The Simmos' Stuff

Signing off...

2009-11-16T13:47:00.002+08:00

Just letting you know that posting on this blog is in hiatus (you might have noticed!), until further notice. If you like stopping by to see family pix when you get the chance, then send us an e-mail and I'll try to send you some at some point :) Claire & co..

Growing

2009-08-09T15:37:00.005+08:00

Our little family has been doing some growing over the last couple of months.

Josiah Alec arrived July 1st :)

(a few days late and a kilo heavier than his sister was on her birthday!)

and 'little mister man' is very much loved by Miss Ngaire :)

Here's some more growing (hopefully) - Ngaire and Daddy planting seeds yesterday

Meanwhile, someone was hard at work doing some more growing of his own.

Praise God, who is keeping us all pretty well thus far and continues to sustain us by his strength at this time!

At home

2009-03-02T17:02:00.005+09:00

The current favourite pasttime

Don't ask me who's taught her this!

The aftermath of Daddy's yummy dinner :)

The camera didn't quite do justice to the curry stains on someone's face.

Holiday fun - part 3

2009-03-02T16:56:00.004+09:00

A very patient man ...

... doing the most frustrating puzzle ever! The pieces weren't cut well and it took forever to do (well, most of a week, by which time Claire had lost patience).

'Riding' along the foreshore at Dongara, Daddy-power.

Holiday fun - part 2

2009-03-02T16:49:00.004+09:00

First ever trip to the beach ... Grannies' in Dongara

Inside fun :)

Holiday fun - part 1

2009-03-02T16:06:00.001+09:00

Meeting the chooks with Pop

Ready for a walk with Daddy

Finally!

2009-03-02T15:41:00.003+09:00

Another long-awaited post, for all three of our readers (four, if you count Eion :P ), with a short update:

- Eion returned from BusTrip/SPRTE. Thankfully, this occurred in a timely fashion and is not recent news, at all. He's now a month or so into three years of hard slog (full-time study at Bible college)

- Claire is still not getting any better at updating the blog ... she's been spending time looking after Miss N and keeping busy away from the laptop.

- Ngaire is collecting words like they're going out of fashion, and gradually learning to walk on her own. Newest word is 'everywhere'. Well, that's the case today, anyway!

- We have a new bump on board, due to disembark sometime in mid-to-late June (depends on whether you talk to my midwives or the sonographers ... that is a person who does ultrasounds, isn't it?). So, Claire is also spending time napping and getting bigger, for a good cause :)

Day 3...

2008-11-25T11:07:00.003+09:00

Eion's away for three weeks on 'BusTrip', helping drive a bus full of uni students more than 3000kms from Perth to 'the east' for a conference and church-based missions with Christian uni students from all over the south pacific. We're both excited that he's been able to go this year, and sad that it means 3 weeks apart. This is day 3 of 21 (or so, depending on how many times the bus breaks down ... these trips are rarely hiccough-free) that Ngaire's stuck with mummy only. So far, we're still alive and fairly well ... am praying that this'll continue by God's strength.

In true BusTrip spirit, they've had at least one hiccough already ... here's casualty number 1:

The trailer lost a wheel / axle broke just past Meckering, which means they were probably only on the road for 2 hours before breakdown number one took place! Oh well, by God's grace it meant only being held-up for a couple of hours while the replacement trailer was driven out from Perth, rather than being stuck for a day or so in the middle of the Nullarbor, waiting for it to get sorted out. Kinda funny and kinda sad ... but oh, so very BusTrip!

While she's still asleep, I might as well post again

2008-10-18T15:15:00.005+08:00

Here's some more pickies, mostly of the one who keeps growing and changing so quickly! Oh, and learning so many things - she's learnt a few new words this month, like fish (well, "bish"), keys (i heard it once ... does that count?!) and Ben (we've had some good friends staying with us and Ngaire's cleverly learnt how to say Ben's name ... and I'm still waiting on "mummy"! I don't mind, it's kinda funny ... and i do get called "dada" pretty consistently). Anyway, back to the pix:Ngaire's other birthday cake (the party was a bit late). With Daddy.
With Mummy.

Reading with Gramps.

Someone likes sausage pizza!

A rare chance to wear mummy's bandana ... quite a fascinating item of clothing, apparently!

A pretty daggy picture of yours truly (camerawoman at the time) ... but at least we're both smiling AND have our eyes open!

