Cowboy Country ~ Aussie Flavour

I have been blessed to be married to this amazing man for 21 years today. I love you more with every passing year.

Thank you for your commitment to us, your work and to your faith. You are an example to so many. I have always loved the characteristics of a country boy ~ keeping things simple in a complex world, keeping family and faith at the top of your priority list, being a hard worker to provide for  our family, knowing that character and integrity are everything in the business world, believing that a handshake is as good as a contract and then following through on your promises, your willingness to jump into the trenches and work, to fight for your friends and your church, and for choosing ME to be your soulmate!

Foundations are everything!

I love how building can be a metaphor for life….the work and time that is spent preparing a home to be built is THE MOST important part of the whole process.

Making sure that the footings are where the surveyors have plotted them on the land, digging deep into the ground to ensure that the foundations are built on solid ground.

Removing the surface, and refining the area to be built on. It takes physical effort to get rid of the outer coating, to reveal where the foundations are to go, and the area needs to be totally ‘swept clean’ to ensure a firm foundation to build on.

Did you know that over 1/3 of a home’s cost will be spent in getting the foundations and groundwork right? Before you see all the beautiful detailing of your roofline, or choose those pretty lights for your dining room, or what the paint colour you chose will look like  in your bedroom, you will have outlaid $ on what you can’t see and what your friends will never comment on.

But if it’s not done right, you’re screwed!

Bit like life huh?! If I don’t spend the time working on what is inside me – my heart, my attitude, my thoughts and behaviour, then no amount of ‘painting’ on the outside is going to help me look beautiful or last through all the seasons of my life.

My foundations need to be firm – my character is what will stand the test of time and the only thing that lasts beyond the grave.

What have you built your life on? Is it time to do some re-pinning of your foundations, some shoring up of solid ground, or will you be building ‘new’ foundations this year?

Let the Big Diggers Roll!

And so it begins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday afternoon, a monstrous truck delivered the big excavator to site to begin construction of our new home.

It has been five years since we walked off our last property with what remained of our life. Our business at the time came unstuck through a partnership that soured, and we had undertaken a major project in developing prime real estate land in Sydney, which was ready to sell right about the time that real estate market collapsed in Australia. Lots of mistakes were made, and we take full responsibility for the loss of all we owned. Rather than walking away from creditors and moving to another state to start over, we faced a room full of angry people and told them we would sell everything we had to pay them…which we did.

After that, we both took jobs doing whatever we could to keep our family together. I worked for the local paper covering stories in our area, and my husband became a labourer.  It was very humbling but also brought a closeness in our relationship and family as we stood together to face each day. We figured one day God would bless the work of our hands with a place to call our own.

Over the last 20 years, we have built many, many client homes…always putting into them as much love as we would if it were our own home. We know the value of having a ‘place’ to nurture, to retreat to, a safe haven that wraps around you with the memories and love created within its walls.

I also know that everything on this earth will one day go…’you can’t take it with you’! So as we begin the dream of so many families, to build our own “NEST”, we recognise we are only stewards of what God has given us.

Here is the space – right ahead of you is the front door! I can already see it, walk through the halls, smell the aromas of family dinner wafting from the kitchen, know the exact spot where I will while away a few hours reading, I even have a dedicated space for crafting/sewing (albeit I will have to  share with guests when they visit!).

Thank you Lord for this opportunity.

Psalm 37:4

 ”Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

COSMO Bride Autumn 2011

And here is the article for those of you who might not be able to purchase a copy of the issue, particularly my Queensland friends who might like a reprieve from the clean-up (that is, if you are back online with power yet and can read this!)

Because my 3rd daughter is pursuing a career in photography, but being one of the bridal party on the day wasn’t able to photograph the bride and groom herself, she managed to convince them to dress up again about 6 months after their nuptials, to capture the love they share.

Tanika & Ashton

 

Mirror reflection

This is my favourite - absolutely stunning!!

 

I wonder if Cosmo Bride would like some more photos?!!!!

Full of cheek!

 

For more images from an up and coming photographer, check out www.siannonparicephotography.wordpress.com

Garden wedding, young love, and a COSMO bride!!!

The past couple of weeks have been spent gearing up for the year, checking on family and friends in the devastated areas of Queensland, and preparing our garden for a wedding.

garden wedding #2

The lovely couple wanted a very simple, elegant garden wedding, which suited their personalities perfectly. They are pretty low-key stress-free people, who just wanted to get married and be together.

The hot weather and earlier rain brought the roses out in full bloom, unfortunately the agapanthus had just about finished their show but I managed to save a couple of almost spent blooms for the bride, as they are her favourite flower.

Loved the florette detailing on the dressThe bride told me that the dress was actually a formal dress that she tried on in a different colour and loved, and asked whether the store had it in white, which they promptly found for her. A gorgeous gown for a fraction of the price of a wedding dress. Seems like as soon as you say something is for a wedding, the price jumps through the roof!

Thais and Nick

 

My daughter decided to utilise the beautiful day and dappled afternoon sunlight to steal a private moment with her man.

:)

And the interlude was going just fine, until little sister decides to get in on the act!

Little sisters - can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em!

And in some more exciting news, the long awaited Cosmo Bride edition is OUT!!!!! Starting on page 86, you can read about the most wonderful day in our family life so far (apart from the births of our children). Our eldest daughter and her spunk of a husband’s big day.

This is not the actual article, but I haven’t been able to get out and grab a copy of the magazine today as it just hit the newsstands. I can’t wait to see it myself!!!!

Much love,

Shani

New Years Goals…tick them off one by one!

This is what I’ve been up to for the last few days!  MY FIRST QUILT TOP made to a pattern! I’ve had a crack at quilting before, but never followed a proper pattern, knowing what colour to put where.

The only thing now is, I need to learn how to put the batting in and backing on! And until that time comes, I will keep on making quilt tops to my heart’s content!!!

This is a Thimbleblossoms pattern.

One goal about halfway accomplished, what’s next?!

Losing those few kilos that jumped onto the hips and thighs over chrissy is one for starters!

What are you hoping to achieve this year?

2010 in review

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 8,600 times in 2010. That’s about 21 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 88 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 254 posts. There were 381 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 619mb. That’s about 1 pictures per day.

The busiest day of the year was November 1st with 125 views. The most popular post that day was Why We Foster..

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were colbycottageblog.blogspot.com, facebook.com, siannonparicephotography.wordpress.com, en.wordpress.com, and wedding.ebonito.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for repurposed junk, christmas river, backyard wedding ideas, repurposing junk, and heartwarming christmas stories.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

Why We Foster. May 2010

2

hand-made, romantic country style wedding decorations May 2010
1 comment

3

OUR STORY September 2007
7 comments

4

HEARTWARMING CHRISTMAS STORY December 2009

5

THE FIRST (of many) WEDDINGS @ The River September 2009
1 comment

Thank you, dear readers, for giving me inspiration to continue into 2011! The year’s end always brings a lot of reflection, and I was wondering whether the time I spend here was having impact…I so want everything I do to have IMPACT! No point continuing something that has seen its best days.

So going into 2011, my goal is to uplift, inspire and encourage you. Through great quotes or stories I’ve read, snippets of our life that might resonate in your spirit, the journey of Christmas River continues….

Much love from our home to yours,

xx