I have so much to blog about, having last week off with the kids and all the fun we had. I'll get to that another time, when I'm more up to it.
On Sunday, Maria's "six month anniversary since going to be with the Lord" was remembered in a service held at the Greek Orthodox church, followed by the priest joining us at the Cemetery.
As it has just passed midnight (now the 20th), it is "officially" six months. How are we doing? The three of us are hanging in there and generally functioning reasonably well. We have our moments (me more than them), but we continue on as best we can as considering we've had a large part of our identity taken from us. I appreciate the legacy of Maria which is more precious than anything––it is the tangible that we three miss.
Although I feel distant from God at present and find it quite difficult to immerse myself in His word and love, ironically it is my faith in Him (and focus on the kids) which really keeps me going. How do you do it any other way?
After originally posting this just after midnight, I opened one of Maria's bibles and noted the following, which she had underlined. She continues to encourage me from afar, even when I am running on empty.
Psalm 62:5-8 (NLT)
Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.
My victory and honor come from God alone.
He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
O my people, trust in him at all times.
Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.
20 July 2010
15 July 2010
I need to project back a little
Since the last time I blogged, things have been quite busy in a number of ways.
Firstly, Spain deservingly won the World Cup against a Dutch team that decided to put them off their game by playing rough (also understanding the referee is less inclined to book players). The Dutch had their chances but Spain stuck to their guns and overall had that much more class right across the field. I'm glad they won!
Germany had a thrilling 3-2 win over Uruguay in the play-off for 3rd place. It generally is an exciting game with plenty of goals, and we weren't disappointed. With the 2nd youngest team in the tournament, they were hoping to do well, but never expected to come 3rd overall. 2014 in Brazil should be an exciting tournament.
The kids were sick through to Thursday, when they were finally well enough to go to their pre-planned activities, but only got the last couple of days in. Maria's parents left us on Friday morning and were a huge blessing, especially as my work commitments were significant that week.
I had to go into work on Saturday to ensure everything was off my chest before commencing leave. I was so happy to achieve that. I'll leave the next entry for this week.
Firstly, Spain deservingly won the World Cup against a Dutch team that decided to put them off their game by playing rough (also understanding the referee is less inclined to book players). The Dutch had their chances but Spain stuck to their guns and overall had that much more class right across the field. I'm glad they won!
Germany had a thrilling 3-2 win over Uruguay in the play-off for 3rd place. It generally is an exciting game with plenty of goals, and we weren't disappointed. With the 2nd youngest team in the tournament, they were hoping to do well, but never expected to come 3rd overall. 2014 in Brazil should be an exciting tournament.
The kids were sick through to Thursday, when they were finally well enough to go to their pre-planned activities, but only got the last couple of days in. Maria's parents left us on Friday morning and were a huge blessing, especially as my work commitments were significant that week.
I had to go into work on Saturday to ensure everything was off my chest before commencing leave. I was so happy to achieve that. I'll leave the next entry for this week.
08 July 2010
Congratulations Spain!
Well, I thought the Netherlands would win far more comfortably than they did. As it's the semi-finals of the most followed sporting event in the world, there would have to be nerves.
Spain really blitzed the Germans from the first seconds, and with their control of the ball (especially in the midfield) and pressure applied to regain possession and put the Germans off their game, the strategy worked. The Germans were certainly a more lethargic team and picked a bad time to have an average match. They missed Mueller more than they realised.
I was very impressed with the Spanish coach who, with 10mins left and up 1-0, substituted their best player this tournament (David Villa) with Torres (another class player, but overcoming knee surgery). The reason for my admiration was replacing one striker with another, rather than taking a defensive stance and replacing Villa with an attacking fullback.
The consolation with Spain's win means that one of my pre-tournament picks in now in the final and I expect them to win. The Dutch have a few players who play in La Liga, so it should be an exciting final. Hopefully Germany can account for Uruguay in the playoff for 3rd/4th place.
Please don't think that I've flipped my lid or am sleep deprived when you read the following. Can you believe that Paul the Octopus retains his 100% strike rate? When my brother was down, he spoke of Paul, but as I thought it was a gee-up, I didn't dare even contemplate googling it. I saw it on TV yesterday morning and was then sad to hear that Paul had chosen Spain. Anyway, rather than go on about it, here is one (of many) link that will help it make more sense.
