Tue 20-Jul-10 (6 months)

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.

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.

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.

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). 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

World Cup quarter-finals (and then there were eight)

Although my pre-game analysis was close to the money in all matches, I ended up with 5/8. My only regretful decision was going against Germany. Japan were pipped on penalties and the US lost in extra time. The upside is that I got my wish in not having to see Rooney or Ronaldo again for this tournament. They both chose the worse possible time to be out of form. I'm sure when they return to their high-paying clubs that their form will return.

Now it's time to take another stab. It's getting that much harder now we're down to the real quality. Of the eight remaining teams, the South Americans (4 teams) have the greatest representation, edging out the Europeans (3). At least the home continent of Africa has a team still in battle.

Before I launch into my picks, I have to sing the praises of the goal keepers in this tournament. The vast majority of those in these last eight teams have been in blistering form and some are the reason why their team is where they are right now.

Uruguay -v- Ghana

Uruguay look good in attack, but can be susceptible in defence. They have a habit of getting a goal ahead, then closing down and allowing the opposition to apply the pressure. Suarez who scored both the goals against Sth Korea has the world's most phenomenal scoring strike rate over the last 12 months. Ghana showed the support of the African continent helped them through against the US. They will need that support again as well as riding on the confidence that they were finally able to put goals into the back of the net without requiring penalties. They are on a high and realise that maybe their best opportunity ever to get to the semis. Obviously when it gets to this stage it becomes that much harder to call. I don't believe either of these teams will go any further than the semis. Getting back to this match, I think the South Americans have that little extra something that will see them through, providing they don't go into their shells. My pick: URUGUAY

Netherlands -v- Brazil

As I predicted, the Netherlands benefited immensely with Robben's return, scoring one goal and supplying the other. They look good in all areas of the park, but will be up against arguably the most potent team of the tournament. The coach will have to think through the tactics they'll need to employ to shut down and frustrate the Brazilians, leading to more turnover and less discipline. As I predicted, Brazil were that much better than an understrength Chilean team. They continue to improve and are looking in hot form. Although I didn't pick them in my top two at the beginning of the tournament, they are looking like potential champions already. That said, anything can happen in a game of football. I predict the winner of this match will go through to the final. As much as I hope for the Dutch to go that extra step, I think the climb may be too steep. My pick: BRAZIL

Argentina -v- Germany

Argentina still look like finalists to me. However, they will need their wits about them as they face a young, fearless and well-drilled outfit in the Germans. Tevez's goals were brilliant and Messi continues to mesmerise the opposition with his speed and agility. Germany had a well deserved win against the English and showed they won't go without a fight. I commented on the impact of Oezil and he showed it again. Germany's  advantage to me is that they can rely on a number of players to score, making them that much more unpredictable. Both of these nations are heavyweights of world football and are showing it again. If it comes down to penalties (I don't believe it will), the Germans may have that composure required. From memory they have one of the best (if not the best) penalty shootout records in major tournaments. I think that the experience of Argentina's big players is going to be the difference. The Germans didn't look too concerned when England applied pressure, albeit in small bursts. However, this is their first real test and I expect the Argentinians to apply relentless pressure. I'm hoping by going against my team that the "commentator's curse" will come into play. My pick: ARGENTINA

Paraguay -v- Spain

Paraguay needed a penalty shootout to beat Japan, although they probably created the better of the opportunities in the game. Their Argentinian coach seems to have them well drilled. This is the first time they have made the quarter finals of a World Cup and no doubt believe they can go even further. Spain has shown the class I expected before they arrived in South Africa. All biases aside, they were too good for Portugal. They controlled the ball and David Villa is arguably (alongside Lionel Messi) the player of the tournament to date, playing so well and scoring when it counts. This is Spain's fifth time in the World Cup quarters and should they win, would put them into the semis for the 2nd time (other time was in 1950, where they came fourth overall). For me, Spain has the overall strength and consistency. I am tipping against a South American clean sweep, but keeping that connection with a Spanish speaking country (each way bet as they both are). The Portuguese-speaking Brazilians ensure it won't be a clean sweep of Spanish speaking nations either. My pick: SPAIN

How wrong, but how happy am I!

The final whistle has just gone. I never imagined that if Germany was going to win that it would be a 4-1 scoreline?

There will no doubt be a lot of complaining and controversy surrounding a clear goal for England that would have made it 2-2 at half-time. However, the reality is that the older English team had no real imagination (apart from the last 10mins of the first half), while their far younger opponents played with pizazz and finesse. As one of the English commentators put it, "Outmanoeuvred, outsmarted, outskilled." The English showed really tired legs in the second half and the Germans toyed with them over the last 10 minutes.

I read a bit of English media where they spoke of how the Germans beat the Aussies 4-0 and that nothing should be taken from that game (rightly) because of the poor opposition (wrong), rather than because the Aussies got it all wrong with their tactics. We Aussies showed in our final two games that the first game was a severe aberration and that we are not the only country to concede four goals against the Deutsch.

If Argentina wins, what a quarter-final we'll have in store!!

Sun 27-Jun-10 (nice day)

We had our first bacon & eggs (and hash browns) breakfast for some time. After church we ended up at dear friends' for lunch. Afterwards, Gabi went shopping with Mel to Spotlight while I took one of the boys home with Ben. When the girls got to our place, they spent a bit of time knitting & cross-stitching while the boys played in and outside the house. Ben kicked the football right into the kids' bathroom window, breaking one of the panes. He was very quiet and upset. He was so worried I was going to be angry after our guests left, but I never felt that for a moment. In fact while I sat with him to talk through his emotions, I had to hold back the laughter when sharing my own youthful experience that led to a broken window. Will need to sort that out tomorrow.

I feel with all the busyness of our lives every day that I just miss quality time with the kids. This evening I made much more of an effort to have one-on-one time with both of them, playing a ball-catching game with Gabi and building a Lego base station with Ben (that's still a work in progress). 

