Perth Manse

Just a quick post need to get kids in to bed for nap!

Here is a view from the manse looking left.

A few streets back and you get this view.

This one is unrelated to the above 2 pictures.

"Mom, didn't you know towels are good for you? There full of fiber (sp)!"

This is the outside front of the manse...yellow is not my colour but oh well. :)

This is a view still in front just passed the stone wall, this is our flower garden that we've been working on quite a bit...what do you think? Wish I took a "before" pic!

A view looking towards the road on an angle though not straight on... you can see my impatiens first, and then a couple of geraniums and another plant I don't know the name of.

Ok, so here is what you would see first thing entering the door...our living room.

As you look left you can kind of see the dining room and off the dining room is the kitchen.

Jett's study.

The spare room or the "Rose Room" as I should call it (the carpet has roses on it).

Ok, back to the dining room and then you make a right and you enter the...

Kitchen, yes it is smallish but big enough and I think nicer then a gallery style kitchen. I still don't know how to fully work that oven... :S

And thats all I have of the inside so far...I dont have a pic of our room (Aaron was sleeping at the time, nor of the bathroom (lol I don't know if you really need to see that...but it is different due to the black colour in it...). Will post later but things are catching up on me...ahh! And it is a gorgeous day here!!

Wanted: A Sewing Machine in good working condition

Uhm...does anybody have a sewing machine (in the UK that is) who might be willing to part with it for 2 years? ;) Long shot I know, but I'm starting to feel the urge to...sew!! :) Please leave comments or even suggestions on where to find one...(thats not going to cost me lost of these £££). Off to sip tea. :)

the speed of broadband :)

I like broadband. You can do things in half the time (saving you time) then with dialup. Yes, we have broadband.

This week has been going pretty awful I must admit. Rainy days...cold weather, no dryer and a whole lot of laundry strewn everywhere trying to dry...not to mention going to the doctor and getting antibiotics for more than one infection (yes it's for me), I tried to bake a cake yesterday and oh boy...I think the oven setting was on grill or something...yep I have one messy oven to clean now. Seems like some cold/sore throat virus is lingering a wee bit here too but thankfully it isn't too bad (nights are still peaceful in other words). But the sun is coming out today though it rained a bit this morning so maybe it will be a nice weekend? Lets hope!

On the brighter side of things, I have photos to share...none of this place yet, but soon :)

This is my family excluding the inlaws and Aaron. From L-R: Jackie, Ben (holding Kenneth), Mom, Me (holding Amy) Jay (who is holding Savannah).

Not sure what Mom was laughing at here, but here is Jay holding Aaron.

And, oh, we are backing up! Claire, Amy, and Julia.

My Dad and Ben. This was taken at Moody Gardens, Galveston.

Amelia looking at the many fishies with Opa.

Check back later (ahh, I mean a 24-48hrs from now) for more updates (maybe!).

a little bit of gardening goes a long way

Wow its been a week already?? Yikes, I thought it was only a couple of days...where does the time go?

Okay, so I'm still here and its 5pm...usually the time I start thinking about "cooking" the food I prepped a few minutes ago. I don't need to worry about it for another 15-30 minutes though. Let us see how fast I can type out this weeks events....

OK.

I can't remember half the things I did and Aaron isn't letting me either. My day usually consist of a load of laundry (mondays 3 loads), hanging that outside if weather permits, dishes, meals, diapers (oh and twice the amount now with cloth!!)...uhm, oh yes I did do some new things.

Gardening! You know Jett and myself DISLIKE gardening...never liked picking weeds...and what are we doing for fun right now?? Picking weeds!! I can't believe it! I'm actually enjoying having a wee bit of flower gardens to work on. We have nearly the front all weeded and wow does it ever look better! They were growing a weed garden it seemed ;) before we came. Now I want to plant some flowers in it to make it colourful - Jett mentioned doing that monday yippie! :) So that is one thing newish.

