The Art of Giving: How a Personalised Birthday Card Can Make a Difference

Image Credit: Pexels

{This is a collaborative post}

When it comes to giving gifts, it's the thought that counts. And there's no better way to show someone that you're thinking of them than by giving them a personalised birthday card. Here are a few reasons why making personalised birthday cards is the perfect gift for anyone:

It shows that you care: A personalised birthday card takes time and effort to create. It shows the recipient that you're willing to put in the work to make their birthday special.

It's unique: A personalised birthday card is one-of-a-kind, as it's tailored specifically to the recipient. This makes it a much more meaningful gift than something mass-produced.

It's customizable: When you make a personalised birthday card, you can tailor it to the recipient's interests and personality. This means you can create a card that's truly special and meaningful to them.

It's budget-friendly: Making a personalised birthday card is often much more affordable than buying a gift. It's a great option for those on a tight budget or for those who want to give a small, thoughtful gesture.

It's a keepsake: A personalised birthday card is something that the recipient can keep and cherish for years to come. It's a physical reminder of your thoughtfulness and a special moment in their life.

It's personal: A personalised birthday card is just that - personal. It's a way to express your feelings and thoughts in a way that a store-bought card simply can't match. Whether you include a heartfelt message, a funny joke, or a memory you share with the recipient, a personalised card allows you to say exactly what you want to say.

It's eco-friendly: By making a personalised birthday card, you're reducing waste and helping the environment. Store-bought cards often come in plastic packaging and are made with non-recyclable materials. A handmade card, on the other hand, can be made with recycled materials and doesn't produce any unnecessary waste.

Image Credit: Pexels

It's a chance to be creative: Making a personalised birthday card is a chance to tap into your creative side. Whether you're an artist or just enjoy crafting, creating a card from scratch can be a fun and rewarding experience.

It's a great activity for kids: If you have kids, making a personalised birthday card can be a great activity to do together. It's a chance for kids to express their creativity and learn the value of giving thoughtful gifts.

It's a way to make a lasting impression: A personalised birthday card is a gift that will be remembered. It's something that the recipient can look back on and cherish for years to come. Whether it's a card with a beautiful piece of artwork or a handwritten message, a personalised card is sure to make a lasting impression.

Overall, a personalised birthday card is a thoughtful, budget-friendly, and unique gift that anyone would appreciate. Whether you're an artist or just want to write a heartfelt message, this gift is sure to put a smile on the recipient's face.

What To Write In Wife Birthday Card

Photo by Candice Picard on Unsplash

{This is a collaborative post}

Are you struggling with what to write on your wife's birthday card? Birthday cards for wife sold on Boomf are the loveliest, most romantic, and most special wife's birthday cards there are. You can pick out the most fitting card based on theme, colours, style, features, and filters to give your amazing wife the birthday card that she deserves. One she will truly love and cherish. 

 

Birthday Card For Wife Wishes

Gifts are surely a good choice of presents for your wife but she wants to hear you say words that mean the world to her. Happy birthday cards for wives should portray the endearment and appreciation, with love that every married woman wants to hear in her marriage, from her husband.

This is the perfect opportunity for you to wish your wonderful wife the sweetest birthday as she also makes your life the sweetest it has ever been. If you're having trouble coming up with the right words to show what you actually feel, here's a list of what you could write on your wife's birthday card and we hope that you see something that resonates with you and provides inspiration:

1. Thank you for showing me just how much I needed you in my life all these years. Happy Birthday!

 

2. To the most amazing woman in my life who makes it a fairytale I always want to live, have a fabulous birthday today.

 

3. As you have always been so selfless and effortlessly stunning, I wrote you this card to express my sincere emotions. How I am in awe that you are mine and how pleased I will be to be your husband forever.

 

4. There will never be a better yesterday as long as you're in my today. Enjoy your special day, Honey.

 

5. You deserve the best of birthdays for making sure everyone in this family is at their best, each day. Thank you, my dear wife, for this.

