Oh Baby!

Yes, baby is here! Currently asleep on my lap is Joshua William, born on Friday 22nd of July at 11:53am.
On the Wednesday evening before he was born, Dad got home from work and let us know he had to go back into town for a night shift at the airport where he is working. Mum and I were a bit apprehensive - we didn't want the baby to come when Dad wasn't here! And sure enough, a while after he left Mum started have contractions that slowly worked down to about 15 mins apart. I called Dad to let him know things might be gearing up, and thankfully he was just about finished and ready to come home anyway. :) Dad got home, and we got things ready and waited... and waited. Nothing happened! Contractions never really got much closer and slowed down. Eventually I decided to go to bed and at least try and rest till things picked up more. The next day (Thursday)  Dad told us he had sent a message round to the rest of his work team and told them he was on maternity leave! Haha and of course they said "congratulations" back, assuming that Mum had already had Joshua... oops :)
There weren't really any contractions to speak of until the next evening, when things picked up again. It was another long night of contractions, but not enough to really be called labor until morning, when dad woke me up and said things were finally getting going! Dad and I got the spa bath ready, and Mum got in. It seemed like the labor took a good while longer this time (Micah took about 30 mins!). When the midwife arrived she took one look at mum's tummy during a contraction and told us Joshua was posterior - that explained Mum's sore back and longer labor. She checked his heartbeat after a bit though and he had was good. Finally at 11:53am, Joshua was born. He came out rather limp and a grey/purple color- that spurred our midwife into action with massaging him and and making sure his mouth was clear. She even used some oxygen to get him going with his breathing. It was a bit of a shock to see him like that! He turned a healthy pink with a bit of massaging though, and he was fine after that. Phew!
We guessed the labor was about 4 1/2 hours long - as I said, that's longer than usual for Mum, but it really is quite short when compared to a lot of other women :)
Today Joshua is 2 weeks old (already!) and Mum says he is an "average" baby as far as fussiness goes :) He does not like to sleep by himself, but he usually is happy to drift of when he is snuggled by one of his numerous brothers and sisters. He sure had a good appetite too! He is happy and healthy and gets plenty of cuddles and kisses haha.

So there's your update on Joshua! Thanks for reading :)

~Rachel

Family Update

I realize I haven't updated this blog for a few months, and I'm sorry, but there is not a whole lot to say! Here is a family update anyway.

  Mum is due to have baby in just a few weeks, and I feel like we're on the final stretch now. (Ahaha, pun unintended!) For those who don't know, Mum has been so weak this pregnancy that she has had to be in bed almost constantly. With a lot of adjustments, the family has managed to keep on going without too much trauma involved! Life will be back to normal soon - whatever that is. I suspect it will be another difficult adjustment process - getting used to Mum being in charge again, and having another little one to care for. I'm looking forward to the baby so much though. There is something so sweet and precious about a holding a newborn baby. That first cry, first smile, first word...

 More exciting news - my sister Coralie is engaged to be married in November. This is a first for us, a wedding in the family! We are all looking forward to it very much. Venue, dresses, decorations, invitations... I can't wait for the big day. However, it will be tinged with sadness - Coralie will be moving up north shortly after the wedding - that day is one I dread, and it is only looming closer. Hopefully they won’t stay up there long ;) 

 The little children keep me entertained with the funny things they say. If I ever get enough courage to give a speech at any of their weddings, I'll have a lot of funny stories to tell! The older kids are coming along with their schoolwork. Mum can still teach them from her bed. Leah especially loves to read and is rather proud of her achievements haha. 

 Recently Jonathan, Isaiah, Daniel and I have been going along to Contra dancing lessons. We all enjoy it heaps! I still laugh about the boys loving it, because when they were younger they were horrified at the idea of dancing. They thought it was just "for girls". Any persuasion Coralie and I tried wouldn't work. I don't know who they thought we were dancing with! 

 We've had a few birthdays in the last month; Daniel turned 12, and I turned 19. We didn't do a whole lot for them this year; we had a quiet meal together with family. Mum says she has something up her sleeve for mine, but it will have to wait until she has had the baby and is up and about again to carry out. Hmmm....

 For some reason I am really looking forward to spring this year. I can't wait to get started on our vege garden! There is something lovely about making salads and meals with veges that you've grown yourself.

So there is a short update on "us". I’ll try and update soon after baby is born.

Rachel

Tribute

I've been a bit slack about keeping up the blog, haven't I? Sorry. Life has been very busy lately, and it feels like there is way too much going on to focus on a blog ;)
Anyway, here is a poem I wrote about 9 months ago, when Mum miscarried and a little baby left us all and went to heaven. I was a painful time for us, and it hurt so badly. I did a lot of thinking and crying and praying things through and came up with this poem. It still hurts to think about and to re-read it. Kinda brings all the memories and feelings of that time in our life back.

