Life... in all season(ings) and spices...

It's been even longer than usual since I last blogged. My life has changed forever in the last few months. Not in a catastrophic way, but I have been touched by God's greater plan for my life.

A few months ago (and some of you already know this) my Dad got really sick. He nearly died. He spent ten (10) weeks in two different hospitals, much of that in an induced coma. The impact on my life has only hit me recently.

Today, my Dad is alive! It's the little things that you begin to appreciate when people you love go through things that in turn encourage you and make you stronger. I cried when Dad actually talked to me on the telephone a couple of weeks ago. Dad usually says "Hi, I'll get your Mother for you" (he has even done this unitentionally when we have called for him!). On this occasion, he talked to me.

Recently he has been able to write again. For a man who left school at fifteen he has beautiful writing. For Dad, this was a great dignity returned to him.

I was reminded this week of those who want to exit the pain of this world under their own terms. I am not naieve to their point of view, but I believe that God has a much bigger plan for us. I am glad my Dad always believed that he would live if that was God's plan, and be promoted to Glory if that was His plan. Dad fought the pain of this world - so far he's winning.

Kath :)

Parallel Sacrifice

A couple of days ago I was talking to a friend of ours who about 10 years ago had a kidney transplant. I didn't know until that conversation that their mother was the kidney donor. I don't know why, but that really put a whole new view on the situation for me.

The parallels between our sibling in Christ's gift of life (both by birth and by organ donation) from their mother and God sending Jesus to earth as a baby and then raising the 33 year old man from the dead really amazed me.

God does work in mysterious ways...

Kath :)

Hospitals and Hugs

Spent yesterday shopping (alone!) but knowing something was near... or someone was far...

Spent early hours of this morning at the hospital with Sean (Ian was there too) ... too little to treat (just a tummy bug)...

Spent this morning washing, dishwashing and asking God to calm my soul...and strengthen my back... He sent angels to give me virtual hugs...

Each year it gets a little easier... and a little closer to Eternity and not wanting to steal it from those already there...

Hugs (and Garden Gnomes!) to you all...

Kath xo

Pilgrimage to God's Land

Last weekend I had a trip back to Sydney for Andrea's Hen's Night. My lovely hosts on Friday night (thanks Kel & Dave!) really spoiled with a lovely dinner, very comfortable accommodation and to top it off an excursion to God's Land sipping an offering from Grind...

I then went and visited my parents (Happy Birthday for today Mum!), who showed me off to EVERYONE they knew while we were out shopping, then came Saturday night... Dinner at a undisclosed location for Andrea and her friends. It was a great time to catch up with old friends, but boy was I glad to crawl into bed! Big thanks to Kirsty for putting me up and being my taxi.

Following my last post re our sponsor child M, Sean has a vague understanding of M (and tries to say his name!) and looks at the photos on the fridge... very cute :)

Kath xo

The last few weeks...

I have been just crusin' along the last few weeks, nothing has really jumped out at me as being 'blog-worthy' at the time, but looking back...

• Went to Sydney for Uncle Stan's funeral (early May). It was a beautiful service, a good time to honour a great bloke and a true gentleman to boot.
• Had the famous "how soon is too soon" job interview (see previous post) and still have not had a lot of action on the job front.
• Mother's Day - very quiet... Ian was exhausted from the previous day's fishing at Forster. Don't be too hard on him, he rarely gets to go, it was just bad timing.
• Sean's accident. If you haven't heard as yet, Sean has bumped his front teeth. He was climbing on a bookshelf at daycare (that his carers had told him not to) and it fell on him, splitting his top lip, knocking back one of his top teeth and chipping off half of the other top front tooth. We are thankful that adult teeth should be here in about 3 years! Also, after my HICAPS claim, it only cost us $8 for the dentist visits (yes, there were two).
• My Birthday... 25 since 2000! I share the day with Drew Carey, Joan Collins, Seabiscuit (he and Joan were born 1933) and Rosemary Clooney...

That's about it...

Kath :)

How soon is too soon?

I went to a job interview yesterday for a job that teeters on my interests more than my previous experience. I had a really good feeling about the people I would have been working for and their business "plan" (it's a new franchise). In today's snail-mail I received the 'thanks for coming' letter. To me this is a little too efficient... especially since I saw them walking out of the post office yesterday...

Thoughts? Feel free to include interview horror stories!

Kath :)

On the Road (Again)...

We're off to Sydney tomorrow. Firstly to have a (belated) Birthday celebration for Sean with my side of the family, and secondly to farewell Uncle Stan.

My (Great) Uncle Stan served in WWII and was a great person to boot. We are all richer for knowing you Uncle Stan.

Kath :)

Sean's 2, Job Hunting etc

Yesterday my little moo (Sean) turned 2!!! I haven't uploaded any photos yet, but suffice to say the little tacker is an assassin with wrapping paper! He's also very good at eating cup-cakes and has *finally* learnt to give me cuddles that use both his arms and make me feel loved. Certainly a big difference from last year's birthday.

On the job front, I am looking for casual/part time work again. I have also put in an application for a full time job that has a lot of plusses (good experience, basically the same money as I was earning when I left Sydney), but is a fair way from home. I also sent out several cold call emails and another application today (24 in total)... We'll see...

Kath :)

What's good for you...

How many times have we been told to do something because it's good for us? Reading Dr Vale's blog yesterday (http://marveladay.blogspot.com/index.html) reminded me of things we do because of habit, or in the case of children, because we are told we must.

Lately Sean and I have been cleaning our teeth together in the morning. I take my part of this task for granted, after all I have been cleaning my own teeth for near on 30 years. For Sean it is a new habit. I didn't realise how much he has taken note until he produced his toothbrush (with "paste") mid afternoon yesterday.

Reading Dr Vale's blog made me ponder on our habits - however simple, like the soap we use. It also made me think about those things that we don't really notice, but are part of our habits (ie we file them under "routine"). Coffee, email reading, etc make up part of my mornings. How often are our routines (especially if you are house-based) really productive? I will tell you after my 2nd cup of coffee...

K :)

I'm Back!

I wonder how many posts I have with this title...

Some of you would already know that the past couple of months have been rather hard on me and my family. We have had a lot of illness (ranging from depression to a cousin succumbing to cancer) and things really didn't come together all that well for a little while. The one thing that has kept me going through all this is Jesus's unfailing love and his wonderful embrace.

Recently I subscribed to FlyLady.net after a friend (thanks Deb B!) kept talking about this lady. This lady has (albeit cyberly) helped me to peel away the negitivity so I can see my Saviour with more clarity. As a result, I have had a little more energy, a lot more patience and have been able to serve my son and husband a bit better than normal.

I urge you to find Jesus - find the facts for yourself, and find out how it feels to want to live!

Kath xo