Home's

We are slowly settling  into the new life here in Wagga Wagga.
Our unpacking is still continuing as we are moving into a much  smaller house than the home we built in Tassie.
There have been some lovely things with moving and as I said some adjustments in living conditions. One of the beautiful things is the view we have from this house and the gardens are just a fairy-tale land for our imaginative children. They have had the most fun exploring these areas.
The time since we started to pack up our home in Tassie to settling in here has been rather quick in one way, we have been here over two weeks now, and in another the unpacking and finding new places for our treasured books and space to live  has been rather tiring.
Here are a few scenes from packing up at our old home..............
It was very messy for the last week of living there and I admit I found it difficult to live in such mess.
We did spend a bit of time photographing our home, both inside and out about our 5 acres. I do wish we had kept a better photographic journal of our building this home like my friend Erin has but alas I wasn't blogging then and so the presentation of ideas was much different.

As the movers left gear behind each night, they arrived on Monday morning and came everyday until they finished on Friday afternoon, Eden and Saxon just HAD TO have a ride around in the trolley thing.
The movers taking a break part way through the fourth container load on my rocking chair.
We ended up with four containers and that little truck full of our belongings to move here. This is them going around 3pm on Friday afternoon.
Of course we had to get some empty home shots and this was a bittersweet moment for me especially.
We walked through as a family from one room to the other as our final farewell to this home we have lived in for over 7 years.
In fact we had never seen this home completely empty as we moved in to only part of it, while continually building it and the frame work  was only wrapped in the paper with no doors and one window and an outside pit toilet. We built as we lived in it continually and finished building it within 4 years (I think)
It will be a memory for us all but sadly I don't think our little ones will remember much except through stories and photos.
We spent most of our time in this big kitchen area. We called it 'The Great Hall' and it was a place of many family celebrations
One of the photos I had to have of everyone was underneath one of our Wattle Trees. These grew up over the years as this was all cleared for our building site.
Vellvin above
Moran
Myffwyn
Arwen
Eden
Corbyn
Saxon and Trahaearn
Sweet Angel, Trahaearn
Saxon
Me
Braedon, who came home to help us move out. He lives in Wagga too so we are doubly blessed by this. Kynan was way to far from Tassie to be able to get the time of work to make a last trip home
Stephen, my love
Autumn
Rogan
My love and I
Under the stairs we made a last tribute to this home we have loved and then we walked out the door.
 Stephen was the last to walk out the door and lock the door for the last time.
 Waking to the Taxi and our van loaded with everything we will need for the next few days until the trucks arrive with our gear.
We had the trailer full and both our canoes on top of the trailer......there is nothing left behind, except our memories and good friends.

I look forward to sharing our new discoveries in the 'great new world' we live in now!

To remind us that life is a journey that we travel I thought this poem/song from The Hobbit appropriate~
Roads go ever ever on,
Over rock and under tree,
By caves where never sun has shone,
By streams that never find the sea;
Over snow by winter sown,
And through the merry flowers of June,
Over grass and over stone,
And under mountains in the moon.

 Roads go ever ever on
Under cloud and under star,
Yet feet that wandering have gone
Turn at last to home afar.
Eyes that fire and sword have seen
And horror in the halls of stone
Look at last on meadows green
And trees and hills they long have known.

Blessings to you and your homes,

It all began with the sharing of some wonderful news for our family!

Then came....
The Accusations!
The Judgments!
The Hateful and hurtful comments!
The criticism of our family, our Faith, our values and our family size!
Our supposed lack of contentedness with where we are now!
The assertions based on....well....... we can't work it out really.

Where does it come from?
Why would they act that way?

They know so little about us. They know nothing of the years we have been gone from anything resembling a close relationship that may have been a product of the past.
They know nothing of our own hardships that we have endured over the last years.
The traumas we have suffered, the financial struggles, the choices we have made when we had none to choose from, the separations and how that has affected each one of us, the heartbreak of medical problems.
They know nothing of these events. They have chosen time and again to not be part of our lives, they know not how these situations have affected us...... and yet they judge!

They judge our lives based on their own perceptions of us, based  on their own responses to how they think we should live our lives, rather than through the eyes of love, rather than through the eyes of Jesus who truly does  know our thoughts our motives and our hearts.

In fact it all brings back to mind the time we shared other good news and were summarily treated with spite, vindictiveness and malice.
Something I have a hard time understanding. The level of commitment to such negative feelings is beyond my power of comprehension.

And it leads me to wonder how I/we react when we see people with whom we know even just by sight in our own lives, let alone on a more personal or intimate relationship.
What I mean is - when I see that lady at the shop who never seems to smile, that man at church who always has a kind word or action for others.
Is what I see an indication of their lives and how good or bad it is? And does this influence how I think of them and, yes, even the way I treat them.
Do I judge based on my own assertions of what I imagine their life must be like simply from my very slight observations of them and they way they look and act?
Do I dare to presume I know their troubles or good times and then think I am justified in my treatment of them in a certain way?
Do I treat them as I would want to be treated?

