Sunny Days....

We're really enjoying the sunny weather that's pretty much coming day after day at the moment....well actually my garden's suffering, but I'm loving it for washing, playing outside, eating on the deck. It's so good to be able to have the doors open, the gate on the driveway closed and know that the kids can roam in and out and find things to do. Lately they've done chalk outside, we've walked to the dairy, played with the hose, weeded the garden, practised rugby, climbed our one and only tree. And now we've got a trampoline to add to our outside activities....yay!!! (more about christmas soon)

The girls were pretty surprised to open the kitchen blinds at lunchtime on Christmas day and find this beauty outside. 'Santa' had been outside for about 3 hours putting it up while they thought he was at a meeting

Ella's new mickey mouse memory cards...she's really really good at it

Faith playing a new toy story computer game thingy from the Willoughbys. She wasn't very impressed that I walked in her way!

Ella's been so tuckered out lately that she asks to go to my bed with me for a midday sleep......sweet!

Look how I found these critters one afternoon....big sissy's idea

Going to the mall with $2 each from Aunty Beezy (in their new wallets)

Ella ran to the peg baskets as if they were the coolest things she could buy for $2

Faith couldn't find the bey blades she wanted so she chose this....too bad it was well beyond her budget at $19.90

We settled on twistables and giant colouring pages (they contributed their $4 and I paid the rest).  A good buy cause they're both having good colouring time at the table as I type this!

And this is how our lounge looked at about 6pm on Saturday evening....right before I made everyone pitch in and tidy it (on Daddy Joe's watch of course)

Ella's Nursery Graduation

Today my middle baby (and 3 of my other nursery kids) graduated from Nursery. Sad day for me as a Mummy and nursery leader :(

I've been excited and sad for this day all week. Nursery is certainly going to be very different next week without my little Ella Bella with me. But I'm looking forward to seeing her grow and learn new things in Primary.....as with so many things in life, it's bitter/sweet.

I made all the food and the movie, and Daddy Joe did the special graduation caps for us. He did such a good job!!!

Ella wouldn't join in for the group shot

Straight home to play with her babies (in her special 'Mummy dress' of course)

2013 Christmas Card

Just so I have a record of our 2013 Christmas letter and pic.....

Here is the (Joe and Mel) Heke Whanau’s 1st official Christmas card/letter. Despite good intentions for the past few years, it’s actually  been done this year, and rushed and late as it may be, we hope it will be the first of a new christmas tradition for us. 

We’re not exactly sure what should go in these letter, so we’ll just add some little snippets of 2013 for each person in the family....Here  goes.... 

Our little Sunny man, Seth Cromwell turned 1 in July. He still continues to be a dream baby 95% of the time and as his little personality develops he’s a laugh a minute. His legs shake when he’s really angry and his cheeks almost burst when he’s happy. He can say ‘amen’ and do the actions for ‘Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam’ which is pretty cool considering he’s not quite one and a half yet. This little critter always sleeps from 6pm-7:30am, sometimes longer.... Yeeyah! 

Cheeky Dynamite aka Ella Deseret remains to be stubborn and gorgeous and clever and huggable. She’s got a big heart and not a lot of patience which is very challenging at times, but we wouldn’t have it any other way (well maybe a little more compliance would be nice!) 

Bobby has a quick mind and loves to be involved in anything and everything, even Faith’s church talks and primary songs. She graduates from nursery in 3 weeks...happy for her and sad for me. Despite butchering her hair a couple of months ago, she’s still as cute as ever 

and her prayers melt my heart. (‘Bear Farber, please do the blessing on the food and help Grandie to get better in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen’....always the same) 

Faithy Kathleen started school in September and it’s hard to imagine her as anything but a big Summerland Kid now. She’s taken to school like a duck to water. Everyone knows her, she gets about a hundred ‘Hi Faith’s’ before we even make it to her class in the morning! For my big girl, reading is kinda fun, writing is boring and maths is ok.....we hear she’s doing well in her class but any work at home is like pulling teeth. Typical probably ?!?!?! Oh, and I must mention her ‘school giggle’. That’s what I call her cutesy little giggle that she’s done since she started school. It’s hard to describe, but when she does something funny or silly she does a funny giggle and we look at eachother and say ‘school giggle’ which makes it keep going even longer. 

