Currently Reading Zigzag Street By Nick Earls see related

blue skies, smiling at me, nothing but blue skies, do I see

don't you love the beach? I wish I could visit the ocean every day to hear the waves and behold the vast power. maybe just run and run, but then to have to run back, I might think twice about it. maybe just sit and listen instead. we went to visit the koalas this morning at the local sanctuary. spring is in the air and the babies are abounding. paige, if you're reading this, I can't imagine life being any better before kids. it makes an ordinary life extraordinary. life breeds life and its too quiet without them. sure, there is crying and less sleep and a natural level of chaos the ensues, but this is as good as it gets- you forget how you learned as a child until you relive it through your own children's eyes as they reflect everything to you. the world is an amazing place and we philosophically dissect the details and idiosyncrasies to exhaustion sometimes. Hailey prays for our dinner every night and thanks God for being able to eat her own food and for helping her find her socks and other things. It makes Andrew and I laugh but its a good reminder of our giftedness from a good God to use our bodies and minds.

People ask about Andrew sometimes. He's still here, even though I don't mention him a lot. He is now sans goatee- it was a holiday experiment for June and July, not unlike Island Niles (for you Frasier fans). I shall endeavour to mention him more. Currently I am trying to reform his pronunciation of the word broccoli, seeing as I had to adapt to an entirely new way of expressing English to fit in here. (he pronounces it with three syllables and a long i at the end).We'll see how it goes. The process of reform is taking the shape of randomly saying the word broccoli in conversations. He claimed he didn't hear it enough to be reformed already, so away we go. He has come back with the word can't (english pronunciation (ah as the sound)) and we're working it out. something to pass the time anyways.

Currently Reading 48 Shades of Brown By Nick Earls see related

Be Quiet!

Be Quiet!....Be Quiet! (the sound I wake up to in the morning- Lachlan yelling at the dawn chorus because he wants more sleep). Life's so simple when you're two. I wish we could sleep in longer, or hear the birds instead of the yelling.

We saw the new Pirates movie this morning. It was pretty thrilling. I kept thinking it would end, but it kept going. I'm glad about that.

I have been offered work doing something that I really want to do at any time I choose, and now I am nailing down some plans to wean off some of my current projects and clear some space in my life for the new path. I still have two more blocks of student teaching to complete next year, but that will slot in providing I don't have the same woeful experience. Thanks to all my supporters, your feedback is uplifting. More on that later, it's time to feed the belly. mmm sandwiches.. wait, no bread...mmm something else.

The last few months

So I'll comment for my avid (and probably bored to tears now, having nothing new to read in the last few months) readers on the last few months. I started my first student teaching stint early in May, which explains why nothing was written in May. I finally came up for air early in June, only to find that my supervising teacher had failed me on almost every point possible for my teaching experience. I was hesistant at that point to write anything about the matter until it was resolved, having been totally shocked speachless by the event. So then the last few months I have been awaiting my appeal to go through and finally I was told last week that the University had overturned the supervising teacher's decision and that I passed after all. However, it doesn't really give me positive feedback, it only says that the teacher screwed up. So I'll have to wait until my next student teaching block to discover some meaningful insight into my teaching abilities etc.

I decided after the whole ordeal and the stress that it caused everyone around here to take the next semester off and do something different with myself- more kid friendly. I volunteered to run playgroup at the local church hall on Wednesdays and landed Tuesdays as well, so I'm pretty tired of playing by the end of the week. At the moment I'm going along to meetings on Mondays with a team of women who are going on a mission trip to India in a few weeks. I can't go on the trip because of the timing, but it's good to go along and support the team and help them plan different seminars they are running while they are there. Thursday's the women's bible study at church where I help with a music time that we have before the study groups break off from the big group. So I'm busy but having a good time of it for now.

Tomorrow is a holiday. The state takes the day off so that everyone can go to the state fair (Ekka). Imagine if they did that in America- State Fair Day on a wednesday. Pretty funny. We're not going to the fair this year, but we may go next year. It costs 21 dollars to get in and then you have to pay for food, rides, etc etc. We will probably go when the kids could stand a whole day there.

Well, lunch time is upon me and I need to make some sammys for the kids.

Currently Reading It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life By Lance Armstrong, Sally Jenkins see related

I always knew it would happen one day

Currently Watching Hi-5, Vol. 1 - Color Craze see related

yesterday

(well, that's what Lachlan's watching while I type this)

you know the song, all my troubles seemed so far away.. I don't know why it's in my head. yesterday was worse than today on account of  being awake at 3am from Hailey falling out of bed and then Lachlan waking up 30 mintues later. I was stuffed, I couldn't go back to sleep. so I was up and thinking about my spiritual journey from birth to  present. I had a meeting with the mission pastor at church to talk to him about my vision for the future and what I am feeling called to and to find out what I can be involved in. I might one day soon be a facilitator for the class I'm taking now. I might also have the opportunity to serve on the mission board at church. I feel a little young and underqualified to be on a board for anything, but nevertheless, I do meet the requirements, so we'll see if they take me seriously or not when I apply. the pastor was saying they wanted to change the image of missions and have it not be all the old crusties in charge of things.. I would help decide on candidates for missions and how to spend church funds on missions as well. I think the first year I will just spend most of the time learning about all the ins and outs of the missionaries at church and what the church is involved in thus far since this is all new to me. so the pastor asked me to think about my call in relation to my journey and how I have been prepared for this- I guess to ascertain whether the call is genuine or just some overzealous volunteer enthusiasm. it was good to sit down and think of my life in terms of spiritual involvement and development, even at 4am.

my upcoming schedule is packed, I'm not sure I'm going to get time to think of anything else but teaching. I have assignments due for the next few weeks and then prac. I don't feel ready to be unleased at school, so hopefully this first prac will be very simple and non-taxing.

I saw a guy the other night with a minnesota wild sweatshirt. how rare it must have been to see someone in the grocery store. you would think I would talk to him, but he was up in the line and those little aisles and all the food moving and beeping noises, I don't know, it was all too hard. maybe if I see the same guy wearing the same thing one day I will say something and find out if his second cousin's friend gave it to him or if he actually went to minnesota and saw the wild play- somthing I have never done. the north stars however, I can say I've been to a game and sat with a friend who caught a puck. it's funny, I probably would have forgotten all about the existence of hockey otherwise. it's all about cricket and rugby here. and maybe swimming too.

I realised last night I have been playing guitar for 13 years. I must say thankyou to rhonda and luke for your inspiration and teaching. and also to rhonda for my first real job and my intimate knowledge of the movie 'dirty dancing'. speaking of movies, I watched 'romancing the stone' last night. boy, was that better the first time.