A Name Change

I felt it was appropriate a couple of months ago to change the name of my blog. Here is the reason why............

You see back in April last year I was a bit lost.
It was nearly two years since my Mum passed away.
She played a huge part in my life, and the Autumn season was when she became unwell and a big part of my time was spent visiting her at home or the hospital from January to July.
So every year around April I feel that 'season' again.
When April of last year came I started thinking of what I can do to keep my mind busy.
My sister-in-law writes an amazing, encouraging blog and I love reading it, but most of all I love the archiving of memories and photos.
I used to enjoy scrapbooking but have felt rather uninspired and unenthusiastic about it over the passed few years and realise that the photos and memories we were making were being left in our own minds.
I saw blogging as a new way of preserving photos and memories.

And when it came to 'naming' my blog I was totally blank...........
I thought I would randomly choose a 3 word name by opening my bible on a random page and choosing the first word I read.
I did that 3 times and came up with Awake.....The...... Desert.

I was astounded at how meaningful that name was at that time in my life.  I truly was Awakening The Desert in me!!


Now however, my Desert is awake! and I have filled my life with different interests and a part time job!


So I feel it is appropriate to change the name as it is a reminder of a difficult time in my life that I have worked through and ready to move on.

I have decided to call it 'What memories are made of........'

Because that is what it's all about!!!




Ps. The domain is still 'awakethedesert' because it's not easy nabbing a different one :)

Another VERY special birthday!

We have a 16 year old in the house!!! Eeek!


I know it's not much different to a 15 year old (in fact only one day difference) but still it makes me feel 'old'.

Straight away I got the 'can I dye my hair now? Can I get my tummy button pierced now?' questions. All the things I apparently said a few years ago 'When you're 16'
16 COMES AROUND REEEAALLY FAST!!!  I am quickly backtracking.

Unfortunately for Kaysha she was born right in the middle of calving time, and there has only ever been one year when we left farming that she got to celebrate properly on her birthday.  She has always been very accepting of 'rainchecks'.

We feel as parents of three beautiful girls it is of utmost importance that our girls are treated fine and know the qualities they want to look for in a future husband.  So for Mike it is a BIG job that he has to be purposeful about.

So a few days before Kayshas birthday he txt her to ask her out on a dinner date. (so cute!)

 Because Mike wouldn't see Kaysha until he 'picked her up' for the date at night

we decided to do a birthday eve present opening

.

And of course we couldn't break the tradition of the window stickers!! When the girls were smaller we always decorated the house the night before when they went to bed and we have had these stickers since Kaysha was about 3.  Now we have to get creative because they go to bed after us most nights. Fortunately Kaysha was out babysitting so we snuck them onto her bedroom window.

Another tradition is sneaking into their room singing happy birthday before they wake up.  I'm very pleased they sleep in these days.

Tahlia home made Kayshas favourite apricot fudge slice.

  

DATE NIGHT!!

He even rang the doorbell! I was bit cagey about letting bearded man  take my daughter out.

I love this photo!

They headed to a nice fancy restaurant (which our girls have only been once before to a restaurant to order an entree, main AND dessert)

And that was how we celebrated! For now anyway, a 'friends' birthday to come after calving.........

Kaysha.....

You light up my world,

with your kind heart,

your gentle spirit,

your beautiful smile,

and for you being YOU!

I love you more than you know and pray that you will continue to grow to be an amazing woman of God and trust in His ways and follow the path He has laid for you,  only you!

A Mother/Daughter weekend to be treasured.

In our family we have a wee tradition of when the girls turn 11 years old they get a weekend away with Mum!!
This is the weekend to hang out together, do girlie stuff, eat yummy food and have Mum all to themselves (oh and a good chance to talk about how they are 'changing')

When I planned the first weekend when Kaysha was 11, it didn't have the excitement and anticipation I had intended.  She was not keen at all. (Kaysha is not usually excited about trying new things)
So I persevered with the plans and continued to try and get Kaysha on board, as well as Mike having a wee chat to Kaysha about the effort that was going in to it.
Needless to say we had a GREAT weekend at Whangamata,and  by the time Ambers turn came it wasn't hard at all to convince her to come along, to a new secret location, and by the time Tahlia turned 11 she kept asking "when are we going away for my birthday weekend?"

