Lisa's Little Corner

I have Moved

2009-10-26T23:32:00.000-07:00

You will now find me at http://lisa.nxone.com/

This blog will not be deleted, but if you come here, there'll be nothing new.

Hope to see you there.

Regards,

Lisa

2009-09-15T19:26:00.000-07:00

I can finally see the end! I'm almost finished year 12! I hope to give my books back to mum in two weeks. I'm so exited!!!

Now, can you guess the question that I've been hearing a lot these past few months?

"What are you going to do when you finish school?"

The truth is that I'm not really sure, and I've been asking the same thing myself. There are a few things I do know, though.

Firstly, whatever it is, I must be sure it is what God wants me to do. (It might sound obvious, but sometimes it is just so hard to know exactly.) I want to serve God whole-heartedly with my life, which everyone tells me is more than just what occupation you have. Of course that is true, but I find it hard to imagine living such a lifestyle as a make-up artist for example.

I want to do something that is really going to be of benefit to the world. Neither teaching or nursing or anything like that appeal to me very much at all, even though the world needs a lot of them. I might just add that I have much admiration for those people, especially the surgeons.

I enjoy music very much but I'm not what one might call "outstanding." I also love designing and creating things*, and what's more, I actually think that God has given me a talent in that area. So that's where I'm headed at the moment. If everything comes together, I'll know that's where God wants me, but if not. . . well I won't worry about that just now. I've first got to speak to some different mission organizations and see if they have any need for designers.

So there you have it. The long answer to the simple question.

*When I say "things", I don't mean fashion as most people seem to think of first, but useful things. Things that are helpful and practical and help solve problems and all that sort of stuff. I never had much inspiration when it comes to fashion.

2009-08-06T20:13:00.000-07:00

In today’s culture many people regard education as the greatest force for change, and hope about the future of our society. Education is a very powerful tool in shaping the way our children think, and everyone knows that the children of today are tomorrow’s adults, living and influencing our world. But is this where the future of society lies? Isn’t there something greater than this? Yes there is. True religion and faith in God are the brightest hope for our future.

It true that it is through education that progress is made. We learn better ways of governing the nation, we learn how to better use the limited recourses that are available to us, we learn how to cure diseases that we once considered to be deadly, and so much more. If we were to cease to educate the children, all these benefits would be lost. Not to mention the individual benefits of education, such as development of sound reasoning and logic.

While all these things are good, one must look at history and the great nations of Greece and Rome. Both of these nations, particularly Greece, were famous for their knowledge and civilization. They had scholars and learned men and loved knowledge. Yet even with all this, and with some of the greatest armies of their time, they still fell. What remains of them now? Rome was not even conquered by some more powerful nation, but collapsed from the inside. If education and physical might couldn’t hold a nation together, what was lacking? The days of Rome and Greece, while they prospered, have shown that education is indeed beneficial, but without love, respect for others and faith in God, it is of no value. Imagine a government that did not care for the people. Imagine what would happen, as it has in the past, people become proud and greedy. Wars arise, civil unrest and tyranny result. Then who thinks of the environment? Who will care for the aged and elderly?

Love and kindness, which are to be found in abundance through trust in God, are far more important than education. While they are to be found, knowledge and learning are merely tools to help others. If people were to live by the golden rule, this would bring the greatest hope and positive change to society.

Siiiiiiiiiiiingiiiiiiiiiiiing! :)

2009-02-03T19:40:00.000-08:00

I really love to sing. I am not a pro, but I usually sing on-pitch. Singing and music plays a big part in my family. When I am feeling exited or happy, I'll talk a lot, but nothing beats singing. Listening to music is good, and playing to piano is good, but the sound never come quite so alive as it does when I sing. It is vibrating inside me and comes right out of my heart. I can't thank God enough for this gift. So I'll praise Him through my singing. And even if I don't think about what exactly I'm singing, I'm still expressing my heart to God. I'm sure that is what it was designed to do.

Rom 15:9 and that the Gentiles might glorify God for [His] mercy, as it is written: "For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, And sing to Your name."

1Cr 14:15 What is [the conclusion] then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.

Hbr 2:12 saying: "I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You."

Jam 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.

My #1 Favourite Comic

2009-01-15T20:52:00.000-08:00

Just click it if you want to see it bigger

Holiday silliness...

2009-01-12T19:12:00.001-08:00

Free-IQTest.net - IQ Test

Home Stretch!

2009-01-08T16:08:00.000-08:00

I'm very sorry to my readers for the lack of blog posts, though I'm sure that when you hear what I was doing in the meantime, you will not hold it against me.

SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY! I am nearly finished and I'm determined to have it done ASAP! I was supposed to have finished a few months ago, but better late than never I reckon.

I'm on chapter 44 of 57 and part 6 of 7. I'm so exited about what I'm reading and I have recommended it to my siblings, but I think that the size of the book itself is slightly, um... discouraging.

I'll let you know when I'm done.

Finished!

2009-01-04T02:33:00.001-08:00

Amos

2009-01-02T05:04:00.001-08:00

Now I haven't forgotten to post these last few days, I have just not had the time.

On New Year's Eve, all Mum's side of the family and my grandparents on dad's side got together to play board games and talk and make oliebolen. Making oliebolen on New Year's Eve is a dutch tradition. They are a little like donuts, but are not sweet so you eat them with icing sugar.

Amos is getting big, and has the cutest laugh and smile which he uses a lot. Mum gave him some banana the other day, which was his first taste of solids. He pulled such funny faces that I though I'd get the camera and record him. Unfortunately this is the best quality I could get our computer to upload.

Sewing plans

2008-12-28T18:36:00.000-08:00

After having a conference call with the other SOA sisters, to catch up, Camille told me to post what has been happening lately, since we had to go before I'd finished. Not all that much has happened but I'll give a quick summary and then share my plans for a dress I want to make.

We are having holidays. I'm halfway through day one of week four of eight, to be quite precise. I've got a long list of things I want to do and I've only done one thing. AHHH!! Not that I've been slacking off. I don't know how it happened. Maybe I forgot to write some of the things on the list so that I could cross them off.

We had a turkey lunch for Christmas day with my grandparents. Dad says that it is a bizarre idea having a hot lunch when all that seems appropriate is a swim and ice cream. He is right.

On New Years Day we will be holding our annual model sailing boat regatta. This time, instead of a weight limit for the boats, (wherein lies my success) we now have a size limit of 20 cm squared. Which is one of the reasons that I don't plan to enter. Another thing is that last time I was so busy that I nearly missed the race. Plus there is no wind forecasted for New Years Day as far as I know and it is going to be 39 degrees celsius. I think we had better start praying about that.

Ok so now for the dress. This is the fabric:

This is the bias binding:

This is the idea:
Not the best drawing but I think you have the gist of it.

Here is what pattern I have:

So I guess I'll have to make up the rest as I looked through all the pattern books in the shop, but could not find anything. So now I'll see how close I can get. I'll tell more about it when I have more to tell.

How do they do it?

2008-12-27T17:36:00.000-08:00

Oops. I forgot to post yesterday. Too bad.

This is probably going to be harder than I thought because on the second post, I have no idea what to write about. Hmm... something random maybe?

What I want to know is how to get from this:

to this:

Without billions of chemicals? (not including the colour)

I can't figure it out.

But...

I'll try and think of something better to post about next time.