Tribute


I was happy you were here
And looked forward to your birth
But now you’ve gone ahead
And left me on this earth

I know you’re in heaven
So I guess I should rejoice
But I can’t yet find that in me
Cause I never heard your voice

I never got to meet you
I never saw your face
But though I still miss you
Heaven bound you’ve won the race

I really wish you’d stay
But I know it’s too late,
You’re already on your way
So I’ll join you there someday

I didn’t want it to end this way
But sometimes there’s one thing to say
And that is to praise our God
Who gives and sometimes takes away

One day I know I will understand
Why it didn’t happen like we’d planned
So for now all I’m asking
Is God, that You’d hold my hand

Boy, girl or both, we’re still not sure
But this child is on earth no more
That’s right friends, we need to say
A child to heaven has slipped away
24/07/2010


To a baby whose identity is unknown
From a sister who will one day
See him/her face to face in heaven <3
By Rachel Christine Thompson

CEF Camp

Camp is over, Yay! This camp was hard. It's not to say I hated it, it's just that it was one of the more difficult camps I've done. Actually this camp went really well. It was full on, went really fast and completely wore everyone out, but it was fantastic.
On Sunday all the leaders arrived and we had leader training and games and stuff. I met the girl who was going to be my co-leader for the week, and we got along well, which was great! We also realized we live just down the road from each other - how cool is that!? She even baby sits my next door neighbours children :).
Monday morning all the children arrive- I'm not sure how many this camp, but probably 65-70. 6 little girls ages 8-10 in my team. Getting the hang of all their names was hard. They had such weird names!
For the next few days we did heaps of games and activities - got covered in mud, got majorly sunburnt, and we even got to light our own little team camp fires and cook sausages and marshmallows.
The reason this camp was hard was because the girls I had were not the most well behaved girls that ever walked the planet. They got very tiring very fast, which was not a very good thing. They almost constantly fought with each other, or wouldn’t do what they were told. At times it was hard to keep my cool. There was a couple times when I felt like dragging those little darlings to where they were supposed to go - not a very good feeling, but it was all worth it in the end. There is something amazing about knowing that all those children heard the gospel, and that even if most didn't get saved, they have in their hearts and minds the Truth. We can only pray that someday, perhaps when they are older, they will remember the bible stories and memory verses they learned and it will somehow bring them on their knees before their Maker. And that is a thrilling thought. To give hope to children in a desperate world. Where their families are in pieces and many have "issues", behavioural, emotional; etc, and then they come to camp and find that Someone truly cares. When I think of it like that, it makes all that stress and tiredness and plain hard work all worth it. And I can't wait for next camp :)

Here is a poem I wrote, which says a little about CEF camps :)

The Camp week

Day 1 is so scary

Where icebreakers abound

Old friends are still there

And new ones are found

Day 2 is the day
That camp really starts

70 children arrive

With wide open hearts

Day 3 the children

Are all settling in

We remember their names

Now let the fun begin

Day 4 it’s getting tiring

Late nights and early mornings

The children know us better now

And that should give us warnings

Day 5 is the long haul

And you very soon find

That patience is a virtue

 Everyone should mind

Day 6 camp is almost over

Hugs and lots of goodbyes

The last songs we sing together

As we leave to our separate lives

And though it has been hard

And went in such a whirl

The gospel has been told

To every boy and girl

That makes it all worth it

It’s why we put up with the slack

And the next time camp is on

We leaders will be back

~Rachel

Big Families and Birthdays

Our "birthday month" this year has begun! When you have a large family, and a lot of the children are born about 2 years apart, you often get a cluster of birthdays all at once...Hence, Birthday Month!

We started of with a roar - little Jacob had his 4th birthday on the 1st, yesterday. He was spoiled with presents and had a great time. You should have seen his grin! Jacob has such a cute smile, it just lights up his whole face into one huge sunbeam :)

My sister and I also went birthday shopping together yesterday. I was quite impressed with how much we got done. Presents for 7 people in just a few hours! We went home with sore feet and depleted purses, haha! But I had a great time and got to give my sister's baby, my nephew, heaps of cuddles too. He's just the cutest :) I'm trying to be his favourite aunty =D

Anyway, this year, instead of having a party for each child, we thought we would try having a massive Birthday Bash in the middle of the month to celebrate them all together. So, giant party planning has begun!

To give you an idea of how it goes, this month Jacob turns 4, Leah 6, Timothy 8, Isaiah 13, Jonathan 15, my older sister 20, and Mum - well yeah, she turns a year older too :p. Also Dad and Mums wedding anniversary is this month, along with Grandma and Granddads! No, that's not all of us, the rest of us have our birthdays elsewhere in the year :)


In other happenings... tomorrow I'm going on a CEF camp. It's lots of fun, challenging and can put you way out of your comfort zone (especially if you're shy like me!) Pray for me if you have time, cos I need it, and for the girls that will be in my team too :)

Hope y'all have a great week, and I’ll try to tell how camp went in my next post :)



~Rachel

Trust

I wrote this a while ago...

If trusting means letting go

I’m not sure I wanna know.

If letting go means walking away

Well, I’d really rather stay

I know it’s wrong to delay

Isn’t there another way?

I’d rather You used another plan

Why can’t he really be “The Man”?

 

I told You once in You I’d trust

Now I wonder if I really must.

But of course I do,

When I think it through

How to could I think I know best?

Only You know all the rest

I can’t see the future, only the past

I know many things don’t really last

So help me God, to trust in You

Even when it’s so hard to do

I will let go of the old me

And then I know I’ll really see

 

If trusting means letting go

I wanna show I love You so

So I’d much rather walk away

And have You to light my every day.

~Rachel :)

My life isn't very long
I know it really won’t last
So make what I do stay strong
To remain when life’s past

One day the memory of me
Will be a name on a list
So make what I do count
Before I am missed


I don’t need to be wealthy
Nor do I need great fame
But what I really want
Is to stay true to Your name

I don’t want to be luke-warm
That is my greatest fear
So teach me to be faithful
And please be always near

Though my life may seem long
Teach me to number my days
That to You I’ll ever be strong
And of Your love count the ways