Grateful Ramblings of a Mum @ Home.

Several hours ago, the Ministry of Education made the announcement that all schools were to be shut for a week, until the 7th of February. The decision was made in a bid to minimise the impact of traffic on a road infrastrucutre that was already weakened by recent flooding. More rain and flood damage is also expected.  School was supposed to begin tomorrow. I am slightly embarrassed to admit that when our neighbour tapped on the window and mouthed the news, I exclaimed and jumped for joy. I loved that I'd have the children home for another week!

It was only after the news sunk in that I realised that 1) Few other parents shared my joy, and 2) The ministry had made the decision without informing school principals and the schools were left scrambling to either figure out more information or make quick-fire plans for online learning or closure. 

I felt upset at the lack of communication between the Ministry and school leadership. It bothered me a great deal, perhaps because I'd had higher expectations of the Ministry. 

I thought a little more, and realised I also was processing the way my reaction seeemd to be a complete opposite of many other parents. "I need to get paid this week", or "we've already had 6 weeks of this", was what I heard. 

I'm incredibly grateful that the husband and I have intentionally built a family that allows me to be home. We can fully enjoy our children, unencumbered. We don't have a huge amount of money but we always have enough. In exchange, I can be home with the children all the time and these disruptions don't affect us. Our children's education has always been our responsibility, and it is something that happens daily, whether or not school goes on. The husband often says that he works outside the home so that I don't have to. He is quick to rip into anyone who so much as implies the work I do is less because I don't get paid for it. I'm grateful that he sees the immeasurable value of what I do and what we are doing together. 

It's humbling to realise that we are now reaping the happy fruits of the big and small decisions made along the way in raising our family. We live in a society that often sees children as a burden or a commodity. We've created a little family that is perhaps quite countercultural for these times, and that's pushed us to keep our eyes and hearts on what's most important and seek that out wholeheartedly. 

So yes, on the tail end of the day, it looks like our summer holiday has just been extended by a week. 

Whee!

Our prayers also continue for those affected by the floods, as well as those involved in the rescue and relief efforts. 

Enjoying a board game with my favourite people earlier today

Sunshine Before the Storms.

With the weather we've having lately, it's hard to imagine that just earlier this week, we were kayaking at the beach.

We took advantage of the streak of sunshine to sand and stain our picnic bench, and gave our carpet its annual deep clean. 

Dark clouds rolled in almost as soon as we'd finished, and the carpet and freshly-stained bench were barely dry before the rain started coming down. Little did we know it would be almost 24 hours of nonstop rain. 

We're grateful to be safe and dry in the string of thunderstorms that bucketed down on Auckland in the last 24 hours, with possibly more to come. It's sobering to know that not everyone has been so blessed and that there are many struggling in this time.

We got some sunshine this afternoon and the children got to be outside with friends. It was also a fruitful time in the kitchen with cooking and freezing done for school lunchboxes and morning teas. School starts on Tuesday! 

Kayaks & Pizza.

5 years of parenting in New Zealand mean that a late night complaint from the littliest lady about an "itchy bumbum" culminates in a swift self-diagnosis of pinworm, comfirmed by a quick trip to the bathroom at 2am. Husband pops into the chemist at 9am for deworming tablets (cheerfully distributed to the whole family) and we're sorted.

Just in time for kayaking and sand play at the beach with Val. It was a beautiful morning and the water was lovely. Our youngest two were not so thrilled about the kayaks but they gave it a go. 

mermaid

We ended the outing with lunch at Sal's, a firm favourite for their massive pizzas. 

Eve.

Lunar new year's eve was spent at our neighbours'. They invited us over for a pizza party. We enjoyed their pizza oven very much and relished the opportunity for meaningful conversation. 

You're Three!

Happy birthday, our dearest little lady.

We went to the zoo and she requested to see the lace monitor lizards. It was a unicorn themed birthday and everyone had a part in making the cake. At the end of the day, the little man asked me why the birthday was such a short one. Ah, time flies when you're having fun, my darling. 

Home, Sweet Home!

We're home from our camping trip. Our little man cried when he remembered we were leaving this morning, he's loved the hot springs and amazing activities at our final holiday park. For the most part, though, we are all happy to be back in our beds tonight, and enjoying our own showers and kitchen once again. These are such creature comforts that we are blessed to have and call ours. Val joined us on the last leg of our trip and it's been lovely to have her with us. 

We ended our trip with blueberry picking. We picked almost 4kg of berries between us.

What an adventure we've had! 

Motel Break.

We're jumping back into camping tomorrow! It's been a lovely two days of motel living. The motel TV has Amazon Prime and the children have been introduced to the world of the Lord of the Rings by the husband. The children are hooked and are hoping to finish The Two Towers tomorrow before we check out.

