It's strange how we've wanted children since we were married, and now that I'm pregnant again...well I'm still me.
Also I'm still carrying the emotional scars I was carrying before being pregnant again. I'm still having trials of various kinds. Still having medical problems that stop me in my tracks. Still having Centrelink battles. Still miss my mum & Ducky...
...It's just as well I never wanted to fall pregnant again as a source of fulfilment...otherwise I'd be severely let down and thoroughly depressed.
My identity, my comfort, my strength, my everything is found in my relationship with God - no matter what happens or doesn't happen in my life.
Don't hear me wrongly, I am soooooooo happy and thankful to be pregnant with Snoodle. I guess even though I will always love Snoodle greatly, I will try my hardest not to idolise him/her (i.e. not have as number one in my life)...just as I try with my relationship with Ben.
So why am I blogging about this? Just wanted my readers to understand that all my blog entries now are not going to be about every little detail about Snoodle.
He/she, just like Ben, will come up every now and then, but will not be the sole focus of my blog.
*****
Info for those trying to fall pregnant:
I just wanted to mention, as kind of a side point, that Ben was taking Menevit tablets & I was taking Elevit tablets to help us fall pregnant (Along with lots of prayer). We had been to our GP about our struggles to fall pregnant, and he suggested we try these tablets that we could buy over-the-counter at the chemist. Because, as far as our GP could tell, there appeared to be no medical reason we weren't falling pregnant, he made a big claim saying he'd be highly surprised if we didn't fall pregnant after 3 months...we were a little sceptical, however in exactly 3 months of us both taking our tablets we were pregnant with Snoodle. It helped us greatly, so I thought I'd mention it in case it helps others too...but I understand everyone is different & it may not help everyone.
(We were also told by our GP the best times for us to try to fall pregnant within my cycle, because timing is important too)
www.menevit.com.au
www.elevit.com.au
Sunday, 25 October 2009
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Happy Birthday Ben!!!!!!!!!
A quick little entry to say 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!' to my hubby Ben (whom I love very much).
(Not long untill G-Force bub! :D )
(Not long untill G-Force bub! :D )
Saturday, 19 September 2009
A Snoodle's Tale
'...Welcome to Snoodleburg! Home of the Snoodles!
A curious folk who eat pancakes with noodles.
And spend half their days making sketches and doodles,
And cutting their hair into shapes like French poodles.
Now, right in the heart of this curious town,
Is a curious building - the tallest around!
With a clock at its top and a chute at its bottom,
'Tis pink in the spring and turns red in the autumn.
But weirder by far than its colour or height,
Is what happens there every fourth Tuesday night.
As strange as it seems, it has been demonstrated
That Snoodles aren't born, but rather, "created."
Every fourth Tuesday at quarter past nine,
The tower will shimmy and rattle and whine.
And as the town nibbles on biggle-bag fruit,
A shiny young Snoodle will drop from the chute!
That's where they come from - though no one knows why,
Nor who could have built the great tower so high.
These "mysteries of life" befuddle most Snoodles,
Who'd much rather focus on pancakes and noodles
And cutting their hair into shapes like French poodles.
Yes, most found the tower
too noisy and strange,
Until one small Snoodle
made all of that change...'
Vischer, P. (2004) A Snoodle's Tale.(p. 4-6). Grand Rapids: Zonderkidz.
I thought I'd celebrate my mum's birthday by announcing to everyone that I am pregnant again!! I'm 13 weeks today, and our baby seems to be going well so far.
So, it seems we had a stow away on our holiday to South Australia - 'Snoodle' was with us the entire time, we just didn't know until after we returned home. When we realised it it explained a few little odd things that were happening to me on our holiday...such as some nausea and weird food aversions (just as a side i've had no vomiting nor food cravings).
We've had a few scares already...twice i've had some very very light bleeding (one time lasting 7 days!). But we had ultrasounds post both bleeds, and we were so emotional to still see Snoodle's heart beat & in the 2nd u/s to see Snoodle jumping, kicking, and waving (he/she seemed happy and oblivious to it's parents worry).
It was lovely having support during this time...the day of the second u/s friends left Snoodle's first ever present at the door (hand made socks) - a beautiful gift no matter what the outcome would have been, and other friends gave flowers on the same day (also a great gesture no matter what happened).
We're also so thankful for people's prayers: for falling pregnant in the first place (it's taken over a year of trying since loosing Ducky), and for the safety of Snoodle. We ask for continued prayer for all of us.
