1 month later

Yes, we are still here.
We had another big month.
I spent a few days in Brisbane with Zem, when we went to get him MAPped.
Azariah had his first few days in child care.
Sharlene was up late every night marking and reporting and then again early the next morning.
The boys and I took a number of trips to Townsville. We have started meeting with an Advisary Visiting Teacher (AVT) for Zem. He is also now seeing a speech pathologist. Both these will now be happening once a fortnight, but it was every week during June.
Azariah had his first birthday and received some fantastic presents from his grandparents. Zem LOVES the Foosball table given to us.
We all went to Big Camp in Townsville and thoroughly enjoyed it, although we did miss Betty, Nicholas and Charlotte.
All of us have taken sick with either vomiting or a cold...or both.
Through all this, Sharlene has worked for two solid days preparing for next term.
Our budgies have produced three babies (a forth due tomorrow) and
I am starting a new job of sorts, organising a dad's playgroup.

Relaxing after a busy week

It has been a hard week for Sharlene. There were exams to write, assignments to mark, afternoon meetings to attend, students to tutor after school. But now that the work week is over, we decided to take Sharlene down to the beach for some relaxation. Here are some photos of what we got up to.
This is a view of Queens beach at low tide - looking towards Mother Beddock.

Queens Beach - looking out to sea. At low tide, we can see sea grass growing in the shallows.

Zemiel loved jumping and splashing in the water.

Azariah loved crawling through the water looking for shells.

Sharlene and the boys walking along the beach.

Zemiel and I found a starfish in the sand ripples as we were walking.

Zem is starting to understand when I am taking pictures and wants to see the photos. Here he is coming over to see himself on the viewfinder. 

Under Eights Celebration

Today we attended the under 8's celebration at Queen's Beach School. Zem practiced walking on a plank over a gully, (and got quite good at it by the end). He also spent time climbing, sliding, observing the fish and birds that were brought in for the day and jumping on a mini trampoline. Azariah got his face painted with a rainbow. Zemiel refused. Both boys had a big sleep when we returned home.

Beach boys

Zemiel is wrapped with the beach these days. Anytime we hop in the car (or even look like hopping in the car) he starts 'swish swish swishing' and signing 'beach'. It's a great time of year to go as well.

Azariah enjoys it too, but more for the fact that dad and brother have no chance of removing ALL of the objects that he could potentially choke on...if all else fails a handful of sand will do the trick!

Zem is still taken with butterflies and his interest has caught the attention of the staff at the Bowen Library. Today they made 'Butterflies' their theme and craft. The boy was in paradise! At the library, Azariah just wanders randomly from mum to mum smiling and waiting for someone to pick him up. He doesn't usually have to wait long either.

May in Pictures

Okay here's the cake that Sharlene made for my birthday - and which we spent about 4 days eating. It was Sharlene's second effort at a blackforest cake. Looked a bit messy but tasted great!

Up-to-date photos of my extended family are relatively rare things. Sharlene still hasn't met some of my aunts and uncles. So when everyone got together after Anzac Day, I grabbed some quick pictures.
Norm and Sharon.

Lyn and John.

Dad and Marilynn.

Shelley and Greg.

Everyone together with Grandma.

Photos also of Bon and Lindon and family.

and Trevor and Roni.

Now onto something closer to home: Tiffany's wedding.
Here she is in the church, shortly before she was married.

Michael and Tiffany enjoying their first meal as husband and wife.

Between the service and reception was a great time to catch up with friends.

Jared

Nadine.

Tashia and Shaylie.

Zemiel and Azariah.

Sharlene and Daniel (just to prove we were there).

Belated May News

Before I know it May has almost left me and the Winter will shortly arrive, which is sad because I really do enjoy the last month of Autumn. The mornings have a beautiful bite to them and the days are still, clear and warm. Perhaps there is a possibility that so little of note has happened this month that it has not been deemed necessary to write. Quite the opposite is the case really, though certainly not every episode was pleasant or sustaining.

May started on a low point. My grandfather died on ANZAC Day and the funeral held the next weekend. Sharlene and the boys remained in Mackay. She had a reunion of her mother's family that same weekend. The funeral itself was an uplifting affair, it seemed to me to be everything that an 'Adventist - Christian' funeral should be. Words were spoken of Pop's life and times, occasional tears were shed for our temporary parting, but the overall tone was of joy and of the hope that we had in Jesus' return and seeing Pop again in health and the vigour of youth. Further, the time was well spent visiting various relatives and spending time with some aunts and uncles not seen since before I had been married. One of my goals was to get photos of these people, before another decade passed by!

The weekend concluded with Trevor and I taking the day to look around the Sunshine Coast. It is an area that I love. I enjoy the hills, the scent of the rainforest patches in the gullies, the unique beaches and bays, the creeks and gorges. For all that, I don't know the area very well and so I learnt a lot that Sunday.

During the first week of May I had my birthday and it was enjoyable. This year now passed has been a very fulfilling one for me on professional and personal grounds.