Fun in Dongara

2008-10-18T14:58:00.005+08:00

Despite Ngaire being a bit crook, we enjoyed ourselves in Dongara last month, with some good friends. Here's some proof:

Lunch at the Warradarge servo on the way up. My smile is quite deceptive ... I wasn't nearly as comfortable as I look, wedged in between the seat and the glovebox :P

Ngaire meeting a kid at the Mingenew Expo.

Elijah taking a break from chasing chickens at the Expo.
Ngaire and Eion trying out a quad bike at the Expo (no, we didn't buy it!).

The obligatory bath shot.

PS Penny, I have others involving Elijah if you'd like me to e-mail copies, let us know :)

1st-year Graduates

2008-09-01T18:56:00.008+08:00

Well, we three have made it! Eion and I have survived our first year of parenthood (and Ngaire's still alive after having us as her parents for a whole year)! We are incredibly grateful to God for bringing us through the last twelve months still mostly sane, and for his power in using both the 'good' and 'bad' times to grow us in Jesus'-likeness (at least, we hope that's what's happening!). So, a few random bits 'n pieces for you ...

The birthday girl last month ... she's now crawling (and very pleased with herself, too!), talking and fascinated with the potatoes in the pantry. Oh, and birds. We love birds. Maybe we've got a twitcher on our hands? Who knows! Here's a not-so-great picky of all of us on Ngaire's birthday. Not so great 'cos one of us needs to sort out her hair, another still has dinner on her face and a third could probably do with a shave. Well, maybe not.

Sometime last month we bought Ngaire a Kids' Bible-type book. So far (we're only just up to John the Baptist's ministry) I've been pretty impressed with it. It's not perfect but it at least deals well with sin and does a good job of presenting stories from all over the Bible as part of a cohesive 'big picture' ... the establishment of God's Kingdom (God's people, in God's place, under God's rule). If you're an Aussie, that might sound familiar ... yep, it's based on the Goldsworthy book for big people, Gospel and Kingdom. Tonight's story even drew the parallel between God's people being represented by the 12 sons of Jacob pre-Jesus and how Jesus choosing 12 disciples demonstrates that God is gathering a people for himself in Jesus. I think that was the gist of it ... the book's in bub's room and she's asleep, so I'm not going to check. Anyway, I was impressed and would certainly recommend checking out The Big Picture Story Book Bible.

Oh, and if you're into this sort of thing, I've found downloading talks (for free - yay!) from Sovereign Grace Ministries in the US really encouraging for me as a someone who's trying to serve God as a wife and mum. Here's a link for you ...

Was going to waffle on more but Shelley's here and we ought to investigate that IKEA mag together :P

Board Game Geeks

2008-07-05T13:34:00.013+08:00

Over the past couple of years, Claire and I have been getting into board games.

It all started with Risk (Thanks Dan & Jess). After a few games we were hooked and come Christmas 2006 (after dropping a few hints), we were the proud new owners of Risk. After playing numerous times with friends and family, it occured to me that games can be all about two things, fun or ego. To be honest, I think that for me they are both. I enjoy the challenge of staking my wits against others (fun), and winning (ego). There is nothing more infuriating than losing a game you should have won, simply because the dice didn't role the right numbers (which seems to happen all too often in Risk).

Christmas 2007 bought a new game into our lives, Carcassonne. It is a tile laying game which is playable from two to six players (only five player without the expansions). We took it away with us for a weekend to Moore River with some friends and it hardly got packed up. Unlike RISK, it only takes around hour to play, so much less time investment = much less ego. I got a couple of the expansions for my birthday recently (Inns & Cathedrals and Abbey & Mayor), and we are currently working out how they play. Certainly a different experience than the original game, not sure yet whether I think they add or subtract from it though.

June 2008 heralded the arrival of Ticket to Ride (Euorpe), a train game. For two to five players, Claire and I have enjoyed playing this together more than any game to date. Like Carcassonne, it only takes around an hour to play, however is I think more fun than Carcassonne and is definately the game of the moment in our house.

If you are interested in board games, here are a few links that might interest.
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/ (for game descriptions, reveiws etc)
http://www.gamesparadise.com.au/ (for a great range and prices)

A Day in Sydney

2008-07-05T12:32:00.004+08:00

So you arrive at the Airport on the red eye from Perth (6:00am) and are getting picked up at Central Train Station at 4:30am. What do you do?

