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Today we celebrated Christmas with my extended family and played a Kris Kringle game my Mum introduced a few years ago. It’s lots of fun so I thought I’d share it with you.

Everyone has to buy a Kris Kringle gift that costs no more than $3. It has to be wrapped without any tags and then all the gifts are placed on a table…

Everyone then draws a number out of a hat/box. I got Number 15. The HH was number…

The person who is number 1 then picks the first present. My Aunt was number 1 today. She got the citronella candle. She left with a fake Rolex. How?

The way the game works is that the first person picks a present to open. Today it was my aunt, then the person with number 2 picks a present and if they like it they keep it BUT if they don’t like it, they can swap with number 1! Same for number 3, who can either keep their present or take #1 or #2′s and so on…as I was number 15 I could either choose to keep my present or swap with any of the 14 people who had chosen before me!! You want to be one of the last numbers because then you can choose from all the presents!

It’s loads of fun and works really well especially when people choose fun items such as this one, which certainly did the rounds!

or something like this…

It’s a lot fun and a really different and humorous way to do Kris Kringle!!
(Note: nNot all the presents were totally wacky! Others included Guilyan Chocolates, homemade almond chocolates (I got that…YAY!), bottle stoppers, a fake Rolex…at least I assume it was fake ;) and a sudoku book amongst other things…just in case you were wondering!)

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There was a lovely article in the Goodweek’s “2 of us” today. (I love that section)

They sensationalised the blurb…”Former Uniting Church minister Ron Brookman, 59, married his second wife, Ruth, 41, in 1994. Two years later, he told her about his past life as a gay man. The couple have three children and run an outreach program for Christians struggling with sexuality”

I guess it is a pretty sensational tale.

I liked this paragraph from Ron. “Broken sexuality need not define who we are. All of us have fallen short of God’s purpose and his grace restores us.”

I was pleasantly surprised by where this story went, appreciating the GW’s willingness to tell a different story, not just a politically correct one.

You can read Ron’s story here. I found it very moving. I wonder what you will think…

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I learnt a thing or two about daytime television this year including Oprah’s annual show called “My Favourite Things” where she shows her audience some of her favourite items from the year and then gives them away.

Well I’m not Oprah. duh. but I still thought I’d share with you my favourite finds for the year. You’ll even be able to win a couple of them if you’re lucky!

The criteria for choosing these items:

• they had to have made a significant impact on my experience as a Mum
• they had to be reasonably prices and value for money!
• they had to be enjoyed by LP and appreciated by HH

I chose these items months ago and only recently sought sponsorship so that you could have a chance to experience them first hand. Most of the items I have to give away will be available to entrants around the world. If an item is only available to Australian participants I will let you know. Where gift vouchers are offered, International winners may incur some extra postage costs but you can enjoy the fact that your dollar kicks the AUD$’s butt big time!!

You’ll want to be subscribed to get these posts sent straight to you to make sure you don’t miss out on your chance to win. There’s a lot to get through in the next couple of weeks.
(note: International readers, esp those in the US will need to check in a day early…ie for you, this series starts on Sunday as there is almost a day’s time difference. The best way to ensure you don’t miss out is to be subscribed by email/rss)

The first Favourite will be revealed on Monday. Hint: there will be a competition involved so get here early so you can enter. Entries will close Tues midday, Australian EST.

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You may have noticed an increase in the ads placed on this blog in the past month or so. I thought I should explain why they are there…and give you the chance to give me some feedback (scary!)

The main reason they are there is because I spend a lot of time working on this site and blogging in general and the ads are my very small attempt to gain some return. That said, I don’t blog for profit. I blog because I love it! I love keep in touching with friends and family, I love making news friends, I love sharing my experiences as a new Mum and I love that it’s like free therapy! You guys are my real return!

I am not necessarily going to keep all the ads there. At the moment I am just playing around, trying to see what works best and what’s the best fit with this blog. Some will come and go and others will stay. If the adds totally annoy you please let me know. If you have any other thoughts you can also share…comments such as “I hope your blog makes you a millionaire” are more than welcome. Ha ha!

On the “profit” side, you may also like to know that the (very) small amount the blog has made has so far only been seen on the screen!

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so little time :)

Hi all, sorry for being a bit quiet on the home front this week. Been a busy bee!

Looking forward to the My Favourite Things series next week…in the meantime,

LP had her first real meal tonight…Pasta Bolognaise! Very exciting! Pureed Mummy & Daddy food (minus the ‘flavour enhancers’) here we come!!

For now, who wants to be my 17th follower?? You can make me a happy camper by becoming number 17, 18, 19 & 20??

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I have just been blog-surfing and found myself at this site. From there I ended up at this site

For various reasons, mainly Amy, I was really moved by this site and what they are aiming to do which is provide support and connections for young people with Cancer.

I’d love you to check out the site and to join me in offering some support. There’s a Donate Now button on the right hand side of the page and for as little as US$5 or AU$7.97 you can help this organisation out. (Note: if you want to donate more than $5 just click on the $5 sign on the button and you can choose another amount (it’s a drop down box!)…I missed this the first time!)

I’m going to ask even more of you if you are a blogger. Would you write a post about this organisation? I’d never heard about them before today and I wonder how many others don’t know about them. Perhaps someone reading my blog or yours will be in a situation where they could really benefit from knowing that this organisation is out there?

We are all touched by cancer. Let’s make a difference!

Thanks,