Quietude...

As the year end approaches,

I find myself in a quiet place...

a state of rumination,
reflecting and letting go.

Gosh, what a year.

2011 has been the hardest year of my life.

Hands down, the hardest.

Hope and heartbreak has been the recurring theme,

with December bringing more heartbreak than I thought I could possibly bear.

But if there is anything I have learnt this year,

it is that no matter how tattered your soul may feel,

there is always a chance to heal...

if you allow this of yourself.

~*~

This week Anthony and I clocked up six years of wedded bliss...
(and I can say, without an ounce of doubt, that we will still be blissfully married in 60 years time...the health Gods willing!)

Despite the turmoil around us this past year

(and really, just about every year of our marriage)

we are stronger,

more in love,

more devoted

than ever.

When you marry the man who has a heart as expansive as the sky,

and as warm as the sun...

the man who knows just what to say,

just when you need to hear it...

(or when to just be silent)

the man who worships you for all your shortcomings,
yet never makes you feel as though you are anything less than perfect...

the man who takes the heart you have entrusted him with,

and cradles it away in his own stronghold of flesh and blood...
(where you know it will be safe, cherished, always...)

the man who tells you that you are beautiful,

when you are feeling anything but...

the man who makes you feel like a queen,

every day,

yet who you would still be utterly content to spend the rest of your days with should you ever become paupers...

...then you will never, ever spend a day unhappy in your married life.

If you know a man like this, ladies,

grab him and never let him go!

But sorry, this one is already taken ;-)

(Of all the anniversary gifts I received this year, I cherish this one the most...)

~*~


In other news,


India is still a princess...





and Jett still loves dirt...








*le sigh*


Such a girl.


Such a boy.





Oh, and let me introduce you to Bruce...





He is our resident water dragon...


he hangs around in the yard (or the pool),
and jumps up on the window sill outside the lounge room when he wants some dinner...





I love his armour...





And if you ask India, Bruce would make the best pet *ever*...


~*~


And finally, in studio news...


My Etsy shop has been closed for a few weeks,


though I hope to re-open sometime in January.


I won't be accepting any custom orders,
at least not in the immediate future.


I just don't have the heart for custom work.
(Nurturing my family and caring for the terminally ill is just about all my heart can bear right now)


Though these two hands of mine cannot remain idle,


so there will be new work...


...soon.





~*~


Good bye, 2011...


...see you on the other side, my friends!


Much love,