Potty training. No I haven't started but...I've attempted to prep her for it and even had some success with her on the big potty! I have yet to buy her her own...another task for Monday. Oh...and she misses her DVD that we left at my mom-in-laws...do you think you could mail that to us pretty please? I also have got Amelia into colouring and she really enjoys that...we tried painting once, but really it is for outside!!! I also can say that Amy can count to 3! "Flower" is pronounced more like "bower" and all her "f"s are kind of nonexistent well there may be a few words she does sort of say the f in them...pretty funny when she says "pork" for "fork"! She is also realizing that dresses are "pretty" and "cute" but it is only directed to the clothing rather then herself...if only it will stay that way.

Aaron is...well still the smiley Aaron. I've started giving him a wee bit of rice cereal but I've decided not to wean until almost 6 months unless he starts getting hungrier. I'm also trying to get him off his 3rd nap but that is proving to be more difficult then I thought.

Jett is busy. :) I didn't have to tell you that now did I? He is studying Hebrew. I think its August 1st that he takes the Hebrew exam...hmm, I suppose I need to write that on my calendar. And of course with taking the services here it leaves him very little time for much else. But I got smart (ok not really...)! I sat him down and discussed that we need a planned outing for at least two days during our stay here in Perth. So...not this monday but the next I think and we're supposed to go see/do something.

Yesterday we went off to Edinburgh for a chiro. visit, get mail, and we stopped at the Dickies flat for dinner (the boys were out but Cath and Rachel B were present which was very nice!). Wow, I didn't know Edinburgh was so beautiful in the summer!

The following is a pic of Amelia and Matthew taking a bubble bath! That was so much fun to watch!



Ok I need to run...way too much time taken up on here! Broadband is on the way though. :)

I'm lagging behind...

in everything. I can't seem to keep up with the house, laundry, baths, diaper changes, finances etc oh the list goes on! Whoever came up with the "washing, ironing, food, etc" (wife for short) part didn't realize that the "etc" meant a whole whole lot more than the first three!

Well...I took the plunge :) I tried on a one size motherease diaper on Aaron...and surprisingly he fits it "very" well for a 4 month old! I think Amelia was just so small at 4-5 months that the diaper just swallowed her. He looks cute I must add! I was able to buy three more covers and some diapers as well, the covers are cute they will beat any disposable diaper designs anyday!

You'll have to excuse my one-photo-at-a-time, but it is the best I can do with dialup. We found out that talktalk is available in Harris! Soo, I'll be able to post better then (2 1/2 months time). So here is a picture of myself and Amy, my Oma, Jackie, and Jeremy (Jay) holding Aaron. I'm jumping ahead I apologize, but I figured Care might like to see this one. I'll admit my shock at seeing Oma...I can't believe she lost 30 lbs during her sickness.

Sorry for the shorter (I suppose) post must be getting dinner on!

back in Scotland

We are back in Scotland (Perth to be exact) and are suffering from jet lag (yes, still). I think it is worse coming back then going to. But anyways, I think the kids are the ones getting used to the time change before we are.

Jett has the presbytery exam tomorrow, so I’ll be by myself for awhile tomorrow calls, emails and texts are welcome (just kidding).

We currently only have dialup so I’m afraid my time on the internet is greatly reduced…that’s not a bad thing though. I’m finding plenty of time cleaning and handwashing dishes! I’m back into cloth diapering with Amy (it would be hectic to do that on a trip) but I’m seeing how she is showing more and more signs of being ready to potty train…eek.

Hmm, I believe this manse has no freezer. The no dryer part I can deal with, but how do you live without a freezer? How long does meat stay fresh? We’ll be here for the next 2 and ½ months and then we move to Northton (Harris).

So I tried to take “a lot” of pictures from the trip, but I really didn’t manage a whole whole lot due to the lack of memory space on the camera…but I got quite a nice number of them…now, my dear sister in laws, and Sam have some pictures that I want please email them to me! Now to upload them using dialup is another thing…it takes forever, maybe I’ll *try* one at a time for now. Do look at my sister's and Sam's blog for more pictures.

