With love...

I have struggled with my identity for a long time. I used to always think of my worth in terms of my career. Who I worked for, how much I was earning and what I did. Well, I've felt kind of lost for some years because I don't "work" anymore. My career is my children and looking after my husband. And quite honestly, I hope to never "work" another day in my life. But who am I now? I would think, "everyone can have children, so that ain't so special.... so really I have no value now that I'm not working." how ridiculous my mind works!!! and totally incongruous with other things I believe like HOW AWESOME MY CHILDREN ARE!! and what a super job I am doing mothering them and teaching them.

Now, I think I am finally believing the value I am adding to my children and my husband's life. Society might tell me that I'm not valuable. But you know what? God thinks I am. Jesus loves me so much that he gave his life up for mine. MINE! (and yours!) I am treasured by God (and so are you!). I am one of his children. ...and I am treasured by my husband. He needs me to achieve all that God has called him to be. And God has chosen me (ME!) to be honoured with mothering 4 awesomely-gorgeous-hunks-of-cuteness children and teach them in his ways. I am the only one that can do it and I want to do the best job I possibly can, but I don't have much time. Their childhood slips away so quickly. Which is where this blog comes into it. Simply put, at the moment, I am struggling to write and do a good job in my home. So many others seem to do it, but it kind of stresses me out. I have so many half-posts in my head on progress of our veggie patch, homeschool endeavours, paleo recipes I like and even a whole lot of stuff on financial management, but I just can't seem to get it in without ignoring my children in some way. Right now I am ignoring Harrison to write this, while the others are up past their bedtime, and I don't want to ignore them anymore.

So, I've decided to sign-off for now. I maybe back one day, but for now, I need to concentrate on my favourite things in life without thinking "I gotta write a post about this" and then feeling bad for not doing it.

Wishing you all the best, reader. Never forget, you are valued by the living God!

Art and craft - flowers

Today we did an art and craft lesson using a flower book we borrowed from the library. I think I have mentioned before how I encourage the girls to get some "grown-up" books to look at the pictures and learn from them. They still love flowers so our most recent trip to the library included more flower and garden books.

I picked a page that had big pictures of gerberas' and we talked about it a little bit first. What they are called, how they are made up of different typed petals, the colour of the centre, etc. Then we tried to make them. I cut out a circle and then they choose the tissue paper colours each person wanted, and got to it. It was fun and even Harrison enjoyed making it. The only thing I learnt from it though was to use runny glue next time as glue sticks made it kind of hard (kept tearing at the paper already stuck).

Playing to our strengths

I could make this a really long post. But I don't want to. I just want to say, that I have leant how easy things can be if you have courage to break the mould, and play to your strengths. This was made acute to me recently when my hubby and I were asked to go on the roster for children's church. I have been involved in children's church on and off over the past 12 or so years, but since I had children of my own, I've not really wanted to. The responsibility has been too much to add to our already hectic lives, and being me (one who plays by the rules and does things because that is what is always done) being involved in children's church has almost always felt like a burden to me. But this time is different. This time my hubby is the main one responsible, and I am his trusty assistant. And would you know, being who he is, he thought why do I have to do it the way everyone else does? I don't want to. I'll do it my way.

His way was playing to his strengths. Music. He played the guitar and sang, and started teaching the children some good old Christian songs. He was himself, natural and genuine and I was impressed. Impressed at how naturally he taught, how genuine the experience was, and how joyful it was to just flow with it and not be burdened with trying to replicate what everyone else does just because I was locked into thinking that is what we had to do. It was refreshing and he did a superb job leading and I think I did a pretty good job for someone who can't sing very well!

Ignoring the folding

Last week I bribed myself with a bottle of bubbly (a treat for me!) to fold the washing that had piled up. This week I thought I'd do the same thing, but when I sat down at almost 10pm Friday night to do it, I gave up after 3 or so items. The pile is now sitting next to me and I think I will ignore it again another night.

Sidenote--I have taught my girls how to fold with me, it is a part of their home education to help me with some of the household chores. But lately I have been ignoring it. Things feel so busy even though I've spent practically the whole week at home.

