Mine

Max has a current obsession with cars which has led to a new game/obsession while driving. The game goes that if you spot a car you want, you call out mine or treasure - and it's 'yours'. It is actually amazing how many Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Audi etc there are on the roads.

Driving to church on Sunday Max had already got a Porsche, and Audi and couple of others - but then called out 'Peet's Kia' - which started a whole new game of dumping the cars you don't want on each other.

Max plans to work for Audi - though he is a bit concerned about having to learn German and thinks he better get started - and so when Joan asked what sort of car she should get he quickly answered 'Audi R8 - Red with white racing stripes'. Then thought for a moment and added 'but you'd be a really old lady by the time you saved up for it.'

Parent Teacher Interviews

This post will be nothing more than a recap of last night's parent teacher interviews at Kelvin Grove and is full of delightful things about Jesse & Peet and could be easily misconstrued as boastful and a bit annoying - so read at your own risk.

5 favourite moments:

Jesse' Ancient History and Extension English teacher - Adam Davey - asked if I had lots of teachers to see - I said that I must have done something right because the sub shop ladies who do the rostering gave me everyone I asked for (all 9 teachers) without a single break - to which Adam replied - 'well you're the Fulchers - Kelvin Grove Royalty!' Which left me a little lost for words and I quickly moved on - but on reflection I think it's because between all the Fulchers there have been 8 really nice kids go through KGSC so far - and there are 5 still to go.

Jesse's Core English teacher Kay Elsden was talking to some parents well into my ten minutes and they kept apologising and I wasn't worried - really I don't have much to talk to these teachers about - but when I sat down Kay apologised again and said 'I explained that it would be alright because my next interview is with the parent of the most perfect child in the school' - which must have just been lovely for the parents before me!

Peet's music teacher - Alisa Jones - said he is doing really well - even said that he is the most musically talented kid in the year 8 music program.

Cathy Beazley (Ron Boswell's daughter and Jesse's Legal Studies teacher) said she hopes Jesse never finishes year 12 because she so enjoys talking to her - I assured her that I can't wait till Jesse finishes year 12.

Finally - Peet's maths/science teacher - the much maligned Mr Di Leigge - was my most important interview - and my last. Last week he foolishly assigned the whole class 200 lines of 'I will not call out in class'. Peet was very upset and we had a series of conversations about this and Peet eventually decided to do the lines and I would talk to the teacher at Parent Teacher Interviews. I thought it was all going ok and I thought he was holding his own - he did start by saying that he wishes he had a class full of Peets - but after talking for him for a while about arbitrary punishment and manipulation of children he handed me an exam to look at and his hand was shaking - so then I had to spend 10 extra minutes telling him all the good things he is doing in class - and ended with him assuring me that the line writing will never happen again.

So in all just a really funny set of interviews and a really good showing for the kids.

Warning: Some of the following pictures may distress some viewers

Alec & Roger had a weekend of Deer hunting a couple of weeks ago - and got a doe - which is better than a stag - when they get a stag not only is the meat not that good but we have to have antlers hanging in the tree for the next few years! Alec shot the deer and the boys brought it home on Friday morning. It was tied to the tow bar of Roger's car but fortunately Graham Sully had the foresight to take a trailer and so they threw the deer in the trailer and Graham brought it home.

Sadly they didn't have a tarp to cover it up so it must have provided some interest for passing motorists. It certainly interested Samuel and Max.

Saturday was spent butchering and starting to tan the hide.

The dogs were very interested. And Honey was a bit distressed - as she should be since a similar fate awaits her if she doesn't stop eating everything.

Kim's Talk

I remember attending an institute class as a young single adult when we were studying the New Testament. We had come to the part where the Saviour says “Be ye therefore perfect.” The discussion was around what on earth that meant. I thought that it meant ‘be ye therefore perfect’ – that we were supposed to get on with it and be perfect. Others pointed to the fact that in the New Testament it says ‘be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect’ and that in the Book of Mormon- following his resurrection - Christ says “Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect”. The distinction being that Christ was not perfect until his resurrection.

