I am always ordering little things off the internet! I see something that looks nice, and which doesn't cost too much, and I then buy it! There are lots of fun aspects to doing it! I have fun going " internet window shopping" looking at items! Then I have fun actually putting the item into my online shopping cart and buying the item! Then there is the fun anticipation of waiting for the product to come by the mail! It can sometimes take three weeks to arrive! I never ever tell Mum and Dad what I have bought before it cones, then we all have a fun surprise when it arrives! Mum is a great " parcel opener" using her scissors! It is funny how the parcel are all packed differently. Some items arrive covered and " cocooned " in padding. Others arrive in a way that I am not sure how they managed to arrive in one shape because the packaging is not too good!

       Sometimes in life, we are waiting for something to happen such as an event we are looking forward to or a visit from a friend or family member  or something else that we are waiting for. We all await with joy of being reunited again one day with our loved ones who have passed away and have gone

ahead of us. It is very natural that we miss our loved ones. They are precious to us and our love for them and them for us is eternal and is not limited to seeing them physically. May we enjoy and treasure the little everyday things of life, and what each day is holding, and also know that we can anticipate a beautiful reunion with our loved ones in the future. What a joyful day that will be!

       December begins tomorrow! Many people have advent calendars where they open a new window every day leading up to Christmas Day. There are chocolate versions too! Opening a new window or revealing what is behind a number, is a bit like each day when we get up and start a new day. A sunrise awaits us to start the new day. Somewhere in the world, people have experienced the beauty of a lovely coloured sunrise, with pretty yellow, pink, and orange colours. The skies are painted for us each day. Just as the skies are beautiful, may we be also comforted by the knowledge that we are cared for our loving  Heavenly Father who knows all the colours of our own lives and watches over us as his masterpiece of our lives keeps being painted

from when we are born right through to the time when we quietly leave this world to join with our loved ones who have gone ahead of us.

Dad asked me the other day what coloured cardboard I would like for my Christmas cards this year. He was going to the shop to buy it for me. I decided to have sunny sunshine yellow! Looking out through the windows and seeing sunshine brings a warmth to our heart and mind. Sunshine can

cheer us, and if we are in  pain it helps us to endure it a little easier. We can also bring sunshine into others lives, through a smile or a kindly word or a variety of  little ways of saying " I'm thinking of you". May the warmth of family and friendships envelop you today and give you the strength and comfort that  you need for each moment of the day.

  Our neighbour gave us a big bundle of yummy apricots the other day that he had picked from his backyard garden apricot trees! He needed to pick them from the trees before the birds discovered them! Apricots are very tasty fruit! They have a hard stone in the middle of the fruit though. It is good that we are not like apricots. Our hearts are figuratively beating with love! As our heart

beats with love, may it be  just like blood that goes out to the other parts of our body, may our inner heart love flow out to the words we say, the hands we use to help others, and to our feet to walk over and be there for when people need a listening ear.

We have been enjoying watching the Big Bash  twenty/twenty cricket on the tv, It is quite a lively form of the game! There is just the twenty overs of batting and bowling so there is always something happening!  

Just like there is just the two innings  of 20 overs that are played in a match, there are also just the  24 hours in the day. Some days " speed" past quickly whilst on other days the hours pass by slowly. May we enjoy little big everyday moments that all of a sudden occur in a day. May we enjoy a smile at something that cheers us , may we empathise with others who are having a not too good days and may we take delight as we think about the many  special moments  that we enjoy throughout the day, spent with family and friends.

