Recently we had continuous days of rain, after a dew days we had cabin fever. Despite the continuous drizzle we set out for a walk to see the extent of the rains.

‘Lilypad’ dam just below the house was overflowing. So full in fact that the fish were being poured out over the dam and down the road.

Later we had to come back and repair the road as the waters were causing erosion.

The creeks were up and moving along at a fast pace.

Despite that we found a shallow place to cross.

The previous owner considerately made trails for us to walk along with relative ease with the pram.

We walked up to the ‘middle’ dam to see the effect of the waters there.

It also was full and overflowing. Therese loves it here when it is wet because the mud/sand is lovely and squishy. She calls it ’sinking sand’ and ‘bathes’ in it.

Back home again.

Returning home from swimming lessons we turned off the highway to find a tree over the road.

As we travelled up the drive our way was blocked by the gum down in the driveway. You can see our ‘cabin’ in the background.

For ‘this’ we needed a chain saw. I was devastated as this was one of the attractions of the property.

We love the sunsets seen from our ‘dining room’.

When out at the house I left the windows open to air the place. Whilst in town we had a torrential downpour and I was worried about those windows. As we drove back out with dh ahead in the car we noticed leaves all over the road. As we pulled off the highway dh stopped ahead of me to pull a tree off the road. When we drove up our driveway we were stopped by a massive gum down on our front lawn blocking our way in. Welcome Home. For the first night we managed to carry everything in via another gate, the next morning we rang friends to borrow a chain saw (we get mobile reception on some spots of the lawn)This area was hit by a massive hail storm with hail the size of cricket balls. We have a swath of trees down, just torn off their trunks and twisted and branches torn off.

Fortunately I had arranged insurance and they are happy to replace the iron on the roof which was damaged, the carpet in two rooms which were ruined and the screens which were slashed. They also fixed the TV antena very quickly as they understood that dh wanted to watch Australia thrash England in the Ashes. The tv part was funny, I was getting slow response for the antennae repair, I rang back the company and said to the representative when he asked if anything was urgent that we were happy to wait on everything else but that dh must have the TV for cricket on boxing day, he said he absolutely understood and would ring the antennae business immediately.

Well this was all twelve days before Christmas, by this time I was resigned to a simple Christmas, I figured if Mary had to travel all the way to Bethlehem on a donkey she would have only been able to fit in some basic swaddling clothes and gave birth in a stable then we could also Honour Him simply. Which we did. We had a lovely Christmas day with the children receiving all outside toys (bikes etc)

Now the ‘honeymoon’ is starting to wind down and I am facing the very real conundrum of how to fit 9 people in a house less than one third the size of their previous home My biggest problem is how to fit a homeschooling life into this house. Homeschooling sure comes with lots of ’stuff’. Papers, craft supplies, scissors etc. I haven’t even begun to fit the books in yet. It will definelty only be three bookcases

The kitchen is much smaller too, I am going to have to go shopping fortnightly and I have had to pack away half of my kitchen equipment.

At one stage I thought we could fit in six bookcases but then we decided that we couldn’t keep eating on the verandah the sun and mosquitoes got to us. So I am now trying to fit four rooms of living into one. Which is my conundrum how to fit a study, dinning, lounge and family room into ONE room

We love it out here I know we have made the right decision for us when I sit on the verandah watching the dc ride their bikes and have room to play cricket. When they come to me and say “Mum I’m heading down to the bush”.

Last week found us finally with keys in hand for our new property. As I came out of the real estate office I could feel this big grin on my face I couldn’t stop smiling and it wasn’t because of the overflowing basket of goodies that I carried in my arms courtesy of the agents. Mind you the smell of the chocolate in the basket was rather delicious and the champagne seemed like something to look forward to also. The day was fraught with dramas but we rose to the occasion and didn’t worry at all. Early in the day the children arose eager to pack the car and be waiting at 12pm to pick up the keys. The plan went well and we were already to leave when it was discovered that the keys had been locked into the house. For the next half an hour we tried to break back into our house we had some very worrying moments as the boys perched on the second story roof trying to open the screens to their rooms, unsuccessfully. In the end we were successful in getting the keys and made it to the agents on time.

It was a most satisfying moment driving up and realising that it was finally ours. In fact it still is sinking in days later that we own 140 acres! It is also a daunting task to try to fit nine people and belongings into a house (read cabin) that is one quarter the size of our previous home. We plan on LOTS of ourdoor living here in fact our dinning room IS the front verandah.

We unloaded our first load and returned to town for our next load. When we returned disaster had struck! to be continued…..