Anyway, I just think that it's ok to have some washing piled up. I mean, we have clean clothes to wear, my children are looked after, the house is mostly clean and in order, and we are getting through each day. I have time to spend with my darlings and that is what matters. I may look back on this period and think yes, I had a lot of washing waiting to be folded, but I will also look back and think of all the fun times we spent watching movies together, playing games, reading books, cooking, breastfeeding, changing nappies, trying to get Flopsy to smile etc., and at the moment that feels like time much better spent than folding the washing :)

Life through my children's eyes

Sometimes I like to think through the events of the day through the eyes of  my children. I will pick one of them and then replay some of the conversations and things that we did, imagining I was the little innocent he/she is, and wonder what it was like for them. What did he or she experience? What must he or she been thinking or feeling? I imagine being small, behaving as he or she did, responding to me or what we were doing or seeing. Was I  respecting and valuing them and what he or she had to say or was I in a rush, not listening to them?

It is an interesting thing to do. Often it is fun, and more often than not it softens me more towards them. It reminds me to view them as real individuals with feelings and ideas and personalities that are young and innocent and vulnerable. Little grown-ups in the making, worthy of respect and time and love from their mum.

Friday fun

A new favourite ritual for us on Fridays is to head to Gloria Jeans coffee shop with my 4 darlings and read a Beatrix Potter classic to them. I did it mostly for me to begin with, to feel like we were being productive whilst doing something I loved (drinking coffee). I didn't think my darlings liked the story time all that much until one week recently they said something like, "where is the book mum? I want a story", that I discovered they actually enjoyed hearing a story. It is hard sometimes. Sometimes I have to talk loud and quickly and sometimes Sunshine has to hold the book up for Sweet-pea and Harrison to look at while I'm feeding Flopsy and reading it out. But it is fun, and it is something I now look forward to each week we are free... Coffee with my darlings (and a Beatrix Potter classic).

And upon leaving we usually end up with some lovely comments about what a good job I'm doing and really, we can all do with hearing more of that when we are working so hard as mums!

I have a baby!

She is cute and squishy and over 3 months old. I will call her Flopsy on this blog after Peter Rabbit's sister bunny. It seems fitting, as she is so relaxed. We also affectionately call her Paleo baby, because she is our first official paleo baby and by golly she is an awesome baby. Firstly she was born quickly - in only 3 hours (thankyou Lord!) and in her 3 months she has been the most relaxed baby, almost never crying. The other night she cried. I almost didn't know what to do, a long shower calmed her down (I think that is her happy place ;) She has been amazing and of course big siblings help. They help rock her to sleep when I'm busy with dinner or chores and entertain her by dancing around and being another face in her sweet eyes.

I get lots of "wow, are they all yours?" comments in the shops and I love it. Really love it. I swan around with them like the proud mother duck with them following after me. Yep, I think they are pretty cute, which explains why I have a million of them. But honestly, this time around has probably been the easiest of all. I just don't have much spare time ;) yeah... kind of don't have much spare time at all.

Encouraging words for Christian mothers

Westley read this to me on 28 March 2006 and I wrote it down. It has been a huge source of encouragement to me over the past six years and I thought it may encourage some other mums out there. They are direct quotes from Rick Joyner in the "The Great Liberation" in the Morning Star Journal Vol. 15. No.4.

• "Our children have a greater calling than Solomon: they are called to reign with Christ. Therefore, every mother of a christian child is a true "queen mother"."
• "What women are called to do in the home, in intercession, and teaching children, is far more important than going out and making money."
• "It is said that our basic character traits are set by the time we are four years old. Therefore, this is when teaching and instruction are most critical. The mothers teaching has its greatest impact on the child during these most formative years, and this can have the greatest impact on the course of a person's life."

I hope they bring encouragment to you too!

I have news!

