Going South Before Heading North

This year we plan to holiday somewhere where we can go out and experience the Great Barrier Reef.

We left on our family holiday for this year on Tuesday, last week, and headed south. If you know your Australian geography, south is not the smartest route or even the scenic route to get to the Great Barrier Reef from Toowoomba. We should've headed North East. But we went to visit with my folks at their farm/building site outside Inverell, New South Wales.

The kids had great fun. Fires, fires and more fires! It's burn off season, and at one stage we worked out we had six fires going (including the one in the house and the one in the shed). Tank said he wanted to stay and have his holiday where he could light fires. He loves Granny and Grandfather's farm and is constantly enquiring after it (begging to go back). I offered to leave him with Granny and Grandfather if he wanted and he instantly said he wanted to stay with Mummy and Daddy (we love our Tank).


It was lovely to start heading North, we were hoping to finally get some warmer nights (freezing at the farm). But we didn't get very far, and we stopped back at home to get some of the things that we really needed, but mostly because the washing load just got too much. It was good for us though, as Christian got the chance to do some much needed maintenance on the camper.

So far we have camped at Inverell (Geebung Flat), Ashford NSW, Hervey Bay QLD, and we are stopped in 1770, QLD. We hope to visit Gladstone QLD, and that will be the highest we get, but we intend to make that a day trip.

Oh, and we have a "new" car...we call it "Chugga" (I think that's a reference to the children's programme "Chuggington" on ABC). Unlike the Kia we used to have (really you can't compare a Merc to a Kia!) this one can tow without missing a beat. The Mercedes Vito is an excellent family vehicle, really does tow what it says it does (the Kia struggled), has plenty of space and it was cheaper to buy second hand than a Tarago or VW Caravelle of similar kilometres. And the best feature? It has vinyl floors, so easy clean up, really easy clean up.

"Making Princesses" Retreat

We went to a place where we stayed at a cabin called "Applegum". That night we had a spa and ate chocolates. Mummy read a book to me about girls. That night we watched "Nim's Island".

The next day we had hot chocolates with Tim Tams and Bacon and Tomato with spinach leaves. Mummy gave a book for girls to learn more about Jesus. We went for a bush walk before lunch and walked mostly downhill. That afternoon we watched "Nim's Island" again. It's a good film about a girl named Nim who lived on a Island and had lots of adventures.

Half way through, I found a tick in my hair. We went to the office and got the tick out of my hair. Then we went back to the cabin and got dressed to go out. We went to a Chinese restaurant and had a good dinner and some dessert.

The next day we packed up all of our things and had a massage. We drove back home.

Written by Princess

Psalm 144:12
May our sons in their youth
  be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars
  cut for the structure of a palace

Dressed up for our special dinner together. We girls have
decided not to go tenting on our retreat. We think we
need something a bit special!

Otherwise known as "Big Girls Camp", or "Big Boys Camp", both Christian and I take our children away by themselves for two nights every year once they turn 8. Christian takes the boys, and I take the girls. 

The purpose of our camp is for us as parents to develop our personal relationship with each of our children, to give specific discipleship and encouragement in their relationship with Jesus, to teach them about their changing body and give them a godly perspective on sexuality and how to relate appropriately to the opposite sex. We do this well before they are teenagers because we want to imprint God's standards in their lives before the world gets it's chance. 

The idea comes from many sources that talk about our culture having a lack of "coming of age" or "initiation"event, as traditional cultures have. We did this in my family when we each turned 18. But we decided that it was important to develop our personal relationship with our children earlier because of the sexualisation of our world. Currently, I use Concordia Press: Learning about Sex series to teach our children about their body. This year both Tiger and Princess received a devotional book that we taught them how to use. Another good resource, particularly for girls would be Dannah Gresh's book on Mother Daughter dates.

.

Lady Musgrave Island

All the coral here is beautiful.

