Living here and now

This update is likely to be short on detail as I try to squeeze three weeks of highs and lows into a brief newsletter.

The week from July 6-12 was ordinary at best. Highlights were a new oven to replace our broken one… and that’s about it. PhD data came through, and it was bad. I was feeling low and despite wonderfully kind attempts to help me from Kylie, the children, and some good friends, I wasn’t going to be dragged out of my misery by anyone. I was irresponsible on the back of the bad PhD news, by staying up until 2 or 3am watching Le Tour de France. I don’t do well when tired or hungry, especially when combined with stress. As a result of my ineffectiveness at managing myself during the week I cannot report on the children or Kylie. Suffice to say I made their lives more difficult than they should have been. A flat tyre in my Saturday bike race capped off a poor week.

Sunday July 12 we spontaneously decided to drive to Gosford. The children were on holidays and I felt like we had to get away. Monday 13 we had the best family day in months. We drove from mum and dad’s place to picturesque and quiet Wagstaffe where the children played with their cousins. Mat, Kylie, and I joined in as we played on swings, rode bikes, had running races, and played tip and stuck in the mud. We ate burgers and chips for lunch, courtesy of Mat, and the children played some more. Tuesday we did it all again! Finally we drove home after two terrific Central Coast days.

Wed July 15 I spent some time at uni reconfiguring a PhD gone bad and tried again with my survey. I emailed it to everyone I could and asked them to pass it on as I try to resurrect a messy pile of data. Then I drove Abbie to Goulburn to pick up her very best friend in the whole wide world, Elissa Thayer. Elissa and her parents met us in Goulburn, having driven from Canberra, and told me they were nervous as Elissa has never stayed away from her parents overnight. Around 8pm, as we neared Wollongong Elissa had a meltdown. She sobbed and pleaded for her parents. My attempts at reassurance were futile. I was so grateful for Abbie, who maturely put her arms around Elissa and sang songs to her until she calmed down. Fabulous Abulous! She was perfect. Elissa was tired and fell asleep. Thursday through Saturday was wonderful as the two girls consolidated a beautiful and long lasting friendship.

Friday Kylie went to Kiama with all of the children on the train. They visited the blowhole and watched the water spray, and wished the weather was warmer.

Saturday Kylie drove back to Goulburn to return Elissa to her parents after a delightful visit. I rode the toughest handicap race I’ve ever had and came 7th. We rode fast – although I guess that’s what racing’s all about. Sunday was uplifting as we attended church and I taught the young men. The children are getting better and better and sitting reverently throughout the entire service.

This past week has seen difficulties, and associated blessings and insights. I’ve done little at uni as I await data for my survey. A preliminary analysis of what has been collected left me pessimistic. It appears that my PhD is precariously perched on the precipice of pain! Not only is my data not working, but the paper I submitted for publication was returned with feedback. I am still digesting the feedback, but it was not what I had hoped for. The reviewers are full of praise for my idea, but claim there is still a great deal of work to be done. Unfortunately, unlike my previous review, this one was lacking in potential direction to aid me. So with data not working, and a theoretical paper that is not progressing it appears I am at a significant and important crossroad.

To clear my head, and emotionally detach, we decided to return to Gosford for the final few days of the children’s holidays. Wednesday I started riding north – straight into a horrible gusty north-west wind. I had planned to reach Gosford, but after 140 kms of hard riding I packed it in at Berowra. Next time I’ll make the distance. Kylie had left after me and met me on the highway. I was glad for the car, but disappointed to not finish.

