Quote of the day

"We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don't let yourself be lulled into inaction."

- Bill Gates

Indescribeable

How can I describe the feeling of the baby moving?

Incredible

Ticklish

Amazing

Connected

It truly is an amazing experience. I know I use that word a lot, but it’s true. It is truly amazing. The miracle of life!

Yesterday while watching Russ play netball the baby was kicking a bit, then all of a sudden it felt like it was running a finger from the left of my belly to the right side. It made me giggle ‘cos it tickled, but it was also really creepy! The best way I can describe it is like someone is doing finger painting on you, from the inside out. It’s really cool, but really freakish sometimes!

I love feeling it move and kick. Sometimes it just feels like it is rolling over, and sometimes it just feels like a little pulse beating on my belly. Once the baby gets a bit bigger I think I will be able to distinguish the movements a little more, but for now they are ticklish. I keep hearing about how it can start to feel like it is kicking you in the ribs and different organs!

I feel so connected to the baby when I feel it move. I just place my hand over it and dream of the day when I can hold our little one. Watch it grow and change. It is amazing, the beginning of life!

Already this little one has a personality set and physical characteristics. God has been working on it since day one (if not before!) and I feel completely blessed to have been invited on this journey. It is breath-taking and leaves me at a loss for words.

One of Russ’ team mates (a guy) rubbed my belly yesterday and asked how it was going. Whenever anyone asks how it’s all going and what not, I can’t help but say, “you so have to do this sometime!”. I don’t necessarily mean fall pregnant (for guys anyway) but to be a part of something this surreal and magnificent, I just want everyone to try it one day! It is fantastic, you can’t take the smile off my face!

I never want to forget this feeling. When the kid is driving me crazy in a couple of years or when days feel like they will never end or get better, I never want to forget the feeling of hope and adventure I have now. And I never want to forget what a blessing this truly is.

This made me cry...

This is from a blog I have been frequenting since reading about it on Jen's blog (your getting lots of links these days Jen!!)



It's called Bring the Rain and it is a blog by a lady who has lost her 4th child. If you can read all of her posts from the start, you won't regret it. To see the faith and courage of this young woman is so inspiring, and I have gotten a lot out of it after our miscarriage this year.



It is incredible how many people go through similar things, but no-one talks about it. I think it's great that this woman has so openly shared her feelings to bring other people healing.



Here is a letter she wrote to her daughter after she lost her. It made me cry and cry. It put into words a few of the things I have felt - though I have never had to go through the enormity of what she has been through.



Please go check her site...you won't regret it.



Sweet Audrey,


There are no words I could say in this letter that would be able to express what you are to us, but I feel compelled to write them anyway.


Do you know you changed the world?


From the day we found out we were expecting you, we knew that God had chosen you for our family. When we started feeling you move around, we invented stories about who you would be. We took bets on whether you were a boy or a girl (daddy was wrong!). Abby and Ellie set aside toys that they wanted to give to you. Your daddy let me buy books at the bookstore about being pregnant, even though we already have a million. He knows I love the smell of books, and he just watched with a smile while I gathered them all together. We talked about you all the time.



Our house was filled with love for you long before we ever knew who you would be to us. We let Kate help us set up a crib in her room while we told her that she was going to have a baby brother or sister sleeping next to her someday. We introduced her little toddler bed and taught her all about being a big sister. She loved her freedom...we found her in the pantry eating chocolate at 3 a.m. one night! And so for weeks, we planned. We talked about names, about paint, about schools, about everything but the one thing we didn't know.


God had something much bigger planned for your life than we could ever have imagined.



Read the rest here.

Happy 3 yr Anniversary my Doll

I got this idea off Jen and decided to do a list for Russell as a present for him.

I woke him up early this morning for him to read it. We haven't got each other presents, as we are on a tight budget and it would probably just stress us out a little bit. But we have some Gold Class movie vouchers I won at work that we are going to go on a date with next week...which we are both looking forward to.

Anyway...here is my list of 100 things I love about my amazing husband:

I love...

