Thinking during my free time....

Well, here I sit with a little bit of free time. This doesnt happen very often. So...I thought I would update my blog.

The week is going by so fast. Shane LOVES his job!!! What an answer to prayer. It is amazing how you can have peace when you are where God wants you to be. In fact, he is thinking about saving his RDO (regular day off-he gets one every month) and going to work that day instead. It is nice to have a happy and joyful husband who loves his job and enjoys where God has him for the time being.

Dave is growing up so fast. He has just dropped his lunch time feed. It seems that he is less interested in me and more interesting in eating solids and watching Noah! I cant seem to be able to MAKE him eat these days....so I figure he knows what he is doing and I have let him drop the feed. It wont be too much longer until he weans himself. He loves the sippy cup and his solids! I was planning on weaning him around November anyways...but I guess he has decided to stop earlier than expected. He is eating everything and I'm no longer pureeing his food. What a big boy!!!! I also had Shane drop his crib last night. It was at the newborn height and Dave has been poking his head over the top!!! So now...it is almost at floor level so he cant crawl or fall out!

Noah is playing like crazy and is STILL going through the terrible twos!!! When will it end! Lately...he enjoys telling me NO and then running away. AHHHHH! He is still pretty good most of the time though. He is recognizing his letters and most numbers up to 20.....he can put together 25-30 piece puzzles...and he loves playing outside. He is potty trained during the day...although I have to remind him to go if he is playing outside.

Well...that should be a bit of an update for now. I know I need to post pictures...maybe later. We are off to a friends house for afternoon tea, then on to shopping (Thursday is late night shopping-the only night shops are open till 9!). My free time didnt last long...Noah has just woken up! Kids!!!

It's been awhile!

It's seems like ages since I have done a post. I guess it is a combination of being really busy and just having a bad week last week.

It is 6:30 am on a Monday morning. This is the latest that Noah has slept in for ages. We are sooooo tired. He has been waking up throughout the night and very early in the morning. He's been pulling on his ear, acting very clingy, and acting very naughty. SO...I'm actually starting to wonder if he has an ear infection. I called the doctor last week and they couldnt see him till next week. I will try again today and see if I can get him in this week. He has been quite naughty this past week-just with some jealousy stuff with Dave and then running away from me at the park. I am really put out with it all. I just pray God will take away the anger I feel when he disobeys and that I will have control, patience, and compassion.

I am starting to work on my citizenship. I sit my test in October...I booked that last week. The immigration people are requiring me to get a police check from any country that I have spent more than 12 months in since I became a permanent resident. Guess what country that was? VIETNAM! The immigration people give you addresses to write to so you can get your police certificate...but...there is no address for Vietnam. In fact, it says I must contact my local justice department in the city that I lived in. We are having major problems just trying to contact them....we cant find an email address or anything. We have to fill out an application just to apply for the check, but we cant find the application anywhere. Australia has told me to contact the Vietnamese embassy. I have talked to them twice and they say that dont handle that and no nothing. I spent 1 day last week on the phone trying to figure all this out. And I still dont know what we are going to do. It looks like this is going to slow my citizenship process down so I may not have it by the end of the year. I'm pretty bummed about it...and just a LITTLE frustrated with Vietnam.

Our car broke down over the weekend. It has been running funny...but yesterday Shane told me to get out and go somewhere by myself. I got in the car, and it wouldnt start. Oh yeah...and Shane had a flat tire this weekend as well. Today, we are taking it in....just makes it hard trying to get Shane to work at the coucil office at Bagara. My friend, Venita, is speaking at my Bible study today about a missions trip to Thailand, and another friend, Hilda, just returned from Wycliff training in PNG. Going to Bible study is going to be interesting without a car!!! My friend, Cheryl, is coming to pick me up. Cheryl has always been a great help to us. Thanks Cheryl!

I am really missing home. I want to be home with my parents right now, and I'm finding that really hard. I know it is only 3 months till we go but it seems like 3 years.

When we were in Vietnam...some people use to tell us that no matter how long we live in Vietnam...we would NEVER be Vietnamese. I am starting to feel that way here. No matter how long I live here I will never be Australian. I guess I feel like I'm having a hard time fitting in here-it's very frustrating especially with relationships and friendships.

I did start reading the book-The Shack. Wow...so far-it's awsome! I downloaded new podcasts on my ipod this weekend. I downloaded (1) Clearview Baptist Church-my cousin is pastor there and (2) Brooke Hills-David Platt (my cousin told me to have a listen). I cant wait to find some time to listen to them.

Well...Dave is about to get up so I better keep moving. I pray I have the strength to deal with this week-whatever is thrown my way!