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    The Australian Open tennis starts this week! It is always fun to see the matches on tv that last  for five sets and seem to go on and on for such a long time! ( it wouldn't be very fun for the players involved in the match though! ) Sometimes life can feel a little bit like a five set tennis match. We

are in pain and feeling tired. We may feel that there are a few things that life is " throwing up and serving" at us. But we keep enduring on! Just like tennis players are encouraged by the tennis spectators at the match cheering them on, we also have our loved and living  family and friends with us encouraging us on. We keep going and going, and are strengthened by their caring love! ❤️

Happy Australia Day to everyone! May a cockatoo greet you with a squawk as you begin the day! The Australian animals that live in our country are very unique! When thinking about them, they make me smile! Kookaburras are always laughing! They find life funny! It is good for us to enjoy having a laugh too! It helps our insides. Sometimes we don't feel like  laughing, and life gets tiring. May we at those times ( and always ) think about the beautifully coloured rainbow lorikeets, with each colour a reminder of the love we receive from and give out to our loved ones, both family and friends. A platypus is a very odd animal! It looks so  very unusual! It is very nice that we are all different! We all look different, differ in our interests, likes and dislikes, live in a variety of furnished homes, and differ in a multitude of ways! But...we all smile in the same heart felt way. We all have red blood, and have hearts and lungs that beat and breathe. Underneath it all, everyone wants to be cared about, have someone who will listen to them, and like a kangaroo with their little Joey, have people that will carry them through in loving thoughts all that they are going through in their day by day lives.

Today is the first of February! It is the start of a new month! We wonder what this new month will hold for each of us. There will be a mixture of times when we feel glad, when we feel sad, when we may feel a little concerned, when

we laugh and others times when tears fill our eyes and drop  quietly down our face. It is so encouraging to know that we  have our family and friends who love us and will caringly help and support us through whatever the days and month holds. May we put our hands into the hands of others, and together may we walk down the pathway of what this month holds.

Dad got stuck in a " traffic jam" the other day when driving the car. He said that there was such a bank up of cars, trucks and vans! It was only our local area. He doesn't know if there had been an accident or perhaps a car had broken down and caused the traffic issue. I always think that the words "traffic jam" sound funny! I imagine cars covered in strawberry, raspberry or apricot jam! It would be very, very messy and sticky! Life is like jam. Family and friends that will " stick" by you like jam through all that our lives are holding each day are so precious!  Many people like having jam on bread and butter or toast. Bread is a very basic and fundamental  type of food, and so our loved one will remain encouraging us through our everyday pains, concerns and joys. 

In a couple of weeks time, Summer will be finished for the year! We may still experience "summery " warm weather though , as we " march into March". It is fun seeing marching bands on the tv or to remember times when we have seen them as we watched them pass by us in real life  parades to mark

certain occasions. It is enjoyable watching musicians playing the big drum and trumpets whilst marching along the street! Every one  of us is like a member of a marching band as we walk  down the pathways of life. Our voices, smiles and actions tunefully play beautiful music as we care about, help and support each other. ❤️

The other day, Mum said the phrase : " it's okay. I'm good as gold". Then I started to think to myself, why is gold good?! It then made me remember when I was little and I was sooo excited when one Christmas I received an autograph book as a present! I spent that Christmastime getting everyone to write quotes in the autograph book or to sign their names! I don't know where the book is now! I do though remember one of the quotes that someone wrote into the book. It was : " There are gold ships. There are silver ships. But nothing matches friend -ships " The quote is very true! May we always value our friendships, and seek to care, support and encourage each other through sad times, joyful times, tiring times, exciting times  and painful times.

I will say goodbye for now

Today (29th February) is a very special leap year day! It only comes every fourth year! It would be extra special to be born on the 29th of February! Your true birthday could be officially celebrated only each fourth year! Each day is special. There is always something that happens each day  that is either new, or we talk with a loved one, or meet someone for the first time, or we learn

something we didn't know or had never heard of before, or we look out the windows and a bird chirps a hello to us or a flower blooms. May we treasure all the little things that make up our days. They all come together and add so much specialness to our lives and days.

 Ribbitty- ribbet , happy leap day, to you! 

My red Valentine's Day balloon lasted two weeks before sagging! That was very great! I wrote  in the Chirpings a couple of weeks ago that the man who sold the balloon to Dad had at one time only guaranteed that it would remain "upstanding " and floating in the air for nine  hours! Then Dad paid an extra 50 cents for the addition of better balloon gas to try to length the unsagginess time! It worked! 

