Thanks wa police!

...so D spoke to his squad supervisor and he has organised for duncan to work monday at a station instead of on saturday night so he can come to Graces concert... I cant believe how much effort they are willing to go to. Today i am very glad the WA police promote and actually live up to being a family friendly career choice.

Today i am not so stoked to be a cops wife...

The first real downfall to being a cops wife strikes. We have just realised that Duncans squad have been assigned to an event on the 19th of this month, which is the same night as our (nearly) 4-year-old's first dance recital/ballet concert, which the whole family has already bought tickets for. She is so excited and dances around the house after every saturday practice.
How are we going to explain the empty seat where her Daddy should be. "Daddy has to work so we have money to buy all the things we need" just isnt gonna cut it on this one :(

umm... huh? did that just happen?

So we made a decision. We applied for Duncan to be posted at the town that is just 45 minutes out of town. Started making plans and all. Duncan heard a perfectly timed post for a probationary constable (what the recruits are) was available just as their squad finished training. Only one other guy from his squad applied, and as squad leader Duncan knew this guy has only done average in his assessments and didn't pass the driver training so wasn't even qualified to do high priority and pursuit driving so we were totally sure we would get the spot.
One week passes... so the other guy got the spot. Come again...how does that happen.

So here we are, at plan B. Knowing God is in control and its not his plan B.

So i will sign off with a few photos from our suprise trip to Sydney

Some family highlights

With both of us on shift work, we really try to make the most of out family time together as it can be a sparse at times,
Pose much?
Super golf. i have a theory, anyone really good at anything says they started at 3. So we are starting Grace in everything so she can be great at anything she wants! No but really, she likes golf, like her Daddy...

Guess what else they like...

Especially when they get to make them for themselves...


(self explanatory really, that one)


We have been practicing writing letters for Daddy when he is not at home.


Hanging out in the pool at home with poppy (or the spa coz its warmer)

And Nan,



At the park...



with Aunty Tess



And Uncle Andy and our friends



And attempting to get some photos for christmas cards...

but hiding in the ferns was aparently much more amusing, so we tried again



and again



And again



and again



and again



i guess we will just have to try again

a bright spark

Just an amusing story D told me some of his academy mates told him recently, since i havnt shared for a while.

Background necessary info- police recruits are ranked officers from day one of academy and while issued with badge and authority that comes with it, recruits are required to change out of uniform before leaving academy as they have not got the experience or training to deal with a situation as a uniformed officer.

After training a group of recruits from D's squad had changed out of uniform and were walking over the car park. they noticed a vehicle travelling at considerable speed and one told D he thought to himself "that guy isn't gonna make it round that roundabout". Turns out he was quite correct and the male driver crashed over the roundabout, veering up onto a post. The recruits ran over to assist the guy who stumbled out of his vehicle, at which point one asked "are you ok, are you hurt" to which he replied "yeah, yeah, just help me get this off here before the cops get here" wish i could have seen his face when the whole lot of them told him 'mate, we are all cops!'

inspired...

I just read this over at Mamma Val's blog...
10) I believe that children are an important part of the world but not that they should be the center of the universe. I am always pointing out to my son that there are people trying to shop and eat and live around him and to use a restaurant voice, watch where you're going, etc. Nothing bothers me more than parents that let their children run wild and glare at the rest of the world around them.

Its something I think about alot and so when my comment got to about 2 paragraphs i decided it need its own post.

We all know those parents, and probably all are those parents sometimes, nearly run over by someones trolley in the shop, and instead of appologising that our child was running amok in the shop, said parent shoots the evil eye at the most likely innocent trolley driver. Child never does anything wrong, never gets told no( not helped by farcical parenting theories like positive parenting) and knows no boundaries.

Kids with no boundaries test to see where it stops, taking whatever ground they can in the process. this might be funny in a toddler, cute in a preschooler and a bit annoying in a small child but as the child becoumes older and more adventurous it can become dangerous, at very least to themselves. This is why i think about this so much. I work with 'at risk' teenagers, in particular those facing homelessness. Without specifically adding up, i would guess-timate about 20% are from genuine abuse situations, 20% due to family breakdown or financial/circumstancial events and the rest are kids who have never been told no or been given enough boundairies until it is too late. They come to us because there parents usually kick them out because their behaviour gets so bad or are constantly in conflict because they finaly hit issues the parent has to say no to- criminal activity, drugs, risky behaviour etc.

