My Sundays are getting busier and I’m getting tireder. This means that by Sunday evening I’m less interested in reporting on my week and more interested in sleeping. Here’s an update from the past couple of weeks…
Kylie is going mostly well. Pregnancy makes her tired and sick, but we’ll be at 12 weeks by the end of this week so things should start to improve. Kylie assures me that this will be our last baby. She really doesn’t want to go through the sickness and pain again. But she’s said that before so we’ll have to wait and see. We’re so excited to be having another baby. And it feels as though we’re coming out of the worst of it. Kylie has energy and enthusiasm returning to her veins and even got out for a bike ride yesterday.
We visited Canberra last weekend. Abbie’s best friend, Elissa Thayer, turned seven. It’s a long way to go for a birthday party, but it was worth the trip. We ate dinner that cost far too much (never again) at a Spanish restaurant (never again), and stayed at a hotel that had no soundproofing (never again). But time with friends and family was thoroughly enjoyable, even if all the travel knocked Kylie around. We were glad we made the effort.
Chanel is growing up so fast. Our big girl will be ten years old in a matter of weeks. We are so proud of the way that she is growing. Chanel pushes us consistently with her unceasing pleas for “more”, be it time with friends, treats, play time, expenses, or whatever. Chanel also drives us crazy with her treatment of her sisters. Yet Chanel delights us with her enthusiasm and courage to do what is right, even when friends make other choices. Chanel is warm and affectionate with everyone in the family and has a wonderful social intelligence.
Chanel’s favourite quote at the moment is “and you always were.” Lately she’s called me a bully when we play or do chores. I deny it. She re-confirms that I am indeed a bully, and “you always were.” We always laugh at that. She’s doing well enough at school although we’d like to see better results. Our concern is more with the teaching than with Chanel’s performance though. Her teacher is not a particularly motivating soul. I also think it’s unlikely that Chanel will continue to have involvement in cycling beyond summer and track. She loves to explore and try new things. I’m not sure what the next new thing will be, but we’ll find out in autumn. I expect it will be netball or soccer.
Last week after the absolute worst dust storm I’ve ever experienced I came home from school and invited Chanel and Ella (Abbie was swimming) to earn some pocket money for the school holidays by doorknocking the neighbourhood and asking people if we could wash cars. Chanel was enthusiastic and did all the “sales”. She also washed with all her might. Together the three of us earned $60 in just two hours. Chanel has a great work ethic, especially when she knows she’ll receive a fair reward.
Abbie May is a little heart warmer. She is so soft and quiet, and loves to sing at the top of her lungs. It’s beautiful, although her singing can be hard on the ears. Abbie sings through her nose, and it sounds nasal! Kylie and I bask in Abbie’s enthusiasm for music, but we try to do our basking with our fingers in our ears. It’s amusing and charming and gratifying all at once. Of course, Abbie tries us too, as all children do their parents. She is the “dobber” in the family and is known to whine for extended periods, particularly when asked to do something she doesn’t want to. And Abbie has domestic blindness, like me. She struggles to find household items that are right in front of her.
Despite Abbie’s humanness and fallibility, we are besotted with our soon-to-be-seven year-old. Abbie has become a committed Girl Guide and approaches Wednesday evenings with glee. She savours her time at Guides and expounds on her experiences enchantingly when we collect her. Abbie’s first ever Guides camp is coming up in a few weeks, staying overnight at Moss Vale or Bowral I think. We’re nervous, Abbie’s excited.
Abbie is having a terrific time in class at school and has a focused and motivated teacher. Her reading is off the charts, and she does well in other subjects too. At the moment Abbie’s favourite saying is “Oh come on Dad” with a hint of a smile, and a delightful demand, when she wants something I say she cannot have. It’s so cute, and done in such fun.
Ella… I always smile and shake my head when I think about that girl and what to write. Her character is over the top in so many ways. She loves to be affectionate with us, and has ants in her pants when it’s bed time. Then, she falls asleep instantly when I sing her a lullaby each night. Ella’s enthusiasm for play is a great strength for her, and also a problem. She’ll disappear without a sound and we’ll spend 30 minutes looking for her. She’ll have walked up the road to a friend’s house, or down the road to a friend’s house. They’re all close by, but too far for a five year-old on her own. She’s simply so independent. We’re fortunate to live in a quiet and safe street with lots of good families.
