Author: Renee Barton

Happy Anniversary: ‘Blessing Of The Hands’

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Today marks our ninth wedding anniversary.

Nine years ago today we said ‘I do’ and I can honestly say we are even more excited about our life together and even more in love now than we were that day.

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To mark the occasion I thought I would share this beautiful reading that was part of our wedding ceremony. It still brings tears to my eyes when I read it.

These are the hands….

These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and vibrant with love, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as he promises to love you all the days of his life.

These are the hands that will work along side yours, as together you build your future, as you laugh and cry, as you share your innermost secrets and dreams.

These are the hands you will place with expectant joy against your stomach, until he too, feels his child stir within you.

These are the hands that look so large and strong, yet will be so gentle as he holds your baby for the first time.

These are the hands that will work tirelessly for you and your new family.

These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes: tears of sorrow and tears of joy.

These are the hands that will comfort you in illness, and hold you when fear or grief wracks your mind.

These are the hands that will tenderly lift your chin and brush your cheek as they raise your face to look into his eyes: eyes that are filled completely with his overwhelming love and desire for you.

These are the hands of your best friend, smooth, young and care free, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as she pledges her love and commitment to you all the days of her life.

These are the hands that will hold each child in tender love, soothing them through illness and hurt, supporting and encouraging them along the way, and knowing when it is time to let go.

These are the hands that will massage tension from your neck and back in the evenings after you’ve both had a long hard day.

These are the hands that will hold you tight as you struggle through difficult times.

These are the hands that will comfort you when you are sick, or console you when you are grieving.

These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness.

These are the hands that you will hold in joy and excitement and hope, each time she tells you that you are to have another child, that together you have created a new life.

These are the hands that will give you support as she encourages you to chase down your dreams.

Together as a team, everything you desire can be realised.

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Back then this was a blueprint for our future, all the things we had to look forward to. And today, it is our reality (though Kaine would question the apparent lack of neck massages!).

Happy anniversary, darling.

xx

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Footage Friday: Great Ocean Road Highlights

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So around this time two years ago, we travelled around Melbourne and more specifically, along the Great Ocean Road.

We had a full week taking in the sights that the beautiful Great Ocean Road had to offer and it did not disappoint!

This is the highlights package we put together from our week down there:

We can’t wait to visit the Great Ocean Road again when we do our big lap of Australia. It’s going to be epic!!!

What Happens On Tour…

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I never thought I was the tour group kind of traveller. Part of what I love most about travel is planning it. The places we’ll visit, where we’ll stay and just being on our own schedule.

But for the first leg of our Euro Trip last year we joined a Top Deck tour and it was great. It was actually really fun to have all the details taken care of and just go along for the ride.

The best part though, was the new friends we made. There were a few lovely people that we really connected with and enjoyed sharing our holiday with.

And one of those lovely people is in our neck of the woods this week so we are having a bit if a Euro reunion dinner. Italian food is in the menu, fitting don’t you think!

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That said, I think our ‘young people group tour’ days are over after one go. After 9 days, I must admit we’d had enough of the bunk beds and crappy pillows, early rises and packing our bags every second day. As much fun as we had on tour we were so ready for a week on the Amalfi Coast in a stunning apartment on the water.

Lucky that’s just what we did!

The Technology Takeover: how do we fight back?

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It started off slow.

Checking Facebook when we had a few minutes to spare. Posting a snap on Instagram to share a special memory with friends. Catching up on the news or checking the weather.

But somehow, without us even noticing, our devices are taking over. Taking over family dinners and coffee dates, playtime with our kids and talk time with our partners.

It’s not that technology is the enemy. I’m currently writing this post on my new iPhone 6 Plus (it’s so big!) and have an iPad set up in the back seat for my 4 month old to (sometimes) keep him from screaming blue murder on car trips.

But I’m constantly aware of finding a balance. Between being present in the moment and capturing it to share on Facebook. Between watching a cute dog video on YouTube and going outside and throwing a stick with our dog. Between reading parenting articles about how to be a better parent and actually being one.

We have had many discussions in our household about just that. About how important it is to us to spend quality time together looking at each other and not a screen. About how ridiculous it is that 4 year olds have their own iPads and that we don’t want to use a screen as a babysitter for our children.

