{january photo a day} wrap up...

january has come to an end for another year

here are my last few photos to finish up the photo a day challenge for the month of january

day twenty seven

{lunch}

green means good

and i am trying to be a good girl when it comes to eating

so far so good

except for the the fish and chips the other night ;-)

day twenty eight

{light}

the sunset was beautiful down at the foreshore

the air was warm and so was the sea

the clouds had rolled in and that made for a glorious colour sky 

as the sun dipped down into the ocean

day twenty nine

{inside my fridge}

nothing exciting

just the basics

fruit, veges, milk, butter and of course left overs!

day thirty

{nature}

today we enjoyed the scenery in the african savannah

at perth zoo

 day thirty one

{me}

last day of school holidays today, boo

swimming and relaxing are on the agenda for today

thanks fatmumslim for hosting the photo a day challenge for january

if you would like to join in there is a challenge starting tomorrow for the month of january

head on over here to check it out and sign up

Australia day twenty twelve

January the twenty sixth

is Australia day

is the national day of Australia where we celebrate the arrival of the first fleet which arrived in Sydney in 1788

it is where we get to celebrate this great nation in which we live

the land of hot summers and beautiful beaches

the land of the long weekend

{and of course lots of other great things!}

so to celebrate we headed to the beach

it was far too hot to go out during the day so we waited until late in the afternoon to venture out of the air conditioning

we took the boat out for some sea biscuiting

we relaxed on the sand

and swam in the ocean until the sun went down and the thunder and lightning show began

it was a beautiful evening

the heat wave is continuing here in western Australia
another day of forty degree temperatures today
the clouds have rolled in so it is very steamy
just like being back in Cambodia!

{photo a day}

day twenty four

{guilty pleasure}

one of many guilty pleasures is taking some time out and watch sitcoms

today's choice was scrubs

my other favs are seinfeld and friends

day twenty five

{something i made}

i love jewellery and a few years back i made all of my own jewellery

and these bracelets would have to be my favorite

day twenty six

{colour}

red whit and blue

the colours on our Australian flag

today is Australia day

happy Australia day everybody

i love this country that we call home

{photo a day} jan 2012

day twenty

{someone i love}

i love this little guy

he will always be my baby boy

we had our first dip in the ocean for 2012

it was lovely except i got a little nip on the toe from a cheeky crab!

day twenty one

{reflection}

his eyes are a reflection of my fathers eyes and mine

blue like the sky on a clear summers day

whenever i look into these eyes i am reminded of my dad and how much i miss him

but also how he lives on in this little face

day twenty two

{shoes}

gladiator sandals and pretty painted toes

are some of the things i love in summer time

day twenty three

{something old}

i have a whole house full of lovely old treasures

my favorites would have to be my collection of vintage suitcases

doing this challenge is making me see how fast january is going

and before i know it, it is going to be february

and then things will really start to get busy for us

the litte guy will start school

and swimming lessons

i will be back doing relief teaching

ladies bible study starts

there are lots of birthdays for us in feb including mine

and another photo a day challenge!

blessed baby boy

i would like you to meet...

joseph terence holland

my brand new nephew

he belongs to my big sis

and he is just adorable

he was born early on sunday morning

{a freaky thing is all my sisters children were born on a sunday!}

he is big, blonde and beautiful

my prayer is that he continues to grow big, strong and healthy

 that he enjoys life and all it has to offer

and that he will know God and walk in his ways

welcome to the family little joseph

we love you

xoxo

back to school time

we are getting ready for the new school year here in the blessed house

and for the first time it is not me getting ready but the little guy!

Will is starting kindy this year

usually about now i would be preparing for the new school year by writing programs, making class posters, arranging my classroom etc etc

but instead i am preparing for my little boy

washing school uniforms, labeling clothes and belongings and most importantly preparing HIM for starting school.

luckily for me i am getting to share this new experience with a good friend of mine Christie

her little munchkin Immy is starting kindy too and she will be in Will's class, yeah!

and she has some great advice on her website for me 

{and other mummas going through this experience too}

there is a great post about preparing for the practicalities of starting school which i found very helpful

and another one about litter less lunches {which includes a giveaway if your are interested}

this week i am working with Will to get his toileting down 

{he is nearly there and is getting better by the day} 

and to recognise his own name

everything else we pretty much have sorted

he is so excited about going to school and i am too

he is going to learn so much and have a great time doing it

i know his teachers very well and they are wonderful

and just secretly, i am looking forward to a little time off!

