Sunday

When I heard I was pregnant with our fourth baby, I cried. I didn't know how I would cope with four children, one who was nine, and then three little ones under three. I didn't know that I could be stronger than I realised, that I had more than enough love to go around, that somehow is would all be ok. I didn't know then that a beautiful

angel was coming into our lives.

Sunday was born at a time when our family was under a lot of stress. Mark's mum and dad had both died of cancer, quite suddenly and both far away from us. Mark was studying and we had a busy time looking after Bill who was still a baby, Lucy & Charlotte.

It's Sunday's 10th birthday today and I have been remembering the time when I was pregnant with her. How after the initial shock of finding myself having another baby so soon after the last one I quickly began to look forward to her arrival, and adding to our growing family.

And in the end she came in a rush! I remember seeing the midwife on Sunday's due date and she predicted that the baby would be born that night as I was already three centimetres dilated. Sunday had other ideas. During the week that followed I mowed the lawn, looked after the kids, did the school run, and all the things that mums do. Finally a week later, after only an hour of labour, our little one was born. And she was so lovely, I couldn't stop looking at her little rose bud lips, her fancy hair style, her bright little eyes.

And any tears I had became tears of joy as I realised how lucky we were to have another beautiful baby to love and to share our lives with.

                           And like all our kids she has given us so much happiness and love.
                                          And of course some mad and crazy moments!

I love the way birthday's help us to reflect on the people we love, to think more deeply about who they are, what makes them special and what they give to us. It's always a significant moment for me when my children turn ten, it seems such a solid number, it marks a turning point in their life. They are really growing up, and changing from a little child and moving into the next part of their lives.

Now suddenly Sunday is ten, and she is such a funny and loveable girl. She loves to dance, play netball, to play, to write, to draw. She loves her friends, she loves her family. She is a kind person,
and thoughtful. 

And we love her. 

Happy 10th Birthday Sunday, don't grow up too quickly xoxoxox

And the winner is..!

Our school fete! Don't you just love a fete? I do. We've just had ours and it was fantastic!

It's such a fun community event and we were so lucky to have such a sunshiny day too. I had fun with Tracey at the second hand clothes stall. It's a good feeling to be recycling lovely clothes and other bits while also raising money for our little school.

The other stalls were fantastic, I loved the plants and books, the fairy floss and of course the cake stall. Yum! It's such a busy time of year isn't' it? Fetes, festivals, concerts..wow. What are you busy with lately?

Talking of winners, thanks so much to everyone who entered my Instacanvas giveaway..I'm thrilled to announce that Carol of Perennial is the winner! If you are an Instagrammer you should pop by and say hi,  I know you'll love getting a glimpse into Carol's world. Congratulations Carol! Send me your email and I'll give you the details on how to receive  your very own Instagram photo, beautifully printed and framed by Instacanvas.

I'm off now to water in my new little seedlings..it's been a huge day in the garden. Are you planting too? Have fun lovelies, see you soon xo

Little House

When we first saw our house in Daylesford, almost nine years ago, we loved it for it's charm and sense of history. It's beautiful garden was also hugely appealing and of course we loved the town. We still love all those things and I guess as the years have gone by we have become a part of it all too. Our own family history is now woven into this beautiful place that we live in. Our own kids will have memories of the little town where they grew up and the yellow house where we live. I hope they remember the sunny afternoons in our garden, running under the hose and having dinner under the apple trees.

Talking of little houses..this little timber building was originally an outhouse of sorts, sometimes an extra bedroom, a bungalow and maybe even a laundry. It would have been built around the same time as the main house, about the turn of the century or a little later.

As we are starting some renovations soon we had to decide what to do with Little House as it was in the wrong spot and stopping us from opening up the back of the house. It would have been simple and easy to demolish it but that wasn't high on my list of options. I really love it and wanted to keep it if possible. So we talked to Col who said he could move it with his crane, woo hoo!

You can see above where it stood and the new stumps/supports that it would be moved on to.

This is Col :)

This is Col's crane! Oh how I wish I had been at home the day it was moved..but I had to go to work which I wasn't at all happy about. Luckily Tom took some ace shots of the house being craned into position.

And getting kind of stuck on the top of the garage....

My neighbour, Alison, came home and walked out her back door to see the little house flying through the sky.

