Easter Moments...

 Late night egg painting...

Over night bush camping... 

Easter Sunday bush egg hunt... 

Filling my lungs with gums, and clean bush air...

Long walks through winding gullys, feeling my country, under my feet...

Finding a trap door spider's hole..!

And a deserted orchid... 

Encouraging my obsession with mossy twigs...

Dreaming into waters...

Painting the afternoon through... 

An evening performance by the Tully children of the Easter Story...

{Seen here, Finn portraying Mary Magdalene weeping at Jesus' empty tomb.}   

Campfire songs... 

Copious amounts of tea {which tastes entirely better when boiled over a campfire!} 

Just general, uninterrupted Australian beauty...

So much sky...

And my loves near, 

For such a special celebratory time,

While we remembered and rejoiced,

In our Lord's sacrifice, 

For our own lives.

And I whispered to myself as I fell asleep underneath the stars;

"He is risen!"

...and loves all that is good.

Hope you had a magnificent Easter.

Shell xx

Before I was a button...

...I was a video star!

This film clip was made in 2006 on our farm in Canberra. Features my incredibly talented and good looking band mates, brothers Jamie and Cameron.

There were actually two versions of the video made; this one was for our overseas audience, what with the great Aussie outback background and the flag making their quite deliberate appearances.

Another one ended up being filmed about a year later, because the record label who was trying to sign us at the time was worried this first clip looked like we might be a country band - and we couldn't have that misunderstanding now could we?!

Note: I was seven months pregnant with my forth baby when this was filmed! Yikes!

Do tell me how you feel, and what you think? I am so enjoying showing off these pieces of my career to you - and don't forget to push my button now will you...

; )

Shell {Button-Smith} xx

Love you, and leave you...

[a cousin's birthday balloon party on the trampoline on a summer's eve - does it get any better?!]

Tis the summer that really makes me love and feel Australian. And though I don't give a hoot of credibility to the unfounded theory of climate change; this summer has been a hot one...

So it's a shame to see it starting to wind down for another year. I noticed today that the sun is setting just a little earlier, and with it my thoughts are turning to ideas of autumn activities and clothes and colours.

My creative moods are very much inspired by the seasons, and I love the different aspects and inclinations of each one - songs I write in the inferno of an Aussie summer are very different to the ones I will write in the throws of a marino woolen, scarf-clad wintery day. I think about friends I have made who live the other side of our equator who are deep in wintery snow and cold right now, and I think how wonderful it would be if I could take the concord up and across to see them and experience the chill, just for a change, just for a day, or two!

Okay, so this post is lacking a point, and an air of excitement I know! My friend has flown away today to a foreign place to work for two weeks, and I miss him very much already. But a little longing and despair will work wonders in the songwriting realm for me I dare say!

So without much of a point, or an anthemic chorus to end, I will love you and leave you, with an excerpt from one of my favourite and most enjoyable times in my very fortunate professional life... Recording, and all the fun and fury that goes along with it.

...and yes, the man lying on the floor playing the bass guitar is my husband! My friend.

Shell xx

Winter picnic weekend...

{I take as much pleasure in the way ingredients look, as I do in how they taste...}

This weekend I made a hearty pumpkin soup, packed it up amongst other goodies for a Winter picnic/road trip/family exploration to Tidbinbilla Tracking Station.

So the soup;

The Dish;

The long, winding Australian roads;

...and all four of my children were a pleasure to taste, see, and just be with this Winter weekend.

Shell xx

Delights, (and sorrowful drawbacks) of the Australian Summer!

Delighting in Summer can be easy on one hand, and sorrowfully difficult on another.  My heart and prayers go out (in spiritual express post) to the families and communities who have lost loved ones, and homes in the Victorian bushfires.  Every Australian fears this at one time or another during our long relentless summers, I am so sorry for those who have experienced this recent tragedy.  All I can make of this is that we live in a fallen world where God allows things to go horribly wrong sometimes...

I feel reluctant now to relish the delights of Summer, but here goes...

I have delighted in receiving handmade cardboard fans given to me by my children;

By making the best of scorching afternoons when all you can do is sit down and delight your mind with episodes of BBC classics;

Summer produce, like large, home grown curly lebanese cucumbers, lemons, cherry tomatoes, and very ripe bananas - which are just begging to be made into banana cake! 

I take delight in long, lazy dinners outside with chilled juice, fresh salad, brown rice, and spicy baked chicken cutlets.

I hope to not trivialise the tragedy sweeping through our sunburnt country at the moment.  When I began writing this post I was only thinking about the delightful side of Summer, but upon hearing the latest death toll and devastation report today I/we are forced to also reflect on the sorrowful drawbacks of Summer.

God bless all who have been involved.  Victoms, their families, the fire fighters, the servants and the heros.

Shell xx

Australia

Australia;

I am your child.

I am long summer days, 

Mountain, river, plains.

I am free, 

to sit under trees and daydream your beauty.

I bravely weather your storms, or your fires...

I am loyal, and thankful, feel your spirit, take pride in your name!

And praise the Lord,

That people, long before and since I, 

Arrived here, and made you their home,

So that I may be, your faithful child, pondering...

My passion and my delight in such a guardian, and friend, as you!

Shell xx