Adjustments

It has been a week of adjustments in our little house.

Saraya and William have both been distressed when I have left them this week.

Their tears break my heart.

Then just when I wonder if things will get easier, miracles happen.

Teachers understand. Children smile. Friends are made. Afternoons spent at the park hanging upside down on swings bring laughter. Cuddles at night time. Reassuring words shared.

Motherhood is a journey not for the faint hearted, that's for sure. :)

So, we go on. We are all adjusting to the changes, and considering how numerous they are, we are doing well. God is amazing.

Absolute Truth

Thank you Amy for the link.

The End of an Era and a Jesse Tree

I have been taking my children to Mainly Music for 6 years now - since Saraya was 2 and Elijah was in my belly. :) William has been coming along since conception too! Today was Christmas break-up day, and the end of an era for my big two children who will not be able to attend next year. They will be busy at school.

Of course I took lots of photos! Here's some to share.....

Thank you beautiful Petrina for 6 wonderful years of fun! We love you!

__________________________

And this afternoon we found some branches and sprayed them gold and started our first ever Jesse Tree. It was exciting!!! The children are getting into the idea already, of following along with God's story, His story from the very beginning through to the coming of Jesus, anticipated and planned since creation! I cut out and laminated all the little 'ornaments' last night, the Bible verses and stories are printed and ready, and I'm so looking forward to this Jesse Tree being part of our Advent and our anticipation of Christmas Day.

Wishing you an Advent filled with the peace and joy of Jesus' coming.

Life

Well, life just keeps right on rolling. Which is the way I like it. :)

It is school holidays for us at the moment, which means Stuart has two weeks off work. Except that he's going to Adelaide next week for four days Professional Development.......... Aside from that, we're together every day! It's so wonderful having him home. We have already enjoyed lots of chat time and achieved much around the home too. We have spent the last two days changing the bedrooms around. Saraya moved into what was the play room - she now has her very own little girl room which she just loves. It works well because she can lie awake reading in bed until 7:30pm, whereas Elijah really needs to be asleep between 6:30 and 7pm, he gets so tired. William moved out of his cot and into a BED!! and is sharing a room with Elijah. The boys have bunk beds and love them. This has given Stu and I our room back (yay!) and William has even been sleeping better in his big boy bed. Hoooooooray. :D I will post some photos of their rooms tomorrow. We've worked hard but I'm so happy with how they look!

What else?? Well, we have been pretty inspired by Junior Masterchef and I hope to give Saraya more time in the kitchen with me - really cooking, not just helping. I had her go through recipe books with me this morning and she helped do the meal planning for the week. We braved the rain this afternoon and went to town to do the shopping. And tonight, Saraya cooked dinner!

She made a delicious, hearty meal of Baked Potato Soup and Parmesan Twists (recipe in my Donna Hay Seasons cookbook). It was, seriously, delicious. I am so full! Saraya loves to cook, and I need to trust her more in the kitchen as she really is an excellent little chef.

I have (mostly) been enjoying being caffeine and alcohol free. Not that I drank a great deal of either, but after abstaining completely I do feel more settled within myself, my heart has been feeling more normal again, and the alternatives I have been drinking are much healthier! I have also been trying to walk daily, and get to bed before 10pm. All these things, as well as having my husband around at the moment, and prayer of course, are helping me feel much better. It is so so so nice.

In bigger news, God has lead our family to the decision to put Saraya and Elijah into school next year. This is huge for me particularly, as I have always felt so right about having all my children close to us and at home together. The primary reason for this is my health, but there are other factors as well. In my little package of "lifestyle changes" which I need to make, one of the steps is to minimise physical and emotional stress. The doctor was very clear about this. Being honest, homeschooling simply hasn't been working for a good many months now. With me being constantly unwell, and tired, and stressed, Saraya particularly has struggled both emotionally and behaviourally. She complains of boredom at home, lacking friends and stimulation. She is disinterested generally in anything but reading, though becomes cranky after doing that for too long. Ordinarily I can cope with this - we plan excursions and outings, playdates with friends and lots of interesting projects at home. Unfortunately I have been unable to provide her with these things since about July, and am still slowly getting back on my feet. We feel that one year at the Christian school where Stuart teaches (Elijah will actually be in Stu's prep class :)) will do us all good. William and I will spend time at home together next year, and the older children will receive more time with their daddy, and some broader opportunities. I know there are pro's and con's to everything, and we are focusing hard on the pro's of school for next year. I still very much have homeschooling on my heart, and we have always said we will take one year at a time. I will cherish the rest of 2010, having all my children under our roof each day. Next year, I will pray and trust and share the load, rest and recuperate. This hasn't been an easy decision. I have shed many tears over it. But, this is life, our life, for now.