On our recent holiday, we took a day cruise to Lady Musgrave Island. We were warned, people get really sick on the way out. So I insisted that the children could only have a piece of toast for breakfast (knowing full well that this would not fill their tummies), I also insisted that everyone except Joybug had to take a ginger tablet to help with possible seasickness well before we went.

Our three happy snorkelers.

Pretty purple brain coral in the centre,
next to golden plate coral.

In his journal, The Man described the journey as "up and down, up and down". Truly, it was the sort of down like you get when you go fast over certain dips in the road, where your tummy jumps, except this was every ten seconds or so. One of the crew commented to me how still the sea was today, particularly compared to the last few weeks. It was fun at first, but within 20 minutes I was NOT enjoying it. So I focused on the horizon, and on breathing deeply, all while trying to help Tiger, Princess and Joybug who were struggling too. I stood to try and get water for Joybug and could barely find my feet! The crew suggested those who felt ill should try the back of the boat, but when I tried that all I could smell was the diesel, and that made me feel worse! I barely downed another ginger tablet, and Christian noticed I wasn't coping. He came and worked on pressure points in my wrists and immediately I felt significantly better. I kept working these for the rest of the trip and managed to keep it at just nausea (no vomiting).

Christian however didn't fair so well. We had half an hour to go in our hour and a half journey, when he couldn't hold it in any more. Poor man! I had no idea how I would handle it if one of the kids got sick too. I was regularly checking on them, even though turning my head made me feel sick all over. One of the two things I don't do well as a parent (or teacher) is vomit! As soon as we were 10 minutes from the pontoon we were all feeling fine, and ready to start the morning tea that had just been put out, although Christian was not so sure.

The water was five to ten metres deep, but we felt safe.

The purple coral here is plate coral.

On arrival at the island we all (right down to Joybug) donned wetsuits. Then all of us got into the water, but Joybug and Tank were too nervous to get off the ledge. It was AMAZING! The children were so amazed by everything they saw. Tiger was off naming the fish and creatures he saw. He recognised the sea cucumber, parrot fish and numerous other fish. I didn't know he knew so much! Princess and The Man kept trying to talk excitedly through their snorkel. The water was deep, but extraordinarily clear. The colours of the fish were incredible. Our camera is one we can use underwater and we all enjoyed taking these pictures. The children were disappointed when we had to stop for lunch.

Professional photographer who also was crook on the boat.
The floating white things is the coral's sunscreen from when
it was out of the water during low tide.

After lunch we went on a glass bottom boat and spied lots of different things, including big sea turtles. The boat then dropped us off on Lady Musgrave Island, where we had a bush walk. It's an amazing island made from coral. Walking through the bush growing there was incredible. We would love to go back there to camp and have the island all to ourselves!

We managed a bit more snorkeling before we headed back to the mainland. The return trip was wonderfully enjoyable for everyone. We were even able to enjoy the whales frolicking as we passed them by (couldn't look on the way to the island).

We topped the day off with quick baths and dinner in an Indian restaurant in a setting that reminded me and Christian of a restaurant we went to on our honeymoon in Vanuatu. Truly delightful!!

Pretty blue fish with staghorn coral.

The pink coral is finger and the long
golden coral is staghorn.

Snorkeling Tiger...you don't see that every day!

The golden coral is plate coral 

In the bush on the island.

Our family on Lady Musgrave Island.

Story by SJ. Captions by Tiger

The black lines are sausage sea cucumbers,
they are the vacuum cleaners of the seas. 

Wet Nights

It rained last night, and most of the day before, and it rained the night before too. On that first night we found Tiger getting quite wet out in the annex, and moved him inside. We moved Princess' bed, but later she got wet too and had to sleep with Joybug. We didn't have our special waterproof covers on the ends of our camper, and water came in on my side of the bed, mostly at my head, but also at my feet. Our feather quilt got particularly wet.

Christian took the kids to the beach in the morning so I could start the tidy up, we were both exhausted! Joybug and I slowly started to get things going. That's when the kids came back, all of them wet, and sandy, and dirty!