I'm staying up for the Germany -v- England clash (midnight start). If they finish in regular time, then I (and many others) will get to bed by 2am. If it goes to extra time and/or penalties, well who knows? I'd love to watch Argentina -v- Mexico, but a 4:30am start would mean a completely sleepless night. 

World Cup (Round of 16) picks

I'm about to show you how poor I am when it come to picking winners (that's why I've never gambled with money). I have decided to pick all Round 16 results in advance, but with the disclaimer that should there be a change before the game (e.g. significant injury), then I'll reassess. Even with my biases, I have chosen being as object as possible.

Uruguay -v- Korea

When I reflect on how teams from the different parts of the world would fare, the South American teams have impressed me the most. They tend to be flamboyant, which leads sometimes to their downfall (as we see with African teams also). Uruguay started slowly, with their draw against France (the only team to do so), but took care of South Africa and followed up with a victory over the Mexicans. They haven't conceded a goal yet and have some classy players (unfortunately two of the forwards refuse to speak to each other). South Korea had a convincing win against an unconvincing Greek outfit, then were torn apart by Argentina before fighting back to draw with Nigeria. They can play exciting attacking football, but their defence is questionable, leaking six goals in their final two matches, and still qualifying. My pick: URUGUAY

USA -v- Ghana

USA - I expected the Americans would reach this stage, but not in front of England. That is a real blessing for them as I think the Germans would have been a tough opponent at this stage. If they ever considered progressing to the Quarters, this would be their best chance yet. They have impressed me with their draw against England (they could have beaten the Poms, just missing a shot near the end), comeback from 0-2 to draw with Slovenia and win over Algeria. Ghana is the only African team to get to this stage (I feel that Cote d'Ivoire and South Africa showed better form). They have some real talent and thrive on confidence. That said, two of their three goals in the group matches came from penalties. Australia showed in their game that they were able to nearly beat Ghana while we were 1 player short for most of the match. They will also have the Continental advantage. It's a close one to call, but I feel that discipline and patience will reap the reward. My pick: USA

Argentina -v- Mexico

Argentina was one of my two picks at the beginning of the tournament, albeit their form had been average coming into the tournament. In the group stage they won all three games, especially convincing against South Korea (who qualified 2nd in the group). They have some classy players, but none better than who I consider the best I've seen in my lifetime, Lionel Messi. There was a lot of talk about whether he could cope with the pressure and fatigue after a long year at Barcelona. He has shown that like Roger Federer in tennis, Messi can just crank up an extra notch at will. Providing he can remain injury free (he'll be a target), they are going to be hard to beat. Mexico made it through with a win, draw and loss. Their win came against a very poor French outfit, so not too much can be read into that. My pick: ARGENTINA

Germany -v- England

This will be the grudge match of the round, without equal. I have three biases I'll get off my chest before assessing this one. (1) With dad being of German heritage and Australia no longer there, this is who I'm supporting, albeit I don't expect them to win the Cup; (2) There is a long history of sporting animosity between Australia and England; and (3) The British media in all sports ALWAYS place their teams or individual sportsmen/women on pedestals before major events, but inevitably tear them to shreds when they don't perform to "the media's" expectations. I should therefore feel sorry for the team, but like with Andy Murray and Tim Henman before him, just sit back and delight in the antics (I should qualify that I really like Tim Henman, but have no time for Andy Murray). Back to business. England have been less than impressive, but scraped through to this stage. They have great players, including another of my least favourite people (Wayne Rooney the thug), but if in goal scoring form is sensational. Germany had an easy win against Australia, thanks to our coach playing a different structure and players out of position. They had a shock loss to Serbia and did enough against Ghana. They are a more exciting team than the historical German outfits (and young as well). Oezil has been especially impressive. Overall, both team haven't hit their best form yet, but they both will need to if they want to stay in the tournament. Could it come down to penalties? I hope not (although in my views the Germans would be favourites in this situation). I'm going against all of my intuition and sadly if my pick wins, we'll never heat the end of it. My pick: ENGLAND

Netherlands -v- Slovakia

Should be a ripper of a game. Netherlands always impress me, but like the South African cricket team, seem to choke when it comes to big tournaments. Apart from looking a little shaky in their win over Denmark, they seemed comfortable in their other two wins. They have a strong team and quality off the bench. Robben coming into the tournament in the last game is a big plus (he showed it) and Huntelaar is a fantastic coming off the bench. Slovakia My pick: NETHERLANDS

Brazil -v- Chile

Brazil have come into this tournament as one of the favourites and have lived up to expectations by winning all three games. They have exciting players and will be entertaining. Chile came second (tied first with Spain, but missed out on goal difference) in what I would consider one of the weak groups. The game against Spain was quite spiteful at times and Chile lost players coming into this match because of their lack of discipline. This will cost them severely, coming up against a team already a league above them. My pick: BRAZIL

Paraguay -v- Japan

Paraguay topped their group, which was a surprise––especially as Italy crashed out. I still expected them to be at this stage. They had a good win against Slovakia (who came in 2nd) and drew with Italy and NZ. I expect them to be a technical class above the Japanese. Japan have really surprised me. With their lead-in form and problems with their autocratic coach, I didn't expect they would lift as they have and get through to this stage for the first time playing outside their Continent. They took Denmark apart in their last game (who were playing to get through) and looked very dangerous in set pieces. I think they have clicked at the right time. I found this a really tough call and will go against the grain. My pick: JAPAN

Spain -v- Portugal

This will be a cracker. Spain is the other team I have picked to win this tournament. After the first game when they dominated like I've never seen yet lost to Switzerland, I thought they'd still qualify but probably get through 2nd in their group. They did what was expected in the last two games and put themselves on top, where they belonged in that group. Portugal thrashed North Korea 7-0, but played two scoreless draws in their other games. They are the only team besides Uruguay not to have conceded a goal, yet. I like the team, but have a strong bias against Ronaldo (can't stand him). His form hasn't been great, finally scoring at the end of the one-sided game––his first goal for his country in nearly two years. Perhaps that was the sniff he needed? Alternatively, he'll be playing against a group of guys who know him very well from La Liga (Spanish Premier League). Both teams are dangerous in attack and defence. It is too close to call on paper, but I feel it will come down to team (-v- individual) brilliance. My pick: SPAIN

Sat 26-Jun-10 (illness, footy, art show)

I went to the doctor last night and discovered I have a chest infection. I started antibiotics but can't say I feel too much better, yet. I had a sleep in the afternoon and slept through the alarm for another hour. Although I've been awake for more than three hours, I'm still quite exhausted.

