Saturday 9 March 2013

:: it's a.... ::

I'm pretty proud of my ability to be patient this week. I'm not the most patient person when it comes to waiting for something special, but this week after our baby's anatomy scan, I carried an envelope holding some pretty exciting news straight off to my sister and managed to wait four days until this afternoon :o)

We decided to find out if we're having a boy or girl by being with family and friends and cutting into a cake that would have a surprise filling - blue or pink. My sister, Beth, is an amazing baker, and she said she had a great cake recipe for the job. And it was! We cut the cake this afternoon and found this colour inside...


...which means we have a little boy coming!! Quite exciting, to say the least! Eti has had his hopes fulfilled of his own little boy to come, and as far as we know it this little guy will be the first Lacombe boy in this generation to join the host of little girls! (as well as his new cousin Toby on the other side!).

So now blue has a high chance of overtaking the pinks in the baby clothes drawer and we can anticipate a great continuation of his growth inside until he's ready to join us in just under 5 months!

Friday 8 March 2013

:: moments of beauty ::

Some moments, among many, from our days this week...simple meals, special people, things we're enjoying amidst the messiness & weariness of our normal every-day life...


"Mummy big tummy!" is heard many times around here these days!


Our gorgeous little cousin


Breathtaking sunrises outside our very door


Fruit - a staple in our lives


"Marmite" is almost always the first request for breakfast. Though unaware that, for the last months, we've actually been having Vegemite, my sister and I are quite excited about the return of the real stuff on the 20th!


Finding ways to use leftovers - coming from one who stresses too often about how to create healthy, cost-effective, time-efficient meals, this one brought me a feeling of satisfaction as it disappeared into little mouths.


Having our almost-daily dose of français to help keep our words up! Tchoupi is a long-standing favourite for our girls


Attentive watching


Box houses are such fun! I smiled at a little conversation I overhead (amongst the gibberish that they seem to understand between each other!)
E: Amie! Amie!
A: Go away Leesie! Amie having sleep!
Which led to lots of giggles and conversations


Enjoying breakfast at our very own pre-loved table, which holds with it plans of many meals, tea parties, fun art and baking in its future


A new space to create on


An amazing package of sweet treats in the postbox this afternoon that was won via Sammy's wonderful new blog. What an example of continuing to give generously out of a time of heartbreak...she blesses us! (thank you!)

We hope the beauty among the 'normal' moments of your week are also evident. Have a wonderful weekend! :o)


Saturday 2 March 2013

:: thankfulness this week ::




This morning we took a little walk down the road to one of the local beaches. It was my first time there, second for the girls and one of several for Eti, who loves to explore! A 'short' walk we thought it would be, so opted not to drive, but didn't remember that our 2 year olds love to stop at anything and everything that captures their attention...small posts to sit on, dandelions to pick, fences to climb on, letter boxes to touch and grass to run on. As much as I like to keep going to get on to the destination, I admire the way small children allow themselves to be distracted and to enjoy even the smallest things, like trails of ants scurrying back and forth. They can definitely teach me several things about appreciating the small things in life that we often overlook. 


Appreciation is something I really need to work on using these days. To look just beyond our fence to the stunning views, and within to all the gifts we have right in front of us. I have a terrible ability to look everywhere else and wish for what I don't have. Which takes away any sense of gratitude and contentedness. So, as much energy as I use trying to teach our little girls to learn to listen and obey, maybe I should take a leaf from my own book and learn from them how to appreciate even the smallest things, as they do and to see life around us through childlike wonder.




The girls & Eti were keen to show me the swing they had discovered during their last visit to the beach. This time the tide was up high which meant they were swinging out over shallow water. I love that they have a papa like this...they have so much fun! :o)





Both girls had the same bodysuits on, so it's hard to tell who's who, but they both had their turn swinging over the waters with big smiles on their faces!



If the following picture had sound you'd hear giggles and squeals of the delighted anticipation of papa letting go! 



 
It was a precious little space of time that we enjoyed down at the beach, which was almost entirely covered with water and almost all to ourselves. I often opt to stay at home these days while the girls and Eti venture out, to rest and to catch up on unpacking jobs. But I'm glad I joined in with them this morning. I'm trying to learn to be more Mary over Martha and remembering that time spent with loved ones is much more valuable than time doing jobs, however 'important' I think they might be!

 
On the way back up to the road I glimpsed signs of Autumn sneaking its way into this wonderful summer. We've been treated to days and days of sunshine, heat and no rain. I could even say weeks. Being in a community that is not connected to the city's water supply, we rely on the rain to fill our water tanks. Needless to say we have to watch our water carefully these days and anticipate the 7-day wait to have the tanks filled by the water tanker companies if necessary!

 
We're thankful for many other things at the moment, one of the most being the safe arrival of this little guy above just a couple of weeks ago, who made us a proud Uncle, Aunt and cousins for the second time in as many months! We also love our other little cousin and niece who is growing up quickly and getting cuter by the day :o)

We're thankful that our own little baby is growing well and the weeks are ticking by. This week we hope to be able to find out whether it's another little she or a he who will join us this July/August! I'm thankful at the amazing contrast of this pregnancy to the girls' and how smoothly it's going!

Eti's new job is going well and he's already finding it easier to keep up with the speed and different accents in English. I am really proud of him and love that he goes off to work cheerfully each day even though it's a challenge to understand the whole new language of technical terms let alone joking in English! He's working here as a technician for their fire safety systems.

And we're settling into some normal routines again, this time with the added bonus of a local Playgroup that is so welcoming and friendly to the girls and I. It's nice to get to know people and feel more settled. New Zealand is home for us and it's also becoming home. And, you know what? I think I even caught a glimpse of a little Swiss cow this morning...