1. Your ‘special’ dance that you do for me
2. The way you tuck me in when I’m sick (bundling)
3. The way you look after me when I’ve hurt myself – you rub my back and put my bandaid on and kiss it better
4. Your cute butt
5. The way you discuss God and church and always listen to my opinion
6. The way you think it’s your responsibility to drive
7. How you cried when you saw our baby at our first ultra sound
8. The way you held me for hours when we lost our first baby
9. The face you pull when I’m running around being silly
10. How you have slowly been learning different handy man tricks…you make me so proud
11. How you put up with my mid-night antics
12. Your smell
13. How you can look back on things and laugh
14. Seeing the love and passion you have for the youth
15. That you stop and think about things…you balance me
16. Seeing the relationship between you and your sister…it’s one of a kind
17. The love you have for your family and mine
18. That you set aside time to teach my little brother the drums, even though you didn’t have the time
19. The way you rub my belly every day after work and ask ‘How is my baby doing today?’
20. The way you grab me and dance with me in the kitchen spontaneously
21. That you always ask if you can shower with me even though I usually make you stand in the cold while I warm up :)
22. The fact you get up early every morning to make my lunch and put some toast on for me
23. The way you value friendships and people
24. The time constraints you place on me :)
25. When you hold me while watching a movie
26. That you always kiss my forehead
27. The way you say “boobies” with your silly grin
28. Carrying your child
29. Your smile
30. Your determination
31. When you cry because of your passion for something
32. That you help me cook dinners most nights
33. That if you don’t help cook dinner, you feed Jet :)
34. That you have learnt to iron your own work top and pants
35. The way you have stepped up as a husband every year…it gets better and better
36. The way you tried your absolute best to put my needs first in the first few weeks of pregnancy…you asked what I would like to eat and you made sure I ate etc…
37. That you are my best friend
38. That you still love me when I am not worthy of your love
39. Your plugs – though I think they could be a little bigger
40. Watching you drum
41. Watching you beat up other guys in Lacrosse
42. Your sporty nature – you excel in all of it!
43. Your curly ringlets
44. Your big beard (most times – when it doesn’t smell)
45. The ‘dent’ in your chest
46. The way you notice little babies in the shops and point out how cute they are
47. The way you wiggle your cold feet onto my warm feet during the night
48. When you squeeze my thigh while your driving
49. Watching you tap away crazy to the drum beat in the car – so much so that the car moves!
50. Your little quirks…like not having sauce on ANYTHING!
51. That you call me most days during your lunch break to see how my day is going
52. That you pick me up from the train station every night, and drop me off every morning
53. Seeing you laugh at the simple things in life
54. Watching you play basketball
55. Your hands
56. Your legs
57. Dangit…I love your whole body :)
58. That you keep me social
59. How much you love seeing live bands
60. How photogenic you are
61. Your tattoo (and the future ones too!)
62. That you let me be me
63. How shy you can be sometimes
64. Your silly jokes that aren’t even funny!
65. The way you stir up my sister
66. That you appreciate listening to my dad’s experiences
67. That you respect my parents
68. That we can talk to each other using only our eyes
69. That you know exactly what I’m thinking most times
70. Your sighs
71. How sometimes you laugh so much you cry real big tears
72. That you turn bright red when embarrassed
73. How you think you can soldier on when you’re sick and that I have to force you to bed or to take time off
74. That you like to get little cheese and crackers to share with me as a treat
75. That you think for yourself
76. How you hold my hand during church
77. Seeing your excitement when the baby kicks
78. How you ‘growl’ at Jet
79. How you talk during the tv show and are quiet during the ads (though it’s annoying sometimes…it’s kinda cute)
80. Your blue eyes
81. The way you wink at people as a greeting
82. How you turn really white when something bad happens, such as dislocating a finger, and getting your lip pierced
83. How you always prefer coke over any other drink (though its really bad for you, and you know it!)
84. That you only ever want to wear ankle socks
85. When you pray for us and anything on our minds while we are falling asleep at night
86. How you hold me really close when I have a bad dream
87. How you get upset when anyone touches or spins your cymbals on the drum kit
88. That you ALWAYS say ‘I love you’ at the end of EVERY phone call….even if I only spoke to you 10secs earlier.
89. How you nearly poisoned our real estate agent during an inspection
90. How nervous you looked when you proposed
91. How you helped me get over my culture shock in Thailand and to enjoy myself
92. How you took charge while in Thailand when I couldn’t do it
93. How I miss you more and more whenever we are separated
94. How you always greet me with a big hug and kisses when I’ve only been away over east for 1 or 2 days
95. How you hate to shave
96. How you dawdle in the shower
97. That you want to be there every step of the way with the pregnancy and the raising of our children
98. That you support QLD in the State of Origin – and that you stir up dad about NSW and the Dockers
99. That you support some of my craziest ideas…even if you don’t think they will work out
100. That you are a man of God and are constantly growing in your faith

Discipleship/Outreach or maybe both?

