Number two

Now, I know it's been a long time since I wrote anything, with time, inclination, and sleep deprivation all standing against me. But I'm back. Kind of... :D

So, a brief update.

We have left Melbourne. For good. (Sorry all you Melbournites, but Victoria is not the place to be)

We are back near Moree, indeed, living in the very same house that we lived in two to three years ago. The second house on the property is undergoing heavy duty renovations, and when it is finished, we will be living in it.

And, baby No. 2 has arrived! (Alright, so I kept the best till last... )

We have just gotten back from a five week stint in QLD, the aim of which was to allow Cherith to have baby number 2 without having to deal with the rural hospitals, most of which couldn't have even taken her as a maternity patient, because she had had a cesarean last time around, which technically makes her 'high risk'...

So, little Josiah Nathaniel was born in the same hospital that Katherine was born in two and a half years ago. Location, location, location. QLD is the best state in Australia, so our children may as well have QLD on their birth certificates!

Isn't he just gorgeous?!

He was born on the 4th of August (over a month ago already?!?), with no cesarean needed this time around! That's the good news. He was born not breathing, due to his airways being blocked with mucus and whatever else. Heart attack time. For me that is... I had no idea how scary it can be to look at your newborn child, who is not breathing, to watch the hospital staff working on him, aspirating him, tying to clear out his throat, etc, and wonder if he was going to be alright. Admittedly it had been 36 hours since I'd slept more than ten minutes, but I think even with a good night's sleep under my belt I would still have been more than a little bit nervous. The hospital staff were great though. They were very calm and efficient. No panic or anything like that. Within five minutes after birth he was breathing more or less on his own, but those five minutes were probably the longest five minutes I ever want to go through!

But all is well that ends well. Little Josiah is healthy, mostly happy, drinks like a fish, is growing like a weed, getting nice little rolls of baby fat, and seems to be doing as well as possible.

Katherine is a doting older sister, who loves nothing more than holding the baby. She smothers him in attention at times, and when she prays, never neglects to thank God for the baby.

So, our quick trip to QLD ended up being a five week trip, with Cherith needing some extra time to recover before she could travel, and indeed, before she could even be up and about, looking after two kids, and trying to run a household while I go back to work. Thankfully some work found me in QLD, and with my mum happy and able to help Cherith out, I was able to get some work in while Cherith got the rest she needed.

But now our little family of four is back in NSW, I am back at work (about to leave for work actually), and Cherith is doing much better than she was. Life can go back to normal, at least, as normal as possible with two kids. Spring is coming, the weather is getting warmer, and we have clear blue skies and sunshine almost every day. Life is good :)

A few months of my life

It has been as close to a year as can be, since I last wrote a word on my blog. It's been a very busy twelve months, but I'm still keen to keep my blog updated from time to time.

I'm not going to try to cover all that's happened in the last year. I'd still be writing this time next year.

Briefly, we went to Queensland for a month after Christmas. Queensland will always be home for me, even if I am living on the other side of the country. But it was awesome to go back, spend a month working with my brother who is a mechanic, and generally enjoy some scorchingly hot QLD weather.

Now, half a year later, we are almost about to go back to QLD for a week, in order to celebrate his marriage! So, once again, we will be trekking close to 2000km each way! It's going to be a long drive.

 The last 4 months I have been working away from home, about two and a half hours drive north of where we live. Coming home only for the weekends has been tough, and not something I am going to consider doing again for a very long time. We have been renovating a kindergarten there, extending the existing building and renovating it throughout. I thought I'd post up some pics so you can see what I do for a living most days...

This is the existing building after we had demolished the rear wall and framed some new walls. We have the long concrete pump there to lay the slab and footings for the extension.

There were a number of rooms inside that had to be demolished completely, and a few new rooms that had to be built, aside from the extension.

All the stumps and columns are in place, and the steel bearers are going into place.

Simply by looking at these photos, you might get the impression that we had nothing but lovely sunny weather. As a matter of fact, our job was made increasingly difficult because of the amount of wet weather we had, and delayed us by several weeks at least. Because we were working on such a limited time frame, we often had to push on in spite of the weather, working through rain, storms, frosts, and just about anything else. The only thing it didn't do while we were there, in spite of threatening to several times, was snow.

Laying the flooring sheets.

We often worked late hours in order to catch up to schedule, after rain had prevented us from making good progress, It was not a strange thing to still be working long after dark, (sunset here was about 5:00 - 5:30 for most of this job), and we were sometimes still at work at 7 or 8 PM.


We were all very keen to finish in the shortest time possible, as all of us had left families behind in order to do this job.


We stayed together in dormitory style accommodation, two bedrooms and a kitchen and bathroom in each section of the dormitory.

I have absolutely no photos of the middle part of the building project, as unbeknown to me, my SD card was having problems and did not save them.

After laying the floor, we started on framing the walls, putting up the roof trusses, rafters, battens, insulation, roof sheets, and the external cladding. Once the building was somewhat waterproof and dry inside, we could start putting plaster on the walls, sealing it, painting, and a myriad of other jobs that go into a completed building.