 

6. It is a blessing every day to wake up to you by my side. I always hate to leave for work and as soon as I get home today, I promise to make this the best birthday you have ever had.

 

What Not To Write

As you already know, many women are moved by words. A birthday card will lose its flavour if the words you choose to write are not genuine and personal. So take your time and make sure that the choice of words you select are really something you sincerely mean. There is nothing worse than receiving a card and it looks like the sender took the words and sentiments straight from the internet. By all means, use the above phrases as inspiration but try to make your greeting personal and special to both you and your wife. 

We hope you have a wonderful time celebrating together!

How to Make a Pre-Teen Party a Success

    Photo by Amy Shamblen on Unsplash

{This is a collaborative post}

Planning the perfect party can be a headache for any parent. Kids can be changeable at the best of times, and what they loved last month might not be what they like today. If you want to deliver the kind of amazing experience that your kid deserves, you might need a bit of help.

Planning a party for a preteen can be even more challenging because it’s often difficult for parents and guardians to find the balance between delivering the grown-up teenage experience that kids crave, and still catering to their younger tendencies. So, how do you make sure you impress your pre-teen with your party planning? These tips will help.

1.  Get the Right Gift

The great thing about pre-teens is that even if you mess up the entire party experience, they’re likely to forgive you as long as you get them the right present. The problem with this is that it can be notoriously tricky to figure out what your kids are going to enjoy. To avoid any mistakes, make sure that you keep an eye on your child for gift clues, for a couple of weeks leading up to the big day. You can also check out gift ideas sites like UKGifts.co.uk for inspiration relevant to their interests.

Ask for hints on the kind of presents that your child would like – most of the time, they won’t mind helping you out. You can also do some hunting online for some of the most popular items in the industry right now. Preteens generally like to keep up with what’s trending.

2.  Pick the Perfect Food

Another thing that can save just about any preteen party is the right food. Now probably isn’t the time for you to go all-in on your healthy eating strategy and try to get your kids to eat as many veggies as possible. Unless your child is one of the very few that actually likes eating healthy foods, ditch anything green and nutritious and replace it with the items you know your kids love.

Crisps, biscuits, candies, and home-made cakes always go down a treat. It might also be worth mixing up some mocktails for your kids too, to make them feel more grown-up. Placing fancy drinks into cocktail glasses can really class up a party. 

Happy, Happy Birthday Girls!

Morning friends, for my benefit and yours, I'm bringing you a Reasons to be Cheerful post, so we can both get a dose of much needed positivity.

End of Term
As I type this I am just waiting for the kids to all arrive home from school, they have a half day and it's the end of term. I am so pleased that school is over for practically seven weeks. They really need this break and I really need at least one or two mornings a week when I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn and be on form!

Off to Whitstable
We have lots of fun things going on over the summer, starting with a few days break in Whitstable next week. We will be heading to Dreamland, Margate and also the Dockyard, Chatham, as well as lots of other fun times that are not yet planned. It's good for me to go with the flow. Of course going away does mean I need to have a good clean this weekend, as one of our volunteers is coming to stay to look after the cat.

Happy 12th Birthday Girls
This week the girls turned 12 and they had an enjoyable birthday. They were thoroughly spoilt and are now proud owners of a new phone each and then Saturday we are off to Brighton for them to have a good shop with the money they received. JJ will be pleased to avoid the shopping and he will be at Lewes Police Headquarters for the day joining in with some training with cadets.

Family Fun Afternoon
Last weekend there was a family fun afternoon at church and it was a nice, chilled event. We enjoyed time with friends, a BBQ and some fun games.

Prize for my JJ
I went to school this week to watch JJ receive a prize for mathematics. It is a subject he really enjoys and is naturally gifted in and I feel very proud of that, as it is not one I ever did well in at school. We then enjoyed a pizza together whilst the girls were at a youth BBQ.

He also came home with his prefects tie and badge this week, ready for year 11 duties. I can't believe he'll be taking his GCSE's next May, time goes far too fast!

