And Playtime For Me.

I have been rearranging things.
The cooking pots and pans are rusty and so will sit in this cabinet.

I have Australian and African things on top of this cabinet.....

Playtime.

These pots, pans, little pot mit, tea set and oven came from husband E's Aunt. They are for 6 year old daughter to enjoy now.

Beauty.

Oh and the scent.........I love Gardenias. A sad anniversary today. 9 years ago, a mining accident.

Sabbath.

"Live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, be compassionate and humble." 1 Peter 3:8

The Week......

Cosy evenings reading on the couch with husband E and the dear cat, Noddy.
Peach and blueberry crumble, banana cakes and shortbread all on offer.
Meals that have been enjoyed: steak sandwiches for children and stir fry for us; sushi, homemade bread and crumble.....

Cooler weather, with rain mainly at night and then clear, clean days.

Children who have played happily with each other and by themselves......

Time to work with our children -reviewing test papers with 10 year old son, extra phonics with 6 year old daughter, building and fine motor skills with 4 year old daughter and a very cuddly 2 year old!!
All extra activities were cancelled independently, one particularly fortuitous as it usually occurs on a Wednesday and all four children were home that day.....

2 year old daughter's laughter.

Lots of time for children to play outside....
Fuschias in the garden, tomato plants growing well....
A kookaburra on the washing line..............

Lovely clean windows and the hills beyond.

A dear friend from my university days travelling to come and visit me...

Exchanging emails with a blogging friend,

Lovely linen pants,

Pottering around the house and garden,

A Blessed week.

More lounging........

We sit here a lot!!

This and That.

I hung this wirework 'toy' in our laundry. My parents bought it in South Africa. It is made from wire, a soft drink can and then some material for the clothes and tape to wrap around the wheels. I just love it.
I also reorganised our first aid box. Now it is easy to see what we have and it is easy to find it in a hurry.

Room With a View.

We are enjoying the breathing space as we have moved furniture this weekend. This time things have gone back into different spots and it feels really nice. We couldn't lift the piano and we did not want to run it over the new floor, so it has a new home-a cosier spot. I am even tempted to practice what I learnt when I indulged in piano lessons after our fourth child was born.

We have also placed the table in the bay window area which is a lovely spot to look out onto the garden. It is interesting how we have this desire to nest and create a quiet, restful sanctuary.

I will post more photo's later in the week.

Sunday was (now) 10 year old son's actual birthday. We always have balloons and the children enjoy having to hunt for their presents. The balloons kept the younger ones entertained.......

Sabbath.

"Let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Protect them, so all who love Your name may be filled with joy. For You bless the godly, O Lord, surrounding them with Your shield of love." Psalm 5:11-12

The Bathroom.

A facelift for the bathroom. Brown seems to absorb pink.

Birthday Party.

Firstly, a hard start to the day as husband E and I stayed up late to move furniture about and sort the bathroom. We were grumpy and tired.



The day improved as we had my parents over. They brought 9 year old son's birthday present. Sushi was enjoyed for lunch. We then went to an indoor rock climbing centre for the birthday party. Lots of active boys enjoyed the time. Lovely parents and Eric's sister, the birthday boy's Godmother belayed.



Home again, thankful that the groovy aunt had entertained the girls.



Husband E and I will do a little more around the house and then order our Thai dinner. Tomorrow we have been parents for a decade. Oh, our dear son.

A Day in My Life.

A Day in my Life; fuzzy-just like my photo's...........

I am snuffly and slow this morning.

The first thing I saw as I opened my eyes was a kookaburra; one of my favourite birds. It should be a good day!!

After a shower I made our bed and heard the two little ones chatting. I made their beds and dressed them. Then on to 6 year old daughter for our morning snuggle and Bible story. We woke 9 year old son next. I laid out breakfast, checked emails and took the last few things out of the bathroom as it is being painted today.

6 year old daughter did her piano practise once she was dressed. 9 year old son wrote a birthday card for his school principal as he shares a birthday with her and it will be this Sunday. I wrapped a small gift. We also gathered lollies for 9 year old son to take to school and took one out for his oldest sister. We also had to gather school library books as they are due for stock take today.

I made lunches and the older two children chose their chips for their lunchbox. They have a little bag of chips on a Friday.

I gathered towels and loaded the washing machine.

The painter arrived and after chatting, I attended to organising school bags. It was lovely to see 2 year old daughter sitting with 9 year old son on the couch, and 6 year old daughter next to them. 4 year old daughter was on the other couch.

Kisses and farewells and the older two headed for the bus stop. Breakfast and coffee for me now.

The two little ones ate some toast, then we all headed out to hang out the washing and make peg patterns on the basket. A little play in the cubby house and then back inside. It is very hot already.

I put some washing away and finally put some moisture absorbing containers in the cupboards. It is also getting humid now.

The little ones then had cheese and crackers and I sorted through some more washing. 2 year old daughter then delighted in 9 year old son's cars and 4 year old daughter later joined her. I rang the preschool to check the status of 2 year old daughter's enrollment for 2010.

I dusted our bedroom and the lampshades!!!

Next some drawing, me too and chat with the painters. Lunch preparation next. The painting is finished. Now my eagerness to put things back where they belong is going to have to wait for the paint to dry.