Close to the finished product. There are a few things left to do. A small amount of concrete to be poured, and lights inside to be installed. Probably about 2 days of work left there.

There is really no way of explaining how much work it takes to get a building to this stage.

After 4 months of pretty much non stop work, 10 + hours a day most of the time, 3 guys working full time on this project, plus subcontractors for electrical, plumbing, and painting, we have finally got the end of the project. The council is going to take care of landscaping, but the building itself is just about done. We are waiting for the interior lights to be delivered, as they were a custom order and were delayed. Apart from that, there is a little touch up work to be done, and it'll all be over.

Anyway, I'm not going to ramble much more. I know we went to bed exhausted, stiff and sore, more often than I'd care to admit, but I have to admit to a little satisfaction at the finished product. But I'm glad it's over, and glad I'll be able to spend a little more time with my family now.

Baby speak

Baby's make a lot of strange noises, and Katherine is no exception. But lately her sound are starting to gel into syllables, and perhaps into words....

Much to my chagrin though, the first word she has fixated on, is not, as I would have hoped, 'dada' or 'daddy', but rather, 'mama'.... She looks at Cherith, and bursts out 'MAMA'.... She has been experimenting with 'mamamamama', but not she is saying 'mama, and often when she is looking at her Mummy....

The up-and-coming virtuoso! :)

She is a cheeky rascal. She insists on walking places. And, with us holding her hands, she manages to get around. Her sense of balance needs a little honing, but she'll get there all too soon. Crawling still doesn't seem to be happening though.

Everything it seems, has to be subjected to the taste test. Her blanket, her toys, stray fingers, car keys, my unsuspecting feet, or her own feet. All get chewed. Her curiosity is unbounded. Everything has to be examined. Her favorite is still checking herself out in the mirror. No matter what tantrum she may be throwing, spotting her reflection is an instant ticket to gigglesville... She loves examining the inside of my mouth (a budding dentist perhaps), intrigued by my teeth and tongue....

This moment she is giggling at me, making up for all the times she is fussy and cranky. All in all she is a very happy little rascal.

Oh, and she likes playing the piano!

Laughter and tears

It's so much fun watching a baby's development....

    It never ceases to amaze me to see Katherine showing personality in some way or other. She is definitely getting to that age now where expressions really start showing in a hundred ways. I am discovering that she loves to laugh, (Who doesn't though), and even more importantly, loves to be tickled, thrown into the air (or at least given a zero gravity ride, which is as close to 'throwing her' as I get at the moment), teased, or splashed, flipped upside down, or given an airplane ride around the living area... Any one of those is usually enough to break her out in a cheeky grin at least, and most of them draw outright chuckles and laughter.

    I'm enjoying being home a little more often these days, (And potentially will be for a while, depending on which doors God opens or slams shut)... for the last 2 months I have gotten to see my little girl for no more than half an hour a day, and that usually just before bedtime, when, chances are she'd be tired, worn out, and a little on the cranky side. Now I get to see her when she wakes up in the morning and treats us to her cheeky good morning smirks. I get to see her play through the day, and watch the wheels turning in her head as she works things out. I get to watch her smile while she is taking a bath (Something she enjoys immensely, but only if she is holding the bath thermometer... Don't ask, lol, that's just the way it works).

    I get to see her grumpy and upset too. Sometimes she is overtired, or she's got a tummy complaint, or a tooth is being a bit sore, or any of the other things which add spice to the life of a six month old. There's plenty of blood, sweat and tears that go right along with being a parent. It's not the easy life. But it is the best life. Sometimes, when she has a really cranky session at 11PM, and nothing seems to help, I catch myself wondering whether it is all worth it. But then it takes just one of her smile to even the score for all the grumpy times she's ever had. That look of impish delight in her eyes is worth more than all the tears and crying. And when she laughs, that moment is pure joy. Nothing, ever, is more amazing than seeing her laugh... And so I tickle her lots... And give her 'airplane rides' through the house, and blow raspberries on her tummy, and anything else I can think of to have her in stitches. Because life is like that... There will always be the sad, miserable, sleepless nights, with wind, or colic, or teething.

But the happy times are created. They are intentional...

Katherine loves the bean bag... Maybe I should get her one so I can have mine back! :D

Little Children

Suffer the little children, and forbid them not to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of God.

The mothers, bringing their children to Jesus, eager for their little ones to receive a blessing from Him. The disciples, sending them away, telling them that Jesus had no time for the children.

But Jesus did. As a matter of fact, He showed by his actions that children were a priority with him. Much more a priority than preaching sermons anyway. What a lesson!

How often do parents dodge time with their children because they have more 'important' things to do? It is very easy for parents to imagine that what they have to do (working, cooking, cleaning, washing, church, etc) is much more important than time with their children... But is it? How can it be?

