Anniversary Thoughts...

Last weekend was our 6th anniversary.... And Emma & I were away with Grandma in Masterton celebrating my Aunt & Uncles' 50th wedding anniversary which was lovely. Great seeing relatives I haven't seen in ages. Emma who is amazing us more & more by being more bold and not so shy,was great chatting away to anyone who spoke to her.

The other week Gail (who is a blogging queen) mentioned things her father in law had shared at her wedding - which encouraged me to look back on what was said at our wedding six years ago. My brother who is a youth pastor took our ceremony and he gave us a red rose to symbolize different things - (we still have that rose - its pretty dusty but its still in one piece...) Anyway these are the three things my wise old bro said...

1) A red rose stands for love - remember to passionately & unashamedly love each other. Be proud of each other - build the other person up whether their there or not. Let the words of your mouth build each other up.

2) Second thing to remember is that pruning produces growth... Prune back the pressures of life, prune back time so that your marriage may grow. Don't be ordinary be adventurous. Prune the old and do new things that cause you to grow together. Don't leave the small things untreated by quick to mend any fences that may appear in marriage.

3) And lastly... Remember the unseen. You may not be able to see the scent of a rose but its there - you may not be able to see God but he's there and only a prayer away!

Cool eh? In fact I think I might need to buy some roses today...

Dancing Queen!

Emma has a new obsession! She is loving Mamma Mia & everything about it. It started when we were in Taupo and it was a grotty rainy day - Rob was asleep and I was bored (Dale & Nell both at work...) And so I lay Em on the couch while I watched Mamma Mia - but Em's eyes stayed open the whole time and she watched the whole thing and then said at the end of it - 'can we watch it again Mama?' Very cute - my little one sings from the moment she wakes up until she goes to bed. Her favourite song today is 'Honey, honey'! (And she likes to hold a diary while she sings it like Sophie on the movie!!)

Everything has started for the year now. Emma is now a big girl and is in the swimming pool all by herself - which she is finding a little scary but it's early days. And she has also started in a Pre-dance/Preschool dance class (thanks to UK pounds sent for Christmas!!) The first week she couldn't understand why Mummy wasn't dancing too - but by the second week with a little bit of a chat and bribery she was dancing with the best of them. And she was enjoying it too cos she had her gorgeous little content smile on her face. It was lovely seeing her dancing being Humpty Dumpty - a fairy etc... So cute I almost got a bit choked up - bit sad really!

First Day of Kindy!

Emma has just survived her first day at Kindy! I was a little sad last night - knowing it was the end of an era and the beginning of a new chapter in her life... I love kindergartens and the whole philosophy around them and it's all part of the bigger picture with school in mind! Kindy is 2 and a half hours three times a week - focusing on learning through play and then when she's four she moves up to mornings five times a week in preparation for school. So that means I'll be missing my little gem for seven hours every week - I'm thinking I might do housework, go for a run, sleep & scrapbooking! But we'll see.... but first I have to learn to let her go just a little bit!

Also - yesterday we had a great day to celebrate kindy starting - a real Mummy/Daughter date day. Firstly I took Emma to the movies for the first time - she wasn't so keen on the movie previews but the actual movie (Madagascar 2) she loved. It was nice being in the movies with only 5 other people - didn't have to feel so bad with all Em's questions.. "But why did the lion do that Mummy..!" Very cute phase! A McDonalds Happy Meal was also enjoyed together. And then we explored and played on a playground we haven't been to before. And then to top everything off we went to the Fairy Shop and brought clips for the first day at Kindy! While Mummy went to a shop further up and brought pretty tea cups... retail therapy can't beat it!