Sometimes the parents even continue to make excuses for their child. I will never forget one boy, good heart, just doing whatever he wanted, and as a 16 year old boy with a lack of guidence and boundaies those things involved stealing cars for the fun of it, regular drug and alcohol use, graffiti etc. His parents dropped him off because he had broken a window at thier house when they finally tried to say no to him going out on a saturday night with frinds he had previously been arrested with. He continued to struggle with any boundaries while staying with us and it was clear he had never had any growing up. After not very long he was exited from our service for not followingthe rules, and while we helped him find other emergency accomodation, he apparently got in trouble after leaving and ended up in juvinile detention. Then i got a phone call and copped an earful and then some from his mother who had decided that it was our fault he was locked up, although we had exited him for the same kinds of reasons they had kicked him out.

Kids need boundaries and rules. They build a childs confidence and maximise potential while keeping them safe and saving parents sanity too. I get so frustrated with the whole "let them do whatever they want or you might stiffle thier creativity"philosophy that seems to be pushed by all the modern parenting resources, well at least most of those i was provided by government hospital and community health care system. I see the results every day of the lack of discipline in our society... If a small child is allowed all the freedom in the world, exactly what age do you try to restrict them... i know from experience trying to take back premature freedoms is much harder than not allowing them in the first place. I think alot of parents wait until it is far too late (like early teens).

I know i am far from the best parent in the world but i have seen the many benifits of boundaries in my childrens lives from better sleep to the many more freedoms they have because they have learnt boundaries young. For example I can let my 2 year old walk along side me in the shop because she knows she will stay along side me, and my children can use textas and paint because i can trust they will only put it on paper, We can go out because i know my children can behave in public and can sit when need be, quietly and play within given boundaries if allowed etc.

The aim of parenting is not to raise a child, but to raise a well adjusted, considerate and independant adult. Unfortunately the child centred parenting philosophy seems to contribute to self centeredness and limits healthy mature independance.


Now that i feel like i have subjected you all to something that reads alot like one of my university essays (although it has been a couple of years snce i did one of those) i will get off my high horse and pray i dont offend anyone, as that is really not my aim, just to forewarn. I feel having seen the results first hand it would be irresponsible not to share the information. Please, tell me what you think, or if you are interested ask me what i think about anyhting to do with this topic. I am very aware that no one set of rules or guidlines works for everychild or parent, and would love to hear some things that have or have not worked for you.

its the little things

They say its the little things that count... well its the little things that can ruin your day/week as the case may be. Ridiculous isn't it. Our kids are whole and healthy, we have great jobs, and youth and church are going AWESOME. Yet i still find myself feeling nearly defeated today. Not quite, but nearly.
I have lost my phone which doesn't seem like much but we dont have a home phone and so now i have no means of contact with hubby, and when working opposite shifts that can be really hard,not to mention having no contact with the outside world while he is out on shift, and add to that the holiday photos that I havnt been able to download yet and the 50 a month plan i will have to keep paying, on top of a new one if I have to replace it. Oh and I couldnt sleep before my night shift tonight because I couldnt find anything else in my house to use as an alarm.
Add to that, that we backtracking a bit financially which comes with its own stresses, and the fact that my 2 year old has picked this week to be the most defiant little thing on the face of the planet, refusing to stay in bed, or do anything she is told for that matter, and makes for a not so enjoyable start to the week. Every time i try to get it in perspective and get my attitude right something else happens.
Well i am on night shift, and am totally freaking out now because there has been a headlice outbreak (i guess you get that when you work with homeless people) so now instead of sleeping when i get home i will be doing washing and combing hair, making sure i have not taken a little 'bonus' home form work with me.
I prayed for an insightful relevant devotional time on friday and i was lead to scripture about how the enemy aims to wear down those that oppose him and in my bible there was a side study about the scripture and how to deal with the enemies relentless effort in ruining your effectiveness through hindering your day to day life.
So it is by the little things the attack has come and one little thing God showed me that will mean i will only feel nearly defeated.