Thursday, December 31, 2009

Happy New Year.

Thanks so much to all my followers for your loyalty and following along with my blog in 2009. It has been a wonderful year for us all here and I am so glad to have meet so many good friends online.

Sorry blogging has been so light this week. We had an unexpected trip to Adelaide on Tuesday and I have been busy since we came home.

Today it is 5 weeks till our little bub is due. I had a check up on Tuesday and he is 3/5 engaged. I think it will still be closer to due date than now though because Christopher was just as engaged for a long time.

I will get Steve to take a belly shot soon.

Here is one of my favourite Abba songs to celebrate the new year.



I look forward to reading all your blogs in 2010 and the birth of our boy.

Monday, December 28, 2009

5mart Martha (and Mary) Monday.

My list from last week was pretty well complete.

I didn't send Christmas cards, didn't read from the bible and forgot to pray the novena prayer on Saturday.

With the pattern for Amelia's shirred dress, I tried a few different widths with some different tensions on the machine and found the right one that I will be using. I will try and get this dress done tomorrow.

sleeping bag pattern is drafted, nappy pattern is copied. I have the bamboo fleece and PUL fabric but need some flannelette and to wash the fleece before I sew it.

Anyway my list for this week:

Mary's.

Pray LOH with Steve.

Pray the family rosary.

Read the bible.

Start another novena.

Have a mass offered for Dad. It will be a month this week since he passed away.

Martha's (I only have three this week).

Wash the bamboo fleece.

Make Amelia's dress.

Rest each afternoon.


Sunday, December 27, 2009

A Catholic Notebook: The 12 Days of Christmas Reminders

A Catholic Notebook: The 12 Days of Christmas Reminders

What are the 12 days of Christmas about?

Soutenus has a great post with details of what each day represents.

Recycling.

Last week Tom, Amelia and Christopher were asking Steve for some building blocks.

Steve went and looked in his shed and came out with some skirting boards. He cut them up and made some blocks. These blocks have been a huge hit and building has been going on every day. Here are some pictures of some of the castles we have had created






.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Some Christmas pictures.

Amelia is our new Master chief.

Here she is with the first cake cooked in her set.


Christopher building with his new lego.


The mess after the first cleanup.

Getting all our goodies on the table for Christmas lunch.



Time for us to have a nap. Daniel snapped this when he asked me to buy him some credit for his phone. That is why I have the phone.


Thursday, December 24, 2009

The 12 Days of Christmas


I wish all my family and friends a very merry Christmas and happy new year. Thanks so much for visiting my blog and keeping up with us.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

My Camera is back.


So here is a photo of the bags Brigette has been making for her friends.

Monday, December 21, 2009

5mart Martha (and Mary) Monday.

Three Weeks ago, while I was doing my 5mart Martha and Mary Monday, I got the call that told me dad had died.

Needless to say, I didn't finish of that post and it is probably still in draft mode.

Usually, during the school holidays, I haven't posted 5mart Martha but I have a few things I want to get ready before the baby is born so I am going to do it for the next few weeks.

Mary's.

1) I have started a novena to the Infant of Prague. I want to finish this off.

2) Weekday mass. We went this morning and I hope to go tomorrow and Wednesday. There is no morning mass on Christmas Eve but we will go to the family mass that night.

3) Prayer time with Steve.

4) Bible reading. I really need to read the Bible more.

5) Family rosary.

Martha's:

1) Finish Christmas Shopping.

2) Pattern preparation for babies sleeping bag.

3) Draft a pattern to make Amelia a shirred dress.

4) Rest each afternoon.

5) Finish writing Christmas Cards and send them.


Sunday, December 20, 2009

Mary MacKillop.


Soon Australia will have it's first saint.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Quick 7!!


--1--

33 weeks.

Baby is getting very heavy now and I find it hard to stand for more than a couple of minutes.
Steve is being wonderful and helping with everything. Last week he even did the weekly shopping. Today I am going to ask him to help too.
The ob that I was seeing is from another town. He is no longer coming to Port Augusta so I have a new Ob. It is the same ob I had with Christopher and she is lovely. I would have gone to her right from the start if she had been here when I first got pregnant.

--2--

Daniel

This week Daniel got his year 12 results. He did really well and is going to be in the local paper next week.
For our state of South Australia, Daniel was in the top 9%. He has worked hard this year and deserves the high scores.

--3--

Sewing.

I ordered some bamboo fleece and pul fabric to make the baby some aio. I am also hoping to have enough of the fleece to make the baby some sleeping bags. The bamboo is suppose to keep cooler in summer and warmer in winter so I thought it would be the perfect lining for my sleeping bags.
I also want to make a couple of slings and some wrapping sheets for the baby.

--4--

Big Cook.

Last weekend was suppose to be my big cook up. Since I was sick though, we didn't do anything.
I am going to do it this weekend. I am going to do it slowly though and get a couple of different meals done each day. Don't want to end up sick again.

--5--

Camera.

I really miss my camera. I emailed Kodak yesterday to find out what is going on with it. I haven't got an answer yet and hope they haven't started their Christmas holidays. Hopefully they will email me back on Monday and I will have some idea of when it will be back.

--6--

Christmas.

With only a week to go, I am writing out lists and getting a little done each day. This will be our first Christmas here at home in a long time. It is so tiring taking the children all down to Adelaide to see family.
We will cook a turkey in the weber. I will make a heap of salads and put together a heap of finger foods. I am hoping to have some prawns too. Only Tom and I really like the prawns here so we will only get a few.

--7--

New Recipe.

I love chinese food. Most of all, I love their noodles.

JoAnn posted a recipe
for some garlic noodles that look just like the Chinese noodles that we get here.
I am going to try these. I am sure they will be super yummy.


Don't forget to visit Jen at Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Friday Funnies.

Since Christmas is only a week away, here is one of my favourite Christmas jokes;

Favorite Fruit Cake Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups dried fruit
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup brown sugar
lemon juice
nuts
bottle of whiskey

Procedure:
Sample the whiskey to check for quality. Take a large bowl. Check the whiskey again. To be sure it is the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink. Repeat.
Turn on the electric mixer, beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar and beat again. Make sure the whiskey is still okay. Cry another tup.
Turn off the mixer. Break two leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers pry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the whiskey to check for tonsisticity.
Sift two cups of salt. Or something. Who cares? Check the whiskey.
Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Spoon. Of sugar or something. Whatever you can find. Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Throw the bowl out of the window, check the whiskey again and go to bed.
We hope you enjoy the fruit cake jokes. If you know one please send it to us at info@CoffeeCakes.com. But please remember, our rich buttery fruit cakes are definitely not a joke.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Feeling much much better.

