Airbags

Before the week started we knew that we would be busy. But we had no idea just how crazy it would be.

We have been busy painting walls, packing cartons, paving footpaths, and mulching gardens. It is funny as we look at the work we have done here. We can’t help wondering why we haven’t done it previously. The house is looking fantastic, but we’re moving out. We would have loved to have been here to enjoy it for a little longer. Although, if we were staying I somehow doubt that it would be getting done.

We have taken some time to enjoy people that we have come to love too. On Friday it was Chanel’s final day of school. We organised a party in the park for that afternoon, and invited all of Chanel’s and Abbie’s friends to come and enjoy a final get together. For two hours, we played and enjoyed the company of wonderful friends.

We said goodbye to our guinea pig this week too. We are not taking “Tuffy” to Wollongong with us, so he had to find a new home. Some friends of our lost their guinea pig recently, and were happy to adopt Tuffy.

We also enjoyed a celebration during the week. A good friend of mine from church and university was married. It has been a long time since we attended a wedding, and it was nice to experience the joy and love of the occasion.

The biggest news of week, though, is that our little Daihatsu was involved in a serious accident on Thursday night. I was driving with Abbie. We were following Kylie to her parent’s home for a family dinner. I was driving along the main road when a car came out of a side street in an attempt to turn in front of me in order to go in the opposite direction to that which I was travelling. I hit the brakes as hard as I could, but there was nothing I could have done to prevent the crash.

She had failed to see me. The Daihatsu t-boned her car, hitting just to the front of her driver side door. The impact spun her car around, while we basically kept going straight through. Both airbags were deployed. The airbag hit me right on the tip of my nose, but there was no pain. Abbie got the impact of the airbag above her right eye. She screamed as soon as the cars collided. It was amazing, in hindsight, how clearly I was thinking as it happened. The accident occurred extremely fast. There was no such thing as everything going in slow motion. In fact, it was just the opposite.

I stopped the car and jumped out instantly so I could look after Abbie. As I raced around the rear of the car I looked in the direction of the vehicle that we had hit and yelled, “What are you thinking?”

I reefed open Abbie’s door and carried her to the side of the road where I held her. She was extremely upset.

Meanwhile, Kylie had heard the impact from her position 500m ahead of me. She saw the car in her rear view mirror and turned around immediately. She came and looked after Abbie. A fireman was on his way home from work when it occurred and pulled up right behind the accident. He got the scene in order instantly. He was remarkably helpful.

Tow-trucks arrived within minutes (I don’t know how they can be so much faster than emergency services). It was almost as though they were hiding around the corner waiting for it to happen. The ambulance was on the scene a few minutes later. Abbie claimed she was hurting from the top of her head all the way down to her toes. We were a little worried about her. The other lady (who had pulled out in front of me) was physically fine. However, when she saw me take Abbie out of the car she had become extremely emotional at the thought of what might have happened. It took over an hour before she overcame the shock of the accident.

About fifteen minutes after the accident the adrenaline began to wear off. I became aware of a throbbing on my shin. I had an enormous lump that was continuing to expand. It ended up being almost the size of my fist. My leg must have hit under the dashboard on impact.

Abbie and I got to ride in an ambulance. The ambo’s felt that a doctor should look over Abbie as she was complaining that she was very sore. We arrived at the hospital, Abbie was given 5 ml of Panadol, No more hurties. She was fine.

We feel as though we have been so blessed. This accident could have been devastating. Instead we have all walked away without any real issues.

I had a truckload of mulch dumped on our driveway during the week. My intention was that I would spend a couple of days shovelling it onto our back garden. Due to my leg being sore, I had to ask for help. About ten men from church came by and moved the whole load in just over two hours. It would have taken me several days. I was so grateful for their service.

So now all the big jobs are done around the house. The paving is finished, and looks great. The painting has been done. The mulch has been spread. Still, there is packing to do. And we need to get our car situation figured out. We anticipate that the car will be written off, but this is yet to be assessed. We leave our home this week. And we are still looking for a house in Wollongong.

This Christmas is going to be interesting.

Note also, there will not be any blog updates until we are unpacked in Wollongong. I suspect this will be early in January. Have a joyful, blessed Christmas

Restaurant Music

I’m sitting down to write this with my little Ella sitting on my lap playing with a music box that plays Jingle Bells. Ella and Abbie have been very funny in recent weeks.

Abbie has received a CD player for her birthday (back in October). Each evening as we sit down for dinner as a family, Abbie tells us that we need to listen to some “restaurant music”. Our typical dinnertime accompaniment consists of children’s CD’s. We know all the words to all of the Playschool songs, Bindi Irwin (the Jungle girl), and every other children’s CD we own. It’s really cute. What seems funniest to Kylie and I is that Abbie knew about “restaurant music”. We don’t know where she got the idea from, but we sure get lots of entertainment at dinner time.

We’ve been playing a lot of hide ‘n seek recently. It usually works reasonably well, but I’m having a difficult time teaching Ella to stay hidden. Instead she gives lots of hints about where she is. Ella will knock on the wall to give away her position. If I enter the room and pretend not to have seen her, she’ll burst out of her hiding place shouting, “Here I am”! Usually she laughs so much that we find her very quickly. Ella is lots of fun.

Our precious gift, Annie Grace, is beautiful. Annie is now a little over three months old. She is comfortable holding her head up, and can lie on her stomach and push herself up just a little, even holding herself there. She still sleeps through most nights, although in the last few weeks things have begun to become a little less predictable. But boy, does she love to smile. We feel blessed to have been given such a content and beautiful little girl.

Unfortunately, however, my time to really appreciate the children has been reduced the past couple of weeks and will remain so until we move. I am doing an enormous amount of work, trying to pay as many bills as possible associated with the move. Our house has turned into what looks like a war zone. Packing removal cartons has that kind of an impact. There is a lot to do. We have walls to paint, pavers to lay, a back garden to plant and mulch, and new carpet to install. Plus we need to pack up our belongings and keep our children happy. It is a busy time.

We have decided that we must get rid of our Camry. We have just found out that it needs between $2500 and $3000 to keep it on the road. The car is only worth $1000. Oh dear! This car has been the worst car we have ever owned, and we will not miss it. But to have our hand forced is no fun.

I was going to take it to the wreckers and get a couple of hundred dollars for it. But then a panel beater I know said he’d take it and fix it up. He was going to pay me for it, but instead I’m having him fix up and repaint my motorbike. It is a fair trade as the motorbike would have cost me close to $800 if I paid for it. In fact, I think I’m doing really well. The only difficulty is that we will then have a very little car and a very big motorbike. It really should be the other way around. So we’re saving for a big car, and I’ll likely sell our little car and big motorbike.

We are still looking for a house in Wollongong. Hopefully we’ll receive some news this week. There are a couple of homes that look particularly nice to us.
And that’s about all this week. Another couple of very busy weeks in the lead up to Christmas and our move. We move out on December 22nd.

Endings and Beginnings

This is going to be a longer entry than usual because this week has been so significant. A lot of wonderful, challenging, and exciting things have occurred in the past seven days.

I’ll begin with the most significant.

After weeks of nail-biting suspense and painful waiting my university results were released on Wednesday. Having been unconditionally accepted into a Masters Degree here in QLD and conditionally accepted to a PhD in Wollongong, there was a lot riding on the result. To get the PhD and associated scholarship I had to receive a first class honours in my final year of the degree. To get a first class result required a score of 80 or greater.

Part of me wanted to get the first class result to do the PhD, but the other part didn’t want to. A move to Wollongong entails significant changes in our lives, many that I wasn’t sure I was comfortable making. To get a low score would mean no decision was necessary and we could just stay here.

Well, the result arrived. I was nervous beyond anything I recall as I received the outcome… 80.71! I got there by less than three-quarters of one percent! In hindsight, I guess that means I must have worked a little too hard as I only needed 80. That grade was too close to the edge for my liking. The amazing thing is that no one ever asks what grade I got. So whether it’s 80.71 or 99.71, the result is a first class honours and that’s all that matters. I feel remarkably blessed as I consider what it takes to get that result. To have done so with Kylie having our fourth baby and while working etc, it feels good.

With the result came a very important decision. Do we leave everything and move our family to start again in Wollongong? We’ve never been there, know very little about it, and love lots of things about where we are. We don’t really know what is involved in studying for a PhD. We have no social support there.

Or do we stay put, and do a Masters degree that will allow us to remain relatively comfortable and progress into a different area, more related to counseling?

Wednesday evening Kylie and I talked with the children. We asked them to help us determine the advantages and disadvantages associated with moving. We were surprised by their enthusiasm. As we talked and listed our ideas it became increasingly clear that one option was far superior to the other.

We’re moving. Mum reminded me of a quote from Helen Keller, “Life is a daring adventure or it is nothing.” We have been very happy and very comfortable for some time. There is always a lot happening in our lives, but real growth comes from being stretched. It’s time for a new adventure.

By the end of the first two weeks in January we expect to be settling into a new home in Wollongong. At this stage we do not know where. We’ll make some decisions in the next couple of weeks.

The following day we told Chanel’s school teacher, Jane Leishman. As Kylie told her, she became visibly saddened. She loves Chanel and said many wonderful things about our big girl. We have since received kind words about how special our children are from other teachers and parents who have been involved with our family over the past years. There is very little that makes a dad feel happier than to hear other people express heartfelt gratitude for the influence of his children. I feel so blessed to have such precious children.

Now that the decision has been made a change has come over Kylie and I. Where there was some concern and uncertainty about the future, we are now optimistic and even starting to look forward to our new direction. We will miss our family and friends in Queensland terrible. We don’t know how long we will be gone. But we are looking forward to an exciting future. More details will filter through this blog over the coming weeks as we find somewhere new to live and so on.

