Homeschooling with a Bub and Toddler!

Time for a game of peek-a-boo

Noisy car toy at the table

But I want to watch ABC Kids!

What filing system, Mummy?

1 leg + 1 leg = 2 legs!

A lesson in patience for all!

Blessings.

The busyness continues ...

So, last time I posted, our baby girl was 6 months old.  So, this happened ...

She turned 2!

Then this happened ...

She became a big sister!!

Selah Jade was born 3 days before Christmas.

The line up to date.

Our life is full.  We have had a year that has been filled with sickness, changes to our plans and many hurdles.  But life is good.  And the tide is turning.  We are so grateful for God's many blessings and looking forward to all He has in store for us.

Blessings,

6 months!

Our sweet baby girl is 6 months old already.  I almost want to cry about that.  I love all the milestones - watching the boys marvel at her new teeth, how she can crawl, how clever she is when she "says" their name (!!!) - but it is all passing so quickly.

Four months old

We have had a difficult 6 months - not within our family, just outside pressures of helping people and feeling torn in all sorts of directions.  It left me burnout to be honest.  But I am so thankful for our blessings and I feel like I am lifting out of the mire!  I have found this has been helpful.

This post was really just to touch base again (my husband pushing encouraging me to get writing).  More to come.  For now, check out our back-to-school photos!

Take one!

And this was take two!

Blessings,

Introducing ...

Well, we are pleased to annouce that our baby was born on the 10th September at 11:59am, weighing 7 pound 13.5 ounces.  Yes, this was late!  I had never been late before and I did not handle it too well.  Cameron got the idea to take a photo of me on my due date, wondering if this would be the last day of my pregnancy.  He then posted the photo to facebook.  Nine photos later, and we could finally display a photo of our precious bundle.

I ended up being scheduled for induction on the Tuesday the 10th but fortunately by the time I arrived at the hospital I was already in labour and bub was born just a few hours later.

Introducing ... Rania Elisabeth Evers.  Yes!!  We got a girl.  

Two hours old

Boys meeting their baby sister

Two and a half weeks old



Taken last week, at almost 5 weeks old

 The boys are besotted with their little sister.  It is so sweet to see.  Whenever they are upset, they just want to go and cuddle with bubby and feel better.  They think she is the "cutest baby ever" and Cameron and I agree.  She is such a happy baby and a beautiful fit to our family. 

Indicentally, people ask about her name.  Rania (rhymes with Narnia) is an Arabic name meaning Princess, and Elisabeth is for my two sisters who have variations of that name (Elspeth and Elissa).

We are slowly getting back into routine.  It was overwhelming the first week but I tried to just take one day at a time and things kept getting easier.  Not easy, just easier!! 

No doubt there will be more photos to come.

Blessings,

News

Although I made an announcement on facebook, I just realised I hadn't updated the blog with the news that we are expecting another bundle of joy.  Our 4th baby is due in early September and everyone is so excited.  This is a whole new experience because when I was expecting Isaac, my eldest was not even 3 and didn't quite comprehend the whole thing.  Now that the boys are older, they understand what is happening and talk about the baby all the time.  They are so sweet, kissing my tummy goodnight and talking gently to the baby.  Isaac thinks that every doctor's appointment is when I will have the baby - so 17 weeks or so will seem like a long wait for him.

Everything is progressing well and I am about 22 weeks this week.  The dates are a bit off (due date being anywhere from 31st August to the 8th September) but I have learned my lesson about trying to anticipate God's timing (baby #1 came 3 weeks early, baby #2 came 4 weeks early and then when I was ready for an early delivery, baby #3 came right on due date).  The baby will come when it comes and I'm just going to be as prepared as I can!

I made my first purchases for the bub today so that will be exciting to receive the package and have everything washed and ready.

I wasn't actually going to find out the sex of this baby but fell to the pressure of the boys.  Everyone else wanted to know and so we found out - and you can too ... come September!