Thursday 23rd was a perfect morning. We rode with the children along the Central Coast’s Brisbane Water between Tascott and Woy Woy. There is a quiet bike path that follows the water’s edge for miles, and some little parks and play areas for the children. The day was warm, clear, and begging to be enjoyed. We gave it our best. Chanel, Kylie, Annie, and Ella rode ahead while I jogged beside Abbie. My patience was tested several times – and I failed the test – as Abbie continually demonstrated her massive incompetence on the bike. My frustration overflowed as I tried again and again to aid her. I muttered under my breath that she was a ‘cycling spastic’, a ‘riding retard’. No one heard me, and I was proud of the alliteration, but disappointed that I was judging my girl. Then, we turned the bike around and headed toward the car. Abbie rode with proficiency I never expected. I was amazed! I accosted myself for my acrid accusations, and repented. Then I enthusiastically encouraged Abbie for her effort with all my heart. She is an amazing little girl… just not so great on a bikeJ. The children played with their cousins all Thursday afternoon in a park. Thursday night we enjoyed dessert of pancakes and ice-cream with good friends, Ben and Kate.

Friday ended up being disappointing for the children. We had anticipated more play with cousins, but my sister made other plans and the children weren’t available. It was cold outside so we played the Nintendo Wii for hours in mum and dad’s loungeroom. I got Wii shoulder (a bit like tennis elbowJ) from swing my arm so hard! We finally drove home that afternoon after a terrific trip. Annie kept asking for “nanny” and “poppy”, but we couldn’t help her understand that they were holidaying in Europe. We’d say, “Nanny gone” and Annie would say “Nanny?”

Annie’s favourite game at the moment is to say “Hi Mum”. As soon as she has a response she says “Hi Dad”. The crazy thing is she’ll play the game – Hi mum, Hi Dad – for twenty minutes without stopping! And if Kylie and I don’t respond she gets really angry and shouts “HI MUM” or “HI DAD” until we say hello in reciprocation! It makes it extremely hard to have a conversation.

Saturday morning began beautifully. A temple wedding for some friends. We relished being at the temple and seeing two wonderful people make eternal promises to one another. They were full of joy. And the promises they made offer so much to their lives, now and forever. We drove back to the Gong for bike racing. An accident on the road meant we made it with about ten minutes to spare. I came third in a tough race and was told that I can no longer race in C grade. I’m off to B grade from next week.

Saturday evening I MC’d the wedding of Tim and Clara. They are Indonesian, and many Indonesians were there. They appreciated my attempts at speaking in their language as I strained my memory to recall the words I learned when I was 14. I still had a few words after twenty years. The night was terrific, and it was a privilege to MC the event.

Today was a sensational Sabbath. Church was uplifting. A general authority visited and spoke to us. His message touched me as he reflected on how we are known to God. I taught the young men about Saul’s conversion following Stephen’s stoning, and we discussed what Paul meant as he asked us to put on the ‘whole armour of God’.

Final insight… Kylie and I have recently experienced an emotional rollercoaster that is sure to continue for some time yet given the state of my research. We have been planning our future (post study) and agonising over details such as where we will live two or three years from now. It has made us miserable. Kylie wisely suggested that we need to live for here and now if we are to be happy. We will do better if we focus on living right, right where we are. I think she is right – again, and I am grateful to have her helping me.

Relief

The week began with a public holiday! I love the fact that we get a day off for the queen’s birthday even though it’s not actually her birthday and we don’t really care a great deal for the queen in Australia. I left home early, braving the coldest weather since last winter, and rode up Macquarie Pass and back. We knocked out 100kms for the morning. I met Kylie and the children at a park. The kids rode bikes and Annie climbed and slid on the playground equipment. Chanel and Kylie rode all the way from Wollongong to home – that’s around 10kms. But Chanel is finding the 10km rides to be quite short now. She prefers to do 15-20km rides when she gets the chance.

We spent the afternoon going through the filing cabinet in great detail, organising paperwork, and generally cleaning up our documents. Boring, frustrating, but good to have it completed. The children played with the neighbours while we worked. At one point we had our four children, two from next door, three from down the road, and two from around the corner – that’s eleven children – all playing in our yard. We love that the children have so many kids to play with and that they enjoy doing so in our home and yard. Chanel prepared a terrific family home evening about the importance of the temple. She did a great job and the whole family had an excellent time.

