So, I am not the most regular of individuals.
I think [Tricia’s](http://www.dailyobservations.blogspot.com/) words resonated with me when she said words to the effect “when you miss a couple of days it becomes easier to miss some more.” It’s not that I don’t think of things to write, it is just that I never get around to it. I really ought to be more disciplined.
So, I have no excuse now, as I sit here in my [big sister’s](http://10ft8music.com.au/blog/takentopieces.html) house on a rainy day. Amy is so much better at blogging, and she has a swanky new computer, so I really ought to make the most of this opportunity.
Of course, it means that there wont be any photos, because I don’t have the stuff to upload from my camera here, but that is OK.
The last week & a bit have been HOLIDAYS!!! Yeah baby! It has been a long time coming! I spent a week hanging out with my little bro & his wife & kid (I would link his blog, but he certainly beats me at not blogging…. I think his last blog entry was over a year and a half ago) down in the lovely city of Melbourne. We shopped, we walked, we ate, we shopped some more (looking for things for Shona, finding things for me! Score!) and most importantly, we ate all kinds of chocolate from some pretty impressive stores. I think Amy has already mentioned it, but I bought some chocolate that has bacon & Chipotole in it! Oh man, it blows the mind!!!!
I have also been enjoying doing a little more reading. I put my Fantasy novels away for two weeks & have been reading fiction purely for the pleasure. Last week was “High Fidelity” and this week has been Capote’s “In Cold Blood.” Very good…
Anyway, I am sure I will blog a couple of more times while I am here.
Meanwhile, here is a photobooth pic of me & JTB….

Who knows, maybe my move into a new technological age will usher in a resurgence in my blogging?
When we moved out to Ourimbah, we moved into an area that our old service provider doesn’t cover, so we had to cancel our plan & today we finally got online with our new provider. Two big differences.
1: Instead of being mobile broadband, we are now ADSL. Man, it is SOOO much faster, even at mere ADSL1! What a glorious world when you can watch movie previews & you don’t have to wait 5 minutes for them to download. Just to sweeten the deal, having a bigger download limit means I can watch a preview I can actually see!!!!
2: The wonderful world of WiFi!!!!!! I can be on a computer & Shona is on the lap top!!! Even better, we just connected the Wii, so Phil, Matty & Nic, email me (my usual email) so I know who you guys are….
What a wonderful world when you’re connected

(lamentably not me….)
I’m not going to tell you that I sprinted the thing. I’m not going to pretend to be annoyed because the TV only showed the top 10 & I came in at 11. I wont even hide from the fact that a large number of pre-teens probably beat me to the finish line.
I may have won ugly, but at least I can say that I finished the city to surf. Given the busy work schedule I have had over the last month, resulting in close to 0% training, I was happy just to be involved!
It’s nice to get out, it’s nice to enjoy a little bit of God’s creation & it is nice to wonder at how beautifully the human body is made. Such diversity, such fragility (you pass a lot of people with sprained ankles over 14kms) and such sturdiness!
It was also nice to raise over $500 for the [“Jesus All About Life”](http://allaboutlife.com.au/) campaign. In fact, it is still going, so feel free to follow [this link](http://city2surf.everydayhero.com.au/wyoming_churches) if you’d like to make a donation!

Hey there Peeps,
I am back & I’m ready for action!
It’s been a pretty busy time over the last little while. Kids Games was in the first week of the holidays & it was HUGE! About 160 kids in total, with up to 125 on any given day. What a great chance to share the good news about Jesus with lots of young kids.
But the real work, the thing that has us all tuckered out, happened this week. Shona, Pumpkin & I have finally moved a couple of suburbs North to Ourimbah!
The move happened on Monday & so far we are stoked with the new place. The parish bought it as an investment & we get to reap all the benefits. Lots of room, solid entertaining area & a kick-butt area for a study. Let’s just say that Tim is LOVING having his own “reading room.”
It’s been a mad rush to try & get the joint sorted ASAP so we can both continue in the swing of work & the like.
In other news, Pumpkin continues to grow up cute & happy. If only she were cute, happy & a little more sleepy….
Anyway, we now have our good friends Bruce & Susan 2 doors down from us, so we’re off to dinner at their place. Here’s a couple of photos for those house-curious types…

Here’s the house from the front. It looks huge, but it is merely big…. Those lovely trees behind us, however, mean that we get about 0% sunlight & polar-like conditions inside the place…

The front porch is lovely. I have already spent one evening out there, Pumpkin in the bouncer & me on a chair reading a book. Ahhhh the serenity!

Here is where the magic happens! I LOVE this room. I love being about to see all my books & I love a place where I feel surrounded by the collected wisdom of thousands of greats as I read away at whatever…

Here we have the pumpkin. Can a new father ever blog without including at least one picture of his pride & joy?