  Sometimes we may feel a little " saggy". We may feel tired or have wearying pain or just feel a little off or unwell. When you are feeling like this, I send a big hug to you ❤️Just look at this heart, and perhaps it will bring a touch of comfort and sunshine to your day. Each of you are soooo special! May gentle petals float down upon you and gently perfume your day with the knowledge that you are much loved.

It is now Autumntime! As the weeks go on, there  will be very pretty yellow, orange, red and brown leaves on the trees that will be enjoying going on an adventure in the wind and gently floating  to the ground. I can remember times when I was little when i would have fun collecting these colourful

Autumn  leaves and making bookmarks using them. The coloured  leaves were captured forever in a bookmark! Special treasured memories of times spent with our loved one are " captured" in our hearts and minds too! Life experiences paint with a beautiful coloured paint brush moments and times in our lives. Sometimes it may be through painful and sad times, other times very happy and joyful times, and through it all the wind of love gently blows through our lives and carries us through our days.

This is Easter week. I hope that it will be a very special Eastertime for you! As the "sun" rises  on every new day, it is reminder daily of Easter Sunday when  our very loving Lord Jesus, Who is the Son of God , rose that day. The sunrises that we see are so very lovely with their colouring of the skies ; How much, much  more beautiful would have been the sight of our Lord Jesus when the women first saw Him! May you always know the hope, peace and joy that comes as a result of Good Friday and Easter Sunday! 

We will this week  "March" out of March and jump, leap, tippytoe, hop or skip into April! Daylight Savings ends next weekend too! You do not need to get up at 2 am next weekend though to change your clocks back an hour! You can change the clocks the night before! Time with our loved ones is precious. It is the little everyday things that makes life special. We share a laugh

together when something happens in our day, or we give a smile to someone who is too weary to have their own. We have a little chat for a few minutes and it brightens our day. May we take each day by day, through the happy times, through the sadder times, through painful or exciting times. There is always a sunrise and sunset each day.

The Aussie swimmers have their National Swimming Championships and  Trials at the end of the week, that will also result in who is selected to represent Australia at the Olympics ! The swimmers put such a lot of work and time in preparation for the races, then it passes by so very quickly! Sometimes swimmers win by a fingernail! It would be better perhaps  to keep your fingernails long! Even the thought of swimming 1500 metres makes me feel tired!  Life doesn't always go " swimmingly" and smoothly. Things happen in our days and lives that hit us like waves. But just like the swimming

spectators this week will be encouraging on the swimmers, may the love and support of our loved ones both here and those special ones who have passed away encourage and help us as as we " freestyle" though the day. May the pretty butterflies from "butterfly"  strokes accompany your journey through life day by day. Sometimes there is delight to swim backwards and remember special occasions in our lives. May we all swim onwards ever onwards through the day by day until we reach the finishing line.

It is the 11th of April today, which means that 1 and 1 are together in the date! Sometimes we may feel a little lonely. It can then sadden us. When those times come, I send big hugs here ❤️ just for you! You may never know that there is someone else who is thinking of you at exactly the same time.

Often we have other family members, or friends or people that we know come into our minds. You are not alone. You are much loved! There are people who care soooo much about you!

  It was just a little bit frustrating when we were wanting to catch the hourly news on the radio...but then didn't turn on the radio until five minutes after the hour and so then needed to wait another fifty five minutes until the next news bulletin! That isn't an issue anymore! We can go to the 3aw radio site, and there is a " news on demand" button. By pressing that button, we get a replay of the latest news bulletin! It is good " catching up" with the news of how our family and friends are getting along in their lives, when we haven't be in touch for a little while . The news we hear is a mixture of joyful, sad, exciting, and painful news. We celebrate the birth of precious little babies. We  feel grief and sadness when we hear that a loved one has passed away but also can give thanks that for those who had been in pain and suffering, they are no longer enduring this and are released from that pain.  We share in the

happiness of couples who have had weddings and are now married, or are recently engaged . We enjoy hearing about family and friends who have started new jobs or are enjoying their current career, or are excitedly preparing to travel overseas. Sharing, caring, chatting, empathising, encouraging, laughing, crying together.. these are the special times and add the depth to our lives and days.

