Did anyone ever tell you this?

I love my kids.  I seriously do.  They are my life.  They are my air.  But they can successfully make me look like a crazed lunatic on a bad day.  And don't be fooled by Willsy - he is blossoming quickly into the "Silent Assassin"!! 

When I was pregnant with my children, I had advice literally thrown at me.  So much advice and yet no-one ever told me the crucial bits so I am taking the liberty to share them with you (they will make you laugh - well I hope they do): 

No-one ever told me:

-  that your child can and will successfully scream louder than you. 

-  that your child will announce on every third consequtive grocery shop, that they need a wee and they need it "NOW".  This will make you question whether to drop the trolley and run - or proceed to race around the shop and get the bare necessities while whispering "Don't Wee! - We are nearly there".  I usually prefer to do the latter. Usually the said child is clutching her crotch like it's going to fall off. 


- that regardless of if they have only had 2 minutes sleep in the car, they will firmly believe that that will be their adequate nap for the day.

-  that they will leave their "business" until they have a brand new nappy on.

-  they will declare that they are "NOT HUNGRY" when their dinner plate still has food on it but will then proceed to successfully demolish a tub of yoghurt or an ice-cream cone afterwards in record time.

- that they will have super sonic hearing. They will hear everything that they shouldn't hear - and will pretend to not hear what we ask them to do something.

- that clearly the person who declared the "Terrible Twos" had clearly not reached the "Threes" yet.

-  that they will find all items that they aren't allowed to touch and treat those items like Santas been....and then they will treat their toys like they are poison.

-  that you would become accustomed to the fact that one, sometimes two children will be fascinated by watching you wee. 

-  that regardless of the day you had with your darling children, you will sneak into their room and watch them sleep....and you will fall in love even more with them. 

-  that you will see so much of yourself in them that it makes you want to run to your parents and apologise profusely!!

and, that you will love them unconditionally FOREVER!!!!!

Once upon a time....

...in an orange orchard, there was a beautiful little family who simply loved life.

They knew how to play, laugh and dance.

And they were simply beautiful.

Much Love.  X

And then there is this image which warms my heart....

On a stormy afternoon....

It was a 40+ degree day and the storm clouds were rolling in but we had the most magical afternoon.

I'm so looking forward to capturing this little guy and his gorgeous family on his birthday too.

There is nothing more rewarding than watching the children I capture grow. 

Its more of an honour than a job.

Much Love.  X

Out of Macie's Mouth....

Our darling little Moo is well and truly into her "Threes".

She can articulate what she wants, express her feelings, tell us off for doing something that we tell her not to and she makes us laugh.  Every.single.day.

Here are a few beauties:

*Some of these have been shared on my personal FB page so sorry in advance for any of my friends reading this*

1.  Getting ready for town always involves a fair bit of negotiating and the usual threat from either Heath or I stating to Macie "If you don't stop that tantrum/attitude/all of the above, then we aren't going". 

The other day after saying the said threat, Willsy decided to have a meltdown.  Probably because he was dressed in clothes including socks and was looking at his feet like they were now alien to him.  Anyway - next thing we hear from Macie is:

"Mate - that's it.  You heard Mum & Dad.  You can't come to town now so stop that crying now.  Now William.  Ok - that's fine.  You can stay home with Boss and Morty (our dogs)." 

Then add in a very defiant stomp of the foot and a swift turn on the heel and she was out of there!!  Meanwhile Heath & I were doing the not-so-serious--while-trying-to-contain-the-snort-laugh Face.  You know that one right?  Usually involves either your head in a pillow trying to muffle the laugh that your body wants to explode out of your lungs - or perhaps your hand over your mouth while the laugh continues to make farting noises through your fingers.  Yep we are classics at those.

2.  Found my wedding DVD today and was so excited to show Macie. So we sat down together all happy and next thing I know Macie is absolutely emotionally hysterical when she can see Heath & I on the alter.

Me: "Whats wrong Moo?"
Moo: "You are so far away."
Me: "I dont understand what you mean."
Moo: *fully hysterical now* "You ran away Mummy - you are so far away - I cant touch you - you are in the TV"
Me: *laugh so hard I may have snorted*
Moo: *past hysterical* "It's nooooot funny Mummy! Come back Mummy! Come back"

I think it's safe to say that Macie FULLY 100% BELIEVES that people live in the TV.

