Friday, March 25, 2011

Why I Love Your Daddy

Dearest Mini Moo,

It might be hard to believe when you're 15 and we are the ripe old age of 37 and 40 that we were once a hip young couple in love. (Perhaps the fact that I used the word 'hip' means I'm showing my age already). In the few full years I have known your Papa we have both changed so much. Your Daddy was a baggy jeans and ripped t-shirt wearing Youth Pastor skater boy and I was a purple tight wearing gig girl who liked loud punk music.





















Can you believe that now?

Your Daddy has grown and changed into such a strong man I am proud to call my husband. He has a heart to always be meeting new people and his social agenda is a high priority. He gets on with people so well and can love and encourage them like no one I've ever met before. The first thing I ever remember him saying to me is "Man evangelism is cool". I laughed at him, but later on that night I was in awe at his amazing gift to connect with people.


Your Papa loves his gadgets too. I don't know how he does it, but if it has wires or a screen he will know how it works. People always ask him to look at their computers to fix them, or ask him for help with their tech problems. He has made our lives so much easier and fun with networking and calendars and whatnot. I would be stuffed without him! And my goodness is he talented. He can move, sing, play, act and remember everything! I love to hear your Papas voice and to hear his music.


Most of all, your Papa is the greatest husband and friend. He is loving and caring and is so much fun to be with. I love all of our dates and moments together. He is the best at cheering me up and we have so many inside jokes. I love your Daddy, and he loves me, and everyday I enjoy what we have and look forward to what tomorrow will bring.


Soon you will be our tomorrow and today and he will be the bestest Daddy. He loves to play with all of the kids at our Church. He skips with them and chases them and spins them around and soon he will be doing that with you!



We are looking forward to meeting you little one. We cant wait to see our family grow in love and fun! To the future!


Love, Mumma Moo x

Friday, March 11, 2011

One Liners

The Quake has made me think a lot of funny things. I feel energised to live, frustrated that in my own eyes I'm not, driven to do what I love, an eager yearning need to settle in my own home with husband and baby and make it our own and a deep deep sadness for the situation that I know only God can heal and make sense of.

Addressing one of those yesterday, I realised it had been many months since I have created everything. Actually, it has been since we moved and I packed up all of my creative belongings and put them in storage. At the time I thought they would only be boxed for a few weeks. It has now been 2 months and counting. I would never consider myself an artist but I find great joy in colours, creating and the feel of paper.

I stumbled across this fun video tutorial yesterday by Carla Sonheim on how to make little random pieces of art with only one pencil line. (This is your cue to watch it)

After watching the tutorial and sitting down in front of Oprah with my pencil and paper I created these 2 little beauties.




(I have no camera and terrible photoshopping skills)

Can I please urge you, in times like this when everything seems uncertain and full of saddness - Do what makes you feel alive. These may look like a stupid elephant drawn with one line and two colours but to me its a step toward healing and being who God created me to be.

I am going to make more of them today. Maybe I'll mount them and put them in our nursery for Mini Moo, maybe I'll just put them in my diary, or maybe in 2 weeks I will put them in the recycling. All I know is that for today it is the right thing to do.

Be blessed. I am praying for you.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Christchurch Earthquake

[As this is my blog, I am writing this for myself in years to come, not you for the here and now. It is unfinished and unedited]

A week ago on Tuesday 22nd February 2011 at 12.50 pm, I was getting ingredients out of our pantry to make my own pizza dough to take to our young married couples connect group that night. After activating the yeast I planned to jump on the closest bus and make my way into town for a job interview that afternoon. Realising I did not know the recipe off the top of my head, I went down to our bedroom to pick up my laptop to Google search it.

Without any warning I was thrown sideways by the moving ground and a great banging sound. I ended up on top of our bed and had dropped my laptop to the floor. Immediately our TV unit and dutchess landed exactly where I had been standing moments before hand.

In moments I decided to shelter in the corner of the room ontop of our bed rather than in the door way. A TV was now between me and the doorway and I thought if the house came down on top of me I would want to be as close to the outside as possible.

I sheltered my face from the windows and braced my self in the corner of the room and pushed my head up into a shelf that was bracketed into the wall. The room was twisting and pulling and I had pictures of the roof caving in and all of the things in storage in the attic falling onto my head. The windows sounded like they were going to explode, they rattles and banged and a number of times I was kicked from the wall onto the bed with the force of the movements.

I was scared and confused.

I suddenly realised that I was shouting "Jesus" frantically over and over again. This wasn't a curse or swear word, it was a plea for help. Once I realised I was praying I decided to focus on that and direct my prayers. "Jesus with Graeme, Jesus with me, help, lives". Broken sentences were my prayers of desperation.

I glanced outside and could see the neighbours house was still standing, that brought me comfort.

I looked up at the roof, it looked like it was twisting and bending, I was expecting it to snap. I kept picturing myself buried amongst timber and bricks, in that moment I told myself I would fight for my life.

After 20 seconds of a 6.8 magnitude earthquake centered only a few kilometers from our home, the shaking stopped as quickly as it had begun and was then promptly followed by another. After the second, I collected myself and my cellphone and bolted through the house and out the door. I didn't even pay attention to the rest of the house even though I had to jump over broken glass, push blocked doors open and climb over suitcases.

I made it out to the street where house and car alarms were piercing the air, water was filling the gutters from broken mains, cracks were in the road and a neighbours brick fence had come down.

Neighbours were hugging each other. A stranger asked if I was okay and all I could say in the moment of shock was "Holy Crap", he replied "I know."

I went to check on elderly people sheltering on their porch and as I called out, another big rumble came and I held onto the lamppost which looked ready to snap. Boulders fell from the hills that were behind us and left plumes of dust in the air.

I pulled out my cellphone and text Graeme to see if he was okay, he replied immediately, and then I text my mother who lives out of town that I was "ok and not to call" and then I put my phone away. From experience I knew that the phone lines would over load and Graeme was all I needed to hear from in that moment.

The next few hours are a blur - I sat in our driveway as the after shocks continued, I had no cell reception or power, and I felt extremely out of the loop and alone. I knew at the time that people were fighting for their lives and there was nothing I could do.

Graeme arrived home dusty, tired and exhausted. When I asked him how he was he looked and me and his eyes welled up. I found out he had pulled people from buildings, some concious, some appeared to be lifeless.

I cannot imagine what that does to a person - the deceased, their families and community, and the rescuers. I knew in that moment that it would take years to recover and it was so much bigger than I could comprehend.

I thanked God that my little family was okay - Graeme, myself and Mini-Moo. And I prayed that while we were okay, God would look after every other little family too.

[to be continued...]
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