It poured for half of the night, but the sun broke out and the kids were able to play. Ben put more effort in at footy and although they were thrashed, he found himself receiving the "Good Sport" award for the second week running.

After footy we went to school to see an Art Show (exhibition) that the kids had items displayed in. Some of the work from the students all the way through to Year 12 and teachers (including some fabulous quilting) was phenomenal!

The photos below are of Ben and Gabi's works as well as Ben's class paper machete "Planet X".

Thu 24-Jun-10 (Gabi's classwork, Oz politics, tennis, health)

Projecting back a day, I received a call from the school to let me know about an incident. Apparently Gabi's teacher had resigned due to personal reasons, to take effect at end this term (end of next week) and announced it to the class. Gabi and a few classmates were overwhelmed. For Gabi it was another "loss" and "change". I was able to chat over the phone with her and ensure she was okay. A dear friend collected the kids so I gave her a heads-up and was told there would be plenty of hugs if required (thanks Gill). Gabi adores her teacher and goes out of her way to give her gifts and share many stories with me. I have been told that a young new teacher will be taking over (we get to meet her next week), who previously worked out at the recreational retreat where Ben had his school camp, and she loves kids. I think God's hand is over this whole scenario. Thanks also to those who I was able to share with for prayer.

Last night after Bible Study I took the kids to McDonalds for a Malteser Sundae as a special treat. Unfortunately we got home late as the ice cream machine at the first Maccas had broken down.

This morning we got to school early as the kids had their "Learning Journeys", an opportunity to show what they've been doing all year. Ben's had been postponed until next term as they are moving into a newly constructed building and their current rooms have been stripped bare. I really enjoyed spending that time with Gabi and am looking forward to Ben's.

Gabi's sock puppet is the pink dog with the floppy ears (rear left).


I was leaving when Gabi remembered she left something at home. I had to rush back for it, which meant I was a little late to work...

...What it also meant was that I got to hear the outcome of a Prime Ministerial leadership challenge live. Our Prime Minister Kevin Rudd (who came to office less than three years ago as our most popular PM) did not contest the challenge, realising Julia Gillard had the numbers. He our first PM in Australian history not to see out a full first term. We now have our first female PM, but not "elected". What do I think? I may have views on the cunning and clinical approach used, but in terms of the new PM all I can say is that it's too early to judge.

I have been fighting what appeared to be a possible sinus infection, but seems to have now moved to my chest. I'm also losing my voice and am very strained and husky. I think women's husky voices (like Demi Moore, for example) can be considered quite sexy. This is not so in my case. I'm sure there will be some people out there happy to hear about my pending silence.

Now I have got some urgent work out of the way, I think I'll hit the sack. I'd love to stay up and watch the end of the longest tennis match in history, but that's going to be possible. Wimbledon 2010, 1st Round, Isner -v- Mahut. They've broken almost every record you can think of (been on the court more than 10 hours over two days, most aces, winners, games, and the list goes on). It is 59-59 in the final set!! Shame there has to be a loser. I would like to be the guy drawn to play the winner.

Gabi and Ben have both independently reported that some kids from Ben's school camp asked them to to let me know that I'm "cool". I feel so young at heart. If only my body would follow suit! In all seriousness, it's nice to have that type of reputation with the kids.

Aussies out of the World Cup

We pulled off a 2-1 win over Serbia and showed what we were capable of. Unfortunately our massive 4-0 loss to Germany in the first game cruelled us as we tied for second place but were knocked out due to goal difference. I was hoping that Germany would do us a favour and have a big win over Ghana, but looked happy for a win but also struggled. I'm not sure how they'll fare against England. They have some exciting players, but still a way to go. What I do know is that they are who I'll be supporting now Australia is out. I still am confident as I said at the beginning of the tournament that Argentina or Spain will be the ones to beat. I know Brazil are running hot and Portugal and the Netherlands are coming into form. We'll see.

Thu 24-Jun-10 (World Cup – our final group game)

Australia -v- Serbia & Germany -v- Ghana

For us to qualify, here are the scenarios:

• Ghana beat Germany –– we only need to beat Serbia
• Germany beat Ghana –– we need to have an overall 5 goal turnaround
• Ghana-Germany draw –– we need to beat Serbia by 7 goals

It's a massive challenge as we are relying on the outcome of the other game. I feel a little pessimistic as I can't see Ghana beating Germany. However, nothing is impossible.

Congrats to the US and England for getting through in their group.

Mon 21-Jun-10 (gastro?)

Gabi woke up fine, unlike me. My stomach just didn't feel right. No coffee and no breakfast for me. I ate dry salada crackers at work and drank water, yet I was having an increase in nausea and my body started to weaken. By the time I left work I was feeling rotten and in need of sleep.

Ben went for a play date and Gabi stayed home. I tried to play "teachers" with her, but was a little useless, as I kept falling asleep on the lounge.

It is now 7pm and I still haven't had coffee since Friday afternoon. Whatever it is, it's just lingering and annoying me.

I have an all-day work commitment outside of the office tomorrow that I can't miss, so my plan is to get into bed just after the kids (in the next hour).