It’s not uncommon for Russ and I to differ in our thoughts on church and theology.

On Sunday we had been discussing the role of small groups and what we thought was the ‘correct’ way to do them, and what their purpose should be.

Russell believes that the small group can be both discipleship and outreach. That the 2 can happen at once in a small group.

I am of the thinking that a small group should be for discipleship and that outreach should be in every other area, except small group.

Say I decide to set up a ‘Mum’s group’ in the Kwinana area. I meet with other mum’s, the kids play together, and we can enjoy conversations and get to know each other in a social setting. Then someone is possibly asking questions and wanting to know more about God. I would feel more comfortable inviting her to church rather than small group straight away.

If I was to invite her to small group first thing, I believe it could be quite uncomfortable. Small group is quite a personal time and to invite someone into that can be uncomfortable for the guest and for the rest of the group. However, if I invited her to church first, a setting where she doesn’t have to meet people straight up, but can come for a few weeks, slowly get to meet people and then I would inviter her to a small group.

I believe that people should be coming to church, meeting up with fellow believers, and then going into their small groups for some more one-on-one learning. Discipleship. From there, we take what we learn and then put it into practice (outreach) in our day to day lives.

Am I making any sense here? It’s all a little hard to put onto paper, it’s easier just to talk about it!

Russell and I didn’t completely disagree, we were just tossing up different ideas.

What do you out there think? Do you think that a small group’s purpose is for Discipleship only or for Discipleship & Outreach, or do you think it has a completely different service? Should we be having them at all?

I believe small groups should be places where we can get involved in each others lives on a more personal level than possible in a Church service setting. What do you think?

Kate n Jos' Wedding - 24th May 08

I thought it was high time I finally posted a couple of pics from my sisters "big day".
I've put up a few of my fav. pics and I will hopefully figure out how to load them all up to Flickr (though it drives me crazy that you can't upload very many in a month!! Maybe I'll try photobucket or something!)

The morning started very early for Kate and I. She woke up around 5am and I finally dragged myself out at 5.30am. I then proceeded to do a massive belly flop onto mum & dad's bed to wake them up (like I did when I was 5) completely forgetting that I was 15 weeks pregnant and that the poor child had it's face squished. I got up and said "whoops, I forgot I was pregnant!"
The girl who did our hair turned up at 6am and we all waited around for things to happen.
That's the trouble with getting ready for a wedding. There is so much to get done, but it usually all gets done at the last minute.
Dad was so good to us that he made us all bacon & egg muffins...awww sweety pie. :)

After a few hours of getting ourselves glamourised and sqeezing into our dresses, we got Kate ready and headed off to the church. 3 bridesmaids driven by Robbo (brother) and myself, Kate & Dad chaperoned by the lovely Russell.

Kate & Dad on the way to the church

The back of Kate's gorgeous dress

When we got to the church I took Kate's engagement ring to look after and about 2 secs later nearly dropped it down a drain!! Luckily we saved it and boy did I clutch onto that thing all morning!

We hopped out of the car and then Kate just started blubbering! And it wasn't the pretty little dainty cry, it was the 'ugly cry'. Poor thing. I think all the emotions of the morning surfaced and she just lost it. We were quickly dabbing at her eyes and making sure she was ok. She regained control and we headed to the entrance. Then the music started and she started crying again. It was nearly my turn to walk down the aisle and she was a mess. I was flapping my arms about trying to stop the tears and rubbing her arm saying "it's ok...." I didn't know what else to say!

She made it down the aisle and we proceeded with the ceremony. Jos' dad opened up the service and Dad did the vows and the sermon, etc. Mum also sang a song to Kate and Robbo & Dru both did Scripture readings.

After the signing of the registry Kate & Jos both kneeled in prayer to God. This is one of my favourite photos of the whole ceremony. I think it really captured what their marriage is all about. God-centred and God-honoring. It was really special.

We then got to go have all the photos done, dodging rain and running around in Perth. We ended up at the Duxton for the reception and were able to let our hair down! The above photo is almost identical to one that Kate & I had at my wedding. I have both in frames at home now as I consider them really special.