Tip No. 1: Pack some friends
Ideal to have someone to share the flight with (thanks Vicki), along with the terrible 2:00am supper/dinner, so that you can commiserate for the rest of the day how much you feel like throwing up (thanks QANTAS), and sleeping. Additionally it may be worth perusing the gates at the train station to see if you can pick up any other wayward travellers (like Julianne) who just happened to be in the same place at the same time, for the same thing!

Tip No.2: Find a locker to stash your stuff
Sydney Central train station does not have lockers - what sort of a crazy place is Sydney? A Post 911 city that is what - no bins, no lockers, no... well anything that a bomb could be put in, so what do you do? Ask a security guard, who will tell you where you can find some (I can't remember where they were anymore - sorry). At $5.00 each they weren't cheap, but certainly cheaper then having to have physio for a month.

Tip No. 3: Get breakfast
Even with our stomachs complaining from the bad aeroplane food, breakfast is essential. Where to go? We didn't know, so just headed up Pitt St and into "The Strand", where we had a very pleasant breakfast (Apple Cinnamon Toast took my fancy, with a pot of Tea - only $8.00, and we were waited on!)

Tip No. 4: The Tea Shop
Don't know where it is, but it was amazing. I didn't realise that there were so many different kinds of tea - easily over 100, and tea gizmo's to-boot.

Tip No, 5: La Renaissance French Patisserie
Words can not describe:

(Thanks Liana for the great tip)

Tip No. 6: Lindt Cafe
In order to truly savour the experience, firstly, walk in and browse, your taste buds will be tingling. Then, rather than order, go and get some lunch, nothing flash, just somehting average, like fruit salad (to try and settle the still upset stomach from the bad plane food). Then after lunch head back into Lindt, with a purpose - total indulgence. The hot chocolate was amazing, and apparently so was the Mocha (Sam crooned over it - joined us at lunch after a hearty sleep in - no red eye flight!). The cake Sam had was great too (Sam generously let me sample). The place is not cheap, but it is worth it.

Tip No. 7: Games Paradise
If you like playing games, whether it be board games, cards etc, then this is the place to go. Ever been to Tactics in Perth (Downstairs at London Court)? Well this is like Tactics on Steroids. The only problem is... where do you start? If you did not know what game to get before entering the store, you most likely won't after going in. Their range is mind boggling.

Tip No. 8: Velluto Nero Roastery, Coffee Bean Boutique & Caffe Bar
Truth be told, after so much food, we really didn't feel like more, however it was the last stop on the list, and the last thing I wanted was to wish I had been to this place. So what was it like? Hmmm... I had a Macchiato, which I had never had before (not a good start for judging quality), however it was amazing. Not sure I will make it my standard coffee, however am certainly looking forward to comparing it to what is on offer at Epic Expresso.

Tip No. 9: Sleep
By 4:30pm, after a Macchiato and forced march back to get our bags and on to Central station, I was running on adreneline and caffene alone. We got to conference (which was why we were in Sydney) and I honestly can't remember much about the first night, except hitting the sack at 9:30pm and sleeping soundly until 7:00am.

All in all, perhaps I was a little too indulgent for one day, however had great company, great food and would do it again in a flash.

Time flies!

2008-06-10T14:03:00.003+08:00

Here's a picky from our 5th wedding anniversary last month; how time flies!

Best friends

2008-04-29T09:01:00.003+08:00

Man's best friend

(Ngaire meeting Meg with Pop ...

she squealed at her and, having discovered the wonders of 'loud', hasn't really stopped since!)

Mummy's new best friend

(buying one was one of those things I swore I'd never do but I'm very glad I'm married to a man with more sense than me!)

Still waiting ...

2008-04-07T18:31:00.002+08:00

This last week has been pretty normal but has also been one I've found hard. Hard 'cos Ngaire's daytime sleeping has been a bit out of whack since Nat and Ben's wedding and hard 'cos I've been trying to think about what it means to serve God each day in 'wife-and-mummy life'. As with most things life-ish, I'm finding it hard work! How do I serve Eion when I'm really stuffed by the time he gets home and don't feel like caring for someone else? Help!

