Thanksgiving

This post is a bit late, but thanksgiving was yesterday, yay! You might be wondering why a young kiwi girl would be celebrating thanksgiving, well we have lots of american families in our church, so we do a small gathering of families from church, and all enjoy turkey, and pecan pie together.

Right before i went to thanksgiving, I had my schools big fair, and although I tried super hard not to buy food while I was there, I ended up getting stuff anyway. So by the time I got to thanksgiving, I had already eaten a bit, making it super hard to finish my meal. By the time I got my dessert, I was SUPER full, so each mouthful was a mission! My favourite foods this year was the chicken dressing, pretzel salad, and chocolate pie.

So what was I thankful for this year? This year has gone crazy fast, but at the same time, it feels like it's been forever. I've learned a lot this year, and had plenty of different experiences. But i have to say this year I am really thankful for:

-Branching out more, with friends, with school, with church. I've done lots more this year, and gotten myself involved in heaps of different things. It's helped me feel more confident, and less anxious when I am put in different situations. 

-Family. I've come to truly appreciate my family, and our family dynamic this year. I suppose it's because we've had a few interruptions this year, whether it was home stays, or grandparents, there seemed to always be someone there, so those few moments when its just me, my parents, and my siblings, we all relax, and its such a refreshing feeling to just sit down and laugh with family.

-School. As I come closer to NCEA, and exams, I also realize that school actually isn't a bad thing. My class has become it's on, fun, little community, and we can be completely comfortable, joking around, performing, or even mucking up in front of each other. In school you become friends with people, who are completely different to you, and it can really help put you on track. I've loved seeing, and hearing different peoples opinions, and reactions in class, because it reminds me that I'm not always right, and sometimes I need to take a step back and really think about what I'm doing.

-Older people in the church. I used to really dislike older people, cause they always seemed so condescending, and there's nothing I hate more than condescension. But I've started to realize that they are wiser, and more experienced, and maybe I should listen to them instead of rolling my eyes every time they talk. (I'm still working on the not rolling eyes thing)

-Jesus Christ! I've started understanding the bible more, and started praying more this year, and its just the best thing. It's amazing how I can be stressed out and anxious, but the second I pray, the Lord calms me right down. My love for him has really grown this year, and I know that it will keep growing in years to come.

Obviously there's a lot more to be thankful for; a roof over my head, clothes, shoes, dinner every night and all those little things we take for granted, but I wanted to list some of the bigger things for me.

Thanks for reading, I'm also thankful for you!

Amesmames xx

Mt Heron - Weekend Getaway

 I'm not usually one for camping, or fishing, or anything super outdoorsey, and I never have the time or the equipment to do anything anyway. But since this weekend was show week, and we had Friday off, my church organised a simple, fishing camp, and although my usual long weekends are spent curled up in bed with a good book or movie, I decided to go along with my family.

It was only a couple of hours away, and luckily for me, we've had plenty of experience when it comes to road trips, so the drive was actually pretty fun and relaxing. It was already pretty dark when we got there, so we had to set up our tents, and get ready for bed pretty quickly. Since it was dark when we arrived, I had no idea what type of view to expect in the morning, so I went to bed excited for the morning (and the good photo opportunities it would bring with it). I was not disappointed the next morning, when I woke up to the glittering lake, with the gorgeous, snow capped mountains behind them.
I spent the morning out on the kayak, giving the younger kids rides around the lake (My arms are now still sore from the exercise) and soaking up the warm sun. I even took a wee dip in the lake, despite everyone saying it was a crazy idea. After drying off, myself and a few other kids went down to the lake to do some actual fishing. It was beautiful and relaxing our in the warm, fresh, mountain air fishing with the spectacular view of the mountains.
Around 2 pm i had an extreme energy slump, and spent the rest of the afternoon either lying in the shade, or in my tent reading and sleeping. I did go out for a bit more fishing in the evening, but I didn't end up catching any fish, instead I got my hook stuck in a tree. So that was it for me, I stayed in the tent chatting with some other families from church, nibbling on marshmallows.

I woke up pretty early the next morning, when the wind almost blew my tent down the hill we were perched on. Turned out being woken up wasn't such a bad thing though, as I was able to witness an amazing sunrise, and even get a few pictures. It was much colder that morning, so only a few people went out to fish again, and the rest of us started to pack up and get ready to go.
It didn't take us long to get all packed up, and soon we were on our way back home. It was a short, but sweet trip, and a very nice step back from our social media crazed society. The only thing I was sorry to miss, was the new, one direction  album release.

 Amesmames xx

P.s. My favourite songs from Made in the A.M. are:

Infinity

I want to write you a song,

Temporary fix

If I could fly

and Love you goodbye

Although I really do love all of their new songs!