A Time to Rest

Dear Blog Friends

I need some time away from the blog world.
See you in Spring again.  (Maybe sooner)

With love

Linnie

A Very Special Girl!

The day she was born I was blessed beyond what I ever could have imagined! 

My first born was a boy and I longed to have a girl also.  I dreamed how I would dress her in pink and put pink polka dot ribbons in her hair.  We would play dolls and drink tea out of her tea set.  When she grew older we would work alongside in the kitchen, while laughing together and talking about her dreams. As she reached her teenage years, she would be my best friend.  Then one day she would meet her Prince and we would give her a fairy tale wedding. She would wear a snow white wedding dress and be her king’s helpmeet forever!

Not everything in my dream for my first born daughter has come true yet, but on the night before her 13th birthday, by God’s grace, my daughter is in every way more than I could ever have dreamed! 

She still loves to dress in pink and put pink polka dot ribbons in her hair.  She still play dolls - now with her little sister and lately we drink tea out of my Royal Albert tea set.  She does everything in the house alongside me, while we chat and laugh together. In our hectic household of ten people (four little people 5 years and under) it is no easy task to clean the house; do heaps of laundry, and take care of the many small demands of little children. 

Every evening she makes a delicious salad (mainly for Dad) to go with the main meal. 

She’s seldom to tired or to busy to do what we ask her to do. We also have lots of fun - experimenting with baking, using healthy alternatives and doing crafts together once a week!

She’s soft hearted and diligent, she is my best friend and right hand, she’s faithful and caring, taking care of me when I’m taking strain while pregnant or haven’t slept for several nights in a row, looking after sick children or teething babies!  

Most of all, she loves the Lord and longs to please Him, serve Him, follow Him and learn more of His will for her live! She has a teachable spirit and take heed when rebuked.

This very special girl’s name is Heidi-Mari.  Her name means honored and blessed and surely she is a blessing!

This weekend she will turn thirteen, entering young womanhood and to honor her for the special person she is, I’ve made her a birthday card. Most of the time she is the one making cards for other people!

Happy Birthday Heidi-Mari!

Thank you for being the beautiful young girl you are!

It is our prayer that you will keep growing in your love for the Lord, serving him more and more and become everything He intended you to be! 

May the Lord increase your strength;

and bless you with peace.      (Ps 29:11)  

We love you lots and lots!

With love

Pappa, Mamma, your sister and 6 brothers.

By now, Heidi-Mari is well known in the card making world, entering challenges every week. With this once-of-card, I’ve decide to enter a few challenges, myself. 

I’ve use the layout of Friday Sketchers.

With the lace, ribbon, bows, distressing, sparkling paper and girly image (which Heidi-Mari coloured for me) I could enter quite a few challenges:

At Craftaligious challenges they set the theme for cute; at Fairy Fun Fridays, Anything Goes; the challenge at Wee Memories is Free for All; at Totally Papercrafts the theme is One for the Girls; One Stitch At A Time wants a Little Ribbon, Lace and A Bow on the card; Quirky Crafts wants Ribbon too; Crafty Catz and One Stop Crafts wants you to use Distressing and Crafty Cardmakers, Inky Fingers; Stampavie and More want to see Sparkling and Digi Doodle Shop’s Best, texture.

Making this card, without Heidi-Mari’s help, was a real challenge, but it was big fun!

With love

Linnie

Let the Picture Come Alive!

Every now and then, I go totally overboard when planning a birthday party!  This year I did it with Andrew’s Birthday party, since the theme made it so easy!

Andrew (David and Daniel too) absolutely loves Walt Disney’s movie, UP.  So we decided to let the picture come alive through his birthday party!  

The excitement already started when we delivered the invitations. It was printed on a house silhouette and 2 to 3 party helium filled balloons attached to the invitation. We just had to make sure every time we got out of the car with the invitation, that it didn’t “fly UP” and away before they saw the invitation!  

CJ designed a polystyrene house and painted it just like Mr. Fredricksen’s house!  We planned to attach party-gas filled balloons to the house and let it float in the air, during the party.

The whole time while big brother CJ was building the house, the little ones were by his side following every detail.

I don’t know who enjoyed it the most, CJ painting the house and giving attention to every detail or 

Andrew who couldn’t contain his excitement while watching. 

With the leftover polystyrene we made little houses for each friend who would attend the party! We planned to tie a party balloon to the roof of each little house, as a thank you gift.

On Friday we made the cake.  It would also be Mr. Fredricksen’s house. 

Heidi-Mari and I baked two flat cakes and CJ made the structure out of polystyrene, covered with foil. 

Then the long hours of decorating the cake started.

CJ and Heidi-Mari arranging little water balloons (filled with air!) out of the chocolate chimney, to give the cake the look of Mr. Fredricksen’s house going up with all the balloons. They attached the water balloons to florist wire. 

They had lots of fun while doing it!

Heidi-Mari and Josua decorating the tree - always a delicious favourate with the cake!

The finished cake - Mr Fredricksen’s balloon house and the tree.

The party would be 14h30 Saturday afternoon and by 13h00 Christo, CJ and Andrew arrived with 50 party balloons!

Christo and CJ attaching the balloons to the polystyrene house.  We thought about 30 balloons would be enough to lift the house, but it was only after all 50 balloons were attached and the front porch floor was cut out, 

that we had lift off!

We anchored the balloon house with a string to the ground, in our front yard.

The little houses with a party balloon. 

One balloon wasn’t able to lift the little house!

After all the party friends had left, we attached 10 balloons to a little house and “flew” it with a string.

All the children had a ball taking turns to play with the house in the wind!

And then it happened...

The string came undone from the polystyrene house and UP it went - over the street into the neighbor's yard, but very quickly out of reach, over the shrubs...

and over the roof tops!

For a moment there was total pandemonium, then my concern turned to joy as I watched Andrew’s face. 

He was OVERJOYED as the little house went....UP!

A little face in total amazement. The story had come alive for him!  He couldn’t believe his own little eyes!  It really happened.  

Mr. Fredricksen’s house was going up, up, up! Wow!  

Everyone had a sigh of relief and enjoyed the moment. This was the perfect ending for a perfect party!  An adventure in itself! 

The only thing still to be done, was to open the presents!

And playing with the left over balloons!

Thank you Lord, this was truly a memory making party - for all of us!