We've nick named this baby Snoodle from 'A Snoodle's Tale' (Veggietales episode & book), as we'd love for him/her to be similar to the main character in the story. The main character finds life a little difficult (e.g. he stumbles, others make fun of him and what he can/can't do), but he learns (by meeting his creator & talking with him) that it's how his creator sees him that is most important. He then holds this close to his heart so that he has strength to face life again, and he tries to tell all the other Snoodles just how great & awesome their creator is.
We praise God for little 'Snoodle' Waters.
A curious folk who eat pancakes with noodles.
And spend half their days making sketches and doodles,
And cutting their hair into shapes like French poodles.
Now, right in the heart of this curious town,
Is a curious building - the tallest around!
With a clock at its top and a chute at its bottom,
'Tis pink in the spring and turns red in the autumn.
But weirder by far than its colour or height,
Is what happens there every fourth Tuesday night.
As strange as it seems, it has been demonstrated
That Snoodles aren't born, but rather, "created."
Every fourth Tuesday at quarter past nine,
The tower will shimmy and rattle and whine.
And as the town nibbles on biggle-bag fruit,
A shiny young Snoodle will drop from the chute!
That's where they come from - though no one knows why,
Nor who could have built the great tower so high.
These "mysteries of life" befuddle most Snoodles,
Who'd much rather focus on pancakes and noodles
And cutting their hair into shapes like French poodles.
Yes, most found the tower
too noisy and strange,
Until one small Snoodle
made all of that change...'
Vischer, P. (2004) A Snoodle's Tale.(p. 4-6). Grand Rapids: Zonderkidz.
I thought I'd celebrate my mum's birthday by announcing to everyone that I am pregnant again!! I'm 13 weeks today, and our baby seems to be going well so far.
So, it seems we had a stow away on our holiday to South Australia - 'Snoodle' was with us the entire time, we just didn't know until after we returned home. When we realised it it explained a few little odd things that were happening to me on our holiday...such as some nausea and weird food aversions (just as a side i've had no vomiting nor food cravings).
We've had a few scares already...twice i've had some very very light bleeding (one time lasting 7 days!). But we had ultrasounds post both bleeds, and we were so emotional to still see Snoodle's heart beat & in the 2nd u/s to see Snoodle jumping, kicking, and waving (he/she seemed happy and oblivious to it's parents worry).
It was lovely having support during this time...the day of the second u/s friends left Snoodle's first ever present at the door (hand made socks) - a beautiful gift no matter what the outcome would have been, and other friends gave flowers on the same day (also a great gesture no matter what happened).
We're also so thankful for people's prayers: for falling pregnant in the first place (it's taken over a year of trying since loosing Ducky), and for the safety of Snoodle. We ask for continued prayer for all of us.
We've nick named this baby Snoodle from 'A Snoodle's Tale' (Veggietales episode & book), as we'd love for him/her to be similar to the main character in the story. The main character finds life a little difficult (e.g. he stumbles, others make fun of him and what he can/can't do), but he learns (by meeting his creator & talking with him) that it's how his creator sees him that is most important. He then holds this close to his heart so that he has strength to face life again, and he tries to tell all the other Snoodles just how great & awesome their creator is.
We praise God for little 'Snoodle' Waters.
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
Questioning
I love picking apart arguments, seeing what assumptions are there, whether they are logical, what evidence there is, and whether the conclusions are reasonable & credible.
Just as a side, Christians are actually taught in the bible to be critical thinkers. There are constant warnings to be on your guard against false teachers, not to be led astray by the ways of the world, & always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have...we're not to have a blind faith!
Not only do I critique other arguments, I have critiqued Christianity more so (as I want to be confident I'm following Jesus for good reasons, and I want to be able to defend Christianity). The thing being that if the bible isn't true, & if Jesus wasn't who he claimed to be, Christianity is worthless. I'm wanting to say all this just to show that I'm very happy for people to challenge me about my views too. Because I want to question a view in this blog entry.
However, having said everything above, the view I want to question has nothing to do with seeing the world through Christian eyes or not. There are many Christians who hold this view & many that don't. It's not a view that poses any threat to Christianity at all. So please don't hear me questioning it because I'm a Christian (again I'll restate that I said the things above to show that I myself don't mind being questioned as well). I'm just questioning this view because I'm interested in arguments.
I also want to mention, I don't have a PhD in Science, I am by no means an expert in this view at all. I haven't done copious amounts of study in the area. So in knowing that, I would really REALLY like others to comment on this. I don't want a one sided view, I would really like people to debate in the comments what they think of this issue & why. I haven't reached any conclusion on it really, and would be happy to be corrected on my understanding of it.