A Grand Day Out (Does that sound familiar? It's Wallace and Gromit)

2008-12-25T18:26:00.000-08:00

Ahh! I am the most terrible blogger that I know. Now I'll try to be better, and post once a day for a while, just so that I get the hang of regular blogging. I wonder how long that will last.

I've been thinking a lot about what the point of keeping a blog is, and I've come to the conclusion that it can be explained in this rule: Do unto others as you'd have them do to you. I love reading the blogs of my friends whom I can't just go and visit when I miss them, so I'd imagine that they'd like the chance to read about what I've been doing lately.

Now that I've said that, I'd better tell you what I have been doing lately. Last Friday, the family, from Mum to Amos, (not including Anna and Dad who were working) went out to F********. We took the train which Mum had been promising us a ride on since the line opened. Which was about a year and a half ago or more.

Anyway, I was very impressed with their ticket prices. They had a "family ticket" for $8.70. Now usually, a family in they eyes of normal people consists of two adults and two kids. Guess what!? All NINE of us came under this price, for the WHOLE DAY! Truly shocking. My sister paid this just for herself one way.

We spent the day browsing the markets which was fun. Although by the time we got there, it was lunch time. While we were sitting in the food hall, surprise, surprise! Who should we see but a group of girls from church and youth group who were doing precisely the same thing as we were! (Just not the train thing) We even met them again at the other markets after that. I bought a few things- and small backpack and a hat. At around 4:00, we made our way to P**** to see Anna perform in her choir.

One of the most interesting things about visiting public places and using public transport with your family, is the reactions from the people around you. It is not at all unusual to be stared at, which is not all that hard to ignore when you get the hang of it. Though I sometimes get very annoyed when people ask Mum, "How do you put up with them?" as if we were some kind of terrible misfortune to her. Most of the time though, they'll say things like, "Wow! How do you do it?" (to Mum) and "One, two, three, four..." (mumbling half-aloud) or "Are they all yours!?!?" Still, sometimes people will guess that we are Christians and ask us if that is why we all "behave so well" and "all the girls have long hair and skirts." It is encouraging to know that we are a witness for Christ even in our ordinary lives.

The choir performance was very good, and we all enjoyed it very much. If I had lots of time, I would join a choir for sure.

We sat their and ate our dinner just so that we would get a seat which we discovered was a very wise thing, because it was very crowded when the choir finally started singing.

We left just after it became dark, (Which was quite late with these confounded daylight savings. I bet they would have started earlier if daylight savings was out.) and squished on the train.

This is Anna figuring out what I was listening to.

We all slept in the next day.

Tagged!

2008-11-09T16:24:00.000-08:00

This is going to be the first post I've made in a million years.

(Apparently Australians are big exaggerators. :P)

Anyway, Tiffany tagged me, so now I've got to write 6 random things about me.

1. I've lived without a TV for the greater part of my life.

2. I have a hard time eating green capsicum. (Known as bell peppers to Americans)

3. I can't swallow pills. The only time I did was by accident and I nearly choked on it.

4. I love to sing.

5. I've got one year of school to go and then I'm finished!!!

6. I performed for a fundraising event with my family on Saturday and it was fun.

I tag:

Erica

Sadie

and

Sheila

I love big families

2008-10-02T20:54:00.000-07:00

I loved Monday. I was a PH and the family had a day off. We were playing in the pond because it was a nice warm day and had "raft wars" with the gym ball as the "cannon ball" and we tried throwing it at each other. I got ducked the most because I was on this funny blow up shark that I was far to big to be on and so was very precariously balanced. I would fall off every time something hit me and when ever I tried to throw the "cannon ball." It was great fun!

A Question A Day

2008-09-29T06:13:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I find that in this culture, we are so busy running around after our many commitments that we find little time to sit down and think about why exactly we do many of the things we do. At least thats how I feel, and I assume I'm not alone with this. (Let me know if I'm wrong!) So I've decided to write in my journal one question each day and think carefully about each one before putting down the answer. I started at the very begin with, "Why am I alive?" followed by "How do I know that God exists?" and "Why do I serve Him?" I plan to go from there until I get to asking about the direction in which my life is heading and various details concerning my future plans and goals. Kind of like a debrief. I'm finding it very interesting as I'm learning about myself! I also love to be orderly and feel so refreshed by doing this sort of thing.

Sewing Saves the Day!

2008-09-10T07:05:00.000-07:00

It is SO hard to find clothes at the shops that meet my criteria these days! Especially in summer. When I want to buy a pretty, modest, feminine outfit that is a wearable fabric like cotton and suitable for a day in the peak of an Australian summer (Oh, and not to mention, a price that isn't sky high), it is near impossible! So I'm planning ahead, and I'm going to sew my own. I've made a pattern and bought some really nice material.I can't wait to get started! Yay for sewing!!!!

I once heard this sermon...

2008-09-08T17:26:00.000-07:00

One time a few years ago, we were visiting the church of some of our relatives, I heard a whole sermon in taking time out of busy lives to take a walk and slow down for a bit. I was a bit younger of course, and was surprised what a big fuss the adults made over a small thing like taking a walk and listening to the birds. I mean, I played outside for whole afternoons anyway.

Now, things are different and finding time is probably the greatest challenges in my daily life. This past week has been SUCH a blessing as it is school holidays and due to the rearrangement of my school work it is now possible for me to actually relax and spend time with my siblings and go rowing on the pond just because I feel like it and I've had time to just sit and think! I've been doing craft and sewing and totally enjoying myself. Of course there are plenty of things I could be doing, and "should" be doing, but I'm discovering that perhaps a sermon on taking time to slow down is not such a silly thing after all.

Erica

2008-08-07T18:34:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Erica!!!!

You are such a fun, and cheerful friend and I really enjoy talking to you over Skype.

May God guide your steps and bless you more than ever, this coming year.

Love Lisa

Is that cute or what?

2008-08-06T20:27:00.000-07:00

"Are you listening children?"

Camille

2008-08-03T18:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Camille!!!!

I know I've never actually met you but I miss you all the same.

You are a great friend and "I thank my God always concerning you" (1 Cor 1:4)

I hope you have the best birthday EVER!

Love Lisa

2008-07-27T18:40:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by both Erica and Sadie

Two names I go by
Lisa, Jane

Two things I am wearing right now
Bubble skirt and a dark pink shirt dress

Two of my favorite things to do:
Read and go rowing.

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
to be caught up in school and Sys, THeo

Two pets you had/have
a rat named Loulouvia (have) and Toffee the guinea pig (had)

Two things you did yesterday:
went to church and read a book

Two things you ate yesterday:
Stew and Tacos

Two people you last talked to:
Mark and Joan

Two things you’re doing tomorrow:
school and Sys. Theo

Two longest car rides:
Down to Geographe bay and to some place that I don't know how to spell but it's call Dally for short.

Two favorite holidays:
School holidays and public holidays

Two favorite beverages:
juice and milo

I tag: There is no one left to tag so no one.

Paper Barking!

2008-07-23T18:35:00.000-07:00

I really better start blogging properly if I expect anyone to come here expecting to read something.

I've finally started putting paper bark on the roof! (See the earlier post about the roof of the mud hut.)

As soon as I finish one side I plan to take pictures and post them.

This is going to be a really short post, but can either do short posts or none at all, because I never seem to get around to it. Sorry!

What's New?

2008-06-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

I haven't been updating much, but I thought I would make a quick note to say a bit about what has been going on for me lately.

Holidays have ended. I'm now working hard at my school work. Although I now have much less spare time than I did a week ago, I use it more wisely, probably because it is more precious. Which is always a good thing.