We had some other experiences this week that were like pages in my favourite books; dog-eared because I want to go back and savour them again and again.

On Wednesday Chanel swam at her school swimming carnival. She loves the pool and is enjoying her squad swimming. But when she started winning some races it was really exciting. I was timekeeper for one of the lanes for the day. I don’t remember the kids at school carnivals making so much noise when I went to school. Boy, did those kids scream and cheer! It was a big day.

Chanel swam really well. First, she won her 25m butterfly race in 29 seconds. Then she won her backstroke race in 35 seconds. She got a first in her 25m freestyle (26 seconds) and second in her breast-stroke race too. In the 50m free Chanel came third. She was happy, and I felt lucky to have been able to be there.
I left the carnival to go to Abbie’s kindergarten. They had their special Christmas Concert with all of the children performing for mums and dads for half an hour. It was such a treat to watch Abbie having great fun with all of her friends. She is a treasure.

So Wednesday was one of the best days I’ve had. Uni results, scholarships, and a day watching Chanel and Abbie having a great day with their friends, using their talents and skills, and enjoying the gifts and blessings that I have.

The other highlight of the week was yesterday (Saturday). We had arranged for a family Christmas party at our home, with Kylie’s sisters and their families, and Kylie’s parents coming over for an afternoon. Kylie and I spent most of Friday and Saturday morning preparing. Food and decorations were arranged. We worked hard, particularly Kylie. She has such a remarkable ability to organise, plan, and tastefully run spectacular events.

The food was breathtaking. Wonderful cheese and fruit platters for nibbles (the cherries were to die for, and the Camembert was top-shelf), followed by a main meal of salads and meats that were mouth-wateringly divine. Lastly, Kylie prepared a jaffa cheesecake. Choc-orange cheesecake with delectable chocolate dripped across the plate. It was better than a restaurant!

Most importantly, the company was special. Everyone had a terrific time. The family has become a remarkably cohesive group of people. Everyone was kind. We laughed and enjoyed one another. The children played. It was a little bit of heaven.

This is a photo of the family. Back row – Me, Kylie, Estelle and Adele (Kylie’s sisters), Ystyn and Madson (Adele’s husband and son).
Front row – Abbie (in front), Lisa (Kylie’s half sister), Les, Ella, Natasha, West (Adele’s other son), Payton (Lisa’s daughter) and Chanel.

It has been a remarkable week. We continually see blessings from Above in our lives, and this week has been a great example of that.

Exams, Holidays, Blessings, and a Miracle

This week has been remarkable. I cannot count the blessings our family has enjoyed, and in particular, the miracle I experienced. I’ll start with the miracle, and let everyone get over the shock of it, and then move on to the blessings.

By now it is probably quite common knowledge that I have sold my scooter and bought a motorbike. This is a picture of what my bike looks like. It is a Honda CB400.

Now, I know that not everyone thinks it is a good idea! But since I am in my thirties, and I am generally a sensible person, I feel that I am probably old enough to make some decisions on my own, even if they are decisions that others (who I love and trust) would not make. And even if they are a little on the “dim” side of life.

Well, I had my first accident on the bike. Hmmm. It hurt, although I was blessed to have slowed down sufficiently to avoid breaking any bones. I was not being reckless or silly. In fact, by the time I hit the road I’m sure I was doing less than 30km/h. Inexperience was my biggest enemy on that corner. My ribs are bruised or cracked though, and I’m in pain. However, the miracle of not having anything worse happen is amazing. I thank God for blessing me.

Now to the other wonderful experiences of the week! The same day as the accident I was to sit my final exam. When I say final exam, I mean the very last exam I needed to sit to obtain my degree! I was a little shaken as you can probably imagine. But there was no way I was going to be delaying that exam. To top it off, it was possibly the easiest exam that I have ever sat! So I came out of the exam extremely happy. No more exams, no more papers to write, no more researching, no more leaving my family at night so I can go to uni and study into the late hours, no more university stress! The degree is finished. My results will be out by the end of the month, and I graduate on Dec. 17th with a Bachelor of Psychological Science with Honours.

Thursday we went on holidays. We booked a three bedroom self contained unit on the beach at the Sunshine Coast for the day after my final exam. We had a great time. It was nice to relax a little. It would have been more fun if my ribs were not aching. I wish that I could have played more vigorously with the kids in the pool! But all in all, it was great. The children just wanted to swim in the pool. Period. Nothing else! Just swim. So we spent A LOT of time in the water. That, literally, is all there was to our holiday! Here’s a picture of the kids on the beach.

All in all, we feel remarkably blessed. Our family is healthy and flourishing, we are about to take some new steps in new directions in coming months, and the year is speeding to a close.

One more quick story.

Ella is undoubtedly the most challenging child we have had to work with, particularly at church. Ella does not like the idea of being reverent. Today in church one of the children sitting close to us began making considerable noise. Ella sprang to her feet, hurried over to the poor boy, placed her finger over her lips and hissed “Shhhhhhh” with all the energy she could. She then turned to me looking terribly pleased with herself, and strutted back to her place as though she were the most righteous little angel in the chapel. Righteous? I’m not so sure. Little angel? Every bit of her!

Have a terrific week.

So many highlights

So much has happened in just one week! I’ll start off with the personal highlights, and then talk a little more about the rest of the family.

Monday I started my new job doing merchandising work. This was the job that Tim got for me. I knew I wasn’t going to be thrilled to do it, but decided it would be sufficient to see me through a couple of months once Austudy allowances stop. I did about four hours work. Then I quit! This is not the job for me. I would rather do furniture removals for my dad.

Monday I also got a phone call from Queensland University of Technology (QUT). They have accepted me into the Masters of Educational and Developmental Psychology for 2008/2009. Great news. It means that my backup plan is in place for next year.

On Monday I sold my scooter too. I have loved riding my little 50cc scooter around Brisbane, and it has been perfect for commuting to and from university. But it was time for it to go. I’ve done 9000 klms on it in just over 12 months. That is a lot of mileage on a little engine. When I bought the scooter last year it had 55 klms on the clock and was only a month old. I paid $1300. I have just sold it for $1250. I think I did quite well out of it.

On Tuesday morning I was full of anticipation. My drive to the airport was nervous due to traffic. I thought there was a chance I was going to miss my plane! But I got there in time and flew to Sydney. From there I was chauffer driven to Wollongong university where I received a tour of the facilities, was shouted lunch, had a meeting with my possible Ph. D. supervisor, and had an interview as part of my application process.

I was impressed with the city, and the university. The prospect of doing the university work for another three years full-time became very real, and quite daunting to me. In fact, I began to become very nervous as I considered what it would mean to commit to such an enormous project. I had hoped that I would leave the interview full of hope, inspired for what may occur in the future. Instead, I left feeling quite concerned, wondering how on earth I could complete a Ph. D. (I also lost my wallet there which was a significant disappointment).

On Wednesday I sent a thank you email to the interviewers. They responded by telling me that I had earned a conditional acceptance to the programme. It is conditional upon my receiving a first class honours grade. I am on track to do so, but there are certainly no guarantees. Also, it means more waiting. My grades will not be released until the end of the month, so it is a nervous couple of weeks. If I am successful, we will certainly be moving. If my grades are not at a first class standard, I will not be moving, but will attend QUT and do the Masters programme. So some progress is being made, and in a couple more weeks we will have some final clarity on where we will be next year.

Thursday and Friday were exciting days. I had some motorcycle lessons, learning to ride a bike. I was sitting on a brand new 650cc BMW. Now that is a lot different to my scooter! The lessons have been going well, and I have another one on Tuesday. Following that lesson I should have my license. That will be great, because I have just bought a bike, but I cannot ride it until I get my license signed off.

Saturday morning was a highlight for me this week (in a week of highlights). A good friend of mine works for a company that has purchased a corporate box at the Gabba (the Woolloongabba Cricket Ground). Not only does the box have great views of the action at the ground, but it also has a dining suite attached where all the food and drink you can consume is available. I went to the cricket with him and some friends on Saturday morning, and loved it! We had a three course meal for lunch, and watched some very entertaining test match cricket between Australia and Sri Lanka. What a treat!

Because this week has been so busy for me, I have not got a lot to share regarding the children and Kylie. But a few really sweet things have occurred.

This morning Kylie and I lay on the bed with our little Annie Grace. We spent ages staring at her tiny little face. She smiles more than any of our other children ever did. And watching her smile is amazing, because she’ll smile, then stop and smile again, trying to outdo the previous smile. Annie is also becoming very conversational, making lots of noises and waiting for us to recognise the noises. When we respond she gets very excited and makes more noises. She is so precious.

Ella has a new favourite song: There’s a hole in the bucket, dear Liza. She walks around the house singing endlessly. It is adorable! Her speech is improving, though more work is needed. But we are finding it easier and easier to understand her. Ella loves big hugs, and little hugs. And she asks for them often. It is amazing to see how big she is getting. In two more months, Ella turns four! Ella hates baths, loves eating with her hands, and is generally rambunctious. But she is also amazingly tender, and has a pure heart. She absolutely wants to do the best she can. Ella brings so much joy into our family.

Abbie has had a wonderful week. At kindy Abbie painted a picture of the temple this week. The teacher asked her what it was and Abbie explained, “It’s a temple. I painted a temple because I like Jesus.” Every time I look like I might have two minutes with nothing to do Abbie runs in to me and asks if we can play “Run-away people.” This is a game we play on the floor in the lounge room. The children try and escape while I hold onto them and try and contain them to the lounge area. If they run away successfully, they “win”. We could play for hours and they would never tire of it.

