Going to church for the first time, 2.5 weeks old...
Family picnic at West End, 28 June 08
Bath time! - 5 weeks old
5 weeks old...Lilah, Grandma and Angela (5 weeks old)...
Friday, July 11, 2008
More photos and videos of Lilah...
Going to church for the first time, 2.5 weeks old...Family picnic at West End, 28 June 08Bath time! - 5 weeks old 5 weeks old...
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Introducing Lilah Joy!
We have had a new addition to our family - Lilah Joy. Lilah was born on Tuesday, 3rd June, at 7:21pm weighing 2.62 kg (5 lbs 12 oz), and 46 cm long.
A couple of weeks earlier, I had gotten PIH - pregnancy induced hypertension, or high blood pressure. So, I had been on bed rest, in the hopes that we could wait for a natural delivery. The doctor wanted to do a cesearean, since I wasn't ready to deliver, but said it was safe to wait a little longer.
On Monday 2nd, I went to see the doctor only to discover that my, normally quite low, blood pressure had reached a dangerous high and we would have to deliver one way or the other - I was 38 weeks along. The choices were a cesearean or an induction that would probably end in a cesearean, since my body wasn't ready for labour. After prayer and discussion, Eric and I decided to try an induction, and so I was admitted to the hospital that night, and induction was started at 8pm.
The next morning we continued with the induction, and by late afternoon the doctor still thought it wasn't going well and would end in surgery. However, between 4pm and 7pm, everything sped up and Lilah arrived healthy and well at 7:21pm, much to our doctor's surprise! - she thought we'd still be there at midnight...
Lilah was a tiny 2.62 kg (5lb 12 oz) at birth, partly due to my blood pressure issues. She also was found to have low blood sugar, for the same reason, and so was admitted into the Special Care nursery. She had a feeding tube inserted through her nose, and was fed formula to try to stabilise her blood sugar levels.
We were thrilled at how well everything turned out and so glad to have a healthy baby!
Lilah was very sleepy, and slept through every second feed for the first few days, so these feeds were done via the tube. However, by Friday she was finished with all that and was allowed to 'room-in' with me that night - oh what a night! Her increased strength, coupled with coming off formula meant that she didn't sleep at all that night or the next few nights - and there was a lot of screaming. However she had adjusted better before too long. She's still fairly nocturnal, but is much better.
On the Sunday we were allowed to go home, and it's been fantastic ever since. Lilah has been such a good baby, with only a few really unsettled periods so far.
A couple of weeks earlier, I had gotten PIH - pregnancy induced hypertension, or high blood pressure. So, I had been on bed rest, in the hopes that we could wait for a natural delivery. The doctor wanted to do a cesearean, since I wasn't ready to deliver, but said it was safe to wait a little longer.On Monday 2nd, I went to see the doctor only to discover that my, normally quite low, blood pressure had reached a dangerous high and we would have to deliver one way or the other - I was 38 weeks along. The choices were a cesearean or an induction that would probably end in a cesearean, since my body wasn't ready for labour. After prayer and discussion, Eric and I decided to try an induction, and so I was admitted to the hospital that night, and induction was started at 8pm.
The next morning we continued with the induction, and by late afternoon the doctor still thought it wasn't going well and would end in surgery. However, between 4pm and 7pm, everything sped up and Lilah arrived healthy and well at 7:21pm, much to our doctor's surprise! - she thought we'd still be there at midnight...
Lilah was a tiny 2.62 kg (5lb 12 oz) at birth, partly due to my blood pressure issues. She also was found to have low blood sugar, for the same reason, and so was admitted into the Special Care nursery. She had a feeding tube inserted through her nose, and was fed formula to try to stabilise her blood sugar levels.We were thrilled at how well everything turned out and so glad to have a healthy baby!
Lilah was very sleepy, and slept through every second feed for the first few days, so these feeds were done via the tube. However, by Friday she was finished with all that and was allowed to 'room-in' with me that night - oh what a night! Her increased strength, coupled with coming off formula meant that she didn't sleep at all that night or the next few nights - and there was a lot of screaming. However she had adjusted better before too long. She's still fairly nocturnal, but is much better.
On the Sunday we were allowed to go home, and it's been fantastic ever since. Lilah has been such a good baby, with only a few really unsettled periods so far.
She's still tiny, but is quickly catching up. At her 4 week doctor's appointment she weighed 3.5 kg, and had grown 4.5 cm. She's now average newborn size (at 4 weeks old).