Tuesday was awful. Not only was it freezing cold, but it was so windy I only got to ride briefly. Then I spent the entire day at uni marking papers. The marking was starting to get a bit much by Tuesday afternoon when I left for home. Ella enjoyed a developmental victory on Tuesday. Ella is now tall enough to post letters in the big red postbox all by herself! I ran our Young Men’s class on Tuesday night and was glad the day was done when I finally arrived home.

Wednesday saw me spend most of the day either marking or attending meetings. I wish I could report that there was joy to be found in either, but both were draining. Annie told Kylie, “I want a ‘nana” and pointed to the bananas in the bowl. Most of her conversation is still gibberish, but now and then we get some real clarity from Annie.

Thursday I marked papers. All day. Until 9.30pm. By the time I left uni I was ready to burn the papers that were left. Kylie had made a lemon and lime cheesecake, and I ate most if it in my misery when I arrived home. It was good, but did little to lift my spirits in preparation for Friday.

Friday I had a breakthrough. I realised that I was marking papers for certain content, but upon evaluating the marking criteria I found I was doing at least four or five times the work needed. I made the changes necessary and completed the rest of my marking shortly after lunch. Relief! I will never take on such a large teaching load again. The extra money is handy but the impact that it had on my PhD was too great.

Friday night I decided to stay up and watch the football for one of the first times this year. It was a disappointing night, with both my teams being soundly thrashed. Early nights are the better strategy.

Saturday was a huge day for Kylie. For the past month Kylie has been organising a secret birthday party for a friend. Surprise guests were arranged from New Zealand, America, and various parts of NSW. The day began with Kylie leaving for the airport at 6am. The remainder of her day was spent organising and then celebrating with friends. Her friend was surprised beyond words as each friend entered the room. Special friendships were renewed between Debs and her old friends as memories were shared among a very intimate group. Kylie arrived home, completely satisfied that the day was a success.

I had a successful Saturday too. I spent the morning ferrying children from one playdate to another. I spent several hours on the interior and exterior of the car. I cleared vines from the rear balcony, hung washing, made lunches, put Annie to bed, tidied the house as best I could, and cooked dinner for the whole family and three missionaries! We ate a huge BBQ with a potato salad, green salad, and an enormous amount of food. Somehow it was still all eaten. The kids were in bed after Funny Home Videos and I finally relaxed at around 8pm, just as Kylie arrived home.

Sunday was our most successful day in church in months. The children were beautifully relevant. The talks were spiritual and uplifting. The meeting was meaningful. And I got to sit through over 45 minutes of it before Annie required some attention outside the chapel. After church we jumped in the car and raced to Gosford. Mum and Dad had planned on visiting us but circumstances conspired to make things awkward. So we drove north for 2.5 hours. The kids tested out the DVD player in the car and the wireless infra-red headphones. The verdict – thumbs up from children and parents. Kylie and I enjoyed a quiet ride in the car together for the first time in what seems like a decade! We enjoyed a delicious roast, and a fun but brief chat with family (never enough time to really talk properly to everyone). The children were delighted to spend a couple of hours with their cousins and played with maximum enthusiasm the entire time. A long week finished with a long drive home.

Soul numbing and Brain taxing

A very quiet and uneventful week to report. My days have been soul-numbing, and brain-taxing. Marking papers from 3rd year students has been my burden for the week. While it was better than marking 1st year papers the week before, it was hard to find joy in the work. Marking is the least enjoyable aspect of my life, and sadly the past several weeks have required nothing but marking from me. Just one more week to go before I can put the marking behind me.

One brief highlight was spending time getting my bike measurements sorted out. Some small adjustments have been made to my bike and it feels great. I cannot explain how much thrill I get from riding. I think I’ve become mildly obsessed!

Yesterday (Sat afternoon) I enjoyed a hard, hard bike race. It was a handicap race of 45kms. I got a great starting mark and knew I had a chance at doing well. I was the strongest in my group though, and was slowed down by those less able. And after some extremely hard work, some violent tempers (among others, not me), and some excellent tactical efforts I crossed the finish line in what I though was first place. I even fought off a challenge from the Australian sprint champion in the 55-60yr age group. (That doesn’t sound that great, but those old guys can really ride!) Unfortunately two riders that left 6 minutes before me crossed 40 seconds before me and I hadn’t seen them. So I picked up third place instead. Nonetheless I was thrilled with my race and am still over the moon about it. I even picked up a little bit of prize money.

