Thursday 31 July 2014

Annnnd... Another Birthday!!

Good morning!

This day is a very special day. This day 14 years ago, my little sister made her first appearance in the world.

That's right, it's another birthday! (With this size family we have lots of them, in case you hadn't already noticed.)

Happy birthday to my beautiful, talented, amazing, wonderful sister, Sophie.






May the Lord bless you greatly in this coming year, Sophie! Have a wonderful year being 14... and thanks for being such an awesome sister. :)

With lots of love and birthday blessings,
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Monday 28 July 2014

Your Signature

Hello everyone!

I found out only recently how you add a signature to the bottom of your posts, and since I thought it was such a brilliant idea I just knew I had to make a tutorial and share it with you guys too. :) I have a feeling this will only work on blogger blogs though, so sorry all you wordpress users!

1. Make a signature using photo editing software. I used PicMonkey.
2. Save the image onto your computer.
3. Upload the image onto a hosting site. I used Photobucket.
4. Copy the direct link of the image and paste it within this code. Note: Replace only the part within quotation marks, “YOUR IMAGE URL“. Do not remove quotations.
<img class="left" alt="post signature" src="YOUR-IMAGE-URL">
So now it should look like this:
<img alt="post signature" src="http://i1110.photobucket.com/yourimage.png" />
5. Log on to your Blogger account. Click 'Settings', then 'Posts and Comments'. There should be a section that says somewhere 'Post Template'. Click 'Add' and paste that code you just created into your box.
6. If you want your signature to be centered, use this code:
<center><img alt="post
7. If you find that your signature comes up right at the top of your post and you want it to come a little lower down, either press Enter each time you open a new post draft, or add the following space code thingy a couple times before the code in your post template box.
<br>
<br>

 Hopefully that was remotely understandable. :) If you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them below. Did you find my tutorial helpful?
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Thursday 24 July 2014

How to Wash a Cat



Foolproof. Genius. Cat gets washed. What more could you want???




















Tuesday 22 July 2014

Another Award

So, recently I have been nominated by Matthew from Rising Dawn in the ever popular, circulating, Leibster Award. Originally I couldn't decide if I would do it, but now I've decided in the award's favour. Here we go.

liebsterblack

Award Rules
1. List 11 facts about yourself.
2. Answer the 11 questions given by the person who gave you the award.
3. Write 11 questions of your own.
4. Tag 11 people (or however many you can think of).


Facts about me
1. I love frozen banana.
2. I am not afraid of heights in the least.
3. Fuchsias are my favourite flower.
4. I like sketching.
5. I can name all the Duggar kids in the right order (including grandchildren, daughter in law and son in law).
6. I was born on a Friday at 7:50 am.
7. I like playing card games more than board games.
8. I have fainted twice before.
9. I have had a facebook account for about 14 months now.
10. I love using long words. :)
11. I know a wonderful secret....


Matthew's questions

1. Who is your favourite book character? Or, at least, who is one of your favourite book characters?
I love Tommy and Tuppence Beresford in the Agatha Christie books. They are such awesome characters.
2. Do you prefer reading fantasy or science fiction? Or maybe another genre?
Mysteries are brilliant.... particularly the aforesaid Agatha Christie books.
3. What sort of character interests you more? The protagonist, the antagonist, supporting characters, or opposing characters? (My terminology is thus: The protagonist is the main character, the antagonist is the adversary, and the supporting and opposing characters are the minor characters that do just that.)
The protagonist is usually my favourite character. I always root for them. :)
4. What books have you recently read?
Hmmm... let me see. 'Kisses from Katie' by Katie Davis, 'Partners in Crime' by Agatha Christie, 'The Lost Prince of Samavia' by Frances Hodgson Burnett and 'Biggles and the Black Mask' by W.E. Johns.
5. What book is next on your reading list?
I don't really have a reading list... probably I'll just scan our shelves and see if any titles capture my attention. :)
6. What do you value most in a book? Strong characters, a good theme, perfect or close-to-perfect grammar…the list goes on and on.
A good plot with plenty of suspense, and lots of fascinating and interesting characters.



