I Won! I Won!

Oh my goodness, I actually won something in the Dog Days of Summer giveaways hosted by the ever thoughful Shannon! Well actually, two things! I couldn't believe it!

I have only ever won one thing in my life and that was a baseball cap for winning the indoor Bowls competition that they had for work - and to be fair, I only won because it was between me and a man without his glasses, so... yeah. :)

I won a pair of gorgeous cross earrings from the generous Jessica at Jessica's Family Blog! I have been looking for some similar to this, without success, and will wear them with pride. :)

I also won a Tag Blanket (what a great idea for bubs!!) from Sue Ellen at What's He Up To Now? which will be handed over to a friend of mine, Michaela, who's recently had a baby. I thought this would be perfect! Go check out her Etsy store where there are more blankets to buy here. I might go and buy one for my future children, myself. :)

Now we're off to Sean's family for a visit and then on to my parents house to help set up their new printer!

Have a great Saturday, everyone!

The Simpsons Movie

The above is the reason I am up so late with no craft whatsoever in hand. ;)

Sean and I had our weekly date night tonight and decided to see The Simpsons Movie. I was a huge fan when I was a kid and remember seeing the first episode on TV - it was a family event! I must admit that I have lost a lot of interest over the years because I found things becoming a bit too risque and predictable but Sean really wanted to see it, and we thought it would give us a laugh.

I won't give a lengthy review, or any review actually, because my reviews in school were usually so scattered it didn't give anyone any idea as to what I was raving about, but if you would like to know my opinion on the movie, I will send you here, where John sums up the movie just as I would have if I could articulate my thoughts more clearly. While you are there check out his other reviews if you're planning on going to the movies or hiring out a DVD soon - his reviews are family focused and highly recommended!

Thank You, Father

Oh my goodness, I thought I lost him! My big-eyed Bartleby!

I am so incredibly vigilant with our two kittens. They're the first two living things that have been totally dependent on me for their everything and I am determined not to mess it up. So you can imagine how guilty I felt when suddenly one of them went missing!

To back up, I was doing loads of laundry today, several loads. I was also airing the place out so both the window (with screen) and door (with security screen) were open. The kittens were playing and fighting as usual, running around our home like madmen. I was just finishing putting my last load of laundry in the machine when I heard a slight bang from the lounge room and suddenly Loki appeared next to me meowing. Little did I know that Bartleby, in his play, had run into the window screen, pushed it out of the window frame and followed it down two storeys onto the driveway and nearby road!

I also might add at this point that we live around 20 feet from a major highway that has a high speed limit and a huge amount of cars. My first though was that he was going to run for the road. Having never been outside because of the highway his curiosity was surely going to get the better of him! Before I knew it I was panicking and then part of a psalm that I was studying this morning came to mind:

"But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me." (Psalms 66:19,20)

So I stopped for a moment and begged God to watch over Bartleby, to make him avoid the road and to bring him back to us safely. It was not a kneel and pour our your heart kind of prayer, but a prayer of urgency, a tell me what I should do and where I should go. As I franticly slipped my shoes on and opened the security door to go search outside there he was, pacing outside of our door! I cried.

He had somehow managed to fall down two storeys onto concrete, climb back up two flights of stairs he's never been on and come to our door waiting for me to open it with not a single injury! It was nothing short of a miracle, and I have never been so glad to hear his irritated little meow in my life!

The Lord is so wonderful and is always ready to help us in our times of need, never mind how small they may seem - never has this been more apparent to me than today. Thank you, Father, for letting us keep these two blessings a little bit longer.

Two for one!

Oh how I love reading everyone's frugal advice! The one bad thing about living here in Australia is that we can't actually follow the coupons or the shopping stores advice the majority of the time. :( However, I have a couple of frugal tips: one for us Aussie's and one for women everywhere!

Aussies: Have you ever been to Simple Savings? I, unfortunately, don't have the money to join the Vault right now, but even for free there are tons of great tips and saving solutions! There are backlog monthly newsletter with great savings, and I get an email with a weekly tip for saving money, how great is that?

One other tip, that I'm sure many women before me have mentioned and done, but it was a wakeup for myself, is using the heater to dry clothes and humidify the air! So simple! We have one of those big gas and electric wall heaters in our lounge/dining/everyday room which is so costly to run, but essential in the middle of winter, even with blankets. (Did I mention that we live in a brick wall interior home?)
I use to fret when I couldn't do laundry because it was raining and would have wet clothes hanging around the house everywhere. We bought a folding clothes dryer, place the wet clothes on that side on in front of the heater (leave a little distance, though!) and the clothes dry in next to no time and the air humidifies to help with chesty coughs and colds that are so common in winter! Of course, it also heats up the room at the same time. Three jobs in one! :)

Return of the Daughters

I am SO excited about this upcoming documentary!

Return of the Daughters

What a wonderful and God-inspired idea!

Inspirations

I'm sure that everyone has sites and blogs that inspire them on a daily (or at least regular) basis. I'd love to share some of mine - maybe they are ones that you've already been to, but maybe there is one you haven't seen before. Please have a look and be blessed!

Some Godly families...

Maxwell Family Blog
The Duggar Family
Serven Family Blog
Girotti Family Blog

And some inspirational women...

Tammy's Times
Biblical Womanhood
A Joyful Handmaiden
Veiled Glory
Homeliving Helper

Beginning

I thought that it would be fitting that the first post on this blog explain just who I am and where I come from!

I'm Amy. :) I'm 24 years old proud homemaker from Australia who's going through this amazing journey with the love of my life and two crazy kittens in tow.

I grew up an only child to Atheist parents who still can't quite understand how I "turned" and what they did wrong. I have seen people being born and people dying, I have been through half a dozen religions and cults, I have made many mistakes and less than wise choices, and a few good ones (:)) to get where I am - a happy, God-fearing, Proverbs 31 striving woman of God.

I spend my spare time sewing, quilting, crocheting, knitting, dressmaking, cooking, reading, writing and I'm sure a dozen other things in between. I'm learning to live more modestly, frugally and fully to give God the glory.

If there's anything else you would like to know, or any questions you might have, please ask!

Enjoy your stay and God bless you!