Disappointment

Well, it seems the Lord does have other plans... both families that were looking for accommodation have both failed to get the house they felt was just right for them... and on one occasion, the house advertised was suddenly 'not available'... Hmm...perhaps it was the fact each family has 4 or more children..., but why would you advertise a house for rent (suitable for larger family) then when someone applies suddenly it is 'unavailable?' Well, we trust that God has better plans and so we continue to pray for both families who are feeling a little disappointed. David did another viewing of a house but unfortunately the asking price is a little out of their range... beginning to wonder if it might help to put an article about it in our local paper - to make people aware that there are sincere needs of our immigrant friends right here locally.... Still thinking, still praying...

... And while I have been quite incapacitated today (intense back pain from twisting the wrong way) I have been so very blessed. My beautiful mother-in-law has come and cleaned dishes, read to the children, brought in my washing and a stack of other things while I visited a physio., .... My hubby has rubbed my very sensitive back and even collected Owen for school... Joshua hung out the clothes for me, set the table and picked up the items on the floor I just knew I couldn't reach without sharp pain...While I feel helpless and a bit impatient for this nasty spasm in my muscles to pass quickly, I thank the Lord for the beautiful hands that have helped me through my day.

A glance at our week

Here are a few bits & bobs from my week. My hubby, currently down to only a few hours work left for the month (and currently working on his CV) has been helping some good friends (two Sudanese families who have struggled to find accommodation) to find new rental homes. He has been helping them pull their paperwork together (seems like the Real Estate required a huge amount...) and been visiting houses with them.... a trip down memory lane of our own search for accommodation in a foreign country a few years ago... We have been praying these wonderful people would be able to stay nearby... and that the believers from one family would be able to minister to the other family... Nice to think about how it ought to work out from a human perspective but God doesn't work according to our plans. He may well have something entirely different in mind. We continue to pray...

Have finished off a birthday gift for a very special nephew... a drawstring library bag (recycled Dave's old jeans - don't worry Evonne, they had a good scrub first!)

We spent a day (packed up the homeschool books - guess it isn't really home school when you're not at home??) with a friend who was hungry for company, being restricted to home with her epilepsy.

Have also enjoyed some wonderful company for lunch today (and as per usual the camera gets forgotten while I engage in conversation and racing to dirty nappies...)

And of course the usual things like washing, cleaning, doing school run and homeschooling... posting off things I've sold on ebay (hoping desperately not to make any mistakes and send off the wrong parcel to wrong address:)

Oh, and I have almost finished giving an old desk (neighbours were throwing away) a new face lift. I have taken before photos but thought I ought to wait until it is all finished this time - rather than have you waiting months for the after photo!

The highlight of my week has been viewing Fireproof - a movie created by a church in US about marriage. Really speaks about the sacrifice required in marriage to really love your spouse. I must confess I have watched it twice now.

Another hightlight has been studying about Moses and how God used Moses after his loads of excuses (Moses is rather bold to blurt them all out to Almighty God Himself). Moses was not a young man when he returned to Egypt. In the text, Moses is initially described as well-spoken and well trained and then 40 plus years later, totally different living situation, he is coming out with excuses about his being slow of speech his inadequacies etc (I guess the slow paced life of being a shepherd out in the wilderness had some impact here).... and yet God uses him. It has been great to mull over the story, to think over how God interacts with Moses and even provides Aaron to do the talking on Moses' behalf....

So there you have a few little snippets from my week.

Oh, and could you pray with me about my hubbies work situation? While I am really enjoying having him around and could do with a few more months of it;) He will need an income sooner or later...

hiding wires

Wires, wires everywhere. I believe my maternal grandfather was renowned for them... and yes, my hubby likes his technology too...

But what to do with the wires? I am constantly trying to dream up ways of tucking them away, finding ways to make them less obvious/tidy and yet able to be accessed when my beloved comes looking for that cable...

Well I was delighted to pick up these baskets (yes, my trusty Lifeline store). Serving dual purposes... to store bits and pieces, though more importantly to hide those nasty wires (...oops forgot to move one wire before taking this photo)

PLEASE... if any of you know of other creative, aesthetically ok ideas for hiding wires/making them less obvious, please send them my way...

