Jan 13 2012
A year at a glance….
Hey peeps….
HAPPY NEW YEAR to you! I really was hoping to get to this post earlier than this, but boom the time is going by SO quickly! School holidays sure keep me busy…yep I feed the troops, then clean-up,…..two hours pass… I feed the troops, then clean -up… then repeat that pattern several times a day and vroom the day is GONE! I admit I might get to have a dip in the pool in there amongst all that…oh and a smidge of time on Pinterest fits in there too, but hey you get the picture…. the poor old Blog-o just gets neglected once again!
Seriously though as much as i love ya, it has been great to have a blogging break and to get inspired for the New year too. Besides, i am sure you are doing far more enjoyable things over the summer holidays than blog surfing! You are probably out at the beach, or sitting by the pool drinking MaiTai’s …. or if you are on the other side of the continent, snuggled up in front of the fire devouring a book…whichever it is, you surely haven’t missed lil ol’ me.
Okay, so I confess to not being a huge big New Year celebrator. I don’t tend to set resolutions, but rather do set some goals. I think that can be healthy as long as they are realistic.
The other thing about a New year is that I tend to be a little reflective about the year gone….WOW what a year we have just had…. yes it is starting to wear us a little thin, and we have gone into the new year rather weary, but have a read and i think you will see why….
2011 in bullet point reflection…..
JAN :
- We experience camping as a family for the first time…yep that means surviving a category 1 cyclone the very first night in our new camper….scary & very WET!
- Got a tan and read several books on holiday
- Finished watching season 3 & 4 of House on Dvd
- Packed up the rental and moved to another rental…only the owners hadn’t quite moved out yet! we had to endure all their items in the family room for over a week
- Kids went back to school
- I started to waddle
- We watch in horror as half of Queensland floods and many are sadly killed
FEB:
- Cyclone Yasi hits….a very nasty category 5 cyclone! Freaks us and family half to death
- No power for a week, and all the trees are down
- Throw out the freezer contents
- Kids back off school
- Rod’s is crazy busy fixing all the damaged and dirty pools from the cyclone
- We are running two business’
- I am still puzzled by invoicing…ah bookkeeping becomes the bane of my existance
- Feeling homesick for Perth, and wondering what in the world we were thinking about moving to the tropics!
MARCH:
- Rod starts a new job, and I’m running the pool business with the help of our employee
- Nellie visits from Perth
- Elijah celebrates a birthday
- Ivan & Jo immigrate from Canada
- I drive into a steel column at the Shopping centre carpark….DOH!~
- Still feeling homesick
APRIL:
- Ivan & Jo move in with us for 5 weeks
- Our gorgeous Niece Teleah was born
- In- laws visit for a week
- School holidays / Easter break
- Finally getting used to white gloss tiles (MEANING: i have now got accustomed to permanently having Mr. Miele, or Mrs. Enjo in either hand!!)
- Quick 4 day trip to Perth to cure said Homesickness
- Crying buckets because my dear friend Lou is re-diagnosed with cancer
- Discover every public toilet in all of Cairns due to pregnancy
MAY:
- Really waddling now
- Ivan & Jo move out
- Get nursery set up
- Parent teacher interviews
- Rod shoots to Perth for surprise for his best mate’s 40th Birthday
- Sleepless nights - many!
- My mum arrives…
- Lost 4 kg’s instantly!
- Josiah is born last day and the last hour of MAY!….hence losing the 4kg’s!
JUNE:
- Lots of sleepless nights
- Rod’s best mate and cousin visit from Perth for 4 days
- IN-Laws are in town for a month
- Mum leaves
- Rod goes to Sydney for work conference
- Sell the pool business and train new owners all the paperwork paloova…
- We all fall in love with Mr.Jo
- Im loving this new mother gig, and thinking I could do this again
- Slap myself silly for thinking the above mentioned silliness!
- Finally get the car fixed for the shopping centre pregnancy dingle
JULY:
- Umm more sleepless nights, dirty nappies, smiles and goo-gaa’s from the little man
- Wearing jackets and jeans and thinking this is very strange for the tropics!
- Rod goes to Townsville for another conference
- Earthworks start on the block and we are very chuffed that we got all the approvals and it started!
- Mr. Jo starts to smile, and our hearts melt some more
- Join a Mother Group…..first ever, and meet some lovely ladies, that help me not be homesick
- Nice cuppa’s with the mother’s group ladies, as we exchange, baby talk….which was a BIG adjustment for me after almost 6 years!
- Mali’s celebrates a birthday
- Secretly planning and making invites, games, decorations for Monnie’s Kitchen Tea and Hen’s night in Perth
AUGUST:
- Surprise visit to Perth on my own to spring my bestie on her birthday, AND spring Monnie at her Kitchen tea
- Spent a day at Chemo with my dear friend Lou (special times)
- Celebrated our anniversary
- Turned another year wiser
- Rod goes to school camp with Elijah, and I get a nasty bout of gastro, and a bladder infection
- Busily booking hotels, car hire, flights etc… for our impending trip to the US
- Contemplated a diet…haha
- Elijah starts speech therapy
- Planning Hen’s night for future sis-in-law Kate, in the USA
- House gets steel poles and deep holes to concrete them into
SEPTEMBER:
- Fly to Perth for Monnie’s wedding
- ENJOY the fabulous wedding and being Bridesmaid for the most gorgeous Bride!!!
