The Walls Go Up!!

After lunch the long awaited moment arrived:)
It was time for the wall construction to begin.





Whilst not quite as easy as lego, pre-made frames certainly made it faster.





Great team effort, thank you boys you have made the job so much easier{{}}





I'm so excited with it all I have a perpetual grin on my face.





I'm trying to restrain myself from leaping too far ahead and planing just how I will lay out our belongings.





I just love looking out the window watching it all go up as I'm in the kitchen baking afternoon tea.





Just in case your interested they had scones, jam and cream for afternoon tea.
They have been eating very well;)




We completed half the house by the end of day break:)

Can you see me grinning?:):)

The Flooring is Finished:)

Today the weather prediction was lots of rain. It rained heavily through the night, but as breakfast came and went and no rain appeared it began to look like we could work after all.




The last row along the back of the house had to be laid.






The final piece is placed!

What a relief. With all the rain the job had become rather drawn out.






The next task was to saw off the joist ends.






'I can go a little faster boys.'







'But if we work as a team we just might keep up.'






"I will teach you how it's done son."
(Thank goodness this 'Papa Bear' really knows what he is doing.)




Completed in time for lunch.

I think it's going to be big enough;)

Rain, Rain Go Away

We continued today laying the flooring sheets.
The rain is definitely hindering progress.




Once again we worked in between the deluges, covering the floor with tarps as the clouds hovered above.




The weather was far more co-operative though than yesterday and we had bigger stretches of time.





By 8pm the strip along the back of the house was all we had left to complete.





Sharing a photo of one of our very cute workers;)

The Boys Have Arrived!

The boys have arrived and we have started laying the flooring.





Continual rain though is drastically slowing progress.






In between the rains we glued and nailed the sheeting down.







Progress is slow though as we have to keep covering the beams and sheets with tarps.





Unfortunately rain is predicated for a large part of the week.





By the end of day we were nearly half way.

Bearers and Joists

Last weekend we began bolting down the bearers.







Working all weekend






we managed to complete the task.






During the week we began laying the joists in the late afternoon hours after PC got home from work.






With great team effort




a little help from our friend Ug







lots of help from our big ones









attention to accuracy






and perseverance







we completed laying all the joists yesterday.

Christmas Eve

What a busy, preparation filled, expectant day.
Baking to be done, house to be tidied, presents to finish wrapping, still more presents to be completed. Keeping a reasonable sense of calm, although when PC came home and confessed that he spent just a little more, I was so grateful, it meant one less present to sew.

I even managed to snap a few photos of the children before we headed off to 'Midnight Mass.' Midnight Mass in our parish is at 8pm and as the girls sang in the choir this year we headed in a little early.

Christmas Mass is such a peaceful, joy filled time with Our Lord.

Afterwards we took a quick spin about town to look at Christmas lights, arriving home at 10pm we hustled children off to bed. PC and I still had elf duties and continued hammering and gluing till just before Midnight.

Planning - 4th Week of Advent

Fourth Sunday of Advent

This is a quiet week of reflection and hope! We will take time each night to watch a little clip from the “Jesus of Nazareth” DVD(first part) in preparation for the birth of Jesus. The children will work on making a shoebox nativity set.
We continue reading our lovely collection of books, and praying the O Antiphons.
Excitement is building.
Plan and shop for Christmas Meals.


Wednesday, Dec. 23rd: Put up the Christmas ornaments! Yippee! (Last year was the first year that we waited so long to decorate the tree.)

Thursday, Christmas Eve. 24th: Attend Christmas Vigil.  Have Christmas dinner with relatives.
While the kids are sleeping, switch out the purples and pinks for white and gold. Be sure to remember to place the Babe in the Manger.

Christmas Day:


Celebrate!!!

Treasured Moments (13)

Do you find yourself falling into a pattern of daily grind, skipping the 'fun' activities because you don't have time or lack energy?

Do creative arts, nature walks, drama, read alouds or spontaneous acts seem only a distant dream in your life?

Yet these Treasured Moments shared with loved ones uplift us, nurture our soul, remind us of the beauty and joy in our lives.

We want Treasured Moments for ourselves, for our children, for our families but how can we make it happen?

... Commitment ... Encouragement ... Support ... Ideas ... Plans.

I invite you to join us every Saturday and share your plans and ideas, your targets and goals and your stories ... your 'Treasured Moments'. In this way we may inspire one another, encourage ourselves and start achieving our dreams.

My apologies for such a long absence, extensions have been consuming much of our lives. Trying to make an effort to bring some balance back.

1
Sharing present details with various children, being entrusted with their plans for their siblings.

2
Watching Ice Age 3 with the family.
I'm not really a DVD watcher as at least 20% of dialogue I miss and I'm annoying if I ask too often "What did they say?" But as I watched it twice I picked up some of what I missed the second time around.

