Just Loving Life!

June 06, 2014

Today is a beautiful day. The sun is shining, and it's about 23 degrees (which is about 73 for all you non-Aussies out there). I feel great! The TV is off and the music is on, front and back doors are open and a it's literally a breath of fresh air wafting through the house. There is a delicious aroma lingering from the beef that's bubbling away in the slow cooker for dinner tonight, and it really is just one of those glorious days that makes you realise how amazing life really is.

Maybe it's the fact that my back is feeling so much better, maybe it's the music I've been listening to lately or maybe it's something totally intangible but I just love my life. It occurs to me often these days just how lucky I am. I truly and completely love my life. I have a beautiful family who bring me joy everyday and I get to paint and draw instead of going to sit in an office or something similar. I have a small, but big enough, group of friends who make me smile and laugh, and I live literally on the doorstep of one of the most stunning oceans in the world in a place where the sun shines for most of the year.

I know there are a lot of people out there who aren't as happy as I am with their lives, and for a long time I was one of those people myself. We don't have a lot of money and we don't have the best or latest of everything. The kids don't get everything they want, or ask for and that's all perfectly okay. I feel very proud to have been able to get myself out of a situation that was getting harder and harder to live with, and take control of my own life so successfully. I feel very privileged to have happy healthy, well mannered and mostly just plain nice children, and a husband who makes me miss him when he's not around. A husband who makes me smile when he walks in the door after work, treats me like I'm the most important thing in the world and sets an amazing example to my children each and every day.

I got to see my parents and grandparents this weekend just gone, which was wonderful! I took Little Miss P and we flew to the other side of the country to spend a few days there. We did some shopping, and saw the Italian Masterpieces exhibition that is currently on at the National Gallery in Victoria. It was stunning, by the way!
But apart from introducing the little miss to my Dad, one thing I really wanted to do while I was there was go see my Grandma. I feel amazingly lucky to still have my Grandparents, but while Gramps is well on his way to achieving his ambition to live until 102, Grandma has Alzheimers and is not doing that well. She has been in a lovely nursing home for a bit over 2 years now, and I had been feeling a deep need to go see her. So while she doesn't know who I am (or who anybody is really) anymore, I went and saw her and she held my hand and I got to give her a hug and kiss and let her know just how much I love her. And I feel lucky to have had the chance to do that.

Miss Penelope was fantastic on the plane - it's a 3 -4 hour flight each way and it was the first time she had been on one. I was nervous because she's such a screamer when she's cranky, but I needn't have worried. She was great and really didn't cry too much at all. She's walking now (or perhaps wobbling is a better description!), and her only real issue was wanting to not be held all the time. So it was definitely a successful weekend all around and really just adds to my overall contentment with my life!

So to round off this post, I'll leave you with some pictures and videos of the stuff that goes into making my life so happy:

He just makes me so happy. I don't care how soppy it sounds, when you find someone who makes you smile, laugh and feel amazing; someone who tells you (and makes you believe) that you are beautiful and the most important thing in their life and who unconditionally loves you, never ever take it for granted and love them right back with everything you have.

I know this photo was from earlier in the year, but it just epitomizes them. The sunshine and the smiles, and the cuddles Sam gives her little brother. I am so proud of who these little people are becoming. They've been through a lot, but I think it goes to show that love triumphs over all. Yes yes...that's the hippy in me showing, but it's true. I love my babies, even though they aren't really babies anymore.

And then there's this baby girl. She lights up not just my life, but everyone's. She is so happy and smiley and so smart. I feel so incredibly lucky to have the chance to enjoy her being a baby, without feeling like there is other more important stuff to get to. I play with her, we sing and giggle and she is just so much fun. Sometimes hard work, but mostly fun. I could not possibly love her more than I do.

And finally there's this. My art. I honestly believe I am so lucky. I get to follow my passion and do something that I love. Something that fulfills me, relaxes me, excites me and lets me lose myself within it. I know how rare and amazing that is, and I intend to make the most of the opportunities I've been given.