Today I finally feel better. No nausea, no fever and no chills. I am still very tired but think that is more from 7 months of pregnancy rather than having a bug.

Amelia's foot is healing well and her face is no longer swollen.

It is now 9 days till Christmas and the only plans I am making is to have a rest every afternoon. That is the advantage of being in end pregnancy through the summer holidays.

Thanks so much for all the prayers.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Wordless Wednesday


Christopher as a baby.


Here he is at 4 years.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Lots of Sewing!!!!!!!!!!

Brigette is becoming quite a sewer.

She wanted to make two bags for her two friends from school. Most of the patterns I had were too complex and I knew that if the bag took her too long, she would give up and not finish them.

We searched the internet for some free patterns but all of them had something wrong with them. Then we found one that was too small. I thought, I can use that as a guide and make the bag bigger so printed off the pattern and made it bigger.

Finally, I had something that was acceptable.

I made the first bag up for her since we had changed so many things, to make sure the bag was going to work. She did the second one. She received most of the instructions from me in bed. My sewing corner is in our room so that made it much easier.

I wish my camera was back so that I could take a photo of one of them but it isn't. Brigette has also made a baby blanket and two sleeping bags for the baby. She wants to make some overalls too. I am really impressed with all that she has done. Maybe she will have the same addiction as me when she is older.

When I get the camera back, I will post pictures of the baby gear that she has made.

Monday, December 14, 2009

What have we been up too?

Since coming home from Dad's funeral, things have been fairly low key here.

On Wednesday everyone was still very tired from the trip so we all stayed home except Steve. I was starting to feel a bit under the weather and thought it was just from the emotions of dads funeral and end of pregnancy.

On Thursday I woke up feeling really off colour. I spent most of the day in bed and when Steve got home from work, I told him that I hadn't felt baby move all day so wanted to go to the hospital and make sure everything was okay.

Everything was okay with baby but I had also been throwing up most of the day so the midwife wanted me to go to the doctor and make sure. The doctor gave me an anti nauseous injection and a script for some tablets to take the next day.

I had a pretty good day on Friday and felt much better. On Saturday though I woke up feeling ill again. I rested most of the day and started taking the anti nauseous tablets. In spite of taking these, I was still bringing up everything I was eating and drinking.

Steve ended up back at the hospital with me on Sunday morning and we saw a doctor and an obstetrician. They decided that the vomiting was probably from a UTI rather than a gastro bug and to take some urine samples and start me on antibiotics. Today was my second day on antibiotics and I am still a bit nauseous but feeling much better. I will get the results of the urine test tomorrow when I see the obstetrician again. I am pretty sure though that we are on the right track now since the antibiotics seem to be making me feel better.

Everyone is on holidays now and Steve has been doing a lot.

Amelia cut her foot on Thursday night and needed stitches so Steve was at the hospital twice that day. In the early hours of the morning, this morning she and Brigette, came into our room and said that Amelia's face was swollen. When we looked, she had a huge lump on the side of her face coming from close to her ear. We gave her some panadol and then took her to the doctors this morning. She has a small sore on the back of her ear that an infection has got in. She is on antibiotics too and we will go back next week to make sure they have worked.

I am so glad this is happening now instead of Christmas time and while everyone is on holidays. I am hoping that by the time Amelia goes back to the doctor next week, everyone is well and we are in holiday mode fully.

Music Box Dancer - Holdman Christmas Display



This is great.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Australian Jingle Bells.



I wanted to post this today because this morning I read at my friend's Nana K's blog, the lyrics for this and decided to do a search on youtube and see if it was there.

Pop over to Nana K's blog and read the lyrics.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Recipe swap Thursday.

We have a heap of cucumbers so I am pickling them this week. I thought it was a perfect recipe to share.


I got the recipe from Green Living Australia.

  • 1.35 kilos, 100mm. pickling cucumbers (about 36)
  • 3 3/4 cups water
  • 3 3/4 cups cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup pickling salt
  • 12 - 18 heads fresh dill or 6 tbs dill seeds
  • 1 tbs mustard seeds

Directions

  1. Thoroughly rinse cucumbers. Remove stems, cut off a slice from blossom ends. In large stainless steel, enamelled, or nonstick saucepan combine water, vinegar, and salt. Bring to boiling.
  2. Pack cucumbers loosely into hot, sterilized pint canning jars, leaving a 12 mm head space. Add 2 or 3 heads of dill or 1 tbs dill seeds and 1/2 tsp mustard seeds to each jar. Pour hot vinegar mixture over cucumbers, leaving a 12 mm head space. Wipe jar rims and adjust lids.
  3. Process in a boiling-water canner for 10 minutes (start timing when water returns to boil). Remove jars and cool on racks.
  4. Let stand one week.

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Back home.

I am back home from Adelaide. It was hard to say good bye to Dad but good to catch up with family.

Thanks to all the friends that came along and all the condolences I have received both here and via snail mail.

My reader has got out of control while I was in Adelaide. I did open it each day but only had a short time online so didn't get many read. I think I am going to maar and start fresh tomorrow.

Sunday, December 06, 2009

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning we will be having the requiem mass and funeral for my father.

At some stage, Steve and I will pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Please join us in prayer.

Thanks and God bless
Therese

Saturday, December 05, 2009

Kids First Australia.

Today I received an email from Annelisa about Kids First Australia.

Kids first Australia a group dedicated to stopping discrimination against stay at home mothers that don't receive as much government assistance as a mother that works.

Double income families have two advantages over single income families in Australia. One is they receive Government payments to help with childcare and secondly, a double income family that has a similar income to a single income family is taxed less on their earnings.

At the moment, Kids First Australia have two petitions that need support.

Go here to read the petitions and sign.

Go here to become a fan of Kids First Australia at facebook.

Friday, December 04, 2009

Friday Funnies.

ǝƃɐd ɹnoʎ oʇuo sIɥʇ ǝʇsɐd puɐ ʎdoɔ 'sʎɐs sɥʇ ʇɐɥʍ ʇno ǝɹnƃIɟ oʇ ɥƃnouǝ ʇɹɐɯs ǝɹɐ noʎ ɟI.

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Recipe swap Thursday.



