Fun Times

I love entertaining.  I have lost the art of entertaining a little since having the bubs. 

Now my fellas are 2+ it is getting heaps easier.  After so many months of gloom in our family, most of which commenced this time last year, I figured it was high time to have some friends over!  This is also something we love to do after church on a sabbath and as we now live about an hour's drive from church, we were very touched when our church friends trekked it up to our joint.  We live where most Sydney siders visit during holiday season or perhaps en route to Brisbane.  It feels like a hike and strange for a day trip.

I was busy buzzing around as a good hostess does, and I totally forgot to take photos.  Bummer.  We had yummy salads, patties and vegetarian sausage rolls, all made from scratch.  Cheese and fruit with crackers.  Yum.  And Julie brought gorgeous homemade profiteroles, piled high on a white cake platter and dotted with strawberries.  Alongside, she provided caramel tarts dolloped with double cream and impaled with chocolate lattices.  My descriptions do not match what a sight it was.  Nor can it match the out of this world yumminess. 

And as it was Rick's birthday week, I chucked in a cake, a Nutella cake no less made from Nigella's Domestic Goddess bible.  So so decadent, with 6 eggs, half a packet of butter, plus chocolate and lets not forget the 400g Nutella!! But no added sugar, well, no sugar added by me, but it was present in the other ingredients.  And it looked exactly like the book's picture because Rick spread the ganache and tiled the top with roasted hazelnuts.

But once all the food was eaten and we migrated to the cool breeze outside, (boy what a weekend of good weather!), it was time for the Easter egg hunt.

I gave each child a bag that I had whipped up in a sewing frenzy that took me like a person possessed, and off they trotted. 

I love my friends. I love good times.  More good times for this year as surely last year took this decade's quota of bad times.

Friendship

photograph taken from God Loves Me Baby Bible by Zonderkidz

Good morning on this beautiful Easter morning!  How are you today?  Choc-full, or have you only just started?

I have something pressing on my heart today.  I have had one of the worst weeks of my life.  A friendship died this week.  He was someone I admired and trusted who shattered all that in the course of 24 hours.  I value my friendships highly and feel like I am in mourning even though no one has died.

In my grief, though, I have been comforted but not just by my other precious friends throughout this 48hr ordeal.  I don't wear my christianity on my t-shirt.  It is a deeply personal thing but I will share it with others if I feel impressed to.  That is why I don't harp on about it here.  But Easter, along with Christmas, are times when I can safely talk about it without offense, don't you think?

I just want to tell you that  'A man who has friends must himself be friendly,^[a] But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.' Proverbs 18:24 (NKJV)

You can make all the friends in the world, but there is only One friend that won't ever let you down and in turn, will always love you, be kind to you, show mercy toward you and forgive you.  I want to be more like Him and I have many different friends who show these qualities too.  I am very grateful for my friends.

Today, the christian community are celebrating Christ's victory over death, the consequence of sin.  And, he gained this victory for all of us!  Hooray!  There is no heartache in this earth that can take away His love. 

I hope you are experiencing this friendship with Jesus.

Well, thanks for reading this far.  I am off now to eat some chocolate, not because it is Easter, but because it is chocolate (unless it's Easter here everyday)!

Blessings to each of you

Fiona xxxx