“This is the time to remember
Cause it will not last forever.
These are the days to hold onto
Cause we won’t although we’ll want to.
This is the time, but time is going to change.”
Thanks Billy. A x
Taking more photos of the family in Geelong and surrounding areas… Thirteenth Beach, just near Barwon Heads, Victoria. Sublime.
Our most glorious moments are mostly surrounded by sun, sand and surf. Thirteenth Beach, Victoria. Our haven. A x
I have been on a pre-1st day of school hiatus! Much of the last few weeks have been spent away from the computer, enjoying the company of our first born before she launched into the world of school. School… such a small word, such a big concept. After five and a half years of nurturing our darling Nell at home we have handed her over to the Catholic education system for a large portion of her days/months/years/life! Deep breath. So far so good. A little scary when she came home after day two showing us how to make the sign of the cross. I must remember to head on up to mass one of these Sundays and reacquaint myself with the hymn book. So not too many tears on Nell’s first day… from Nell anyway. In fact there were no tears from her, but copious from me and Phil. Lucky for Phil he sounds like he’s giggling when he cries, but not so for the Mamma. Only a solo tear has to leak out and my eyes are instantly ringed in bright crimson and are as puffy as a toadfish on steroids. Thankfully one of my wonderful mothers group friends was waiting outside the classroom after having dropped off her little chick. We’ve watched each other’s children grow up from newborns and to land in her arms was so incredibly comforting. Here we were, on their first day of thirteen years of unsatisfactory lunch boxes, asphalt scraped knees, tombola stalls and thons… spell-a-thons, walk-a-thons, sleep-a-thons, read-a-thons. There were so many thons at my Catholic primary school that one night my father walked in after work, and after one of my siblings cracked it because they weren’t happy with his 5 cents per word donation, he loudly banned all ‘thons’ in the Campbell household. “NO MORE THONS!” I laugh now, but I quietly wonder how long before the thrill of these first weeks wears off just a tiny bit, and the mighty thon and the like, jolts us back to the reality of this long journey ahead. Until then, we are so proud of our little uniformed girl. Here she is on her first day in all her shiny, school glory. Oh, and hopefully I will have a little bit more time to spend here. Hope to see you soon. A x
Nell has been a scooter girl for so long now. I can hardly remember a time when she wasn’t hurtling down the concrete footpaths of our neighbourhood. And now Stanley is on the edge of his scooting career. He watches on with interest and grows greener every day. Occasionally he reaches out, but she is way too fast for him… and not yet willing to share her speed-filled thrills just yet. She swings into the driveway, a flurry of wind and tangled hair, and throws her trusty steed down with a twang of metal on red brick. “Stanley can have a go on the three wheeler when Dad gets home”, she offers to nobody in particular. I thank her for her munificence, gather up the babe and inside we go to feed and water Scooter Girl and her apprentice. And although I tisk her about her shoeless feet, shirtless torso and high and mighty attitude… I secretly love it. I un-secretly love her… and her little brother. A x
My dynamic duo… watching them just be themselves in our backyard and beyond brings me boundless joy. Here they are at their best, just playing, just hanging out, just being. I’ve captured them in their latest summer duds from our favourite (and local!) brand, OUCH! clothing. Watch this space for more adventures!
A x
It’s a busy time, holidays. Although, when your kids aren’t at school yet, it isn’t really too different from the day to day workings of a ‘normal’ week. And that includes all the unpredictability of life, inability to plan too far ahead or with too much attachment. Things just seem to happen, seem to blow out, seem to run on an Alice in Wonderland time piece. Last week I had one of those mornings where everything went better than expected. I was up with Stanley just after 5am… thought I would let Phil have a rare morning off. By 5.30 we were pramming it down the main roads of the Gold Coast towards Pacific Fair. By 7am we were dining on croissants and coffee. Although the coffee wasn’t flash (next time I would seek out a juice bar for maximum healthy points), I was more than amazed at my efficiency and ability to fake being a fit person with my runners and cap! By 8.30 we were back home to show off and by 9.30 I had Nell at her swimming lesson. But that’s where this well oiled machine of a morning ground to a rusty halt. This is where the unexpected took over. After a quick swim in the pool at our holiday resort (my sister’s place), I took a shower with Nell and found I was washing off more than chlorine. She had a god almighty rash all over her abdomen… like nothing I had ever seen before. It would be a gross understatement to say my inner hypochondriac panicked. Why does the screaming from Raising Arizona always come to mind? I muffled my high pitched panic to try and ease the situation and prevent Nell from inhaling my palpable fear, but it didn’t really help. After having quickly googled the situation and a glass test, by 10.45am we were standing in front of the doctor’s receptionist. I was literally shaking, terrified my daughter was about to have limbs amputated due to raging meningacoccal. She, on the other hand, was busy eyeing off the jellybeans in the adjacent chemist . But of course it wasn’t the big M. Thank the stars, the moon, the universe, god… whoever it takes, I thank them all that it wasn’t. I spent most of the remaining hours of the day hugging Nell like some sort of crazy sea limpet.
So onto another day, another week, another year of unexpected delights (and some not so), on this wonderful journey called parenthood. Here are the first installments of a little series I have started over the summer called, LOVE IS. I hope you enjoy.
A x
Sometimes it’s hard to pinpoint what it is, but I think it’s the light. It is certainly the weather, the consistency, the blue sky morning after morning, the sea breeze in the afternoon… but it is also the light as you wake up. The light makes you want to get out of bed, not hide under the doona. The light entices you the embrace the day and it’s possibilities, not be fearful of what the hours ahead hold. The light warms you, replenishes you, invigorates you. And it is the afternoon light that heralds the arrival of the sea breeze, to soothe your sun kissed skin. Queensland, my birth place, my childhood memories, my family. I have never really left you. My heart lives here. How I miss your sunshine… your light.
A x
little family in the light – how I love to photograph these three cute people
my cheeky chop
sweetness is my baby boy
Resolution No. 1 and only
Take photos and write every day.
A x
Life has never been so busy, and we all know how things ramp up around Christmas time… but that is mostly a good thing. Except for the days when it gets on top of me and my heart starts racing, except when my mind is filled with things I have to do and I forget to give my dog his little blue pill for his sore back, except when I have to send that important email instead of taking the time out to read my children the book they are holding up in their tiny sweet hands, except when it all stops being fun. This Christmas I was determined to clear the decks early and make some time to embrace our family in some festive love.. aiming for the relaxed kind. Well, it almost worked out. Actually it did, but it meant I needed to take a deep breath and change the plan from no work and all play, to a bit of work and as much play as we can manage. And we did. We didn’t make the wreath for the door, but our postman Noel did make an appropriate joke that our ‘Noel’ Christmas greeting was hung for him. We didn’t adopt-a-family this Christmas, but we will deliver a present to the K-Mart tree and hope to get in soon enough for next year. But we DID make our Christmas biscuits for Nell’s kinder friends. We did. And it was so lovely.
Merry Christmas everyone. Have fun, but mostly, be safe.
A x
Thanks Nicole, for taking me away for a little while, and reminding me that writing feeds my soul. A x