Summer Ball
I better head off as I have a couple of jobs to do before I take the girls to their summer ball at youth club tonight. They'll be eating, dancing, playing and having a powder paint fight and I'll be serving the food and washing up, something isn't fair there! lol

Enjoying time Outdoors
Anyone who has been reading my blog for a while will know we live in the most amazing place, but the one downside is that we don't have any outside private space. This has been becoming harder and harder for me, as I love to be out in the fresh air, but despite however nice my neighbours kids are, I just want to be alone. So I got an event shelter, one with removable sides and I've been so enjoying just having some private space outdoors.

I hope you have a great week ahead.

Becky over at Lakes Single Mum is out host for the month of July.  Head over and check out more cheery reads.

Happy Birthday to Me #R2BC

It was my birthday on Wednesday and I turned 45, I can't believe how quickly those years are adding on to my age, but I have to be honest, I'm not worried.

My family and I headed up to London on Wednesday morning and where there for 36 hours, we had a thoroughly lovely time, although as always, I am pleased to be home, as it is far too busy, muggy and smoggy in London (now I sound my age)! lol.

Here's a few photos to show you what we got up to -

Super yummy burger lunch at Byron Burgers in Covent Garden. Using my Tastecard we got 50% off and to be frank, that's the only way we could afford it!

We spent some time in Covent Garden browsing, and watching the street artists.

So Many Things to be Thankful For #R2BC

Reasons to be Cheerful is back to 'business as usual' this week after the very untimely death of Kate last week. I don't want to sound course but Kate would have loved to know that she has inspired so many people to think again about how they are living their lives and that she is inspiring them to be the best version of themselves, whether that means in body image or getting out there and grabbing all the opportunities that come their way.

In the main it has been an exciting and wonderful couple of weeks for my family. So much has been going on and I have loads to share for this weeks #R2BC.

1.  Girls birthday - my little (not so little) twinnies turned 11 and Miss E chose to go out with dh and I for bowling and a meal. Miss M chose to have a Saturday shopping trip with some school friends, she spent a load of money, they had Pizza Express for lunch, frappes in the morning and ice creams in the afternoon. They all had a ball!

It's my Birthday - Reasons to be Cheerful #R2BC

Happy Thursday friends. Reasons to be Cheerful is over with Becky at Lakes Single Mum for August and will be back with me in September.

I'm away in Norfolk with my family at the moment staying in a lovely little cottage in Little Snoring. We booked via AirBnB and it was our first time but certainly won't be our last as it has been wonderful.

The owner has chicken, ducks, cats, sheep and Shetland Ponies in her grounds and my kids have been able to feed them, pet them and we have enjoyed fresh hen eggs too. Miss M has been in her absolute element, being around animals is her idea of heaven and I admit it has been magical. We head home today and I'm expecting some tears.

Birthday Party Fun at Go Ape (Moors Valley, Dorset/ Hampshire)

It was my twins 10th birthday last week and they enjoyed an evening out with my husband and I but due to school and all sorts of end of term commitments there wasn't a big fun birthday adventure. So to rectify this gaping hole Go Ape stepped forward with a Tree Top Junior adventure for the girls and their brother to enjoy whilst we were on holiday in Dorset.

We tried out Go Ape at Bedgebury in Kent back in April and all three of them loved it, so they were super keen to go back and had we been home rather than on holiday I'd have happily booked a Go Ape party for the girls and some of their friends.

Quickfire Reasons to be Cheerful - Birthdays, Anniversaries and Holidays!

Happy 10th birthday (not so) little ladies! I love the fact you are both so different but equally talented in so many ways. I'm proud to call myself Mum to both of you. 🎁🎁🎁 . Miss E, I love your tender heart, your creativity, your kindness and compassion. 💕💕 . Miss M, your confidence is a gift, you are so generous and loving and who can deny your friendliness? 💕💕 . Keep on rocking girls! Don't let anyone dampen your spirit or dull your light!

A post shared by Michelle Pannell (@michelletwinmum) on Jul 18, 2017 at 10:41am PDT

Good morning friends, how are you today?