Ok, here we go. I was flicking through a science magazine in a Sydney library that happened to have a special edition on Evolution. As I was reading through I was getting most annoyed that they kept claiming Evolution as Scientific fact.....It's a THEORY!!!!!! It has yet to be proven. & although I see evidence for adaptation within a certain species, I fail to see there is enough evidence for one species (say apes) changing to another species (say humans). No one has ever seen this change occur, and if it was a really gradual change shouldn't we have plenty of evidence for the in between stages? ...I'm sorry, I feel that the fact that we look similar is not enough evidence (there could be other reasons for the similarities).
The other thing that bothers me is that some people say Charles Darwin actually appears to be making a case for racism in his works.
http://ministries.tliquest.net/theology/evolution/Darwin%27s%20Racism.html
...that bothers me greatly, I'm going to try & read through his works to read his views in context and see if what they are saying is fair about him or not.
http://darwin-online.org.uk/
Anyway, pleeeeeeaaaaaassssee if you have any thoughts on this please write in the comments, I'd love to hear others thoughts.
Just as a side, Christians are actually taught in the bible to be critical thinkers. There are constant warnings to be on your guard against false teachers, not to be led astray by the ways of the world, & always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have...we're not to have a blind faith!
Not only do I critique other arguments, I have critiqued Christianity more so (as I want to be confident I'm following Jesus for good reasons, and I want to be able to defend Christianity). The thing being that if the bible isn't true, & if Jesus wasn't who he claimed to be, Christianity is worthless. I'm wanting to say all this just to show that I'm very happy for people to challenge me about my views too. Because I want to question a view in this blog entry.
However, having said everything above, the view I want to question has nothing to do with seeing the world through Christian eyes or not. There are many Christians who hold this view & many that don't. It's not a view that poses any threat to Christianity at all. So please don't hear me questioning it because I'm a Christian (again I'll restate that I said the things above to show that I myself don't mind being questioned as well). I'm just questioning this view because I'm interested in arguments.
I also want to mention, I don't have a PhD in Science, I am by no means an expert in this view at all. I haven't done copious amounts of study in the area. So in knowing that, I would really REALLY like others to comment on this. I don't want a one sided view, I would really like people to debate in the comments what they think of this issue & why. I haven't reached any conclusion on it really, and would be happy to be corrected on my understanding of it.
Ok, here we go. I was flicking through a science magazine in a Sydney library that happened to have a special edition on Evolution. As I was reading through I was getting most annoyed that they kept claiming Evolution as Scientific fact.....It's a THEORY!!!!!! It has yet to be proven. & although I see evidence for adaptation within a certain species, I fail to see there is enough evidence for one species (say apes) changing to another species (say humans). No one has ever seen this change occur, and if it was a really gradual change shouldn't we have plenty of evidence for the in between stages? ...I'm sorry, I feel that the fact that we look similar is not enough evidence (there could be other reasons for the similarities).
The other thing that bothers me is that some people say Charles Darwin actually appears to be making a case for racism in his works.
http://ministries.tliquest.net/theology/evolution/Darwin%27s%20Racism.html
...that bothers me greatly, I'm going to try & read through his works to read his views in context and see if what they are saying is fair about him or not.
http://darwin-online.org.uk/
Anyway, pleeeeeeaaaaaassssee if you have any thoughts on this please write in the comments, I'd love to hear others thoughts.
Saturday, 25 July 2009
Why Do Holidays Have To End? - Day 11 Sat 18th July
Simon made us some breakfast on our last morning, & dropped us off at the airport on his way to work...it's always sad saying goodbye.
But we had such an awesome holiday with Simon. It was really good to get away & forget all about study, work, and other worries.
Our most common phrases during our holiday were:
Where's the whales?
That's aptly named.
How beautiful is the scenery/drive?!
Look over there!
MMMmmmm
That's a bit random.
& that's not kosher.
We'll plan to visit Simon in approx 2 yrs time again...as Simon put it, it'll be interesting what changes there are for all of us in 2 yrs.
Since the last time we visited him, my back has improved so much that it didn't stop us from doing anything. I never had to 'rest' my back this time...which is huge! & the only day I had pain was on a day I had sat in hard chairs for too long (but it didn't stop me from doing anything), so a massive improvement since last time (& we were excited last time at how my back coped, we were 10 times more excited this time).
...So lots to praise God for!