Short Update

Yes, I haven't blogged in a long time but most of you will understand since we're on our vacation. Our stay in Texas is coming swiftly to an end. I'm kind of confused as to where the time has all gone! First week was the communion season, the second was kind of a catching up week after the communion, the third was a big visiting week, and our last week is much of the same. Friday we head off to Canada for a short 5 or 6 days? And then head back to the UK. Aaron's visa came in well ahead of time, so we are set to go (again). Myself, and Amelia caught pretty much a bad cold, except Amelia showed more signs of being sick (a fever that climbed as high as 103.7!) Anyways we are (I hope) on the mend...unless Jett comes down with it! I suppose I'll need to fill in on details of the trip here, but for now, I need to run!

packing, moving, and getting rearended by another car...

Well, maybe a quick post...we'll see. I get so long very quickly!

Okay, so Jett first was thinking of making one trip on Monday to Perth...now it is likely two trips (hmm, I need to downsize again I think). One today and one on Monday. So...yes, were busy. But nothing like packing an entire house so it isn't as hard as one might imagine. I actually only have odds and ends now to pack up, and Jett's clothes which I'm leaving for the last. So not too bad really seeing how I've procrastinated quite badly this past week! :) Monday I need to spend a good deal of the time cleaning this place up...maybe I'll get to some of it today (I should try!!). So, today Pack and first trip to Perth, Sabbath hopefully some rest, Monday remainder of packing, laundry, a GOOD cleaning to the flat, and second trip to Perth...oh and finalize all the packing stuff for Texas somewhere in there too. Tuesday we fly out for Texas...yikes, and we have to leave how early for the airport?? :S

So, as you can see by the title yes, our car was rearended by someone. The trunk doesn't "click" shut but still usable. The bumper looks awful though but anyways nothing is perfect. Definitely trying to us during a time when we "need" this car to move stuff up to Perth, but Jett thinks that the car is still fine for moving stuff up so I'm relieved about that. I wasn't happy that both kids were in the car at the time (of course Jett too) but I can't change that. Anyways, so thats the car. :S

Both kids are sweetly sleeping just now, so I really ought to make a big effort to pack lots! This probably will be my last post...unless I get something on here Monday. But if not bye bye for now, and maybe I'll post when we are in Texas...well, maybe! :) Bye for now.

Wed's visit

Went to Catriona's (with Sheena) for a Mum's visit. I didn't take my camera...which I'm beginning to see I'll regret very much...I could have had more pictures of the people here in Edinburgh. Anyways here are a few that Sheena sent me.

This is Amy and Fraser (Hope I spelled that right).This is Amy and Jenna.

This is Fraser, Amy, and Jenna (and Cat in the background hiding from the cam's view).

Jenna :)

Amy got quite hyper from eating chocolate...

Must run Aaron is screaming...

death

This morning as I was out hanging the washing up my mom called me and left a message on the phone...I didn't realize I had a message till this evening. It was 4 in the morning my mom's time when she called me 9 ish mine, she just got a phone call from the hospital she said, Opa had passed away.

A reminder for ourselves...we do not know the hour of our death yet our days/hours are numbered. "Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."

just a wee clip

So, I'm actually posting. :D You would think I'm up to my ears with packing...well, lets just say I'm procrastinating...somewhat :S I did start packing for Texas today...and nearly have all mine and the children's clothing packed....so I started something :) Here is a clip I took the same day as the photos taken from my last post. :)

some pictures

Ok some photos finally, here first of all is Amelia trying to give Aaron some kisses...It looks very obvious in this photo she is saying "awww". Which in her language means "I love you!"
Do tell me, yes please do, how often is it that you get your 2 month old smiling for a photo with his big sis next to him nearly smiling as well?? Isn't he cute?? He usually is full of smiles...so nice.
These were taken today, I thought Aaron looked sweet in this one. And no that isn't my thumb it's Amy Jane's.
Not the greatest photo...but ach well, I was trying to get all three of us in...haha, I got 2 and a 1/2. :)
All right, better clean my bathroom...or get lunch on the table for Jett. Jett was off classes this whole week besides Friday (today). Exams started today, and will be all of next week Tues-Fri, then moving on Sat, hopefully a restful Sabbath, Monday last preparations for Texas, and Tuesday we're off. :)

Opa

My mom emailed me saying that a decision was made to stop kidney dialysis on my Opa because it simply was not working anymore. Mom was told to visit within the next three days else they said he will go in to a coma. It appears that death is inevitable.

