Road trip itinerary outline
i have a nice lil pocket of activity-free time right now so post i shall..
the last couple a' days have been rushed out. I'm at May's right now so i'm spending half my time babysitting 2 little monkeys a.k.a cousins Kelvin/Eva and getting use to lotsa ppl.. lemme see [7 ppl] in the house inc. me O_O it's great really.. u become creative in no time at all, trying to find peace =D
2 days ago, i started my 3 week work-break *niiiiiice* and because john's mum is here for 2 months from china, we're showing her the sights, which suits me perfectly. Ain't it funny how sydney becomes all-of-a-sudden amazing when u take the time to explain how it is to strangers =P we've covered Manly, the city and hurstville. Hmm.. still a long way to go.
On Boxing day, we're heading off to Forster ->Port Macq ->South W. Rocks -> Nambucca Heads/Dorrigo/Armidale ->Tamworth ->bak passing thru Hunter Valley.. the plan has gone kaleidoscopic since i first heard its conception.. initially we were going to the Gold Coast on a 9 day road trip which downsized to 3 and went back up to 5 -______- but all's good now. We had some top advice from rellies last night but i'm still a little niggled.. with 10 ppl going it's going to be crazy esp. when half the company are on opposite ends of the age spectrum (2 are under 7, 3 are over 50) lol.. but it's ok. We're taking the walkie talkies with us, so communication's sorted.
Also tonight is going to be cool. I'm witnessing a baptism and i'm taking May with me!! she's never seen one before, and looks like Kelvin and john's mum will come too.. that's so great.. i've wanted them to meet my church fellowship group for aaages.. i mean it's pretty much family meets family so *prays* they'll get something out of it.. they'll also get to see my kitty (yay!) .. it's 3 months now, and absolutely gorgeous.. full of character and a people-cat. But it's toilet training went a bit fuzzo the last week or so, not sure why. anyway i changed litter brands and it better like the new one or else *smacks fist*
tomoro i'll finalise gift-shopping and prepare myself for one half of my fantabulous trip -i havent mentioned kosciusko have i? arrghh there's too much to write!! i simply CAN'T WAIT!! and the christmas tree at May's look so awesome the way it does, bulging with pressies underneath :. Barbara & co don't celebrate Christmas but their house at this time is buzzier than usual coz they need to get ready for their January church conference and oh so many other particulars - love it!!!
miracles
Some days should not be forgotten. Some days cannot be. Today is the progeny of those kind of days.
Barbara, John and i finally set out to catch the 2 feral kittens living in our backyard, and yes they are Crookshank's siblings. Fluffy white, light blue eyes and the sweetest things to behold. But SO FERAL. This arvo, when the mother cat was out, we armed ourselves with 2 boxes, tape, a blade and a towel- and us of course. When John caught one behind a banana tree, it bit him so hard that blood rushed out straight away..He dropped it into the box i presided over and this is where i felt the hands of God working with us.. the kit squirmed out of the box at least twice - and yet i caught it unassailed each time o_O" *if u hold a kitten's rump there's little they can do except squirm, unpleasant but manageable* Barbara also felt God's blessing. The other kitten, by then scared out of its wits, had ran anywhere that didn't have us near it.. we were close to giving up when i shuggested they hose down its hiding spot.. it worked and we went on another obstacle run before it climbed a very dense tree and jumped on a fence.. Barbara recalled later that she could see nothing stopping it from running off but it stayed (tho it was visibly trembling) whilst she approached it softly saying "here, puss puss.." before throwing a towel over it and locking it in her arms. What a miracle.
Somehow we managed to get both kittens into the box without the other making a run for it. We took them to the RSPCA straight after. And.. that's a load off our minds. Fleas, screeching undesexed cats running around, and a whole host of diseases. At least they won't be coming from those 2 little furballs:) I pray that they'll find an owner who won't mind waiting a while to tame them, say a few years:P No doubt we'll be earbashed by their mother's cries when it really hits her but Barbara's getting a trap for her now, so she can be taken in too, and spared the agony of breeding incessantly.
Other news alert: I'm in Fellowship now!!! Yesterday was the official day. Feel free to congratulate me:P But yes, I'm very happy. I can't think of a better way to spend my Sundays than to praise and worship God with other people who adore Him too.
moments of gratitude
My happy meter is in full swing`` i took Crookshanks to the vet for the first time and he is now microchipped and vaccinated!! i feel like i've reached a huge milestone=) it's now been 3.5 weeks since God blessed him into my life and it's been one huge scratch fest on his part, but many many smiles for lotsa others. I also scrapped the highly questionable supermarket food and replaced it with 'proper' vet food (that costs a ridiculous amount) making me one content mummy, being able to watch her lil' one grow up as healthy as can be=D Now's a good moment to quote the great Paul (from the bible) in that
'it is by the grace of God, I am what I am' -so healthy, so happy and so -miraculously- changed.. i can't thank Him/praise Him/credit Him enough.
Of course heartaches do occur. & often. Indeed i realise that they're one of God's favourite ways of teaching us important truths and that when they occur, we should sit up & take notice coz the end result always turn out for the better. Like today, Nathaniel slammed the door and Crookshank's foot got trapped underneath. I heard it cry so loud and it took so many seconds to push it back that each of his cries pierced my heart so that i was literally shaking with anger by the time i forced it open. I yelled at Nathaniel for not taking more care with the door and why anyone in their right mind would choose slamming over gently shutting, etc etc until i stormed off with Crooks. ..When I finally calmed down, something i've always been told about God finally clicked. He
feels our pains as if they are His own. .. i always thought that God, being a spirit of perfect emotions loves us perfectly but ..why would He further subject himself to feel our highly imperfect-and usually v. impractical ones?? Until I felt my cat's pain.
.. One moment i'll never forget is when the vet microchipped it -- as they inserted an instrument the size of a mini knife, it cried so earnestly that any longer and i would've cried with it -or given the vet guy a piece of mind! I'm not a naturally emo person.. it might not take a lot for me to cry but it takes a lot for me to
feel the pain of another & know what to do - the pain i was once acquainted with has by now, been so well compensated by God's grace that although i remember how the pain feels, it takes effort to engage the actual emotions.. it just doesn't come naturally anymore. Isn't that in a wonderful-kind-of-way-strange? So when i felt what i felt today, really it's like i've crossed another threshold in terms of relationships *yay!* i can appreciate that fact about God for the first time and i'm truly blessed He chose to reveal that aspect of Himself to me.. and hopefully, when i see others upset it won't take me so long to understand how they're feeling and thus know how not to propel their dipped mood in wrong directions=P
Onto some concrete happenings.. yesterday was Belle's b'day beach party at bondi.. i spent pretty much the whole day talking to waz and about a total of 5 minutes talking to her.. too popular that girl hehe; the weather was v. lovely when storm looked promising.. but left towards 5ish so didnt see the wonder of it unleash -unlike tonight=D
tonight was Nathaniel's b'day party and it was the complete opposite, made up of family members as opposed to friends and held in their small, simple, homey house. Both occasions had their moments and i'm glad i went to both - even tho parties aren't my scene. But i love *awww-fests* like weddings and baby showers hehe.. i can't believe what i'm writing- a year ago i would not be talking like this- well, it's at an acceptable time of the night :]