Now we had a mountain of washing and drying! The kids settled down to some Maths and journaling after their clean up, and we attempted to start the washing, except everyone else in the caravan park had the same idea. So we decided to split. Joybug and I went to bed, Christian and the rest went to have lunch and do the washing. Then we swapped, Christian and Tank slept whilst I took the rest exploring. Best idea yet.

Still by the end of the day the camper was all mud, sand and water on the floor. Christian took the big kids for a swim, yes it was raining. The Man went blue with the cold. By the time they were all showered I had managed to make the camper clean and a dinner to fill them up.

Thankfully, after devotions, and beginning our new book "Little House In The Big Woods", they all slept soundly until this morning. Praise God! We all needed a good sleep.

The first sound we heard this morning was a number of kookaburras calling (or having a party, as a book of ours says), then Joybug:

"Oh! Oo oo, uh uh...Monkeys!!"

"It's a kookaburra, Joybug" said Mummy

"Oh!! Koodaburra!! Koodaburras!!"

Sugar Cane Country

Today we started driving through sugar cane country. We pointed the crops out to the kids. The Man kept thinking I had said "sugar grain", which then got Tank saying the same thing. Then The Man said it was "sugar grass", which is actually a great description, because it is a form of grass, just like bamboo.

"So why is sugar bad for you if it comes from a plant?" asked Tiger. Great question! The answer comes fairly easily when we stop to cut a cane and try it for ourselves. Getting the cane juice out is easy, but the amount needed for a spoonful of sugar? Well, that's a bit harder. If we were to eat the sugar cane in its natural state we would also be getting lots of fibre, which is needed to move the sugar (fructose) through the body, but the fibre would fill us up, so we wouldn't eat so much.

We are now driving past crop after crop of sugar cane. It dwarfs my height of 165cm, and whilst most house poke their rooftops just out above the cane occasionally we see a house hidden inside the cane, which must be pretty scary if they still burn off the stubble.

It was raining when we got out for our taste tests. The kids all thought it tasted nice, although Tank initially took the whole cane in his mouth, rather than waiting for me to drip a bit out. Joybug didn't know how to lift her head with all the rain, so she got to sit in the car for hers.

Spicy Peanut Chicken

This slowcooker dish is a personal favourite, and was a hit at our church luncheon yesterday. Whilst the name says "spicy" I was told it was quite delicious by those (older people) who don't like spicy dishes, and not really considered spicy. I personally think that if I was making it for hubby and me, or others who like spicy stuff, I would add 1 tablespoon of Thai red curry paste. From memory, we have added just a dash more to our plates before serving to spice it up for just us.

This is an adapted dish from my favourite slow cooker book: The Healthy Slow Cooker by Judith Finlayson

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 onions

I love the colour in this dish, it's unusual to have such
bright colours coming from the slow cooker!

2 carrots

4 celery stalks

4 cloves of garlic (minced)

1 tablespoon minced ginger root 

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 cup chicken stock

12 chicken thighs

Mix together separately:

3 tablespoons peanut butter

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 teaspoon of corn flour

2 cups green peas 

1 red capsicum

There's two ways to do this dish...

The not much time way:
Throw all the first lot of ingredients into the slow cooker on low for at least 5 hours. Then add the sauce, and put the slow cooker on high for at least 1/2 an hour. Just before you are ready to serve add the peas and capsicum. Serve with rice, and garnish with coriander. Yum!

The other way:

Step 1

Firstly, fry up the onions, carrots and celery in the oil. When soft, add the garlic, ginger, and peppercorns and stir for a minute. Then add the chicken stock (although it is just as flavourful if you add water). Line the bottom of your slow cooker with the chicken and cover with the softened veggie mix.

This can then be put in the fridge and left overnight. (Which is what we did)

Step 2

Turn slow cooker on high for 2 hours, then add the peanut sauce, and continue to cook on high for an hour. 

Step 3

Finally add the capsicum and peas, and serve after 10 minutes or so. Garnish with coriander and serve with rice.