This is me playing with the idea of soft focus… I like it, but I may be the only one…

All I know is that I do want to start again…
I know one place where many want me to start is by posting more pictures of “The Pumpkin” (I’ve decided not to use her name on the blog, so her foetal moniker will stay)
So if that’s your bag, then have no fear, there are a bucket load of them coming up, unless you’ve already seen them on Facebook.
Otherwise, where to go? Well, On Wednesday morning I spoke at an old people’s home about the first 7 verses of Revelation 2, and I think, applying a theological text to a blog, that I have “forgotten my first love” and need to get back in touch with the passion. You know those times when you start to observe everything more critically & pour it out in actual interesting ways!
I need to get observational again… We’ll just see if it happens.
One micro thought is this. (I apologise, I don’t want it to be a too baby-centric blog, but I can’t help myself on this occasion) Is one of joy of babies that their emotions are hardwired to their bodies?
Bubs just don’t seem to have that lag period we adults do, where everything has to be processed through the brain. It can be an earthshattering smile that comes out of nowhere, and that smile can be crying a minute later. Each feeling valid, each fascinating & each entirely spontaneous.
Do we fail to feel as much as we ought? Am I too involved in a taxonomy of my feelings to enjoy *actually* feeling them? Are we so caught up in a post-enlightenment valuation of equinimity that letting one’s self go & feeling those emotions is deemed *shock horror* unstable!?
Or maybe, do we just have a little more context? It’s a little less new? The coming months will tell…
Meanwhile, let the baby-fest begin!

This is one of my favourites at the moment. She has a really thoughtful look about her. Who needs a holiday when there are endless journeys to be taken in those soulful eyes?

There’s one of those emotions I was talking about.

That looks seems to say “Don’t tell me that this is how I will see you for the next 21 years… hiding behind a lens?”

Another thoughtful pose.
Finally, in honour of my big sister, a couple of pictures of the Banoffee Pie that Shona made the other night. A culinary masterpiece… or is it a calorie masterpiece?

They are going quickly, and they are very busy…
Still, no excuse.
So, a couple of weeks ago, I got to go to Greg & Belinda’s wedding. I always knew it was going to be a one-of-a-kind affair & they didn’t let me down.
Commentary during the service kept things light, but a lovely song by one of Greg’s step-daughters & a heartfelt speech to his wife, the stepdaughters & his sons really brought the mood to a heartfelt sombre tone.

Of course, then came the blowup castle & bull-riding machine & it was off again!


The rest of the night after that was a hoot!
Other news is either Annika-centric…. She is doing well, smiling more (as the prior photo evidences) but not sleeping as much as mum and dad would like, or news just revolves around church things. I go to a “Priestly Formation” class every thursday, and apart from the 5:55am train I have to catch, I find the whole thing to be a real blessing!
I have a bunch of different ideas for different stuff to connect with the community. We’re about to make use of our video watching license at church, by having a movie on one Sunday a month. “Life is Beautiful” coming up on June 7th… You’re all invited.
And otherwise life just rolls on.
I have been thinking about other stuff though, and, hopefully I will get around to blogging about it sooner or later… But in the mean time, after a couple of months off, it is back onto the bike tomorrow morning… Thanks Byron!!
And to keep the family happy, another couple of pictures of the treasure…


THis picture makes it look like she is doing something very naughty in her pants!

Bishop Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading (UK)
A quote of a quote from the first talk… It was a good three days. More to come
“The church is the one institution who exists for the purpose of serving it’s non members”
— John Templeton

So far in my “holiday” I have achieved a great deal less than I would have liked!
OK, so this might be the point in time where a thousand people smirk to themselves and mutter under their breaths “Duh! you just had a kid. Welcome to the real world.”
OK, OK, so I knew that having my own kid was going to take more time than I could imagine, but it is still amazing to think that days turn into weeks & I still haven’t done much of note.
That said, the last couple of days have been industrious in their own ways. I managed to whipper-snip the whole back lawn yesterday, as well as cooking a big fryup for Rog. Just to top off the business, I snuck off to Erina in the afternoon (thanks to my long-suffering wife) so I could watch “Wolverine” at the movies. I really loved it, but can’t guarantee that others will, unless you enjoy the Marvel Universe in general.
So there we go. I haven’t finished any books. I haven’t written any either. Heck, I haven’t even taken that many photos. For that one, I blame the unseasonably cold weather. I’m committed to capturing some cute pics of the little one, but as soon as she isn’t anything but completely rugged up, the lungs start to get a workout. Here’s hoping tomorrow is milder.
Meanwhile, here is what I wished Pumpkin looked like a little more often during the evening hours…

Here are the photos to keep the family happy.
Comments to come…

I apologise, I doubt I will be waxing lyrical for the next couple of days. I spend the whole day at the hospital (about an hour away) and only drive home to upload photos, and go to bed.
At least, however, I bring you something to look at. Check out the latest…. Oh how you will wish I never had a child, when this blog becomes saturated with Annika shots!

We, of course, are as proud as punch. Oh, and Shona scrubs up OK for someone who had a kid only one day ago!

Mama & Bop were pretty happy with the bub too.

Here she is, mustering up all the energy she can…

And at one day old we have a motor milestone! She gets her head in the air all by herself!
Well there you go….
Dad still proud, kid still cute & mum still doing well!