I figured that all this meant was that we should be perfect up to the resurrection point. I didn’t see an out. I thought it meant that we should be perfect. The trouble with that is that it was a bit hard to do. In fact it’s impossible to do. And it’s wrong. The reason I was getting it wrong was that I was not considering the scriptures as a whole, and I was not considering the things that prophets have said by revelation since then.

I started to understand a bit better when I had children. I realised that I was perfectly willing to wait while they understood and improved at pretty much anything because I loved them and just knew that they were magnificent and that they could and would do the things they needed to do. And in Matthew we are reminded that “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”

Then during a time when I was really quite busy – Roger was serving as a counsellor on the bishopric and working 6 days a week, I was Stake Relief Society President, we had 5 children (Thomas was I think 10 at the time) and I was working – just a little and from home – as well as doing a couple of days a week teaching Japanese and reading at the children’s school because we were short of a teacher – I was really becoming concerned about the feelings of many women in the Stake. They were feeling inadequate, overburdened and just plain too busy – and I understood those feelings because I had them too, but for some women they were quite debilitating. This is of course not unique - Elder Dean L. Larsen, who was one of the Seventy, observed, “I seem to be encountering more and more frequently in my circulation among the membership of the Church, people who are honestly trying to avoid sin, who are really doing their best, as they understand, to live in accordance with the principles of the gospel but who are unhappy, frustrated, and disillusioned to a considerable degree.”

I attended a Stake Welfare Meeting where there was a lot of talk about the need to get some food storage. We had very little food storage – I knew it was important but we just didn’t have much – and I came home feeling like I was just not getting anywhere very fast. I think I have used what happened next in a talk before – I just don’t have that many stories – We were all in the lounge room after dinner on Sunday night. Louisa (our 5th child) was just over one year old. We were just sitting around the floor talking and reading when Louisa picked up a plate and walked over and handed it to one of the kids. These were her first steps – then she took the plate, walked over and handed it to someone else. The excitement and the sheer joy of it were amazing. No-one was game to make too much noise, but everyone wanted Louisa to walk to them, the school kids were busy working out who got to tell what part of the story at school the next day and so on – eventually everyone went to bed and I went to finish cleaning the kitchen and that was when I really started to understand what be ye therefore perfect is all about.

As I said Louisa was our 5th child. She was not an early walker – she didn’t walk perfectly from then on – we had seen other children take their first steps – we knew she would still fall over a lot – but we were thrilled and the inspiration that I received was that the heavens rejoice the same way when I – or any of us – take some first steps - or start in the right direction. When I told people about Louisa I didn’t say “Louisa took a couple of steps last night – but we’ll just see – she really isn’t walking and she’ll just keep falling over’ I said ‘Louisa can walk’. So I started to understand that perfection, in this life, is more about direction than about accomplishment.
At around the same time I was reading the story of Mary and Martha – it’s really a short story, but it has become one of my favourites. It’s in Luke and it reads:

Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

I have read that this story occurs during the time of the feast of the tabernacles. The feast of the tabernacles is a harvest type of feast and it is very important in the Jewish calendar. It is, according to our bible dictionary, ‘the greatest and most joyful of all’. There were, and are, complex traditions associated with the feast including decorating the house with a canopy of willows. And to add to its importance Zechariah describes the curse that will fall upon those who don’t observe the feast, which includes no rain and plagues. So it was really important. In the pictures I have seen of Mary and Martha, Mary is always reclining at Jesus’ feet while Martha is stirring something. They are usually the only three people in the picture and it really does look like it would not be a hard choice for Martha to just stop and listen for a while. But Martha was preparing for an important feast, and Jesus had an entourage with him, so she also had a house full of people and when I start picturing all this I start to wonder what was wrong with Mary. I like to imagine Martha trying to stir that pot and listen to the Saviour at the same time. Martha possibly felt like things were a bit out of control.