Chanel never ceases to amaze us. I am in awe of that little girl, her talents, and the purity of her heart. This week we finished the seventh book in the Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. Towards the end Chanel realised that much of the writing is heavily symbolic, pointing people toward Christian doctrines. She was really touched. Chanel also came to us this week concerned about an issue at school. One of the boys from church is in the grade above Chanel. He has been using bad language at school and Chanel has heard it occurring. She came to Kylie, very distressed about it, and wanted to know what to do. Her concern was for the boy. “He’s been baptised, and using those words is bad.” We dealt with the issue by spending some time with the boy and his father, discussing the importance of example, and helping him understand why we do not use such language. It was a very positive experience.

Kylie has also had a big week. I do not know how she manages to put up with me. I am impulsive, busy, and often struggle with priorities. Kylie supports me throughout it all. In addition she runs our home, does some part-time work to supplement our income, and this week she also organised and ran her youngest sister’s baby shower for 30 women in our backyard!

This morning Kylie suggested that we talk to the children about the possibility that we may be moving. I was unsure as we won’t know for a few more weeks, but Kylie wanted to give them a chance to get used to the idea. We explained it to them, briefly, and then watched for the reaction. Abbie and Ella bounced off the lounge and started dancing with delight. Chanel was also excited. Then she started crying as she realised she would leave her school. Her face brightened as we talked about making new friends and coming back to Brisbane for holidays. Watching her as the discussion ensued, we saw a sweet little girl dealing with anticipation and heartbreak simultaneously. She told us she was “happy and sad” as she contemplated what it would mean. Her maturity is amazing.

A few weeks ago at the worldwide General Conference of our church, one of our Church leaders (Henry Eyring) spoke of the importance of keeping a record of our lives so that we can see the hand of God blessing us, leading us, directing us, and helping us. I hope that as I make this weekly record of my life, that His influence is visible.

A Quiet Week

This week has been fairly quiet for our family. I think that’s a good thing. There has been too much to do for too long. I’ve done a little work and a little study. The children have been in their regular school routine, and Kylie has been able to calm down somewhat (though not entirely) following the baptism.

Some good news has come through for me regarding study. More results have come through which have me on track for the first class honours I’m seeking. Obviously there is still a long way to go, with my thesis yet to be marked. That result, more than any other, will determine my eventual outcome. I hope to know how that went in around 2 weeks.

I also went to an interview on Friday. The interview was for a Masters degree in Educational and Developmental psychology. I think it went reasonably well, although it’s hard to tell. The interviewers don’t like to give too much away. My feeling is that I really hope I get the Ph. D. but I haven’t had that interview yet, so it’s hard to know if I’ll still feel that way. I just didn’t get highly excited about the Masters like I thought I would.

During the week we have spent some time fixing up the house. Lots of little jobs have been needed over the past few years, and we’ve finally decided to do something about them all. It’s great. Walls have been painted, locks fixed, door handles replaced, lighting repaired, and a new fence goes up tomorrow! There are still several jobs to do, but we hope to have them completed in the coming weeks. The house feels great as we make these improvements.

That’s really about all this week. A couple of other small items:

• I was released from my calling on multi-stake public affairs. That felt good. I was certainly pleased about it.
• We had our house valued for rental. If we were to rent it out to someone owing to a move, we would be able to cover our mortgage repayments. That feels good. It also adds security for us as we consider the possibility of the move (assuming interviews and grades all work out).
• And I got another job. The work that I do will quiet right down in December and January, so much so that I have to have another job to keep things going. I’ll be working in supermarkets etc. looking after magazine merchandising for ACP, who publish most magazines around the place. It doesn’t pay much, but since I only want the job for about twelve weeks, it will be just fine. And I have my little brother Tim to thank for getting me the work.

The Greatest Joy

I knew this week was going to be big.

Monday the 22nd seems so long ago. I had a full day at work, visiting over 15 trainees for their Frontline Management training. I have a good job. I am so grateful for it. But on Monday I was wishing I didn’t have to work because of the enormous assignment I had to complete. The day went well and I arrived home from work at around 5.30pm. After a brief catch-up with the family I left for uni.

Dinner Monday night was eaten in front of the computer at uni. I arrived just after 6pm and snacked on chocolate liquorice bullets while I worked. Hardly nutritious, but very quick and convenient!

It was close to 1am Tuesday morning when I finally turned the computer off and headed for home. My day was almost done. Kylie had left some dinner in the fridge for me which I enjoyed, before going to bed around 1.30am. It was one of the biggest days I have had to do since being a student, and it came in the last week of my degree! But it felt great to finally complete the assessment on Tuesday evening and prepare it for handing in, on time.

Wednesday I drove to Ipswich and ran a Frontline Management training course for 10 trainees, then handed in my assignment at uni. My last one! That felt good. All I have to do now is prepare for my final exam in mid-November and it is all finished. Wednesday arvo was pretty simple. Mowing, cleaning, and getting ready for the weekend. I was really looking forward to Thursday though.

Chanel had been looking forward to Thursday more than me. We were going to Wet ‘n Wild, a theme park with huge waterslides to ride all day. Chanel had won our tickets by raising more money for her school spell-a-thon fundraising efforts than anyone else. We arrived just after 10am. The crowd was small. It was a perfect, sunny day. Chanel looked nervous about the rides. We went on a couple of smaller ones which Chanel decided were “boring”. So we headed for the big ones. Chanel was barely tall enough to get beyond the height restrictions, but barely tall enough was enough.

Tornado, Mach 5, Jet Stream and Black Hole were the names of the rides. They were big, and I was certain that Chanel would not want to go near them. To the contrary, it seemed that the bigger and more thrill-filled the ride, the more likely it was that Chanel wanted to go on it. In fact, Chanel enjoyed some of the thrill rides more than me!

Because the crowd was small we didn’t have to line up long for rides. In fact, most of the time we were able to get straight on. This would normally be terrific, but at Wet ‘n Wild I have to wonder. Every ride requires that the rider climb stairs – hundreds of stairs! I would be understating, quite conservatively, if I suggested that we climbed 10 000 stairs on Thursday. But the rides were fun, and Chanel was in her element. By the time we got to 1pm I was in pain. My legs have not worked so hard in over a decade! I loved theme parks as a child, and I never remember coming home thinking, “Gee that was fun, but wow my legs are sore.” Aging changes our perspective a little.

By the time Chanel and I walked out of the park, at 5pm, we were both in pain. We had walked miles, climbed thousands of stairs, and been in the heat all day. We had had enormous fun. But we couldn’t walk. I was suffering from chafing, and sore feet and legs. Chanel was in tears, unable to walk because her legs were so exhausted. It was wonderfully funny!

Friday was busy, preparing for the weekend and doing some work as well. We went to the chapel to set things up for Saturday, and tried to get some sleep in preparation for the big day.

Saturday – Chanel’s baptism…

The day started early as Kylie and I prepared food for the expected 150 people at the baptism. Family photos were scheduled at Wynnum, by the bay, at 10am (I’ll post them when they arrive). The morning was perfect. As I drove to the designated place I got a call from my parents. My whole family was at Brisbane airport, having just flown in, and were unable to hire a car. For some reason the rental companies were all out of cars. I spent the next 20 minutes frantically trying to get them cars, and eventually succeeded.

Photos went well. Everyone was happy until the end. Two hours in thirty degree heat by the bay, with sun reflecting off water, had the children tired out – and sunburnt. But I think they’ll come out nicely.

We enjoyed delicious fish and chips for lunch, and then went to the chapel for the baptismal service.

Highlights:

Chanel and her best friend Brittany sang a church song, “I like my birthdays.”
Kylie gave a beautiful talk
Dad and Karina sang a church song, “How will they know”. Very special.
The baptism itself was special
Wonderful friends who came and participated
Family and friends who travelled great distances to share our special day

The greatest highlight, for me, occurred as the final hymn was sung during the service. We were singing “I am a child of God”, sitting in the front row of the chapel. I looked at Chanel, singing sweetly. She smiled at me as we sang. I told her, “You look happy Chanel.” Her eyes filled with tears and she stopped singing. Then she gently nodded her head and smiled. Chanel was happy. And that is the greatest joy that I can ever feel.

I love that little girl.

The End is in Sight, But There is Still Work to do

On Monday I handed in my thesis – over 100 pages created over 9 months. It felt great to submit it, and I enjoyed the moment. The burden was lifted, and it felt good. I have no feelings of having done too little, and am confident that it was the best work I could produce. Of course, reality struck hard as I hit the books again, this time for my last project of the year. There is still work to do.

The week has been very challenging actually. Once the thesis was in I had to commence this final assignment, and also prepare an hour-long presentation for the Australian Family Association State Conference. The long nights and busy days have continued.

The conference was held yesterday and I presented to a diverse group of around 50 people. It went quite well and there was a lot of feedback and involvement from participants throughout the workshop. “Connected Parenting” was the topic, and it was terrific fun. Experiences like that make things a little confusing as I consider my options for the coming years. Part of me wants to keep running workshops. I have what it takes to do so, thus building my business and providing for my family. Part of me says, “Be patient, get some more qualifications. Then I can work with far more credibility.” Either way, there is still a lot of work to do. But it felt fantastic to run a workshop and help people explore ideas about how they can be better parents.

Earlier in the week I also received some correspondence from the University of Wollongong. They have invited me to visit for an interview. So my flights are booked. I’ll fly into Sydney, drive to Wollongong, and fly out of Sydney on Melbourne Cup Day – the 6th of November. I’m really looking forward to the visit, and getting some answers and clarity on what I should be doing next year.

