Eddie's Top 3

Eddie loves to take photos and he is actually getting quite good at it.  The other day he asked if he could have a turn with the camera, so I told him to take three photos of what he loved about Wowan.

So, here they are:

# 1 - "Daddy's work car".  They never seem to get tired of seeing the Ambulance.  Even if we are on a trip to a larger city, they will always call out when they see an Ambulance.

# 2 - You may not be able to see this, but it is a sprinkler!!!  I don't know if I can add anything else to this one.  I assume he likes it because it is a tall standing one and it waters most of the yard??  But anyway, it made the list.

# 3 - The trampoline.  Cameron's lovely sister and her husband gifted us with this trampoline so it was the boys job to help Daddy put it together - and they did an amazing job.  It is very large and has been in use every single day since it was assembled.  Has even been a great tool in making new friends.

So there you have it; Eddies top 3.  I love that he is easily pleased.

Blessings,

Life in Wowan

I really don't know why it has taken me so long to write this post.  The boxes have been unpacked and the house looking like a home since 3 days after we moved in.  Perhaps it's just enjoying the relaxed lifestyle.

A move of any sort is a stressful time, even if it is one you are looking forward to.  But I'm not going to focus on the negative - I'm going to share all the great things we've experienced in Wowan and share some pics.

Having lived on 5 and a half acres in Maryborough, we are not used to knowing neighbours or seeing traffic pass our front door.  Our boys are loving the fact that we can see the highway from our home and often throughout the day we will hear one of the boys call out "wide load coming" and they all race to the window (or the front gate if we are downstairs) and wait for it to pass.  Funny boys.

Another plus for them is having a boy live next door of the same age.  His dad is the local Police officer.  Their new friend comes over most days to play or jump on the trampoline.  It's nice.

I feel really settled here now.  Routine is happening, school and learn-to-read lessons are back in full swing and there is a calm to our days, which is lovely.  Our new home is large enough for our needs (the envy of the other government workers in town), and bright and clean.  We can see the sun rise from our kitchen window and there are lovely country views.  The towns people are very friendly.  I don't think I've even had a chance to say "I'm Amanda, the new ambo's wife".  People just say hello and ask how we are settling in.  When we walk to the post office to collect our mail, we rarely get to use our key at the post box, as the postmistress has heard us coming and is on the front steps with our mail ready for us.  I love that about small towns.

So, here are a few photos of life for us here in Wowan.




Front of our house.  The bottom left is the reliever's quarters, bottom right is the ambulance station and above is our home.



Lounge (combined with dining, which is next shot).  It is a lovely large room which allows the morning sun to stream in.  Behind the large bookshelves is the kitchen and breakfast area.

The dining / school table.  Nice and warm on these cold mornings.

The Ergon workers did not realise they would have an audience when they were testing poles in our street. 

The lovely view from our back porch.  Hard to really capture the beautiful colours in this shot.

Blessings from Wowan,

Quick Update

It's been a while since I posted.  I have been stressing out a bit while trying not to stress out.  The removalists will be coming in 9 days to pack our things.  Now that I have arranged for a cleaner and carpet cleaner to get the place in order for the new tenants, and have crossed a few more things off my list, I am now starting to relax and feel on top of things again.

Mixed emotions for me about moving. I love change and new challenges.  I am excited about moving, as I believe it is the right time for us, and I'm so proud of my husband for applying for and receiving this promotion.  We are leaving some lovely people however.  The contacts I have made, especially recently with some amazing homeschool support, will be difficult to say goodbye to.  But I'm grateful for the time anyway, as I really believe we are meant to homeschool and God "hooked us up". 

Another difficult goodbye for the boys will be Cameron's family.  We haven't talked about that part yet.  We'll try to build up the excitement of a new home and talk about coming back for holidays. 

This may well be my last post from Maryborough.  Actually getting a bit teary now thinking of that.  I won't say goodbye though.  There's always facebook!!!

Our "Welcome to Wowan" brochure

Blessings,

On The Mend

So it turns out I was slightly justified in having a whine session about cold/flu, and being run down.  I finally went to the doctors after incessant coughing caused severe pain in my chest.  The diagnosis was pleurisy and pneumonia.  After 4 days of doctors appointments, blood tests, scans and then two weeks of double doses of antibiotics, I am finally feeling better.  I don't do well with being sick and I tend to push myself the minute I feel slightly better - which is probably why it takes a little longer to recover (I'll learn one of these days). 

Miss Motivation has taken holidays however and I really need to find her and get back on track because we only have about 3 weeks before we are due to move.  No pressure!  Taking one day at a time.

Blessings,

Blessed

My man.  I am truly blessed.  Today I got a lovely surprise.  We all went to get some groceries and I left Cameron at the checkout to pay while I herded the boys off to the toy bike to wait for Daddy.  When he finished I told him I just had to pick up a script and then we could go.  But instead he told me that he got extra money out after paying for the groceries and he would like me to go to the shop and pick out some clothes!  Wow.  Oh my goodness.  I was almost speechless (almost).  He even suggested we go right then and he would keep the boys amused for as long as it took.  The icing on the cake was actually finding something that I liked and that fit me well. 

I've felt run down for a while and then the cold/flu thing grabbed me last week, so I feel like Cameron has been picking up a lot of slack lately.  So I'm truly counting my many blessings tonight.

Blessings to all,

Population 338 ... +5

I am so proud of my husband.  He has been offered another Officer-in-Charge position and this time it looks like he will be taking it.  Wowan is a town about 70km south-west of Rockhampton and at the last census registered a massive 338 residents (in the town and surrounding area)!!!  Not going to think too heavily on that part - but as for the move itself, I am thrilled.  We need a change and some more connect time as a family, not to mention an increase in pay that will bring us a step closer to Cameron's retirement dream.


The move will probably take place in the next 6 weeks.  Cameron's roster will be an 8 days on 6 days off deal so we will be travelling between Wowan and Maryborough - until we figure out what we want to do on a more permanent basis.


Being an organiser, I have several lists on the go but this is the part that I find difficult - the waiting game.  My hands are tied until they actually give us a release date.  I don't have too much clutter around, as I cull regularly (one of my all time favourite jobs to do), so it is really a matter of just deciding what needs to go and putting all those things in one particular area for the removalists to pack and then triple checking that list!


So, busy times ahead for us but exciting times also.  And by the way, try doing an internet search on Wowan.  The only thing I can find out is that it has a golf and bowling club, a showground, a Hotel (obviously), a caravan park (although on searching that further, it has been closed but they left their website up for historical purposes!!!) and a roadhouse.  I think I'll have to do a coffee shop crawl before we leave - or buy a cappacino maker.


Blessings.

Some school photos from last week



Our latest order - how much do we love The Book Depository?




Eddie completing his worksheet

Sasha completing his worksheet - and a left hander!!






Eddie always checks his work before he gives it to me!!






Taking our reading outdoors - to their cubby house!

Blessings,