William William William

It's so fun having two children. But something I didn't realise was how much fun it is reliving certain ages and stages of life. It's exciting to see how amazingly smart we think Emma is, but it's also fun to enjoy William as a baby knowing how quickly his first year will go by!

He loves Lyle so much

Pirate Will

yup, it's the "put EVERYTHING in my mouth" age

He's almost 7 months old - his first year of life is already on the down hill!!

Curious Will

Will's a bit of a sticky beak. Especially the age he is now, everything and anything is interesting. While I was cooking the other day he just had to know what was happening behind him.

William sits, Emma reads

William sat up by himself for the first time yesterday. He thought it was the greatest thing ever. He was talking away so happily. He fell backwards a couple of times (on pillows!) but didn't seem to mind. He was probably on a 'high' from sitting that he didn't care that he fell! hehe.

Here's the clever boy

I love this photo - "Look!! My toy!"

Our big Emma girl is learning to play nicely by herself at times. I really need that too. I haven't seen my laundry floor in a while, so any time she can give me is really helpful. Obviously she can't yet read, but she will sit and tell a story from whatever she's looking at. It usually starts with "One day . . ." or "Sometimes . . ." This morning I heard her 'reading' a book about Jonah. She was talking about the rain (the storm) and Jonah being in the fish. I love to hear that she's learning truths from God's word, it is so precious.

There's a Spurgeon quote I truly appreciate which reminds me of the intense responsibility it is to raise our children:

"Watch with ceaseless care over those new-born babes who are strong in desires, but strong in nothing else. They have but just crept out of darkness, and their eyes can scarcely bear the light; let us be a shade to them until they grow accustomed to the blaze of gospel day."

I recall a conversation with a friend. They have chosen to not allow their boys to play with toys like guns and knives as they feel it's inappropriate. The dad recalled "someone said to us 'well that's a big over protective isn't it?' " but my response was simply - 'Of course it is. That's our job!' Our children have come to us with their sin and selfish desires, the greatest love we can show them is to share the love of Christ to save them from themselves. It is such a daunting task and I'm glad that even if I fail God can save my children if He chooses. Now, that is a great relief to me.

My babies at 6 months

Thought I'd post a comparison photo of Emma and William. I thought, until recently, that they're chalk and cheese, but looking a little harder they're actually really similar! But let me tell you, they definitely have different personalities!! God is so creative.

Happy Half Birthday William!

Our beautiful William Luther is 6 months old today.

(I'm amazed I got these photos, the poor little guy is unwell hasn't been his usual self!)

I love this age so much. He's a baby, but sleeping through the night. He adores Emma, but is as yet not capable of taking her toys (although he does pull her hair when she gets too close!) he loves being in the bath, is content just be held and take in the world, gives adorable smiles, laughs very easily at any silly faces I pull and makes the cutest baby gurgles and squeals!

It is an overwhelming joy, privilege and blessing that the Lord has given us both Emma and William to raise in His ways. I often wonder why God has given me so much blessing in my family. perhaps it's time for me to do a study on the goodness of God to get it into my head that He just loves to bless His children!?

Holiday Time

May is a fun month for us as both Lyle and I have birthday's. He surprised me with a week long family holiday to Byron Bay - Australia's most easterly point. It was particularly special because I have family who lived there and we spent quite a few Christmas days down there.

This is the only photo we have of our "Tree House".

It was a delightful 3 story, child friendly, cosy holiday house!

And the view . . .which explains why it's called the "Tree House"

Lyle loves to read . . .

...seriously...he loves reading!

I was glad he was able to relax in this way, he deserves it.

Visiting Australia's most easterly point

The Byron Bay lighthouse*

The beginning of many family photos where the children are forced to pose even though they're over tired and disinterested. They'll thank us one day...right?

A quiet moment with Daddy. Emma LOVED having Lyle around all day every day.

She was most content when both of us were around her, even if we were doing our own things, she was just happy to be with her Daddy and Mummy. She has been given strict instructions to never change. Sigh.

Ready for a ride!

Little did she know what she was getting herself into - here she is hanging on for dear life.

With her new toy "Piggy" from Hog's Breath - one of our favourite restaurants.

Mother's Day 2011.

Days like this remind me that the morning sickness, early morning wake ups, late night clean ups, tears (theirs and mine!), scraped knees and sometimes the sheer exhaustion are totally worth it.

