August done, September begun

Sunday afternoon - 17 August. Relaxing with my little man while we enjoy a family movie together. I am so used to him playing with my hair, I think it's permanently messy. :-)
Tuesday 19th - Ruth took a few photos of this little ball she made with loom bands.

Thursday 21st - Ruth getting some loom band work in before she heads off to brownies. She was attempting to make a violin today. Unfortunately one of the bands snapped and she was not able to recover it and had to undo it all.
Friday 22nd. Ruth's photo cleaning the fireplace last time got us some great help from a friend. He told us about how to use a wet piece of newspaper with the ash. The ash works really well in cleaning the glass. As soon as Ruth heard the advice she wanted to give it a try.

Brendon, Rachel, Ruth, Asher and I headed off to listen to a talk on Creation on Friday evening. Asher slept in the sling on me and Hezekiah and Hannah stayed at the Sternes.
Hezekiah crashed but Hannah was still wide awake at 10pm. She had a great time.

Saturday 23rd. Give the boy his bike, his dogs and a stick and he is as happy as can be. He will spend ages outside playing. It's lovely to hear the different games he comes up with.
Such a sweet boy.
Asher ended up having 7 seizures through the last week of August. All the details can be put in a separate post for those who are interested in the specific details.
Tuesday 26th. Despite Asher having 3 seizures yesterday, she was keen to help with packing the cutlery. Now we just have to make sure that Hezekiah and Asher don't fight about doing this job. I love that these children want to help.
Brendon took today off so that I could head off with the girls for their Ballet Medal tests and exam. We left just before lunch and were only back for dinner. I will put their photos and videos into a seperate post. They both did really well.
Friday 29th. Noortje popped over for a visit this morning. Enjoying some cuddle time with the little two.
This evening Ruth headed off to a Regional Brownie camp in Kaiapoi. She came back on Sunday just after lunch and had a great time. She was just exhausted though as they didn't get to bed very early.

Saturday 30th. Brooke came over for a play today and it was lovely to see how much Hezekiah enjoying having her come and visit and how kind and gentle she was with him. Even letting him sit on her lap while they played "go fish" and letting him help with taking cards.
In the afternoon Rachel and I headed off to watch a local production of "Annie get your gun." It was an excellent performance and I was amazed at the wonderful singing talent. Rachel especially liked that she had a few friends in the production.
In the evening Hezekiah helped me finish off Brendon's muesli. Ruth had cut the nuts up a few days ago, so it was good to finally get it finished. I am really pleased (and surprised) that Hannah likes it as it's got so many jumbo oats in it - and she just does not like oats. So with her on a gluten free diet now (at least wheat free) it is nice that she has a breakfast alternative for the days she would have had semolina or wheetbix.
On Sunday (31st August) Asher and I ended up going to the hospital after she had 4 seizures through the day. She had tonsillitis and a very high temperature which was most likely the trigger that got them all going. We eventually got home on Wednesday afternoon (staying a bit longer just to make sure the temp was down and see that she was ok on her extra meds). God was so faithful through it all and I have so much to be thankful for through this time. All the details are in that detailed post for those who are interested.

Tuesday 2nd September. Ruth took this photo: Hezekiah enjoyed building these puzzles with Dad's encouragement.
Brendon took Monday and Tuesday off and I was glad. He had been struggling with a cold over the weekend and I think he had the viral tonsillitis that Asher also had. He had such a sore neck (around the front of his neck) on Sunday and now looking back I am sure that it was all the swollen glands from the infection. He didn't have a total break though as he did the ballet run with Ruth in the afternoon and then they all had to head out to fetch Rachel in the evening.
He worked on Wednesday morning but headed into town to fetch Asher and I after lunch. It was such a blessing that we didn't have to wait till the evening to head home.

I am so very thankful for Brendon. He is such an amazing husband and father and I often thank the Lord for him.
You know he is doing such a good job while I am away because during that time Hezekiah started being dry through the night (so he is not feeling stressed with me being away). Hezekiah will only be 3 in a month's time - so I was very surprised and pleased. What a clever boy. He gets two pebbles in the morning when his nappy is dry - so they make it onto the blog (as I reminder for me to make the note).
On Wednesday (3rd September) Ruth and Hannah spent the morning with Noortje. They had a very busy morning and one of the things they did was to buy presents. Ruth wanted to wrap Hezekiah's gift and he was VERY pleased with his "Richard Scarry's Busy, Busy World" book.
Noortje came over for a visit just before Hezekiah headed off for a bath. He was very upset when he got out to see that Noortje had left. He had wanted her to read some more to him.
So on Thursday (4th Sep) I called and asked Noortje if she would read some more to him. So she came over and spent some time with him, reading in the sun. At this stage he doesn't actually listen to any of the stories - he just loves looking through the book at all the interesting characters.
Such special memories being made.
Thursday also saw me finally getting the children's photo for September. After our 3 nights in hospital it was such a blessing to be able to take a photo of these 5 precious children together again.
Asher is adjusting well to her new medication and I thank and praise the Lord for this. She does still wake more at night (which we have seen before when she has had this medication) but we are hopeful this will also settle down in time.