Kate & Jos cutting the cake

Just as I danced with dad on my wedding day, Kate had her dance with dad too. Dad likes to dance and it is really special to dance with our dad on the day he is giving us away. Kate & Jos danced to "Butterfly Kisses" by Bob Carlisle.

Chrissie (Jos's sister, also a bridesmaid) and I and a groomsmen headed up to Kate & Jos' room to set it up with candles, champagne, and a huge bubble bath for them. Then when we got back down to the reception they were just getting ready to leave.

They ran through the 'tube' thing (where people have their hands up) and headed off. On Sunday they headed off to the Hamilton & Hayman Islands for their honeymoon, which I believe they enjoyed.

I couldn't resist putting up this pic of Russ & I. It's one of my (new) favourites.

I think my tan turned out pretty well in the end!! Though I was a little worried at first!

Blankies

Well, I'm glad I started this knitting project last year, otherwise I wouldn't be anywhere near finishing it off in time.

Last year I wrote about a few of my sewing projects. I still haven't finished either my girl or boy blanket!

I saw my Granny on the weekend though and we only have to crochet 5 more squares and we should be finished on the girly blanket! We still have a heap to do for a boy blanket though.

I love the colours in both blankets and I am really just wanting to finish them off! I will have 2 blankets all for a cost of roughly $6 ea plus 'man hours' of hard work. But, it is worth it! It is so easy to do while sitting around at home watching tv. or on the train on the way to work.

Once my girl blanket is finished I will take a picture and post it and then when the boy blanket is eventually finished I will do the same.

These will be perfect for bundling up the baby in the pram or to lie on the floor on. I have a few from when I was born that I still use and they still keep you so warm!

From there, I have already sewn a few booties and I am getting my Granny to work on a little hat for the bub-o-luv.

Will see if I can coax one of my old dolls to model for you :)

Vows that last

By Rob Furlong
Challenge Newspaper June 2008

This month Karen and I will celebrate our twenty-seventh wedding anniversary. As I look back over that time I realise what a remarkable journey it has been. Both aged 20 when we wed, after the first six months we had resigned our jobs, packed up our Datsun 180B and headed north to Queensland.

The Queensland years were good to us. I was pastor of a church in a little country town called Toogoolawah. Young (I was 23!), idealistic and very naïve, I learnt lessons there that have stayed with me to this day. And by my side was my bride, Karen.

We were blessed with four beautiful children, three of them born in Cairns, where we stayed for 7½ years. Cairns was a steep learning curve, there were many highs and the occasional low, but the best part was that Karen was with me.

Fourteen years ago we moved to W.A. And in that time we have seen three of our children find their life partners and marry (the third, Kate, was married just last month). And later this year we will become grandparents — twice!

It has been twenty-seven full, but also, very fulfilling years. But above all else, we have done them together.

That doesn’t mean that we haven’t had our lows. I have sat with Karen and done my best to love and comfort her through four miscarriages. There have been times of deep pain for both of us as we have submitted to the process of becoming more like Jesus. In the past two years we have taken some pretty severe blows as I have had to work through a personal burn-out brought on by overwork. But we are still here, still together and still very much in love. Why is that?

For one, I believe it is because of the overwhelming goodness of God. But further, Karen and I have had a deep and passionate commitment to each other because of the vows we took twenty-seven years ago. I personally believe that wedding vows are taken far too lightly by the majority of people today. People make commitments to each other and then break them with absolutely no compunction at all at the first sign of marital discord.

A vow is a solemn promise or undertaking to do something. So when you vow to stay with your partner “Until death parts you” but then divorce five or twenty five years down the track, you have not fulfilled your vow. Now, before you inundate me with emails, let me acknowledge that I understand that people make mistakes and that I also do not claim to know every person’s individual circumstances. All I am simply trying to do is to draw attention to the importance of vows and of being people who keep their word — a quality that has diminished greatly in our modern society.

Karen is my partner for life. She is the wife God has given me. She is my one and only. I made promises to her twenty-seven years ago and by God’s grace and with His help, I intend to keep them.

Do you find yourself in a bind today? Perhaps you are questioning your marriage and are contemplating getting out. I have some really simple advice for you: remember your vows and commit again, with God’s help, to fulfilling them.

