Observations of us
Today was a day of joy, happiness and celebration….. a baby shower. My glowing (and growing) Sister-in-law is expecting her little miracle to arrive in the next few months. It was an honor to celebrate with her today. She prepared a little speech for us….. as I looked around the table at her beautiful family and friends there was not a dry eye. We are all moved by Tam and Phil’s journey and are bursting with excitement as we all await the arrival of their bundle of joy xoxoxo.
Last weekend Ben and I made Daddy some Kiwi Crisps….. his favorite biscuits. They are a family recipe from his Mum, Jude. Ben had an absolute ball helping. Especially when I let him open the blocks of chocolate and break it into pieces. He nibbled away on any pieces that didn’t break into exact squares. I suggested to him a number of times that maybe he should stop eating the chocolate but he insisted that they had to be the correct shape and he just needed to nibble a little bit!!
They are just so good I have to share the recipe.
KIWI CRISPS (A secret family recipe….. shhh)
Ingredients
125g butter
60g sugar
2 tablespoon condensed milk
280g of flour
1 block of dark chocolate
Method
1. Cream together butter & sugar
2. Add milk, flour & chocolate
3. Roll into small balls and flatten slightly with fork
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 180c
These taste even better when shared with family and friends oxo
Family and friends are like quilts, pieced with memories, bound with love. . .
Ben turned three on the 16 April. It was a time to celebrate with family and friends. Ben is blessed to have so many people around him that love and care for him. His third birthday was a celebration that began on Friday and lasted until Sunday night. It was wonderful to have a house full of family and friends and messages from those who could not attend making special memories for our special little man xoxo.
The morning of Ben’s third birthday didn’t begin as early as we had imagined. Ben slept in and we had to wake him!!! He was overjoyed to see a bunch of wrapped presents in the lounge room. He unwrapped them starting with the smallest ones! He was delighted with his gifts – Rocky the crane (from Thomas), Hot wheels Cars, Hot wheels Racetrack, Thomas the Tank Engine wooden track and engines, a book, and the favorite and most cherished was a Push Mower with a pull cord. When we bought the mower it was packaged in its box…… OMG it is the loudest mower ever!!!
Ben spent the day at the Railway Workshops with Mum, Grandma, Bree, Joseph and Tom. It is his favorite place to visit. The Vegemite sandwiches and chips were a hit at lunch! Friday evening saw family and friends begin to arrive in preparation for the party on Saturday. It was fantastic to have so many extra hands to get everything organised and to assist in the last minute challenges. Thanks to all who helped with the balloons and reviving the lamingtons!!
Ben was so excited Saturday morning. His excitement when his friends arrived was so lovely. The children made box cars, played with bikes, scooters, pushcars, gyrocar, kite, trains, matchbox cars, dolls and balloons. They ate lollies, donuts, lamingtons, cake and sausages. They had a fantastic time with the birthday cake. Finlay added some extra decorations which nearly gave me a heart attack. After we had sung happy birthday and blew out the candles I stepped inside to get a knife and in went all the little fingers. The kids loved it!! Andrew and I enjoyed watching the children and loved catching up with family and friends old and new. Ben was very lucky to receive some great gifts. His grandparents were especially generous with Nanny and Grandad George giving him a train table, track and trains and Grandma and Grandad giving him a tool bench with all the tools and some great 3D Melissa and Doug car puzzles. Thank you to everyone who made this time so special. We love, love, love Birthdays in our house!! xoxo
Today brought visits from friends and family. Ben enjoys every opportunity to get on the Z50. Today he shared his favourite favourite motorbike with Jayden, Hugo, and Uncle Al. GREAT TIMES!!
The anticipation for Christmas this year was enormous. It was the first Christmas that Ben understood that Santa was coming. He didn’t totally understand as he had us up early everyday for a week before Christmas. One morning I heard him wake and hurry to the lounge room where he said ‘Been naughty no presents’ and then he began to cry. But of course Santa did eventually come and Christmas day was magical. Ben woke early and we all hurried out of bed to see his response to Santa’s offerings. But it wasn’t excitement….. Ben was in Santa shock. He stood (still half asleep) observing all the loot. It only took a few minutes to warm up and then the Santa sack was being emptied, and he was on his trike. We had to wait for family to arrive to open the presents under the tree. It nearly killed me. Once again Santa was very kind to us all….. thanks Santa xoxo.
The weather man predicted rain on Christmas day, which I don’t think anyone really thought would happen. We traditionally have high temperatures. But to our surprise the weather man was correct and it did rain….. which was just so lovely. Mum, Dad, Andrew, Ben, Darrin, Carly and myself all indulged in Christmas lunch to the sound of rain on the tin roof. I think it was an extra present from Santa. I also had made a fabulous play list of Christmas carols on the ipod. Christmas just isn’t Christmas without carols….. well my brother doesn’t think so. I wondered how long it would take Darrin to crack. To my surprise he survived nearly the whole lunch. It was the Christmas Macarena that did it and fair enough it did have us all in hysterics. Our lunch included baked glazed ham, chicken, pear and beetroot salad, Mum’s special salad, rolls, rum balls, icecream pudding, ginger bread, fruit mince pies and the odd beverage. By mid afternoon we had had our fill when we retired to the lounge. Some of us had a snooze while others watched DVD’s that Santa had given. Al, Claire, Hugo, Auntie Lorriane, Sterle and Grandma Coles popped in from the coast for a late afternoon visit. We all indulged in a little more food and beverage. There really is nothing quiet like Christmas – family, friends, food, laughter and I can’t forget Santa.
