17 years, and he's still the one!

yip, 17 years of marriage today, and he is still the one i love!! lots of laughter, lots of tears, lots of love and lots of fighting, but still together and happy! the best thing of these 17 years are two precious boys, and i must admit, being away from home without them was very nice and romantic, but, did we miss them!!!! We came back on Friday, but they left of a church camp on Thursday, we will only see them tomorrow, i can't begin to tell you how much they are missed!!
i have to start with a "thank you" to my sister-in-love, for making all the arrangements for us to go away, i know she helped my darling husband, and from me to both of them, from the bottom of my heart, i loved every moment! we went to Crystal Springs , a Mountain Lodge near Pilgrims Rest! What a fantastic place!
We kept the fireplace burning all night, since it was cold, spend
some time in the heated indoor pool and hiking in the Mountains (realized we need to exercise more) I loved browsing through all the little shops in Pilgrims Rest, the whole town declared a Monument, in memory of the gold rush during the late 1800's and early 1900's. Amazing place, full of history and charm! All i can say, it turned out to be the best birthday and wedding anniversary ever!!

By the way, i've been tagged by Crafty Chris, 7 random facts/habits about myself, here goes!!

1. Orange is my favourite colour and my favourite fruit

2. my favourite actor is Andy Garcia, not a better looking man alive in this
world! (sorry to my DH)

3. i love animals more than people

4. i cannot keep a secret, i tell them all to my husband (if you don't mind him
knowing your secret, you can tell me)

5. i hardly ever cook, my husband does all the cooking (he loves it)

6. i will marry my husband again.

7. i love the Lord, and He is the most precious relationship in my life, above my
husband and above my children!

i in return choose to tag Lara, Claire, Tasha, Judith, Esther, and Lisa!
so, ladies, let us see those nasty habits!!
take care this wonderful weekend,
with love and a kiss in the Mountains
k
xx

it's my birthday!!

First time in 17 years, a birthday without my husband!! i woke this morning at 5, cried a river of tears, not because i miss my hubby, but because today is the first birthday that i realized, never again will my Dad or Mom phone me on my birthday. i always phoned them very early in the morning on the day of my birthday, and when they answered, i sang to myself. it was always such a joke between us!! will there ever be a day that i don't miss them so much??
and then, my husband phoned, (he is away on a church camp)and i cried some more, and then i was ok. He is definitely home sick, phoned 4 times today!! the kids and i left Tzaneen at 6 this morning, Nino played rugby in Pietersburg, about 100km from here, they won 29-6, such a nice gift on my birthday!
Jolene, Amaro and Gemma arrived at 3 o'clock this afternoon, i can't believe how much Gemma changed since my last visit to them, they grow a mile a minute!
then, the most funny thing happened, a few of my friends planned a surprise birthday party for me, since all our husbands are at the same camp! very nice, except the invitations to my surprise party went out on sms, and by accident they send it to me too!! i wish you could see their faces when they arrived at our house, and the table was set, all ready for the pizza and cake!! it was so funny, we laughed for the first 20 minutes non stop!!
in the end, it turned out to be a fantastic day, and although i feel like an orphan, and had to endure a birthday without my fantastic husband, i realized that God blessed me with a loving family, and wonderful friends. To all of you who remembered, and left me comments, i love you!!
my cup runneth over...
love
k
xx

is it wrong?

to be this proud of your own child. We spend the rest of the day on Sunday after church at this beautiful place not far from Tzaneen, it is the largest Baobab tree in the Southern Hemisphere, breathtakingly beautiful! This is my 14 year old son, riding this 4wheeler like a professional, apart from closing my eyes every time i take a picture, cause i am so scared for him, my heart just filled with pride looking at him! To me, he is beautiful, i love how tall and proud he is, and most of all, i love his sense of humour!







Standing next to him Sunday in church, looking up at his face, i felt on top of the world, my heart exploding with love for our two boys, they turned out fine young men! If i sound terribly proud, it is because i am! i also know that many of you share the same feeling for your children, and i often remind myself that they are a gift from a loving God, and i want you all to pray with me tonight for the many children in this world who are abused and neglected, and to also pray for our own children, that God will protect and bless them!
i share with you this photo of the Baobab tree, pretty amazing to think that one tree can be this big. In the front, where the chairs are, there is an opening in the tree, and they actually serve refreshments in there, i must admit, a strange feeling to stand inside a tree! For those of you who still plan to visit South Africa, and the South African ladies, do treat yourself to plan a trip to see this wonder!


proud mom signing off
k
xx

Blue creativity....

i love it when i wake up very early in the morning, and while looking out on the garden, my mind starts forming a scrapbook page. these are normally the pages i love most!
this one lingered in my mind from yesterday, started last night to put everything together, and only got time to do the page this afternoon. i hardly ever use blue, still, i love the effect and made a mental note to self to use it more often.
Do you have a specific colour that you hardly ever use in scrapbooking? why?