I have read stories and put two little ones to bed. The next job was to wash the bathroom floor and all areas where I see white dust.

I had a cheese and tomato sandwich and quickly read a supplement to the newspaper. I tidied 9 year old son's room where little girls had enjoyed their play. A chat with the cat and a little lie down as this cold is making my head feel odd.

The little ones woke up, the older two came home on the bus. I quickly brought in the washing before the storm clouds produce rain.

Now more feeding at the zoo.....afternoon tea.

I washed up and tidied the kitchen ready for the evening. 4 year old daughter went to the study to look at old photo's and 2 year old daughter returned to 9 year old son's bedroom.

I repaired a baby blanket that has been waiting for over two years. That felt good. A cup of tea quickly before preparing for swimming lessons.

Husband E came home and 4 year old daughter discovered that our cat had been sick. Quick clean up. 2 year old daughter has surreptitiously gone to 6 year old daughter's room to play with the dolls' house.

I will now have to type the plan for here onwards as it is going to get hectic.

Firstly swimming for 6 year old and 4 year old daughters. Afterwards I hope to duck to a hardware store quickly for a rug for the bathroom.

Husband E will feed the children and clean the windows in the family room that has had all the work done in it. I then will go to my sister in law's birthday dessert night. I have even put jewellery on for the occasion; the beads of the necklace are made of rolled up bits of magazines and then are lacquered. They were made in South Africa but I bought them here at a fair trade stall. After coming home, I will help husband E move furniture into the family room. I will also make sure that all is in order for 9 year old's birthday party tomorrow.

This is all quite unusual for a Friday night for us- Husband E and I usually order Thai takeaway food for dinner and watch a movie together.

First Aid.

In our living room which looks like a junk shop, the furniture is crowded. 2 year old daughter rolled off the couch and cut the back of her head on the table. Lots of blood, but thankfully not a serious cut. Although I thought our First Aid box was well organised and stocked, it was hard to get at quickly and hard to dig through and find what I needed.

As I reorganise and clean up after the floor in the family room is fixed, I will wipe out the dusty kitchen cupboards as a result and I will be rethinking the arrangement of our First Aid items.

Kitchen Knobs.

The knobs on our doors and drawers in the kitchen cost more than the doors and drawers themselves. Husband E made the doors and drawers. I was inspired to share my 'knobs' by a post on Cherith Revisited a long time ago.

My favourite skirt.....

My favourite skirt fabric. I am not going to even tell how many years I have had this skirt for......

A Weekend Away.

We have just returned from a lovely weekend away in the Southern Highlands.

Daily Bread.

The work on the floor is going well. We have been retreating to other rooms and are faring well. The poor cat however does not appreciate the noise and needs extra reassurance from us at present. I am happy to oblige.

I rearranged 9 year old son's room again to make it easier for him to spread out. I have started a lovely routine with our children whereby we snuggle and read the Bible together. 6 year old daughter loves this time in the morning and 9 year old son loves this time at night. They each have different versions of the Bible story, which have been kindly given to them at birth by loving friends and family. We try to keep to the same story in order that they may chat about it in the day.

This older Bible is a Bible from my Dad's older sister, given to me when I was little.

Retreat From What?

Everything is higgledy-piggledy. Our floor in the family room is being laid again as the wood buckled. All furniture is now in the living room. Access for the carpenter is through the deck. I hope it won't be for long......"Well done!" to families in days gone by, with large families and smaller dwellings. They probably did not have the burden of too many toys or furnishings of today's society.

An Award.

A kind award from GingerLouise Clothing. I'm afraid I sometimes participate in the community of awards and sometimes not. It is all reliant on the amount of spare time I have and if my internet connection is strong!! This morning I have cancelled an appointment so I thought I would join in!! Also there is less housework at present as who can vacuum when the living room looks like a junk shop?

The idea of this award..... to list six things that make me happy and then tag six other bloggers.

1. Starting the day quietly in prayer.

2. My family.

3. A good,strong coffee in the morning.

4. No rushing, time taken to savour....

5. A good belly laugh.

6. Crisp linen in the warmer months, soft flannel in the colder months.

Six creative bloggers, who I might add give me joy and encouragement when I read them....

-Ask Kari and Kijsa

-365 Days in My House (A Year in my House, Maybe)

-Redwood House

-High Desert Home

-The Inspired Room

-3191

A Retreat.

This bedroom will become a bit of an escape for me in the next few weeks as our family room floor is being ripped up and repaired.

Christmas Pudding.

Look what we made on Saturday at my sister in law's church. It was so easy and then I came home and boiled it for five hours. It smelt so good.

For information about the history of the Christmas pudding, look here.

A Bicycle Made for (More Than ) Two.

Husband E joins his bike to the front of this wagon and we have been able to transport our toddlers in it over the years. The younger two had a ball in it, whilst 9 year old son rode behind them. 6 year old daughter was having a wonderful time at a friend's place and I enjoyed a cup of tea.

Sabbath.

"The generous prosper and are satisfied, those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed." Proverbs 11:25

Again, posting on Australian Monday, hoping it is Sunday somewhere still.... I really try to leave the computer off on the Sabbath, a day set apart. These words can sustain us on all days of the week.