Friends

Friends with whom we've had a lovely year of learning and sharing together on spiritual matters as well as having a baby explosion!

School holidays

This is long overdue, but here are pics from a fabulous day out with the kids. 3 moms + 7 kids = loads of fun.

The Adelaide hills have a lot to offer. We went to a place called Fairyland, with little huts that represented different fairy tales. The whole thing was rather old and very much in need of renovation, so it wasn't worth the entry fee. But the kids really enjoyed the playground, designed to make you as dizzy as possible cos everything spins...

 Then we drove down the road to the Big Rocking Horse, the highlight of which was the free park with animals that you can get really close to...too close for some, like poor Bayan who got too close to a Shetland pony and had his hand sampled - ouch.

The final stop was Melba's Chocolate factory. We were too  late to see chocolate making demonstrations, and basically had a warehouse full of sugary treats that the kids all wanted to sample and i had to keep saying no to. the scenery and drive were just beautiful. Makes me want to move there every time I go to the hills...

The last minute party

This was one crazy party, slapped together at the last minute. Danny's 6th birthday. The last time he had a party was when he turned one. Meantime Amy scored a few decent parties in Queensland, and every year for the last 4 years almost, we've been on the move in January. So he's now old enough to know whats going on, that he's been missing something. So this year, i had to MAKE this happen even tho it was 3 days after moving in etc etc. And given his impressive list of food allergies, having it out would be more trouble than its worth. So everything homemade. Theme - rainbows....simple enough. Lots of little friends came, had a ball together, and at the end of the day, when Daddy asked him what he liked best about the day, the immediate reply was, 'having all my friends here'. So a big thank you to the friends who came:)

October in pics

Danny's photo of my current knitting project - first ever sweater, with help from my pro grandma (retired knitter who i'm trying to get back into knitting, for selfish reasons:)
My darling bro pays us a VERY brief visit from Haifa, this is a picnic at Mt Lofty botanic gardens on a cold spring day, and some warm memories.
Love picnics, can ya tell! Baha'i Holy day with friends! Great times.
Danny and his uncle whom he adores and tries to coax into a lot more conversation and games than Lessan would initiate, the 2 get along just great.

Recent happenings

Pirates and princess event organised by a local city council, a very outgoing princess and a much more subdued pirate who wouldn't be talked into dressing up 'in public'.

Mom's group, in the backyard, which is currently a construction site but fascinating to 3 year old boys. This group started out as a crafting group, and we still slip in some knitting or sewing when we can, but basically its a chill session for over-worked moms to catch up and spend a good part of the day with the kids totally occupied with playing together or admittedly 'the box'. We rotate the location, and will be having more outings as the weather gets better.

Fairies and Rainbows

A recent trip to nearby Hahndorf, pics at a fairy shop. The picture with Tigger is of Bayan, Amy and baby Ethan, as the kids call him. We've been getting together on fridays for a moms get together. I really look forward to these friday chill/craft sessions with some fabulous mamas!
Did i mention we're(danny) into rainbows at the moment?

Change is the only stable thing....

The past 2 years has seen our family make a few big moves and trips - from Adelaide to Townsville, then a transfer to Mackay, and now we're on the move again, back to Adelaide.
A lot of thought and prayer went into this decision, but i'm sure we're doing the right thing, everything is falling into place like it does when we trust a Higher Power to guide our actions.
Many reasons for the move, Mackay could never have been a long term place, not with the center of gravity being in Adelaide. So when a job offer came up a year earlier, we had to decide. Chasing butterflies around the country is great, making new freinds, enriching life experiences, but at some point, there comes a need to settle. To be near people who love the children 100%, who will be there if something happens, who really care... I had to leave that to truly appreciate it.
We leave Mackay on 22nd Jan, via Sydney for the big Baha'i conference, and back to Adelaide to look for a house... :)

'Auntie Velda'

Short and sweet visit by the lovelyMorisco ladies, Maya, May and Velda. They were very quickly recruited into the job of "read book" for Amy and Danny, book after book after book until they left town!!!

International Day picnic

This lovely picnic was organized by families with adopted children to meet other 'mutlicultural family' in Mackay. Lots of friends from my playgroup here.

Bake me cake

Amy's birthday rolled around and despite the fact that i'm not big on birthdays, i though it a good opportunity to meet up with new mommy friends in new town, and keep it simple. Well, what to do about the cake...what does the birthday girl like? easy, books. All day, everyday, mommy read book. So i'll make a book shaped caked. But which of the many favourite books...hmmm....One that she and i both love, gets read daily, and was MY favourite book as a little girl: 'Karen and the little lost kitten', charming little book with a pop up kitten, now out of print.
Using a recipe for a firm cake, i covered it with a layer of marzipan, then some sugarpaste icing, which was nightmare to get on without crumbling. the rest was just a matter of using painting a scene with food colouring, as if on paper, and some marzipan bits, made ahead.