And then there are Jesus words, "For of such is the kingdom of heaven". Have you meet many children? There are some sweet ones, and then there are some that for one reason or another, go wrong. Why? When I read this text today, it dawned on me why.

These children, that Jesus referred to as children of heaven, had one thing that many, even most, children lack. They had mother's (maybe father's too!), who wanted Jesus's blessing for their children! To them, nothing, no sermon, not their daily duties, nothing, was more important than getting that blessing.

Of such mothers, come children fitted for the kingdom of heaven...

Of such fathers, come children fitted for the kingdom of heaven...

Bubsy

So... Little Miss Katherine is asleep.

I wonder if all parents get a little thrill when their baby is asleep? I know I do.

In the last week or two, we have discovered that what she needed was more sleep... She has, it seems been a little overtired, and so have we! Since my wife has been enforcing regular sleeps, she has been a MUCH happier baby. That that's all good.

She's also growing at a rate of knots. I swear she is going to grow quite tall, she has such long legs...

Yesterday we went to the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne, with two other young couples we know. It was amusing to see three prams, with three babies in them, all within a few weeks of each other in age. It didn't take long to work out, that between the three little bubs, at least one was awake. I'd hate to have triplets... For all that, all three behaved themselves very well... The parents on the other hand, lol.......

Katherine loves to sit up and look around. I think she takes after me, very curious about everything around her... She also loves to be held. But she definitely goes through phases where Daddy just won't do, it has to be a hug from Mummy. She's so adorable though. I'm hoping we don't spoil her rotten, because I'm afraid it would be only to easy. We don't want to raise a child that is used to getting their own way with everything. Spoilt children are only too common these days, and unfortunatly, once the damage is done in early childhood, it is almost impossible to reverse...

I think she's waking up. The hammock she is in is starting to sway and bounce, and she is calling out to her Mummy...  It is so cute to see her wrapped up in a blanket and snuggled in her little hammock. It seems to be her favorite method of sleeping though. And the best part is, it can be moved from room to room while she sleeps...
 

I'll never let go of your hand...

This is the other poem I have been meaning to post up. In the last few months, it has had a special significance for me... God never lets go. He wants nothing more than to support us through the tough times. We may miss the things He has planned for us, we make mistakes, and mess things up, but He is just wanting us to walk with Him...

I'll Never Let Go Of Your Hand

1.  I know what you've been hearing
I've seen you hide your fear
Embarrassed by your weaknesses
Afraid to let Me near
I wish you knew how much I long,
For you to understand
No matter what may happen, child
I'll never let go of your hand

2.  I know you've been forsaken
By all you've known before
When you failed their expectations
They frowned and closed the door
But even though your heart itself
Should lose the will to stand
No matter what may happen, child
I'll never let go of your hand

The life that I have given you
No one can take away
I've sealed it with my Spirit, Blood and Word
The everlasting Father
Has made His covenant with you
And He's stronger than the world you've seen and heard

3.  So don't you fear to show them
All the love I have for you
I'll be with you everywhere
In everything you do
And even if you do it wrong
And miss the joy I've planned
I'll never, never let go of your hand

The life that I have given you
No one can take away
I've sealed it with my Spirit, Blood and Word
The everlasting Father
Has made His covenant with you
And He's stronger than the world you've seen and heard

4.  So don't you fear to show them
All the love I have for you
I'll be with you everywhere
In everything you do
And even if you do it wrong
And miss the joy I've planned
I'll never, never let go of your hand
I'll never let go of your hand

Don Francisco

Calling the prodigal...

This is a really great poem, that shows God's yearning for the sinner to turn back... When I first heard it, it impressed me very deeply, and I thought I just had to share it... I'll be sharing another poem soon, by the same author, which is just as good, and equally inspiring....


1.  I loved you long before the time your eyes first saw the day
And everything I've done has been to help you on the way
But you took all that you wanted, then at last you took your leave,
And traded off a Kingdom for the lies that you believed

2.  And although you've chosen darkness with its miseries and fears
Although you've gone so far from Me and wasted all those years
Even though My name's been spattered by the mire in which you lie,
I'll take you back this instant, if you'll turn to Me and cry.

I don't care where you've been sleeping, I don't care who's made your bed
I already gave My life to set you free;
There's no sin you could imagine that is stronger than my love,
And it's all yours if you'll come home again to Me.

3.  When you come back to your senses and you see who's been to blame,
Remember all the good things that were yours with just My name;
Then don't waste another thought before you change the way you're bound
I'll be running out to meet you if you'll only turn around

I don't care where you've been sleeping, I don't care who's made your bed
I already gave My life to set you free;
There's no sin you could imagine that is stronger than my love,
And it's all yours if you'll come home again to Me.

Don Fransisco

Heard but not seen

It's 1:00 PM on Sunday the 9th....

I am physically, emotionally, and mentally drained and exhausted.

But that's nothing to how my wife must feel... She has been labouring actively for well over 12 hours. Before that she had been in pre labour for another 24 hours. Before that, she has had 2 weeks of on and off pre labour. It's been exhausting. But it's about to get interesting....

