Toe Update

So, about this toe of mine. It is officially broken. I've seen the x-ray (not that I needed that as proof - the angle the toe was pointing in was enough to convince me!). The GP I saw on Monday morning sent me off for an x-ray, I saw the film, dropped it back in to the GP and then thought it was all over except for taping the poor injured soldier up straight until healed.

Wrong.

The doc gave me a call at about 4:30pm saying that she had looked at the film, discussed it with some colleagues and concluded that it is a bad break which has displaced the toe and therefore has the potential to not heal properly and cause all sorts of future pain/joint/arthritis issues. I need to see a specialist to ensure the toe heals properly. I will need to get a special boot to assist with this. For a toe? Really? She assured me that a boot would be the best option as I would be able to take it off in the shower, for instance, and on the plane. The plane! How long will I have to wear this thing for?? Admittedly, there are less than three weeks before we fly out but I am living in la la land about the reality of how little time that is and the idea of wearing a boot (no matter how convenient it is) for my final weeks in Oz is more than a little frustrating. I am grateful, however, for the doctor following up with me so well and that if this gets sorted out properly now I may be able to avoid long term problems.

We went to see Avatar with David and Jane tonight. I haven't found the right words to describe the experience yet, but it was pretty amazing. When we left the cinema and made the obligatory girls rest room stop I was chatting to Jane about the saga of my toe. She made a comment that perhpas it was a heroic and somehow fitting picture that I will end up limping toward the finish line here. Perhaps it is. Many things have been broken during our Australian season. But as we read in Ecclesiastes - everything has a season. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to dance.....

Two Wheels in the Garden and a Broken Toe

Last night we went to the Fern Avenue Community Garden where Mum and Dad a have veggie patch. We means our family, Mum and Dad, the Banks' and the Douglas's (ie my sisters, husbands, kids). We cooked woodfired pizzas in the pizza oven (yep, it was insane - 40 degrees+ with a wood oven going!). But we chased the shade and enjoyed the intermittent breezes.

And we feasted on gourmet pizzas.

And we celebrated a lazy mid-summer night in the garden.

The girls rode their bikes around the garden and up and down the street (now without trainer wheels - a new skill acquired just last weekend!). Ethan patted the resident bunny and a visiting cat and marvelled at the spiders. Creature heaven is what that boy was in!

And we felt sad at the thought of leaving it all behind when we head off on our new adventure on February 1st. Leaving again. Oh, my heart. How can we live with all these goodbyes? Perhaps only because we know that they will be followed by warm and rich hellos.

And today I broke (or maybe dislocated, I'm not sure) my toe. On my right foot (you know, the one that is most useful for driving). Of course, it happened on a Sunday afternoon, so I will have to wait until tomorrow to see a doctor. Might I add, for those of you who have never seen your toe pointing in a freaky and strange direction - it hurts. A LOT.

Wet Wet Wet

Asha, Shae and Ethan got to bed a little late tonight due to prolonged outdoor water activities.

It is going to be 40 or so for the next 4 days here in Adelaide so I thought I ought to nurture the garden with some water so it could go the distance. The kids came out to watch after we'd finished dinner. Well, not really to watch - they came out and got absolutely drenched! They squealed with delight as the ran around on the grass not really trying to avoid the spray of the hose. It was lovely! Kids don't really get the chance to do much of that these days with our drought and water restrictions. And all I could think of was my own childhood - trying to remember a summer when we didn't run under the hose or sprinkler and get bee stings on our feet.....

The Whole Festive Season

I feel like we have been celebrating Chistmas for a long time this year! The Adelaide Christmas pageant was held on a stinking hot 42 degree day on November 14th and it has been festive ever since. That was six weeks ago!

So, what have we done to celebrate? What have been the highlights of this time?

The girls' Nativity play at school was a very special highlight.

