The one dream I just can't shake

PUPPIES!

I have always wanted my very own puppy. I love animals and in particular dogs. At present we are in a rental that allows us to have pets. To have a dog however, we must keep it outside at all times. Our yard is quite small and the fence not very high. This limits the kind of dog we have. We therefore, decided to wait until we own a house ourselves.
My pet parakeet was put down this week due to illness. It has left me feeling like I may not be a good pet owner, as well as lonely. I loved Pidgey, he would whistle to me, eat dinner at the same time as us, and I managed to settle him as he wasn't hand raised. I would love a dog but a bird is my next best option at the moment. I can't have a cat as I'm allergic. Birds are sweet to have too! I love dogs as it means they cuddle and play with you. Birds can only do this to an extent. A pet brings comfort and joy into your house that sometimes people can't do. They are God's blessings on earth.
I have spent this morning looking on pinterest at different dog breeds and saving pins of breeds that I would love to own. I chose very few large breeds as I find them hard to control when walking. I would like a dog that can sit comfortable on my lap or next to me. I don't want one that can jump up and eat something off the bench.
I found my favourite breeds at the moment are the Irish Terrier, Corgi and Schnauzer.
Have a look at the pins I saved on my board, I want a Puppy!

Let me know in the comments below of your favourite animal/pet or dog breed!

What I like about me

I like that I am usually a positive minded person and I am humble enough to be willing to change. I self -reflect and always try to improve myself. I don't want to become stuck in my ways and not willing to change. Everyone makes mistakes and need to realise they aren't perfect. Despite knowing I will never be perfect I wish to still improve. It gives me purpose and drive in life. God has given this attitude to me. It's a strange thing to like about myself because it's liking the fact that I'm not perfect and that I want to improve.

Physically, I like my hair and earlobes. I used to like my feet but this year I haven't had a good year with them as I was allergic to a pair of shoes and then had athlete's foot. But I love my small feet and the shape of my toes. Usually my skin is smooth to touch and very few blemishes which I like and feel lucky to have. Again however, my skin is not very nice, it's dry, pimply, and bumpy. I hope that my body returns to normal again soon. I have gone through huge health battles this year and my body is still adjusting.

I try not to be vain about my looks but I feel there is a place to be particular about them as it is the first thing people see of you. This to me, means that a good outward appearance helps others to accept you. Not putting in effort to look the best you can, sends the message that you don't care about yourself and makes people then not care about you.

Try not to let your appearance take over your life though. I wrote intentionally about myself internally first because I truly believe that who you are is more important than what you look like.

Dear Teenage Me...

Dear myself as a teen,

So you have grown up so you can see over more things...not by much and unfortunately there won't be much more growing in height either. But hey being short is lots of fun and it means there are plenty of guys out there that are taller than you!
You have gotten to high school and you are probably trying hard to figure out where you fit in. You may feel lost and helpless now but don't forget that you have God on your side looking out for you!
I know you may feel like no one loves you in your family and yes you have that whole argument as to why (eldest child gets special responsibility, only boy is special, and youngest if always doted on, and you, well there just isn't any reason to love you because you are that middle second eldest child.) BUT don't let that consume you and stop you from reaching out to your family. Don't deprive yourself of your family's love by sticking to loneliness in your bedroom. Go on! Go and spend some time with your family! I'm sure at least one of them will love it!
Take good care of your sibling's relationships. And when you get married at the age of 23 and a half make sure your siblings are in the bridal party. Doesn't matter if your sister wants to only do the flowers. Insist! Insist that she is more special to you than your best friends! If I could go back and change it, I would. Now your older sister is getting married and has left you out of the bridal party. It is likely because of that reason that you did have her in yours. So please, make sure you spend time with all of them and truly get to know them! It really isn't all about you!
And if you happen to get to my age and have made the same mistake as I did, make sure you just show love to your sister. Don't waste time hating her decisions. She probably hates yours.


Anyways you are probably desperately wondering if you marry that guy! Well...no. No. No you don't. So just stop pining away and focus on your studies. God's got it all in control! He has picked an excellent man out for you. Well he has his flaws, just like you but he loves you and just needs some prodding to get the ball rolling.
So forget E.C. Just forget him. He will only ever be a good friend and you will see him occasionally. Oh and forget all the guys at school. You won't meet Mr Right until you are at uni.