I'm sitting on the chair next to my wife's bed. Behind me a monitor is making a rythmic beeping noise. Around me, people are working, smoothly, efficiently, quietly. Masks, gowns, caps, all make it look like something surreal. Like I've walked into a movie scene. Except, that's my wife lying there, and I'm trying not to think about what's going on behind the sheet draped in front of me.

That's when I hear it. A cry. Repeated, and strong. The stunned look on my wife's face must be a reflection of my own. But still I can't look. because if I do, I'll faint. I haven't eaten for 24 hours, and haven't had more than 3 or 4 hours of sleep in the last 48 hours, and the one thing I want to do right then is look over the curtain. But no. I don't want to faint, again. Just enjoy the sound for now. the sound of our baby girl crying. A healthy strong cry. But I still can't afford to look. Fainting right now would not help things.

The cry stops as she is soothed. And then I look around the curtain as she is taken to one side. She is cleaned, and wrapped in a blanket. I am told I can go over and see her. She is gorgeous. Dark, almost black hair, little wrinkly hands and feet, and of course, a very different head shape from what she will have in a few hours. Her temperature, pulse, and respiratory signs are checked and noted, and then she is weighed. She looks small... But she weighs 3.65kgs (7 pounds 10 ounces). That's  more than I would have guessed just from looking at her. She is 54cm long, so the ultrasound technician who had told us she was quite long was right.

And then I can hold her. Her eyes look up at me, and I can feel the weight of the last 3 months disappear. I hold her, and she seems happy. Her skin is a rosy colour, except her hands and feet, which are wrinkled and a little paler and bluer.

I walk back to my wife, and the look in her eyes speaks volumes. The one thing she wants to do, she can't do right now. The motherly instinct to cuddle the baby has to for now. Because for her it's not over yet. The baby is brought over, and I hold her in front of Cherith for a while. So she can see her, talk to her, take in the reality of it. But then it's back to business. The baby is placed back in a hospital bassinet. And the work of repairing the damage begins. 15 minutes later, Cherith is stitched up and ready to be wheeled out. The sheer exhaustion, multiplied by the amount of painkillers she has been given in the last 10 hours, are taking their toll. For 6 hours, she can't keep her eyes open for more than 2 minutes. Unfortunately, she also can't seem to sleep for more than 10 minutes. Unbeknown to anyone at the time, she is reacting to one of the painkillers.  Sweating, nausea, and lightheadedness soon follow. She manages to feed the baby, and then it's all over for that night.

When I come back into the hospital the next morning at 7:30, Cherith looks a lot better. The staff have indentified the offending painkiller, and the symptoms slowly go away. Still she has to stay in bed. The extra oxygen she was breathing in has been taken away, the drip follows a little while later. Finally she can get up. But still she has to be very gentle about it. She can hold her baby properly now though. Only for short periods, and then she has to lie down again. Not only does she lack energy, but her abdomen feels very much like it had just been cut open and stitched back together again, which of course it has.

It's over though. For nearly two months we have tried everything to stop Cherith going into premature labour. And it worked. She made it past 41 weeks. Then for 3 weeks we have tried everything to bring on labour and make it as easy as possible. And all that is over. The baby has been brought into this world, albeit a little differently to the way we would have wished. But what we wished for most is a healthy baby, and a healthy mummy for the baby. And that wish seems to have come true.

So when they say, "Children should be seen and not heard", forget it. Sometimes it's comforting to hear them, and know that they are alright.


P.S. I fainted when Cherith was given a needle. I hate needles. Especially watching them being put into other people. Apparently it was a graceful slump onto a chair and from there the floor, but I wouldn't have a clue.

A parent's prayer...

Seeing as I am going to be a father soon, I thought it was time for a little fun...

 

A Parent's Prayer
by David Axton

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray my sanity to keep.
For if some peace I do not find,
I'm pretty sure I'll lose my mind.

I pray I find a little quiet,
Far from the daily family riot.
May I lie back and not have to think
About what they're stuffing down the sink,

Or who they're with, or where they're at
And what they're doing to the cat.
I pray for time all to myself
(did something just fall off a shelf?)

To cuddle in my nice, soft bed
(Oh no, another goldfish--dead!)
Some silent moments for goodness sake
(Did I just hear a window break?)

And that I need not cook or clean
(well heck, I've got the right to dream)
Yes now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray my wits about me keep,

But as I look around I know,
I must have lost them long ago

Bub didn't get the memo

Bubs was due on Friday...

After months of threatening to come early, the little rascal has decided to wait overtime. We have been here in Toowoomba for over a week now, since things seemed to be starting up.

But all is quiet lately. After three consecutive days in which Cherith went into early labor, with intense contractions only 2 minutes apart, things have settled down. Cherith has been walking a few kms per day in an attempt to convince bub that it wasn't going to be very comfortable much longer. But nothing doing except a few bouts of Braxton hicks... Kind of frustrating... Especially for her...