All is good here, I am on countdown for the end of school and going away for a week to Poole/ Bournemouth from early Saturday morning. Hubby has to stay home and work but we'll have my parents and brother with us to keep us company.

In all it's been a good week and for this Reasons to be Cheerful post I'm going to do one of my quick-fire lists where I shout out about everything that is making me smile right now!

Planning a trip to Edinburgh Zoo & the Highland Wildlife Park

Image Credit: BBC

For a long time now I've been an advocate of giving experiences as presents rather than physical things. I tend to have friends and family around me who don't need more stuff, that doesn't mean that we are all super rich and have every gadget imaginable, it just means that we are content with what we have and don't need any more ornaments, clothes, photo frames, perfume, chocolate etc

Many years for Christmas I give my Mum a trip to London with me around Mothers day and we go shopping, sightseeing, to the theatre or cinema and enjoy some meals out. This Christmas gone was no different and we are both very much looking forward to our March stay at the Mercure hotel, Kensington and spending that alone time together. There really is a different dynamic when we don't have the kids shouting Mum or Nan constantly.

JJ was the first of my children to receive a night away as his Christmas gift, it was two or three years ago and I asked what he wanted for Christmas and he said to go to London with his Dad and to stay up there. So I booked a Premier Inn at a bargain price as it was for a January and the two of them had an amazing boys weekend visiting museums, walking the South Bank, going to the cinema and eating JJ's favourite food like gourmet burgers and pancakes.

Review: Ibis London Excel Docklands Hotel

I'm now the proud parent of a teenager as JJ turned 13 just over a week ago. When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday he said money or Steam (online gaming) vouchers from all the family but from Dad and I he'd like an experience rather than a present.

A couple of years ago for Christmas he was stuck for what he wanted as a gift and I booked him and my husband to have a weekend in London together. They had so much fun that JJ wanted to do the same again. So I approached Ibis to see if they might like to host my two boys for a night and they were fantastic and the Manager of the Ibis, London Excel Docklands said he would love to offer them a nights stay and breakfast the next morning.

We already had plans to spend the day as a family at Kidzania on the Saturday but I suggested to JJ that the girls and I could then get the train home and he and my husband could stay on and have some fun. They chose to stay in the Westfield Centre, Shepherds Bush and go for a gourmet burger and to see the movie Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, which they both said was really good.

Happy 9th Birthday Little Ladies #R2BC

This last week has all been about my little ladies birthday. They have turned 9 and the celebration feels as if it has gone on forever. I think they have had a good time but we are all ready for the end of school now as the tiredness has arrived along with the heat.

Having a birthday on a school day is never the best thing, so we arranged for their birthday treat with friends to be on the Saturday and let them open their presents spread over the weekend and on Monday too. They went to a new craft shop with a friend each on the Saturday and made either mosaics or decopatch, I also had a go at the decopatch and really enjoyed myself, I'll definitely do it again.

Sadly Miss E's friend was feeling quite poorly so we didn't head on to McDonalds and the park as we had planned but instead went home for an impromptu birthday lunch and play with their local friends. I then treated them to a trip to our Orangery tea room for an ice cream and milkshake, they felt very grown-up girls just the five of them together and had lots of fun searching in the fountain for lost coins.

Reasons to be Cheerful - Desks, Clearing Out and New Opportunities

Good morning friends, I hope you are well today. Welcome to this week’s edition of Reasons to be Cheerful, which is being hosted here for the month of July. A massive thanks to Becky for hosting in June and she’ll be back again for August.

If you are new to this, Reasons to be Cheerful is a super friendly linky party that has been running for around five years now. 

• We are a small but positive and welcoming community and we’d love to read and comment on any linked up posts. 
• All you have to do is link something up that is making you feel happy/ cheerful/ positive/ joyful/ thankful. 
• We are not big into rules but it would be cool if you either add my badge or link back to me so people can find the linky
• Then comment, comment, comment as we find the love comes back when you give it out. Please don't link dump and run....