Blessings,

Merry Christmas, etc.

Thought I better do a bit of an update, before another 5 months fly by!!

* For my birthday our little family went for a holiday.  It was so nice to get away - a real treat.  We ended up going to Australia Zoo, Underwater World and all the touristy things.  The boys had a blast and I felt very refreshed at the end of it. 

* My baby turned 4!!!  I am allowed to call him my baby on the blog because he can't read yet, but I am not allowed to say my baby in front of him.  He gets very put out.

* We have decided to use a registered provider for our homeschooling in the new year.  A few reasons for it - mainly being I don't want the burden of the extensive reporting that the government require and the benefit of having the distance ed school doing the reporting is that the boys will have no gaps in their learning (something I was getting worried about as they progressed).  Also this curriculum is encouraging independent learning for the boys and so I will be able to concentrate on kindy work with Isaac and teaching him to read (I love that part of homeschooling).

* We are supposed to be unsocialised homeschoolers, but no-one has told the neighbourhood kids that because the daily playdates from several of the children in town is catching up with me.  We seriously might need to go for a drive some days or keep the doors closed (actually locking them would be better because one boy just opened the door and walked right in, saying "knock knock".  I told him he's supposed to knock before entering but he said the door was unlocked so he felt it was okay to come in!!  Oh we live and learn).

* We had the Christmas Carols in town last night and it was so great.  I feel like Christmas snuck up on me again this year, so it was lovely to sing some of the old carols and get into the spirit of things.  We went to the carols with our 3 children and came home with an extra two for an impromptu sleepover.  So that is what my day will look like today - keeping 5 children amused - well probably 6 because another girl was put out when I said no to a sleepover, as the personalities of them all would just clash big time, so she will be popping over sometime today - all while I catch up on 4 days worth of washing (broken washing machine), prepare for Christmas lunch that is happening at our house (for 15 or so) and the usual house cleaning.  Good times.

Anyway that is a little of what has been going on in our world.  Hopefully I will be more regular with the blog for the new year.

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.  I pray it will be a sweet time of fellowship with family and friends and that you know how much you are loved by a Mighty God.

Blessings,

Book Review - Unbroken

I love books.  I am always reading and as soon as I finish one book I am straight onto the next.  But I don't want to do that anymore.  I want to mull over it for a little while and process what it all means and what I need to do about it.

I was talking to my husband about how this latest book I've read has affected me and how I don't want to forget how it made me feel, and he suggested I write a book review for the blog.  So here you go darl...

Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, is the true story of Louis Zamperini, a runner who competed in the 1936 Olympics and served as a bombardier for US Army Air Forces in World War II.  Louis' plane went down over the ocean and he and two others were lost at sea for over a month, only to be captured by the Japanese.  I don't want to share too much because once I start I won't stop (just ask Cameron) and I don't want to give anything away, but I will talk about the emotions it stirred in me.

Firstly I was struck by the determination of the POW's  - they never gave up.  How easy is it today to give up on things that are too hard, yet here are men under severe torture (such as we could never imagine) resolved to keep fighting and keep living.  Amazing.

The next thing that stirred something in me was the injustice.  A lot of abusers escaped without being charged for their war crimes and even those who were charged were released early because of national security issues, where treaties with Japan were needed.  Dwelling on the fact that men got away with horrendous acts against humanity will only drive you to anger and hatred and you don't want to go there.  In the past I've usually been someone who sees the black and white in a situation however I am trying to understand the difficult decisions governments need to make and oftentimes (most times?) they are unpopular.  However we fail to see the other side of the coin in these decisions and that is why we must pray for our government.  Also, as regards to the injustice, I must remind myself that our God is a just God and vengeance is His.

This book was an amazing reminder of what can be done with one life.  We all have just one shot - what am I doing with my one life?  I don't want to blow it.  I want to make a difference and I know the little things count.

This book was not an easy read, as you feel emotionally connected to these people and what they suffered, but definitely life changing for me.

Blessings,