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Saturday, 31 October 2015

Good News - he saved it!

I just wanted to share with you our good news! Our oldest son Matt the computer whiz was able to record the messages on his sister's computer (they live together). He will either burn a CD and give it to me or somehow send it to me. I am really not to great with computers- just thankful I can blog! 

This was so kind of him to do! I called him in the early eve with this request ( I had actually given up hope but thought I'll give it one last try) - he had to figure out how to do it, get himself a Halloween costume and then get it done and arrive at the party! Yeah Matt!! Thank you so very much!!  The poor guy had locked himself out of the his place so sister Kate had to run home to let him in so he could get it done!

Both Katie and Matt were really able to enjoy their Grandparents- I think this meant as much to him (them) as it did me! I am very grateful it all worked out! He said it was hard to listen too, but worth it!

Have I told you how much I love my children! Thank you Honey! Even if it didn't work out your effort meant the world to me! But it did work- Yippee!!

Thank you for your prayers! I will sleep well tonight! ( But only IF Anna sleeps well!)

HaPpY HaLLoWeEn !


 Although this is not my favorite holiday the children sure do have fun!

They have been so excited for Halloween! 

They get to dress in a costume AND get candy!


Sam loved digging in the pumpkin and cleaning it out!


Ava was our other volunteer!


Katie made it very clear she did not want to carve a pumpkin...
And here she is, carving a pumpkin!
Thanks Kate!!


Ellie was very excited about carving this year too!
(I helped her a little)


And Sarah carved a pumpkin, too!


They did a great job!

Yes, we only did three pumpkins, 8 would be way too many!


They kept talking about how many Halloweens they have been home for!
Anna- 6
Sarah- 4
Emma and Ellie- 3
Ava- 2
Sam- home for 2 but only celebrated 1 because he was having surgery in Cincinnati last year.
Abby and Luke- 1

The children were so excited!


Including the big kids!!


And then, of course they each wanted pick with the littles!
(Katie's turn!)


(Luigi and Kelly's turn!)


(Astronaut Mark's turn!)


The children took the photography session as well as could be expected!

Then were ready to get on with the trick n treating!


So Katie and I were left to pass out candy!

Except there weren't any trick or treaters at our house... 
 : - (

(We live on a little private drive with 4 other homes. Obviously the children nowadays are much more savvy, they know how to get the max amount of candy while traveling the least amount of distance!)



Thankfully,
our own little 8 children rang the doorbell when they were done and we gave them candy!

If your in the area PLEASE stop by!


Praying

Before bed each night we pray with Luke. We ask him what he would like to pray for and he lists everything off... lately its been... "I wanna pray we go home to Perth"... GULP! He has been quite unsettled and always asking to play with his friend who live 400km away!! On Sunday we said "were going to church today Luke" (he loves church) but burst into tears when we arrived saying "This isn't our church mum, this is nana's church". He doesn't quiet understand that were here to stay and not going back to Perth... HUGE adjustment for a little person!...and its totally breaking my heart!

I was telling my girlfriend Carla about it, when she came up with a brilliant idea! Letter writing!! The long lost art of letter writing! So today we have written 4 letters to 4 different families we are really missing in Perth and sent them with a map of our city and pointed out all the places we love on the map!

Luke in the middle of drawing and writing!

A map of our city (deliberately blurring - for safety reasons)

All our letter and maps ready to go.

This afternoon we are off to the post office to post them all!! How exciting!! I really hope this helps Luke understand what's happening!! We will soon find out!! I'm open to any other ideas that might help too!!! xx

Cutting Corners (and not pumpkins) and a Little Prayer Request!



I'm feeling a little guilty- it's Halloween and we did not carve pumpkins. I am guessing next year we will- our crew will be a little older. It usually turns out with me carving more pumpkins than I care too, plus the pumpkins we chose are very large. Lot's of goo to clean out- so we went with the pottery barn decorations and lighted pumpkins in the window. I am not quite sure why  am sharing this with you- be if you'd like to leave a little comment to ease my conscience- I'll take it!

I'm kind of into just doing the best I can and not doing everything(especially with sick kids).  It is impossible to do it all. Hubby and I have a general policy of being nice to ourselves and being nice to each other. We figure their is always someone out there that may try to ruin our day but it sure won't be us! 