So, it's been a long time... but I have been busy. Busy growing a baby! We have a baby girl due in June. My first winter baby. It is a bit weird, I didn't really think of myself as having four children and being at home to raise and educate them (a nice sized university bill will testify to my plans of a lucrative career climbing the corporate ladder!). So I am still figuring out what this life of mine has for me when I spent so many years working towards a life that contradicts what I actually want to do now that I'm here. I know for sure I want to be here with my children but what does that mean? What does that mean for me in 15 or 20 years? I don't know... Something for another post. But what I do know now is that I love babies. I love my children and I am excited to have a million of them and raise them and educate them with Westley. Okay, well, maybe not a million, but four or five would be ace ;)

Always learning - homeschool plans for our big trip

I don't like to leave an easy opportunity to learn unlearnt so in addition to lots of random things I expect us to encounter, learn and discuss over our trip I have specifically planned the following homeschool activities.

• We went to the library and picked out two junior fiction books. I don't know if we will read both of them or even finish one of them, but I feel like just by starting out this way we are making good habits and planting good seeds.
• New colouring books and textas! I like to be really free with providing new colouring in books and textas. Besides being fun, it teaches the children concentration, develops their artistic skills and their fine motor skills.
• I splashed out on a scrap book for Sunshine and Sweet-pea for each of them to journal their trip. Sweet-pea will probably draw pictures, maybe paste some pictures, and write a word here or there. I plan for Sunshine to write a sentence about each day or so on something she has done or experienced, along with pictures (pasting or drawing). Oh, and when I say write a sentance, I mean she would decide what to write and I will write it on a scrap piece of paper and she will copy it into her book.

Incidentally, by the nature of this trip, there will be lots of socialisation with family and strangers, of different ages. Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, old family friends, cousins, children of old friends of mine, etc. Will be fun! :P

Our big trip - me and 3 kiddos loose in —town

I live about 10 hours drive away from my parents and in-laws. It is hard. I miss them all, and I miss the support that having family close by can bring when you are at my stage in life. To even have somewhere I can go and spend an afternoon when I'm at my whits-end and just need a cup of coffee and some wise parental perspective. It is our own fault. We choose to move down here 7 years ago before we had children for a lifestyle change. Now we are kind of entrenched down here - we have friends, a good church, Westley has a pretty good job and we have cheap rent. So it is kind of hard to move back home at this point even though it would be sweet to live close to family.

My ever-giving eldest sister lives very close to my family and has thoughtfully bought me and the children flights back to the town where I grew up to spend 2 weeks, living at her house while she is away and visiting my Mum and Dad and a few days with my in-laws. We fly there tomorrow and I am all excited to embark on a trip of a lifetime. We don't have a lot of money to spare, so flights 'home' have always been a luxury that we have not been able to partake in. Westley will be at our real home here as he needs to work, so it will be me, 3 kiddos loose in —town. I will miss Westley, however, him being at home will free me to do just what I want to do, when I want to do it, so that has advantages! ;)

Here are my hopes for this trip:

• to spend lots of relaxing time with my Mum and Dad. Drink lots of coffee together and chat.
• to spend quality time with my sister and her family (when they return from their trip) and with my in-laws and all other local family and friends I plan to see. The name in-laws seems so cold, I don't mean it to. I am blessed with wonderful in-laws who I consider to be my real family, I just could not think of a better way to group them together in a way that you would know who I meant.
• to enjoy the time with my children, their first plane rides!
• to enjoy 'pretend' living in —town. Visit the shops and parks.
• to saturate myself in Wuthering Heights. I am finally moving on from my world of Jane Eyre and onto another great Bronte classic. I'm excited and sad about Wuthering Heights (I know how it starts and I wonder how it could possibly be made good).
• to get some Kirsty Allsop, Phil Spencer and Kevin McCloud action on television - I will take what I can get, Location Location Location, Relocation Relocation, Grand Designs, Grand Designs Revisited, etc. I don't mind really, I just miss these guys and would love to catch up on as much as I can on my family's pay tv :) It is for these shows that I would find a life without television very difficult!

If you have holidays where you are, enjoy them! Enjoy your children, enjoy your family & stay safe :)

A cheap and cheerful homeschool activity

This afternoon we did 'cutting and pasting'. A fun way to spend an afternoon - Sunshine and Sweet-pea enjoy using sissors and who doesn't enjoy using glue?!

