Haircuts and such

Before I show you the girls with their new hairdos I had to show you this adorable sight:

I just love it when the big girls read to the little girls. So stinking cute!! Looking at this picture you really would never imagine that they ever were anything less than perfect. Like you'd never think that the red-head pictured above would try to entrap her younger sister, which happened this morning. Or that the little brunette would try to extort candy from her mother every time she used the potty by herself even though we officially gave up rewarding her for such doings once she proved she was more than capable. Hmmmmm . . . .looking at this picture though I just have to forgive them. 

Moving on, here's Ellie modeling her bob. Hers alone is as short as I wanted, as mentioned in a previous post, the other two took advantage of my absence to tell the nice lady they wanted theirs a bit longer. 

Josie. . . the victim of the entrapment scheme set up this morning. I won't mention what it was all about but Meggie totally set her up. 
And Katie, hers barely looks cut at all and hers was the hair I most wanted short. Katie is extraordinarily sensitive - her eyes are the ones that hurt in the dentist chair when the bright lights go on and she is the one who screams the loudest when I comb out the tangles hidden below the top layer of her hair (which is the only one she has combed) to put her hair up for ballet.

Ok, that's all for now. I have a new lens for my camera on the way and I'm very excited about that. . .  thanks Dad for sending it to me from America! I asked how much it would be to buy it here and the camera shop said they'd have to get it from another store or order it and that it would be $750 New Zealand dollars. Instead it's coming from America for $85, plus the shipping. I kid you not, things are expensive in these here parts.

Have a good day!

A Few Firsts

Yesterday the girls and I decided to pick Dugald up from work since we were already out and about. The trick of course was finding a parking space near his office so I could see Katie and Josie get in the elevator to go tell him we were there (he had forgotten his phone at home so I couldn't just text him to come down). Anyhoo - lucky for us, or so I thought, there was a spot just across the street from his office. It was a parallel park, which I hate, but it was all that was available so I eased on in and sent the girls up to get him while Meggie, Ellie and I waited in the car. 

As we were sitting there for about five minutes several cars came and went from the spot in front of us. There were white lines marking the spaces and everything so I had absolutely no cause for concern. However, just as Dugald, Josie and Katie were walking towards us a big ole city bus came up the street and went right in front of me, hitting my car in the process. My parked car. With us in it. 

Thankfully it wasn't a big deal but since Dugald saw it all I decided to let him handle it. But he didn't do anything. As the bus was being loaded I thought for sure it was going to hit us again as it left, but it didn't. Once it was out of the way Dugald and the girls got in the car and Dugald informed me I was parked in a bus stop. SO THEY JUST HIT ME??? So very rude!

It turns out that the spot I was in is a bus stop between 4 and 6 pm and the dotted yellow line outside of the white parking space line was supposed to indicate that fact. However, I want you to know that even though I was parked there between 4 and 6pm I was actually hit at 6:02pm. 

So I've learned a little more about parking and lanes and whatnot. Presumably I had read that somewhere when I studied for my driving test, but I was going with the fact that other cars were parked there too so it didn't even register. Here's the car:

My second "first" happened immediately following the collision with the bus (see if we ever go downtown to pick Dugald up from work again). This time I witnessed a taxi running into a biker, both of whom were trying to pass me on a one lane road (plus a bus lane which you just know I was staying out of). The taxi was pulling off the curb from the left to get in front of me to turn right (he so could have waited) while the biker was coming up on the right to pass. Dugald, still explaining the bus stop situation was reminding me that they had changed the speed limit to 30K's on Lambton Quay (which is unbelievably slow, slow enough that bikers do indeed whiz by you). So the taxi driver hit the biker, right in front of me, and we sat there and watched them get in a big ole fight because we couldn't pass. The biker wasn't hurt so Dugald told me to stay out of it. It was the second time in 5 minutes that I had totally wanted to tell someone off. 

What's happening in your world???

Amazing friends

Well we survived the night with nobody else getting sick, thank you Lord!! Yesterday was rainy and cold and the girls stayed in their pajamas all day watching "Little House on the Prairie", playing on the computer, updating their blogs, and recuperating. Despite all the cleaning it was a nice, peaceful day for me too, and I loved having my house so clean. At least until dinner. . . you know how that goes! 

Today I woke up to some emails in my "in" box from some amazing friends, I am so grateful for all of you. I'm thankful for the hugs I feel across the miles from those commiserating with me over illness, I'm thankful for those working in situations so much more difficult than anything I've ever faced and bringing hope and change to the lives of others, I'm thankful for those literally working to help the widows and orphans in their distress, I'm thankful for those who live with children with disabilities that unlike illness don't get better. I'm so humbled. And so grateful. Matt Redman's song "Blessed be Your name" comes to mind. That song brings me to tears almost every time I hear it, it gives me strength and hope. It reminds me in a powerful way that God is the same in the rain and in the sunshine. He is glorious and I was created for His glory, to praise Him. He is worthy.

I've added some links to the Blogroll over on the side, blogs of friends and blogs I find inspiring. I'm so glad I've discovered the blogosphere since moving here! It is such a great way to feel connected to a "community" of friends and people who encourage me to be a better wife, mom, daughter and friend.  

Time to start the day!! 

Blessed Be Your Name

by Matt Redman

************

Blessed be Your Name

In the land that is plentiful

Where Your streams of abundance flow

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name

When I'm found in the desert place

Though I walk through the wilderness

Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out

I'll turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in, Lord

Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name

When the sun's shining down on me

When the world's all as it should be

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name

On the road marked with suffering

Though there's pain in the offering

Blessed be your name

Every blessing You pour out

I'll turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in, Lord

Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away

You give and take away

My heart will choose to say

Lord, blessed be Your name

Testing the limits. . .