Last Saturday night also makes the grade. We had my Mum and Dad, sisters Martine and Sheriden, their husbands and Sheriden's children over for a swim and pizza dinner. It was a good chance for Matt to catch up with the crew before he went away to miss Christmas (a painful issue...!). By the time everyone left it was about 8pm and close to nightfall. Daylight saving here means it doesn't get dark until after 8:30pm so there were few times I felt inclined toward keeping the kids up late enough to see any of the night time Christmas lights. Because it was already late(ish) we seized the moment and spontaneously decided to veiw the Christmas decorations hung by the residents of 9th Avenue, St. Peters. We loaded the kids up for the adventure and had a magical time wandering the avenue and hearing the kids gasp as they went from house to house. Asha commented that now it really felt like Christmas and that the whole experience was "like a dream come true!". Out of the mouths of babes.... We had the added joy, when we returned home, of showing the kids our tree all lit up and then taking them outside to see God's wonder in the sky - STARS! So many of them in our clear, dark sky. What a marvelous display.

Next on the list is a glorious family day we spent at McLaren Vale - arguably our favourite place on Earth. The kids played hide and seek in the gardens of Coriole Winery, we visited the Willunga bakery for doughnuts and then indulged our small family members in a visit to the beach at Pt. Willunga.

Wednesday, December 23 was the Tamms family Christmas lunch which was relaxed and lovely. We tried to have a real "Christmas Day" early, but it isn't really the same. We all enjoyed receiving our new nighties and pj's and paraded around in them over our fruit salad breakfast (plus icecream for the kids). Yum! Apart from the presents, the highlight for the girls was sifting through the icecream pudding to find the wrapped coins. The pudding was then abandoned (maybe next year I should just wrap up some coins and put them out for dessert!).

We sadly dropped off Matt at work on the morning of Christmas eve and then headed for IKEA to the kids playroom (ie quiet time for mummy) with a hotdog chaser for lunch. Home for naps (everyone) before heading to the church Carols by Candlelight where the girls sang in the childrens choir (gorgeous!), the kids had their faces painted, we all froze and arrived home ready to fall into bed at 10pm.

Christmas morning started slowly for us. The girls marvelled over their stockings and anxiously waited for Ethan to wake up (8am!!!). We unwrapped gifts from Luise and Graham. The kids had a breakfast of Freddos and hot chocolate and watched TV until Mia and Grandad arrived. I busied myself with preparing a yummy Nigella watermelon salad and putting the finishing touches on our dessert of white chocolate cheesecake with berries. Presents with Mia nd Grandad. Catching a few snails and a fly in the garden (Ethan and Grandad) and then off to Aunty Sheriden and Uncle Grant's house for the feast. The scene was perfect and it was lovely to be with family (and to at last have some adult company for Christmas!). The cousins enjoyed each others' company and played well. We shared communion as a family and it was special to hear Dad read to us from Isaiah where it talks about the coming Saviour - the reason for our celebration. It was a beautiful and drama free day and we arrived home at about 5:15pm ready for a bath, story time (new books!) and bed. We were blessed and the kids were spoilt. But.......

We missed Matt. I missed Matt. While philosophically we can accept that it is only fair to miss a Christmas after having spent the past 5 with us, the reality is that we weren't all together. Daddy was missing. And that was very, very difficult.

So, here we are. Boxing day. The kids are playing surprisingly well together. We are not going anywhere and there is noone coming over. I am exhausted. Today we will be hermits and might just eat toast for dinner. We are all still in our new nighties and pyjama's. Peace.

Going, going.....gone

A number of things have been removed from our lives in the past month. The first to go were Shae's two front bottom teeth. They both fell out within 5 days of each other - the second one while she was in the pool so the tooth fairy must have gotten wet that night!

Shae's missing teeth

After a very long application process we were finally given permission by our local council to remove a very large white cedar tree from our back yard. This tree was beautiful in the middle of summer, but for the rest of the year a major pain in the butt and a substantial safety hazard due to the copious number of poisonous and very slippery berries it dropped in our garden (and most importantly the kids' play area). It was a great victory and on November 10th we watched the tree surgeons swing through the tree and take it down (in 39 degree heat!). Last week we had the great delight of planting three beautiful ornamental pear trees in it's place - one for each of our gorgeous kidlets.

