Life Update

This past week was a busy one. But i have finally finished TAFE for the year (Woohoo!!!) :D

I have started working at Subway, which is really fun :)

Wednesday night i went to see Jalen King as 'James' in James and the Giant Peach. The show was good and Jalen was fantastic!

Thursday i went to TAFE and finished off my end of year project. It was all up on the wall, done and dusted. (it all fell off a few hours later but at least it was done).

Also on Thursday Ashlee and I went and donated some blood, which was fun :)

Friday morning i dropped Asha and Jory off to Nana and Papa's while i went to TAFE.

When i went back to pick them up i found Asha and Papa asleep in the chair, SO cute!

When i took them to the supermarket Asha jammed himself into the tiny part at the end of the trolly.

On Saturday morning Simone, Kiara and I headed off to meet up with Mum, Peta, Morgan, Gracie and Chey in Hobart. We went to Gold Class to watch Breaking Dawn part 1. It was really well done and a good movie. We had a fun day and really enjoyed it :)

I am SO glad that TAFE is over now and am looking forward to a few months off from studying. I am keen to relax and actually read a book! (And maybe catch up on some photo editing) :p

Queensland in Instagram

We were in Queensland for three lovely weeks. I have SO many photos to sort through and edit. I shot in RAW and am wishing i shot in JPEG so i could just blog them and put them on facebook, but it's too late now :) As soon as i have finished this major photography assignment for TAFE i will be starting on the QLD ones.

But for now here is a small snapshot of our time there, from my iphone (in no particular order). All pictures are taken and edited with the Instagram iphone app- which i am obsessed with. (You can find me on there and follow me as mickey_maranda)

Asha's new shoes...

Sunset in Bundaberg...

How i eat smarties...

Asha's party trick at wet n wild...

Morgan at Surfer's Paradise...

Eating biscuits in the car while everyone is at the beach...

Pelicans at Surfer's Paradise...

Crazy seagulls at Surfer's...

The Scooby Doo coaster at Movie World...

Penguins at Seaworld...

Asha playing in a hotel...

Wiggles World at Dreamworld...

Draculas Cabaret for Morgan & Dad's birthday (which was awesome!)...

Asha drinking a milo...

Cold rock ice cream...

Asha trying a hat in Big W...

Racing a car in a shopping center...

Morgan with a tiny hat and a giant rat...

And home again... Hello Tasmania :)

Three boys, Two girls and the beach!

Way back at the start of September Louise, her boys and i went to the beach. We had been planning the trip for about two months and were just waiting for the weather to warm up. We thought we were really lucky with a beautiful day as we set off. We had even braved shorts and t shirts!

We decided to go to Baker's beach (i think??) as i had never been there before. After having a look around the visitors center and chasing a few of the wombats outside (oops) we arrived at the beach.

It was beautiful for photos but i didn't even take out the camera as it was SO windy and i didn't want a heap of sand in it!.. We lasted just long enough to eat some sandwiches (which actually were SANDwiches as it was so windy) when we decided we were freezing, and headed off to good old Hawley beach.

The weather was so much nicer there with the sun shining and it warming up a little. Yes, we are still wearing hoodies but it is Tasmania after all!

Little Saxon was SO cute just crawling around and playing, having a great time. I love this picture of him giving me 'thumbs up' :)

I can't believe that Will is going to be in Kinder next year! I also can't believe that Louise has an almost five year old! Will is so cute and is such an outdoors boy. Will and Leo both got their bathers on and went swimming! The water was about -5!

Leo was cracking us up the whole time. At church i teach the 'nursery' class which is kids 18 months- 3 years. Leo is in that class and all day he kept saying 'Mum, Makayla my teacher is here!' and thinking it was so funny that i was at the beach with them.
Leo is full of beans and always on the go! He was non stop at the beach and absolutely loved it.