Kylie, as always, has been the stable support of my life. Without much help from me Kylie runs our home, looks after our children, and continues to develop her skills and talents in many ways. I am looking forward to having more time to spend with her in the coming weeks as uni winds up.

Abbie and Chanel celebrated their 5th and 8th birthdays respectively on the 18th. It is increasingly apparent that they are getting bigger and older. They bring enormous joy to our lives. Chanel was particularly excited to receive a brand new bike unexpectedly from a family acquaintance. Over the years we have made several attempts to encourage her to ride, but is has always been difficult. When she received the bike, Chanel hopped on while I held the seat. I began to push and she peddled. Then she called out, “Let go dad.” Hesitantly I watched as my fingers left the seat and she rode down the driveway without me beside her.

Chanel is really growing up. My mind instantly reverted to the oft spoken idea that letting go is part of being a parent. The bike is clearly a perfect metaphor. And I felt it way down deep. I had another experience with Chanel this week that should be recorded. We had planned that I would take Chanel out of school for her birthday and visit the Wet ‘n Wild theme park. On that morning I was stressed. With far too much work due (project and conference presentation), and not even close to sufficient time, I wasn’t sure I could take her. The day was cloudy and cool, and it wasn’t much of a day to be at the theme park. I explained my situation and then told Chanel that I would take her because I had promised. Alternatively, I suggested that we could also go next Thursday when I have no commitments, no stress, and the day would hopefully be nicer. Chanel selflessly listened, told me she understood, and then volunteered to go to school on her birthday. So this week we go to Wet n’ Wild without a care in the world, because school will be over for me (except that last exam, but that is not until mid-November).

Chanel loves her bike. I took her to the park this morning (with the rest of the family) and she practiced going up and down the hill. It has only taken thirty minutes and she has it completely under control!

Abbie had a tremendous time on her birthday too. She had half-a-dozen 5 year olds playing with her at her party in the park. Abbie is incredibly tender, but is also growing up fast.

And Ella. What can be said about that little munchkin this week? She tries us terribly, and is so frustrated (as we are) with her inability to express herself. It is so difficult to communicate! But she is a treasure too. Last night Ella was in the bath, submerging herself and swimming laps underwater. Since the bath is only a foot longer that Ella, she didn’t have far to “swim”, but she thought it was terrific. Her happiness is entirely unabashed, and she smiles BIG when she smiles. Ella’s other favourite things to do are singing (although she often doesn’t know how to sing the words) and dancing.

Annie is a wonderful gift. She is always happy, smiling at everyone. This week we had a couple of nights where she slept for 9 hours, but averaged around 7. It is wonderful, considering she is only 7 or 8 weeks old. Given the other challenges we’ve had, it has been nice to not have broken sleep as well.

This week: final assignment goes in, Chanel and I go to Wet n’ Wild, and we have most of the family arriving for Chanel’s baptism. Lots to look forward to! (I’m hoping I might even get my first surf this year in).

Relief... and Muscle Ache

Our children are bringing us greater joy every day! But let me start with last night. Annie, our 6 week old baby, slept right through the night. She slept from a little after 8pm until just before 6am. Wow! Yet, as we look at her we can’t help feel a little sadness. Already, it would seem, she is out of the newborn stage. Our baby is getting bigger. We keep on asking ourselves why it has to happen.

Annie has been overflowing with smiles in the past week. A couple of weeks ago the smiles were more reflexes due to wind, discomfort, or perhaps feeling good. Now her smiles are purposeful, wide and heart-melting. I’ll try and get a photo and include it in the next blog.

Our little Ella is a bundle of energy. She hates going to bed, and endlessly wants to run, jump, scream and shout. “Play” is her favourite word! She’s also pretty good with “Pleeeeease” when she wants to play and Daddy is too busy. Hard to resist when she pleads with just the right amount of cheeky smile on her face. No one loves cuddles (she calls them “cuggles”) like Ella.

Abbie is the sweetest, most tender girl. She told us this week that because she’s nearly a big girl there won’t be any more sooky whining and whinging. Abbie loves cooking in the kitchen with Kylie, and can crack eggs like a pro. And she and Ella regularly fight over who will set the dinner table.

Chanel is growing so fast! Too fast. She is increasingly adult-like in her words and actions, yet she is so small and immature and young. It is incredible to watch her grow. Loves swimming, reading and doing! In fact, we call her the events co-ordinator. It is remarkable, how efficiently she can arrange who she’s visiting, where and when. Chanel is putting a calendar together with all of her friends’ birthdays just so she can be more organised. I think there’s a Karen Coulson gene in there exerting some influence.

Chanel turns eight on Thursday, and Abbie will be five. Both girls are tremendously excited, and anxious for their big day. Abbie will have a party with friends on the day. Chanel will have her celebration on Saturday the 27th with her baptism and the ensuing gathering of family and friends.

During the week we enjoyed a visit from Mum, Dad, Rachel and Leah. They came up for a holiday at Kingscliffe, and visited our family to celebrate Kylie’s birthday and my birthday. We ate Chinese. Yum. As usual, Mum ordered enough to feed far more of us than necessary, and so we ate Chinese the next day, and the next. Oh, and we ate Cherry Ripe Cheesecake. That was pretty good too.

I have experienced the joy of wonderful relief this week. I finally completed my thesis. It was titled, “An Investigation into the Impact of Praise on Theories of Intelligence and Goal Orientation.” All told, it fills 103 pages. It’s big. I will hand it in today (Monday). It feels so good to have it completed. The feeling is great. I just hope it garners a high grade.

On Saturday, to celebrate the completed milestone of my thesis, I went swimming. I’ve decided to get involved with Squad Swimming again. The only problem is, I haven’t swum for years – and years! In fact, I haven’t done anything for my fitness for longer than I can honestly recall. I couldn’t complete the session, but it felt great to be back in the water. I’m sure that with practice I’ll find my fitness again.

When I returned from swimming, I took to the barbeque. It was cleaning day. Hmmmm. I scrubbed that bbq for nearly four hours. My muscles still have not recovered. They haven’t had such a workout for years. The bbq was a mess, but it came up looking great. I had to throw away all the plates, burners and internal pieces and start again. $350 later the bbq looks like new. I can’t wait to cook on it. And to look at it, there’s no doubt all the hard work was worth it.

Kylie has been frantically working on church assignments. She completed a major event for about 30 or 40 women last week. By all reports it went extremely well. Now it’s preparation time for major events for Abbie and Chanel! I’m sure Kylie will have plenty more to work on when that’s done too. What a talent!

As for me, this Saturday I’ll be presenting a workshop for parents. I start preparing that today, and then practice like crazy all week. It’s for the Australian Family Association Qld State Conference at Parliament House in Brisbane. Then I have another major assignment due the following Wednesday which I really need to finish this week too. After that, exam time, and then… graduation. Lots to do between now and then. But it will be nice to finish!

School Holidays

It has been an action-packed week!

School holidays have just finished and the kids are back at school tomorrow. We love having the children around, but with my endless and enormous study- and work-loads I haven’t had the opportunity to do as much with the children and I would have liked.

Kylie took Chanel to the cinema to see Evan Almighty. They came home raving about the film, saying it was one of the funniest things they’ve seen in a long time. I’ll look forward to seeing the DVD in a few months. Other than that, Kylie has been taking them to the shops for activities, to the park, and to friend’s houses. It has been a busy time.

Fortunately we have a baby who is very calm and comfortable most of the time. Annie is a gift from heaven. I cannot walk past her without pausing to stare into her eyes. I’m in awe of her. Everyone who sees her is instantly in love. She is a special little girl. And wow, can she sleep! Annie is only 5 weeks old but most nights she sleeps happily for around eight hours. Sometimes it’s a little more, other times it’s a little less. But it’s a good sleep!

Kylie celebrated her 29th birthday on the 6th. It was a quiet birthday this year, as mine will be on the 9th. I had a compulsory psychology conference to go to from 8am until 5.30pm on her birthday. Failure to attend the conference would mean failure to complete my degree. They take these things very seriously. This meant that Kylie had to spend the day on her own. I’m grateful that Kylie has good friends. She had a breakfast with her family in the park. Then a friend took the three older girls so Kylie could have a quiet and relaxing day. Shopping, and sleep.

I got home from my conference a little early and decided that we had to buy dinner. Kylie wasn’t going to cook on her birthday and I didn’t have the capacity to. So we had chicken, chips and salad. It was a hit. Then we had an early night.

My week has been a blur. Study, writing, study, research, study. There’s been a little bit of sleep thrown in, but this has been a heavy week. Most nights haven’t finished until close to midnight.

On Tuesday night I called Wally Goddard in the USA. We talked about positive psychology and parenting. We discussed what I might do for a PhD project here in Australia. His guidance and knowledge are gigantic gifts in my life. I was on the phone to the USA from 10pm til midnight. I hope he wasn’t late to work (that’s 7-9am Arkansas time).

And of course, as I mentioned before, I gave a presentation on Kylie’s birthday. It was to a group of about 40 or 50 people and described my research on praise. Knowing that all of the students would be giving similar presentations on their topic, it was important to me that I make mine worth listening to. So I made it fun, and energetic, and full of life. I provided specific applications of what my research meant. And people responded really well. They enjoyed it. In fact, I had several comments from people saying just how much they had enjoyed it.

Only a short report this week as I’ve done little other than study. My thesis is almost completed (if it is possible to ever complete something like that) and the holidays are over. Work is good, and I cannot do any more than I have.

General conference talks are coming out of Salt Lake City today. I heard some this morning on the Internet. I love hearing what our prophets teach us. Inspiring teaching from inspired leaders.