I can only recall one other notable highlight for the week. I enjoyed a brief conversation with my father-in-law on Saturday. He was generous in his expression of gratitude to me. Initially I tried to laugh it off, but I appreciated his sincerity and love. He gave me what I would consider to be the highest compliment a father-in-law can give: that he was grateful I had married his daughter. I hope I can say the same thing to the husbands of my daughters.

Things have been very typical with Kylie and the children this week, with no news to report. Kylie is very busy volunteering in the girls’ classes at school. Kylie also finds being president of the preschool committee frustrating as others don’t share her vision for what could be done. I have a remarkable and inspiring wife with a gift for seeing wonderful possibilities.

Annie Grace has become addicted to her daddy! Our little baby wants me all the time. I have to get her out of bed, put her to bed, cuddle her, take her with me wherever I go, and be her full-time companion. She accepts me leaving reasonably well, although she waves goodbye for some time after I’m gone. When I arrive home she gets excited beyond words and pesters me until I’ve hugged her at least two or three times.

Ella Rose has been growing up beautifully. Ella is a delight most of the time, and her best play buddy is her big sister Abbie. Now and then we find that Ella is highly emotionally expressive! But most of the time she delights us with her care and consideration for others. Ella still loves snails, and was delighted to find a frog in the garden this week. We fear she may have killed it with affection, or perhaps it only passed out before regaining consciousness and hopping away. Ella is beginning to develop an interest in reading so we are trying to foster that.

Abbie May is quiet, high-achieving, and very much in her own little world. She is sweet and tender, has some wonderful friends at school, and fits in well whatever we’re doing. We went for a little bike ride during the week and Abbie finally started to get the hang of it. A little more practice and I think we’ll be able to take those training wheels off, finally!

Chanel is amazing. Trying our patience all the time, yet a terrific worker and helper, committed to being a wonderful big sister, and always developing new motivations and insights. In her race yesterday Chanel came second last rather than last! This gave her a thrill. She also collected a small amount of prize money which she is going to put towards her bike respray. Her school relationships appear to be settling down, and we work hard with her as she develops, asks new questions, and gives us new opportunities to expand our parenting skills. It’s hard to believe Chanel will be ten years old in just a few months.

Last night Annie kept us up until around one am. Church today was not particularly uplifting as I could barely keep my eyes open. But we renewed acquaintances with an old friend from our days in Rockhampton – 11 years ago. Gary Evans is a wonderful human being and it was delightful to spend a short while catching up. Annie and I came home and slept through the middle of the day, but it was still not enough to eliminate my headache. Our landlord came to replace some washers in our taps. We cannot believe he actually showed up when he said he would! And we made some bookings for our trip to Queensland in two weeks! We can’t wait for the break.

In sum, an exhausting week despite little having happened. But blessings nonetheless. We’re safe, we’re loved, and we have others to love.

Sunday 25th May, 2009

Late again on this post...

I’ve struggled to find the motivation to write in recent weeks. I have managed to jot down a few thoughts, and can certainly describe blessings and gifts for which I’m grateful. I simply haven’t had the heightened motivation levels that I’m used to enjoying. I think the lack of progress on my PhD work is a likely cause. Hopefully this will change over the coming week as I get through the mountains of marking and consulting I’m doing in order to focus on my number one study priority.

The last week began in a pretty rough way. I had not come home from a choir practice for the youth until 11pm Sunday night. Annie determined that sleep was not on her late night agenda. And my alarm awoke me at 4am in order to drive to Sydney International Airport. Some friends were returning from the USA and I had agreed to pick them up. I arrived too early and tried to sleep, uncomfortably, in the driver’s seat. No luck. I drove laps around the International terminal for 40 minutes. Finally we spotted each other and, relieved, we drove back to Wollongong.

