Christmas Eve Service

Today Chris and I did all of our last minute christmas shopping and prepared for a special Christmas Eve Service. We had two new families come tonight and it was a sepcial evening of focusing on the true meaning of Christmas.   Was really special. melissa sang a special song and you could just tell that god's presence was in the room and everyone's hearts were in the right place. Was a very special evening.

Sunday Service with a Christmas Dinner

Today I got up bright and early and started cleaning our house.  Because the community hall is currently under construction work, church has to meet at our house.  So, I spent most of the day cleaning and we celebrated Chris's Birthday with a big lunch and some friends over from 12:00-4:00 and then we had church from 5:30-6:30 and then we had the church Christmas party and dinner after that.  It was alot of fun and we did a white elephant christmas gift exchange. It was alot of fun. And, we also have a fun tradition of a steering wheel device that comes back every year. So, it was really funny! The kids all got things that they loved and one of the most loved used gifts was a box full of bunnies.  The kids went nuts when they saw it.  So, it was a great day and we had a new family come tonight to church that had only come once before so that was very exciting.  Pray for Amanda and her husband scott and their three children!  

Chris's Birthday and the Bunnings Sausage Sizzle

Today was Chris's Birthday and we also had  the Bunnings Sausage sizzle.  It wasn't too warm... But, it was hot enough. We got up and started hauling a whole trailer full of food to the shop.  WE set up our display and everything and away we started cooking. We had people buying sausages befor it was even 8:00am.   By noon we we had run out of drinks and ice and onions and were sending people out to pick up more stuff!   WE then ran out of sausages and were able to get more.  But, amazingly we never ran out of rolls!  We sold just over 1200 sausages.  This is a good step in the right direction towards  helping our churches building fund!   We had many parents from the church who came and helped and it was a wonderful day.  Chris and I pulled in the drive way at 7:30 ran and got changed and went to our friends house to share "Christmas" with them and pick up our kids.  We had a lovely dinner with them and were very spoilt.  God has truly blessed us with some amazing people in our church!  Thank you for all your prayers today!

Preparing for the Sausage Sizzle

Today Chris and I ran all over Perth picking up sausages, and onions, ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce, serviettes, and about 600 cans of soda.   We were preparing for the Sausage Sizzle that will be tomorrow. We spent lots of time sorting eskies and putting drinks in order and loading it all into our trailer so that we would be ready at 6:00am  tomorrow morning to go sell sausages.  This is one of the biggest fundraisers our church does. And, this afternoon Bunnings called and told us we really needed to bulk up what we were brining because they felt we needed 1200 sausages. So, we upped our orders and bought more supplies so that we would not run out. We sign a contract with the Store that we will sell sausages until 4:00pm no matter what.  But, with it being so close to Christmas and I know how stores are in Perth, They run out all the time of basic needs.  And, I am really worried that if we run out of rolls we will not have any way of getting more.   So, we are praying and ask you to pray with us that we have enough rolls, no matter what!!!

Also this afternoon Chris and I were able to sneak off for 2 hours and go see a movie for his birthday! Was very special!

Brayden Still complaining of a tummy ache!

This morning I took Brayden back down to the doctor's as he is still complaining of a tummy ache and we were up all night again with him tossing and turning.   The doctor still insists he is fine and there is nothing wrong with him. Please pray that Brayden would get over whatever this is and be all better! Especially the sleeping through the night again would be nice.

Landsdale's Got Talent

Today Kids Club was invited to come to school and sing in the talent show .  Today is also the VERY last day of school this year!  They did a great job and sang a song by Hillsong called "Born is the King". It was beautiful and Makayla played a CHristmas carol on the piano.  They did VERY well!  I was so proud of them!!! I am trying to download the video but, it seems to be too large. I will keep trying though.

REPORT CARDS

Just have to take a momen here and tell you how proud of our kids we are...   They work very hard and love attending school. But, they did very well on their report cards.  In australia reporting is differnt.  an
A= 18 months ahead
B= 6 months ahead
C= right where you need to be and ready to go to next grade

Makayla received an A in Math and English and Drama.  She got B's in Social and Economic, Music, Gym, and C's in Italian and Science.
Dawson received an A in Gym, B in Drama and Music and Art, and C's in Math, English, Science, Social and Economic. Very proud of them.

Pray for Makayla as she has been put into a 4/5 grade  class next year and with that will come a 1 to 1 computer program. So, she will need to be right on her game to keep up next year.  Dawson has been given a lovely 2nd grade  strict teacher for next year which will be fantastic! So, we now are officially on school holidays starting tomorrow till February 1st.

