Friday Funny

Hehehe I love the looks on these babies' faces.  I hope our baby's facial expressions make me laugh, too.

Frocked Up

It's rare for me to get really dressed up these days.  Apart from the occasional wedding, there's not a lot of reason to when you live on a farm.  When that rare opportunity comes along, it is really exciting for us country folk.

The big boss (as Duncan refers to him), who owns the farm, held his bi-annual staff 'extravaganza' on the 22nd September at the Perth Convention Centre.  Not only does he own two farms, he also owns a number of building, electrical and plumbing companies.  So, yeah, we were expecting it to be posh.  We even got to stay at a hotel...woohoo!  All we had to pay for was our tickets to the event.

This meant I had to find a nice frock...which I got in Melbourne.

Ta-da!

I was 23 weeks at the time.

 Some of the farm blokes.

The farm girls minus one.

We were supposed to be doing sad faces because Rachel couldn't come.
Obviously I missed the memo.

The ballroom looked amazing with the circus theme.  I was very glad NOT
to have organised this event though.

There was a dance floor.....oh yeah!  Unfortunately dancing is
getting a tad difficult these days.

The most fun part of the evening....the photobooth!

Yep, I stood up at the wrong time.  

Wedding 1 2012

It looks like there will only be one wedding to blog about in 2012.  I miss going to stacks of weddings.

We attended Rachel and Dan's wedding ceremony in Perth on Saturday 8th September.  They had a very quirky powerpoint playing while everyone was waiting for the bride which detailed how they started dating and got engaged.  I loved it.

 

 

When I was 21 weeks

 

 

Diary of an Incubator: What's in a Name?

With only seven and a half weeks to go, I realised Duncan and I needed to sit down and have a serious discussion about what to name the baby.  We didn't find out the sex at our 20 week scan (much to the astonishment of so many people - it must be a given that everyone finds out these days), so we need to have a list of names for each.

We first discussed baby names waaay before we considered having kids, and we discovered that we didn't agree on anything.  I thought some of the names Duncan suggested were downright bizarre, or sounded like old man names.  He thought names I liked reminded him of people he knew at school who weren't very nice.  Or he'd say, "No, we can't have that name.  My cousin's kid's dog has that name."

It took a while to name Maya and Gypsy because we couldn't agree.  I thought if we were that bad with dogs, what are we going to be like with kids?

This time, we both made a list of names, exchanged lists, and crossed out names that we definitely didn't like.  I felt a bit sad that Duncan was whittling away my reasonable list.  But then I practically massacred his much shorter list haha.  However, I was surprised that we were actually agreeing a lot more.  Our tastes had changed a bit and moved more towards each other.  Some of my suggestions which Duncan had rejected a few years back, he decided he quite liked now.

A few days ago, Duncan had a rare day off work and we sat down and reduced the list even further.  We now have a short list of four girls' names and two boys' names (with middle names to go with each one).  We decided to leave it at that and just wait until we meet the baby.  I've always been sceptical when people say, "Oh I had this name picked out, but then I met the baby and he didn't look like a John; he looked more like a Sam."  I thought, how does a baby look like anything?  He/she just looks like a baby.  When I meet people and they introduce themselves, I don't think, They don't look like a Bob.  They're just Bob.  All Bobs look different anyway.  But at least our child won't go weeks without a name.  If one of us changes our mind, then we have backups.

Choosing a name is fun, but also hard.  You have to make sure it goes with your surname and the middle name, and that it rolls off the tongue.  People have told me they're intrigued at the sort of names I might like.  They've said, 'We're not sure if you'd go for hippie names or normal names."  One person thought I'd be likely to go for weirdo names, and Duncan for Matthew/Mark/Luke/John type names.  Haha if only they knew.  I keep things close to my chest.  I don't want to tell people our list of names and have them try to change our minds.  Plenty of friends and family have chosen names for their kids that I think are hideous, but I keep my mouth shut.  It's none of my business.

Anyway, here's what you can expect when we announce the name:

• NOT something starting with B.  Our surname starts with B.  Some double-barrelled names do sound good, but generally most B names didn't sound great with our surname (which was annoying since I like a lot of boys' names starting with B).
• NOT a weird Biblical name.  I know some Christian couples LOVE these kinds of names because of the meaning.  Why is it that so many Christians seem obsessed with the meaning of a name?  Surely the sound of the name has to be taken into consideration as well - the kid has to live with that name, and I'm sure the school bullies aren't going to ask the meaning of their name when they're picking on them.  I've been told, "You need to pick a name with a good meaning (i.e. God with us, God is our light etc) so you can pray it over the child."  Meh!  As long as the name we choose doesn't mean 'spawn of Satan' or something, I'm not fussed.  Don't expect any Obadiahs in this household.
• NOT something in the Top 10 Most Popular Names.  I'm Sarah.  There was always more than one in my class at school.  Enough said.  Something a little more original would be better.
• NOT a one-syllable name.  Our surname has one syllable.  I think you've got to have a first name that's at least two syllables when you've got a short surname.
• NOT a family name (i.e. naming the child after a relative).  I'm VERY glad that Duncan doesn't come from a family where we're expected to carry on names.  A friend of mine comes from a family where the first male is always called John...her grandfather, father and brother are all called John.  I couldn't stand that.  A child needs to have their own identity.  Nobody should be forced to carry on a tradition, or name their child after a dead relative with a hideous name.  My whole name is family names (Sarah is my great-grandmother).  I think often people name their child after a much-loved relative with an underlying expectation that the child will be like who they're named after.  Those kinds of expectations are unhealthy.  Then, if you do it for one side of the family, the rest of the family expect you to name the next child after them.  We might consider it for middle names, but definitely not for first names.  You might have fond memories of a loved one, but if their name was Gertrude, it might be better NOT to pass that on!

There you go.  When I announce the name in late January, expect the unexpected. :)

How did you go about choosing your children's names?

Is there a story behind why your parents chose your name?

The Post I Wasn't Planning To Write

I had planned to do a Friday Funny today.  That will have to wait until next Friday.  I'm feeling too sad at the moment.

Yesterday I found my handsome Light Sussex rooster, Russell Crowe, dead in the chookyard.  There was no obvious reason why he died.  Maybe he was bitten by something.  Maybe he was sick.  Maybe he just had a heart attack or a stroke (which I read online can happen suddenly to chickens, and not necessarily old ones).

All of the hens are fine.

Whatever happened to Russell, I still feel down.  To everyone else, he may have been just a rooster, but to me, he was a much-loved pet.

We will get another rooster eventually when I hear of someone giving away a nice, friendly adult one.

He was a lovely boy.  The chookyard doesn't look right without its king.  I'm glad he was able to have a nice home with us - I just wish it was for longer than two years and four months.

I miss Russell.  That is all.

Daddy's Girl

Ebony is such a daddy's girl.

She's going to get a rude shock when the baby arrives.  I asked Duncan, "How are you going to fit both the cat and the baby on your lap at the same time?" Hehe!

Here they both are on a Sunday morning a little while back.  Duncan woke up when the flash went off and said, "Don't put it on Facebook!"

Nah, I'll just put it on the blog instead. ;)

And Can It Be That I Should Gain by Charles Wesley

Another hymn I love to sing loudly because it so fits with my experience of being set free by Jesus.

Long my imprisoned spirit lay.
Fast bound in sin and nature's night.
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray -
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light.
My chains fell off, my heart was free.
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free.
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

No condemnation now I dread.
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine.
Alive in Him, my living head,
And clothed in righteousness divine.
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown through Christ my own.
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown through Christ my own.

Lyrics sourced from here.