Spain really blitzed the Germans from the first seconds, and with their control of the ball (especially in the midfield) and pressure applied to regain possession and put the Germans off their game, the strategy worked. The Germans were certainly a more lethargic team and picked a bad time to have an average match. They missed Mueller more than they realised.
I was very impressed with the Spanish coach who, with 10mins left and up 1-0, substituted their best player this tournament (David Villa) with Torres (another class player, but overcoming knee surgery). The reason for my admiration was replacing one striker with another, rather than taking a defensive stance and replacing Villa with an attacking fullback.
The consolation with Spain's win means that one of my pre-tournament picks in now in the final and I expect them to win. The Dutch have a few players who play in La Liga, so it should be an exciting final. Hopefully Germany can account for Uruguay in the playoff for 3rd/4th place.
Please don't think that I've flipped my lid or am sleep deprived when you read the following. Can you believe that Paul the Octopus retains his 100% strike rate? When my brother was down, he spoke of Paul, but as I thought it was a gee-up, I didn't dare even contemplate googling it. I saw it on TV yesterday morning and was then sad to hear that Paul had chosen Spain. Anyway, rather than go on about it, here is one (of many) link that will help it make more sense.
07 July 2010
World Cup (QF outcomes and SF picks)
Only 2/4 for the quarters. That said, even if I picked Germany to beat Argentina, there is no way in the world I considered the Netherlands would defeat Brazil.
How amazing that 4/8 teams were from South America and only one is left and they, Uruguay, were extremely fortunate to win. All three European teams made it through, so now the stats are 3/4 teams remaining are European. What a coup for us Europhiles.
THE SEMIS - No lengthy analysis due to fatigue.
Netherlands -v- Uruguay
I pick the Netherlands as they beat Brazil and seem to know how to put flary South American teams off their game. They have an overall stronger quality and depth of players. Uruguay had a dubious victory against Ghana. Suarez (Uruguay's phenomenal striker is suspended for this game).
How amazing that 4/8 teams were from South America and only one is left and they, Uruguay, were extremely fortunate to win. All three European teams made it through, so now the stats are 3/4 teams remaining are European. What a coup for us Europhiles.
THE SEMIS - No lengthy analysis due to fatigue.
Netherlands -v- Uruguay
I pick the Netherlands as they beat Brazil and seem to know how to put flary South American teams off their game. They have an overall stronger quality and depth of players. Uruguay had a dubious victory against Ghana. Suarez (Uruguay's phenomenal striker is suspended for this game).
Germany -v- Spain
I pick Germany as they are able to destroy any team, are beaming with youthful confidence and are very quick on the counter attack. Even without Mueller (who has scored the most goals for the team) they have so much in the way of goal-scoring depth. Although Spain was one of my two picks before the tournament, I think this is where it is all going to end. David Villa is still playing unbelievably and there are quality players in the team, but I think they can be rattled. Paraguay gave them a run for their money, which I didn't expect.
Tue 6-Jul-10 (Kids' ongoing illness, school reports, work)
I got the kids into the doctor last night (Monday) and discovered they both have a virus, that they'll have to ride through. They continue to be lethargic and not quite right, but slowly improving. They have missed the first two days of their holiday program and will more than likely miss tomorrow as well. Gabi vomited before bed tonight, but I think it was a combination of three servings of spag-bol combined with ice cream to top it off.
I received their school reports in the mail and went through them individually with the kids. They both did amazingly well. Ben was very contemplative and mature, identifying where he felt they may have been generous and areas where he considered himself stronger than the report's outcome. Overall they were both excellent results.
I've just finished work. Second night in a row past midnight after more than a full day in the office. My back/neck are struggling. I'm so exhausted and overwhelmed with work to the point that I intend to skip the first semi-final of the World Cup (Netherlands -v- Uruguay) in a few hours.
I received their school reports in the mail and went through them individually with the kids. They both did amazingly well. Ben was very contemplative and mature, identifying where he felt they may have been generous and areas where he considered himself stronger than the report's outcome. Overall they were both excellent results.