Can't believe another year is over....

Playgroup Christmas Party

Today was another crazy busy day. We got up at 6:00am and headed down to the community hall to start setting up for the Playgroup Christmas party.  The coordinator had quit back in September and I thought it couldn't be that hard to organize so we pick this responsibility up this year as well. I was already on the committee and teach preschool on Monday morning for playgroup and I didn't want our 200 families to miss out this year on their christmas party.  So, Chris made sausages and worked really hard all day. The church was represented and sold sausages to provide a service. We didn't make heaps of money off of it, but it was more the fact of us being there to serve.  The Party was fantastic and had no hickups. I had moved it back to the community hall from a different location and people raved about how great it was.  The kids did really well watching after themselves. And, Brayden only spent half the day laying in the shade tent resting because his tummy still hurts. But, all in all it was a wonderful morning. By 2:00 we were home and getting ready for church. 

At 4:00 we were back out the door and headed to church for our Kids Club finale!  The Kids Club sang and performed for their parents and said their memory verses and shared what they had learnt on the kids camp and really shined! I was SOOO proud of them. They received certificated for participating  this year in Kids Club. And, I was really spoilt by a gift they gave chris and I for all we had done for the year! We were truly blessed!!!  What a great night.  Unfortunately I couldnt' find my camera. So, I don;t have any photos! After church we had a dinner and then the community hall we meet in is getting air conditioning so we had to empty our storage closet. So, Chris and I then spent the next three hours hauling everything home to our garage!   Hopefully in the next two weeks we can find a place fr it to all go.

Celebrating Dawson's Birthday

 Yesterday was Dawson's 7th birthday but with the Carols on we promised him we wouldn't miss it and we would celebrate on Saturday.   So, we got up at 7:00am to take him to his tball game.  Dawson hit two home runs and had a few outs and some great snags and tags. He played really well and then went home to get ready for his party that was at 2:00 an hour south of where we live. We went to a Perth Heat game which is the professional team for perth. But, baseball is not super big yet so the stadium is quite small and the stadium seats about 700.  The lady who was in charge of group bookings was an American intern and she gave us all the party perks for free!    With us always doing church functions and throwing parties for everyone else. We have always committed and with Dawson's birthday  being so near to Christmas we have always committed that we would STILL always celebrate his birthday on or as close to on as we could. We don't want him to miss out and feel that church or missions work always comes first and that he is unimportant. So, this year we invited 8 friends from his tball team to meet us at a game with their families if they would like. It was alot of fun and Dawson had  a great time. Funny thing is, the tball club handed out tickets to the same game we had invited everyone to, so the game was free!!! God was definitely watching over us.  And, everyone had a great time.   We cooked sausages on a barbecue and were able to take drinks and chips into the game. So, it was a really fun afternoon and we got home about 9:00pm.
 Dawson was also able to go down on the field and do the dizzy run as well as doa  few different things.

Carols in the Park

It is now 11:30pm and Chris and I have just sat down for the first time today!  The Carols went really well. If we were to critique it from our point of view we are going to need a stage next year and a bigger sound system.  We had at one point counted over 800 people sitting. But, believe that there were well over 1000 that came and attended because there were people everywhere. The Kids Club did a skit of the nativity and sang "It's Christmas" and "Joy to the World.  We had minute to win it games, dance troops, hip hop troops, school choir, community soloist, vendors, jumpy castle, amusement rides, fairy floss, ice cream, sausages, drinks, all kind of fun stuff for people to participate in.  On our feed back forms everyone rated it between an 8 and a 10. But, we really struggled with the wind and it affected our sound. But, also it was such a big crowd that we will have to have a bigger sound system next year.  It went REALLY well. And, it was an awesome evening for everyone to know how much our church cares about families, and individuals, and the community, and most importantly how much we love God! We had three singing sets for the evening where we sang Christmas Carols and had such a fantastic time.  The church people worked tirelessly to pull the evening off as well as a few community groups helped as well such as playgroup and the Landsdale Residents Association.  Praise God that we were able to share and celebrate the birth of our King! What a way to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas!!!   Thank you to everyone who prayed God was definitely present and working in peoples hearts and lives. Thank you for your continuous prayers for our family.

