Monday Morning Moaning

1: Get home from work my child has wets my bed
2: Hubby says otherside of bed is dry it'll be OK (NOT)
3: Child informs me he needs to do his homework now
4: Child is wearing a not ironed uniform
5: Hubby hasn't made school lunch
6: Car warrant ran out 2 days ago
7: Child doesn't want to wear blue today its pink
8: Some animal poos on my new lawn
9: Knowing I'll be working with a random person tonight
10: Knowing its going to be too hot to sleep today!!!!

Primary Presentation 2010

I was feeling rather nervous on Sunday.  All the songs we have worked on over the year were about to be put on display for the congregation.  With 26 children ranging from 4yrs to 12yrs all seated the Primary Presentation began.

Some children had speaking parts either scriptures or talks they had given over the year during closing exercises.   Some of the boys sang solos or duets.  We had harmonies and split parts (A Child's Prayer).  Between each theme/scripture or talk we would perform a song.  I was so very proud of all the children they never let me down and most if not all remembered the words to all the songs.  These children do not have words in front of them when they sing, they are amazing.

Highlights for me:  The boys who sang Follow the Prophet, (no words), watching Ammon lean over the microphone (he's very tall),  nearly butting in on Matthews part,  A Child's Prayer, Junior closing remarks so fitting and beautiful and finally giving out cookies/lollipops at the end.

Another successful Primary presentation completed.  I love my calling I am so blessed to have awesome kids to teach.  I now look forward to 2011 with a new theme and a new Presidency.  The CD already ordered and on its way to me I'm excited already :-)

Engagement

On Saturday, after TBall I went into town with the children to meet Ben and Shenelle for a cuppa.  I haven't seen Ben for about 3 months and it was nice to see him looking healthy and happy.  We went to Mojo and whilst we organising what we wanted to eat, Shenelle wasn't feeling well I joking said are you pregnant? They both said no, then came the BUT! as Ben grabs Shenelle's hand and flashed a beautiful diamond on her finger "we're engaged.  Honestly my first thoughts were are you crazy? too young 18yrs, what the?????  After my brain had registered the fact, I could see these two people before me were very happy and committed. I am all for happiness!!! 

Since Shenelle has been living in Dunedin I have made the effort in getting to know her. I felt I had been somewhat harsh before I met her (being a protective mum).  I can honestly say I am very fond of her now.  She is a genuine person who portrays great qualities, she has her head screwed on right.  I have seen her beauty, her forgiving side, her generosity (even though I didn't get to go to the Vodaphone Music Awards), a great sense of humour,  she never pretended to be anything other than herself and she has never sucked up to me or call me mummy or invaded my space.  I love that she is honest with me and I can see she makes my son Ben very happy.  I am proud that she has completed her course and already has a job.  I know the rest of the family like her as well. I am very happy she is part of our family.

I gave them both a hug and congratulated them and just advised them not to rush into things ie babies, enjoy being young and having you time.  Get money behind ya and set yourselves up properly.

Its a funny good feeling the thought of being a mother in law and gaining a daughter. 

St Mary's Fair

What a beautiful day for the school fair.  There were lots of people out enjoying themselves.  Plenty of activities for everyone old and young.  I baked generous amounts of afghans and chocolate chippie biscuits. The Finnie family had a lovely time and each of us had favourite things. Dave enjoyed the food, I enjoyed the Harley ride, Nicholas enjoyed the everything and Kate loved the pony ride.

Nicholas on the Harley

Nicholas on the BIG horse

Bouncy Castle

Mum on the Harley cool fun 

Kate 

 The fair raised $16,000 for the school to use which is an amazing effort Well done!!!

Athletics Day

Nicholas's school and 5 other school participated in the annual athletics day.  I offered to help out and was put in-charge of the 7 year old boys.  We had six events to complete by lunch time. 

Now with Dave being the fitness freak in the family, I assumed that Nicholas would have that gene in him.  Alas he has my gene,  I was never any good at any athletics days when I went to school.  I did try my hardest though which is what Nicholas did too. 

Nicholas in the 400m run

Great Effort Nicholas

It was a fun morning with everyone happy getting points and participating. Nicholas spent the afternoon recuperating at home funny!!

Lullaby by Nicholas

This piece Lullaby, Nicholas will play at his recital in December.

