New Software

Zemi's last Map wasn't a very successful one in terms of his hearing ability. The program worked great for individual frequencies but when they were all turned on at once, his face just twitched all the time with the amount of information that was being sent. His next Map was supposed to be scheduled for March 2011, but because some new software was made available last month, we decided that we wouldn't wait and instead get it loaded sooner rather than later.

So we all went to Brisbane last Monday to see if we could get a better deal for him, and we are glad we did. The volume that he can now cope with is about 50% higher than it was last time, which means he can hear quieter noises better. Also, his ability to hear background low frequencies has changed. We hope it will be an improvement.

The trip itself was quite eventful, with stops at Aunty Bon and Lindon's property, Great Aunt Suzie's address, Pop Cole and Marilynn's house, Grandma Mac and Malcolm's home, and Poppy Brian and Nana's place. On the way we played with cousins Aleena and Brayden, tyson and Ella, Luke and Eli.

With God's blessing we managed to navigate our way down to Brisbane in some of the heaviest periods of rain that can be remembered. The highway was being cut and cars stopped from passing through behind us. The deepest washout that we went through was about 40cm on the flood markers. It made for a very slow trip though. On the way back, we had to take the highway from Bundaberg instead of going past Rosedale to Miriam Vale, due to water still covering roads. We had fears about Rockhampton, as the flood waters came through from Emerald, and the river was definitely high.

Now, with Christmas coming up quickly, it is time to get our presents wrapped and put near our nativity scene at home.

New Processor

Zemiel's replacement parts came in the mail today. Now perhaps we can finally get his right side hearing again. The new processor seems to be working well. His behaviour was better during the tele conference today. Skype is generally working well, but the sound sometimes fades out.

Eight Laps Around the Sun

Eight years.
Ninety-six months.
Four hundred and seventeen weeks.
Two thousand, nine hundred and twenty-two days.
Seventy thousand, one hundred and twenty-eight hours.
Four million, two hundred and seven thousand, six hundred and eighty minutes.

Life with Azariah

Well, here are a few things that may interest you about Azariah.

He is now walking, running and generally loving it.
He is very strong-willed and will often do something he knows is wrong (and will possibly get a smack for) just because he wants to.
He loves the utensils draw. His favourite being the whisk, followed by the potato masher and then the egg flip.
He says daddy and mummy clearly and often interchangeably.
He is still having three sleeps a day (on a good day) but reducing now down to two.
He adores flowers or anything that looks like flowers.
He will frequently hop into our little wading pool with no thought of taking off clothes or nappy.
He loves playing (throwing leaves and rocks) in the dog's water.
He is now capable of climbing both up and down our 15 step flight of stairs.
He loves things that are soft. Pillows and doonas will immediately be pounced upon.
He eats almost anything (including rotting mangoes that have fallen off the tree).
His favourite food right now is mango.
He is usually the last one to finish his meal, firstly because of quantity and secondly because he is generally a neat eater with small bites.
He likes savoury foods best.
He is approximately 12 kilograms.
He has a (bad) habit of "exploding" with "number 3's".
He loves being chased.
He hates being alone.
He goes (most happily) to men with light coloured (greying usually) hair.
If there is action, usually he is part of it.

Trevor is Married...Finally

Last Wednesday, Rhonda finally got her man.  The wedding was held down on the creek at the Kenilworth Homestead. The ceremony was quite beautiful, and the backdrop too, even though the creek had recently flooded. It was fantastic that great nanna and so many of our family attended.
Our two good looking boys.

Az keeping it cool.

All the family.

Trev with his great smile.

Here comes the bride.

Trevor and Rhonda enjoying the moment.

Ronda was happy.

Very happy.

"I surely do!"

A symbolic gesture.

Murray Hunter was the man in charge.

Our immediate family with Roni.

First ever pic of Shar and Roni.

Bon and Shar together.

Three generations.

All in! (And Zem wanting out...) I wonder why?

Happy Birthday Sharlene

Shari's birthday has been a happy one. Thank you to all who remembered. (Shame on the people who did not). ;)
I'd been getting Sharlene's presents ready for the last three months. Unfortunately, Sharlene would find the hiding place for my gift before I was able to wrap it. So she ended up with a few early presents. We also went out to dinner on Thursday night and got someone to babysit the boys. Finally, Shar tried to cook her own birthday chocolate mudcake on Friday morning and asked me to take it out later and bring it to school to share. I forgot. So I hurriedly cooked another and brought it along.

September Holidays?

Well, the holidays went by quickly. Sharlene attended a Rock and Water inservice down in New South Wales. On the way we stopped at Moonee Beach and stayed the night in a cabin and went up on the headland in the morning. It was windy but we saw some dolphins surfing the waves just before we left.
Sunrise from the headland.

Dolphins surfing the waves.

We moved on to Newcastle then, and stopped at the Formule 1 Hotel. The rooms were small but we didn't spend long in there. I looked after the boys during those days by taking them to the Morisset Hospital and other parks. Zem loved feeding the kangaroos. The boys and I tried to catch up with a number of people that we knew. We also spent the nights visiting our friends.

