Simply Life

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T10:57:00.002+01:00

Wishing you a wonderful 2012, full of joy, peace, happiness and togetherness!

Love from the Merrilds xoxo

KCWC Day 1

2011-10-11T11:28:00.002+02:00

Yesterday was Day 1 of KCWC and I actually managed to get in an hour and a half of sewing, which was all I needed to get these pants sewn up for Isabel. Check out that impressed look! (she does NOT like posing!!) Well, gotta get up to the sewing machine! Ciao!

It's Been a While

2011-10-11T11:27:00.000+02:00

I just noticed that I need to change my header....

Kids Clothes Weekly Challenge

2011-10-11T11:24:00.003+02:00

This week is Kids Clothes Week Challenge. The idea is to devote an hour a day to getting some clothes sewn for your littlies. I am in! This is the first time I'm joining, but considering I have a few pairs of soft pants cut up for Alexander and Isabel, it's just the help I need to get them actually sewn and on my kids. Hooray!

Water Fun!

2011-09-02T18:01:00.002+02:00

An outing with our playgroup to the beach on Wednesday morning led to a series of water play when we got home! Alexander and Isabel LOVE washing their Schleich animals and simply can't get enough of it!

Alexander then had lots of fun painting "footprints" with water outside. Nothing like playing with water!

Learning to be Flexible

2011-08-31T20:16:00.007+02:00

This week I learnt an important lesson...to be flexible. Mondays are our main preschool/Montessori activity days as it's the only day that we're home all day, so we do the bulk of our activities then. On Monday, I was a bit behind in the whole preparation bit, so I put out the new activities while the children were watching the morning cartoons. Of course, that made them interested in doing the new activities :) Due to me being sick last week, I thought we could do a repetition of last week's letter (a) and Bible story (Creation). We had a great circle time and letter time with new, exciting "a" objects to look at, then a cutting and gluing "a apple tree" activity (from Confessions of a Homeschooler). All was going well, and Alexander concentrated for a long time on his cutting and gluing activity (Isabel lost interest pretty quickly and started drawing instead). When he had finished that, he was done. As in, for the day. I encouraged him to try and find an activity on the shelf (seeing as I had put out about 6 new ones!), and he picked up this math puzzle (found at Tiger, in case anyone in Denmark is interested!), which was really easy for him.He was quickly done with it and ready to stop. I tried to convince him to do some more activities, but he simply was.not.interested. At this point, I stopped being a reasonable adult and got irritated with him. After all, I had spent considerable time (errr, sort of) putting together these activities, and he stops after just one? How unthoughtful! And we hadn't even gotten around to our Bible story and activity! Then I threw out a really mean comment about maybe he wasn't old enough for preschool (biting words for a big 4 year old boy!) and walked into the lounge room. I sat down with my guitar and started playing the tune of the memory verse we were going to learn (anyone else see the irony?), and my sad faced boy hid behind the coffee table, his shoulders slumped in sadness. Finally I stopped being foolish long enough to notice, and we had a talk about how he felt and why, and I apologised for being so mean. And he sweetly forgave me, and gave me a hug (talk about a lesson in grace!). Now that our relationship was restored, I asked if he wanted to sing the song with me. To my surprise, he said yes. So we sang the song through a few times while Isabel drove her doll around in her little pram, and then I asked if he'd like to hear the Creation story again. He said yes (he was VERY impressed by God creating light...Christian asked later if what I did was just a little bit dangerous....umm, why yes it was, but it was very impressive. However, I don't suppose I should recommend lighting a candle when you're sitting under a blanket! Flashlight perhaps?). We read the story through and then I mentioned that I had made an activity to go with it. Was he perhaps interested in that? Why yes he was!
So we did the activity together. He needed some help remembering the order, but matched the days no problem on his own. After that, he suddenly wanted to do some activities! (Cards from Christian Preschool Printables)
I've seen this idea on several different blogs, including Counting Coconuts (love that blog!), so I thought we'd try it. Alexander really enjoyed this, and it was great to see him concentrating so long and using those fine motor skills! It was actually quite tricky for him, and he nearly gave up at one point, but there's nothing better than having your own cheer squad!

(Isabel, clapping for her hero, Alexander! "Yay Alexander!")

By now, he was unstoppable. He was onto patterning work (again from Confessions of a Homeschooler), which was way too easy...
...then onto tonging stones, which he really enjoyed.
He had a great time matching colour "tablets" (I made these out of felt. Do they have to be wooden? I'm not so sure...), and we talked about the names (he still mixes black and white, and calls grey "brown"). He was having a super time by now!
Finally, as he started to show less interest in the shelves, I introduced him to the sand tray! I knew this would be a hit, as this boy has been "writing" on everything (including the condensation on the side of the water bottle at dinner time and in the ketchup on his plate!). I was right...he loved it! Isabel sat patiently (uncharacteristic for her!) waiting for her turn, and then had a blast "writing" just like her big brother.

Alexander learnt a lot that morning, but honestly I think I learnt even more. About being flexible, being patient, and not trying to reach a perfect ideal. About the power of forgiveness and a little "yay Alexander" from time to time. About how even my children can focus and concentrate for an hour and a half on different activities, and how much fun learning can be when it's a partnership instead of a dictatorship. Above all, I was reminded of just how precious this little boy is to me, and what a privilege it is to be his mum and to be a huge part of his learning journey. I'm very blessed indeed! The best part of it? Hearing him ask if we can do preschool again tomorrow!

Weekend Sewing

2011-08-28T21:52:00.004+02:00

This weekend I whipped up a pair of pants for Alexander. He is getting so tall and has either outgrown or outworn all of his pants. So, it's time to get started sewing an autumn wardrobe for him (and Isabel too). I made them out of a lovely soft velour from this pattern, which I have now used successfully a few times. Alexander's verdict? "Wow, they're so soft and hyggelig!(Hyggelig=nice) I want an orange pair too!"

It's not always easy finding time to sew when you've got three little ones running about and a home improvement project that (although almost complete) takes most of hubby's time, but I felt very blessed, sitting upstairs and listening to some lovely sounds...the sewing machine humming, Alexander making horse noises as he played with his animals, Isabel talking to herself, and the sound of the vacuum cleaner as Christian (bless him!) tidied up downstairs while Lucy was sleeping. Very blessed indeed!

Hope your weekend was just as wonderful as mine!

New Shoes

2011-08-28T19:19:00.003+02:00

Is there anything better than new shoes? Alexander is especially proud of his new sneakers, and says that now he is super cool and can run really, really fast.
Isabel also loves her new shoes. Both she and Alexander wore them right after we bought them, and she refused to take them off when we got home late that evening....she even wanted to wear them to bed! We love new shoes!

Control of Error

2011-08-24T20:49:00.005+02:00

Montessori materials have something called "control of error" built in to them, which makes it obvious to the child when they have made an error, rather than having to rely on an adult to tell them.Isabel took this activity from the shelf yesterday, which Alexander and Christian made her for her birthday. She took the coloured rings off, like she had been shown, and put them back on like this. She then looked at the blue rings for a moment, and said "no".
She then proceeded to take the blue rings off the yellow peg. She was about to put them on the blue peg, but noticed that there were yellow rings there. Once again, she said "no", and took the yellow rings off the blue peg and put the blue rings there instead.
She then tried putting a red ring on the yellow peg, but once again she looked at it and said "no", then took it off again.
Finally, she put all the yellow rings on the yellow peg, all the blue rings on the blue peg, and all the red rings on the red peg. When she was finished, she looked at it and said "yes!". She looked so proud of herself, then put it back on the shelf where it came from.

It was so fun to sit and watch her silently from the corner of the room, and to see her correct her work herself. These activities are just so great for Isabel, because she really likes to figure things out herself, without anyone interfering (unlike Alexander, who wants to be told what to do and if he got it right!). This way she can see right away if it's right or not. It's going to be fun finding activities for her!

Montessori Preschool Kick-Off!

2011-08-24T19:31:00.009+02:00

We have now kicked off a new year of preschool at home! We are using the Montessori method along with a Biblical based curriculum developed by YWAM, which I have previously used in Norway. There's some fine tuning to be done already, as we work out how to run it, what works with a preschooler, a toddler and an infant in the house, when is the best time to do our activities, and how it fits in with the rest of our weekly activities. It's certainly a work in progress, and quite overwhelming to think about what to do and how to do it, but I'm certain that it's all worth it! Here are a few pictures from our week so far, which has turned out differently than expected as I've been sick with a cold and haven't had much energy to do "preschool".

Isabel especially enjoys the activities. Here you can see Lucy enjoying her own Montessori space, with a comfy mattress in the corner of the lounge room with a mirror so she can see herself and a hanging bell she can try and bat to make noise...maybe she'll actually hit it one day!
Alexander working with the number rods, matching the numerals to the amount. This took him some time, but is right where he's up to.

Sorting cars into black and white (he mixes these two colours), taking them out of jars and putting them back in. I put out jars and lids on their own, so he could practice screwing and unscrewing as well as matching, but he wasn't interested until I added the cars :)

Putting together a number puzzle and then putting the numerals in the correct order.
Isabel, putting coins in a box with a slot. This was a big hit! She put the coins in and took them out, then put them back in again...over and over!

Cute little chubby fingers!

Matching animal pictures. She managed this really easily and knew the names of almost all of the animals (not goose) in either English or Danish.

Language lesson on the letter "a". We focus on the sound the letter makes (as in Alexander/apple), not the name of the letter. This makes it easier to start reading later on. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out which language to teach the letter sounds in, as we live in Denmark, so they are surrounded by Danish text, but in the end I thought that I couldn't really teach the sounds properly anyway, and it's more natural to teach them in English (as I only speak that to them anyway), and Christian and I agreed that it was best this way.

First Bible theme: creation! After hearing the story, Alexander put the picture cards in order (with some help) and sorted all the items and plastic animals into the days they were created, which was a very fun activity!

While we were doing that, Isabel decided to do her own animal sorting...pigs, and black and white animals! So cute :)

Stay tuned for more from our days later on!

Summer is....

2011-07-07T12:00:00.004+02:00

...splashing in the waves at the beach with Bedstefar, even on a cold, overcast day.

Welcome, Little One

2011-05-23T21:25:00.003+02:00

Introducing Lucy Johanna Merrild, born Monday 16th May 2011 at 6.10pm. She was 3050g (6 pounds 11oz) and 50cm (19 and 1/2 inches) at birth. She is a sweet little baby, quiet and content, eating and sleeping well. A joy to us all, and very adored by her older brother and sister. We are very thankful for her!

Friends Make Life Sweeter

2011-05-07T18:01:00.003+02:00

About a year ago, I met a wonderful group of women. The one thing the 5 of us have in common, is that we are married to Danish men and now live in Denmark. 2 from the USA, 1 from Canada, 1 from UK and me from Australia. The thing is, even though we are all different, have differing interests and life circumstances, we all understand each other. We understand what it's like to live in a foreign country, with your own family living far away, some with a better "in-law" network than others, learning a new language, becoming acquainted with life in Denmark, the joys of raising bi-lingual children, the challenges of acquiring residency in Denmark, and someone to laugh at all the "Danglish" we use. A group of friends where we can speak English together, relax and enjoy one another's company and share experiences with each other. Friends who understand.

