Missing

I have never really been much of a beach person, but on our brief stint on the Gold Coast earlier this year, it became one of our favourite spots to visit.

Especially at sunset.

The soft light lingering in the sky before twilight turns to dusk and darkness settles in.  

 

 

Besides the people that I love back in the land of Oz, right now I am missing this beautiful place! 

Beautiful lengths!

There's a little boy in Jasmin's class at pre-school that has Leukemia (can you even imagine?). He's 4 years old. He's been away from pre-school this year because of chemotherapy treatments and has just recently returned. Today he wasn't at school and Jasmin worried that he wasn't there. "Isaiah wasn't at kindy today. Maybe he's sick again...".

Words like Leukemia and topics like cancer are really big concepts for little people. Before Isaiah returned to Kindy, Jasmin's class watched a puppet show organised by camp quality. It's peformed at schools where students are affected by cancer to help the other little people around them understand more. It talks about anti-bullying, cancer treatments and how these treatments affect the little ones on them.

This experience has opened up all kinds of conversations between Jasmin and I. One of those conversations was about people donating their hair to make wigs for people that loose their hair with cancer.

Fast forward a few weeks, and my 5 year old decided that she would cut her long long beautiful hair (that I adore) and donate it HERE in the hopes that it would go to a little girl that didn't have hair. She said she would give it to Isaiah, "But mum. A boy doesn't want a girls long hair wig"!

Despite the fact that Jasmin's understanding of what she has done is really quite limited, I am unbelievably proud of her! It's experiences like this that will help shape her character and who she is as she grows and I imagine that this will become more and more meaningful to her as she gets older and as she comes to understand, just what it means.

She walked in to that hair dresser and shyly told the lady she wanted to cut off her pony tail and send it to someone who didn't have hair. The hair dresser cried. I was teary too. Jasmin sat in the chair and beamed. 

 

She's still beaming about it!

Week-Ending

Saturday morning jobs! Oh how I love thee and those magical little lists that children {generally} love to tick off.

 

Why yes. It appears that Rylan did sleep in his school uniform Friday night???? Rest assured Grandma, he did shower on Saturday and put on clean clothes :)

 

One of the benefits of living on the Gold Coast!

Just 10 minutes from our home and because we're local, we score crazy tickets for $39 that allow unlimited entry to 3 different theme parks (until the end of June)!! That's cheaper than a single entry to any one of the parks! Go HERE if you're a local too and want to score a bargain that your kids will squeal over (it also helps them to do their Saturday morning jobs really quickly :)

My own Justice League crew!

Spending time with 'Beep Beep' Grandpa and enjoying ward hopping! 

And finally, watching an amazing sunset at the beach Sunday night to farewell the weekend.

We plan to go back as much as we can before we leave!

Sisters!

Sister love after a little concert of singing and dancing performed just for me.

 

 

How it thrills my heart!

Spirited

Out and about with my little free spirit.

After weeks and weeks of rain and more rain, the sunshine has finally emerged for more than 5 minutes and my girl who is a lover of all things outdoors has been set free! 

And her scooter riding is no longer limited to the length of our hallways.

Stopping to have a rest on a picnic table...

And then I wishfully think, ooohh good photo opportunity. 

"Lily put your face in your hand like this (I show her the cute little pose I want her to copy :) but this is her uninterested interpretation...

"Show me your happy face......"

"that's not your happy face"...I attempt to make her laugh but she just squishes her face harder :)

and with that I laugh (really. A posed photo. What was I thinking? :) and we play at the park!

 

 

I soak in a rare moment as my independent girl lets me hold her hand. Love!

Happy fleeting days!

BOOKS | three sisters

My bedside table book stash! I know it's a little bit ridiculous. But generally I read more than one book at a time.

My current reading list (from top to bottom):

1. Les Miserable Volume One. By Victor Hugo. Need I say more?

2. Pollyanna. By Eleanor H. Porter. My Childhood favourite.

3. What Your Child Needs from You. By Justin Coulson PhD. Short and succinct - a book that I   

    wanted to underline almost every line in. It's that good.

4. Heaven is Here. By Stephanie Nielson. An incredible story about finding hope and keeping faith 

    after tragedy!

5. Deliberate Motherhood. Published by The Power of Moms. It includes many of my favourite  

    bloggers and even a piece written by me :)

6. Half the Sky. HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD. By Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn. 

    Not a book for the faint hearted. But 'A call to arms against the most shocking and widespread  

    human-rights violation of our age'. It will break your heart and inspire you like nothing else as the  

    authors journey through Africa and Asia introducing its reader to 'amazing women who have 

    overcome unimaginable hurdles in order to change the world'. 

7.The Secret Keeper. By Kate Morton. Read it! Mysterious, historical and multi-generational. Not 

    unlike her other novels that I have read and loved!

8. 5 Spiritual Solutions. By Richard and Linda Eyre. My favourite parenting authors!

9. Think. By Lisa Bloom. A must for every woman. Really. If you haven't read this book, please do!

10. DETERMINATION - Helen Keller. By Ann Donegan Johnson. One of the amazing Value books 

     in a series of 30. We had them growing up and I'm hoping to get a set for my little ones soon! (In  

     the mean time, I just borrow my mums books, or my friend who happens to also have the set)!

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ABOUT three sisters.  We are 3 sisters who share a love of all things photography and documenting our families.  On the last day of each month we have started a blog circle, where we each post a photo with the same theme, then share our images! February's theme - Books!

Find Melissa and her beautiful photography blog HERE

and Fiona (of the amazing photography due Deep Grey) HERE

Classics

Late night reading with my oldest. 

Pollyanna. My childhood favourite!

I am determined to raise these babies of mine on the classics. Beautiful (sometimes quirky) books that have characters whose values and beliefs are outstanding! 

Our favourite part so far; When Pollyanna met 'The Man'. I of course accentuated how excited she was to talk to him, and how grumpy and rude he was in response. It had us both laughing out loud!

When we've finished the book, we'll borrow the 1960's movie from my mum and watch Hayley Mills in her glory.

One Fine Day

Today my littlest and I went on a walk just as the sun was about to set. 

It came at the end of a day with just the two of us at home and it was a healing day of sorts. No distractions. No-one else in need of attention. Just a two year old and her mum.

There were no tantrums, no time outs, no crying and no 'getting-into-things' disasters that needed to be fixed. It was a gentle reminder that all she really needs is my time. Time so she doesn't  need to do 'things' to get my attention, because she already has it.

When I suggested we take her baby and pram on our walk, she almost leapt into the air with joy.

A blissful 45 minutes accompanied by an enormous tree and a beautiful sunset that made us oooohhhh and aaaahhhh.