Tread softly where the angels sleep, walk on air not to break the silence. Let your soul be lifted by their beauty and let your heart be filled with love, when you walk by softly where the angels sleep...
k
xx

made this page for Gemma a while ago, telling her all this...

i recently came to the conclusion that perfection is a state of the mind. I love that at this very moment in your life, perfection is not even a word in your vocabulary, not an issue at all! The most amazing thing of all is this, you are perfect, and so am I! Not perfect like the world out there defines, but a perfectly created girl, perfectly created by God!

Just like every other creature in this Universe, perfect in our own place and time. My prayer is that you will remember this as you grow older, to always judge yourself by God's standard, and not by man's. I pray that you will know the definition of perfection by the time you will discover the imperfect places on your body, when you look in the mirror and realize that cellulite is not a state of the mind, but a reality.
i want you to remember then that you are loved, with a perfectly Divine love!
with all my heart
k
xx
my email address: lasbotha@mweb.co.za

it's all about colour...

i went into a house today, painted in real European colours, and i truly loved it, perfect with the modern style of the house, very clean and neat. now, i learned something valuable today, you are either a bright colour person, or you are not! i am, i've known that all my life, but i also really like the white clean look, something that is not visa versa! People who prefer the white and simple look, really don't like bright colours, it is just to much for them. i got home, walked into my VERY GREEN AND ORANGE kitchen, a killer for the faint at heart, but boy, do i feel right at home here, so perfect in place with all the bright colours!
i love, love, love our home!
am i right in saying all this???? let me know....
love from the not so faint at heart
kolourful karin
xx

do you have a favourite page?

why do you scrapbook? i can think of a million reasons why i scrapbook, but in fact, there are only two!
1. i want to tell the story as i live it...
2. i have to create, everyday, not because i want to, but because i have to, it
comes from my heart, no choice in the matter!

So, now comes the big question, have you, in any form of scrapbooking, recorded the one thing in your life that you hardly, or never, talk about? have you told the secret? the one thing that maybe changed who you are, or define who you have become? scrapbook your story, even if it is just for yourself, put it down on paper, share with yourself....

today i looked through a few of my albums, reading the words i've written down, and when i got to this page, i stopped, these are my favourite pages, they live in a very special place in my heart!
i share them with you, most of you have seen them already, and i invite you all to do the same, show me your special pages!
lotsalovefrommyheart!
k
xx

it's a card!!

although i know that card making is an essential part of scrapbooking, i make only a few cards every now and then!! and then, when i do make them, i LOVE IT!!
this got me thinking (hard thing to do), we don't send birthday cards anymore, it is either a phone call or a visit on birthdays, no more letters or cards in the mail.











Do you still do that??i've decided to change that from today, i am going to send birthday cards to those i like, love, appreciate and admire, in the post, with a stamp and a postman to deliver! if you fall in the above category in my life, please email me your postal address, if you read this blog, please do the same cause then you definitely fall under friends!! Let me know who you are, and don't forget to send your birthday date also! please, please, please, i want to mail some cards!!
i made these cards for my friend Rachel's daughter, Danika, it is her 12th birthday today, and these are the invitations to her "dress-up" birthday party on Friday.
My sister-in-love, Anna was visiting over the Easter weekend, and she donated all the beads for the bracelets we beaded for the girls as part of the invitation. Danika send me some photo's of herself, all dressed-up, so that all the girls can see the theme and have an idea of what to wear, i think she looks stunning in her flower dress and hat!!

















i put the photo's on little tags in the invitations, so that her friends can use them afterwards as bookmarks, maybe put them in their Bibles to remember to pray for her! i hope that you enjoyed your Easter weekend, and that you were all blessed in a special way, and that you all remembered that Jesus died for us, so that we can have eternal life!
signing off with joy in my heart!
k
xx

God's gift...

to us is this beautiful earth. We live in the country, what a privilege, i'm not a city girl at all, and this is why...



i spend most of the day at this beautiful Game Lodge, and i still dream of Africa!
have a blessed Easter
k
xx

Why i love April...

Oh, how i love April, my favourite month of the year. I made this page today to celebrate this month, love the fat ladies, i had to draw it by hand from a picture! used some of my material paint to do this, and as usual i love the bright colours.

Why i love April...
1. It's my birthday
2. and my Wedding Anniversary
3. Easter
4. Holiday for our kids
5. Just before winter, it's the best weather. not so extremely hot anymore!

This year it is even more special, Bouts and i are going away for our wedding anniversary, alone!!! For the first time in 17 years we are going on a short holiday without our children, and you know what, i think they love the idea!
i hope that your April will be special too...
happy love
k
xx