For me this week, I have loads I could share but I'll keep it nice and simple with three things -

Enjoy a Leisurely Meal at the Treacle Mine, Polegate, East Sussex

It was my birthday on Saturday and seeing as we were heading off on holiday at 6am I wasn't quite sure what we would end up doing that day or if we would have the energy to celebrate, so Friday night we headed out as a family to the newly refurbished Treacle Mine Whitbread Inn at Polegate, about half hour from our East Sussex Home.

Now let me tell you straight off in case you are tight for time or can't be bothered to read on.  If you are local then go and visit. It was busy and it didn't matter one bit, we had a fabulous meal and didn't feel rushed or crowded.

Dear So and So - Happy 8th Birthday Girlies

Dear Twinnies,

I truly cannot believe you are eight. Where have those years gone? You have grown so big and in some ways are wise beyond your years. In the last year we have really seen your relationship blossom and I am so glad that I persevered and insist you have to be friends. it is great to see you play together and stick together when you need to.

I had to laugh when we went out Saturday as a family to celebrate your birthday only for you not to be able to agree on a film at the cinema, so half of us went to Jurassic World and the others to Minions.

Oh well, we all got to eat our KFC together and share the car journey!

Love you both, Mummy xx

Happy Birthday my baby

Last weekend JJ turned 11.  That is eleven whole years I have been a parent, I wonder just how many mistakes I've made in that time?  Thousands I suspect but I hope I've been learning from them and to be honest if I look at JJ, I'm doing OK.

I love my boy, he is practically as tall as me and he wears the same size shoes. As one of the oldest in his class, or school even he is one of the biggest and probably most mature. He can be trusted to stay on his own, he knows what to do in an emergency and he even works a full day sometimes (yes really).

He makes me laugh such a lot. His sense of humour is varied, he still collapses into giggle fits at jokes about poo and bums but he also is very dry at times and can really hold a good poker face. His laugh is infectious and I'm pretty sure it helps keep me young.

We can be found chatting together, enjoying a cuppa, singing loudly in the car, having a snuggle or companionably working side by side as he does is homework or helps me with chores.

It is fascinating watching him grow and mature; sometimes he tries out new ways of acting or attempts to get in on the adult conversation and we have to remind him of his age and what is appropriate. I never realised what a storm it is to navigate your way from being a child to adolescent to adult.

Then sometimes he is still so young and reminds me how much he needs mothering. He can dissolve into tears as he forgot his homework or was worried where I was. He is not one to embrace change and his lip will start to wobble if you introduce the concept of something new but then after some thinking time he comes round to the idea and starts to like the excitement of change.

Of course there are traits I'd love him to work on and change. If only he were nicer to his sisters all the time, if only he could be a little quieter when he comments on someone else in public and if only he knew the point that a joke had stopped being funny but on the whole he is a fabulous package and even better he is mine.

It is a privilege to get to be your Mummy JJ, I adore you.

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Happy birthday my babies..... 7 today

A letter to my little ladies....

Hello my babies,

This time 7 years ago you had just been born and you were two of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. Daddy and I were so happy you had come to make our family complete. Miss E, you came out first and you squealed and made it known that you had arrived. Then our little Miss M followed, slightly more heavy and slightly more chubby and quite serene and we thought this might be how things continued.

But little did we know that each time we thought we had your personalities pegged you would swap and keep us on our toes. I'm pleased to say it has only ever been one of you at a time that has been super high maintenance. Miss E, it was you first and then once your reflux was diagnosed and you had your medicine you calmed right down and were such a cute and happy baby.

Miss M you were the one that fed well, slept through the night from an early age, talked first, walked first and frankly did everything first but you have always been our more feisty girl and you wear your emotions on your sleeve and sometimes get into trouble for being all too ready to share what you think.

I love you my babies, both so different, yet both so gorgeous.

Miss M you make me proud to be your mummy as I love how helpful you are, such fun to be with, always willing to share and put on a fun performance. You are so bright and you need to be careful not to waste your skills by getting into trouble through boredom.