Of course, bub will arrive when the time is right (who ever heard of babies staying inside till it was time to get their driver's license??), but it has been slow... It seems like things are gearing up slowly again, but who knows for sure? I don't.. My crystal ball is away for repairs.

That's not to say there wasn't a good reason why bub didn't arrive a week ago. After it all, I took Cherith to see a Chiropractor, thinking that possibly something was out of line, and sure enough it was. According to the Chiro, would have quite likely caused labor to stall the way it did.

Maybe that was what was slowing things down, but then again, maybe bub just didn't get the memo.

I'm looking forward to meeting the little bub. But at the moment, with Cherith only a day or two over her due date, there is no real rush.

"I am Habit"

 "I Am Habit"

It is mighty hard to shake me, in my brawny arms I take thee,
I can either make or break thee - I am habit.
Through each day I slowly mold thee, soon my tightening chains enfold thee,

Then it is with ease I hold thee - I am habit.
I can be both good and vile, I can e'er be worth your while,
Or the cause of your decrial - I am habit.
Oft’ I've proved myself a pleasure, proved myself a priceless treasure,
Or a menace past all measure - I am habit.
Harmless though I sometimes seem, yet my strange force is like a magnet,
Like a great and greedy dragnet - I am habit.
Though you sometimes fear or doubt me, no one yet has lived without me,
I am present all about thee - I am habit.
Choose me well when you are starting, seldom is an easy parting,
I'm a devil or a darling - I am habit." --Anonymous

The best laid plans of mice and men...

So... We had planned to go up to Queensland for something of a working holiday. A great chance to catch up with family and friends, and as my work near home was coming to a close, we thought it would be a good time for the trip. On Monday we packed, planned, and tentatively decided to go on Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on how quickly we got everything sorted out... But,

The best laid plans of mice and men, go oft awry....

On Tuesday morning Cherith woke up at 2AM with regular, strong contractions (At 29 weeks, that is a very bad sign!!). Deciding not to wake me straight away, and not being able to lie still, she got up and went out of the room for a while, but nothing seemed to help. She woke me at 2:30, and on medical advice over the phone, took a painkiller and slowly went back to sleep. That was about 4. At 6, she woke up again, and the contractions were still there, though the painkiller was still numbing things, and we realized Tuesday was obviously not going to be the day to travel. By 9AM, the painkiller had worn off, and the contractions seemed to be getting stronger. I put her in a hot bath with magnesium and lavender oil, and the pain level dropped out of sight. Feeling much relieved, Cherith enjoyed the bath for a couple of hours, and seemed to feel much better, although the contractions were still there, they were not painful anymore.


Just before lunchtime her Dad called up and wondered if I could do an afternoon's work with him, so we got some lunch ready and went up, Cherith deciding she could rest better if she was with her mum, rather than at home alone. The instant we arrived the contractions kicked in hard and strong again. Within 20 mins her mum had called an ambulance... They arrived, asked a few questions, loaded Cherith into the ambulance, and set off for the hospital (A good hour's drive away, 40kms of which is dirt road). I took off for home, to grab a few things we'd need in town (Namely, my wallet, and some clothes, that thankfully we had packed already...) from there I went to town, arriving ten minutes after the ambulance, wondering just how many plans were about to go awry...

The ambulance girls said that Cherith was in labour, a fact the midwives at the hospital also confirmed, but, thank God, they were able to halt the labour, and with baby going into an excited and happy kicking frenzy at the chance to continue incubating ;), we both fell into an exhausted, and somewhat restless sleep... Regular checks confirmed that things were definitely settling down, though taking their time.

Now it's Thursday afternoon... Maybe we will make it to QLD soon, but who knows... The midwives have suggested it would be a wise move, considering we live an hour from town, and that the nearest hospital to here which could handle such a premature baby is Newcastle, a solid 6 hours drive away... In QLD we would be 30 mins drive away from the nearest hospital, and they would handle almost anything. But, as I've said, the best laid plans of mice and men....

The doctor suggested that pending a few tests to be done today, Cherith might be sent home this afternoon, so we'll see how that goes. Fingers crossed the tests all show good results. I'm eager to meet the little rascal, but not before it's time. Meanwhile, we have been living in a hospital room, trying to subsidize a hospital diet with some real food...

Good, quick, or cheap

     Which would you choose? It is a simple fact of life that you can only choose from two of those three options in any given circumstance of life. This can be good and cheap, but then they won't come in a hurry. They may be quick and cheap, but then you will sacrifice quality on the altar of speed. They can be good and quick, but price will certainly be at a premium in that case.
     Then there are different types of people. There are the perfectionists, who will never cut corners when quality is concerned. There are those who don't like to put in more work and effort than necessary. To them, quick is always a priority. There are others, who will put in any effort to save money, often sacrificing a lot of time, and losing quality in the process. Which type are you?
I've been discovering that quality is very important to me. I don't care if a job takes a little longer, as long as I know it is well done. I will usually never buy the cheapest product on the market, because I've discovered that it usually isn't worth the savings to have it break or wear out so much more quickly. I do a job properly, so I know I won't have to come back shortly and fix it or do it all over again. It's just who I am. I used to get frustrated with my dad for being a perfectionist, only to discover I am one myself.
     So, which do you choose? Think about it. You can only choose two. If you think you are getting all three you are being conned.