So I booked the accommodation, (which remained a secret until the night before) bought canvases to paint, Blank cards for cardmaking and scrapbooking supplies.


Now all that was needed to was to pack the clothes and buy the yummy food! (mmmm peanut butter chocolate!!)

As we drive to the destination we listen to a CD produced by Parents Inc, which talks about how they are growing up and things are changing for them, which driving in a car is a great way to have their full attention. We pause for questions and answers, and because I am listening to it too they know the discussions can continue because I heard what they heard.

Once we arrived a Papamoa, Tahlia was super excited! She unpacked all her clothes and shoes into drawers and cupboards.  Made up her bed. And kept running up and down the stairs  (they were a novelty for her).

This is her bed 'upstairs'

We made ourselves at home and spread out all the 'things to do' and made a good old mess of the place.
It seems the canvases they paint (and mine) on these weekends always hold a special place in their hearts and memories.

Here a some photos of all the fun we had:

Tahlia normally has alot to say, but I found this weekend she was not fighting for attention and was quite content just to hang out.  It is not a side of her I see often in the everyday family setting.  Which shows me how important one on one time is with all my children.


This was the last 11 year old weekend away for me and my girls, (which makes me sad) so I need to think upon another special weekend tradition we can all look forward to.
Kaysha suggested a Father/Daughter weekend away!! Which we all know where they will be going for that..... to the bush!!!
I think its awesome that that was even suggested.  It certainly shows the love they have for their Dad and the need to also spend one on one time with him.

I love my girls and I love seeing them grow, and sharing their journey with them!

A great reason to celebrate......

Our beautiful middle girl has just turned 13 and it truly was a great reason to celebrate.

I don't want to start off with a moan, but I did get frustrated when people asked me what I was doing in the second week of the holidays, I said "my middle daughter is turning 13 so we are having a party!!" And the first response was always "Ohhhh 13! Tricky age." or "Poor you" or "Oh wow, your coming in to those awful years"
I really don't want to see it that way!  I am really enjoying the teenage years.  And am certainly making the most of the time I have left with my girls at home when they no longer need me to do everything for them, and we can have good chats, and I too get excited about what they get excited about, they can cook dinner :) and much more.  It should be a fun time, not a dredded time.
Rant over..........

So Amber turned 13, and she requested an amazing race!!
We had done them before, but only around the farm/home etc but this one had to be more spectacular than the last.
I really had no idea where to start to I called a 'planning meeting' with Mike and Kaysha (15yrs)
We did some brain storming and came up with some great ideas.
So then Mike and I spent a day in town checking out the bus stops & timetables, taking photos and just getting the finer details sorted.

Then the day arrived!!! (I was rather nervous and praying we had all the clues in the correct order, all the timing was correct etc etc)

The girls arrived excited as ever, enjoyed afternoon tea, then wanted to get straight into it.

  

Eating hanging donuts.

Even had to finish the donut from the floor.

filling the drum to the top through a small hole  took a while but separated the teams nicely.

  

They then had to catch a 'taxi' to the Westfield Shopping Centre, and buy balloons and make sure they always had 6 blown up balloons with them for the whole race or there was a time penalty.

Once they checked in with their balloons they were given a clue where they had to take a photo of a stranger holding a real pigs eye. (And of course offer them a wet wipe afterwards)  I truly thought this would be difficult but both teams got the second person they asked.

They had to complete a 100 piece puzzle before catching a bus to The Base.  Most of the girls were country girls and hadn't ever caught a bus before.  So we did make sure they got on the right bus before heading to The Base ourselves to meet them with their next clue.

Once at The Base it was hard to get photos while we had to be at the check in points at the same time.

Here is one of the clues.  They had to take a photo of the full shop sign corresponding to each letter.  Then they had to unscramble the word to find the next check in point.

The next pit stop was to fill out a Sudoku in the foodcourt.

The final task was to go around the Warehouse and look for prices on the list of random items.  (Apparently one team just asked at the counter for all the prices) The rules didn't state anything different. And then head to final check in point where "Big is Good"

All up the race took 3 1/2 hours and 20 mins between the winning team and the second team.

It was such a great day! And all went without a hitch.  

