Family Visit

My Aunt, Uncle and cousin came to visit last month. They were here for about three weeks. Below is a slideshow of photos from our time together.

When Brian and Rebbecca arrived we took them to a private lake in the Wairarapa region with some friends of ours and spent two days camping. Then for the rest of the week we spent time around Palmerston North and on the farm. We played a board game and ate together. We also went to a park, visited our house that we’re renting out, and explored the mall and city.

When Janice arrived we took everone out to see the glow worms. They look like stars all up the riverbed cavern at night. Then we headed off on our bus trip adventure. First was a cafe for lunch on the way, then Mt Bruce reserve where we saw many birds, lizards and the famous white kiwi! Becca and Brian enjoyed the long two hour loop walk and we all met up again to travel to Waihi falls where we spent the night.

Darren’s parents joined us starting at this point on our trip and brought their own sleeper truck. Darren and I both had a short swim in the cool water, and we all enjoyed a nice meal on the picnic tables that were at the site. Janice, Brian and Becca stayed in tents, which proved to be unfortunately quite windy that night.

The next day we traveled North to Napier where we fueled up and had fish and chips for lunch by the sea. Boy had a fun time at the park after we ate. Girl enjoyed many cuddles by all as well. We kept going and arrived at lake Waikerimoana for the night. Brian and Becca booked in at camp village and had a warm and comfortable time while the rest of us stayed at the free camping area in the rain.

It was quite rainy the next day as well so we decided to carry on out of the rain forest up to Rotorua.  On the way we stopped at a Maori Marai, or meeting house. We saw some wild horses as well. We spent the night in Rotorua at a hot springs resort and enjoyed the hot pools filled with natural geothermally heated river water. The next day we saw some boiling mud then dropped our three guests off to explore the town. Darren and I went on the Louge and also went to buy Boy a new bike after his old one was accidentally broken. That evening we stayed at a pub. They provided rooms for my family and we stayed on the lawn in our bus.

The next morning we went to Kerosene creek and took a dip in the actual river which was a lovely bath tub temperature. It had waterfalls and many pools to choose from.

Then, on our way south again we stopped at Mind Junction which had mazes and interactive museums and such to explore. Perfect for another rainy day. That night we were back home on the farm. The rest of the next week we relaxed a bit, did some needle felting and then Janice, Darren, myself and the kids went to Kapiti Island on a boat to see the bird sanctuary where all predators have been rid of. We took a long hike up into the bush and saw lots of birds.

The next day we all went down to Wellington for the day. We road on the free cable car to the Wellington Botanical gardens and then went to the Te Papa museum. Lastly we went to the top of the Mt Victoria lookout before heading home. We had one more day together before everyone had to pack up and fly home.

It was a good catch up and a nice time together. We hope everyone had a lovely time! 🙂

 

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How to really be alive

I’m linking to this page my friend made at the bottom, click now, or feel free to read the post of what its about:

http://mamcdee.simplesite.com

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a personal blog, since things have been more about keeping in touch and I rarely have time to feel inspired enough to write. But two weeks ago I went to visit a friend and she shared a testimony with me about how she ‘does it’. This woman is amazing. She has eight children, with the ninth on the way and she is not even yet 40. Many people including myself have wondered, ‘how does she do it’. The reason we ask is not just her large family, but the grace, joy, patience, and peace she is able to present to her family and those she encounters.

What I have come to realize and what her story clarified for me is that this can be truely said of every mother no mater how many children and no matter what place she calls her home. It’s not something that comes especially from within herself that is to be coveted. It is rather someONE living inside her, providing these virtues. And she is only able to portray them because she dies to herself each morning of every day. And even of that she cannot take credit, for it’s Jesus who gives her the strength to let go and die.

She came to a breaking point when she had only five little ones. She was at the point where she wanted to literally give up, that her family would be better off without her. She was already a Christian, but found that she was depressed, quick tempered and exhausted. She then had an experience with God where she laid it all in his hands. He showed her that it didn’t need to be this way anymore. He wanted her to have more in life and to be more for her family.

