We don't do things by halves!

Once upon a time, there was an amazing couple


with three very attractive children



See what I mean? Very attractive...

Anyway... this amazing couple were eager to go away to celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary. So they booked in at a caravan park at Port Broughton, packed up their caravan (newly repaired from a bingle with a pole) and headed out to the caravan park. The kids were all excited. The couple were all excited. Approximately 40kms away from their destination they heard and almighty BANG and then the feeling of the car shuddering. The woman looked out her window and saw sparks flying from under the caravan and the dude attempted to pull the car over. She got out of the car and took a look - the whole wheel was missing!!! WHAT??



They looked back at the huge scrape of the road and saw the wheel a hundred meters or so back.


This was not good. The caravan was taking up the majority of the lane. They didn't know what happened! A car approached, slowed down and three guys got out of the car, asking if we were ok. They were, but the caravan wasn't! They said they saw a policeman at the town  that they had just driven through and the blokes offered to go back and get him to help out. The couple thanked them and accepted their offer.
The couple assessed the damage. The wheel was cactus. The axle had seen better days and the new side that we had just gotten repaired had been given a dint by the wheel flying off! This was not good!! The couple glanced nervously at the field near the road, full of waving, ripe wheat. One spark from the wheel could have set that whole thing on fire! EEK! So the dude got on the phone with the insurance company to work out what our options were. The guys came back saying that they had found the policeman and he was on his way. One of the younger guys said "I'm going to pray with you, if that's ok" and he offered a simple prayer for help and guidance. The lady was gobsmacked! She had never seen anyone be so open with their faith with a perfect stranger before.

Then the policeman arrived. He assessed the damage and asked a few questions. He helped find a towing company for the couple and waited with the family for 3 1/2 hours, blocking the lane where the caravan rested until the caravan was taken away. The policeman seemed interested in their choice of name for their son, he said it seemed very Biblical - which it is! It turned out that he was a Christian man as well! He looked over the caravan and car and said that the couple were very blessed that the car didn't flip over, because he had seen many like this that had not turned out so well. The couple thanked the Lord that they were safe and unharmed.

Then the towtruck turned up and it kinda looked like this - red and blue flashes, with the orange, who needs Christmas lights eh?...


What a shamozzle that was! It took a very long time to get it on the back of the truck because of the missing wheel. A few more things were broken and then finally after the dude helped the towie haul the injured caravan onto the truck.  Under police escort they had to drive back about 30 minutes to a major town, and dropped the caravan off at a wrecking yard/depot. Then they all headed back home again. The children were upset because their holiday didn't even start. The lady could have cried with them because she so desperately needed a break. So they decided they would look for a cabin in the morning and head back out. They arrived home at 1am. What a very long day!

The next morning the couple piled the kids into the car once more...

This time they were headed to a completely different town...



It was quiet, quaint and really what they needed.



They had a whole beach to themselves.... I know.. rough right?





(Malibu and pineapple juice - the perfect summer bevvy!)



So in the end the couple celebrated their 12 years together, surrounded by sea water and having a quiet restful weekend. They were refreshed by the end, enough to gird their loins for the next few weeks of craziness that lays ahead for them.

Even though it didn't turn out so well for the caravan, they are blessed. Blessed to have met lovely people, blessed to have not had a more serious accident, blessed to have been given an opportunity to go away and rest and relax with their children. Yes. Blessed. God is good!

Sorting out Mop

Ever since Mop started school, I've had teachers telling me that Mop was struggling socially.
"Well she is introverted"
"She's younger than the rest of the class"
"You have to remember that she is young."
"She has an ASD brother"

But lately, her social issues have been blaringly obvious that something is wrong. She spits at people who crowd her and threaten her. She is happy to be alone, and has to be strongly encouraged to play with her friends. She has poor eye contact. She doesn't know how to talk to people, how to have a conversation, and she doesn't care less about people. Sounds harsh I know, but for those who are in the know, they are blatant warning signs of ASD. Because they haven't been so in your face signs like EJ's, she has flown under the radar and then when it suddenly came to light, it was like being hit in the face with a chair!