I am so blessed!

Thanks for the holiday hubby. You're awesome.

*If you look at our blog entry from May 2009 (titled Michelle's Visit) you'll see that we missed out on visiting the lighthouse when she came. Sorry Michelle, you'll just have to come again!

Our boy is 5 months old!

William is 5 months old today. And instead of presenting you with a delightfully cute photo, we have this:

Behold our 5 month old William!!! . . .blowing raspberries . . .

I love having a son.

A Cowgirl in the Making

On monday mornings I take the kids to playgroup at our church. It is so fun to see Emma learning about God's word. This last monday was a special outing to a pony farm!

It was lovely to see that she was so bold with them. I was curious to see what her response would be - apparently at a young age I was screaming in fear at my mum saying "It looked at meeee!" Thankfully Emma's genetic make up missed that aspect of her maternal unit . . .

Riding Yogi Bear

The owners make it a really great experience.

They teach the children different aspects of having horses - from feeding, to grooming and even cleaning out the stables.

Filling a feed bucket

If her lack of fear wasn't impressive enough to me, she filled the wheel barrow with sawdust all by herself . . .

then wheeled it across the yards all by herself. . . (well, almost - the yellow wheelbarrow's driver and Emma were a little unaware of road safety and needed some parental guidance)

. . .to cover the holding pen grounds!

A 2-year-old grooming a 'horse'. Is there anything cuter?!

We had a fabulous morning. I can't help but praise the Lord for the sweet blessing it is to share so many new experiences with my daughter. I love it!

Our March

Our March was full of fun and blessing. As is every month! God doesn't stop giving to us and we are so thankful for that.

Here are some highlights in no particular order...

I'll start off with a funny story. Lyle and have started reading some OT stories together, and it has been really fun. We take turns reading. I was in the midst of reading some of Jonah and realised I should turf the story books and sit down and read it to Emma straight from God's word! Anyway, as I thought that I started reading as if I were reading to Emma, not Lyle. Jonah 1:14 sounded like this "Nevertheless, the men rooooowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and MORE TEMPESTUOUS AGAINST THEM! . . ahem, sorry I thought I was reading to Emma"

Lyle: "Ah, yeah. I wondered what you were doing"

It's great having kids.

Our march was filled with general silliness. Emma never ceases to entertain us. We were crying from laughter at the dinner table during the week at something she did or said. We can't remember what it was - both the fact that we cried from laughing and can't remember what it was is possibly an indication of how tired Lyle and I both are at the moment! It was certainly the comic relief we needed though. Maybe Emma did something like this while saying "I'm thinking....hmmm":

more General Silliness (get it?! . . .yeah, I'm still tired)

I can see why people say she looks like Lyle and not me . . .hehe

I endeavoured with great gusto to potty train Emma . . .

However . . .at the end of the week she was back in nappies. I was clueless and she did really well considering she isn't quite ready - (side note: potty training's a really big deal! maybe not for everyone, but it is for me!)

I reckon this is a great shot of Emma's beautiful hair.

The sticker chart has gone underground for a while.

William turned 4 months! He is the happiest. child. EVER.

He cried twice today. That's twice more than a typical day.

You see that little patch of hair sticking up? Well, not only does it stick up all the time, it's blonde. Which is so random as the rest of his hair is brown!

I'm interested to see if it changes or if he has a constant blonde patch as he grows. If people see it in certain lighting it looks like a little bald spot.

seriously people, yes parents are biased, but oh my word! TOO CUTE.

EMMA started the violin (as previously posted)

She really does enjoy it and her favourite song so far (for me to play) is "Moon, Moon".

She can play fast, slow, loud and soft. We're still working on holding it correctly while playing, as you can see, she is still to learn that the 'knee hold' didn't take off for a reason.

Family outing at Lone Pine, we love going there to see all the Aussie wildlife.

Recently Emma came to me and said "look mummy, happy face" and smiled...

then she said "sad face" and did this. I love her so much!

As you can see we had more fun hanging out than looking at animals, I'm pretty sure we did not see one single kangaroo that day - which is a major feature of the sanctuary. Maybe next time.

William is getting stronger and stronger. He weighs just over 6kgs now and is about 2 weeks ahead of Emma (in weight) at the same age.