Sun 20-Jun-10 (5mth anniversary)

We went to church in the morning after I (like many Australians) stayed up to watch the Aussies at the World Cup, and again come up against poor refereeing decisions. This referee (Italian) was pathetic. They did very well to end up with a 1-1 draw after playing most of the match one man down. They probably would have won with 11 on 11, or 10 on 10 had the referee done his job and sent off one of the Ghanaians for such a shocking tackle (10 times worse than what Tim Cahill was sent off for in the previous match).

Before heading to church I prayed for God to give me a real blessing, given it was another anniversary day we had to get through. We arrived a little late, just in time to see the kids straight to Sunday School. I bumped into a young lady who I last saw in the first or second week after we started attending (just after Maria's funeral). Without going into a lot of detail, I discovered she was pregnant (something I had prayed about after meeting her as I learnt that she was unable to conceive––but I said that nothing was impossible for God). I told her that her news was the blessing I had sought for today.

After church we went to Geoff and Jenny's home for lunch and I finally got to meet Jenny's dad, who is nearly 90 and just an amazing man. I was going to attend my first mid-afternoon touch footy game  with some guys from church, but it started at the time we left lunch and I was well and truly stuffed.

We had a lazy afternoon and evening, with Gabi feeling a little funny in the tummy at bed time. I hadn't had any coffee since Friday as I have felt a little the same.

Around 11pm Gabi came out while I was watching soccer complaining about her tummy and feeling nauseas. I put her into bed and gave her an anti-spasmodic, which seemed to do the trick.

Sat 19-Jun-10 (footy, sleep, soccer, 5mth anniversary approaches)

Ben played in the coldest conditions this season. His team were comprehensively beaten by a team that hasn't lost a match. They had a few good moments, but all seemed less hungry than the opposition. Ben had a very quiet match, apart from a great mark he took the final quarter. Sadly for him, his resulting kick went to the other team, who ran with it and scored. Ben's head went down, but I was so proud of the mark. He got the coach's good sport award at the end of the game.

We went to the local shopping centre to get a couple of things and had lunch out. We got home around 2pm and I could barely keep my eyes open. I sorted the kids out and embarrassingly slept for nearly three hours.

We had a quiet evening. I planned to go to bed after the kids in preparation for the midnight kickoff between the Socceroos and Ghana, but the afternoon nap has kept me wide awake. I've taken that opportunity to get some washing done.

It is now less than 10mins from kick-off, which will also see us move into Sunday the 20th. That means it will now be 5 months since Maria went to be with the Lord.

For those of you following this blog, I want to thank you for keeping posted. We are generally doing well. The kids are so resilient. All said, there isn't a day that goes by that we don't miss Maria.

Ben's school camp (17 & 18-Jun-10)

I went to bed around 2am and woke some time after 5am to the sound of torrential rain.

On Thursday morning I dropped the kids off at school (still raining heavily), then headed home to wait for one of the teachers (Ms M) to come by and pick me up to travel to camp. We ended up travelling in my car because of the amount of equipment we had to take out. It was raining steadily and heavily, but the drive to camp was a nice one.

The kids were buzzing and so excited about their first school camp. For some of the kids it was the first "sleepover". With the heavy rain, the program (Stations of the Cross bushwalk, Orienteering, Obstacle Challenge, Web of Life, Archery) was amended. For Ben's group this meant that they had to the Stations indoors and miss the Web of Life in exchange for some indoor team initiative challenges. The bad weather also led to indoor free time, which turned into a massive handball tournament. I got involved and it was a lot of fun. Didn't realise until the next morning how many muscles I hadn't used for such a long time!

Got to meet some other parents and spend time getting to know some of the kids a lot more. There was a bush dance, which Ben funnily enough got into with his mates. He was quite oblivious to all the "girl stuff", namely them asking some boys to dance or talking about dates. These are 10 year olds! Way too young in my view.

The kids went off to bed with some trying to stay up as late as possible. Ben was one of the boys who just crashed out (as expected) without fuss. One of the teachers Mr T, myself and a group of parents played a card game he taught us that night called "31 Horse". It was very addictive to the point that we didn't get to bed until 1am. There were a couple of boys we had to lift into their bunks as we had them in their sleeping bags in the hallway earlier on.

On Friday, the kids were up early-ish and excited about the day ahead. The boys in my room (I slept in the bunk under Ben) were great and had their room immaculate well before morning inspection.

The weather was much kinder to us and the kids got to squeeze in an extra activity.

I took some photos and video with my phone but won't post any of it as there are quite a few kids in the shots and I am conscious of the school policy and also my ongoing intention of clearing photos with individuals involved (or parents if they're kids).

Everyone involved was so exhausted by the end of this overnighter. Just before we got the kids on the bus one of the girls was stung by a bee. Fortunately it was the fourth occasion and she had no allergies. Fortunately even without fingernails I was able to remove the stinger.

Ms M and I got back to school a little before the buses to unload and await the kids' arrival. When the bell finally went, Gabi came flying over––very excited to see me. She even found Ben on the oval and went and gave him a huge hug. We shared how much we missed each other (first time she's been away from me without Ben, since Maria's passing).

I planned to sleep early, but ended up in bed after 2am because of soccer.

Go New Zealand!

The heading is absolutely unique, coming from my lips. You need to understand that we (Australia) and NZ are the fiercest of rivals in sport, but tonight was the first time I got to support them. They struggled with not having the same skill-set as Slovakia, but scored in the dying seconds to pull off a 1-1 draw! Good on them for their persistence. I just hope the Australian coaching staff and players were watching and drawing some inspiration from it.

Mon 14-Jun-10 (Public holiday)

We started the day walking around the lake with Mel and three of her four boys (Tim accompanied Paul to Melbourne for an Ice Hockey tournament). The kids were either on bikes, scooters or rip-sticks. We were all tiring by the time we arrived at McDonalds (has been completely renovated) for lunch, less than a km from the finish. The kids then spent some time at the skateboard park before heading home, arriving mid-afternoon.