A very special hectic week

Last week seemed like a very long week! But a week filled with blessings just the same...

On Sabbath evening we had made the decision to travel to Sydney the next morning, to pick up the dining table we had bought three months before, and which one of Cherith's very obliging relatives was keeping for us till we could make the trip. But the real reason we were making this last minute trip was because Cherith's uncle was moving house, and offered us the piano that was in the house he was vacating, as he couldn't take it with him.

That piano caused us a little bit of agonizing, as we tried to decide if it would be worthwhile. Cherith loves to play piano, and is fairly accomplished, so it was obviously a fair inducement for us. The piano in question however, was approximately 110 years old. I had to wonder if it was in good condition/playable, and whether it would survive the rigors of a 500km trip without serious damage. Then again, pianos, especially very old ones, tend to be back-breakingly heavy (anything up to 450kgs for an upright piano like this one), and the question of how we would get it unloaded at our end was a bother too. With all this in mind, and after Cherith's brother, who had seen the piano, said it looked in fantastic condition, we decided to travel down on Sunday.

So on Sunday morning, we went to Cherith's parent's house to borrow a trailer, helped get the trailer shipshape, (which included rewiring the trailer's lights, and welding one of the support braces underneath), and just after midday we were on our way to Sydney.

On the way down, we were still trying to organize one or two people to help us load the piano onto the trailer, with very little success. We finally arranged to stay overnight in Sydney, at the same household that had sheltered our dining table for the last few months, and as it was 7:30 by the time we arrived there, didn't stay up long before going to bed...

110 years old. Sounds beautiful.

The next morning we loaded the table into the trailer, and the 6 chairs that go with it into the car, and set of to meet up with Cherith's uncle to see what could be done about the piano. We met him, took one look at the piano, and fell in love :D... It is a beautiful piano, which in spite of it's age is well preserved, and plays quite well. It didn't take us long to realize that we were NOT going to get this piano into the trailer with just two of us to do it. He left to pick up a friend of his, who in miraculous coincidence happened to be in the neighborhood waiting for his car to be serviced and had nothing to do in the meantime. With his help, and a lot of groans and strains, we managed to slide it onto the trailer, and then had to work out a way to put the table into the same trailer. Not the easiest feat, as the table is a 1.8 x 1 metre solid timber extendable table. In the end we had to stand the table upright to fit it in, strapped everything down, and started the trip back.

In Cooranbong we stopped in to show Cherith's grandma the piano (she had been very keen for us to be able to pick it up). It was after 3PM by the time we left Cooranbong, and the trip home, which usually takes about 6 hours, and with a heavily loaded trailer on would take even longer, began.

I had been planning to go back to work the next day, but wasn't sure that would eventuate now, considering how late we would be getting home. In the end run it was about 10:30PM when we arrived at home, tired, having done 18+ hours of driving in the last 32 hours.

The next morning we tried to see if we could get Cherith's father to come over and help unload the piano, and the neighbor also agreed to help. A lot of push and shove ensued, before we realized that one door was slightly (about 8mm) too small...The neighbor had some tools handy, and quickly modified the doorway to fit the piano through, and finally it was in our lounge room. Then the table and chairs were put into the dining room, and we promptly celebrated this feat by having breakfast around our new table with Cherith's family...

Finally we have a dining table in our dining room.

I tried to go to work that day... But I couldn't work for very long. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have tried it, and just rested. But that's me. But the blessings for the week didn't end there.

On Thursday, Cherith had her appointment for an ultrasound. We got to see the baby for the first time, and hear it's heartbeat again. It was surreal to see him (or is it her??) kicking and wriggling on the monitor. It was just such a special moment. Cherith was a few days short of 14 weeks pregnant, and it was interesting to see the level of development evident even at that stage of pregnancy. It was easy to see the heart beating, and hear it ticking away...

And just when you thought surely that has to be all for one week...

Our next door neighbor, who had helped us move the piano (and is our landlord's son), finished installing the chimney and sealing the roof up, just before it started raining on Friday afternoon. So now we can enjoy our cozy fireplace even when it's raining :). God's goodness and ability to provide never ceases to amaze me.

Oh, and he even provided the fuel money for our trip to Sydney... We could never have gone otherwise. Isn't He good?

A thousand ways to provide. And a thousand opportunities to provide. A thousand reasons for me not to stress. A thousand reasons for me to learn to relax and leave things in His hands!

1 + 1 = ?

Maths is a subject specifically designed for tormenting children with... Adults too sometimes...

But there are some things even maths won't work out...
1 + 1 = 2, right?

Well, it does, sometimes... But 1 + 1 can also be 3.