Today my wonderful English speaking girls threw a "baby shower" for me. That is, a little party to honour and celebrate that I will soon be a mother again...for the third time. We ate yummy food and relaxed in the backyard together, and ate the most delicious and pretty cupcakes I've ever eaten. We talked and laughed, and talked some more. It was wonderfully relaxing and uplifting.

Thank you God for friends, and the sweetness they bring to our lives!

Around here lately...

2011-05-02T21:05:00.008+02:00

Yes, we are still alive (in case anyone was wondering!) and are enjoying life. Lately (as in, the last month) we have been:

Enjoying the new hammock I got for my birthday!
Celebrating that this wonderful boy turned 4...my goodness, how time flies!

Alexander has been enjoying his new bike, which he got for his birthday!
Isabel has been introduced to the potty :)
Enjoying lots of outside play time in the beautiful spring weather
I have been growing, and growing, and growing.....only about 3 weeks left!
Putting in a new hedge all the way around the house
Celebrating Easter and the resurrection of our Saviour
Enjoying spending time with family over Easter and due to the many family birthdays (with more to come in May!)
Sewing clothes for Isabel and occasionally Alexander

Enjoying spring and all that it brings, including visiting displays of baby farm animals and tractors. Alexander and Isabel were far more interested in the tractor than in the animals. But what can I say....I grew up on a farm and still prefer to see animals from the other side of the fence ;)

Hope you are well wherever you may be. Look forward to more regular posts coming up!

Hugs Fiona

Around Here Lately...

2011-01-24T08:44:00.010+01:00

Christian has finished most of the house renovation and is now consistently working on the smaller, but still very important, details of finishing off. We will get a visit from the bank in mid-February, so we are rushing around to finish off all the minor things and get the house clean, tidy and organised before he comes. No small task!! I'll post some pictures when we've totally finished and it's looking good ;)

Alexander has finally started to enjoy going to his kindy two mornings a week, which gives Isabel and I some time together to play together. Isabel and I both enjoy that, and Isabel is very excited to pick Alexander up at lunch time. They give each other a big hug and Alexander asks, "Did you miss me, Isabel?" every single time!

Alexander and I have started to do some Montessori inspired activities together during Isabel's nap times, and when everything is finished in the house we'll set up a little "preschool room" in the front entrance (which we don't use, except for guests). He has really enjoyed doing his "school", and so far has learnt to identify "A" for Alexander, different shapes and some sounds (a,s,m,t). He also thinks it's fun to make the letter A with his fingers, pencils, or dinner! He also enjoys "writing" his name, although at this stage it's just a few letters/shapes.

Both Alexander and Isabel have really enjoyed watching Dora the Explorer and Diego after being introduced to them in Oman and then getting a few DVDs for Christmas. Isabel says, "Dora", "Go-go (Diego)" and "backpack", and Alexander randomly counts to 6 in Spanish and asks to watch shows in Spanish.

Isabel has become a very strong willed, determined little lady who wants to do everything herself. This is mostly not a problem, except that if she can't do something herself or we tell her no to something she totally loses it and throws the most enormous temper tantrums! She parrots most of what we say and has started to do everything Alexander does...both good and not so good! She can now climb up onto her high chair herself, and often climbs up on the step stool....then asks for help to get down ;) She goes up the stairs herself, but not down again, as she refuses to go down backwards. She says...Mummy, Far, up, all done, ned (down), play, Da-da (Alexander), baby (to her doll), en to (one two), help (when encouraged to!), Ta Mummy (thank you), car, nap and possibly other things I can't remember right now! She loves to play with water (including with her drink at the table) and to draw with Alexander.

I am doing quite fine, but am generally tired most of the time. Baby no. 3 is doing well and is due to make an appearance on the 21st May....we'll see when it actually happens! Alexander is much more interested this time around, and likes looking at the ultrasound picture of the baby. His drawings have also started to include a drawing of the baby in Mummy's tummy.

Fun in Oman

2010-11-28T17:25:00.005+01:00

We have been in Oman for nearly a whole month now, visiting my sister Christina and her family. We have been having such a great time here while Christian finishes the renovation at home without us (hopefully! Poor guy ): ) We have driven around and seen a few different things, but of course the pace is a bit slower when you've got small children. We spent 3 days in Dubai when we first arrived, went to the capital city Muscat, saw the sea turtles at Sur, went to a fort in the desert, been to the Sohar Beach Hotel for a day of relaxation, swimming and digging in the sand at the beach, and generally lots of time doing every day life stuff in Sohar with the Maidment family. It's been fantastic, very relaxing (for the most part!), and a wonderful experience. Alexander really loves it here and keeps telling me he "likes hot, not cold" (the temperature was around 36 degrees when we arrived and is now down to 28 degrees...cooler, but still nice and warm!). He is less shy than when we left Denmark and actually smiles at people. Isabel has been a bit more fussy and demanding (maybe she just misses Far?) since we got here, but after 3 and a half weeks has finally settled down and especially loves to eat the Omani way, sitting on a mat on the floor and eating with your fingers! She even likes the Omani food, which is spicier than we are used to, but not burning hot. She absolutely loves to go outside and has gotten really confident at going up and down stairs while we've been here. If anyone leaves the door open, she will run out of it before you notice! She also cruises around the house, destroying stuff (hey, they're just not used to having a toddler around here!!), earning herself the nickname "Destructor". The great thing is having 3 big cousins who are willing to run around after her, and play with both her and Alexander....most of the time! We have really enjoyed ourselves, and will probably have trouble adjusting to "real life" in Denmark again. Oman is definitely worth a visit!!

Passing of Time

2010-08-25T07:47:00.003+02:00

After nearly two years, the scenery has started to change. Some things look a little different around here... Digging out the front yard for the carport, early Sep. 2008 Digging a ditch for drainage pipes, this morning August 2010

You will note that you can no longer see the lawn :)

Alexander, aged 17 months old

But some things don't change much. Big machinery=great excitement for a boy called Alexander :) Alexander aged 3 and a half years old
Looking forward to finishing our house by Christmas this year!

Happy Birthday Isabel!

2010-08-23T13:42:00.009+02:00

Isabel turned 1 nearly three weeks ago, so it's high time to show you all how her big day was!

Presents in Mummy and Far's bed in the morning

We were lucky enough to have my sister Christina and her children staying with us on Isabel's birthday, so of course we had to celebrate in style ;). The breakfast celebration included buns and pastries from the bakery, and very funny, silly glasses!
Happy Birthday, Princess!

Yum! Danish pastries are GOOD!

Cute, pudgy little fingers!

In her beautiful party dress that her cousin Ainslie gave to her. Of course, we had to set up a little photo shoot to make sure we got a good picture!

The official party in the evening, with all of Christian's family there (except faster/auntie Kirsten who's in Barbados!). She really got a kick out of ripping the paper. Alexander was just dying to help :) Check out cousin Mattie's funny, dorky glasses. He's such a clown!

In the background you can see the flag banner/bunting I made for Isabel's birthday. Yes, that's right, I sewed it all by myself! (I am very proud of myself for that one! ;))

And the funny glasses made their way onto the dinner table too! Uncle Jakob and Elise keep me company :)

Cool glasses, Marianne!

Time for the real birthday cake, put together by the incredibly talented Christian, who just does cakes really, really well. Yes, we are lucky!

Yum, cream tastes GOOD!

Mattie, cutting the head off the "cake woman", in traditional Danish fashion. He thought that was the coolest thing ever. When you cut the head off, all the guests scream! Strange, but true.....;)

All in all, a fabulous day, even though we didn't end up having a garden party as I had planned due to a horrendous amount of rain. Never mind, Isabel. Maybe next year? :)

Conversation this Morning

2010-08-20T07:28:00.004+02:00

This morning, as we were eating breakfast, Alexander and I had a conversation about what are plans for today are.
Alexander: We going to the lionbaby (library) today?
Me: No. I thought we could go to the zoo today.
Alexander: The lionbaby! My love the lionbaby! We can see animals and play! Hooray! (excellent response, son!)
Me: Yeah, it will be fun, won't it? But you're going to have to start saying zoo. It's confusing when both the library and the zoo are called lionbaby. Otherwise I won't know which one you're talking about.
Alexander: (with a sigh) Alright. It's the white one. (???????? What?)
Me: The zoo is the white one? (Alexander nods) So, the white lionbaby?
Alexander: Yep.
Me: Is the library the black one then? (said with a giggle in my voice)
Alexander: That's not funny. (actually, I think the whole conversation is rather hilarious and am trying very hard not to burst into laughter!) Ok, crilly. We're going to crilly today.
Me: Crilly? That's the zoo? (Alexander nods) Alright then. We're going to look at the animals at crilly.
Alexander: Crilla.
Me: Crilla?
Alexander: The lionbaby is crilla.
Me: The library? (Alexander nods) Crilly and crilla? (nods again) Ok. But that's still rather confusing.
Alexander simply shrugs his shoulders as if to say, you'll figure it out Mum. And then we both giggle ;)

Cousins

2010-07-30T09:06:00.004+02:00

Everything is better when you have cousins to share it with!

We have been having such fun with our cousins this last week, as my sister Christina nad her three children have been visiting. They are at a wedding in Germany this weekend, which gives us a chance to catch up on house cleaning, laundry and blogging before they come back. We are looking forward to another wonderful week with them next week!

Around the House

2010-07-18T19:38:00.008+02:00

This week I have been busy changing stuff around at home. As they say, change is as good as a holiday, and since we're not going anywhere these holidays (this house just HAS to get finished!), I thought it was high time for a change! Actually, it's just because we are tossing up whether to send Alexander to preschool here (børnehave....actually, it's daycare for 3-6 year olds) or whether to do preschool at home. After all, if all my preschool training and experience is seemingly not enough to get me a job here in Denmark, it should at least serve some good purpose! I have implemented some changes to make a home a more child friendly space, and incorporated some Montessori-style activities (I say that because I am not hard core Montessori and because my budget doesn't stretch to buying all the real stuff!). Here is the now revised toy shelf, with Montessori style activites on it:

...and the close up. It has been rather difficult to put appropriate activities out for both a 3 year old and an 11month old who is very curious and loves to pull stuff off shelves....so right now, there is alot of stuff that Isabel can do, or at least can't throw around the room. I am tossing up the idea of making some kind of curtain for the shelves so she can't get into it until I let her :) Very un-Montessori like!
From the top left: a pinning activity (develop fine motor control and finger muscles), a magnifying glass (Science), spooning activity (spooning pasts into a bowl...fine motor control), threading beads (more fine motor), a pattern matching game (pre-reading skill). Second shelf: Babushka doll (doubles as a cultural item, from Russia, sorting according to size, and fine motor control. Sweet!), colour pegging activity (colour matching AND fine motor!), mouse in the cheese (threading), Isabel's treasure basket (natural or familiar items to explore), stacking tower. Bottom shelf: beady game thingy to keep Isabel amused, Isabel's toy box for the day, wooden blocks in a truck and a big box of wooden blocks. This shelf is a work in progress!

Alexander's current favourite activity...the magnifying glass. He walks around the house looking at everything with it.

Isabel's toy box. Every day (or so) she gets a new box of assorted toys. There are 7 boxes, and this genius toy rotational system came from this blog:http://whatdidwedoallday.blogspot.com/2010/04/toy-rotation-for-infants-and-toddlers.html It seems to work well for Isabel so far, as she gets excited to see what's in the box (how quickly babies forget!)

Our nature basket, filled with all the things we find and pick up (or in the case of the shells, buy at the second hand shop!)