These last two days in particular have been hard. Ngaire hasn't slept well during the day and hasn't been breastfeeding well either and I'm waking up earlier than I'd like to (ie earlier than bubs) and can't seem to get back to sleep. Brain just gets going as soon as I wake up and it's very hard to stop. Ahhh, the perils of having tendencies towards anxiety! Why can't I just trust God and be confident in him?

It probably doesn't help that I've been struggling to read my bible regularly this last fortnight ... I have done it a bit and it's been worthwhile when I have but just hard work. Guess that makes me normal. But not doing it regularly enough makes keeping a right perspective on life very difficult; it's so easy to get overwhelmed by all sorts of anything.

So, after a rough few days (well, a bit physically but especially emotionally) I'm left wondering what it means to live life in God's strength and not my own ... do I have to be having a hard time for it to be obvious (to me and to others) that I'm not relying on myself? Or is it okay to just know and acknowledge that whatever I do, it's always in his strength?

And I'm left waiting ... waiting for my body to work like I want it to ... waiting for the day when I can talk to Ngaire about sleep stuff and know she understands (yes, am sure I will be wishing she was quiet again once we get to that time!) ... waiting for my heart to catch up to my head - I know God's trustworthy but I find it so hard to 'know' that in my heart ... waiting 'til God makes me into the kind of wife my husband should have ... hmmm, I guess that all means I'm waiting for Jesus' return.

Still waiting ...

Lately ...

2008-03-31T19:47:00.011+08:00

... we've been neglecting our blog. Good thing we haven't been neglecting one another quite so badly. Here's a 'quick' update on what we've (well, mostly Claire and Ngaire) been up to:

Ngaire's been doing lots of growing ... she's now 7 1/2 months old; time really is flying and she's so precious. Here's today's shot (shame it doesn't show her SIX TEETH ... augghhh!! Man, it hurts when she bites!):

Most of her growing's 'cos she's eating heaps more now. Mummy's almost worked up the courage to venture from pureed food to thicker stuff.

I finally got my hair cut ... the 'after' shot will have to wait.

I've been using 'Jesus in all the Scriptures' to help me read the Bible each day. One of my college lecturers wrote it; it's been quite helpful :)

... have also collected 4 migraines in the past week (that many is not normal for me), so I guess I need to work harder at watching what I eat and how much I sleep (ha!) etc. a bit better. Oh well, at least it's another reason to look forward to Jesus' return ... if only I thought that way all the time 'though - I'm so forgetful ... so easy to loose perspective.

Ngaire and I have been enjoying our local mums' group ... here are most of her friends from the group ...

Oh, and my youngest sister got married on the weekend. She looked gorgeous, of course! The line of Thompson has ended!

Apart from those few things, I've pretty much just been doing stuff with our beautiful girlie each day. Feeding, playing, watching her learn and grow. Gosh, she's amazing; such a precious blessing from God!

As for Eion? He's back working on-campus with UWA Christian Union; as far as I can tell, he's enjoying it but finding it hard work. Both 'cos there's lots to do and 'cos working with people who (like us :P ) aren't yet completely like Jesus is just hard work. But exciting!

And, of course, both of us have been taking plenty more pix of bubs ... here's a few to finish off with:

Reading the Brookton News with Dad

Believe it or not, Eion was responsible for the 'do' this time

(Uncle George took this one ... looks better in higher res, of course!)

Gotcha!

2008-01-02T09:30:00.000+09:00

Tight squeeze

2008-01-02T09:23:00.000+09:00

A couple of the obligatory bath shots from our recent trip to visit Eion's parents. I suspect we'll have to go for the big people bath next time; it was a bit of a tight fit in the sink!

12 weeks old today!

2007-11-06T16:39:00.000+09:00

It's hard to believe time can fly by so fast - our little girl has now survived 12 weeks of life on planet Earth with Eion and Claire. Who would have thought?!

Ngaire's newest trick ... mmm, yummy fist!

And a couple of smiley shots (again, Mummy is still struggling to really catch her in the act!):

Milestones

2007-10-20T17:57:00.000+08:00

My first day in the big bed (lost at 7-and-a-half weeks)

My first day in not-newborn cloth nappies (7-and-a-half weeks ... a busy week!)

