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

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.

A new look

So it seems i feel like a change all round- i am(pretty close but not quite) brunette for the first time in my life... with a much more layered style to go with the new colour.

If you have been to my blog before you would be able to tell that it too has had a thorough and thoroughly overdue make over too, thanks to my beautiful(and highly talented) friend Carly. Oh...I have my own button now! yay! You can grab it from the column on the right.THANKS A BILLION Carly, i had fun hanging out at your house, Riv is such a cutie, and i cant believe how self sufficient Scarlett is, I so need to teach Grace to make her own sandwich :) nah scratch that, she would never stop eating!



Grace has a had a haircut too, and has spent the last 2 days checking herself out in the mirror! photos to come soon...

Perspective

The words of a 9 year old from Uganda resounded with the perspective and wisdom that western children/teenagers/young adults and even some mature adults lack. At 9, having endured a horrific life of neglect, hunger, poverty and sickness he had a clear vison for his life and declared that he was blessed and God loved him... how is it that this little boy with nothing feels so amazingly blessed to have been taken in and have a bottom bunk bed to share in a room with four other boys, living with little more than the basics of life, and young people here in Australia struggle with self pity and depression and are so melancholic because in thier abundance ,all is not as they wish it were. Dont get me wrong i know life isnt perfect and some people here endure tragic circumstances, but many don't. They complain because daddy didnt buy them a car even though their brother got one, they complain because they cant eat out this week, they complain because their parents are a bit strict or they have too much home work, and deal with it like thier life is over, some are depressed because they dont know what they want to do with thier life, without realising the massive blessing that choice is.
I have complained because i cant afford to buy a rug that matches my lounge decor or because i dont get my hair cut as often as i should. WHAT?!?

i read somewhere that you will never be happy with what you have until you stop wanting things you dont have.
How free these children seemed, to be satisfied just to have their basic needs met and to have hope of a future.

thats all
www.watoto.com

Missed the boat again

Before i start, yes this is only about a buying a house, and i know us and our kids are healthy and currently we have a beautiful place to live, even if it is a rental, God is good and we both have work unlike alot of people right now, so i do have perspective and i also know God has saved us from buying at the wrong time before and he provides all we need, i know...i know, but i cant help being really frustrated... this is why

So we have been married just over 4 years and have moved house 5 times, mostly due to renting, landlord selling etc, and the last few weeks we have been looking into finally buying our own home(again).

This started actually just after we got married, we tried to get a home loan but as Duncan had only jut got his qualification they wanted at least 6 months to a year work history first...so the plans went on hold. so we moved fom our apartment to a house to accomodate our growing family.
By the time the work history was not an issue we tried again but house prices were rising and we were told our income would need to be much more. and we would need a deposit so we moved in with duncans parents to save.
So Duncan worked harder and made more 6 months passed and we applied again, but house prices were on the up again, as well as interest rates and we were told we needed 2 incomes- good luck i was like 9 months pregnant, and we could not fit as a 4 person family in their back room so we rented again and moved again.
Then the landlord decided to sell just as our lease was up so we looked into the shared equity scheme our friends had just signed up to. My brother passed away and it took a week or two for me to get around to calling, finally i did only to be told, im sorry, the govenment as exceeded the budget for that scheme and it is no longer available. so we moved again, to another rental.

and here we are about 6 months later. house prices are down, interest rates are way down, market is good and i have a job now too... great time to buy right, so i call the mortgage brokers. "Sorry there are new restrictions and banks are no longer doing 100% loans, one or two do 95% so at best you will have to have a minimum of about 20000 deposit , plus fees and mli to get any kind of loan" oh when did this happen because my brother in law got a loan like 3 days ago... "oh yeah its only from this week this has happened"

i am not going to write any more because if i do it will possibly contain a swear word.

grandpa's gone home

Last night Duncan's grandpa, the girls great grandpa (aka rararandpa) went home to Jesus. For all of the family it is sad today but also a relief as well, since he had a stroke earlier this year life was not how he would have wanted it, and although he couldn't communicate, we could understand that he did not want to be in the position he was, i always found it hard to visit, to see such a proud and independent man like that.




Grandpa adored the girls, his only great grandchildren so far, and i am so glad they got the time with him, i wonder if grace will remember him in years to come? We lived with Duncan's parents and grandpa for a time when grace was between 12 and 18 months, she loved the extra company of grandpa around all day- not to mention begging for a taste of his eggs at breakfast everyday.

When Grandpa had the stroke i regretted not asking him to write something for the girls later in life, He had so much life experience and wisdom gained, loved God and loved them dearly. I hope to get the other greats to do it and i will put it together in a book called grandpa's letters. They have so much family history, experience and knowledge to share. I would love to see other people to do it to, especially new parents whose parents are a lot older, with parenthood being delayed to later in life i think a lot of teenage/young adults no longer have all their grandparents around, yet they are such a valuable input for values and knowledge.


Grandpa loved the pipes- this was at his 90th birthday recently....

As for Grandpa, my girls may not really remember him when they are older but i know they will benifit from all the things he taught their Dad. When his Dad wasn't there for Him, Grandpa was, and there are plenty of beautiful things he does as a father that he remembers Grandpa doing with him and his brother, not to mention his legacy of prayer and walking with God that will remain for generations to come.

Who am i

Yesterday I was a mummy, at least until 9am, then I was a housekeeper/wife for a little bit while i cleaned, organised and shopped. Then a youth worker for while i went to the office to sort out my shifts, then a friend/relationship counselor at noon. then on to be a youth pastor for a couple of hours, at which point i become and administrator, teacher, general labourer and water baloon extrodinaire. By now it was 3 and i returned to being a mummy (chef, nurse, teacher, peacekeeper and entertainer) get them all to bed by 630 and return to youth pastor role, at least this week i am not preacher also. 930 become cleaner and bouncer among other things. 1030 i am nothing but finished.
At least Yeasterday i had no time to be a procrastinator, couch potato or time waster, or mourner