The other step in this whole plan is our probable need to move house, to downgrade, to minimise our mortgage in order to afford school fees - and to take away the stress which has affected us all (but mostly Stu) since buying our dream home last November. It's beautiful, but it has us stretched to the max. We're looking around at some houses in town, just getting a feel for the market, getting our place here looking ready to list if necessary, waiting, and praying. It isn't easy, but once again I trust God completely for His perfect provision. He has always provided for us, and I trust this time won't be any different.

So yes, that's us this week. :) Lots going on, as always. But we're together, and life is rolling, and that's what is most important. The spring rain is falling outside, filling our water tanks and watering our budding fruit trees; two little boys are fast asleep and my little girl and her daddy are reading a book all about the Romans together on her bed. Life is a gift. :) Blessings, friends! xx

Clarity

God is so good. When we pray and listen and rest in Him, the answers simply come.

Some answers have come for our family this past 24 hours.

Change is on the horizon, and we are ready to embrace it, afraid as we may be.....

I am feeling much better; thank you all for your kind thoughts! The antibiotics are doing their thing, and the infection is clearing. I am slowly getting my voice (and my energy) back. The weekend is here, and aside from piano teaching for me, and book and toy library visiting for Stu and the children tomorrow morning, we have some free family time together. I am so looking forward to that. May your weekends be wonderful friends. :)

Us This Week

It has been cold. William and I have had a flu. Lots of post-production stuff to do with the Gala Concert has kept us very occupied. Meetings, phone calls, emails, letters. Stuart has gone back to work. I have spent time with friends. The children and I have visited the library and read lots and lots of books. We have chewed through a few more Firefly episodes with Kate (trying to get through all 14 before she leaves next week!). I have missed my family. I have struggled with lots of things. The kids and I have had an extra week of holidays. We will commence homeschooling formally again next week. I have cooked lots of soup, with lots of garlic. :)

And today, with me with fevers and a cough and very little endurance, we rested.

I actually slept in bed while the children played and watched a DVD and drew and coloured in and dressed up. They were amazingly helpful, praise God! And then we sat outside on a rug in the warm winter sunshine and had a picnic. And they had milos and I had tea. More tea.

And the sun warmed me. And Kate texted me to tell me she had just bought me a hot water bottle. Because she knows I am constantly cold through winter (if you don't know, I am an absolute frog!). And I cried. Again. For this thoughtful, wonderful friend, leaving.

And then I looked upon the little hand clutching my pyjama pants (in which I stayed all day today), and felt better.

The crusty face of my littlest son grinning at me.

My big girl, my responsible, mother-hen daughter, running her way through her day. This girl amazes me.

My big boy, my soft boy, by my side.

He is so loving. I am so blessed.

The wood ducks on the lawn. The sun overhead. The gum trees. The birds. The kittens at our feet.

He cares so much. He is faithful. Through the long days. Through the flus. Through all the unknowns. I cling to this. I cling and I trust and I hope and I listen.

So, that's us this week.

Oh My.........

I feel a catch-up is in order!! My blog has been sorely neglected lately; so much has been going on here that I simply haven't made the time to fit in blogging as well. Today is the last day of the school holidays, and Stuart has kindly taken the children out for a little while. So while I have a chance, I'll do a quick catch-up!

* Yesterday / last night was our local theatre's 10th anniversary Gala Concert, for which our family has been rehearsing for many weeks. After much time and energy singing, staging, costuming and driving hither and thither, it's all over.

In some ways, it was a success despite extremely limited rehearsal time. In other ways, it was a total disaster. :) I'm not going to go into it here..... but suffice to say there were MAJOR issues with the sound (microphones primarily) which made it very difficult both for the performers and the audience. Quite devastating after all the effort the cast had put in to this show!!!! I am still reeling. But. Lots of positive and encouraging feedback despite all odds. And amazingly, I still enjoyed myself. And it was a blast to have our whole family on the stage together - yes, even the children were involved!! :D

* My parents came along to watch, and met us in the foyer with these beautiful gerberas - all individually wrapped, one for each of us. So sweet! Mum did take a few photos too, so I'll get them from her sometime soon and put them up.

