... and another makes six

I want to say about the last few days, but soon. First, just a little of the other children around hear that I really am not neglecting while I watch Samuel grow, although it might seem that way from the lack of photos of them on here, especially without Samuel being with them. Admittedly there are fewer than normal, but here are a few:

There has been a lot more dressing up going on around here lately (and so also play acting on the human scale rather than the small world scale). Here is Rebekah dressing up I think as a queen. She is often to be found dressing up, and looks more beautiful every time. She is more confident by the day it seems, in many ways. Samuel is clearly in awe of her in this photo!



As we have been using a sling more and more, and very rarely if at all a pushchair, the girls have started doing the same with their own babies. Of course the babies have come out to play again. Isn't it fun how children it seems will always play in their games what is happening in real life around them. A way of digesting it all, and trying it out for themselves to see what it is like. Settling it in their minds that this is how it is done. So some days there are lots of little Mums around, and the funny thing is, they always play SO happily together when they are doing that. Motherhood is just GREAT! It changes you before you've even got that far. :o) Here are Hannah and Rebekah sporting their home-made slings. It's so much more fun carrying your baby up close. :o)





Here is little Mum Sarah and her lovely little baby.




I thought this was from before those last pictures, but the camera thinks not! No, I just checked when this was - already 3 weeks ago, at the end of July, and the camera was right of course! Shelling a few peas in our back garden. Peter really liked to eat them raw. We're seeing how these few keep dried - the ones that remained that is - and we'll plant some next year if I remember.




These next few are from our family home evening a couple of Sundays ago. I had realised that Peter didn't know very many scriptures stories very well. Of course when Rachel and Hannah were small, everything was at their level, and Peter takes in a n awful lot, but I have to remember to do things at his level too, even with the whole family. We acted out the story of God telling Noah to build an ark, building it (out of sofa cushions in the middle of the floor), and all eight people and a lot of cuddly toys getting on board. Then the rain, and the flooding, and the birds being sent out to find dry land, right up to the rainbow at the end. It was fun for everyone and the older ones also got more from it afterwards by reading through the story from the Bible, rather from a story book as we more often do! Peter and Rebekah played with a little wooden Noah's ark and a load of toy animals while we did so. I remember doing the same thing when Rachel and Hannah were little for one of our first Sunday family home evenings (we changed from the normal Monday evenings when they were about 3 and 2 as special time together in an evening just never worked out well.)

The cast of Noah and the Ark are:
Noah = Peter K.
Noah's wife = Sarah K.
Shem = Michael K.
Shem's wife = Rebekah K.
Ham = Samuel K. (nobody else would be someone by that name - too silly!)
Ham's wife = Ceri K. (because I was sticking with Samuel)
Japheth = Hannah K.
Japheth's wife = Rachel K.




WATERmelon for our refreshments. Yum. :o)



Peter understood the story really well, and it cemented it for the others. He clearly enjoyed it too, as he wanted to play it all over again afterwards, and the next day he wanted to be Noah again. Family home evening was FUN!

They have been playing being missionaries a lot recently too. We had a really good discussion one lunchtime - Sarah and Rachel as companions had knocked on my door. :o)
We normally have a Sister Kruger, an Elder Kruger, a Sister Stockholm (badge left in a coat we inherited!) and Rachel has made a Sister Mills badge, so we have one of those sometimes too. :o)



Just before bed one night in August...



Samuel is not asleep in this picture, although he looks it - he never could have been. It was loud!



It worked a lot better without baby! Nobody was calm enough to let Peter sit up and manage to hold Samuel in anything like a comfortable way.



It was fun while it lasted, and within in minutes we had a crying chaos as people started to get too tired. Ah well. :o) Still, it's fun to be five together, and sometimes six. Samuel loves to join in when he's allowed to, and just wants to be up and playing! He gets so animated, and who wouldn't want to with such fun siblings around? For now, he is often relegated to playing with his mobile that's now fixed to our bed, but then he gets just as excited and totally animated when he spends time with his friends the cuddly insects on there - very sweet. True friends they are. They could talk, and sing, and play for hours!