Let it Grow

For 2 years and 8 months I have waited patiently to put a hair tie in Kates hair.  It maybe little, nevertheless its still a very cute pigtail.  With hair up we went out for brunch.  As we sat up at the table all lady like the waitress approaches our table "hello would your boy like a cushion to sit on"?  I shook my head with disbelief and corrected her.  Come on how many boys wear a top with cute strawberries on it. Unbelievable!!!!!  I look forward to Kate's pigtail developing into a pony tail and whats more awesome her hair is curly super duper cute!!!

Guy Fawkes

I know animal lovers hate Guy Fawkes and for good reasons but I just love them.  I love seeing the sky light up in pretty colours and writing letters with sparklers.  When I was a little girl my mum would buy lots of fireworks.  Back then they had tom thumbs and jumping jacks and sky rockets it was so awesome.  One day Peter and I were doing the dishes and mum lit a whole packet of jumping jacks and some how placed them in the kitchen whilst we were doing the dishes.  The sound inside the house was deafening, Peter and I jumped and screamed our heads off whilst my mum was laughing her hysterically.

The cost of the fireworks is the only reason why our Guy Fawkes night was brief with sparklers and a few flower pots.

Nicholas wanted to have halloween too so I made this latern out of a tangelo

A Day in Wellington

We woke to a beautiful sunny morning hard to believe yesterday was so miserable. We headed out for breakfast at McD's and we planned the day.  First stop Te Papa overall opinion BIG from the outside and some of the exhibitions were awesome however, I think Dunedins Museum is just as impressive.

Our walk to Te Papa 

Whilst at the museum we caught up with Alison and she spent the day with us which was awesome.  After lunch we headed to the Beehive.  Kate was very tired and fell asleep whilst Dave carried her.  Unfortunately my camera has something wrong with it so the photos are dumb and some didn't even save.

Next destination was the cable cars and that was a view not to miss.  Seven hours later we say goodbye to Alison and head back to the hotel for a well deserved rest. 

These bodies were painted

Awesome View

We flew home on the Saturday and as I reflect on our holiday apart from some minor hiccups the overall experience was awesome.  I'm already planning the next trip.

Lets Go To Wellington

Today we drove from Hamilton to Wellington a huge drive. The day was wet and dreary thus meant it wouldn't be too hot in the car.  Unfortunately we wouldn't get to see much scenary.  As I had driven the length of the north island many times and seen the scenery I opted to drive all the way so Dave could get admire our beautiful country.  The trip was pleasant and our first official stop was Waiouru.  We went into the Waiouru War Museum and Nicholas enjoyed playing dress up. 

We continued towards Wellington, by now it was pouring with rain which made driving a longer event.  Coming into Wellington there was extensive road works, the single laned type.  All of a sudden I could hear fire engines and ambulances siren and somehow we had to make way for them scary!!!!  Later we heard there was a head on collision between two trains due to slips. 

We arrived into the city centre and being organised (not) thought we could rock into any motel/hotel place Oh how wrong were we???? Aparently the Wearable Arts were on in Wellington great where would we stay now.  We sat in the car and rang most of the places in the AA book took over an hour no luck.  Finally I remembered from days of ole when working in at the Leviathan, there was always a duty motel they were responsible for knowing where vacant accomodation were in the region.  So I told Dave to go into the hotel we were parked outside and ask.  By now we were all tired, stressed and we were all wishing we had stayed in Temple View.  Dave came back from the hotel and what a blessing.  This hotel had another hotel two blocks down with a room with a queen and a single bed, YES it was ours.

Settled into our room we walked the main street of Wellington to find a place to eat.  We found Abrakebabrah made great kebabs and rice dishes.  Hopefully tomorrow would be a much nicer day and the rain would stop. 

Temple Week Day 3

Leading up to the temple trip I had prepared some relatives names to have work done for them and so I headed up to the temple first thing so the youth could do baptisms.  How awesome that felt.

Most mornings at home the TV is going to entertain the children whilst I get breakfast.  By day 3 we had forgotten we didn't have a TV the children had found colouring in and playing with their toy a cool thing to do. Doing things together as a family was a great feeling.

Dave went for his usual run and then we walked up to the temple.  Im sure Dave was feeling if not more nervous as I did the previous day.  He too missed his buddy Phil,  but I told him Roy would be waiting for him inside.  He made his way inside and the children and I decided to go back to the visitors centre.  Before we went Nicholas wanted a photo of him sitting outside the temple.