Basically, I look for opportunities to pick up magazines or interesting pamphletes. I have the inflight magazine from a recent plane ride, a travel brochure that I asked for at a local travel agency and a couple of wholesome magazines. We have a few childrens sissors, but I find they don't cut well, so we all share the one good pair we have and I supervise (although I have trained Sunshine and Sweet-pea on being sensible with sissors). Then they are free to cut and paste to their hearts content. I love that the images they are seeing are of far off lands, different landscapes and include things they don't encounter in our day-to-day Australian life.

An extension on the lesson for Sunshine was if she wanted to, I asked her to tell a story from the pictures she pasted, which she just loved to do and present to me and Sweet-pea.

How to train your dragon

I just watched How to Train Your Dragon with Westley, Sunshine and Sweet-pea and I LOVED it. Animated films are not really my preference, but this, I just loved. Somehow it evoked in me the same feelings that I felt when I read Jane Eyre. I think these emotions are tied to friendship. Pure, die to save you, you mean more than life to me, friendship. It is strong, and it is pure, and I loved it.

While we choose carefully what to expose our children to, I did not find this at all too scary for our children - we have always had a healthy appreciation for things which might actually cross the boundaries of others. We want to raise confident, bold and courageous people, and I think this movie instills these attributes. I can highly recommend it!

I love...

Going to Gloria Jeans for a cup of coffee.

Our last visit together, we read the first 5 pages of the Nutcracker

I first started to appreciate this ritual when Westley thought going out for a coffee was a good way for us to facilitate communication in our marriage. Then I got hooked on the great coffee and started going alone as well. I used to go and read pregnancy magazines, dreaming about when I would have a baby of my own. Then I would go to study for exams or write assignments. Then I would go with my manager at work for meetings. Now I go with my children, or when Westley is home, I go to pray and read the bible. I like it when I the people that work there remember me by name. On my last visit, feeling particularly poor and cashing in my freeby (10th cup is free), they gave me an extra minicino for the girls (who were going to share), so they could each have their own. I like that :) About a year ago I was even recognised by a visiting barista from one of the city stores who remembered me from when I was frequenting her usual store about a year before that. It is a combination of the atmosphere, the coffee (and therefore caffine) and the good times I spend there. Even a bad visit is a good visit because I enjoy the time out either alone or with my children, and I always remember previous visits or look forward to the next. When I take the children, I often take a book and read to them while we are there. Good, good memories. I just love it!

Playin' shop

We like to keep things simple. We don't have a lot of money for fancy toys and we have tried to avoid accumulating a lot of "stuff" for our children. With that in mind, I am always trying to be resourceful and come up with new games or ways of playing with old toys and making the most of them.

I always loved playing shop as a child and from that came up with this game to introduce to my darlings. I cleared off their table to use as 'a counter'. I also cleared off some shelves to use as 'shop shelves' and laid out their play food in lines, like a mini supermarket. I got a container (the blue one on the windowsill) to act as the till, and put special cards in it from a board game (which would be used as the money). I got their Barbie computer thing that was given to us and pretended that was the main part of the register. Then I got out their Easter egg baskets to use. And then, I taught my children how to play shop. It was fun. They enjoyed it as did I! Here is a pic of the shop set up:

I didn't start this game with learning objectives other than to have fun, but I love that in having that fun, I continued a stream of learning which I am enjoying imparting to them (and look forward to continue imparting to them) - that being, commerce. I love teaching them how business works and how to engage in commerce.

"Rude lady picture"

Last weekend I was running between some shops in a local shopping centre. For the first time I noticed a shop opposite one of the major grocery stores with a poster in the window about a metre and a half wide and two metres long. The picture was immediately offensive to me as I recognised it for what it really was. I will delicately call it a "rude lady picture". I was shocked, grossed out and very happy that Westley had taken the children to the car already so they weren't seeing it also. Instantly I knew I had to do something about it.