Weeding

The past couple of weeks have been quite intense and so I have struggled to find time to write. School is getting intense with only 4 weeks to go. It’s hard to believe that I will have completed a Psychology degree by mid-November. The workload is really intense, but I’m managing well and trying to focus on here and now. If I focus on November I’ll want to put my feet up, and now is not the time for that!

Chanel has given us lots to do recently, and lots to laugh at. For some reason she has started calling me Sire. When I call out to her, she says, “Yes Sire”, and when she wants something she’ll come to me and say, “Excuse me Sire”. It’s really funny. Yesterday Chanel was doing something to the DVD player that I had never seen. I asked her how to do it and she showed me. Shortly before that she had been demonstrating how to do something clever on the computer for me. When I commented to Kylie that Chanel grasped technology so well I heard a little voice behind me say, smilingly, “And I’m only a child and you’re a full-time university student”. I didn’t mention to her that university courses don’t equip people to use DVD remotes!

Chanel is back at swimming now, and loves it. She swims from 3.30 – 4.15 four days each week. Soon it will be five days. Her form in the pool is exceptional, with a gorgeous butterfly and backstroke. Swimming seems to energise her and she revels in any opportunity to get into the pool. With an increase in energy output there has been a corresponding increase in caloric input. Chanel eats as much for dinner as I do. It’s amazing. I should also add that Chanel loves Annie. What a helper. Sometimes her help is a little overzealous and we remind her that just because Annie squeaked doesn’t mean we need to pick her out of the cot. But Chanel is wonderfully helpful and extremely enthusiastic. In fact, a few nights ago Annie awoke at 4am. Chanel came stumbling, bleary-eyed, into the bedroom and said to Kylie, “It’s okay mum. I’ll look after her and you go back to sleep.”

Abbie has a new t-shirt. It says, “Everybody’s favourite.” Very cute, and she wears it well. Her other new one says, “I know I’m cute, I can’t help it.” Most of the time she’s right. Adorable Abbie has become our number one sleeper. She used to put up something of a struggle on occasion but recently we put her to bed and within 20 seconds Abbie is out. It’s wonderful, because Ella takes a lot longer. Hard work there. (I might add that Ella’s new t-shirt says “I love Drama.”)

Ella has given us lots to enjoy in recent weeks. Her talking has dramatically improved, although there is still a long way to go. At dinner time Ella loves to set the table for us. It’s very funny though, because when her dinner is served Ella will go to the cutlery draw and retrieve 3 or 4 spoons and forks. She then uses all of them to eat her meal. But it works, and she’s happy to eat so… no complaints from the dishwasher.

As for Annie: wow. What can I say? She sleeps beautifully, typically around 7 hours a night at this point. And what a cutie. In the last few days we’ve enjoyed a smile from her which is tremendously exciting. It’s hard to believe that she’s a month old today! We carry Annie in a sling when we are out. It goes around Kylie’s neck and shoulders and Annie lays in front of Kylie’s belly in the sling. It is amazing how many people come over and ask to peek inside! Yesterday I wore the sling and had strangers constantly coming up to me to peer in at our baby. She’s a heart stealer too! So cute. Endless cries of “oh she’s beautiful” from everyone who sees her. We love our little Annie Grace.

Kylie is going well too, somehow keeping the house running while I study and stress and be busy. I’m so grateful for her. Hopefully there will be a wonderful reward for her at the end of all of this. This coming Saturday (6th) is Kylie’s birthday, but unfortunately I’ll be in a conference all day for school.

I had a funny incident occur last week. My jaw was sore and began to swell under my ear. It enlarged quite significantly. Eating became difficult as did talking, and turning my head (such as when I was driving) became very painful. Kylie finally convinced me to go to the doctor and I was told that I had a blocked salivary gland! Antibiotics sorted that out relatively quickly.
While I was feeling unwell I struggled to study. I did what I could, but to keep myself busy I did something that I really haven’t done for a number of years. I weeded the back garden. It has been quite overgrown and was in significant need of a tidy up. I can see why people claim gardening is therapeutic. I really enjoyed it. There are still a lot of weeds to pull, but they can wait until November!

Sleeping In

I’ve been doing my best to be supportive around the house in recent times, particularly given the changes to our family. Kylie is understandably more tired than usual as she is awake with the baby at night. So on Monday night I cooked dinner. It was Thai green curry with beef. I LOVE THAI CURRY! I was careful as I put the curry paste into the saucepan knowing that too much curry would upset everyone. The children won’t eat curry if it is too hot, and with Kylie breastfeeding Annie, she has the same concern.

The recipe stated that 300g of meat required 3 tablespoons of curry paste. Since I was cooking 600g of meat I decided that 4 tablespoons would be adequate. What I didn’t know is that the tablespoon is supposed to be a “level” tablespoon. I used a “heaped” tablespoon! As we sat down to dinner Ella was the first to dig in. She placed her filled fork into her mouth and chewed. Then she coughed. A bewildered look came over her face as she looked at me as if to say, “What are you trying to do to me dad?” Then her eyes watered as she attempted to swallow the curry.

That night I had Thai curry. I also cooked tomato soup for the children and made a ham salad for Kylie. My curry was delicious, but I was the only one who got to enjoy it. I also enjoyed it for lunch for the next two days as well! Lesson learned.

Our little Annie Grace is beautiful. She sleeps very well and is doing great. We stare at her endlessly. Her peaceful softness captures us and keeps us entirely absorbed. She is our little angel and we love her. Kylie is doing really well too, and keeping up with things remarkably ably.

During the week I have been extremely busy. Lots of work on, plus school galore. I am making good progress in all areas, but it has been hard to regain momentum since Annie was born, particularly with the school work. I stayed at uni late on Thursday just to get stuck into things and rebuild that momentum. It worked and I am now pleased to say that I only have my thesis and two other assignments left to complete (and one of those is 90% finished). Oh, some other good news too. I received a result for an assessment I handed in a few weeks back. Twenty six out of thirty. That’s about 87% which is a high distinction. That’s a nice way to start the semester. Hopefully I can keep it up.

On Friday I made a firm commitment to a particular direction for next year. I submitted my application to participate in a Masters of Psychology at QUT. The course focuses on Educational and Developmental Psychology and is for two years. I am only looking at part-time study so it may take three or four years. At the end of it all I’ll be a psychologist. Part-time study allows me the flexibility to earn money again, and to build up my Happy Families business which has really suffered this past 12 months. I anticipate finding out if I am accepted into the course in a little over a month. Let’s hope so because I don’t fancy applying for anything else at all.

It is a remarkably quiet Sunday morning for Kylie and I. We had a church meeting to attend last night (no children allowed at this one) and Kylie’s parents have Chanel, Abbie and Ella. This morning we did something we haven’t done in as long as I can remember. We slept in. When I awoke I guessed it might be 7.30am. Wrong. It was 9.00am! We have chatted and done a few small tasks. I miss the chatter of the children. The house seems a little empty without them. But it is peaceful. And our productivity is through the roof. Funny, I’d rather be less productive and have children hanging off my shoulders and legs than be highly productive but without the children.

Abbie has given us some gems this week. I believe she must be the happiest children I have ever seen. Her disposition and temperament are a joy. We bought some Kiwi fruit earlier this week. They are Abbie’s favourite food. But she doesn’t quite know how to pronounce it. On Wednesday morning she was pleading for some “Kooie” fruit.

On Thursday Abbie was talking to me about her friend James, from Kindy. He has all of the Star Wars DVD’s. Then she told me all about Dark Baiter (Darth Vader). And lastly, Abbie went to a birthday party yesterday. The theme of the day was based on the cartoon for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” Abbie had not been exposed to the Turtles before and came home very excited about the “Injured Turtles.” Abbie gives us lots of laughs. She is beautifully soft-hearted and loves hugs.

Ella is still challenging. Her language abilities are very poor and this will be a concern for some time to come. Her frustration at not being able to communicate with us is a source of difficulty and we are constantly working to understand her better. We pray that she will improve soon.

Our star student, Chanel, was informed that she raised more money in the school spell-a-thon than any other student. Her total raised was $261.00. As such she won a whole lot of prizes including a KFC voucher, a slurpee voucher and a pass to the Wet ‘n Wild theme park. I’ll be taking her there in a few weeks, once my uni work slows down a little. There were several other prizes Chanel won, but on Friday she was also told that as the top earner she would receive $100 cash! She cannot believe it. In keeping with the savings habit we have worked on with her for the past two years she then informed me that 10% was tithing and 50% was savings. When I asked what she would do with the other 40% she smiled an excited smile. Dancing with delight she said she was going to go shopping. Kylie and Chanel are going to have a spending spree! And she deserves it. It has been well earned.

We were told last week by Chanel’s teacher that Chanel is bored. There is still one more term to go, but the teacher assured us Chanel has completed all there is to complete in the grade three curriculum. Chanel will be spending time in the grade four classroom in term four because her literacy in particular is so good. I am pleased for her, and also pleased that the teacher is looking for ways to continue Chanel’s development productively.

Time Out - Soon

Our little Annie Grace is incredible. Having a newborn baby again seems so different. I do not ever recall our children being as small (although they were). I do not ever recall them waking up all night (although they did). I do remember the nappies though! And nothing has changed there with this infant. Annie has been stunning from day one. She really does little except eat and sleep. Most nights she sleeps from 8pm until midnight. She feeds and goes back to sleep until 5 or 6 in the morning. Amazing, and so breathlessly beautiful.

This week I have found myself spending massive amounts of time staring at Annie. I am in awe. That Kylie and I could be responsible for this little girl is staggering, and miraculous. Her features are perfect, her temperament is divine, and her presence creates wonder and calm.

