The Bouncing Bunny

We recently moved overseas and had to leave our much loved dog, Bernie behind. Bernie is a soft coated wheaten terrier and had been our constant companion for the past 6+ years. Time, customs, quarantines and expense were not on our side. Our move was quick and Warren is helping with Earthquake reconstruction in Christchurch, New Zealand. If you have a pet and move overseas - be sure to check on the pet policies for your new country. New Zealand happens to be one of the strictest. And to make matters worse, we are currently renting a house and most rentals don't allow pets. We feel lost with out Bernie, especially in this walker friendly town. Our owner did say it was okay to get an outside bunny. I had several bunnies growing up and always loved bunnies! We decided to try a Flemish giant as they are supposed to be the friendliest. Our bunny is black with white paws, so we named her boots -our "all blacks bunny"! Boots is so sweet and has been easy to train. We keep her outside during the day - but let her come inside for short - supervised visits! She loves our family and is already trained to a litter pan! She gives us cuddles and is a great pet!

Recently Anna-Kate had to write a poem for school.....

"With a thud of her feet hopping around
all over the garden that’s where she is found
But when she gets tired she lays in the shade
With her chin on her paws then the day fades away
She sleeps there for a while, until she wakes up
There’s no pound on the ground,
there’s no munch and crunch to be heard
But when she wakes up it starts all over again
With a thud of her feet hopping around"

Anna-Kate is 10 and loves Boots too! We will always miss Bernie, but we know he is in good hands.

Mom's recommendation - Bunnies make great pets and are easy to train!

Two weeks in the country

My last post was about our upcoming major move from Alpharetta, Georgia, to Christchurch, New Zealand. We arrived in New Zealand with our 15 pieces of luggage and nothing else. Warren's new company arranged a furnished home for us in Ilam for our first two weeks here. Thankfully we had a long term rental to move into - but we had an 18 day gap between when we had to leave the first place, and the earliest we could get into the long term place. Unfortunately, housing is currently in great demand since there have been several major earthquakes over the past 18 months - and many of the displaced residents and all the new workers are looking for temporary housing in the areas that came through the earthquakes undamaged. I searched the internet for hours and sent out over 100 enquiries. We even considered hotel, motels and campgrounds - but everything was expensive, had limited availability, and was going to be very cramped for a family of five. After all my searching - I finally decided to call the church we had started attending (Life Church). We were very surprised to get a call within one day to let us know there was a family that lived 'out in the country' who would love to host us - if we didn't mind the drive. Whew - what a relief and what a pleasant surprise to find out that this family, Fenton and Barbara Woods, lives in Ladbrooks, a lifestyle farming community just outside of Christchurch - and is the area where Warren's ancestors settled in 1857, after first arriving in Wellington, New Zealand in 1842.

Fenton and Barbara were a lovely host family, patient, kind and helpful! Their home was big, lovely and set on 25 beautiful acres. There was a pond with ducks and geese, sheep for neighbors, a horse paddock, and amazing sunrises! The boys also enjoyed the wide open green paddocks and ample space to fly kites! Staying with the Woods was a huge blessing for our family and we hope to keep in touch with them! I am so thankful that we contacted the church for help and that God provided such a lovely place for us to stay. Even though I thought I was running out of options - the Lord had an even greater blessing in store for us! The photo below shows Anna-Kate enjoying some time by the lake, but she wasn't the only one. It was so peaceful and relaxing ... just what I needed after the hustle and bustle of an international move.

Fenton and Barbara woods also have a Wasabi farm and produce some of the only 100% pure Wasabi paste in the world. Check out their site http://www.coppersfolly.co.nz/ If you order some -please let them know you heard about it from me! Mom's Recommendation - if you are planning a trip to New Zealand -make sure you make time to stop in Christchurch! And if you are looking for a home stay - I highly recommend you contact the Woods and inquire about availability!