We spent over 2 hours in the visitors centre we had that much fun.  Highlight was when an Elder was showing Nicholas and Kate all the different temples in the world.  In his cool American accent he told Nicholas that when he is a big boy he would be able to go inside the temple and see how beautiful they are.  Nicholas response "well actually I've already been inside the temple" the Elder said "you have what a special boy you are" Nicholas "Kate has too but she didn't see because she was in mums tummy" The Elder laughed.

At 1pm we saw daddy come out of the temple.  He was a different man the frowns on his forehead had gone he was smiling and it was a joy to see.  As we walked back to the apartments he told me his concerns and it was so nice to know what he was feeling and that it wasn't me etc.

We went out for lunch and went to the swimming pool which was a big disappointment. Highlight at the pool was meeting a little girl:

Little girl: "whats her name"
Me: "Kate"
LG: "who"
Me: "Kate"
LG:  "what"
Me:  "Kate"
LG: "cake"
Me:  "No K A T E"
LG: "thats weird"
Me: "really!  What's your name?"
LG: "Rangima.........??????"
Me: "What"
LG: "they call me mamma for short"

Back at the apartments Dave and I left the children with the Jenners and went to the temple together.  It was the best thing for us to go as husband and wife to sit in the celestrial room together and to have us time. Dave was able to do my grandfather endowment too. Knowing that we were departing the next day we knew the time we had at the temple was one of testing and conquering. Dave is keen to go next year and hopefully time it, so our other friends are there too.

Temple Week Day 2

Our drive to Hamilton was uneventful, children slept whilst hubby and myself took in the scenery.  By the time we arrived into Hamilton it was dusk and as we approached the temple we could see it glowing in all its glory.  The children were awake and were excited to see the temple.  Nicholas was explaining to Kate how he had been inside the temple and how Kate was in my tummy when she went in.  Very cute conversation. 

We collected our key to the temple apartments and proceeded to unload the car.   A sense of relief to have arrived safely, as we entered our accomodation the first thing everyone noticed was NO TV!!!!! Amazingly enough Dave was the one who screwed up his nose the most and protested. I'm generally the TV addict.

For the first time we had to think about what we were going to do to entertain ourselves without the TV (challenging).  We drove back to Dinsdale to get some supplies and dinner and stopped outside the visitors centre to view the temple.

Back at the apartment we were putting the children to bed when there was a knock at the door.  It was Elder Donaldson (Matty) what a pleasant surprise.  It was lovely to catch up and that was one way we entertained ourselves without the TV.

Tuesday came and Dave went for his morning run. I was getting ready to go into the temple for the first time in 4years.  I was totally nervous and as I walked to the temple I text Amiee for support my heart was pounding and concentrating on my text to Amiee I walked into a pole ÖUCH". I missed not having my best friend with me to hold my hand.  I stood in front of the temple contemplating my options (to go or not to go in). A couple came out and saw me they approached me to see if I was ok (I must have looked terrified).  I explained my predicament and they were so helpful and I am so grateful they came out when they did.  I took a deep breathe and told myself I can do this on my own and entered the building.

The beauty and peacefulness was overwhelming I could feel the spirit strongly and for two hours a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.  As I walked back to the apartments I felt light uplifted and refreshed.  Unfortunately it all came crashing down when I walked into the apartment to "What took you so long"  Hello reality!!! Luckliy I had been inside the temple and still feeling calm and peaceful my response was of the same nature.

We decided to go and explore Hamilton so we went to the Base, a huge shopping mall had lunch and a bit of shopping.  We finished off the day at the Hamilton lakeside.  The kids played and we admired the view and the sunset it was lovely.

When we got back to the apartments we saw the "Jenners"and discovered they were our next door neighbours.  Lorraine had offered to look after the children whilst Dave and I went to the temple together.  Dave still wasn't keen to go and so Roy and Dave had a talk.  Later on Dave returns and I'm not sure what happened but Dave had decided to go with Roy tomorrow.  We went out for dinner and on the way back the visitors centre was still open so we went inside the children loved it.  Kate just wanted to hear Jesus talking and Nicholas loved the LDS video ads.  The children did not want to leave so I told them we would visit again tomorrow while daddy was inside the temple.

