Thursday 24 August 2017

31.52 baby beethoven at great papa's house




Just my four year old gently playing his first sonata. 

Ha! Just kidding.... if only pictures came with sound you could hear the random (but still sweet) plinking and plunking on his great-grandfather's piano.

We gathered at my 96 year old Papa's home to celebrate and remember some special ones we have loved and lost. 

As you can see, Papa sure knows how to entertain, even still. The consummate gentleman and host. 

How grateful I am for times together like these. Honouring and connecting.

And later, as the sun set and we went to leave, the boys started scampering around and you can bet I had my camera out in a flash to capture that golden hour and those precious moments.




Yes, my 96 year old grandfather baked and prepared all this. He is amazing!










Project 52: A portrait of my family once a week, every week, in 2017.

Tuesday 22 August 2017

lily // nine



My darling girl is nine. Almost double digits, as she would say, and I can hardly believe we are almost into a decade of parenting.

Lily, you have really embraced the tween zone this year. A voracious reader, you are tearing through books at a rapid rate, including many non-children's books too (you comb through my book shelves but to your dismay as you try to squirrel them off to your room, I have to inform you that many of the books are not yet quite appropriate!). Your devotion to reading fills me with joy of course, to see you become such a little book worm! 

You love hanging out with your friends, such a social butterfly. I am so grateful that you still fill me in on every social intricacy and we talk all the issues through together. I am so in awe of how self-assured and self-aware you are. How I pray we always have this relationship, it's such a privilege to be part of your world, even as it expands and grows beyond our home. I know you are so very eager to be grown. You love to take solo walks around the block. Be part of adult social events. And yet you are still so very little and I hope you can embrace your childhood for a good while yet!

You are so very funny and quirky, a total tomboy (you now spurn dresses and don't even suggest anything pink!!!) yet you still yearn for perfume and makeup and a hair straightener. You loooooove animals and have plans to be a vet (and with zero squeamishness may very well end up there!). You are constantly writing stories and plans and lists. You are incredibly creative, always sculpting amazing things out of scraps and bits and pieces. You are incredibly articulate and socially aware. How will all these beautiful parts that make you 'you' meld together over the years? I can't wait to see how God works in your life! 

It's a blessing to parent a girl like you. While we stumble our way through this new phase, leaving early childhood behind and head towards the teen years, I know it won't always be easy being our 'trial run' as the first born. But I am more grateful than ever for our strong bond, your respectful nature, and your kind and gentle heart. You are a beautiful big sister and a wonderful girl full of light and sparkle and spunk.

We love you, Lily, and couldn't be prouder of the young woman you are becoming through the grace of God. 










The Annual Interview with Lily...

What are you going to be when you grow up?
A hard decision... so many things! An acrobat! 

What’s that going to be like?
Very fun and creative! 

What are your favourite toys?
Can they be pillows? My watermelon pillow and food!

Who are your best friends?
Hayley from church, Charlie and Elsa. 

What makes you happy?
Hanging out with friends and going to the movies with just my parents. 

What makes you sad?
When my pets die.

When you dream at night, what do you dream about?
I had a great dream about where I break world records but they all go wrong. So it's like science experiments. 

What do you like to do with Daddy?
Do weightlifting and go to the movies. 

What do you like to do with Mummy?
Go to the ice skating rink and also have snuggles.

What do you like to do with Eli?
Practise tricks on the seesaw. 

What do you like to do with Miles?
Play lego with him and snuggle wrestles. 

What’s your favourite colour?
Aqua.

What’s your favourite book?
Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

What does Daddy do during the day?
Works very hard and comes home tired.

What does Mummy do during the day? 
Do you help homeless people? Help homeless people and come home exhausted. 

What do you do during the day?
Hang out with friends and go to school.

It's good to be nine because.....
Because you are almost double digits and you are a TWEEN! You are also no longer an equal number. 



The collage....


Tuesday 15 August 2017

30.52 Sunshine Swing



Another day, another play at our beloved Arboretum.

This happy boy sure knows how chill xx








 Project 52: A portrait of my family, once a week, every week, in 2017.

Friday 11 August 2017

eli // seven




Seven years old, my dear boy.