When Jesus answered Martha and said ‘thou art careful and troubled about many things’ I can understand why she would have been that way – there was a lot to do – but the most important thing that Jesus said for me was one thing is needful. The things that Martha was doing were important. They were part of her religious observance, they mattered. And she had a lot of things to do but one thing was needful. This is true for each of us too. One thing is needful at any one moment. This is not to say that there aren’t lots of important things competing for our thoughts and time – but one thing is needful. We can actually do all the things that are truly needful – because one thing is needful at any time.

We very often talk about the need for balance and it sounds a bit like a circus act – with someone balancing on a tightrope while the rest of the world looks on in amazement – while half waiting for the big fall. We think about all the things we are trying to balance: work, church service, family, healthy eating and budgeting, intellect and inspiration, discipline and agency, housekeeping and homemaking, one childs needs and another childs needs, making money and spending money, study time and family or play time, being in the world but not of the world and so on. And it ends up being quite the circus act.

But I think that Heavenly Father doesn’t want our lives to be a circus act. He doesn’t want us to keep adding weights to make the show more spectacular – rather I think that he wants us to look for the one needful thing at any moment and do just that – he wants us to know that he loves us and is delighted when we take our first steps.

Prophets keep telling us to calm down and to simplify. In Ecclesiastes we learn that to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. Nephi said “Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy”. Jacob: men are that they might have joy; King Benjamin when he was talking about the many good things we can do “See that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength”. President Spencer W. Kimball urged us to return to “quiet, sane living.” Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, “Remember, don’t magnify the work to be done—simplify it.” Elder Ballard: “remember [that] too much of anything in life can throw us off balance. At the same time, too little of the important things can do the same thing.”

Because we are all really very busy and because there will always be many good and even important things to do we need to know what the one needful thing is – and that will in fact be the one thing at that moment that will lead us on the path to exaltation. When Elder Oaks spoke at the October conference last year he reminded us again that “We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families.” So we are going to be just like Martha – we will find ourselves doing really important things, really good things and really busy things that may still not be the one needful thing.

Sometimes that one needful thing will be to work, sometimes it will be to pray, sometimes it will to be clean the house, sometimes it will be to visit a sick friend, sometimes it will be a day at the beach, sometimes it will be reading, sometimes it will be serving in the church, sometimes it will be a relaxing bath. But each time it will be the one thing we should be doing at that moment. And when we are doing that one needful thing we’ll still be doing a balancing act – but it won’t be on a tightrope. Rather the balancing act will be on a firm foundation. It will be on the rock that Peter spoke of – the rock of revelation. We can know through the spirit as Jacob told us in the Book of Mormon “of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be”. And then we need to take a lesson from Alma who said “ for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me. …“Why should I desire more than to perform the work to which I have been called?”

Satan very often uses discouragement to cloud our view of the one needful thing. If we feel that we are not getting anywhere we often stop looking for the thing that we should be doing because we feel like we’re not going to do it anyway – so why bother. Elder Neal A Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve has said that:
“We can distinguish more clearly between divine discontent and the devil’s dissonance, between dissatisfaction with self and disdain for self. We need the first and must shun the second, remembering that when conscience calls to us from the next ridge, it is not solely to scold but also to beckon.
“… We can contemplate how far we have already come in the climb along the pathway to perfection; it is usually much farther than we acknowledge. …
“… We can make quiet but more honest inventories of our strengths. … Most of us are dishonest bookkeepers and need confirming ‘outside auditors.’ He who was thrust down in the first estate delights to have us put ourselves down. Self-contempt is of Satan; there is none of it in heaven. We should, of course, learn from our mistakes, but without forever studying the instant replays as if these were the game of life itself.”

One of the ways that Jesus Christ will calm the tempest that is sometimes our lives is to help us to distinguish the unnecessary weights in our balancing act. Bruce Hafen, who is one the Seventy and was previously our Area President, wrote that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is not just for sinners. (Though of course we are all sinners) The atonement can also heal and lift and bring peace and calm and even assurance. And it will teach us to recognise joy.