My questions for my nominees

1. What is the most recent book you've read?
2. Icecream or cake?
3. If you could have any super power, what would it be?
4. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
5. What makes you smile?
6. Favourite season of the year?
7.What is the first thing you do in the morning?
8. Are you ticklish?
9. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
10. Dark, milk or white chocolate?
11.  If you could travel back in time, what period would you go back to?



My nominees 


Saturday 19 July 2014

Wednesday 16 July 2014

Another Birthday :D

Happy birthday to my absolutely wonderfully amazing oldest brother, Ben.



Today Ben is twelve!! The time has gone so quick! I remember when you and Johnny were little boys of 3 and 4.... then bigger boys of 7 and 8.... then even bigger and you were 10 and 11... but in just a couple of months you'll be 11 and 12!

You are such an awesome brother, Ben. Keep up the good work.

Stand up for the weak. Champion justice and faith and virtue. Always have a smile on your face. Always be willing to say "I'm sorry". Always be first to forgive. Always be ready to laugh. Always be ready to sympathize. Always put Jesus first in everything you do. Seek Him and your plans will succeed.
Always be the awesomely talented incredible brother that you are.

Happy 12th birthday, Benjamin! May the Lord bless you both now and in the coming year.


Monday 14 July 2014

A Birthday :D

Today Danella is 15!


I hope you have a wonderful birthday, Danella! I know you will read this (she always reads my blog) and I want you to know that I really treasure you. You are an incredible girl and I know that God has an absolutely amazing plan for your life. 

Keep looking up to Him and He will direct your path. 



To my awesome sister who just happens to be turning 15 today:
I love you so much and I hope you have a wonderful birthday!!


Sunday 13 July 2014

Victory is Born Out of Struggle

"Victory is born out of struggle. If struggle does not produce victory within the required amount of time, feel free to start tickling the other person. If this method still does not produce victory, throw them off the trampoline."
- Bonnie and Danella Smithies 

Friday 11 July 2014

Four Riddles and a Confusing Connection

Happy Friday, everyone!! Let's celebrate the awesomeness of Friday with four riddles and confusing connection. 


Q. A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms. The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in 3 years. Which room is safest for him?
A. The third room. Lions that haven't eaten for three years are dead.


Q. You use a knife to slice my head and weep beside me when I am dead. What am I?
A. An onion.


Q. In California, you can't take a picture of a man with a wooden leg. Why not?
A. In any place you should use a camera to take photographs.


Q. If a farmer has 5 haystacks in one field and 4 haystacks in the other field, how many haystacks would he have if he combined them all in another field?
A. One. If he combines them all, they become one big one.


Think you're good at family connections? See if you can follow this...
Two men met at a bus stop and struck up a conversation. One of them kept complaining of family problems. Finally, the other man said: “You think you have family problems? Listen to my situation: “A few years ago I met a young widow with a grown-up daughter. We got married and I got myself a stepdaughter. Later, my father married my stepdaughter. That made my stepdaughter, my step-mother. And my father became my stepson. Also, my wife became mother-in-law of her father-in-law. Much later, the daughter of my wife, my stepmother, had a son. This boy was my half-brother because he was my father’s son. But he was also the son of my wife’s daughter which made him my wife’s grandson. That made me the grandfather of my half-brother. This was nothing until my wife and I had a son. Now the half-sister of my son, my stepmother, is also the grandmother. This makes my father, the brother-in-law of my child, whose stepsister is my father’s wife, I am my stepmother’s brother-in-law, my wife is her own child’s aunt, my son is my father’s nephew and I am my OWN GRANDFATHER!”



