World Book Day - small but sweet!

Year by year, our World Book Day posse has been shrinking! As another little lady joined the crew this year, it was bittersweet. Last year, our biggest girl bowed out, and this year Heidi joined her... next year Jonas will be off at Secondary and his School don't dress up... so it'll just be the little two! I'm savouring all the years of dress ups I can... and at least have the prospect of Annika dressing up for a good few ahead!

But for now I'll relish in my youngest three still enjoying getting into role!

Dear Annika - you're one!

Dear little Annika,

It is SUCH a gift to be writing this birthday letter. I thought my baby days were long behind me... but the Lord knew our (not so little!) family wasn't complete without you. What a wonderful journey this has been. From the moment we found out you were on your way, we have cherished every moment. You are truly loved... I'm not sure there's ever been such a doted on baby. Your big siblings are all besotted and would do anything for you. You reward them well - with funny faces, giddy giggles and beaming toothy grins. It is a joy to have you as part of our family, and it is a privilege to find myself taking this Mama ride for the fifth time round.

Dear Elias - you're 7!

Dear Li-Li,

Our super flexible, football-loving, Harry-Potter-mad bundle of fun. You are sweet natured, sensitive and kind bundled up in a flurry of activity and boyish mischief. You are the epitome of an oxymoron - gentle, yet wild - fun, yet serious - cuddly, yet active... you have ridiculous depths to your brain and often startle your Papa and I with the kind of questions you come out with.

You surprised us with an early arrival 7 years ago (6 weeks early - eek!) and you've been surprising us ever since!

Happy Easter // Me and Mine in March

What a lovely, jam-packed weekend, celebrating the life-changing news that Jesus is alive! SO many special moments which I want to record here properly as the week goes on, but in the meantime I just wanted to say HAPPY EASTER to you all, and to sign off on March before we welcome April!

Me and Mine in March - my lively, fun-loving, slightly crazy crew.

World Book Day // Better Late than Never!

A little late to the party, but didn't want to let our first World Book Day with Annika pass us by without documenting it - I also LOVED the kids costume choices this year! They chose well!

I was on the ball for a change! Usually our costumes are thrown together a bit last minute as all my creative attention has been on Heidi's parties, but this year we had her party a little earlier, and the kids came up with their ideas well in advance, so for once, I was actually on it!

Life round ours // A Weekend Documented

A few years ago, there was a blogging photo project that I took part in every month called the #homelifeproject - I've assumed its disappeared now, as much of the blogging world has evolved and changed and moved itself onto other platforms, but on Friday afternoon, as the children were going about their different after school activities, I remembered it and the joy of documenting the ordinary, very small, insignificant scenes that are actually the moments that make a life.

I miss that.

And so I decided to document again. Just this weekend, to pick up my camera a bit more and not ask for poses or highlights - but just document the every day ordinary...

FRIDAY

Heidi's Escape Room Party - The Circus Medrano Challenge!

Time is flying by at force at the moment, and its hard to believe that two weeks have already passed since Heidi's 11th birthday party! It was such a fun one though, and while I've been a bit lax sharing the birthday parties in recent years, I didn't want to miss this one!

Whatever the Weather // On Sleeping Scandi Style!

 

In Norway, with very little exception, babies sleep outside in nature. It's a beautiful tradition which has stood the test of time, and which I first adopted on our first trip to Norway as parents back in 2011, when Ava was just nine weeks old.  I was a new Mama... still in the overwhelmed stage but definitely out of the initial "shock to the system - life is changed forever" phase. I was eager to learn and very aware of my own cluelessness and was desperate to do a "good job". I read every book I could get my hands on, devoured motherhood blogs and podcasts and soaked in conversations with more seasoned mothers than myself.

So when I rocked up in Norway, and friends and family began encouraging me with all the benefits of outdoor napping, I bundled my 9 week old baby up, laid her in her pram, put the raincover over her and parked her outside the kitchen window in the drizzle!