I'm very behind in Systematic Theology, and so will be trying very hard to catch up. It is very time consuming, but very worthwhile and I am very glad to be doing this, especially with my wonderful group! (The Sisters of the Armour, whose blogs can be seen on the bar on the right)

During the week, I spent a bit of time reading the blog and forums on the Rebelution. I didn't go on the computer much these past holidays, which has it's good points, but I really missed the thought-provoking discussions to be found there.

I will be doing a forth grade piano exam in about a month, so I'm practicing for that.

I am also having thoughts about trying to write a story, but I'll just have to see how the ideas come together.

Besides all that, I've been talking to friends both over the computer and at youth group and church, which is great fun!

That's about all.

Lisa

The Roof Goes Up!

2008-05-31T23:23:00.000-07:00

For the past two weeks, we have been building a roof for our mud hut. We haven't actually finished the walls yet, but we skipped to the roof because we can't build while it is raining, and we seem to lose our enthusiasm in the heat of summer. Which leaves only the weekends in spring and autumn. We just didn't seem to be getting it done, so to solve our problem, we decided to make the roof before we finished the walls. We built it near the shed, and had to move it across the pond and onto the poles that would hold it up. Here are some pictures.

I'll finish this post later, cos it's time to go to church, but I thought I'd just publish what I had ready.

I CUT MY HAIR!!!

2008-05-20T01:15:00.001-07:00

Were you fooled?

Beautiful Australian Wildflower

2008-05-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

My New Baby Brother!!

2008-05-06T22:57:00.000-07:00

Introducing..... AMOS EMMANUEL!

Anna's Party

2008-05-06T19:15:00.000-07:00

Wow! I am so behind in blogging!

To start with, here are some photos of Anna's party, for those who are patiently waiting for them. Here is a link to the Flickr set which has lots of photos, but I will put a few of the best ones here.

This is the finals of the three-legged races

The obstacle course

All the guests

Anna

Another Random Question Thing

2008-04-20T06:10:00.001-07:00

I'm wasn't planning to do this, but I was reading through it on Sheila's blog and decided that I would after all, since I found her answers interesting.

1. Name someone who made you smile today?
Too many people made me smile today. Don't remember them all. Don't know where to start. I can't help smiling if someone smiles at me.

2. What were you doing at 8:00 this morning?
I was on the computer at church putting words on the big screen for the worship team to practice.

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
I was hanging up my first birthday card for this year.

4. Name something that happened to you in 1992?
I was born!

5. When is your birthday?
April 24, 1992

7. What color is your hairbrush?
Black and silver

8. What was the last thing you bought?
A Rebelution T-shirt

9. where do you keep your money?
Mostly in the bank, and the rest in my purse

10. What was the weather like today?
It was rainy and cold.

11. Where did your last hug take place?
At church

12. What are you excited about?
Keswick this weekend! (a camp) and the arrival of the new baby

13. Do you want to cut your hair?
No way! I am trying to grow it really long.

14. Are you over the age of 25?
No

15. Do you talk a lot?
Depends who I'm with. If it is my family and close friends, I talk lots. If it is people I don't know so well, I hardly talk at all. It doesn't work so well like that, because unless people are unusually friendly, I won't ever get to know them.

17. Does your screen name have an "x" in it?
Nah

18. Do you know anyone named Kelsey?
Nope

19. Do you make up your own words?
The first word I made up was "piwck" which was my version of "poke." I don't make up words that much any more though.

20. Are you ticklish?
So much so, that I once totally shocked myself and another person by punching them when they did. I was very embarrassed afterward.

21. Are you typically a jealous person?
I hope not

22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter "C":
Camille

23. Who's the last person to call you?
Well, I really can't remember, I think it might have been Grace, but the last time I answered the phone, it was a sales person.

24. Do you chew on your straws?
I don't really use straws

25. Do you have curly hair?
No, but it used to be quite wavy before it got long

26. What is the next concert you're going to?
I have no idea

27. Where did you go today?
Church

28. What is something you say a lot?
um...

30. Do you have to work tomorrow?
Not really, unless piano practice is work, but I took a week off and I'm sort of looking forward to playing again.

31. Who was the last person you said "I love you" to?
Tiffany, I think

32. What should you be doing right now?
Well, not school work anyway, it's Sunday!!!

33. Do you have a nickname?
Lis. Well, Lisa but without the "a." So it sounds like "lease."

34. Are you a heavy sleeper?
Very. I sleep through screaming children, fire alarms, hail on the tin roof, loud thunder, whatever. But I think it is because I don't want to wake up. When mum makes me responsible for a younger sibling, I will wake up at the slightest cry they make. Or if someone says my name, I'll be wide awake in a flash.

35. What are you listening to?
an airplane, my rat, the computer, someone stirring in their sleep.

36. What is the best movie you've seen in the past two weeks?
Can't say that I've watched any really good ones. I really couldn't say which one was best, as I wouldn't watch any of them again.

37. Is there anyone you like right now?
By that definition of "like" then no. But by the proper meaning, then I like lots of people.

38. When was the last time you did the dishes?
About an hour and a half ago

39. Did you cry today?
No

New Jumper

2008-04-18T00:02:00.000-07:00

Best T-shirt Ever!!!

2008-04-06T06:34:00.000-07:00

Just a little editing...

Dress-up

2008-04-04T20:42:00.000-07:00

Here is the post that was long promised to Tiffany.

A few weeks ago, I was preparing for a dress-up youth group outing. Here are some photos of the costumes.

Almost There.....

2008-03-25T17:22:00.000-07:00

Only two more weeks until holidays!!!! Two weeks! Two WHOLE weeks..... The time is going really slow in one sense, but racing in another way. I am really busy and hanging out for the holidays when I can catch up with neglected friends, blogs, emails, etc. I also can't wait to finally have as much sleep as I want. :D I can spend time with my siblings, paint whenever I feel like it, make up songs, (it usually takes me quite a while to get started) read books, go biking, research things that have been on my mind, and mainly, just take a break!

This term has been going really fast, as time usually does when you have more than enough to keep you occupied, to say the least. But then it is also going slow, as time does when you are looking forward to something.

I apologize to my readers that I have not been updating that much, and I probably will not have time to do much until I am caught up on school and Systematic Theology, so you'll need to wait just a little longer...

Thanks for visiting, and I love comments because then I know people are reading my posts. :)

Lisa

Sin Analogy

2008-03-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

I wrote this while (not at the very same time, but during) reading a discussion on the Rebelution on chapter 24 of Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology. I'm not trying to support a certain view on the subject, that is, how God can still remain holy while he allows/causes sin and holds us responsible, I'm just expressing my confusion.

Sin Analogy

If I was testing something, say for example that I wanted to test bar of copper to “see” (Although I already know) if it will stay straight on command when it is exposed to a certain amount of pressure in a such a way, so that will bend if it is not strong enough. Remember that I already know that it will not be able to stand the pressure.

In this analogy, the copper is we humans. The person conducting the test is God. The pressure is temptation. The straight bar is a righteous and sinless person. A crooked bar is a sinful person, who is no longer righteous.

The bar of copper is tested. It fails. I knew that the copper was not strong enough, but it is still sad to see it bend, because now it is no longer a perfect bar. Now I get a steel bar. I allow it to be tested with an even more pressure, knowing that it is a very strong bit of steel. I command it to remain straight. It stands the test, and I am pleased.

The bit of steel is Jesus. His strength is the ability to withstand temptation and remain holy and righteous before God.