For many years, Karen and I have tried to find creative ways to remind each other of our wedding vows and of our intention to keep them. So if the readers will allow me a small indulgence, Hon’, this is for you:

“Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me” (Ruth chapter 1, verses 16-17).

??

My husbands boss just called me to tell me that during lunch today, Russell described me as:

"A straw with a bubble in it"

Thanks hon....'preciate it

For Kate

Strutting about in mum’s heels and her little white wedding dress, Kate stole her family’s hearts with her girly ways.

Forever in lacy socks and pretty dresses, you would never find her outside climbing trees. Kate wanted to play dress-ups and princesses. She would pester Robert and I by turning the TV. off and demanding we play with her. But neither of us wanted to play princesses – especially Robert. I wanted to run around in bike shorts and topless, climbing trees and playing in the dirt while Kate just wanted to play ‘weddings’. She was a true girly girl.

Growing up so different to each other meant that we didn’t always get along. We had different interests and we often fought. It wasn’t until we grew up that we became not just sisters but friends. You stood by my side at my wedding and it was during the preparation time that I realised how much I value and appreciate your friendship. We still fight, and we are still very opposite! But there is nothing that could ever tear the love away that I have for you.

I prayed for 9 months for God to give me a sister. He heard the prayers of a 5 year old and gave her a beautiful sister. A sister who makes me laugh, who I can sing silly songs with, who makes me appreciate life just that little bit more every time I step out of the car once she’s driven, a sister who always makes time for me, and a sister who is so full of love it’s infectious. He gave me a sister that came with a package far more than I could have dreamed or prayed for. Now, he has also blessed me with a new brother. One who is a man of God and has a heart full of compassion and love that is hard to find in young men his age.

You are hard-working, caring, loyal, fun, and full of integrity. And I know this after only knowing you for 1 year! And you can also handle it when we stir you up, a good quality for joining our family!

Kate, I pray that God will continue to mould you into a woman of high worth. That you will continue to seek after God’s will for you life and that you will both enjoy this journey you are now on.

I pray God’s richest blessings on your marriage and I love you both very much.

Dear Friend

Dear Friend,

Just wanted to write you a little letter because I saw you were upset at lunch time. I thought I might know what it was about so I thought I would try do a little something for you.

I know that nothing I can ever say will ever take your pain away. And I don’t want to say anything that hurts you any further, so I thought I would share something with you that helped me (a little) to heal from my pain.

One arvo I had been crying and crying about our baby and why things had happened the way they did and I just started thinking about my little one. I thought about the fact that it is now up in Heaven and in the hands of God. It was really hard for me to accept because I was blaming God for ‘taking’ my baby but when I thought about it, he was probably crying with me. I thought about God looking after my baby for me when I couldn’t. I couldn’t hold my baby and it was nice to think about the fact that my little one was in his hands and that God was just as upset about what had happened as I was.

I have no doubt whatsoever that your little baby is up in heaven too. I’m sure our two little ones are friends!!! What with cool mums like us they would have to be!!! :)

I hope this doesn’t all sound ‘airy fairy’ and stupid, but for me it was a way for me to find some sort of peace in my life. While I have good days I also still have really bad days when I just want to scream and shout and cry for hours on end. But I also have good days and I just want you to know that your not alone.

Friend, you are constantly in my thoughts and prayers. That is no lie! Honestly, I wake up some mornings with you on my mind and I hope that you’re doing ok and I pray for you. I pray that you and Mr. are drawn closer through this and I pray for both of your hearts to be healed.

I think I might stop writing because I don’t want to say anything to upset you or to make you feel stupid. I don’t want to patronize you at all. I just want you to know how much you are on my mind at the moment and that if you ever want to talk to me or email me (easier than talking sometimes) feel free. I’m always up for a chin wag :)

Thinking of you,
Bek

PS – Friend didn’t tell me anything, I could just tell…female intuition I guess :)

No-one else

"You know, there's no-one else I'd want to carry my child"

"I wouldn't want to carry anyone else's child"

In which I talk about baby things

We have been totally and completely blessed!

For starters, we are pregnant and having a baby!!

Secondly, the way we have seen God at work these past couple of weeks has been amazing! Russ and I have always believed in allowing room for God to move in our lives and it is just an amazing thing to be able to witness!