We sing that ‘when upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed, do not be discouraged thinking all is lost, count your many blessings, name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.’ Many of the things that we try to balance are in fact blessings. Very many of our eternal brothers and sisters would laugh at our stress and concerns over how to deal with so very many blessings. We wonder how we’ll manage to fit in our many responsibilities when much of the world can not even conceive of the possibility of those responsibilities. We worry about how to fit in church and work and family responsibilities when so very many have neither the blessings of the gospel, regular or fulfilling work, or family. We can have greater joy and peace and feel more secure in the balance of our lives when we recognise with gratitude the blessings that we have.

We will still be running just as fast as we have strength but we will have peace and joy knowing that we are doing the one needful thing, and that we are blessed to have the chance to do that. We will be able to ..”press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men”. And Nephi told us that if we “press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life”.

When I remember that I really am a child of God, that he loves me and is looking at my progression and the yearnings of my heart, and when I look with gratitude at the many options that I have for the one needful thing for me to be doing at any one moment, I feel close to my Heavenly Father and I feel balanced in the life that I am living whether or not I am getting through all the things on my wish list of things to do.

I am grateful to know that I have Heavenly Parents and that Jesus Christ is my redeemer and saviour and I am grateful to be one of the very few people on earth who have been blessed with a testimony of the restored gospel, with all of the extra things to balance that it brings to my life. I know that I am more joyful as a result of those things and that the joy I feel in this life is a precursor to the joy that can be mine and each of ours as we seek to press forward with faith, doing the one thing that is needful at any time, that will lead us steadily along to eternal life.

Thomas News

Are Alec and Louisa okay? Just a note for the future- when someone has a crash, don't tell me and then say "refer to the other email". Please. I understand they're both okay, but nobody thinks "oh, well isn't that funny?", when they hear about car crashes.

That aside, this week has been really good. It's been a great week for contacting. On Saturday met a very pleasant man named Robert. The first thing I thought when I saw him was "okay, this man might be dangerous". It was at night and this guy was wearing a hoodie- typical sign of a dangerous person in the Baltics. Nothing of the sort, however. This guy was one of the most pleasant I've ever met. He didn't remember his phone number. So he called our mobile (which Elder Cavender had) and told me "Okay, I've just called and hung up. You look up the number on your phone, it will be the one that called at almost 9:00." That Sunday I called, and he was still just as friendly. In fact, he said "Hey, It's great to hear from you" when I told him who I was. We had a meeting with him on Monday night, and have another set up for tomorrow.

I also met Nickolai this week. He works in the bank and as such, he was looking VERY official. He looked like the businessman he was. I decided to talk to him thinking "If there is only one respectable man in Daugavpils, this is him." I was right. His personality was as clean-cut as his attire. He gave me his number, and I told him I'd call tonight.

This week has also seen splits happen in Daugavpils. Elder Perhson, a new missionary who typically works on the other side of Daugavpils has been working with me. Yesterday was a long, hard, slog for the first half, but is ended wonderfully.

Well, bought my camera with me to send you all photos. No such luck, unfortunately. The computer I'm using is pretty old. We haven't seen conference just yet. That's happening this week. We've been going around inviting investigators and Less Actives to it this week. It should be really good. As for Spring, the buds on the trees are just beginning to bloom, a lot of them still look pretty bare, thanks to those two weeks of snowfall last transfer, but they're getting there. I think it will probably be more easily noticeable in the summer.

Things I wish I had photos of:

Driving Petie's Audi - Petie was in China for a week at the expense of her glass supplier for the new building so we got the cool car - Audi A4 convertible - and drove it all over Brisbane with the hood down of course. Jesse said that when she was in it with Alec driving people were pointing and looking at them much more than when I was driving - either it makes more sense to have someone my age driving a car like that or Alec is just better looking - or both. My favourite photo moment of all was on Friday night when Roger had Alec in the front and Peet and Max in the back and they were heading in to look at the Ferrari dealership. They pulled up beside us (in the Tarago) at traffic lights and waved out of the open roof - Max's face was too cute.

Max in the Spiderwick Chronicles. Max started off sitting by Roger and ended up on my lap as the movie got scarier. At one point the mother apologises to the boy for not believing him about the goblins - and Max looked up at me, chin quivering, to ask 'would you believe me?'.