I had to get the NRMA to come (only had to wait 10mins) and jump-start my car as it once again appears someone left a door ajar. After getting the car started we headed off to see Steve & Trish and their new arrival Rafael Solomon, born on the 6th. He is so cute!

We got home late afternoon and relaxed a little, then Gary arrived with a yummy meal cooked by Gill for tomorrow after footy training. We are truly blessed by so many people, so often.

Germany 4 - Australia 0

The game has just finished. I dreamt last night that we lost 3-1. Well, there were four goals scored in the game. However, it could have been a lot worse for us. Such a big loss will impact on us severely for the rest of the tournament. It could well be the biggest margin of the tournament...watch this space.

The key turning points for me were:

• First and foremost, the team selection and positioning of Tim Cahill––a real waste.
• Our miss on goal in the first few minutes.
• The 2nd goal was misjudged by our experienced goalkeeper, Mark Schwarzer.
• A penalty that was not given to us for handball in box in the first few minutes of the second half.
• The sending off (straight red card) for Tim Cahill, which I thought was very harsh.

The above are certainly no excuses as Germany well and truly deserved to win by a reasonable margin.

Cahill's send-off (our key goal scorer in 2006 World Cup) and automatic suspension for our next "must win" game against Ghana is a massive blow as he is our most natural goal scorer. Unfortunately they don't have a system like our other football codes where persons sent-off have the opportunity to face the judiciary to argue their case. I felt it was a yellow card offence.

Germany played exciting football, contrary to their normal solid defensive style. However, we made them look good.

The tournament isn't over for us, yet. Both of our next games are "must wins" as I don't expect Ghana or Serbia to lose to Germany by such a margin (and we can't rely on that either). I think Ghana are going to pressure us with their pace and physical strength. Serbia would be our best chance, but they are the last game for us. I just hope that Pim Verbeek (coach) has better game plans for these upcoming matches.

Sun 13-Jun-10 (church, cancelled lunch, family time, more soccer)

I took the kids for a McDonalds breakfast before church (only a minute's drive between the two locations). We were in a bit of a rush so I skipped getting petrol. It was a bad call.

On the way home I thought I'd grab some petrol and found that in that less than two-hour period it went up from $120.9 to $136.9. For our American friends, that is per litre. In other words, if we were talking US gallons (1gal = 3.8l) that would be going from $4.59/gal to $5.20/gal. I'm sure you'd appreciate the frustration. I should have guessed, given that tomorrow is a public holiday.

We were to go to a family's for lunch but unfortunately illness prevented that from proceeding. Instead, we hung out at home. I got some grocery shopping done. Ben had some Wii time while Gabi and I played parents with Gabi's toy baby and dog. She actually mopped the kitchen and hallway floors and the wiped down the island bench.

We watched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which went for nearly 2.5 hours. They enjoyed it, compared with the last time a few years ago when the "child catcher" freaked them both out. Ben had to put the bins out afterwards (about 9:30pm) and asked me to accompany him. He (rightly) said that he isn't afraid of the dark inside (he likes to sleep with the door shut in complete darkness) but is afraid outside because he doesn't know what's out there. Fair call.

I'm typing this while watching Algeria -v- Slovenia, which is a pretty average/boring match. Will be up before the 4:30am Australia -v- Germany kick-off. A few people have asked who I'll be supporting given I've supported Germany at every World Cup I can remember (expect the last when Australia qualified). There is no thought required –– Go Aussies!!!!! "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi." Last World Cup the Aussies exceeded expectations and the benchmark has been set, but I really think that getting to this stage is a great effort and anything beyond this should be considered a bonus. Any result against Germany would set themselves up for progression into the next stage.

Sat 12-Jun-10 (shopping, dinner, soccer)

We spent the morning shopping for clothes for the kids and a few other things we needed. Gabi was in the change room of one of the stores for 30mins trying on a whole basket of clothes. Ben took 5mins, and that was 4mins too long for him.

In the afternoon we went to Justin and Kathryn's. We had a nice walk with all the kids and as the sun started to disappear, it really cooled down. After a yummy takeaway Turkish dinner we watched a DVD. During dinner some toilet humour started and we all got into it. It was the most I think the three of us had laughed for a while.

I watched the Argentina -v- Nigeria game. Argentina and Spain are my two picks to win the tournament. The way they were speaking about Argentina sounds like they may have struggles, but as I expected Messi came into his own and if he survives injury throughout the tournament, he'll be a match winner on many occasions. To me, he is the Roger Federer of soccer. The game finished at 2am. I wanted to stay up for the England -v- USA game, but didn't have the energy. I was happy to hear the USA pulled off a draw. If only Australia could do that on Monday morning against Germany––wishful thinking.

Miraculous update on Cathy, another prayer request

Firstly, thanks for your prayer over Cathy's situation. When Cathy saw him on Thursday he was very stern and simply told her to take drops hourly and she lose her sight. He didn't want to discuss further as he had no idea how the next days would pan out.

The following day at Cathy's appointment the doctor was amazed at not only her ability to read part of the eye chart, but that the abrasion was "totally healed" (doctor's words) and the swelling in the front of the eye was reduced. He said the fog would lift over the next week due to the corneal swelling. When Cathy asked him about long-term damage, he said that the day before he was almost certain of it and now assessed it as restoration to normal. Praise God. Doreen (who drove Cathy) took her out for for celebratory cake and coffee. Your prayers went a long way.

On the Thursday a colleague, Daniel, didn't come to work, but also had not called in. After a few attempts during the day to contact him, his wife answered the phone to say he had been hit by a 4WD while on his motorcycle on the way to work and was in Intensive Care with broken ribs, arm, elbow, facial and internal injuries. On our last check late Friday afternoon (36hrs after the accident), he was still in ICU, so it was not possible to really find out much more about it. It's not a time to be intrusive. Grateful your prayers for him, his wife and two young girls as there looks to be a long road to recovery ahead.

