Getting Started again

I always thought that when you take a break it means things slow down. It didn’t work like that over the Christmas “break” for us. There was far too much that occurred in the past month for me to document, but I will share a few highlights.

We spent Christmas at Gosford, arriving early on the morning of Christmas Eve and staying until Boxing Day. Christmas at mum and dad’s is never quiet, and this was no exception although the morning was relatively relaxed before Karina and her family arrived. We spoke of the first Christmas together, and felt appreciation for the Gift of God’s Son. We ate good food (but not too much), enjoyed being with the family (but not for too long), and opened lots of presents (but not too many, and certainly not as many as previous years – thank goodness). We also spent a lot of time swimming in the pool and jumping off the jetty.

In the week between Boxing Day and the New Year Kylie’s parents flew down to be with us. Her dad had a terrible time of it, bursting his eardrum on the flight to us. He spent more time in bed recovering from the painful experience than he would have liked, but still managed to help us to do an enormous assortment of odd jobs around the house that I have neither the skills, knowledge, or motivation to complete alone. Kylie’s mum didn’t waste any time either, sewing and replacing the curtains throughout almost the entire house. As a result of their work we feel more at home and comfortable here than we ever have. I’m not holding my breath in getting any money from the landlord for materials but at least we have the satisfaction of having things vastly improved throughout the house. Kylie and I have also begun washing the walls throughout the house. Eewww. They’re so dirty. I don’t think they’ve EVER been washed.

We have tried to balance time with the children with our own productivity needs through the Christmas break. We have done a reasonable job, only hearing the “I’m bored” chorus on rare occasions. The kids have been to the beach a lot, begun riding their brand new boogie boards (although they’re all scared of the tiniest waves), played with friends nearly every day, had some (very challenging) family bike rides, hiked around Mt. Keira, and spent several hours on their “craft” activities.

Our family has also expanded over the Christmas season with the addition of two rabbits. They remain un-named to date. But they certainly get a lot of attention. We’ve only had to recapture one rabbit so far. It was a real challenge, but after around 15 minutes we cornered it and I captured it in a washing basket.

Amongst all of this activity Kylie has begun a new business venture which looks to be reasonably profitable at this early stage. We hope to see it grow. Kylie is becoming increasingly addicted to her stamping craft, and is riding as much as possible – though nowhere near as much as she would like. She also took great joy from a waxing experience she had with me. A friend loaned a wax pot and strips to her, and my chest and stomach are now a mass of red blotches. She did a great job removing the hair – and laughing at me as I moaned in pain. Kylie has set some really exciting goals for 2009 and we’re anxious to work towards them.

Our little angel Annie is now walking, running, exploring, and generally getting into everything. She has become remarkably vocal and has a new favourite trick. Our telephone sits in a base unit which has a button that puts the phone onto loudspeaker. Annie reaches up to the button and turns on the loudspeaker so the dial tone reverberates around the kitchen and dining room at full volume. Then she runs away, laughing with delight. She thinks she is so clever! Annie loves walking around the house wearing her sister’s swimming goggles too. It’s so funny. And Annie decided to throw Kylie’s mobile phone in the bath last week. Oh Dear! Mobile phones do not like to swim.

Ella turned five last week. She wanted to have a pool party with her cousins which meant another trip back to Gosford after Kylie’s parents had left. It was a fabulous success. Lollies, water, and cousins. Who needs more? Ella was particularly excited this week because her swimming teacher has put her up a level. She has advanced! Ella was very proud of herself and cannot wait to start in her new classes next week.

In early December I experienced a case of haemorrhoids. This kept me off the bike and in bed for the best part of a week. It was by far the worst I’ve ever had. It gave me lots of time to read, and I completed the Book of Mormon from start to finish in December. It was a powerful, remarkable experience. Thoroughly enjoyable. My veggie patch is growing well, with tomatoes galore (which is handy because they’re around $6 a kg at the shops). The capsicum, pumpkin, chilli, and potato all seem to be going well too. I’ve been on the bike as much as possible since getting better and am saving for a new bike in around four or five months. I’ve started back at uni on a part time basis in the past week and am spending a few hours each day there. I’ll maintain that until the children go back to school in two weeks and then go full-time again.

After several weeks away it felt good to finally be back in church. Sunday feels good when I can be there, focused on what matters most. It was nice to teach a lesson to the young men about the priesthood. Such a simple concept that makes so much difference in our lives. Life is good, and getting better.