Category: events

 

Mothers’ Day is a tough day for different people, for different reasons. Without going into a lot of detail, I wanted to remember the tendency that my mother-in-law had, in her last weeks, to eat oranges in great numbers: visiting her in hospital, we would bring a bag of oranges with us, and she was so often looking for a chance to eat one.

Knowing that she was running out of time, and being a fan of this particular scene in a classic Australian TV series (watch the whole episode for context, but this scene is the stuff of legend). 

Her funeral was a month ago now (we had permission to pay tribute to this particular scene), and we’re already starting to have some of the family firsts (birthdays without her, and now mothers’ day without her), but I wanted to put some kind of mention here on the blog.

There was enough time in hospital to have some good conversations about her faith; thanks to some wiser heads than mine, she was definitely in a position to feel confident of her trust in Jesus’ death to make her right with God.

For those of you who are experiencing a first Mothers Day like this, I’m sorry for your loss, and if talking to someone would help, I’m happy to have that conversation with you.

Barbara J. Byrne 1953-2019.

A quick update ahead of the usual weekly update. Today, Puff’s little sister Huff was born, at 2:13pm, weighing in at 3.6kg (7lbs 15oz) and measuring 51cm long.

He was relatively happy to meet his little sister, but hesitated to talk to his Mum, who looked a bit different sitting in her hospital bed. Here’s a (quite obviously staged) photo of the two of them together.

Mum is in hospital tonight, and Mum and baby are doing well. Puff is home with Dad now: thanks to Aunty Chan and Uncle Jordan for looking after him today while Dad spent the time with Mum.

A few days early, Puff had his first birthday party today. He had a great time, though he was pretty tired by the end. He’s now sleeping happily in his room, but I had to put one photo up, of his cake. Aunty Chan did a fantastic job on the cake decorating, and all but the poor dragon’s head was eaten on the day.

Thanks to everyone who came along, and sorry we missed you to those who couldn’t or who – eep – didn’t get their invitations.

Finally settled on a colour scheme. As it turns out, teaching yourself painting is not the best strategy, but we’ve ended up with mostly tea coloured walls, with a chocolate coloured “feature wall”. I’m convinced that the feature wall is just a scam invented by the paint-makers, so that hapless painters must buy paint in smaller, more expensive quantities.

More photos when we’ve finished the second coat: hopefully that will be soon.

A friend has generously provided us with a baby capsule and some kind of baby-rocking contraption whose correct name I’m unfamiliar with. I had a sudden rush of impending responsibility when I started loading these items into the boot of the car: more than I’ve felt up to this point.

Thanks to everyone who contributed time, effort, and even presents to the cause. Much appreciated.