Whilst settling the children to sleep Kate asked me "what would Jesus say to me mummy?" I told her he would tell her that she was a special little girl and that he loved her.  Kate nodded and then she said "and keep his commandments and love one another" super cute answer.  She had obviously listened to the big statue of Jesus in the visitors centre.

Sleep well Finnie Family

The School Change

It hasn't been the best year for Nicholas as far as schooling goes.  We started him at Elmgrove and he didn't like it (even though he had his best friend in his class).  We sent him back to Mornington and he was so much happier unfortunately it wasn't financially viable and so after term one we talked to Nicholas about giving Elmgrove another go. 

Term two started off rocky and we still could sense he wasn't happy.  Parent teacher interviews came and we soon noticed the consequences of our decision to send him back.  He had fallen behind in maths now the bottom of the class (from the top at Mornington).  Reading level dropped from 20 to 18.  Dave expressed his concerns to the teacher and they both agreed to disagree with each others opinion.  I asked about the lack of homework and apparently other parents had mentioned that also.  Therefore starting in term 3 homework would be on the agenda.

Term 3 started and we signed Nicholas up to Number Works to help him out with his maths.  A homework book came home and for awhile things seem to be okay.  One day I was rung to go and pick Nicholas up from school he was sick.  I went to the school he was in the sick bay crying his eyes out.  I took him home and it was like a miracle had happen between school and home he was better again.  The next morning when it was time to go to school he became sick again so he stayed home again the same the next day.  So I asked him what was wrong he couldn't /wouldn't tell me.  I asked the teacher about bullies and she said that was a problem in Nicholas class but that some of the boys give as good as they get.  Horrified with that remark I could somehow understand where Nicholas was coming from and why he never played with any of the boys in his class.  He mainly played with Ben two classes above him.  I would take Nicholas to school and we would say prays to ask Heavenly Father to help and protect Nicholas whilst at school.  Each day I would pick him up and he would tell me his tummy feels better when school is over. 

Finally we get a brief report home from the teacher outlining the term.  It read along the lines of him being a better friend without being angry and improvement on listening skills and he had reduced telling tales.  So we went on holiday thinking our son was unfriendly, angry, disruptive and a tattle tale.  As Dave and I pondered on this report we couldn't believe a teacher could be so negative.  When we arrived home from our holiday I was at Amiee and noticed Jareds profile book curious I looked and blow me down the same report was in his profile book.  My personal opinion of this is that Nicholas's teacher had summed up her class as a whole and wrote one report photocopied it and slapped it into every ones profile book.  Whatever happened to individuality.  When I told Dave he was not impressed and insisted we withdraw him asap. 

The hunt was on for a new school we only had two options Silverstream or St Mary's.  Our neighbour just down from us has a son the same age as Nicholas and he goes to St Mary's.  I couldn't help but wonder if this school would suite Nicholas as both Stacey and Ben went to St Francis Xavier and both enjoyed their time there.  Then the whole religion thing could be a hurdle but Dave said we will jump those hurdles when/if they pop up. 

I went to St Mary's to check it out and was most impressed with everything.  The Principal was so inviting and he showed me around the whole school.  Just like Mornington Principal he knew his pupil in every class we went into from NE to Form 2 he knew them by name as he picked pupils out to show me things they were doing.  I still haven't met the principal at Elmgrove the only person I could talk too most days was the receptionist she was amazing and definitely holds that school together. 

Next step was to bring Nicholas for a tour and he totally liked the school and every classroom made him feel very welcomed.  Nicholas was keen to sign up.  Our next hurdle was to meet Father Dooley he came to our home and we talked about the nuts and bolts including our different religions and we decided that we all wanted what was best for Nicholas and Father Dooley gave us the thumbs up.

So two weeks into term 4 Nicholas started at St Mary's and he hasn't looked back.  He is so happy and instead of I don't want to go to school to hurry mum we'll be late for prayers.  He has been at St Mary's two weeks now and already his reading has gone from 18 to 22.  We went to Number Works and Naiom asked us whats happened to Nicholas he has changed he is flying through his activities.  We explained what we had done and told us it certainly shows.

In conclusion I decided that different strokes for different folks and although Elmgrove has some great qualities some schools suites some children, and some that don't.  May the next years at St Mary's be happy ones for us as a family.

St Mary's Boy