Our eldest grandchild Alexander has just turned 16.People say the youth of today are stuck in front of their phones,Xboxes etc but I think there is a fine balance in life and it is up to the parents to guide and help the children find that balance.
I think my daughter and son in law found that balance 2 years ago when Alexander joined the Air Cadets.
This is a wonderful thing for young girls and boys,Mums are NOT allowed to launder,iron or clean their shoes, they go out on camp once a month and learn to live rough ,he comes back exhausted but exillerated.
He has learned disiplin(he only went with his shoes not up to par once),he has learned brotherhood,responsiblility just to name a few things.
Alex has always wanted to be a pilot or in the Air Force at some level and has focused on this happening since he was 4!
He may change his mind as kids are prone to do but he will be a better young man for his experiences.
He had his Grand Parade this last weekend,another thing we have had to miss but we were with him in spirit,maybe it was a good thing we could not go( we have Mum full time and she can no longer be left alone) Bob and I would have been bawling as we are so proud of him.

Alex front

Far right

 

Well done Kate and Steve you have done a great job.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the October long weekend we always do our Christmas cakes and puddings, this year was no different but Mum found the stirring quite hard almost 94 makes you think is this the past time we shall do this together  making all the more special.Bob had a stir too as no family were here this time,usually someone is home to stir the pud. They are now in the freezer,another strange thing e have had to do for many years no ,we used to hang the pudding in the Laundry for months but several years ago somehow the seasons became more humid and the cloths went mouldy so now we freeze them and if at all possible they are even more delicious.

Each day we find things that Mum can't do anymore that once was just a daily routine,but with lots of laughter and love we get through.
Her favourite thing is the shower that I now have to give her,she loves her back scrubbed and especially hair wash and set day as she is very fussy about her hair. The most laughter we have is at bedtime as I put her to bed, our neighbour recently sent me a text to say he could hear us across the road above the storm bird which has been driving him crazy for weeks.
Usually it starts from Mum telling me I am a rough house Annie as she sits on the bedside and I have to lift her legs up to get her in.She is a trooper and  even if in my mind I am wanting to hurry I am very aware of the privilege it is to look after her and I never let on,I find then a little while later I am so glad I was patient, I think otherwise I would be sad I my heart.

                              Just a few things we have had going on around  homethe garden.....

 Bob bought an old wood burning stove and is making an area on the back patio for it, we now do all our Jams,Pickles and roasts in it and bread..it is his most favourite thing.

 Roses from our garden, they were really wonderful this year,now that Mum is not so able to walk around and look at them we make sure she always has some nearby to admire and smell.

 Awful winds this week dislodged a Pee Wee nest from our large Gum tree,we rescued these babies and placed them in a hanging pot for Mum to find and she did.

 The King Parrots come daily for a bath and drink from many bird baths we have around the yard,this one loves the ladies head.

Georgie enjoying a shower of rain on Bob shoulder,he just loves it in the rain and of course Bob has many scratches on his shouldrers.

                                 The boys and I are still doing our soldiers care packages.

We have been working so hard on our passion and to date we have done more than ever before 254 and another 33 in the spare room to go and then we will get the names for our Christmas boxes.
I have 7 boys now and I call them my magnificent 7! We were blessed enough for a local company to sponsor us with a uniform to wear so we are very professional looking now.We have blue polo shirts with navy writing and red caps, these three colours represent all three Australian Forces.

Our home at times looks like a postal depot,and if we get unexpected guests we have to scarper and clear the bed off,but we would not have it any other way.
To do this and expect no reward is a wonderful lesson for these boys,however we get some amazing letters back from troops telling us how much a difference it made to them.
All the boys are great and make up for us not having any family close by,when our daughter comes home she loves to join in and help the boys she is a wonderful support for us with Mum and everything we do bless her.
Our little town is so generous to us,as soon as I am in need of goodies for the boxes I put it on the Facebook community page and all of a sudden everything  turns up that I need.

I thought you might like to see this,Bob and Georgie made the limelight a couple of months ago,it was in The Daily Telegraph...page 3 mind you and almost a page full( well the birds are always on page 3 but not usually the feathered variety).
This lead to TV stations ringing Australia Post and wanting to do a story,which lad to Bob getting into all sort of trouble for allowing himself to go into print,Bob thought the person taking the pics etc was a year 12 student having a little joke.
This then lead to the big boss from Canberra travelling up and giving him a dressing down,the remodifying of his postie bike apparently set up wrong(the pics showed this)mind you it is as it was when he started 11 years ago!
The upside is that they love the fact that Georgie goes with Bob and so that was a bonus.Thank goodness we are only a few months from finishing and retiring...the world has gone mad when you find a simple bag on the front of the bike is wrong and the crate on the back too ...who cares as long as our lovely town gets their mail!

This last pic is a classic as Georgie loves it best when Bob has a long straight and can go faster,I think it reminds him of our big bike.We are going to keep one postie bike when we finish up just so Bob and Georgie can go fro a ride occasionally because they will both miss it.

