Cassie's Cuddles

I’ll be honest with you, I am a little unsettled at the moment. Why? After only 3 weeks away, I have lost my routine, and feel a little unmotivated. It is time to pull my socks up, eh? I have stayed up late the last couple of nights, checking out esty mainly. I have just ordered some more little unpainted peg dolls. I’ll show you the couple that I have painted already, tommorow.Check this out, every home should have one! It might keep Cassandra busy for a while. She is so funny, this afternoon she was allowed to play in the backyard. Jared and I watched our busy and determined three year old, carry the huge (compared to her) bird feeder on a stand, and move it to the opposite side of the garden. She then proceded to move some big bolders, a garden designer perhaps? Maybe she would like one of these cool tree houses?Cassandra was also kept busy with a makeshift clothes line inside the house. I got the idea from this little set that someone was selling on etsy, being a horder (argh!), I had everything to put one together for my little mother in training.Tonight I drove my two eldest children to youth group, did a bread run, and collected them at 10pm. I am re-thinking my opinion on youth group. Yes, children need friends, but a Friday night? When do we as a family like to have visitors? I would much rather invite people over. I don’t like not knowing my children’s friends either. Call me over protective, but I think if you asked my children, they actually like Jared and I knowing their friends too.

Tommorow is a working be at a lady’s house. Considering that I am hopeless at all things garden, I have decided that I will cook muffins for maintaining the workers energy levels, and perhaps put on some gloves and gather any rubbish. See you.

Oh man! After finally deleting over 1000 photos to be able to transfer them on my camera, I have discovered that I don’t have room on my computer hard drive for the photos anyway, argh! I have been able to get about 10 photos, so I’ll at least show you a couple of them. Let’s play “Guess where Cassie is”No.2

Now I know I am smiling but the above place actually made me very teary. I was so saddened to see the idolatry in this place. This place has everything that the Reformation tried to turn away from. It was so sad to see people praying in front of the “dead pope”.

No. 3No. 4No. 5

 answers 1. Rome (the Colosseum) 2. Rome, (the Vatican) 3. Geneva (the Calvin 500 conference) 4. Rome (The Trevi Fountain, with a weird man) 5. London (The British Museum, the Rosetta Stone).Look at this good looking chap, don’t you just dig his helmet? You can download the free pattern for this (it looks great in plain old white cardboard) from.http://www.clevelandart.org/kids/art/haveago/armor.html

Today I went and visited my mum, it was good to have a little catch up.

Isn’t this cute? Someone made this terranium from their little Eiffle Tower. We went to Paris too, but I still don’t have the photos to prove it, argh!

No, I am not lost in Roma! I have been home for a week now, and my three week trip with Jared is already a dream. It was so nice to get back home to be with the children. I have never had such big cuddles. My mum and dad picked us up at the airport, and drove us home. All of the children were asleep at 10pm so Jared and I had fun gently waking them up. Alycia bounced out of bed, Cassandra was in a daze, Camden was like a log, and Steph and Lachlan woke when reality hit. This week has been so wonderful, Camden said as he dozed off to sleep “Mummy, it is so nice to see your face again”, how sweet is that?

School is back on, Camden’s reading has improved while I have been away (thanks to G’ma spending time with him every day), Camden has been the slowest to grasp reading. George and Julie were very brave taking on our children, but they did a great job and survived. I have noticed that G’pa has put a knob on my large saucepan, fixed our T.V cabinet hinge (It has been broken for at least three years), and other little, but very helpful surprises.

I have worked on a surprise….gone to our Homeschooling group were Lian arranged to make real hand dipped candles, was on Chruch morning tea…and many other “Life” things.

 I haven’t got any of my photos on my computer yet, as it is refusing to download/upload 3200 photos at once, argh! And you know that a blogger is no good without her camera! Stay tuned, Jared now has them on his, so I am deleting until I get to 1000!

Today my Steph is at Girl’s brigade training, I will be picking her up tommorow. I have attempted to make some pegdoll necklaces as seen on GRACEVIOLET, they are soooooooo cute, or at least I think so. But as I said, no camera, such a drama! I also made a cute pair of baby pants for someone who is having a baby. Alycia and Stephanie also learn’t with me..photos are coming. So as you can see, we have hit the ground running…..

I must thank God for protecting us and our family while we have been away. I have never felt the awesomeness of God in such a way before, knowing that He is all knowing, and that everything, including my final breath is in His hands.

We are in Geneva, for the Calvin 500 conference. Last night we listened to 3 sermons in a row, that has to be a record for a Monday. Suprisingly there are not as many people as we expected. Evidently most are lecturers, mostly from the U.S. We have spoted a fellow Aussie, from Sydney, and a New Zealander, and someone from the UK.  The sermons are great. In the Morning we listen to 4 papers from 4 different men (they read them), that hasn’t been the best.

