Josh and Shell

I sit here staring out across the city and in my arms the most beautiful girl.
Though not born at dawn - endured from dawn. She opens her eyes, looks at me intently…
a little smile, a big sigh.
The LORD God is with my daughter.
When my sight meets her face, I know that I am blessed.
Her warmth comforts me. Her cry softens me.
I am blessed.
Her innocence purifies my heart - For she is pure in His.
There is no wrong or evil - just divine love that comes from Him.
It’s a love that makes one cry because its pure, everlasting, its intimate.
One that I surely will not forget, but one that He will grow.
The LORD is in my Aurora.
I am truly blessed.

I wrote this on the second day with Aurora, she was just so wonderful and thinking of how much the LORD has blessed mylife over and over and over. You can’t help but see His Glory, His Power, His Divine Love in those He creates. I thank Him that He loves my daughter more than I, and He shares this love greatly… He teaches this love. I am greatful. Praise be to Him. Amen

written by Josh

Well SHE (not it) finally came… pretty close to the date too.

God does wonderful things in everyone’s lives some see it, some don’t notice these miraculous wonders but I think having a baby is hard to miss.

It started at 5.45am Rachelle was having contractions. After notifying the hospital, I decided now might be a good time to go the capsule for the car :P. The shop was ment to open at 9, but didnt till 9.30!!! So im here trying to quickly drive back home and get a quick game of guitar hero before we have to get going! After one song Rachelle gave in to the pain and decided that it was best to get to the hospital… quickly. We arrived pretty quickly by about 10.10am ish and went to assessment. Because the car was still parked out side the hospital in the dock zone I had to go move it… so no wasting time ran back out went to the Raymond Carpark but was all full! “Please proceed to the Allen st. Car Park” NO WAY! where the heck is that? Did I mention I hate hospitals? No worries, I found it without to much difficulty but had to park all the way up the top as there were only five parking spaces left. So that was a crappy 30min.

Rachelle was checked in the assessment and was confirmed 4cms dilated… man im good with timing. We moved to the massive birth suite which was like four times bigger than our room we were staying in (which is huge). It had everything… Gas, Needles, Toilet, Shower, Bath, Gym Ball, Tv, Stereo, Reclining bed… luxury I tell ya! Rachelle was on gas for awhile but soon moved to an epidural for some more relief. By this time (about 12.45pm) she was already 7cms dilated, everything was just going awesome.

It came time to start pushing… right! this is where I get serious. Rachelle starts off pretty well, whilst I hold up one leg and the student midwife the other. It was about three to four contractions along and you would never guess what happened… Continue reading »

written by Josh

5:45 am - Mild intermittent abdominal discomfort signaling the start of my contractions

6:00 am -  “Josh I think we’re going to have a baby either today or tomorrow!”

6:05 am - “Hey Waz, I’m not coming to work today, Rachelle’s in labour.”

6:10 am - Mum called to see what’s going on, she said to call the hospital.

6:15 am - Notified hospital of condition (approx. 2 contractions every 10mins). Told to sit tight and see what happens in the next hour.

8:00 am - Vomited after feeling nauseated all morning.

9:15 am - Josh went to buy baby car seat

9:30 am - Contractions getting stronger, 5-6 mins apart.

9:45 am - “Let’s go to the hospital, I want some pain relief.”

10:05 am - Arrived at the Mater Mother’s Private Hospital. Mary Stevens from church was the volunteer who escorted us to the Assessment Unit.

10:15 am - Obs & CTG monitor in assessment unit to assess my condition, baby’s heart rate and the strength of the contractions.

11:00 am - Internal exam shows I’m 4cm dilated! Yay! Contractions continue to be 5mins apart, rather painful. Offered the choice of going to the birth suite for some gas and other pain relief or going to the ward to wait until I’m further along…hmm, which one will I choose???

11:15 am - Moved around to the birth suite & got nitrous oxide (”happy gas”) . The gas didn’t really help, just gave me something else to concentrate on and made me feel light-headed.