Beautiful summer flowers, which Christian's grandmother brought with her when she came to visit us today.Our office, which is tidy in the first time since....oh, forever! Our toy rotational system in action. These are Alexander's toys (as opposed to Montessori-style activities, which are out on the shelves). He can come and choose one box of toys to play with. When he's done, he can bring them back and take a different box. He's also allowed to ask for a second box of toys if they are an extension of his current game. Again, inspiration came from here: http://whatdidwedoallday.blogspot.com/2010/06/toy-rotation-part-two-toy-library.html

An overall picture of our living room, with Montessori activites on the big shelves, puzzles on the low white shelves, a cozy reading corner with an ugly green canopy (I think I'd better get to work on sewing a more attractive one!) and the kitchen corner, where I'm planning to hang up some hooks for the dress up clothes.So....that's how it all looks for now. I am still tweaking the system and trying to figure out what will work with 2 very different ages/stages, while at the same time tidying up and decluttering to regain space that has been invaded by the clutter monsters!

Don't they just look darling on their little mats? I think this picture of serenity lasted about 1 minute (just long enough for me to grab my camera and take a picture!), but hey...we've just started! There's always a period of adjustment ;) In the meantime, I am getting inspiration for how to set up our home from these sites:

http://whatdidwedoallday.blogspot.com/2010/01/welcome-to-our-school-part-one.html and http://whatdidwedoallday.blogspot.com/2010/01/welcome-to-our-school-part-two.html

http://sewliberated.typepad.com/sew_liberated/2010/06/a-toddlerfriendly-house.html

http://jojoebi.blogspot.com/2010/06/tour-of-montessori-room.html

http://countingcoconuts.blogspot.com/2010/01/james-world-redux.html

I will post more on Montessori another time. This was long enough already! Catch you later ;)

More {places}

2010-06-17T22:51:00.003+02:00

Lots of big smiles on Alexander's face last week! Hopefully I can continue getting some good shots of both of them. In contrast to the pictures I posted from week one, these photos are unedited. Some of them have been cropped, but I haven't played around with the colour or anything. Just goes to show that you can get some great photos with a point and shoot camera!

Finding the Joy - week 2 {places}

2010-06-17T22:46:00.003+02:00

ftj_week2_alexander puddles, originally uploaded by fiona.m.

Last week's assignment was to capture our children's favourite places. So I sat down and started brainstorming places we could go to, to get some great, artistic type shots...the zoo, the beach, the playground, the forest....and it rained, for the entire week! Not only did that rule out those places, but it also meant we had really, really poor light in our dark little house, which means I have lots and lots of grainy, blurry pictures! I was getting pretty upset about it, when my ingenious husband suggested that I take Alexander outside and tell him to jump in the puddles (like he needs encouraging!) while I took pictures. It was a HUGE success! I got some of the best photos of Alexander EVER, because he was having so much fun. It turns out I got heaps of pictures of Alexander this week (whereas I got more of Isabel last week) because it's so much easier to take pictures of him while he's DOING something! Yay! It turned out being fun in the end. Now, this week's challenge is things. Hmmm...hoping for some good weather=good lighting to get some pictures of their favourite things.
Check out the rest of last week's pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/20664519@N02/

Finding the Joy...Week 1 {people}

2010-06-08T22:31:00.003+02:00

ftj_week1_siblings, originally uploaded by fiona.m.

It's been lots of fun taking pictures of my children this week and starting my online photography course. Happily, the topic of week one was important people in your children's life, which coincided perfectly with my parents' visit, resulting in a few nice pictures with Grandma and Grandad (not as many as I would've liked, though. It was a pretty crazy week! More on that later...) Apart from simple, basic photography tips I have been learning a bit about photo editing and using different effects on photos. You can tell which ones I like!

To see more pictures and follow along, you can go to my flickr album: http://www.flickr.com/photos/20664519@N02/

Enjoy!

Around here...

2010-05-28T13:58:00.012+02:00

It's been a while since my last post, so naturally a lot of stuff has happened or is happening. Last weekend was a long weekend here in Denmark, so we went away with Christian's entire family to a holiday house on the west coast (where it is always windy!). We had some mixed weather (as you can see from the pictures!), but all in all it was a nice weekend.

Tonight, my parents are coming to stay with us for a week, so I'm really excited! It will be lots of fun to show them around our town and do stuff together. They've been to Denmark twice before, so we don't need to do too much touristy stuff, giving us more time to spend together. Good times!

I have also finally got a job, after looking for one for the last four months. I will now be working at Legoland Hotel cleaning rooms every second weekend. There are really awesome benefits to working at Legoland (free tickets, among other things!), and working only every second weekend still gives me time to spend with my family without needing to put my kids into daycare. The great thing is that working just every second weekend will still give me the same amount of money that I was receiving before. Yay! It's a season job, so it ends the 31st October, but at least it gives me a bit of time to look around for something by then. Who knows....maybe something will open up at Lego?

The weather has started warming up here, but it's still really unpredictable, often with swinging temperatures and on-off again rain. Blah! Hopefully some lovely spring/summer weather will arrive soon, preferably next week when Mum and Dad are here!

Isabel has started crawling, so nothing is safe anymore! I have convinced Alexander that it's a better idea to put his Duplo creations up on the table where she can't reach them, instead of sitting on her and shouting "NO!"..... ;)

Alexander is very active and has really started to use his imagination a lot more when playing. It's cool to watch him and fun to play along. (Yes, he is jumping off the roof of his playhouse!)

(Digital Template by Ali Edwards)

My Week in the Life Project, you may be asking? Well, it's still a work in progress. Let's just say I'm a marvellous procrastinator, and there are always so many other things to be done that it's hard to justify using my time working on it. Bad excuse, I know. Okay, I'll try to get it done soon...after my parents go home ;)

Speaking of projects, I have signed up for an online photography course, starting on 1st June. I'm really excited, as it's focussed on photographing children, and I have a dream to start my own children's photography business one day. It goes for 6 weeks and should be fun. Fortunately I have a couple of willing (at times!) guinea pigs to practise on, right here at home! Look for some pictures over the next 6 weeks to see what I've been learning.

Have a great day!

Thursday

2010-04-23T09:45:00.005+02:00

"Good morning, Mummy!"
Garbage day. Always fun at our house :)
Fresh laundry drying in the breeze. Lovely!
Rain. Again. Where is the gorgeous spring weather from last week?

What a great game...catch Mummy's hair (and pull as hard as you can!)

More laundry!

Yum! Quiche for dinner

An evening grocery trip with my boy

Self portrait with Mummy's old camera :)

Cuddles with Far. She has been really fussy and wouldn't sleep. Turns out she has cut her first tooth :)

Today was really exhausting and not at all how I thought it would be. Again, very little sleep at night, and a fussy baby all day. Alexander stayed home from Kindy (Legestuen) because he's coughing too much to go (so they told me last time). Normally Isabel and I go to our Mother's Group on Thursdays, but we couldn't take Alexander along, and the Mum holding it changed it from morning tea to lunch, which simply wouldn't work for us anyway. To top it off, Alexander decided not to have an afternoon nap, so the short break I thought I would have simply didn't happen. All in all, though, it was a really nice day. It ended up being really long, because Isabel woke up an hour after we put her to bed and wouldn't go back to sleep. In the end I brought her back downstairs, so she sat with us until we went to bed. It was a full on day, being surrounded by children from early morning to late at night! Thank goodness it's Friday tomorrow!

Wednesday

2010-04-23T08:50:00.006+02:00

Our new coffee machine...sweet!
"Mummy, I am upset. Would you PLEASE stop taking pictures of me and pick me up?" "Thank you. Oooooo....Mummy's camera is within reaching distance....."
The mountain of clothes waiting to be washed

Tumle Bumle Land...the playgroup at our church. By far, the highlight of the week for all of us :)
Watch out! Although she can't crawl YET, she can reach REALLY far and shuffle around!

"No, Mummy! It's MY turn!"

"OK Buddy, knock yourself out" (Who's complaining???)

Doing the laundry with my wonderful helper

Dishes, the old fashioned way

Playing in the play room (which used to be our bedroom)

Our cell group. Christian stayed home with the children, so I got to go out alone!

Wednesday was a pretty tough day for me. Isabel is cutting a tooth and Alexander is snuffly and coughing all night, so I didn't get much sleep the night before, and we all know how difficult it is to cope with unhappy children when you're tired! I was so desperate for Christian to get home!

An Alexanderism from today:

(Alexander) Mummy, ikke sit in my chair (in this context, ikke=don't in Danish)

(Me) In English we say "Don't". "Don't sit in my chair, Mummy"

(Alexander) Don't ikke sit in my chair, Mummy"

(All) ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!

Tuesday

2010-04-22T09:26:00.004+02:00

Today Alexander went to Kindy (Legestuen). He really enjoys it now, and it went really well dropping him off (it hasn't always been so easy....). Isabel and I went to the shops to get stuff and then came home. Normally Isabel really misses Alexander, so it's a little easier when we are out ;). Christian came home a bit earlier because it started SNOWING (crazy!) and they just got too cold (they are working on a roof). We enjoyed having him home! Alexander was coughing alot and ended up waking up in the middle of the night and was coughing so much he couldn't sleep. I am very thankful for cough medicine!

Week in the Life Project 2010

2010-04-22T08:33:00.008+02:00

This week I am playing along with Ali Edwards' Week in the Life Project (http://www.aliedwards.com/week_in_the_life_/). The general idea is to take LOTS of photos and record all the little details of your life, every day for a week. I did this project 18 months ago, and it's simply fantastic! So much has changed since then, and we love looking at those photos and remembering how our house looked, how little Alexander was, and the small details of our life that have changed (eg. we didn't have a car then, but do now!). So here is a brief overview of Monday.

It was a beautiful day, and I wish we had actually spent more time outside than we did, because the weather on Tuesday and Wednesday was just awful. We spent the day at home, tidying and sorting through old baby clothes. It was a great day :)

Happy Birthday to Me....

2010-04-03T19:52:00.002+02:00

Thanks for a great day!

A Little Upstairs Tour

2010-03-31T19:05:00.006+02:00

Due to popular request, I am adding some pictures of our new upstairs area!

Our bedroom...isn't it nice? And spacious?

Alexander's bed in their shared bedroom
Isabel's bed and play area
Our brand new stairs! Aren't they lovely?

We really love sleeping upstairs in our brand new rooms. We have also got another little room, which is going to be my little studio/craft room, but right now it's full of junk!

Hope you enjoyed the tour!

Around Here Lately...

2010-03-31T10:41:00.007+02:00

Conversation this morning....
(Me to Alexander) "Do you want to get out of your pyjamas?"
(Alexander) "No...Go Fish!"

We have been...

Playing lots of games (including Go Fish!)
Sick (again!). We've all had some kind of virus...the latest victim is Alexander, with a super high fever and lethargy
Enjoying our new bedrooms upstairs and the beautiful new stairs Christian put up
Decorating for Easter and getting ready for both Easter celebrations and two upcoming birthdays (mine and Alexanders)
Playing with DUPLO a lot...as in, ALL the time!
Looking forward to the arrival of warmer weather
Enjoying the tiny spring flowers that are popping up in our garden, thanks to the diligent former owner
Watching lots of "Bolt", "Toy Story" and "Ratatouille"....and yes, I am getting tired of them!
Looking forward to a five day holiday over Easter...yippee!