Lilah has been smiling at us more and more lately, and at her toys, books and the gift cards sent to us by family and friends that I have hung in her room - she loves them! She has an adorable smile, and spends her awake times taking in her surroundings. She also loves bath-time.
Here is a short video of Lilah at 4 weeks old on her change table. She has the hiccoughs...
Monday, March 10, 2008
I'm in a book!
On Saturday night Eric and I went to the launch of a book called 'Tech girls are chic, not just geek', featuring 16 young women in IT (including myself!).
The aim of the book is to encourage girls to consider studying IT, since enrollment is so low. The editors got corporate sponsorship to send the book out free of charge to thousands of Australian school girls, so I'm going to be famous! well, almost... they've also gotten some international orders for the book already.
Here's the website, along with some newspaper and radio articles about the book!
Friday, February 15, 2008
Baby on board
As most of you would know by now, we're expecting our first baby in June. We know it's a girl, and we're excited about meeting her soonish - well it seems soon to me, time is flying by!
So far things have been going really well. I was nauseous for the first 18 weeks, but not too bad. However, it made me really hungry and tired, so meant too much weight gain - but I'm feeling much better these days.
Work is really busy and stressful at the moment, but that is good as it keeps me busy so that time is passing by quickly and each week seems to pass faster than the last. I am really looking forward to maternity leave! I hope I can have regular coffees (or more likely hot milk with honey - my latest craving) with friends, decorate the nursery, and put my feet up. It won't happen until May, but that's approaching quickly.
Eric is going really well. He hosted a Superbowl party here last weekend, and had about 10 guys over to celebrate. I made hot wings for the first time, and they seemed to go down well. We also had a few other American foods and drinks to serve, and I think they had a good time together. Most of them didn't know much about gridiron football, but they still enjoyed hanging out. Meanwhile, I spent some time with a girlfriend - which was nice.
We've put our housebuilding plans on hold for now, with the baby on the way. We have decided to make this time as stress-free as we possibly can (ie. no moving house), so we're just going to keep the land, keep renting, and figure it all out later... later sounds good!
Church is going really well, and Eric has been enjoying helping out with a film that is being put together - Biblestudies, music etc. He's had input into recording and engineering the musical aspect, so he's really been having fun with that.
Eric also had one of his big camps for the year (Jan camp) a couple of weeks ago. There were almost 300 people there, and all seemed to have a great time. He also survived the weekend, so that's a big plus!
We finally broke down and bought ourselves a second car. Since we're not moving to Kenmore in the near future, we needed another car for when the baby comes along. So, Eric got a small Hyundai Excel hatchback for commuting, and I'll keep the Pulsar for myself (and the baby of course ;)).
Eric's been mountain biking at least once per week, and is actually out riding with Marty (my brother) right now. They usually ride together every week if they can. They really enjoy getting out into the bush and the challenge of traversing new trails etc. However, Eric does seem to come home with injuries more often than I would like! But that's mountain biking for you.
I've been able to stop travelling for work - which I'm very happy about. I would have been in Sydney for most of the past two weeks, but I have a great excuse now and they're letting me get away with it - big belly!
Eric was finally able to purchase his ticket to fly back to Atlanta in April this week. We were waiting for some points to be added to our mileage account to help with the purchase, so we managed to get a fairly cheap flight out of it. He's going to be in Atlanta from the 15th April, to the 1st May. He's really looking forward to seeing everyone and going shopping too! Augh - I'd better start saving now...
I'll try to keep updating you as all the excitement unfolds for us this year.
With love, Bron
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Chennai
I lay on the hard bed and try to reshape the pillow into something resembling head support. The fan overhead groans and creaks as though it will dislodge from the ceiling at any moment. The tree outside the window reaches towards me as it sways gently, making me feel as though I am berthed on a ship rolling in high seas, rather than laying in a drab-room at the YWCA in Chennai, India.
We arrived here around midnight last night: as soon as the plane pulled up to the terminal, I knew we had landed in a place unlike any other I have ever been before. The passengers, all standing and surging to the front of the plane even before it has come to a stop, the smells, the heat, I brace myself for an adventure of a lifetime.
The dingy airport was filled with such new smells, sights and sounds that hit me in the face as I disembarked. After finally getting through the long lines at immigration and customs we rolled our luggage in procession outside to be greated by the sight of thousands of brown staring faces - then our senses were jarred by the din of cars, horns, yelling, whistling and more unfamiliar and many unwelcome smells.