Or is it that some people will always see the good in others, will always try to help, will quickly ask forgiveness for a wrong committed and look for an opportunity to 'go the extra mile' for another in need.
While others will ALWAYS see the reasons why it is unfair that someone else has that house, that opportunity, that relationship or any other thing that their own life is lacking.

Because frankly we only ever see part of the story. Even with very close friends or family they can not know all the ins and outs that go on in our lives and more importantly in our HEARTS.

You see God has a plan for each one of us and he gives us challenges that are for each one of us alone.
How dare we suggest that just because we only see the outward appearance of a seemingly content and gracious person that obviously they have not had to deal with any problems in their lives.

HOW WRONG YOU ARE!

What might be a major struggle for them may be only a slight discomfort to you!
What may be a daily battle with an 'opportunity' does not even come into your horizon!
The things we see are not everything. What we behold as we look at someone is but a section of who each person fully is and but a fraction of their complete  lives.

To judge others by what we see of their lives, and the things we THINK we see and THINK we know is entirely wrong.
You can never understand all the emotional, physical and mental stress that others have been through - unless you have been through the exact same thing with the exact same set of circumstances they have.
Even if they lay it all out on the table, visible for all to see, you can not see or feel the intensity of the internal struggles or emotions that go along with a life and a persons particular circumstances.

However, hopefully we can all relate a little to an other's plight so we can be there to support, encourage, uplift and pray with those we have been blessed to know in these circumstances.
For it is a blessing God has opened up to us, if we find ourselves in this circumstance. An opportunity to give of ourselves that will ultimately be a blessing to others BUT to us as well - But only if you grasp the opportunity to be that someone.

So next time you see someone who seems to have it all together or even someone who looks like they do need a hand, why not look at them through the eyes of Love and ask......
What would Jesus Do?

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

A morning routine is something I think is vital in our home!
We actually have a few parts of a morning routine but the one I think is the most important is our Breakfast  morning routine.
We have over the years not been consistent with our breakfast routine BUT when we are the benefits are evident in the way our days proceed are well worth the effort.
Sadly there have been times when we have not participated in this morning routine and I feel when we don't we have a  lack of family closeness. The same thing if we miss our  family time of an evening routine too.

The main part of this is to actually sit down to breakfast together as a family or if Daddy is already at work with Mummy and the children.
I must admit this was a lot easier when we were not grain free as the staple breakfast menu was usually cooked porridge withe warm drinks even in the summer! If we did not have porridge we had boxed cereal.

This actually made the process easier as we could have it all ready together and sit together.

However we still mostly try to do this, even as we are trying to cook a hot breakfast or have smoothies.
One of the essentials in having a clean start with this routine is to set the table the night before- complete with the books.
This allows for a quicker start without scrabbling for plates, mugs and other bits n pieces for breakfast.

As we are almost at the end of the meal that is when we start THE BOOKS!

The books you ask? Oh yes this is one of the most important parts of the routine.

At this point I start to read from the books~
*The first being from one of our Children's Bible Story books. Our current one is My Big Book of Catholic Bible Stories.
*Next I read about the Saint of the Day from The Catholic Parent Book of Feasts or if no saint is in this book from The One Year Book  of Saints
*Our Next book is The Book of Virtues or The Moral Compass mostly or I have used other books in the past both Catholic based or uplifting Christian
* We also use Our 24 Family Ways, (although ours is a first edition and has a flip top stand to place on the table) as a guide for family behaviour and expectations.
* After this one of the children will pray for our day, bringing family as well as private concerns and petitions to The Lord, then we say our Grace after Meals and go off to the next part of our day......Chores.

This I believe truly sets the tone for our day together as a family!

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Today marks the start of a new journey for our family!
This evening we said goodbye to Daddy as he traveled across the Tasman Sea to the mainland of Australia, on the first leg of his journey to Wagga Wagga.

In some ways it feels like it did some years ago when he went  on ahead or us again interstate to begin what we thought would be a new journey then. The only thing holding us back at that stage was the finishing of our house and the sale of that house.

We had great faith and expectations that we would not be long in following Stephen.
Sadly that was not the case.
It did not work out that way at all and although I was blessed to have our oldest boys still at home and ready and able to take on new responsibility it really did not replace the role of  Daddy in our children's lives.
In fact it was well over three years later that Stephen came home to us here in Tasmania.
In that time we have had three little blessings join our family and the realisation that those three years changed our family in a way that we really were not prepared for or had really anticipated.

In fact it is with a very heavy heart that we realise we still need to make this move, but at the cost of having still  not being able to sell our beloved home but only are able to rent it out, at a far less rate than anything we look like being able to rent ourselves.