I've just finished work. Second night in a row past midnight after more than a full day in the office. My back/neck are struggling. I'm so exhausted and overwhelmed with work to the point that I intend to skip the first semi-final of the World Cup (Netherlands -v- Uruguay) in a few hours.
04 July 2010
Wimbledon 2010 Men's final
It's about to start: Rafael Nadal -v- Tomas Berdych. If Rafa plays his best, then he'll win in straight sets, maybe four at worst. Berdych will need to fire and hope Rafa is off his game to beat him.
Sun 4-Jul-10 (busy weekend, kids' illness)
Mark, Cass and the boys stayed with us for the weekend and left after lunch today. Once again, all four kids got on like a house on fire. I've again been especially impressed with Ben taking the time to play with the boys and encouraging them. It's a real blessing to see and hear.
We had a couple of park plays over the weekend. Yesterday we went to Fadden Pines and Ben just loved hanging out at the small skatepark. Today he, Mark and the boys went to Tuggeranong Town Park and Ben spent a little time at the bigger skatepark. At Ben's insistence I took him and Gabi back to Fadden Pines this afternoon. Ben scootered around while Gabi and I hung out.
Ben and Gabi have fought illness since probably Friday morning. The Panadol and Nurofen seems to kick in and has done the trick up until late this afternoon. They both went to bed miserable, especially Ben claiming to feel as he did in Greece. In 2008 when we went there for Maria's dad's 70th Ben became extremely ill and was hospitalised.
They're both supposed to be attending a kids program at church for the week, but look far less than likely that they'll be well enough. I am also supposed to be taking over the reigns at work this week. Anyway, I called Maria's parents just to let them know how things were going and they graciously offered to come up first thing tomorrow morning to care for the kids, allowing me to get into work and hopefully sort out a medical appointment.
We had a couple of park plays over the weekend. Yesterday we went to Fadden Pines and Ben just loved hanging out at the small skatepark. Today he, Mark and the boys went to Tuggeranong Town Park and Ben spent a little time at the bigger skatepark. At Ben's insistence I took him and Gabi back to Fadden Pines this afternoon. Ben scootered around while Gabi and I hung out.
Ben and Gabi have fought illness since probably Friday morning. The Panadol and Nurofen seems to kick in and has done the trick up until late this afternoon. They both went to bed miserable, especially Ben claiming to feel as he did in Greece. In 2008 when we went there for Maria's dad's 70th Ben became extremely ill and was hospitalised.
They're both supposed to be attending a kids program at church for the week, but look far less than likely that they'll be well enough. I am also supposed to be taking over the reigns at work this week. Anyway, I called Maria's parents just to let them know how things were going and they graciously offered to come up first thing tomorrow morning to care for the kids, allowing me to get into work and hopefully sort out a medical appointment.
Deutschland, Deutschland (me of little faith)
4-0
What destruction! While my brother Mark and I chatted through the day and read the media in the lead-up to this game, we felt that Germany certainly could win, but how many people would have guessed a 4-0 scoreline!As Aussies we have one thing in common with Argentina and England. That is, Germany scored four goals against each of us.
Germany were nothing short of sensational. Maradona had a lot to say in the lead-up to the game and even put on a poor German accent, mocking Schweinsteiger in saying, "What's the matter Schweinsteiger? Are you nervoushh?". Well, Bastian's response came with the ball as he completely controlled the game from midfield. Klose was equal with Pele on 12 World Cup goals before the game. He scored two tonight to pass that milestone.
While the Argentinians were poor in defence, it was because the Germans completely dominated the game, applied relentless pressure and shut them down. They are playing such exciting football––nothing like the Germans of yesteryear. They came into the tournament with such a young team, just expecting to gain experience for the next World Cup. Now they are two matches away from winning this one.
I've back against the Germans for the last time in this tournament. Even if Spain (one of my pre-tournament choices) beats Paraguay 10-0, I wouldn't bet against the Germans.
The only downside to the game was that Mueller was yellow carded for a handball (I thought there was nothing in it), which means he'll miss the semi-final. He's only 20 y/o and is a goal-scoring machine (four goals in five games). The great thing about the Germans is that they have shown that anyone in the team can score.
