WOW - November??! Really?!

I can not believe where the year has gone. As much as I LOVE Christmas ( and I really really do!), it just feels like its coming too quickly this year! Slow down... please?!
We've been off travelling a bit of late and enjoying the NZ scenery and some lovely wonderful people who have unexpectedly become friends and family to us over the past nearly 3 years.
Imogen is starting preschool on Friday (TOMORROW!! Argh, better get hte camera out and charged up for her first official day!) and I can not believe how much I am looking forward to those 4 little hours when I will be able to do whatever it is I wan uninterrupted - cleaning, cooking, studying, resting etc etc. I love my cherubs to the moon and back, but between feeling guilty for doing other things (emails, writting, editing, preping for study groups and training seminars) that are important but take my focus off of them, and then the opposite of going insane because I've dedicated a whole morning to doing the same puzzle 6 times, singing the wiggles endlessly and reading The Very Hungry Catterpillar (more like a recital than reading as I now have it memorized again c/o it being Owen;'s favourite about 2 years ago and now Imogens again...) for about 4 times too, it will be nice to have a space to do what I want, when I want and not feel guilty about that.
I'm still getting the hang of balancing playing with my kids and doing the things they love, with getting my mummy things done too... Can't believe that after 4 years I still haven't got that sorted! You more wise and expereinced Mums probably aren't surprised at all though!
Owen is a little fish - loving his swimming lessons and his confidence growing so much with putting his head under, holding his breath and floating on his back. He has had another developmental spurt and can recognise most of the letters in the alphabet, spell his own name and write it confidently most of the time. He is also getting so clever at working out 2 digit numbers: just the other day he told us "Eighty Two. That's an eight and a two". He is also developing a faith that is deeper and a sense of responsibility nad justice that is lovely. Comments of recent times that melt our hearts or just crack us up: "The people in Africa aren't doing so well at the moment Mum"; "That was a responsibile prayer Mummy: I prayed for 2 things, not just one"; "Jesus is God. And God is God. That's tricky". I'll say: show me an adult who has the Trinty worked out! And my favourite is his concern for people in need and actually wanting to do things for them: so look out Aussie family, Gifts of Grace will be coming your way for Christmas, just as soon as Owen can decide which things he thinks the people in Africa need most: soccer balls or hula hoops or chickens or toilets or cement... the catalog is getting a good looking over!
Lee has a crazy month on the Go: we're just back from the South Island (Upper Moutere) from Church Workers Conference, and have done a round of Child Safe Training yesterday (6 hours online with the SA/NT district - Praise God for the LCA and inter-district support!), and Lee is preparing for LSM committee meetings all day Saturday, before flying out for Melbourne on Sunday morning. He'll be away til Late Thursday next week, and I can hardly bear to say it, but then we'll be half way through November already! He gets back to a full weekend with youth worship Friday night, Sunday services where we have to play music and his wife on Church cleaning on Saturday (oooh, and a thanksgiving dinner Saturday night!). Like normal, things just keep rolling on. At the end of the month there are some significant celebrations for Bishop Monrad, a Danish dude who left NZ a heap of famous artwork and made some sort of contribution to the Lutheran Church here in NZ. Lee has a few extra things thrown in for that, and I'm taking a group of women away for a craft weekend retreat at the beach, organising the parish Girls and Blokes night Christmas party with Vicki our amazing admin worker and doing teh normal preschool management committee stuff in preparation for their kids Christmas Celebration on 29th Nov too...
We will be so glad when we've made it through this month.
Especially because of course then there will only be 2 weeks until Mum and Dad and hopefully Beej arrive and we can get down to the very important task of enjoying family time, relaxing, making Christmas preparations and preparing our hearts to welcome the Christ Child in our usual special ways.
Let me just say, while I've been a bit slack on the photos front lately, I hope the following post of shots and vids will give you a taste of the past few months while we've been absent from our blog! I can't wait to manage to get a bit more back into the regular blogging next year again as I step back from all my church committments and focus again on my family and the privellege it is to raise kids for God. Number 3, we can't wait to meet you real soon :)