Tonight we shared our joy with our church family as we dedicated David to the Lord.

Pastor Ronnie spoke about the importance of dedicating our own lives as parents to the Lord so we can set an example for our children.

photos taken by our friend, Peter

After the service, we enjoyed speaking with many people who were excited to greet baby David’s family. It was a blessing to us to share our blessings with them!

this year’s family photo was taken with the self-timer during our camping trip

December has been a fantastic month for us, with Vi taking her first steps, and Nikki and Michael performing in an outdoor Christmas concert. Since completing her 100 reading lessons, Nikki is now reading everything she can get her hands on, including the gospel of Luke, which was handed out at church on Christmas Eve. Nikki also finished memorising the entire 145-question Catechism for Young Children. In addition, Michael’s vocabulary and confidence in speaking have noticeably improved this month, with fewer pauses as he searches for the right word.

We squeezed in the Christmas tree by rearranging our living room to put the tree in front of our unseasonable fireplace. Crazy Clark’s provided unscented white candles and a green garland which, when supplemented with a springform pan base, became a simple table centerpiece and advent wreath. We lit the appropriate candles every night at dinner, and it helped the kids count down to Christmas, while keeping our focus on Jesus and the reason we celebrate.

Ben is participating in a pedometer challenge at work. He has discovered that with his walking commute to the central business district and taking care of things at work and at home, he covers an average of 9 kilometers (5.5 miles) per day. He hit 10km the day he walked from our house and up the steps to his seat at the U2 concert this month, a record which has since been superseded in an errand-running day prior to Christmas.

Our new baby has been bouncing around and I enjoy feeling the movements from time to time. Since sharing the news of a new sibling with our children, Nikki has come up to me spontaneously on several occasions and said, “It’s so exciting about the fourth baby in your tummy!” The stethoscope we gave the children for Christmas is getting a workout, listening in to all of our tummies. My main pregnancy symptom is tiredness, which isn’t helped by the fact that I find myself waking from vivid dreams of queuing for the toilet.

I did finish sanding and waxing the bedside tables for our new bedroom, with the final coat of wax going on just prior to logging in to the computer to write this update! Our washing machine is also back in commission, having been repaired under warranty this afternoon. Am I the only person who questions the conventional parting, “see you soon!” when the repairman says it? Though I did feel like I had a lot of free time this past laundry-free week…

My goals for January are to:

• find a time to read the Bible and pray each day. At this stage in the pregnancy my morning routine comprises of (a) waking from vivid toilet-related dream, and (b) throwing on clothes and stumbling outside to use the toilet, so I have abandoned my first-thing-in-the-morning quiet time. I want to pick up the habit again, even if it can’t be the first thing I do.
• enable Michael (either through training or gate adjustments or both) to open the bathroom baby gate so he can get in there by himself to wash his hands
• continue my quest to eliminate boxes by digitizing at least one box of paper
• read and begin to apply Chapter 6 of How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk

Happy New Year!

How cool is this brief span of time when I have three children aged three, two, and ONE!

In honour of April Fools’ Day, you might enjoy this article concerning the Increasing Number Of Parents Opting To Have Children School-Homed.

Still in the Karri forest, we stopped for a picnic near Beedelup Falls before hiking the loop around the waterfall.

The best view was from a suspension bridge at the base of the falls.

Michael said, “splash!”

The playground in Donnybrook was just a stop on our way to a weekend in Pemberton.

The next morning we headed straight to the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk near Walpole.

Thirty eight meters off the ground at the highest point, and running for 420 meters, the suspended steel truss walkway is an engineering marvel, and an excellent way to gently sway through the tingle treetops. This short video clip gives a glimpse of Baba with Nikki on his back and Michael walking alongside.

We walked the loop twice, with Michael riding on Baba’s back the first time, and Nikki riding around the second time. Riding or walking, it was amazing to experience the top of the forest whilst suspended above a deep gully.

Coming back to the ground, Nikki led us to a boardwalk through the Ancient Empire forest.

On the boardwalk, we meandered around and sometimes through tree trunks measuring up to 16 meters in circumference and over 400 years old.

Majestic and peaceful, we very much enjoyed our visit to the tingle forest.

We bid a fond farewell to Ben’s parents following their visit to Perth.

Listed below are some of the things we did while they were here.

• Penguin Island
• Caversham Wildlife Park
• New Norcia – Australia’s only monastic town
• Cottesloe Beach and Indiana Tea House
• City of Perth Library story time
• date night
• Fremantle shadows, anchors, and statues
• Sunday afternoon at the playground
• music class – class action photos

What would YOU most like to do when you get a chance to visit us here in Western Australia?

Merry Christmas from all of us from in front of our Christmas tree here in Perth!!!

To celebrate our love this year, we took an impromptu family photo…

… and for the first time we had our traditional Valentines’ meal of Chinese food delivered to us rather than going out to eat. Perfect for snuggling!