Sarah is feeling better but still has a nasty cough. Anna on the other hand has good and bad moments. She hasn't been sick much and right now she just wants to hug her blankie, watch a little TV or be held. Last night she was up at 2:50. Hubby was with her nonstop throughout the night and I got the early morning hours- the good end of the deal if I may say so myself! It was kind of a long night...

The girls find most of the Halloween decorations that they have seen a little too scary. We have a very tame house. Nothing frightening! Katie took the girls to a Halloween store and Sarah asked "Why do they do that to people?" She was referring to a few of the random body parts laying around at the store. Katie quickly explained that it was not real just decorations! 

Sarah and Anna are very excited to go trick or treating! (WE will see how Anna feels?) I will post the highlights on the girls blog! 

I do have a little prayer request- We were notified by our voicemail provider that they are changing their system and some of our saved messages may not make it over to the new system. I have two saved messages from my Mom (she passed away 18 months ago). I cherish these messages and her precious voice. She asks me how I am, happy birthday, she misses me and Anna and wants to see us, and she loves us. Please pray that these messages make it to the new system and we can continue to occasionally listen to them. The change is happening tomorrow- Nov. 1st. Even if you feel your prayer is to late - please still pray- I believe in miracles! THANK YOU!!

At The Airport!

At the airport with Sam! I'm a bit nervous! Praying my way through every moment!

Sam is doing great but he doesn't quite understand all that is going on.

Our oldest son Matt flew in for JOhnny's game! Johnny's team won and they are going to the State Championship game!! So excited!!

The game is on Thursday- Sam and I will miss it but we will be there in spirit! Hoping to get lots of texts and updates maybe even find it on the computer!?! It's a long shot!

Matt helped Sam and I in the airport- it was so comforting to have him with us! He has now left on a different plane and Sam and I are waiting at our gate.

Okay God - We are ready!!


Let's do this!!

Triage Consulting Group: Rockstar Family House Volunteers

If you've been to a Family House fundraising event in the last few years, Triage Consulting Group volunteers have been there, helping with everything from set-up to check-in to selling raffle tickets and more.  If you've been to Family House as a guest or visitor or volunteer, there's a good chance you've been there with volunteers from Triage, there throwing a party for the kids, reorganizing the garage, painting a stairwell, making a meal…

Triage Consulting Group addresses the financial needs of health care providers in the Bay Area and beyond. The company offers its 450 employees in San Francisco and Atlanta Volunteer Time Off (VTO) to each employee, and everyone is encouraged to take time to help out in their community. This culminates in a special "Founder's Day" project - Family House has been a fortunate recipient of Triage's partnership for several years now. On "Founder's Day," Triage volunteers do a complete overhaul of a Family House bedroom - repainting, adding brand new closet organizers and decorations to the room - really sprucing it up to make it something special for families staying there.

James Zackler has been working at Triage since 2010, and has become an enthusiastic champion for Family House - joining the Family House Young Professionals Advisory Council, and now becoming YPAC Chair. Here's what he had to say about Triage, Family House, and YPAC:

"Throughout the year, Triage typically brings anywhere from 25-35 people to Family House for a party, like the Halloween party: pumpkin decorating, t-shirt/costume making, mask decorating, face painting, and trick-or-treat bag decorating. Triagers also put up Halloween decorations inside and outside of the house. While we run these activities, other Triage volunteers are cooking meals for families: lasagna, individual chicken pot pies, rice krispy treats, and pumpkin pie bars. We do something similar in December: we decorate the house with lights, stockings, trees, etc., and cook a big meal for everyone to enjoy.

"Triage has a lot of young, fun employees, which creates a very enjoyable work environment where many create lasting friendships outside of the office. Outside of work hours, we organize volunteers for Family House fundraising events such as Cabernet for Connoisseurs, San Francisco Magazine's Best of the Bay, the Annual Spring Gala, and Bubbles & Bling.


"I got involved in YPAC out of an interest in being more involved in Family House. I had spent many hours working at Family House events through Triage and was looking for an outlet to give back in my personal life as well. I was blessed to be born to a family whose values dictated that in exchange for food security, a good education, and a loving atmosphere, it was my duty to help others who were not as fortunate. Family House has provided me an ability to give back in many ways.  Plus working with Amy, Karen, Greg, and the others is always fun. We are looking to come up with new initiatives (e.g. kickstarter campaign, more networking events/newsletters) and to improve on our previous successes (Shipwrecked, young professional outreach). 

