Simple, fun and yummy

The girls were looking for something to do and as usual something to eat.

DD(7) purchased a book at lifeline bookfest yesterday and was browsing through it when she found the 'recipe' , not that it needs a recipe but it prompted us nevertheless to make fruit kebabs.

Even dd(nearly 2) joined in....cutting the fruit,

assembling the fruit on the stick

And then eating them....yummy!!!

Galatians 5 vs 22

But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control and against such things there is no law

My dancing Queen

My daughter (7) has been dancing since the beginning of the year.
Dance has done amazing things for her confidence and co-ordination amongst many other things.

Last week she performed in her dance schools end of year concert.
I now know what it's like to be a 'dance Mum'. The rehearsals, the photo shoots, the preparing all the bits and pieces, the hair and make up!!!

I am now a 'pro' at this dance Mum thing (thankful I had a friend in the same predicament for support) and quite confident next year will be a breeze. I must also mention my sister, the children's wonderful Aunt(Tata) and godmother helped in the preparations and just general moral support.

Included in her audience was her grandma, her brother, her auntie and uncle and of course Mummy and Daddy.

When it came her turn-Beginner Jazz performing Conga the years started welling up. To see her beautiful smiling face, she didn't even have to dance to make me proud. I already was.
She danced her little heart out and those little wandering eyes looking out for Mummy and Daddy were just adorable.
Tissues were required by the end.

Daddy presented her with a rose on the final night when she also received her very first trophy, which now has a proud spot in her room.

I am happy(I think) to say she now has the performing bug and can't wait to do it all again in 2012 and is asking to do more dance styles!!!

Job 21 vs 11

They send forth their little ones like a flock and their children dance

Proud Mum!

It is so beautiful to see your children blossom and gain confidence over the years. My daughter(7) has been quite shy and reserved but in this last year we have witnessed her come out of her shell and it is quite amazing to watch.

She is constantly surprising me like just the other day we were at a fiesta and a lady gave her a helium balloon and just as the lady walked away she accidentally let go. She was upset to lose this balloon so I Suggested she run over to the lady who was now a good 15 or more metres away from where we were sitting and ask her for another one. The little girl we know and love would normally shy away from such a task and possibly even whine till one of us gave in and did it for her. BUT NO, she ran straight over and asked the lady ALL BY HERSELF!!!
I was so proud of her...

Today she performed as an angel in a small nativity performance that the homeschool group at sisterhood kids had been working on for a couple of weeks. She didn't have a "talking" part and didn't have to do much but the fact that she confidently stood on stage singing with the group and moving on cue was enough to make me the proudest mum in the room.

After the performance the kids said to me that prior to going on stage they were quite nervous, but that they had so much fun and want to do it again.
I also must note cos I thought it was so cute, my daughter(R) said "I really wanted to smile Mummy, but there were just so many people"

She has her first dance performance for her dance school's end of year concert coming up in 3 weeks and I know she will have the time of her life and once again I will be the proudest mum in the room. Post will be up soon about my first year as a 'dance mum'

Love watching my children learn and grow everyday....

Rail Museum (Build it)

The last time we went to the train museum at Ipswich was for J's 2nd birthday. J was Thomas the Tank mad!!! The Thomas exhibit was on at the time so we braved a HOT January day and took him for a day filled with trains. We thought the place was a good day out back then, over 6 years ago!

Our home school group had an excursion and workshop booked last week for the Build It exhibit. I had booked us in to go but had second thoughts when it fell on a particularly busy week. However I decided to go and I am glad I made the effort.

The workshop itself was OK but not the highlight of the day.

There was lots of other things going on for the children to do and look at. There was a whole room dedicated to "construction" the kids big and small loved this room.

Dressing up, large and small blocks, connector straws, stencilling amongst many other things.

The children also enjoyed the play area where there was lots of ride on toys, tracks and role play areas including more dress ups.

There are lots of trains and displays to look at of course, well it is a museum. The older kids both had a turn of driving the train on a simulator and enjoyed exploring the carriage.

We were on our way out after being at the museum for 3 hours and noticed a whole section we had missed. There were all these work stations set up with different activities to try. The children got a certificate which they stamped as they completed each activity. There was plumbing, painting, welding, building, rope tying amongst a few other trades.

 At 3pm we had to leave as R had dance class that we had to be at in an hour! If we had more time we would have spent at least double the time just at these work stations. It was great for the children to have a go at different skills and a good point for discussion on the way home about various occupations.

Our family had a fabulous day and will definitely make the effort to attend the rail museum when they have their special exhibits!

Happy 7!!!

My gorgeous second child and my eldest daughter has been such a blessing to us since the day she was born. I had a smooth pregnancy and had prepared myself for a VBAC after having an emergency c-section with my first just 16 months prior. The birth went well, long and painful but well. Little did we know during the "pushing" stage she was losing oxygen and she was born blue and didn't make a single sound. A team of DR's and nurses rushed her to the side and with lots of prayer, including a very specific one from my mum in the side room, "breathe the breath of life" our baby was ok.
I will never forget the moment hubby walked over to me with tears in his eyes and said "thank you for giving me a baby girl" . We haven't found out the sex of our baby during pregnancy, its always been a surprise. I LOVE SURPRISES!!!

R's story continues and she spent a long week in intensive care, and after a lot of tests,medication and of course prayer she was given the all clear and sent home.

My faith was tested for sure during that week. Wandering whether our little girl would have long term problems, worrying that she wouldn't make it through one of her seizures, standing by watching her have test after test with tubes and machines attached to her tiny (well not so tiny-she was 8.5 pounds) body. I kept praying and my faith in God remained strong. He was looking after my little girl and as always he would give us the strength we needed to get through this.

Watching R grow over the last seven years has been a pure joy! She was a happy, carefree baby and always bopping to music and smiling at her family.

R loves animals(doesn't get that from me), has a great interest in the weather(definitely a trait from my hubbys side),she also has a great sense of direction(another trait from hubbys side) and she enjoys singing and dancing(she is often heard playing in her room whilst making up and singing a song at the top of her lungs)She always makes us laugh as she makes us see the world through her eyes.

This last year she has taken on dancing(which she loves), she has also done drama and science classes and is learning spanish. R Started "grade 1" this year and it is her first year at the distance ed school where my kids are registered, they have fortnightly(or thereabouts) EC days and she looks forward to these and runs off to classes quite happily. This year she has also started attending her class at kids church on a Sunday, another thing she looks forward to now and that over a year ago was so hard to get her to let go of my leg!!!

This last few years she has grown a lot, physically of course but in other ways too. She has a lot more confidence and is not afraid to try new things and push herself out of her comfort zone. Its nice to see the people around us, like family notice this also. A couple of anecdotes to explain....

Recently after spending 4 days with her Meme, my mum messages me and says "I really enjoyed R's company, she has come out of her shell, loosing her inhibitions and she is showing affection"
and finishes with "R has many hidden treasures and only those who take the time to wait will discover them"
This is so true and bought a tear to my eye.

At her 7th birthday party(a horse riding 1/2 day workshop with 3 friends of her choice) her friend was upset as the horse that was assigned to her frightened her. R noticed that her friend was upset and said to me " Mummy, I can swap I don't mind which horse I ride". Another hold back the proud tears moment! This same little girl would not have done this even a year ago.

Love you my little princess xxx

Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5 vs 16