Nothing much to say today… just that I was looking through my photo’s camera roll and seeing some of these recent photos really warmed my heart. Feeling ever so grateful for this little (or big?) family of mine. Grateful for everyone’s health and happiness, and amazed that they all love me back. Especially Chris.
 

This photo above contains my EVERYTHING. Our brood, these crazy kids that we call ours. Chris and I, still together all these years.. I just never dreamed that life would be as good as this.
 

Seeing my kids light up when my in-laws were in town. The one and only problem with marrying someone not from your country is DISTANCE. Always the feeling that half the family is missing, because they are. Never having enough time. Always fearful that the kids are growing up and will ‘forget’.

But seeing all my kids melt into the normalcy of just hanging out with their grandparents makes me realise that kids really do know that family is family. No awkwardness, no hesitation.
 

The wonder that I have THREE kids. The mere thought of this still tickles me. As an only child, I never imagined I’d have more than 1 or 2 kids. Definitely not 3! It was never ever in my grand plan, and yet now our family feels utterly complete.

Also the delight that I can ‘handle’ all 3 kids solo, without being extra anxious about it (like I used to be). It’s kind of regular routine for me now.. and this easiness as my new role as a mum-of-three is mostly helped by the fact that both brothers are fantastic with their baby sister and will amuse and/or carry her around when I’m tied up. So relieved and grateful that they love her, worry about her, fawn over her…. and the feeling is mutual.
 

The wild and wonderful adventures our kids are so privileged to experience. My parents take the boys on amazing overseas holidays, every few months. There’s far flung places like Norway, there’s fascinating places like Japan. Our kids are unbelievably fortunate to have grandparents that will sweep them overseas several times a year.. it’s a massive luxury and I look in amazement at their childhood and can only pray they will always remember these times!
 

Hunter, my eldest child, really ‘coming of age’. He’s a few months into Primary school now, and we’ve all undergone a HUGE adjustment. And personality wise, he seems so different now! I feel like he’s a mini adult, with his own friends, his own ideas, his own likes/dislikes. I also feel him becoming more independent now, and needing me less and less. This is something I struggle with every day – to learn to let go.
 

Carter, my middle child. Quite the opposite of Hunter in personality, and always so eager to please. Always so understanding, always so kind, always putting others’ needs ahead of his, and always with a heart of pure gold. I always feel the mama urge to protect him, because I just know the world will chew him up and spit him out….
 

Chloe. My littlest. My baby doll. Daddy’s princess. Queen of her brothers’ hearts. She rules over all the guys in our family, and – oh boy – does she know it. From a person that was ambivalent to having a girl, I’ve now done a full 180 and ADORE having a mini-me! I simply can’t get enough! She is also incredibly, incredibly needy of me (often needing to be plastered chest-to-chest with me for hours at a time)… and I love it. I treasure all her milestones because she is our last baby, and every day I thank God we have a healthy daughter.

Sure, I totally get the value of “putting down the camera” and enjoying the moments. But at the end of the day, I am ever so grateful that our little moments are captured and frozen in time as photographs. Because I flick back on all our memories years later, and it reminds me all over again why I’m here on this earth…