• Blog,  Travel & Holidays

    Sights of Sydney: Day 2

    January 25, 2016 /

      We set out Monday morning for our second leg of ‘playing tourists in Sydney‘ to find that work on the tracks was still happening as Monday was a Public Holiday. For my o/seas readers, Boxing Day, the day after Christmas is a Public Holiday but when it falls on a Saturday or Sunday as it did this past year, the public holiday is transferred to the Monday, still confused, not to worry we get a little confused too. Anyhow this meant a repeat of the previous days transportation routine, we changed at Parramatta from the train to bus, drove to Olympic Park again and were transferred back onto the…

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  • Blog,  Travel & Holidays

    Sights of Sydney: Day 1

    January 22, 2016 /

    When we made the decision to spend Christmas in Sydney with our lads we decided it was also an opportunity to have a holiday. Though we are occasionally in Sydney to visit family we never have time to actually take advantage of what our State’s capital city has to offer.  This time would thought we’d ‘play tourist’ and explore and experience.     It’s been fourteen years since our last family holiday, in part some of this is due to the cost of accomodation for a large family. We were fortunate to be able to stay with out boys in their rented home, it is a small three bedroom home with…

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  • Blog,  Blogging - Daybook

    My Daybook: January 13th, 2016

    January 13, 2016 /

    Outside my window… early morning here, I love the softness and the quietness of early mornings before the children are awake. Through trial and error I’ve discovered early mornings are my most productive time to write, I can achieve so much in that window of scheduled writing.  I need to log on and not be distracted by emails, blog reading or facebook. I pre-plan posts and then just write, a disciplined approach is so productive for me   Talking logging on, I’ve returned to continue writing my Daybook post to discover PC has been writing for me!  It was all ‘tongue in cheek’ but I’m going to leave some of his…

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  • Blog,  Celebration,  Liturgical Year - Christmas

    Imperfect Advent, Perfect Christmas

    January 11, 2016 /

    Advent this past year was not ‘perfect’. We managed a little reading but alas no baking, no crafts and no decorating. The last two Sundays we attended Mass hundreds of kilometres away far from our own Parish, and though the Church is Universal it wasn’t the same as being home. Yet despite it being an ‘imperfect Advent’ we still traveled towards His Birth with a sense of Wonder and Awe. Though we were unable to enjoy any of our family’s traditional Advent preparations and were only able to reflect on the excitement of His coming in snatches amongst the many events, tasks and the various to do lists, He still came!…

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  • Blog,  Celebration,  Celebration - Birthday

    Bella’s 2nd Birthday

    January 5, 2016 /

    A few days before Christmas we celebrated our Bella’s 2nd Birthday. She keeps us on our toes this darling girl of ours; confident, independent, cheeky, energetic and loud but oh so loveable.  She is totally assured that the world revolves around her, she has 11 people who reassure her daily that it does!  The children immediately leap to carry out her every command.  Bella loves to sing on top note thankfully in tune, any hint of music and she begins to dance. She is talking with far more competence and far earlier than any of our other children (who were all late talkers). Currently her favourite occupation is changing outfits, easily 12…

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  • Blog,  Celebration,  Celebration - New Year,  Musings

    2016: Happy New Year!

    January 4, 2016 /

    Happy New Year ! A New Year always comes with exciting possibilities or perhaps new challenges, depends on how we interpret it 😉 It’s been so long since I’ve managed to have a chat with you. Life indeed has been bursting and overflowing. We’ve achieved so much living in the last month and I’m looking forward to catching you up on it all. Our son’s Graduation from College, thousands of kilometres traveled, more building achievements, our Bella’s 2nd birthday, Christmas with extended family and our immediate, our first family holiday in 14 years. Truthfully I entered the New Year feeling overwhelmed and exhausted.  December and the weeks proceeding were rather epic.…

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  • Blog,  Extensions,  Extensions - External,  Extensions - Renovating,  Extensions - Roofing,  Extensions - Structural

    Roof Completed!

    December 16, 2015 /

    Finally after two long, challenging weeks our roofing is complete! Through days of alternating 40C/104F temperatures and rains we persevered and made it through. Our old house/new house is no longer, it is all one house externally. I’ve already shared the ‘chronicles’ and now for the conclusion. Beams In Place Demolishing The Front Of The House Walls Go Up, Roof Comes Down Trusses Are On! First Stretch of Iron On!   Monday thru to the following Thursday  In other words a further week and a half After installing the ‘straight stretch’ of iron sheets on the front of the house on the Sunday, PC then had to return to work.…

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  • Blog,  Blogging - Daybook

    My Daybook: December 4th, 2015

    December 5, 2015 /

    Outside my window… the sun is shining, whilst we are still experiencing hot days, they are not quite as intense as the 40C/104F days of the roofing week I am thankful… that we didn’t lose our half complete roof in the storm Wednesday night, we were worried, I really believe God moved the winds away, giving thanks! Storms at a city north of here caused the roof of the maternity ward at the hospital to collapse, trapping 22 adults and 5 babies!! I am thinking… was moving to wordpress a good idea? I seem to have lost all my readers, or rather all my commentators, my community. I feel as…

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  • Blog,  Book Reviews,  Home Education,  Home Education - Language Arts,  Home Education - Leaping into Literature,  Learning

    Leaping into Literature: Our Final Week

    December 4, 2015 /

    Our Leaping into Literature readings have become rather challenged as we juggle a number of major projects in our life, projects that distract our focus and energy elsewhere, in fact this post has languished for a few weeks in drafts, dusting off to share. All three of the older children have been reading up a storm, however focusing on the picture books this week.   Jelly Bean (11) Kelsey Green, Reading Queen – Claudia Mills JB loved this book Jack Jack (9 – Later Reader) Treehouse Rescue: Peter Rabbit The Raddish Robber: Peter Rabbit Australian – War Remembrance Day was on the 11th November and we read through a huge pile of war books. Well…

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