Worship With Kids

"Mum, take a picture of us. We're angels!" said Tank, just before communion today.

Today I did just that, to remind me that the perspective of children is SO very different to that of adults. They were not naughty children, unable to sit still. They were in God's house, the best place to be, so chill out! 

Jesus says: "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."(Matthew 18:3) So what does that look like?

I think I need to start by taking church services a little less seriously. If God is truly our Father, then like my earthly Dad, He must prefer seeing me enjoy myself. The first answer in the Westminster Shorter Catechism is: "The chief purpose of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." Enjoy being in your Father's house! It's as close as you are getting to Home whilst you are here on earth!

I think it also means that we need to work out ways that our children can be a part of worship. And allow them to be children too. 

Most of the time, I am the parent with the youngest children in the Church, I say "I" because hubby is too busy to share. Regularly, but hopefully this will change, mine are the only children in Church. I don't agree with the philosophy of taking my children out of the service to the "cry room" because they need food, or are frustrating me with their wriggles. I don't even like to send my kids to Sunday School if it takes place during the service time! 

This is because my philosophy is that children are a part of the Church, and should be included in the life and worship of the church, not segregated. Also, I believe we can learn a lot from children in worship (and we should since Jesus commands us to have faith like them). And finally, children learn a lot from being actively involved in worship...they are listening!

So how do I try to do this?

* We have snacks and water in church. Church time is about the time of their normal morning tea time at home and I don't think it's sensible to make them wait it out. Besides, the first church services held were centred around a meal! 

* I have a "Church Bag". This bag holds a number of toys and tricks that keep our children's hands occupied. Currently it contains: fuzzy wire, beads, threading toys, some magnetic animals that can have their heads and tails changed, and some mini pegs. In the past a favourite has been paper clips. I have thought about rubber bands, but then...you can just see them flying up into the sanctuary area and causing no end of disruption :) In the past I have also included musical instruments for playing during songs (making their joyful noise) but it can be difficult to rescue these before the prayers start.

* We sit at the front. Even during holidays, we sit up the front. This means the children can see what's going on and therefore they seem focused. It means there are no other children around to help in distracting my children (they need no help). And it means I can sit on the floor and focus on my children during the sermon. They feel that Mama is playing with them and seem more willing to play the whispering game.

* And we try to play Church aerobics. We try to stand when everyone else stands, etc. This way they are not sitting the entire time. And occasionally, like today, I make fun with my older children by singing in an operatic voice.

What is the point of me doing all this? To show my children the Church, the Bride of Christ, and allow them to be a part of it, since they too love Jesus and are therefore part of the body of Christ.

But seriously, it goes against the grain that so many people, some parents included, think that children shouldn't be in Church because then the parents and others don't hear the sermon. But even on the super difficult days (yes they do happen), I'm still hearing even when I don't feel like I am. Besides this, if hearing the sermon is so important, which it is, then get a copy for later listening and enjoy it whilst you drive around town or do the dishes! If you can't get your pastor's sermon recorded then ask him for a recommended sermon podcast. I listen to podcasts whilst hanging out the washing.

Here in the Divine Service God gives us forgiveness, His Word and His body and blood. This is life giving stuff! Why deny our children? They can teach us a fair bit about worship!

Jesus LOVES children. He loves their enthusiasm, He loves their joy, He loves their creativity, He loves the way they think outside the box, and He loves their trust and faith in Him. In Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."  

Enjoy your children during Church. Pray for them. Let distractions be for God's work, not the devil's. Pray for the parents you hear with grumpy children, instead of giving dark looks or making comments. Even better, offer support! 

When Tank was a wee bit older than 18 months we attended the Queensland Synod Sunday service at Buderim. It was a fantastic service, brilliant children's address and President Mike Semmler preached. He was getting rather energetic with his preaching as he preached about the mustard seed being like our sin, needing to die. And like a good preacher/politician he then went on to give the same point in a number of ways. Tank started to call out at the top of his voice: " Die! Die! Die!!" Hubby wanted to crawl under his seat, yep we were at the front. Pastor Mike then went on to outline how we are to grow to be more like Jesus. This time Tank called out: "Gwow! Gwow! Gwow!"