What stood out for me in her story is that we can give ourselves to God, but it doesn’t end there. When we choose to be baptized by immersion, we are symbolically dying to self as we are buried in a grave of water, only to come up again with new life in us provided by Jesus. But self is tricky because it doesn’t want to die… This is sinful nature. Self tends to try and hold it’s breath, rather than drowning. This is why each day must start with an intentional death to self. We can do all the right things, and believe all the right doctrines, but if our hearts are not dead, with Jesus’ heart beating in it’s stead, it’s all for nothing. It is His blood and life that will give the power to be patient with our little ones, to be joyful when we don’t feel like it, to be loving when we are tired, and to keep going when life is demanding. He keeps our temper in check and provides us with self control and peace. If that is what you want in your home, in your motherhood, all it takes is a willing prayer to die to self each morning and faith that he will do it, even when we have failed to fully surrender in the past.

I have made a new point to do this in my own life and I have found a miraculous change. I still can’t understand how it works, how to be a dead mummy. But I believe in it and in God’s promise. I have been trying to tell the Lord each morning that’s what I want, and for Him to take the lead more fully. I still feel the same when I’m finished, but as I trust that he’s heard me, I do sense a change somehow. Its easier to see myself from the view of my children, rather from inside my selfish heart. And that makes it possible to be, through God’s power, more cheerful, less irritated and more nurturing even when tired.

My beautiful friend has set up a blog website to share her journals and reflections because God has led her to share her experience. It is her hope that other mothers can become dead mommies. Please have a look and share with anyone who needs to die to self.

http://mamcdee.simplesite.com

Blue eyed smiles

Girl is 11 weeks old today. Man, how time flies! She’s smiling quite a lot now and starting to gurgle and coo… Boy just barely started laughing at this age, so I’m hoping Girl will too, especially while family is visiting. Girl’s eyes are turning out to be a vibrant cornflower blue. She is sleeping through the night now, which is brilliant! I’ve tried a much different approach with her schedule and it’s turning out very manageable. Boy was still waking to feed at 11 months when I night weaned him.

Bus Progress: Ready for camping style!

We’ve been very busy working on our bus!

I have finished the curtains and put foam on the seats. Darren has finished making our bed and the table which converts to a bed. He also installed the oven and stove. My Aunt, Uncle and cousin are coming to visit from America in about 10 days and we will be taking our bus around to some nice places to show them New Zealand. We are very excited! All we need to do next is tidy up a bit and fill the pantry with dishes and food. Can’t wait to share our experience with some photos in a few weeks!

The last photo is of Boy playing in the stuffing I’m putting in the couch.

Summer activities so far

We’ve been enjoying the nice weather here. It went from super wet in the spring to suddenly super hot and dry. Trying to stay cool by spending time in the water, and having a lot of picncs with friends.

Boy had a haircut and has been playing with his cousins a lot. He loves the baby chickens that are growing up now and he is still in love with his sister Girl. His latest hobbies have been digging in dirt, playing with playdough, riding his balance bike and and drawing in his colouring book of diggers and trucks.

Girl has been growing heaps, but I’ll post more about that later. We didn’t plant a garden this year since we thought we had enough on our plate already. Hope everyone is surviving the winter up north.

Month one

Girl is four weeks old today. This marks the end of the newborn stage. As lovely as they are, I am glad to reach this mark. She’s starting to sleep longer at night and is closer to showing us some smiles and personality.

I am intrigued at how different she is to Boy. You really can’t compare babies as what they say is so true, they are all different. Girl spits up from time to time, something Boy never did. Once she lost her entire meal in my lap. I have to work harder to burp her so those air bubbles don’t send milk up or give her tummy pains.

I also didn’t realize how much I had forgotten from looking after Boy. It’s like I blocked out huge portions of memory since I was so sleep deprived last time. It’s been better this time since we are closer to family and they are happy to help but it’s still very hard.

Boy loves his sister. I’m happy he’s accepted her right away.

She really is quite a good baby. Sleeps well once asleep. She doesn’t cry a horrible amount. But, she does get bored quickly if you’re not walking or moving around with her.

We are doing well, taking one day at a time.

Baby Girl

We are proud to announce the arrival of our baby Girl! I went into labour at 3:30 am, Friday, 3 Nov. Girl was born at 8:10 am. 8 lb. 12 oz. She’s very healthy and beautiful. Looks very much like Boy did when he was born. I thankfully only tore a tiny bit this time and didn’t even need stitches. I’m back at home now and we are all doing well. Boy loves to hug his baby. What an exciting time of life.