I’ve been kept busy with Mummy duties, blogging, pinterest, my calling in nursery and work and the combination of everything has been great. The blessings that have come to our family this year have been amazing when we look back on them.....a new baby on the way, 

being accepted for Summerland, a family holiday to the Mount (definitely a yearly trip), home renos of paint, curtains, carpet, HRV, and I’ve a lot of work relieving (not to mention a very accommodating daycare). Often Joe says to me ‘are you tired honey?’ and my reply is 

always ‘Yes, I’m always tired’, but life’s so good and I’ve definitely got nothing to complain about. 

And last but not least, Daddy Joe has been kept busy with family, work and church. He’s still the Elder’s Quorum President and he gives it his all. Work has kept ticking along and he slaves away tirelessly for us. We worked on a new website this year that we’re hoping will lead to bigger and better things for Rock FX & Shotcrete Ltd....watch this space! He’s just brought a whole lot of home gym equipment so he won’t have to drive down to Rosebank Road all the time, but he can get all buffed and sweaty on the deck (with the kids) instead. 

So overall, 2013 has been busy but calm. That probably doesn’t make sense, but it was a non-newborn year so it’s kind of like the calm before the storm of a new baby arriving in April 2014. Exciting to have a new little son or daughter in our family soon! 

We hope this update finds you healthy and happy, preparing to have special family time over the summer. From us to you, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy 2014. 

With love, Joe, Mel, Faith, Ella & Seth xxx

From Daddy Joe's phone

I couldn't resist taking a sneaky shot of what they get up to during sacrament....sometimes quietly, sometimes very noisily!!!

At Cezanne's setting apart (he used to work for Dad in the tunnel)

Faith being a line leader at the Spring Fling (folk dancing)

What Daddy Joe gets up to when he has some free time on his hands

The girls went Rock Climbing with the Willoughby's in Hamilton.  Faith was nervous when I told her what they'd be doing, but they both ended up loving it

A guy that Daddy Joe met walking out of the temple. They'd never met before, but talked for a while and Joe asked me to take a pic before they said goodbye?!?!?!

A fire alarm at church....inconvenient to have to evacuate for 15 minutes, but the kids all thought it was very exciting. Never found out why the alarm went off actually

Christmas Parties (Stars Kindy & Aeroview Ward Carols Night)

Aeroview Ward Christmas Carols Party....brilliant idea, thanks for the invitation Leone Family

The nativity and Santa's Grotto were both so so so well done

Faith loves the big red guy who gives out presents.......

Seth not so much....and Ella went really quiet and backed up behind me until she almost fell off the back of the stage

Stars Kindy Christmas Party (+ Nativity Show)

Ella had to be in party clothes or cultural dress so we combined the two, a christmas maori girl!

Seth was even party of the show. His Tui Room did 3 christmas songs

Ella's room did a christmas song with the letters of Christmas 

Seth got his first 2 hot wheels cars ever, and we managed to make it home without losing them yet

Waiting for Santa to call her name......super super nervous

He called her name and she burst into tears and clung onto my leg for about 5 minutes before I could jolly her up to open the present

The shared lunch afterwards was delish. ....between my egg and salad sandwiches, and a passionfruit cheesecake that some lovely person brought, I was in heaven!

And the girls chowed down on cupcakes, cheerios and corn chips....full tummies all round

Seth brought home a little stapled bag that was full of special things he's made the last couple of weeks

2 christmas parties down, now I think we've got our nursery christmas party on Sunday, Daddy Joe's birthday on Monday, Christmas Eve with the Heke's on Tuesday, Christmas on Wednesday and then we can breathe a sigh of relief that it's all done for another year! But I do love it all!