Kylie, too, has been incredible. She is a mountain of strength, hard working, and self-sacrificing. Of all the choices I have made in my life, marrying Kylie is one of the best.

Yesterday I took some time with Ella and Abbie. I took them to Ratatouille, the animated movie. It was fun, but Ella made it hard work. She has been a little difficult all week. Part of it is due to her being unwell (although she seems to be getting better now). But I cannot help but wonder if part of it is related to her knowledge that she is no longer the baby in the family. She still speaks poorly, but we’re not giving up. She has a long and hard road ahead of her. Several times throughout the movie I was forced to take her outside. She simply didn’t want to sit through the whole thing.

I also took Chanel out for a treat. As she gets older, she gets more and more wonderful. I love dealing with her. We had a slurpee in the park on the river and watched the Citycat’s pass by. A perfect afternoon. I think we’ll take the family there for dinner when the whether warms up just a little more. Chanel is getting very funny. I asked her what she was playing when she spent some time with her friends earlier in the day. Her response: “Teenagers”. When I asked what she does when she plays teenagers, Chanel stated, “We go shopping.” So funny! They go shopping in their friends’ bedroom or backyard. I love the way they can amuse themselves by playing make-believe. I guess in some ways we do the same as we imagine what we would like to be able to do with the next tax cheque, or if we win lotto (have to buy a ticket to win, but I still find myself imagining now and then).

As far as my studies go, not a lot was accomplished this past week. Much of that has to do with a quick trip I made to Sydney to pick up a car that we bought. It’s a little Daihatsu Sirion. I think I got it quite cheap and it’s a terrific little car. So I flew to Sydney on Thursday and drove home on Friday. The trip home was terrific. I took my mp3 player with me and listened to 30 conference talks from church leaders. The topics were diverse, but all uplifting, and all inspiring.

I find it interesting that the closer I am to the finish line in my studies, the harder it is to stay motivated enough to cross it. My degree will be complete in another 6 weeks. That doesn’t really seem real. Unfortunately it is difficult to see beyond the mountain of essays, literature reviews and my thesis piled up in front of me. This week will be pretty huge for me. I plan on completing my thesis introduction for the last time (I’ve already rewritten it twice). I also hope to finalise two other assignments which are quite large. It’s interesting, because completion is only a heartbeat around the corner, yet there is so much to do first.

I have been reading a book called The Whole Child. Not one of the greatest parenting books I’ve read, but it is nice to be reading for the love of reading again, and not just because I have something assigned to read from school. I’m slowly making my way through a pile of books that Wally Goddard sent me from the US. I anticipate getting through a lot more in 6 weeks when school is finally over.

That reminds me. I have determined what I should do next year with my studies. Last week I fasted and prayed about it. In fact, I have been doing so for some weeks. I have decided to let go of the Ph.D. It was a hard decision, but in talking with potential supervisors, none were really what I was looking for. It seems that parenting is not particularly popular amongst academics, and so my direction has changed. I am applying for a Masters in Educational and Developmental Psychology instead. I will study part time and graduate as a qualified psychologist in QLD in 4 years. Oh, and it will cost me about $25 000. But I suspect it will all be worth it.

Father's Day

I hope I remember the joy this week has brought for the rest of my life.

Things were going really nicely on Monday and Tuesday. I did all of the things I needed to for work and school. Wednesday morning came and Kylie told me that her body was preparing to give birth to our newest baby. We knew we had quite a lot of time before the baby would be born so we went about our activities as normal, but with a heightened sense of anticipation. By evening we knew that it wouldn’t be long. After we put the children to bed we went for a walk around the block. Kylie’s mum was watching the children for us because we knew this would be “the night”.

Nothing much happened following the walk though, so we went to bed, hoping to rest as much as possible in between contractions. From 8pm until midnight Kylie had one contraction every 8-10 minutes, and the intensity only grew modestly. From midnight until 2am the pattern remained largely unchanged.

I called the hospital at 2am to notify them of our plan to arrive at around 4am in time for a 6am delivery. They wouldn’t talk to me, after all, what do husbands know? Instead, they spoke to Kylie, telling her to stay home until she was having one contraction every five minutes. This had been our plan, so they hadn’t enlightened us at all. But we decided to try and get some more rest before things changed.

At 2.20am Kylie woke me. She had a big contraction. Before she had finished telling me about it, another one hit, just as big. I bounded from the bed, and began to load the car. The contractions were coming fast, long and strong. Something had changed. As I drove towards the hospital I called mum. She provided some advice, and concluded by telling me to get there faster! I was reluctant to speed, but sensed the urgency of the situation and put my foot down. We sped to the hospital – fast!

Arriving at the hospital, I paged the midwives to open the door. They do it by remote as the nurses station is on level 2 at the far end of the building. The door opened, but Kylie wasn’t moving. As the doors closed I dashed inside to press the button which automatically opened the door again. I beckoned to Kylie, but she wouldn’t move. Kylie was glued to the spot, halfway between the car and the hospital door. If I walked back to her the doors would lock us out, if I stayed inside I couldn’t support her. The contraction was strong enough that Kylie couldn’t walk any further. I dashed inside and found a wheelchair just inside the entrance. I wheeled that out to Kylie and we rushed into the building.

A midwife had been coming down the stairs to see why we were taking so long. I saw her and told her Kylie was 7cm and had entered transition. I suggested we needed a birthing suite immediately. What do husbands know? She told me she would have a look when we got inside. Then she saw Kylie. “I think she’s in transition”, she stated, as if I had never said anything previously. “Take her to the birthing suites” she ordered. Hmmm. Didn’t I just say that?

By the time we had Kylie out of the wheelchair and onto the bed it was 3.05am. Kylie was exhausted. A quick examination showed that she was ready to give birth, but membranes were yet to rupture. The midwife wanted to know if it was our preference that this be done for us, or would we like to wait until it occurred naturally? Ummmm, let’s not draw this out any further please. The job was done. Kylie rested as best she could through a couple of contractions. At 3.25am she pushed. Four big pushes in one contraction, and our baby’s head emerged. I helped her relax as the next contraction pushed the baby’s body out. Our fourth baby girl was born amid tears of joy and unity from her mother and father.


Annie Grace Coulson had one serious set of lungs. Wow, could she cry? Fortunately she was a little hungry too, and within minutes was quietly enjoying an early breakfast as nature intended. We have a beautiful little girl. Our delight is unexplainable. By 6am text messages and phone calls were being made, and many congratulations received. We appreciate the kind wishes of so many wonderful friends and family members. Annie was 3.92 kgs, or 8 lb. 9 oz in the old scale. She was 52cms long and entirely perfect in every way.

Our joy is full. We stare at her as long as the other three children will allow. Their incessant demands draw us back to reality with remarkable regularity. We love them too though, so we enjoy it anyway. We are experiencing something that we have not had trouble with for some years though. Sleep deprivation! Wow. I cannot begin to explain how tired we are. I don’t remember being this tired with any of our previous children. I’m sure we were, but I don’t remember it.

Yesterday (Saturday 1st September) I brought Kylie and Annie Grace to our home. I haven’t driven so carefully for a long time. I found myself getting cranky when people drove to fast past me, or allowed their cars close. I took corners slowly. We got home safely.

Other exciting news from the week pales into insignificance, but I’ll share a few tidbits.

I bought a car yesterday (Sat). It’s a Daihatsu Sirion. Very small, just to run around in. We need two cars now. Someone is buying my scooter from me in around 8 weeks, once I finish university studies. I’ll miss it, but we could put the money from it to good use, and having a second car is better than having a one-seater motorbike. I fly to Sydney on Thursday to pick it up and drive it home.

Ella is getting funnier and funnier. Recently she has been learning about emotions. Happy feelings are her favourite. Ella was caught drawing on Chanel. When she was told to stop it Ella quickly drew on Chanel, then looked up and said, “I’m happy now.” She loves to play, and especially loves piggy backs. She’ll ask for a piggy back from the kitchen to the dining table which is about 3 metres.

I don’t remember if I mentioned this in a previous blog, but my friend Wally Goddard sent me a package of books recently too. What a thrill. The wisdom in the books is something I cannot wait to infuse into my brain. Unfortunately the next 6 weeks are so busy that I cannot read them, but when things slow down I’m full steam ahead.

Wally is the ultimate guru (in my opinion) on all things spiritual. I was so pleased to see that he is human. He recently wrote that he had been looking after a couple of his grandchildren during sacrament meeting at church and they distracted him so much that he was unable to get anything out of the meeting. And here I was thinking I must be a little bit dysfunctional.

Being father’s day today, we had lunch at the Jones’ family home. I ate too much. Is that possible? I certainly ate more than my fill. Kylie bought me a camping chair. I think that may be a hint. Plus I got a great new street directory which was pleasing too. Oh, and my favourite: some Darrel Lea liquorice. Yum!

Rain

Still no news! The baby appears very content where it is and has not provided us with any reason to suspect its imminent arrival. Wednesday the 29th is the due date. We are waiting. Kylie is preparing our home for the baby’s arrival, and the rest of us are pacing the floor wondering why it all takes so long! All in good time.

A cursory review of my last entry showed my lack of faith in the possibility of rain given the extended drought we have experienced. I should not have doubted.

On Tuesday evening I ran my sessions at the radio school I have been teaching at casually over the past four years. At the completion of the evening I faced the dark prospect of riding home on my scooter in the drenching rain. The wind was wild, the rain was heavy, and by the time I got home twenty minutes later I was wet! And cold! Wednesday afternoon saw a repeat of that scenario. I have had some terrific soakings in the past week, and we have had some much needed rain. Not enough, it would seem, but it is a start for which we are thankful.