About 2 months ago, my dear wife and I, one bright and sunny morning, discovered that 1 (her), and 1 (me), was soon going to = 3. That's right. She is busy working on a new member for our little family. Life is great, right?! :). So it is. She was shocked, I was excited. From memory, I believe I even went so far as to jump up and down... Very undignified I am sure, but at moments like that, who cares!!?

Cherith had been feeling just a tad nauseous that morning, and in a fit of cheekiness, I suggested that it may be more that a disagreeable breakfast. Her response was to take a test, and lo and behold, my snap suggestion as to what might be happening turned out spot on. So it's a baby. And seeing as the only options are boys and girls, I guess we are having a boy... Or a girl........

So that's it. Sometime near the end of November or the beginning of December our little family will be experiencing a population boom. 

Last week we had the pleasure of hearing the little rascal's heartbeat, still very quiet, but definitely ticking away steadily. It was a strange moment, in the doctor's office, listening for that faintest beat. Somehow, it brought to mind the awesomeness of the thing. The baby was at the time approx 2 inches long! Imagine the size of it's heart?? That is one tiny ticker. But there it was.

It made me wonder how many people who want an abortion would still have one after hearing their own baby's heartbeat for half a minute... I don't know, but I think a few would change their mind. The heartbeat makes it real, alive, palpable. It is no longer an ignorable fact, but a living being. It makes it seem so much more like killing, because at some stage during an abortion, that little tiny heart stops.

Of course, many people have miscarriages, many unavoidable (at least seemingly). That too is a death. Hearing that heartbeat made me think of how traumatic that would be. I had never before understood why it was such a horrible experience, emotionally, for someone to have a miscarriage. But there's that heartbeat, ticking away... Living.... Only waiting to be born......

Keeping out the cold.

So the cold weather is coming. A week ago I was leaving for work with the water frozen in the windscreen of our car. So the temperature is steadily settling into it's winter rhythm. But there is a difference. We now have a fireplace. :)

Thanks to some help from Cherith's youngest brother, (who was staying with us for a few weeks while he worked nearby) who managed to move the 140kg stove into the lounge room for us, and my father-in-law, who is a carpenter and worked on fitting the chimney, we now have an amazingly snug and warm living room. Even my office, which is next door is feeling distinctly less chilly.

Growing up my family had a woodfire in the lounge room, and as my bedroom was at the opposite end of the house, it meant that in the mornings there was quite an incentive to race to the fireplace (which my mum would fire up at about 5AM every day in winter), and warm ourselves around it. It was one of those situations were things had to get worse to get better. I'd have to leave my moderately warm bed, race up the freezing cold hallway, through the dining room, and into the lounge room, for a nice toasty morning! Now I get to be the one who stokes up the fire in the morning, and get the house nice and warm for my wife! :).

Just remembering that, made me think about the saying 'things sometimes have to get worse before they can get better'. Very few people start life with everything in their favor. It takes hard work, and the proverbial 'blood, sweat, and tears' to make improvements in life. Just the same way a person has to brave the cold morning in order to start the fire, a person who wants to get somewhere in life has to start with step 1. You can't jump to the ending when life is all rosy and easy, smooth and comfortable. Life is generally tough to begin with. But that's no reason to dodge the tough streak. The key is to work through the tough spots in life, and keep your focus on the things that are important, and not let yourself get depressed by whatever difficulties you may be facing. Life is good. And it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks of your life circumstances. The key is that you are happy with where your life is going, and are prepared to weather storms in order to be able to enjoy smoother sailing that so often follows a difficult time.

Dad.....

06/07/1946 - 06/04/2012
Ernst Robert Dammasch

Born and brought up in post war Germany, my Dad came to Australia permanently as a young man. By the time he left Germany, he had completed an apprenticeship as fitter and turner. Here in Australia he met and married my Mum. That was a little over 36 years ago.

I only turned up on the scene much later. By the time I was born, they had celebrated their eleventh wedding anniversary. And I was the fourth, in a family of five. By the time I was ten, Dad was working very long hours as a truck driver, trying to make ends meet, and support his family. But there are definitely a few happy memories with my dad from those days...

At the time, dad used to ride a motorbike to work and back, and usually only came home on weekends (He often worked 60+ hours a week, and we lived a long way out in the country). Every Friday afternoon, we (My younger brother Henry and I), used to run outside at the sound of his bike coming up our street, racing each other to make it to the gate first. It was hardly a fair race, because I was 6 years older than Henry, and at least 12 inches taller, but it was unusual for Dad to get to the gate before we did. Why that was so special, I don't even know, but it is.

Dad drove a truck almost identical to this one for ten years...