I must preface this with a disclaimer for all those parents out there for whom technology is a godsend. A way to communicate with a child on the spectrum or educate a child with learning disabilities. I’m more so talking about how we could walk into any restaurant in the country and see people looking at their phones instead of each other. 

I distinctly recall talking about these things when I was pregnant. One of the things I said was I didn’t want to be breastfeeding and on my phone the whole time. What I failed to realise at the time was that breastfeeding takes up like 14 hours a day in those early weeks. And when staring at your newborn and taking in their every tiny feature only takes up about 7 of them there is still a whole lot of time to kill. The mighty smartphone is a godsend to a new mum. It reminds her that there is a world outside the 4 walls of her house and helps her connect with it even just a little.

I know we’re not the only household dealing with this dilemma. Wives are battling phones for the attention of their husbands. Parents are battling with their kids for a family meal without phones on the table. And babies are smiling and giggling at us while we laugh at a funny video on Facebook.

  
This powerful image published by the Huffington Post is captioned with “the more you connect, the less you connect.” If we are being honest I think we have probably all been guilty of neglecting a loved one because we are too busy with a smart phone in our face. 

So, how do you deal with the technology takeover in your family? A screen free hour each night? No phones at the dinner table? Chores for the WiFi password?

How can we benefit from all the great things about technology without just amusing ourselves to death? How can we ensure we enjoy some downtime thumbing through our Facebook and Instagram feeds without neglecting our loved ones?

How do we strike that perfect balance between living in the moment, and living in the digital world of Facebook updates and YouTube videos?

Because at the moment, it feels like technology is slowly starting to win the battle for our attention and that is something that I think… rather, that is something that I know, we need to change!

Photo Friday: Our Very Hungry Caterpillar

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This adorable outfit is a gift from Jesse’s (fake) Aunty Sarah.

My best friend came to stay with us for a few nights this week as she had been suffering from Vertigo recently and, being unable to drive, needed a change of scenery from her four walls.

It was lovely to have her join our little family for a few days and Jesse looks incredibly cute in this outfit which was inspired by story time.

The Mum Version Of Me

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They say becoming a parent changes you. And it does.

I mean I’m still me, just the mum version of me. There’s the obvious stuff like the dirty nappies, permanent vomit on the shoulder and baby paraphernalia taking over the lounge room.

But I wasn’t ready for how every sad news story now affects me at my deepest level. Every house fire, every car accident. I can’t help but think what if that was my child, my baby.

A missing little boy makes me hug mine a little tighter. A sick child makes me pray for mine a little harder. Three little babies being left behind at a hospital because their mum can’t afford them or cope with the realities of triplets brings tears to my eyes.

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When you’re a parent, the need to protect your cub is sometimes overwhelming. You know there will be skinned knees and broken arms and broken hearts in the future but you can’t help but want to protect them from all the bad things.

A little rash, a scratch on the face from a tiny sharp fingernail or a sniffly nose is enough to bring on a bout of guilt and a tug at the heart strings.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a crazy mum who worries about everything and I don’t want to be the mum that wraps her kid in cotton wool. Kids will be kids and often learn through a little bump to the head or a tumble over clumsy feet, but I absolutely have a new found respect for any parent who has had to experience a sick child or worse.

If this is you, my hat goes off to you and my daily prayers now include you.

To Travel Is To Live

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I’m not sure when or how my love of travel started. I guess it has just always been there.

Growing up we were not the “go away every school holidays” type of family. We had a couple of family getaways up or down the coast over the years which are still special memories for me. But we certainly didn’t travel a lot. In fact, my parents were in their 40’s before their first overseas trip.

But I had the travel bug even before I knew what that meant.

Our first overseas trip was in 2007, the year after we married. We went to Las Vegas for 5 nights. It seems completely ridiculous to me now to have gone all that way for such a short time but after buying a house and paying for a wedding it was all we could afford. And at the time it didn’t seem strange at all. We were just so excited and crammed so much in to that short time.

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Why Vegas? Why not! It might seem tacky to some but it is still one of my favourite places on earth. For me, going there was a dream come true. And being able to see my most favourite singer, Celine Dion in her show ‘A New Day’ was an amazing experience.

Our next trip was in 2009 to New Zealand. We travelled around the south island in a motor home with two of our closest friends who just so happen to be Kaine’s brother and his now wife.

Not many people would be able to survive living in such close quarters for that period of time but we not only survived, we had a blast.

