shark!

Pretty sure I got nothing done today.

I blame Shark Week.

I can watch it online here and so I spent the better part of my day watching to see if there is or is not enough evidence to conclude the existence of a Megalodon.

I didn't even get my phone charged so the only picture I have of Brennan from today is on Jared's phone.

I did get my haircut, have dinner with my in-laws and leave church early because Brennan was WAY overtired and not happy.

But as far as productiveness...I fed it to the sharks.

pahhhhty poopa

every paahhhty has a poopa, that's why we invited you...George Banks...that's you! I used to LOVE singing this song in a dutch accent and imitating pretty much anything that Martin Short does on Father of the Bride part 2.

This house is down the street from ours and every time I see it, I tell Jared it looks like the house from Father of the Bride! I can see a slight resemblance.

I have looked from afar and told Jared that I would LOVE a house like that someday...when we have enough extra to pay someone to clean it. (Therefore, we will never purchase this house because I am too stingy). It's really close to the road on a busy street and looks like it has almost no land with it. I walk by it often and think about how much I love it. Well the other day, I was doing my weekly real estate snoop and guess what is on the market?! 

 THIS HOUSE!!! (click here to see pictures) It has an enormous English garden in the back and is absolutely to die for gorgeous! It also says price by negotiation which means I would have to sell both kidneys.

Oh well. Actually, the more property I look at-the happier I am right where we live.

 Our day was pretty run of the mill which was so nice. We managed to squeeze in some tub toy play time in before dinner. Those eyes....

tugboat.

I remember the day.

Talent show...1995.

My friend Katie and I had decided to participate in the Crossville Elementary talent show.

Unfortunately for me, we decided not to practice beforehand.

Sweaty palmed, I grabbed the mic and took my place center stage.

 I wish I could tell you that the light shone and the crowd cheered as I sang a rousing rendition of 'Colors of the Wind' or better yet 'I will always love you' by Whitney Houston.

Oh no no...

The song we chose was P-I-A-N-O. It's to the tune of B-I-N-G-O.

She was going to play piano and I was going to sing.

The piano began and so did I.

What were the lyrics you may ask?

I don't know.

I have mentally blocked it out and even the internet seems to want to forget that moment because I can't find the lyrics.

All I remember is the chorus.

'P-I-A-N-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo!' I howled.

'P-I-A-N-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo!'

'P-I-A-N-OOOOOOOOOO and Johnny played pianoooooooooooo!!!!!'

I came to the full realization that the nervous breathing added to the fact that I sounded like a tugboat coming into harbor.

The look on people's faces told me they were begging for me to mercifully scratch my nails down a chalkboard instead of continuing with another verse.

and that was the day.

The day I vowed that I would never sing in front of more than one person by myself.

For the last 18 years, I would hum quietly in the car when others would sing or sing so crazy and over the top that people would know that couldn't be my "real" voice. I chose to play air guitar instead of trying to really hit that note in Freebird.

I only broke my rule a few times.

In college, my roomates and I snuck up onto the roof of our dorm to sing.

I know that is technically against the rules, but we did it to sing church songs...so that evens out right?

When I met Jared, I didn't like singing in the car with him. I just knew that if he found out how I REALLY sounded...he wouldn't like me so much. I love Bohemian Rhapsody...no one sings that song in their real voice.

One day a few months after we got married, he told me what a beautiful voice he thought I had. He said that he liked that I didn't try to sing over everyone and have a solo. I thought..."Oh I love to sing solo...so low you can't hear me!"

He said that he thought my voice may be meant for a microphone...(I quickly corrected him and shared the above story with tugboat sound effects). But I thanked him for his compliment.

When I had Brennan, I was afraid that my voice may not be that soothing to him so I didn't sing a lot when I first had him. One particular day, I was talking to my best friend Allison on Skype. Her little girl was telling me what songs they sing before they go to bed. She reminded me of a song I loved in college called "He's Sweet I Know". That night as I was putting Brennan to bed, I started slowly singing it to him. I would stop every few words and see if he was crying. He wasn't. In fact, he smiled. He smiles every time I even start that song.

Today, I conquered one of my greatest fears and broke my promise I made all those years ago.

I sang by myself in front of more than one person.

I taught my first baby class.

You know what?

When class was over, they had smiles on their faces!

They were patting the Bible with reckless abandon!

They were enjoying my singing and learning about God!

