Changes

Look out... Mum's in a cleaning frenzy!

Phew! What a day! I didn't get a chance to take Felix for his blood test today because there was so much going on at our house. Hopefully tomorrow won't be quite so frantic, and Nathan will be home so he can help me hold Felix down (if he doesn't pass out!)

Our eldest son, Daniel, offered for Mel, Joel and little Noah to move in with him until they find somewhere else to live. They will have much more space there and Noah will have his own room. It's been very squashy for them all in one little room especially as Noah is wanting to roll around and explore a bit now. Today has been non-stop packing, moving and cleaning as they have moved out, and Isaiah and Aaron have moved back into the house. They very graciously gave up their bedroom for Mel and Joel when Mel was pregnant, and moved out into our shed which is freezing in winter and really hot in summer. They were both very happy to be back inside and out of the cold tonight!

I might be safer up here!

Felix has loved all of the moving and packing. He has been playing in boxes and making lots of discoveries as things have been moved around. Amongst all the other chaos, I have been cleaning out our shed over the past few days, as well, and have been sorting through old toys. Felix has enjoyed pulling things out of boxes and playing with all of the 'new' things (which have been reboxed up to take to the goodwill store). I can't believe how much stuff the kids had stored out there, and Felix certainly doesn't need any more toys.

We are waiting to buy new beds for Isaiah and Aaron, so we have put their mattresses on the floor for now. Felix had the best time tonight belly flopping down onto one of them, then standing up and walking across to the other one and throwing himself down on that one too. He laughed and laughed and had a great time. He kept saying "baba" (brother) and seemed genuinely happy to have the boys in the bedroom across the hall from him. In fact, I think the older boys enjoyed having him come and visit their room as much as he did. I never get sick of hearing them all laughing hysterically with each other. It's a beautiful sound.

Going to miss seeing this gorgeous
face every day. Granny loves you Noah!

Things are certainly changing in our family at the moment, and change isn't always easy. Our eldest daughter, Amy, is moving out of the state and will be living almost on the other side of the country soon. We already don't see her as often as we would like to because she lives 4 hours away, but it will be even harder when she leaves.  Joel, Mel and Noah have moved out and that will take some adjusting to as well. We will miss hearing his little chuckles coming from their room in the morning, and even hearing his cries during the night. Joshua (16) will be going away for school next year. We will miss him terribly too. I can't believe that after all these years, we will only have 3 children left at home. Our house will feel very empty.

BUT, the future is bright! We knew the kids would all have to go their separate ways eventually and, although I'd love to keep them all tucked away under my wings forever, I am so proud of them for reaching out to do the things they want to do with their lives. I'm looking forward to seeing what the future will bring for all of them. I'm so thankful that, whatever the distance, we are so close as a family. When we all get together it's as though we've never been apart. The great thing about having Felix when the other kids were older, is that they don't like to leave it too long between visits because they love their baby brother to bits, and miss him when they're not here. Felix is going to have lots of places to go for sleepovers when he's older, and I have a feeling he's going to be spoilt for many years to come!