Now because I know that this bar of steel it perfectly strong and straight, I can use it to correct the copper. When I am finished, the copper will be as straight as the steel, and all will be well again.

I do not know why the test was conducted. Maybe it is to show the strength of the steel. Perhaps the copper benefits by the process. It would not be my fault that the copper bent. I just allowed it to be exposed to pressure. (God must have allowed Satan to tempt Adam and Eve in the garden, because remember that he can do nothing that God does not permit him to do. Chapter 20 Sys. Theo.) The copper still bent. It’s the copper’s fault for bending. It should have stayed straight. That is what I told it to do, and it failed. But then again it couldn’t help it. It was destined to fail. I did not bend the copper. It was the pressure that bent it. But then didn’t I bend it by allowing the pressure to bend it?

I do not understand how God can cause/allow sin and still be holy, any more than I can understand how God gives us a will and remains in full sovereignty. Is there a way to explain it?

I am confused, but I know this much: God is holy. God is good. God is upright. He is righteous, perfect, all wise, all knowing, all powerful. I trust Him to understand how it works and reveal to us what He wills.

Loulouvia, My Rat

2008-03-16T04:10:00.000-07:00

First come the photos.

Now, I realize that not everyone likes rats; they even cause some people to shudder. So I don't expect everyone to say how cute it is. Apparently, pet rats are as different from wild rats as dogs are from wolves. (Or dingos)

As I mentioned in my previous post, my rat's name is λουλούδια, which means "flowers" in Greek. But seeing as so far no one can remember it, I will spell it as best as I can with the English alphabet. Loulouvia. My brother calls her "Lou-Lou" or "Louvia."

You may be interested to know that two months ago I didn't like rats. It was only after I worked with them for a while that I got to like them. The thing that changed my mind was one time when I was cleaning a cage, and this juvenile rat climbed up the wire and was trying to see what I was doing. whenever I moved somewhere, it followed me with it's eyes. Cute!

My plan is to teach her to perform many tricks. The first one is to ride on my shoulder, which she did without any training at all. Interesting. When I was playing with her on the first day, she was already grooming my hand when I stroked her, and coming out of her hammock to play when I called. After a few minutes of training, she was quickly understanding what I meant by "up" and "down." She is only a baby rat so I was a bit surprised. I think I got a extra specially friendly and intelligent rat. :)

Once she is a reliable performer, I will try and get a video of her.

Whatz up?

2008-03-13T22:38:00.000-07:00

Erica tells me I need to update. She is right. Lots has been happening lately and I have not gotten around to writing about it all yet.

Here is a bit of a summary.

Starting at the 26th of Feb, which was my mum's 40th birthday, we went down to Bunbury by train for the weekend. It was fun, but rather squishy, as the holiday houses there don't really cater for a family of 10. I really enjoyed not having to cook or do dishes because we bought all our meals. :) I found it really interesting how we had to teach all the little kids about crossing roads and being quiet for the neighbors etc, because they had not been in that sort of environment before. :D

I've also been trying sort out what I use my time on, how long I spend for each activity, and just generally trying to exercise more self discipline which is hard work! I aim to focus all my attention on one thing at a time and not waste it on worrying about how the next thing is going to fit in. I'm want to increase the quality of my piano practice and school work etc; also my attention span and concentration. It's all hard but very rewarding.

After months of being behind in Systematic Theology, I'm finally catching up! Tiffany and I are getting really exited about it. :D:D:D:D:D It has been taking up a fair bit of time, but it is worth it!!!

Tonight there is going to be a musical night a a friends house, in preparation for the upcoming camp, which I'm really looking forward to. On Saturday, there is going to be a dress-up fast-food progressive dinner with the youth group. The idea is to show everyone that you can have lots of fun without alcohol!

Last but not least, I got a new pet rat! She is really cute. Her name is λουλούδια which means "flowers" in Greek (pronounced somewhat like "loulouvia") I will post a photo soon.

My SOA Girls

2008-03-05T16:39:00.000-08:00

There is this wonderful group of girls I know, only over the internet, but who mean a lot to me, and with whom a spend quite a bit of time. It's my Systematic Theology group- Sisters of the Armour!!!

Not long after I entered the Rebelution community, I was looking through the cafe and found one or two threads on a study on Systematic Theology, but since there were no comments or anything, I thought that someone had forgotten to lock them after the last study. The next time I had another look there, there were many more threads with information and starting dates and lots of comments from enthusiastic teens. I was really interested but hadn't really much of an idea what they were studying. I signed up anyway, (I don't know what I was thinking. I hadn't even checked with mum and dad) and found myself ordering a dictionary-sized book. I think that it was one of the best things I've done in ages.

Since I had been reading on the Rebelution for a while, I had begun to feel that I was getting to know some of the girls, by reading their posts. When some of ones that were more well-known to me were getting into a small group, I decided to jump in. They probably had no idea who I was... We got ourselves organized and thanks mainly to Sheila, we figured out what time we were all going to make our first call.

That is how we got started. We now have a private blog, and have all downloaded Skype so that we can do free calls over the internet when ever we like, and I even managed to convince some of them to get a webcam. :) We still have our fortnightly Sys. Theo. conference calls and we still love them! The latest thing at the moment is catching up on some chapters by taking it in turns to read it out to each other. Fun!

Here are the girls (I'll do it a different order for once, since Tiffany is almost always last):

Tiffany:

Our selfless, humble, most mature person of the group. One time, she was so eager to help people with their reading that she double booked herself. :)

She has a sweet and gentle voice, which is often heard giving some good advice or encouragement.

It is funny when we chat over Skype with the webcams, because we both have big families, and have little siblings climbing over our laps. :D

Erica:

When I call Erica, our conversations are totally stuffed with laughter and fun. She seems to think that us Aussies have some "hilarious" (is that one of your favourite expressions Erica? I love to hear you say it) words in our vocabulary, such as "capsicum," "singlet," and "ute." In fact, she found them so funny that she posted them on her blog.

She has a really cheerful personality, and is often the first to give an enthusiastic response when someone gets an idea.

In the conference calls, she keeps the conversation going by sharing about herself and how God has been working in her life, which encourages all the rest of us girls to do so as well. (we do need some prompting sometimes)

Sadie:

She is a sweetie. I like talking with her, because she is one of those girls who are easy to get on with. No wait, easy to make a great friendship.

She has this cute laugh that makes you feel like laughing as well.

We all like her, and she is one of those people with a bit of everything.

Sheila:

Sheila and I just "clicked", as my mum would put it. So much so, that when we first chatted over Skype, we talked for three hours.

When I first entered the group, I found it really great having a cheerful, confident person to "break the ice" so that we all began to get to know one another. Good job Sheila!

Camille:

Camille is a vital part of our group. She often gives a well researched bit of information to help us all get cleared up about something in one of our discussions.

Besides being a source of knowledge, she has a really nice character and is patient and trusts in God with everything in her life. She is a great example to us.

Random!!

2008-03-03T01:55:00.000-08:00

I got this from Sheila's blog.

1.) If I were a doll, the accessories packaged with me would be:
A pretty dress, a hat

2.) I have an irrational fear of:
Bees.

3.) What type of food do you eat at your grandparents house?
Anything they are eating, which is normal food.

4.) What weight were you when you were born?
2980g/ 6lb 9 oz

5.) What would you do if you were stranded on an island with the person you hate most?
Try to figure out a way to signal for help.

8.) I find the thought of childbirth:
Terrifying, but somehow, something to look forward to.