Ella is looking forward to being finished with kindy and going to big school next year. Her speech has improved dramatically and her swimming is going very well. She has a genuinely funny sense of humour and makes us laugh a lot. And Ella wears us out, doesn’t like to listen when asked to do anything contrary to her desires, and generally raises our blood pressure. We love her to bits.
Annie is still our precious baby girl. She’s just over 25 months old. She has completely trained herself to use the potty and abhors nappies except when going to bed. We have the occasional accident, but very infrequently. Her personality is perfect, her smile is full of love, and her cuddles are heavenly. We love all of our children, but I don’t think any of them have been as lovable and as loving as our Annie Grace. She walks around the house knowing that she has all of us wrapped around her fingers, yet she doesn’t wield her power unfairly. Instead she uses it for cuddles and kisses and getting her hair done or shoes put on. I have no words for how we adore our Annie Grace.
So that’s the update on our family after a while where I’ve shared little. We’re far from perfect, particularly Kylie and I (particularly me), but we sure do love each other a lot, and love to spend time together.
Generally things at uni are picking up. I’m about to begin interviewing participants for the next round of my data collection. I hope to interview around 20 people over the next couple of weeks. From these interviews I’m hoping to get some terrific information that will be useful for my PhD. My honours student, Jo, has also had excellent success with the project we have been working on. We’re investigating compassionate love and resilience, and the results are looking promising. More on that in weeks to come.
My bike riding is all-consuming! I’m still entirely obsessed by it and am riding as much as possible. I seem to be getting around 300km a week in on the bike now. Racing season is over, but I’m organising a track bike so I can ride the velodrome too. This will mean that Friday nights will be busy.
I’ll write again briefly on Sunday, but there won’t be much to add as this week is looking fairly quiet.
Hoping that this letter finds all of our dear ones well.
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Monday, 10 August 2009
Photos August 2009
Ella Rose at the Wollongong Ward country hoe-down. Ella is 5 and a half in this photo.
Annie Grace, aged 23 months, at the bike track waiting for her dad to finish his race.
Chanel, aged 9, just after she finished her 18km race.
Annie Grace, aged 23 months, at the bike track waiting for her dad to finish his race.
Chanel, aged 9, just after she finished her 18km race.
Abbie May, aged 6, at the park on holidays in Gosford.
Abbie May, aged 6, with her favourite cousin Phoenix - on holidays in Gosford.
Eight of the ten cousins in the park. From the back: Ella and Chanel, Logan and Jet, Paris and Phoenix, Teanu and Abbie.
Chanel, Abbie, Ella, and Annie petting the newborn kids at a friend's farm in Dapto.
Abbie May, aged 6, with her favourite cousin Phoenix - on holidays in Gosford.
Eight of the ten cousins in the park. From the back: Ella and Chanel, Logan and Jet, Paris and Phoenix, Teanu and Abbie.
Chanel, Abbie, Ella, and Annie petting the newborn kids at a friend's farm in Dapto.
A New Bed Needed
Our family has just experienced an unusually dull week. I’m not complaining. In fact, just the opposite. I’m quite grateful to have little or nothing happen for a change. Despite that, there are still a few highlights, and many things to be grateful for.
Annie Grace has decided that nappies are not for her anymore. She doesn’t want to wear them. That’s terrific because nappies add a large amount to our budget and we’d prefer to not have to buy them – plus they’re bad for the environment. The difficulty with Annie’s preference for no nappies is that she refuses to sit on the potty. This means we are finding unwanted deposits throughout the house, either via unpleasant odours, or worse, with our socks (which are always reliable when ‘puddles’ are lying around). We’re working on the potty training and hopefully some progress will occur in the coming days.
Kylie has signed up for a quilting class and is counting down the days until she attends. In fact, Kylie seems more excited about her craft than anything I’ve seen for some time. I’m working from home on Tuesday so that Kylie can quilt for the day. I’m looking forward to seeing the outcomes, not that I’m excited about the quilting, but I am excited for Kylie to pursue something that she loves.