Monday also saw the marking begin. We’re into the final weeks of the semester now and reports are due. Marking is a painful way to live life. I experienced some joy Monday evening when, over dinner, we explored Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.” Over the course of one week Chanel and Abbie have entirely memorised the poem and can explain what it is about. Ella is also doing remarkably well and can recite most of it with occasional prompts.

Tuesday saw us make progress at uni with my honours student. She is an extremely emotional girl who has had a roller coaster ride. Her other supervisor makes her uncomfortable and she cries at a comment or glance. But she is comfortable with me and we work well together. Her work is looking good, and progressing on schedule.

Tuesday night we had Family Home Evening. We talked about Justice and Mercy. I used the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears as we examined the character of Goldilocks. The children agreed that she was lawfully guilty of break and enter, trespass, and theft! They also agreed that justice demanded a price be paid. Of course, they recognised that if Goldilocks sought forgiveness and made restitution that mercy might be applied. It was a successful and fun night.

Wednesday saw me marking more. Aaaargh! I arrived home and Chanel explained that two boys had fought over her in the playground. I was not overly concerned but wondered what I had in store in the coming decade or more with FOUR girls! I raced out the door to get the youth back to Campbelltown for yet another choir practice.

Thursday we took the car in for a repairman to look at the stereo. It would not turn off and had already cost us a new battery early in the week. He discovered that Annie had inserted a 10c coin into the CD player and short-circuited the unit. This meant that it could not be repaired and a new one would need to be purchased. Ouch. While in the store Kylie inquired about the price of an in-car DVD player. She liked what she heard and bought it! Hmmm. So a 10c coin cost us $1200. We purchased the DVD player for those long drives up to Gosford and Queensland. And of course we also needed to get a CD player. I chose the cheapest one I could that had a certain few luxuries I felt I could not live without in the year 2009. I like my new stereo.

Friday was a difficult day for Chanel. We discovered more about the playground fight. Apparently the boys wanted to be her boyfriend. Chanel had been involved in a small way in the instigation of the violence. We have had ongoing concerns about things for Chanel at school. This incident seems to be one in a long line of challenges. We hope to speak to her teacher in the coming week.

Saturday I raced – poorly. The race was fast and hard and it hurt. Chanel attended a birthday party and went ice-skating. I was proud of her. One of the parents reported that Chanel fell down again and again but continually demonstrated determination. She told someone that all she had to do was keep on practicing and she would develop the skill to be able to skate competently. Maybe some of the things we say do rub off after all.

Sunday was a special day. We drove to Campbelltown again! This time it was to sit at the feet of an apostle and listen to his words.

We arrived 45 minutes early. There was barely a seat left! The chapel was full and so was the spill-over. The basketball court behind the chapel was opened up to half way and that was full. The other half of the court was opened and we sat halfway to the back of that! By the time the meeting began at 10am the place was packed! The meeting was quite nice. Our children were remarkably reverent. But we were so far back, and the sound was so poor, that we struggled to hear.

Halfway through the meeting the alarm bells began to ring. We knew it couldn’t be a fire drill. But the siren was screaming! No one left their seats. I gathered my family together and we left the building. Of more than 1000 people in the building only around 20 of us moved! Some called it faithful. I am pragmatic in my faith. I think it was stubborn and irresponsible that people did not heed a warning signal. Nonetheless we discovered that someone’s little child had hit the fire alarm and it was indeed a false alarm.

Jeffrey R. Holland spoke for a little over 30 minutes. His comments were powerful and it was worth the drive, the sitting, the occasional frustration with the children, and the headache from the screaming alarm. He spoke with conviction and assurance. He told us that “there is nothing anyone on this earth can show me or say to me that will strengthen me in my testimony. My knowledge that God lives and this is His church is perfect.” He then spoke to the youth and begged them to give the Lord a tithe on their life. He suggested ten years would be about right and implored them to give the ten years from age 12-22. He promised them if they lived right then, the rest of their life would be looked after. It was a good experience to be there for it.

