While the boys are away...

These boys just left for the Philippines...

So we're just chilling out,

doing things like having sleepovers in the living room,

eating dinner on the benchtop with our bare hands 

(a TOTAL hit, you'd think I never feed her!), 

taking kids (and one super cute nephew!!) to a local school fair 

to watch a family with 6 kids do circus acts 

(that's dad, mum, and the boy on top is 5),

 eat fairy floss/cotton candy, and generally keep busy. 

Keeping busy and relaxed. It's a lost art, I can tell you!

Now I'm off to settle in for another night on the couch 

with kids sleeping all around me. 

Kinda fun cause I feel like a kid doing it too!

Disturbing, but totally understandable, I think... :)

This girl has brothers.

So while in other circumstances I might have been bothered by this conversation, I guess I was actually amused at the things a little girl learns when she has brothers:

"Mum, you know what a hammer looks like?"

"Yeah."

"Well it only has one side that you use. But a pick axe has 2 sharp sides, so when you are in a battle, and you've just gotten someone in front of you, and you hear someone creeping up behind you, you can just (motions the movement of using a pickaxe)... get them!"

"Oh, okay. Geez! [sigh]"

Coming from this girl, who spends her time doing the splits and definitely not researching pickaxes, it was very hard to keep a straight face while she educated me!

In other news, she's lost a tooth (I pulled it out actually!)

and was completely obsessed with figuring out if the tooth fairy was real, and is now absorbed in the book TF left for her, "Clementine Rose". Hmmm, I wonder if Clementine Rose taught her about pickaxes...

Another day, another 5 year old.

Has my 3rd child just turned 5? Yes, yes he has. Probably the most anticipated of them all. Having older siblings means there's a short but very important list of things-you-must-wait-till-you-turn-five-to-get.

Pocket money.

Sleeping on the top bunk.

So after going to see Planes on the morning of his birthday, a jungle party with a few friends at home, a few aussie football presents, pocket money to spend (although I'm thinking there will be some disappointment when he discovers $1 won't buy all the things he's been waiting to buy!), Nick's favourite thing at the end of the day was being on the top bunk. 

Guess that's what makes him feel big !

Nick, you're a gorgeous smiling 5 year old and even though we always tell you not to grow up, you keep doing it and of course we love it. Happy 5th birthday to you. You're a joyful clever little thing, always surprising us with what you know. And although you've always been the youngest, this last year has been very special seeing you becoming a responsible and doting big brother as well.

Guess what?!

We get to bring this little one with us to the U.S. at Christmas! We feel very pleased to have gotten permission for her to travel internationally with us. We felt hopeful that it would happen, but the permission came through much much faster than we expected, so we're relieved that it's not a big unknown anymore. She'll be 1 year old by Christmastime, and really is a part of our family, so it's great she doesn't have to stay with people she doesn't know. Now back to plane flights with a baby, oh help me.....

I love this picture even though it's blurry. She's very loved at school, and although the girls mostly get to her first for cuddles, occasionally the boys do too. This was at a school science fair, and I'd just put her down to play on the floor, looked back and these boys were already playing with her. 

Wedding day

My sister got married today! It was a beautifully relaxed day, all went smoothly, no one fainted during the ceremony, and we only panicked when the bride and groom disappeared as they walked out after the ceremony. Where did Jill and John go? We looked for ages, and found them waiting for us to come get them in another spot. Hmmm, at least that's their story. :)

Congratulations Jill and John, and may your years ahead be everything you dream and more!

Accurate, sort of.

Whoever wrote that must know me. 

So I feel kind of stalked.

Except for one thing.

They got the chocolate thing wrong.

That's not my thing.

I have yet to figure out what you should throw at me.

Ask Andrew, I'm sure he'll know.

Time

This last week is easily summed up with one word.

Time.

My grandfather lived nearly 95 years - that's a lot of Time.

I'm about to go on my second ocean-crossing flight to return home - that's a lot of Time sitting in a seat in the air.

I've been without any children of my own for the last week. Time!!

Time to be with my parents, my nieces and nephews and my sisters.

Time to sit with and care for my grandmother a little bit, who still has precious Time left on this earth to be loved.

Time to myself, which has meant so much to me. 

So although it was a sad occasion that made for all this Time, I am grateful to have had it, and grateful to all the people who generously gave their Time to help look after the kids in my absence (and more so than they actually bargained for, since Andrew broke his finger and ended up in hospital just to get some Time off!! ;)

Thank you Andrew for so willingly sacrificing your Time so that I could do what I have always really wanted to do.

Forever and a day is a long Time. 

A wooden heart made by Grandpa for Grandma.

Skyping with everyone back home

 Photos and flowers at the funeral.

Nephews that I love.

Nieces and nephews that I love.

Me, Grandma, Mom.

Only one more year till 10

Happy birthday to Daniel, the boy whose whole face smiles, who is such a great big brother, addicted to football card collecting/swapping, loves soccer and all things factual and geographical, and has a huge measure of compassion. I love him more than I could have imagined, and with each year I enjoy his company more.

Never change that smile Big Dan!

See ya later

94 years old is an okay time to go. It really is. But it's never a good time to be the one saying goodbye, because the finality, the farewell, it's never something we are built to be ready for. At least that's my take on it. I'm okay with Grandpa dying, but I'm not really okay with not seeing him again. And I know my mom didn't want to say goodbye to her dad. But today I woke at 5.30am, got up and looked at my phone because I knew the time was close, and as I was standing there half awake, holding the phone, it started ringing. I knew it was my parents calling, and then the news was real in my world. 

See ya later Grandpa. I will forever count steps and think of you. And Andrew and I will "forever" count our marriage months because of you. Just for the record, I usually win that one. We're on 174 months, which is nothing on you and Grandma at 878 months. Seriously, every month?!! Hats off to you for that, and for a life of faith, love, hard work, dedication and fun. 

Your legacy will live through many generations.

See ya later.

bits and pieces

a boy addicted...

a 4 year old who wrote all his numbers 0-50 

without me knowing. you'll have to try hard to see them, 

but they're all there, backwards and all!

then he needed to sleep. :)

a little school baby, miss C is a hit in class. 

she's tired of being cuddled by all the kids, 

but she loves this attention!

first snow of the winter. don't know why I always 

take a picture of this, but I always love it.

a morning of stamping and making cards. they loved it. should do it more often.

a sweet smiling nephew

 three tiny people trying to make a tiny snowman 

out of a tiny bit of snow

watching an early winter sunset while playing on the beach 

and looking at the snow on the mountain.