Prayer request for a friend

Cathy, a dear friend...no, not one of the many Cathy's/Kathy's from overseas...but a mum from the kids' school, looked after Ben and Gabi yesterday afternoon while I was at work. She had what appeared to be the start of an eye infection, which deteriorated overnight. 

She presented to hospital casualty today and an examination revealed a severe infection that could lead to blindness in that eye. In an SMS during the day she wrote, "God knows better." She will be on hourly antibiotics around the clock and is required to attend follow-up visits tomorrow and Friday. 

I'd be grateful for any prayers out there to join me.

Tue 8-Jun-10 (Gabi's dress-up, brief emotional chat, tickle fight)

Ben woke in a better state, so I sent him off to school.

Gabi had her "Olden days, olden ways" dress-up day at school. This was going to be a challenge. What I did was come up with an outfit using what Gabi had available and then Googled images of different eras until I found something that fitted. This was the end result (she ditched the old-style beanie/hat and scarf).

In the afternoon the kids went with Cathy. Ben missed training to allow his body to fully recover. Due to a critical work meeting and work flowing out of that, by the time I collected the kids and got home it was approaching 6:45pm.

We had a yummy dinner that was waiting on our back door step (thanks Gill). Whilst at the table both kids started to express some sadness in missing Maria. Ben asked me, "Dad, can I ask you how it feels to have a wife who has died?" That prompted some conversation, including discussing more about how they are faring on their respective journeys.

Although we were running late for bed, the kids couldn't go until we had our "tickle fight". This has become a ritual, starting about a week ago.

Mon 7-Jun-10 (Ben ill)

Yesterday we went to church for the first time in a long time. Ben complained before heading out that he didn't feel great. He also complained again en route home. He was very quite up until bedtime and then spoke of body aches.

About midnight I heard sobbing and went to check, finding Ben burning up and nauseas. Fortunately the nausea dissipated and Panadol allowed him to sleep until the morning. He wasn't well enough to go to school so I stayed with him and worked while he rested. My mate Mike kindly came through and took Gabi, relieving me of that duty.

Ben went to bed in the evening still weary, but on the improve.

Update on previous entry

The Wallabies win this evening was all Australia could muster today.

The Socceroos went down 3-1 to the USA in its last World Cup soccer warm-up, breaking their 7-game unbeaten streak.

Sam Stosur was beaten in the French Open final by Francesca Schiavone from Italy––the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam (and thoroughly deserved it).

Sat 5-Jun-10 (Footy, Australia's day in sport?)

Ben played way up at the top end of Canberra this morning. The boys (and girl) found themselves 6-0 down in the first minute of play, but stormed away with 56 unanswered points, to finish 56-6. The boys were so excited and enjoyed singing their team song at the end. The only downside to the game was that one of their boys badly broke his wrist towards the end of the match.

This afternoon we went to Mike's place. The kids had dinner together, followed by Leah, Mike and me. We four "boys" headed off to see the Wallabies (Australia) play rugby against Fiji, while the three "girls" watched a DVD.

It was cold at the game (fortunately we were a little protected in the stands). The first half a little disappointing, finishing 7-3 to Australia. They clicked into gear in the second half with a final score of 49-3. It was very entertaining. We all had thermals on under our clothes. When we got back to Mike's we chatted a little and didn't get home until 10:30pm.

It is now just after 11:00pm and Samantha Stosur has started the French Open tennis final. Could she cap off a great night for Australia with a win? If so, it would be the first Australian female to win the tournament since 1973 (Margaret Court).

Australia are also playing the USA in the last friendly game before the World Cup Football (soccer). I think they were starting around this time also.

Sat 29-May-10 (Torrential rain, footy, Cooma, National Day of Thanksgiving)

It started raining late last night and continued throughout the evening. I slowly got going in the morning and we were all hanging out in our pyjamas. I thought I should confirm Ben's game was cancelled and was shocked to hear it was still on. We madly rushed to get there (on the other side of Canberra) in time for the kick-off. It was pouring when we left but by the time we reached our destination it was wet but only overcast. The kids had fun playing in the rain and although they kicked the last four goals, they lost by a behind (i.e. one point).

We raced to a shopping centre to buy a gift for Tom's birthday and got home in time to change out of wet clothes and hit the road. We were 1/2hr late getting there. We had a nice time and drove back this evening. The drive back was a little wet but with little traffic.

National Day of Thanksgiving
Today is the National Day of Thanksgiving. It's an opportunity for Australians to celebrate and give thanks for our God given heritage as a nation and to demonstrate the God given values of honour, respect, thankfulness and gratitude towards our fellow man that have made us the great nation we are. It is a day for us to pause as a nation and say thank you to God and to each other for those many things we often take for granted but which really make our lives worth living.  We are asked to use this day to be a blessing to those who have been a blessing to us during the past year.

The history is that the Australian Prayer Network championed this cause and the Day was confirmed at a meeting of National ministry leaders at Parliament House Canberra on the 17 June 2003. They voted unanimously to support the Australian Prayer Network in their initiative. It was decided to hold a National Day of Thanksgiving on the Saturday of Pentecost weekend each year and to seek to have the day included in our national calendar. (taken from http://www.thanksgiving.org.au)

The reason for all of this background is that when the kids went to the car this morning they found a box of flowers with a handmade card attached. Psalm 40:4 was quoted and a lovely message, which was a blessing to me. It was unsigned. All I know is that it was a woman's handwriting. Thank you to the anonymous person, whoever you are! Feel free to identify yourself to me if you so desire.

Fri 28-May-10 (Morning hiccup, weekend ahead)

We were running late this morning, leaving home at 9:00am. School starts at 9:10 and it usually takes less than 10 minutes to get there. We jumped into the car to find it wouldn't start.

Cathy came to my rescue, collecting the kids as I was trying to arrange for roadside assistance to attend. I discovered during the call that I had subscribed when I bought the car, but I was able to sort that out.