Chanel sat a test to get into an ‘advanced’ class for kids during the week. She was apprehensive and more than a little nervous prior to the class. A blessing and some supportive words from Kylie and I seemed to do the trick. Chanel had a generally positive experience although we are unaware of the outcomes for another couple of weeks. We are quite opposed to these types of tests and classes in principle. Public education should be of the same standard for all students, not just the ones who do best on these tests. However, the playing field is not level and we know that when teachers “believe” they have a bright student or class they actually teach better/differently. We want Chanel to have that opportunity, hence we are hopeful that she’ll do well.
Ella has had a fun week, including a 5km bike ride with Kylie. We are amazed that she rode so far, but thrilled that she loves it so much. Of all our children, Ella seems to be the most outdoor-oriented. Because Ella is so easily distracted I have had her in trouble several times this week. In exasperation, Ella explained to me that she doesn’t do as I ask because “I love playing Dad.” If we can harness and direct her love for animals and playing and being outdoors, I think Ella can be a wonderful success in life. I fear that the regular school environment may do just the opposite though. We have our work cut out for us.
Our new piano arrived this week! This is probably the biggest highlight of all. I LOVE having a piano in the house. I think we scored a bargain. This is a beautiful little Yamaha upright piano with a lovely touch and wonderful tone. I am not much of a player, but I cannot begin to describe the joy I’ve had as I sit at the keys and pick out notes while trying to read the music. We’re looking forward to Abbie beginning her lessons and are hopeful that her teacher will help her find delight in it as well.
I began my riding programme this week with a coach directing me. It’s not really in our budget, but I love it and he made me an offer that was too good to refuse. I’m being coached at a greatly reduced rate. Riding has become almost like a drug for me. If I miss riding for a day I become agitated and unhappy. If I miss a race on Saturday I become a big sook. I’m not sure if that’s healthy or not, but it’s fair to say that I’m pretty well obsessed with riding. This week just gone I rode a little over 300kms.
Saturday I went to the temple with the youth. We were told it would be around 90 minutes but the day stretched out for several hours. It was a privilege to be there and participate, and I’m grateful. However it meant that I missed my bike race. I struggled with that. Eventually I arrived home and took the bike out to Mt Keira. It’s a fairly serious hill near our home. After three hard climbs, one from the bottom, and two slightly shorter climbs, I was satisfied that I had worked hard and returned home.
We made offers on two houses this week. The first was on an extremely large home that we were going to go halves with someone in. However our offer was speculative at best and was never really destined to come to anything. While the home was big, it was not nice, nor did it suit our family. We are pleased it came to nought. Our other offer is presently under consideration. The home we are looking at is only a kilometre from here and, while small, is a delightful little four bedroom home that we think would be just the right fit for our family. By Tuesday we should know if our offer will be accepted.
Abbie enjoyed a birthday party with her best friend Carley. While she was gone our family consumed what I am confident will be our last ever meal of KFC. It was gross enough for us to all agree, including the children, that we don’t want to eat that anymore. Ewww.
Sunday – church. Repentance and refreshing, renewed covenants, hymns of praise, gratitude, and love. Time with the youth reviewing 1 Timothy 4:12 – Be thou an example of the believers. Then a terrific afternoon in walking along the ocean foreshore with the family. While I miss riding on Sundays I’m grateful for such focused time with everyone. We finished the night with two other families eating a pot luck dinner around our kitchen table. The meal was terrific, but the lemon meringue pie at the end was the perfect way to finish… although I ate too much again (what’s new?)
It’s 3.30am Monday and I’m restless. Sleep has been avoiding me in recent nights. I think I need a new bed. As I reflect on the week I cannot help but be grateful for a blessed and abundant life. In spite of all my imperfections, brokenness, and humanness, my family and I have blessings unmeasured and joy almost on tap. We thank God daily for his grace and rejoice in what He gives us.
Annie Grace has decided that nappies are not for her anymore. She doesn’t want to wear them. That’s terrific because nappies add a large amount to our budget and we’d prefer to not have to buy them – plus they’re bad for the environment. The difficulty with Annie’s preference for no nappies is that she refuses to sit on the potty. This means we are finding unwanted deposits throughout the house, either via unpleasant odours, or worse, with our socks (which are always reliable when ‘puddles’ are lying around). We’re working on the potty training and hopefully some progress will occur in the coming days.
