Garden work and sports begin

Thursday 25th April: Hannah was pleased to be able to join St John Youth for the Anzac parade in Amberley this year. Looking so smart in her uniform.

Anastasia looking very cute with her red shiny shoes and her hair tied up.
Ruth in her Guide Uniform for Anzac today. And then enjoyed helping us with some gardening. She enjoyed using Dad's tools to form a wall around this bed (so we can get the grass growing up nicely to the side).




And then she loved using Dad's pick to dig out this area. 

It was finished up a couple of days later, but I thought I'd pop the photo in so you can see the end result. It looks really good.

Asher enjoying playing with Anakin and his cat tree (right inside the cat tree).

We have learnt about proprioception and seen how much Asher likes deep pressure on her arms. She also likes big hugs (and squeezes) at times. The lady who has been educating me on these things told me about weighted teddies for children. So I took a dog teddy we had, removed all his stuffing, and replaced it with wheat. She loves him. He is really heavy and gives her lovely pressure when she wants it.

Friday 26th: What stunning colours.



Hezekiah asked me to take a photo of his creation.

Saturday 27th: The children helped in the garden today. It's starting to look a lot more controlled - which Brendon and I both really thankful for.
Anastasia wanted Dad's pizza and was happy to just try get a bite off it. She is happy to try any food that someone else is eating.

Monday 29th: I must get a photo of this area before it's totally changed. I managed to get a free lean too / carport that Brendon got help fetching. So we have most of what we need to create a car port for Rachel on the side of the garage. So the first step is Brendon has to dig big holes for the new posts. And I want to remove all the beautiful bulbs from that bed (as the whole area will be stone).

Wednesday 1st May: Children photo.
And Asher enjoying using all 4 iPads in the house.

Saturday 4th May: Hannah's first day at netball.



She has a number of short games through the morning. I was pleased to be able to get to watch most of them.









And Hezekiah's first day at soccer. Thankfully they were both in Culverden.
So Brendon was with Hezekiah for his games but still had enough time to come over and watch Hannah play too.

Thankfully I was able to pop over and watch a bit of the soccer too. Brendon was asked to get on the field and coach them a bit - which he enjoyed. The team is mostly beginners but they had great fun.

Once sports was done and the children were home, Brendon and I managed to get away for a night for our 22nd anniversary. We are so thankful for the help with watching the other children (including Anastasia) so that we could have some time totally on our own.
We had a lovely dinner out (a real treat).

We stayed at the same bed and breakfast we had previously. They are such a beautiful Christian couple that we always enjoy the big of time fellowshipping with them too.

They had plans in the evening though, and so we got to enjoy special time alone in their amazing spa. It was so good to have the time to chat and just relax.

Fun and games and belly laughs

Tuesday 26th Feb: Asher had a hospital appointment this afternoon. Anastasia came with this time and enjoyed the kitchen area in the waiting room. Asher just loves the train. We know that she needs to have some time with it before she will be happy getting weighed or seeing the doctor.

 
Wednesday 27th: Asher had me laughing so hard today. She was dancing for us and enjoying the fact that she was making people laugh.

ABOVE: Friday 1st March: Monthly children photo.
LEFT: Tuesday 5th March: Ruth heading off on an overnight camp. Including CAVE diving. What an opportunity.
Brendon and I have been attending a Introduction to Mindfullness Course on Tuesday evenings. This was week 3 of 4. Not sure what I did with the first 2 photos. It's been really interesting. Some of the ideas have come up in different discussion in varied situation.
"What I resist persists. What I allow myself to feel will let me heal."
Most people automatically think mindfullness is emptying your mind but it's the opposite. It's being more aware of your thoughts and then controlling them. When it comes to emotions, we more often than not try to ignore or suppress our emotions, and then don't allow ourselves the needed time to properly deal with whatever has happened.

Anastasia spotted some of her pants that had been washed and wanted to put them all on. She was really layered up (more than what you can see).

Wednesday 6th: Ruth home safely from her adventures this evening and enjoying a tea party with Hezekiah and Anastasia. :-)

Thursday 7th: We managed to get a 2nd hand foosball table. The children are really enjoying it.

Friday 8th: Out there again early this morning once they were ready for school.

I just love this apple tree. Not only does it look so beautiful growing in this way, it has also been grafted from 2 different apples. So the ones on the right will ripen before the ones on the left. Such a clever idea.