11:40 am - While discussing pain relief options with my midwife, Jacqui, I asked if I could have the epidural at12:45pm. She asked me why I was putting it off. I said, “Doesn’t it run out? Like stop working after awhile?” Jacqui explained to me that it was an infusion and that if I wanted it there was no reason to put it off, but that I was also doing really well without it. I think she wanted me to try to go through without it but I said that I wanted it. So she went to see if the anaesthetist was free and started getting organised for the procedure.

12:15 pm  - I had to put on a hospital gown. A huge IVcannula was inserted in my wrist for IV fluids to stop me getting dehydrated. Then sitting on the side of the bed ready for the epidural insertion I tried to stay as still as possible whilst having contractions, sucking my gas and shivering from the air con and freezing cold skin prep!

12:45 pm - A sting as the local anaesthetic was injected and a bit of discomfort as the epidural was inserted. Then just waiting for the infusion to take effect. Then instant relief!

13:00 pm - Internal examination shows I’m now 7cm dilated. Jacqui broke my waters to speed up the process (standard procedure once an epidural is inserted). Contractions continue to be 5mins apart. Feeling much more comfortable I finally got to have a sleep.

14:00 pm -  Mum and Jess arrived.

15:15 pm - My contractions are still 5mins apart and every second one is a lot weaker - no good for pushing. So Cyntocinon (a synthetic version of the hormone oxytocin which initiates contractions in labour) is added to my drip to strengthen my contractions and make them closer together.
16:00 pm - I had another wonderful sleep! Mum & Jess went outside to meet Katie and Dad.

16:45 pm - I woke up. We decided to prepare to start pushing.

17:00 pm - I started pushing. After pushing for the first contraction I thought, ‘That wasn’t too bad.  Surely I can feel the head starting to come out already!’ Then Jacqui put a mirror at the end of the bed so I could see…the head definitely was NOT coming out yet! I thought, ‘Okay, I have to push much harder!’

- At the end of the 3rd or 4th contration Josh fainted right onto the bed! I laughed. Jacqui and the student midwife tried to get him to the floor but he was really heavy. They pressed the staff assist buzzer and suddenly heaps of people came into the room. I was kinda like, “Hi guys!” with my legs spread and all. It was funny. When Josh came to, he tried to get up straight away but his face was pretty green so they just encouraged him to sit on a chair for awhile and drink some water. In all the commotion, I missed a contraction so I had to work extra hard on the next one!

17:19 pm - Aurora Joy is born! (Although she wasn’t named until the next morning.) I got to hold her straight away. Josh cut the umbilical cord and then took photos while she was weighed and measured. She was crying on the scales but when Josh spoke to her she stopped crying.

- Mum, Dad, Katie and Jess came in to see the new addition to our family - our beautiful daughter, their grandaughter and niece. We drank maison (Aurora drank breastmilk) and toasted baby’s safe arrival!

written by Shell

The baby as some would know is due today… but im yet to see it still. The wife saw the doc today and they reckon maybe thursday, friday… around then. But im faced with a difficulty, we’re doing on of the best things this Friday night with youth group ever! Ah no matter lol

Im really looking forward to this, just keep in prayer the baby will be healthy and no complications.

Thankyou to everyone who has shown Rachelle and I so much support. God does wondrous things in everyone’s life, I just hope that you (reader) has the same experience of forgiveness along with so much love that He provides. I cant begin to count how much the LORD has done for us… way before we got married.

Again, thanks so much.

Josh.

oh ps. Happy Birthday Annette

written by Josh

Recently Rachelle and I sponsored a beautiful young girl named Dania. Shes 8yrs old and from the Dominican Republic. Sponsoring a child has been particularly on my heart from a very early age. My parents showed me that this is a particularly important thing that we being the ‘better off’ ones should do, and my old man always told me that Jesus sets that commandment and example to all. But im going to show you something that made me, even more want to get a child… and quickly! Below is a very powerful video of a man named Steven Van Kranenburg who meets his Compassion child. The video is not all English and is subtitled.

I hope through this your hearts will be encouraged!