He's definitely a boy - noisy and loves moving... a lot!

Here he is loving the Jolly Jumper!

He's beautiful.

And that . . . is that.

Emma the Violinist!

I started the violin when I was 9 years old and I regret not practicing more (yes mum, you were right)! I love that I can play it - even though my skill level has dropped somewhat from 10 years ago, and I hope that Emma is able to enjoy it. She seems pretty musical so far, so I figured the violin is a great start - they make violins small and it's portable - not like a piano.

She loves it and I think she's so clever! Of course now that we own this very small violin, the rest of our children will also be subjected to learning it.

Duet with Emma and Mummy

Thanks to the excellent creativity of Colin Buchanan, Emma now asks for "Colin" and "muckik" aaaaaall day long, not only are learning the 10 Commandments but we're also learning other Scripture verses through his CD's.

This morning Emma said "You sing Allelujah and I'll sing Praise Ye the Lord, Ready?, Go." (which is pretty much a direct quote from the CD).

Happy 2nd Birthday Emma Gracie!

We love our girl. And she loves us. She had a splendid day today. BOTH sets of grandparents were present for her birthday this year. It's very special because it's unlikely to happen ever again - since both sets of parents live very far away from each other!

It has been a blessing to grow and learn with Emma Grace. I've learned heaps about little children, how they think, how they learn. I've also learned heaps about myself and the amazing grace of God! My greatest desire for our children is to see them come to know the Lord as their Saviour. It has been a joy to see her increased understanding of God this year. Of course it is so limited - how can you explain the unseen to a child? But she understands that we love her and we tell her God loves her more than we do, and that we love God more than we love anyone else. She is learning that she has a 'bad heart' or 'naughty heart' and that Jesus is the only one who ever had a 'good heart' which is why we need Him. She recently told me that Rachel (her doll) was having a good day because she had a 'happy heart'. She will also report to me during the day "I have a happy heart mummy". Which is something we strive to encourage Emma to have when she needs to practice self control against her sin nature. We are so very thankful to God for blessing us with the task of raising her and for the 2 years He has given us with her so far.

So...happy birthday to my beautiful daughter, Emma.

The 'Flood Victim Shop'

This piccy shows our bedroom

It’s really tiring going to the supermarket to constantly do ‘big shops’ in order to set up a pantry again. It’s starting to get embarrassing. It’s coming together, but there’s quite a few standard recipes I like to make that have common pantry ingredients, which I'm missing. Oh wait, I don’t have the recipe books anymore either. NUTS! That’s really annoying. sigh. oh well, what can you do? back to the grocery store . . .last week I bought PILLOWS from the grocery store. I’m not sure if this is common in other countries, but I never even knew you could purchase bedding from a grocery store. Tea towels, yes. but pillows?! who knew. Apparently not many folk, because I had tonnes of people look at me, doing double takes with a very confused face as if to say “you have pillows in your grocery basket . . . .huh?” Anyway, my in-laws are sleeping on them this week so I’ll learn from them if grocery store pillows are worth the embarrassment of purchasing them.

Brisbane Floods, January 2011

We were affected by the floods in Brisbane last month. I left the house on Tuesday morning the 11th with the children because the driveway was going to be flooded and we needed to get the car out. I had a Dr appointment that morning and as we definitely wouldn't be able to get back into the driveway, I packed overnight bags for the children and myself and took some laundry over to my mums house to be productive while we were out of our house.

Oh how little we knew at that moment.

Lyle and I discussed what we would do, he decided to stay there the night because even if the worst happened the next door neighbour had a boat he was going to stay in.

As the day progressed I received a call from my brother telling me to go to his place because he knew I wouldn't get into our place and we assumed mum and dads house would also be affected.

I spent the afternoon there and the kids loved hanging out with their cousins, although they were driving us a little nutty only being inside from the rain.

In the afternoon my brother and Lyle rocked up and said they heard it's going to be worse than the '74 floods. We've seen photos of our area from the 1974 floods and it wasn't good. In fact we could only see roof tops.

We all made some quick decisions, meanwhile my parents who were by all accounts were 'stuck' in another town and technically were unable to return to Brisbane . . .interestingly they rocked up at the driveway . . .I don't envy my mum that drive with my father!