As we walked through the parking lot, Robyn yelled "Keep up", and we pushed our way through the swaying crowds of people going in the opposite direction, desperate to keep the rest of the group in sight. We passed people sleeping on the ground, standing and waiting for loved ones, motorcycles whizzing through the traffic jam with women in colourful clothing riding side-saddle behind their men.
Squeezing into a minivan - we hoped our luggage made it in too - we were soon a part of a noisy traffic jam heading for the airport's exit. We merged onto a highway, the driver did not even turn to look back at oncoming traffic as he accelerated ahead. Trucks, cars and motorbikes bore down on us on every side.
The bright overhead lights illuminating us all to the curious passers-by. I reached up and switched off the light, feeling self concious. "That's better", said Robyn, "now I don't feel as though I'm riding in a fish bowl!".The poverty here is immediately apparent - corrugated iron, cardboard and cloth serve as walls, shop fronts, and street-level shelters.
Leanne points out a body, lying motionless near the centre of the road. Face down, it is surrounded by blood, as the unrelenting traffic surges by - we stare ahead each lost in our own thoughts.
It was almost midnight here, and yet there were people, cars and motorbikes everywhere! The horn was used by motorists as indicator, brake lights, and any other form of communication you can think of for the road. Lane lines do not appear to have any significance here.
We finally pulled into the YWCA and went up to our rooms. They were fairly clean, but most importantly had beds and air-conditioning!
This morning we went downstairs to the dining hall, where we had an English/Indian fusion breakfast, including toast, eggs, tea, spicy noodles, papaya and spicy fried donuts of some kind, with chillis in them. In the heat and humidity the women in our group are wearing long tops, scarves and jeans, and the men are in button-up shirts and long pants, as a sign of respect to the local culture. We are all glistening with sweat as we sip our sweet milky tea and coffee at the breakfast table.
Piling into the tiny yellow taxis that have replaced the traditional rickshaw as a means of transportation in India, called 'autos' (short for auto-rickshaw), we head off to the Powerhouse church, which meets in a movie theatre nearby.
The church is westernised and quite wealthy. As we walk in, the band is playing "How Great is our God", and we feel instantly at home here. Eric and I perform a few songs together, and John preaches, then we all go to a local restaurant called 'Sparky's'. It is an American diner, run by an American, as part of the YWAM ministry. All proceeds go to support local ministries.
Eric is excited to see 'Buffalo Chicken Wings' on the menu - he can't believe his luck. He says, 'I had to come all the way to India to get some Hot Wings!'. Then we taste them - oh well, we politely eat each one, regretting the purchase more with each bite. Not quite the real thing.
The people we meet at Powerhouse church are all lovely, welcoming, and very westernised - they seem to represent an Indian middle class, unlike the swarms of Indians we saw in the streets on the way here.
After lunch, most of us venture to Spencer Plaza shopping centre to do some shopping. I buy a long cotton top and two beautiful, colourful table runners. I embrace the bartering culture and get them for a good deal, much to Jenny's chagrin - she is adamant that if we pay the retailer more for the items, we will be helping raise the wage of the labourers who make them. Maybe she's right - but it seems unlikely.
The Plaza is fun: full of different people, colours, sights and smells. Hawkers try to get us into their shops as we stroll by, shouting 'Madam, madam!'. One, from a leather store, even follows Louise through several other shops trying to convince her to buy a leather jacket.
Today I was able to see through the obvious poverty that overwhelms you the moment you arrive, and look more closely at the people crossing the street, driving by, shopping side by side with us. There is a new wealth growing in Chennai. The city is buzzing with industry, the young people here are starting to dress in western clothes (mostly the men) and are leaving the traditions of their parents behind. India is changing, as I watch.
We arrived here around midnight last night: as soon as the plane pulled up to the terminal, I knew we had landed in a place unlike any other I have ever been before. The passengers, all standing and surging to the front of the plane even before it has come to a stop, the smells, the heat, I brace myself for an adventure of a lifetime.
The dingy airport was filled with such new smells, sights and sounds that hit me in the face as I disembarked. After finally getting through the long lines at immigration and customs we rolled our luggage in procession outside to be greated by the sight of thousands of brown staring faces - then our senses were jarred by the din of cars, horns, yelling, whistling and more unfamiliar and many unwelcome smells.
As we walked through the parking lot, Robyn yelled "Keep up", and we pushed our way through the swaying crowds of people going in the opposite direction, desperate to keep the rest of the group in sight. We passed people sleeping on the ground, standing and waiting for loved ones, motorcycles whizzing through the traffic jam with women in colourful clothing riding side-saddle behind their men.