Oh and when you are on your gap year after Year 12?...yeah please be productive and don't say 'I hate you' to mum. You'll get kicked out if you do. Learnt that the hard way. Your parents are just trying to help you and encourage you to find a job.

Above all, remember to love God. He will never leave you nor forsake you.

Good luck and God bless!

<3 maija="" p="">

Happiest moment in my week

Yesterday my husband and I went for a walk (Yes it included Pokemon) in a nearby park. We regularly plan time together which we call 'marriage time.' This is purposely planned time to spend together and to work on our marriage. As we do plan for it each week it means that we rarely have to have a serious chat on these days as we usually feel close enough during the rest of the week to do that. However, it still allows time for those serious chats to happen.
This week was his turn to plan. He decided that we would go for a nice walk and continue on our Pokemon quest. We are playing it together on one account so it brings us together even more. It took a bit for us to sort out our selfish qualms in wanting to be the one to hold the phone, but we have peacefully resolved that issue and love playing it together!

Anyways, back to the main topic of my happiest moment. Well each week my happiest moment is marriage time! I love planning our time and working out what we can do each time. I love that it means my husband plans dates, which doesn't come naturally for him but it gets him thinking. I don't mind the simple dates because usually it allows for more talking and spending time together.

This coming week is my turn. I have decided that we will have some fun out and about at a local arcade and play some games together. We love all things nerdy and have found going to arcades as a good and fun way to spend time together. I might even organise a little competition for the day!
I have a Pinterest board that I have collected ideas for date nights and my favourite website has hundreds of ideas (datingdivas) for all kinds of dates.

If you have a partner or spouse make sure that when you are planning time together it does suit both your interests, or at least that you share the times to cover both interests!

Comment below with your best date ideas!

Making me laugh so much lately

These videos came up on my facebook news feed and made me laugh this week. 

Laughter is the best medicine so share it around! 

Stressin'

So lately I've been stressing about an upcoming Ultrasound. This is follow up from my ectopic earlier in they year. I'm also worried that I might become pregnant before the doctor's have cleared me. I mean our first pregnancy was an accident (a happy accident which become unfortunate), so what if that happened again before my body is ready?
A verse comes to mind:

I like this image. It brings to mind wishes. I care about having a child one day. I wish for it. But I trust God because he cares for me. I trust that He will give us a child, maybe more, when the time is right. 

Do you ever feel stressed about something, trust that it will happen in it's own time but it is still constantly on your mind? That's how it is for me. It is such a complex emotion! But for now I will just try to trust as best as I can in the one who created me. He has it all in His hands. 

One day...

Admiration, Amity and Awesomeness

Meet Emily. (On the left)

She is one of my longtime friends. We go way back! From being a mentor to me as a new leader at a youth group to playing together in our church's band to being there for me in grief to bible studies to same uni programs and her being in my bridal party; Emily has been a huge part of my life. She is an inspiration to me in my faith, marriage, teaching and art! (Photography and Nail art <3 nbsp="" p="">

Being a good friend that I am, I won't tell her personal stories, but I can say that from her personal dealings of life struggles I have gained much encouragement and wisdom as she shows strength and character in dealing with those hardships that come our way. She is gentle, caring and humble and gives glory to God for his faithfulness in our struggles. I have prayed for her and she for me. I admire her love for her family, passion for beauty in God's creation and faithfulness to God.
She is blessed beyond measure and I too for having her in my life.

Although we live far apart now we still keep in touch and regularly pray for each other. I thank God for Him blessing me with not only Emily as a friend but many other great friends! I chose to write about her only because I find her truly admirable.  So here's to the Emily's of the world, thank you for being someone to admire and look up to!
Never take your friends for granted. I will finish with this quote:

Interesting side note, I am currently reading 'Clara and Mr Tiffany' and in one of the chapters I read today it mentioned 0.Henry. I had never heard of him before and I found it interesting when this came up in my search for quotes on friendship.