Twisting, turning..spinning!

And as she pointed out later, all the while a jar of paint brushes stood happily in the little window sill!            You can just see it if you look hard.

Careful!

Col and the guys did a great job. Wow. I can't believe it really happened. Little House is now happily sitting in it's new spot in the garden, nestled up against the garage.  Today Tom took the front off it to fix some of the bits that were broken in the move, and to make a new, longer window. Then we will be able to see through it from our new kitchen, and out the other window into the garden. The kids are keen to make it a club house but we'll see. I'm just happy that it's still part of the picture, and that it will continue to be treasured and loved.

I wonder what the Steinhauser's would think about what we have done? They were the family who built our main house and it's little sister house. They owned a cordial factory around the corner from where we live. The very first week we moved here a group of  Stteinhauser descendants came by for a visit. One of them told me that he used to sleep in Little House, in a double bed. It took up most of the room so he would have had to practically jump through the door and onto it!
Funny. I wish I could remember all the amazing stories they told us, there were so many and it was a long time ago now.

Do you know the history of your house? I am so fascinated with the stories of our town, and this area. There are endless interesting tales to be told and so many interesting people.  As I always say, everyone has a story.

Which reminds me, in a  roundabout way, this weekend is a special one. The Daylesford/Hepburn region are celebrating our Swiss Italian culture and heritage with the wonderful Swiss Italia Festa! There are lots of great things on to see and do, you should check out their site here. Also our own school fete is happening on Sunday 4th November, and it's going to be so fantastic!! If you have kids and you live locally you really should come along, there will be lots of kid friendly activities, yummy cakes, the spinning wheel and heaps more. Books, clothes, craft, food..fun! It's on at St Michaels School, Smith St, Daylesford from 9 - 3. I'll be helping to run the second hand clothes stall, come and say hi :)

It's such a busy time of year isn't it? Have you got lots of things on too? 

Hope you are getting some sunshine wherever you are,

see you soon lovelies xo

ps: if you haven't entered my giveaway it's not too late! Click here for details xo

Seven

Tonight I'm baking cupcakes and wrapping presents and thinking about the seven years ago when I was just about to have my fifth baby, my last child.

I've been thinking about how sick I was during the pregnancy. How cold it was that year. About being in hospital at 36  weeks with pneumonia, how scared I was for my baby. 

And how thrilled I was that she arrived safely after a tricky labor.

Are there actual words to describe the joy you feel when you are finally holding your baby safe in your arms? I don't think so. But you can see in my eyes the pure happiness and relief. The wonder of birth, it's so truly amazing isn't it?

I really treasured every day with Rosie as a baby, I tried to make the most of every minute, every new stage. I knew she was my last so I wanted to  enjoy it all. My precious one.

Rosie was born in the depths of winter. She likes me to tell her the story of how the heaters broke at the hospital and the nurses had to put eight blankets on us! She likes the way the pink camellia's in our front garden always bloom around her birthday, I do too.

I've been thinking about how Rosie grew from a little baby into a cheeky, funny little girl.

This shot is from my very first blog post ever!

                           Rosie became a ballerina at three. She danced every minute of the day.

I've been thinking tonight how Rosie has brought so much happiness into our lives. Of course there have been times when  it hasn't been easy, when I've felt impatient and tired, but there has never been a dull moment since Rosie arrived. She fills our lives with colour, energy and love.

It was such a big step for both of us when she finished at kinder, a whole new world was beginning.

 It's been so fun looking through photo's, it has reminded me of so many happy and crazy family times we've had. 

It's made me think about who Rosie is, and the things she loves, like animals, science and school. She likes to dance, to play netball, to draw & make things. She wants to be a doctor, a teacher. She likes old houses, ice cream, skipping & looking at the stars. She loves her family, her friends. She is funny, sometimes loud, often thoughtful and always colourful and loving.

 And tomorrow she turns seven! Wow! Rosie has been counting the day, the hours, the minutes.

Today we had some time together, just the two of us. It was lovely to have some time just on our own. When we got back in the car she said "Mum, I'm just so happy".

And I was too.

Happy Birthday, beautiful one, our cart wheeling girl, 

you make everything brighter.

And don't grow up too quickly ok?! xo