Squeezing into a minivan - we hoped our luggage made it in too - we were soon a part of a noisy traffic jam heading for the airport's exit. We merged onto a highway, the driver did not even turn to look back at oncoming traffic as he accelerated ahead. Trucks, cars and motorbikes bore down on us on every side.
The bright overhead lights illuminating us all to the curious passers-by. I reached up and switched off the light, feeling self concious. "That's better", said Robyn, "now I don't feel as though I'm riding in a fish bowl!".The poverty here is immediately apparent - corrugated iron, cardboard and cloth serve as walls, shop fronts, and street-level shelters.
Leanne points out a body, lying motionless near the centre of the road. Face down, it is surrounded by blood, as the unrelenting traffic surges by - we stare ahead each lost in our own thoughts.
It was almost midnight here, and yet there were people, cars and motorbikes everywhere! The horn was used by motorists as indicator, brake lights, and any other form of communication you can think of for the road. Lane lines do not appear to have any significance here.
We finally pulled into the YWCA and went up to our rooms. They were fairly clean, but most importantly had beds and air-conditioning!
This morning we went downstairs to the dining hall, where we had an English/Indian fusion breakfast, including toast, eggs, tea, spicy noodles, papaya and spicy fried donuts of some kind, with chillis in them. In the heat and humidity the women in our group are wearing long tops, scarves and jeans, and the men are in button-up shirts and long pants, as a sign of respect to the local culture. We are all glistening with sweat as we sip our sweet milky tea and coffee at the breakfast table.
Piling into the tiny yellow taxis that have replaced the traditional rickshaw as a means of transportation in India, called 'autos' (short for auto-rickshaw), we head off to the Powerhouse church, which meets in a movie theatre nearby.
The church is westernised and quite wealthy. As we walk in, the band is playing "How Great is our God", and we feel instantly at home here. Eric and I perform a few songs together, and John preaches, then we all go to a local restaurant called 'Sparky's'. It is an American diner, run by an American, as part of the YWAM ministry. All proceeds go to support local ministries.
Eric is excited to see 'Buffalo Chicken Wings' on the menu - he can't believe his luck. He says, 'I had to come all the way to India to get some Hot Wings!'. Then we taste them - oh well, we politely eat each one, regretting the purchase more with each bite. Not quite the real thing.
The people we meet at Powerhouse church are all lovely, welcoming, and very westernised - they seem to represent an Indian middle class, unlike the swarms of Indians we saw in the streets on the way here.
After lunch, most of us venture to Spencer Plaza shopping centre to do some shopping. I buy a long cotton top and two beautiful, colourful table runners. I embrace the bartering culture and get them for a good deal, much to Jenny's chagrin - she is adamant that if we pay the retailer more for the items, we will be helping raise the wage of the labourers who make them. Maybe she's right - but it seems unlikely.
The Plaza is fun: full of different people, colours, sights and smells. Hawkers try to get us into their shops as we stroll by, shouting 'Madam, madam!'. One, from a leather store, even follows Louise through several other shops trying to convince her to buy a leather jacket.
Today I was able to see through the obvious poverty that overwhelms you the moment you arrive, and look more closely at the people crossing the street, driving by, shopping side by side with us. There is a new wealth growing in Chennai. The city is buzzing with industry, the young people here are starting to dress in western clothes (mostly the men) and are leaving the traditions of their parents behind. India is changing, as I watch.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Skiing at Falls Creek - Yay!!!!
Well, we're back in Brisbane, back at the grindstone again, but for a brief few days we were having the time of our lives!
We flew down to Melbourne before the sun peeped over the horizon on Wednesday last week. It was a public holiday in Brisbane, since the Ecca was on (ie. the Brisbane Fair) - yes, yes, we will use any excuse for a holiday, that is very true!
So, from Melbourne we caught a bus to Mount Beauty where we stayed for 4 nights (see picture above left). Here is a photo of us in downtown Mount Beauty (above right) - almost a village actually, less than 2000 people live here. It was in fact very beautiful, as the name suggests, and the drive from Melbourne was picturesque with green fields, snow topped mountains in the background, and trees dotting the hills.
On Thursday, we caught another bus up the hill to Falls Creek ski resort. It was only about 45 minutes on the road, and a very pretty if somewhat sickening ride. Ski fields in Australia are very different to the USA, with snow gums everywhere, less snow and less people. Also, the altitude is much lower in general than the fields in Colorado or Utah etc, and of course being Australia it is more expensive too! Here is a picture of the ski slopes.
