Is anyone still there?

Gosh! I can't believe my little blog has been so quiet for SO long, what can I say? The YEAR (a whole year - and some!) has just flown by, naturally, I have lots and lots of news.

Where to begin?
Well, the last time I posted, I had just popped out baby number 3 - and I am pleased to report that Boo (as she is affectionately known in our house) is doing just fine.

It is wonderful having a little one tumbling about the house again, and Ambear and Hoozel (whom were none to excited about the idea of a baby sister) have been wonderful, incredible, super awesome big sisters, cupid aimed true and clear when Boo arrived, and we all got a direct hit, she is just adorable.

Here are a few photos to show you how she has grown....

4 months old....


6 months old


8 months old, with Ambear


10 months old


First Birthday!


Isn't she a peach?

So much more has happenned since then too, births, deaths, new jobs, the house has moved on leaps and bounds (though god help me - it still isn't finished!).
However, before I fill you in on the details, I should probably explain why I have been absent for so long.

Not long before Bluebelle was born, my grandmother passed away, my beautiful Nana Ann was 84 and had battled with cancer for nearly 10 years. She was taken from us in August 2008, due to my advanced pregnancy there wasn't an airline in the world that would return me to the UK for her funeral, and needless to say, I was devastated by this loss, more so because I knew she had hung in there and fought so hard to meet her third great grand child, it still fills me with great sadness that Bluebelle won't ever meet Nana Ann, she truly was a very special lady.

I guess things got a little on top of me from that point on, I was already struggling with pregnancy and the loneliness that comes with living in rural France with no car and no contact with friends or like minded folk.
When Bluebelle was born, I was engulfed by the most awful depression, which I now know to be PND.

PND is something I had little or no experience of - I realise now how naive it sounds, but I always thought depression was a state of mind one could snap themselves out of with enough effort, but I learned that it is actually a very debilitating illness and never more so than when you have a new baby to care for, and little or no support because of your location.

Needless to say, I did of course get better! It was a difficult time, that sometimes seemed never ending, but I am lucky to be blessed with an incredible family and the most awesome friends, somehow I dragged my ass to the light at the end of the tunnel, and am happy to report that nowadays, I am just fine and dandy!

It's difficult to start blogging again after such a long absence - part of dreaded having to explain where I had been, but having talked it over with Simon, I realised that this is my blog, I enjoyed writing it so much, I should just pick up where I left of, and really there has never been a better time, because I have just recently started crafting again, more about that soon!

I guess the other major event is that I got a job, it was so random and so unexpected, but one of those too good to refuse opportunities, and it has truly helped me rebuild my confidence and remember that I am more than just a mummy!
My new job means I have to travel a lot, sometimes I am away from home for days at a time, not ideal, but how you appreciate family and home so much more when you are given a chance to miss them some!

I will leave you with a few more photos from the last year or so, and will write again soon with some updates on my crafting!

Also, just because I have been quiet, doesn't mean I haven't been reading all your lovely blogs and admiring your lovely work - and if by some miracle you are still reading mine... thanks for hanging around and Happy New Year!

Ambear is nearly 11!


Hoozel is still a little crazy


Lulu the pony came and lived with us for a while...



And Simon, still hasn't grown up...