Life round ours...

Around this time of year, memories of Heidi’s illness often flood back. She’s begun to ask questions now. Her little five-year-old brain trying to fathom the depths of what happened to her, and our attempts to explain to her in a way that is appropriate for now. I often find  myself trawling through the old posts on my blog when she asks questions... it’s some kind of therapy I suppose, and I’m so thankful to have that living record for her when she’s ready. Much of it is still too raw and real for her now, but in time, it will be precious to be able to show her all the struggles and questions, heartaches and hopes that we had. And just how faithful the Lord was to us.



But reading through those posts also gives me a little nudge - I’m so thankful for this online space, and I miss it. I miss recording the silly little details, the mundane moments of our everyday, the scarecrow building, the laughs around the dinner table, the funny things the children say... Life does look somewhat different now - four children is somewhat more time consuming than two, school eats chunks out of our day, and we are just in the throws of busy family life.

But the ache to write, to record, to savour and store it all up remains.

So I’m not making any wild promises to be more present here... I’ve done that enough times and, well, life happened... but I will take the moments I can to share the details!

My girls are growing up - six and five and full of fun and energy. They remain the very best of friends, and chalk and cheese... one forever with her nose stuck in a book, one who belts out ‘The Greatest Showman’ soundtrack in the garden at the top of her lungs! One who loves school and can’t get enough of it, and one who would much rather stay home with Mama and ‘do homeschool’. Yet they are like magnets and create the most amazing little imaginative worlds and I love watching them parading round the garden in role, with a little brother tagging along!

The boys are coming into their own, wicked senses of humour, forever collapsed in giggles and the biggest fans of bundling. They find each other absolutely hilarious and I’m loving watching this brotherly bond develop. There are of course a web of relationships between them all, but I’ll save that post for another day.

Mealtimes are chaotic, some children who devour everything in minutes, others who take constant encouragement, and are forever attempting to escape the table. Honestly! The number of times I’ll tell someone to sit up, or sit back down, or turn around... and I can’t remember the last time I actually sat through a whole meal without needing to get up for something. But I know it’ll happen one day, and when it does I’ll be reminiscing about these days and wishing them back!

Bedtime is a well oiled machine - I feed Elias while Dave gets Jonas to bed, then he’ll do a bible story and pray with the girls by which point I go through and we read. We’ve devoured almost the whole Little Women series this year and Astrid Lindgren’s Lotta series too (if you haven’t read them they are FABULOUS!) and we’re gearing up for something new! Recommendations in the comments!

And then we have our evenings... people often comment on our sanity at having four children under6 6 but guys, I tell you... it’s been the biggest blessing! Our daytimes are chaos and fun and full of energy  and laughter (and a fair bit of siblings bickering, and tears and tantrums and hair-pulling moments - but let’s not mention those! 😉) but by 8pm the kiddos are all in bed and peace ensues. It’s the little bit of headspace and touch-in time together that we need.

I’ve been trying to get to bed earlier too... I’m not going to claim it’s been overly successful, but attempting it means I’ve shaved the time back a bit... baby steps, right?! I feel SO much better for it. My body was starting to tell  me it had had enough of all the late nights and overwork and it’s amazing what sleep, water, whole food and a natural approach can do for your zest for life!

In one week we head back to Norway, we are itching to go, the children counting down the days.

Now a little voice calls me from downstairs, the school run nears and we have a jam packed day ahead.

I hope your Friday is a good one!

Xxx