A couple of weeks ago I had been flicking through a catalogue from Target or something and it had all this 'baby stuff'. I was looking at the car seats and was completely taken aback at how expensive they can be! I started to wonder how in the heck we were going to be able to afford any of it, and decided to just hand it over to God and let him deal with it. A couple of days later at work my manager turned around and said

"Did you just say you need a baby car seat?"

I said "No, I was talking about a truck up in Port Hedland!!"

He said "Yeah but do you need a baby car seat?"

I said "I guess so..."

He said "You can have ours! We don't use it anymore. It's top of the range, I wouldn't buy any less, but we don't need it anymore. You can have it for free!"

We debated and talked about it as I didn't want to take it off him for free, but he insisted and now we have a baby car seat!! FOR FREE!!!!!

You could just say it was just coincidence, but I believe that God was at work!

The next week the very same manager asked me if we had a cot. I said no, and he continued to show me photos he had taken of his cot, change table, chest of drawers, and a 'Noah's Ark' toy chest that he said we could have. All of it in perfect condition, bar a couple of teeth marks, that he said we could have! Now, I refused to take it for free this time, but I prayed that he would only want a max of $200. Sure enough, he says he would only take $200 for it! So, we now have our nursery pretty much set up all for $200. We still need to get a new mattress and change table mattress thingy, but that is really nothing compared to what some people pay for their nursery!

We have truly been blessed by this man. He is the type of guy who wants nothing to do with religion or God, but I told him he has no idea what sort of a blessing he has been for us. Just goes to show that God can work through people who push him away.

Next on our blessing list was the pram.

I was spending some time with a very close friend and we wandered into Target to have a look for some baby clothes for her little man. As we were walking down the aisle I noticed all this prams sticking out. They were all reduced and there was a further 25% off that day! One grabbed my eye (the price tag more than the pram mind you). It worked out to be about 50% off after all the discounts and reductions. I grabbed my friend and got her to look over all the specs as I had no idea of what to look for! She was so impressed she almost bought one for herself!! It was on sale for $77!! I have not seen one for any cheaper or for as good a quality!

I've attached a picture of it:
It wasn't one that I was originally looking at because I thought people just bought them for fashion. They are the trendy thing to buy, but hey, if it's on sale and that cheap I couldn't resist! I dragged the massive box all through the store to the Lay-by area and put it on lay-by (after a few test drives!).

I was then talking about it to one of the girls I work with and she is giving me money to pay off the lay-by! I only put $20 on it so she is giving me the rest as a gift!!

So, pretty much we get a pram for only $20!! How amazing is that!

Now, my blogger friends, if you so wish to help us out in any way, feel free to send me an email (bek.j.ingram@nab.com.au) and let me know! If you know of someone who is wanting to get rid of anything that may be of use to us, let me know!

As I said before, I believe that if you leave room for God to move in your life, you will surely see it happen! And when it does, it really is amazing to be a part of!

Losing Hope?

By Rob Furlong
Challenge Newspaper March 2008

What causes a person to lose hope? I think we lose hope when the circumstances we find ourselves in are so overwhelming that we cannot see any possible way in which they can be changed for the better.

Over the years, I have spoken to many couples who have lost all hope that their relationship will ever change and they have died on the inside, as the below quote suggests:

“We did not dare to breathe a prayer,
Or give our anguish scope.
Something was dead within each of us,
And what was dead was Hope.”

It wasn’t like that when they walked down the aisle! Deeply in love, they exchanged their vows and then launched out into their new life together, alive with possibilities! A few years down the track, children began to arrive and their relationship took on a new dimension — now there were others to think of beyond themselves — and thus began the challenging and demanding task of raising a family. She was a stay-at-home Mum who put her career on hold; he found he had to work extra hours just to make ends meet. Somewhere along the line they stopped having time for each other. Life simply became an endless round of trying to get through the day and then collapsing into bed, exhausted, each night. Their arguments became more frequent. “You don’t understand me!” she cried. “You don’t listen!” was his retort. Finally, they ended up in a counsellor’s office seeking help… but the hope that things could change was long gone.

Perhaps you can relate to this, perhaps not. One thing I do know is this: whether we rate our marriage as either happy, good or bad, many of us never gave any thought at all as to what kind of a foundation we wanted to build our marriages on. I was reminded of this through a book I was reading today. Speaking from his own experience, the author pointed out how when he and his wife were married, they had absolutely no idea what goals or aims they wanted for their relationship. This typifies many, many couples today, whether married for many years or newlyweds.

