New Beginnings

It seems like ages since I’ve updated things here. So much has happened.

After a relatively quiet Christmas in Brisbane we drove south to New South Wales. We were fortunate to be able to stay at a unit that mum and dad had just purchased that was untenanted. It made for a comfortable stay in Gosford, with lots of space and no living in one another’s pockets.

We received a payout for the write-off of our Daihatsu. You can see the picture below which shows how nasty the crash was. Abbie and I were blessed from above.

While I was in New South Wales with the children I decided to look at some homes without Kylie. I found the home for us to rent that I believed was perfect. And I was entirely convinced that Kylie would feel the same way I did. I signed us up for it with a twelve month lease. Hmmm. Perhaps I should have double checked with Kylie first.

The house is quite a good size, certainly bigger than any home we’ve lived in previously. We have four bedrooms and two bathrooms. As you can see from the photo below there are little attics which annex each bedroom (see the large window at the top in the middle for the bedroom, and the smaller one in the brickwork to the left for the attic). The kids love it. The living areas are large and the entire home is very traditional, with floorboards throughout. We live on the side of a mountain which you can just see in the photo behind the house. On the other side of the house there are paddocks where cows graze and moo!

However, when I saw the place and thought it was perfect I failed to look at the detail. There has been a lot of wear and tear on the house, there are no curtains beyond torn pieces of lace hanging from windows, and several rooms are less than optimally functional. Oops. Kylie is slowly forgiving me for my hasty and rash nature. And she can see why I was so easily impressed. Plus, for the price we pay it is a good house in a good area. So we’re adjusting to our new life in our new city.

We also bought a new car. Well, it’s a 2002 model, so it’s not quite new. But it’s new for us. It’s a Toyota Avensis Verso. A real people mover. And we really do love it. It’s a great car with seven seats so our family can all travel together. It has a few more kilometres on it than we would have liked, but we feel like we got a good buy on the car overall, and enjoy being able to all travel together again.

Our new church here is nice. We are feeling like we fit in quite well after all of three weeks. The congregation is small but the leadership is strong and there are lots of good people there. I have been called to serve as the Young Men’s President. We only have three boys, but they’re great kids and I think we’re going to have a whole lot of fun.

Settling in has not been entirely easy. In fact, moving a family of six interstate is a real challenge. Not only was the removal enormously challenging, but settling in has been too. Ella is particularly unhappy at church at the moment, and all three girls have been a lot more temperamental as they get accustomed to the changes in our environment. The uncertainty associated with school commencement has obviously amplified that.

Kylie has been terrific. I’m sure the move has been incredibly hard for her. She has entirely left her life, her friends, and her family in Brisbane. Coming here means starting completely fresh, which is never an easy thing to do. But Kylie has simply put her head down and gotten on with the job. The house is looking great, and she is working so hard with the children. Annie is flourishing after a few weeks where she stopped gaining weight, and Kylie is on top of all the family’s needs.

I began my Ph.D. in the week just gone. I love it! I love what I’m doing and I think the next few years will be really exciting for me, and for our family. I go to the office around 9am (give or take 30 minutes) and I leave around 5pm (give or take 30 minutes). Nearly every afternoon when I leave work we take the family to the beach, the pool, the park, or for a walk for an hour. We are having so much fun. There is something about living close to the coast that allows the most magnificent lifestyle. I can see us being very happy here (especially once we get into a house that Kylie really approves of).

So after a big 5 or 6 weeks things are finally settling down. Chanel and Abbie start school at Figtree Public this week. It will be Abbie’s first day at school. Kylie is more nervous than Abbie. Ella is going to start Preschool in the next week or thereabouts, and some small amount of predictability should be evident.

Oh, and I forgot to mention… I’ve been surfing more in the past three weeks since arriving in Wollongong than I have in the past 24 months combined! Life is increasingly wonderful.

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.