I am so relieved that they won't need therapy after attending my Bible class today. I am so thankful that God loves my voice no matter what and that He has given me an opportunity to overcome my own fears in teaching others about Him.

It may be a small fear to you...but it's a huge victory for me!

and if you see Brennan patting the Bible, you will probably hear me singing the song right along with him!

rush artist.

5 km walk started off our day today. Brennan stayed bundled up as normal but I really should have put something over my ears! We walked with a group of ladies that is raising money for breast cancer. I met two ladies today and had really good conversations. They both mentioned that they are searching for well-being in their mind, body and soul but they feel they are lacking in the soul part. It just so happens I know a God for the job! It was cool to meet so many friendly women. They walk every Saturday so I will get to see them a lot. I am looking forward to seeing what the future holds for connections in that group!

I felt like I was rushing all morning. I was running around trying to get things ready for our friends who are staying the weekend and I had made plans with the girls this afternoon. We decided to go out for coffee instead of the high tea. We did do some spying though and after seeing the set up, we decided coffee at Cafe Cuba was going to be way more fun! I don't know if they could have handled all of the laughter in a proper high tea.

Lance and Kristen came to spend the night and work on some things for our new church website. Here is a picture of the 'meeting of the minds.' Kent, Jared and Lance all simultaneously working on the website!

 We had my aunt Jody's famous lasagna for dinner. Kristen brought AMAZING rolls...the likes of which will never leave my house alive. Lance's baptism birthday was yesterday so we had a little cake in honor of that. Kent brought Tim Tams...we were covered in the dessert section!

Kristen and I got a really good chance to talk and I really enjoyed that. She is really great. I wish we lived closer but I am so glad that New Zealand brought us together! 

This is a picture of Brennan I took tonight that makes him look like he is a sumo wrestler.

 Look at that sweet little grin...man he is cool.

I don't often mention the things that Jared does for me. Today; he let me sleep in, unloaded the dishwasher, watched Brennan while I went to coffee and fed Brennan his dinner. I know I don't deserve to be with a man of his quality, but I sure am glad I am!

sold out.

Brennan is one exhausted little dude. He has been cuddled up beside me snoring since we got home from cleaning the church building with the youth group!

He has had a big day today. He tried avocado for the first time with his toast at lunch. He LOVED it!

You can't even really see the avocado in his hand, but isn't he handsome?!

We got to talk to Grammie J and Saba for a little bit at lunch. When I went to open his mouth to show them his teeth, he burped right in my face! We laughed for a while about that!

Tonight we had lemon herb chicken and roasted veggies (parsnips, kumara and oca) I took a picture of them because I doubt many have seen an oca. Not okra...lol. Oca is a New Zealand yam. 

Some tange in size from the length of a finger to even shorter. Brennan's bottle cap is in the background to give you a size reference. They are pretty tasty and I was excited to cook with them. I definitely know what to do different next time, let's put it that way! ;)

My event tomorrow with the girls was going to be a high tea with Alice Arndell who is a judge on a baking competition show here. Unfortunately, they have been sold out for a month and we just found out today. We will still go out for coffee and maybe even wear our tea gloves and hats! :)

We spent the evening with the youth group cleaning at the church building. They are absolutely awesome. They are so much fun to be around and they work hard too. Our pews are actually shiny!! Haha!

I am very thankful that Brennan will be influenced by them.

I am also very thankful it is bedtime!

We have a full day tomorrow and dear friends coming to spend the night tomorrow night!

budget buster

I need a budget envelope for 'crazy secondhand outfits I can't seem to live without.' It never fails that the instant I walk into a secondhand store, some sort of atrocious outfit asks me to take it home!

This morning, I was planning to go vintage shopping for a special event I am going to with some friends on Saturday. I needed a very specific outfit. Something suitable for the occasion. I had mentioned to the girls that I was going to be shopping around 10. I forgot that Jared went into work late today, so when Hannah and her sister Michelle came over around 10 to see if I was still going to go...I was unprepared.

Unprepared as in...still in my robe with bedhead.

By the afternoon, I was presentable and they were gracious enough to meet me at a second hand store in town. I found several things I loved (which I purchased) and nothing to wear to the event. I came home and found a few dresses that will work for the event...should have looked in my closet in the first place.

We came home and Brennan and I spent about 45 minutes watching videos of babies laughing on youtube. He absolutely loses it with laughter when some of them come on.