Kylie has signed up for a quilting class and is counting down the days until she attends. In fact, Kylie seems more excited about her craft than anything I’ve seen for some time. I’m working from home on Tuesday so that Kylie can quilt for the day. I’m looking forward to seeing the outcomes, not that I’m excited about the quilting, but I am excited for Kylie to pursue something that she loves.
Chanel sat a test to get into an ‘advanced’ class for kids during the week. She was apprehensive and more than a little nervous prior to the class. A blessing and some supportive words from Kylie and I seemed to do the trick. Chanel had a generally positive experience although we are unaware of the outcomes for another couple of weeks. We are quite opposed to these types of tests and classes in principle. Public education should be of the same standard for all students, not just the ones who do best on these tests. However, the playing field is not level and we know that when teachers “believe” they have a bright student or class they actually teach better/differently. We want Chanel to have that opportunity, hence we are hopeful that she’ll do well.
Ella has had a fun week, including a 5km bike ride with Kylie. We are amazed that she rode so far, but thrilled that she loves it so much. Of all our children, Ella seems to be the most outdoor-oriented. Because Ella is so easily distracted I have had her in trouble several times this week. In exasperation, Ella explained to me that she doesn’t do as I ask because “I love playing Dad.” If we can harness and direct her love for animals and playing and being outdoors, I think Ella can be a wonderful success in life. I fear that the regular school environment may do just the opposite though. We have our work cut out for us.
Our new piano arrived this week! This is probably the biggest highlight of all. I LOVE having a piano in the house. I think we scored a bargain. This is a beautiful little Yamaha upright piano with a lovely touch and wonderful tone. I am not much of a player, but I cannot begin to describe the joy I’ve had as I sit at the keys and pick out notes while trying to read the music. We’re looking forward to Abbie beginning her lessons and are hopeful that her teacher will help her find delight in it as well.
I began my riding programme this week with a coach directing me. It’s not really in our budget, but I love it and he made me an offer that was too good to refuse. I’m being coached at a greatly reduced rate. Riding has become almost like a drug for me. If I miss riding for a day I become agitated and unhappy. If I miss a race on Saturday I become a big sook. I’m not sure if that’s healthy or not, but it’s fair to say that I’m pretty well obsessed with riding. This week just gone I rode a little over 300kms.
Saturday I went to the temple with the youth. We were told it would be around 90 minutes but the day stretched out for several hours. It was a privilege to be there and participate, and I’m grateful. However it meant that I missed my bike race. I struggled with that. Eventually I arrived home and took the bike out to Mt Keira. It’s a fairly serious hill near our home. After three hard climbs, one from the bottom, and two slightly shorter climbs, I was satisfied that I had worked hard and returned home.
We made offers on two houses this week. The first was on an extremely large home that we were going to go halves with someone in. However our offer was speculative at best and was never really destined to come to anything. While the home was big, it was not nice, nor did it suit our family. We are pleased it came to nought. Our other offer is presently under consideration. The home we are looking at is only a kilometre from here and, while small, is a delightful little four bedroom home that we think would be just the right fit for our family. By Tuesday we should know if our offer will be accepted.
Abbie enjoyed a birthday party with her best friend Carley. While she was gone our family consumed what I am confident will be our last ever meal of KFC. It was gross enough for us to all agree, including the children, that we don’t want to eat that anymore. Ewww.
Sunday – church. Repentance and refreshing, renewed covenants, hymns of praise, gratitude, and love. Time with the youth reviewing 1 Timothy 4:12 – Be thou an example of the believers. Then a terrific afternoon in walking along the ocean foreshore with the family. While I miss riding on Sundays I’m grateful for such focused time with everyone. We finished the night with two other families eating a pot luck dinner around our kitchen table. The meal was terrific, but the lemon meringue pie at the end was the perfect way to finish… although I ate too much again (what’s new?)
It’s 3.30am Monday and I’m restless. Sleep has been avoiding me in recent nights. I think I need a new bed. As I reflect on the week I cannot help but be grateful for a blessed and abundant life. In spite of all my imperfections, brokenness, and humanness, my family and I have blessings unmeasured and joy almost on tap. We thank God daily for his grace and rejoice in what He gives us.