This was way out of my comfort zone. I do not like to create conflict or confrontation - I will usually avoid it at all costs, but I couldn't this time. I knew I needed to speak up on behalf of the innocence of all the children who walk past this shop.  So, in I went and politely informed the shop assistant (who turned out to be the owner, a middle aged woman) that I found the picture offensive and why. She was defensive, telling me that I should just not look at it if I wanted to and that I needed to direct any complaints to centre management. So I did, and guess what? The poster is now down! Seems I was not the only one to take action and our efforts combined resulted in the shop owner reluctantly removing the disgusting image (to sell!! It should be binned not sold, but I have no say in that unfortunately).

I basically wanted to encourage you all out there to speak up when you find something rude or offensive. In my case, the littlest thing of a verbal complaint and follow-up phone call was enough to right this wrong. Our children are precious gifts with young innocent minds. Let's protect our children and others children, by doing our best to instil value and worth in our women. This has given me hope that maybe we have more control beyond our immediate homes to limit or delay this rottenness penetrating the world.

Feeling stretched...

"I'm old, Gandalf. I know I don't look it, but I'm beginning to feel it in my heart. I feel... thin. Sort of stretched, like... butter scraped over too much bread. I need a holiday. A very long holiday. And I don't expect I shall return. In fact I mean not to." Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Ever feel like this? Okay, okay, not the old part. But the rest of it? Or maybe you do feel old sometimes. I can understand that. I don't feel old, I just feel ... streeeeeeeeeeeetched.

I know what I want, what really is most important. I know I will never look back in reflection and think, I really wish I had have gone out with this person more, or visited that person more, or been here and done that. I know that I will think about the time I spent with my children. Was it enough? Was it good? Did I make the most of the talents God entrusted to me and Westley? and the answers I want to have to those questions are "yes; yes it was better than good, it was brilliant; and yes!" I want to look back and think, "wow, I spent A LOT of time with my children. That was time well spent."

So, I've been a-thinkin again... I plan to go on a holiday from what has become normal life. I need to simplify, pull-back and spend more time at home and enjoy my sweet children's childhoods with them. It is a holiday I plan to enjoy and I think I may not return from it. In fact, I almost do not mean to.

Dare I say it?? [contraception]

Who knows about this? What a difficult topic to navigate! I am only bringing it up because it has been on my mind... a lot. There is not a great amount of talk out there about it, and it is almost a shameful thing to talk about, but I need to talk about it. I need to figure it out and make a decision that has major implications for the course of my family.

Historically I have taken the pill. Until about 7 years ago I met a woman who explained to me how rotten those pills actually are. What they did to my body, how they messed me up etc. [Here is a really entertaining article on the pill which sums up how I feel pretty well]. So, since then we have only relied on barrier methods and some really loose kind of natural avoidance measures. This woman practiced a form of natural family planning. Well I knew that everyone else thought that was totally crazy-talk so there was no way on earth I would do that too, I mean natural family planning doesn't work, don't you know??? It worked for her though. But that didn't mean much to me at that point in my life. Then, children was a scary thing. I was trying to establish a career, I had only been married for 4 years too (only...). We were young. We shouldn't be having children. I wanted to be pregnant though, but I held back my internal desires for at least 18 months after that...

Did you know that pretty much every method of non-natural contraception (excluding condoms) is capable of creating early abortions? I didn't! But now I do. Does everyone know this (it happens that sometimes I miss out on pieces of information that the rest of the world knows - ignorance is bliss for me, remember?) I think most people don't... I know some won't care. I do care. I care a lot. Life starts at the moment of conception. I tell you, I do not want to get to judgement day and have God look at me and show me the lives I (albeit, unconsciously) ended in my quest to avoid having more children.

Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying that I think we need to do our best to also be bearing children as much as we possibly can either. Yesterday I read an awesome article - Motive: The Christian and Birth Control. I liked it because it referenced the Bible :) and what it said, made sense to me. It is seriously worth a read (it is short but succinct). Basically, I have no problem with choosing to use birth control in my family, but the kind of birth control used is what is important. Always remembering, "it is God who is the author of human life (Deuteronomy 32:39)" not us (quoted from the above article). If God chooses to bless us, he will. If we choose to be blessed with another child, we will change our behaviour and open ourselves to God's blessing.