We received our tax refunds this week. VERY EXCITING! We now have enough money to buy our new car. It won’t be a particularly exciting event, and we are going to buy an older vehicle, but it will be welcome and we cannot wait. Additionally, we have some other income due, particularly when the baby arrives. When that occurs we will be building a fourth bedroom into the back of our house. Things are just a little too cramped, so this should be helpful. We had planned to build in the garage too, but the interior may end up being all that gets done. We plan on putting down some new carpet too. Mum and Dad have some carpet left over from the Karalta Rd shop they used to have. It is very good quality and will be great for replacing the mess that we presently have on our floor.

Kylie and I are really excited about the changes we can make to the house. There will be extra space, and the new room will help us tidy things up in ways we have only dreamed of for the past four years. Then we can save up to build in the garage and concrete the driveway. Then comes a shed, and some bikes for the kids. But I’m getting a little ahead of myself.

My studies have taken a back seat to work this week. I have had appointments back to back most days. However, the coming week will see a return to study as my chief priority.

We have had some great laughs this week. I have been fortunate to be at home early several evenings this week allowing Chanel, Abbie and Ella plenty of play time. We have been reading Narnia too.

Chanel loves the TV program, Deal or No Deal. I think she loves it a little too much. Recently when we have asked her to do something that she doesn’t want to do she cries, “No Deal!” Her netball season is over now. Presentation day was yesterday and Chanel received a small trophy for participation in the team. When she arrived home triumphantly bearing the trophy Chanel proclaimed, “Dad, here’s my first trophy. I think we’re going to need a trophy cupboard.” That girl is a big thinker!

Swimming starts again in a little over a week for Chanel. We’re all looking forward to it. Chanel will be doing something she loves several afternoons a week, and we will have that little bit of respite. Of all our children, I think Chanel craves constant stimulation the most of all our children. She’ll be very pleased when it all starts again.

Anyway, the waiting continues. I'm sure there will be some news very soon. In fact, we're going for a walk right now. Kylie and the girls have suggested a walk along the Brisbane River. The sun is shining, my family is happy, it is going to be a wonderful day!

Sunday August 19th, 2007

I know the main question everyone wants an answer to. Has Kylie had the baby?

No.

Our due date is still ten days away (29th August), so we patiently wait. We still don’t know if we are having a boy or a girl. The anticipation and suspense is excruciating! But we are really excited, and I’m sure it won’t be long.

Chanel’s preferred names for the baby are Ryan or Lucy. Abbie likes Christopher and Shella. Ella has suggested Peter and Barbie doll. Kylie and I really have no idea what we’ll call a little girl. You’d think that after nine months we would have figured it out! If we have a boy he will be Christopher William, after his two grandfathers.

Kylie is doing really well. She is a little sore and uncomfortable. It is very unlikely that we will be doing this again! And the way that Kylie has looked after the family and our home in the past couple of weeks while I have buried myself in uni work has been amazing. I am so grateful for her.

Wednesday was a public holiday in Brisbane for the show. Unfortunately the children were sick, and have been for most of the week. We tried our best to give them a good time but they were more interested in whining and picking on each other and depleting the psychological and physical capacity of Kylie and I. It was tough! Ella was cute though. She was bitten badly by a green ant and was obviously upset by it. As I carried her home on my shoulders she began calmly saying, “Ow… ow… ow… ow… ow” every two seconds. Very funny, but she was in a lot of pain.

It seems that today the children are finally out of the woods with their sickness. Fingers crossed, because it is no fun when they’re they way they have been.

Chanel is having her baptism on the 27th of October. Today she began planning. She is really excited about it. We call her the “events coordinator”. Nobody loves to make arrangements like Chanel. She is always trying to organise play time with friends, and often telling us what she has arranged with other parents without checking with us first! It keeps us on our toes. But we love her enthusiasm and forward thinking. Chanel will be a force to be reckoned with as she gets older!

Chanel has recently done her school spell-a-thon. This year she personally raised over $250! All by herself. We encouraged her to set a goal, but she did the rest. She solicited sponsorships, she followed up to get the money. It has been incredible to watch. When she was at $220 we thought she had exhausted her money raising avenues. But she found a way to reach her goal. Amazing!

Decision time is looming for me. In about 10 weeks I finish my degree. I still cannot decide what to do next year. The Ph.D. is beckoning. It is certainly the harder road to take. Three more years of study. However I believe that it may be the better road. The credibility it offers is immeasurable. My family is still young enough for me to do it, and it will only get harder over time. On the flip-side, work is going really well. I love the job I have, and I have a few bookings coming up for speaking and workshops for parents which really excite me. I think I’ll put this decision off as long as I can.

Once again it has been an enormous week at university. I came home between 9 and 11 pm every night. Long hours, since I am there by 7.30 each morning. On Friday afternoon I decided to have an early mark and left at 4.30pm. I felt like a naughty kid sneaking off. But my productivity has been through the roof, and the long hours are over for now. Lots of work is done, and good progress is being made.

I had one experience this week while I was testing participants for my experiment that was a real highlight. At the completion of the experiment I began to explain to this particular participant what the experiment was really all about and how it was applicable to our lives. As I did so, she began to realise that the things she had said in her responses during the experiment indicated some things about her that she did not like. We were able to talk about it for quite a while and she left feeling like she could be a much better person as a result of doing my study. It felt terrific. I won’t bore you with the details of the study right now. Perhaps in a later blog in a few weeks once I have calculated all of my results. But it was a really great experience.

Our lives continue to show that we are blessed beyond deserving. Our beautiful family is healthy (again) and happy (especially Abbie). We have loads of great things to look forward to in the coming days and weeks, and I’ll update you again next week.

Refuel: An Important Lesson

This week has been amazing!

But before I talk about my week, I know that most people checking in on the family are mostly interested in Kylie.

We are still waiting! Kylie hopes that Saturday the 18th will be the day (as it is my dad's birthday). However, the due date is about ten days after that. But boy, is it getting close. Kylie is beginning to feel uncomfortable. The baby is quite active and it is always a thrill to hold Kylie's belly and feel the baby move. This morning Kylie reported her first contractions. So her body is obviously getting things ready. How exciting!

We do not have the slightest clue as to whether the baby is a boy or a girl. We still struggle to decide on a girl's name.

I've averaged 14 hour days (and more) at uni to get work done efficiently. In so doing I have completed ALL assessment for one of my subjects (Educational Psychology). It is only the end of week three, which means that I am ten weeks ahead in that subject. I have also been running experiments all day every day and have over 50 people that I have studied now. I can only see them one at a time, which means that I have spent 50 hours doing one-on-one research. It's going well.

I was telling Mat S. about my experimentation. He was quite funny in his response.

"You're experimenting on real people?"

I have about another 30-40 people to run through my experiment and then it will be time to analyse my results. Most of those will be tested this week, although a few later participants will filter through the following week. I cannot imagine committing to any more testing after that due to baby commitments.

This week will also be another big week from a study perspective. I anticipate one final week of late nights at uni. That will take care of one more major assignment, leaving me with my thesis (which is BIG) and an extra one assignment to have completed my entire degree. Ten weeks until it's finished. I am hoping that I can complete the remainder of that work in the daytime without too much of the pain associated with not being home with the family.

In many ways I'm quite sad that it is nearly over. I have enjoyed the process so much, and feel that the past four or five years being back at school have been wonderful growing and learning opportunities, not just academically, but with my family too.

But the long hours of the past week or two have taken their toll, and I have enjoyed the weekend and the opportunity it has been to refuel and rejuvenate. In fact, doing consistent 14-15 hours a day is not a healthy way to live. It is easy to see what happens if we don't take time to refuel.

I had one of the funniest things I can recall happening to me occur during the week. I was running late for uni on Friday morning. As I got on my little motorbike to ride in I saw that the fuel light was flashing. I knew that I would have enough to get there, and since I was late I decided I would refuel on the way home. By the time I left it was 10pm. I had just completed my essay and it felt fantastic.

As I got onto the bike to come home I remembered the light flashing. I travelled to the end of the road that the university sits on and saw a petrol station. Mentally I mapped the route home and determined that even though I was low on fuel. there were three more petrol stations on the way home. I would stop at another one. The first of these was only around the corner from the one I had just passed, so I kept riding. The second of these was another 3km closer to the city. As I approached that petrol station I noted the high price of fuel. It was at least 3 cents dearer than the others had been. My bike only holds 5 litres, so I was choosing to push through to the third station to save 15 cents!

By this time I was only a kilometre from the city. The expressway is on the western perimeter of the city next to the river. In order to get home I get onto the expressway, go over the bridge (which has no footpath or breakdown lane, not even a shoulder) and take the first exit to drive past the Gabba cricket ground. The petrol station is about a kilometre further down the road.

As I rode past the expensive petrol station I considered what might happen if I didn't get across the bridge. I could not pull over, I could not push my bike across the expressway for 2 kilometres while cars roared past at 10pm on a Friday night. I considered turning back, but changed my mind.

As I merged onto the expressway I looked confidently forward. Until... the bike stalled. Oh no! It revved back to life and I continued. It stalled again! This time I looked for an exit before the bridge. The last chance was coming up in 50 metres on my left. I put my indicator on and turned off the expressway into the city. As I rode down the off-ramp, the bike stopped. Oh no! So here I was, at 10:15 on a Friday night, after a huge day, out of petrol 10 klms from home.