This week, Therese from Musings of a Mom has asked us to share our favourite Christmas cookie recipe.

I don't think cookies at christmas are big here. I tend to do a lot of slices for sweets. My children take little packages of slices to school for their teachers on the last day. My favourite slice by far is Coconut ice so I decided to share this recipe with everyone.

This is the recipe I used last year and will do again this year.

Ingredients:
  • 125g copha
  • 250g desiccated coconut
  • 500g pure icing sugar, sifted
  • 2 egg whites, lightly whisked
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 drops red liquid food colouring
Method:

  1. Line a square 20cm (base measurement) cake pan with non-stick baking paper, allowing it to overhang the sides. Melt the copha in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and set aside for 10 minutes or until cooled to room temperature.
  2. Combine the coconut and icing sugar in a large bowl. Add the copha, egg white and vanilla extract, and stir until well combined. Divide coconut mixture in half. Press half the coconut mixture over the base of the prepared pan.
  3. Add the red food colouring to the remaining coconut mixture and stir until well combined and evenly coloured. Spread the pink coconut mixture over the mixture in the pan and smooth the surface. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour or until set.
  4. Remove the coconut ice from the pan. Use a sharp knife to cut into 16small squares to serve.
Icing sugar is called confectioners sugar in the States.

Go here if you don't know what Copha is
.

Any other questions, ask in the comment box.

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

In Memory.

Thanks so much everyone that has prayed for me and my family in this time.

My father has had Alzheimer's for 13 years now and he has been bed ridden for the last 4 years.

He has suffered a lot over this time and I am glad that the suffering is over for him.

Around this time last year, he got very sick and was put on palliative care. We thought he was going to die then. He turned around though and started eating again.

Because of this, I always thought that death would be a slow process for him and that we would have time to gather as a family at his bedside. God obviously had other plans though.

Next Monday we will have a Requiem Mass said for dad and then lay him to rest.

I am very grateful for my dad and the example he was in living the faith. He was always a faithful Catholic and very committed to bringing us up with Catholic values. I hope I can be the same example to our children.

Monday, November 30, 2009

My Dad.

Tonight my father passed away. Please pray for us all.

Thanks
Therese

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Giving Praise.

Jennifer from My Chocolate Heart Hosts Praise each week.

Tonight we are heading out to Madeline and Brigette's Musical Theatre Production of Do you believe in Santa Claus?

I praise God that both girls have had this opportunity to be in the play and learn the skill necessary to be a part of it.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

4 weeks till Christmas.

I got this in an email from Tricia.


I know it's early but I want to be the 1st....




With just about 4+ weeks before Christmas

REMEMBER:

Jesus is Better than Santa
Santa lives at the North Pole.
JESUS is everywhere.
Santa rides in a sleigh
JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.
Santa comes but once a year
JESUS is an ever present help.
Santa fills your stockings with goodies
JESUS supplies all your needs.
Santa comes down your chimney uninvited
JESUS stands at your door and knocks.. and then enters your heart.
You have to stand in line to see Santa
JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.
Santa lets you sit on his lap
JESUS lets you rest in His arms.
Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, What's your name?"
JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.
Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly
JESUS has a heart full of love.
All Santa can offer is HO HO HO
JESUS offers health, help and hope.
Santa says "You better not cry"
JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you.
Santa's little helpers make toys
JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.
Santa may make you chuckle but
JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.
While Santa puts gifts under your tree
JESUS became our gift and died on the tree.
It's obvious there is really no comparison.
We need to remember WHO Christmas is all about.
We need to put Christ back in Christmas.
Jesus is still the reason for the season.


May the Lord Bless and Watch over you and your loved ones this Christmas 2009
And may He prosper and bless the work of your hands in the New Year 2010.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Quick 7!!


--1--

30 weeks.

I am really starting to feel the weight of this baby now. I am finding it hard to stand for long periods of time and get anything done. Today I took the washing off the line. It took me 10 minutes and I felt exhausted after. Teenage children will now be doing the bulk of this job now.

The week has also dragged a bit. I am expecting that the end of this pregnancy will take a long time to come now. I have plenty of plans though to get me through.


--2--
Curriculum for 2010.

I have been working on Tom, Amelia and Christopher's curriculum for next year.

I was going to get the Faith and Life series for their Catechism lessons but I am a bit drawn to the Image of God series too.

So I thought, I would just ask. Those of you that have used these resources. Which do you think is the better series for teaching the catechism?

--3--
New pram:

This is the pram I am probably going to get for our new baby:

It is a Valco Navigator. Price is good and most of the reviews I have read about it are good too.

--4--
Baby Hammock.

Since Madeline was a baby, we have used a baby hammock for the baby to sleep in for the first 6 months. We actually used it for longer with Madeline but that was a big disaster in trying to move her from the hammock to the cot so the rest of our children have been moved into the hammock by 6 months

Here is a picture of a baby hammock. As soon as we get ours set up and my camera back, I will take a photo of it. When baby arrives, I will take a photo of him in it too. I highly recommend the baby hammock. We have co slept with babies at night but during the day, these are a really good alternative to a cot.




--5--
School holidays.

We are winding up our home school program for the year. We have two weeks left and I am going to be doing Religion, Maths, spelling and literacy each day but most of the day we will be preparing for Christmas.

I am going to make decorations with Tom and Amelia for the family room and Christmas tree. We will also do some hand made Christmas gifts for the other children.

--6--
Curtains.

I finished the curtains for the boys room but I had a blonde moment and made them too long. Steve said, thats okay, just cut them off. Better to be longer than shorter. I did cut them off and had another blonde moment and made them too short. I was pretty upset when I realized. I am going to get some new fabric for the curtains and possibly cut up the curtain fabric to make the boys quilts.

--7--
Christmas Traditions.

One of our christmas traditions for the last couple of years has been for our children to have a kris kringle. They pick a name out of a hat and buy a gift for one of their siblings. The really like doing this each year. In the past, we have waited till just a week before Christmas since they all find it hard to keep their person a secret. I am thinking about trialing an earlier picking of names. We will see how it goes.



Link Jen isn't doing a quick 7 this week but you can still pop over and read some other interesting posts. She has some of the most interesting reading in the Catholic blogsphere.


Google Wave.

I have 8 invites for google wave.

If you want one, either leave a comment here, or email me.

Friday Funnies.

Saw this over at Jill Stanek's blog.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Picture Puzzle Day

Click to Mix and Solve

This puzzle was taken in Port Pirie when we went on a trip to Adelaide. On the way, I had a tire blow out and we went to the park while it was fixed.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Bamboo Fleece and PUL.