Sunday, 2 August 2009
Evolution
I began the week with trepidation in my heart. A study programme that was falling apart was my principal concern, as well as a wife who was feeling low, and a host of other issues affecting our family more generally. Last Sunday I had recommitted myself to living the gospel more fully, so Monday morning I arose on time, prayed, and opened my scriptures. I read in the Doctrine and Covenants about chastening. The Lord explains that he chastens his children (us) and this leads to sanctification. Chastening is a cleansing process, whether due to wickedness or simply as a test (as in Abraham’s case). I pondered this and read other scriptures that outline how chastening develops humility and acknowledgement of our dependence on God. This facilitates prayer, repentance, and changing our hearts towards Him. I pondered the challenges (chastening?) Kylie and I have experienced in recent times and considered our adherence to basic principles. There was a lot of room for improvement – but I was improving.
It didn’t take long for blessings to follow for simple obedience. I was scheduled to meet my supervisors on Friday to discuss my PhD problems. This was far from ideal. It meant twiddling my thumbs for four days until our meeting. They both emailed me early Monday to say they were unavailable on Friday and had to reschedule – to lunchtime Monday! Perfect! Instead of waiting to talk for four days, I didn’t even have to wait for four hours. We talked deeply for 45 minutes before stumbling (being led) upon a potential solution to my difficulties. While it means the work that I have done to date is effectively unusable, that work has laid a strong platform or foundation for us to build upon. The process of discarding the past seven months of work feels terrible, but following our discussion an evolution of ideas means that the work is not wasted. I felt deeply blessed, as I had expected that I would need to design an entirely new PhD programme.
We received an unexpected invitation to a friend’s farm for dinner and family home evening. The children played with their miniature pig, petted the five brand new kids (goat babies!), and ran around outside until dark.
Tuesday was relatively quiet. The children returned to school following a two week winter break. They were excited, and Kylie felt the reprieve. Our home was tidy again! Bliss. Chanel received some sad news – her friend Tanin was to move to Sydney at the end of the week. Kylie and I felt this may be a further blessing as we have had significant concerns about the influence of Tanin on Chanel. Despite this, it is hard for our little girl and we are sorry for her emotional hurt. Chanel has had to say goodbye a lot in the past couple of years.
Annie discovered a new favourite word – YUCK. She loves to say it, and emphasises the “ck” sound with throaty enthusiasm. As the “ck” is pronounced Annie sounds as though she is making an effort to remove unwanted items from her digestive tract. It makes us laugh.
Wednesday Abbie went to girl guides with her friend Carley. Abbie has decided she wants to be a guide. We’re excited for her, and she is enthralled with the experience. Our children are so different. I cannot imagine Chanel as a girl guide, but it suits Abbie beautifully.
Thursday was another day of project evolution for me. Major inroads were made into my research, and a seeming eternity of new doors was presented for me to open. I’ll just open one at a time and proceed with caution. Kylie took Ella and Annie to the lake for bike riding. Ella was delighted! Annie played with Kylie’s purse and left it on the ground, unbeknownst to Kylie. Several hours later Kylie realised and returned. The purse was gone. Prayers were uttered. Faith was answered. A message on our machine from a kind stranger informed Kylie that the purse was safe. Kylie went to a craft night at a local store and has been inspired – perhaps obsessed – with the crafty creativity bug. I thought my cycling was a drain on time and money… but it’s nothing compared with the plans Kylie has! It is wonderful to see her come alive at the prospect of doing things she loves. I am scared about how much it may cost though. Kylie seems most taken with quilting which seems to be about the most expensive craft she could choose. And I signed on with a cycling coach to see if I can learn some useful things and utilise my training time better.
Friday I had the biggest breakthrough of my week. I stumbled across a PhD dissertation, unpublished, that gives me great hope for my studies, and it is likely to inform my work immensely. A student has studied the concept of “calling” as it relates to career in more depth than anyone previously. Her thesis won several awards for excellence. At the conclusion of her thesis, she calls for others to study “calling” in other life domains. It appears that her work may become the bedrock upon which I build my study into calling for parents.