We were on youtube to watch some of the funny commercials recommended to me by my brother. I love when he sends me messages about stuff like that and then we laugh about it together over the phone. It makes the distance shrink a little.

Ladies class was tonight and since Jared was practicing his sermon, we didn't have a date night. We had one on Tuesday instead so I wasn't too sad. I love spending time with fantastic ladies and looking into God's word. Rachael O. gave a great lesson on competition focusing on Rachel and Leah. I just got home and got the boy tucked in...I am exhausted!

This is the only picture I got of Brennan today. He is wearing his 'S is for spaceship shirt from his friend Evan!

 

Love this kid! Goodnight!

wash. rinse. don't repeat.

a first experience with an automatic car wash drove him to the bottle.

I think we will need an intervention.

No, he didn't have all of these at once, even though that is what it seems like! These bottles were from all day today, I just hadn't put them in the dishwasher yet. :)

chewin' the fat

I am not at all certain where the expression 'chewin' the fat' comes from. However, I am 100% certain that it could have been describing the experience of eating tofu for the first time.

Jared, Brennan and I went out on a family night tonight. Jared got off work early and took us to see Monsters University.

 Brennan enjoyed it even though he looks terrified...this was during the previews.

 and this was after the movie. He really did watch most of it and liked it.

We had decided that we were going to go out for sushi and Jared had been wanting to try a restaurant called Hana Mizu Ki that is on the Square in Palmy. We looked up the menu to make sure they had good stuff and Jared was pumped to see that they had Sukiyaki. The only yaki friend I have is Teri...I'm a chicken when it comes to trying new things sometimes. Naturally, I got the chicken teriyaki sushi. See what I did there. :)

 Sukiyaki is a Japanese hotpot. You can't see it under the middle pot but there is a flame and the liquid is boiling. It doesn't stop boiling for the whole meal, which is nice if you like burned tongue taste. It comes with tofu, cabbage and other veggies cooking in the broth. On the side, you get raw beef which you put in the stew to cook. You also get a raw egg...which you can boil or simply use as a dipping sauce. I reached into the pot with my chopsticks and grabbed a piece of tofu. Nothing against you if you eat it. In fact, you deserve a medal. The texture was not my favorite.

 We took time to get some dessert and we happened to be close to Cafe Cuba so Jared chose to go there. We didn't get anything too heavy (haha), just a slice of rhubarb and apple shortbread to share. It was great but the best part was watching Brennan play with the tiger. This tiger has been there as long as Jared can remember...Brennan loved it!

On our way back to the car to head to church, we saw that someone had knitted this tree a lovely scarf.

There is a local group that knits random things and places them all over town. Once they made a pair of shorts for a rugby statue. Have I mentioned that I love this place?!

sunshine in my soul!

Ahhhhh...the sun.

dear friend, I have missed you.

thanks for giving us a taste of spring today!

We broke the dawn with a morning walk. I'm changing it up a bit and making sure we get our walk done in the mornings because it kept getting pushed later and later. In the summer, that is fine because it stays light until almost 10 pm but only until 5 or so in the winter. We went a different route this morning and I must have hit rush hour! There were cars everywhere! Cars aren't really a problem for me but in a city where a lot of people walk, there was rush hour on the sidewalks! What I like bout Palmy is that there are very few people who won't say hello or wave as they pass. Reminds me of walking through the Commons at Freed (pre-everyone has an ipod in their ear).

This morning, we were almost run down by a blonde-headed girl racing her scooter to school. She flew past in her tartan skirt and blue sweater, pigtails waving in the wind. It is neat to see all of the little kids and even teenagers in their uniforms. You can usually tell where they go to school based on that. Sometimes I feel sorry for the kids that I see walking to school in uniform and know their school is all the way across town.

Because of the sunshiny weather today, I immediately stripped the beds of their sheets and washed them. Along with the sheets, went every stitch of clothing that even looked at me funny. I cleaned out the garage and swept all the porches. We have a old potting shed addition to our workshop with a sink and shelves and a counter. I straightened that up but it was too much to clean it out completely and so I will save that for another day.

While I was hanging laundry, my 'helper' played on the rocks and with the grass.

I specifically did not remove that pacifier as anything in the hand, would have gone in the mouth immediately!

Thank you Lord for sunshiny days!

futures

Most people don't get to see the future.

I did today.