The three little kids with Roger at the beach for 3 days. There is some video of this and it looks like they had a wonderful time.

Louisa hugging Alec and crying last night. Alec drove Louisa to Faith in God activities at church last night and ran into the back of another car on the way there. It was at a railway crossing and the car in front of him must have missed the lights starting to flash and hit the brakes hard instead of keeping going - so Alec hit the brakes hard too and with lots of screeching tyres managed to just hit the back of the car. It was a 4WD with a tow bar so not too much damage to the other car - not too much really to mine either - but enough to repair. Louisa had snuck into the front seat (where she is not supposed to be due to the airbags) and thought she was going to die because she was waiting for the airbags to inflate and smother her. Alec dropped her to FiG and came home - he was a bit shaken but ok by the time Louisa got home. She came running in to the house - crying - and asking for Alec so she could hug him for a while.

Jesse walking out of the State Library - it's Jesse's home away from home at the moment since she has a pile of assignments and she always looks beautiful and tired walking out to the car park to be picked up late at night or at the end of the day.

Thomas News

Letter from last week:

Well, this week has seen very little change in transfers. I've been moved from one side of Daugavpils to the next. My companion is Elder Cavender once more. I'll be the last missionary he serves with. This is his last transfer in the mission field. Elder Cavender's previous companion is going into my old area and Elder Arnel is going into Vilnus to serve in the exact area I served in.

The first day two days of this transfer, however, saw me leave Daugavpils to go to Tallinn in order to do my Latvian visa work. I was SO excited to see Tallinn again. It remains as the most beautiful city I've ever served in. I was the oldest missionary of the lot going up there (the other 6 were all on their second transfer). Having knowledge of the area, I was able to take care of them after the visa work was done (essentially, find a cheap place to feed them) and take them back to our bus back to Riga on time. I then spent the night in Riga and only very recently got off my bus back into Daugavpils.

The time before the end of the transfer saw some really wonderful things happen. We met a man named Vasili- he was just 3 days out of Prison and that time had really humbled the man. He realised the need for the Lord in his life and started reading the Bible, which he was carrying with him. He expressed a sincere desire to be baptised.

Also this week we made a deal with one of the young women in our branch. We agreed to teach FHE at the chapel (her calling) if she would teach a spiritual thought at our English class (all of whom were girls between 18 and 25. The 18 year olds spent much of class giggling). Well, I missed both events, but Elder Cavender taught FHE and the young woman kept her part of the deal. The Sister missionaries filled me in. Only one person turned up to our class (Victoria, the 18-year-old who gave Elder Arnel and I the cake for Easter), but the spiritual thought went perfectly and the Student accepted a baptismal invitation! It was really great.

Max's pictures with the Budgie are so cute. I love the fact that his concern was that bunny might be named "twinklenose". He is the most genuine little boy, isn't he? He looks so content in that photo with the thing on his shoulder.


Letter from this week:

Well, you've probably read the title of the letter (which was 'my week with the immigration police') and started wondering what happened this week. Elder Cavender and I were walking back from an appointment when a car pulled up next to it and a uniformed man yelled out "Hey, Agents!" Well, we were not going to answer to that, so we kept walking. He finally catches up with us and starts speaking on proper terms, asking for our documents (ie, our passports). Well, I wasn't one to walk around with it, so they had to take us back to their office. It turns out that these men are immigration police- their job is to check for people who are living in Latvia without a visa (Latvia being a land of milk and honey and all...). They told me I had to come back and show them my passport, because if I didn't have a visa, I'd get kicked out.

This never used to be such a big deal- it used to be that if you got kicked out of one EU country, you go into the next and wait. But recently new laws have been made- laws which take down all international borders within the EU.

This means two things:
- You can only have one visa in the whole European Union (meaning my Estonian visa is now void)
- If you don't have a visa within 90 days of arriving in any giving country, you have to leave the union altogether.

Thankfully, the office checked my passport yesterday, saw that I had applied, and that was good enough for them.

