About time for another update...

I suppose the biggest news is that we have a new car! Well, new to us anyway. After much waiting and saving and scratching heads over budgets we have a car that is possibly the most fuel efficient that we have ever owned and it has three anchor points in the back! The best bit is we managed to do it without taking out a loan :D

Erin:
is eagerly looking forward to her birthday after the year long count down! She has requested a pink train cake which I suppose is fitting after last year's purple rocket cake LOL She is playing with Billy more and more these days, although there is sometimes a fine line between 'playing with' and 'bossing around'. She is still thrilled about the new baby and I am sure she will love being a big sister to two.

Billy:
is the one who really stole the show last weekend. We have just had a load of wood delivered - a LARGE load at that - and it is sitting in a heap waiting to be stacked. On Sunday Billy had watched a bit of it being stacked. Many hours later, we were standing in the back yard and he picks up a piece of wood then starts wandering accross the drive way. We laughed and pointed him toward the wood stack where he placed his piece of wood. He then toddled as fast as his rainbow boots would carry him BACK to the wood heap and collected ANOTHER piece. He kept at it for half an hour before I finally pried the wood out of his hands and carried him off to bed before he fell asleep on his feet! If I tried to give him small, kindling sized pieces to carry he would throw them down on the ground and stomp and yell as if to say "Don't INSULT me woman!!" (yes, we are trying to address the issue of his temper, but it is jolly hard not to laugh!!!). He was carrying pieces of wood up to a tenth in his body weight from the wood heap to the wood pile then giving them to Daddy or Uncle Andrew to stack. He is my real, hard working boy. The focus he showed was what surprised me the most. His sister would carry a couple of pieces then get distracted and go and play (like a normal kid!) he just kept at it, even when people tried to distract him.

The Newest Bubba:
is eagerly anticipated by all! I am still predicting a quieter spirit than Billy as this baby doesn't move quite as much or as violently, but you never know who you'll meet coming out of your uterus! I am convinced that one of the secrets to limiting stressful parenting is to try and understand who your kids are, rather than trying to force them to be who you expected. We can shape and mould what is there, but they are people created by the Lord for his purposes, not blank slates for us to write on.

The house:
was doing really well, dispite the fact that I pulled my abdominal muscles Friday a week ago! But it has slipped again as some important work in other areas cropped up and I have been getting a little tired. I have finished my new household management book though so once I get those routines implemented and habitual, we'll be flying!

The Garden:
has bulbs popping up everywhere. I am full of plans and have to pry myself away from seed catalogues. Dreaming of a summer full of fresh tomatoes and sweet smelling flowers, digging in the garden with two muddy kids and a baby on a rug, fresh, crunchy salad all from our own garden.

Big Projects:
before other paperwork cropped up, I managed to finish knitting a pink, fluffy hat for the new baby (in case we have a girl!) which I designed myself with NO pattern whatsoever. I am quite pleased with the result with cable and a turned up rib brim and a beautifully shaped crown (if I do say so myself!). I am starting on the matching booties. I have also done a bit of digital scrapbooking which I haven't done for AGES. I will upload at a later date :)

Jess