Hope you have a great day :)

Snapshot from Today

2010-02-22T20:00:00.002+01:00

Isn't she just precious?

Isabel - 6 months old

Around Here Lately....

2010-02-20T13:56:00.013+01:00

We celebrated Christian's 30th Birthday....Happy Birthday Babe!! Waiting for birthday guests to arrive.

Hitting the "Fastelavn" barrel....

...until all the lollies fall out!

Christian's surprise was a round of bowling and dinner for the whole family. We had lots of fun!

Alexander's first time bowling. High fives with Faster Marianne!

Plenty of willing babysitters ;)

Here we go, buddy!

Strike! Yay! (those buffers are awesome!)
Fastelavn celebration at playgroup. Fastelavn is a Danish holiday where the children dress up and hit a barrel until lollies come out. It occurs right before Lent (40 days before Easter).

Our little Ladybird, Isabel :)

Fireman Alexander! (thanks for the costume, Auntie Lisa!)

Reading books...lots of inside time lately

Sibling love ;)

Being creative, with my *new* old typewriter found in a second hand shop!

Isabel is now sitting up!

Playing out in the snow

Alexander being creative ;)

Learning to knit, thanks to You Tube (I know, I've got crazy eyes...it was late!)

More creativity ;)

Alexander has been doing the Montessori activities I made for him (more on that at a later date)

Isabel has been exploring everything

Alexander practises pouring

Isabel enjoys food...real food!!

Our budding little photographer, copying Mummy

Playing in the snow...again!

Snow, snow, and more snow. Looks a bit like Narnia, I think!

We have also spent most of the last 5 weeks trying to recover from the bombardment of winter coughs, colds and viruses that hit us when we got home. Fun, fun. Hopefully it's all over now!

Hope you are all well, whether you've got snow and cold temperatures, or you're enjoying the last days of summer!!!

Mama's Cool New Toys!

2010-02-12T11:30:00.003+01:00

Found these little beauties in the second hand shop! How fun! Alexander certainly thinks so ;) I can just envisage how cool my "studio" is going to look when (if) I finally get one! Hooray for cool old vintage goodness!

Home in Denmark

2010-02-12T11:21:00.005+01:00

Ok, so we have been home in Denmark for three weeks now. We came home to a heap of snow and very cold weather. Cold, but nice. Especially when the sun shines. Anyway, since we got home we have been sick. One after the other....Alexander, Isabel, Alexander again, and Christian and I plodding along with stuffed up heads and coughs. Ahh, the joys of winter! It's been nice to be home, but also a difficult settling in process....the returning to ordinary life. We miss the sun, the warmth and, most importantly, our family. It was a really lovely visit, but visits cannot drag on forever!

The last week has been an especially difficult one, especially for me, as we have had quite a few changes in our financial situation, which has led me to re-examine my options in regards to working or staying home. Right now I am trying to find ways to earn money without having to put our kids into daycare (working nights or evenings, or working from home). It hasn't been an easy process, but it's been good to be reminded that it's ultimately God who is our provider, and He will provide the right opportunity for us. So, hopefully something will work out soon!

December Daily Update

2010-01-26T13:30:00.008+01:00

Lots of fun happening here this December...in fact, so much that I didn't have time to do a day by day post of all the good times! Never mind...Happy 2010!

December 18th...Wiggles Day!

2009-12-24T03:09:00.003+01:00

Today was the Wiggles concert. We absolutely LOVED it! At first Alexander thought we were going to watch the Wiggles on TV, like we normally do. But then they ran out and shouted hello, and it was all very, very exciting. The best part was when they sang the song about their big, red car. Alexander thought it was great, and every time a song ended, he would ask me, "More sing, Mummy?". It was a really great concert, and totally worth all the effort.

The concert had a circus theme, and was full of all kinds of acrobatics and fun. Even Isabel thought it was fun!
Afterwards we went to visit my grandmother before heading down to Canberra, where we stayed the night.

December 17th

2009-12-24T02:40:00.003+01:00

We drove up to Sydney and checked into our hotel on George Street, in downtown Sydney and about a 4 minute walk to the Entertainment Centre. It was stinking hot. In fact, we heard that it was somewhere between 43 and 45 degrees. Yep, that's super hot. After checking it we headed out to look around the city and see if we could find any Christmas decorations. We rode on the monorail further into the city and ate an icecream while looking at the Christmas tree on Sydney's Town Hall. We saw a few decorations, but apparently missed the really big display in David Jones. Never mind. It was fun anyway.

December 16th

2009-12-16T13:19:00.003+01:00

Today my dear friend Tracey came out to the farm with her three children for morning tea and a swim in the pool. It was really, really hot! I thought I was going to melt, and it seems Isabel felt much the same way. After her morning nap, she was really fussy (which is quite unusual for her) until we got into the pool. Then she just leaned back against the blown up chair my mum found for her and relaxed. She was so content! Even when the other children started to complain that the water was getting cold, she was as happy as a pig in mud! She's a real water baby :)

The spa was the ideal way to warm up after swimming in the cold water!

Awwww....such a cute picture! Isabel with her lovely Auntie Katie :)

We went outside to enjoy the Christmas lights tonight, and it was so lovely to see how they light up the night sky. Alexander gets so excited by all the lights, and it's a little bit hard to get him to bed at night, but it's so much fun, because I can still remember the excitement I felt as a child when I saw all the Christmas lights, and that it meant that Christmas had nearly arrived!

We are off to Sydney tomorrow to see the Wiggles in concert and have a little holiday together. I'll write again on the weekend. See you in a few days!

December 15th (continued)

2009-12-16T13:07:00.001+01:00

Alexander and Auntie Katie went down to visit the horses late in the afternoon. Alexander loved looking at the sheep and meeting Chocolate the Alpaca, and was particularly fascinated with the "broken car" they walked past. At first he was apprehensive around the horses, but after feeding Thunder the pony some bread off his hand, he was a pro!

Thanks for a fun afternoon, Auntie Katie!

December 15th

2009-12-15T07:20:00.004+01:00

Well, the pool draining yesterday and cleaning today paid off for us this afternoon! We took Isabel into the pool for the first time ever. She really enjoyed playing in the cool water and didn't even cry when Alexander splashed her in the face! She is just so cute and is such a sweetheart! We are so blessed to have her in our family!Alexander and Auntie Katie enjoyed playing in the pool while it was filling up with water. There's nothing like energetic aunties to play with!

Look out for more from today later on!

December 14th...the rest of the story

2009-12-15T06:40:00.006+01:00

It seems I left a big chunk of the story of today out in my last post. A story that's definitey worth remembering.Alexander is seriously confused about Christmas. I explained to him, before we left Denmark, that Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ...in essence, Jesus' birthday party. When we decorated the house and the Christmas tree, he got very excited and started talking about it being a party, a birthday party. I told him (again) that it was a party to celebrate Jesus being born, his birthday, but that he would have to wait a bit longer. Anyway, amongst the decorations my Mum has is a bunch of Santa Claus figures in different sizes, but there is one particularly big one. When she put it out, Alexander ran over to it, pointed and said, "Jesus!". Whoops! So I tried to patiently explain that it wasn't Jesus, it was Santa Claus. After a couple of repeats, I thought he understood. Katie and I drove into town with Isabel and Alexander so I could buy some essentials....summer clothes and nappies! Of course, the different shops in town have window displays, with lots and lots of Santas. Every time we walked past one, Alexander would point to it and say, "Jesus!". The poor child. He really thinks that Santa is Jesus!

In the midst of writing this story, Alexander commented once again on it being a party for Jesus, and pointing to a picture of Santa and calling him Jesus. I took him over to the small, china nativity set on display in the lounge room and explained the whole story to him again, about how Jesus was born and the shepherds came to worship him, and the three wise men came to worship him with presents, and how we celebrate that he was born because he is the son of God. Hopefully he will understand, although it's hard to understand when there are pictures and fígures of Santa Claus everywhere instead of Jesus!

December 14th

2009-12-15T06:30:00.003+01:00

My sister Katie arrived Sunday night, and we had such fun catching up together! Today it was time to start cleaning out the pool, a job too big for my Mum to handle alone. It certainly was a big job. Everyone got involved....even Alexander!
Afterwards it was the right time to just lay on the carpet, listening to Christmas music, and watching the big train drive around and around. Gotta love that train!

December 13th

2009-12-15T06:08:00.003+01:00

At last, we finally got around to decorating the Christmas tree and the house! It was lots of fun...we put on Christmas music and pulled out all the decorations from the box. Alexander really enjoyed putting the different decorations on the tree, which was lots of fun, because he wasn't really interested last year.

He got a bit of help from Far to put the high decorations up.

Christian got into the spirit of it and hung up tinsel in the lounge room, while my dad hung up Christmas lights on the house. We got loads of decoration done, but then we were all exhausted and ready for a nap. The heat really takes it out of you!

Mum found her big train set and we put it up in the lounge room. There's something about trains that I identify with Christmas...don't know where that comes from. Alexander totally loved it, and wanted to play with it ALL the time! We might have to look out for an electric train set we can set up each Christmas ;)

Love the train driver's hat, Christian!

You may have noticed Alexander's lack of pants or shorts in today's pictures....we have started toilet training him! He is doing really well at it so far, and it helps alot that it's hot enough to run around without any pants on :)

December 12th

2009-12-12T09:09:00.002+01:00

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day...clear blue sky and warm weather. A friend came over to help Mum and Dad and brought his 5 year old son, Jacob, so he could play with Alexander. Alexander was soooooo happy to have a playmate, that he just followed him around the entire day.

After conquering the fort, it was time to hang up Christmas lights under the roof of the carport. Christian had, of course, two little helpers....

...and one tiny admirer :)

Can't wait to see those lights tonight!!!

Then it was time to just be together as a family and enjoy each other's company.Best of all was Grandad coming outside to play with the ball right before bathtime :)

Another lovely day in December....although the second day in a row where we have not gotten around to hanging up Christmas decorations! Maybe tomorrow?

Have a good day. I'm going to go hang out with my Dad ;)

The Great Catch Up...December 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th

2009-12-11T09:54:00.010+01:00

It's time for the great catch up.....time to do the last 5 days all at once. Lots has happened, so I'll try to keep it brief.

December 7th...our bags were packed and we were ready to go at 10.30am when our friend Mikael came to pick us up and drove us to the train station.

The train took us all the way to the airport in Copenhagen and was a really pleasant journey. Travelling by train is so relaxing...except when you have to change trains with two small children and a ton of luggage!! Fortunately there was a really nice man on the train who helped us with our luggage.

Once we had checked our baggage in, it was time to just wander round the airport and wait for our flight. There was a big energy display built out of LEGO in the airport, which was just perfect for keeping Alexander entertained.
December 8th...Our first flight from Copenhagen to London was delayed (because they didn't have any pilots!!), and when we got to London we found out that the bassinet we had booked for Isabel had been given to someone else. Major disappointment! But it worked out alright in the end as both Alexander and Isabel slept well and Christian and I did too. It was so much fun being with Alexander and seeing his excitement over everything in the plane. He especially enjoy playing games with Far and watching movies!Isabel did really well sleeping in our arms, although she normally doesn't like to be held while she's sleeping. On the second leg of the flight (from Hong Kong to Sydney) they managed to find a bassinet for us so we could put Isabel in there while she was sleeping. Ironically, she only wanted to sleep in my arms! Ha ha ha!! My absolute favourite moment was when Christian, Alexander and Isabel were all sleeping....I had one arm around Alexander as he lay against the arm of my chair, and the other arm around Isabel as she lay in my lap, and their heads were right next to each other on the same pillow. It was such a sweet, beautiful moment.December 9th...we arrived in Sydney on a beautiful sunny day, feeling quite rested (remarkably!). We had booked a flight from Sydney to Canberra so we didn't have to drive so far, and it just worked out so well for us. We freshened up at the airport... ...and spent our time waiting looking at the planes. "Little planes", as Alexander called them!

