holiday fun

I have to sneak a few minutes to blog before the days get swept away.  Rob is on leave for two weeks and we are having so much fun.  It is hot, ranging from 33-40 degrees and we are up early to explore.  So far we have had a glorious morning on Cottesloe beach.  We spent a whole day at the river meeting friends for breakfast and then others for lunch with kayaking and swimming in between.  We drove out to Lake Leschenaultia for some great swimming and kayaking in a huge manmade lake that is fed by four springs.  We have watched Rob kite surfing.  Russell got a trainer kite for Christmas and loves flying his kite on the shore while I take Griet for a walk.  We have had barbeques with friends and even sneaked some afternoon naps.  It has all been so relaxing and wonderful family time.  We all have golden sun tans and are looking healthy.

The boys only go back to school on 2 February so we plan to do more day trips and even a night or two away in January.  There is a lot that we haven't seen yet and we are taking it all in, one day at a time.

Here the boys are enjoying the beach at Lake Leschenaultia and Rob is swimming towards them after having crossed the river for a bit of exercise!
We now have a tribe of boys!  Hugo is one of them and slots right in.  They are loud and busy and always up a tree or running a race.  Life is full and noisy!

The amazing aspect of Perth is that there are so many fantastic places for the size of the population that you never feel that a place is too crowded.  The facilities are brilliant and clean with unbelievable play equipment for the children and clean well maintained communal gas barbeques dotted around.  Everyone just enjoys being outdoors and making use of the great public areas.  What a treat to be here!

merry christmas

Let these four minutes be the best part of your celebrations.  Here's to a Christ-filled Christmas!

christmas cheer

Two advent boxes to go and there is alway SOMEBODY who peaks too early.

adoption

We came all the way to Australia to adopt an Afrikaans speaking dog named Griet!  Yes, you read correctly.  Griet has joined our family by door to door courier from Darwin.  Hannalie and Dirk are heading off to the US for a three year contract and "arme Griet" is 8 years old and probably wouldn't survive the repatriation quarantine for six months at the age of 11.  The result is that we now have a cross Maltese/Jack Russell and goodness knows what else in our home.  The up side is that Hannalie's teenagers will visit us (and her) in Uni vacs AND there is now another female in our home and the boys are so delighted with her.  She is house trained and very cute.  She is a real house dog who likes her tummy scratched and lots of cuddles.  She has an affinity for ham or salami and likes to be near us.  I think she is a bit shell shocked at her sudden change of scenery and is doing a bit of moping and pining but that will all soon change when she realises what fun these three boys can be.  She was not too happy to pose for the camera in her grumpy mood so these pics are all I have for now.

I told the boys that we are getting a dog that only speaks Afrikaans and after the first day Hugo innocently asked:  "So when is she going to speak?  You said she can speak Afrikaans!"  Adam has been a real sweetheart trying to talk Afrikaans to her and asking me for various translations.  She seems to be very intelligent so we will just have to add linguistics to her many talents as she starts to understand us!

party season

It's the party season and we have had some occasion to clean up and have a good time.  Last night we fitted in a cocktail party and a 40th birthday bash!  Tonight Rob has gone to see U2 live in the city with some friends.  Tomorrow night we are hosting friends for a Christmas dinner and then the week will fill up with various drinks gatherings.  It really is good fun.  The weather is just too divine and strappy dresses are all I need.  The advent boxes are diminishing and there is definitely the distant sound of sleigh bells. 

a good read

I have really struggled to find the time or energy to get into a good novel this year.  I was in the same book club in Cape Town for nine years and would leave each month with a pile of pre-approved books for Rob and me to devour.  It has been so difficult to arrive at the public library and wander along the huge towering racks of books.  The bold print on the spines is quite intimidating when you cannot conjure up a single familiar author from your newly migrated brain.  For the first time in years I have judged books by the cover and size of the text.  It has been a new experience to go it alone down those quiet isles.

The result has been very little fiction reading this year.  But it's not all bad.  Instead I have delved into some pretty awesome books which have stretched me intellectually and spiritually.  I have grabbed at Christian reads to make sense of all the emotions of this great move across the world.  I have attended workshops and courses for personal growth and have dug deep into my faith.  Amongst the books that I would highly recommend are:

• The Bible
• Living the Good Life - John Ortberg
• Never Give Up - Joyce Meyer
• If you want to walk on water you've got to Get Out of The Boat - John Ortberg
• The God Empowered Wife - Karen Haught

But now I am in search of holiday fiction so bring it on!

angels

And I thought they weren't angels.  Just look at them!

