Ears, cuddles and friends

Monday 15th: Asher got given a pair of bunny ears. She was very pleased about putting them on. :-)

Tuesday 16th: Foosball fun.

Ruth popped this photo through to me. She loves getting Asher to give Anastasia a cuddle.

Wednesday 17th: We planned a trip to town today as we had booked in to get Asher's car seat and buggy adjusted. The children got to play while the guy worked on them. The car seat was quick to adjust (adding and extra piece to it) but the buggy proved much more complicated. So they had to send it away to get adjusted at the warehouse.

It's always fun to have a sliding partner. :-)

After Anastasia woke from her nap she joined in the fun too.

Thursday 18th: Fun with Dad.

These two enjoyed the popcorn that got made today.



Fun with friends.

Friday 19th: Sister cuddles.

Saturday 20th: Asher managed to get these 4 puzzles down. I don't normally allow her to do all of them (I normally limit her to 2). The reason is because 3 of them have the same cut. If I let her do two with the same cut, I normally sit with her and direct her with the pieces (pointing out to her what is on the picture of each piece).
Today I didn't worry about sitting with her and allowed her to build them on her own.
This was the result. We have told people before that she builds puzzles by shape. This was a perfect example of how she does that. She does not have any concern about the jumbled pictures she created. The pieces went into their proper shaped position - and that was all that matters to her.
It's quite interesting for me that she is not interested in sorting them by picture, as she loves sorting in so many other situations.
As it was overcast this afternoon, I took Asher and Anastasia out to the tramp

Unfortunately the sun then came out and Asher had a seizure not long after these photos were taken. It was less than a minute, but so disappointing for me that she can't enjoy this activity more.



Below: The girls had a fun time with Brooke making up funny games with the bikes.

Sunday 21st: In order for the rest of the family to actually get to watch something on the TV, we set up the portable DVD player for Asher. It was very cute to see Anastasia and her watching together.
Tuesday 23rd: Hezekiah loves getting cuddles too.











Ruth's colouring in competition entry. She does love doing these and puts such incredible effort into making them beautiful.

Ruth took this photo for me - Anastasia wanting to help Dad with fixing the cupboard.

Ambulance, sport, box and bump

Friday 5th: Asher enjoyed playing with these babies this morning when she got up. She doesn't play with dolls often, so it was very special to see.
Asher doing things her funny way. I walked in to see her up on the side board. We were given some books that I need to find space for on the bookshelf. While they sit there they have become an interest to her. It's so funny to see her sitting with a book, pretending to read. We have stopped the climbing, but she enjoyed the books for a few weeks. :-)

Monday 8th: Asher had a bad fall with a seizure today as it hit her while she was running on concrete.

Tuesday 9th: The school put so much effort into Asher's "student led conference" today. While the other children showed their parents what they have been doing, they had prepared a video for us to watch of some of the things Asher has been doing at school. She enjoyed watching it too.

Rachel was thrilled today to get a St John jacket to use until her full uniform arrives (it's been ordered). Now that she is 18 she is able to volunteer on the Ambulance.
This is something she has been looking forward to for so many years now. So a very special time.

Her 18th birthday photos will go on their own post.

Wed 10th: The beautiful sunrise this morning. Today marks the start of this year's Casa Fest - hosted by our school this year.

Brendon was able to help with reffing the soccer games. He does so love soccer - so this was really nice for him to do. If only we had gotten his name on sooner, he would have been able to ref the squash games too (that would have been nice).
I got these photos after picking the children up from school (we just drove past to have a quick look). I didn't manage to get any photos of Ruth's involvement. She was again part of our school's team - which is really special for her. She hopes to be in the team each year through high school.

We "billeted" two girls for the festival. Ruth was really pleased to be able to do this.
Boxes are always fun.

Managed to get both smiling in this photo.

And once I had left them alone, they both got iPads to play on. It was so cute watching them have this special time together. Asher does have a habit of watching what Anastasia is doing though, and often "helps" (even if it's not asked for).

Thursday 11th: Anakin giving Anastasia a bit of a cuddle while she had her milk this afternoon. He is such a special cat.

Asher's bruise is showing up a lot now. The photo doesn't even show how dark it was. It was a real bad knock (even bigger than what it first appeared with just the areas of broken skin).

Saturday 13th: Enjoying a walk with these two. They always like to stop and say hi to the animals.

Sunday 14th: Ruth letting Anastasia have some writing practice.

Then she decided to let her do some dishes.
Ruth is so good with creating games and activities.

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.