Today I have spent a fair bit of time looking into buying the fabric to make my own all in one nappies.

We used cloth nappies for our first 5 children but both Christopher and Amelia were in disposables full time.

I really don't want the expense this time so have been looking around at what is available.

I want to go with the all in ones to make it as convenient as possible.

So I want other cloth nappies mothers advice.

I have found a heap of free great patterns and Tracy has sent me a heap of links too. I am just wondering if I should go with the expensive Bamboo fleece and PUL waterproof fabric or just use any cotton fabric. Have any other bloggers made their own or bought the expensive all in ones? Do you have any advise about making them/buying them?
I have thought about buying plain Chinese Pre Folds but by the time I buy covers for them, they seem to be getting just as expensive as an all in one.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Homeschool inspiration.

I have followed Judy from BenMakesTen for a while now.

She mentioned a couple of days ago that they were thinking of putting her ebook "I Surrender" into a hard copy.

I don't generally buy ebooks but I would be very interested in buying this book as a hard copy.

If anyone else from Australia is interested in buying this ebook Judy has added a link to her buying page to buy the book in Australian currency.

Click here to go to the selling page.

I can't wait for it to come out in hard copy though.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

5mart Martha (and Mary) Monday.

Last week, I had a really bad week and didn't do very much from either list. Today is a new day though and I am going to start again.

The weather is going to be much cooler so I am hoping I can get a lot done.

So my list for this week:

Martha:

Sought out Tom and Christopher's clothes. Amelia has moved out of their room and I have much more space to store their clothes now. I am going to go through and sought them all into 4 different boxes each. We will have a summer, winter, underwear and shoes box.

Daniel and Sam's curtains: I have done one and will get the other one finished this week hopefully.

Homeschool: I am going to start working out our curriculum for next year. I want to get it all ready before Christmas so that I can spend January preparing for the baby.

Cooking: I will cook our main meals for the month this weekend.

Bejeweled Blitz: I am not going to play this after tea each night. Once I start, I want to stay up and end up going to bed late. I need to stay off in the evening.

Mary:

Pray the rosary and Divine Mercy each day.

Go to weekday mass.

Pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

Blessings book.

Preparing for advent with Tom and Amelia.

Do you have any goals for the week?

Other 5Mart Martha Lists:

Become What You Are.

Praise God.

Jennifer is the host each week for praise. Pop over to her blog to read what other people are praising God for.

I praise God today for Daniel and all he has accomplished this year.

I praise God for all the awards he got.

I praise God for all our other children and all the love they give to Steve and I.

I praise God for Steve and for the wonderful husband he is. I thank God also that he is an example to me and our children in living the faith.

I praise God that this pregnancy has been so easy and gone so fast.

I praise God for the rain we had yesterday and last night.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Quick 7.




--1--

Pregnancy.

I am now 29 weeks and everything is still going smoothly. I am starting to feel a lot of pressure on my pelvis when the baby lies a certain way and cannot stand for long. So far baby hasn't laid that way for very long so hopefully I won't get uncomfortable with it.

--2--

Broken Camera.

My camera that I bought just 6 weeks ago stopped working. I have charged it and tried a couple of times to open it but it still will not turn on. I am going to ring Kodak on Monday and see where to send it too and get it fixed.

--3--

Musical Theatre.

Next weekend, Madeline and Brigette are in the musical theatre production called Do you believe in Santa Claus? They are putting shows on Friday night, Sunday lunchtime and Sunday night. On Friday I bought tickets for us to go and see the show on Sunday night. I really hope my camera is fixed by then and I can take some photos.

--4--

Advent.

This year we are going to do an Advent Tree. I got the idea from Judy at BenMakesTen.

This is the outline that Judy has:

WEEK ONE OF ADVENT:

Put up your Christmas Tree, but ONLY the tree...do not put anything on it.
Leave it this way all week.
From time to time, sit near it and think about what it symbolizes...LIFE...beautiful life here on earth....and the EVERLASTING love of Jesus...and the LIFE IN ETERNITY He will grant us one day.

WEEK TWO:

Now place the lights upon the tree....ONLY the lights...Jesus is the LIGHT OF THE WORLD.
Sing carols and read Scripture stories that anticipate HIS COMING.
Ask Him to LIGHT YOUR SOUL.

WEEK THREE:

The ornaments will adorn the tree this week!
It's drawing nearer!
The waiting is almost over! ONLY ONE MORE WEEK AFTER THIS!
It is a week of JOYFUL ANTICIPATION!
Add those special touches and prepare a place of the HOLY INFANT!

WEEK FOUR:

The final top now comes to its place.
An angel?
A star?
Whatever you choose.
Place it atop your tree and stand back for a few moments!
OH COME OH COME EMMANUEL!
This final week will pass so quickly and you have now had time to PREPARE YOUR HEART in
a very focused and thoughtful way!

I am thinking of making a heap of purple ornaments to put on the tree in week two. We may make a advent wreath too.

--5--

Moving day.

Today the children changed rooms. I have sewn one of the boys curtains but need to buy some hooks. I thought I had some but I cannot find them. I may have put them away or maybe they have all been used.

--6--

Schoolies.

Daniel is down at schoolies for the weekend. I am sure he will have fun there.

--7--

Photo.

Even though my camera is broken, another mum emailed me some photos from the closing mass yesterday.

Since he is school leader, he got up and made a speech at the end of the mass. Here he is with the other school leaders, Jessica, Zaraar and Caitlyn.


Thanks so much Jennifer for hosting Quick 7 each week. Pop over to her blog to read what other people have for their quick 7.


Friday, November 20, 2009

Graduation night.

Tonight we went to Daniels graduation dinner from high school.

We are really proud of him and all he has accomplished this year. He has been accepted by One Steel to do a cadetship for the next 8 years. He will be working for them and studying Mechanical Engineering at UniSA.

Tonight he received 4 awards. They were:

The Mary McKillop Christian Leadership award.
The ADF Lon Tan Leadership and Teamwork Award.
Dilligence Award.
David O'Connor Perpetual Science Award.

As well as these awards, he also received a merit certificate for Maths. Merit certificates were given to all the year 12's that have received an A in any subject.

Daniel is a born leader and tonight he has been rewarded for all the hard work he has done this year.

Congratulations Daniel on all that you have accomplished over this year. We are proud to be the parents of such a dedicated and hard working person.

