A weekend with Nanna and Grandpa

We were blessed to have my parents up for the weekend. I do wish we lived closer, but it's great that we still see a fair bit of each other despite the 3 hour distance between us.
They arrived at lunch time on Saturday, complete with a trailer-load of lovely bits and pieces to pass onto us as they are moving house soon, and downsizing somewhat. I now finally have a nice wicker set for the back patio - afternoon teas, here we come!
Stuart and I set off later in the afternoon for Hervey Bay. We had a night ALONE together (woohoo!!) in a unit up there, dinner out, lazy Sunday morning breakfast out, long walks hand in hand ...... all that stuff we once took for granted! :) We were home by lunchtime on Sunday, so it wasn't a long getaway but great fun and rejuvinating anyway.
Needless to say, the children had a blast with their Nanna and Grandpa, who made themselves available for playtimes and bubble-blowing and book-reading galore while they were here.
AND they're back next weekend for my birthday.
I feel blessed!
And exhausted. 36 weeks and counting. :)

Nesting

It amazes me, the natural desire to "nest" when one is expecting a baby!
Obviously a design feature to get us to do all those things we put off for a few years. :)

Yesterday and today have been unplanned nesting days.
During those two days, I officially cleaned my entire laundry (including windows and whitegoods), tidied and cleaned the back patio, sorted my "messy bench" in the kitchen, cleaned (and opened) 2 kitchen windows which have (embarrased look) never been cleaned or opened, sorted and purged my table linens drawer, ironed and folded with precision all of our napkins (and I rarely iron anything at all), sorted and purged the 3 sliding drawers in my kitchen with Saraya's help, sorted and purged my "under the sink" cupboard which until this morning was quite likely to kill you if you opened it, and attempted to hem the curtains from the children's bedroom. This last point was a disaster of sorts and we'll ignore that one for the moment. Tomorrow is a new day, and I'll try again!

This morning Stuart called me a cleaning machine. I was literally unstoppable, moving from one thing to the next, my eyes focused on my one vision - to have a completely clean and tidy home by the time the baby arrives!! It's so easy to be cleaning or sorting one thing, and then notice something nearby that needs doing, then something nearby that, etc. etc.
I admit I'm tired tonight, but quietly happy too. Cupboards are being sorted left, right and centre. And as of tomorrow I start my new routine which will aim to maintain the current level of tidyness and shinyness around here. Then again, day to day life with children has a way of making things tricky. We'll see how things go.

Saraya and Stu go back to school tomorrow. I will miss them both so much.
The nesting will continue without them, though poor Elijah has no escape. He's destined to be my cleaning buddy for the next few weeks yet.

Home Sweet Home

Well, yesterday we arrived home again. Lovely to be here; it's always nice to come home after being away, isn't it? Though I must say I miss the peacefulness and simplicity and fresh beauty of the mountains. Our holiday was wonderful......... beautiful place, lovely animals and such a great experience for the children. The family time was so nice. We've continued our restfulness since returning home, just unpacking and slowly settling back into normal home life again. The children have been unwell so we've been having lots of cuddles and quiet times. To be honest, I've enjoyed that.
Why oh why does Stuart need to go back to work on Monday? And Saraya to school? I've loved just being together and will miss them both next week! Already counting down to the winter holidays in about 10 weeks. :) And only 5 weeks until baby's arrival now too.

It's late and I'm tired so I'll just pop on a few of my most favourite pictures from our holiday. More to come!


Right from the first day Saraya was taken with the animals. These ponies and horses were literally right outside our cabin. Note the scrapbook under her arm.......... this went with her so she could stop and "draw things in". :)

I love this pensive photo of Elijah.

2 days of horseriding for Saraya. She really enjoyed this. The animal farm gives you a horse between 9 and 10am each morning, and allows you to lead your child around the farm anywhere you like. So, uphill and down dale for Stu and Saraya!