3
Cooking with some of the children. We even trialed Rocky Road.

4
Went shopping with Koala for her sisters' present.

To join in you are welcome to add your post here using the Mr. Linky form (please link to the individual post) and include a link back here. If you haven't a blog we would still love to hear your voice, just leave your stories in the comments.

Progress Made During the Week

Progress made during the week included, PC putting the antcaps on the piers. For my overseas readers as I'm suspecting this is an Australian phenomenon, The first step in protecting a house is to prevent termites from gaining access. This is achieved by placing a barrier under or around the house.




Thursday the iron and guttering was delivered.






Simply another pile on the lawn, awaiting.






The logging truck laboured up the hill on Friday bringing the tally to 13 loads of spotted gum. This was the last load.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol 32)

1
I know it has been ages since I have participated in 7 Quick Takes. Life is just so busy at present but in an effort to let you know my brain does contain thoughts other than building, it's time to jump back in.
As I've shared before, my Prince Charming likes my 7 Quick Takes; I suspect its a quicker way for him to know just what random thoughts are drifting through my brain than having to listen to me waffle on.

2
Advent update - after all my plans, I'm sad to report nothing much is happening:( but I'm trying to be gracefully okay with that, there are seasons to everything. The good news is, I finally dragged my husband to the shops last night and finished dragging my children this morning, so no more shopping! This is one Christmas I am determined to have completed wrapping before Christmas Eve.



3
We found these frames at an op shop for $2!!
We're planning on giving them to the children at Christmas. With some play cloths they are easily transformed into 'cubby walls' or puppet theaters. Alternatively they could house the dress ups.


4
Our minds are thinking play kitchens:) these options are very affordable and easy to make. So cute!
We were all prepared to make them when I found these pictures and I just had to have one:)
A morning of garage saleing netted us with this and now I have some modifications to make (for Christmas, yikes.) I've spent time this week visiting plumbing shops and the local dump in the quest for parts. As the entertainment unit is in excellent condition we will be having a timber play kitchen.

5
I'm really happy with our present selection this year. We have scaled way back and the children are receiving one present each, and we've actually kept to our budget! Lots of thought has gone into each present and I'm pretty confident all will be winners.
Elizabeth says it better than I. I was heartened to find someone else who had arrived at the same conclusion.

6
Although... I'm wondering if I have time to make some presents.
I have a lovely list of ideas;
Aprons
Tool belts
Audiobooks
Playdough
Crayons
Story Books (Individualized featuring each child)
Voucher Books
Nightgowns
Water Totes
Cookie Mixes
Crafty Organisers
Playing Card Pockets
Pocket Hangers (for end of bed)
Ipod Cover or felt cover
Peanut Brittle
Chocolate Drink Mix

7
Last day of the school year today. If the children went to school Koala would have just sat for her School Certificate. Einstein would have graduated from year six completing his primary education. (highschool starts in year 7 in NSW, Australia)
Princess would have completed Infants (prior to primary) and Jelly Bean would be finished Preschool and off to Kindergarten next year.
Carpenter would have finished year 8 and Michelangelo year 4. Just thinking.

Bonus
Judy honoured me with an interview and patiently waited, it's now published. Tough assignment.

Visit Conversion Diary for more 7 Quick Takes Friday.

I'm 100% Roman Catholic!

HT: To KAlexa at Life in the Little Nest; I thought it would be fun to see what my
Theological Worldview was. [I did kind of know already;)]

If you think you might give it a try I can guarantee it has some rather tough questions. I had to really think and I had to google for more information on some questions to know just where I stood. [Now I have to google to understand what Neo Orthodox etc are]


You Scored as Roman Catholic

You are Roman Catholic. Church tradition and ecclesiastical authority are hugely important, and the most important part of worship for you is Mass. As the Mother of God, Mary is important in your theology, and as the communion of saints includes the living and the dead, you can also ask the saints to intercede for you.

Roman Catholic 100%

Neo orthodox 82%

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 71%

Fundamentalist 64%

Emergent/Postmodern 50%

Modern Liberal 43%

Classical Liberal 43%

Charismatic/Pentecostal 39%

Reformed Evangelical 14%

Boys -It's Arrived and Waiting:)

Monday last week we received a call, our 'house' was ready!





The flooring was on the first load.






As well as the bearers and joists.







We covered the flooring sheets in case of rain.







On Tuesday the second load arrived; the wall frames.







It will all go together like a giant jigsaw puzzle.







Our yard is covered in timber frames







waiting for my brothers to come and put it all together.






On Friday the trusses arrived.





It's going to be fun boys, even better than when you were small and played lego. We can't wait till you get here:)