I saw young men get up and step out of their comfort zones. Several of our young men used our break in the teaching term to lead some songs and read a few verses. I saw young men who stayed up late to practice and because of that, did a perfect job.

I saw the future of the church in New Zealand...and it is looking bright!

There were two of our teenagers who took part too but they were praying so I didn't take a picture!

Jared works with these boys to give them their assignments and works with them a few times during the term. Mostly, it is up to the parents to practice with them and encourage them. They do a fantastic job.

We had our congregational meeting today and I was struck by how loving our congregation is. Each one uses every opportunity to be positive and see good. That is a valuable asset.

After the meeting, we came home and chilled out for a bit before going on our walk. My eyes have been flaring up with allergies recently and so I haven't been able to wear my contacts. I don't have a pair of glasses for my prescription since college so I walk around with amazing nearsightedness but that is about it. I do put them in to drive. Since I had just taken my lenses out, I asked Jared to walk with me so he could be my eyes. He was telling me there was a little man staring at me from the other side of the lagoon. I was squinting and squinting. I finally saw a little boy in blue pants and a red shirt. I told Jared we shouldn't be staring because he might think we are weird. Jared looked at me strangely and then realized I couldn't see that it was in fact a garden gnome.

On our way home, we realized the skies would be pretty clear so we went out to Jared's parents to use the telescope. I got there and realized I didn't have my contacts in (Jared drove) and so I stayed inside and watched tv with Grandma. This is the first time that Brennan has been really interested with Gizmo. He kept petting him and grabbing at him. Gizmo just gave Brennan the cold shoulder. 

After completing a fantastic episode of Top Gear featuring New Zealand, we headed home and ran to go to sleep...and I am the last one standing! Good night!

teef

This is my sleepy, sleepy boy. He has every right to be sleepy. We haven't stopped all day long!

This morning around 9, I began baking brownies. We were taking lunch to a couple that moved into a new house as they unpacked. We weren't able to actually help them move, so adding brownies to their homemade sandwiches was the next best thing I guess!

Jared went to pick up one of our youth group kids and take care of the lawns at the church building.

Around 10, one of Brennan's friends came over to play while his older siblings went to a pool party. I had a lot of fun and it was good to see what it could be like with two kids! (not an announcement by the way). Brennan played really hard and when it was time to take a nap, he was too excited that his friend was there. Jared came in after an hour and a half so I handed Brennan off to be put to bed. I am so thankful that my amazing husband helps me out like that. Him taking Brennan allowed me to fix lunch for the two visiting kids and get the sandwiches ready for Jared to take at 12.

Brennan is officially getting his first tooth!! He slept from 12 to 2 and then fell asleep again from 4 to 7! He fell asleep for the night with no problem and I am hoping he sleeps through. He doesn't lie for you to look at it, but I catch a glimpse every now and then. I am proud for him but sad too as it means he is growing up!

We skyped with Grammie J and Saba to show them his new moves and to see some new clothes that they bought for him! I spent the rest of the night organizing my Bible class materials and sorting through all of Brennan's clothes to put away clothes that don't fit anymore.

Jared took a run. mowed the lawns, made an amazing pavlova and went to his men's study group tonight. He felt very accomplished in that and all of the other little things he got done today. I am about to fall into bed because after the day we had, plus bathing baby and preparing for services in the morning...I am feeling that good kind of exhaustion!

update: my flashlight I bought yesterday...doesn't work anymore. well played blinky lady...well played.

torched

My loving husband fixed me porridge this morning for breakfast. It was absolutely fantastic the way he did it...a family tradition that will continue for sure! As a matter of fact, I have all of the ingredients that he will need laid out on the counter so that he can make it again tomorrow morning!

Today, Jared took a day off. He was originally supposed to start a course today. When he decided not to do that, he kept his day so that he could work on things at home. He spent the morning working on curriculum and sermons (with a few Brennan attacks in between). I spent the morning doing what I usually do...laundry and straightening with a baby on my hip.

I had an appointment to get my eyebrows done after lunch. I walked to the village (sounds like I live in the jungle) and took some mommy time for about 30 full minutes! I couldn't wait to get back to my boys because I knew they were having too much fun!