One of my first days out of Wondersuits (almost 8 weeks)

Back on the good oil (9-and-a-half weeks)

PS Ngaire's had lots of people looking after her (and Daddy and Mummy) over the last month in particular, while Mummy's been sick. If you happen to be reading this, and are one of the many who've prayed for us, visited us and/or done our housework for us, cooked meals for us or cared for us in some other way, then please know that we are incredibly grateful to God for the way that he's looked after us through you. Thank you!

Moves 'n grooves

2007-10-20T17:51:00.000+08:00

Kung fu kiddo (7 weeks)

Dancing in my sleep at almost 9 weeks

(I stopped performing when Mummy unwrapped me, of course :P )

My latest trick - (sort of) rolled onto my side by accident today

Smiles ... sort of

2007-10-20T17:41:00.000+08:00

Ngaire's now smiling (has been for a couple of weeks, actually) but we've struggled to catch her at it on camera. Here are a few of the more post-worthy efforts:

Proto-smile (6 weeks)

9-and-a-half weeks

Director's Cut

2007-09-17T13:58:00.000+08:00

Not sure how these ones missed out on the last post ...

When Daddy's away ... (nice do, Ngaire ... thanks, Mummy! )

Aww, aren't we proud?!

Welcome Ngaire

2007-09-12T16:15:00.000+08:00

At last, I (Eion) am entering the blogging world, and what better way to do it than to announce with much fanfare and ... (Pictures?) the safe arrival into the world of our new daughter Ngaire. Praise be to God!

3 Hours after Birth - A New Happy Family

2 Days - Ready for Home

3 Days - Need to grow into that Beanie (It says one size fits all!)

11 Days - I'm looking at you

14 Days - Girls in Pink

Fathers Day - Snuggling with Dad

Claire's study break ...

2007-06-01T13:39:00.000+08:00

Am taking a break in between Church History and Greek revision (exams start next week :) ) ... so here are a couple of photo updates (much quicker than my usual waffly word-updates).

Some of the better bits in our front garden.

Claire 'n the bump ... 11 weeks to go, or thereabouts, 'til the bump gets a name.

Eion and one of our gardening successes.

Eion getting some practice in with the aforementioned gardening success :)

The "M" Word

2007-05-09T09:52:00.000+08:00

We've hit another one of "those" patches ... weddings! One of Claire's sisters got married earlier this year, a friend got married this weekend just gone, some more friends are getting married this weekend coming ... and some other friends are getting married in a couple of months. And it's really exciting! I like going to weddings ... I like pretty dresses (yes, this is Claire blogging, not Eion), I like seeing people happy ... and I love knowing that God has created marriage for our good and enjoyment, and seeing that reflected in the wedding itself :) Having just gone past the 4th anniversary of our entrance into married life, I can honestly say that it has been a real blessing from God to both of us, and we pray this'll continue as our little family grows :)

Another change to add to the list

2007-02-17T22:58:00.000+09:00

On top of all those changes we mentioned last time, it seems there's one small one to add.

The small one is due to arrive sometime 'round August 15th this year and we are very much looking forward to meeting him or her (and learning how to be godly parents!). Yet another blessing to thank God for, hey?!

PS For anyone still sitting on the edge of their seat, waiting for the verdict, Eion has given Donut Cakes a thorough thumbs up ... thanks, Puffin Fresh :)

Changes

2007-01-19T09:11:00.000+09:00

I haven't quite decided if I'm a fan of change or if I'm the kind of person who likes things to stay just as they are. Hmmm. I guess it depends a little on the change in question.

In many ways, this year looks like it'll be a year of change for us ... here are some of the reasons:

- Eion is only going to be a practising engineer for another 7.5hrs or so
- Eion has discovered the world of Donut Cakes ... I eagerly await the review on the first one he's ever had when he gets home today.
- Claire has stopped working with students (as of December) and is becoming one herself, starting a Grad Dip in something-or-other (okay, Divinity ... but that sounds uncomfortably pious) at Trinity Theological College
- Our study is almost clean (an unprecedented sight!)
- Eion will start working with students at the Uni of WA next month, as a trainee AFES staffworker ... in English this means he'll hang out with students and get to spend time reading the Bible and talking about Jesus with them; generally encouraging people to take God seriously. Exciting stuff!
- Virtually a complete re-hash of our blogger profile is required (an enourmously significant change in anyone's books :P )

There may be one or two more on the horizon, so if you've really got nothing better to read about in blog-land, come back in a month or so.
We are both excited and daunted as we face the year ahead. And challenged to remember that, in all our planning for this year (and beyond):

