to arrive turn out to be dark tortiseshell & tabby kittens (partially my fault for not keeping a close eye on Ripley!).

Christmas day was the same this year.  The usual plans were suddenly changed when our youngest spent Christmas day vomiting.  This meant there was no big Christmas day lunch or extended family gatherings.  No family photo together... because someone was sick in bed.  Just an unusually quiet day spent at home.

The unexpected - this reminds me so much of when Jesus came.  People were looking for a strong and mighty King, yet initially, all they saw was a vulnerable and ordinary child.  People were looking for wealth and power, yet initially all they saw was a young couple laying their child in a crude animal feeding trough.  No royal palace and plush, fancy bedding.

Sometimes in the unexpected we discover beautiful things - and usually God resides in the midst of it all.

This Christmas, although we didn't have the dreamed of kittens arrive, we have the most dreamy little kittens to adore.  This Christmas, although we didn't spend time with extended family and enjoy delicious Chrismassy food, we drew closer as a family, and made some lovely sweet memories.

Remember when life throws you curve balls, keep an eye out for those glorious moments you can so easily miss when you are distracted by disappointment.  As I mentioned in my last blog post, enjoy life and embrace those moments when things don't quite go to plan... those are often the moments when God shows up and  some of the best memories are made.



Want to see some cute kitten pics and snap shots of our lead up to Christmas?!  

We also lived it up a little this year and got ourselves a real Christmas tree for Christmas... which then died early, and had to be replaced by our fake Christmas tree a day or so before Christmas!

Christmas Day we came, and we stopped and remembered and had thankful hearts.  For Christmas isn't just about the traditions, presents, food and treats... those are all part of the celebration, but I never want to forget the one we are celebrating.  I never want the birthday part to outshine the one whose birthday it is in celebration of. 

Real life: a snap shot into an average day for me (and probably you too).

Some days are absolutely crazy with all of your well laid plans crumbling to pieces. Today included car issues, an unwell kid and doctors appointment, random life issues and high stress levels thanks to crazy Christmas chaos.  Today was the day I was going to nail my to do list at work. 

I have a personal weakness where I am constantly stressing about the next thing coming up - this weakness means I can easily miss the joy in the now. I miss the little conversations my kids are wanting to have with me because I'm too busy worry about tomorrow. I can miss the spontaneous moments in life because they will disturb my plans. I can miss out on the chance to relax because there are always urgent things to do. I can miss out on life itself if I'm not careful. 

So as this year comes to an end, I'm trying harder to stop and breathe, to grab the spontaneous moments when they present themselves. I may not reply to that text or email straight away. I will try harder to embrace the messy moments and go with the flow.

Can I encourage you to do the same if you're anything like me.

Enjoy life and embrace those moments when things don't quite go to plan... Those are often the moments when God shows up and  some of the best memories are made.