It is such a long time since I blogged,life has a way of pulling us up short and making us deal or not with obsticles, so we have to put them in order of importance.
Family always comes first ..but..which members,this is a tough call and without going into any detail too much we decided that it is Mum who must come first at this time.
It is not a decision sitting well with all members of our family.Putting her in a home is not an option for us,however others think differently.All I can say is we have had to choose between who is in need and who is being needy.
Mum came out on top, we are missing out on seeing three grandchildren...for now...and we will catch up hopefully before they all get married lol..honestly though they have decided not to visit to prove a point and the choice of visiting them has been taken away from us..so here we are..sad at heart but doing...we think the right thing.

Mum is almost 94 and just very recently has had a Frontal Brain Bleed, we thought the time had come to say goodbye,but here she is almost 4 weeks later,chirpy,cheeky and as of 2 days ago now getting dressed each day.However we can never leave her alone again,so we have a wonderful lady that comes everyday while I am at work.We are locked into a contract with Australia Post so we cannot give up without a lot of notice,so we are retiring on 30 April next year and darling Julie will help us out till then.
Our daughter is a darling and travels up as often as her work allows to visit Nan and to give Bob and I the support we need,it has been very difficult but we made a promise to Mum that she would be with us and we will not change.

So here she is happy on a Sunday with her tea and Vegemite Toast a different girl to some weeks ago.

 

 

Here are some roses from her much loved garden and an area Bob has made for us to take her to sit he calls it the Taj Mahal,it is actually much nicer now,there are 4 chaors and more pots of colour,she loves it but has not been well enough to venture there,perhaps next week,it is 40 degrees today so too hot to sit her outside.

 

 

 

 

 

Will catch up with all the other happenings as time rolls on.

Honor thy Father and thy Mother is the most empowering thing there is we can do, I know I am blessed to have such an easy Mum to deal with,but I just know I could not live any other way and ever have a peaceful sleep again if she were being looked after by any other persons than Bob and I and our helpers,Bob was asked the other day if it would be easier if we placed Mum in a nursing

home close by,his reply was "over my dead body" see that's why I love him so much,not every man feels that way about the dreaded Mother in law.I hope one day the family will unite and support us,until then I write to the children weekly and send an update on Mums health,there are no replies really..but in the big picture of life..tomorrow is another day and time heals all.

                              A Special time for me and my care package Boys.

Something very special happened in Aberdeen today.What an honour for Aberdeen but especially for these boys and we will never forget the Anzac Day that Moses came to town.Never before and probably never again will the flag bearer share his or her honourable time.Moses we say thank you, 4 young boys are still smiling and many Mums and Dads proud but no one more proud than me.

 

 

 

 

I have felt the need today to say just a couple of words then I won't post anymore about Anzac Day w
I was asked why I did not march with the boys and Moses and why I did not lay the wreath with the boys. It is simple I am most comfortable just being their guidance, in the background,I was with them  all day and spiritually I was marching and laying the wreath I wanted them to have this moment to remember for always,they smiled my way and that was enough.My heart was swollen with pride.
This pic is as they finished marching waiting for the service.From left to right..
Nathan,a young man that I am proud to know,he is the most caring little soul,he has done several packages all on his own,but I have to say his caring heart shows in them and he explains to me why each item was chosen,Nathan is going to be a young man that looks after his fellow man.
Brayden,he is the Care Package Captain for so many reasons,he has done so many packages with me,he shows such care when placing each item in the boxes he always shows such enthusiasm and keeps my spirits up,he is humble and does not take credit when it is not his,this is a rare thing,some kids play sport,Brayden does packages.
Moses the boys new friend,I have been lucky enough to have known him just a little longer.When we do the Care packages we discuss what the person might be like etc when we did Moses's package we were in awe of his name we discussed what we thought he would be like,his package was done with love and blessings as we do them all but this time we all felt this was different, we all layed our hands on Moses's box as if guiding him to us on his return,how strange as this is how it turned out to be.Thank you Moses for coming I know we have thanked you before,told you copious times how wonderful it was for you to come,J-M and I thought the kids would love you,it is a sad day for Batman,Spiderman and Superman,the kids have a new hero.
Johnah, has done some packages with us,he has also done some with his family.He also did some with Scouts,they received back a package with a signed flag now in his care,a precious item. He is good caring boy as well.He like the other boys takes pride in the packages,I am proud to know this young man.
Riley has done 2 lots of packages with us,he also enjoys doing them,always with a light heart and he is full of energy and enthusiasm,he is full of curiosity,asking questions the whole time,I love it.
I feel my job is to guide the boys in Community,giving time and caring for others.We talk of how hard it must be for the troops,how little treats will make them smile.I also tell them about Faith and how in every box we need to show that our community may be small but our hearts are filled with limitless generosity.The boys know my faith is very important to me and that is some small way I am serving God and my country,whatever faith the boys may be or me..we are one and my main aim is to teach them one person can make a difference.
Thank you to the parents that entrust your children to me for a few hours each time we get together.

 

 

As we are about to do another 50 Care packages,Moses has taught us how important it is to the troops to receive them and this has made us even more excited and committed.

Our generous community has given me some money and lots of food and hygiene goodies,so off we go.This year we have done 42 last year we reached a massive 232...not bad for an old girl and her young men!They are wonderful and the time I spend with them is just simply the best.