9.) Next door to my house is:
Another house on one side, a sheep holding yard on the other. Smelly!

10.) My feet are:
Size 8 1/2.

11.) My preferred style of jeans is:
Loosish but not daggy

12.) Do you play a musical instrument?
Piano and a bit of trombone

13.) Know how to cook?
Yes

14.) I am annoyed with:
Heaps of things, but one of the worst is when the person I'm talking to interrupts when I'm in the middle of saying something, with a totally different subject as if they weren't listening, being helpless to change a situation I see, etc

16.) What child-related smell do you not like?
Really... it is a bit obvious

17.) What sea creature scares you?
Almost all of them

18.) What color hair do most of the people you are around have?
Brown

19.) What object have you broken most recently?
I can't remember

20.) Name one of the Spice Girls.
Who are they???

21.) What was the last thing to make you cry?
Remembering a lesson God taught me recently

22.) What are the stems on wine glasses for?
to make them look fancy

23.) My favorite shoes are:
None. prefer not to wear any at all, but thongs or boots if I have to wear something

24.) Can you use chopsticks?
Yes

25.) Do you prefer beaches or forests?
We don't have particularly nice forests around here, so a nice quiet beach is best

26.) What serial killer do you find most disturbing?
Whoever asked this question didn't know that I have no clue about serial killers. ;)

27.) Who knows a secret or two about you?
What secret? I am only just learning to share my personal life.

28.) Have you ever burned yourself?
Yes. I did just then with hot water while washing dishes. But not badly. And on pans, cars, seatbelts, monkey-bars, etc.

30.) Who is your hero[s]?
?? I don't know.

40.) Do you believe that things last forever?
Yes. Some of them.

41.) What are you listening to?
Mum telling Joan to get in bed

42.) What do you smell like?
a hot person... yuck

43.) Are you married?
At fifteen? Guess.

44.) Does anyone regularly tell you they love you?
My SOA girls

45.) What's the most confusing to you?
Life. Life. Life. (I agree, Sheila)

46.) Do you have any bad habits?
Sure I do. I'm not perfect for sure. I bang, tap, hum, ignore people occasionally, feel too lazy to jump up and help sometimes, I don't go to bed ontime...

47.) Have you ever wanted to be a teacher?
not really, I think I wouldn't have enough patience with the children that the world raises. It'd be too depressing

48.) What is one thing you've learned about life?
The only thing or person that is truly worth living for, is for God. Seriously, if I had not known that there was a God who put me through life for a reason, I would have quit living before I became a teenager.

49.) What's your favorite color?
Blue for sure.

50.) Have you ever been stuck in an elevator?
No

53.) What are you looking forward to?
Keswick convention, Youth group dress-up dinner, getting a pet rat

54.) How are you today?
Preparing to face another week, but sort of happy.

Thankfulness

2008-03-02T15:08:00.000-08:00

I am so thankful for my voice. Every time I get a cold, I am reminded how much I have. Every time I try to sing, I am so grateful that I am not going to croak and sound muffled forever, or worse, not speak at all. But it is so hard to keep myself from singing at church when all I want to do is praise God at the top of my voice.

When I can't concentrate properly, I'm so glad that I usually can.

And when I have to suffer a very tiny bit, I have so much more sympathy for those who are in constant pain, who don't have a "normal" to speak of, or have forgotten what it is like. Or even those with any small pain at all. I can understand better, how they feel, and not be annoyed when they complain. (But usually they are amazing and hardly mention it)

God has showed me, that colds are not just a hinderance. They teach you many things. They can change you for the better. And don't forget, that you are not likely to get the exact same thing again. :)

Chemistry Colours

2008-02-21T21:04:00.000-08:00

I thought that this was really interesting- the changing colours that is.

By the way, when I said that I knew what I was doing, I only meant that I knew how to do the experiment. I am not and expert at science for sure. And sorry about the abrupt ending; the batteries ran out.

When it isn't too hard, I love science. It continually amazes me. I'm the sort of person who likes to figure things out and know the whys and hows and what-fors of everything. Science tells me precisely that. I marvel at the details and wonderful way God made everything to work together. Sometimes it just makes me so happy when I learn about the intricate balance of everything in the entire universe. If some things were the tiniest bit different to how they are, then the world could not function. There was undoubtably a God who made all this with a great design and purpose.

My Dad's Machine

2008-02-15T01:55:00.000-08:00

Here it is- The Millennium Tracer.

It is licensed as a motorcycle and he drives it to work every day.

This is how it opens.

It can take another person in the back- a small one.

It is a bit squashy for me, because I'm a little tall, and there is a little hard to see around, but it is fun. If you look at the first photo again, you can see a small oval on the side, which is a window for the passenger.

Now for the best part! It is so cool when it leans!

Tagged!

2008-02-13T02:01:00.000-08:00

I got tagged! First time too. I am sort of new to the blogging world.
OK. Rules. It's probably against the rules to change the rules, but it's not on the list and I'm doing it anyway.

:: Link to the person that tagged you.
:: Post the rules on your blog.
:: Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
:: Tag six (make it three) random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
:: Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

1.) I was never stung by a bee until I was 13 and I'm scared of them. (Yeah, it is silly I know)

2.) I sing while doing maths (not because I like it)

3.) I live in the country with the most venomous land snakes in the world.

4.) I don't like the smell of Subway.

5.) I don't like sneakers very much-I prefer boots.

6.) I have not been out of the country at all.

I tag: Sadie Anna Meredith

Oh, and I forgot to mention, that a few days ago, Sheila gave me this award:

Thanks Sheila!

My Job

2008-02-13T01:17:00.000-08:00

This is me at my work.

One job is filling water bottles.

In this picture I am preparing cages for some juvenile rats.

Catching rats. This one did not want to come out. They usually walk right onto the tray.

I don't usually grin like that while working, but mum told me to pause so she could take a photo, so of course I had to smile.

I had to include this cute rat. It looks like its saying, "Let me out!"

What is funny, is when I am cleaning the cages and come across some interesting names. There is GST (Goods and services tax incase you call it something else), Annual Profit, Snake, Discount, Freight, Delivery, and two that are named after my sister and I; Anna and Lisa.

There are many other tasks I do. I prepare containers (Drill holes in the lids, stick stickers etc.) and pack crickets. I feed mealworms and cockroaches, and set up cricket eggs. I haven't done much with the mice yet. I don't like packing mice or rats, so I don't have to very often, but the rest of it is not that bad. It is a job after all.

Little Sister Tea Party

2008-02-12T02:56:00.000-08:00

My cute but noisy little sister.

translation: "Mary! Come here! Sit up for dinner! Mary! Mary!"

Mary meant for Joan to repeat after her phrase by phrase when she said grace, as we do on her "prayer day" at the table, but Joan only wanted to get started so she just yelled "Amen!"

Don't ask me why Mary is talking like that.

God Working in My Life

2008-02-06T18:00:00.000-08:00

This is a little bit about my spiritual journey throughout the last couple months. I was a little hesitant to write this, thinking that it was too personal for a public blog, but after sharing it with my Systematic Theology group and a few friends, I thought that it would be worth it if it encouraged someone else.

Many of you know that I really like horses. I had been saving up in the hopes of having a horse of my own, doing some volunteer work at a Riding for the Disabled Association for a few hours once a week. My friend and I had the opportunity to lease a pony during the holidays, and we were happy to accept the offer. To begin with, I was with the pony in almost every spare moment I had. But I was not content or grateful as I should have been. I kept wanting more and regretting the fact that I was not such a good rider due to the fact that I couldn’t afford lessons, practice or get my own horse.