Well, this weeks been interesting. We've been teaching one guy named Igor. Usually his girlfriend (Zhana which is a good 10 years older than he is- they sure do things differently in Europe) is a menace. At least she was the first time I was in a meeting with them. But we spoke with them on Friday, and she was an absolute treat! Was just really supportive of everything. I wonder if Igor spoke to her about last time?

We've also been meeting with one of the sweetest old ladies in the world. Her name is Alexandra (for a moment, it was difficult translating her name into English). We committed her to fast for the first time on Sunday and she agreed, while saying "Wait, I'm at my daughter's place on Sunday, and she'll want to feed me. I guess I'll just tell her I'm sick." Which was quite a coincidence since she was sick on Sunday any, so she didn't come to church "But," she said, "I fasted anyway!". Just lovely like that.

I got a letter from Linda just this week, along with your Easter package. Thank you very much, it was wonderful. I'm going to send you an email today that I'd like you to send on to the Sturgesses if that's okay. I think I just need two or three garment tops, same size as I bought them first time (for the life of me, I can't remember what that was), and v-neck would be nice.

If you guys think it was funny about my English class being full of YSA aged girls (In the mission we refer to them as "Janes"), you should have seen Elder Cavender, who after hearing how Elder Arnell didn't want to teach the advanced class because it had a lot of Janes, put us in the 2nd level class which we were sure would be "Jane free". That goes to show us, doesn't it? Thankfully, the sisters have taken over that class.

Anyone can email me, but I can only write directly to family. I can give you guys emails to forward back to them, though.

My hand is doing pretty well, I'm able to give pretty strong handshakes to most people now, so long as they shake with the palm. A common european way of shaking hands is to grab only the fingers and shake those. When people do that too rough my hand tends to hurt. Other than that it's still a little swollen but doing well.

Well, that's all from me this week, I hope you're doing well. I've been trying to take more photos and will send some next week if I can remember.

Wednesday

Wednesday last week I needed to go up to Sunshine to look for a file so Louisa & Max and I had a day at the beach.

Swimming - Louisa was out too deep too quickly for me to get a photo:

Massimos, followed by spending the money Lee & Joan gave them - dinosaurs for Max and watch that Louisa says is really good value since it was only $19.95. Part way through their ice creams Louisa spotted a woman who looked 'just like Granny' - turns out it was Granny, and Caroline and Brenton - they'd been to the Eumundi markets and were having a swim before heading home.

Then lunch at Baked Poetry - the kids had calamari and chips and I had my favourite salad. Anne & Caroline & Brenton turned up there too - which is my fault - I said we were going to Baked Poetry for lunch - and didn't explain that it's all organic salads etc - it sounds like a cake shop - luckily they have wonderful Iced Chocolates so Anne et al could have that for afternoon tea.

Working Bee

Had an at home working bee on Saturday - all in preparation for the mini goats - we've been working on them for a good six months now and there's a few more months to go. This time we were getting ready to move Honey's fence - the big boys were pretty excited because a chainsaw was involved.

The front yard is looking better but I think there is still a weekend or two or three to go.

Thursday

When I cleaned my bedside table on Friday morning I found a 'talk slip' left there by Roger when he got home late from Bishopric meeting on Thursday night. On the 20th April I will be speaking in Sacrament meeting for 20 minutes on "How I seek balance in my life' - a topic with a certain irony considering the day I had on Thursday.

We did the normal house keeping stuff , made sushi for lunch, then took Peet to his physio appointment - where he was given new stretches and a massage that nearly sent him to sleep, despite the physio and I talking the whole time about how hard it is to fit everything in, because he is completely exhausted and ready for a holiday. Then dropped him to school late. Louisa and Max are already on school holidays so we met the Jalils and the Parrys at GoMA to see the Andy Warhol exhibit - and added a whole new meaning to pandemonium. The kids loved the silver cloud room, the photo booths and the '15 seconds of fame' video.