But ahhh yes, natural family planning methods have a high failure rate. You know what I say to that? Two things.

1. That is them, not me. I don't know how vigilant they were, when they may have taken a calculated risk, or when I might. There are many people out there that it did/does work for. I believe it is intensely specific for the individual and couple as to how successful this method will be/is.
2. Is it such a bad thing if I had another or another couple of children? I already know that every child is purposed by the Lord. I am in a Godly, secure marriage. When God created marriage and the family unit, it was for a safe place for children to be raised. I may not actively seek more children, but as I quoted the article referenced above "God is the author of life" and if he sends me more, then I will be the soft place for them to be born and raised.

So added to my new journey is discovering how on earth I will translate natural family planning into our life. I guess I will have to get to know my body better... gosh, how modern medicines have caused me to be lazy! You know what though, I will figure this out and I can not wait to educate my daughters and son(s) about this so when they are married, they have it sorted and know what to do, should they too decide to practice birth control.

Braving the big smoke for the day on your own with 3 young children

Yesterday was a beautiful 20 degrees and instantly I thought, I must take advantage and do something fun outside. Westley jokingly asked me to meet him for lunch in the city and, never one to turn down a trip to the city, I thought it was a great idea! I love the city!! I love the buildings, the shops, the history, the coffee, the buzz. I just love visiting the city. But it's different visiting the city when you have 3 young children with you. I can't wander the shops aimlessly, I can't drag them around indulging in all my whims. I can't go down narrow alleyways where the stroller won't fit. I've noticed that when I look around, I never, ever, ever see another mum there alone with 3 littlies... So, I have learnt and refined my process and developed strategies and tips that I thought I'd share incase you are like me, loving the city but too scared to brave it alone with your littlies. I hope they help :)

PLAN YOUR TRIP

• Think of a combination of what your children might like to visit or do and what you would like and how you can visit all places.
• Be realistic, visiting a million places will be really difficult, so pick 3 or so places ahead of time and plan which you will visit first, second and third, etc.
• How are you going to get there. Train, drive, where will you park? What times are the trains running? I keep the schedule uploaded on my iphone for the whole day so if it looks like I might miss the train, I know when the next one is.
• Pack snacks, lunch and water. We take snacks to eat on the train - this is a must for us as it keeps them sitting. If they have been well behaved, I plan a treat for on the train ride home. 
• Find out where there are good, clean toilets/parents rooms to visit. In my city, the major department stores are well equiped. I schedule the toilet trips into the journey so we are never caught out.
• Allow plenty of time. My trains are very infrequent so I don't want to miss them, but walking along a busy sidewalk with a stroller and two children either side of you is slow, so allow much more time than you think.
• After 5 years of trips to the city with children we have a bit of a routine that we kind of stick to and that helps the children prepare and know what to expect.
• Sometimes there are free seasonal activities put on by local tourism, government and/or big department stores. We have a few Christmas activities we like to do each year that the children and me just LOVE. Where we live, there are some websites that are dedicated to advertising these events. Just be mindful that if it is school holidays or on the weekend, it will probably be crazy! 

ON THE JOURNEY

• Be considerate of others. City-folk are way more tollerant of children if they can see you are trying to keep them well behaved and engaged. I talk like I think everyone might be listening (because they probably are!).
• Try to anticipate your childs behaviour before they do it. If Sweet-pea is getting wriggly in her seat and starts kicking her legs around I will say something like "Sweet-pea, we need to be considerate of the other passangers and we don't want you to accidently knock this lady's knees so please sit still". Sweet-pea is then prepared to be careful and the lady is much more understanding if Sweet-pea does knock her.
• Don't stress, remain calm at all times. It shows others that you are in control (even if you don't feel like you are).
• Engage with your children. I try not to be on the phone at all, but entirely engaged with them. Talking to them about what they can see which might be interesting to them, or just general chit-chat about normal stuff. Point out weird things like icons, buildings, where you used to work, etc.
• Safety. I am always mindful of educating my children about being safe, not crazy talk, just basic knowledge to keep them safe. I can't hold each of their hands at the same time so it is important for the older ones to know that vehicles travel fast. Not to walk on or past the safety line at the station. Only crossing the road when the lights say it is ok. Stay close to me at all times, etc.
• Boundaries. We set boundaries for the children so that they are free to be children but within certain limits. For example, in the coffee shop we allow them to move around and touch stuff and play as long as they stay within a certain boundary. Everytime we go to this coffee shop it is the same and they know, they are not allowed to go beyond a certain point in that coffee shop.