Our little rocket, we do love you. You have flourished this year and matured so much. You love riding your huge mountain bike like a speed-demon with Dad, reading like crazy (ahem, Captain Underpants are the distinguished novels that really got you rolling, lol), and obsessed with gems and crystals and rocks (and trying to find them). So grown up but you still love snuggles with your Mum (phew!). 

You have overcome challenges, you have persevered through so much, and always, always, always with that cheerful, unflaggingly gracious spirit. You are always thinking of others. Always ready to help cheerfully, unprompted you often go out of your way to do a kindness for someone in your family, and rush to help anyone in need. You sacrifice immediately without second thought, always so generous and so happy to share. You amaze and inspire me, my boy! You are brave and kind and so tender-hearted. You are so sincerely sweet it makes me cry. You are also so genuine and honest, I just love your pure spirit, and the deep thought processes that you share with me. Big spiritual questions, thoughtful musings about how the world works, your busy mind is always working. You are also wild and loud and silly and funny and challenging and you never.stop.moving!

All these things are what make you YOU. The boy that God gave us. The boy that we adore - just as you are. 






Happy 7th Birthday, Tiger. Can't wait to see you continue to grow and shine xx 













The Annual Interview with Eli...

What are you going to be when you grow up?
An archaeologist. I mean a geologist. 

What’s that going to be like?
So, you dig for stuff in the ground and I want to dig for crystals and gems. 

What are your favourite toys?
My crystal collection but they are not a toy.

Who are your best friends?
Oh that's a bit hard. Are you allowed to write down God?? Ok, God, Mummy and Daddy. Actually I love everyone in the world. 

What makes you happy?
When you and Daddy take me to restaurants and give me special stuff and give me presents on my birthday. 

What makes you sad?
When someone punches me or hurts me. 

When you dream at night, what do you dream about?
Digging for crystals and gems and rocks. 

What do you like to do with Daddy?
I like when he beats me up with wrestles. and when he gives me presents on my birthday and Christmas and he gets really excited and says 'MY BOY!'

What do you like to do with Mummy?
I love when you help me do my crystals and digging for gems. And snuggles in the morning.

What do you like to do with Lily?
Lots of stuff. I like playing games with her and walking her to her class at school.

What do you like to do with Miles?
I love playing poison bal and when he gave me his camera and playing Lego! 

What’s your favourite colour?
Every colour and most of all Blue and green

What’s your favourite book?
The Jungle Book

What does Daddy do during the day?
He sometimes does cleaning. and he doesn't have computer time in the day so he has it at night and sometimes he makes dinner or goes to work. 

What does Mummy do during the day? 
Oh Mum. Sometimes working and sometimes making dinner for us and cleaning and sometimes you take me to restaurants. 

What do you do during the day?
That's really hard! I get ready for school and then I go to school and then I have afternoon tea and then I play outside and then I watch some TV and then I have dinner and that's what I do for the day! 

It's good to be seven because.....
Because I'm nearly really old and I'll get to be a grown up and you get to do lots of special stuff when you are a grown up like have fun with your kids and give them wrestles just like my dad and mum. 





The Birthday Collage...


Wednesday 9 August 2017

28.52 brothers who dig together





A lovely, quiet home day during the winter school holidays. 

I always try and reserve the first day of holidays as a home day. Just a quiet day at home together with no plans, no agenda, just a day to potter around, rest, recharge and enjoy a day without a schedule. 

This wintery day was just so delightful. After a very slow start, as the fog lifted, soon the boys found themselves outside (in their pyjamas!), eager to dig for crystals in the (very neglected!) veggie patch. 

Yes, very optimistic and their search was unfruitful but they didn't seem to mind. They also tried to break open rock in hopes of finding geodes, haha. Love to see Eli's crystal and gemstone hobby take hold :) 


So very thankful to see these two brothers becoming the best of friends xx






Project 52: A portrait of my family, once a week, every week, in 2017.


Sunday 6 August 2017

27.52 when the tears fall down like rain




When the tears fall down like rain.... or maybe you are just enjoying watching the droplets pour. 


Project 52: A portrait of my family, once a week, every week, in 2017.