Mum and Dad.

Friday Funnies


lol. I need one of these in my fridge.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Recipe swap Thursday: Anzac Biscuits.

These are one of my favourite biscuits to bake.


Anzac Biscuits!!

Ingredients:

1 cup (150g) plain flour
1 cup (90g) rolled oats
1 cup (85g) desiccated coconut
3/4 cup (155g) brown sugar
125g butter
2 tbs golden syrup
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda


Method:

Preheat the oven to 160°C.
Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
Sift the flour into a large bowl.
Stir in the oats, coconut and brown sugar.
Put the butter, golden syrup and 2 tbs water in a small saucepan.
Stir over a medium heat until melted.
Stir in the bicarbonate of soda.
Pour the butter mixture into the flour mixture and stir until combined.
Roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls.
Place on the trays, about 5cm apart.
Press with a fork to flatten slightly.
Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Set aside on the trays for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack so it cools completely.

These also taste nice with about a teaspoon of ground ginger in them. Put in with the flour and oats.

Don't forget to pop over to Therese's blog to see other great recipes.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Mass We Pray.



I am not sure what to think about this. I really hope it is a joke. If it isn't, I think it is in poor taste.

Wordless Wednesday.



This instrument is amazing.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

5mart Martha (and Mary) Monday on Tuesday!

My list from last week was very neglected because of Tom's midweek visit to the hospital and me getting sick. I did sew myself another maternity top, the boys a shirt each and cut out one curtain. I also kept up with our budget and kept a record of where we spent our money.

So these are my goals for this week.

Martha

Finish off the curtains.
mark maths and literacy each day when the children do them.
Read with the children each day.
move children into new bedrooms this weekend.
Prepare some Advent activities to do with Tom, Amelia and Christopher.

Mary

Go to weekday mass one day.
Stay to pray after mass in front of the blessed sacrament.
Pray the family rosary.
Read a small bit from the bible each day.
Write down blessings from each day.

The blessings from each day was something both Steve and I use to do regularly. I was thinking about it over the weekend when I was feeling sorry for myself about something that I cannot even remember now. We kept a book that was specifically for blessings and wrote them all down. It was a good thing to look at whenever I felt down. It always lifted my spirits.

Here are a couple of other bloggers that have joined in 5mart Martha.

Michelle.


Become What You Are.

Cindy.

Let me know if you want to join in 5mart Martha and I will add a link to you too.


Update on baby.

Just being to the ob for my check up. Baby's heart beat is good and strong and my ob is pretty sure everything is okay. I also had a lot of movements this morning so maybe the baby was just tired or I wasn't noticing movements as much as they were happening.

I had the glucose tolerance test 3 weeks ago and the results from that were 5.2 (93) which the ob and I are both very happy with.

Feeling better.

Thanks so much for all the prayers. Today I feel much better. I still have a runny nose and am coughing a lot but don't feel wiped out like I did over the weekend.

Since I was not posting, I missed my 5mart Martha and Mary list. I will get it up later today though.

I am seeing the ob today for a check up. Baby is still moving but I have noticed a decrease in the movements so if you could all please pray. I wasn't meant to see him till next week but felt concerned so moved the appointment forward.

Thanks and God bless
Therese

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Yucky cold

I have been blowing my nose all day and have a horrible sore throat and cough. Going to be away for a couple of days.

Any prayers you have would be appreciated.

Therese

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Tonight at our house.



We are watching this. I think it is one of my favourite children's movies.

What are you doing this weekend?

Friday, November 13, 2009

Friday Funnies.

Last weekend I saw something at the Pawn Shop that sparked my interest. The occasion was our 22nd anniversary, and I was looking for a little something extra for my wife. What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse-sized Taser. The consequences of the Taser were supposed to be short lived, with no long-term adverse effects on her assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety.... WAY TOO COOL!

Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home. I loaded two triple-A batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button. Nothing! I was disappointed. I learned, however, that if I pushed the button AND pressed it against a metal surface at the same time, I'd get the blue arch of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs. Awesome!!!

Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to wife what that burn spot is on the face of her microwave.

Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn't be all that bad with only two triple-A batteries, right?!!!

There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh & blood moving target. I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a fraction of a second) and thought better of it. She is such a sweet cat. But, if I was going to give this thing to my wife to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised. Am I wrong?

So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, Taser in another. The directions said that a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant; a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a major loss of bodily control; a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water.

Any burst longer than three seconds would be wasting the batteries.

All the while I'm looking at this little device measuring about 5 inches long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference -- pretty cute, really -- and loaded with two itsy, bitsy triple-A batteries, thinking to myself, "No possible way!"

What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best.....

I'm sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side as if to say, "Don't do it, master," reasoning that a one-second burst from such a tiny little ole thing couldn't hurt all that bad.... I decided to give myself a one-second burst just for the heck of it. I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and HOLY WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION!!!

I'm pretty sure Jessie Ventura ran in through the side door, picked me up in the recliner, and then body slammed us both on the carpet, over and over and over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, both nipples on fire, my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position, and tingling in my legs. The cat was standing over me making meowing sounds I had never heard before, licking my face.

Note: If you ever feel compelled to "mug" yourself with a Taser, one note of caution: there is no such thing as a one-second burst when you zap yourself. You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor. A three-second burst would be considered conservative.

A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up, and surveyed the landscape. My bent reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace. How did they get up there???

My triceps, right thigh, were still burning and twitching. My face felt as if it had been shot up with Novocain and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs.

Still in shock

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Small Successes.


I haven't done the small successes meme for a while but need a pick me up tonight and what better way to do it than to think about what we have achieved this week.

So my three are:

1) Tom is home tonight.

2) By this stage of pregnancy with Christopher, I was very swollen and carrying a lot of extra fluid. This pregnancy is much smoother. I have no swelling thank goodness and I feel much better about being pregnant for another 12 weeks.

3) Even though the temps have been really high and Tom has been in hospital, we have had home cooked meals every night this week. Usually when things like this happen, we ring up for pizza or take the children out for take away.

For other people's small successes pop over to Faith and Family.

Therese

Back home

Thanks so much for all the prayers. Tom is back home. His sugars are back in range and he is back to his normal self.

Today is 2 years since Tom started pumping. I am so grateful that we have the pump. It has made his diabetes much easier to handle and he has better care with it.

I have a lot to do so I will keep this quick.

Therese

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Update on Tom.