Imagine building a house without any foundations! With a bit of luck it may stay up for awhile, but when the first major storm hits it, your dream home will be nothing more than a pile of ruins. It’s the same with marriage. If you have no foundation that you are building on then no wonder the relationship gets shaky when life throws its problems at the two of you. And the shakier it becomes, the more likely you are to lose hope.

Solomon wisely said, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labour in vain.” (Psalm chapter 127, verse 1). He was talking about the house of your life, whether it be career, family or marriage. If God isn’t the foundation and builder of it, then all your work is in vain.
It has been said that we can live 40 days without food, 8 days without water, 4 minutes without air, but only a few seconds without hope. Perhaps you find yourself losing hope in your marriage right now. Easter is all about hope. The utter despair experienced through Jesus’ death on Good Friday turned into unbridled joy when He was raised to life three days later. The hope that had died now lived again.

This same Jesus will change your life and circumstances if you reach out to Him. Why not write to the Editor of this paper and ask for more information about becoming a Christian, or attend a church this Easter where Jesus is proclaimed and find out more for yourself? Reach out to Jesus this Easter and let Him re-kindle your hope!

Belly Photos

I was wanting to take pics every 4 weeks of my bump but I seem to have missed a few here and there. I will endevour to do it every 4 weeks again but I can't promise anything!!

5 weeks

Please try to ignore the clothes on the floor!!

9 weeks

This one is a bit deceiving because it is a close up

16 weeks
Yes, well I forgot to do a few weeks between 9 & 16.
I feel really frumpy in this pic....*sigh* I will try and get a better one of it!

Flip out

Whoa!!! Have you seen the pregnancy ticker pick on my sidebar this week!!!????

I just had a quick squiz then, I hadn't seen it for a few weeks, and look at it!!! How insane is that!!

Things are starting to hit home now and it's getting scary. But a good scary. I can't wait to meet this little bub! I am so in love and I haven't even met it yet. Nothing could possibly take this happiness away from me. I am loving this!!!!!!!

Blogger is being nasty to me

I am currently having trouble loading any of the photos from Kate & Jos' wedding onto blogger, so hopefully I will be able to get it up and running soon!!

Otherwise click here - I don't know if this link will work....let me know in the comment section if it doesn't!!

I also had a couple of pics of my belly, but I will put them up once blogger decides to co-operate!

ALSO, another thing....I went into hospital yesterday lunch time as I had been having consistent "bad" cramps since Sun. night.

On the weekend we went to State Youth Games and had a blast! On the Sunday arvo I did ten pin bowling thinking that this would be an ok sport for a pregnant chick to do. What I didn't think about was that it is a heavy ball and that you use quite a bit of stomach muscle to hurl the jolly thing down the lane!

After the 2 games I had a splitting headache for the next 6 hours and started to have "bad" cramps. There are good and bad cramps in my books. The good cramps are the growing pains of pregnancy. You get cramps because your uterus is growing and stretching. I've had these every couple of weeks and was used to them. However, bad cramps are the cramps I had for about 3 days before my miscarriage in Jan. They are a whole other ball game and a heck of a lot more painful. They started Sun. night and kept going (still going) so I decided to call the hospital and ask what to do. I didn't want to be a nuisance if nothing ended up being wrong.

The nurse listened to all I described to her and looked at my past history. She started to get me even more worried by telling me to get into the emergency room within the next 4 hours. This got me even more worried and I started to cry. My manager at work practically packed up my desk and packed me into his car and dropped me off at the hospital where my mum met me.

I got checked and everything is ok. We got to listen to the heartbeat and so far so good. It would appear that I have been over doing it a bit and am just wearing my body down. I also tore some stomach muscles playing bowling so that was causing a bit of the pain. I was sent home and told to rest, but I managed to fit in a bit of grocery shopping some cleaning on the way :)

I am trying to rest and keep my body relaxed but it's really hard. I don't see what cleaning the house can do to cause anything, but if the doc wants me to take it easy, I will try my best.

The best thing is that everything is ok with the baby and it was really nice to listen to the heartbeat. It was amazing.

Anyway, I will hopefully be able to post pics up here soon and you will all get a photo essay on Russell's trip to the hospital at State Youth Games....it involve a knuckle from his finger being in a position it shouldn't be!!