The flight to Canberra was only 50 minutes or so. It felt like nothing after all those long flights. Finally, we had arrived! My sister Katie met us at the airport, and it was such a happy reunion!

Katie had to go back to work, so we drove ourselves to Mum and Dad's farm, where Mum was waiting excitedly to see us.

Grandma thought Isabel was just gorgeous (naturally!) and that she looks alot like I did when I was a baby :)

December 10th...Alexander could remember a lot about the farm and remembered Grandma too (which made her very happy!). He fell out of bed the first night and hit his head really hard on the bedside table and got a huge egg on his head, so he got a little band-aid on his head to make it all better. He really enjoyed running around the farm looking at everything and saying hello to all the animals.

Then it was off to town (Young) to do some grocery shopping for supplies. I love this shopping trolley with space for my two littlies!

To end the day, there was the most beautiful sunset. Simply gorgeous!

December 11th...Today was a great day, filled with fun stuff that I didn't capture with my camera...playing with the dog, throwing the ball outside, jumping on the trampoline, feeding the chickens, building a train track and just playing.

It was classic watching Alexander...he found this little ladder and put it up against the chair, then climbed up it and started "fixing" the laptop with the plastic tools!

The best part was saying hello to Grandad when he got home for the weekend! (check out those ears!!)

More to come tomorrow :)

December 6th

2009-12-06T21:05:00.007+01:00

Today was a day for getting all the packing done and trying to squeeze in some relaxation and family time in somewhere! Alexander was just soooooo excited about the boat that he got, that he just wanted to keep building on it. So it was the first call of the day. Unfortunately, he was really tired after being up so late last night, that he just couldn't cope with waiting for the right pieces and kinda lost it a couple of times. So the boat had to go away.After naptime, though, he was feeling a little better...especially when he saw all the goodies we had put out on the table. He got a little present to celebrate the second Sunday of Advent...just some things for the trip...and then he enjoyed playing with his big boat (Christian finished building it while he was sleeping).

He was also REALLY excited about the DUPLO toys Isabel got for her Christmas present, and asked all morning if he could play with it. I told him he and Isabel could play with it together when she woke up, and it was so cool to see them playing together! Lots of good times ahead ;)

I love how Isabel is looking so intensely at the little lady zookeeper. She enjoyed sitting with Alexander and "playing" with him!

Now it's time to head off to bed...time to get a good night's sleep before our big, long trip tomorrow.

I don't know when I'll get online again...see you in a couple of days!

December 5th

2009-12-06T20:04:00.010+01:00

Saturday was a really great day. You can probably tell by all the pictures ;)

We went to Christian's parents place in Christiansfeld, about 45 minutes south of us. The whole family was gathered...his parents, older sister Marianne, younger brothers Thomas and Jacob, and little sister Kirsten. We had such a fun time, that I couldn't stop taking pictures, and had a really hard time choosing. Here's just a selection... ;)

Isabel and "Bedstemor"
Afternoon coffee (my favourite time of the day!), with gløgg, æbleskiver, pebernødder, and other goodies ;)
Stacks on!!

Isabel, charming Uncle Jakob

"Pakkeleg"...a very fun game, where you get a present when you roll a 6, or swap presents with a 1.

Alexander was really good at the game (just lucky, I guess!) and kept rolling sixes...at the end he had the most presents :)

Enjoying the puzzle he got in one of the presents.

Present time! All good Christmas celebrations involve presents...and there were quite a few!

Alexander got a giant LEGO ship...it was a fun family activity putting it together!

After a long day, there's nothing better than being read to...especially when it means you don't have to go to bed!

Thanks for a wonderful day together everyone, and have a great Christmas!

December 4th

2009-12-06T19:45:00.004+01:00

Ok, so I have a bit of catching up to do now. Thanks to my sister-in-law Kirsten for giving me a little nudge and reminding me to get back to it :)

On Friday, December 4th, I decided we needed to go downtown and look at the Christmas lights. I had to convince Christian we needed to go and buy some last minute items before we fly out tomorrow, but really I just wanted to see the lights.
I love Christmas lights. I love them in Australia, when it's hot and dark and they light up the sky with many colours. And I especially love them here in Denmark, when it's cold and pretty often dark, and the beautiful lights twinkle in the darkness, brightening up everything around them and lifting our spirits. I really enjoyed taking a stroll along the gågade (a pedestrian only street), looking at all the twinkling lights, with Christian and Alexander, and little Isabel sleeping in the pram. What a nice feeling. A hyggelig feeling (you're going to have to learn that word....like cozy and nice).

Don't you just love Christmas lights? ;)

December 3rd

2009-12-03T21:40:00.005+01:00

Today Alexander came home from his kindy with a surprise....a Christmas present for Christian and I! Of course, he had a lot of trouble with the concept of giving "his" present to us, so we let him open it.Underneath all the wrapping paper and bubble wrap was this very cute little box that he had made for us. So cute! When he saw it, he put it down and then said, "Mummy, Far". I guess he recognised it was for us after all!

He is just so excited about going on the plane to see Grandma and Grandad....in fact, he's been almost driving us crazy, asking every day if we can go on the plane, then getting very upset when we say, "Not today....on Monday". So today I dug around under the bed where I had stuffed (for some strange reason) a bag with a bunch of Alexander's toys, looking for one specific toy...a red airplane that he got on our last trip to Australia. Well, he was just sooooo excited that he ran around the house, flying it, and I was so happy, because I thought I would finally get a break from the constant demand to get on the plane. A few minutes later, he came up to me and asked, "Airport?". Hmmm......it's going to be a loooong 4 days!!

December 2nd

2009-12-02T12:46:00.006+01:00

Today we went to playgroup. Alexander really enjoys going there and playing with the other children, and I really enjoy having a chance to chat with other mums while Alexander is occupied. Win-win situation for everyone :)

After hearing the story of Christmas and Jesus' birth, the children were allowed to play with the nativity set.

Alexander really enjoyed playing with it, especially with the donkey and camel. He kept trying to find someone who could hold baby Jesus, so he wouldn't have to lay by himself in the manger, but the little people's arms don't move, so in the end he just put him in the house. The funniest part was when he took Joseph and put him on the roof of the stable and said, "Far build on the roof"! I wonder where he got that from?!? ;)

I love that nativity set...I wonder where we can get one?

Then he had the chance to colour in his own wooden nativity set in lots of beautiful colours. Well, it was mostly yellow and orange, but the point is that he really enjoyed making his own. What a great day!

December 1st continued...

2009-12-02T12:35:00.007+01:00

Here are a couple of pictures from last night, our small group Christmas party. It was very "hyggelig" (umm...tough to translate, but something in the idea of cozy and nice ;))
Playing group pictionary on Alexander's easel...of course, we girls won!!

Yum...coffee and cake is the best part!

December 1st

2009-12-01T12:07:00.003+01:00

Today is winter weather at it's best. Cold (actually, very cold!), crisp and clear blue skies! After a month of rain, I am so happy to see the sun again. There was a thick frost blanketing the ground when we woke up this morning, and I am so very thankful that I dug out all those woollen underclothes for Alexander recently, because he needed them today! I also found all the woolly things I need for Isabel when I pulled out our suitcases! Hurrah! I have been looking for them for a while now.... ;)

Tonight we are going to a Christmas party our small group is holding. Yes, it's early, but that's because we're leaving soon....in 6 days, to be exact! Although it's beautiful winter weather today, it's cold, and I am really looking forward to the warm Australian sun and summer!! Yippee!

December Daily

2009-12-01T11:48:00.005+01:00

This year I have decided to follow along with a project that Ali Edwards is running, called December Daily. The idea is to take a photo/selection of photos each day in December and record the countdown to Christmas. Go here for all the details. http://aliedwards.typepad.com/_a_/december-daily-2009-.html

I also tried to do this project last year. Note the word tried. I made the album in advance, and took photos every day, faithfully recording all the details....but I never got the photos and details into my album. So, this year I'm going to try something different. I know we will be travelling during December this year, and that makes putting an album together very challenging. So I'm not even going to try. Instead I'm going to faithfully take photos every day and record all the details....and put them here on my blog. That way everyone can share the joy we have this December! When we get home in January, I'll put together the album then (and last year's at the same time!). Sound good? I'll do my best to post every day, although some days will not be possible, when we are away from internet connection. Then I'll just post a few days at once.

The great thing about this is that even though we are in Denmark now, and will be in Australia for Christmas, our Danish family can still follow along in our Christmas celebrations, and our Australian family can follow along in our Danish preparations. Cool, huh? I'll try my best to stay on top of this!! What a great challenge :)

Keep watching this space.... :)

Bring on the Cheese!

2009-11-24T11:28:00.003+01:00

After three long months without cheese (or almost any other dairy food either!), due to Isabel reacting to it quite badly, I can now start eating it again! Hurray! Celebration time!!! However, it has been such a loooooooooong time without cheese that I have almost lost any desire to eat it....oh, the irony of life!!!

Hope you have a great day, full of cheese :) (that was a cheesy grin!! ha ha!!)

Simple is Beautiful

2009-11-07T13:10:00.006+01:00

Today I have thinking alot about my life and how complicated it feels. So I have decided that I want to simplify my life. Like, alot. There is something so beautiful in the simplicity of life. A single flower in a little glass vase. The beauty of candlelight flickering in a darkened room. The smiles and laughter of my family as we play a simple game of animal lotto. Sure, we can accumulate lots of stuff, pursue amazing experiences, seek sources of entertainment...but does it make us any happier? I'm not so sure. Not for me, at least. I have certainly felt the shift in my own life and heart since we moved from the simplicity of life in rural Norway to the busyness of city-life in Denmark. That all familiar Keeping-up-with-the-Joneses/I-want-what-they've-got mentality sometimes threatens to consume me. I really don't want to have it, but I see that I do, and it's such poison. It makes me unsatisfied with what I have, steals my creativity and my ability to see potential in small things, and generally saps my joy. Well, enough is enough. I don't want it anymore. I want a simple life. I don't want what everyone else has got. Sure, they might have cool stuff, but they also have lots of stress and busyness in their lives. Everyone wants to slow down and just breathe, but nobody will take the time to just do it, because they are ruled by their lifestyle. Not me. At least, that's my desire. I want my choices in life to reflect who I am and what I believe is important, not just what's momentarily popular. Because we all know something else will be popular next month. No wonder everyone is tired all the time, me included! It's exhausting keeping up with what's popular, what's cool, what everyone else has got. And there's no satisfaction in it either, because as soon as you've got it, they've got something else. Well, I'm done with that now. I just want a simple life. So, as of now, I am going on a journey to simplify my life, and you are invited to join me.

See you around in blog world.

Digital Scrapbooking!

2009-11-03T20:15:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I downloaded a free trial of Photoshop Elements to try out. I LOVE this program! I decided to try out some digital scrapbooking, and here is the result of my first page. Hope you enjoy it!