Toms sugars dropped too low so he has had to go to hospital to be hydrated. He is on a drip and sugars did come into range at lunch time. I think we have turned a corner but still appreciate any prayers you can offer.

Heatwave.

I am coping fairly well with the hot weather. It is playing havoc though with both Tom and Christophers sugar levels. Both of them have had hypos in the last 24 hours that have been pretty severe.

The next 5 days are all going to be above 40 (105) and then we still will have temps in the high 30's. I am going to speak to their endocrinologist today and probably set Tom's basal a bit lower and give Christopher less insulin too. I just hope they don't start swinging from really low to really high. That is when diabetes starts to become really hard to manage and can take over our lives.

Prayers would be appreciated and I will keep everyone updated.

Thanks
Therese

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Say something nice.

Shell tagged me for the Say Something Nice about a Priest Meme.

The person who created the meme meant that we are to say something nice about a particular priest and we are to pass it on to three other bloggers to do the same.

This is such a great meme. It is always great to affirm and tell our priests that we appreciate what they do and all the ways they help us.

I am going to talk about our parish priest Fr. Paul Burke. He has been our parish priest for 3 years now.

Fr. Paul is always friendly and greets everyone as they come in our church. He loves the children and all our children love interacting with him. This past weekend, he gave a great sermon on giving and generosity. He said that rarely is there a perfect time to be generous but we should still try and give even if it is only small.

Thanks Fr. Paul for being our priest.

I tag

Abbey.


Colleen.

Become What You Are.


.

Monday, November 09, 2009

5mart Martha (and Mary) Monday.

I just looked at my list from last week and boy, I need to pick up on the spiritual.

The only thing we did was the rosary.

From my Martha list I did everything except the boys curtains which I intend to do after I have taken the boys to the paediatrician this afternoon.

On my list for this week:

Martha:

  • cut out the boys curtains.
  • sew maternity tops and boys shorts.
  • do our budget and keep up with where we have spent all our money.
  • Take the children swimming each morning.
  • start our Christmas cooking. We will cook the Christmas pudding and cake this week.

Mary:

  • Go to week day mass.
  • Do a catechism quiz with Tom and Amelia.
  • Pray the rosary.
  • Read Angels in the water to the children.
  • Take the children to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
The same as last week since we missed a lot of them.

Here is Michelle's list for the week.

Sunday, November 08, 2009

Praise God.


Every Week, Jennifer from My Chocolate Heart hosts Praise.

It is a while since I have done a list and I really need to take more time to praise God so here is my list for this week.

1) Praise God for the air conditioner that keeps us cool.

2) Praise God for cool water to drink.

3) Praise God for my husband.

4) Praise God for the gift of my children.

5) Praise and thanks for Mylanta which brings relief to my heartburn.

6) Praise God for my sewing machine.

Saturday, November 07, 2009

26 books every Catholic should read.

H/T to Fallible Blogma for this link.

Archbishop Charles Chaput has written a list of books he wishes every Catholic would read.

You can find his list here.

I think I need another bookcase.


Friday, November 06, 2009

Quick 7


--1--
Heating up.

This week every day is going to be 38. For you Fahrenheit people that is 100. I think we will be going to the pool each morning and then sitting in the airconditioned house for the rest of the day.

--2--

Pioneer Women's cook book.

This book isn't being released in Australia till the 1st of December. I thought the release date would be the same as the States but obviously we have to wait for shipping.

I think I will ask Steve for this for my Christmas present since it is on the pricey side.

--3--

Week 27.

I really was dreading this stage of pregnancy when we first learnt baby #8 was coming but I still feel really good. By this stage of pregnancy with Christopher, I was feeling really sick of it and didn't want to wait another 13 weeks for him to come.

The only bad side affect I have had has been heartburn. I get it after most meals.

I am starting to feel very tired in the afternoons but still sleep well. I think though that the baby is getting big enough that sleeping will be hard and uncomfortable soon.

--4--

Diabetes.

Tom has recovered well from his hospital visit last week. By coincidence (I think now), Christopher's sugars shot up on Friday and Saturday. We had some really high readings and he was very irritable. At first on Saturday I thought they must both have an infection since they both had high sugars. I tried to ring the doctors surgery but there was no answer. I then decided to just keep a close eye on their bsl and ketone levels and get in contact with their endo on the Monday. Fortunately, both boys had good sugars on Sunday and this week as well. I think what ever it was that caused the highs was short lived thank goodness.

--5--

OOPS!!!!!

I have to say something about my blogging buddy Jeanne.

A couple of weeks ago, Jeanne gave me the Gorgeous blogger Award.

I was touched and thankful for it but completely forgot about her passing it onto me.

A few days after that Judy also passed the award onto me. I really should have said that both had given me the award when I passed it on but I didn't.

So to my blogging buddy Jeanne, thanks so much for the award. I am sorry I neglected to mention you when I passed it on to the other bloggers.

--6--

Vegetable Garden.

We have a heap of cucumbers from the garden. Steve thinks the tomatoes will start to ripen up in a few weeks so we will start doing some pasta sauces and other things with them.

--7--

Daniel.

Daniel has had two exams this week and has another two to go. His last exam is on the 17th so only 11 days to go. I think he is looking forward to finishing.

Don't forget to pop over to Jen from Conversion Diary for her quick 7 and others as well.

Friday Funnies

Swine Flu!!!!!!
It has been doing the rounds so I know many of you have already seen it. I still like it a lot and think it is pretty funny.

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Recipe swap Thursday. Christmas pudding.

Laura asked me for my Christmas pudding recipe so I thought it was a perfect recipe to put up for the swap. Don't forget to pop over to Therese's blog for other recipes. I haven't ever made my own Christmas pudding but this is a recipe I found on the net that I am going to try:



1½ cups (250g) raisins
1½ cups (250g) sultanas
1 2/3 cups (250g) currants
2 tablespoons sweet sherry
1 medium (170g) apple, peeled, grated
1 medium (120g) carrot, peeled, grated
½ cup (60g) ground almonds
1½ cups (300g) firmly packed dark brown sugar
250g butter, grated
4 cups (280g) stale breadcrumbs
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (150g) plain flour
4 eggs
2 teaspoons finely grated orange rind
2 tablespoons orange juice

METHOD

Combine raisins, sultanas and currants with sherry in a large bowl; mix well. Cover and stand overnight, or for several days, stirring occasionally.

Add apple, carrot, almonds, sugar, butter, breadcrumbs, spices, salt and flour; mix well.

