6 year old girl

Laura's birthday fell between packing day and moving day. No big deal right? Just insert sleepover in the living room and everyone's happy! 

It seems the roller skates were the hit of the day. 

She only took them off that day when I insisted! 

Little party with friends

Big brother doing the birthday cupcake honours...

Happy birthday sweet girl of mine! 

You bring me so much joy. 

New House

We're now just 1 week from packing up our house and moving into the new place. At least partially moving in... The existing house has a bathroom and ensuite now, all new paint, and eventually carpet. Then there's the extension - that isn't built yet. So we'll move into the rooms of the existing house that are ready, and we'll snuggle up there for a couple cold months with some of our stuff and a makeshift kitchen. I think it'll be fun! Remind me later that I thought it would be fun. Actually no, remind Andrew. :) I am actually looking forward to living there rather than having to go back and forth checking things at the house all the time. 

Here's some random pictures. 

Hard to explain the big picture, but this is our bedroom with a 

chimney removed, then with an ensuite door added.

Hallway with door to bathroom on the right.

Looking in the bathroom door.

Bathroom with bath and walls added.

Ensuite.

Hallway from front door. Goodbye blue flowered wallpaper!

Lounge room. Right wall is shared with the bathroom.

Used to be the kitchen, soon to be a bedroom.

 Back of the house with a bedroom that is
currently looking a bit like a garage. 

Eventually there will be house where the dirt is,
and the room should have 4 walls, all going well...

Back corner of the house again. 

The blue tarp is the outside of the bedroom that used to be the kitchen.

Our bedroom again, wall plastered, and the visible results of a Saturday painting 

sample colours on the wall, thank you kids!

Kid Quotes

D: "For some reason Bruny makes me wake up early. Why is that? Maybe it's because Bruny is awesome!" (the love for bruny is being planted deep in the next generation, yay!)

L: "I feel like a slave" (while washing up dishes)

N: "When Opa died he gave all his work to dad." (simplicity, the gift of childhood)

Our kids may not flick through photo albums of actual printed photos like we did, but they spend hours looking through photos and video clips on the computer. All looking for the same thing of course - pics of themselves!

Photo Albums

I wanna be like dad...

Daniel and Andrew 2004

(Andrew wishes to clarify that what is on the bedside table is not his side of the bed)

Hi Grandpa

Hi Grandpa,

Love Laura

Gotta love

...living near this kind of view.

...a 3-year old who has just learned how to write his name.

...a 7-year old boy resting.

...a 5 and three quarters (as she likes to call herself) girl who brings me drawings every day from school.

... a bird with a view.

... childhood fun.

 ... the 3-year old with the 'real' guitar while the others have to play air. :)

Thank you Daniel

Apparently we've made the house-building process far too complicated. 

Thank you Daniel for simplifying it for us.

 (found this in a notebook of his from months ago, probably when we first started talking about the house plans). 

"How to make a house"

Use a:

chainsaw, bricks (cement), people, nails, hammer, digger, truck, plans, wood, tiles, doors, carpet, curtains, paint, permission, furniture

*Building started this week, well, demolition actually. Exciting! The countdown is on. An un-countable countdown for awhile yet, but still a countdown!

Sweet Nick

I love 3-year olds. Tomorrow is Andrew's birthday and Nick helped me wrap presents. Then we hid them in the spare room.
Nick: "But Mum, if Dad comes in the front door then he will go in the spare room and see the presents."
Mum: "It's okay, I hid them in the cupboard."
N: "Oh, good."
- Then at dinner:
N: "Dad, we wrapped your presents and we hid them in..."
M: "Nick, don't tell him where they are, it's a surprise, remember?"
N: "I won't!" ..."Dad, we hid them in the spare room in the cupboard so don't look in there."

Too much excitement for one 3-year old to keep to himself.
These are the days I will miss when they have passed.

Women

Spending 3 days away with 11,000 women.
Exactly what the doctor ordered.
I'm by myself and yet in the company of many women who are determined to be the change in their world.

Thank you Jesus for refreshing my heart and changing my perspective.

Too much

Building [part of] a house is too much for me. Someone help. Oh that's right, lots of people are helping. Doing loads more work than me actually. Why is this so hard for me? I'm off to bed after hours perusing websites for which dishwasher/oven/stovetop/rangehood, etc, etc. Seriously... why is it that I can live in many different houses over the years, mostly happy with whatever appliances are there, but then choosing our own becomes this pseudo-all-important-yet-actually-quite-important task?? Just have to choose and focus on the big picture. That's my midnight conclusion. Goodnight and good luck to me. Ha.

front of the house