* The time I spent away in Brisbane has given me an amazing new perspective - God is really helping me deal with my self-induced guilt over ever doing anything for myself! I've lived with it for years and He is showing me it's unnecessary and time to change. Hooray!!! So I am really trying hard. I am sitting down more often despite mess around me, am taking the pressure off with cooking everything from scratch during busy seasons (like lately), and truly taking more time out just for me. These holidays have been pretty wonderful, and I'm already starting to feel better.

* I have a new plan for homeschooling this term which I am hoping will make things smoother for both Saraya and I. Will share more in another post.

* Eisteddfod planning begins this week! Only 3 weeks to go. I am entering 2 solos and 2 duets (hopefully), Stuart is singing a solo and duet (with me :)), and Saraya is in for 2 solos. This will be her first Eisteddfod so it's very exciting.

* It's now Monday as I didn't finish this yesterday - see what I mean?!! I just can't seem to fit blogging in at the moment..... We are still resting today, unpacking bags from our busy theatre weekend (lots of banana peels, and makeup.... ;)), and cleaning my very neglected house. I can't stand mess and dirty floors - hopefully by tonight all will be back to normal! Homeschooling will begin more formally again tomorrow. Saraya and I will sit down shortly and work on our plans for this term.

* Piano teaching starts up again this Saturday. I'm looking forward to seeing my little students.

And that will do for a catch-up for now! I haven't even been consistently reading blogs lately, but will endeavour to do so more as life settles down again. If it does. ;)

All in all, things are going well here. My clouds of recent depression seem to be lifting, and as a dear friend said to me "Be proactive about changing the things you have some control over, and leave the rest up to God. Just trust Him with the rest of it." So that's what I'm aiming for. :)

Blessings to everyone! xx

God is Awesome!!!

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

It's so easy to 'delight ourselves' and trust and rest in God's love when things are going well, isn't it?! To pray, to see the beauty in all things? It is just easier to believe that God has us covered when everything is running according to plan. Well, to our plans that is. Not necessarily His. And yet we know He has a plan for our lives - for every one of us. It's so hard to comprehend, but it's true!

"I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

As you know from my recent post, I have had a difficult few weeks. My emotions have been up and down, Stuart has been very absent through this end-of-term time, and in general I have just been out of sorts. Thankfully I am learning over the years that this is normal. Life is seasonal. I still struggle during the down times, but I don't give up! On myself or on God. The hard times are important too. They are character-building times. They are opportunities to learn. I have discovered that the down times are the most important times to lean on God, to trust Him, to release ourselves to Him. I still often struggle on my own for a few days over an issue before praying hard about it (why is that?!?)...... and this past couple of weeks was no exception. But. After many teary nights and moments of frustration with myself, I prayed fervently and handed my emotional mess over to God.

I asked Him to heal my heart. He has.

I asked Him for my motivation on the home front to return. It has.

I asked Him to help me find my joy in being with the children once again. He has.

I asked Him to forgive me, to keep believing in me, to help me get my spirit back on track again. He has.

Finally, I asked Him for some time out, some me time, some moments of rejuvenation. And oh boy, has He delivered!!

Seriously, God is awesome. First He sent my Mum up - not just for 2 nights as planned - but for a whole week! What wonderful help and company that was. He has sent friends to rally round me... through phone calls and meals and emails and hugs. There has been something almost every day, despite the fact that I have been 'hiding away' somewhat! We even received an amazing package from a friend this week, but more about that in a later post. :) I love feeling loved!

AND I have had more time out this week than ever before. Lots of time with friends, just me, has filled my cup to the brim again. I needed it. Not just wanted it, needed it. And God knew. And God cares! For me!! It's overwhelming. I am so thankful for a "yes" answer to my prayers. :) Last night I even had an unexpected trip out to the theatre to see QLD Ballet perform Swan Lake! A dear friend had a spare ticket and asked me to join her. It was a magical night, and I am still floating today it was so beautiful. I am so thankful to Stuart for gifting me this time out without complaint. He too knows I need it at the moment. :)

And here are my darlings tonight at their dress rehearsal for their dance concert which is on tomorrow night! Saraya is one of the many Tinkerbelles, and Elijah is the one and only Peter Pan. :)
As you can see, he is lacking confidence on the stage. :P

So, from down to up I go. I thank God for forgiveness and grace and love and yeses and free gifts such as these good things filling my cup. He is good.

The 4 Best Bits

By 9am this morning, I was thinking "Okay. So it's just one of those days."