Random Photos

Here are some photos I took awhile back. Some are from when we took the boys to the park and the last picture is a picture of the "cousins". We were watching Cooper one day and had all the car seats in our car. It made us nervous thinking of us having 3 car seats in our car!!!!! At the moment we are quite content to only have TWO permanent car seats in the car.

We have had another crazy Friday. We took Daddy to work, went to the toy library, went to playgroup, back home for lunch, and now everyone is asleep. We are going for a walk at the beach when the boys wake up and then we are picking Daddy up from work!

I am looking forward to the weekend. Noah's swim class has been moved to Saturdays now that Shane is working at the council. Dave will start swimming on September 13! Rumor has it that Shane is taking me to look for a dryer tomorrow morning! Yeah!

Meme

Tamra tagged me for a meme of 6 quirks or weird things about yourself. Yeah yeah...I always steal stuff from Tamra. She always has such cool stuff!!!!

First, the rules......
1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 5 following bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

1. I like to clean...everything...anything. I love to just scrub the bathroom and make it look nice and fresh. These days, though, cleaning is not what it use to be. Things dont seem to stay clean for long. Wonder why? KIDS!

2. I like checking blogs and looking on facebook. I really like playing scrable on facebook with my friend, Sam. I'm addicted.

3. Shane and I have been on a few trips where we were in the bush. We didnt have mirrors or anything like that. So...when you do get a chance for a shower you do everything in the shower...especially brushing your teeth. Lately, I've started brushing my teeth in the shower. I dont know why...we are definately not in the bush roughing it and we do have a mirror. I do it all the time though and Shane seemed a bit grossed out. I love the way my mouth just feels so fresh and cool in the hot shower.

4. I like pulling weeds in my garden. It is like therapy for me! I also love the way it looks when there are no weeds. Neat and Tidy.

5. I can read a book in a day. If someone tries to talk to me while I'm reading...I can look at them...but I hear absolutely nothing that is said. I am just focused on what I'm reading about in my book.

6. I like writing to-do lists for Shane. I often feel he is not motivated to do stuff around the house. So I will write a list out for me....but REALLY it is me writing one for him. Poor thing! How does he live with me?

Ok...I tag Candace, Rachel, Heather, Tiffany, and Brittany. Heather, Tiffany, and Brittany dont have blogs that I know about...but they have my-space and facebook and I guess they can write on that. I dont know anyone else.

Our Holiday

We had a great time at Woodgate. It was wonderful and so relaxing. It was hard to come home to our busy lives!!! Everyday we went for walks...to the park next door....and to the beach. The boys really loved it. Here are some photos. In the 1st photo, you can see the Kangaroo on the beach. In the 2nd photo, you can see the Joey in the Kangaroo's pouch. Noah is really good at saying, "Roo...bounce...bounce". You can have a look here at more photos.

Shane is back at work today. He started a new job at the local council. Say a prayer that all will go well and that he will have a peace about where God has us for this moment in time. His heart is still in full time ministry so it can be really hard sometimes playing the waiting game and making the most of where God has us now.

We are still unsure of the future, but we are really close to making a few really big decisions. Woodgate was good for us both to have time to clear our heads and take a step back and pray about things. We are just praying that God will make our next step CLEAR to us both.

Thanks for all your prayers and thoughts. They are so appreciated! Enjoy the photos.

A whole bunch of stuff...

We are getting ready to go to Woodgate for some rest and relaxation. Hopefully, this will be a good holiday for us all....we really need it.

I havent had time to upload photos, but I did put some on facebook. Click here to have a look. Hope you enjoy them. I am hoping to get some really good photos of the boys at the beach. I have some matching outfits that Mom and Dad sent me that are really cute-so hopefully I can get great photos.

Shane has been on holidays all week, but it has been so busy. Our washing machine is on its last leg so we have been trying to fix it today before we leave. I went to see Mama Mia last night. The story line wasnt that great...but I still really liked it! I love the music! It made me want to dance!

Well...that is about it for now....I must keep packing while Shane and Noah are at swimming!

Another change is in the air...

Another change...

Today, is Shane's last day at his work. He will be having some holidays next week, and then he will begin a new job at the local council (local government). We are really excited about this new change. It is better hours, better working conditions, better pay, etc. We are so thankful to God for giving him this opportunity.

We are all feeling much better now. We all still have a bad cough, but that is it! YEAH! I just got back from taking the boys to the beach. I was going to playgroup today, but I decided not to because of the boy's cough. I dont want them coughing on anyone else. We had a great time down the beach. The weather was nice and warm, and Noah had a great time playing.

I've got lots of pics to post, but I will have to do that later. I am currently busy making triple chocolate brownies. Yummmmmm.