Home's

What makes it a great day for me?
I really have simple goals and ambitions for my day. The things that make it special are things that are given freely or can be done quite simply.
I am treasuring these things as we grow into a new routine, well trying to in our new home.
A house still that we are cultivating into a home.
A home filled with~
Talks with my honey,
Cuddles, cuddles and kisses from my little ones, I can't get by without these and they come along a lot.
Loving and learning with the children
Hugs from my big ones and many interesting conversations,
Sloppy kisses and giant hugs from our baby, what a blessing he is
Giving thanks for God's love and Grace in our lives,
Prayer time,
reading time- both learning for me and recreational reading. Reading aloud to the little ones and family read alouds,
Crafting- I really can't forget this as it really gives me a sense of 'home' to my day
Routines and order- these center my day, not so much a schedule but an order that everyone knows and expects.

What brings a smile to your day

And just a reminder now I am back no line, finally (long story), my first giveaway ends tomorrow so please be sure to enter in for this great set of books.

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

"Come and watch me work, mummy" I was told one evening as we were tidying up the house.

Out I go to see our little Arwen in head safety gear with her brothers toy chainsaw 'cutting' down the weeping cherry tree that is her Daddy's pride and joy.
"Wait Mummy while I get more tools" she says as I watch her. Off she goes to the garage and comes back with more of her Daddy's tools.
"Ah sweetheart I am not sure your Daddy will think that is a great idea." says I.
"Oh Mummy, watch how I work, just like Daddy"
"Yes Honey, that's lovely, now quickly pack up and come inside before Daddy gets home.

And we did......just in time too!!

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

It was one of those days!
A day when I was busy and things did not seem to be going right.
A day when I was not focused on our children even though I was right there with them. I was caught up in the 'to do ' things.

And then I simply thought we needed to go outside and play and walk together.

So simple! So easy! So wonderful!
Already I was refreshed and and looking for fun with our children.

It was a windy day and Myffwyn brought out a piece of wool on a stick and was running with it, enjoying the wind, savoring the joy to be held  and I was inspired to be part of it and asked if they wanted me to make Wind Ribbons for them all.
I just hoped I had some crepe paper to do this as I planned......
but alas I did not.

However we had some left over ribbon bunting from St Patrick's day years ago and so I used that and some sticky tape.
So I cut the ribbon to the length I wanted , sticky taped the top to hold it.
Then I placed sticky tape at a point further down to create a handle so to speak and then simply tore up the ribbon in long strips to create the 'swirly' parts. I guess the bunting  it is like that ribbon you wrap presents in that you curl up with scissors, I really don't know what it is actually called. I bought it at our local 'cheap store.'
Wind Ribbon all ready to play with, in less than two minutes.
See how it curls at the bottom.
And really we had a lot of fun for little cost and very little effort.
But, boy oh boy, was I thankful that I took this time to be with our little ones and share in the joy that they had together, outside in the wild and windy weather.

By the way, if you are interested, we all came back in much happier and hopeful souls!!

Blessings to you and your homes
,

Some time ago I read an article about the distraction that little children are at Mass to others if they make a noise or cause others to lose concentration and therefore should be taken to the 'cry room' or that even parents should attend two different Mass' so as not to have children interfere with the reverence and quiet of others reflections during Holy Mass......
As this line of thinking is abhorrent me I felt I needed to respond to it.
Below is what I wrote with some more additions as I have had more time to think about this issue.

As a mother of 12 children from young adult to under 1 I find the whole debate about children at Mass irritating.
Children belong with parents and parents belong at Mass together, not separately but as a family. I have on only a handful of occasions taken one of our children out during Mass.
I refuse to take them out if our babies babble, or chat or smile at the granny behind us.
 If the baby starts to cry I will breast feed that baby for comfort.
If the baby still won't settle I pass the child to my husband or to an older sibling. If the baby still does not settle I will walk to the side of the church, this is usually enough of a distraction and then I go back to our pew.

I rarely go outside and we have never attended a Church that had a cry room. If we had I would be a contentious objector ,because I believe we are at Mass, all of us together.
Just for your information I also object to children's liturgy as well for the same reason.
The family attends Mass together. It is important and as such receives due reverence.
We have always attended Mass in our Church clothes too. These are special and dressy and once again shows this is not an everyday event, this is special . We always sit in the front pew (or two) so the children can see what is happening. I believe this gives them a focus.

As for the controversial view of taking snacks and drinks,we never take food or drink as it is a distraction to everyone, children and parents alike. I also maintain that Mass is only 1 hour long, I don't think little ones will starve during this time, so it is purely a distraction tactic which I don't think is a long term good idea.
Having said that we do allow a special teddy if the child is attached or a small hand held 'friend' or a car for our boys. Sometimes we have allowed the little St Joseph books, but only one as this can lead to simply flicking from one book to another and thus can lead to unwanted 'wiggling'

Our middle boys are altar boys and we have had many comments on how their reverence helps the person concerned stay focused.
You may wonder where did this come from- them understanding that Mass is special, was it from being inside the church at Mass or from being able to go outside (or cry room) as soon as they made a noise. Children are very smart they will work that out pretty soon that if they make a noise  and noise is not appreciated that  you get to leave and go somewhere more fun.