My mobile phone battery was dead too! I sent Kylie a text but was certain she would be in bed. Then I weighed my options. It was at least three kilometres back to the last petrol station I had passed. I had another option in another direction but even further, and up hill. Or I could try and get across the river to my original goal, about 3 klms away. I chose the latter and began to push the bike. It was hard going. It's only a small bike, but as I pushed past parliament house and QUT, then over the "Goodwill" footbridge (past the policemen who thought I looked a little strange), through Southbank, up the hill past the Mater Hospital, down past the Gabba, and into the petrol station, I worked up quite a sweat for a winter's night! Putting the fuel in was a relief. And I considered the importance of taking the time to refuel in so many ways.

That wasn't the end of the adventure however. A fuel tank that runs dry need to be primed to get the fuel back through. I had no idea how to do this and after 5 minutes of burning out the started motor but not having any success I was becoming concerned. When I asked the female attendant if she had any ideas she responded, "I'm a girl". I figured it was a long-shot. Finally, I looked heavenward. I prayed for help. I heard a response. I had a powerfully strong impression to lie the bike on its side. So I did. I pushed the ignition and the 50cc's roared (as much as 50cc's can roar) into life. I was on my way again. I glanced heavenward, laughing with joy and gratitude.

A few notes about the children.

I watched Chanel play netball yesterday morning. She had a great game. As centre, she covers an enormous amount of ground, runs hard, and demonstrates good ball skills. More than anything, she loves playing. It's loads of fun for her. There will only be two more games for the season. Then swimming starts! Chanel loves swimming.

Abbie is growing really nicely. She has been fairly quiet in recent weeks. But she brings joy into our family.

Ella cracks us up. While her speech is improving very slowly, it appears that she has found her voice. She loves to sing at the top of her lungs, and has begun dancing around the house frequently. She has also started waking up early and getting into our bed. Hmmm. When we take her back to bed she wakes up the whole house (at 5.30am). When we leave her there she sleeps but keeps Kylie and I awake.

But our children are healthy, and happy. And we have a lot to be grateful for.

Lastly, I have begun to rethink my plans for 2008. While my focus has been on building my business, I am beginning to lean towards more study. I have determined that I am not going to make any firm decisions. Instead, I'll investigate options more and seek advice from heaven. If I can be inspired to lie my bike on its side, I have faith that I can be advised as to which path to take next year.

Not Enough Time

"Time-poor" seems to be the catch-all phrase used to describe the way we live our lives in the 21st century. I'm afraid the description may be aptly applied to our family at the moment. Things are speeding up. I'm glad to know that in a couple of short months it will all be over and I can have a little more control over my time than I do now.

The hours at university have been long and are getting longer. I leave just after 7am and this week I don't anticipate arriving home any night before 9pm. There is so much to try and complete before this baby comes along. And once the baby arrives I will still have way too much to do with my thesis workload mounting and deadlines pressing. It's such an exciting time! The only thing I would change is the long, long hours. Because other than that I am thrilled about things. I love the study, I love the learning, I love the research and the experimenting. I really am having a terrific time. But I struggle, and so does the family, when I am not with them in the morning and evening. So I'm sprinting, and trying not to tire. And the finish line is edging closer!

Kylie is such an incredible support. She has worked and toiled tirelessly beside me, supporting me in my work even when it has not been enough to provide for our family. It has all been worth it as we look back, but there have been some big sacrifices. For now though, even Kylie is beginning to tire. She is not tired of supporting me, rather, she is simply tired. Only two weeks to go until the baby is due, and Kylie is looking toward the bed for rest more frequently. This pregnancy has taken a fairly substantial toll on her physically. So we are really counting the days until the baby. Of course, then we'll wish it had just stayed put for a few more weeks so we could get more sleep, and more study done. I am so grateful to her. I have been so blessed to choose a wife so devoted, supportive, sacrificing and simply incredible.

Another key event in the past week has been quite significant. My little brother, after having a terrible time in Japan on his mission, has returned home. He was only gone about 8 months. Unfortunately after a couple of months he had a rough time with a companion who really sounds as though he should not have been allowed to remain out there (he's still there now, ironically). He had a negative effect on Tim which seemed to take hold and drag him down even further. And Tim didn't seem to come out of it. He has come home for a month to sort things out, and has been told he can return to Japan if he desires. I know how great a mission can be, and I know what it can do for a person. From that point of view I would want nothing more than for Tim to have the same opportunities and blessings. However, I also know that Tim is 23 years old. He makes his own decisions. He will do what he thinks is right, and nobody has to live with that but him. Either way, I love him as my little brother and support him. And ultimately, what I want for him really doesn't matter. It is Tim that makes the ultimate decision in that area.

So, back to my little family for a brief moment... we have had some really funny incidents with Ella Rose recently. She has taken to spontaneously screaming songs, rather than singing. We may be in the car, at the table, or anywhere for that matter. Out of nowhere, Ella will begin to scream at the top of her lungs in tune. It is typically some kind of nursery rhyme or kindergarten song that she has heard. It always makes us laugh, and we sometimes try to join in, which only makes her scream louder! Lots of fun.

Abbie has decided that she doesn't want to be called "Abbie-May" anymore. Instead, she has asked that we call her "Abba Dabba" for some reason that we don't yet understand. She is a real cutie, and is growing up way too fast. Although in some other ways, like at dinner time when she wants us to feed her, we wish she would hurry up and grow a little more.

And Chanel is really trying us in so many ways. Sometimes we are simply thrilled to bits, and in other ways she is beginning to genuinely challenge us. Chanel is motivated to save money, and is doing extremely well with her goals. And she loves to do anything that she knows she can do well with or complete easily. But when confronted with a challenging task, Chanel is avoidant. She simply hates to be challenged. Today I spent two hours working with her, teaching her, and helping her to understand that learning is one of the most difficult things we can do, but we feel terrific when we learn. We talked a lot about how, to learn, we must ask questions. Questions like who, what, where, when, why and how. And then we did some learning. Chanel had a task to write a talk for church about a particular topic.

So we talked.

Chanel answered those questions. In so doing she created the material for her talk, and it was written simply and quickly. She felt great at the end. She knew she had accomplished something difficult, and enjoyed reviewing the fruits of her hard work. And she did a terrific job sharing her talk at church.

Nan Coulson had a tough week just gone, spending some time in hospital and having some difficulties which I won't go into here. We're praying for her, and are pleased that she is making a slow but certain recovery.

That's about all. It's late, nearly 9.30pm and I'm due at uni in less than 10 hours. I need sleep.

The Beginning of the End

It is now the beginning of the end. My final semester at university (for now) has begun. In twelve weeks I will graduate with an honours degree in psychological science. For the past five years I have studied, and now there are just months until it finishes. I am SO excited. And I am more motivated than ever to work as hard as I can to finish strong.

I am reasonably pleased with the subjects I am studying, and my thesis is progressing well, although my data collection is an excruciatingly long and tiresome process. I spend one hour with each participant, asking them questions and giving them intelligence tests to complete. I have eight four participants to work through, and I've only done 11.

Kylie is getting really close to having the baby now. We only have three or four weeks left, and it is starting to show. Kylie is feeling uncomfortable, and slowing down. So we are counting the days and have begun serious preparations to ensure everything is ready. Combined with that, I am going to be putting in some extra long hours at uni over the next few weeks so that when the baby arrives I have something of a head start on all of that work. That way, hopefully, I can be more supportive at home. The baby will be born half-way through the semester, so it will be an extremely busy time in every way imaginable.

A few nights ago we decided to have a pizza and movie night with the children. We cooked home made pizza with hot hungarian salami (wow it was good), pineapple, capsicum and onion. Then we watched "Because of Winn-Dixie". It was a movie about a little girl who found a dog and made friends with it. Because of the dog, lots of lonely people were united to form strong friendships, and the little girl learned about her mother (who had left some years earlier). It was a beautiful movie. The kids loved it, as did Kylie. And I think we went through a whole box of tissues towards the end. Really sweet stuff. And good for kids and grown-ups. I give it 8 out of 10.

There are two other things that I've noticed recently too. Last Sunday as we sat in church I looked down the pew to my three little girls. Kylie had spent the morning making them look even more beautiful with hair dryers and brushes and all of that female stuff that I will never understand. I was filled with gratitude, and more than a small portion of pride. And then I noticed something: They are all the absolute image of Kylie. No wonder I feel so lucky. I have the most beautiful family.

I've also been spending quite a bit of time working with someone who wants to understand the Gospel better. He is a member of the church and have been for 10 years. He has read the scriptures religously (pardon the pun), but never really learned much. For the past couple of months I have been "coaching" and helping out. I chatted with this person in the last week. What has occurred is wonderful. He used to read a chapter every day, sometimes a couple of chapters, in order to say he had read and to get to the end. I asked if that was working for him.

"No, not really."

I suggested that what mattered more than the outcome he was chasing was the process he went through. I suggested that rather than reading a chapter a day, he read for 20 minutes. He may read one verse, one page or one chapter or more. What mattered was how he understood what he read. I showed him how to question everything, to cross-reference and use additional material to really understand. We talked about the "process".

We spoke a couple of days ago. It has taken him three weeks to get through only two chapters. Yet his understanding has improved markedly. He is feeling like he has learned more in the past three weeks than he has in the past ten years. It feels good to be part of that process, and to have helped in some small way.

Lastly, mum and dad are in QLD this weekend and it has been a real treat to spend some time with them. The girls love them and flock to them. We have enjoyed seeing them, and spent most of the day with dad yesterday. We found an incredible part at Helensvale on the northern tip of the Gold Coast. Abbie and Ella came with dad and I and played for two hours non-stop. They would have played all day if they could. The best thing was the slide. It was big, and steep, and fun. They ran up the stairs and down the slide endlessly. And they slept well last night.