Jordandchan

So we find ourselves at the end of another year. A year of excitement and of sadness. A year of change.

It is quite a different situation to   which we found ourselves in last year. There will be no early morning trips to see the first sun this year. Instead we will be celebrating the new year with friends and family - something we haven’t had the opportunity to do for a few years.

Much as we could never have guessed what 2009 would hold - we begin 2010 with the same feelings, fears and hopes that we do each year.

thus far we know that 2010 with bring with it new births (6 and counting) and a 30th, and so much more than we could expect or imagine…

we look forward to sharing 2010 with you and hopefully you with us.

a toast to 2009 - and many more to come!!!

So we find ourselves at the end of another year. A year of excitement and of sadness. A year of change.

It is quite a different situation to that which we found ourselves in last year. There will be no early morning trips to see the first sun this year. Instead we will be celebrating the new year with friends and family - something we haven’t had the opportunity to do for a few years.

Much as we could never have guessed what 2009 would hold - we begin 2010 with the same feelings, fears and hopes that we do each year.

thus far we know that 2010 with bring with it new births (6 and counting) and a 30th, and so much more than we could expect or imagine…

we look forward to sharing 2010 with you and hopefully you with us.

a toast to 2009 - and many more to come!!!

the stars are brightly shining - this is the night of our dear Saviours birth.

i dont know about you but Christmas has certainly come around fast this year. so much has happened since last christmas eve… this time last year we were in Wellington contemplating our last Christmas in New Zealand and wondering where we would be in 12 months time.

Turns out we are living in Padstow, with our kitten and our fish, across the road from my family, both employed, both mostly healthly, back at our old church, back in touch with friends we missed, and missing new friends we made while we were away.

Sometimes things turn out very different from how you imagine they will - but not necessarily in a bad way.

Wishing you and the ones you love an extraordinary Christmas and New Year and a happy and healthy 2010.

Thanks be to God for His blessings of 2009.

David Jones - 9am - 3 days before Christmas

this year we finally got into the city to watch uncle geoff sing in the david jones staff choir and it was amazing!

there was so many people there - most of them talking about this being a yearly tradition of coming to see the window displays and then watching the choir perform. The moment he recognised us in the crowd was so very special for me and in true form, i cried a little.

we then went to hang out in ‘mens intimates’ until he started work so we could say hi.

what a brilliant start to the day!

first christmas - new workplace - breakfast - harbour - rain…

have you ever tried so hard to do something the right/best way only to have it blow up in your face???

i have one of those personalities that should could with a warning, something like the following perhaps:

WARNING: Severe emotionally unstable individual who may AT ANY TIME bacome aware of people not living up to her expectations of how life should go at which point you MUST evacuate the area so as to not witness the mushroom cloud like explosion of pent up frustration and DO NOT return until subject has again become stable or another fallout could occur.

sometimes i wish i could have warned jordan of this before we were married - he should have been able to go into it with his eyes open but instead ends up with a wife who moonlights as ‘a big ball of crazy’ every now and again. Sadly its only with age that i’ve actually noticed myself doing this and i would love to be able to say that its something i have under control - but i dont.

i can even point out at which point during one of said episodes that i KNOW that what im doing/saying is abnormal but cant seem to stop.…. well until i’ve done or said something that needs to be apologised for and taken back.

UNTIL TODAY  - when i was being completely rational and trying to think through the situation and how a normal person would react and i still came up with the same answer - so now im just thinking maybe everyone is a little bit crazy and maybe i pick up on it too easily.

Generally i spend the few hours or days afterward on the verge of tears and trying to rationalise myself.

I think maybe i should just stay away from people altogether.

why does it sound so wrong to be sad AND glad that someone has died?

as a christian i guess its hard to explain the sadness and sorrow but also the happiness that comes when another christian dies. Of course there is grief and longing and sadness and regret. But there is also something so much more special - to know that they are where they belong, in heaven, with the God that created them. With the God who chose them before the beginning of the world to become one of His children and to glorify Himself through their life.

i was so very upset to hear of the passing of a very dear friend from my childhood home. A wonderful man with such a love of life, a love for his family, and a heart to serve others before himself. Most importantly was his love for God and his constant encouragement, example and leadership. He was the ‘dad’ of our church family and was always the life of our activities. He could make you laugh till you cried, and sometimes just make you cry. He was what a Christian man looked like and he set the bar high for young men to follow.

He was a genuine and honest man. He was such a giving person and he will be sadly missed.

I know that the Angels are rejoicing in heaven now that he is home.

for the summer time flu.

well that sounded a lot funnier in my head.

ive managed to contract some form of cold/flu type arrangement and apart from feeling mostly crap - it means we cant spend time with friends tonight that i was really looking forward to seeing. its best not to risk it but it still SUCKS!! now we wont get to see them till after christmas…

hopefully i’ll be able to kick the bug soon - i have a lot to do before work finishes up.

mostly im all for technology… mostly

i guess there are some things i have come across that i just dont understand how they are still relevant (like having a typewriter at work) or handwriting envelopes - although i do find this quite fun some days…

but there are other things that i wish could have stayed the same… even if it means a little more work.

take, for example, borrowing library books. jordan and i LOVE to go to the library - pick out hundred different books, cds and dvds and take them home. the problem comes when they need to be returned and you cant find the shopping docket type arrangement they give you after scanning them in. sure, we could get on the computer and log into the council webiste, enter the card number and wait for the results… but what about in the good old days when you flicked open the front cover and found a date stamp right there - with all the info you needed about returning your book. in those days you were less likely to get hate mail from the library for forgetting your returns.

or is it maybe that its just a little bit of my childhood i’d like to have back??  i used to be one of the good kids that got to stamp my own return dates on the card on the inside cover… *sigh*

i spent the weekend in qld and all i got was this lousy sunburn

thats not true - we actually had quite a good time despite only having a couple of days away.

our flight saw us leave sydney at 10.05pm on Friday and we flew in last night (Sunday) at 9.20pm so it was a very quick and whirlwind trip… but it was great to see family and old friends and spend time celebrating Renee’s birthday. Everyone dressed up which made it even better.

we’re glad to be home though and looking forward to picking up the cat tonight after work…