Our children are I think pretty good at church, our younger ones are mostly too, and yes we have a few 'special needs' children, which makes it a challenge.
What is our protocol for dealing with ' the wiggles?'  Our focus has been to cuddle and separate any child or children who need a little extra care during Mass. Or I might point out what the priest is doing or point to the  statues or Mary and Jesus, something to bring their little minds  back to the reason we are here.

Finally, I believe because we had decided that we would have our children with us during church that we refused to let any of those stares or comments stop us from keeping our children with us during this most important time.

Of course  our children have learnt appropriate behaviour as they went along. We get frequent comments on our children's behaviour BUT that has taken work and has not been achieved over night.
In fact I am sure our younger ones emulate the older children's behaviour, who were the ones we actually had to train. This does not mean they are ALWAYS perfect. They do have off days as do we and so then we just go back to the basics that we have held on to all these years.

One thing we have never done is to let the children run around the church. They stay within the pew.
I remember a few parishes where we were given advice as younger parents about 'letting our children run around the church so they feel comfortable here'.
For us it never seemed the right choice, we are not at at playground, we are not at a social event this is church and it requires a different set of rules and standards.
Higher standards than we would for everyday events for this is not an everyday event ( well it can be but you know what I mean) it is special and we are honoured to be able to participate and should be thankful for the opportunity and act appropriately.

So apart from the special cuddle toy we don't allow them play things, colouring books etc, either - this is not entertainment this is Mass. Of course we have had slightly older children get to the stage that says 'this is boring' and we tell them 'this is special and you are not here to be entertained.'
Do they get it? Well I think so, they certainly 'get' the fact that this is our standard and we are not negotiating.
I once knew a family that allowed their daughter to take her knitting to church because she was bored!
What does this tell the child? That it isn't important and you can just be here without 'being here at all.'
Not really what I think attending mass is all about.
For heavens sake it is such a small amount of time really.
Do remember though that little children don't always have a clear idea of time and so can't work out how much longer mass will take, our 6 year old still asks how many more songs before we finish. This gives him a focus and something to work too, but he knows the routine and respects it too.

I also compare this time and the expectations to what you would expect your child to do at school. Would you allow your child to run around and eat and drink while a teacher was trying to teach them?
No you would expect them to pay attention for that amount of time!
'So why not expect the same amount of attention for the most important part of our child's education - their faith.

So I would just say to any new parents DO NOT be intimidated by those who would ask you to leave. Stand up for you and your child's rights. Attend as a FAMILY. None of this going to separate Mass' to keep the little ones under control, so others don't get distracted.
Be gentle but firm in your response to children and babies behaviour but remember they are children and not perfect, oops neither are we.
However, give your children the gift of Mass as a special event in their lives that we attend as a family because God gave us families to learn and grow in and that is our responsibility as Godly parents.

As an aside- from personal experience I would like to say that I am more distracted by those teens and adults (who actually come) who are dressed immodestly and those who show little respect in the way they take Communion.
Not to mention all the people who chat before and after mass.
We have also been very distracted after confession as we are praying, that people show so little respect for those preparing for Mass and chat so liberally and loudly.
Should not this be a bigger distraction than children who are still learning the importance and specialness of attending Mass, with their parents as guides and role models.

Patience, humbleness and gentleness is what is needed for our children as they come to know and love the beauty of this Sacrament.

And for all those who pass judgement on families with young children at Mass I would like to ask them 'where are their own children and grandchildren?'
Because they are not at Mass either. Perhaps they thought they would be better off not coming because they never understood the significance of Mass and felt as if they were a burden or not worthy of teaching the significance of  proper behaviour and so just shunted off to the cry-room or outside where they would not bother those more holy then they.

Please welcome the little children as Jesus would. Help them and train them with love, respect, patience  and gentleness so they too can know the wonder of Holy Mass.


Blessings to you and your homes,
  

A MOTHER'S PRAYERLord, for my children I would pray
That they may seek Thee every day
Through life, with all its storms and stress
Its sorrows, grief and bitterness.
In disappointments fly to Thee
For comfort, strength and sympathy.
And never find a truer friend,
But love and serve Thee to the end.
That they may take Thee as their Guide,
To lead them all the way beside;
Their Counsellor when troubled o'er
The many problems at youth's door.
If overwhelmed by dark despair,
Oh teach them how through faith and prayer
To crush this subtle devil's snare
And rest within Thy loving care.
For them no dizzy heights of fame
I crave, nor great and worldly gain,
In humble service let them aim
To spread the honor of Thy name.
That in this dark world may they shine
Their lives reflect Love Divine
Their object now their pleasure then,
Obedience to Thy will. Amen.
Author Unknown
Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Dear big brothers Kynan and Braedon,
As you are unable to be here on a daily basis I thought you would like to see how grown up I am getting.
I thought you would enjoy seeing how I am learning to crawl now.
I hope you enjoy and I can't wait to see you both again soon.
By the way underneath Autumn's bed there is so much mess, I was quite distressed and just had to blow raspberries at her!
The big girls thought it amusing to get me to crawl by keep on moving the chalk in front of me. I don't know why they do this? I mean surely I am smart enough to crawl by myself!