Because of that and some other things, I became so frustrated that I no longer enjoyed riding so much. I wondered, what is the point of riding, from my Christian perspective? (I am certainly not saying riding is bad!) I mean, I felt it my God-given duty to serve as a missionary as soon as I’d finished school, so why take up a hobby that will compete with it for time and expenses? Why spend time doing something that makes me covet and be jealous? Besides, my school work was taking up a great deal of my time, and in order to have time to do other things, I would not be working at it with all my heart as if working for the Lord (Colossians 3:23). God has given me a family to spend time with and love. If I were so busy, how could I build a good relationship with them?

I knew that it would have to be one or the other; my interests of God’s. I would have to give it up-somehow. But I couldn’t just quit liking horses. In fact, sometimes I wished I could do just that. So I prayed about it. I asked God to either take my desires away, or to show me that they were in His will.

To my surprise (even though I’d asked for it), I stopped wanting to run off to my friends house to ride all the time, and I even felt ready to quit helping out at the riding association. He did not take away my joy in riding completely, so I still need to be careful to put God first all the time, but still amazed me by making my hard thing almost easy.

This is going to be a really long post, so now is a good time to take a break.

Another thing I’d been praying for was friends. I knew lots of nice girls, but it was so hard to get to know them if I spoke to them for only a few minutes each week, and they saw their other friends for hours everyday. And also, my lifestyle and convictions were a bit of a contrast to theirs. I asked God for friends, which after a few months, He answered my prayer and gave me more than a few really wonderful friends.

I was happy, but I still wanted a friend to talk about my spiritual life with. So I prayed again. God once again answered my prayer with more than I had asked for. He gave me five awesome friends with whom we can all share lots about how God has been working in our lives. My Systematic Theology group! (Do you girls feel special now?) What’s more, God has been helping me to get over the awkwardness and to get closer to my other friends and learn more about their spiritual life and share my own journey.

So that was three answered prayers. Wow! I had hardly stopped to think about it before. But there is more, and this one is totally amazing.

Near the end of last year, I began to get behind in my studies; both Systematic Theology and school work. I decided to keep a strict schedule so that I would not waste a single minute of time that could go towards studying. I allowed a few minutes for getting some fresh air and checking my emails, etc and time for eating sleeping and chores. It was then that if figured out that I had been trying to fit between 9 and 10 hours of school work into my 7 and a half hour available time. I still needed to fit in piano lessons, grocery shopping, and my daily devotions.

I began school this year by staying up late every night, cramming it in and getting really frustrated. Seeing as I was loosing sleep, it didn’t help for concentrating. I knew that I couldn’t continue with it all, and I’d have to do something about it. Doing less school work wasn’t an option, I needed to do my quiet times, and I couldn’t do without my quick break, which only left Systematic Theology. I really did NOT want to quit. I love the group, I love studying, and the girls and our fortnightly conference calls. So I prayed about it. And I posted a prayer request on the group’s shared blog.

The very night that I posted the prayer request, and the night we were all praying, something amazing happened. My parents talked over my school work and made some drastic changes! I never dreamed that they would, because it has been the same way in our house for about 4 years. Also, I had talked to them about it before, and they had told me to pray. I was SO happy!

School work has been the hardest of my hard things for a long time. I never thought that my burdens would be lifted until I had done it all. I cried of happiness. (I’d never done that before) It was the fastest answer to prayer I can remember! God sure worked out everything in just the right way. I always knew that God cares about the little things that are such trials to us, but it was so wonderful to really see Him showing me and helping me get a better understanding of this in my own life. He is teaching me to trust Him, to love Him, and tell Him all about it. I’ve been totally blessed through all this.

Kids on Lawn

2008-02-02T22:04:00.000-08:00

Here are the kids: Anna, Lisa, Mark, John, Levi, Mary, Joel, Joan

Lisa and anyone who's reading...

2008-01-29T16:20:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to help with Lisa's template, so if things look weird for a couple hours (I probably won't get it in one go), don't worry. It's not Lisa's fault, it's Sheila messing around. ;)

God bless,
Sheila

PS. Lisa, either you or I can delete this post as soon as I'm done.

This Years School

2008-01-18T14:53:00.000-08:00

I'm preparing my subjects for school. I've just installed Rosetta Stone Greek and I'm really looking forward to starting it. And I unwrapped my science experiment package for chemistry. I'll be interested to see what each thing is for. I've also got watercolours for art. I should enjoy that because I've always wanted to be able to use watercolours but I always managed to make a big mess, or use too much water or do the paints too thick. And then I've got A new writing course and a book about the laws and government or the country, which I also would be interested to see how it all works and then when I turn 18 I'll know all about how it works so I'll be able to vote and know what I'm voting about. I'm still doing piano and I hope to do a bit more practice on the trombone. There is more, but I can't remember what it is.

Well, I was going to do more movies and pictures but I don't know what to do a movie of yet. Any ideas?

Lisa

Holidays are Nearly Over :(

2008-01-14T22:34:00.000-08:00

This has been one of the busiest holidays ever, but I have had so much fun. I have only 4 days to complete my long list of things to do in the holidays, of which I've only crossed off about three. At least I did the hardest and most important ones. What's more, we've been totally reshuffling the furniture, (One of mum's favourite pastimes) and my desk is now right in the middle of the lounge, surrounded with other desks, and I can't get to the drawers, or pull out the chair or anything. I hope we get it back soon because I want to be up to date in Systematic Theology by the start of the school term.

I've also cleaned all my stuff, organized it, and chucked out three bags of papers and used notebooks etc. So I'm feeling rather proud of myself. I do clean it out at least once a year, and every year I get rid of toys or something I no longer play with, so now I've just got my desk and a little cabinet to sort through. In a big family you have limited storage space. But I like it that way. I reckon, the less you have, the less mess you can make, and the less you have to clean up.

Sunburnt

2008-01-08T22:32:00.000-08:00

What with all the biking, swimming and hiking I've been doing lately, I'm pretty sunburnt.

Regatta Photos

2008-01-01T16:07:00.000-08:00

Here is the complete slideshow

The Regatta

2008-01-01T03:58:00.001-08:00

I got the prize for the downwind race and I didn't even enter it. I entered the upwind race though. There was no wind, and all the boats were just sitting in the water. I got really close to the finish line but I got caught on a stick that was in the water and I stopped... and turned around and went back :( I got so close to the finish line about 5 times! I was so surprised! I didn't even know if it would go at all and if it did I was sure it would capsize right in the middle of the pond if not as soon as I let go of it. But the wind was not at all considerate today, so we weren't really getting anywhere. After what to me seemed like ages, dad blew the whistle and announced the winner. It was.... no one! Oh well, dad could keep the money. Then when the time came for giving out the prizes, and Mum sent me to get the camera. I ran off and just as I got back, dad was saying something about a winning boat and had this huge box of Ferrero Rocher chocolates in his hand. " And this goes to..." and I expected him to say the name of the winner of the downwind race. But instead he looked in my direction, I was about to turn around and see who was behind me, but then Dad said my name. I was totally confused! This was the prize for the downwind race! I hadn't even entered! Why was I getting anything?!?!?!? But he gave it to me anyway and then announced the winner of the downwind race. (then I realized he was talking about the upwind race) It was a boy called Jake. He got the $500 dollar prize!!!!!!!! It was so fun to se his face! He looked to me about 8 or 9 and he had the biggest grin. Later I heard his mum telling how he had asked where her where her list of things she'd always wanted was. So sweet! Anyway, photos are coming!