Friday night Kylie went out for dinner with 9 friends – Greek; the dinner, not the friends. Kylie said it was so good that we’ll have to go back together. I like that idea. Going anywhere with Kylie makes me happy – except shoppingL. Chanel organised a surprise farewell party for her friend, Tanin. While Kylie was at dinner I looked after five nine and ten year olds as well as our three little ones. Amazingly the night went perfectly. In fact it went so well I even got to enjoy a game of football on the television.
Annie has begun to develop in two important ways, typical for a baby around the age of two. She has experienced an incredible word explosion. Her vocabulary has increased ten-fold overnight. Her comprehension is still limited, but she is parroting everything she hears. Additionally, Annie has discovered her temper. She relishes every opportunity to assert herself and her desires. She pulls her sister’s hair, pinches, and even bites when she doesn’t get her way. It’s amazing to watch an almost two-year-old beat up her five and six-year-old sisters.
Saturday we farewelled Chanel’s friends and began house hunting. We hope to buy a home for our family and stop renting. It was a good experience, although our preference for good quality neighbourhoods left us wanting a little as we inspected homes. We can afford very reasonable homes in poorer neighbourhoods but cannot afford even modest homes in the nicer areas. Despite this, some possibilities may be on our horizon that offer particular promise, so we approach the new week with optimism.
We finished house hunting and Kylie raced me to my bike race. Chanel chose to rest after her big night with friends. I was supposed to ride in C grade but only a small bunch of men were riding in B grade. I coaxed another C grade friend into riding in B grade with me to “see how we go.” We were a little nervous, and they looked super strong. Somehow, after riding 67kms, much of it into a strong SW wind, I managed to place third. I don’t know how. It was the toughest ride of my life. But it felt fabulous and I was thrilled. We raced home and I changed so we could attend Alma and Claire’s engagement party. After a short visit (around 90 minutes) we left early to meet mum and dad. They had driven down to be with us following their nearly five weeks in Europe. It was great to be with them. We ate pizza together and talked. I enjoy being with them. Logan and Paris also came along and thought it was a treat to be with their cousins.
Sunday, our most important day of the week. Prayers, faith, testimonies, covenants. It felt good to be at church even though I spent most of the meeting in the foyer nursing Annie. Her late night with nanny and poppy was intruding on our Sunday. I brought her home for a nap. It only lasted 20 minutes before a soiled nappy woke her. Our afternoon was quiet as Kylie and I mulled over housing possibilities. It feels good to plan our future together. It’s only 7.45pm and I am exhausted – but smiling. We have lives richer than anything we could ever deserve, and we are grateful.
Pictures will be uploaded to the blog next week.
It didn’t take long for blessings to follow for simple obedience. I was scheduled to meet my supervisors on Friday to discuss my PhD problems. This was far from ideal. It meant twiddling my thumbs for four days until our meeting. They both emailed me early Monday to say they were unavailable on Friday and had to reschedule – to lunchtime Monday! Perfect! Instead of waiting to talk for four days, I didn’t even have to wait for four hours. We talked deeply for 45 minutes before stumbling (being led) upon a potential solution to my difficulties. While it means the work that I have done to date is effectively unusable, that work has laid a strong platform or foundation for us to build upon. The process of discarding the past seven months of work feels terrible, but following our discussion an evolution of ideas means that the work is not wasted. I felt deeply blessed, as I had expected that I would need to design an entirely new PhD programme.
We received an unexpected invitation to a friend’s farm for dinner and family home evening. The children played with their miniature pig, petted the five brand new kids (goat babies!), and ran around outside until dark.
Tuesday was relatively quiet. The children returned to school following a two week winter break. They were excited, and Kylie felt the reprieve. Our home was tidy again! Bliss. Chanel received some sad news – her friend Tanin was to move to Sydney at the end of the week. Kylie and I felt this may be a further blessing as we have had significant concerns about the influence of Tanin on Chanel. Despite this, it is hard for our little girl and we are sorry for her emotional hurt. Chanel has had to say goodbye a lot in the past couple of years.
Annie discovered a new favourite word – YUCK. She loves to say it, and emphasises the “ck” sound with throaty enthusiasm. As the “ck” is pronounced Annie sounds as though she is making an effort to remove unwanted items from her digestive tract. It makes us laugh.