The kids church put together a Nativity play for the morning worship service last week.  It was literally put together over three weekends of Sunday school and was truly spectacular.  The coordination was done by two marvelous South African girls, Liezl and Ina, and the costumes by another SAffer, Chantelle!  So it was a glorious SA performance right here in Perth.

Hugo loved watching his brothers performing and walked up the steps on to the stage mid-performance to touch baby Jesus!

I have decided to print these pictures on large paper and pin them up in a prominent place for the holidays.  Whenever I think my children are not angels, I will calmly cast my eyes over to these reminders.

big milestone

Hugo can swim!  He is so proud of himself and couldn't stop saying how happy he is that he can swim.  He has been crossing the pool at his lessons for the past few weeks but today he ventured out and swam in Ava's pool.  Once he had the confidence to do that first dive, there was no stopping him.  What a champion.

Check out this You Tube link to see him in action:

Hugo swimming

pre-primary outing

Yesterday Hugo and I joined Adam and his friends on their end of year outing to Piney Lakes Reserve.  The children had a marvelous time on the bush walking trails.  We stopped for a picnic and watched the beautiful bird life in and around the pond.  Adam even spotted a long necked turtle swimming just below the surface.

The big excitement at the end of the day was the surprise visit by Father Christmas which really ended the outing on a very high note.

kitesurfing

keep trying

Rob is absolutely loving the kitesurfing.  He is out on the river whenever the wind permits.  We hang around on the beach spectating in our hoodies, hoping to catch him riding the waves.  He says it is exciting, exhilirating, cold, exhausting and humbling.

What more could you want from your leisure time?

The fan club trailing behind

Rob in his element

sunset on the water

it's up

The advent box had new Christmas balls in it on Friday which subtly announced that the tree could go up.  The boys were so excited and tackled the annual project with vigour.  We are definitely at the stage of our lives where the tree is more of a monument to enthusiasm than a decorative work of art.  I love taking out all the old decorations that  each have a memory for us.  There are clay bells that Adam made at Kildare, Russell's artwork of sucker stick stars and many other gaudy trinkets that I have gathered over the years.  This year we even added melted tinsel!  Last year the tinsel got mouldy in the horrible storeroom below the rental in Newlands and I diligently washed and blow dried it.  The result is very retro and my crazy family insisted on using it!  I have given up any hope of every having one of those beautiful trees that adhere to a theme or colour and are perfectly balanced and eye catching.  There beauty cannot be denied but their very make up is far too boring for me.  I lovingly dust off the ornament with Rob and my photo from 1993 each year and chuckle at our youth and innocence, not to mention Rob's big round specs.

So the tree is up and its feet are wrapped in the quilt that my American mom made lovingly for me in 1990.  Every Christmas past is glued together in the corner of our lounge and there are three little boys getting more and more excited as the days pass.

There are homes that are covered in lights here.  Last week we drove past a home that even had the lights flashing to music that was being transmitted over the radio waves on the frequency given on a huge billboard out front!  People go all out and share in the joy.  It is great fun for everyone in this build up to the big day.

advent

A pinch and a punch for the first of the month...

Here we are at the beginning of December already.  We have our advent calendar in place.  This year our top shelf in the kitchen is filled with a row of 24 boxes.  Every day the boys will open one box and find a small toy or sweet.  As the boxes diminish and we creep up to Christmas day, the excitement grows.  I had great fun filling all the boxes and coming up with ideas.  There are Club Penguin cards (to collect), matchbox cars, sparklers for Carols night, decorations for when we set up our tree, a voucher for fish 'n chips at the river, a voucher for your own can of Coke out the fridge, glow sticks for the school picnic dinner, new juice bottles and lots of candy canes!  It does help to have a mom who loves Christmas.

This count down is like no other for Rob and I.  In a way I am quite nervous of those boxes disappearing.  It means we're getting closer to what could be our most difficult Christmas yet.  The two families that we are the closest to here are heading back to South Africa for Christmas.  Our Christmas memories are of all the cousins and grandparents in Cape Town and of course the holiday week with all our friends.  This year we feel a bit stranded and the five of us will have to draw close.  The "firsts" are always tough, but no doubt we will find the fun.

The countdown has begun. The first box was opened at 6am!  Are you ready?