Bloom where you are planted

Bloom where you are planted - that was the title of today's sermon. How amazing for me - that God would send a guest speaker to our church - to preach on Bloom where you are planted. The praise and worship time was also awesome - and I was reminded that worship realigns my heart to focus back to God - on what's really important.
The guest speaker today started out planting a church in Denton, Texas. Wow - Denton, Texas is a small little city that we lived in from August 2000, to July of 2002. The whole sermon was great - and I will post a link at the bottom. He challenged us that God's will for our lives is not always the path of least resistance. How God had called him back to the city. How we should take the attention off ourselves and put it on Christ. How we should be content in our circumstances - where ever we are.
So here I am again - at another crossroads in my life - should I stay or should I move. I feel God is asking us to move - and this time I hope I can keep my focus on God and not my circumstances. I have moved more times than I can count. I mean - when you have only renewed your drivers license ONCE in your entire life - you know you have moved a lot. I won't go into all the details, but I was born in Florida, lived in North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, New Zealand, and been nicely settled here in Alpharetta, Georgia, for SIX YEARS!!

This is a photo of our home in Alpharetta, Georgia! It has been our warm and toasty home with central heat and air - for six years! I will never take central heat for granted again!

My husband, Warren, is an Engineer and he has been working overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan for five years - home less than 50% of the time. While we visited his homeland of New Zealand last summer for a family vacation - Warren gave a talk to the professionals Engineer societies - on Engineering around the world. To make a long story short....he was offered a job as Technical Director for rebuilding the infrastructure of a city - a beautiful city called Christchurch. Christchurch was struck with several major earthquakes over the past 18 months plus hundreds and thousands of aftershocks (some big, many too small to feel). So in about four weeks - our family will be heading on another journey - all the way to the bottom of the earth - to a little but beautiful Country called New Zealand.

While contemplating this huge endeavor - and all the comforts of home that I would have to give up - the scripture that brings me comfort is....
Proverbs 3:5-6...."Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in ALL your ways acknowledge him and HE will direct your path."

My trust is in the Lord - my goal is to keep my eyes on HIM and not my changing circumstances. Please keep me in your prayers and I will keep you posted on our journey!

Below is a photo of my children and I - taken at a beautiful field of Sunflowers- the Sunflower grows tall and reaches for the sun!

Thanks!
Colette

the link to our church - where you can listen to today's sermon - January 22, 2012

Merry Christmas and Happy NEW Year

One of my favorite cards this year said....."Christmas fills our homes with blessings ....because Jesus fills our hearts with Love!....."...I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." Luke 2:10

I wish you joy! I hope you have had time to reflect on the blessings of 2010! I am thankful for a warm house and loving friends and family!

I am thankful for a creative mom - especially at this time of year when we are decorating our house with so many Christmas ornaments and one of a kind decorations. She made two of the six stockings that are hanging on the mantel with care. She made Peters, with a cute gingerbread man and Anna-Kate's. I'm not quite sure why Luke didn't get one - but we bought him one that he has grown accustomed to. An antique nativity scene also adorns our Christmas Mantel. It's a nativity that used to be my grandmother, Meme's. I love it because it was hers and because it is house in such a natural stable, reminding us of the true meaning of Christmas. My mom started making homemade ornaments for me the year I was born. And ever since I can remember -I have asked for another ornament for my Christmas gift from her. My favorite is a sequin bell that we made together. My kids have already started their collection of homemade ornaments. This year I gave them each a sturdy shoe box and they had fun decorating them for holding their own ornaments.

You can find some of her One of a King (Oak) ornaments and crafts on her Etsy shops. She has three shops! Her links are listed here....to the right!

My NEW Year's resolution is to blog more, drink LESS Diet coke and count my blessings! I also hope to move my blog to a new site - so be on the look out for my new....ColettesCottage blog! Let me know what you would like to see on my new blog!

Happy New Year!
love
Colette

Give Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

I have so much to be thankful for....friends, family, faith, and a warm home. I am also thankful for my mom and the festive Thanksgiving Banner she made for me. She also made the cute pumpkins lined along my mantel! A few weeks ago she came to visit us and we celebrated her birthday and Halloween the next day! She has been making creative handmade gifts for years - and I am thankful for all the times she crafted with us - not to mention all the special handmade gifts she has made for us over the years! My children are also thankful for "the craftiest grandma" as they proudly call her. Just having the banner hanging up - has been a great reminder for us to Give Thanks! Often when we all gather around the table for dinner, we ask our kids to tell us three things they are thankful for that day! I hope to pass on the creative, crafting and thankful spirit to each of the three kids!

