Four Years Ago Today...

we met the most beautiful little girl in the world. After almost three years of waiting, Alice Xiao Ying was placed in our arms for the very first time. I cried. She did not. We have come such a long way since then. She has changed from a scared, tiny, attachment-disordered little mite into a beautiful, sassy, funny and happy little almost five year old. God truly blessed us that day. This weekend we are off to St Helens to catch up with some of the other families we traveled with four years ago, which will be lots of fun. All the girls (the China sisters!!) are the same age, so it will be a busy, energetic and fun-filled time. I will post pictures when I get home, but meanwhile, here are some before and after shots. What a difference four years makes!!!

Wow, almost three months...

.........since I last updated my blog. What a slacker I am!!! I do have a excuse though - I started my Enrolled Nursing course on August 2nd and life seems to have become incredibly, crazy busy since then. I am just LOVING being back at school. In fact, I am pretty bummed at the moment because we are on school holidays!! Being back in learning mode is just wonderful - I had forgotten how much I enjoyed learning, and the buzz of finally studying to be a nurse still hasn't worn off. I can hardly believe how incredibly blessed I am to be finally pursuing a life-long dream. God is good indeed!!!
Aside from study, family life continues to occupy the majority of my time. Alice is SOOOO ready for school right now. I think the next few months will pass by very slowly for all of us - she wants to be at school NOW!!! Liam is also ready to move on. He has had enough of primary school and is very keen for high school. I have to keep reminding him that he does actually have to finish grade six before he can graduate to grade seven!! And Beth is busy planning her option subjects for grade ten next year. Wow, how did my curly-haired little toddler suddenly become a teenager going into grade ten????? Not only that, she is gung-ho keen to study medicine at Uni. I do hope that she is able to get in.

As for me, I have a little secret - I am having a significant birthday this weekend. Yep, that's right folks - the big 4-0!! I can hardly believe it. It doesn't seem that long ago that I remember being dragged along to my mum and dads friends' 40th parties. I clearly remember thinking that I could never possibly be THAT old, as I watched them careen drunkenly around, singing off key to that dreadful song 'Life Begins at Forty'. Well, my turn has come and I sure don't feel as old as I thought my parents' friends to be!! My birthday will be strictly free of all drunken renditions of that awful song, but perhaps I will drag out my old INXS CD"s and have a trip down memory lane. The Husband and I are going out to see a movie in the afternoon, and then he and the Big Girl are making me a gourmet dinner. Should be very enjoyable and not at all scary (I hope!!!)
Well, until next time, I sign off as a woman in her late thirties. My next post will be coming from my early forties - gulp........

Off to the Theatre!!!!

Here in regional Tassie, good theatre is a true rarity. So that is why the Husband and I are off for a jaunt to Sydney on December 6th. The reason - Sam Mendes' production of Richard III with the luscious Kevin Spacey as the evil King. Be still my beating heart - anyone got some smelling salts??? Mendes directed Spacey in the Oscar winning (and utterly brilliant) American Beauty, and Spacey has starred in some brilliant films, including The Usual Suspects, one of my all time favourites. Roll on December!!!

I GOT IN!!!!!!

After almost 12 months of preparing, written assessments and a nerve-wracking interview, I finally got the letter in the mail today that I have been waiting for - I GOT INTO THE ENROLLED NURSING COURSE!!!! Must admit I am feeling a little chuffed right about now, yet also slightly terrified about the fact that in less than three weeks I will be going back to school. I sure hope my old brain remembers how to work in a school environment, as it has been over twenty years since I started Uni (gulp - now I feel really old!!) Anyway, I am super excited to be finally fulfilling my life long dream of becoming a nurse. In two years time I will be a fully qualified Registered Nurse (Division 2) and will be able to go into my chosen field of work - aged care, with a special interest in palliative care. WHOOHOOO!!!!!

A Slice of Life

We are slowly settling into the 'new normal' without our beloved Pop. He has left a huge gap in our lives and I still find myself thinking about dropping in to see him, only to remember a second later that this won't be happening again in this world. The funeral went really well. I managed to read my Bible verses without cracking up and my cousin David gave a brilliant eulogy. So, life is moving along, as it has a habit of doing, and I thought I should upload some pics of our recent shenanigans. The first couple of shots are of the Husband and I, all dressed up for a dear friend's surprise 50th birthday party. Can you guess the theme???!!!!! And what I want to know is why the Husband's eyes are fine but mine are red IN EVERY PICTURE!!! The last pic is of my little treat I gave myself on our recent Melbourne trip. Yep. it's real!!! The meaning?? Check this link out. xxx

A Bittersweet Day

Today I got the phone call that I had been expecting for the past few days - my beloved Old Pop passed away last night at the Mersey Hospital. He had been admitted to hospital almost two weeks ago with stomach pains, and gradually became sicker until he went to meet Jesus in the early hours of this morning. He was 94 and had lived an amazing life. He was Devonport born and bred, left school at 14 and worked in his dad's bacon shop. He turned that little shop into an international meat exporting business, became Mayor of Devonport in the 1950's and was involved in many, many local service groups and organisations. He even received an OBE from the Queen in the early 80's. He was a beloved dad to his three children, adored pop to seven (me included) and Old Pop to eleven great kids. He outlived his wife Joyce by nine years, but they were married for over 60, which is an amazing achievement. Vale Pop - we love you and will miss you terribly, but know that you are with Nan and dancing with the angels.

On a much happier note, I had the great fortune of spending the day with my lovely friend Merian and her daughter Bo, at Boat Harbour Beach this morning. Merian and her husband adopted Bo Hua at the same time we adopted Alice and the girls see each other as 'China sisters'. They are very different kids, but love to play together and share a very special bond. Merian is a truly wonderful lady and I am very blessed to count her as a friend. So today we played on the beach, swung on the swings and generally had a wonderful time. It was the perfect remedy for my melancholy and a day well spent with a great lady and her girl. Thanks Merian for being there. So, some photos below of our fun day at the beach and one of my lovely Old Pop. I am sure I have better quality ones around but this is the first I found.

Bo Hua tickling Alice's feet!!!

Sliding with stick!

 

 

 

Inspecting a dead puffer fish (with sticks, of course!!!)

Beautiful Bo Hua

 

 

 

Re-positioning Whiskers the Bear

Beautiful girl!

Playing chasings

Ready to jump!!!!

Melrose 'Bill' Holman, my old Pop.

Two Sleeps!!!

Only two sleeps to go until the Big Girl and I head off for our exciting, action-packed holiday across the Bass Strait. I am a teensy bit excited!!! mind you, the excitement has been tempered a little by my Pop's failing health. He was admitted to hospital last Saturday and is still there, quite unwell. I guess he is 94 and his time on this earth has been good, but it is still sad. He is a great grandad, and I am very sad to see him so very frail and unwell. Nevertheless, Melbourne beckons, and we will be heading off Saturday morning. Yippee!!!