With Fred, the farm dog.

My sweet boy, proudly holding up his feed bucket. This was meant for the ducks and chooks, but the little goat in the paddock also seemed to enjoy trying to eat from Elijah's bucket. Subsequently he got knocked over a few times but was a brave little farmer! Always smiling. :)

Family Holiday

For Christmas last year, my parents gifted us with a voucher to travel to Maleny for a family holiday. It's a place I stayed at twice in my childhood, and absolutely love. The last holiday we had with the children was staying at Moreton Island 18 months ago, courtesy of Stuart's Dad - so we have lots to thank our parents for, for providing us with these little getaways!

So tomorrow we are heading to an animal farm for 5 days, and we're all feeling really excited. It will be great time away from it all, and I just love the quiet of the countryside. Today we've spent washing and packing and cleaning and preparing to leave home for the week. Saraya had a big nap this afternoon to recover from her night of fun last night, and I'm sure tomorrow morning we'll all be jumping to get going.

SO............... no more posts until next weekend! I'll miss the journalling nature of the blog while I'm away, but will make up for it next week. :)
Have a great week everyone, talk to you soon!

Growing up

One of the joys of early childhood is friends. I can still remember the friends I had when I was little.
As my children grow, I see their friendships with others deepening...... it is beautiful to watch! Since starting school this year, Saraya has enjoyed spending extra time with her friends and when she talks about them, I can see the true affection she has for them. Could some of these friendships be the beginning of a lifelong connection? What a happy thought!

We took a big step last night, a real adventure. We had Saraya's good friend Daisy over for a sleepover!! Aside from us all being a little tired today, it was a great time for all.





The girls look a little unsure as Daisy first arrives. "What exactly do we do at a sleepover?"

Tumble on the enormous mattress, of course!

With little brother in bed, the girls get down to the serious business of colouring in. This went on for over an hour.

After colouring in, pudding, puzzles, Bible-reading by torchlight (the girls' idea), and lots and lots and lots of quiet chatting, they finally collapsed into sleep. Time for bed for me too!

Nice to have a friend for breakfast in the morning.

Must be time for some more drawing now! Chalk drawing this time.

And now morning jobs are done, how about some more colouring-in? Just for fun!

Thanks Daisy for coming to stay - we loved having you. And Karen, for letting her come!

Things look brighter

Yesterday turned out to be another day of respite. I guess being 33 weeks pregnant, it's taking my body a while to recover from this virus. My muscles still ache everywhere! I'm thinking a good, long slow walk may help today to stretch everything out a bit. My legs currently feel like they're made of lead. We've got some jobs to do in town, so we may save petrol and walk from place to place, and all enjoy a bit of sunshine and much-needed exercise along the way.

Anyway, yesterday we stayed home (again - the children are really looking forward to an outing today!) and alongside resting, and a few other small accomplishments (like cooking the first meal I've cooked in awhile), I managed to keep the children happy and a bit productive as well. They were very helpful.

Painting little squares of white paper; we'll use these sometime to make cards or decorate birthday gifts.

Elijah has some quiet time on the computer. In this case, the Blues Clues game. Amazing what a tiny dimply hand can accomplish!

The satisfying look of complete concentration! It's serious business.

Simple comforts

Dinner. Arriving from my dear friend Cathy. I nearly cried. And vegetable soup is just what the doctor ordered.

Saraya seems more interested in this little hamper.

Ah yes, sweets to brighten our day. And Saraya learns another lesson in the delights of service and sharing and community. Thankyou Cathy!

The sound of someone chopping wood leads me outside........ ah, what a glorious sight to behold.

A pile of kindling...... another simple pleasure.

The girls enjoy the last of the afternoon light. And I enjoy watching them.

My boys looking smug by the fireplace.

Yes, OUR fireplace! One of the greatest simple comforts of all. God is good.