Life with Isabel

2009-08-13T11:44:00.008+02:00

Our sweet Isabel is now 9 days old, and we are enjoying her lots. She has very quickly become part of the family, and Alexander has accepted her really well. She's a real darling...she eats and sleeps well, and is generally very content. She doesn't even react when Alexander runs through the house shouting, or plays with his fire engine right beside her...or even when his hugs are a little too rough! We sure love this precious little girl!

Alexander pressing the button so that Isabel can hear the music (and he can dance! Check out the video at the bottom :) )

Evenings with Isabel are a really nice time to relax and just enjoy her.

First bath. Alexander likes to be part of everything that's going on!

Some quality time with Alexander while Isabel is napping.

Giving Isabel love!

Isabel watching while Alexander and Far play with his cars and Duplo blocks.

A visit from her grandparents, who were loaded down with gifts!

Mummy and her little girl.

Waking up after naptime. Hmmm...who is that in your bed, Mummy? The day after Isabel was born.

There's space for two on the change table!

Alexander watches in fascination as Isabel gets a new nappy.

Alexander and Christian, dancing to Isabel's music.

Life is very good!

Welcome to the World, Little One

2009-08-09T13:53:00.002+02:00

Isabel Margaret Merrild entered the world on Tuesday 4th August 2009 at 3:12am. She weighed 3780g (about 8.4 pounds) and measured 51cm long (about 20 inches). We are all doing well and are really enjoying this precious little person. She is a very contented baby, and eats and sleeps well. Alexander has been handling the adjustment pretty well, although he has been more sensitive and clingy than usual, which is to be expected. Thanks for your prayers for the birth...it went very well and quickly, and I have bounced back really well. I will try and post some more pictures later....for now, it's time for a nap while both my little darlings are asleep :)

Summer Snapshots

2009-07-31T13:28:00.011+02:00

This year we thought we would stay close to home, instead of having a summer holiday anywhere else, with a baby on the way. It turns out that we have actually had a really great summer so far and have done heaps of stuff. Here are a few snapshots from the last 2 months.

Summer is:

Visiting Legoland

Going to the zoo, where we bought a season pass...

...and bringing friends along.

Travelling to Norway (Kristiansand) for the wedding of YWAM friends...

...enjoying the Norwegian coastline....

....and catching up with old friends.

Enjoying the visits of friends in our home.

Eating icecream....yum!

Watching Tour de France.

Gardening

Learning new tricks

Hanging out at home

Enjoying the bounty of our garden

Backyard swimming (actually, this is our front yard)

Getting ready for the new baby

Spending time with family

Building on our house

Family weekends together

So far, as I'm sure you will agree after seeing all those pictures, it's been a great summer. Here's looking forward to August and all the joy it will bring!

Moments to Remember

2009-07-28T08:35:00.003+02:00

The bedroom is still dark, thanks to our new blackout blind, when Alexander bursts in at 6.30am. "Far?" he asks, looking for Christian. "He's at work," I reply. Alexander climbs up into the bed with me and has a little cuddle, shuffling several times against my big tummy, trying to find a comfortable spot. We lie in comfortable stillness for about half a minute, then he climbs down from the bed again. My eyes are closed and I am desperately hoping for a few more minutes of sleep, until I hear Alexander's little voice saying, "Mummy poo". Time for a clean nappy. I roll out of bed and we head for the bathroom together to sort it out. In his delightful mix of English and Danish he tells me he doesn't want to sleep anymore. "Xander no sove (sleep)." I tell him that he doesn't have to. "Mummy sove?" he asks. I tell him I would like to rest some more. He runs to his bedroom and comes back with one of the books we borrowed from the library yesterday - My Great Big Book of Trucks. He climbs up into the bed with his big book and gets comfortable against the pillows while I sink wearily into the bed beside him. I close my eyes briefly, until Alexander starts to look through the book and tells me excitedly about each truck, touching my face each time to be sure that I am actually listening. We go through the whole book, and Alexander stops on each page to count the trucks in the same way..."two, three!". After looking through the whole book we are both wide awake. Alexander looks at me. "Pat?" he asks, referring to the Postman Pat DVD we also borrowed from the library yesterday. I tell him he can watch it. He looks at me with his big, blue eyes wide open and leans his head to one side. "Mummy go watch Pat?" he asks with a little smile and all the charm he can muster. Who could say no? And so we sit in the lounge room together watching Postman Pat. It's 7.30am and it's soon time to get some breakfast. But for right now, it's a really nice, cozy way to start the day, cuddling in the armchair together. These are the moments I want to remember.

The Waiting Game

2009-07-25T20:56:00.004+02:00

(taken 10th July 09)

The countdown has started...only 8 days until the due date! We are mostly ready for the arrival of our little one....tiny clothes have washed, folded and put away, a cradle has been crammed into the corner of our bedroom, and the neccesary items have been purchased. However, I'm not sure if I'm totally ready. Honestly, I am really nervous about the birth. It was a very long and exhausting experience with Alexander, so I am not at all looking forward to going through that again. If you would remember me/us in your prayers, I would certainly appreciate that! Thanks. Keep posted for news in the next few weeks ;)

A Couple of House Pictures

2009-05-24T23:08:00.004+02:00

A little picture update of how our renovating project is going....

2009-05-24T23:08:00.000+02:00

Hard day

2009-05-19T18:12:00.002+02:00

Alexander was watching a movie while I was getting dinner ready tonight. I could hear that the movie had finished, but I couldn't hear what Alexander was up to. I poked my head into the lounge room, and this is how I found him...wiped out on the floor. Well, I suppose that's what happens when you play instead of having an afternoon nap....what a cutie!

Lazy Spring Days

2009-05-17T10:27:00.004+02:00

We have had wonderful spring weather here lately, which we just HAD to take advantage of. Alexander and I have been spending lots and lots of time together lately as Christian has been working overtime this week. The good news is that he'll get a couple of days off next week, as well as some public holidays, so he won't have to go to work for the whole week. Yippee! :)

Alexander and I walked down to the end of our road the other day to enjoy a spring picnic by the brook that runs through our valley. Alexander really loves throwing rocks, sticks, grass and dandelions in the water. We stayed for about an hour, just enjoying the sunshine and the glorious spring atmosphere.

Nothing like a picnic morning tea!

Hope you've all had a great weekend! More from us later... ;)

Fun at Questacon!

2009-03-26T10:04:00.007+01:00

We are having a great time in our nation's capital, Canberra! Today we went to the National Science Centre, Questacon, with some friends and had a ball in the exhibition for kids under 6. Alexander really enjoyed the water area, the climbing area and the construction area (any wonder?). It was so much fun, and Alexander didn't want to leave at the end of it. Good times!

Alexander, the baker!

Alexander in the vet area with Abby

The play gym area

The water area with Abby and Tim.

We have been having a really great time here in Australia, but we have only got about a week left until we go home. It will be really great to see Christian again!

Living it up Down Under

2009-03-05T12:16:00.003+01:00

I have not updated this blog for a looooong time! Well, Alexander and I have left Christian at home, renovating the bathroom/laundry, and have travelled to sunny Australia to spend some time with family and friends. We've been here for just about 4 weeks now, having a lovely time (although missing Christian like crazy!), and have a little over 4 more weeks left. We've been having all sorts of lovely adventures, so here are some pictures from the last few weeks.

Feeding the horses on the farm
Little farmer Alexander

Alexander's first day at Kindy

More photos later....it's late and I am tired. I'm off to bed!

For Auntie Katie!

2008-12-10T13:46:00.009+01:00

Enjoy!

Just Another (not so ) Ordinary Saturday!

2008-07-26T13:08:00.007+02:00

This morning I woke up to a very happy little boy, carrying a bowl of fruit salad and yoghurt to me where i lay in bed. Aaawwwwww, that's sweet! He then came in carrying a cup of coffee in a lidded thermal cup (no spills!), tripped on the door jamb and cried the last metre or so over to me. Everything was alright again, though, when he got to share my fruit salad. Yum! Thanks Christian ;)

Today, of course, is not just any ordinary Saturday. Today we got the keys to our new house!! We were supposed to get them on the 1st of October, then we found out we could have them on 1st August. Last week we found out that we could get them today! Hooray! So, we got on our bikes and rode up to our new house in the gorgeous summer weather that we are (finally!) having here. It was so beautiful, and so QUIET compared to living downtown!! Alexander had fun exploring the house while we adults did all the boring stuff. After the former owner had left, and we were alone in the house, we heard Alexander calling us from the back area of the house. We finally went out to see what he was up to......he had climbed up the "stairs" (basically a ladder) on his own and was stuck at the top! Good thing we came when we did.

Such a little adventurer!!

Our lovely little house. We are really looking forward to moving in next Saturday!! Well, today is such a beautiful day, I can't sit here at the computer all day... ;)

Horror Story

2008-07-23T09:14:00.003+02:00

It was one of those kind of nightmarish moments that you hope only take place in your imagination, but never in reality. I was in the shower, enjoying a momentary reprieve from the demands of an active 15 month old, relaxing under the stream of hot water, as Alexander played quietly and (hopefully) happily, right outside the bathroom door. After a few moments of blissful relaxation, I realised I could hear Alexander playing. The noise was not coming from outside the bathroom door, as I had imagined it would be, but from upstairs. Could that be right? Had I forgotten to close the door at the top of the stairs? Had Alexander climbed up the stairs and gone up there to explore, without the watchful gaze of Mummy interrupting the magnificent joy of discovery? With a feeling of horror and trepidation, I realised that I had, in fact, left the door open, and the sounds coming from upstairs were undoubtedly the sound of a small boy exploring the contents of the fridge. I quickly hurried to finish rinsing my hair, and jumped out of the shower, dragging a towel around myself as I rushed up the stairs and into the living area. The scene that greeted me was a confirmation of all the horror filled thoughts that had rushed through my mind in that short trip up the stairs. My eyes quickly took in the details....the fridge door standing ajar, the trail of items lying on the rusty coloured carpet. Butter, jam, a carton of yoghurt lying on its side. But the central feature in this scene was Alexander, standing in a puddle of milk with a look of wonder and delight on his face, as the milk cascading from the carton in his hand joined the pooling mess on the carpet. His joy was short lived, however, as I rushed over, with a cry of "Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!", and grabbed the carton of milk from his hand, and removed him from the scene of his crime.
It was only after cleaning up the mess that I allowed myself to chuckle at his antics, and appreciate the curiousity and wonder that led to this exploration. Needless to say, the door was firmly closed this morning when I stepped into the shower. :)

Vejle

2008-05-28T14:34:00.002+02:00

Well, we have now moved to Vejle, into a small apartment right in the city, and are getting settled in. The move went well, and Alexander has transitioned very nicely. There is a little garden to play in outside our apartment, and a nice playground within walking distance. Alexander loves living in the city, and especially enjoys walking along the street and seeing all the cars, buses, trucks and bicycles going past. We have set up our wooden chest under one of the windows so that he can look out and see them going past when he's inside too.

Christian is enjoying the extra time at home in the mornings and afternoons, as his driving time has been reduced from 40 minutes to 10 minutes. He's enjoying his job, which is always a bonus! Right now he and three others are extending a Kindergarten/daycare centre, so all day long the children come over and ask, "What are you doing?", again, and again, and again.... ;)

I have started looking for a job, and have applied for one in a daycare centre. I also have an appointment today to talk to another place about a job, so it's all happening.

