Spring Favourites

Here are some things I love about Spring... that is when it is 'normal' Spring weather (not like the hot days we had last week!).

You know those low 20 degree days when the sky is blue and there are a few wispy clouds floating around and there's a gentle breeze in the air....

I love lazing on blankets and cushions in the sun,

Going for walks to the park and friends houses

and..

Going to the park for dinner and watching our crazy, cute kids play cricket...

Flying kites (this one was a really groovy red octopus my dad brought us back from China!)...

Days at home with friends....they love painting the wall with water!

And one of my favourite things is tea parties on the back lawn!

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;

his love endures forever.

Psalm 107:1

Our day at the Christmas pageant

We braved the heat on Saturday and went to the Christmas pageant.


I don't' have any clear memories of going to the pageant when I was a child and my husband has never gone, so this year I really wanted to go. It all seemed a lot more manageable now that we don't have prams and nappies to work around!


Another motivating factor was the possibility of us going to the USA next year, we wouldn't have the chance to go to the pageant again for another 3-4 years and our kids will be older then!


Even though the weather prediction was for 39 degrees, we went along. We managed to find a shady spot, and were thankfully in the shade for half the time, (the time we were waiting to start). When it did start we were so focused on the pageant that we didn't notice the heat too much, I had a little girl in a pram behind me who kept spraying me with water, which was wonderfully refreshing.


I am so glad we went, our kids loved it. When the nativity float went past, my son said to me quietly, "Do they know that story mummy?". Even though he knows that Christmas is all about Jesus, he is starting to realise that there are a lot of people who think Christmas is all about Santa, presents and parties!

After the pageant we went to the markets for lunch and then back to my dad's for a swim!

Here are a few snaps of the day, the kids loved writing with chalk all over the road, and the pink fluffy 'Bruto' and 'Toby the tow truck' were favourite floats!

A donkey's back

This week we have decided to read portions of the Easter story to our children each night leading up to Easter and then have our children draw a picture of what happened in the reading. I hope to collect the drawings each night and put them together in a book with the readings alongside the pictures.

Tonight my husband read about Palm Sunday and Jesus' welcome into Jerusalem. As our children were busily drawing donkeys, my husband informed us that all donkeys have a cross on their back.

"Really?" I said, "Yes really, I will find you a picture on the Internet." He replied.

Well he found lots of pictures, none of which I can post here as they are copyright (so if you are interested google donkeys cross and check it out for yourself!).

I was completely shocked! I can't believe I have lived 33 years (almost 34!) without ever knowing donkeys have a cross on their back. I feel rather silly, because I guess that's the kind of information EVERYONE knows, but can I just say that it was such an amazing thing for me to learn about!

I still find it amazing every time I think about it. That an animal which led Jesus as a baby inside his mother's womb into Bethlehem and that led Him into Jerusalem, the City in which He would be crucified on a cross, had a cross on it's back!

After learning about this my children all put crosses on their donkey's backs!

God never ceases to amaze and wonder me!

Two opportunities to share the gospel before 7am!

We get up early in our household, actually make that 5 out of 6 of us get up early!. By early I mean between 5 and 6 am. I am usually the first up, then the dog, then our youngest, and then the others start coming out anywhere from 6am onwards.

The other morning during my devotions I asked God to help me be patient, self controlled and unconditionally loving towards my family.

It didn't take long before He allowed an opportunity to answer my prayer! Before we got to the breakfast table (which is around 6:30am) I gave warnings to my son who was not responding to my answers with a 'happy heart!'. This attitude carried over to breakfast time and it wasn't long before he was sent to his room to think about how he was responding. During this time, I talked to him about his heart, in particular his selfishness, and I told how this was sin, and then reminded him why Jesus came and shared the gospel message with him.

In his book Shepherding a Child's heart Tedd Tripp writes,

You need to shepherd your children in the ways of God at all times. There is, however, no more powerful time to press the claims of the gospel than when your children are being confronted with their need of Christ's grace and power during discipline. When the wax is soft during discipline, the time is right to impress the glories of Christ's redemption.

The gospel message is so powerful and I need to recognise the many opportunities I have been given as a parent to present and impress this into the hearts of my children.

It was only minutes after I had spoken with my son that I had to take my 4 year old daughter into her room and talk to her about her disobedience, another opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ!