One Week Ago // On Accidents and Thankfulness

It's only once in a while that you stop and realise that so much of life's direction depends upon a single moment - one decision, one miscalculation, one split-second can send you down a route you never expected. When Ava and I logged onto her parents evening last Tuesday, and David had still not returned, I simply assumed he was running late. It was only when the repeat calls started coming through from a number I did not recognise that I began to wonder...

"Claire, its me... I've been in an accident"

Annika + Beth // A story of names

It feels like such a responsibility, doesn't it? The choosing of a name... the responsibility of bestowing on your child something they will carry with them throughout their years. We have always wanted names heavy with meaning and purpose, beautiful and strong, names which work across the three languages that flow from our children's tongues. Scandinavian and Germanic influences, and yet names known and appreciated in the country of their birth.

Dear Heidi - you're 11!

Dear Heidi,

HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY! Hard to believe our two biggest girls are now well into double digits. How the years fly! It makes me more determined than ever to make the most of every minute. Having Annika now, and dressing her in some of your clothes, it feels like those days were yesterday - and yet a lifetime ago. Time is a funny thing.

One month of Annika!

One month of our Annika Beth!

Progress, progress, progress...

One day at a time... its been my motto for the last two and a half weeks as I have gradually gained strength. While I'm still far from back to normal (I'm still slow at moving, and my stomach muscles are still non-existent!) this week has felt like a bit of a milestone week in terms of progress. It can be frustrating, but I'm trying to notice the little moments of progress that show that I am, slowly, getting better...

Like that I finally  unpacked my hospital bag...

Me and Mine in January //. 2024

The final piece to our puzzle that we didn't know we needed, but now can't imagine life without.

So grateful to a good God who saw what we needed when we didn't!

Our family of seven (!!)

Tending to my Weapons // Thoughts for a Monday Morning

"Entering the day without a serious meeting with God, over his Word and in prayer, is like entering the battle without tending to your weapons. The human heart does not replenish itself with sleep. The body does, but not the heart... we replenish our hearts, not with sleep, but with the Word of God and with prayer"

- John Piper - 

Recovery // The Reality

It's been a rollercoaster 9 days - the wonderful highs of Annika - of falling in love with her baby smell, the little happy gulps when she's feeding, the newborn scrunch and the stare of those deep dark eyes taking everything in for the first time. Newborn days are always intense, but I can honestly say I'm enjoying every minute of her - I don't want to miss a moment.

Siblings in January // Together at last!

When the big children were small, and blogging was part of the tapestry of my everyday life, I took part in a couple of photo projects run by my blogging buddy Lucy (click on her name to find her on instagram - she's a gem and well worth a follow!) As our children have grown up, and social media has moved to more short form recording than blogging, the projects fizzled out, but something about them has stuck with me. There was something lovely about having a monthly family picture for the "Me and Mine" project, and a monthly picture of my crew for the "Siblings" project.

She's here // Welcoming our littlest love

One week and one day ago since we welcomed our precious little lady into the world. Annika Beth - the little one we never knew we needed, but who has felt so perfectly part of us since we found out with shock and surprise that we were expecting again. We did not mind at all whether this precious little one was a boy or girl - having two of each meant there was no secret pressure or hope... and yet somehow a little girl to round up our family has felt perfect... and she is utterly adored by all her siblings.

Nesting, nesting, nesting

I'm enjoying these final days of quiet before our lives get turned upside down again by a tiny person. It's been a while since I've been here - just under seven years, to be precise, and I'm enjoying the time to really lean into it. I have the advantage now of perspective and experience... and though both of those things tell me that doesn't make parenting any easier, or mean that this one will be a breeze (far from it - I've learnt all children are very different!)... it has meant I am determined to soak up every minute of these hazy days. With our eldest hurtling towards her teenage years this summer, I'm all too aware of the old adage - "the days are long but the years are short". 

And so the last few days have been spent sorting and organising, nesting and cleaning, journalling and praying. 

Renovation and Inspiration // A Cabin in a Van

 

On Friday last week we had the exciting adventure of visiting our good friend Bobby D in his van. At first glance, the van looks like any other white removal van... chunky, robust, big and not particularly special... but on entering, we stepped into what genuinely could have been a log cabin in the mountains!