Wednesday 9 July 2014

I've Never Tried Coffee

Seven Random Facts About Me:

1. I would actually really love to go skydiving when I am old enough. I might even write a blog post about it.

2. When I'm biking to or from my work I usually sing to myself to keep from being to bored, you know. Not too loudly, just loud enough that I can hear myself. Do you know how hard it is to sing while biking? You get really breathless and the song ends up being "..lyrics..... pant, pant.....lyrics.... pant, pant.... pant". It's fun anyway and I always do it until I meet a cyclist coming from the other direction and I have to stop.

3. I. Do. Not. Like. The. Scary. Bits. In. Movies.

4. I loooooove wrapping up presents!!! Okay, maybe that came out a little weird. Let me explain. I always find it really hard to pick presents for people, but when it comes time to wrap them I get out all the fancy wrapping paper (or make my own, that works too) and ribbons and stickers and have a lot of fun. :D

5. I own an awesome pair of pink crocs with a yellow smiley face (one of those jibbitz thingies) on the left one. 

6. I love the number 12. It's so even. So finished. One dozen. Twelve. Six Times Two. Three Times Four. Eleven Plus One. Yeah, I think you get the picture.

7. I have never, ever, ever tried the tiniest drop of coffee before. 



Monday 7 July 2014

Leibster-ish Award

I'm considering myself tagged. Because I love the questions.
And this is my official Leibster-ish Award, because I'm not going to play by the rules and I'm just going to answer the questions. Sorry, anyone who cares!



1. If given the choice between skydiving or bungee jumping which would you choose?
Skydiving.

2. Do you play an instrument? If so, which one?
Piano and violin, a bit of recorder and I used to play the harp.

3. If you could safely jump off of a swing that's going really high, would you do it?
Um... maybe! That would be quite fun.

4. Which is better: Winter or Summer?
Summer!!!

5. Are you right handed or left handed?
Right handed.

6. Can you wear just one sock without it driving you crazy?
Absolutely not. Even socks with holes annoy me like anything.

7. Have you ever ridden on top of a bus?
Yup.

8. What is your opinion of poptarts?
I actually don't know what they are. *quickly googles* I'm sure they are very nice.

9. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
*again quickly googles* "A woodchuck would chuck all the wood he could if a woodchuck could chuck wood."
The amount of wood that woodchucks would chuck on a given day varies greatly with the individual woodchuck. According to a Wall Street Journal article, New York State wildlife expert Richard Thomas found that a woodchuck could chuck around 35 cubic feet of dirt in the course of digging a burrow. Thomas reasoned that if a woodchuck could chuck wood, he would chuck an amount equal to 700 pounds.
Some say it depends on three factors:
The woodchuck's desire to chuck said wood.
The woodchuck's need to chuck the aforementioned wood.
The woodchuck's ability to chuck the wood when it is a woodchuck

10. Who's cooler: Batman or Spiderman?
Not sure. Probably neither, to tell you the truth.

11. Are you a stalker?
Sometimes. :D When the opportunity and/or necessity arises.


By the way, this is the 350th post I've written for this blog. :D


PS. Thank you to you lovely people who let me know there was a problem with the images on my blog. I'm having to slowly reinstate each one manually, which is proving to be a mammoth job because all our photos are in different folders on our computer and it can be very difficult finding the same photo again or even a suitable replacement! (I'm also having to fix up all the posts I've scheduled for the next wee while, including for the week I'm on camp because there are some other non-image related faults with them.) You'll just have to bear with me until I can sort things out. Thank you one and all for your patience! :D



Saturday 5 July 2014

5 Months Has Gone So Quickly!!

You know what? Two days ago our precious not-so-little Jana turned 5 months old. She's so cute, always smiling or laughing or both! Here are two absolutely adorable photos Abbie took of her. 

I remember how tiny she was back in February when she was born on Mum and Dad's wedding anniversary. Now, she's growing fast, putting on lots of weight and making sure we all love her to bits. :D





By the way, I have a couple of friends leaving for a missions trip today. They would appreciate lots of prayer! Thank you!