All this happened before 7am!

There is such joy in seeing selfish and disobedient hearts turned into ones that have been forgiven and restored.

Needless to say I was incredibly thankful to God for granting me the patience and self control I asked for!

Mice......!

We have had mice trouble in our bin and pantry area, its been going on for a while now, but we have been too slack to put out traps to try and stop them. Our cat sits diligently in the kitchen every night awaiting a capture, but she has yet been successful!

The other night during dinner I opened the pantry door to get some ingredients for butterscotch pudding when I saw a grey flash, I asked my husband to come and see if it was a mouse. He pulled out everything and there it was trapped and staring at us! Not for long though, it suddenly dashed off and out of sight. We dragged everything out, but we couldn't find it. We set a trap that night, but he didn't fall for it!

Two days later on my husbands day off I did a small grocery shop. We had a nice morning, went for coffee, browsed around Big W and finally into Woolies. The checkout lady was scanning items and packing items into my reusable shopping bags. She opened one and she looked down and said in a very calm voice "Oh", I thought there might have been a spider in there, she said "It's a mouse!" The mouse then jumped out of the bag, ran under her checkout then under the checkout next door. That checkout lady said, "I think I stepped on it, someone come and take it away, I don't want to look!".

So I sent my husband over to have a look and get rid of the mess!

It all happened very quick and we were all a bit shocked by it all! I felt rather embarrassed that the mouse had come from my shopping bags but I was very glad that it was stepped on so it didn't 'freak out' any other shoppers or checkout ladies!

I am so thankful for a very calm checkout lady, she said she would have been more bothered by a spider than a mouse, I am so glad she didn't scream, and for my husband who got rid of the squished mouse!

Upon reflection I can't believe that I had spent the past 1 and 1/2 hours carrying those shopping bags around, for coffee and all around the shops, and I am glad we finally found where that mouse got to!

And just so you know we still haven't got rid of the mice, so far I know of two that have died, and there is still evidence of more in the house! My oldest wants to keep one as a pet.....maybe not!

Number 2 starts school!

Well this week has been rather eventful, eldest daughter back at school, year 2 - my boy started school for the first time, and no. 3 started fulltime kindy!

No. 2 was very excited to start school.

He gets just about as excited as my husband does! When I asked him if he was excited about going he looked at me with a very straight face,

'Yes I am excited about school.'

He was very adorable all dressed in his school uniform, bag on his back, hat on head, I was very happy for him.

He was very happy to say goodbye after settling in and he informed me when I picked him up that he loves school!. We shall see how long that lasts!

But what was very special today was what he told his dad in the car while I went to pick up no. 3 from kindy.

Daddy asked him who he played with today.

"E....".

Daddy said, "Is E... your best bud?"

He shook his head and pointed at Daddy,

"Am I your best bud?" He nodded his head.

He is such a special boy, such a deep thinker and just knows how to connect. I pray that he will continue to only grow in his love and respect for his father and His heavenly Father who loves him so very much!

I look forward to watching him learn and grow at school, I can't wait to have another reader in the house!

Snapshots from my super crazy, adorable 4 year old!

Our 4 year old daughter continually fascinates and shocks me! My husband and I often look at each other after she has done something crazy and make the comment, 'Where did she come from?'.

My nickname for her is Miss Blessie, because it reminds me that she is a blessing and a gift from God, even though at times I feel exhausted from her interactions!

Just in the last 5 minutes since I started writing this post, I went to see her in the bath and noticed many green dots in the water, I asked her if she had done a number 2 in the bath, no the oldest daughter replied, they are tomato seeds!

She had a cherry tomato in her mouth and decided to spit the seeds in tot he water. She has since got out of the bath, and come to see me in the study singing the Adelaide Crows theme song, then proceeded to plead for another tomato....just 1 more tomato and then that's it!

My stress levels seem to dissipate rather quickly when she is not around, its quieter, less fighting, arguing and yelling (all from the others at her doing crazy things to them!) safer, and cleaner. But it is also not as fun, and there are no where near as many cuddle opportunities!

She was the only child who came in the middle of the night, 1:30am. I had been having contractions with her all day and finally went into hospital around 11:00pm but I was sent home, being told those contractions could go on for another week! Well I was back in there an hour later, and 1 and 1/2 hours later she came out - screaming! She was the only one who came out screaming! She was also the most active baby in my belly, and resisted any pressure I put on to her. I was so sure she would be a boy because she was so active, but she is just our super active crazy girl!

