Joyous day

The sun shone as we celebrated Jesus' rising from the dead! We had a wonderful morning session at convention, I mouthed the words to most of the songs as I can't cry and sing at the same time (I regularly cry through church songs, but particularly at Easter).

We had our traditional Easter egg hunt after lunch and were warm and dry all day. We go to bed tired but very thankful and looking forward to one more morning of teaching and fellowship.

Easter Convention

I took this photo during the morning tea break, and we sit around the middle of the auditorium. You have to imagine around 3,000 adults singing about their wonderful God and listening to great speakers teaching God's word. It really is an extraordinary experience and quite my favourite time of year!

Briony loves doing hair so Joss and Bethany have been looking particularly beautiful.

We have been spoiled in past years with cool but sunny weather. We have had a lot of rain this time! We have friends who are camping (!) and are very thankful for being warm and dry, as well as enjoying wonderful company, at Teen and Guy's.

This morning we have woken to gentle sunlight. It may not last , but we are hoping to manage an Easter egg hunt after lunch. Christ is risen, what joy!

Growth

We're on holidays! Andrew went to work this morning, the kids pottered , or at least played mine craft for two of them, and I cleaned and packed - I do like coming home to a clean house. Joss pulled all the hair out of her brush and we marvelled at how it looks just like a nest, and has a fair top layer, a blue stripe and then the dark. She is now hoping to become a blonde, a long and expensive process, but she has no regrets.

Now, we are on the road, heading for the mountains and Easter Convention, my very favourite time of year! 

Soccer time

Tennis and track season are over so now we move into road season and soccer! Bethany and Toby both have new boots and played their first game on Saturday at 10.30. 

Bethany is in different colours this year as she swapped clubs. She has played against a team of school friends lots of times and always wished to be in their team. This year we made it happen and she was on the winning team on Saturday! Her last team was lots of fun, and she didn't mind that they never won, but it was great to play with her school friends and taste actual victory. My favourite part of the deal is that training is held at her school. All I need to do is pick her up, score!

The wedding was great, the cake was delivered safely and the reception was encouraging, funny and a bit teary. Below is the view from our table.

A great weekend, but I am expected even better from next weekend, in Katoomba.

Wedding cake

I have made cakes for weddings a couple of times, always fruit cake, and only once have I made the cakes and decorated them. For Greg and Evie's (real name Evangeline, how I love it!) wedding, I made and decorated mud cake.

I took a day off to do it, but made the biggest cake the night before. It took nearly four hours to cook! I trimmed the top and Joss and Tobes enjoyed before school dessert.

When you make fruit cakes, there can be weeks between the making and the decorating. I had to wait for the top layers to cool when the bottom layer was finished.

It was a relief to get it delivered. I wish I had put it on a scale, it was so heavy!

Still going

It's been a great term, but I confess that I am looking forward to the holidays. Last week was Seniors' Week and I gave three presentations, one in Wagga, one in Coolamon and one at the State Library. I went to a Readers' Advisory seminar and the theme was sci-fi, hence I was reading A Clockwork Orange. 

Bethany danced at the school open day and afterwards showed me how to play this Indonesian game. She beat me.

I had one more presentation this week, and a last one next week and then, the holidays! Oh, and soccer starts this week, too......

Grinners

Joss and Toby took up tennis last October; they started lessons and formed a team with two brothers the same age, also new to the sport.

They spent a lot of the season at the bottom of the table, but as they improved they crept up. Cycling events and then her job took Joss out, and she was the least enthusiastic player of the four, but she still got a medal when the boys came runners up in the grand final yesterday, losing by only three games!

I suprised myself with this skill.

It was a very warm day yesterday, but I know summer has turned its back because it is dark and cold in the mornings. One of my pear trees is getting autumnal, with a single red leaf.

Joss and Toby both went to friends' houses for the afternoon and the night, so Andrew, Bethany and I picked up some pizza and went to the Botanical Gardens. Such a lovely Saturday.