Our last photos:
(Our tickets to go home :( )
(Simon recommended a place for hot drinks at the airport. So we got some while waiting for our flight)
(Our plane taking us home to Sydney)
I'm writing this entry on the 6yr anniversary of my mum passing. Still missing her more than words can say...but I look forward to seeing her later & telling her (amongst other things) how much we enjoyed our holiday. I know she'll love hearing about the seals & sea lions that we saw.
But we had such an awesome holiday with Simon. It was really good to get away & forget all about study, work, and other worries.
Our most common phrases during our holiday were:
Where's the whales?
That's aptly named.
How beautiful is the scenery/drive?!
Look over there!
MMMmmmm
That's a bit random.
& that's not kosher.
We'll plan to visit Simon in approx 2 yrs time again...as Simon put it, it'll be interesting what changes there are for all of us in 2 yrs.
Since the last time we visited him, my back has improved so much that it didn't stop us from doing anything. I never had to 'rest' my back this time...which is huge! & the only day I had pain was on a day I had sat in hard chairs for too long (but it didn't stop me from doing anything), so a massive improvement since last time (& we were excited last time at how my back coped, we were 10 times more excited this time).
...So lots to praise God for!
Our last photos:
(Our tickets to go home :( )
(Simon recommended a place for hot drinks at the airport. So we got some while waiting for our flight)
(Our plane taking us home to Sydney)
I'm writing this entry on the 6yr anniversary of my mum passing. Still missing her more than words can say...but I look forward to seeing her later & telling her (amongst other things) how much we enjoyed our holiday. I know she'll love hearing about the seals & sea lions that we saw.
Friday, 24 July 2009
Not Looking For Whales - Day 10 Fri 17th July
This was our last day of outings together. After breakfast, we started off with a lovely walk:
(The start of our walk. We had decided before hand that if we didn't look for whales maybe we might see one, so we didn't look for any whales).
(Eeesh, I hated going up so many stairs...)
(But it was worth it. I think at this point we caught Simon looking out to sea. When we asked what he was doing, he said 'just looking...for nothing'...'What, for no whales?' we replied. & so every now & then we looked for no whales).
(This was called Sugar Loaf)
(Simon raced ahead with the camera)
(Looking for no whales)
(I think this was taken after we had stopped, ate, read the bible & prayed together. It was a beautiful spot we stopped at, but sadly we didn't get any photos of it. We read Psalm 8 & 104 ...being about creation since we were out enjoying God's creation. I wondered if in 104:26 we could substitute the leviathan for a whale :)
It was really lovely to stop & do that together)
(Heading down to a rocky beach...I said 'you realise we have to come back up these stairs again right?' but of course it was worth doing )
(The rocks were so pretty)
(...'I told you so!' :) )
(Walking along another beach towards the car)
(Simon asked for a serious photo...so what did Ben do?)
Even with looking for no whales, we saw no whales :)
But we had a fantastic time anyway, and to quote Simon from our bible study 'We know God loves us even if we don't see any whales'
We then headed to the movies to see Harry Potter again, as we really wanted to watch it again with Simon. We said that we'd pay for the tickets this time, but Simon responded with 'But what if that doesn't fit with my plan!'...D'oh! What was he up to?!
We didn't know until the last minute as we were walking into a Gold Class lounge!! We had really comfy seats at the back, with food & drinks brought out throughout the movie...it was sooo cool! We enjoyed every second...but Simon's still in trouble for spoiling us rotten :)
For dinner we ate out at a restaurant that had a big window that faced out into a garden nursery. & we spent the evening mostly discussing Harry Potter & having really yummy food...it was a brilliant day, we didn't want to think about the fact we'd be heading back home to Parramatta the next day.
(The start of our walk. We had decided before hand that if we didn't look for whales maybe we might see one, so we didn't look for any whales).
(Eeesh, I hated going up so many stairs...)
(But it was worth it. I think at this point we caught Simon looking out to sea. When we asked what he was doing, he said 'just looking...for nothing'...'What, for no whales?' we replied. & so every now & then we looked for no whales).
(This was called Sugar Loaf)
(Simon raced ahead with the camera)
(Looking for no whales)
(I think this was taken after we had stopped, ate, read the bible & prayed together. It was a beautiful spot we stopped at, but sadly we didn't get any photos of it. We read Psalm 8 & 104 ...being about creation since we were out enjoying God's creation. I wondered if in 104:26 we could substitute the leviathan for a whale :)
It was really lovely to stop & do that together)
(Heading down to a rocky beach...I said 'you realise we have to come back up these stairs again right?' but of course it was worth doing )
(The rocks were so pretty)
(...'I told you so!' :) )
(Walking along another beach towards the car)
(Simon asked for a serious photo...so what did Ben do?)