All said and done Lyle managed to get 100% of all we needed out of the house - mainly paperwork and documents. We spent the night in a unit and following the announcement that the streets in that area may be affected and the power switched off we made the decision to move again. The first evacuation was necessary, the second was precautionary. But it was a good decision. We stayed with friends who were more than accommodating and blessed me personally with an awesome example of hospitality. We were there for over a week I think.

It's been heartbreaking for me to move the way we moved. But the Lord's providence is good. He is kind and gracious beyond compare. We are now in a place that suits our needs better than our old place and we have been witnesses to the staggering kindness of God through our brothers and sisters in Christ. We have a beautiful lounge suite, an incredibly comfortable bed and Emma has never seen more new toys at once . . .ever! And for now, they're all hers.

Flood Mud

Flood mud is worse than regular mud. It’s contaminated and smelly. I didn’t have the opportunity/chore of cleaning up the house and all its muddy contents the day after the flood (having small children really is a complete, full time job). I’m thankful I didn’t go, but at the same time I’m quite sure it’s taken me longer to comprehend what happened there. I’m glad for the photo’s that Lyle took, it’s helped me gain at least some understanding of how disgusting it all was. Our DVD collection was placed in a crate and is sitting downstairs in our new place. I’ve been rummaging through it a little to take out the DVD’s and throw away the cases. Some of the mud is still wet and as I got stuck into it for the first time I just thought ‘ewwwww’. Not teary though. It’s interesting the things that make you cry when you have this experience. Not the mud, it’s just gross.

Christmas

Here are two videos from Christmas day. Emma received a very cool piano from my uncle and the second video is her opening her Shaun the Sheep toy (she then proceeds to tell us that he has two legs, two ears etc) it's very cute. (of course)

Hallelujah Chorus

This is my contribution to spread the Christmas spirit. It's very clever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCFCeJTEzNU

Singing to William

Here's Emma singing Insty Winsty Spider to William.

The kids

This was our first day at home. Emma is very gentle (for the most part) with William, it's lovely to see them together.

Introducing . . .

William Luther Wetherston

Born November 24th, 2010, 3.150kg and 51cm

~ ~ ~ PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW ~ ~ ~

I am so amazed at Gods continued kindness, goodness, graciousness and love towards me a wretched sinner. I do not deserve the blessing of children and feel completely out of my league having them entrusted to our care for the time He appoints.

William arrived all too easily. After the horrific experience of Emma's 45 minute birth I 'umm-ed' and 'ahh-ed' about how to handle this one. In the end God provided me with a very providentially timed conversation with a friend who was in a similar situation and I finally (with many tears) made my decision. We had William induced so I could have some pain relief and OH MY WORD! the difference of a birth with pain relief! I almost feel guilty at how easy it was. It was still only 2.5 hours from beginning to end, so I'm extremely thankful I didn't have to feel it.

Lyle and I went in at 6:30am after a lovely dinner the night before and Emma stayed with my parents for the night and the following day. In the end we were bored all day long until the epidural was put in at 1:30pm and my waters were then broken. It seems like it was a busy day in the labour ward!

Naming Baby

William: simply because we like it!

It is a name I've liked for a while and from memory it was tossed in the pot when we were expecting Emma (as we didn't know her gender before birth). It's also circumstantially my Grandfathers name, which is sweet to William's only living great-grandparent my maternal Grandmother.

Luther: Martin Luther is too profound a man to be ignored. The Lord used Him mightily, giving him discernment to fight for the truth of God's word. This is our hope for our boy. That he will know and cherish God's word as truth for all.

It's intimidating having such hopes for such a little person. Especially as I reflect on my lack of knowledge of the Bible myself. I don't say this as a cop-out, but I'm SO glad I'm married to a theology student!!

Here are the words to 'A Mighty Fortress', a hymn by Martin Luther.

A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing;
Our helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe --
His craft and pow'r are great,
And armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

2

Did we in our own strength confide
Our striving would be losing,
Were not the right Man on our side,
The Man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He --
Lord Sabaoth His name,
From age to age the same --
And He must win the battle.

3

And tho this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph thru us.
The prince of darkness grim --
We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
For lo! his doom is sure --
One little word shall fell him.

4

That word above all earthly pow'rs --
No thanks to them abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
Thru Him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also;
The body they may kill:
God's truth abideth still --
His kingdom is forever.