Brayden Still sick

The last 24 hours have been insane.  Brayden has still been un able to sit or lay still and is constantly complaining of a tummy ache.   Last night we had band practice for the carols from 6-11pm. and, then Brayden and I hopped in the car and headed to the emergency room.   We were seen by a few doctors who felt that it was probably lymph nodes in his tummy. He doesn't have a fever and has not other symptoms other than an unbearable tummy ache. So, the observed him till morning and then we drove back home.  When I got home it was Dawson's Birthday! So, I made 24 cupcakes as quickly as I could and threw icing on them and took the kids to school! Needless to say I got no sleep and tonight will be the Carols. So, adrenaline will just have to kick in and keep me busy today!

BRAYDEN SICK!!!! PRAY!!!!

Of course on a week when everything is crazy and insane in our house add to the top of the list a three year old with the flu! Poor boy is tossing and turning and rolling around because his tummy hurts and nothing helps.  And, I am asking everyone to pray that NO ONE else gets it!   That would be horrible... Please pray... this is when living far from family is impossible. We were already totally extended this week with everything and now a sick boy. Please pray he sleeps, and gets better immediately and that he is in nooo more pain!

Carols in the Park

This week is probably the busiest week of the year for Chris and I.  I am actually going to literally write down what we are doing and when so you can be praying. Because only God can pull all this off!!!

YEsterday was insane.. We had playgroup graduation party fr brayden and then I had piano lessons, and friends over for dinner, and then we packed the PMH bags, and then Makayla and I went to deliver them and our dear friends needed help. So, we didn't get to bed till 2AM!  So, pray that we can handle all the overloading and staying up late we will get between now and then!

Friday 3-9 Carols in the Park  Chris and I are running around like crazying trying to finalize all the loose ends..   We are having to pick up jumpy castles, fairy flss machines, organize prizes, and minute to winit games, music, and then acts that our kid are participating in. We are expecting about 500-700 people!    Pray we get a guitarist.. Our guitarist has been called out to work!!! So, we need a guitarist and atleast a drummer by Friday.  Santa cancelled too! But, God provided another one.  

Saturday Tball- 8-11
Saturday Dawson's Bday party 4:00pm

Sunday -  7-12   Playgroup Christmas Party- Melissa has been organizing the community Playgroup Christmas party.  And, they will be providing christmas for 150 kids and their families.  The church is running a sausage sizzle at it. So, pray that we sell sausages but that also we get people to show up and help.

Sunday 4:00- Kids Club awards night at church. 

Monday Morning- Final Preschool Class for the year! So, lot's of planning has gone into that!

Tuesday-   Kids Club is performing for the public school!!!

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL for our children in 2012!!!

Pray for our children.   They help us do sooo much.

Princess Margaret Children's Hospital - Cancer Ward.

Dear Prayer Partners,
Be praying today for the Children on the Cancer ward in 3B at Princess Margaret Children's Hospital.  Today is their Christmas party.  Some of these children may not even make Christmas day. But, Kids Club participated in helping throw them a Christmas party.  They have been making christmas cards for weeks and it was the thought of us giving something that we really wanted the kids club children to experience.  We weren't able to go and participate  because the kids are so sick that they cannot have germs etc. We did however make Activity bags that will be given to the children at their Christmas party.  God was so good to us and we were able to put in a playdoh, pencil, eraser, balloon, stickers, candy cane, bubbles, and a handmade Christmas card from the Kids Club kids. They looked fantastic. We had 7 adults come last night and we put on the face masks and we put on gloves and made the bags up so hopefully they are pretty germ free. But, pray today that as the kids receive these bags, that they would feel God's presence and be at peace. 

Soul Survivor Kids Camp

This past weekend was Soul Survivor Kids Camp!
Chris and I took 11 kids and we drove an hour out into the Australian Bush!   We went to a campground owned by the DEC called the Perth Hills Discovery Centre.   For most of the kids this was the first time they ever put up a tent or went out and camped.  It was REALLY alot of fun and God has blessed us with an amazing group of kids.   The theme for the camp was

ROMANS 10:9

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.



God looked out and provided for us in so many ways.  One of those ways was it had rained earlier on in the week.  And, so we were actually allowed to have a campfire!   So, we did hotdogs and smores. The kids were split into two teams.   They were allowed to name themselves make a song, and a skit. The kids did a fantsatic job and we had SO much fun! They also heard three Bible lessons, hiked, made para survival bracelets, and did some various crafts.   All in all the camp was a huge success. MOST IMPORTANTLY though.  Two of our kids gave their hearts to Jesus on the weekend! Reanna and Holly accepted Jesus into their hearts! What an amazing weekend it was.  Thank you for your prayers! You're prayers made a difference and we believe that your prayers have changed two beautiful lives!   Attached are some pictures from the camp.