{photo a day}

day fifteen

{happiness}

Transform Cambodia has brought so much happiness to the people of Cambodia

for the staff they employ

the children that they love and educate

and for their beautiful families

day sixteen

{morning}

i spent the morning with these adorable little children at their transform center

one of the best mornings i have had here

day seventeen

{water}

flying into Perth this morning was magical

seeing my little city and our lovely beaches cant wait to take a dip in the ocean

it is great to be home

day eighteen

{something i bought}

i bought this sweet little bag from a sweet little lady in Cambodia

the proceeds go to helping young women in Cambodia

day nineteen

{sweet}

i have a sweet tooth

i love sugar in my tea and a sweet treat to eat too

we are back home in the land of aus

it is great to be back home

you can read about our last few days in Cambodia

here and here

{a photo a day}

day eleven

{where i sleep}

at the moment we are living in a hotel room

this one is pretty comfy but i do miss my own bed 

day twelve

{close up}

this picture was taken in a market here in Phnom Penh

the market has several levels and it is packed with people and products

and i was squished in there with all those people and products

so everything and everybody was up close to me today!

the things i go through to shop for a bargain!

day thirteen

{in my bag}

this is my little travel bag, something i carry with me everywhere i go at the moment

it holds all my essentials...

american dollars, hand sanitizer, tissues, lip gloss etc etc

but the most important thing is the piece of paper with my hotel details and phone numbers just in case i get lost!

day fourteen

{something i am reading}

i love lonely planet guides and i have quiet a few now

i never go to a country i have not been to before without one.

you can read about what i have been doing for the last few days here in Cambodia
here and here

{a photo a day} childhood

{childhood}

these children that i meet were delightful

sure their childhood is a lot different to what my childhood was

and very different to that of my little boy who is three

but...

they are loved by their mummas just as much

their daddy's work hard for them just as much as my daddy did

their nanny gives the best hugs, just like Will's nanny

and God loves them too

my prayer is that their childhood gets better

that they keep smiling

keep loving and helping one another

and that His blessing would rain down upon them

{photo a day} daily routine

{daily routine}

this picture was taken today while i was visiting a slum area in phnom penh

a families washing hanging to dry

admits the dirt, dust and rubbish

i thank God that my daily routine of hanging the washing out to dry is not like this picture

but that this is happening 

and to a family just like mine 

it breaks my heart

i am praying for this nation like i have never prayed before

my prayer is that they are delivered from their poverty

and quickly

you can read all about my journey to the slum here

{photo a day challenge} January 2012

for those of you who travel around the blogosphere and instagram you would have heard of the

photo a day challenge for january 2012

{if you do not know what i am talking about, you can check it our here}

when all my lovely world wide web friends started doing the challenge i thought it a great idea

but i thought twice about joining up because i am on my trip in cambodia

but actually it is the perfect place for me to do it

i am already taking millions of photos anyway

so i am starting a little late... 8 days late in fact

so here are my photos to catch me up to speed

{me}

{breakfast}

hotel room style

the breakfast provided by the hotel in not very nice

so we have some of our own food in our room

this has to be the best mango juice i have ever tasted

{something i adore}

of course it is my two boys

{letter box}

the only letterbox i am checking at the moment is my inbox!

{something i wore}

there are no fancy outfits at the moment

just shorts, t-shirts and gladiators

the weather is warm and the air is dusty so nothing too glamorous

i did manage to wear a little something lovely

my ring from venice

it always makes me feel exotic when i wear something i picked up in a distant land

and now that i have visited quite a few distant lands i have acquired a lot of lovely exotic treasures :)

{makes me smile}

how could this not make you smile?

this little guy is my sunshine on a cloudy day

{favorite}

the book of matthew is my favorite book to read in the bibe at the momnent

just look at all that advice and wisdom 

and look at all those red words, they are words straight from Jesus mouth

how can you go wrong

{my sky}

this is the view out of my hotel room in phnom penh

there is a little haze but beautiful blue sky is above in the heavens

i can feel Gods presence in this city

and he is raising up a new generation

powerful stuff to be a part of

i am now on instagram 

and you can find me by searching for meeklake

happy sunday to you

xoxo

it is time to transform cambodia

today i went shopping at the russian market in phnom penh

the market is fantastic as you all know i love a good market

but today i was shopping for art and school supplies to donate to transform cambodia

we managed to fill up our tuk tuk with stuff

it was awesome

you can read all about my adventure shopping in the market here

i am having such a great time on my mission trip

the Cambodian people are so warm and welcoming

and they love having us hear to help out

i am meeting so many people that i just cant remember all of their names!