She Hunts Op Shops

There is simply no one
we love more
than this beautiful girl. ❤️

She's growing up so quickly,
but some things never change 😊

Frankie has always been a rule follower. Always. 😂 In our family we call her "Traffic Cop 2015" (the year she was born). She inherited the title from me, "Traffic Cop 2000," because somewhere along the way she completely took over the job of making sure everyone follows the rules!

Yesterday we pulled into a car park outside an op shop. As we got out, she stopped dead in front of this huge, rather boring sign. You know the type... pages of tiny print that nobody ever reads. Across the top, in big bold letters, it said:

IMPORTANT NOTICE

She stood there carefully reading every word while I wandered off, already halfway to the op shop.

A moment later she came running after me.

"Mum! Mum! Did you read that sign?"

"What sign, darling?"

"The IMPORTANT NOTICE!"
she exclaimed,
carefully announcing every syllable.

"Oh... no, I didn't."

"But it's an IMPORTANT NOTICE!"

"So... what did it say?"

She recited the first few rules from memory before skipping dramatically to the very end.

"...and if you don't follow these rules,"
she announced very seriously, "...
you must leave the car park!"

I asked,
"Well... did we follow them?"

She paused.

"Yes... yes, I think we did."

Crisis averted.
We were officially allowed to continue into the op shop. 😂

And that's Frankie.

Kind, conscientious,
and someone who genuinely cares
about doing the right thing ☀️

She's grown up in op shops
and absolutely loves them.
She found this gorgeous camouflage jacket for $8 and was so proud of herself.

But she was even prouder of the little Rusty pup she's cuddling in this photo.

She'd been saving her pocket money and spent $40 of her own hard-earned dollars buying him from the SPCA Op Shop. The SPCA sells these gorgeous animal teddy toys in their stores new, with every purchase helping support animals in need.
🐶🐈‍⬛🐱🐹🦔🐿️🦊🐷🐮🫎

She counted out every dollar herself, proudly handed it over, and walked out beaming. Rusty hasn't left her side since.

As parents, those are the moments that make your heart burst. Not because she found a bargain, but because she's learning that shopping second-hand can be exciting, that money has value, and that sometimes the things we buy can make a difference too.

I hope she never loses that beautiful little heart... or her determination to make sure we've all read the
IMPORTANT NOTICE first. ❤️🐻

SPCA New Zealand

This little flower garden changed my life. 🌸

What started as a handful of seeds became buckets of blooms, unexpected kindness, and a gentle way of finding myself again.

I hope these photos bring you as much joy as those flowers brought me. 💐