Children are listening at church, even when we think they are too small. And every time we have them in Church with us they are learning more about the Church and about Jesus. I pray that they are learning that the Church loves them, as well as the fact that Jesus loves them. 

Matthew 11:25 Jesus declared, " I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children."

Beautiful Veins...

I don't remember many pick up lines...who would? They tend to be a bit corny! But the one was memorable!

Christian pursued me...relentlessly. I was not dreadfully keen to marry a doctor, and therefore not keen to go out with one. However, working in Christian's favour was my difficulty to say no and "hurt" his feelings. I just couldn't "make up" an excuse to not spend time with him, other than my lack of desire to marry a doctor. Otherwise he had great credentials: devoted to Jesus, studying theology in his "spare time", dedicated student, hardworking, great pianist and a voice that finally did the liturgy justice (I couldn't stop giggling the first time I heard him sing it!). He also plays the organ...which would be a negative considering I haven't liked the organ since I was a baby (would cry whenever I heard the organ play!).



I remember on one of our first dates Christian took my hand and said:

"You've got beautiful veins."

This was said with real sincerity, and meaning. So much so that I would look at my hands for weeks after, shake my head and smile..."beautiful veins".

What a line! Quite possibly my thinking about him changed there.

The Broken Tank

January 3rd AD 2010, the morning after.

Tank was just on 6 months old when he broke both his legs on January 2nd 2010! The left leg was broken at the femur, and his right tibia fractured just above his ankle.

We had left our life behind in Adelaide and were on our journey north to start our new life here in Toowoomba, Queensland. We stopped for what was meant to be one night at Orange, NSW. We knew there was a Lutheran church here, and after checking out a less than satisfactory caravan park, we decided to ask the Lutheran pastor if we could set up our camper at the church.

It was nearing 7pm when we starting setting up the camper. As soon as the walls were up and the beds out, I put Tank on our bed and started dinner preparations. Tank, who has just started crawling, crawled behind a suitcase on the bed and I relaxed because he couldn't fall down onto the floor. Suddenly I heard crying, and my initial thought was "How odd! Ours are the only children here." Then I realised that Christian hadn't yet secured the tent and that was our Tank screaming. All in split seconds of course.

Okay, so The Man is cute, but this is as close as we got
to taking a picture of the exact spot. It's just under that bed.

I ran outside calling Christian. There was Tank flat on the ground, and all First Aid training when out the window as I picked him up. We were camped on bitumen, however, just where Tank's head fell there was a large tuft of grass. This was surely God's grace to us.

I tried to put Tank to the breast, but he just screamed. I wanted to drive straight to the hospital, but Christian wanted to bring the unfed children. So we called the pastor, who drove me and sat with me in the hospital. Again, this was God's grace to us.

Daddy playing with the children at our Orange camp spot.

On arrival the lady before me told the Triage Nurse that her baby had fallen off the couch. Tank was still crying, and I leaned forward and said: "My 6 month old has just fallen 1.5 metres onto bitumen." I was immediately ushered inside, the other lady had to wait.

X-rays were taken, and then MANY questions were asked. The only evidence of the accident was a slight graze on his right leg. But really, who were we? Why were we camping? Could our story be verified? I was so grateful the pastor had remained with me.

The only physical evidence of the accident.

The orthopaedic surgeon came around, and brought the bad news. Tank had broken his LEFT leg and due to a possible head injury we would have to stay in hospital overnight for observations.

The treatment options for the break were: 1. Traction for two weeks, that's both legs in the air (No thanks!) 2: Full body cast, nipple to toes (NO thanks!) or 3: Do nothing. If we could keep him from crawling around, and be careful when touching his leg we would be okay. Oh and he could have some Pain Stop medication now, and as required to keep him out of pain. This treatment was also God's grace to us, either of the first two options would have been very stressful for a very active boy, and delayed our arrival in Toowoomba.

