Hello laminate!

I am feeling super blessed. 

The tiles have gone, my legs have not ached for three weeks (!!!)

and to top it off some dear friends came to help.... and turned out to be laminate whizzes!

Super, super blessed!

The first plank

Happy dining area!

swooning over the kitchen.....

.... have I said yet how much I am loving the laminate!?

A sneak peek

Life at the cottage is looking a tad chaotic

..... the carpet is up, and tomorrow (ANZAC Day) we are laying the laminate.

Yeah!

Outside the fence is almost done! 

Feeling very blessed.

A fun day at the zoo

I mean literally The Zoo - not that my house is a zoo.... (although sometimes it feels like we might be bordering on it.....)

The Team!

(wow - how hard is it to get 6 people looking relatively normal at the same time for a photo?!)

My lovely dad and the kids

The most Handsome of all Honeys!

My mum has had a severe allergic reaction to something since arriving - her eyes and face have been horribly swollen and we spent all afternoon at the Emergency Dept yesterday!!

 - understandably she didn't want to be in any photos 

(so... I just took a long distance one!)

- but how cool are her shoes!?

Sometimes we all need a sign like this to warn others off.....

or maybe that's just me...... ;)

A mama and her 7 week old baby.... oh so cute!!

That mama really got her figure back quickly.... giggle......

Just thinking.....

Just started solids in the last 2 weeks....

and ready for an oreo bar!! (obviously she didn't get to eat it!)

Lunchtime! 

Hmmmm - very mature of someone to stick out their tongue.....

So thankful for my parents to be visiting.

Things that bring joy today...

brotherly love which brings lots of giggles and squeals

tricks played on daddy after the girls read a pets info page...

giggles when writing cheeky words....

a peanut butter sandwich made for me by one of my lasses

a shelf moved from the kitchen to my bathroom...

beautiful flowers from the Handsome Honey who said they reminded him of me...

(um.... big, orange and round?!)

hehe

Dear friends!

These dear ones were with us for the weekend.

What a wonderful time we had!

Come back soon dear ones!

We miss you! 

x

When the clock strikes 11

Every night when all eyes are closed and the only sounds I hear are the soft snores of four of the sweetest blessings,

I wander through the house 'doing the mama round'.

I rearrange quilts, move over dogs who hog beds,

push hair out of faces, kiss pale cheeks,

whisper words of love and encouragement, and sometimes even ask forgiveness for 

mama-failings through the day,

all the while knowing that this privilege is a great one.

It's a joy and a gift.

Not to be taken for granted.

But instead to be savoured.

So I do.

Meanwhile....

The posts are in.... exciting!

I got bored supervising (ahem!) the fence making....

so I took to an old picture frame with my chalkboard paint..

aren't the dahlia's beautiful!

I love school holidays!

Although it has to be said that the Handsome Honey is not getting to do much of rule #1 today......

The outdoor project.... part two....

One post down..... one step closer to a safe front yard for the kids!

Yeah!

And as an aside....

this is a great illustration of non-verbal communication.

I guess now we're committed.....

Two big projects have been in the wings for the last 3 years....

This is a particular favourite....

We have ceramic tiles in our kitchen. They are hard to stand on and by the end of the day my legs are usually swollen and aching to billy-o! (Who is Billy-O?)

So..... some serious planning later..... and up they come.

Hello laminate...

you know the saying....

Happy legs means a happy mama....

hehe... :)

We're on a roll!

Literally! 

The girl is rolling....

Last night we found her with both legs out.

So cute!

Junior Master-chief

Last night was a treat that I had planned for a while....

we got the girls out of bed for 8:30pm and let them watch Junior Master-chief on TV.

To say they loved it was an understatement.... so I thought it would be fun if we did a bit of 

master-chief of our own!

Even a broken arm can't doesn't get in the way of cup cakes!

Here is the poor wee dot with her sore arm still hard at work in the kitchen!

Just checking that they have done it right....

Success!

The little baking team!!

Yum!

Uh oh....

First broken bone in the family (# elbow to be exact!)

Yesterday we had church at Raglan - a family day camp. 

It was a wonderful day and then just as we were loading up the car....

our jungle gym monkey had one last climb...

and fall.

Ow!

We are thankful for....

- having a Dr (or 3!) at church

- that another dear friend is a Dr at the A and E clinic we went to

 (and that we were able to call him first)

- for pain relief for our wee dot

- another Dr friend who heard and drove to the clinic to see if we needed any help

- for quilts, snuggles and a Tigger movie to speed the healing process today....

- caring siblings who have reached out in many ways which cause this mama's eyes to get a bit drippy....

- a sweet girl who is doing her best to be very brave

- it not being worse. It could have been so much worse.

- the Lord's sovereign hand over all the details.