Garlic Basil Butter

Just thought I'd share a little family favourite. When we have guests I often find myself making garlic bread to go with the meal.

I especially like to make garlic basil butter for the bread - always seems to go down well...

I simply soften butter (the real kind) and chop up basil and add crushed garlic. I mix it well and then spread it onto the bread (we like the Aldi turkish bread - often keep some in freezer). Then I simply wrap it up in foil and heat. Whenever we run out Joshua is the first to notice..."Awwhh Mum, I only had 3 pieces, what happened to it all?"

This time I decided the most economical way to do it was to use up the basil before it went wilted and sad in the fridge. I made a stack of this butter, put into small containers and put them in the freezer. This way I don't have to run to the shop to buy basil (my garden's basil is still small and wimpy) when I think of making it again... and better still it is ready to go!

What little family favourites do you have? Any tricks/short cuts for preparing meals ahead for guests?

side aches!

Here are some humorous things I have jotted down recently (the sort of funny things my kids come out with - that I just don't want to forget) I thank the Lord for children that are sometimes just so funny they make my sides ache. It kind of makes those disastrous nappy changes kind of pale into insignificance for a moment or two...

Some funny things from Joshua (8)

"Too much sugar makes bad protein!"

"I probably don't realise it, but I think I'm getting fatter!"

and Rosa when he put his shoes on wrong:

"Owie, dat's da wong way!"

and looking crossly at Bonnie (dog we are minding)

"Bonnie, do da barking over dat (points to side of house) way!" Ah, I just chuckled - yes, please Bonnie, could you bark over the other side of the yard so it is not so loud? Hee hee

...and this one made for one humorous shower... yes, David came and relayed this one to me outside the shower door - obviously it tickled his fancy... sure made for the most humorous shower I've ever had...

Rosa: Daddy, sore toe! (points to her little toe)

Daddy:Did Josh bite it?

Rosa:No!

Daddy: Did Owen bite it?

Rosa: No!

Daddy: Did Daddy bite it?

Rosa: NO!

Daddy: Who bit it?

Rosa: Mummy bit it!

that was met with a humorous uproar from Daddy and Josh, and a big grin from Owen... I guess she figured she could blame the sore toe on Mummy while she was away having a shower;)

..two year old humour!

**and yes, Evonne & Angela, that is my toe in the picture:) I put it there especially for you!

homeschooling link

Here's another great link for teaching Onomapotoeia (yes, I had to look this up, too...) which helps with poetry/creative writing.

Ah love a bargain!

My children have been exhausting our puzzle supply. Rosa seems to sit and enjoy puzzles for quite a while (nice while I am working with Josh on school work). I was thrilled to find some great puzzle bargains while visiting our local second hand shop recently:

Two Ravensburger puzzles (these ones for Josh). I took a bit of a risk - hoping all the puzzle pieces would be in the box. They were - yay! I payed a huge $2 each for these

Then a simple puzzle for the younger two ($1):

And this box of wooden nuts and bolts. Brand new - $3

So for $8 we have a few activities up our sleeve.

Don't you just enjoy a bargain?

Finally!!

Finally the promised after photos (refering to post about post natal depression)... it has been so long I thought I really should put the before photo in again:)

Before:

After:

I would really like this to be the during photo - hoping to get some more decent veggies growing, though I cannot claim to be much of a gardener... oh well, can just try my best... and just to prove that some things grow in our garden (besides weeds) ...

Bok Choy (which looks like I should pick before the bugs eat any more)

Tom Thumbs

beans

And my favourite - figs. Lucious, yummy Biblical figs! I almost cursed our fig tree after the insects got to it but have been amazed at how the figs have coped and found another one this morning - soft and delicious...

Nice when you actually have enough from the garden to put on a plate:)

we're a funny lot!