Asher's legs are just growing so much that we are going to have to have her buggy adjusted. We needed to take photos so that they could "see" (without having to drive all the way out to us). So I thought I would pop this photo on to show how far those long legs are off her seat already. It's the same with her car seat. So we will get both adjusted soon.

Hezekiah's class singing in assembly today.

Saturday 9th: We were thrilled to have Richard and Bernie come for a visit this weekend. We haven't seen them since our North Island trip when Hannah was a baby. What a blessed friendship, that you can pick up after so many years and just feel so at home. What a blessing.
We took them on the lookout walk. The weather wasn't great for the view, but helpful for the walk.

Sunday 10th: Enjoying time together this evening.

Monday 11th: And then time to say goodbye. We loved having them stay and so many wonderful new memories were made (this time with the children included in those special times too). We remember all the belly aching laughs from 10 years ago, and this time it was no different. Thank you for coming.

The kids had so much fun outside this afternoon. They created different shops. Hezekiah and Logan had a plan shop. :-)

Tuesday 12th: And just like that, our Tuesday dates are over. Thank you Rachel for baby sitting.
It has been wonderful to be able to get out the house and spend some time together (40 min travel time to just chat). And we have learnt a lot too.

11 months and full licence

Wednesday 17th: I was just too tired to get these photo done before today. 11 months old already.
She has 4 more teeth busy coming through. Loves pulling herself up into a standing position. Is still full of lovely smiles and now enjoys wrinkling her nose up and watching people copy her. :-)
She only put 100g on over the last month, so still a real light weight. She is developing in other ways though, so have to try ignore the scales a bit.

Such a cutie.





A note for Tuesday 16th. Asher had a seizure at school today just after midday. Thankfully a short one again.

Rachel booked to do her full licence as soon as she was able and got the first appointment that she could. That was for this afternoon and we were all thrilled to hear that she passed first time. Well done Rachel. 17 1/2 years old. The youngest you can get your full licence (which includes passing a defensive driving course).
NOTE: This photo was taken the following Wednesday when the actual licence arrived in the post. Nice photo Rachel. :-)

While Rachel was doing her driving test, Brendon was at home with the youngest 3 as I took Hannah to pick up her new glasses. She went for much thinner frames this time and they look really smart. Nice choice Hannah.
Ruth also came with so that she could open a bank account. She is going on a school trip at the end of November and the recommendation is to rather have their spending money on a card as apposed to everyone bringing cash with. So she was excited about getting her first bank card. She is working at saving up as much as she can for spending money, so it's a nice way to also keep the money separate and save up.
I can't remember when this photo was taken (as Ruth took the photo and sent it to me on WhatsApp - so it does not have a date on it).
We were given 6 chooks. So we are thrilled to be collecting eggs again.

Friday 19th: Now that Rachel has her full license, she can take the other children out whenever she wants. So she decided she would start taking them to the tea rooms. Hezekiah got to go first today and she treated him to an ice cream.

Saturday 20th: Ruth has a good idea for a group Christmas present this year - a table tennis table. The only problem is that there is too much stuff in the garage. So we said that if the garage can be cleaned out - then we will have space for one. So she got started today and got a little bit of help from Hannah and Hezekiah. Unfortunately Ruth struggles from hayfever and the dusk was really getting to her. She did manage to sort out quite a bit though.
It always amazes me when I see Asher on a 2 wheel scooter. She does really well for a child who often looks unstable just walking and running.
Monday 22nd: Labour day today, so a nice day at home for everyone. Ruth was thrilled to be able to give Anastasia a bottle today.

Asher spent the day with Rachiel and so it allowed us to get a lot done around the house today, as well as rest.
The children were thrilled to light the fire - but just disappointed that the shop was closed and they couldn't go buy some marshmallows to roast.
Branches are piled up here over the months, and when the weather is good, it all gets burnt. It's good to get it done now before the fire bans come in for summer.

Hannah thrilled to be able to give Anastasia some milk today too. She is not actually drinking all that much yet, as we are still working out the best teat. She is still learning to drink from a bottle, so lots of extra time to practice has been good. This bottle eventually was not used anymore as she was just not getting much milk through it at all.
Tuesday 23rd: Asher had a seizure this afternoon. I think she was running around to get to me and didn't make it. She fell right onto the corner of the bookshelf. It bruised very quickly above her right eye, but can't really be seen on the photo that well. I should have taken a photo a couple of days later - when it was really discoloured. Poor girl. She has had a seizure on Tuesday for 3 weeks in a row now. (NOTE: This was the last one for the month though - so only 3 for the entire month - which is brilliant.)