After a restless night in hospital, and then a good night sleep back at our spot, we decided to move on to Inverell, NSW. We camped on my parent's property, Geebung Flat. At the end of the week (Friday) we took Tank for review X-rays. I happily went in on my own, leaving Christian to contend with the children in the waiting room. X-ray taking over, I observed another fellow come in to look at the x-rays, and look at me and then back again. So I did my naive doctors wife thing, and walked over to ask how it looked.

Too cute, swimming in the creek.

Tank's Great Granny, Irene Campbell. Already his leg is
healing, with just the faint scars showing.

Now the barrage of questions came: Where do you live? "um...we are of no fixed abode as we are moving." Where are you from? "Adelaide, moving to Toowoomba." Why are you here? "We are camping at my parent's block." By now I was anxious! The tone was NOT friendly! Do you have the report from the x-rays in Orange? "My husband is a GP, he would know about the report." Who do you know here? Ah now here is a question I know the answer to. "The Wiedemanns" and then realising that perhaps that might not be enough I mentioned every other family member in town (it is my family hometown)! Where is your husband? "He's in the waiting room with our other children"

Finally, I came to my senses. "What seems to be the problem?"

"You mentioned only one leg was broken, but we have TWO broken legs showing on the x-ray!"

I burst into tears! I had noticed that he cried when I touched his other leg, but two broken legs!?

Sleeping peacefully.

Bathing at Geebung Flat

Christian was brought to the x-ray room. He was horrified. How could this have been missed!? The orthopaedic surgeon hadn't read the report, he had just looked at the one leg on the x-ray! Christian insisted that we see another orthopaedic surgeon that day, but the nearest one was in Armidale over a hundred kilometres away! We tried to get a hold of the doctor, but when a return call didn't come we headed to Armidale on spec. I guess Christian thought he would use his GP status to get someone to see him.

We got within 20 kilometres of Armidale when our mobile finally had coverage and we received a call. All was good, we could wait until Monday.

February 21st...and this was not the first stand!

On Monday, Tank crawled around at our feet whilst the doctor explained that the fractures did not require any further treatment. It was okay for him to crawl and do whatever he felt comfortable doing, as unlike an adult who pushes themselves, a child will not move to cause themselves pain.

It appears that Tank fell on his feet when he fell from our camper. Then his head fell on the tuft of grass. We are so grateful that his injuries were SO quickly healed. We praise God for tough grass that grows in unlikely places. It is no coincidence that this grass was in just the right place...it was God!

Slowcooker Pea and Ham Soup (with veggies)

Tank approved, and asked for bread
to mop it up

Important Ingredients
Ham hock - a big one is what we use (or two small)
500g split peas (I used a 7Litre pot, so use less split peas for a smaller pot!)
1/3 250g Phili Cream Cheese

Today's Optional Ingredients
Onion (really good for flavour)
Parsnip
Turnip
Sweet Potato
handful of lentils

Other Optional Ingredients
Carrots
Potato
Zucchini
Celery
Anything else I missed?

Method:

Clearly one of Christian's favourites,
he loves the meaty chucks of goodness!

Cut off the "skin" and excess fat on the ham hock
Veggies only need to fit in, they don't need to be chopped up
Cover with water

* Use slow (number 1) setting if you won't be back for 8 hours or so
* Use "fast" (number 2) setting if you plan to need the soup in three to four hours
* Cook on the stove top if you need it in 2 hours.

* When you are nearly ready to eat, carefully pull out the ham hock.

* Wizz up the soup and clump of cream cheese with a stab/bar mixer (I bought mine for $20 at Big W because my expensive ones keep breaking)

* Then cut up ham hock, removing excess fat and grizzle. Put these pieces back in the wizzed up soup.

Serve with yummy, buttered, mini loaves of bread that have spent 5 minutes in the oven.