Beat the eggs with rind and juice, stir into the mixture.

Use a 60cm square of unbleached calico; if calico is new, soak in cold water overnight. Next day, boil calico for 20 minutes, rinse. Have a large boiler ¾ full of rapidly boiling water, 2.5 metres of string and the extra flour close by.

Wearing rubber gloves, dip the prepared pudding cloth into boiling water; boil 1 minute. Remove cloth from water, squeeze excess water from cloth. Working quickly, spread hot cloth on bench, rub flour into the centre of the cloth to cover an area about 40cm in diameter; leave flour a little thicker in the centre of cloth where the ‘skin’ on the pudding will need to be thickest.

Place pudding mixture in centre of cloth, gather cloth evenly around pudding, avoiding any deep pleats. Pat into round shape with hand. Tie cloth tightly with string as close to mixture as possible. Tie loop in string to make pudding easier to lift from the water, leave long ends of string free. Pull ends of cloth tightly to make sure pudding is as round and firm as possible.

Gently lower pudding into boiling water. You may wish to tie free ends of string to handles of boiler to suspend pudding. (If the pan is not large enough to suspend the pudding, place a heatproof saucer in the base of the pan.) Cover with tight-fitting lid, boil rapidly for 6 to 8 hours. Replenish boiling water as necessary to maintain boil and water level. There must be enough water in the boiler for the pudding to be immersed at all times.

Untie pudding from handles. Place handle of wooden spoon through loop in string to lift pudding from the water. Place the pudding into a bowl or colander. Cut the string and gently begin to peel away the cloth, scraping the skin back onto the pudding with a palette knife if necessary. Invert the pudding onto a plate and continue to peel back the cloth completely. Cool. The skin will darken on standing. (We prefer to remove a boiled pudding from its cloth before refrigerating or freezing. This prevents mould from forming on the pudding, which often occurs when a pudding is hung at room temperature in humid weather).

Soak cloth in cold water overnight, wash and rinse well; avoid using detergents.

STORING PUDDINGS:
Wrap the pudding thoroughly in plastic wrap then place into an airtight container or freezer bag. Refrigerate puddings for up to three months or freeze for one year.

REHEATING PUDDINGS:
Thaw frozen puddings for 2 days in the refrigerator and remove them from the refrigerator 12 hours before reheating.
STEAMED: Remove the plastic wrap and return to the steamer. Steam for 2 hours following the cooking instructions.
BOILED: Remove the plastic wrap and tie a clean, dry unfloured cloth on the pudding. Boil for 2 hours following the cooking instructions.
TO MICROWAVE: To reheat the whole large pudding, cover with microwave-safe plastic wrap, microwave on medium (50%) for about 15 minutes. To reheat 4 single serves at once, cover with microwave-safe plastic wrap; microwave on high (100%) for about 3 minutes.

I got the recipe from this link.

Christmas Pudding on Foodista

Picture Puzzle Day.

From our garden: A Sturt Desert Pea. I am so proud of Steve growing these.

Click to Mix and Solve

Drop over to Cathy's for other puzzles.

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Home made Christmas.

What are some of the things you do for Christmas? I am going to start doing some craft and cooking activities with Tom and Amelia for Christmas soon. These are what we have planned so far:

Cooking:

White Christmas.
Rum balls.
Apricot Balls.
Coconut ice.
Christmas pudding.
Christmas cake.

Craft:

Making Christmas decorations. Paper links are at the top of the list. I think we will also make an advent calender.

I have thought about making a nativity scene but just think it may be too big a project and I haven't been able to find anything online that I feel really confident making.

I will sew a new outfit for the girls and our younger boys. I will probably buy something for our two older boys who don't really appreciate home sewn outfits.

Tom and Amelia have a couple of projects they want to sew. Tom is keen to do a Christmas stocking for the baby even though he won't be here at Christmas. I think it is because he knows how simple it is and I hope he doesn't expect it to be full of gifts.

So what plans do you have?

27 weeks: Counting down begins.

It is 13 weeks exactly till our baby is due today. Since I have gone over with most of my babies, I am half expecting to go over but deep in my heart, I really hope I don't.

I really cannot believe how quickly this pregnancy has gone. The first two trimesters have just flown for me. It seems like just a couple of weeks ago that I was showing Steve the positive pregnancy test in our room and we were talking about when to tell the children. The children found out pretty soon after we knew but we asked them to keep it a secret and they all managed to keep their lips sealed.

The last trimester is obviously the hardest so I am expecting time to start dragging. I still sleep fairly well at night and have many things I want to so hopefully it will go fast.

Therese

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Say no 4 kids.


H/ T to Lynn for this petition.

During the school holidays we went to Adelaide for the day for the One and All boat trip. While we were there I was shocked to see a big sign advertising Viagra. Tom saw the sign too and asked me what it meant. fortunately, he got distracted by something else and I didn't have to answer. If he sees it again and asks again, I still don't know how I am going to answer him.

I was reminded of this incident when I went to Lynn's blog recently and she had a link to the Say No 4 Kids petition.

From the blog for Say No 4 Kids:

‘…Publications once considered ’soft porn’, have become more and more explicit. Now they are placed right in front of children at their eye level in milkbars, service stations and newsagents across the country! Who decided all of a sudden that it is OK for children to be exposed to pornography?…’

Click here for the link to the blog which updates with the latest news.

Online petition - Remove Pornography from Children's View


Monday, November 02, 2009

Does anyone know?

I need to find a shop that sells zips and sewing accessories online. Our little town doesn't have all the accessories that I need and I generally have to travel an hour to Whyalla for many of them.

Does anyone know a place that sells the following online from Australia?

Things I am mainly interested in:

Overlocking cotton.
Zippers.
Bias binding.
cotton for sewing machine. (I like the Gutermann cotton for the sewing machine)
iron on interfacing.

Thanks
Therese.

5mart Martha (and Mary) Monday.

From my list last week, I did everything except pray the rosary each day and take the boys for their blood tests. I have book their tests but the doctor they usually see was on holidays so we will see him this week. I missed the rosary on the day Tom was in hospital and on Saturday but managed it every other day.

This week I am going to change my 5mart Martha to 5mart Martha (and Mary) and list 5 spiritual things and 5 practical things for each area. I got the idea from Become What you are. She has a list for both the last two weeks.