Then had lunch by the river and let the kids play which was perhaps a mistake since they all got covered in mud and grass stains and we still had a movie to go. We loaded the cars up and drove to the cinema anyway and watched Horton Hears a Who - I actually napped through part of it but am assured by Max that it was a great movie.

Joan rang to say she was sick and could we take her to town to send money to one of the guides she and Jesse had on the Everest trek (We send him money every quarter for his university fees). In the end she decided to wait for Lee to get her, and we went to school to sign the letter of appointment for the new teacher - Terry, who is Bahai so he should at least have the peace and love part of the job down. Then collected the high school kids from the train station and took them home with a decidedly glum mood penetrating the car. Except for Peet who was giddy with excitement at having got A's for his music theory test and his performance test. Jesse sat in the car with me then for almost an hour crying and assuring me that she was about to fail everything (this in spite of consistently high grades to date and masses of study/research) and that she was a disaster in every way. When she finally could cope again she went inside while I went to get chook food (they ran out on Wednesday), then came home to chat to Roger about feeling totally overwhelmed with the differing emotional/educational/social and spiritual needs of 6 children, realised I had nothing for dinner - that might explain some of those needs - tried to tell the kids that it was 'catch and kill ' for dinner (in other words try a tin of baked beans) but got howled down and bought pizza. Had scriptures and prayer before Roger left for a long night of meetings, chatted to Alec who is desperate to move to the Sunshine Coast. When I said that I would like to move there too Louisa burst into tears and I spent a while assuring her that although I fancy the idea it is not happening. Max then walked in and announced he was moving with Alec to Lee & Joan's unit and Lee and Joan would just have to figure out somewhere else to go - which caused Louisa to cry again. Made Peet cry by asking him to be respectful of Jesse at school - made Jesse cry by asking her to be respectful of Peet and put everyone to bed except for Max who was still up when Roger got home at 11.15 pm. Now does that sound like someone who has any clue how to find balance in life?

25 years of Happy Children Learning

Pine celebrated 25 years in March. We've been there for 17 of those years. We decided to have a casual pot luck dinner and to invite whoever we came in contact with rather than going the whole nine yards like we did for the 20th anniversary.

I had to leave early because it was also the night of the Relief Society Anniversary. But Roger took a few photos of some of the past Pine parents and kids and teachers.

Philip and Michael McClenehan with Patty:

Sam, Liza, Josh and Jesse:

Patty, Jesse, Tina and Tamzina:

Fraser, Steph Howarth, Jared, Sam:

Tom, Adrian and Loughlin:

Nikki:

Kate and Drew:

Kate and Di:

Of course there were heaps of others, but Roger was a bit slack on the photo taking. It was a gorgeous night - so nice to see so many now grown up Pine kids who have turned out to be wonderful people. Kaitlyn Woods was there and said she wished she went to Pine because everyone was so happy to be together again and Jesse added that it is where she most feels like herself outside of home.

Bunny the Budgie

Max has been saving his pennies for a budgie since before Christmas - he was up to $37, but we told him budgies were very expensive. But Max's happy day came on Easter Saturday when we got a phone call from Donna to say that she had found a budgie to give away, and she could pick it up after lunch if Max still wanted a budgie.

Initially I said that I thought he had moved on the guinea pigs (since Jessica and Maddison have guinea pigs), but Max assured me that budgies were still at the top of his list - so we said yes - and Donna drove all the way from Ferny Grove to My Gravatt to make Max's dreams come true.

Max's one concern was that it might 'have a name like twinklenose'. Donna rang to tell us that she had the budgie, that it was ridiculously cute, and named Bunny. Max decided to live with it.

On Sunday after church we picked up Bunny, and all her belongings - apparently she was used to having her own bedroom - but her former owner now had an 11 month old baby and couldn't manage to care for both. I am a bit nervous for this budgie.

Max is in love. We took Bunny back to the coast with us on Sunday night and Max spent Monday morning trying to win Bunny's affection. Bunny was perhaps a bit shell shocked and took a while to warm up to Max - which led to tears. But finally Bunny sat on Max's shoulder and head for half an hour and everything is good again.