Oh hello!

A month and a half into Spring and I finally feel like the remnants of a long winter have shifted.

What am I enjoying at the moment?

• A vibrant, nearly-11-month-old girl. Zoe loves people, is very curious, and has the sweetest smile in all the land!
• The warm, extended evenings. No longer do I feel that pressing anxiety of dinner preparations, bath and bed time. Everything feels easier in these warmer months.
• Our suburb. As a country-kid I never thought I’d grow to love living in the city, but I can’t get enough of this place. There’s a new shop to browse every day along King St, and the parks dotted between apartment blocks and terraces are absolute sanctuaries.
• Nights on the lounge watching movies with Izaac in instalments. I’m always too tired to make it through in one go.
• Planning for an overseas holiday we have at the end of the year.
• The college social life. End of year event planning is in full swing, Monday night BBQ’s have started and time spent in the playground pushing Zoe on the swing with the last of the day’s sun warming my back.
• Daydreaming about this old blog again. It’s been in winter hibernation mode too.

Great is the Lord

Psalm 145 is wonderful. I read it aloud this morning as I paced back and forth in my kitchen, trying to get my mind fresh and prepared for the day and keep my busy little 7 month old interested.

I felt like at the same time we were doing both verses 4 and 5:

“One generation shall commend your works to another,

and shall declare your mighty acts.

On the glorious splendour of your majesty,

and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.”

The right encouragement at the right time

Friday morning is Bible study morning. Unfortunately I’ve come to dread this time of week. I come away feeling exhausted rather than refreshed, grumbly rather than thankful, embarrassed by my little one’s constant whining and jealous of the other mother’s whose babies quietly play on the floor at their feet. I think there were 15 vomits I needed to wipe up between 10am and 12noon. No exaggeration.

This morning after two hours of wrestling little miss 6 months old, yet again feeling tired and like it wasn’t at all worth the effort because I hadn’t even been able to pick up my Bible, my friend turned to me and with sympathy in her eyes said “Zoe is really lucky to have a Mum like you. God knew you’d be able to cope with her needs and that you wouldn’t become detached. She’s really lucky”.

Trying to squash the part of my mind that thought, “I do feel detached half the time”, I apologised for my tears and thanked her for recognising that I was finding it hard.

It was worth us leaving the house this morning just so God could encourage me through the kind words and encouragement from my sister.*

 

*And to have Zoe eventually snuggle in for a 10 minute nap at the end of Bible study.

 

 

Introducing…

1. Name? Maria

2. Decade of birth? 1976

3. What do you do during the week? Look after my baby and try to run my online clothing store. It’s kind of hard to do both.

4. If you could have a room full of any one thing, what would it be? Flight tickets to different countries.

5. In your lifetime, what’s been the greatest invention? Skype

6. What’s your favourite book? 1984 – George Orwell. Or anything by Irvine Welsh.

7. What do you think about death? Scary

8. Politics? They are all as bad as each other.

9. God? There must be some higher power, but I think religion causes too many conflicts.

10. How well do you think we take care of our environment? Not at all really.

11. What’s your favourite song? Betty Davis Eyes – Kim Carnes

12. What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? Travel the world.

13. How do you know me? Mother’s Group

Blog world, meet Maria!

If you’re interested in being Introduced… to this little corner of the internet, email me at sarahannecowling(at)gmail(dot)com

He’s back!

Enjoying two days of family time (a.k.a. post college mission recuperation time). Today has been especially nice.

We’ve been swimming at the pool near our house then sat in the morning sun at the park. We’ve eaten ham and cheese rolls collected from the bread room at college, and we’re now waiting for friends to join us for lunch at home. Tonight we’re looking forward to cooking up a childhood favourite for dinner and then settling in on the lounge for The Biggest Loser finale.

It’s good being all together again.

Home delivery

Not to be outdone by the meal provided by our friends from north of the border, our equally charming friends from NSW provided a home delivered dinner for us too. From the other side of Sydney.

How thankful we are for these unusual, but very cool kindnesses.

The Sultan's Table

The coffee machine

I never thought I’d own a coffee machine. But once my husband got into road cycling, there was little doubt we’d end up with one. Apparently hard-core cyclists and coffee aficionados go hand in hand.

‘Silvia’ has been a part of our family for three days now. Feels like she’s always been here. The product she produces is exceptional, and the way she makes our house smell is divinely cafe-esque. At this stage, I’m limiting myself to one cup a day (because with the convenience, it could all too quickly become a rotten habit). But you know, I can see this one, smooth cup quickly becoming a beloved morning ritual.

 

Doing it alone

Izaac left for college mission this morning. Even though he’s out at college other days, the place feels more empty knowing he won’t be coming in the door tonight.

So far so good on the homefront though. There’s only been tears from the littlest member of the household, but that’s usual. I’ve chopped the vegetables for my dinner during the little one’s naptime to ensure I actually eat something. Even if they are raw. I’m hopeful that the evening won’t be too rough and I’ll get to curl up on the lounge watching some hideously chicky TV on DVD.

If you don’t hear from me again, you’ll know things have taken a turn for the worst.

Introducing…

1. Name? Ruth

2. Decade of birth? 70’s

3. What do you do during the week? Stay at home Mum.

4. If you could have a room full of any one thing, what would it be? Photos of dear memories.

5. In your lifetime, what’s been the greatest invention? Either the advances in medical procedures, or computer technology.

6. What’s your favourite book? My favourite fiction book is ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’.

7. What do you think about death? I hate death, but I love Jesus and am so thankful for salvation in him. I look forward to seeing my grandparents again.

8. Politics? I’m not very political.

9. God? God is my strength and refuge.

10. How well do you think we take care of our environment? I honestly don’t really think about it much.

11. What’s your favourite song? ‘Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini’ is one of my favourites at the moment.

12. What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? Tough one to answer – I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by so many wise people. When I was in highschool, one of my youth group leaders told me to learn Romans 12:1-2 off by heart and think about it daily.

13. How do you know me? Blogosphere: I initially read your husband’s blog, which I stumbled across via a comment on Ben’s blog: The Vanishing Point.

Blog world, meet Ruth!

If you’re interested in being Introduced… to this little corner of the internet, email me at sarahannecowling(at)gmail(dot)com

God knew

In early November last year, we found a sixty-pack of terry towelling cloths that we thought would be perfect for wiping up the spills our soon-to-be-born baby would make after feeding. The only thing that put us off was the number. Sixty seemed like a lot. Nevertheless we dumped them in our trolley, resolving to give some away to other friends who were expecting.

Fast forward 4 months, and we’ve discovered that these were one of the best purchases we made for our little one. Even before she was born, God knew she would be a reflux baby.

some of the sixty