- Fly home to Cairns and have school holidays and 12 days to have everything sorted for our trip to USA.
- Fly to the USA….with all 7 of us!
- House has floor joists, and subframe…
OCTOBER:
- Bryn & Kate’s Wedding Day… gosh, the best day ever, and so very special to be a part of the bridal party along with Mali & Jaye…
- Travelling around US with Bryn & Kate
- Sad, sad, sad and very tearful goodbyes
- Fly home on Tiarne’s Birthday
- More parent teacher interviews…
- House has a roof and wall frames
NOVEMBER:
- Getting some sleep at last, as Mr.Jo sleeps through the night
- Last term of school, busy, busy, busy
- Book week i have to find 4 costumes…..seriously??!!
- School production - Tiarne was Narrator, and another 3 sets of costumes!!!
- Awards night - Tiarne topped her year 6 class, & Mali got the Christian Character award
- Janaya has a birthday
- Rod has a birthday
- Rod scoots to Perth for his parents 40th Wedding anniversary
- Contemplate Christmas cards….?
- The house has gyprock on the walls, and some lights and fans up. Ceilings are in!
- Mr Jo sits up!
DECEMBER:
- School Summer Holidays begin! yay!
- Start at a new Bootcamp… LOVE! (well maybe not the 5:30am get-ups, but still amazing trainer!)
- Rental property we are in goes on the market for sale….hello home opens!
- Inkspirations Challenges closes down:(
- Muscle up a smidgen of Christmas cheer…
- Scramble together a few Christmas cards…
- House now has windows, and bi-folds, and the tiling is on the way
- Mum & Dad arrive to spend Christmas and New years with us….
Phew….i have still got ya, or did you get lost back up there at Mr Jo being born??
Yes it sure was a lot to fit into one year, and these are just all the big events, it doesn’t include the mundane like laundry, groceries, meal planning/making, paying bills, dropping off, picking up… yadda, yadda! In a nutshell it has been one crazy year! Having said that, i am still amazed at God’s continual care, and provision in ALL THINGS! He is so good, sooo very good to us that i am truly humbled.
So what is in store for the new year? umm whilst we desperately want to be saying, it will be much quieter, for the time being we are still FLAT OUT with the house building. My poor hubby is up at the house at all the odd hours, working full time by day, and tiling, laying timber floors, and painting by night! Even i have been whipping out the old daggy painting clothes and getting my fingernails dirty! We have a little ways to go yet, but we do have a move in date, which is the 20th of Feb, and then it will be onto the outside, like the retaining walls, the pool, fences and the driveway etc… I hate to whinge about it, but it is actually wearing us both quite thin… but everyone that has told me they have built a house, says that it will all be worth it in the long run…. so just trusting that it will and that we will survive in the meantime.
THEN….onto much brighter and fun things! I am really hoping to dig out the sewing machine this year, as there are just too many darn cute things on Pinterest that i am just dying to sew! Then do some more work on learning all there is to know about Photoshop…. And i really want to start teaching my kids to cook, some dinner meals. There will be all the fun adventures with our little man Mr Jo as he learns to walk and talk. As for the blog-o, it is on it’s way to being updated, which i am excited about, and hopefully once we have moved into the house, i will have much more time to stamp and share the things in my life that i love! Really excited about that.
So many many good things to look forward too, which is a real blessing! We sure live a joyfull yet FULL life!
So with all that I wanted to just share with you a couple of photos… some of the house, Tiarne’s graduation and of course the little man and how he has grown SO much since the last photos i shared with you!
Okay so first up we have Tiarne all beautifully dressed for her Year 6 Graduation! I can hardly believe she is off to High School this year!!! She is excited but a little nervous…
Mr Jo, at 6months old…..
Mr Curly Tops!
He sure is the Little Brother….of 4!
one serious little cutie pops!
Okay so next up are a few shots of the house…. It isn’t finished like i said, and there is no point me showing you photos of a tiled floor in the bathroom, so have kept it pretty brief
The front of the house as of today…. We still need to add the front porch and paint the contrasting panels on the front of the house and the garage doors underneath the house, and the stairs up to the front door, and the deck lining.. the list goes on and on!
Now this is the view from my front door, and the pool area…
Inside the main living area, which goes out through the bi-fold doors to the deck area…
and this is the view from the centre section of the deck….
So that is just a few photos. I promise to share more when they are far more exciting… like the kitchen is in, and the timber floors are down etc…. but at least you get a bit of an idea of where we are at as far as progress goes!
Okay my darling peeps, this post has taken me a long time, and i am sure a long time for you to have read as well! It feels good to get you all up to date though on what and where we are all. I really appreciate you faithful readers out there, especially when i just haven’t had the opportunity to stamp, and share as much as i have done in the past. Let’s hope that in the months ahead that will all change!