Jared needed a haircut so we packed up and went to the Plaza. I found a lot of little things for Bible class that I needed at KMart and the dollar shop. While I was at the dollar shop, I asked one of the ladies if she had any flashlights. I had to reword and ask for torches because that is the name they use here. She gave me an excited yes and then began to show me each and every flashlight they had. She demonstrated them all by blinking them directly in my eyes!!! She kept saying...'This one need no battery!' and would blink it several times literally inches from my cornea. I randomly chose one that I could see between the blue spots appearing everywhere.

Using my stroller like a guide dog, I made my way to Farmers where Jared took the boy and let me fly solo. I got some amazing deals on things for Brennan thanks to Will and Kate!

This is what Brennan thinks of my awesome deals!

He looks sad, but he wasn't...he was just staring at the people passing by. That little mark on his nose is from where he crawled straight off the bed yesterday. Yes...we cried.

I was cooking a pot roast for dinner tonight. I was a little concerned about it. I had checked it earlier and it look like that thing that comes out of that woman on Alien. I just knew it was going to be a flop. By the time we got home, it actually looked pretty decent and tasted great. I had forgotten to turn it on low before we went shopping for three hours, so it was a little drier than I prefer.

Leaving Jared with bath and bedtime patrol, I headed to our young married ladies class. I tell you, I need that class. It refocuses me and I enjoy it immensely. As much as I enjoy the class, I enjoy the conversation that takes place after too. God definitely gave me strong women to look up to and I am proud to call them my friends!

This is a picture of Brennan's new hairdo after bath time last night! His hands look a bit big and awkward thanks to my awesome picture taking skills.

 

heard it through the grapevine

Brennan woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed ready for the day. He slept 10 hours so I am sure that would be the reason! :)

We had a slow morning and headed to Foxton around lunchtime.

There was a workshop that was being held in Foxton today with workers from other congregations in New Zealand. It was called 'Heard it through the Grapevine.' It was basically a meeting of the minds to discuss what was working, what was in the works and to mutually encourage each congregation.

This brilliant idea belongs to the Higley's. I am so encouraged every time I hear about what they are doing. They have so many ideas that have never even occurred to me! If you are looking for a work to support...let me know and I can hook you up with them!

The workshop was attended by a few congregations including our good friends Lance and Kristen from Porirua. I hope they stay here longer than the five years the have committed to. Their ideas for outreach were phenomenal and I cannot wait to show Jared when he gets home from work. This couple has a constant vision for lost souls. I can't really express how amazing their work is. Check out Poriruachurch.com to see what they are up to!!

I was so encouraged to hear the plans and progress for how we are wanting to grow the church in New Zealand. Being on a campaign is one thing, but sitting in at a table listening to people who are on the ground here 24/7 is another. I thank God for each and every one of them! Please pray that we will do good work for Him, that we will support each other in our various outreaches and that we will use the blessings He has given us to get as many people to Heaven as we can!

 Sitting with Grandad after his talk on the work going on in the Lower Hutt congregation and the congregations in the Solomon Islands.

With the meeting being in Foxton, I decided Brennan could use a little longer than our 40 minute drive back to nap, so I took a detour to the beach.

It just seems right to go to the beach in July! It was cold and windy, but the waves were still there! I love the fact that I can just go listen to the water whenever I want.

Random side note: Jared was talking with one of his friends the other day who was on the InterIslander (the ferry to and from the South Island) when the quake hit. He said he felt like the whole boat was going to capsize right then and there!

decisions decisions

Today, I was that lady.

Ya know...the one in the store with a calculator and a pen writing down the price of every little thing and weighing her produce.

See...Jared and I have set some goals.

Big ones.

Exciting ones!

Ones that involve adventure and accomplishment!

We decided in order to be successful with these goals, we need to make ourselves hurt a bit budget wise.

Which brings me to the moment when I had to decide between buying paper towels and glad bags.

Normally, I would throw both in the cart and not have a second thought about it. I had $20 in my 'cleaning and toiletries' fund for the week. That is quite a lot but I needed to buy deodorant out of that and it is $15.30. Yes...I know. Insert budget crisis here.

This was my first week really resolving to stick to the budget and not go over by any means!

So I stood there in the aisle tapping away on my calculator and somehow thinking that would change the price of these items.

I thought 'Well...I will just use dish towels for everything! Genius!'

Then I thought about anything and everything gross that I might have to clean up plus all the extra laundry.

Glad bags went back on the shelf.

Hey, at least I didn't splurge on red bananas!

and your daily pic of Brennan...

this is right after his bath and about 5 minutes before he fell asleep.

love him!