The next thing to look forward to was the wedding of one of Sharlene's cousins, Tiffany. The day progressed without any significant mishap and the reception was beautiful. Although, the bowl of water on our table got too hot from the candles in it that the glass shattered and water began to pour onto our table. We had it removed eventually, but not before all the settings had been soaked. We sat at table 15 with Sharlene's aunt Veronica and her two girls, Nadine and Nathania, and Nathania's two girls, Shaylee and Tashia. We did have a lot of fun spending more time together than we have in a while.

Sharlene were coming down sick that weekend, for some reason our taste buds had swollen painfully in certain places, we had sore throats, and both our 'wisdom' teeth had begun to cut our gums. So the night passed in one sense enjoyably and in another uncomfortably. Sharlene was too sick to teach on Monday, so she came with me to our Video Conference session at the TAFE and was able to meet Cindy for the first time. It made her day seem a little better I think.

Most recently, we travelled to Townsville yesterday to meet with representatives of the Royal Children's Hospital in Brisbane. They are interested in providing Mapping for Zem in Townsville twice a year. That works for us rather than travelling to Brisbane all the time. He also looks to be getting a speech pathologist shortly, which is fantastic news!

Azariah is due to get his next blood tests done to check his liver function. He also has an eye specialist appointment next week for what we think is a 'lazy eye'.

We have a birthday party this weekend for one of our friend's daughter who turned 1 this week. But they are relocating back to Brisbane next month, so we are quite sad to see them go.

Okay, so May really has been a busy month and soon I'll have the photos uploaded to prove it.

Picnic by the bay

Zem and Azariah had great fun yesterday during the public holiday playing with many little friends. Sharlene invited a number of her workmates (who invited some of their own friends) to a lunch picnic by the beach.
The day was beautiful and Zem saw some boats out on the horizon. He also got to play a little cricket. Azariah just tried to be the clean up crew and anything that fell to the ground was quickly pounced upon...followed by him being pounced upon and the item being removed begrudgingly from his mouth.

Eggfly Butterflies

Over the last couple of days, we've noticed a few of these butterflies patrolling the trees in our back yard. They are territorial and when Zem and I got too close, they made a show of driving us away. One hatched from a chrysalis yesterday, so I think there may be a food plant out there somewhere, but I haven't found it yet. In the mean time though, we are going to enjoy these beautiful creatures.

Male Eggfly Butterfly

Female Eggfly Butterfly

Easter holidays 2010

Easter was a very busy time for us. We decided that we should take a trip down the coast to see the family. I guess, this is one of the main reasons that we moved back up this way in the first place. Besides, Pop Cole hasn't been going too well recently, so we thought we ought to at least give the boys some time with him.

First stop was Bundaberg. We visited with Grandma Mac and Malcolm. Dianne and Tim were also there and we had quite a lot of fun on Dianne's Wii. Sabbath was largely spent with Bon and Lindon out on their place. We also went to the beach. The tide was quite high so we didn't end up staying long. But we did stay long enough for the boys to get very dirty.

We then travelled to Gympie to visit Great Grandma and Great Pop Cole. Pop loved having the little ones around. Zem was overtired and so he wouldn't cooperate very much, but Azariah and Pop had a great time. Aunty Lyn also came around with Sonya's four children. Harrison taught Zem how to ride on a scooter.

Next, we travelled to Toowoomba and met up with Pop Cole and Marilynn. Sue and Rodney were there too. Uncle Trevor also arrived to spend some time with us. Sharlene and I were sick the next day, but the day after that we went to Picnic Point. We also drove past where Pop Cole teaches. We also stopped briefly to see the Darling Downs Zoo. It looks like it could be a lot of fun. As we looked through the fence, we saw a young camel getting lots of pats and loving it. We will go when Zem is a little older.

Finally, we headed back to Bowen and we felt quite pleased to be home again.
Sharlene and Az.

Grandma Mac with the boys and Sharlene.

My turn for a photo. Azariah knows exactly what to do.

Great Pop and Great Grandma Cole.

Zemiel in a brief pause.

Pop really enjoyed seeing the boys.

Looks can be deceiving, Pop was just playing along.

"I wonder if I can blow any music on this leaf?"

Pop Cole with a mouthful of dandilion.

Trevor: always ready.

Azariah in a brief lapse.

Zemiel enjoying the ride.

Sharlene and Azariah share a laugh.

Zem throwing gravel into the water to tease the fish.

Happy Easter

Easter is almost here, and we are going on a road trip this year. We plan to visit in Bundaberg, Gympie and Toowoomba in the next week. We are also excited to have Chloe visit us up here in Bowen. I think Sharlene is enjoying the 'girl time'.
I've started a garden again now that the weather has started to cool down. It is based on an old one that already existed, I just dug it up again and replanted the sweet potatoes that were growing. We've had rain the last two nights so they've taken well.
Diesel is going in to a pet motel this time. He was a pain for some friends last time we left him with them. Hopefully the professionals will make him feel better.
Praise God for his mercy and his desire to save you and I - even to death by crucifixion. Praise God that Jesus took up his life again, and that he offers it to us as a replacement for our own sinful existence.