Miss E you are a little tender heart and you care so much.  I have never felt such love as I feel from you and I love your tenacity, you won't give up and try so hard. Your skills in all things drawing and crafting astound me and I know one day you will be a super success in whatever you decide to do.

Don't forget my girls you are a team. Being twinnies is special and you must always be each others champion. Even when no-one else wants to play your twin sister will be standing there by your side so cherish that and nurture your special relationship instead of bickering and teasing each other (Miss M I'm looking at you here).

Anyway, have a wonderful day and I'm glad you enjoyed your party yesterday.

Lots of love, Mummy xxxxx

One big 10 year old reason to be cheerful (week 40, year 3) #R2BC

Tomorrow my boy turns 10, he is nearly 5ft tall and wears a size 7 shoe, he is no longer a baby. But lets be honest, he'll always be my baby and boy do I love him.

I remember six years ago when I had the twins and JJ was being so challenging, aged 4 and these two noisy monsters arrive that steal all his limelight. He did not find it easy to deal with them and I recall asking my Mum how I would know if I still loved him as he made me so cross at times with his acting out and naughtiness. At that time I learnt you never stop loving them even when they make you cross and wear you out.

Thankfully he does not make me cross or wear me out nowadays. He is a lovely little fella and I'm very proud to say he is mine, he is great company and very helpful. Yes he is still a kid and answers back at times and grumbles when I tell him it is homework time but on the whole we really came up trumps when we landed him as our big boy.

Happy 10th birthday JJ. I hope you enjoy your day. Love you, Mummy xxxx

Over to you...

How are things this week?  I hope all is super great but if it is not, can you still dig deep and manage to count your blessings? Taking a positive stance makes a real difference in life I find.

If you are new here to Reasons to be Cheerful, then welcome, great to see you, have a read about why I started #R2BC. Link up a cheerful post (of any type you fancy I'm not strict at all), add in the blog hop code if you want and visit a few other linkers and leave some comment love. Tweet with #R2BC and I'll seek our your tweet and make sure I RT you.

Wishing you a blessed week, Mich x

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Reasons to be Cheerful - short and simple (week 34, year 3)

Hello and happy Thursday,

I hope life is going well for you.  If you are in the throes of the school summer holidays then I pray they have been as stress free as possible. Having the kids every day for six weeks or more sure is hard work! This is my first real insight to that as normally I'm a part-time working mum and I still get some respite at work. This year of course that has all changed and I know it is a blessing and I'm very lucky but it takes a bit of getting used to.

I'm going to the short and simple approach to my #R2BC this week, here they are -

1.  We are going on holiday on Monday.  We are heading to the New Forest to stay in a lodge at Shorefield Country Park and we get to try out the spa and restaurant as part of our review. I love being a blogger, it is so awesome of be able to do amazing things together as a family that we would never be able to afford otherwise. The big highlights for me will be five whole days with dh (who it feels like we have not seen properly for weeks) and getting to swim with the kids every day.

2.  Amazing neighbours and living in community. It feels like a big weight off my mind to know we can go away Monday and I can shout it from the rooftops. If you are a burglar and you know where I live it does not matter as you'll know I live as part of a community now and we have the most amazing neighbours in and out of our house when we are not here.

3.  This weekend we have 2000 odd Christians coming on site for a Church weekend and we get to join in with their fun. The kids are already signed up for the fun children's groups and  I can either opt to have 3 hours a day to myself or go to one of their sessions.

4.  Spending one-on-one time with Miss M today. It's funny how things end up, none of the kids wanted to come out to the shops with me today as they all felt they had better options but it turned out Miss M was to come and we had a lovely time. Just two hours together chatting and shopping and as a bonus we found the most divine deli and coffee shop.

The biggest babychinno ever!

Now it is over to you - what is making you cheerful and grateful this week?