They arrived less than 30mins and fortunately the battery didn't need replacing. It seems that someone (Ben) left one of the doors ajar (not the first time). After all the drama, I was only 1/2hr late to work.

Many people were away because of sickness or leave so it was very quiet with only my team present. It was a good opportunity to be a little less distracted.

We're all pretty tired from the week gone by. Ben has footy tomorrow and in the afternoon we are driving to Cooma for my nephew's (B&G's cousin's) 10th birthday party. We'll arrive home probably early evening.

We will try and get to church on Sunday. We haven't been very often since committing to go. We like going, but have been distracted due to other events on weekends for us and not feeling part of the church as per our previous experiences here and overseas. To clarify, we know quite a few people there and certainly enjoy their company and fellowship (I suppose that is a significant part of church community) but don't feel that bond to the church itself. Perhaps it's because we're not involved (albeit we're not ready to).

Mercer Worldwide surveys: TOP 50 - Quality of Living & Eco-city

Mercer run two Worldwide surveys. I have summarised how Canberra and Australia fared overall.

As a brief background for our overseas friends, Australia has 6 states, 2 territories (just think of it as 8 states), each with their own capital city. As a biased patriotic Aussie, I think the following results are very impressive

Quality of Living Survey
Canberra was rated # 26 behind: Vienna, Zurich, Geneva, Vancouver, Auckland, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, Bern, Sydney, Copenhagen, Wellington, Amsterdam, Ottawa, Brussels, Toronto, Berlin, Melbourne, Luxembourg, Stockholm, Perth, Montreal, Hamburg, Nurnburg, and Oslo.

It was amazing for our small city to be rated ahead of every city in the US and major international cities like London, Barcelona, Tokyo and Singapore.

We had 4 of our 8 cities in the top 26, and another 2 in the next 10 places.

Apparently it's the first time Canberra has been included in this survey which ranks cities on a variety of criteria including:

• economic stability;
• infrastructure and transport facilities;
• crime rates;  
• the quality of restaurants, theatres and cinemas; and
• its relative strength in areas of education, the environment, housing, sporting facilities. 

Eco-city

Canberra was rated # 21 behind: Calgary, Honolulu, Ottawa, Helsinki, Wellington, Minneapolis, Adelaide, Copenhagen, Kobe, Oslo, Stockholm, Perth, Montreal, Vancouver, Nurnberg, Auckland, Bern, Pittsburg, Zurich, and Aberdeen.

This time we had 5 of our 8 cities in the top 25 (glad to see my American friends also scored 5 cities in the top 25). Like the other survey, overall we had six cities in the 50.

The criteria for this survey included:

• water availability;
• water potability;
• waste removal;
• sewage;
• air pollution; and
• traffic congestion.

Thu 27-May-10 (two nice, yet emotional meetings)

Jim, a colleague of mine from a former agency (back then we were both seconded from our respective police services) flew into town for a meeting and had time to catch up for a very long coffee (I took an extended lunch) break. We hadn't seen each other for some time. It was lovely to chat about those times, our respective families and "where to from here" for us both. It is also emotional (I don't show it) to see someone who brings back vivid memories of times together, including with Maria.

I arrived at Ben's footy training and engaged in deep conversation with one of the mums. She and I have been chatting briefly at training or the games but usually there have been quite a few distractions. We were both aware of each other's loss, but it wasn't until tonight that I realised she lost her husband to a rare type of brain tumour. Albeit there are some similarities in illnesses, their journeys were quite different. Her husband died within 2-3 months from onset of illness, partly because it wasn't diagnosed till extremely late. The outcome may have still been the same, even if caught when it was. She has two boys, one in Ben's team and an older brother. It was emotional, yet nice to talk with someone going through the same challenges, especially sharing about our kids' respective journeys.

Tue 25-May-10 (Happy birthday Luka)

Happy birthday to our precious nephew/cousin, who turns 2 today!

Luka, Gabi, Magnus (February 2010)

Maria & Luka (August 2009)

School photos

Here are Ben and Gabi's school photos, which arrived on Friday afternoon. I know it's a biased statement, but they are so gorgeous and photogenic, just like their mum!

Sun 23-May-10 (drive home. Pac-Man 30th Anniversary)

We stayed around until close to mid-afternoon. It was still raining and the kids had plenty of fun indoors.

When we got back into Canberra, I ducked in to do some essential grocery shopping before arriving home in time to sort out dinner and get some urgent washing on.

The kids crashed out after a tiring journey and weekend (we did about 750km overall). I'm feeling quite stiff in my neck and across my shoulders.

My brother Mark SMS'd to mention the Google 'classic view' had Pac-Man that you could play. It's there because of it's 30th anniversary. With the original sound effects it was hard not to reminisce about those days, especially (as Mark mentioned) leaning over the glass table-topped machines. Enough blogging...back to Pac-Man.

Sat 22-May-10 (Wedding)

In the morning the kids were running constantly around the house playing chasings before we headed up to Newtown and went to Max Brenner's. It was our first visit since Israel. It was okay, but the service was very slow (two people working with a large number of clientelle). We had planned to go to the bookshop "Better Read Than Dead" but time got the best of us.

The kids and I did the 70km trip to the Blue Mountains. We arrived about 10mins before the wedding started. It was such a lovely service. Not too long and all the things that were said and sung were said/sung. I took a few photos of the wedding but the quality isn't great as I still only have my phone to rely on. Don't the two girls look beautiful!?

There was butcher's paper over the walls so the kids got their one and only chance to graffiti legally! Great idea! It won't be too hard to guess who drew what.

We hung around until about 6pm, catching up with people, some I knew and others who approached me to share that although we had never met, they had prayed for Maria, myself and the kids. That was quite emotional for me (I didn't openly display it) and it was nice to be able to let them know how much that meant and as I have shared before, we felt the prayer coverage throughout the journey.