When evening time comes, it seems that one minute there is daylight, then the next minute there is darkness! It is probably because there is no longer Daylight Savings and each day that goes by is closer to the shortest day of the year. I was reading a site on the web the other day, and one of the questions was : " What were you afraid of when you were little? " Some of the people who answered said : " The dark". Being concerned about the dark is felt by people of all ages. The darkness can be a little scary. When I think of darkness, I like to think of a candle that is quietly burning in the midst of the dark. It is only a little source of light but it is beautiful and lights the room. It seems very gentle and calming. It just stands there peacefully giving out light. May we all be like candles. Some people are feeling a little concerned about all that their  lives are holding. They aren't  surrounded by  darkness but they are a little concerned about worries in their lives or are going through painful times mentally and physically. A candle brings comfort. May we see the beautiful and lovely candles that are other people and be candles ourselves ❤️ 

We are now into the new month of May! I started thinking the other day about the aviating distress call, which is : " May Day! May Day! May Day!" Of course, curiosity came and invaded my mind, and I just had to google the term and find out where it originated from! I will quote what I read :

 “The Mayday procedure word was originated in 1923, by Frederick Stanley Mockford (1897–1962).[1] A senior radio officer at Croydon Airport in London, Mockford was asked to think of a word that would indicate distress and would easily be understood by all pilots and ground staff in an emergency. Since much of the traffic at the time was between Croydon and Le Bourget Airport in Paris, he proposed the word "Mayday" from the French "m'aider", a shortened version of "venez m'aider" (meaning "come and help me")”

Sometimes, we may feel like also saying "May Day! May Day! May Day!" when we are in distress. It is at these times that a caring word from a family member or a friend or someone that we have just met can bring much

encouragement and comfort. May we never ever stop telling or showing each other that we care about them and love them. We may not know what each day holds, but we know that love is eternal! It gives us the strength for each day!

  It is great that different colours seem to create different effects in our lives and how we are feeling. When we see the colour yellow, it looks very sunny and sunshiny, and adds warmth to our day. Light blue colours look very restful and are calming. When I see pink, it brightens my day! Red is a dramatic colour and alive colour. Coloured polka dots on a coloured

background make me laugh! It is so very great that there are millions and billions of shades of colours in the world! May we take the time each day to enjoy the variety of shades of colours that we see! When we look outdoors, we give thanks to the beautiful Painter.

There is beauty in so many things ! There is loveliness that emanates from a smile. There is beauty in a raindrop that settles on a petal of a flower and glistens like a rainbow in the sunshine. There is specialness when we hear the voice of a loved one. There is beauty with each heartbeat and breath that we take, as we are reminded once again how intricately and well designed that our body has been created. There is loveliness in the multitude of daily blessings that accompany our walk through life ❤️

Whilst we are preparing to head in to Wintertime, there are lots of people in places such as the USA and UK, who are preparing for Summertime! The world is full of different types of weather and temperatures all at the one time! Sometimes though, in Melbourne,we have all the seasons in one day! Life is a little like that. It is made up of happiness, sad times, exciting times, tiring and painful times, joyful,  and very thankful times. The love of our loved ones, both those with us or who have passed away,  weaves itself through each and every day! Whatever the weather or the season may be, may we find encouragement by the knowledge that we are loved and rest knowing that we will have the strength just to face what we need that day. May we take a day by day, and step by step.

Wintertime  starts this week. Each of you are like snowflakes. Your inner beauty shines through and  brings lovely colours as the sunshine of your warming care of and kindness to others, mixes with the rainy times when you

may feel tired or painful or unwell. A snowflake glistens through sunshine and rain,  and you are all so very, very beautiful and special to everyone  that you see or are in touch with day by day ❤️