We have enjoyed some company recently with rellies -

spiderman Caleb:

... and a neighbour

Joshua decided to dress up our very polite and obliging neighbour:)

We have really enjoyed lots of visits from our neighbour. She has even taught Joshua some maths (quick little tricks to multiplying by 19) and recently brought over her newly learned skills and taught Joshua some first aid. Having just done the Red Cross first Aid course she had Josh practising with bandages and pretending that some item had pierced the skin and was protruding from the arm (now, why, oh why is this Joshua's favourite part?)

Yesterday she joined our family and Grandma for a swim at the local pool. She has joined us for games of Uno, four-in-a-row and even bedtime Bible stories with the children. Friendships like this really enrich our lives and we thank the Lord for Aparna.

What a blessing to have others join us in homeschooling, too!

The water cyle - fun style!

For any out there who are tackling the Water Cycle in Science this is a fun way to learn

A rather humourous, catchy song. Unfortunately I couldn't find the lyrics on internet so we just paused it in small steps and wrote it out... can type it up if any are wanting it...

Youtube has been a great help with various lessons (I always view ahead of time as there can be some rubbish out there too...) there are lessons on parts of speech, explanations of the digestive system, fun recipes... you name it. Nice to have a little variety in our day - and lesson comes from someone other than Mum - sometimes others explain things in a different/more helpful way...

Enjoy

ps - not sure why there are little comments that come up on screen while viewing it... seems odd...

Sago

Here is a simple, dairy free, and fun, filling, gooey dessert.

I simply used the recipe from the back of the packet (minus sugar - thought golden syrup was enough - I also roughly multiplied quantities):



Lemon Sago pudding

• 1 packet of sago


• juice of 2/3 lemons


• lemon rind, grated
  
• golden syrup to taste


• 7-8 cups of water

Place sago and water into saucepan. Cook over medium heat and boil until translucent, stirring occasionally. Somtimes when looks almost transparent I turn off heat and just cover saucepan with lid

Remove from stove and add lemon juice, rind & golden syrup

Pour into glass dish

Refrigerate

Ta Dah!


and best of all it seems to go down well (in our house) fills the tum and I think the packet of sago was a bit under $2.00! Recipe made a wopping bowl and still had enough to fill a smaller bowl too...

** would make a fun party food for a science theme - could be coloured blue or green and served in something that looks a little like a test tube ;) Think it would be a hit with those that like wacky!

More bits and bobs

Here are some more recent bits and pieces:

1. David and I would highly recommend this African restaurant for any who are in the vicinity...

I must admit the thought of going to an African restaurant somehow made me feel the evening would be noisy, the food a little unusual to my taste buds... I was pleasantly surprised at how the food tasted (very yummy - the cooking actually had an Italian influence as Eritrea's history tells of an Italian invasion...) and of the atmosphere of the place. Admittedly we were sitting outside the restaurant which probably made it a little quieter (though it was no noisier than any other restaurant) and there were a number of groups coming after us...

Interesting how the restaurant began, too but I'll let you read all that if you wish at the link above

2. This is what I did to decorate the gifts I made below.... kind of got carried away with the alphabet stamps, didn't I?

3. And just a little snapshot from our weekend. For some reason, Owen just loves finding beanies around the house and popping them on. It doesn't seem to matter that we had a very hot, muggy weekend... just likes his beanie!

Poor Brutus died and was buried. For any who don't recall - we kind of ended up with a pet blue tongue after it was attacked a little by the dog we are looking after. Josh made it his dear pet, but alas the wound must have become infected or it was all just too much for poor Brutus...

I smiled this morning when I went to water the garden to see this little tombstone(sorry it is a bit fuzzy)... my guess is the little mark you see on Brutus in the picture is the wound that ultimately lead to his death. Poor fellow!

on a positive note:

We also made some yummy frozen banana ice cream (only ingredient being bananas and a tiny bit of lemon juice) Just froze some sliced up bananas (to which we added a tiny bit of lemon juice) then put them through our juicer. We popped it back in the freezer and - wa-lah! banana ice-cream. The kids loved it. Would post a picture except that the ice-cream vanished before I remembered to take a photo. Guess we'll just have to make some more ;)

Thankyou Lord for precious ones around me!