Jared is 15! Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my eldest boy. I am a couple of days late in posting this as it was his birthday on the 24th. So there he is, my cheeky toddler that has grown into a cheeky and very loveable 15 year old!
This is inside my Dads bus. Dad converted the school bus into his motor home. Jared has always had a love of anything with more than 1 horse power. He loves engines and wants to know how and why they work and how to make them better. In fact, he wants to know the ins and outs of any vehicle! He was around 4 in this photo.
Jared also has a love of sport. He was 12 in this photo. He currently races mountain bikes, plays AFL football, boxing and is involved in the scouting movement.
So, here he is at 15, standing at around 6'2" or 6'3" tall. I really don't know where the time has gone it only seems yesterday and we were welcoming him into the world. He is a very generous teenager who does go out of his way to help others and always tries his hardest in everything he does. Happy Birthday Jared, we are extremely proud of you. Love Mum.

Update on Misty

Misty is home from the vet. The infection has cleared and her temperature is normal again. She is still struggling to stand although once she is up, she walks around with now problems. We are still working on her being able to stand up on her own, so please keep sending all those positive thoughts they are helping!

Our Misty

If you are reading my blog today/tonight. Please keep Misty (see photo in post below) in your thoughts and good wishes. She is in the vet hospital tonight and is very ill. She has an internal infection, very high temperature, diarrhea and dehydrated. The Dr Tony and his staff are very good. They are putting fluids with antibiotics and vitamins into her tonight and we will see how she is going in the morning. I think we are getting very close to having to say goodbye to her and it is hurting so much but it hurts even more to see her so ill. If she lives till May she will 16.

Our Malleys

I thought I would start introducing you to our extended family. We have quite a menagre when it comes to our pets and we love them all. Malleys, cat, fish and lizards.

We love our Alaskan Malamutes and have had 5 over the last (nearly 16) years.

The photo above is of "Misty". The photo is a bit misleading as it looks like she is running but she is well and truley past that now. Misty is our first Malley and is nearly 16 and still going strong. She has a bit of trouble with her hind legs and was born with a heart murmer (not that you would ever know if the vet didn't tell you!). She has such a will to live and enjoy every day! This photo was taken around 2 weeks ago.

This is Misty with Qimmiq (Alaskan for dog). Qimmiq was our 3rd Malley (we looked after Cody for a while). Qimmiq was with us from 1995 until 2006. He was a beautiful sable colour (red). We have a 6" paling fence down each side of our house. He would stand up and lean on the fence, put his head over the fence and say hellooo to the neighbours.

This was Wolfie. We rehoused Wolfie 3 years ago. The people who raised him had to move to a smaller property and had surrendered him to the Malamute rescue centre. Misty was pining for her playmate as she hadn't been on her own for a long time. Sadly, Wolfie died about a month before Christmas. This is our latest ball of fluff named Tobi. He is now 17weeks old and growing day by day if not minute by minute. He is learning to leave Mistys back alone. And she is loving a new companion. Mr J. (who is 15 on Sunday!) has plans to train him to sledding, weight pulling and back packing. Well see how long that all lasts. I think I will be training him to do some of that. I had wanted to with Qimmiq but the kids were all only babies and hubby worked all week so I could stay home with them. There never seemed enough hours in the day....

So, here are our Alaskan Malamutes who are very much a part of our family.

Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day to all in Blogger Land. I woke this morning to find a these gorgeous roses and card waiting on the kitchen table for me. My wonderful husband has to leave home around 5am to be at work on time and I don't function at that hour. I had also left him a card on the kitchen table for him to find this morning as I was at a meeting last night. The family was in bed by the time I came home.


The photo below is of my maternal grandparents wedding. Edward Bruce married Anna Scanes on the 1st December 1937 in a small country town in NSW, Australia.

As I was finishing my very first cross stitch (photo below) my Grandfather passed away (14th Sept 1990). I placed the cross stitch in the hoop and gave it my Nan to keep for all the "days to remember". I have many, many, many wonderful memories of being with them through school holidays. They had a farm and welcomed us every holidays with open arms. 7 of our cousins also lived in the area and this was the only time we saw them. We did every thing from building cubbies, collecting wood for the fire, eggs from the chooks, taking morning tea to the shearers, rounding up the sheep and cows, helping with lambing, riding the motorbikes and tractors. We were out the door after breakfast and never in again until sundown (unless for FOOD of course!).

Unfortunately, Nan had to move to a nursing home 3 years ago as she was no longer able to be at home on her own. She found many of her friends there and really enjoyed playing cards and exchanging stories and memories with them. Nan passed away 12th Sept. 2006 and the cross stitch found its way back to me. It hangs in my kitchen and reminds me to cherish every day and remember all the good times!

I hope that you can all have brilliant "days to remember". This is my wish to you.

Lindy

Alex has started High School

This is my middle son Alex. On the 30th January 2008 he started his first day at High School. I can't believe how the years have flown. It only seems like yesterday that he was starting Preps and I was fighting the education department trying to get him some extra help. When he started school, he had already been in speech therapy for 2 1/2 years and still, nobody outside the family could understand him.





Today, we celebrate all the obstacles that he has overcome. He left speech therapy 3 years ago and now, nobody who meets him for the first time would ever believe he had to work so hard to be understood.
He has been at high school for 2 weeks and is absoultely loving it and having the best time. He really did need a fresh start and this has given him that.
He started with 2 friends in his class from primary school and 1 extra friend from outside of school. He tells me that he now has 12 friends in his class. They are going away on camp at the end of this month and I pray that it is such a positive experience for him after last years terrible time.

Mind you, I must tell you, that we never did get that extra help from the education department and he is dyslexic to boot! (We never knew that when he started school :-) Just another thing to keep you on your toes!)

The other young person in the photo is my youngest boy Hayden. He is on his own in the primary school. Something he had never experienced before either. He just starting to settle down with no big brother to talk too. Just as well he has many friends to play with as well.