It's just after 2:00am and I'm flicking between the beginning of the Tour de France and the cricket. I just witnessed the Aussies taking their 6th wicket in looking to secure the last game of the one-day series against England. Unfortunately this is a dead rubber, being down 3-1 coming into this game. Very unlike the Aussies to lose a cricket series.
I think it's time to catch up on some sleep.
02 July 2010
Fri 2-Jul-10 (the week that was)
The kids are so fatigued at present. Their last day of the school term has come to an end and they can now kick back and relax a bit. Gabi was very sad as it was her teacher's last day at school before entering retirement. I attended a farewell afternoon tea, at which the kids danced to Beatles music. It was funny to see this generation of young kids so into music from so long ago.
Effie, Brian and the kids arrived around 5pm to stay overnight before a 4am start to get to the airport to fly out for a 10-day holiday in central Australia. The kids enjoyed pizza while us grown-ups had a great Indian takeaway. The kids were in bed by 9pm with the grown-ups (minus one :-p) in bed by 10pm.
After Sunday's broken window incident, we had two consecutive well below freezing nights. To give you an exmaple of how cold it was and the impact a small window pane had, I went to bed @ 2:30am after the soccer. I turned the heater off (temp was 22C - 71.6F). Four hours later the heater came on and the house was down to 15C (59F), although I had the bathroom door closed and the IXL Tastic on to take some of the edge off the icy breeze coming in. I learnt later from a footy mum that it got down to -7C (19.4F) overnight. It is possible as it was -1C (30F) when I dropped the kids off to school @ 9:00am!
On Tuesday night I prepared dinner and cooked it overnight in the slow cooker. This motivated the kids to concoct their own gooey messes. As you can see, they had a lot of fun.
Apart from work, footy training and bible study, there is not much more to report.
Ben has footy tomorrow and was running a slight fever. There has been some rain today and might continue into the morning before clearing. I think we'll need a game cancellation to give Ben that break as he won't miss it even if he is unwell.
Mark, Cass and boys will be arriving tomorrow to spend the weekend with us. It should be fun, providing Ben overcomes his ailment. Mark and I will be up for the Germany -v- Argentina game tomorrow night. Speaking of sport, there is a lot of tennis and soccer this weekend. Brazil and the Netherlands start in an hour @ midnight, while the Men's Wimbledon semis are on right now. My sleep has fallen apart in recent times so I can ruin it that much more with a sleepless weekend...can I?
After Sunday's broken window incident, we had two consecutive well below freezing nights. To give you an exmaple of how cold it was and the impact a small window pane had, I went to bed @ 2:30am after the soccer. I turned the heater off (temp was 22C - 71.6F). Four hours later the heater came on and the house was down to 15C (59F), although I had the bathroom door closed and the IXL Tastic on to take some of the edge off the icy breeze coming in. I learnt later from a footy mum that it got down to -7C (19.4F) overnight. It is possible as it was -1C (30F) when I dropped the kids off to school @ 9:00am!
On Tuesday night I prepared dinner and cooked it overnight in the slow cooker. This motivated the kids to concoct their own gooey messes. As you can see, they had a lot of fun.
I had a very busy work week as we were committed to going live with a new business process on 1 July. So far, so good. It could potentially create up to six times the number of assessments, but hopefully not all requiring further work. It looks like I'll be provided additional help as we move along and can show justification for it. Next week my boss will be away, so I take over the reigns, which means oversight of my own unit and some others. It will be the first real test week of our new process so juggling it all will require some prayer.
Apart from work, footy training and bible study, there is not much more to report.
Ben has footy tomorrow and was running a slight fever. There has been some rain today and might continue into the morning before clearing. I think we'll need a game cancellation to give Ben that break as he won't miss it even if he is unwell.
Mark, Cass and boys will be arriving tomorrow to spend the weekend with us. It should be fun, providing Ben overcomes his ailment. Mark and I will be up for the Germany -v- Argentina game tomorrow night. Speaking of sport, there is a lot of tennis and soccer this weekend. Brazil and the Netherlands start in an hour @ midnight, while the Men's Wimbledon semis are on right now. My sleep has fallen apart in recent times so I can ruin it that much more with a sleepless weekend...can I?