When i was in the young women's program at church Louise was one of my leaders. She isn't actually that much older than me, and i always felt that she was more like a friend than one of my leaders.

I enjoyed getting to know her in, and now out of the program, and now count her as one of my good friends. Louise is the kindest, loveliest person that i know and i have never heard of anyone who doesn't like her - or anyone ever say a bad word about her.

She is such a great Mum, i can hardly believe that she has three boys!!

I love Louise to bits and feel very privileged to be her friend.

We decided it was time to leave the beach when, in typical Tassie style, it started pouring with rain!!

We had such a fun day together and are planning another beach trip for when i am done with classes for the year. We are hoping for better luck with the weather as it has been a lot warmer lately.

I can do hard things

I seem to continuously be surprised by the strength, resilience and faith that people show during hard times.

I once heard a quotation that said 'The human spirit is stronger than anything that happens to it'. For myself i find over and over again that all my strength comes from Christ.

I never would have believed that four years ago, but it does.

I came across this scripture today, it has always been a favourite of mine;

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13)

Sometimes i like to think of that scripture as 'I can do hard things through Christ which strengtheneth me'

Photography etiquette #1 - Jump or knock?

As photographers we are constantly* faced with a dilemma when looking for new locations to shoot. When you finally find somewhere that you are happy with and want to shoot there, you then have to think about whether or not you are actually ALLOWED to shoot there.

Private property = no. (Unless they have given you their personal permission)

But what about those locations that seem to be in the middle of nowhere?.. the ones that are just perfect for that shoot you have in mind.

Do you decide to jump the fence and shoot there anyway?

Or do you find the nearest house/contact the council/write a long and boring letter to get the permission?

 What do you do??

* I am unsure of weather this is true for all photographers but it is certainly true for me!

Wordless Sunday - Surfer's Paradise

Till we meet again

It's been quiet here on the blog for the last few weeks as i have been away on holiday in Queensland.

While i was away my sweet friend Noah King passed away peacefully. Noah was a special boy and you can read Noah's story here.

His family were blessed to have him with them for ten fabulous years. You can read about the King family here.

I was blessed to be friends with the King family for the last three years. Noah has always had a special place in my heart. At first i wasn't sure how communicate with Noah, but as time went on i realised that he would listen to me when i would talk to him and i loved it when he would turn his eyes to me when i spoke to him.

I loved spending time with the King family and with Noah, when i was with them and especially at their home i could the spirit incredibly strong. Noah had a special presence when he was around and always made me feel closer to my Heavenly Father.

Noah is one of the reasons that i decided to study teaching. I saw how he disproved what the doctors had said and wanted to be able to teach people like Noah and make a difference in their lives, I am looking forward to the day when i am teaching people with special needs.

I always knew that what Lisa & Aaron and the boys did for Noah was incredible. One day i was visiting Lisa and Kobe was having a nap. It was time to pick the boys up from school so she left me at the house with Kobe. She was running out the door and said "Oh, Noah is coming off the school bus, can you bring him inside and get his bags etc"... So the bus arrives and i go out to greet Noah and bring him inside.. then i reached their front door which had a little step up. Lisa had told me to do a 'mono' and just bring him inside! Maybe it is easier to do if you are a gym junkie like Lisa! I tried it and it took me about five minutes as he was so HEAVY! :)
When Lisa and the boys came home she was laughing at me as it something they did every day. I had a new found respect for how strong Lisa & Aaron actually were after that!

One day i went to the supermarket with Lisa and was privileged to push Noah. I didn't mind that people were looking at Noah but just felt so lucky to be able to be there with Noah and to know him. 

Thank you Noah for allowing me to know you for three short years. Thank you for teaching me that everyone is special and important, and that we can all do amazing things and change people's lives for the better - even if we can't talk.

Thank you for the privilege of being your friend. 

I am grateful to know where you are now, and to know that you are free from your restricting body and are running free.

I love you Noah, God be with you till we meet again sweet boy.