  Continue reading »

written by Josh

Yesterday, Brony Foord and Karen Cera, two lovely long-time friends from church, hosted me a beautiful baby shower for the ladies from church to show their love and support for Josh and I as we anticipate the arrival of our baby…only 3 weeks to go!

We had a wonderful time eating yummy food, drinking Karen’s punch and playing baby shower games as directed by my sister Jess.  We unscrambled nursery rhymes, sniffed mystery nappies (yes, it is almost as gross as it sounds) all the while sharing helpful baby advice.

Thank you to Brony and Karen for being so generous and hosting a baby shower for me and thank you to everyone who came. Your kind words, support and gifts mean more to me than you will ever know.

written by Shell

… they might get a letter like this:

———————————–

Dear Mr. Architect:

Please design and build me a house. I am not quite sure of what I need, so you should use your discretion. My house should have somewhere between two and forty-five bedrooms. Just make sure the plans are such that the bedrooms can be easily added or deleted. When you bring the blueprints to me, I will make the final decision of what I want. Also, bring me the cost breakdown for each configuration so that I can arbitrarily pick one.

Keep in mind that the house I ultimately choose must cost less than the one I am currently living in. Make sure, however, that you correct all the deficiencies that exist in my current house (the floor of my kitchen vibrates when I walk across it, and the walls don’t have nearly enough insulation in them).

As you design, also keep in mind that I want to keep yearly maintenance costs as low as possible. This should mean the incorporation of extra-cost features like aluminum, vinyl, or composite siding. (If you choose not to specify aluminum, be prepared to explain your decision in detail.)

Please take care that modern design practices and the latest materials are used in construction of the house, as I want it to be a showplace for the most up-to-date ideas and methods. Be alerted, however, that kitchen should be designed to accommodate, among other things, my 1952 Gibson refrigerator.

To insure that you are building the correct house for our entire family, make certain that you contact each of our children, and also our in-laws. My mother-in-law will have very strong feelings about how the house should be designed, since she visits us at least once a year. Make sure that you weigh all of these options carefully and come to the right decision. I, however, retain the right to overrule any choices that you make.

Please don’t bother me with small details right now. Your job is to develop the overall plans for the house: get the big picture. At this time, for example, it is not appropriate to be choosing the color of the carpet.

However, keep in mind that my wife likes blue.

Also, do not worry at this time about acquiring the resources to build the house itself. Your first priority is to develop detailed plans and specifications. Once I approve these plans, however, I would expect the house to be under roof within 48 hours.

While you are designing this house specifically for me, keep in mind that sooner or later I will have to sell it to someone else. It therefore should have appeal to a wide variety of potential buyers. Please make sure before you finalize the plans that there is a consensus of the population in my area that they like the features this house has. I advise you to run up and look at my neighbor’s house he constructed last year. We like it a great deal. It has many features that we would also like in our new home, particularly the 75-foot swimming pool. With careful engineering, I believe that you can design this into our new house without impacting the final cost.

Please prepare a complete set of blueprints. It is not necessary at this time to do the real design, since they will be used only for construction bids. Be advised, however, that you will be held accountable for any increase of construction costs as a result of later design changes.

You must be thrilled to be working on as an interesting project as this! To be able to use the latest techniques and materials and to be given such freedom in your designs is something that can’t happen very often. Contact me as soon as possible with your complete ideas and plans.

PS: My wife has just told me that she disagrees with many of the instructions I’ve given you in this letter. As architect, it is your responsibility to resolve these differences. I have tried in the past and have been unable to accomplish this. If you can’t handle this responsibility, I will have to find another architect.

PPS: Perhaps what I need is not a house at all, but a travel trailer. Please advise me as soon as possible if this is the case..

written by Josh

Just before Youth group on friday night my internet suddenly just stopped working. I assumed, as I didnt have time to investigate the sudden dropout - thought that they must just be having some problems and would be back up when I got home.