All in all, it's nice to be here, but pretty lonely sometimes. It's strange to walk through a city and realise that you don't know anybody...you get the feeling that you're really alone. Anyway, we hope we get the "home" feeling soon.

Take care!

Farewell Eintrøa, Hello Denmark

2008-05-13T13:30:00.002+02:00

The time arrived for us to say goodbye to Eintrøa (if you didn't know this, by the way, we are leaving Eintrøa and moving to Denmark ;)) and pack our little flat together for the big move to Denmark. That time arrived last weekend, and we packed all our stuff into a large van and drove down to Denmark. We had a nicely uneventful trip, with a lovely stop over south of Oslo to see our friends, the Brudelis. It was really exhausting, though. We spent the last week trying to catch as much sleep as possible whenever we had the chance. Which wasn't that often, seeing as how Alexander is the energizer bunny, and he woke up every morning at 5.30am and would NOT go back to sleep, and ran around touching everything all day every day, with only a short nap in between (I got a bit of a nap in too). It's all just too exciting for him. Apart from all that excitement, it's been very good to have some time to settle in. Here in Denmark it was a long weekend this last weekend, so we really enjoyed having three days together, catching up after Christian being away from us for a month. We are staying with Christian's parents, which has been good...they really enjoy having Alexander around for a while (and us too, of course!), and he enjoys being with them...as long as I am still within eyeshot! The weather here last week was just amazing, with beautiful warm, sunny days in the high 20's and not much wind...real summer weather. We have really enjoyed it, and Alexander especially enjoys that he can go outside without having to put more clothes on! He runs out, and in, and out, and in, and out, and....you get the idea!

We bought a house in Vejle, which is a city in south eastern Jutland (the big pointy bit sticking up, that's connected to Germany...for my geographically challenged friends ;)). It's really cute.....which is the perfect description of it, because it's small. But it suits us well, and doesn't cost as much as something bigger (naturally), so we can afford it. However, our wonderful cute little house is still occupied, and will be until 1st October. So we can't move in until then, unless the dear old lady who lives there gets the apartment she's waiting for sooner. So, we'll see when we actually get it. Anyway, as much as we like Christian's parents, 5 months is quite a long time to live with them, so we have been trying to figure out another option. Christian's parents have some friends who own a whole bunch of apartments in Vejle, so Christian's mum Ellen asked them if any were free (as in not occupied, not as in no cost ;)), but none of them are. But in that group of apartments is a guest apartment, which can be rented for up to three months. We can rent that until our house is ready, even though it will be longer than three months, and we can move in whenever we like. Great! Even better than that is that it costs only a couple of hundred kroner more each month than what we paid for our apartment at Eintrøa, which wasn't much. Fantastic! We plan on moving there in 2 weeks time or so.

God has been really faithful to us. When we were praying about moving to Denmark, we felt that we should try and buy a place in Vejle, even though we don't really know the city and know only one couple living there. But it was just so expensive to buy something, unless we didn't mind buying a one bedroom apartment, so we were looking at places around Vejle. We were pretty set on buying a house in another town, and Christian went to the bank and got it all approved, when our little house popped up on the market...the day before Christian went to buy the other house. So, he went to look at it, and we talked about it, and both really felt that we should try and buy it, because we felt we should live in Vejle. It came down to the bidding round, and....we won! Yay! Then we didn't know where to live in the meantime, and now we have a great solution for where to live! The whole way through, God has been speaking to us about just trusting Him, and it has really been a great lesson in that, especially for me. I have just felt a wonderful peace about everything (which is not normal for me), and Christian has too, and it has been a great experience. I was quite worried and scared about leaving Eintrøa, with our friends and the wonderful fellowship we have there, and coming to something unknown, and to a lifestyle we have not had for 6 years, and never together as a couple/family. But God has proven to be really faithful, and that's been such a wonderful experience and testimony. I feel pretty relaxed now, and even though the issue of me finding a job has yet to come up, with all that implies, including day care for Alexander, I can trust in Him who has proven to be so trustworthy and wait on Him to show me the right job, at the right time, and the right solution for day care for Alexander. I'm really thankful for that!

Ok, that's enough rambling for one day. I'll put some pictures on later, because I just couldn't be bothered doing it right now. Have a good day!

Happy Birthday Alexander!!

2008-04-11T20:58:00.007+02:00

On Wednesday, Alexander turned one! Wow, times really flies! Christian has already left for Denmark, so I decided to throw a little party for Alexander and invite some friends around. Here are a couple of snaps from the happy day.

Good morning, birthday boy! Alexander holds on to the (Danish) flag as if to establish ownership, while his crazy Mum attempts to sing the Danish birthday song, followed by "Happy Birthday".Now it's time to rip open the first present.....

...books! How exciting!Looking good in the birthday outfit he got from his Danish grandparents, complete with spike!

Party guests...Tanja, Gunn Mari, Christian and Evelina (for those who know them ;))and Alexander hangs out with his two favourite girls, Elisabeth and Kristine.Time to blow out the candles (doesn't my cake look beautiful?)......before digging in. What a polite boy, using a spoon!The display I made in 5 minutes!Alexander stood on the chair by himself for the special Norwegian birthday song...very cute!He also got his own little cake, which he enjoyed sucking the icing off before he threw it away. Here he is surrounded by all the wonderful people at Eintrøa, who moments before were jumping, dancing and singing. Birthdays are great!

Hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into Alexander's birthday. Have a good one!

The Mystery of Noah and Mrs. Noah

2008-04-01T13:17:00.004+02:00

Noah and his wife are missing. I mean, really missing. When Alexander started playing with the Noah's Ark, the first thing he did was to take out Noah and Mrs Noah and throw them away. Then one day Mrs Noah went missing. We couldn't find her anywhere. Then, the next day, Noah went missing. When we ask Alexander where they are, he just grins at us. Hmmm..... Anyway, today we searched the apartment. I mean, it's only 35m2...there's not that much ground to cover. We looked everywhere - under the couch, under the couch cushions, in our shoes, in drawers, under the bed, in the bin....anywhere Alexander might have hidden it or posted it. Well, they weren't found. So, it's still a mystery.....

On the Move!

2008-03-29T15:04:00.000+01:00

Alexander has started walking. On Sunday, he took a couple of steps to Evelina, and since then has been gradually walking more and more. Now he chooses to walk from one place to another, even though he holds onto furniture most of the way, instead of crawling. He has become way more confident at walking! (I tried to put a video on here, but after an hour and a half, it still hasn't loaded...sorry!)

He has also turned into a crazy kamikaze monkey, throwing himself off things and launching himself at us. This morning he launched himself off our bed and onto the floor. The reason this was so amazing to us is that he can actually climb down from our bed, and normally does so successfully....just not today! He really enjoys doing things with his body and testing his strength, his spatial awareness and his physical abilities.

He has started sitting on a little chair at his little table, and likes sitting there eating his morning tea while I am doing things in the kitchen. It's really handy, because he doesn't fuss as much. Hooray!

He got a Wiggles DVD from his Auntie Lisa and family as an early birthday present, and he really enjoys watching it, so this morning I put it on, and had enough time to make buns for breakfast! I guess my perspective has changed, as I have been really against propping kids in front of DVDs..... :)

He can also reach higher than we thought. One morning, Christian put the porridge down on the table and went back to the kitchen to get something....this was how he found Alexander when he came back.....

The moral to the story...don't keep a hungry boy waiting!

Well, the baby has gone and we have a wonderful little boy in it's place. I put some of the Montessori activities from the preschool on Alexander's shelf, and he has really enjoyed exploring them.

His absolute favourite thing is the string of red wooden beads. He puts them on first thing every day, and they stay on pretty much the rest of the day. Very cute!

The other day we let him feed himself. This consisted of us loading his fork with pizza pieces, and him stuffing them into his mouth, followed by trying to stab anything (including my arm!) in his enthusiasm to get more on the fork! He had a great time, and really enjoyed feeding himself. What a mess! The only thing is, he wants to do it every time now! :)

Fun in the snow! Prince Alexander, getting dragged around by his two admiring playmates, Elisabeth and Kristine. What a life! He certainly loves the speed he gets on this thing! Finally, the snow has started to melt, and it actually feels like spring! Yippee! :)

Well that's about it for the Alexander update. Next time I'll write something about the rest of us... ;)

On the Move!

2008-03-29T10:36:00.013+01:00

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T13:59:00.008+01:00

Happy Easter to you all! What a joyful day and reason to celebrate...our Lord and Saviour rose from the dead! Hooray!

This morning we woke up to a clear, beautiful day of -14 degrees celcius! Wow, that's cold! We had a little Easter egg hunt (inside, of course!), read the story of Jesus' resurrection and after a lovely breakfast with hot cross buns, we bundled up and walked to the little church in Ingdalen for the Easter service. It was very nice.

Alexander especially enjoyed finding and picking up all those little Easter eggs...it was just putting them in the basket that was the hard part!

We hope you have a wonderful Easter and relaxing holidays, wherever you are in the world!

Back in Norway

2008-03-22T14:12:00.015+01:00

Okay, okay, so I am really not that great at blogging. In fact, I'm terrible at it. But at least you get to hear from us now! We had a really great time in USA/Australia, and were in fact having such a great time that I just forgot about blogging. Okay, so that's only slightly true. My parents have a satellite internet connection, and it just takes forever to upload pictures, so I just didn't bother. Well, I'll just fill you in on all the details now!

We had a fun visit in Seattle, north-west USA, with my sister and her husband and three girls. Their youngest daughter is only 4 months older than Alexander, so they had fun playing together. It was nice to be in the USA (Christian's first visit) and to see what it's like...it certainly helps us to understand our American friends a lot better! We also got the chance to catch up with Anna, so that was just super!

Then it was off to Australia, where we catching up with all the family and rellies (relatives), and lots ofhad a really great time, friends too. Alexander really loved being with all his cousins! The (almost) first thing we did when we got to Australia was to go on a family holiday to the beach...not bad after coming from the cold, dark, snowy north! Although it was windy, it was nice to relax on the beach and spend some time catching up with my three other sisters and their families, and my parents, as well as Christian's little sister Kirsten, and two of Katie's friends, Cornelia from Switzerland and Karianne from Norway. It was great fun!

Then it was Christmas, and all the family gathered at my parents' farm for a couple of mildly chaotic days. It was lots of fun, and only mildly stressful :) Alexander enjoyed opening his presents, but was quite overwhelmed by the amount of them! He got to ride on the pony with his cousin, sit in the spa with Grandma and all the cousins, and started crawling on the 3rd of January! You can see his first crawling attempts below (requires some patience to watch!;))

Alexander's other major events included:
- visiting the chiropractor, which was good because his neck and one hip were out of place and it really helped him to sleep much better :D
- learning to crawl up Grandma's stairs!
- spending a weekend alone with far (Dad), camping in a tent with a bunch of guys from the church on a "Lads and Dads" weekend, while I went to a women's conference!

All in all, we had a great time! I'll post some more later! :)

In America!

2007-12-06T03:47:00.000+01:00

We are having a really great time here in America. We had a great flight over and Alexander slept well for most of the 10 hour flight from Copenhagen to Seattle, and fell asleep on take off on both of our flights. What a blessing! We arrived last Tuesday evening (local time) and have been having a really nice time visiting with Lisa, and also going a little north of Seattle to see Anna, a friend and former student of ours. We've had lots of exciting adventures so far, and we'll have to get some pictures on here later. It's been fun to "experience" America, and all the wonderful unique things about it.