She definitely is not your 'typical' little girl. When the boys are over shes outside playing in the sandpit, playing with cars, getting dirty with mud and water, and when the girls are over she is happily playing inside with dollies, ponies and teddies! She also loves cooking, cutting and pasting, drawing, playdoh, anything creative.

She loves wearing dresses and skirt and its often a battle to encourage her to wear anything else, yet she loves to wrestle and punch, she is constantly punching her 13 and 15 year old cousins and unexpectantly throws punches as she passes her siblings (and parents) in the hallway. But I realise this is one of the ways she shows affection, she doesn't mean to hurt, she just being playful?!

All of our kids received money to spend from Christmas. Everyone else had chosen something, except number 3. No, not a toy, not a teddy, not craft, not a book, not lollies...How about lipgloss daddy said. Yes!!!! Clipcloss (that's how she says it!) I want clipcloss!! That lipgloss has followed us everywhere for the past few days and sad to say, its nearly all gone!

I can't wait to watch her grow up, she tests me, tries me, worries me, stresses me - but she makes me laugh so much almost every minute of the day, and she keeps me on my toes. I am so thankful and amazed with the way God has made her so very special, and I pray that He would continue to lead me to train her in the way she should go - in the way God has made her to be.

Our ENORMOUS Christmas tree!

We started a tradition about two years ago, the boys go and find a tree and the girls decorate! Our son loves the fact that its just the boys who go, and he's not too fussed about not decorating! (Although he does add 1 or 2 decorations and then gets tired!).

They went out last Saturday hunting for a tree. After going to about 4 different places they finally found one at a Christmas tree farm, all the others they had seen were not 'good enough' for Mummy! They cut it down and dragged it to the owner, who then measured it and informed my husband of the price - probably the most expensive tree we will ever get! But it is beautiful, straight, tall, compact and wonderfully green!

The next day at church our son proudly went and told everybody about our ENORMOUS Christmas tree!

Whenever I think about Christmas trees I am reminded of Colin Buchanan's song King of Christmas.

Let the Christmas tree remind you of

the one who trusts the Lord

who walks the path of godliness

and loves to hear God's word.

Pray that as you grow up

that's just how you will be

Standing tall for Jesus

like the Christmas tree.

My husband is an great cake decorator!

When it's birthday time, I bake the cake and my husband decorates.

Child no. 3 turned 4 yesterday. Leading up to her birthday we asked her what kind of cake she wanted, and each time she gave us a different answer! She loves to change her mind!

Finally the day before her brother suggested having a crocodile cake, yes, that was what she wanted. All day she was telling people she was having a crocodile cake.

Then on the morning of her birthday, her older sister was chatting to her, and she decided that she now wanted a Princesses cake!

We said NO you are having a crocodile cake, you can't change your mind again!

It didn't take long for her to be decide she did want a crocodile cake!

I must say that my husband is very talented at creating cakes. He never uses a book, he makes up all his creations. I just ask him how many cakes he needs and what shape, make the cake, then leave the rest up to him!

So here is the crocodile cake.

And here are some other past creations.

A surprisingly enjoyable shopping experience!

I am not usually one to take all 4 of my kids shopping by myself, with no restraints (i.e. pram or trolley) but on the way back from taking my dad and sister to the airport the other day, there were a couple of shops I really wanted to 'pop' into!

I don't usually have much patience or tolerance for shopping with kids, but today I was in a rather relaxed mood, and found it much more easier to turn a blind eye and ear to their requests - i.e.

I need to go to the toilet,

I'm hungry,

Come and look at this Mummy!

I just strolled through the store, happy for them to wander along behind me, browsing at this and that. I dragged them all into the change room and they helped me decide which top and skirt to buy.

Normally I am a pretty strict about them keeping right by my side and about touching things, but today, I was way more relaxed, and the store was not very busy - I was actually enjoying myself!

After the clothes shop I just had to go to one more shop - the shoe shop! It's more like a warehouse really, shoes and boxes everywhere! I was surprisingly still very relaxed in this shop, I was on a mission to buy shoes!

As it turned out, this shopping trip was a lot of fun for all of us, my 2 year old daughter stirred up a bit of attention trying on all sorts of ladies shoes.