We checked in on the old house to see how things were going and also visited CCAS to surprise some of the students and teachers. On Thursday we went down to Sydney to see Zemiel's teleconference teacher. Then we drove back to Morisset for Sabbath and especially for Sharnaye's baptism. We left for home early Monday morning and got into Bundaberg in the early evening.

The boys enjoyed seeing the cousins, although the weather kept everyone in the house. We finally got a nicer day and saw Grandma Mac and Malcolm at park. We finally headed back home hoping for a holiday.
Kangaroos...

Happy Third Birthday Zemiel!

Here's the big day! Shar and I have been cooking and preparing all week for this one. Almost everyone we invited showed up to the beach to enjoy birthday cake, cup cakes, fish shaped biscuits, cobbs and dip, lollies, juice and games. (And one friend came afterwards to our house). We even had some surprise attendances by Damian and Joshua, and Pop and Nana stayed longer than we expected too.

The wind was quite brisk at Front Beach where we all met, so the fishing game that I had planned didn't go according to plan. That didn't stop the kids from having a fun time.
Happy birthday to you

Arki's bouncy ball got taken by a seagull and dropped out to sea. (That poor girl has no luck with bouncy balls). Her last one was thrown out a window and mown over. A lot of trading took place between the children as they vied for an object of suitable appeal.

We got some silkworms for Zemiel to look after, and he got loads of things to play with, read and colour in. Zemiel loved his cake, all he could say was "fish!" again, and again.
Fish! Fish!

Zemi's cake

I think that the adult party goers were also suitably impressed. Zemiel now has a train track set, several engines, a number of carriages, not to mention a helicopter (with which Azzi is quite taken), a number of story books and a mat with streets for cars to drive on. In fact, so many things that it is quite impossible for him to keep them all away from Azzi all the time.

Rose Bay Discoveries

This afternoon, we all went to Rose Bay for a look into the rock pools and walk along the sand. Pop and Nana came and spent the afternoon with us also.
Zem with Nana, Are they fish??

We found small fish, mud skippers, crabs, shrimp, a type of cone shell and sea dollars.

We also found some sort of caterpillar or centipede buried in the sand. I've tried to search online to find out what is was but haven't come up with much except for this photo from somewhere in the Bahamas.
Here are some of the pictures we took:
What is it?

Is it a centipede or caterpillar...or niether?

We think this is its' mouth.

Zemi got totally soaked and sandy. Azariah was kept safe and dry first on mum's back and then on dad's shoulders (except for a trip by dad as we were going home).

Zemi looking out to sea and feeling the waves on his feet.

Zemi feeling the water washing in and out.

Some of the scenery at Rose Bay.

PS. Thanks Bon and Lindon for your insight. I do believe that it was a Bristleworm.

Sabbath drive

Last Sabbath we went for a drive down Euri Creek Road. We were blown away by the sheer scale of cropping that is going on there! Tomatoes everywhere, kilometre after kilometre! We stopped near a few horses and Sharlene and Zem gave them some grass.

This third 'creamy' horse was a youngster. He was interested but a little flighty.

Young Endeavour

We went to Mackay last weekend because Poppy Brian had a birthday. To celebrate we went out to the harbour for a meal on Sunday and while there, we noticed the Young Endeavour in berth. Zem and I went and had a closer look at it while waiting for our food to arrive. It was lovely to get such a close look at it, but unfortunately the camera was not handy.

Zem is starting to enjoy his tricycle that he got for his second birthday (in time for his third). His large green dump truck also gets a good workout. He is also doing very well with his listening skills right now. He has continued to advance using his "d's" and "t's". His teachers are pretty happy with is progress.

Azariah is coming out with new words and signs all the time. He signs "no" now, and can drop things on command (sign), but often chooses not to (a very stubborn streak).  He is a slow eater (and messy) but eats ANYTHING. He also is addicted to sultanas. He still wakes once - twice a night and generally rises about 5:30 am. Anything after 6 am is a real sleep-in.

It is time to get ready for church. Until next time...

Sports Carnival

Sharlene's school had their sports carnival yesterday. Sharlene was busy most of the day helping with long jump and shotput events. Her house (Flinders) came second overall this year. The boys and I were invited to the team parade. Flinders dressed in chinese theme because there was going to be a surprise...
Here's Sharlene walking in her house colours.

Here's the surprise, a dragon...

...which had Zem spellbound. (And slightly concerned).

Back at the 'Coolie camp', everyone was getting ready for their events.

Azariah also decided to limber up...

Daddy

I'm a happy fellow right now. Zem has started calling me "daddy" (clearly) for the first time! This means that he is finally forming the "d" sound with his tongue and lips. Nearly three years in the making but it sounds sooo good!

Hockey Gala Day

Sharlene and I played as part of eight teams. Sharlene's team came second last (after a playoff for the wooden spoon) and my team came third overall.

Here's Sharlene defending...

...and me directing traffic.

Townsville Big Camp

Here's some photos of our boys at Big Camp. They are bundles of fun and Sharlene and I love being around them - and they enjoy each other's company too.

Happy 1st Birthday Azariah