Convalesence

For the convalescent's room:

• Cheery company as tolerated
• Tidiness. Who wants to lie there looking at mess and disorder they can't do anything about?
• Lots of sunshine.
• Fresh pillowcase every day, fresh sheets as needed.
• Fresh flowers.

Posted by Anna at 10:10 PM Tuesday, January 22, 2008
http://pleasantviewschoolhouse.blogspot.com/

Thankyou Anna for these lovely words. Just the imagery of this clean and orderly room is helping me in my recovery of an awful stomach bug which had me up most of the night. And now that I'm feeling a little better, and up and about some, I am heading your advice for my own "convalescents room".

Looking forward to a new day tomorrow.

My girl

Today is a home day. The first official day of the school holidays, so the four of us are together and we have been pottering at home. Stuart has continued his Prep planning on the computer here at home, the children have been playing, and I have been washing, cleaning the changetable and filling the shelves underneath with disposable and cloth nappies, bunny rugs and baby blankets. There is a gentle breeze outside, and the weather is cooling down noticably. We have a surprise happening here this afternoon....... more about that in the coming days!

As I prepare for the birth of this baby, my mind is cast back to the birth and babyhood of my other children. I felt it fitting to find some photos of them to include on the blog. So I'll start with my number one girl, my Saraya Catherine.

Lying in bed at home, just an hour or two after birth. (Saraya was born at home).

I've always loved this photo of Stu and Saraya. It was taken in Hervey Bay (a half-hour from here), just before we went to a restaurant for my birthday tea.

My little face-painted tiger (courtesy of Stuart :))

In Saraya's climbing tree at our old house. She has always been a climber! (and always had a cheeky grin.:))

Posing in one of her many beautiful dresses made by Nanna.

Saraya has always been encouraged to help me as much as she's able around the home. This was the first load of washing she ever hung all be herself - and at the tender age of 2.

Ever helpful in the kitchen too.

Ahem, now where does she get this dramatic streak from?

And the blessing of her little brother Elijah. Life doesn't get much better than this.

"Breastfeeding" and burping her baby, just like Mamma.

Saraya in Stratford Upon Avon, England. (yes, another Nanna dress - my favourite one of all).

2 beautiful ballerinas - Saraya and Chloe.

Pulling up a baby carrot from our vegie patch last Winter.

My 2 poppets by the lavender bush.

A sad day for me...... and a happy one for Saraya! Her first day of grade one at our local Christian school where her Papa teaches (thank goodness!) in the Prep room.

So Saraya, my blossom, thankyou for being who you are and being part of our family! You are a beautiful sister to Elijah, and a wonderful wonderful little daughter. You are bright and bubbly and bouncy! You are unique and a delight to all who know you.
I love how you just know yourself, and have a quiet determined streak inside you.
I am so proud of the way you are embracing your friendships and your learning, both in our community and at school.
I look forward to you sharing the birth and babyhood and childhood - and beyond - of your newest little sibling arriving soon.

This has been fun. Hope you enjoy and feel the love I have for my girl!!

Passing on

Here's to you, Leah.

Rest in Paradise. We will miss you.

The Beginning

Well, this is it. My very, very first blog post. I am irrationally excited. Maybe because a good friend of mine started her blog recently, and ever since I've been inspired to get mine going. Maybe because I feel this is the beginning of something new, a new era of recording the simple little details of my life in a creative way. Maybe because I know my Mum and other far-away family members are going to get a thrill out of the regular updates on the goings-on of our household. Maybe because I love writing, and this will give me a small outlet (and excuse) to do it regularly. Or maybe it's just because I'm 32 weeks pregnant, and quite irrational in general lately!

Anyway, this is it. My blog is started, and I hope whoever comes across it gets something out of it. I myself love a peek into other people's lives............. how they do things with their home, their children, how they manage balance in their life, what they like to plant, and cook, and make. Our lives are too short and too precious not to share them with one another!

So here's a little peek into mine.