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

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!

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...

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.

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! 

On Boredom and Creativity // Thoughts for a Monday Morning

"Boredom is often the precursor to creativity... instead of always being scheduled or entertained, children get creative. They begin building a world of their own making."

- Kim John Payne - 

Hunkering Down and Hibernating

I always love the new year, because I absolutely love the idea of a fresh start; a new journal, a blank page, a new phase. There's something in me that loves nothing more than setting new goals and coming up with creative approaches... but I read something the other day which challenged the idea of New Year Resolutions, and it resonated with me.

Is January really the time for that?

Growing Up // Filling in the Blanks on Two Years!

It's been a couple of years since I've blogged regularly, and honestly? I've really missed it... missed the record it gives me of our day to day family life, missed the opportunity for processing my thoughts, missed the community. It's been necessary through the rollercoaster of four small children at home, homeschooling, launching a business and a worldwide pandemic, but I've long known that I wasn't done. Ten years of blogging makes it pretty hard to leave altogether.

And so I'm back!

A Busy Little Summer Season...

I ummed and aahed about what to title this post... I feel like every post has the same message at the moment - life's busy! But truly it is... the end of term bring's a whole new flurry of activity - class swaps, sports days, nursery graduations and end of year parties... it does at times feel a little like we're living in a whirlwind and there isn't an exit!

Little Loves in April

Wow! April was a jam-packed month! We spent a week away in Wales with our church family, enjoyed the sunshiney Easter weekend, celebrated Elias' 2nd birthday and spent many happy hours in the garden. It was so full that its taken me until May 3rd to get this blog post written! It has been full, but so much fun! And we're heading into a new month with lot's of happy memories from the last!!

So here's what we've been up to!

My little Narnians!

Since the new year we have been immersed - hook, line and sinker - in The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis. I read the infamous "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" as a child, but the others have been uncharted territory for me and it has genuinely been an absolute feast!

Waving Goodbye to Winter: Our Little Loves

Oh my... it has literally been SOOOOOO long since I've done one of these, but I have missed recording the silly little details of our weeks... the little ordinary bits and bobs that together make each week have its own unique feel and memories. There is the day to day routine... the hooks we hang our week on, but really the vibrancy of life is made of the details surrounding those repeated responsibilities... the little spots of sunshine.

So here's what we got up to over the past four months...

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.

For a Lifetime // Thoughts for a Monday Morning

"When children are curious, they learn. Like eager birds, they track, hunt and pursue knowledge as if it's going out of fashion. They learn autonomously without fear of failure and whatever they discover is etched in their memories for a lifetime." - Amelia Dashwood -

Don't you think we could learn from them??

Keep Going // Thoughts for a Monday Morning

"Taking on the career of being a mother and wife is a fabulously rare lifework in the twentieth century, and a very challenging job. A wasted effort? A thankless job? An undignified slave? No, a most exciting possibility of turning the tide, of saving the species, of affecting history, of doing something that will be felt and heard in ever-widening widening circles."

Edith Schaeffer

For those Mama's at home who feel its endless, thankless, monotonous, intense, unrecognised, overwhelming, undignified, looked-down-upon, exhausting.

This is for you.

Keep going sister... it will be worth it.

Too Much // Thoughts for a Monday Morning

"We are building out daily lives, and our families, on the four pillars of too much: too much stuff, too many choices, too much information, and too much speed"

If I could go back to my first pregnancy, there is a tonne of advice I would give myself. Not that I am the wisdom on parenting now, but just that I suppose a little down the line, there are some lessons I've learnt that probably would have been helpful right back at the beginning... don't go too hard on yourself; survival is enough sometimes, don't try and compete, just be content in who you are and the gifts that God has given you. 

Little Loves in the Spring

It has been SOOOO long since I've written one of these posts, and I've missed it! These are the kind of posts that are fun to look back on - the day to day details, the little memories and interests and ordinary things that so easily get forgotten. And so I thought it was about time I jumped on the linky bandwagon once again and joined the fun!

So here's what we've been loving this Springtime!

The Secret // Thoughts for a Monday morning

"Now I see the secret of the making of the best persons. It is to grow in the open air, and to eat and sleep with the earth"

- Walt Whitman -