The kids look on as the guys begin the job of removing the berry tree

Ethan, Asha and Shae claim their trees

Last Friday night Shae and Asha went to their first disco (at school). They were very excited and had a lovely time being out at night with their friends. They looked so grown up and sophisticated and it made my breath catch to see them in the rearview mirror.

The Belles off to the Ball

The girls performed their Nativity play for us today. It was very special. Asha was a talking sheep who delivered her lines with clarity and intonation. Shae was, of course, an angel. It all happened perfectly - there were lovely songs, Joseph picked his nose and there was the obligatory school play feedback through the sound system. The reception teachers had also put together a slide presentation of activities the kids have done throughout the year and played tear jerking music. Then the teachers prayed a prayer of thanksgiving for the year that was and for all the kids as they move on to year one.....and for the families who are leaving St. Johns.

Well, that was about all I could handle. I hadn't brought tissues (though I'd been warned I might need them). And all of a sudden it was real. We are leaving. My girls have not been assigned to Mrs. Cosh or Ms. Sunman's class. We are heading back to Hong Kong again - again. But I will save my reflections on our time here for another post.

In the meantime I think I might need to find a partridge for those pear trees....

The Things We Do For Love

Last week I found myself in the middle of a panic attack.

We have been praying for protection for our family from swine flu all winter. And God has most awesomely provided that protection. I understand that swine flu is "just another flu, like seasonal flu", but to us it is more than that. We fall into the category of having "underlying health conditions". I say "we" even though I know you know I mean Shae. But Shae is part of "us" - all of us.

For this reason our family has been and will continue to be vaccinated against anything we can be to avoid unnecessarily exposing Shae to an illness which could tax her amazing body beyond its capacity. This includes the new swine flu vaccination (once it has received paediatric approval). We do it because we love her and because she is important to us. We do it because the alternatives are unacceptable to us.

So, when I received a "scary" email warning about how potentially dangerous the new American swine flu vaccination is (just a few days after Matt had had his Australian shot), I panicked. I experienced fear to my core. It is a helpless and lonely place to be and it can cripple you to a point at which you are no longer able to function. Now, fear is not something that God has in His plan for us and He was quick to bring to mind who I should talk to about this and to restore my peace (thank You, Lord). He reminded me that He is in control and cares deeply about all these things and that His purposes are sovereign.

This event caused me to think again about how careful we need to be with the choices we make - what we do, what we believe, what we read. Throughout life we are always making choices - weighing up the risks and the benefits. Sometimes they are minor decisions with limited impact on us and those around us. Sometimes they are much bigger. It is certainly much more simple to make those decisions in which love is not a key player.

Love make things trickier.

Sometimes love can lead to irrational choices, crazy behaviour, risky decisions - if they are not weighed and measured and wrestled with. And then sometimes it can lead to selfless acts that can change someone else's life for eternity....... like dying on a cross.

So, because we love, we get vaccinated and weigh the risks. Given the choice, what would you do?

Adelaide's Finest

We have just enjoyed a lovely long family weekend taking in some of Adelaide's unique features and having lots of fun together in the process.

It started on Friday, which was student free day at school and also the first day of the Royal Adelaide Show. Now, I had planned on perhaps avoiding the Show again this year on the premise that our children have never been to the Show before, so they didn't know what they were missing. Silly me, however, had failed to take into account the important fact that 5-6 year olds are very cluey and they actually talk to each other at school. So, the girls came home from school on Thursday with in-depth information about this Royal Adelaide Show and all the wonders it had to offer and armed with the knowledge that it would be happening tomorrow!