We had a great time skiing, and then caught the bus home to Mount Beauty again in the evening. The next day, we went back up to Falls Creek, and this time stayed for dinner. Both days ended in rain - which was a bit miserable to ski in, especially since I still had bronchitis - but it was only at the very end of the day, and so we finished up early and went inside to warm up with chips and drinks.
As you can see from the photo on the left, it was quite foggy at times on the slopes, which made it difficult to see where you were going. There are actually a lot of people all around me in the photo, but you can't see any of them...
We had a fantastic time, and didn't have any crashes or falls, so we were happy with that!
By the end of the three days of skiing, I was swooshing pretty fast down the slopes. It's been a year and a half since we last skiied - that was in Canada. We definitely missed Canada, but Falls Creek was fun too.
Saturday was a beautiful, clear day, and then we headed back to Brisbane on Sunday. We had quite a long layover in the Melbourne airport, but thankfully I was able to use my corporate Qantas club membership to get us into the lounge, so we were able to lounge on couches, eat, drink, watch TV, read magazines and generally enjoy some lazy time before catching our flight.
Here is a photo of us at the top of one of the black diamond slopes... I'm not a huge fan of skiing black diamonds, but a did a few of them and managed to stay on my feet so I was pretty happy with that.
Of course, black diamonds in Australia aren't really the same thing as in the US, Canada or Europe. But I'll take it!
It was really nice just to have some time to ourselves, as we've both been so busy lately with work and buying land etc. Since getting back we've hardly seen each other again, so it was definitely good to have a break.
Here is a photo of Eric hiding in some snowgums...
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Trek for treatment
One of the things that our church is heavily involved in is raising money for and participating in mission work overseas. On Saturday Eric, Aussie and I did the 'Trek for Treatment' which was a 13 km hike through the Brookfield Hills to raise money for the Leprosy Foundation of Australia to buy X-Ray equipment for a hospital in Nepal.
It was a beautiful day, a little chilly at first, but nice once we warmed up from the walk. It was quite a difficult hike, up and down hills the whole way, and I'm pretty sore and sorry now, but it was definitely worth it. Aussie was in his element of course, and didn't even get worn out by the end of the hike, even though he probaby goes about 10 times further than we do, as he runs back and forward the and side to side the entire way on his 20 foot leash. He did some great work pulling me up a couple of hills!
We loved being outside, and wished that we could have been camping. It's been a while since we have been camping - the last time was in Italy. Our weekends have been so busy that we haven't had an opportunity, but we're hoping to go in Spring after our trip to India.
We're very excited at the moment, and little anxious because we settle on our block of land in Kenmore this week. Here is a photo of the land:
It's a small block, but we're actually glad of that because it will mean less yard work, and with the terrible drought that Queensland has been going through for the past 7+ years there isn't any spare water to keep a large garden going, so it's better to have a small yard. Also, it's directly across the road from a cute park, so we'll use that as our backyard without having to maintain it!
The block is in a fantastic location. It is literally within eyesight of the church, so Eric will be able to walk to work. This will be so great for him, because he often has late night meetings - and once we move to our new home he will be able to pop home for dinner. Also we won't have to buy a second car which will save us a lot of money. Here is a view of the street that it's on - Palm St.
Kenmore is such a nice, leafy suburb. It's really well established, with shops, cafes, restaurants, and several schools. Everything we could want within reasonable walking distance. We're very blessed to have found a block of land there within our price range (well sort of!) - there isn't much land available in Kenmore these days, we may have snagged the last block! The only thing is that it will be quite a long process to get it built as there is a real estate boom on in Australia and all of the builders and tradespeople are extremely busy and very difficult to book. We're hoping to get it done within 8-9 months... and in the mean time we have to pay rent and a mortgage!I won't tell you how much the land is costing us, because you'd probably have a coronary, let's just say that the land is costing us quite a bit more than a very nice house in Atlanta would have cost. Then we have to build on it.... Oh well, we're trusting God through the whole process, 'cause He's looked after us so far. Here is a view of the cute park across the road from our block, and up the hill towards the church.
Here are some pictures of other houses on the street. It's a very modern, funky look - Dad is designing our house, and I think it will be great. Two stories, with 5 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. We can't wait until it's built and we can move in - then we won't be moving again for a very long time, and you will all have to visit us!
Au revoir!
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