Beyond the Edge of Adventure

OK, so it's a bit late for my Christmas greeting. But it's only the day after, so it still counts, right? I just wanted to share a bit about the year that's passed and about what lies ahead. This year has been busy and at times quite difficult. I'd say there were more valleys than mountains, but on the whole, I think I've come out the other end stronger and learning to trust my faithful heavenly Father much more. We started our year with a positive pregnancy test for our fifth baby. That was scary and at times difficult to comprehend, but as the year progressed, we realised just how much God wanted this precious baby to be on earth with all the little miracles he performed along the way to make it my easiest pregnancy (no nausea, no fatigue until third trimester), my easiest labour (6 hours with only an hour and a half of active labour) and one of my most settled and calm babies (my eldest was by far and away the most settled!). Lara Julie arrived on Septemb...

Yesterday, I dropped four of our children with their grandparents for three nights. Since I had driven five hours that day, I hadn't had any wonderful ideas for dinner. Thankfully, my husband often does!   After I picked him up from work, this is where we went and what we ate!   It was a half hour drive from his work. We chatted on the way and I tried to figure out where we were going - it was a surprise and I adore surprises!   As we got further and further along on our trip, I realised I was tired. I was sick of the car and I just wanted to lie down and rest! I had been to the beach, so was sticky and sandy. I longed for a shower.   On the tip of my lips was the question, "Is it much further? I'm really tired." But I held back and reminded myself that my husband had spent time thinking about where to take me and had gone and purchased some items for dinner in an interesting-looking paper bag that reminded me of deli food - one of my favourite...

I didn't know all that much about spiritual warfare eight weeks ago. Now I know more. On October 14th, my seven-year-old son was baptised. It was higher than any other 'mountain top' experience I have ever had. Ever. Better than getting married, better than going to church camp. Better than the day he was born. I'd had baptism for him on my heart for about six months prior. I continually had that feather-brush thing going on in the back of my mind about having him baptised and becoming a christian. It felt weird. I didn't know how to approach talking to my own child about Jesus and I felt like a bit of a spiritual gumby. That's a terrible phrase, but it's how I felt. Like I was moving through wet cement to reach him. I prayed about it lots whenever it felt heavy on my heart and prayed for God's protection over him while I looked for any small opportunity to start 'the' conversation that is the single most important conversation one can ...

Rebellion: The action or process of resisting authority, control, or convention: "an act of teenage rebellion". I'm a rebel. Society tells me that marriage gets boring after a few years. Or it gets too hard. That loving one man as long as we both live is naive and silly. They say children are a burden and I should pop out two if I want to do 'the mummy thing' for myself and my husband for a bit, then get back to contributing to society by having a career. I heard someone who was being teased about 'meeting a nice girl and settling down' ridicule the person teasing them, saying, "Conform! Conform!". Seriously? I was 27 at the time and I knew NO 27-year-olds who had two babies and had been married for 6 years. The majority of 27-year-olds I knew were 'having a life' - drinking, partying, working on their careers, sleeping around........y'know. The usual expectations of people under 30! It's amazing what passes for 'ha...

A lot of people say we should leave this world in great shape for our children (and use it to force people to wash and reuse lunch bags, but that's another issue for another day). Some say we should leave children who are in great shape for our world. I think both are true. But I think that leaving our world in great shape is not just about trees and clean water. I want my children to grow up in a world where it's OK to speak the truth. I want my children to grow up in a world informed about what really goes on. That hope is dimming by the day, but I am not going to give up on truth. It needs to be spoken and shared. Anyone who has an issue with "Well that's your truth, what about MY truth?" is coming dangerously close to moral relativism (individual morals/ethics for different individuals). Moral relativism is dangerous. I want my children to grow up in a world where Iran does NOT have a nuclear weapon and where girls around the world are not trafficked fo...

I've had a few people lately allude to the fact that my previous career as a teacher may have equipped me to know how to handle my children better than if I wasn't. I don't think that's technically correct. I think that it has little effect on parenting skills, really. It's more about being passionate about your family and being interested in who your children are than a teaching degree. However , there are a few little things that I have learned from being a teacher that I use with my own children. So I thought I'd share them here and maybe start some suggestions........ ........and I need to say firstly that I am far from the perfect parent. I make mistakes every single day. Losing my temper is generally a daily event. I'm lazy and stuggle with keeping all the balls in the air - sometimes, the balls just drop and I have to scrabble around madly to get things going again. Rolling my eyes and saying, "I'm not interested in your dobbing!!!" ...