If you are new here, welcome.  Do go and have a read about why I started Reasons to be Cheerful and what I feel the key to happiness is. This is a very inclusive linky, it does not come with lots of rules. I just ask for common courtesy, write your post and link it up, then comment and say hi to a couple of other linked up bloggers. They should hopefully come and visit you too and we are all happy - comment love shared all round. Just a word to say I probably won't get to comment round all this week due to my holiday!

#R2BC Blogger of the Week
This weeks shout out goes to Kate who blogs at Kate on Thin Ice and the Naked Mum blog. She was one of the first bloggers to join in with this linkey and has probably been the most faithful over time. She has a few weeks off and then pings back and always has the longest lists of gratitude I have seen. It is fabulous that she works so hard to be cheerful, despite what might be going on in life for her. Having met Kate in real life a few times now I know her to be a warm, friendly and sincere lady..... go say hi!

Have a fabulous week ahead, catch you soon.  Be blessed, Mich x

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If you like what you have read and want to stay up-to-date then subscribe by email for free and receive blog posts directly to your in-box - just click the link Subscribe to Mummy From The Heart... by Email or perhaps you like to keep all your blog reading in one place, if that is the case you can follow me on BlogLovin too!

My top 40 Reasons to be Cheerful (week 33, year 3) #R2BC

Happy Thursday or should I say happy birthday to me.  Can you guess why I might have chosen to share 40 reasons to be cheerful?

1. JJ giving me flowers
2. A beautiful meal out with dh on Tuesday
3. A short overnight visit from my Mum and Dad
4. Mum saying I look really relaxed and she is right, I am
5. Dh enjoying his new job and getting involved in the community here
6. Handmade birthday cards from my girls - made with love
7. A day at the zoo with the kids today
8. A carvery dinner for our family on my birthday
9. A cream tea - super yum
10. Meeting some new friends Saturday for a BBQ
11. A family day out Sunday to look forward to
12. A family holiday at the end of the month
13. An amazing new home which is all coming together
14. Friendly and warm neighbours
15. Beautiful finds in a local store
16. Getting more active and enjoying it
17. A few pounds lost because of all the walking
18. My Fitbit flex activty tracker which is allowing me to see my activity level and sleep pattern
19. Time available every day to just Be
20. Constant opportunities to join with like-minded people to worship and pray
21. Living in a breath taking place
22. Having so many trees for the kids to climb
23. Discovering opportunities for me to be able to volunteer and help
24. Being able to be on the beach in 15 minutes
25. Collecting gorgeous pebbles from the beach
26. Discovering new local places
27. Two fabulous parks with lots for the kids to do
28. Finding a great cafe with super food
29. So much time with my kids
30. Marching through the woods and collecting fir cones
31. Giggles and tickles
32. Playing Lego and watching a movie
33. Family meal times and catching up on our days
34. Snuggles on the sofa
35. Taking lots of photos of the kids
36. Working internet so I can catch up with the wider world
37. Uniforms all bought and ready for the new school term
38. Being back at number 13 in the Tots 100
39. Having a wonderful community of on-line friends who are always there
40. Running this linky and enjoying seeing you all each week

Now it is over to you - what is making you cheerful and grateful this week?

If you are new here, welcome.  Do go and have a read about why I started Reasons to be Cheerful and what I feel the key to happiness is. This is a very inclusive linky, it does not come with lots of rules. I just ask for common courtesy, write your post and link it up, say hi to me and then comment and say hi to a couple of other linked up bloggers. They should hopefully come and visit you too and we are all happy - comment love shared all round. I'll aim to get to everyone this weekend.

#R2BC Blogger of the week 

This weeks blogger of the week is C, she is one of those bloggers whose blogs I have been reading for a number of years now and I'd really love to meet her. She talks so much sense and is really encouraging and very real. I love it that she does not just paint a glossy picture of life as a single Mum with three children. Her middle child Smiley has cerebral palsy and severe physical and intellectual disabilities and her youngest son has aspergers and you only have to read the post about Angel her oldest heading off to Africa to know how proud C is of her and how much of a help she is to her mum. You can read more at Looking for Blue Sky

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.  Mich x

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