Oh we miss the beach

Family photo at the Beach

Did you think I had fallen off the face of the Earth?

Well I nearly did but I am holding on by my finger nails.

Life in our house is sad at the moment. I had thought of all sorts of words to describe it but its really sad here. Greg's dad has been given just a few short weeks to live and it breaks our hearts.

I am amazed by our the children are coping. Oliver has inspired me so much over the last few weeks as I hated going to see David and would put it off by saying I had something else to do - but not Oliver. He bikes up to see him after school and asks what he can do to help.

We are all itching in to run the house gardens and doctors visits. Its heartbreaking.

While we pray for a miracle we also pray that if its Davids time then for it to happen quickly. My once super fit 66 year old Father in law is now reduced to sleeping most of the day in his arm chair. Not at all what he would want for his end days.......

A re edit from a past shoot

Went back and re-edited this photo from a shoot I did months ago. I learnt how to straighten it and even stretched out the background. Love it!

My new favourite

This is my new favourite site.

I would love to make it my goal to cook/bake myself through all her amazing recipes!! the only problem I have is the ingredients....so many not here in New Zealand. Like can pumpkin. Whats up with that? Is it just mashed pumpkin in a can or is it Sweet or does it have spices in it?? Who knows...

Any whoooooo... I tried the Honey Garlic Crockpot chicken tonight and it was amazing. A real winner in our family!!

Pop over and have a look, I am sure you will be addicted to

Happy New Years to one and all

My sisters and I on Christmas day - can't believe we were all coloured co ordinated

I know I have not been around much - doesn't mean I am not checking in on you all but we have been a little tied up and busy with all sorts of things.

My Father in laws brain surgery to remove his tumour went way better than we all expected. It is an extremely aggressive one so now he sits back and waits for it to grow again. :( Everyone is in good spirits though and believe 2012 will go well for us all.

My News resolution this year - well there one two

1) actually make an achievable resolution

2) throw away/recycle/donate 30 things from every single room in the house!

I have done 6 rooms so far and have 3 to go!!! I have gotten rid of WAY more than 30 things from most rooms and I have loved it. Hubby and I went through our clothes and came out with the biggest bag to donate you have ever seen! I mean come on he still had a sweatshirt from lifesaving from 1993!!!

The Kids rooms are only half done with their drawers and wardrobes done and then the biggy - THE PLAYROOM. I am dreading it as it has become the dumping room there is all sorts of bits and pieces in there!

Tuesdays around the world

I just feel that it is one thing after another here right now.
Today was so stinking hot and when we should be getting super excited about Christmas we were told on Friday that my Father in law has a Brain Tumor. He will be operated on on 21st December.
So while we are out shopping and being Merry, inside I could burst with sadness. These two beautiful children are too young to loose their Grandad - and I know he is not going out with a fight. so we keep praying for healing.


Amalie's prayer in class prayer time on Monday:

Dear Baby Jesus,
Please look after my Grandad because his brain stopped and I would like it to work again. Thats it.
Amen

Linking up with all the lovely ladies at:

Cute little feet....

No need to say anything else!
I'm linking up here for the first time EVER!

Tuesdays around the world - The dress...

My husband bought me a dress.
I had tried it on and asked him to drive past and check it out as the mannequin was wearing it in the window.
He just went in and bought it for me. Something he never does. But I am thankful that he did as I now have a dress to wear to Staff Christmas party on Friday night, then I can wear it again on Monday night to a dinner (different people), then the following Saturday to husbands work party (again different people) and then why not wear it Christmas Day! Yay!! It it only cost $76!! So I can dress it up with boots etc for night and then just with sandals for Christmas (shoes are not normally compulsory on Christmas Day - too hot)

What do you think of it? Its actually something I wouldn't normally buy but I think I love it!

Its hard work carrying around a cast...

Oliver today out on the lawn taking a much needed rest. Carrying around his heavy cast isn't stopping him from being active but he gets so worn out! A little rest in the sun was needed.
Do you love the bright green cast?

Meth babies doing worse here than in the US

OK.. so those that don't know, when we were first rung to see if we wanted to adopt Amalie they said there was a slight "problem" being that she had been exposed to "P" in the womb. My heart sunk. I didn't want a "P baby", this wasn't in my plan of having a perfect baby girl - oh how naive was I!
We did as much research as we could in the days that followed and back then - 5 years ago there actually wasn't alot of factual information at all. So we took the chance. When she was born we had a specialist Dr check her over (not sure what I thought he would find - two heads maybe!! Oh how Naive!) he said "as far as I can see, in my professional opinion, at this stage in her life, there seems to be nothing wrong" OK I know he was kind of trying to cover his tracks.
Anyway to make a long story short this was published in the weekend and its an interesting read:


The first generation of New Zealand babies exposed to methamphetamine in the womb is reaching school age, and researchers are finding they are worse affected than babies in the United States.

Auckland University senior lecturer Dr Trecia Wouldes co-authored a study comparing 120 New Zealand women who used methamphetamine while pregnant to a group of US drug mothers.

New Zealand's methamphetamine is reportedly purer and stronger than the American form, and the New Zealand newborns were found to have worse scores for central nervous system stress and reflexes responses.

There were also more babies born with "hypertonicity" and "hypotonicity" – babies that are either too floppy or too rigid.

Central nervous system stress was indicated by higher than average hiccuping, spitting up, and very tight blinking.

"It's a sign your central nervous system has been affected by something," Wouldes said.

She said studies of older children exposed to methamphetamine in the womb showed changes in brain structure, particularly in areas that governed "executive functions" linked to learning.

At about age four, there started to be "significant differences in IQ and functional ability to learn" caused by inability to concentrate, sit quietly and "attend" to lessons.

Wouldes said she began enrolling babies in her study five years ago and some of the older ones were "definitely" showing signs of developmental difficulty.

The 120 mothers in the study all came from Auckland and Waitakere and were referred by midwives and neo-natal carers.

Of those referred, many had to be ruled out as too young, or for using too many other drugs.

Wouldes said prevalence of meth use during pregnancy was hard to gauge but one indicator was the difficulty in finding non-drug using mothers to use as a control group.

"In young mothers, 17 and 18, without NCEA qualifications, we couldn't find enough mothers who didn't use meth," Wouldes said. "Every time we'd find a mother who didn't have NCEA, she'd be using meth."

Though children of methamphetamine users were showing learning disabilities, Wouldes said it was too early to attribute it purely to the drug. "Our mothers are using more cannabis, smoking more and using meth throughout their pregnancies more than in the US," Wouldes said.

Also, alcohol was still New Zealand's biggest drug problem, she said, with 60 per cent of the methamphetamine mothers drinking through pregnancy, 13 per cent drinking "heavily".

The study also found 87 per cent smoked cigarettes and 64 per cent used marijuana while pregnant.
Ad Feedback

- Sunday Star Times

So I know our situation is different in the fact that Amalie didnt stay in the "meth scene" as I imagine these babies have as she goes against everything they have said here. Thankfully.
She is reading way above her age and spelling and writing flat out.
Go Amalie!

So a little heavy for this Tuesday but just something I am thinking about!