Yep - I'm saving this beauty for her 21st.

3.  And then today, while I was under the false illusion that my children were happily playing together in Willsy's room - I hear the blood curdling scream that makes any parent drop any said object and run like the wind. 

I run into Willsys room to find Macie saying "I was just trying to give him a cuddle Mummy....I picked him up....You are OK mate.  Please dont be mad.  Mummy I am so sorry"...

Willsy ends up with a black eye that quickly forms.  He cried for 22 seconds and was quickly more interested in the lego (such a boy!) but our poor darling Macie took about 22 minutes to settle.  She was just so devastated that she hurt her "brovver".  God Bless Her.

She is funny. 

She makes us laugh.

She is ours. 

X

The month that was....

I was going to do a big, nice, long post which tugged at the heart strings but then I downloaded my photos from my iPhone (I'm a tad addicted to Instagram) and I truly believe the photos tell the better story about what we have been upto over the past month.

 

So here goes....

 

These two are best friends.  Macie is the only person that can make Willsy laugh from the bottom of his belly, no matter how hard Heath & I try.  He walks up to her and just randomly cuddles her - to which she replies "Oh Mate - I love you too."  Seriously too cute and what every parent dreams of seeing with their children.  Well we do anyway!

We took a quick trip to my parents for a catch up earlier this month as we all felt like Christmas came and went without even bothering to say hello.  It was such an awesome visit and we are all dying to get back up there to see all our family again.  We caught up with friends that we hadn't seen in over 4 years and it was like we only saw each other yesterday.  True Friendship has no rules. 





We've spent the month trying to keep as cool as possible while the heat absolutely smacked us in the face.  I have never experienced such long heatwaves here in Goondiwindi....and I must say I did not enjoy it one bit.  Side effects of heat:  My Children hate to wear clothes now.  I bet every country kid is the same....I hope!

We have been keeping cool in our very humble kiddies pool.  One day I dream of a lovely house for my gorgeous children and pool (one can only dream!) - but for now, we appreciate what we have and are very blessed for it. 

And keeping ourselves entertained with good friends, impromptu dinners and late nights teaching our big girls the fine art of yabbying. 

And not killing each other in the process!  Summer does crazy things to me - heat, snakes, mossies makes me into a insanely cranky person!  I love this husbo of mine who just laughs at me when I have a fit!

Meanwhile....these two continue to love each other and make Heath & I melt. 

And we continue to love each other and make important time for just "us" with our date nights. 

It started to rain a few weeks back and had me high-tailing it home from a photo session.  It just rained and rained and rained....and the farm had some minor flooding. 

Macie had swimming block as she firmly believed that she could breathe under water.  Thankfully she doesn't believe that now and can now kick, tread water and hopefully save herself in a dire situation.  We are off for more blocks before the winter sets in.

She is also off to Kindy one day a week this year at our little local town up the road from us.  She hasn't stopped talking about how she is going to school!

She is so ready for it - but her little brother is going to miss her terribly. 

We let the heat go to our heads and decided that we couldn't miss our yearly catch up with our dear friends, even if it meant camping in Chinchilla.  Thankfully they know me too well and we ended up sleeping in a glorious bed!  The kids loved it, and it was so good to get away.  But it rained....or should we say, the ex-cyclone blew over us, and it didn't stop raining!  The next morning we high-tailed it out of there and had a race with the rising creeks all the way home.

We came home to rain....and this....

 

And finally we saw blue sky with a few nasty storms in between.

 

February brings a month of promise, excitement and mystery.

 

Willsy turns one on the 26th which just floors me as to how 12 months has passed so quickly. Macie starts Kindy.  Heath will be busy with the farm, harvest, spraying, etc.  And my photography calendar is booked solid now I had to postpone with the floods. 

 

I promise to blog.  I promise.  I will blog professional, personal and all there is in-between.  Because I love to share.  

 

I live to share.

 

Happy February Peeps.