We drove home Sunday afternoon and cooked roast chicken. The missionaries helped us eat it. There might have been left-overs but the missionaries helped to eat them too! In fact the missionaries ate about three or four plates of food. It was a heavenly roast.

Sunday 17th May 2009

I'm a little late in getting this up online...

A few busy weekends puts me well behind in keeping things up to date. But they’ve been weekends full of goodness and happiness for our whole family! I’ll summarise briefly…

April concluded in the week following our Mt. Kosciuszko hike. We were so excited to have hiked that terrific hill. Because of the cold, Kylie lost her voice. My poor wife. I missed being able to talk with her. After a few days it finally came back to her relief, and mine.

We have created a new favourite game with the children. With the weather being colder than we’re used to I’ve been wearing my slippers. When I wrestle with the children they try to steal them. They think it’s terrific. And I like it because I can control how long the game goes! It gets pretty crazy. The girls are amazingly energetic.

Abbie was wobbling her teeth and I suggested that I rip it out for her. She thought it was a bad idea, but wanted some extra time to think about it before bed. We read a story and I promptly forgot about my offer. When the story was over Abbie decided I should pull it out. I grabbed it and tugged. She never flinched and the tooth popped straight out! She amazed me!

Tuesday night I took the Young Men from church out to ride the billy-carts we built over the previous Tuesday evenings. They were full of confidence. Some wobbles made me wary and when we arrived at the hill I suggested starting at the half-way mark. They were hard to persuade. Eventually they came most of the way to me but insisted on starting higher up the hill than I had indicated. The first riders began their descent. One boy went about twenty metres before swerving wildly and crashing heavily into a parked car. He flew out of the cart and sprawled across the road. As I ran to him the other boy reached the bottom with the death wobbles. He hit the gutter at full speed and was catapulted out of the cart. No one else wanted to ride the carts after everyone saw the blood! We learned a lot about billy carts that night – and first-aid.

My bike ride on the Saturday was a thrilling ride. I came 5th and rode very strong the entire race. Super exciting. I love racing and riding hard. And being on the bike so much is making me feel increasingly healthy and invigorated. I love it.

Church on Sunday (May 3rd) was difficult. Between Kylie and I we barely got any time at all in any meetings due to cranky children. Annie would not go to her nursery class and Ella played up a lot in Sunday School. Hard work and not an uplifting day. But we were there, and it feels good to have spent that time. I went home-teaching all afternoon but I wonder whether it makes any difference sometimes. These visits were not as inspiring as I would have liked.

Monday May 4th I had a student approach me. She is in her early 50’s and has had a very difficult life living with an abusive husband. In recent years she left him but had to go to court for settlement. This had set off a series of traumatic memories for her and her schooling has suffered. As I worked with her on possible solutions to her schooling challenges (she sought me in reference to study, not counselling) I felt so grateful to have been born into a family where my parents treated us kindly. I felt so blessed to live in a home where abuse is a foreign concept. I hope that lady and her family can recover somehow.

During the week I completed my paper for the 6th time. I received negative feedback again. Still more work to do. This is a challenging process! I am learning a great deal and am grateful for people who are willing to work with me despite my slow learning. With prayer, fasting, and hard work I’m sure I’ll get it to publication standard with not too much more time getting away.

Friday night was a thrill for us. We had wanted to visit Nan & Pop Bunt but time got the better of us. However we met mum at the temple so that she could watch the children while Kylie and I enjoyed the privilege of attending a temple session for the first time together in 18 months. We are committed to going once a month from now on. I hope we can make it happen. Mum took the children to Gosford while we were in the temple. Kylie and I ate delicious Italian food and then drove north as well. The children were still awake at 9pm when we arrived home but they were happy and went straight to bed when we arrived.

Saturday was great! I went for an 80km ride around the Cental Coast from one end to the other. Then Kylie and I went shopping so she could spend some money on new clothes for Mother’s Day. It took a long time – but finally she bought some terrific clothing. And looked superb!

