Konga vs Zumba

The girls are at an Active After School Konga class, but the boys are at home having fun with with Wii Zumba:




"Mum! Guess what? I got Zumba Master, 4 stars..."

Red Gum Springs

We took advantage of the sunshine and blue skies on Saturday to take the kids to Red Gum Springs for a picnic lunch and a hike up the nearby hill. We met a friend from school J and his dad Mr D in the Stirling Range National Park, and enjoyed the opportunity to be outdoors together.

At first, Jeff wasn't keen on climbing the hill; "It's too big, it'll take too long, we'll get lost!"
I told Jeff, "That's why we call it a Family Adventure not a Family Activity!" And we did discover a path up the hill ... once we had already made our way half way to the top.


The kids made their way to the top ahead of the three adults. They knew to stop when they reached the (obligatory) cairn, which Anna and Abigail promptly claimed as their own.


The views from the top were lovely and the kids had a good time exploring around a fairly flat knoll near the proper peak, which we didn't get to.



The canola which is one of the local crops is starting to flower, and some of the paddocks in the distance to the south were showing yellow-green rather than grass green.


The wildflowers which are just starting to appear brought colour to the nearby scene.


When we returned to the bottom of the hill, Samuel and Abigail both wanted a photo taken of the rocks they had found. I had explained to them the bushwalker's maxim,
"Take only photographs,
Leave only footprints."
So they wanted to be sure we had a photo of their treasures before we left them behind.



As we walked to church on Sunday, Anna told me she'd like to climb "another mountain like the one we climbed yesterday." So I'll have to judge this Family Adventure a success.

Motor Cross

We went to the local open day for the new Motor Cross today.

Jeff and I, at least, thought it was a great day. Abigail enjoyed the chance to play with some friends from school in the trees beside the track. Samuel talked to everyone who would listen about his present favourite computer game, Plants vs Zombies.

Joshua borrowed a helmet from friends from church, before both he and Anna went for a ride around the rear of the official track, on the back of another friend's bike.


Anna loved her ride:


Joshua was not quite so sure after all the speedy turns:


Joshua observed: "I think the difference here in the country is that in the city people like to do more indoor things like play computer games and here in the country people like to do more outdoor stuff like ride motorbikes. I think I'm more of an indoor person." I hope he'll adjust!

Lego Olympics

The kids made some events for the 2012 Lego Olympics recently.

Clockwise from left in the top photo you can see cycling, the lighting of the Olympic flame, fencing with seating for a small crowd, hurdles, a food stall and the winner of the archery contest surrounded by ... um ... Robin Hood and several aliens?


And in this photo, clockwise from top left, you can see swimming, archery, high jump, javelin, more cycling with a couple exchanging flowers and a flagbearer, and a steeplechase, observed by a random pig.


A fun way to reflect upon current events.

Jobs to earn pocket money #2

We received a wonderful gift from one of the ladies in our church last weekend: two beautiful white Sussex chickens!



Samuel wanted to name them Chicken-tin and Chicken-robber, but I have succeeded in convincing him that they should be called Snowy and Lily. Just don't ask us which is which in these photos!

They are perfectly at home in the coop that came with our manse.


I remember when I was a kid, our minister's wife also had chickens. I was afraid of them and their potentially scratchy beaks and claws. Samuel has no such fears. He is responsible for feeding the chickens their food scraps, laying mix and wheat grain each morning. He also checks their roosting box for eggs. Most days so far we have had one egg but as the chickens settle in Sam is finding two eggs more often.

One day, Sam and I went out early to feed the chickens and Lily was still sitting in the roosting box. She sat there the entire time that Sam took in the food, and then, while we watched her from the doorway we heard a little thud. Lily promptly stood up and looked underneath her body, then hopped down from the box and went out to peck at the food. We hurried around to open the roof of the coop to find a newly laid egg, still warm! Samuel was very excited. I was too.

Samuel's chicken syllogism:
Sam: "So can we call our home a farm now?"
Me: "Why?"
Sam: "Because chickens live on farms and now we have two chickens. So we live on a farm."
Dad: "Not until we have a rain gauge."

[For posterity, this is my 700th post on this blog.]

Jobs to earn pocket money #1

Our move to the country has brought many new opportunities into the lives of our kids. For example, they are now able to walk to school, rather than needing to be driven. One of the best, or the worst of these opportunities - depending on when you ask their opinion - has been the chance to learn to do some significant jobs around the house to earn pocket money.

Over the two weeks of the school holidays, Jeff and I taught the three older kids their new jobs. They took to most of them quickly, though Anna and Abigail will continue to need my supervision or assistance over the next term as they continue to develop the required skills.