AN OPPORTUNITY TO EDUCATE

• I like to talk to my children about social norms, what is acceptable behaviour, what isn't. Why we hold on to the rail on a tram, even though it is fun not too. When it is acceptable to talk loudly and when we should try to talk quietly and consider others, and when we should "whisper in Mum's ear". My girls love to exclaim at the top of their lungs "Mum, that lady looks funny" or "Mum, I'm busting, I can't hold on" - strangers don't really need to know that kind of thing.
• Yesterday I gave Sweet-pea and Sunshine each $1 to pick something to buy as a treat for on the train on the way home. I took them to a lolly shop and they got to see how far $1 goes and to interact in a transaction with a shop-keeper. Among other things, I am teaching them commerce and how the transfer of money for goods works in a 'real' way for them.

TIME IS A-CHANGING

• I have learnt to be mindful that as my children get older, move into new stages or with the addition of new babies, the trip changes shape. I keep the one same peg - lunch with Daddy at a certain coffee shop (we take our lunch but buy a coffee) - and work the other things around it so it suits our family at that particular stage.

LEARNINGS
The project manager in me is always assessing and analysing these questions:

1. What worked well?
2. What didn't work well?
1. What can be changed to make this work well on future trips?

By answering those questions I have been able to refine our trips to be successful, over and over. Any difficulty can be learnt from and improved upon, don't give up :)

How I intoduced regular bible study to my children

I have always thought it a good thing to be able to start the day with reading the bible or time alone with God. Who wouldn't love to brave the day knowing he/she was already grounded in God's word or His Spirit? Would our behaviour be different? Would our thoughts be different? Would our day turn out differently? For me, the answer is yes. But it isn't easy, and I know for some people this is not the right time of the day for them. Westley for example, is not a morning person. His best time with God is in the evening, when it is dark and he can be outside, alone.

As a parent educator, I am often thinking about the habits I can teach my children, while they are young, so they can each be the best person they can be when they are adults. It is important to me that they have a personal relationship with the Lord, and I want to help them the best way I can. So I have started mini-bible studies with Sunshine and Sweet-pea. They have been responding well and by doing it in the morning, each day feels like a success. It is working for now. It may not always work and there may be interruptions from time to time, but I hope to continue with it as long as it is still working for us. So if you are wondering, this is what I do...

PREPARATION

• I read the paragraph sometime before I sit down with the children, so I am prepared for translating into a language they understand.

METHOD
In the morning not long after we wake up...

• I give them a 5-10 minute warning that we are about to do our bible reading together.
• I make a cup of tea.
• I get the beanbags out ready for them to sit on, and I sit down in my reading seat.
• I ask the girls to join me, Harrison has a beanbag too, but he is free to come and go as he pleases.
• We recap on the highlights of the previous day (or two if required) to set the scene for the new reading.
• I tell them I am going to read the scripture (about a paragraph, or theme - you know how chapters are split up under headings - I just kind of pick one of those chunks under a heading).
• I read it to them from my bible, the New King James version.
• I explain in language they understand the main points that happened.
• I ask them a few questions to check they listened to me.
• Now the fun part - drawing! I ask them to draw something from the story. I will usually ask Sunshine to write something too, which is me telling her the letters to write. 
• Then they get to show Daddy their awesome work and feel totally proud of the great job they did.

We have started with Luke, as I know my girls are excited by and a bit familiar with Jesus's birth so I thought it would increase their interest. So far so good, they ask me about it on the weekend because I haven't been doing it on weekends so I think that is a good sign :)