"I feel like Triage will never stop trying to help Family House. As our firm continues to grow in size, this means more VTOs, while exploring original ways to help further Family House’s mission. With Family House's new Mission Bay location, I am sure there will be fresh opportunities for Triage to provide support as well.

"I can genuinely say that the volunteer work Triagers do – while providing benefit to Family House – is a great benefit to Triagers and their future communities. Providing new Triagers the opportunity to visit Family House and help at Cabernet for Connoisseurs & Best of the Bay instills personal philanthropy in many of them. Each year, there is a new group of Triagers that makes the transition from the mindset of a college student that has little money and skill to offer the community to a young professional that has more of both. So – thank you Family House and thank you Triage for providing opportunity to discover the personal benefits of community service. "


Family House could not exist without volunteers like those from Triage. We love you so much and thank you for everything you do for our families! http://triageconsulting.com/

Get involved with Family House! Learn more at http://www.familyhouseinc.org/volunteer.html

Volunteer Spotlight: Paul & Leslie Radcliffe

Family House volunteers are some of the most dedicated, understanding, and caring individuals there are! Two amazing volunteers who have come to Family House are husband and wife Paul and Leslie Radcliffe. Paul and Leslie have become regulars several times a month at Family House by hosting monthly family dinners, helping on Saturday volunteer days, and providing event support at Family House fundraisers.

Leslie Radcliffe began volunteering with Family House when she took over managing an online group called Giving Tree through the website Meetup.com. Leslie plans and organizes different volunteer opportunities with non-profit organizations throughout the city. In addition to helping at Family House with dinners and Saturday activities, she and Paul have volunteered at Family House’s Young Professional Advisory Council’s 1st Annual Shipwrecked boat party in 2012. With volunteers such as Leslie and Paul, the event raised over $17,000 for Family House. Leslie will also be volunteering at the Bubbles & Bling event in November 2013.

Thank you so much to Leslie and Paul for your dedication to the families staying at Family House. You thoughtful meals and help at events and on the weekends enable Family House to continue to provide the services we offer! We are so lucky to have such amazing community support!

Get involved with Family House! Learn more at http://www.familyhouseinc.org/volunteer.html 

What about Halloween?


I received a few emails and comments asking how we plan to celebrate Halloween. Frankly, I really have a hard time with Halloween. I like the activities, but in a perfect world, the celebration would be a non-commercial, waste-free, treasure-sharing (see “treasures” below), costume festival, that I would fully support. Until then...

Our kids are still at an age where they want to share the fun with their friends and join them in trick-or-treating. And yet, I want to keep the tradition as sustainable as possible. But how? When in doubt, I apply the obvious rule: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot. After discussing an approach with the kids, here is the plan that we came up with:

REFUSE:

-Plastic toys or favors when trick-or-treating, the kids will pick recyclable or compostable items instead.

REDUCE:

-Instead of doing a whole neighborhood, we plan to trick-or-treat one street. It helps being invited to a party before or after to reduce time spent going door to door.

REUSE:

-Costumes: Coming up with a homemade outfit is our first choice but it is also a challenge in a minimalist home (probably the only downside of living with less). When we strike-out of ideas, we go to the thrift store, and on the spot choose or make up a costume. I expect thrift shops to be most busy this time of year!

By the way, I am not crazy about dressing up for Halloween: I have enough fun reinventing my wardrobe everyday of the year ;)

-As you would expect, we keep our decorating minimal (What can I say: I did not grow up with this tradition), with just a few tiny pumpkins that I make into a soup the next day and serve sprinkled with its roasted seeds.

-We plan to participate in the Halloween Candy Buy Back for the non-recyclable treats, this year for the first time. This is the most motivating program I have found for my 2 boys to give away their candy;)

RECYCLE:

- When possible, the kids will choose treats in cardboard: Dots, Milk Duds, Nerds or Raisins (but I doubt that we'll run in many of those).

COMPOST:

-To state the obvious, the rinds of our pumpkins used for making soup will get composted.

-I made a watermelon brain for a potluck buffet tonight. Hopefully, it will get completely eaten. If not, and if it gets too picked on, I'll take the leftovers home to compost.

In case you were wondering, our front door is 36 steps from the street, so by nature we do not get trick-or-treaters (sometimes, life just simplifies itself;). If we did, this website gives some good alternatives to candy. Here is the revised list with my waste-free favorites, in alphabetical order:

Food items ("treats"): Boxes of organic raisins, Fruit (like mandarins), Licorice Root Stick (I loved to chew on these as a kid).