We were blessed to receive some entry tickets for Matt and I, so we geared up and bit the bullet. And I'm so glad we did! I have very fond memories of attending the Show as a child. When we lived in Perth we went every year - my Mum's dad and brother owned various show rides so we enjoyed the benefits of knowing the "Showies" - rides, carnival games, little plastic fairy dolls on sticks etc. The only expenses were the food and the showbags (which then were relatively reasonable - now, I think there are probably families who save up all year to buy the hundreds of bags of "stuff" they cart out the gates at the end of their day). When we moved to Adelaide the rules changed a bit (we didn't know the Showies in Adelaide), so we went every second year and there were certain limits on rides and showbags, but we always walked away feeling very indulged and satisfyingly exhausted. We had really fun family times at the Show.

Anyway, having visited a theme-park or two, I had the strategy for our day planned. I had enough food packed to feed us all happily for the entire day (including chips and cupcakes so there were some treats involved). Our first activity for the day was a visit to the showbag hall where we found the Bertie Beetle stall and purchased a blue bag for each of the kids. Right, they had their lollies and were ready to play (big tick for me - showbag hall done when it was still quiet with no nagging for goodie bags having taken place). After a wander through the Lifestyle Pavilion where we sampled various cooked treats and picked up a Woolies Fresh Food Kids free goodie bag for each of the kids, our next stop was the kids carnival which housed the inevitable rides and carnival games. Now, the kids had been prepped that they could choose one ride to enjoy here (they are used to HK Disneyland where they can hop on everything as many times as they'd like). However, when they saw the games and all the glittering (cheap, tacky, plasticy) prizes on display, they decided to try their luck at one of these instead. Asha had a go at fishing for a noodle box and won a blue stuffed cow. Shae and Ethan opted for a variation on the clown game where you feed 5 ping-pong balls into the mouth of the clown (or in their case a mermaid and a penguin) and win a prize from the section marked with the number bearing the sum total of the balls played according to the channels they land in. Ethan won a plastic toy truck (with a picture of some vegetables and a Chinese baby on the side) and Shae picked up a Barbie telephone. And that was side-show alley taken care of - ANOTHER big tick for me! And three very happy campers.

Next stop was in the horticulture pavilion where we were treated to a fashion parade entitled Wearable Blooms. It was an interesting concept with some lovely intricate designs and some rather unexpected bawdy antics. Like I said, interesting. After that we glided past the cake displays to see if our friend Sue had taken out another prize this year - unfortunately not. And then we began to wander toward the animal pavilions. Fortunately for us Asha was side-tracked by a performer who was setting up his act on a stage we were passing and she asked if we could watch. Sure! We had no real agenda, so we set up camp. And for the next half an hour we were treated to the BEST juggling and street performance act we've ever seen. All we can say is "Go Mr. Spin! We love you!".

As our day drew to a close we watched some V8 utes driving in formation (that wasn't anyone's highlight and we didn't stay long), visited the farmyard nursery, saw some show dogs, sampled lots of different types of salami and olives and then made the trek back to the car. Picked up pizza on the way home and thus ended a fun and surprisingly low-stress day. Minimal whining, no melt-downs (by us or kids) and lots of joy.

Saturday morning was lazy (bliss!) and then in the afternoon we visited the Railway Museum with our friends Brenton and Hayley. Brenton in a train fanatic and made the entire experience a lot of fun and very memorable (by fanatic I mean - this is where Brenton held his 30th birthday celebration - he just LOVES trains!). We spent two hours jumping on and off old railway carriages, exploring engine rooms, riding the miniature Thomas train and enjoying the thrill of seeing Brenton in his element! It wouldn't have been nearly as much fun without him there.

Shae, Ethan and Asha with Brenton and Hayley

(and one of the many train engines at the Railway Museum)

Sunday was Father's Day and we enjoyed a 'low-key' lunch with Matt's parents at our house. It was simple and relaxed. I wish that I could've given my Dad a hug and kiss and some bbq steak on the day too, but he and Mum are currently enjoying some time overseas - so, across the miles, Dad "I love you and thanks". Adequate words would take a whole post of their own, so I will save that for another time....