This to me is a hard part of this proposed adventure!
For while we are certain of the reasons for this move: opportunities for our children and our selves in social, spiritual and emotional reasons, it still is, and especially will be a heart breaking experience to leave this home we have built from scratch and which our six younger children have only ever know as.........HOME.
We truly hope and pray that we are able to find a new home albeit a temporary rented home that will allow us to move forward to this new stage in our lives.

It will be exciting and it will offer many opportunities for our children that they have not been able to have in our present environment.
We know it it is the right thing for us and it will certainly offer us the opportunity to see both our older boys who now have lives on the mainland, and in fact Braedon is actually in Wagga Wagga already.
Our dear Kynan will be able to visit without having to cross that dreaded piece of water between mainland Australia and Tasmania. 
Why is it dreaded?
Simply the cost of travel, either by air or ocean. It adds up quite quickly with the extra travel involved.

You would never know that Tasmania is part of Australia due to the cost of travel over that stretch of water. In fact as often as we tell our younger children they cannot get the idea that 'Tassie' is part of Australia.
Our time here has been one of mixed blessings to be sure.
We have encounted family dynamics that have changed due to the fact that Stephen was away for such a long time.
We have had our older children grow from young children to young adults and all the transition changes that go along with that.
We also have seen them gain a lot of skills and abilities with having been involved in building our home.
We have had four little 'Tassie babes' born at the same hospital, which up until then had never happened before.
Each one of our other eight children were each born in a different hospital in different towns.
We have also been blessed with the ability to help our special needs children through the support and friendship of a special lady, nay more than that, to our children an aunt, to me a sister that has been of most significant importance to our family.
So we now need to look to the future.
To the dreams and aspirations we hold not only for our lives now, but for our lives in the future and the future of our children.
In this time of turmoil and change we need to keep our focus on where we believe we are being directed but also to the promise of  the hoped for goals being fulfilled.
We need to keep focused on the value of family as we go through the day to day struggles of leaving the cherished past, the home we have come to love and move on to whatever we can grasp in the future.
Change is not easy and even though it does bring a wealth of opportunities it is often hard to see past the day to day circumstances that are part of this change.

I know we will be blessed in this endeavor if we continue with faith and hope!

I pray that I can keep it together in the coming weeks (without my dear love to support me) as we secure a house to go to. As we pack up our home and all the memories it contains and then pack it  into boxes that represent our life and then deposit those memories in a new place, to hopefully grow and prosper and create as good and even better memories  to unite with our past ones.
In a bittersweet moment last week we took our children for one last outing to the seaside.
The seaside in Tasmania is cold in Winter and yet it has often been in these cooler months that we have taken our children for rock pool adventures.
Rarely have we actually been swimming in the ocean as the Summer here is brief and not very warm.

Stephen and I both grew up on the north coast with hot, humid summers and lots of beach and swimming time. Our older children do not fully remember a hot or humid Summer. They will have a very quick learnign curve ahead of them as Wagga gets extremely hot in the Summer.

However as we have not had hot Summers most of our children are not swimmers and so this is one of the most exciting aspects of the move for them.
However as we have not had hot Summers most of our children are not swimmers and so this is one of the most exciting aspects of the move for them.

In looking to rent a house we are also looking for one that has a swimming pool as taking a group of 10 children to the local pool is an ordeal I well remember, well of 8 at least.
The organisation for this is huge and thus it makes it less achievable than having the choice of swimming in your own back yard
And with the heat we will sooooo be needing it.
You all know I love the weather down here, that at heart I am truly a misplaced Northern Hemisphere girl.
Anyone who complains about the heat when we  move will be in BIG trouble, just so you  know those of you who are whining observing the coolness in weather temperature at the moment!
As usual the children enjoyed this activity of rock pooling, just walking looking for crabs and other sea life.
As it was very late in the day there was not much activity and the tide was on its way back in.

I was able to get some very beautiful photos of the beach at this time of day as well as my favourite photographic models too.
Going to the beach usually involves taking buckets to collect sea life as well as shells and rocks.
Stephen just loves collecting the coal he finds on the beach.

I just adore the beach in Winter, especially with a wild wind, while walking along. For me it is a freedom that I cherish. And for fair skinned mama's who burn very easily it is so refreshing not to worry about the bright, burny sun!
Alas these days will end soon!
So there you have 'The Times they are a-Changin'

Our lives move forward and we pray for the patience  to see this through, but also for the blessings to be with us as we go forth to the new and exciting opportunity that has been granted us.

May I ask your prayers for us  on this our new journey:
that we find a house to rent that is just right for our family at a price we can afford,
that we are able to sell our house so we can move forward to our dream of small farm production,
that in this time of stress and excitement we can all remain patient and loving with each other,
that we remain thankful for the provision given to us by Our Lord
and that through all the trials and changes before us I can still create the loving home environment that I believe is so essential to our family's well-being.

Thank you!!
And now for your viewing pleasure please continue to see the beautiful pictures of our special day at the beach.............































Blessings to you and your homes,