The other day while Mummy was hanging out washing she put me on the grass beside her and let me go all over. The only problem with being outside is my clothes get really dirty.
Oh yeah, how do the non matching socks grab you.


Well that is all for now
Miss you heaps, as does everyone else
Love Trahaearn  ♥

We have a family game that has been around for so very long, in fact 10 years at least.
"Hide the Thumble" is what our children have called the game, Hide the Thimble. The name is from one of our younger children, if fact Moran when she was a little girl and couldn't say thimble yet.

The reason we started playing this was it was a very easy game I found in an old online book, when I checked the printed out pages I see I printed. I was not sure I would be able to find it again BUT here is the online link for this FREE book. If like me you love old on line free books here is the link to the other pages.

We have played this for hours at at time and the younger children never get tired of it and as an adult I can be the hider and still be involved as I feed the baby or do some crafts in the same area. It is one of the games that is requested time and again, I also suggest it if we have children who just seem to be out of sorts too.
HIDE THE THIMBLE. All the players but one, leave the room. This one hides a thimble in a place not too conspicuous, but yet in plain sight. Then the others come in, and hunt for the thimble; the first one seeing it, sits down and remains perfectly quiet until all the others have found it. The first one who saw it, takes his turn to hide it.

It has been lovely to see each of the children develop skill in finding the 'thumbl'e and now our little Arwen is one of the first to find it each time. She takes such delight in it though that she forgets to leave the 'thumble' where she sees it and often picks it up with a beautiful excited laugh.

I really do recommend this little game and suggest you look through the book for some of our other favourites....like "Look out for the Bear" too

 Blessings to you and your homes
 

 There is something irresistibly sweet about a little waddling baby bottom.  But then there is just something so irresistible about babies - full stop. All that beautiful trusting innocence looking into your eyes as he gives you an adoring smile that begs for a return favour, that is so easily granted.
We are entering a new phase with our little dumpling, who by the way is a VERY big dumpling. He is getting up on one knee and rocking back and forth as he reaches forward to get what he has seen out in front of him.
Trahaearn is a delightful little guy and he seems to be growing so very, very quickly. He spends a fair amount of time reaching from a sitting position and plopping down onto his tummy and then reaching for what he wants.
 See what our little sweety can do! His next stage is to get that little right leg around  so he can start to move forward.
Hmmn, looks like we will be entering the pick up all the little things of the floor again.

BTW does anyway else agree with me about those cute baby buns?

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Greeting everyone and welcome to a guest post from Saxon on our Saint Nicholas play.

We (Me, Eden,Vellvin, Rogan, and Moran) being the awesome people we are didn't start planing the play till noon ON the day. So we had a mere six hours to cast, design the set, actually get a curtain up, rehearse and have costumes ready.

Its amazing how much spare energy you find you have when you need it.
I was unofficially the Director and all of us were the actors.
We all decided Rogan was an awesome Saint Nick and Vellvin was dying to play Constantine,  Rogan and Vellvin were cast as Saint Nicholas and Constantine respectively.
Mum was the narrator and was given the title only minutes before the main event.
Preparing the stage was a mammoth task with erection of this stage curtain. This was a feat of some note and engineering as Dad has a strict policy of not putting holes in the wall for 'extras'
Whilst overseeing the set design and costumes I managed to write the start of the narrative that was to take place between scenes, and I finished the rest 15 minutes before the curtain was pulled back. Quickly I found an awesome narrator, tossed the papers in her arms and continued with the final preparations. 


And now on with the play~~~


Many years ago, in a land far away in a country which is now know as Turkey.

A quickly constructed chimney, a young Nicholas with gold and the show was on!

Upon hearing the boys name is Nicholas the father is delighted!

He shoves  the mitre on Nicholas's head, ties a red robe around his neck and thrusts a staff in his arms, and proclaims him Bishop. Nicholas's friend Peter is happy for him and willingly congratulates him

Nicholas, now sporting large beard, lays on his death bed with Peter near him.

Nicholas passes away....

And Peter vows to continue the tradition of giving at Christmas.

A somewhat fuzzy cast photo.

THE END

Thank you for your company!

PS. from Mum. I usually take the photos for these little plays and make slide (which seems to be shutting down, so I need new format to continue this- any suggestions?) shows but for what ever reason the camera was not taking clear pictures. Also the director was not used to directing against a wall in the background and forgot to allow for the 'audience point of view.
However I am thrilled with their work and the creativity they put into this play and look forward  to the now monthly plays they have promised us.

Blessings to you and your homes,