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.
Monday, 10 September 2007
Sunday, 2 September 2007
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!
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!
Sunday, 26 August 2007
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!
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, 19 August 2007
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.
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.
Sunday, 12 August 2007
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.
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.
Sunday, 5 August 2007
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 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.
Sunday, 29 July 2007
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.
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.
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