Wednesday Abbie went to girl guides with her friend Carley. Abbie has decided she wants to be a guide. We’re excited for her, and she is enthralled with the experience. Our children are so different. I cannot imagine Chanel as a girl guide, but it suits Abbie beautifully.
Thursday was another day of project evolution for me. Major inroads were made into my research, and a seeming eternity of new doors was presented for me to open. I’ll just open one at a time and proceed with caution. Kylie took Ella and Annie to the lake for bike riding. Ella was delighted! Annie played with Kylie’s purse and left it on the ground, unbeknownst to Kylie. Several hours later Kylie realised and returned. The purse was gone. Prayers were uttered. Faith was answered. A message on our machine from a kind stranger informed Kylie that the purse was safe. Kylie went to a craft night at a local store and has been inspired – perhaps obsessed – with the crafty creativity bug. I thought my cycling was a drain on time and money… but it’s nothing compared with the plans Kylie has! It is wonderful to see her come alive at the prospect of doing things she loves. I am scared about how much it may cost though. Kylie seems most taken with quilting which seems to be about the most expensive craft she could choose. And I signed on with a cycling coach to see if I can learn some useful things and utilise my training time better.
Friday I had the biggest breakthrough of my week. I stumbled across a PhD dissertation, unpublished, that gives me great hope for my studies, and it is likely to inform my work immensely. A student has studied the concept of “calling” as it relates to career in more depth than anyone previously. Her thesis won several awards for excellence. At the conclusion of her thesis, she calls for others to study “calling” in other life domains. It appears that her work may become the bedrock upon which I build my study into calling for parents.
Friday night Kylie went out for dinner with 9 friends – Greek; the dinner, not the friends. Kylie said it was so good that we’ll have to go back together. I like that idea. Going anywhere with Kylie makes me happy – except shoppingL. Chanel organised a surprise farewell party for her friend, Tanin. While Kylie was at dinner I looked after five nine and ten year olds as well as our three little ones. Amazingly the night went perfectly. In fact it went so well I even got to enjoy a game of football on the television.
Annie has begun to develop in two important ways, typical for a baby around the age of two. She has experienced an incredible word explosion. Her vocabulary has increased ten-fold overnight. Her comprehension is still limited, but she is parroting everything she hears. Additionally, Annie has discovered her temper. She relishes every opportunity to assert herself and her desires. She pulls her sister’s hair, pinches, and even bites when she doesn’t get her way. It’s amazing to watch an almost two-year-old beat up her five and six-year-old sisters.
Saturday we farewelled Chanel’s friends and began house hunting. We hope to buy a home for our family and stop renting. It was a good experience, although our preference for good quality neighbourhoods left us wanting a little as we inspected homes. We can afford very reasonable homes in poorer neighbourhoods but cannot afford even modest homes in the nicer areas. Despite this, some possibilities may be on our horizon that offer particular promise, so we approach the new week with optimism.
We finished house hunting and Kylie raced me to my bike race. Chanel chose to rest after her big night with friends. I was supposed to ride in C grade but only a small bunch of men were riding in B grade. I coaxed another C grade friend into riding in B grade with me to “see how we go.” We were a little nervous, and they looked super strong. Somehow, after riding 67kms, much of it into a strong SW wind, I managed to place third. I don’t know how. It was the toughest ride of my life. But it felt fabulous and I was thrilled. We raced home and I changed so we could attend Alma and Claire’s engagement party. After a short visit (around 90 minutes) we left early to meet mum and dad. They had driven down to be with us following their nearly five weeks in Europe. It was great to be with them. We ate pizza together and talked. I enjoy being with them. Logan and Paris also came along and thought it was a treat to be with their cousins.
Sunday, our most important day of the week. Prayers, faith, testimonies, covenants. It felt good to be at church even though I spent most of the meeting in the foyer nursing Annie. Her late night with nanny and poppy was intruding on our Sunday. I brought her home for a nap. It only lasted 20 minutes before a soiled nappy woke her. Our afternoon was quiet as Kylie and I mulled over housing possibilities. It feels good to plan our future together. It’s only 7.45pm and I am exhausted – but smiling. We have lives richer than anything we could ever deserve, and we are grateful.
Pictures will be uploaded to the blog next week.
Sunday, 26 July 2009
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.
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.
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
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.
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.
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.
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