I apologize for not posting in awhile, I seem to be very busy just keeping a routine in this house let alone the millions of extras that need to be done in a weeks time. Maybe tomorrow I'll get a few pictures up but no promises as we are going to have company over.

But for now I need to get Amy ready for bed. Good night!

2 weeks till we move...

to Perth that is. No we don't have furniture, or any of that sort so really it isn't half as bad as when we moved from apartment to one room (oh dear...). But I'm still kind of worried how it is going to go. Most things I can't pack up till two days or so before because we are using them, but I am still trying to empty some drawers - like ones that are filled with paper, bills - all the stuff that accumulates far too rapidly. So no news from here really but I thought it might be nice to post a few things before next week commences. One is that I forgot to mention that Aaron has his passport now - a week after applying (now that is fast!). Two that I've decided to let Amelia and Aaron cosleep together and keep themselves company that way Jett and I can sleep in peace.You didn't take me serious did you? I didn't think so. :) I was going through Amy Jane's clothing this week, and finally I went through a box that was given to me, and in it had this elegant little ladies coat. Now if only Amelia fit into the "lady" aspect of it then we would have something.

I guess she isn't that bad eh? ;) Just needs her hair done maybe.

I was also going to post this very cute video clip of my new pet dog... her favourite food is plain cake! Enjoy :)

Tiredness and more tiredness.

I don't think I'm good at coping with a lot of disturbed sleep. I feel more and more as if Amelia will never learn to sleep BY HERSELF. As much as I love my wee ones, I cannot stand having them kick me hit me, punch me, crawl over me etc etc in the night - it just does not work for me. Sooo, what do I do with Amy? Put her bed in another room and let her scream?? I'm not so sure that is going to work for her, I've tried that in the past and it worked for a week and then she was back at wanting to be with us routine again - and I've tried the controlled crying bit more then once. So, fact is I wish I never coslept with her in the first place but being a first time mommy and not knowing what might happen I let it go and thought how wonderful it is to have your baby next to you. Little did I know then (haha and I'm still learning). My mom even thinks Amelia is a hard one to figure out - so it isn't just me (thankfully).

Well, it is a busy week like last week and the week before that etc. Laundry, dishes, diaper changes, baths, cleaning, and cooking takes up a load of my time. But we can't be busy with that forever and not get out or visit with others can we? I wanted to have some of the mothers over since I haven't done that and now that I have for the first time I wonder why I haven't done it more often (nice run on sentence haha)! I had Catriona, Fraser, Sheena & Jenna over. It was very nice. It was nice to see Amy and Fraser getting along (I would say 97% of the time!) it wasn't that way the first time they were together, but then Amy was a few months younger at that time. So, hopefully we'll do this again next week...it is nice to get out once in a while.

Wow...I can't believe I wrote all of that without Amelia disturbing me or Aaron needing me! But I have no new pictures on the computer... or hmm, here is something.


An old picture of my Oma, myself and Amelia.This is my piano which is currently stationed at my mom's apartment in Canada...Amelia had fun that time playing on it.
And a more recent picture...I think she looks Smith here.

Ok, must run. :)

28 days to go! :)

Today I'm still recovering from my 30min walk from yesterday...very very unfit indeed! I'm tired thats all really. This also happens to be the day that Amelia finds that her new cup is *not* spill proof (as the label on the package said it was). Now why does it always have to be Avent that spills? Anyways, once I get to Texas I'll stock up on some bigger cups and ones that I like sorry, but I haven't found any here that I care for. So I need to make a huge list of things to bring back to the UK...hmm, Ranch dressing? I wonder if that would be all right in the suitcase since we do bring shampoo and stuff like that...oooh how we miss our Ranch dressing!! :) Speaking of cups, where do you think Amelia got this way of drinking from a cup from?

Sorry thats me poking my face into view :P

I used to think one of the first words of a baby is *NO* well, it's not, it might be his or her's second though! As Amy Jane loves to copy that word when we say it no it wasn't her second word she learned either but it was in the first 10 thats for sure.

