Hillview Church Family Camp

Last weekend we packed the tent and our overnight bags and headed up to Wallis Lake, near Forster for the Hillview Family Camp. We were blessed with cool, overcast weather but thankfully little rain - although it was supposed to rain quite heavily.
On Sabbath, we enjoyed the company of friends as we relaxed and talked. We also had some curious kookaburras that decided to hang around. On Sunday, we packed up our tent early and then went on a dolphin watching cruise. The cruise was a lot of fun, and Zem and I spotted the first dolphins of the day.
So Zem got to go camping and to see dolphins for the first time. Unfortunately, no photos as our camera had been left turned on and batteries were flat.

Cute pics of Zem @ 5 months

A Day in the Life of ME!!!

My day starts when i first notice the light coming through my window. I twist and turn just to stare at it. A little while later I start calling for someone to notice me and Daddy comes and gets me out of my cot. He plays with me and makes me laugh by pulling funny faces at me.
After a short time, I start to get a little hungry and so I call for food. Mummy comes and gives me the best tasting drink ever! After my breakfast my nappy gets changed and mummy and I wave goodbye to daddy. I then get to go on my jungle gym that nanna pattie gave me. I really love looking at the mirror. After a while I get bored and mummy then reads to me from a number book. I feel a little tired and mummy puts me in my cot. I love sleeping on my belly. It is so comfortable.
I wake up really hungry and feeling a little grumpy. Mummy just can't be quick enough to feed me and so I start grizzling at her.
After my mid-morning snack mummy puts me on her lap and sings to me. My favorite song at the moment is "twinkle twinkle little star." I love the way mummy's fingers twinkle as she sings it. Sometimes mummy reads to me from her books - they look interesting with all the black and white things on them. I love my mummy time! She tickles me and makes funny faces at me, she dances with me and even takes me into the kitchen to play with all of the containers. I especially like the orange cup that mummy puts water in for me. Water doesn't taste as nice as milk but is nice and cool when my mouth hurts.
Mummy says that I sleep around 5 times during the day with a big sleep at lunch time.
In the afternoon daddy comes home and plays with me. I love it when he makes silly faces at me and tickles me with his face and nose. He even pretends to eat me and I laugh and grab his hair.
Just before bedtime I have a bath. I kick and splash and try to put my head under the water. Mummy has a new toy for me in the bath that squirts at me. After the bath I get massaged and get into my night clothes.
This week I started copying mummy and daddy by opening and closing my mouth and moving my tongue. They got so excited that I did it again and again. This is how I have started asking for my blue plastic friend that goes in my mouth and makes me feel better. Mummy and Daddy must not like it because they call it a dummy.
Most of my days are filled with all of this activity and some days are even busier. After every seven days I get to play with a nice lady called Tracy. It is lots of fun but I do not always enjoy the car ride home as I am really tired.
I have to go now. Mummy has let me know it is time to sleep and is putting me into my cot.
What a life!

Zem.

Phew!

Goodness has it been hot around here lately. On top of the heat, I've been digging post holes, mixing cement and putting fence posts in the ground. It is all part of my grand scheme to actually make the land out the back of our house usable. It will be retained into two layers. The lower level farthest from the house will be raised 20cm against the fence and the retaining wall will raise the ground level an additional 60cm. It is by far the most ambitious project I've ever done. Next will be the rails and then the steps.

Zem is starting to raise himself up on one side. We noticed it just today. He has been talking a lot as well. He is also starting to suck his fingers a lot more, probably in order to sooth his sore gums when his big front teeth decide to drop.

School is starting up again, so I find myself running out of time to do anything well. I have a new co-teacher this year. She seems to be very competent, although I have had the added stress of trying to ensure that she is up to speed with everything that is going on. I have barely gotten enough done to start the first day! I have much yet to do with my programming, which is likely to take up all my time for most of this semester. Hopefully then it will be completed though.

Diesel is well, however he has gone through a molt and is leaving hair everywhere. Sharlene brushes him down once a day and I think he is starting to really like it.

Anyway, I'll leave with a few pics of Zem's latest movements.

Zemiel @ 4 months

Photos taken @ 4 months and 1 day. Just before teething pain set in.

Happy New Year!