New Years Eve

2007-12-30T19:27:00.000-08:00

So, who is staying up to see the New Year in? We are having a family party and we'll eat ollibollen. (I don't know how to spell it properly) Which I think taste like sour donuts. It is a Dutch tradition I think. My Oma is good at making them. Last time we put apples in them. You after you cook them, you dip them in a pot of sugar. I hope I can stay awake properly because Mark and I just went biking and I'm pretty tired. You can tell I'm not the fittest person in the world. But I was sick and spent a few days in bed so I've got a good excuse.

Boat Regatta

2007-12-27T19:10:00.000-08:00

For those of you who live far away, had you lived a bit closer, I would have invited you to this. And just a reminder to build your boat for those who know.

Well, Well, Well!

2007-12-22T05:38:00.000-08:00

Guess What!? Dad got the coolest Christmas present! One of the people he works for, gave him a brand new mac computer! The newest model too! It is really good because then there is more computer time to go around. We use the computer alot for school and in the holidays mum has to use it for preparing the next terms school work. At the moment we are haveing having fun exploring all the new gadgets and functions.

Aussie Jingle Bells

2007-12-20T05:37:00.000-08:00

Today I sang carols at a nursing home with my sister. For those who don't know this version of "Jingle Bells" already, you might find this interesting. Here is a bit of a silly performance of it: click here
The guy in the left is a Christian kids singer. (Just for interest)

Dashing through the bush
In a rusty Holden Ute
Kicking up the dust
Esky in the boot
Kelpie by my side
Singing Christmas songs
It's summer time and I am in
My singlet, shorts & thongs

CHORUS:
OH, JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS
JINGLE ALL THE WAY
CHRISTMAS IN AUSTRALIA
ON A SCORCHING SUMMER'S DAY
JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS
CHRISTMAS TIME IS BEAUT
OH WHAT FUN IT IS TO RIDE
IN A RUSTY HOLDEN UTE

Engine's getting hot
Dodge the kangaroos
Swaggy climbs aboard
He is welcome too
All the family is there
Sitting by the pool
Christmas day, the Aussie way
By the barbecue!

CHORUS

Come the afternoon
Grandpa has a doze
The kids and uncle Bruce
Are swimming in their clothes
The time comes round to go
We take a family snap
Then pack the car and all shoot through
Before the washing up

CHORUS

A Random Photo

2007-12-16T05:27:00.000-08:00

My Aventures at Adventure World!

2007-12-13T03:53:00.000-08:00

We got to go to Adventure World for Anna's graduation celebration a few days ago.

When we first got there we found a spot to dump our stuff and sun-screened ourselves etc. and then split into two parties. Dad with the big kids and mum with the little kids. We started down in the direction of the race track. As we arrived, we observed a sign that told us that we had to have closed-in shoes. We all had bare feet. A little disappointed, we walked on. We came across some bumper boats and lined up. We all got into a tire-like boat and spent a few minutes trying to ram each other. Then dad suggested a race. It would have been fun if the boats weren't so slow. Then the horn-thing blew and we had to get out.

Just as we left, we saw the Bounty was just about to start, so we ran and jumped in. The Bounty is a ride in the shape of a boat that is in a big frame and swings back and forth like a big swing. Do you know how, when you swing as high as you can on a little swing, you get a little jump at the highest point? Well it swings so high and the thing is so big, that you do a BIG jump. On the way down, it is like falling! Dad was calmly talking about how you needed to get used to no gravity, and I was clutching the railing, shaking all over, with my stomach turning flips, and trying to smile. It was really fun when I got used to it though, which was when the ride was just about over.

After that, we looked around, and saw some pedal boats, a lookout castle and some people on a pedal car overhead. We went for the pedal cars. We stood in line for a short time until there was a free car. John got into a car with Levi, I got into a car with Mark, Anna went with Craig, and then Dad had to go by himself. If anyone has a good memory, they may notice that the name 'Craig' is unfamiliar. He is my sister's boyfriend. Just so you know. Anyway, Mark and I decided to go as fast as we could and catch up to John and Levi who had gotten a head start while we were waiting for a car to be made available. So we pedal as fast as we could. Just as we caught up to them, we found that we had no brakes! We slammed into the back of their car. Oops! Sorry!!! It's not so bad bumping into your brothers 'cos you know they won't mind too much, but the thing is, we accidentally sent them flying off into the person in front of them! Oh NO! THe man just grinned, so that was OK, but I was a bit worried that he would be cross. We did get our just desserts in the end, because just then, Anna and Craig came charging into us! We just had to ram into John and Levi and then they once again smashed into the poor man in front of us all. He was a good sport and took it all as a joke I'm happy to say.

As we were making our way to the exit, we saw mum and yelled and waved to her. She stopped to take photos of us. No, sorry, I don't have them yet to post on my blog, but I would like to. We were disappointed to find that the big roller-coaster was out of service, so we went on the little kiddies one. I don't really think it is that it is that good for little kids. Because between that and falling off the horse a day later, I sprained my neck. (Not badly so don't worry. It just hurt a lot to lift my head from lying down) It rattled and jerked very hard. Apparently the speed and the sensation in your head from zooming up and down is nothing compared to the big roller-coaster, but I hope that the rattling isn't as bad.

We got off and then decided to go and get wet. Adventure World is known for it's water slides. We had been saving this until we had done all the other rides first. Well, we all grabbed a double tube, (shaped like an 8) and climbed up about two flights of stairs. We saw a sign telling those with double tubes and mats to keep going up the stairs, and those with single tubes to go down to the left. Of course we kept going. After about another two flights of stairs, we reached another sign telling those with mats to go across to the right and those with double tubes to keep going up to the Tunnel of Terror. Finally we got to the top. There was a girl there, who told you when you could go and pushed you down a dark winding tube. It looked so fun. BUT... the sign said that you had to have two people per tube, and there was an odd number of people and no one wanted to miss a turn. In the end, Mark said he would run up as soon as he had reached the bottom. So I had no choice but to wait so I asked the girl if she could see where all the slides end from this lookout at the top. She said I could go and have a look. So I did. It was great! I saw dad quite far down below, pulling big tyre out the water, and then after a bit, I saw Mark racing up all the stairs at top speed. "That was SO FUN!" he began as he reached the top. I just wanted to go down myself! It wasn't that long before I found myself speeding down a very, very dark tunnel. We zoomed around unexpected corners so fast that we slid a up the walls as we turned them. Suddenly we were out in the open air. We flew out of the tunnel and into a pool of water. I liked it so much that I immediately raced up all those stairs to do it again.