So here are my 5 for the week:

Martha:

  • cut out a couple more top maternity patterns.
  • cut the curtains for the boys room.
  • Do times tables every day for home school.
  • Read Trixie Belden each day.
  • Keep the boys bsl diaries up to date.

Mary:

  • Go to week day mass.
  • Do a catechism quiz with Tom and Amelia.
  • Pray the rosary.
  • Read Angels in the water to the children.
  • Take the children to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

Have a great week.

Therese

Other people joining in 5mart Martha Monday:

Michelle.

Become What You Are.

Sunday, November 01, 2009

A busy Sunday.

This morning Steve picked all our leeks that we were suppose to have for winter. We grew them for potato and leek soup but they were all minuscule until now.

I have enough there to make about 6 meals of soup with so we decided to cut them up, cook them and freeze them. Now next winter we will have them all ready to make some soup with.

I also made some extra pasties and egg and bacon pastries to use up the extra puff pastry that we had in the freezer. We will have these for tea and I will freeze the rest for another night. I really want to have a good stash of meals ready for when the baby comes I think it will be hard to cook ahead once he arrives so will spend some time between now and Christmas trying to stock up.

It is only 8 weeks till Christmas now and I have a list of sewing I want to do between now and then. I also have a few plans in my mind of what I will do after Christmas mainly for the baby.

What are you doing this weekend?

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Time for a change.

A couple of people had trouble opening my blog yesterday so I am going to do some changes to it.

I am going to look into what slows page loads down and try and make the page a bit quicker to load. I know it frustrates me when I cannot load pages or they take a long time to load.

So if you know what kind of things slow down the page load, please let me know in the comment box.

I have removed a heap of gadgets and made the blog two columns rather than three. I do prefer the 3 column template. What do you all think?

Friday, October 30, 2009

We are home.

Thanks everyone for the prayers. Tom is back home tonight. His bsl dropped right down to 3.9 when we changed his pumpsite. We usually don't like him being lower than 4.0 but 0.1 isn't too bad a low. I have found in the past that correcting all day will result in a low eventually.

We will keep a close eye on bsl tonight but hopefully he is back on track.

Tom in hospital.

This morning Tom woke up and started vomiting. He had really high sugars and high blood ketones.

He is in hospital now being rehydrated. Please pray for him and for a quick recovery.

Thanks
Therese

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Photos of my dress and childrens bathers

Christopher: "Hey, get out of my photo."



Do you like this look mum?



Okay. I'll be sensible.



Do I look pretty mum?



Finally, my new dress.

Tim Hawkins: A homeschool family.

This is one of my favourite you tubes:

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Gorgeous Blogger Award.


Thanks so much Judy for passing on the gorgeous blog award.

Here are the rules:

By accepting this award I am require to tell you six things about myself that you don't know and then award it to six other gorgeous bloggers.

1) my favourite food is Italian. I love pasta, lasagna, gnochi, pizza and olives.

2) I have a real sweet tooth and love any kind of sweets.

3) I dream about Steve and I getting away on a holiday without any children. I think it will be a long time in the future though.

4) my favourite perfume is Lulu. I have a bottle of it in my cupboard that I have had for years. Unfortunately, one of my children pulled the spray nozzle off a long time ago and I haven't been able to find a replacement one that fits it. I think it is about 3/4 full too.

5) I love soaking in a bath with essential oils to make it smell nice.

6) In summer I love having a glass of wine with our main meal. Usually I will have a second one too. I just buy a cheap cask wine for this usually.

Now 6 bloggers to pass this award onto:

1) Kim from Baby yahyah.

2) Jo from Crazy Chaos at our house.

3) Peta from 7 little heads on 7 little beds.

4) Kate from Momopoly.

5) Sarah from More Than Enough.

6) Cathy from A Bit of the Blarney

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Happy Birthday Sam.

16 years ago today I had our second child. Another son. I wanted Daniel to have a brother since my brother had been the only boy. I know that Daniel appreciates having a brother close in age to him. I am sure Sam does too.

Sam was born 4 weeks early. It was a big surprise to us since Daniel had been late.

Now nearly 16 years later, he has grown to be a wonderful son. We love you a lot Sam and are glad you are a part of our family. Happy Birthday.

My Spouse.

Cathy Tagged me on Facebook for this meme and I decided to post it here too.

♥ What are your middle names
Angela and Osmond.

♥ How long have you been together?
22 years.

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
A couple of weeks.

♥ Who asked who out
Steve offered me a lift to a party we were both going to.

♥ How old are each of you?
both 43.

♥ Whose siblings do/did you see the most?
Probably mine but we don't see a lot of either siblings.

♥ Do you have any children together?
Yes. 8.

♥ What about pets?
Dog, Cat, love birds, chickens, turtle,

♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
Our first year in Milicent

♥ Did you go to the same school?
No

♥ Are you from the same home town?
Yes.

♥ Who is the smartest?
Steve.

♥ Who is the most sensitive?
Me.

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Hungry Jacks.

♥ Who has the worst temper?
Me

♥ Who does the cooking?
Mostly me.

♥ Who is more social?
Me.

♥ Who is the neat-freak?
Steve.

♥ Who is the more stubborn?
Me.

♥ Who hogs the bed?
Neither.

♥ Who wakes up earlier?
Steve.

♥Where was your first date?
Walk at Morialta falls.

♥ Who has the bigger family?
Me

♥ Do you get flowers often?
No.

♥ How do you spend the holidays?
doing the bare minimum.

♥ Who is more jealous?
Neither.

♥ How long did it take to get serious?
Probably about a year.

♥ Who eats more?
Steve.

♥ Who does/did the laundry?
Brigette and I.

♥ Who’s better with the computer?
Steve.

♥ Who drives when you are together?
Steve.

If you want to do this on your blog, let me know in the comment box and I will add a link to you.

Please pray for a cure for Type One Diabetes

Please pray for a cure for Type One Diabetes
Our sons Tom and Christopher and our daughter Amelia are type one diabetics. We pray everyday for a cure. We do not want one by illicit means though so don't support any organisation that contributes to Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Click on the photo of Tom and Christopher to read about why I am against using Embryonic Stem cells for a cure.

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Australian Catholic Homeschoolers.

Tom's and Christopher's insulin pump

New book: Faith Quilt.

New book: Faith Quilt.
All proceeds from sales of "FAITH QUILT" going to "Casa de Amor Children's Homes in Bolivia" and "Sarah's Covenant Homes in India" Two truly extraordinary organisations that take in the most needy children and give them a place of love and security to call home.