At first I stopped her, but after a while I realised she was just copying me and all the other ladies in the store who were trying on shoes!

So many ladies were smiling at her and commented on how cute she was. She chose a shoe from the shelf, put it on, walked up and down and then put it back roughly where she found it!

I realised after that if I had been really strict and bossy and made her stop trying on the shoes, we would have missed out on making so many of the ladies around us smile and enjoy watching her.

I know that a lot of this surprisingly enjoyable trip had to do with my attitude!

I wasn't being neglectful, and my children certainly were not out of control, I was just way more relaxed and made the effort to enjoy my children and allow them to enjoy the experience too!

Big Kindy girl

My 3rd child started pre entry Kindy last week. She has been waiting for AGES to go to BIG Kindy. She has been going to occasional care, a 2 and 1/2 hour session for 0-4 year olds at the Kindy the bigger kids go to for the past 3 years, and the past few months she has been rather desperate to be on the 'other side'.

I couldn't get over just how excited she was on Friday. Every day last week as we got ready to take no. 2 to Kindy she would ask

"Am I going to BIG Kindy today?"

And each day I had to say, "No, not today, on Friday".

And every time I would get an "Oh...I want to go to big Kindy".

So it was soooo exciting to say to her on Friday, "Today you are going to big
Kindy."

I must say that I was amazed at how well behaved she was all morning as we got ready for Kindy and waited until it was time to go. I didn't notice it until I had dropped her off, but she had been so well mannered, so helpful (she watered all my plants!), there was no battle about what clothes to put on, there was no squabbling with siblings, just lots of joy and goodness coming from her! It made me think about how I am when I am excited about something, I am so much more tolerant, kind, helpful...happy! It was such a joy to see this in my 3 year old!

It was so wonderful to see her at Kindy, the place she has been waiting to go to for soooo long! She could finally put her bag on the 'Kindy side', no longer on the 'babies side'.

As soon as we got in there she joined in on group time and had no problems singing the songs, and sitting nicely. I don't like to think too much about how quickly our children are growing up, I prefer to focus on how delightful they are where they are at, and to enjoy them where they are at, not where they were or how they will one day be!

A few days ago while I was watching group time for no. 2's Kindy session, I watched one of the teachers trying to restrain a boy who did not want to sit still and quiet, he was screaming and squirming. It made me think, I am so thankful that my children are able to sit still and pay attention (most of the time!).

It hasn't been easy work though. I still remember no. 2 squirming and screaming on my lap when he was 9 months old because he didn't want to sit still, but I was determined to win the battle, and finally he gave in and sat still.

As parents we have had to battle this with all of our children on numerous occasions, so to see no. 3 on Friday sitting still and joining in with the group was a delight, and she did not bring shame to me, like this verse talks about.

“A child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame” (Prov 29:15).

So when she got home, daddy asked her what was the best thing about Kindy, and her answer was "siah", which means "Josiah", he is a friend from church!

She then proceeded to tell him how she also liked playing with the boys!

When all is quiet in the kitchen....

This is what happened the other morning while I was on the computer!

I noticed that it was rather quiet in the kitchen, when is should have been noisy.

My 2 year old was left ALONE at the breakfast bar after morning milks (everyone else was in the bedroom cuddling daddy, and I was on the computer).

She can't get down by herself and the milo tin was left on the bench.

You can see her pointing to the floor, she was telling me there was milk on the floor, there was no conscience about stealing milo!

So I quickly got the camera and took a snap, and then left her to finish her milk!

And then this happened.

You would think I would have been smart enough to take the milk away as well!

I must say that she got out of being told off for it all, it was funny, and I was partly to blame!!

Teddy Bear's Picnic

We had the Teddy Bear's picnic on Wednesday for my 6 year old and 5 of her friends. It was such a fun day!

I spent all day Monday sewing these backpack picnic blankets for each of the girls. I came up with idea when I was trying to think of a way they could carry their teddies.

The blanket folds up into a backpack and there's a pocket on the back to hold a teddy. I have so many odd bits of material that just haven't been used for anything so I didn't have to buy anything to make them!

I found some $1 baskets from some second hand shops and put some material in them. They used these to carry their tea cups and food.

I made cupcakes and the girls iced them and decorated them.

