Rundown

Here's an overview of recent life under our loud, wild, chaotic roof we call home,

• Our Korean exchange student arrived last Mon. and is staying for a month. He is 9, on the other side of the world from the place he calls home but has very quickly become what I now understand to me the typical 9 year old who loves to wrestle, make noise, compete in everything , loose things, laugh and laugh and laugh some more and knows how to have fun. Joshua and Jae are having a blast and I love to see them playing Jae's traditional Korean board game, chasing each other around the back yard (not inside:) and enjoying each other's company. I pray for Josh to adjust to 'life without Jae' once again when Jae heads home - it is NOT going to be easy!


• I am mostly fully recovered from a horrible, nasty, extremely painful "wry neck" which managed to keep me hopelessly looking on as my beautiful mother-in-law did all my housework, cooking, etc. for a couple of days until I could actually turn my head a fraction with no pain. I have learned that I have a lot to learn about suffering silently - I admit I am a wuss and tears come at momentary, short-lived episodes of pain.


• The household is extremely active and busy with four children in it at the moment - two who love to race through and roar like lions;) while I must constantly try and lull them outdoors and find something occupying enough while also racing to the tub and wash off soiled accidents from the younger two. Ah, but you already know the norm!


• I have thoroughly enjoyed reading 'Lies Women Believe and the Truth that sets them Free' which has challenged me (very appropriate timing I might add) to recognise lies that are easy to get caught up into (ie. "I can't handle x" or "I can't help the way I feel" etc. or "if my circumstances were different...") and to replace them with Scripture. Just love it! Just love it - now to apply it ...;( Must say I agree with 99% of the book - now any cheeky readers out there will just have to read it to find out the other 1% :)


• Have been racing around to what feels like kazillion (errhhh... ummm... perhaps that is exaggeration??) appointments. Fact is, I am expecting! Did you catch that? My faithful blog readers - yes my tummy is growing to the state that it will no longer be secret though I have kept it so for as long as I thought I could. I am joyful at the life inside but feeling completely overwhelmed at the same time:) Another reason why the above book has helped me immensly... reminding me that His Grace is sufficient!

So that kind of summarises life around here of late...

Death of cursive writing

Thought some of you might be interested in this article about the death of cursive writing in schools...

Must admit that I mostly use printing, unless I am in a more, shall we say, fancy frame of mind :) Do like the curls and fancy do's that occasionally show themselves on Charles Dickens movies or the like:) Not sure old movies with modern print would work... but what about cursive style with all the curly-swifty, whooply-do's in modern society?

My mother recalls spending considerable time at school doing 'penmanship' lessons (in USA) and I've only ever known her to use a flowing cursive style to this day...

Interested in your thoughts... do you think there is a place for cursive today or is it old hat?

Smell your baby!

In Joshua's Science program we have been studying bats and all sorts of fascinating things about them. I never realised just how crucial they are to farmers - as they play a huge roll in pollinating bananas, mangoes, and a host of other yummy fruit trees.

Having learned about how mother bats use their sense of smell to find their babies, we did an experiment. In the experiment Joshua had to choose a smell he liked (tropical blossom body fragrance :) and then had to find 19 more scented items from around the house (balsamic vinegar, toothpaste, vanilla, etc.) I numbered cotton balls with each scent and Joshua, wearing a blindfold (this was only because some items had colour as well as scent) had to find his tropical blossom baby amongst them all! I kept the list of each scent hidden away to reveal at the end...

Some smells were pleasant.. bringing to mind sweet meadows of honeysuckle...

Some nearly brought tears.. perhaps the smell of bonjella reminded him of the pain of cutting teeth;)

Others were plain awful , like the smell of balsamic vinegar on Daddy's salads!

I wonder if he could still find his smell in a bat colony of a couple hundred bats?

There are certain times of the day where I can most definitely smell my baby!

mushy melting mallows

Chocky-mallow biscuits

Here is the recipe for these biscuits. I just added a marshmallow to each while they were still hot from the oven. Best eaten warm and gooey!

I must confess to having a weak, gooey spot in my heart for mushy marshmallows (must come from being married to a mush-ball!)

My friend from highschool made these many moons ago and here I am trying them out on our Bible study friends all these years later...

ooohhh... just wondered if i might have made these before and posted them on my blog... think I need to organise my blog a little better so i can find out... ;)

give it your all, Owie

Over the holidays my building contractors put their materials to work:

Owen let out a gutsy song on the bus to his pacemaker check at the hospital... Owen sings loud (rarely in tune;) but always joyfully on such outings. It makes me smile to know he enjoys life so! We are never inconspicuous quiet passengers ;) ah, but who would be when you could be making so many new friends!

For soaking in

I have enjoyed these verses of Scripture so much recently... soak them in!

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all thing in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Ephesians 1v18-23

I just love all that He has done and does!

Mammoth of a hairstyle

Rosa awoke with her hair in a fountain the other day. I looked at her and looked but I knew I had seen that hair-do somewhere before...

And then the next day on reflecting I remembered Ellie (the last remaining Mammoth) from Ice Age II and it all came to me.... (Sorry I am slow, I know)

Don't worry, I didn't loose any sleep over it !

Ingredient eater

Owen came home with his student report today. I just thought this comment was so funny - worth sharing....

Under the title of cooking the comment read:

'Owen enjoys the cooking program, though requires close supervision to prevent him eating ingredients before the product is finished'

Ah, must say I let out a hearty chuckle at that one!

Possums, synchronised couch play and mandos!

At lunchtime today we were sitting down to eat when we heard quite a ruckus coming from the garage. My brave Dave decided to take a peek and after much investigation (another ruckus) he discovered the culprit was this rather voluptuous beady-eyed possum...

Now to lure him out of our ceiling and convince him to make his home somewhere else !

...and some humour from those who are welcome in our home:

the latest tryouts for the 2012 Olympic games... synchronised couch play! (and no, seriously I didn't set this up - just happened to have the camera ready at the right time)

Other things we did on the weekend...Juiced up some fruit before Daddy and Josh brought the next load home from the markets!

David pruned a few branches to stop the nasty bird deposits from landing on my washing - that's my hero! Oh and here he is stopping to pose for his wife - as you do when you are in the middle of landing a huge branch on the ground!

David and Josh picked a big bowl of delicious mandarines from our lil'

tree out back - I do get so excited when even I (a very dodgy gardener) can

see some home grown fruit grace our table.... but they didn't last on our table very

long, I can assure you... fruit bats that we are!

Thank you Lord for little pleasures, blessings and fun moments!

Oh, and for answered prayers!

Andy - mentioned in previous post is doing much better (still has some radiation treatment to endure but worst seems over for now) and she and her fiance are now married - were married in the hospital on Saturday. I have been encouraged by their dedication to each other and sacrificial desire to be be there 'in sickness and in health'... They certainly had to start practicing this so early in their life together. May God's abundant Grace be felt by them both!

family

More family photos:

My beautiful sister-in-law, Beth with her nephew Benjamin!

Three brothers!

My handsome enjoying some time with Uncles and cousins!

My cute babies!