Jono and Janelle both seemed so happy. It appears from all the stories shared on the day that God really set them to be in this union. I was so happy for them, yet Maria's absence was the most noticeable it's been for me in the last four months. 

We returned to Mark and Cass' for dinner and Gabi got to be the "big sister", reading to the boys. She was in her element.

I slept on a mattress on the floor, which had a far better outcome for me.

Fri 21-May-10 (Drive to Sydney, neck injury)

We didn't get away until about 5:30pm, but had a good trip to Sydney, As we entered Sydney the rain came down.

It was great to see Mark and Cass's new home. There was some discussion as to who would sleep where. I ended up joining Ben in the spare bedroom bed. Unfortunately in the early hours of the morning he turned horizontal (not unusual) but kicked me a few times at the back of my head (must have been having a footy dream). I discovered when I woke in the morning that it had aggravated a pre-existing neck injury I have.

Thu 20-May-10 (4 months today)

It's hard to believe that four months has passed since Maria went to be with the Lord. Many of you are probably saying the same thing. While it probably seems like time has flown for you, I feel like time has almost come to a grinding halt and it all took place a year ago.

I thought about it a few times during the day but was not too affected. That said, work is busy enough to distract me from anything.

We're doing okay. We have just packed in preparation for our drive to Sydney tomorrow afternoon. We will stay with my brother Mark and his family over the weekend and are looking forward to seeing their new home. The other reason for our trip is to attend Janelle's wedding in the Blue Mountains on Saturday afternoon. That too will be a wonderful experience.

In both cases there will be a sad side, i.e. not having Maria there to share it with.

My current reading

Three nights ago I launched into "Bringing Up Girls" by Dr James Dobson. He is an excellent author. I'm reading a chapter a night so my aim is to finish the book in a month. It is a helpful distraction from sitting in front of a computer. I'm combining this with a couple of prayer books to focus on the kids, as well as the novels I'm reading to the kids.

I have been inundated with books/tapes/DVDs/CDs and plan to work through them. Hopefully I'll be literate by the end of this year.

Anyway, back to my reading...

Mon 17-May-10 (gastro/food poisoning)

I fell asleep just after midnight, to be woken about 15 minutes later feeling a little confused as Gabi was telling me how she had vomited. This continued for another half an hour before she fell asleep.

Gabi woke very tired but already seeming better. What I initially put down to gastro, started to make me think whether she had some bad food while we were out and about yesterday. A dear friend Cathy and I were in contact regarding her son's wrist injury from footy. The timing of our communication was perfect as she learnt about Gabi and kindly offered to pick-up and drop-off Ben. That load off my mind was a real blessing.

Throughout the day I couldn't keep up with Gabi's demand for food. I kept it pretty dry, but she didn't mind. She lay in front of the DVD player while I worked from my networked computer.

About 2:00pm after a 6hr stint I started to feel a little queasy and went for a lay-down. During this time I received a call from a former police colleague who had come across my name and upon researching the Internet to locate me, found the blog and called to pass on his condolences (thanks Jim). Between then and when I finally got up I heard Ben come home, Gabi came in every ten minutes to see what she could eat and I received an urgent work call.

Gabi was eating Dolmathes and Lasagne by the end of the day and went to bed looking and feeling great. Ben seems healthy and happy. I feel better earlier in the afternoon but plan to get to bed earlier tonight, just in case one of us has issues through the night.

Sun 16-May-10 (Footy, Cooma)

Ben played his first interstate game. Well, in fact it was in Jerrabomberra, only about 15 minutes from home, but in New South Wales.

It was one goal each half way through the first quarter. Like previous weeks they seemed to lose their way. In the 3rd quarter they made it an even contest and ran away with it in the final quarter. Had they been adding the overall score, they probably would still have just lost. Ben had a quiet game, still a little hesitant to get into tackles, but his marking and kicking has improved.

We drove directly to Cooma for lunch with Maria's parent, Effie and family, and their friend Rosemary. We went to Effie & Brian's afterwards for coffee and cakes care of Rosemary and Mama.

We got home about 6:30pm, all feeling quite drained. Ben slept for the last 15mins of the trip, which meant he struggled to get to sleep when bedtime came.

Sat 15-May-10 (sport)

Ben's footy was put over until tomorrow because it is the day when two AFL teams come to town. Today it was the Sydney Swans -v- the Western Bulldogs. We were going to meet friends there but en route I received a call from Paul to say that the game was sold out. We were shocked and the kids highly disappointed. I was tempted to purchase tickets online last night, but decided against it.

We headed to Woden and I appeased them with ice cream. We saw some people wearing Canberra Raiders gear, so we knew there was going to be a match on. I checked my phone and discovered it was against the Melbourne Storm. The kids are fond of a few of their players so we decided to go.

We rugged up as it was a 7:30pm match. Although Gabi is always keen to go to these matches, she is thoroughly bored. We left the stadium around 9:30pm and it was a chilly 8 degrees (especially sitting there for 2+ hours). Sadly Melbourne won the encounter 17-6. I thought the refereeing was a bit ordinary and was disappointed with some of the decisions that went against Canberra, but Melbourne deserved to win.

The kids didn't get into bed until 10:15pm, so Ben might be playing in slow motion tomorrow morning. After his match we'll be heading to Cooma to have lunch with Maria's parents, Effie and family, followed by cake to celebrate Mama's birthday from last week.

Fri 14-May-10 (Pupil free day, coffee)

It was a pupil (i.e. student) free day. I took the day off work and managed after a bad night's sleep to get up around 10:30am. I took the kids to Manuka for "brunch" and afterwards we went down to the lake to kick the footy and feed the birds. It was another gorgeous day.

After the lake we did the drive around the Embassies and High Commissions before heading home.

During the evening I made myself a couple of coffees and actually had a bit of success with my normally quite poor attempts at latte art. Life sounds pretty boring when things like this excite!