'08 has come in and Shar and I are already hard at work trying to make each day count. I must say that we have been a bit slack with learning more sign words, but we have made up for it in house work and yard reconstruction.

We arrived back just as north NSW got flooded. We actually drove through most of that rain the day before and we're thankful that we persisted in driving through. Shar's parent group is starting to organize lunch liaisons again...the first for this year is tomorrow, but the car is going in for a service tomorrow. Work starts for me again next week but I'll spend tomorrow in the classroom trying to absorb the feel of the place again and hopefully receive the inspiration to actually be excited about going back to work.

Over the last week and a half Sharlene and I have created an action plan to reconstruct our backyard. It involves a retainer wall of sleepers and many post holes being dug. As of this moment, I have cleared a 1.5m gap between the back fence and the house. (1m for the pathway and some room for the wall and backfill). We have ordered 200 bolts and washers, 80 treated pine sleepers and 35 posts. (Which is more than we need but the place we bought it from was cheaper anyway). We've also got 20m of ag-pipe. Next step is to set the two end posts and string line them.

Zem has had new molds taken of his ears, but has learnt to take the aids off his ears. This is getting a little frustrating. He is also finding it harder to sleep without seeing either Sharlene or myself beside him. He is now raising his head off the ground for extended periods of time and even turns himself around a little so that he can see the TV screen. (Shar and I are trying to keep him from watching TV). Zem is fascinated by lights.
It has also been incredibly hot and humid down here. Zem has been feeding a bit erratically because of the heat.
One other thing is that Zem is also beginning to teeth. The first we noticed was last Monday when Zem was VERY whingy and out of sorts. He was sticking everything that would fit, into his mouth. On checking his gums we noticed the tell-tale white marks that indicated teeth. Tuesday, they retracted and we had a more normal day. Today, they were back - and another whingy day. I can understand how he feels to a degree, as I have a wisdom tooth that has come down in the last 2 months and it is causing pain and frustration in my corner as well.

Enough for now.

Specialist meeting, 6th December 07

Zem recieved his brand new hearing aids today from Australian Hearing, around 11:00am. However, about 3:30pm we were told that those brand new hearing aids were virtually useless. We now know the reason why Zem has no hearing. The bones in Zem's inner ear are not properly formed. On the CT scan, it shows that Zem's cochlear is shaped correctly (like a sea shell) but does not have the spiral inner structure that is needed. There are also some other bones that are formed incorrectly and what seems like an abnormal amount of fluid where the auditory nerve ought to be. In sum total, this news has hit us pretty hard. Zem now has an MRI scan on the 19th of February, to get a better idea concerning his options. We would appreciate your prayers regarding this.

Sharlene and I are now concentrating on learning and using Signed English. We have found this website useful:

http://www.sign.com.au/

Zem update

Last Friday (23rd Nov) Zem had a CT scan. It took two tries to get him relaxed enough to take it. It finished at 9:45a and the results will be sent to the hearing clinic. We pick them up on 6th Dec.


Here are regular appointments that Sharlene has:
Mother's group on Wednesday mornings.
Meeting with friends, Wednesday afternoons (fortnightly)
Hearing Australia for hearing aid fitting, every third Thursday.
Meeting at Royal Institute for Blind and Deaf, Friday mornings.

Zem's Hearing

On Monday, 15th October (Sharlene's Birthday), we took Zemiel into the John Hunter Audiology Unit to have diagnostic testing performed on his hearing. The results of this testing indicates that Zem has at least severe hearing loss in both ears. Further testing needs to be done to identify if his level of hearing loss is profound or not. We know for sure that he will be using hearing aids in the coming months. Hopefully, he will respond to these, but success is based on trial and error and observation.

We will be attending an information conference on Thursday afternoon (18th) in order to speak to a number of professionals about his hearing loss, what needs to be done now, and gaining referals to the many future tests that he may need.

Sharlene and I thank you for your ongoing support and prayers for Zemiel. Thank you Adrian for helping to make Sharlene's birthday a bit happier.

Visit from Nuna

It has been lovely to spend some time with Nuna and Uncle Adrian over the last two weeks. Dad has been home from work too. Nuna has been very busy cleaning and gardening around the house. She has also made some wonderful food so my mum and dad say. As for me, I have been busy guzzling my mums milk and growing alot.