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So much so that in 2011 we had a ‘buddy moon’ with them. The day after they married we got on a plane and spent 3 weeks in the US. A highlight of which was a week in Vegas where we met up with another 4 of our friends.

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Our most recent trip was last year. We spent 5 weeks travelling around Europe with some special friends to celebrate our 30th birthdays. This trip was absolutely incredible. And it was quite healing for me in a way.

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We had spent the 18 months prior to that trip trying to fall pregnant. But that holiday helped me realise that everything would happen with the most perfect timing and that it was God’s plan unfolding, not my own.

We really lived it up during those 5 weeks (as you can see in our daily vlogs) and created such unforgettable memories.

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My favourite thing about travel is that it reminds me we really are all the same. No matter our religion, background, social status, profession or IQ we all gather at sights around the world and marvel with child-like enthusiasm.

We sit in silent awe within the Sacre Cour, we stare with wonderment into the Trevi Fountain, we cheer with delight as the Eiffel Tower sparkles and we gaze in disbelief at the Colosseum.

There is something about planning a trip that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It turns me on, I love it. I’m not a detailed person by any means but trip preparation has me researching for hours and creating spreadsheets and itineraries. I love it.

And its a good thing I do. Our next dream trip is right here in our own backyard. Our epic Aussie adventure. Call us crazy but we intend to sell up shop and spend 12 months on the road travelling this amazing country of ours. It will be the biggest travel undertaking by far and will require plenty of planning and preparation.

But what an amazing opportunity for our little family to experience together.

Footage Friday: Gympie Music Muster 2015

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Yes, that’s right friends, we have finally come up with a witty title for when we post videos on a Friday instead of photos.

Clever huh?!

Any-who, our annual venture to the Gympie Music Muster happened a couple of weeks ago. We shared some photos in a previous Photo Friday post and now here is the vlog capturing all the fun and shenanigans from this year.

Note: much fewer shenanigans than previous years due to baby in attendance!

Things I Would Tell Pregnant Me

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I am currently selling a few unwanted baby things online. Today a lady contacted me about one of the items and asked to come over.

I opened the door to a beautiful girl in full pregnancy bloom – one month to go with her first baby.

I was immediately taken back to a few months ago when I was in that same situation. Belly round and mind full with excited anticipation.

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It got me thinking about all the things I would tell myself if I could go back or what advice I might give to an expectant mum.

  1. Get all the sleep you can. Don’t feel at all guilty for those morning sleep ins or sneaky afternoon naps. Just enjoy it and get as much as you can. You may think you’re ready for sleep deprivation but it really is a bitch!
  2. Relish in every moment of pregnancy. Even though you are excited to meet your little creation, you will never be pregnant for the first time again. Though you may have more pregnancies you will also have at least one other child to care for so will not necessarily have the luxury to just plop on the couch, pull up your shirt and enjoy watching your bub kick and dance inside your tummy.
  3. They make it look easy in the classes but breastfeeding is actually pretty hard. But if you can persist you’ll be glad you did. Oh and there is this thing called cluster feeding…don’t worry, it won’t last forever.
  4. Though all they do is sleep and eat, having a newborn is really hard work. Feeding every two hours is exhausting! And yes they sleep a lot but between eating yourself, having a shower, having a bit of down time and maybe even catching up on a bit of sleep yourself, the days just disappear.
  5. You’ll doubt yourself about everything but try to trust your instincts. Don’t get hung up on whether you are doing the ‘right thing’. If your baby cries, scoop him up in your arms and soothe him. If he will only sleep while in the safety and comfort of your arms, let him. It won’t last forever and there may just come a time where you will long for those newborn snuggles.
  6. Bottles, dummies and disposable nappies are not the enemies they are made out to be. What is important is that your baby is happy and healthy.
  7. You don’t have to be super mum or have it all together straight away. And you won’t so just go with it. You don’t have to get your pre-baby body back immediately and your social calendar won’t be exactly like it used to, as least not at first.
  8. There will be times when you are more tired than you thought possible and all you want to do is cry. It’s ok. Cry. But ask for help when you need it. You won’t do yourself or your baby any favours by pushing yourself past your limits.

These are just a few things I would tell myself if I could go back to those last few weeks in my pregnancy. But mostly I would just simply say…

You’ve got this.