 Jared and I have caught a few trams, walked heaps, and walked the gardens. People here must be very fit, because there are so many steps. Jared tries to find short cuts, but that makes the trip longer, as he normally finds the spot with more stairs! Oh for an airconditioner, our motel doesn’t have one. We asked for a fan, so we have an old one, but we have it on all night. At the moment we are in Maccas, they have a better internet service. I still can’t add photos, argh!

Today we had our first message. Sinclair Ferguson preached a great sermon about Christ alone for Salvation in realation to Paul’s conversion as seen in Phil 3. There are so many gypsies hanging around the churches asking for money. One has a walking stick, but you should see him run when a bunch of chinese tourists get off a bus, lol! You feel bad walking past, but I feel a little angry too. Why don’t they try to work? Sweep or something!! Geneva is very expensive, a little like Paris, but a lot quieter on a Sunday. Our internet service doesn’t work in the motel room, so we have found a Mcdonalds. Do you know that you have to pay to use a public bathroom, or have a special code at Mcdonalds to use a toilet?  That isn’t saying that they are clean either.

 yesterday was a good day. We got off the sleeper train (my boys would have loved to see that), and then we walked around Zurich. We saw Zwingli’s Chruch. It is very pretty hear, the water is so clear and blue, it puts our Yarra River to shame. We saw a sectioned area for swimming, and I was tossing up whether to put on my summer PJs to go for a swim, and then we noticed that the women were not wearing tops! lets just say that we walked off into the opposite direction very quickly. We re-wound the video tape just in case we caught some footage. 

The one thing that I do like about Europe besides the history is that they ride bikes everywhere. I can even see 70 year olds riding everywhere, cool! G’ma, I’m gunna buy you a bike for your Birthday!

On Thursday night we are off to Rome for a few days then back to home sweet home. God is so gracious to us, we have avoided so many disasters, to which I give God my thanks.

Do you know that you feel a little like a teenager when you are with your husband, without your children? I miss my children, I do, but it is nice to spend time with just Jared. It is nice to appreciate each other, to get eachother’s jokes etc…

see you.

The days are becoming a blur, i think that I will end up with some very confused history. We caught the train last night from Paris to Berlin. We were in a little room, with our own shower and toilet. The shower was a challege, ever tried taking a shower on a trampoline. The shower would squirt a blast of water, then stop, then you would have to push the button again. It was a very broken sleep, we had some very loud french people in the next room, and when they finally went to sleep, they snored! We arrived in Berlin at 8.30 am. The first thing we did was try and buy the tickets to Wittenberg. did you know that there are two Wittenbergs? Thankfully the very competant German lady pointed that out to us, or else we would have headed two hours in the opposite direction, argh! We had a couple of hours to fill in, so we walked in the humidity with our suitcases (the backpack broke), for a looksie at the Parliment were Hilter did his thing. We also saw where the Berlin wall use to be.  I can’t belive that I get to actually see all of this history.

 Back on a train, one that travelled at 200km/hr, it didn’t feel like it, but it was. we arrived in Wittenberg around lunch time. We booked into our room after walking another few kms, and guess what we can see outside our window? You guesed it, the door (or at least the replacement door) that Luther nailed his 95 thesis on, how cool is that? We also went in to the church, Luther was buried there. We climbed up to the bell tower. My legs went down yesterday, so I am extremely thankfull for that. They have remained that way despite all of the walking. I think that I am on “Fat Camp” I have never drunk so much water before.

This afternoon we have washed out our clothes, walked around and have visited Melanchthon’s home. i hadn’t heard of him before, but thankfully I have Jared with me, who knows a thing or two.

The motel room that we are staying in is like a mini palace, we could have fit all of the children in here! Evidently Peter the Great stayed in this room.

Well girls, I haven’t done any shopping, Jared is horrified at the thought! So I widow shop as we sprint past….as you can see we have great internet reception at this motel, yay!  tommorow lunch time we will head back to Berlin, then at 10pm we will catch a train to Zurich? then off to Geneva for the conferance. I am sooooooooo ready to see my children. I miss you children, I hope that you are being very good for Grandma and grandpa. Remember what I always tell you, that I love you, and that God does too, that is why He gave us his son to die for our sins. If only you could see how godly men fought for the Bible to be put into common man’s hands so that we could read this great treasure for ourselves, don’t neglect it, it is the very breath of God.

We are sitting in a McDonalds at the moment waiting to get on a train to Berlin. It has been suprisingly hot in Paris. I can’t believe that it still looks like day time at 10.30pm! We awake at 6 and stay awake until 11pm, oh laa laa! We have been washing out our clothes every night, and they have been drying fairly quickly.

Kiddies, have you done any cutting or laminating lately? I hope so..

Today we went to the Louvre, we saw so many amazing art works. I do think that painters have an obsession with the females human body, although the men weren’t doing too badly either. Jared said that he felt objectified!  Jared said that if he went around like half of the statues, he would be arrested!

I am now wishing that I paid some attention to the children’s German lessons, I will have to use my eyebrows alot to express myself, and Cassie sign language.