My heart will trust in You

Though I walk through valleys low
I’ll fear no evil
By the waters, still my soul
My heart will trust in You

We are in a low valley in our walk beside Cam. It was confirmed this week that the cancer is active in his sternum again. We hoped and prayed for things to be different so we let out a big, teary sigh and keep doing more of that.

The words of the song above were sung at our wedding. My heart needs to be reminded of what to do when it is tired and heavy.

This is all I have to say...

Smile, you're on candid camera

There's a bit of 'privacy' controversy surrounding the new Google site where you can find 360 degree photos of your street....or any street. Look up where you live here. I was going to put a link to our house but then that felt like I was violating my own privacy.

Not Pretty Enough

There’s been a lot of whoo-ha about the fact that the cute little girl in the opening ceremony last Friday night was miming the words. The face behind the voice has crooked teeth and couldn’t be shown on international television.

There’s also been a bit of hullabaloo about the fact that not all the fireworks were real but digitally generated.

Maybe another naïveté has been uncovered here. Do we not realise that every day in every form of media we are looking at faces, bums, hands, hair, teeth, toenails and armpits of people who were chosen because most of the others (like me) weren’t pretty enough to do the job? We are swimming in a culture that spends inordinate amounts of money to put a face and a style to their product. What happened in the opening ceremony was just one incident. Don’t get all hot-headed about one little Chinese girl if you conveniently ignore every other form of advertising swamping you.

As for the fireworks, who cares? It was about entertainment and visual spectacle. It looked good and we went wow-wee!! (Well my friend Sarah from Mudgee would’ve said exactly that!) I think if we knew how much of our world these days was digitally enhanced we’d be shocked.

The plain truth is that most of the world isn’t pretty enough for our palettes these days. We’ve been spoilt by the airbrush and Photoshop.

We don't think this is real

Cooking Adventures

Whether I’m a stay at home mum or a working girl with a day off, I’m a sucker for daytime TV cooking programs. It’s always a bonus if Angus’ feed coincides with the 2pm Ready Steady Cook hour. In cooking shows there’s a spectrum of talent to choose from. If you own a successful high end restaurant in a capital city you’ve got street cred with me. At the other end of the spectrum are some kitchen cowboys.

Without naming names, the big guy with braces is at the lower end of culinary talent. He seems to do the same dish every day that requires diced onion and carrot in some form of stew. A few weeks ago he did a “Traditional African Stew” (cooked on location in an animal savannah at the zoo) in which the two main ingredients were Madras Indian curry powder and Indonesian Sambal Olek paste. He conceded half way through the process that he might have deviated a little from his claim that it was a traditional African dish.

A new comer on the block has slotted into the 3pm timeslot. His lifeline is probably that it’s a time of day that is bankrupt of any better entertainment. He loves his hair and his shirts. I know this because he’s been confident enough to share his fondness of both in as many words. Sure, he can slice onions fast and fine without looking at his hands but his gourmet talent is thin on the ground. I reckon if you are brave enough to endorse stock powder and pre-prepared foods on national TV you can probably kiss your restaurant chefing career goodbye.

The market forces should be tougher on these guys. Before you start shrinking in your chair about the bulk can of stock powder you have in your pantry, don’t have domestic guilt. It’s not about food snobbery or your prowess in the kitchen. It’s about upstarts claiming to be competent and cutting edge and caring more about their profile than their craft. Well, that's what I think.

WHAT??!!

Quotes today from George W Bush after his discussion with Vladimir Putin regarding the bombing in Georgia...

"I said this violence is unacceptable, I expressed my grave concern about the disproportionate response of Russia and that we strongly condemn bombing outside of South Ossetia. I was very firm with Vladimir Putin."

WHAT?! I can't articulate my incredulity. He has absolutely no authority or integrity to dish out this admonishment in my opinion.

Child Exploitation & Abuse

blah...blah....blah....Adam Goodes....blah...blah....blah....game on at the SCG....blah...blah....blah....soccered it off the ground....blah...blah....blah....YOU'RE JOKING, it's not netball!.....blah...blah....blah....long odds....blah...blah....blah....gets the clearance....blah...blah....blah....he dropped it there in the tackle....blah...blah....blah....ball it up....blah...blah....blah....kick smothered....blah...blah....blah....pass....blah...blah....blah....off the side of the boot....blah...blah....blah....is that deliberate?....blah...blah....blah....wobbles it inside fifty....blah...blah....blah....straight down the corridor....blah...blah....blah....Barry calls back towards the pockets....blah...blah....blah....THAT MUST'VE BROKEN YOUR HEART UMPIRE....blah...blah....blah....appeal for a free kick....blah...blah....blah....

We are projecting tonight's game onto the entire dining room wall.

Michael's advice to Angus "Umpires hate the Sydney Swans"

Anyone want to come over and talk to me???

Doctor Doctor Give Me The News

Cam and Angus talking about their hair growth competition

We had another visit to the Paed Urologist yesterday. The news is better than we expected. Angus' kidney condition was classified as 'moderate' and the measurements (of the dilated duct) are just within the acceptable limits. This will mean he'll have an ultrasound a month until there is an increase in the measurement, at which stage they'll operate. The specialists said it was more likely to grow in size than decrease but he's "happy to be surprised". So, we'll pray that he'll be surprised.

It seems we've broken through in the sleep issues department. He's now pretty good at sleeping through the night which makes mummy love him even MORE. He's exceptionally happy and content which means I am able to do lots of things during the day with him on board. Today's a pyjamas day so I'm not planning on another outfit.

My letter to Channel Nine today

How much longer will you consider the value Sam Newman brings to The Footy Show ratings as greater than the detriment he brings to your whole network? The longer you hesitate to sack him, the longer I actively avoid Nine when choosing my entertainment.

We’ve all had a gutful.

[If you want to write to them also it needs to be on paper and sent to The Programming Department, Channel Nine, PO Box 99, Tuart Hill WA 6939 or something similar in your capital city]

More about him

We have had a full coupla weeks with a flying trip to Sydney last week. It was work for Michael and play for the rest of the family. We had a chance to catch up with a few friends but mostly it was time for the grandparents to do some spoiling of all of us. We loved it.

When we got home Angus had a follow up ultrasound of his kidney which showed the in utero condition was unchanged and needs some intervention. In short, his left kidney is not draining efficiently and he'll need an operation to rectify the problem. A test at 5 days old was deceptively positive of his condition and now there is a bit of a catch-up game to prevent any further damage of the kidney through it's malfunction. It's not life-threatening but the specialists are now moving at an urgent speed to intervene.

This meant he had a nuclear medicine scan on Friday where they injected him with radioactive gremlins and traced how his kidneys processed it and then wee'd it out. Off the the Paediatric Urologist tomorrow to get his time frame for the operation.

The little man was as brave as ever as they struggled to find a vein in the back of his hand. The doctor did scan his scalp twice looking for an alternative vein! Please God, not a drip coming out of his head was my quick prayer. We left the cotton bud dressing on the back of his hand for maximum sympathy this weekend. One of these things is as big as the other!

So, the final outcome of this medical process will be good at 98% success. We're not looking forward to the operation day or the subsequent recovery. One thing I realised again when I sat with him during his nuclear medicine on Friday that it is simply information that causes us anxiety and fear. He was only distressed for the same amount of time the needle was going in the back of his hand and oblivious to the rest of the circumstances. Meanwhile, his parents took care of the nervousness and the very pregnant Auntie Carmel was on hand for emotional backup and cuddles. She followed through with 'new outfit therapy' for him.

We've had our good friend Sue Crocker here from Sydney this weekend so we've enjoyed good company, good food and good times.