After a crazy week, it was lovely to escape to Stradbroke Island for a child-free weekend with five (out of six) of my siblings to celebrate my eldest brother’s 50th birthday. With almost 20 children between all seven of us, I’m sure you can imagine that we rarely have an uninterrupted conversation, so it was a pretty special event to get together for two nights. Although it felt a bit surreal not to have three children to attend to, I tried to make the most of the peace. In some ways, perhaps it’s the calm before the storm – Christmas is just around the corner and I know how much we will need to fit in before then.
With two weeks left of school and three weeks of kindy for us, the year is well and truly drawing to a close. We have Christmas concerts and carols and end-of-year celebrations all coming up and I know the next 31 days until Christmas Day are going to disappear. I am trying to keep my eye on what’s important and not spiral into a pre-Christmas frenzy. I am conscious that, amidst the joy and festivities, it can also be a difficult time of the year for some people. How are your Christmas preparations going? Are you feeling calm in your heart about the weeks ahead?
Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.
– Unknown.
sam: Two of the Prep classes led the assembly at school this week and you all looked so gorgeous with your (albeit slightly evil looking) reindeer faces. The Prep kids did a dance and then told the school community about all your achievements this year, proving you are now ready to “go go go” to Year One. I loved seeing your proud-as-punch face after you finished your speaking part and handed over the microphone to the next person in line. You all did such a great job.
charlie: Are we ever too old for the joy of bubbles? You were so excited about the sleepover at Grandma’s this weekend, but equally excited to see Daddy and I return today. You know how to make a girl feel loved – always running and leaping into my arms as soon as you see me. I love feeling your arms around me and the happy giggle, knowing that we’re all together again.
nicholas: The moment after I took this photo, you moved the position of your hand and the water started squirting into your face, surprising you and making me laugh out loud. I love watching you experiment and play. Just like Charlie, you can easily keep yourself entertained with the simple things you find around you, exploring and investigating and working out how the world works.
Joining in the 52 Project at Practising Simplicity ~ a portrait of each of my boys every week in 2014.