They are such a great bunch of girls, and they had a blast.  The first rule of course was 'No running in public places' then 'do not draw attention to yourselves' but how could you not with 6 girls giggling around the place with balloons hanging off them.

The next day was Ambers actual birthday so we headed to Rotorua for the day..........

Ambers special purity ring from her Dad.

Presents!!

Cousins on the Gondola.

I think it will be a birthday she will remember forever!!

And so it should be, its very special becoming a teenager!

December in our house!!!

We have such wonderful Christmas celebrations with traditions that keep rolling on every year.  Sometimes it's hard to be motivated to carry out these traditions but the girls love them!! And Christmas wouldn't be the same.........

We started with Christmas Tree shopping on 2nd December.  Which was rather a quick affair as it was about to pour down with rain............. So wasn't the usual middle of the range tree, ended up being at the higher end of the budget.

Then home to decorate it!! With christmas carols blasting.
Although there wasn't much festive atmosphere going on.  The girls needed to be coaxed, encouraged and nearly forced to help decorate it.  But we got there in the end.

Ever since the girls were little we always made gingerbread men when school finished.  We used to have the whole dining table covered in coloured icing and lollies, raisins, sprinkles etc for decorations and a great big sticky mess.  As the girls have grown we have mixed it up a little.  Last year we made a shortbread christmas tree..

.This year we made home made chocolates which we boxed up in little white boxes and red ribbon and gave away, after taste testing of course.

 

Then on the 5th December my gorgeous little nephew Jesse Budd arrived safely at home and had the very special privilege of being at his birth.  (A nice treat amongst all the festivities)

And on the 8th of December is my birthday!!! My husband packed up a very yummy picnic and took us to Hamilton Gardens on a gorgeous sunny day!

And we always try to check out some Christmas lights each year.  Either at the Mormon Temple or driving the streets.  But again as the girls have got older the interest in christmas lights is slowly being lost.  So we borrowed 3 year old twin girls to help us appreciate the beauty of colourful lights! Because they certainly enjoyed running around the streets 'ooooing and aaaaaahing' over them.

And of course the wrapping of the gifts!! We went for the brown paper and twine look this year.  Not only more economical it looked great too!

The next great event on the calendar is my husbands family Christmas!! He is the oldest of 10 children so it is rather a large gathering but we book it long in advance to make sure everyone can make it.  This year it was a bit later in the month because one of the brothers was returning from Australia.  We traditionally have a big cooked brunch (this year was, pancakes with bacon, bananas and maple syrup or pancakes with berries, ice cream and chocolate sauce) and when one of the in-laws is a trained chef you know the food is gonna be good!!!  Then Grandma santa comes with her huge santa sack and makes all the grandchildren very happy indeed!

Then we do the present game...... all the 15 year olds and up bring a $20 gift that is put in the middle and the order or opening is drawn from a hat.  The game can get a little heated when someone tries to steal a much wanted gift.  But always lots of laughter had!!

After picking at snacks and drinks all day we bring out dessert at dinner time! And that's the way the Johnston Christmas rolls!

Then Christmas Eve comes around with it's own traditions...........

We have always since the girls were babies, let them open a gift on Christmas eve (when they were little it was a surprise every year, but now they now exactly what it's going to be)  We buy them summer pj's every year for them to rug up into in anticipation for Christmas day.  Along with present opening we dish up some yummy treats and sparkling grape juice and talk about the year gone by and give thanks for all the blessings we have received.  It's always fun remembering all the good times had.  And we re'read the Christmas story from the Bible to keep at the fore-front of our minds just what Christmas is all about.

And then on Christmas day we were up early opening presents (which is was special in itself because Mike is usually milking and the girls have always had to wait for him to come home) And then off to Papamoa for my family's christmas.

And of course Bailey was spoilt too!!

We then headed off to Papamoa.  Where we had a nice lunch with way too much food.

And off to the beach for an afternoon swim.  Even though there was a cyclone moving down the coast.  We couldn't go all the way to the beach and NOT go to the BEACH!!!

Somehow we have developed a tradition of all having to wear our party hat from our christmas cracker, and YES we have to listen to all the jokes too!!

And then comes the end of all our Christmas Celebrations.  I am always totally washed out, but it is well worth all the effort to catch up with family and be very well fed!  

And I'm sure the traditions will keep rolling on for more years to come..................