Non-food items ("treasures") are also a great alternative to treats: Bracelets made with a natural fiber or yarn, Coins (US or non-US: I know my kids would get exited about getting a penny), Feathers, Lavender sachet, Polished rocks or skipping stones, Printed items (jokes, word games, word search or cross word puzzles), Seashells, Seed packets or plantable paper, Soap (unpackaged of course), Stamps from foreign countries.

How do you celebrate Halloween with your kids?

Finally Finished!

Its been one of those on going projects... One you started, being totally inspired by and finishing it as a chore!
But I knew I had to finish it before baby #2 comes otherwise it will never be finished!

I LOVE it now its all done and looking gorgeous!!

Its Luke's Quilt! ...and room... well a bit of both... Just wanted to get his room finished... It still isn't totally finished but hopefully by the end of this week it will be :)... The hardest part is over...now just to shop for the finishing touches!!



Things to find...and buy...
- Bedside table/s... (Early Settlers)
- Lamp
- Nice rich Blue mat for the floor (IKEA?)
- Picture to hang...maybe I should get out the ol Paint Brush :)
- Canes Clothes Hamper...Red Dot?


I made this quilt a 'raggy' quilt! They are great, because the more you wash them....the better they look! You shred the edges and overtime they fray....so you get this gorgeous fray of colours that outline each square piece of fabric... Its also one of the easiest quilts to make... I started out making these...and went from there... So if your thinking about starting to quilt, I recommend you start with a Raggy Edged Quilt! You will love it... its practically fail proof!



Hopefully in the next few days I can whip up some matching cushions with the left over fabric!! ...
I suppose there are more photos coming soon... once I really am finished... But hey the quilt is done... And I just love the colours in it!... What do you think?...HONESTLY!

Friday, 30 October 2015

5 months... where did that go?

Oops...ok so I've been absent for 5 months... life has been really busy...but now all of a sudden is very still... like awkwardly still... as in I have no idea what I'm doing and where I'm going... Yes, I'm a wife and mum and they are awesome jobs but I don't have anything else... I'm usually the kind of person who keeps really busy, has lots of dreams, lots to accomplish but at the moment I'm living day by day with no idea what the future has got for me... kind of foreign, as most of the time its all organized and scheduled!!! haha... gotta laugh at myself!!!

Anyhow, to keep everyone up to date... We have moved cities, packed up the house, did renovations, gypsied around for 4 weeks homeless (as in not sleeping in our own home but staying at B&B's or family and friends houses) and have finally moved in! Thought I would show your what our house is looking like at the moment... still not finished...always a working progress!



Fire place is going in, but waiting on the cast iron insert and brickwork to be done... but you get the idea :)


I've put Ben's toys in the basket under the hall stand but our new round rug has become the now wrestling rug when Boyd gets home from work... yep, even Ben gets in there and rolls around... I really don't understand boys and wrestling!


Ben's Room.
Still needs more work. Need to hang more on the walls and it needs a rug on the floor... One thing at a time :)



Luke's Room.


Guest Room!
Your room when you want to come and stay!!



Luke has been helping outside with all the jobs that need to be done!



Benny too!


Hope your having a lovely day my gorgeous friend! x

Can I have Your Attention Please!

We have a very important announcement to make!


Look closely at the pictures!
Especially the one above!


I have known for awhile but was sworn to secrecy 
by the Mommy and Daddy to be...

I been dying to share this with you!
It was so hard to keep the secret... But it wasn't mine to share,
 so I had to wait for the okay!

Andrew and Katie are "expecting"!
We are so so so excited for the new addition of "Baby Burgess"! 

Katie is about 17 weeks along now!
The due date is April 8th!!


Okay... sorry this is sideways!

But the we all had fun naming the baby while in Orlando!
Andrew and Katie are leaning towards Snow White if it's a girl and Shrek for a boy!


Isn't he or she adorable!
The other children looked at it and said...
"it" looks like a peanut!

A cute peanut that is... a very, very cute peanut!

What's a good Grandma name?
I love Mimi but that is Jim's sister and our dog since we had to change her name from Mia to Mimi ;-)
Crazy... I know!!
May just wait and see what baby calls us? 
But I would love some ideas!!

There is more good news - no it's not twins!

BUT
 They will be moving back to the good ole' USA next summer!
In fact they will be in Colorado!
Not too far from Matt and Caitlin(1 hour)!!

WooooHooooo!

Praising HIM!