I looooove desserts (who doesn't?), but with my dietary requirements it can be hard to find a dessert that I have no reaction to. Recently, I remembered a great rice dessert my mum used to cook, so I made up my own version of it! I thought I'd share it with you because a) it's cheap, b) it's yummy, c) it's easy-peasy to make and d) it's filling for hungry children! This is it: Cook rice in a rice cooker (it's stickier and more 'pudding-y'), while still hot add 2-3 tbsp of brown sugar depending on the quantity of rice and some chopped up fruit (we've tried pineapple, pear and apple so far). Serve. Other versions: To the recipe above, with pineapple and brown sugar, add marshmallows for an extra treat! Cook rice, add some condensed milk - not so healthy, but a great emergency dessert! Cook rice, add maple syrup and fruit. Cook rice, add sugar and fruit. Cook rice, add golden syrup or honey and fruit. It's probably not everyone...

If there is one thing I hate, it's apathy. And sickening weakness that hides behind euphamisms like politeness and tolerance. Lately, in our country, we have witnessed a most disgusting campaign by our Prime Minister. This is the Prime Minister who has overseen more debacles than any other PM and has lied to stay in power. And now this ridiculous temper-tantrum about the fact that she's a woman and her opponent is a man. Politics has become (from both sides, though with more drama and deceit from the 'left') a ridiculous circus and a stinking, fetid, dirty game. It's not good enough and Australians deserve better. The government should fear the people, not the other way around. When this topic is brought up, the usual response is, "Well, I don't really get into politics." or some other apathetic comment like, "Oh, both sides of politics are as bad as each other." Seriously? Governments are so important. They make laws concerning...

I'm feeling like a real blogger today! One of my favourite blogs is written by Robyn at slightlymoredepththanateaspoon.blogspot.com.au and she has tagged me to answer some questions after she herself answered some questions from her own blog friends! The rules: * Each person must post 11 things about themselves. * Answer the questions the person who tagged you created, then make 11 questions of your own for the people you tag. * Choose 11 people and link them in your post. * Go to their page and tell them. * No tag backs. SO....because I'm really excited to be included, I'm going to join in......here are Robyn's 11 random questions....and my answers. 1.  Your house burns down in the middle of the night. Who is the first person you call? 000, of course.....then m y husband if he's on night shift! Otherwise, probably my mum. 2. If you could have anything to eat or drink right now, what would it be? Rib fillet steak, chips, salad and a very large hot choc...

Lately, I've been missing my husband. No, he hasn't been away - he's just gone back to shift work after nine weeks of 9-5 (ish), Monday to Friday work and the one week he had off after Lara was born. It's a weird feeling, missing someone's company when you eat with them, sleep next to them and share the same house with them! It wasn't so much going back to shift work that bothered me, in fact I looked forward to it. I don't know if you get the same feeling, but things just didn't feel.......right. Fair enough, I've just had a baby and I've had a few things going on that have been niggling me. I didn't really want to talk about it and it was easy to avoid - I never found the time. I was always busy with dinner, feeding a baby, seeing to children or tidying up...... Anyway. Things came to a head this week. My poor man came home from doing some grocery shopping for me. He forgot to ask for the chicken breasts from the butcher to be put...

With the arrival of my fifth baby just over two weeks ago, I returned home seven hours after the birth. I received many comments about how awesome it was that I'd done it. One of the words used was 'supermum'. I don't mind that. Seriously. We are all supermums - those of us that love being mums and work at being good parents.........and, as a human - of course I love receiving compliments! However, in my case the use of the word -I felt- implied that I'm fearless, tough and confident. I'm not. I returned home after seven hours because a) that was standard practice for the model of care I was receiving and b) my husband, mum and breastfeeding stuff was at home and as much respect as I have for hospital midwives, they are very busy and so can't provide anywhere near the care and attention that my husband and mum could. So really, it was nothing to come straight home. It was easier for me than being left on my own with a new baby to cope! And with ...

OK, I'll admit it. I'm having blog withdrawals. Mainly, it's my late pregnancy thing that I usually get. Feeling big, tired and odd. My husband's away for five weeks. I'm OK. I've been blessed with beautiful helpers who are coming to stay with me to help me care for my family while he's away. I'm loving having them around. But I'm not enjoying my man being away. I'm not upset, just not enjoying it. We're in the midst of making big decisions and my brain is tired from the strain of always weighing up consequences and possibilities. Nothing is comfortable. Even though this is 'home', I feel odd. Out of sorts. Misplaced. Nothing fits and nothing seems right. Staying busy is helping and I think my nesting instinct is kicking in (oh, alright, lets face it - I pretty much nest all the time!) so I'm organising, tidying, fluttering around watering plants, seeing to chooks, baking or researching stuff on the net (no, seriously ...

.......I've not had time to blog lately: I was busy and now I'm just tired! 'Twinkle' is due in less than 8 weeks (whether we actually see 'Twinkle' on time is another matter - my babies are always late!) and I'm starting to feel reeeeeeeally big. I waddle. It's a big deal to pick up stuff off the floor and bath children! I've been having a bit of a pity party, as well, to be honest. My man goes away for five weeks on Monday and while he's home on weekends, he'll be doing a very intense course! I'm rather jealous for his attention, so I always hate it when he goes away and does something interesting or intense. My three year old is driving me crazy. He does the silliest things. Last night he was squeezing toothpaste out onto his finger and wiping it on the toilet roll next to the toilet. Seriously. WHY? He hasn't figured out poos go in the toilet yet but he's generally OK with wees. Every day is starting to feel like a slog wi...