Abigail now knows how to use the washing machine. It was funny watching Abi remember the steps to getting the settings correct:

One cause of distress was the broken cold water solenoid which led to a flooded laundry. We learnt to appreciate the benefits of a floor with a (heretofore mysterious) slope. But mostly the washing has been a fun job for Abigail.

She also transfers the washing to the dryer as required and sorts the dry washing into each person's pile before folding her own washing and folding the linen with my help. I have really appreciated Abigail's work for the family, and she has loved earning $2 pocket money each week.

Anna has been tackling jobs in the kitchen, especially baking a loaf of bread each day for the school lunches. There is no regular locally made fresh bread available from the stores here. Although the convenience store does bake some days of the week, these are not predictable. So Anna has been responsible for setting the breadmaker each evening for weekday lunches, and first thing in the morning for warm bread for weekend lunches.

Anna also sets the table, dries the dishes, and helps cook whenever we have time to help her to help us. For these kitchen jobs, Anna has been earning $3 each week, and enjoying the reward of tasty home cooked bread each morning for breakfast as well.

Joshua has the job that requires the most muscles! He splits and stacks the wood for our fire most days, or whenever the firewood stack in the mudroom is getting low. He also cleans the fireplace door each morning before he lights the fire or stokes it up again:

Making sure the wood supply doesn't get too low is an essential task in a town where we have woken up several mornings to frost on the lawn or fog in the air. Joshua earns $4 each week, and we are grateful that he likes to get up early and perform his jobs promptly, often before several other family members have even risen from their beds.

From the time the kids have been old enough to walk carrying something they have been responsible for taking their meal dishes to the sink with scraps in the bin on the way. They've also been responsible for keeping their bedrooms moderately tidy, making their beds each day, taking their dirty clothes to the wash basket, putting their clean folded clothes away, and other personal chores. However, up until this time we have not been paying the children pocket money, although we have paid them for occasional jobs around the house when they have asked to earn some money for a particular purchase. So their first Pay Day was occasion for many smiles!


PS: Samuel has a job as well, which he completes to earn 50c each week. His job did not begin until after the holidays, when we were given a special gift by one of the ladies from our church. More on that in another post.

Storing and Organising Lego

To the astonishment of many, our substantial Lego collection is now sorted.


Yes, the seemingly impossible has now been achieved.


When a Lego collection gets as big as ours, it can be hard to locate that certain piece you want to make a particular creation. Sorting by colour makes the finding process just that little bit easier. We have sorted our Lego by colour for over a year now, but we have recently bought a few new boxes to streamline the process.

I do a major colour sort at the end of each school holiday, about every three months. In between times, Lego is either put away properly by colour or just put into one large Unsorted Box. Sorting this box is the task for the end of the holidays, or earlier if it gets too full too quickly. It takes about a day to sort one 50L tub, with breaks and distractions, unless I have help - which can make the task take longer, if the help consists of diverting the unsorted Lego pieces to unfinished Lego creations!

We have boxes with dividers for individual colours:


We have boxes without dividers for the black, dark grey, light grey and white pieces, since there are so many:


We have a box for the base plates:


We even have a box for all those clear pieces, and another for several hundred Lego people, several dozen horses and all their accoutrements:


Best of all, almost all of the boxes fit neatly under our bed, ready to be brought out on the weekend.

Jeff's induction

Jeff's induction was led by Rev John Campbell on behalf of the Baptist Churches
of Western Australia. (John is the pastor who baptised me.)

Questions to and affirmations from Jeff on his calling to the ministry of the C-F Baptist Church:

Question 1: Do you believe in the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour?

Question 2: Do you believe that the Bible is the inspired, trustworthy Word of God and is the authority on all matters of faith and conduct?

Question 3: Do you promise to fulfil your calling with integrity; preaching, leading, pastoring, teaching, doing the work of an evangelist and equipping the Church for ministry and service?

Question 4: Do you enter, with a willing heart, this ministry for which you have been called? Do you, with God's help, promise to lead and serve the Church with energy – mental, spiritual and physical? Do you commit to enter into the local community, assisting the congregation to effectively live and proclaim the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ? Do you respect the congregational authority of the Church?

Question 5: Do you commit yourself to the regular searching of the Word of God and to prayer, for your personal spiritual welfare and for your effective ministry in the Church of God?



Questions to, and affirmations from the members of the C-F Baptist Church:

Question 1: Will you the members of the C-F Baptist Church accept as your Pastor Jeff J, for the living and proclaiming of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
Response: We will.

Question 2: Will you treat with respect and commit to support Jeff as your Pastor? Will you work with him wholeheartedly as God's people, faithfully upholding him in prayer? Will you love, encourage and enable him to effectively minister to the Church of God?
Response: We will.