Mother’s Day was excellent. Tim, Alisa, and I gave mum, Kylie (and everyone else) a delicious breakfast of bacon, eggs, top shelf muesli, yoghurt, and fruit. Delicious. Then we shared gifts. Mum felt our love and we did the best we could to make her feel great. Next year I really want to do more for Kylie though. After breakfast Mum, Tim, and I jumped into the van and drove to visit Nan Bunt for Mother’s Day. We had a WONDERFUL visit and enjoyed her company so much. It was funny to hear Nan and Mum argue with each other… and they wonder where Karina gets her temper! I loved watching Nan and Pop. Such great examples to me of a loving relationship after so many years. We missed church which was disappointing. Time had beaten us. I cooked a roast for about 20 people for Sunday dinner. Then we drove, exhausted, back to Wollongong.

This past week has been busy but with little out of the ordinary. A couple of brief highlights:
- I have been working to bring LDS musician Kenneth Cope out from the USA for a visit. Approval was granted and airfares booked. Major victory!
- I attended a “happiness” conference on Thursday in Sydney. The morning began poorly. I nearly left at the mid-morning session. But I was pleasantly surprised by what came after. I was inspired by Marva Collins who reminded me about important things I can teach my children. She teaches the poorest children and prepares them for Harvard, Yale, and so on. Brilliant and uplifting. I was moved to tears by Geraldine Cox, who described the traumatic lives of Cambodian children who are sold by their parents to begging rings, ending up as orphans. She runs several orphanages in Cambodia and her stories touched me. I was uplifted by Ingrid Paulson (?) who described resilience by telling us how she deals with living without her father and two children who were murdered by her then-husband who also killed himself. I was intrigued by Norman Doidge who discussed the neuroplasticity of the brain. Brilliant. Check out his book “The Brain that Changes Itself”.
- I have begun to teach the children Robert Frost’s “The Road Less Travelled” and they love it! They have memorised half of the poem already. I hope they’ll finish it by next week.

Fitzroy Falls

Here's a bunch of photos from our family trip to Fitzroy Falls in the Southern NSW highlands, April 2009.
Abbie and Ella with Abbie's best friend, Elissa Thayer - Loving life.

The Coulsons with our dear friends - the Thayers. Overlooking the falls and the magical valley below.

Fitzroy Falls - don't drop the camera!!

Energetic Ella expending some energy with Elissa.

Ella, Chanel, Abbie, and Annie overlooking the valley.

Happiness.

Hiking Mt Kosciuszko

Below are some photos from our recent hike. We took Nan and Pop Coulson, and the girl's cousins: Jaxson, Phoenix, and Logan.

Abbie and Phoenix love spending time together. This was in Thredbo village just before we caught the chair up the mountain. Temperature was only around 2 degrees celsius.

Catching a ride up the mountain with Ella, Abbie, and Phoenix.

Cool kids! Abbie, Phoenix, Jaxson, Logan, Chanel, and Ella. About to start a 13km hike.

Oh what a feeling! Starting the hike to the top of the tallest mountain in Australia.

Abbie and Ella putting in the miles.

Chanel, Abbie, and Jaxson along the track. It was only about 5 degrees, but walking made it hot.

A couple of cool customers! They made the trip so much easier for the children. Thanks mum and dad.

On top of the world!!! All the kids except Ella, munching on top of the highest point in Australia.

Ella, looking down the mountain... have we only done 7kms? Come on folks, we can go further!

Annie and her dad. I carried her the 14 kms in the backpack. I carried Logan about 3kms on the way back down. Sore legs!

Abbie May on top of the mountain before we walked back to the chair.

Annie loves lunch!

Phoenix, Abbie, Ella, and Logan on the top of the mountain.

Our family - feeling great that we accomplished something BIG.

Pop Coulson and the BOYZ!!!

Extended family on the peak.

You can't get any higher than this and still be touching the ground anywhere in Australia!