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 19:21

une poésie ... or two

2006-08-06T14:36:00.000+08:00

("a poem ... or two" for those not fluent in French)

I (el-Claire-o) like poems, as well as online dictionaries that make you instantly fluent in other languages, and two of my favourites are "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (T.S. Eliot) and "Eve To Her Daughters" (Judith Wright). Apart from somewhere on my bookshelf, you can find them online at all sorts of places, including the links above. Feel free to read them and let me know what you think :)

I'm still trying to decide whether I'm still recovering from MYC or suffering from the usual start-of-semester "emotional fluctuation" ... not sure it's a mystery that'll be easily solved, so I shall press on! I think I've almost decided that I'll be going for a "quality" vs "quantity" approach during semester. That is, I'm planning to work harder at spending more time preparing and praying for responsibilities (like meeting with girls and helping lead Bible study groups) that I already have in my role at uni, rather than trying to take on more (which I could probably do ... perhaps). We'll see how it goes, I guess.

Speaking of responsibilities, I survived MYC! Whilst it was quite a tiring week, the feedback from students has been really encouraging and exciting, as we keep hearing about how God is at work in their lives. MYC was also a really valuable experience for me and helped me to gain confidence in serving God, within a supportive environment. Yay for MYC!

And finally, more pickies are about to go online here, including this one:

The bleary-eyed girl

2006-07-07T22:56:00.000+08:00

Am currently quite tired. More than usual, too! By and large, this (hopefully) temporary fatigue is owing to what I have decided to call "MYC Mayhem". MYC is a very handy TLA (three letter acronym) for Mid-Year Conference, the conference for Christian uni students that I'm helping to run next week. Preparing for MYC, especially over the last couple of days, has been really energy-sapping (too much work to do and my delegatory skills are not fully developed yet) and I'm anticipating the week ahead with a fair dose of adrenalin and nerves ... all wired up! But I'm also a little excited and encouraged. Encouraged 'cos so many students have been really keen to help in the "preparation phase" and it's been great to turn menial (and potentially fatally boring) tasks like binding booklets into an excuse to spend time with others. And excited 'cos 145 students or so (plus 20 "extras" like me) are about to spend five days together, getting to know God and each other better. We're getting stuck into the Bible to learn about how God guides us, and how to live to please him. I remember learning about this at a MYC when I was at uni and it really changed my life, for the better. So, I hope and pray that this'll be the case for at least 145 people next week; that they'll grow to know our loving Father much better and grow in the likeness of our Lord Jesus. My bleary eyes will be well worth it!

Procrastination is very fun!

2006-06-10T17:22:00.000+08:00

Having recovered from a nasty bout of hiccoughs (induced by my clever attempt to eat lunch a little too quickly), and persisting to avoid those nasty dishes in our sink (and on our bench ... and on our stove...), I've had a great afternoon uploading some more pickies, for your viewing pleasure. So, feel free to check them out here, if you're interested. Or bored, and have nothing better to do. Claire.

Not sure I have much of interest to say ...

2006-05-19T21:21:00.000+08:00

Life continues as normal for us, three months on from the last post (woops!); flying 'round at our normal, hectic (more-often-than-not) pace, doing normal things in our normal jobs. Eion's still busy sorting out fancy machine set-ups that will shift liquid stuff from one place to another (read: he designs pumping systems for mining, mostly) and I'm trying to juggle, with limited success (read: have plenty of students to encourage to get to know Jesus and grow in him - and feel like I've less and less time to do it in).

Yet I need to keep stepping back and remembering that what we're doing in this everyday existence of ours isn't humdrum but wonderful. Wonderful not 'cos we feel like we've had fulfilling days or have come home abuzz (we haven't on both accounts) but wonderful because God has called us to himself and given us the privilege of serving him in our everday existence. And wonderful because the great news of Jesus' death and resurrection IS amazing and it IS an honour to be able to share it with others, and live it out in before them.

To be honest, I suspect this may well be more of a helpful reminder for me, a "mental note to self", rather than something that really gets to you, as you read this, so ... Claire (and anyone who cares to look on), remember:

... you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:9-10

Not quite there yet ...

2006-02-08T15:46:00.000+08:00

This li'l blog isn't currently in use ... hopefully it will be soon 'though!