We'd had tears. Squabbles. Grumps. Not just from one but from all three of the children. And, I admit, from me too. Sometimes it just happens. Not often, but sometimes. And I really really dislike it when it does.

I have a tendency to get filled with doubt on a day like today. I have to really fight to regain the joy, to see the light, to remember that not every day is like this!!! I tend to beat myself up too, emotionally. I point the finger at myself, blame myself, etc. Then I stop and tell myself it's okay, tomorrow will be better, our family is fine, I am doing fine. Everyone has doubts and bad days sometimes. Tell me I'm right, friends?

I want to be real on my blog so I do share when I've had a rough day. But. I also like to share the joys! So........ here are the 4 Best Bits of my morning. There are always good bits on any day, right?!

A stack of brand new books on my kitchen counter, ready to be read!

Fresh produce from the markets this morning

A bowl full of citrus on the dining table...... the smell is divine!

My girl with a smile on her face, bike riding after lunch. So much happier than this morning.....

"Love comforteth like sunshine after rain." William Shakespeare.

My little ones are safe, we have each other, we are off to the park to play tennis with friends this afternoon...... lots of blessings, life is good!

Winner and Other Bits!

Well, today is the day to announce the 500th Post giveaway winner! The random number generator popped up number 6 - Christy! Well done Christy! Leave me your email address so I can get in touch, and your seeds will be on their way. :)

________________________________

Ah, long weekends. Love them. :) I actually keep forgetting this is a long weekend, then getting all happy again when I remember! I don't what our plans are for tomorrow. Quiet stuff at home I guess. I think Stu has some school work to do so maybe we'll stick to our normal routine in the morning too.

Well, Saraya has a new passion following yesterday's little lesson on finger knitting.

She made this dolly scarf yesterday afternoon, and was up and into it again first thing this morning. She made a little gift for a birthday girl which she tells me is interchangeable as a bracelet or a bookmark! This is a great craft for children as they can do it completely independently and leaves plenty of room for their imaginations to take hold.

Stuart took the children to town this morning and they marched in the Anzac Day Parade. A new experience for the children; all the Anzac Day remembrances have sparked lots of interesting discussion on the two World Wars. So hard to explain to them.

Here are Saraya and Will on their way to the car for the memorial service and parade. Will looked really dapper! :)

After doing a bit of housework I spent some time singing and playing the piano while they were gone. What a blessing to me! I seriously need to do more of this, it just fills my spirit so so much. No more excuses, I just need to do it!

What else....... Ah, we had a really foggy morning today!!

I've honestly never seen fog this thick. The children went walking on the property and I couldn't see them through the fog! It was amazing. We brightened up the morning with pancakes which has become our Sunday breakfast tradition. We've also started having a walk as a family on Sunday afternoons. It's nice to do something together and chat before beginning a new week. I'm loving it! Sundays in our family have become a very relaxing Sabbath - there is always music, reading, chatting, opening of the Word, sharing meals, resting, planning and dreaming...... and now walking - it's becoming my favourite family day of the week. It is a peaceful day spiritually too.

The little boys are needing me so I'd better go. Happy Sunday friends, and congrats Christy!

Easter Sunday

Happy Easter everyone!

We have enjoyed a relaxed family day together. We had an egg hunt. We bathed in His word, had worship music playing most of the day, lit our Easter candle. Pasta for lunch. Barbeque and salad for dinner. A drive in the car, explore and bush walk this afternoon. Back home to sit around the campfire as the sun set, just for fun. Good books, good coffee, some art and craft. Lots of chatter. :) And a good opportunity for a new header picture!!

Thank you Jesus, for your unfailing love for us, your plans for us, your offering of eternal friendship with us. I am more grateful than I will ever be able to tell you. Thank you for knowing. Thank you for everything.

Happy Easter friends! HE IS RISEN!!!

Home for Easter

We have taken a little break away these past few days; the children and I to the Sunshine Coast to spend time with my parents, and Stuart to Sydney to spend time on the Endeavour!!!!! It has been a very exciting, rather exhausting and truly happy few days.

Thank you Mum and Ray for such a wonderful time! We love you!

We have had a lovely break away. And we are home for Easter.

The suitcases are unpacked, the beds have fresh sheets on them, the children are tucked up asleep, and Stu and I are about to watch 'Julie and Julia' together (a film I enjoyed with Mum while away, and one I now want to share with my hubby - it's a great movie!!).

Happy Easter to all my friends and family. When we wake up tomorrow we can shout "He is RISEN!!!!" Let us celebrate!