Then occasionally I would get to go for a ride with him in the truck. Sometimes he would even drive up our street. Somehow it made me proud to see the big semi trailer parked there. Maybe it was just because I was a little kid, and big trucks were impressive, but in any case, I was proud of that truck. I even remember the number plate of the truck! (He usually drove the same prime mover, and they just hooked different trailers on it depending on what he was delivering)... Usually he delivered for Woolworths. Sometimes I went with him for long rides. On Sundays he would often go from Brisbane to Kingaroy, several hours drive, and I'd love going with him. He'd tell me about his work, about the problems of driving a truck, of some of the impossibly difficult places he'd had to reverse a truck into, etc. I was with him when his front passenger side tire got a puncture. To this day I can remember the sound. A brief rattle as whatever did the damage got flung out of the tire again, and then the sound of a tire going quickly flat. We sat on the side of the road for an hour waiting for a repair truck. One day we arrived at the destination to find a badly stacked pallet had collapsed. Whoever had done it, had stacked heavy things on top of tissue paper rolls and delicate things, and it just collapsed.

One weekend, Dad and I went camping together. Just the two of us. We went to Gympie, saw the big pineapple, and camped next a lake there. I remember riding up there with him on his bike (A big touring bike). We put our drinks in the lake to chill them, and warmed up our food over a campfire.

When I was in my late teens, Dad had to stop trucking for a living for health reasons. He had done over ten years of full time truck driving for Linfox. Ten years of work in which he occasionally would have worked less than 50 hours a week. A year or two later he worked on the farm with me for a few months.

Anyway, if I was going to keep reciting, I could keep going forever. There were unhappy times too, but why bother with those? I'll always remember the good times. Happy times.

There are regrets too. But they are pointless now. Sometimes I wish I had gotten to spend more time with him. Then I wish I had called him more often in the last year or so while I have been away from home. I guess you don't really miss someone till they are really gone.

So this is goodbye to my Dad. I hope to see him soon.

It's quiet.... Too quiet.....

It's 9:30 in the evening, and the house is empty, except for myself, a few mice, a spider or two, and just possibly a rat in the laundry. My wife is on her way to visit family for 2 days, and as the saying goes, you only know what you had when it is gone.... Who would have thought that in a few hours I could miss her so much?

I'm getting tired... I should go to bed, but it just doesn't seem right. There's a 5' 1", clue eyed, curly brown haired person missing! And what's worse, I love her, so I'm going to miss her something awful. Maybe I'm just being silly...? Maybe I shouldn't miss her? Well, I can't help it. I love my wife, and revel in her company.

And when she gets back, I 'm going to give her a very big hug, and tell her how much I missed her, but words can't really express it. "I miss her".... Three simple words... But I have missed other things in the past, and it just doesn't compare with missing my wife. It's not even in the same scale.

So I just need to survive the next few days... That might be harder than you think... I have to make my own meals, :D....

Everything that glitters, is not gold....

Have you ever heard the saying, "Not everything that glitters is gold"? Well, funnily enough, it's true. In almost every aspect of life, things appear to have a varnish, but in most cases that varnish is scarcely 'skin deep'.

Buy a used car with a shiny paint job, and you may get a very practical demonstration of this principle. Own it for a few months, and it may just fall apart on you, while another car which didn't look so flash, keeps ticking over.

They say that when the Cullinan diamond was discovered, the worker who found thought that he had found a chunk of glass, and only made a closer examination as an afterthought. The result was the largest diamond ever found on earth. But it wasn't discovered as a shimmering piece of diamond, ready cut and waiting to be sold. It looked like an ugly lump of glass, hardly worth looking at. What power transforms a lump of glass into a piece of incredible value like the 'Cullinan'? In the case of the 'Cullinan', it was a man named Asscher, one of the most famous gem cutters ever to have lived, who, after days of examination, cleaved the stone, removed the impurities, and brought to the world a masterpiece of unrivaled excellence. But until the impurities were cut out, the stone would reflect no more light that a lump of coal.

The uncut Cullinan. Not much to look at...

Some people are like a diamond. Not much to impress at first, but with incredible value, often invisible to those around them, until something shows the diamond for what it is. Others are no more than fools gold. They make an exciting impression, seeming to charm all in their wake, but of little value to those around them otherwise. They may be entertaining company, but when the heat is on, they don't prove to be the real thing.

There is a reason that God 'looks on the heart' to judge people. If He looked on the outward appearance, He'd be fooled most of the time! But He isn't. People see the outward appearance (and I don't mean looks here, it can be anything from personality to beauty...), but they cannot judge the impulse of the heart. The person who acts charming in public, often has a very different manner when behind closed doors. There is only one thing that can motivate a person through every act of life, to be true gold. And that is love.

When Jesus came to earth, He was nothing special to look at. The Bible says He had no spot or blemish, but He didn't stand out of the crowd in appearance. People crowded to Him because He loved them. He longed to bring hope into their lives. And He loved them still, when they were nailing him to the cross.

Do you glitter only when things go well, or does even the heat of difficulties show you to be the true metal? It is your choice, but it isn't something you can change on your own. You need to have someone come into your life and cleave out the impurities in your life. And Jesus is the greatest 'gemcutter' in the universe. He can turn anyone into an incredible diamond, if only that person surrenders everything in their life to Him.

Try being a diamond. It is a lot more valuable than fool's gold....