They also made pretend cupcakes and food for their teddies. Can you tell which ones are real?

Once we had made everything we went outside and had the picnic!

After eating the girls played while Emma and I sat down and had a cup of tea!

Then we played some games with the teddies.

Push the teddies on the car;

Teddy sack race;

And their favourite was hide the teddies. We hid the teddies all around the garden and they had to try and find them!

At the end, they decided to do some more making, this time clothes and costumes for their teddies. They were so creative and came up with costumes and dresses!

I am glad I put in the time and effort to make it a fun and special day, not just for my daughters but for her friends!

I thank God for such a beautiful sunny day, despite the rain in the morning!

I wish the tooth fairy was real

My oldest daughter lost her first tooth on Saturday! It was a rather dramatic experience, there was no lead up to it, it wasn't wobbling, it just came out - with lots of blood!

We were in the car on our way back from Ikea and she just started crying and she had her tooth in a tissue and blood coming out. The blood was what made her cry, she hates it! It was very exciting to see her lose her first tooth, but I haven't seen her cry so much for a long time!

Her brother was not so tolerant of the crying he said, 'Mummy, I just can't deal with all this crying!'

After a while the bleeding stopped, and was rather proud of her lost tooth. She looks very cute with one tooth missing.

Most of her friends at school have already lost one or more teeth, so she has heard lots about the tooth fairy. She asked her father a few weeks ago if the tooth fairy was real, and he said...no, 'but I can come and put some money under your pillow.' She has yet to believe him, that the tooth fairy is not real, and she did not want him to put money under her pillow.

She has been waiting since Saturday night for the real tooth fairy to come, today she has written a note to the tooth fairy to tell her about her tooth - I wish she was real, I hate it when my kids get disappointed. But her friends at school tell her that they have seen the tooth fairy and that she has come to their house, so she is determined to wait for her, although I can sense an element of disappointment that she has not come yet, I think she must feel forgotten.

It will be an interesting lesson for her to learn, she will keep waiting and she will not come. I am so glad though that I can pass on to her the truths about Jesus and that He is real. And to teach her about the wonder of prayer, and waiting, and that though there are not fairies, there are angels all around looking after her, fighting hard to keep away the evil that is lurking about. And that one day Jesus will come back, that when we look up into the clouds, that is a reminder that one day He will return in the clouds. I am so glad I can pass on these truths to her, I look forward to the days when she sees God at work in her life and in the life of her family, when it hits her that He really is real and that He is all powerful!

Still the idea of a tooth fairy is so nice, I wish she was real...!

We are never alone

Last night our 5 year old son reminded us of a wonderful truth. He was telling us how at Kindy he doesn't always play with his friends, sometimes he likes to play by himself, but

"I know I am never alone because God is always with me."

My husband and I looked at each other in shock! This is something he has meditated on and knows deep in his heart, that God is always with him.

When I pray for my children I almost always pray that they will know that God is with them, and that they will know that God loves them very much, no matter what they have done. It was very exciting to hear him put one of these amazing truths into practice, when he is at Kindy he is happy to play by himself, knowing that God is right there with him!

As my children get older I know that I can't be with them all the time, like I could when they were babies! They start to stay at friends houses for a few hours, then they start Kindy, then school, then one day they will be out there on their own.

When my first child started Kindy, I had to let her go willingly and with a heart that trusted God to take care of her. God is the one in control of their lives, not me!

It is my responsibility to teach them and remind them often that God is always with them, to help them have a relationship with Him so they can call upon Him for themselves in times of trouble.

I pray that our son and the rest of our children will always remember this truth, that God is always with them. So that in times of trouble, loneliness, temptation, fear, joy, sadness, suffering, or insecurity, they can call upon the name of the Lord and He will help them.

...For He Himself has said,
"I will never leave you nor forsake you."
So we may boldly say:

"The Lord is my helper:
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?" Hebrews 13:6

Bike riding

This week has been memorable in our household. Both no. 1 and no. 2 child have been riding their bikes without training wheels! No. 2 even rode his all the way to Kindy, with Daddy running alongside trying to keep up! It was exciting to watch no. 2 ride his bike around and around the backyard, we set up a cheersquad and counted and clapped every lap he did before crashing! I feel like its another step in their growing up, it was sad to see the training wheels come off, but exciting to see them learning a new skill!