I am at home. Waiting for Ben to finish work. It struck me today how much my life has changed since he joined the QAS exactly 6 years ago. It's been really, really hard work to adjust to his job - probably more for me than him (having a young family hasn't helped!). It got me thinking about what I wish I'd known back then what I know now. So here are my tips for wives who have shift working husbands and young families! 1) The first thing my man said about his job was "There are no guarantees". When he said that, I felt like weeping - I'm an organised person and a creature of habit. This meant that he could be home at 5:30pm, 8pm or midnight any day of the week. It's true - so never, ever expect him to be home on time. Sometimes he will be home on time and on those days you get a nice surprise! But on the days he is late, you won't be disappointed because you're not expecting him on time. 2) Carry on with what the family's doing and incl...

......today was an AWESOME! That's what I love about God! We have always found that when you're having a rough time, God sends a few easy or pretty wonderful days in the mix to give you a  bit of a boost. We found it all last year through our move from Roma to Oakey with a sleepless baby and three young children! Today we were together as a family all day......that's always a great start to a fantastic day. We watched our children and their friends run in the athletics carnival, then went shopping for camping gear and other bits and pieces. Got home exhausted, but managed a nice dinner and dessert. Got an appointment tomorrow to get my diet stuff sorted! Full belly, full heart, heavy eyes. Life is good (or at least looking better than it did this time last night!).

Well, I think I can officially call today a challenging day. My dietary issues have been playing up big time. One of my favourite hobbies -eating- has been pretty much destroyed by my body having a reaction to most things I eat. I can't figure out what's wrong and it's SO frustrating! Today I ate allergy-free museli with rice milk, a banana, rice with (good) leg ham, cooked mushrooms and leftover roast beef with veggies. No gluten. No dairy. No sugar. No nuts. No preservatives (or very, very little). And I still spent most of the day feeling bloated, slightly nauseated, refluxy, tired and blowing my nose. Yick........so I am booking an appointment with both a GP and a dietitian this week! I met with my midwife today and the baby is well - hooray! My iron levels are not OK, sadly. This is the first time EVER in five pregnancies that I've had low iron. So excuse me if I'm shocked for a bit because I'm NOT supermumma! My blood pressure was low...ish. My fundal he...

So, a week ago on Sunday evening, having packed my husband off for his second night shift in a row and while the children were finishing dessert and cleaning their teeth, I got a rather scary phone call. It was from Ben, who, in short, said he'd been in a car accident. After feeling my stomach sink like a cold rock had been dropped into it and my heart pouding in my ears, I managed to ask where he was, which was only 500m from our home. I hung up straight away and herded all the bewildered children into the car, ignoring their insistent questions, which started with, "Where are we going?", "Why do I need shoes on?", "Where is Daddy?", "Is Daddy OK?" and finally, "Dad's been in a car accident, hasn't he?". How did they know ? Ben was and still is OK. He's bumped, bruised and very shaken, but OK. The other driver received a slightly bumped nose and his car a wrecked tyre, a slightly smashed in front right panel and b...

I often feel like giving up. I feel like I'm getting nowhere and that my children are more interested in wearing me out than listening to my training and guidance. I often struggle with discouragement over an idea that I've had that hasn't worked. Some days, I wonder why I even open my mouth to remind them to put things away, clean their teeth, not speak to me that way or to be nice to their siblings. But then I think about giving up. Just letting them do what they want, as long as they're not killing each other. And do you know what gets me? Not the fact that if I withdraw my efforts in training and guiding my children they will turn into selfish, spoilt people who end up isolated by society (although I don't particularly like that scenario). It's more what they will think and feel when they realise that I just don't care any more. That their own mother, the one who brought them into the world and loved them before they were even concieved has decided ...

Lately, my youngest daughter, Neve, has gone through a bit of a change. She looks a bit different and she's doing more toddler-ish things like trying to dress herself, brush her own hair and of course, toddle! She was always a beautiful baby, but I must say I am enjoying this transformation -as I have with all of my children- from a sweet baby bundle to a real little person with a budding personality. One of the sweetest bits of this transformation that our children have gone through is their bonding with their father, my awesome husband! Ben is the best Dad I have ever seen - honest. No bias! He loves our children before they are even out of me - I know this from the way he puts his head on my tummy and speaks to our unborn child. I know it from the way he holds them, talks to them and laughs with them (and sometimes at them) when they're newborn. I know it from the way he manages to play with all our children simultaneously no matter what their age. I know that he loves the...