I then decided to try out all the different slides. I don't think I stopped running for longer than a few minutes after that until I got back to car. I tried the single tubes, and the mats. The thing about the mats, is that you only have a very small square of hard foam and you go very fast. I kept going backward as I turned the corners and I couldn't figure out how to stay the right way around. I found my brother Levi at the end of a slide. "Why don't you try the mats?" I asked him. " I can't stand up at the bottom." he said. (In our house we don't do swimming lessons. We have to figure it out for ourselves. And Levi has not learnt yet.) I offered to go with him and wait at the end for him. He consented, and I waited for the light at the top to turn green to tell me that it was safe to go. The only thing is, as I went down, I lost my mat around one of the corners. I went sliding down for a bit and I could just see my mat around the bend behind me. Now, the rule is that you have to stay seated. So I tried to reach it while staying seated. I just couldn't reach it. I only had to wait a few more seconds and then the water would wash it down to me. Then I saw an extra rush of water, and I knew that Levi was coming. I had no choice but to ignore the rule and jump up and out of the way before he came whooshing down and collided into me. As he speed past, I looked around for my mat. "Oh NO! It's gone down with him!" I thought. I tried pushing myself down without a mat, but I was going far to slow and any minute another person could be sliding down into me. I was rather relived to find around the next corner that Levi had just gotten stuck and behind him, was my mat! I sat down on it firmly and had a relatively peaceful ride after that. Well Levi and I agreed to try once again, only this time Levi was to wait for the light to go green two times before going down after me. I finally got the hang of it! I did not go backwards, or fall off or anything like that. Our plan worked pretty well, and I got down with plenty of time to get ready to catch Levi and help him to the steps.

There were three other water slides which we tried out. One of them you had to go down on your back feet first, and you got heaps of water up your nose and you couldn't see where you were going, so I only did that once. But I liked the one that you lay down on you stomach on a mat and fly down a straight but downhill, lumpy lane. There are six lanes and you can race against your friends. I didn't win any, because the heaviest always seem to win, but I did figure our how to go faster. Every time you go over a hump, you try to jump out of the water. We then went on the Bounty again. Dad had told me after we had got off the first time that you felt better if you looked in a certain direction as you went down. I tried that one out, and I looked out of the boat and discovered that there is a pretty good view from the highest point. As soon as the ride finished, we raced around, lined up again, and chose a seat at the end. We went really really high and just after I had started to get used to the ride and enjoy it like a swing, I got the feeling all over again, because it is far worse/better at the ends of the boat. If it is better or worse, it depends on whether you like it or not. If I had gone on the end first off, I would probably never have gone on again.

We had been praying for good weather, as the forecast predicted rain. It looked really cold and cloudy all the way until we got there and then it was really nice. God did answer our prayer as well as make it better than we asked. Usually, it is very busy and you have to line up every time you want to go on a ride. But as we went in the school term, and the forecast was rainy, not that many people were there and we only had wait a few seconds most of the time. We all enjoyed ourselves very much and were not freezing cold as I had expected we would be.

Long as this is, it is not all. I've left out lots an lots of details. Like how Mark and I went running all over the place trying to find out where dad had gone, and how I hit my side, and then my head, and then finally tipped upside-down on the single tube slide and what the sixth slide actually was.

Patch is Here!

2007-11-29T17:23:00.000-08:00

Patch arrived at 2:00 yesterday. Unfortunately mum was going shopping so I could only say hi and go. (not much point in that) But I got to see her this morning. She is a bit lonely because she has never been by herself before. Well there are some sheep in the paddock, but that is not the same thing. We are not riding her yet because she is still a bit nervous, but we are showing her around and doing lots of ground work. ( don't know if that's the correct term, but not mounted, anyway). I didn't post yesterday because I was too exited to think of it.

Shopping

2007-11-24T21:33:00.000-08:00

I went shopping yesterday, and I shopped all afternoon at top speed. Guess how many thangs I got? Two. I went to two shopping centres and visited just about every clothes store in them and the two things I did get were from the same store. As you can imagine, I'm a little frustrated.

A Horse at Last!!!

2007-11-20T19:31:00.000-08:00

Just incase you don't know, I've been wanting a horse for ages and ages. I asked dad to get one. He said that if I saved up $1000 dollars then he would pay the rest. It was a pretty good idea to test if I really wanted it and to teach me to save. Well, I started before I was 10 I'm up to $720. The only thing is, with the industrial boom, the property next door that dad was going to buy for the horse has not been settled, and the people selling can't agree on a price. It has been two years. Very annoying. If I worked 1 or 2 weeks, then I could easily get to $1000, but I can't be bothered saving if I'm not sure I'll get it before I can get a job. Saving $1000 will be easy then.

Well, the reason I say this is because then you might appreciate this news more. I'm getting the second best thing to having my own horse. My friend and I are leasing one for free over the Christmas holidays from the riding association where I volunteer. (My friend has a paddock) I'm so exited!!!!!!! The horse's name is Patch. (very boring name, I know, but easy to remember) She is a very nice horse, and very suitable for me as I'm not an expert. She is coming in 8 days and I can't wait!!!!!

The Mud Hut After Winter

2007-11-17T05:09:00.000-08:00

This is the corner that fell down on the week after we built it. The rain didn't stop long enough for us to fix it and let it dry properly so we left it until after winter. Here is the damage.

This is what it looked like after fixing it up. We could not build it higher because the bottom part was wet and the whole thing would just fall down.

The entire hut. On the first week of rain, the middle part dividing the two doors also fell down. We are going to put in some reinforcements when we build it again.

Well, if you have a question, you can write a comment and I'll try to answer it.

A cold and the mud hut

2007-11-12T04:50:00.000-08:00

Today, I got a cold. :( NOOOOOO!!!! I'm too busy for a cold. Everything that is hard is ten times harder, and everything that is easy is made hard. Oh, well, at least it isn't the flu.

I had a look at the mud hut today. It has withstood the winter rains, and even hail, quite well. Apart from looking more weathered, it has not broken any more than the first week when the rain started.

For those of you who don't know, my brother and I are building a mud hut. It is more like rammed earth. We are just experimenting, but this has been quite successful so far. It is about as big as a small bedroom. (I don't really remember the exact measurments, or even roughly what it is.) We have a few paper-bark trees whick we plan to use for the roof, and we are about 1/4 of the way with the walls. It is lots of hard work, but is really fun. We want to finish the walls by the end of this year, but that is pushing it a bit I think. but we have a good method going now so it may go a little faster than previously. We didn't end up doing any work this Saturday, (I was a bit behind in Systematic Theology) but I hope to next week. When it is all nice, then I want to take some pictures and post them here.

Two piano jokes

2007-11-09T15:21:00.000-08:00

I heard two piano jokes that I thought were reasonably funny.

1. Q. What do you get when you drop a piano down a mine shaft?

A. A flat miner

2. Q. What do you get when you drop a piano onto an army base?

A. A flat major

A funny story

2007-11-06T20:32:00.000-08:00

A few days ago, my aunty told me funny story about when she worked at the zoo. She got a call from some people who were visiting the nocturnal house, asking her to come quickly as an animal had escaped from one of the enclosures. Apparenly it was in the corner and a group of them were guarding it. When she arrived, guess what she found? .......It was a tissue!

Please note that this is the nocturnal house and so it is rather dark inside during the daytime, so that the visitors will hopefully be able to see the amimals while they are awake.

Relatives Over this Weekend

2007-11-06T02:24:00.000-08:00

This weekend we have relatives from Melbourne coming here for a wedding. Everyone in the family has been working an hour in the evening this week to get the property cleaned up and all nice for when they visit us. We have been mowing, raking out sand piles, (that was my job), weeding, prunning, trimming, collecting stones, putting mulch on the gardens and fixing sprnkerlers and many other things. It is starting to look really tidy for once!

Welcome

2007-11-05T04:29:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone and welcome!

This is like my online srapbook/diary/notebook sort of thing. So feel privileged to be here. Hopefully you can have some fun looking at all my stuff. Not that there is anything much to see as this is my first post. (ha ha :D) Please make a comment although you probably think there is not much to comment on, but I really like to see a bit of audience participation ;P

~Lisa