Returning

Hello friends!

It's been a while, hasn't it? I've been taking a break from blogging, forums and a lot of computer related activities for a little while, for a number of reasons.

1. Sports have been taking up a lot of our time here. I like to do 3 Muay Thai classes a week when I can; Tony has started a boxing class; Sarah does 3 Karate classes a week; Daniel does two Karate classes, as well as 2 nights of soccer training in prep for the Saturday games. Since this winter has been rather wet, the soccer draw has been totally messed up because of ground closures due to rain, with catch-up games being re-scheduled on Sunday's. For example, we have a game this Saturday and a game (plus team photos) on Sunday. Soccer eating into our Sundays is quite a peeve, because Sunday's are church days for our family, so we find ourselves in a tricky situation because our commitment to God and our commitment to the team have conflicted a lot this season. I am considering not enrolling Daniel for Soccer next year because of this very reason, though I know he will not be at all happy about that - he loves to play. I think sports are a very important part of the children's development, but we signed up for Saturday sports - not Sunday sport. Our first thought is always to say 'no' to any of the Sunday games. Ordinarily it's easy to say that the choice is simple and God must come first, because we don't think the commandment to "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy" is an optional choice ... but it puts us in a bad situation with team relationships, which are also very important to us.

2. Another reason for my computer hiatus was that I spent a couple of weeks making major changes at home and changed around 4 rooms to make our home more workable. It seems a little ridiculous that all these changes were initiated by the purchase of the Wii for Daniels birthday. You need a lot of room to swing your body around .. as you do whilst playing Wii! Oh my goodness, it’s been such a job. I also had to paint in 2 rooms which was so not on my list…

3. Another big reason for my absence was that I did make a conscious decision to spend less time on the computer a couple of months ago ago. As it turned out it was a good plan because while I did feel swamped a short while back, I achieved a lot. It was becoming quite a habit for me to while away too much time on the computer when I should have been doing other things, so disciplining myself in this area has been quite beneficial, as much as I missed some good online friends. Some days I don't even turn on the computer. Or we will have it on for an hour or so in the morning for Sarah to do her online maths and then I'll check emails ..then I’ll turn it off. I'm pondering getting up an hour earlier in the mornings so that can be my computer time to read blogs I like, but perhaps winter is not the best time to start this, as it's so cold! I am currently compiling a list of my favourite blogs and forums and categorising them. I do have to limit myself in the time I allow for computer related pasttimes, so I thought that instead of getting caught up on the internet through the day and/or late into the night - that one day I could read the craft sites, another day I will read the gardening sites, another day the cooking sites, another day the simple living sites, and another day the christian sites. Do you think that sounds like a good plan? I have read a couple of articles and blog posts about this very subject lately, so it seems I am not alone in assessing the time we ladies spend on the computer. One good read is here

http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com/2009/06/distracted-christian-mothers.html


4. In addition to the above reasons, there are all my usual responsibilities and tasks... running the home; responsibilities at church; taking parents and in-laws to medical appointments; all the paperwork associated with the end of financial year as I'm bookkeeper for Tony's business; taking the children to their music lessons; and of course the homeschooling, visiting and entertaining we like to do … etc etc etc

5. And finally, I had some vision problems which made reading difficult, particularly when combined with computer glare. New glasses have fixed that, but I was also referred to an eye specialist and had an uneasy week between appointments to discover what a growth on my retina was. I testify yet again to God's mercy, grace, and lovingkindness towards me . As always, His presence and His Word is a reassuring comfort and strength, though naturally I had my moments of sobbing into Tony's shoulder. However, I was indeed blessed that most of the time His peace (which truly surpasses understanding) was upon me. I thank and praise Him that the problem is nothing to worry about. While I was frightened that I was either going to go blind and not be able to see my children grow, or my future grandchildren, or that it was a cancerous tumour and I was going to die... it turns out I have a “CHIRPE” acronym for Congenital hypertrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium, along with 5% of population. It is like a freckle on my retina, a ‘typical’ one that does not becomes malignant. Whew!

So there you have the main reasons why I have not been blogging lately. I am still assessing my priorities and deciding what is right for me timewise to spend on the computer...but I do hope to be able to blog more regularly. I have a lot of plans for our home, and much to share! Lets see what eventuates, lol.