. . . of our bathroom.

Remember we only have one bathroom?

Well, last night the stomach bug hit. Thankfully it only affected two of us, because if all six of us were sick there's no telling how we would have coped. 

Poor Meggie and Katie were up all night. And Josie and Ellie were up much of the night listening to their sisters' anguish, or shielding their eyes from the light as I changed sheets, or inhaling the fumes of the bleach as Dugald cleaned the toilet furiously between each child's visit. 

So, we're taking the day off today. The girls started watching tv before 6:00 am and it's now 10:25 am and they are still watching. I'm still doing laundry and just finished mopping, twice, for good measure.  

Needless to say we'll all be taking naps today!!! 

Check them out

I'm obviously experimenting with the look of my blog. I kind of decided today to go back to the original, but couldn't do it in a hurry. I'll probably revert soon!

Anyway, check out Meggie and Katie's blogs, they've been updating and wanted you to know.

Ellie has had a pretty good day. . . just thought I should say something nice about her too. Katie, Josie and Ellie all had haircuts today and she was very good in the chair, I was nervous. They are all sporting cute bobs, although I left Katie and Josie in there alone while Meggie, Ellie and I ran a quick errand and they talked the girl out of cutting their hair as short as I would have liked. Oh well, it's much better. 

Talk soon!!! 

Family Business

Just wanted to post this great picture of my hubby, his brother Lloyd and his parents. Margaret and Hugh were in town for a meeting at Lloyd's company a week ago. As always it was great to see them and get to spend a bit of time together. They took us to a very nice dinner at the hotel where they were staying in Wellington and Meggie declared it the best night she's had in New Zealand so far!!

Too tired to post much. . .

We've had a wonderful few days . . . sunny, busy, filled with family and friends. But they've left me too tired to write much about them! 

Yesterday the girls had their swimming classes, which meant two and a half hours at the pool for me. Ellie's lesson is first and she didn't like the bathing suit I'd brought for her so she had a big fit (like last week) and ended up missing her lesson because she refused to stop screaming. I was glad I was surrounded by understanding mothers, and a few chuckling lifeguards, because I was not giving in and so she was making quite a ruckus. Oh my girl. I do love her so very much, but I am just about at my wit's end. I am of two minds as to how to handle her  -- the one I'm going with at the moment is to try to correct the mistaken notion she has of being in charge by allowing her no choices. Until she can respect that I am the boss and she must do as I say she will not be allowed to make her own choices about much of anything - breakfast, clothes, what she wants to drink, etc. If this doesn't work soon I'm going for the "picking my battles" method. I'm sure I will get fewer fits that way, but if ever I do make her do something she doesn't want to do it's sure to get ugly. Motherhood is ever so humbling. 

The day before the fit at the pool we were walking the big girls to their Musical Stars program which is held at a church about a kilometer away. We were almost halfway there when Ellie ran out into a parking lot full of cars coming and going picking up their children from school. I told her she was going to have to hold my hand and she had a full-blown fit. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, sitting down in the parking lot and making the biggest scene ever. I scooped her up and did my level best to hold onto her but she was so wiggly and at three-years-old a little tricky to hold onto, so I let her down and held tightly to her hand so she couldn't pull away and get into the street, she was screaming the entire time "You're hurting me". It was exhausting. She continued this way the entire way there and back to our house again. 

I was praying the entire way there and back that God would give me wisdom as to how best to handle this child. I obviously am not doing such a fantastic job and things seem to be escalating. I thought about how she is often treated like her sisters and given the freedoms and privileges they get even though she is only three and that's when I decided upon the fewer choices method. But I also thought about how like her I am right now in my relationship with God. It's like I'm the three-year-old kicking and screaming that He's hurting me and He is just calmly holding my hand tightly to keep me from danger, even though I just don't get it. 

I think Ellie also is still dealing with all the change in her life, and just yesterday she said she missed Rico. Dugald's been extremely busy at work so she hasn't seen him much either. And let's face it, after those two Mommy is just sloppy seconds as far as she's concerned. Smile. 

On a more fun note, after swimming we went over to Rob and Liz's to have tea. Kate and Wills were in Wellington (from Auckland) to look at Victoria University for Wills and so we went to see them too. It was such a lovely afternoon just hanging out and relaxing. I was especially grateful for the adult company since Dugald was in Auckland on business. We got to see Liz's new dress shop, Harry's, which opens in about a week and is going to be so lovely. The girls got to play with an absolute ton of Groovy Girls dolls and Beanie Babies, and even more exciting, Rob and Liz's dogs had arrived at long last from Hong Kong and are just adorable. We were only going to stay a few hours but ended up staying for dinner. Dugald's plane got in about 7:30 pm and since Rob and Liz are so close to the airport he came over for a glass of wine and we watched the olympics a bit, and finally left around 8:30 pm. 

Then last night we had Kate and Wills over here for dinner. Poor Wills, he still isn't completely well. He gets tired quite easily and he just can't eat very much. He's very tall - 6'4" or something - and very thin. We're still praying for his complete recovery from all he's been through this year. We loved hanging out with them and hearing his future plans. It was fun how they had changed from the previous night after his visit to the university. At first studying law held no interest for him, but after visiting and hearing the students' presentation he now thinks he might quite like to study that. 

That's really all from here, it's a beautiful, sunny Saturday and Meggie has a soccer game - her first one in weeks that hasn't been cancelled due to rain or wet fields. Dugald and I are actually having a date tonight, the first time in months because of his crazy schedule, so I'm excited about that! Have a wonderful weekend.