Let's Go!

2007-11-25T21:06:00.000+01:00

Alexander is keen to get his bag packed and to leave for his big adventure.

"Mmmmm...this is a good place to eat my didgeridoo...I mean, cardboard tube!"

Fresh Snow!

2007-11-22T18:45:00.001+01:00

Alexander and I enjoyed being out in the freshly fallen snow today. We have to make the most of it...soon we will be in Australia's summer heat! :)

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'!

2007-11-21T09:06:00.002+01:00

Alexander is now rolling all over the place. He can move around quite well this way, and it's amazing how quickly he's suddenly half way across the room. I tried to film him so you can all join in the fun of seeing him roll. Enjoy!

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

2007-11-21T09:00:00.000+01:00

Well, in only 6 days we will get on a plane and fly over the Atlantic Ocean to Seattle, USA, to visit my sister and her family. To say that we are excited is an understatement (well, at least it is for me. Christian is another matter!;)). After 2 weeks there, we head southwards for Sydney, via Honolulu. We haven't seen our Australian family or friends (except for my parents) in 2 years, so it's going to be great to see them and spend time with them. The only thing I am nervous about is the flight. It's a 10 hour flight from Copenhagen to Seattle, so hopefully Alexander will sleep and be a well behaved baby :)

All prayers for this are very much appreciated!

Snow, Beautiful Snow!

2007-11-13T14:19:00.000+01:00

There is nothing more beautiful than walking through the freshly fallen snow, in the quiet of the early morning. The soft crunch of booted feet in the powdery consistency is a gentle and somewhat soothing sound. Glancing around, it is inspiring to see the small, soft flakes clinging to whatever they reach first, covering everything in a pure blanket of white. How extraordinarily beautiful!

This is the house we live in, in a small flat :)

Alexander enjoyed looking out the window at the softly falling snow.

Winter comes to Eintrøa!

2007-11-06T18:16:00.000+01:00

Today it started snowing. Now it really feels like winter! It was also really cold, so we are especially looking forward to going to Australia for Christmas!

Alexander and I went outside in the early evening to play in the snow, together with the two girls who live on the base, Elisabeth and Kristine. They just happened to be building a snow fort in our garden! Hmmm....I wonder if they were hoping we would come out and play with them? :)

Alexander's first sled ride!

A Really Lovely Day

2007-10-29T13:38:00.001+01:00

Yesterday Alexander was baptised in Ingdalen Church. It was a really lovely day. Alexander handled the whole day really well, especially the actual baptism. He managed to fit the gown that Christian and all his siblings wore (with some last minute adjustments by his grandmother), which was really nice. It was great to have so many people to celebrate with us. There were six family members from Denmark - Christian's parents, three of his four siblings, and his grandmother - as well as 10 other guests from the local village and the area. The rest of the number were made up of the Eintrøa community. It was wonderful to celebrate it together!

With us and his godparents, our good friends and colleagues at Eintrøa; Evelina from Estonia, and Christian from Germany/Denmark/Switzerland ;)

Together with the priest, godparents, us, and Christian's family.

In his party clothes for the party afterwards, which was held at Eintrøa. Christian spent the last two weeks cooking and baking different things, which we froze and then reheated to provide a big buffet. The food was really delicious! (Mum, these are the little leather "boots" you gave him!)

Baptism

2007-10-24T22:06:00.000+02:00

On Sunday, Alexander is going to be baptised in our local church. We have been deliberating over this for quite a long time, and eventually decided to go ahead and do it. So, he will be baptised in Ingdalen Chapel (a Lutheran church), which is in our local village, at 11 am on Sunday 28th October. He will wear the same baptism gown as Christian and all his siblings wore (hopefully it will fit...he's growing really fast!), which I think is quite cool. We'll have a bit of a party for our guests...some family members from Denmark, 2 from another part of Norway, around 10 locals, and the rest from the Eintroa community...about 40-45 in all. We're looking forward to it, and we've promised to take some photos (as if we wouldn't!), so you can look out for those at some future date.

Terrible News from Gaza

2007-10-08T18:42:00.000+02:00

Today we heard some terrible news from Gaza. The manager of the Palestinian Bible Society in Gaza was kidnapped and murdered. He was 30 years old and left 2 children and a pregnant wife behind. For those of you who didn't know, we were in Gaza two and a half years ago on an outreach. We met this man, Rami, and worked closely together with the Bible Society and the Baptist church, of which he was a member. It's quite a shock for the other believers in Gaza, and a frightening situation. Please stand with us to pray for Rami's wife Pauline and family, and for the Bible Society and the Christian believers in Gaza. They are experiencing increased persecution, in addition to the already difficult conditions in Gaza.

If you want to read more about it, here are a couple of links:
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Terror+Groups/Christian+activist+slain+in+Hamas+controlled+Gaza+8-Oct-2007.htm
http://joshuafund.blogspot.com/
http://www.biblesociety.org.uk/pressreleases/081007.html

Mmmm...mashed banana!!

2007-09-07T11:55:00.000+02:00

What a jolly good idea! Alexander really enjoys sucking on a variety of objects. Christian decided to give him a banana, so he could have a different texture to explore. Well, our son's strong jaws soon crushed the end of the banana, and he started enjoyed the now mashed banana!

His first real food! He didn't really want to let go of this new found treasure, and thoroughly expressed his disappointment when he found out his yellow toy didn't taste the same as the banana! I think this will be a favourite food when he starts eating for real :)

Alexander and Christian!

Wonderful, Marvellous Baby Björn!

2007-07-03T19:28:00.000+02:00

Last Sunday, Christian made a fabulous purchase...a Baby Björn baby carrier! He found it second hand, although in very good shape, and since then has found many wonderful uses for it. He and Alexander have been able to enjoy time together, doing "stuff". They have....

...made bread together...

...mown the lawn together...

...and just "hung out" together. They've really had lots of fun!

The Joy of a Smile

2007-07-02T22:13:00.001+02:00

Alexander has really started smiling and laughing. It's such a delight to hear him and see his great big smiles! I feel really privileged when his smile is in response to my smile, my face, or in total enjoyment of the games we play together. I hope his smile brings a smile to your face!

Who Had the Most Fun?!?

2007-07-02T19:53:00.001+02:00

This last week we held a children's camp here at Eintrøa. This biggest hit from previous camps has been the four wheelers, which we have rented for the week. However, this year it wasn't possible to rent them. What a dilemma, especially as many boys come to the camp, and really love the four wheelers. Christian was praying for a solution, and got the idea to look at a website selling second hand stuff. He found these mini four wheelers, brand new, for 2500kr a piece (approx. $500 AUD), we bought two of them. The only problem....the engines needed to be run in before the kids could ride them. No worries! Christian volunteered to ride them in, and happily spent hours driving around and around on both four wheelers, sometimes getting help from others. What a terrible task! :) Christian really enjoyed himself, and the kids later had great fun riding them around the track.

Vaccinations...ouch!

2007-07-02T19:45:00.000+02:00

Alexander got his first round of vaccinations last Thursday. He handled it really well, and only cried for a little while afterwards. He was just very cuddly for the rest of the day! We also saw our little friend again, and I learnt that her name is Maria, and her mother's name is Marie Johanne. No wonder I was confused!

He is growing really well, right on his curve, and is now 5.2kg and 59cm long.

DTS Graduation!

2007-07-02T17:43:00.000+02:00

Three weeks ago (yeah..I'm slow), the DTS arrived back safely from India, full of stories and exciting adventures to tell about. It was wonderful to see them again, and to show off Alexander, whom they were all excited to meet! Of course, he got loads of attention, and even a tiny "punjabi", the local dress in India as a gift. After a final week of debriefing and teaching, and wonderful fellowship, it was time for the DTS to end. We held a lovely graduation ceremony, and it was such a pleasure to give the students their certificates and congratulate them for completing the school. Christian gave a marvellous speech about strawberry plants...and how they are a parallel to our lives (I guess you had to be there!).

Sadly, that was the last DTS we will lead, and it was encouraging to hear from the students and other staff how much we had encouraged them and what we had meant for them during the last 6 months. Thank you for all your prayers for the school!

We finished off with a barbeque and fun day on Saturday, followed by a big bonfire. It was a really nice way to end off the school.

Two handsome boys, enjoying the bonfire. Alexander's woollies were once worn by Christian :)

Alexander in his punjabi with Silje, one of the students, in her punjabi.

Beautiful Sunset

2007-06-01T19:19:00.000+02:00

The most beautiful sunset this week was on Monday night at approx. 11pm. Isn't it amazing?

Ok, now I'm just showing off! This is taken from a different angle.

Which picture do you prefer? Add your opinion to my comments :)

As Strong as an Ox!

2007-06-01T18:15:00.001+02:00

This week, on Tuesday, Alexander had his first visit to the Clinic Nurse, to check out how he has been growing and developing. The Clinic Nurse, Jorunn, was really impressed by how strong he is, and mentioned it several times. She said his physical development was advanced for his age. We were really proud :) He was also checked out by the doctor, and both were very happy with his development and growth.

Jorunn is trying to get Alexander to look up at her. Success!

Head circumference: 38.1cm (15inches), 35cm (13.8 inches) at birth. He measured 55cm (21 inches) long, from 49cm (19.3 inches) at birth.

Hmm...not sure about this weighing business! Current weight: 4460g (9.8lbs), birth weight 2780g (6lbs).

We were also treated by the visit of Maria and her mum, Mari Johanne, during our visit there. Maria was born the same day as Alexander, although their due dates were three weeks apart! She was born 8 days late, and he was born 15 days early, so they are quite different in size. In our local area, there are about 10-12 babies born a year (I know, shockingly few!), and it was very exciting for them at the clinic that our two babies were due so close together. What a surprise that they turned out to be born on the same day! The other family live in Lensvik (7 km from us), and have their clinic appointments the same day as us, so we can meet up. They are really nice and we look forward to getting to know them better!

Sunrise at 4 am

2007-05-27T11:10:00.001+02:00

This is the beautiful sunrise that greeted me at 4 am this morning, when I was feeding Alexander. What an amazing privilege, to see the dawning of a new day! Let's face it...if I didn't have to get up, I certainly wouldn't set my alarm to see it, so I can be thankful that Alexander still needs feeding in the wee hours of the morning!

The Lesson of Pain

2007-05-26T15:24:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I caught a cactus. It really hurt! Of course, I didn't realise it was a cactus until I had caught it. I knocked it off the windowsill at a friend's place, and caught it by instinct as it fell. My left hand was full of the little needles, both big and small. With the help of some tweezers, I managed to get them all out...or so I thought. This morning, when I woke up, I could tell that there were still some of the needles in my hand. The small, unseeable kind. And I started thinking, that these needles in my hand were like unforgiveness and bitterness. In my life I have often forgiven people for the hurts they caused, or wrongs done against me, but there have still been some small, unseeable hurts that have gone unnoticed. That is, until I have been in similar situations, or been hurt again by the same person. I have realised that there has been bitterness growing without me even being aware of it. Bitterness is ugly and I have become ugly too. Now I need to start the process of, like with the small unseeable cactus needles, cutting open the skin and getting the small hurtful needles of bitterness out. It is a long process and a painful process, but it is a completely necessary process. And one I can only walk through with God's grace and strength to help me.