So, last Sat, Nome came around and brought this cute skirt for Amy Jane... I think it will suit Texas for sure! How hot is it there now??

As Joe and Care and Julia realized one of Amelia's favourite words is "dvd"... :S ehm, not sure if it really is a word, but to her it is. I doubt we'll keep most of the dvd's I bought for her.

Another pic of Amelia wearing Aaron's hat...I thought it was funny!

We are still battling some of the cold bug yet, but the worst is over thankfully. Yes we do have so much to do this month, and yet I feel like it is far far away from now. I suppose I need to really start thinking about packing clothes that will not be used anytime in the near future. I find it hard to be organized when we hardly have any closet space or space at all! Ach well I need to try right? ;)

Jett and myself are thrilled to know we will be making the Texas communion, Lord willing. We will be missing both Edinburgh and Perth's communions in May/June and probably Glasgow's which is the end of April - so this is good news about being able to make it to Texas'!

And now I'm realizing that time is short and I need to get dinner on the table pretty soon! So ta for now! :)

a busy upcoming month

Wow it's April already! Time really has flown by, it seems like yesterday that company was here, when in fact they had left a week ago. So much is happening this month as well for us. We hope to move to the Perth manse for the summer but that has to happen the 25-26th of April, and then we leave for Texas all being well, on the 29th! We FINALLY have everything in order for Aaron's passport etc! So in just about 2-3 weeks we should have his passport yippie!! And then we'll have fun figuring out his visa to be able to return to the UK. :S Another story for another time lol.

I had a walk today in the not so great weather... (it wasn't too bad). Kind of windy and then a bit of rain and then sunny again. 30 minutes of this walking and I'm tired - yes, perfectly fit I am not! I had to go to the Surgery/Clinic for Aaron's 6week check, he's obviously doing well with weighing in at 12lbs! Lots of questions were asked about immunizations...ugh, why am I so uncomfortable with the idea of giving shots to such a young child when it is the norm?? Both of my children aren't immunized (yet?) I wish I had more info about the actual shots. Rach?:D

Constantly battling with Amelia...runny nose, making messes...disturbing Aaron. She loves to take his pacifier out of his mouth, and then put it back in and repeat and repeat. Not very enjoyable at all for Aaron for he gets frustrated with her! Anyways...now Amelia is needing attention along with my kitchen...the endless duties of a mother/housewife!

Sorry not very many pics at the moment, but my batteries for the cam are being "refueled". :)

A lovely week, but it is already over!

We had Joe, Care, Julia and Jenna here for a week and I can't believe they are gone already!! Time has flown by with them here, and I'm already missing them. The place really does seem empty without kids running around, and adult voices talking amongst one another. I do look forward to seeing everyone in Texas!

At the moment Jett and I and the kids are trying to recover from colds. Sabbath morning I felt so awful I didn't get to church, but in the evening I felt a whole lot better so I ventured to at least get one service, which I managed.

Here is a pic of Amelia with herself buckled partway in her carseat. This was taken the weekend Jett was in Larne. She did this herself, and wasn't too pleased to find out the consequences...I had a good laugh.

On one of the nights that our company were here, Julia and Amelia were roughousing (sp) in the spareroom on the mattress...it was nice to see them playing with each other.
Amelia especially liked bouncing on the edge.
Jenna joined in as well.


Here is all three, but mainly the two were the ones most interested in the Planet Earth DVD.
A picture of the three divinity students. Left to Right: Alan McColl, George MacDonald, and Jett Smith.
Now a picture from today... as you can see, Amelia still loves to buckle things...I suppose she decided her brother should be buckled in his car seat it is safer...you never know what could happen with Amelia around! ;)
A little more of an upclose of my wee bub.
And another, he was nearly smiling for the camera however my camera doesn't take the pics fast enough!! Mom as you can see, he is fitting into that size 3 months outfit here!
I think I erased a pic of Care and Jenna but I'll post it another time perhaps. But for now, I need to get my dishes done and Amelia off to bed, whichever comes first!

Funny Duck toy causes...

A dancing Amelia! My mom bought this toy for Amelia.

Thought this was a nice pic

Taken at Sheena's

A wee video hope it works!