Commitment to the J family - Questions to and affirmations from the congregation of the C-F Baptist Church:

Question 1: Will you, the congregation of the C-F Baptist Church welcome into your hearts as family Jeff and Sharon, Joshua, Anna, Abigail and Samuel? Will you faithfully love and encourage them as they minister in the family of God?
Response: We will.

Tree Change

We've moved to the country!

Just in case the "Baptist Manse" sign didn't give it away, after two months of unemployment, Jeff has just started as the pastor of his second church, CBC. We are now happy residents of a Great Southern town with a population of 280 - well, 286, now that we've moved in!

Our Tree Change tree:

In Summer, when it has leaves, it will dominate the back yard. Now it provides an excellent climbing tree with the ladder leaned against it to provide access.

Jeff has a huge workshop shed in the back yard, and there is also a smaller gardening shed. Attached to the garden shed is a source of joy for Samuel: a chook run. Some friends from church have offered us a few chickens on the lay, so we will be making use of the run very soon. Out of the picture is my own personal source of joy: a large rotary clothesline. After nine months without one, after our landlord refused to replace the one that rusted through and fell over at our last home, I was overjoyed to see our new line in the back yard when we moved in.

Thank you, God, for blue sky and sunshine.
Thank you, God, for an outside washing line!

Inside, things are starting to take shape. I can't say the rooms are starting to feel like home, though. We felt at home from the first moment we walked through the door! I'm pretty sure the lovely pale yellow walls had something to do with that.

Our family lounge room, with our potbelly fire (and a box of paper and cardboard moving leftovers to help get the fire started each morning):

The dining room, complete with new dining table, which we purchased second hand for $300 from our old neighbours, along with four new chairs (two of which now reside in the lounge room until needed).

Our new kitchen:

This is probably as tidy and clean as it's ever going to be!

Our bedroom, my side:

I have made a decision to restrain myself when it comes to junk and books in the bedroom. If it is paper that needs dealing with or filing, it goes in the tray on the bookshelf, and I have a reminder on my Due app to do filing every second Friday. Magazines and catalogues I want to read go in here as well, until I actually get around to reading them. I have a small dish that I was given for Christmas a year and a half ago by a lovely lady from our previous church that I use to hold jewellery and my watch that I take off at night. The only things I am allowing myself to put on my bed side table are one book that I am presently reading; my small pile of Bible, journal and pencil case; and my iPhone. Library books go in a small pile on the left of the bottom bedside table shelf, with another pile on the right side with my other notebooks (one for home making, one on social skills) and a commentary on the book of the Bible I am presently studying. Nothing else! I am being ruthless. My long term Books to Read pile has become half a shelf of my bedroom bookcase. Now I will have a study with a desk of my own, books I am reading for my theological studies are going in that room.

Our bedroom, Jeff's side:

Jeff has made the biggest change: he now has an entire tall bookshelf with his novels and books he wants to read in the near-ish future, rather than the massive piles of books on his bedside table which had been on the verge of collapsing for the past three years. He also has a "Man Box" with handyman fix-it odds and ends hidden on the bottom shelf, for easy access without visible mess.

I took these photos to remind me how tidy certain rooms can be. However, we have by no means unpacked everything. Jeff's office, now that we have bought five new bookshelves from IKEA, is starting to look like an office instead of a book box collection. But my study, which will also be the toy storage room, is still full of yet-to-be-unpacked boxes and missing a desk, which awaits a few finishing touches in the workshop shed.

Even those rooms that are pretty much unpacked, although not fully ordered and sorted, show the impact of four kids (plus a new friend):

I'll post an update on these rooms when they are looking their best!

Today I went from this...

To this:


And then the girls each had about 10cm chopped off as well.


We are all very happy with our haircuts and looking forward to the girls taking responsibility for the care of their own hair now it is not too long for them to brush on their own. Anna was very excited to find out that with her hair shorter and thus lighter, she has a wave or even a slight curl in it, which we never knew before.

And for anyone who remembers the last time I went from long to short like this, no, I am not pregnant and hormonal this time!

Best Mothers' Day Gift Ever!!

See that bull's eye? I got it with a 9mm Sig Sauer at 15m. Not bad for the first time I'd ever shot a gun!

Jeff and the kids bought me 50 rounds with a .22 revolver and 60 rounds with the 9mm semi-automatic for my Mother's Day gift a few weeks ago. I generously shared my ammunition with Jeff. The kids were not invited to join us, for obvious reasons; we went while they were at school. It was a whole lot of fun, once I worked out how to aim the things!