Firey February

As most of you would have heard by now, our country is engulfed in the worst bush fires in history. It is expected that the death toll may get to 300, and thousands of people are homeless after their small towns were ravaged by fires that hit like a nuclear weapon, destroying everything in their path. We have been saddened and touched by all of the stories of loss, heroics and hope.

This month has been a very hot month, but no where near as hot in Brisbane as it has been down south where the fires are (it got up to almost 120 degrees there).

Lilah is growing everyday and now says quite a few words: Mum, Dad, Lilah, hello, 'b' (for bird), ear, 'Nan' (for Nanook her toy husky dog) etc. She's really adventurous, and we can't leave anything on the floor anymore. She likes to crawl all over the place, and is finally starting to eat really well also. She laughs a lot, and just grinned at me while I am typing this, crinkling her eyes up (which she thinks is very funny) - her latest facial expression.

Eric has been very busy at work over the past couple of months. He had his largest camp recently, Jan Camp, where several hundred young people camp under large canvas shelters, swim, play games, and worship. Lilah and I went out there one morning but it was far too hot for us - Lilah looked like she'd been swimming after a 20-minute nap - so we went home. The camp went really well though, despite the heat. Here is a video of how it went.

Just before Jan camp, Lilah was dedicated at our church. She wore the dress that I was dedicated in when I was about her age. It was a lovely service, and afterwards we went to our favourite Chinese restaurant with friends and family. We had a really nice day.

I am back at work now, 3 days per week. It's going really well, and I'm actually enjoying the variety in my week. We have my Mum and a Nanny doing two days each week, and then Eric has Lilah on Fridays. So he's getting lots of bonding time, and Lilah is able to stay at home while I'm at work, and she is really enjoying her time with Grandma and her Dad. And I'm really appreciating the time that I get to spend with her even more now that it's less than before.

I have to do some travelling for work, and have already been to Sydney once, but nothing over night yet. That will no doubt happen soon, and we're not sure how we'll cope with that just yet.