Last month she had an IQ test. She has rated "Very Superior" - the highest level on the kids IQ test. We always knew she was a clever clogs, but this shocked me. I didn't realise she was THAT smart. Her Psychologist said her particular strengths are in her memory. And because of this, we should look into getting an Savant Autism diagnosis.


I must admit, I don't know a great deal about this. All I know that it's autism with a gift and that it's rare. So we are in the process of waiting for that assessment.

So we are starting this stage all over again, but with a different child. Assessments are coming up over the first part of December.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree! Thy leaves are so unchanging...

This weekend we finally got the Christmas tree up. It was a wonderful, exciting time to spend Sunday afternoon as a family.

First of all we put the kids tree up. This is the tree that they are free to touch, play with, decorate and redecorate if they wish. They don't have the freedom to do that on the main tree, because some of the baubles are fragile or made of glass.

So here is us working on the kids tree.


Here is us working on the main tree:



Finished and at night time so it looks more impressive!


Tis the season folks! I don't feel very Christmassy unfortunately. I guess I've been so busy with other stuff that I just don't feel very festive. What stuff you might ask? Well that is a whole other post.

A catch up

Right! I really need to get back into blogging.

Last weekend it was my brother Pete's 30th. Him being the grown-up mature man that he is chose a very sedate and serene party place. Greenhills Adventure Park!! WOOOOHOOO!!!

Here are some snapshots of the day....


Elijah on the quad bike. He did brilliantly and I was proud of him. He was about to lose it at one point when he crashed into the side and another rider overtook him, but he held it together and carried on and really enjoyed himself.

We played some putt putt mini-golf.


Here is Daz and I enjoying ourselves.


This kids all enjoyed the waterslides - here is Milly on a junior waterslide.


Caitlin on the moonbike.


The race is on!! (we have a highly competitive family!)


The view of the lake.


Trying to launch off the paddleboats.


The Mop and Molly (cousin) taking off - and Milly in the background drowning in her lifejacket.


Milly riding in an electric car.


Mop riding on the go-carts - and ended up crashed or stuck for the majority of her ride!! LOL

Because I am always behind the camera, you hardly ever see me enjoying myself, but I had lots of fun. I waded around in the kiddy pools, catching my younger nieces from the slide. I went down a huge bumpy slide, I paddled on a paddle boat and generally had a fantastic time.

Moving right along....
During term 3 school holidays we had some lovely days out. One particular time, Mum and I bravely took all three kids on the train and into the city and to the zoo. The kids love the train and they had a lovely day out. Mum and I were a bit disappointed with all the empty enclosures, but the kids barely noticed.




A few weeks ago, we had a scare with Milly. Daz overheard her tell EJ that she had put something in her ears. Daz asked her about it and she admitted to putting polystyrene balls in her ears. I took her straight to the doctors and he took one look and said "I'm not touching them, take her to the emergency department". It was getting late, and I knew the E.D. was going to be full of drunks and drug overdoses - so I waited until morning. The nurse on duty took one look at them and sent us to the Women's and Kids hospital. Three very painful procedures later and a very sad Milly was referred to an Ears Nose and Throat surgeon. We saw him the next day and he took one look and said "She needs to have a general anesthetic to get them out." Two days later, Milly bravely climbed up onto the operating bed, and smiled up at the anethesist (sp?) as he popped a strawberry flavoured LipSmacker mask on her face and began to tell her a story. The anesthetic took a long time to take effect, and the story was drawing to a close, as the amount of anesthetic went up. Just as the story ended, Milly's eyes shut and I was able to give her a kiss and escorted back to the waiting bay. The nurse on staff sent us off to have some breakfast while we waited. I just got my last mouthful of breakfast in and we got a call saying that Milly was in recovery and wanting her Mummy. We couldn't believe how fast it was!! 20 minutes in and out!!


Milly just about to go in to theatre


Milly in recovery with her new toy that she got for being such a brave girl.

Then finally..... winter was over and we had a lovely warm spring day. What is the best way to spend a nice warm sunny spring day? HIT THE BEACH!!!!







*Pant pant*! I think that is enough for today. Hopefully I can get back into the swing of posting more regularly now that life has quietened down for now. But more about that later.