A very merry CHRISTmas to all!

Ever wonderecd what its like to have a summer Christmas? Just look at these pictures and you will know. There is nothing quite like being together as a family, hanging out next to the pool and having cold meats and salads. No hot stove for us - just a whole lot of fun. The first photo is of my two youngest. They are 22 months apart and have been best friends since the day Ankie was born. It warms my heart to know that they can still play together with such abandon. I hope they will still be like this when they are 50!

The next photo is of DD nr2 and her two children.Aren't they just beautiful? Because we got to spend Chrismas day with all of them last year, they are all heading to the in laws for Christmas day this year and we got to spend Christmas Eve with all the kids here (except for DD nr.1, she is on holiday with her little family) Santa came to our house to hand out the presents. He phoned a couple of times to speak to Luke and Hannah and keep them informed of his where abouts.

Lukie is 8 now and for the past three years we were convinced that he was going to recognise Santa as Braam, my husband's best friend, but he is still convinced (a little suspicious, but still pretty sure!) This year he said to his mom that it wasn't Santa, because he could see the elastic on the fake beard. Thank goodness for children with very active imaginations! Without missing a beat, Ankie told him that the elastic he saw, was not for Santa's beard. It was to keep his hat on his head while he was flying through the air. He thought that was a very logical answer and accepted it without question. We'll see if he figures it out next year.

We have just come home from church. What a blessing to fill an entire pew again. The minister said he hoped that we could see the grace of God in this very difficult year. It made me think how lucky, no blessed I have been this year. Amongst all the drama and trouble, the hand of God is so plainly visible. We nearly lost Ankie three times this year - twice in a car accident and once in a fire in her little house - and every time God has spared her life and she walked away unharmed! I don't know why I deserve such grace, but I am so grateful to Him. He must have great plans for that little girl.

A wonderful Christmas to all of you and may you be acutely aware of His presence and His grace in the year 2010!

Finally those Christmas cards I promised.

Sorry that I have been missing in action for a while, but it is crazy season at school. I have survived exams, marking, entering marks and everything else. All reports are done! All that remains to be done are the interviews with the parents of those girls that have failed the year, never a very pleasant thing to do. I wish I had the courage to tell some of those parents that their kids are failing, because they, as parents, don't give a #$%@ and therefore she doesn't either.
I woke up this morning with the mother of all headaches. I am not prone to get them, so when it happens, I don't know what to do. Eventually it was so bad that they sent me home from school to go to the dr. , turns out it was a migraine - I feel so sorry for those of you that suffer from them! He gave me a shot and 15 mins later, I was fine, I could not believe that I could feel that bad one minute and that good 15 minutes later. Thank goodness for modern medicine.
Here are the long promised purple Christmas cards. As I said, I wasn't too sure when the lady asked me to make them, but I actually love how they turned out. All stamps are by Inkadinkadoo, embossed in silver. All cardstock is Bazzil and the silver card was bought at my local stationer. Ribbons and flowers are from my stash.


A close up of the bow. The beads were just put on decorative pins.

I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the swirls and the stars were 'stolen' from my granddaughter's crafting stash.

I decided to use one of my 'stolen' stars at the top of the tree after the photo was taken.

The lady loved the cards, so I am happy.

I have not managed to find another USB cable for my camera, so I still can not show you my ribbon cabinet, but I will, I promise!

Looks like Audrey is the only brave person out there. I am thinking very hard about what to make for her, but I promise it will be done with love! Come on girls, don't be scared, I promise it will be nice! Maybe there are some brave men out there if the girls are not brave enough. If you don't know what the heck I am on about, read the previous post.

Have a fabulous week. I might post more often, now that school has closed.

Christmas cards in full swing!

It seems like it is going to be a very pink Christmas around here! Those horrible pink Copics just keep jumping out at me. You've got to admit that she just would not be as cute as this in any other colour. The image is a free digi stamp. Papers are all Bazzil and some leftovers from my scrapbox. The ribbon is from my stash and the snowflakes were glitterified with some diamond Stickles.

The snowman charm is from my local bead shop. Sorry about the bad photo, but we have had rain for the last few days, so no nice sunlight to take it. Here's a close up so you can see just how cute she is and see the shine on the snowflakes.

The next one is another one of Dustin Pike's freebies. The patterned paper is Bo Bunny (I think!)

Another one of Dustin's images. I think I may be addicted to them, but they print so well and they are so much fun to colour! Papers are Bazzil and Bo Bunny

This is an image that I coloured last year (come on, don't pretend you don't have any coloured images that have been lying around for ages and haven't been used!! You do, don't you???) The paper is Basic grey and Bazzil.

And finally, another one of Dustin's little fellows. The wreath was done with Flowersoft and Stickles. All papers are Bazzil and Bo Bunny. Ribbon from my stash.

I am really enjoying making Christmas cards and they are flying out the door, so people must like them.

I am actually supposed to start setting exam papers, but my SIL is coming over tonight with a friend so that I can help the friend make wedding invitations for her daughter. Sounds like more fun than exams, so what can I do?

Hannah has Chicken Pox, poor thing. She is covered in spots. She had her birthday party yesterday and mom was worried about the spots. She took her to the Quick care at the hospital and the dr. there told her that the spots on her head and shoulders were just an allergic reaction and nothing to worry about! This morning it looked like mosquito bites, so off we went to school. Mom was phoned at about 9h30 and told that a girl in Hannah's class had Chicken Pox, so they think that was what was on her little body. Mom took her back to the dr. and it was confirmed. Hope all the children at the party is OK.