Here is a link to my mom's blog - where you can find craft tutorials, patterns and inspiration. Check out our three stores for ordering information!
Allthingshomey.blogspot

Hopefully you also have a safe and restful holiday season filled with grateful appreciation for the many blessings in your life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Colette

Relisting, renewing and starting a new

RENEW - Renew is the word for a blog challenge I am thinking of entering. The challenge has inspired me to renew my love for writing by posting more! Warren and I are even thinking of starting a new travel blog. It's hard for me to believe that one month ago we were in New Zealand! This blog, ewe-scrap, was great when I was scrap-booking- but I haven't been able to keep up with that hobby as much as I would like. These days my time seems to be consumed with homeschooling our youngest daughter, Anna-Kate, and taking her to gymnastics practice. Peter and Luke also keep me busy with their middle school and high school extracurricular activities, homework, scouts, chorus, etc. And then you add to the mix that Warren travels overseas to work - and I feel stretched in many directions. But I do still have a creative side and have been helping my mom, Sally Swift, with her blogs and etsy sites - and also started an Etsy site, Treasures4ewe, of my own. I had a sale today and feel encouraged to list more items and renew the listing on my older items.
I would love suggestions for names for our new travel blog! We have so much more to share from our overseas adventure to New Zealand. Since we have been home Warren has been to Savannah, Lake Lanier and India! I am hoping he has a trip to Alaska this year and that I might get to sneak away with him! Please let me know your ideas for our new family travel blog.
I would love to hear what you might like to renew!?

Thanks and have a blessed day!

Colette

Wanaka (idyllic mountain town by picturesque lake)

As you probably know, we safely completed our journey ... but didn't get the blog updated with all the various travel highlights. Today we're going to feature Wanaka, which was one of our high-lights of our time in New Zealand. We took 147 photos/videos in Wanaka, and there are quite a few which we thought were fabulous (and some of which could be used to make postcards). Anyway, we thought we would share a small handful here for your viewing pleasure. The first photo is simply our family at the Lake Wanaka Centre where Warren gave a lecture about International Engineering.

Wanaka is a short drive from Queenstown (the popular adventure mecca of the world), but in many respects is a much nicer place to visit for a few reasons ... sunnier, warmer, more relaxed, a little cheaper, and it's at crossroads to central lakes (Mt Cook is 2.5 hrs away), west coast (Haast is 1.75 hrs away), Otago (Dunedin is 3.5 hrs away) and Southland (Gore is 3 hrs away). Regualr flights connect Wanaka with the expanding International Airport in Christchurch. Also, there is arguably better skiing from Wanaka. Of course we shouldn't be telling all these secrets so that it doesn't get too crowded with an added influx of tourists.

However, it's not just one particular peak that's spectacular, there's mountains all around the lake, and running off in almost every direction. Heliskiing is very popular, with lots of mountains and very few roads into these remote areas (except during the warm summer months).

Even the small mountains are beautiful. The tree colours are spectacular during the autumn months ... and the mild winter means a few trees have kept the remnants of the vibrant colour they displayed not long ago.

Although it was winter, we were indeed fortunate to visit during mild weather. It is incredibly beautiful all all times of the year, and at all times of the day. The changing light upon the mountains and lake were simply captivating.

The sky is amazing, especially at night, the air is clean, just like the water. The kids loved feeding the ducks at the lake, and you could see the bottom of the lake since the water was so clear.

Our stay was made all the more enjoyable because of the wonderful holiday house that we were able to rent for the short week we visited. The house was sunny and warm, two very important criteria when on holiday.

Best of all it had mountain views in three directions, although I've just put one photo below.

Hopefully we can visit again, for a little longer next time.

Blessings,
Warren & Colette