Enjoy your weekend!
Great summary, Keesh! Boy, have you been busy!! Makes my head spin just reading about all you crammed into a year! The view from the house is amazing! Could stare out our front door all day - so reminds me of the tropics of Costa Rica I grew up in.
Your little guy is beyond cute!!! Those curls are totally adorable - he looks like a little Californian surfer boy, or the equivalent from your part of the world
They do grow up soooo quickly. I’m already dreading mine leaving the house and I have a good ten years left LOL!
Wishing you and your family a fabulous 2012. May the house get finished on time and once you settle in, may life slow down a bit for you too. Hugest of (((hugs)))
Oh wow! What a year and I thought I was busy. All the best for 2012, Keesh. Hope you get to move into that beautiful house with the gorgeous view, real soon. Your little man is totally adorable. X
I found it funny you listed Parent Teacher Interviews- although as a teacher, I fully get this- until I remembered you have 4 kids at school- YES that would be a major deal, and timetable juggling act etc!
Someone posted a picture on my FB account of a post-it-note which I feel I should share with you. It read:
“IF “Plan A” didn’t work, the alphabet has 25 more letters. Stay cool!”
Blessings
Just reading that makes me tired, let alone living it. Told you that you are amazing!!!! I hope that the house comes together quickly for you. Wish I lived nearby and could come and help with a paintbrush. May this year be fulfilling and joyous but rather less crazy busy for you,
Love Fi xox
WOW what a year 2011 was for you all! It would have been enough to contend with let alone Mr Jo coming along and having to do it all with a newborn too!! My little Elijah came along at the end of October and I am loving every minute - it is my first too! Love the house and that beautiful view! Can not wait to see more as it comes along! As with Fi I would also come and help if I were closer but sadly the Pilbara is the opposite side of the country! Oh and I have been here over 3 years and still get that little bit of homesickness every now and then!
Wishing you and the family a fantastic 2012!
Hi Keesh!
Phew! I thought I had a really tough year … but I am exhausted all over again reading about yours! It was such an amusing and entertaining read … but I am sure that living this was rather a challenge for you all. I know all about God’s love and support this year … and it is nice to know that you have felt His guidance and care, too! It is always a challenge to be patient and wait on Him to direct our paths. I am so sorry about Louise! I will be praying for healing and strength to cope with all she has ahead! Take care and take the time to treasure all the little moments with that cutie pie, Jo! (And all the other kiddies … believe me … they grow up far too quickly!!) Remember MY 6 yr gap before my 5th baby??? He is soon to turn 14 (in April). I remember all that you are going through … and how difficult it was to juggle 5 kids … 12 and under! I am sure you will find the strength and patience … and the God will help you raise them all to be wonderful human beings! Hugs xxx PS: Love Mel’s comment … filing for future reference!!!
Just reading that made me feel busy! Wow, and I thought my life was busy. You are an amazing mother, wife, friend and woman of God. He will bring you through each and everyday.
Praying for your friend Louise. Praying for healing upon her body and strength to bring her and her family through such a hard time x
Praying that 2012 will be a year of peace for you and your beautiful family.
Blessings to you. Oh yeah your little man is GORGEOUS..love his curls xxx
What an extraordinary year it has been for you Keesh, filled with milestones & wonderful memories (& other challenges you could have done without!) All the stress of the build will be over soon & you can start enjoying living in your new home. Wishing Miss Tiarne a smooth transition into high school & all of you a fabulous year in 2012. Take care. Hugs xo
PS Great shots of T & J!
Hi keesh
WOW I feel really tired. i knew you had a BIg year but seriously??? Anyway the house looks like it is goin to be marvelous! What spectacular views!!
Happy new Year and Gods blessings for 2012. Thinking of you all. Love to you and Rod and of course your darling kids.xxx Viv & Co.
Hi Keesh,
So lovely to hear what you have all been up to. That sure was a full on year but the house will soon be finished and you will get to slow down a litte and really enjoy your beautiful new house. I always love to pop in here and see what you have been up to and I am looking forward to seeing your Pinterest sewing projects later in the year! Claire xx
Hey Keesh. Just catching up on some blog viewing. This was a great read and such an amazingly huge year for you. Hope 2012 is quieter and more settled and look forward to seeing more of the house once you are in. Love ya! xo
Love this last post a huge one at that, have never made time to read the whole lot and now have sone just that, yes a busy year and probably we all saying the same and yet we look back and see how God blesses us all and allows us so much:) Hope all is going well Keesh and you can look forward to moving in soon. Take care and love to you and yours and hi Rod, doing a great job at the house:) xx
Nice to hear how you’re doing and see some new pics! So you are moving into your new house in a week, huh? That sure is exciting! Bet you are super busy getting ready right now.
I have to say, that kid is SOO handsome! I love his charming smile, beautiful eyes and his adorable curls!!!
I hope you’re doing well!!
Cindy
xxoo
Hi Keesh, It’s been a while since I popped in to visit. Just wanted to say hello and comment on your gorgeous children and fab new home. What an incredible view!!! Wishing you all the best!