It's been a while......

Well, it was brought to my attention yesterday, that's it's been a while since I posted anything on this blog, so I did a quick look through my zillions of photos and chose a few to post an update. 

The most exciting, biggest news was that our oldest daughter Lauren, who I haven't seen in 2 years and who hadn't visited over here for 5 years, surprised me for Mother's Day!!

I was very surprised and also amazed that my family kept it quiet for so long. 

I must say that I was a little emotional when she rocked up in my front yard! 

I love surprises like that! God is good!

We had a lovely, albeit, brief time together and enjoyed a Mother's Day get together at the church, lots of family time, a BBQ and time by the fire and then I was able to take Lauren back to Darwin to catch her flight, and despite locking the keys in the ute (for the first time in my existence) we were able to enjoy time together and make it to the airport in the nick of time. 

I rejoice in God's goodness that although the last few years have been difficult healthwise for Lauren, God has been in control the whole time and we are still able to enjoy these blessed times together. 

In other news, the grandchildren are growing so fast, 7 and counting. 

(another one coming in November)

Both George and Esther just turned one and Miriam 6!!

It seems like such a short time ago that we became Grandparents for the first time. 

And in case you want to see how old we've all gotten and how small but also how large our family has grown, here are our annual Mother's Day photos! 

It's been a long time since we had a family photo with the girls and Dave and I. 

So very blessed xx

Holmes Family Update

Well, it's been a while since an update of sorts. 

Most of my serious writing is done over on my other blog, learnliveloveshare . If you're interested in a blog focused more on Christian living and encouragement for women, feel free to check it out. 

Life goes on as busy and crazy as ever. The work never lets up, and the grandbabies just keep on growing and growing. 

I've chucked some random photos together. Some are taken with my phone (as it seems I don't have as much time to get out there and get serious with my good camera so much nowadays), and some are a little better quality, but you get the idea. 

Abbi and James and family have recently moved to a station about 2 and a 1/2 hours drive away, so we only see them on Sundays (insert sad face here).  So a dedicated time to take photos of the precious grandkids is well and truly in order as they're growing so quickly. 

We have a new grandbaby due in January, so we're looking forward to that. 

Sundays are very noisy and busy at our little abode now as it has become 'family get together day'. But we love getting to be with the kids and grandkids, even if it is a little squishy. 

Lauren has done well with her chemo and is due in for surgery in a couple of weeks. Please keep her and Cam in your prayers as there is a long road ahead, but we are trusting the Lord and clinging to His promises. I was able to make a very quick visit last month and Lord willing the girls will visit after her surgery. 

We are in the wet season now, so we've experienced a few thunderstorms and amazing skies. I often find myself climbing up onto the roof of our little house to take in the beautiful views. 

The weather is super hot and sticky so it's a nice relief when we get a shower of rain. Unless, of course, we have freight left out and getting wet. 

Our transport business keeps us very, very busy and Covid hasn't slowed it down, which is a blessing, but has meant that we are flat out 6 days a week. 

We recently moved out of town to where our depo is. It has been absolutely wonderful to have peace and quiet finally. (We don't count the neighbouring helicopter business and our trucks as annoying noises). We have had to downsize majorly, but I'm enjoying the minimalistic living for now. 

The church is going well with our new Pastor and his family settled in at last! The girls were very happy to be part of a first youth meeting the other night for age 13 and up (all boys except them, thankfully they're tough for the game of spoons was very exciting from what we heard). Once we get the Sunday School rooms done up, Lord willing we'll be able to start Sunday School again. 

And that, in short is about it.

So, here's some pics to go with the blurb. 

In the above photo, you'll see a photo of our girls when they were small (minus Chloe), all wearing matching dresses that I had made them. I love to see our little granddaughters wearing the same dresses that their mother wore many years before. 

Litchfield National Park, NT

Last weekend, we were finally able (after 7 years

of living in the Territory) to visit Litchfield National Park. 

It was only an overnight camp and travel through

but was well worth it. 

Dry season here in the Territory means a lot of fires 

and burning off. Makes you want to roast marshmallows!

Well, it does for me anyway.

This was the first time for Maddie to get her Cruiser 

off road properly. We travelled down the Reynolds River Track

to Litchfield. This track is apparently challenging when you

do it after the wet, but this being the 2nd time we've done it, we

found it once again not much more than a 'station' type road

with a few water crossings. Still, it's a great change from the 

Stuart Highway and a lot of changing scenery.

Starting out Saturday afternoon after everyone had finished 

work, we headed down the track to make camp somewhere

along the way. 

Being the school holidays and also the weekend, there

were a lot of other local travellers, so we managed to find a 

nice little secluded spot beside a flowing creek to set up camp. 

Well, our little camp set up was lovely. There were no

noisy neighbours with all night parties, no barking dogs,

no police sirens etc........BUT..............

we managed to attract EVERY mosquito in the Territory!

No, we didn't sleep much at all, despite the peaceful

surroundings. It was bite, slap, scratch, bite, slap, scratch

ALL NIGHT! 

But, it was still nice to get away and enjoy a beautiful

full moon, some peace and quiet, billy tea, toasted marshmallows,

campfire cooked toast and no annoying texts or phone calls! 

The next morning, we headed out once again to visit 

the 'touristy' spots in Litchfield. A too friendly dingo,

some buffalo, kangaroos and huge magnetic termite mounds

had me snapping away contentedly. 

Maddie and Chloe both had their fair share of river crossings

to traverse, as Dave let Chloe drive the Ute for a while.

(It's kind of a strange feeling, driving through the bush 

with your 2 youngest daughters behind the wheel. Makes

you feel rather old).

The deepest crossing was on the road into Blythe Homestead.

It was up to the step treads, so not too deep, but nice,

as Dave and I had a mattress tied to the back of the ute 

for our bed (which also happened to be Maddies mattress off 

her bed at home, so I don't think she would have appreciated 

it getting wet). The girls had slept on the roof rack of Maddie's

Cruiser (Maddie's bed) and on the cage top of the ute (Chloe's choice for the night). 

That middle shot is the amazingly clear water far, far below, downstream from Tolmer Falls 

We did some hiking and exploring and found some 

beautiful little spots to maybe revisit another time. 

A nice day and a half away, despite the mozzies.

I can tick that one off my bucket list now and 

Kakadu is next! We haven't really seen a lot

more than a days drive through there, so hopefully 

it'll happen soon!