We have dried our wet gear, done the laundry, and had time to talk about what worked and what didn't with our camping strategy... we're going to hopefully be better organised for our second go at camping.

We have also had time to explore the town and go on a walk today.

Our little lady brought home a pine come that she's named "Spiky". She took it to bed with her. It's these little things that make life so interesting. 

All right, camping, here we come again! 

Praise You In This Storm.

This time last night, we were huddled in our tent while the wind whipped around us and rain fell like never-ending bullets on the tent. The children slept well, and we were dry and safe. The husband and I kept vigil, half-expecting the tent to rip or spring a leak at any moment. 

We called the after-hours number at the holiday park to hatch a backup plan should we need to evacuate our tent and seek shelter. They kindly offered us use of the TV lounge, which they kept open through the night in case we needed it for shelter. Thankfully, we didn't. Our tent held up well. 

When there was nothing more to be done, prayer was our recourse as the hours crawled by and the storm raged. We prayed harder than we've ever prayed before... 8 full rosaries between the two of us over the course of the night. It took a cyclone for us to realise how much more we can and should be doing in our prayer lives. We pray a daily decade together, and have long suffered an inertia to doing more. 

Our little epiphany as we sat on opposite ends of the tent, keeping watch:

This morning, there was a duck outside our tent, enjoying the water-logged site. We, on the other hand, have moved out from the holiday park and checked into a motel to regroup, dry our things and ride out the rest of the wild weather. It's been a huge learning experience, in spite of it all. The husband is just glad to be within 4 solid walls for awhile!  

At the motel: First things first. 

When all is said and done, it seems that God needed to put us into a storm for us to finally get moving in our prayer life. Harsh, but it worked. We are committing to a daily rosary together. 

"I was sure by now

God, You would have reached down

And wiped our tears away

Stepped in and saved the day

But once again, I say, "Amen" and it's still raining... 

And I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm"

- Praise You In This Storm, by Casting Crowns

All Our Bags Are Packed, We're Not Ready To Go.

We have been watching the weather forecast the way some might stalk the stock market. This is the most nerve-racking holiday we have planned, and what an initiation into camping.

Our car is loaded. Unfortunately, Cyclone Hale looks like she plans to visit the Coromandel too. Our plans will have to change. It's incredibly frustrating, and I know the children will be disappointed. But that's life, isn't it. We'll see how things go and make the most of the situation.

picture of happy children, also in a rather precarious situation. The gathering of neighbours went well. :). 

Oh yes, and blessed Epiphany of our Lord! Our travelling wise men finally reached Jesus at the manger, marking the end of Christmastide. We also blessed our front entrance today after mass: 

"20 + C + M + B + 23"

Cooking for Camp.

The children built a pokemon battle stadium this morning and engaged in battle, that is, until our little man couldn't bear losing and destroyed the stadium. Ah, a day in the life.

I've made a couple of meals to freeze for camp dinners. There's a communal fridge available at the holiday park so I'll be bringing cooked meals for the first 3 dinners for heating up. Camper's code means it should be safe in the fridge. It looks like cat food from here, but that's Beef Chilli for nachos and Bolognese sauce for pasta. Just left with a butter chicken to make. 

We've just rearranged the furniture in the house... We've organised a Lane potluck but the inclement weather has insisted we have it indoors. So.. We might have a rather large gathering of people tomorrow, depending on who shows up. 🤞🏻

Still counting on you, St Joseph. 

Catching Up.

We spent the day with the Michael family; the men went out to a brewery to catch up over a tasting paddle while us ladies set the children loose at Chipmunks, an indoor playground.

Cyrilla gave the children $4 each to spend on the arcade machines there. The girls weren't overly interested in the games. Our littlest enjoyed some rides but they both eventually spent their last dollars on lollipops. The boys relished the risk-taking aspect of the games and spent their money on the claw machines. Our big boy led the way and even managed to find $2 someone had dropped under a machine and spent it on more games. The boys had candy and a little toy dog figure to show for their efforts today and they were quite happy with it.

We enjoyed the time together. 

Also seeking St Joseph's intercession for better weather for our trip next week. 

Ite Ad Joseph! 

Wet & Wild Weather.

The weather has been wild and wet lately. Strong winds have ripped tents and gazebos in campsites across the North island. With our maiden camping trip planned for next week, it is worrying. We leave on Monday. 

That's been the cause for sleepless nights and daytime crankiness on my part. Thankfully we have over the past few days, smashed out some plans, adjusted our expectations and then I figure it's all up to the Lord. 

What a summer this is turning out to be.