Our Book of Life

The sun has brightly beamed all day today. It was wonderful to get out of the house and enjoy the defrosting rays!! Everything always looks and feels so much better when the sun is out doesn't it.  Funny talk. I had my daughter out of the blue ask me today, "Is being a mum hard?"..... Now what do you think I said????? These pictures may help you decide.... What would you say!!!!!!

Yesterday afternoon was Arama's Rugby team get together. They played a great game on Friday night in the wind and rain so a soak in the local hot pools was in order.  The sun came out and the weather calmed down enough to have even the sick members of our family come along and watch.  There was a lot of swimming and a yummy bbq. Then a spin on the hot pool slide. This slide goes till closing time and is so much fun in the dark!! Our kids certainly had a great time on it. Hikawera said, "This is soooo AWESOME" !!!!

Rangikawea sat his first ABRSM Music Theory exam yesterday in Town. We set out early to Takapuna and assembled with the other large group of people waiting to sit. After 1 hour he emerged very happy with himself, sure he had done well. Well done Kawea now we have a month or so to wait for the results!!

I have been trying to download short movies to this blog for ages, and I think I have finally done it. Time to say Cheese!!

Sunday last saw Arama Teancum turn the big 13!! We now officially have a teenager in the house. My baby is growing up! (tear) He is such a great kid, Rakaipaka adores him. Loves his music so an itunes voucher did not go astray. We went to Valentines for his birthday dinner. Happy Birthday my boy!!

I was visiting a friend at the local pre school and saw this hanging on the fence. To get the most out of this photo double click it and look at the cream/white circle plaque hanging in the centre. I love it!!! If you have trouble seeing it, it reads: "Trespassers will be composted".

Yes, another Saturday for rugby. I am not going to bore you with another rugby story, more what happened afterwards. Each week a team from the club is assigned to do set up of fields and shop duty. This week was the J1 team (Arama T's team). With good support from our parents it was a good morning. My little ones entertained themselves with their little bikes and as it has been raining a bit this week there were some fantastic puddles to play in. Rakaipaka found his spot in shin deep water and mud. He spent literally hours playing in this puddle (and entertaining us in the process). At the end he was hoisted up on the 4 wheel bike to help pack up the fields. Don and the kids packing up This is Rakaipaka's "spot" on the bikes!    After the games it was a team get together at one of Rangikawea's coaches property. They had a long roll of black polythene plastic. We went out to one of the paddocks near a troff and lay it down. Instant wa

On our farm we are off the grid. No mains power or water so we rely on the sun and the rain. The catch with that is; how often do you get both at the same time! Well, I am always mindful of our water tank, so this day I was so ever grateful for the answer to my simple prayer and knowing that there is a Heavenly Father who is there to listen. Although this photo does not do justice to the moment, We had sun AND good rain at the same time. A wonderful sight for me to see....

Who loves homework? our family does!!! It was Hikawera's first day of ALL day school. You would think that I would not be so nervous about it but I was. There was a moment when I held my breath as he asked me if I was going to help him with his work, until the teacher saved the day and scooted him next to her. Thank you!! It was also Hikawera's first day on the school bus. Now he is an old had on buses as he used to catch it with his siblings in Fiji but it is a new routine. He ran to his sisters classroom after school to find her of course she wasnt there, once found he was then was reminded where he needed to wait and she would be there with him. Nauvoo was happy to report that He fell asleep on the bus and used her lap as a pillow. When Hikawera was reporting back on his bus trip he was happy to tell us the bus seats were really warm!! (that means alot in winter here) Homework time..... I was really pleased he brought home homework, so Hikawera and Nauvoo sat at t

For those in the same faith as our family - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you would be familiar with Family Home Evening. We have ours most times on a Monday evening. Last night we decided to go into the local school and play netball and on the play gyms that are there. It was a lot of fun. I think I surprised Teancum at how good I was at shooting into the Netball goal. Even Renata, Hikawera and Rakaipaka had a go. There are 2 play gyms at the school. One smaller one at the front of the school for the younger children and one really big one at the back in front of the school pool. This one is really high. If you look at the photo with Teancum in it and note that he is about 2 inches off being taller than me, you will get an idea of how tall this is. The slide is perfect for speed!! (and you know ours LOVE speed). To make it that much more exciting they decided to sit on their shirts and slide down. Needless to say they had a ball....                           

Yesterday was Fast Sunday. This means Testimony bearing. A Missionary spoke about the Hymn, "I need thee every Hour". This really describes how I feel. I know that I need my Heavenly Father. He is here with me in the good times, hard times - all the time. He is my strength and my comforter. I am grateful that I have been able to learn and know of him. Here is the Sally Deford arrangement of the song. file:///Users/heidicarolinepuriri/Downloads/sallydefordmusic+ineedtheeeveryhourheatherprusse.mp3

Exciting times for our family. Our first harvest from our gardens. Radishes!! Yes I chuckled inside when the kids all shouted with excitement when they saw me carrying them back to the house. They were also so  excited to taste them. I must say it has been a while since I have had a radish and they tasted great. The younger ones did not agree...hehe. Oh well let's hope they enjoy the next item from the garden. It looks like Bak choy is leading the race. See for yourself.

Hikawera had been counting down the sleeps till his 5th birthday. Friday morning arrived with the question. "is it my birthday today?" He was so excited.   He opened his Good morning presents. His cousin Tawhaio surprised us with a visit and a gift also. Thank you Tawhaio!  Hikawera was due to attend his last pre visit for school so we started running.  Hikawera has been enjoying making his lunch with the older ones the night before and packing his bag for the day ahead. It was a great morning at school with Hikawera sitting his first spelling test. He did really well, being able to spell I, am, is, a. Not bad for a boy who has not "officially" started school. ( In NZ you have to be 5 years old to be counted as officially attending school. His first "official" day is Tuesday 7th June). He has several children from his rugby team that are in his class too so friends are not a problem. Once morning tea was finished, his class sang him Happy Birt

I was watching rugby practice this past wednesday, when I noticed my daughter hanging out with the 'girls'. It was great to watch her having fun outside of school with other kids her age, and me not being worried about where she was. She and a friend ended up practicing netball. It is amazing what a single netball can do. She's growing up so fast!