Even with looking for no whales, we saw no whales :)
But we had a fantastic time anyway, and to quote Simon from our bible study 'We know God loves us even if we don't see any whales'
We then headed to the movies to see Harry Potter again, as we really wanted to watch it again with Simon. We said that we'd pay for the tickets this time, but Simon responded with 'But what if that doesn't fit with my plan!'...D'oh! What was he up to?!
We didn't know until the last minute as we were walking into a Gold Class lounge!! We had really comfy seats at the back, with food & drinks brought out throughout the movie...it was sooo cool! We enjoyed every second...but Simon's still in trouble for spoiling us rotten :)
For dinner we ate out at a restaurant that had a big window that faced out into a garden nursery. & we spent the evening mostly discussing Harry Potter & having really yummy food...it was a brilliant day, we didn't want to think about the fact we'd be heading back home to Parramatta the next day.
Thursday, 23 July 2009
Where's The Whales? - Day 9 Thur 16th July
After having Blinny for breakfast (a crepe thingy, mine had mushrooms onions & sourcream - very yummy)we were going to be as proactive as we could to go see whales. So went went down to Victor Harbour (another lovely drive) and went to the whale centre. The lady there told us where the latest sightings were, and away we went.
(we found a whale!...outside the whale centre)
(Ben had lots of stuff in his front pocket :) )
(Ok, this is where a male, female, and calf whale were seen not long before we arrived)
(Hmmm...)
(No whales this side...)
(No whales that side...)
(...well the whale info lady said that they can take a while to spot)
(ummmm... does anyone speak whale?)
(Change of scenary & we ran into someone who could see whales through her binoculas...we saw nothing. But we thought we'd head closer to where she said she could see them)
(Is this a joke that all the locals, whale centre, & 1800WHALES is in on?...It's a conspiracy I'm sure!)
(Time for sustenance. The seagulls were so bold here, that they were climbing all over Simon's car wanting our hot chips...they got none! But it was pretty funny that they were so close but we were only wanting to see whales)
(Oh well, back to our original spot)
(Looking...looking...looking)
(Oh stuff it! Lets go for a walk on the rocks below...which we really enjoyed)
(Then we thought we'd head to Granite Island. They have horses that pull a cart across to the island, that we managed just to see before they went to bed. Last time we were here we missed them due to the risk of equine flu...so we were excited to see them this time)
(We tried balancing across on the cart tracks to the Island)
(2yrs ago when we came across without Simon we saw seals here...even with photo evidence he joked that he still didn't beleive us that we saw them. This time he was joking that this must have been all we saw last time)
(Then we found a real seal for Simon to see :) )
(Pretty sunset & time to head home...but we stopped off for cheap Schnitzel night at a pub for dinner first)
(we found a whale!...outside the whale centre)
(Ben had lots of stuff in his front pocket :) )
(Ok, this is where a male, female, and calf whale were seen not long before we arrived)
(Hmmm...)
(No whales this side...)
(No whales that side...)
(...well the whale info lady said that they can take a while to spot)
(ummmm... does anyone speak whale?)
(Change of scenary & we ran into someone who could see whales through her binoculas...we saw nothing. But we thought we'd head closer to where she said she could see them)
(Is this a joke that all the locals, whale centre, & 1800WHALES is in on?...It's a conspiracy I'm sure!)
(Time for sustenance. The seagulls were so bold here, that they were climbing all over Simon's car wanting our hot chips...they got none! But it was pretty funny that they were so close but we were only wanting to see whales)
(Oh well, back to our original spot)
(Looking...looking...looking)
(Oh stuff it! Lets go for a walk on the rocks below...which we really enjoyed)
(Then we thought we'd head to Granite Island. They have horses that pull a cart across to the island, that we managed just to see before they went to bed. Last time we were here we missed them due to the risk of equine flu...so we were excited to see them this time)
(We tried balancing across on the cart tracks to the Island)
(2yrs ago when we came across without Simon we saw seals here...even with photo evidence he joked that he still didn't beleive us that we saw them. This time he was joking that this must have been all we saw last time)
(Then we found a real seal for Simon to see :) )
(Pretty sunset & time to head home...but we stopped off for cheap Schnitzel night at a pub for dinner first)
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