Twas the night before Christmas...

Nearly 3.30 on Christmas Eve now - Greg was up at 2.30 and off to work for the day, and I don't expect to see him again until late tonight, so it will be another big day for him. The girls and I have been laying low and staying well away from the craziness at the shops! We're off to the Chrismas Service this afternoon at 5pm, as tomorrow morning we're doing breakfast with Mum and Dad etc. and then lunch with Greg's Mum and Dad etc.

The girls are keen to wear their angel outfits that Mum made them for Ellen's concert a few weeks ago, so I'll be accompanied by angels for the evening - a nice thought! (Here's hoping their behaviour matches their appearance!)

I'll take this opportunity to wish you all a very Blessed Christmas - we've had another great and busy year, and it wouldn't have been as special, nor as much fun, without you - so thanks, and we look forward to what God has in store in the year to come.

Party, Party, Party

It's that time of year isn't it - and while moving house removed us from one circuit of social events, we've still managed to slide into a slighter less packed agenda down in Brisbane. Last weekend was our new Church's community carols night, and we took my Mum and Greg's parents along to enjoy the evening and to watch Ellen's debut on stage. Dressed as an angel she joined a group of other littlies singing Away in a Manger and Silent Night. Typical of a child of mine, she managed to trip on her costume on the way up the stairs, lost her halo and had to hitch her skirt up while on stage, but apart from a rather inglorious start, she did really well - even remembered to sing the words instead of just staring out at the crowd. She enjoyed the occasion so much that when she came off stage she didn't want to go back and sit down again - she wanted to stay and go back up on stage to sing again. It was a great night, and the next day my Dad had the 'Ellen inquisition' on why he didn't attend - poor Dad had to explain himself a few times over (he was babysitting my baby nephew).
A few pics of the girls in their angel costumes that Nanna very cleverly made - Olivia's was a tad big and her halo caused her some annoyance, but they were very cute...call me biased!

All systems go

It's true - the meeting with the engineer went well, and so now it's full steam ahead at the house (well at least on the days that Greg can spend time there). He's pulled out a wall already, the asbestos is being removed (by a professional thankfully!) next week and hopefully some real progress on things like plumbing, bathrooms, termite damage repair etc. will all commence in some form or another in January when things slow down at the shop a little and he can take a day of holidays each week to keep things moving... Greg is very excited about the whole project - it's a big change from the shop all the time, and he's enjoying that as well.

It's rather exciting, and yet it seems that everytime the girls and I visit there is more damage and mess - Ellen was going to growl at Daddy for making such a big mess today and tell him to clean it up...fortunately I heard her verbalise her plan before she carried it out and cut her off at the pass! The timeframes for the new house are unknown to us, and therefore even more confusing for Ellen, who is very keen to decorate her new room and make it special - the time will come, but I think 'talk is cheap' is starting to play on her mind.

One last piece of news - Greg informed me that when he was in the ceiling recently he found a snake skin which was about 6 foot long above the area where the bedrooms are - now isn't that a comforting thought! This house is full of surprises, not all of which are pleasant!!!

Christmas is in the air

All of our usual family preparations for Christmas have been modified or shelved this year with our 'different' living arrangements, but we did help Grandma to put up her tree and decorate it - and undecorate it, and decorate it again numerous times over - it looks rather haphazard and a tad lopsided now, but Grandma said it's okay and the girls are entertained with it for hours. The tinsel probably won't make another Christmas though - the number of times that it's been 'rearranged' on the tree - the majority of it has been cleaned up by the vacuum I think!

The Mad Hatter

Ellen is known by a number of things that are special to us, but one of the most recognisable externally is her bright yellow hat that she's worn for a few years now - it's starting to fade, it's been washed numerous times and has been part of every major adventure and event in her life thus far - and she looks gorgeous in it (or at least I think so!). I'm going to have trouble finding a replacement when she grows out of it....

And no - they're not freckles on her face, but sand from the beach - goodness the sand at Redcliffe is coarse!

Happy Birthday Jason!!

It was Uncle Jason's 40th last week, and to celebrate and mark the occasion he decided to do a tandem sky-dive, so we all went down for the morning to Suttons Beach to have a play on the sand and to watch his landing. Such a beautiful spot - all went well and we had a great time too. Perfect weather, and thanks to Mum who arrived very early, we had one of the shelter structures to enjoy the day from.

The girls

First pic is of the puppet theatre that Ellen received for her birthday - we had a great time making up stories and playing peek-a-boo.
I did try to get some good Christmas photos of the girls in their dresses, with little success, but here's some recent photos of the girls in various states of disarray...

The new house (or project...)

Well, I've been talking about the new house for a while now, so time for some 'before' pictures so that you'll know what a great job Greg's done when he's finished. Please note some of the delightful features - such as the light fittings, pink ensuite and high quality carpets! There were so many 'unique' features that it was difficult to choose which photos to include...

The photos don't tell even half the story of what lies ahead for us - but Greg is so very excited at the prospect of taking it from it's current state into a really great home for us all.

Two small rooms

No - not the nice and rather exclusive restaurant on Milton Rd (I wish), but rather a description of our lives at present. We are living in two rooms of Greg's parents home (which is very generous of them), with all the things that we thought we'd need for a few weeks (and now likely months). That in itself is fairly crammed and after Ellen's birthday I've just realised that when Christmas comes we're really in trouble.
Why is it that kids things are so bulky - afterall, they are so small... That compounded with the generousity of family and friends is likely to see us having to either squeeze more into our current rooms, or put them in boxes in the 'new' house until sometime when we can unpack and actually use them. Probably not a bad idea when I look at it that way - we'll be looking for something to distract them in a few mon
ths.

Baby Lucy...

Isn't she beautiful!!
Greg's sister Kathryn and her husband Russell experienced the birth of their beautiful little girl Lucy Annamae this morning, and we are all very excited to have met her. She's already experiencing the 'joys' of two older girl cousins who are rather taken with her - although the level of smothering with affection will need to be tempered a little!! We're so thankful for her safe arrival and look forward to seeing all that's in store for their family as they grow together.

Olivia was rather taken with all the new things to look at in the hospital and was busy exploring the room - so we kept our visit mercifully short so that the new family can all get some sleep. Poor Russell had just returned home from work at 6am and climbed into bed when it all started to happen rather rapidly, so he was fading quickly by the time we saw them tonight.

Boring

No - I'm not talking about the termites in our 'renovation' project! Just reread my last blog post and realised that I should never attempt to write when I'm not feeling well!

Anyway - my health appears to be on the improve after a week of doctors, tests, scans and chiropractor appointments - not sure which bit worked to improve the situation, but I wasn't willing to test things one by one over a few months (impatient I know). I find out the results of the last tests and the scan next Monday afternoon, so hopefully we can put together a management plan from that point forward - being non-functional for days at a time with little children is not an option (as all mothers can testify).

Good news - today we start doing 'something' at the house - I'm not sure what, and really my use of the term 'we' is very loose, as what it really means is that I occupy the girls while Greg gets things started...still it's exciting! Ellen loves to visit her 'new house' and is happy to take anyone for a tour with constant commentary if required (and even if it's not) - in fact I get to do the tour every time that we visit the house...

Drop in for a visit if you're in the neighbourhood.