 

Much Love,

Han X  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks 2012

The past twelve months have delivered such a smorgasboard of events, emotions and achievements.  As I look back, I marvel on how much Macie has blossomed, how big William has grown and how our marriage has strengthed and bonded over sleepless nights and vomit-covered shoulders.

I find it difficult to digest the fact that twelve months has passed and we are entering into yet another year to ride the exhilarating, scary and often challenging rollercoaster of life. 

2012 has made us laugh so hard that we cried,

cried so deeply that we sobbed,

smiled so broadly that our cheeks ached,

and as always, has made us grateful for the life we lead.

It has taught us how influencial a piece of chocolate can be when potty-training is failing,

or how two children can successfully make a white couch turn beige.

It has taught us that all arguments can be solved by a simple three rounds of "Paper. Scissors. Rock",

and that a cold rum and a debrief at the end of every day is just like paying for therapy. 

In February, our lives were blessed doubly when William James decided to join our family.  After a serene and drug-free birth in our local town, we walked out of the hospital less than 24 hours later to go home as a family of four.  He has completed our family. 

He has taught us a lot - but the biggest thing he has taught us is that our hearts don't ever stop loving.  Every single day as Macie and William awake, we fall in love with them that little bit more.....and especially at night when they are peacefully sleeping in their beds - fully content with their worlds that we have created for them.  They teach us how to love each and every day.

  We have had christenings, weddings, beach visits, and have created many many special memories.

 We have watched Macie grow and blossom into a delightful little girl.  It's hard to believe that she will be starting Kindy in 2014 and next year will be her last year at home.  She is such a beautiful and caring big sister to Willsy and he absolutely idolises her.  I see so much of me in her.  She is fiery, determined, independent and has attitude.  She gets cranky when she is hungry which I do, and she sings like I do....which isn't exactly a trait that she will be thanking me for later on.  She is our free-spirit.  The life of the party (when things are going her way) and she has more confidence than some adults do in a lifetime.  I'm intrigued as to what 2013 will bring with our Big Girl....

And as for the husbo....we have survived a very busy, hectic and often chaotic year with a newborn, a very busy toddler, my photography taking off, a very demanding farmlife schedule and life in general.  We have had our arguments, our mexican stand offs at 2am in the morning as to whose turn it was to get up to William and our disagreements - but we always come out of it stronger, happier and more in love than ever.  Life will continue to test us - throwing us curveballs, hurdles and bends in the road - and I am very thankful that I have such a compassionate, strong, stubborn and funny husbo to hold hands with along the way.

So, thanks 2012.

You have treated us well.

You have given us life.

You have given us health.

You have given us love.

You have given us wealth.

And for that, we are grateful.  X

 

What Christmas is really about....

As I scroll through the photos of Christmas - I feel grateful, lucky and blessed. 

 

I see nothing but family who surround us with love, friendship and support. 

 

I feel every ounce of their love for not only me but for my beautiful little family.

(Collection of images by Paul & I)

It brings me back to Christmas Eve as I sat in Church for the Christmas mass while my babies were safely tucked into bed with Heath.  The priest's sermon struck me as he begged for us to search and find for the real meaning of Christmas and not to be disappointed when the festive season doesn't turn out the way you had planned - when the children dismiss the presents, the sugar highs create tantrums and the hype ends before it even gets the chance to start. 

 

He begged us to look past the commercialism, the presents, the food and the hype.....and really see what Christmas is all about. 

 

That is "Just Being". 

 

Being able to acknowledge the true love, support, friendship and joy that surrounds us. 

Being able to acknowledge the family who love us. 

The friends who enjoy us. 

The work which we are blessed to have,

and, the life which we are privileged to lead.    

 

It was a long overdue reminder to me after spending Advent with all the hype of Christmas, adding to the mix Bruce the Elf.  It was all about gifts, "special" treats, blah blah blah.....but was I really teaching Macie the true meaning of Christmas?  

 

Teaching her that even through the jungle of wrapping paper, ribbon and toys - the people in our lives are so much more important?  That a simple hug, kiss and a "I love you" is the biggest gift as opposed to a scooter or a new bag. 

 

So even though our Christmas was amazingly magical, 2013 will be all about "Just Being". 

 

As I feel that may be just the most important message that my darling children need.