5 Things We've Been Up To Lately

1.  We went to a fantastic Christian conference in Perth in mid July.  Having a toddler in tow meant either Duncan and I had to spend time in the parenting room while the other went to the talks, but it was still a great time.  Here's Rory at a park in Fremantle while Duncan was at one of the sessions.

2.  We celebrated Duncan's 34th birthday on the 21st July.  This is the farm-themed cake I made for him (about the extent of my novelty cake-making ability).  Rory was NOT impressed that I borrowed his toys.

3.  I went away for a weekend by myself.  For the last two Mother's Days I've been telling Duncan that the best present I could receive was some time out/a mental health weekend/a 'Sarah retreat'.  So, I finally went away to Albany and housesat my parents' house while they were away.  It was a lovely time.  So quiet....but I did miss my fellows.

4.  I had my hair cut off.  I figured I'll be going through another postnatal moult soon enough and having a little bubba grab your hair while feeding is not very pleasant.

5.  We went to Dunsborough last weekend to see Duncan's family before the bubba is born.  Unfortunately Duncan had the flu so he missed out on seeing his relatives.  I took Rory out and about a bit.  He had a ball catching up with one of his 'besties', Sarah.

Church Camp 2015

I love my church family! Rory certainly had a lot of fun.

He loved the inflatable bouncy castle and slide.

Err I guess head first will do.

Watering the slippery slide for the big kids (a very important
job in his eyes).

Playing with his friend Allen.

Church Camp 2014

It was nice to be able to be a part of our church camp again this year (last year we had to give it a miss due to Rory being only a few weeks old). 

One of the activities for the weekend was a photo scavenger hunt.  We were given topics and had to creatively think of a photo to take that reflected the said topic.  Duncan and I decided to document Rory's weekend at his first-ever camp:

Sports action
This is Rory and his friend Allen

Bible scene

Food scene

Relaxing weekend

Beach action

Broken

 

Wildlife
This is Rory's beloved bedtime teddy

Our Saturday night entertainment involved getting creative with some fruit and vegetables, knives and toothpicks.  Since I feel very uncomfortable with wasting food, I made sure all toothpicks were removed and lots of people took bags of scraps home for their chooks.

As you can see, there are some VERY talented people in my church when it comes to food art:

Mr Potato Heads

My Mr Potato Head

Rockmelon Jack-O-Lanterns

Farm equipment

Farm equipment

Farm equipment

Food faces

Bible scene.
This is my entry hehe.  Yes, I know Eve wore fig leaves, but I
thought cabbage and spring onion underwear would be a winner.

Moses parting the Red Sea

Last supper

Nativity

It was lovely spending the weekend near Perkins Beach (between Albany and Denmark).  My Saturday afternoon swim was so refreshing.

5 Things I Did During My Bloggy Break

I have to say that I enjoyed my break from blogging immensely.  As much I look forward to writing new posts, it was good to allow my brain to rest from thinking (or overthinking) a bit.  It was good to be free of the burden of worrying whether this blog is interesting to other people.


Here's what I got up to:


1.  I edited two more chapters of my book - that's 35 chapters down, 13 to go.  I've been putting Rory in daycare one day a week and I spend the day editing in the public library in town.  I can be much more productive in the library without the distractions of home.


2.  We went to Perth last weekend for our annual farm staff party.  Friday was spent at Adventure World (not my cup of tea) and we had lunch on Saturday at a tavern with a fantastic indoor kids' playground. 


3.  I went to Zumba twice.  I love it!


4.  We went to an Australia Day barbecue at church.


5.  I took Rory for a swim at our local pool to try out the new little floaty swimming thing my parents gave him for his birthday.


I've only just returned to blogging and now I'm off on another two week break.  Tomorrow night we head off to our church camp near Albany, and then Duncan has two weeks of annual leave.  Dunsborough, Denmark (the WA town, not the country), beach, coffee, wineries, reading, relaxing (as much as you can with a baby) here I come!


*happy dance*

What a Fortnight!

I've felt quite stressed and run off my feet over the past two weeks.  Here's why:

• I recovered from the flu only to be thrown straight back into work with two events in three days.  I had a complete meltdown on the phone to Duncan because of the stress with organising the second one.  Catering, venues, speakers, people...aaargh!  It does my head in.
• I stacked it in the middle of a street right in town.  I was pushing a shopping trolley and the wheel must have hit a pothole because over went the trolley, and over I went on top of the trolley.  Either nobody noticed, or they just couldn't be bothered helping me up.  I had a painfully sore, cut and bruised leg after that incident.  I'm not sure if I started crying because of the pain, shock or because I was already having a very bad day.
• My cousin and his long-term partner split up.
• A friend on the farm had to rush to Perth as her terminally ill father didn't have long left.  She was most worried about the fact that he wasn't a Christian, and she felt the burden of being the only Christian in her family...the only one who could tell him about Jesus.  This brought back horrible memories for me about when my Nan was in hospital, and Duncan and I tried to share the gospel with her.  It IS a privilege, but it's also really hard knowing that they might choose a Christless eternity.  Some people in Christian families don't get how hard it can be.  Praise God that my friend DID get to share the gospel with her dad (who is still hanging in there), and that he prayed out loud right there and then to ask God for forgiveness, putting his trust firmly in Christ.  What a wonderful answer to prayer.
• Another friend rang me to tell me her partner's Nana had passed away.  I always feel sad when I hear of people losing grandparents.
• I heard that a friend of mine from high school had passed away a few weeks ago.  I lost touch with Sharon when high school ended, but I still felt so, so sad when I heard the news.  She had been sick with recurring tonsilitus and couldn't shake off an infection which led to inflammation of the lining of her heart.  Just awful.
• At PWC on Saturday, I was fighting to hold back the tears as I heard the testimonies of three wonderful older women who have walked with Jesus for many years.  They have suffered so much, yet they praise Him for His faithfulness and are just so thankful for all they have.  One lady shared about how she was the only Christian in her family and had received much opposition from her mum (boy, could I relate).  Then both her parents put their trust in Christ on their deathbeds.  Both were in their nineties.  It gave me such hope, particularly after writing The Golden Oldies back in March.

That was my fortnight.  Tumultuous.  I'm looking forward to holidays.

Church Camp 2012

We thoroughly enjoyed our church camp, west of Albany, again this year, despite missing the first half of it due to Duncan being sick.

The Saturday night entertainment had a 1970s theme.  The couple who organised it did an amazing job decorating the hall so that it looked like ten pin bowling lanes created by strips of lights.  There were two big screens set up so that we could all play ten pin bowling on the Wii, plus there were disco balls, popcorn and a drink fountain. 

Duncan after a not so successful attempt.

I had totally forgotten to bring a 70s style outfit for the night (Duncan was relieved he got out of wearing a costume haha) .  Fortunately one of the ladies had brought along the dress she wore to her 21st birthday party in 1970 to see if someone else could fit into it.  Perfect!

It has a HOOD! :)

I like this banner!

Church Camp

Well, we’re at a Baptist church again but Duncan and I definitely don’t consider ourselves Baptists by any stretch of the imagination. We’re Christians over and above all, and following Jesus is what unites us with other believers, despite our differences of opinion on some matters.

We have decided to make Cranbrook our new church home. Kojonup is a bit closer, but Duncan’s new boss and his wife go to Cranbrook, and we were struck by the friendliness of the people and their love for Jesus. It’s also nice that they have a full-time pastor and we know many of the same people. Therefore, we decided to the extra travel was worth it and that this was a church we wanted to be a part of. It’s only just over 30 minutes anyway which is what we travelled all the time to get to church in Dalwallinu.

We took the plunge and went on their annual camp last month, realising this was a good way to get to know many people better. It was a great weekend at Camp Kennedy, west of Albany.

Sunday breakfast

Church service

View from the lookout.

My windswept look.

Please vote in the Sedshed Favourite Post of 2010 Poll.  Click through to my blog to vote if you're using a reader.  Click here for more info.  You have one day left!!!

Dally Bapos Invade Jurien

We went on our church camp to Jurien Bay on the first weekend in October.  Lots of fun and games were enjoyed by all.

Rather than bore you all with all of the details, I will let this little presentation I created, speak for itself.

Ooo I'm becoming such a tech-head haha.

Hello Lord by Sara Groves

Duncan and I spent the ANZAC Day long weekend at Cornerstone camp.  This year's theme was 'Guidance' which is very appropriate as to where I'm at at the moment.  I know God gives us enormous freedom as his children to make decisions within his guidelines, but I still struggle.  A few years back, a friend shared the lyrics of this song with me, and I loved them so much, I borrowed Sara Groves' CD from another friend.

Hello Lord, it's me your child.
I have a few things on my mind.
Right now I'm faced with big decisions,
And I'm wondering if you have a minute, cuz
Right now I don't hear so well,
And I was wondering if you could speak up.

I know that you tore the veil,
So I could sit with you in person,
And hear what you're saying, but,
Right now, I just can't hear you.

I don't doubt your sovereignty.
I doubt my own ability to,
Hear what you're saying,
And to do the right thing,
And I desperately want to do the right thing.
But right now I don't hear so well,
And I was wondering if you could speak up.

And somewhere in the back of my mind,
I think you are telling me to wait,
And though patience has never been mine,
Lord, I will wait to hear from you.
Oh Lord, I'm waiting on you.

I know that you tore the veil,
So I could sit with you in person,
And hear what you're saying but,
Right now, I think you're whispering.

Cornerstone 09

I did end up going to Cornerstone despite feeling so down the week before. In short, I'm very glad I did go because a weekend of focusing on God's Word without the usual distractions of life was just what I needed. I came away from the weekend refreshed and with a new zeal to keep following the Lord Jesus even when I don't understand why he allows some things to happen.

Here is the pictorial evidence from the weekend.

My man looking sad or tired or possibly both.

Jill

Ali

Mick and Ben.

Jill and Olivia.