Nope not when I got home, nope not Saturday, then this morning I was going through the connection everything was fine! It says I was connected even… Stupid ISP thought that eveyone might so happen to have there IP settings set to ‘auto assign’, well not me! No notification or anything - alot of people have static IP address’ and they just change it without telling people! Half the peeps in this country wouldnt know where or how to change it anyway, how crappy is that?. Fixed now…

Unbelievable.

written by Josh

This note is to thank you for all the love and support you, as family [and friends], have given us over the years, and especially sharing in the blessings of this last month.

We know that you will continue to love and support us as the blessings continue, somewhat unexpectedly at times…

Warren and I are going to be grandparents in October!  Rachelle and Josh got a bit of a head start, and while deeply regretting that, where there is confession and forgiveness, there is also peace and acceptance. We are all resting in the knowledge that God has a plan for our lives, even while we are in our mother’s womb - Psalm 139 - and that He will take care of us.

On Monday, Rachelle had a second scan, confirming that all is well, so we are letting [everyone] know this week - just give us time to contact everyone.  I guess the news will gradully filter out from there.

By God’s grace, we are very  much looking forward to the safe arrival of this precious little one and value your prayers - especially for Rachelle and Josh.

Yours in Him,

Margy & Warren

written by Shell

Well, all the build up to the wedding, I guess we better say something about it.

Sounds funny but, ours was the BEST wedding I’ve ever been to!

My bridesmaids (Ains, Katie, Jess, Kaylea and Kiarra) slept over the night before and we watched ‘27 Dresses’. Partway through the movie there was a disturbance outside. When we looked out the door and there was a very familiar Suzuki Vitara full of boys hooning down our street…gee I wonder who that was?

We tried to go to bed early - was probably 11 o’clock. We were meant to get up at like 7am the morning of the wedding but we all slept in ’til about 8am. We woke up when Simone, my beauty therapist, arrived. She allowed us to have some breakfast and then began on the make-up. Jenna, my cousin and hair stylist, arrived not long after and she started doing the girls’ hair. Mum was not excluded from all the pampering. She had her own personal make-up artist and hair stylist in one - Aunty Vallie, her sister.

Aunty Jean also popped in for a sticky beak. (Thank you for cutting up all that fruit and sandwiches for us!) My uncles, the drivers, also popped in to wash their cars - with Dad’s tank water. Aunty Leigh, our photographer, arrived and took many photos of us getting ready. And Belinda, our florist, dropped in with the bouquests and corsages. It’s crazy to think just how many people were at our house that morning!

After many photos, and so much going on, Aunty Leigh left to take some pics of the boys. We were like, ‘what do we do now?’ It was the lull bef0re the storm. Then we went to the church. I was starting to get excited. I had to keep reminding myself that it was real, I was driving to the church to get married!

When we were waiting in the foyer, lined up ready for the music to start, Dad kept asking me questions. “Are you excited? Not long now…” I was kind of ignoring him and just saying, “Kind of. Yeah. Mmm.” and then he said, “Talk to me I’m getting nervous!” So I gave him a hug and a big smile.

Then the music started, the girls timed their entrances beautifully - and then it was my turn. We walked to our position in the middle of the back of the church and waited for our cue. I could see Josh at the front of the church. He had the biggest grin on his face that I’ve ever seen! I couldn’t help but beam back at him. Dad and I walked down the aisle and I was looking mainly at Josh, being careful not to trip. A quick kiss from Dad and I was passed on to Josh. “You look beautiful,” he whispered. That made my day! Then, when we were on stage, I looked at the groomsmen and was surprised to see Gareth, the best man, with tears in his eyes! He gave me a sheepish smile and I said to Josh, “Gareth’s crying.” He just laughed.

Pastor Daryl spoke well and the music was beautiful. Everyone had their part to play and it all ran smoothly. We said our vows, and ‘I do,’ and signed the register. Jacquie and Dan performed the ‘The Wedding Song’ perfectly for us while we signed. And that was it. We were married!!! I was Mrs. Rachelle Barrie.

We had afternoon tea then and got to catch up with lots of people. I couldn’t believe how many people were there. It was awesome! So many hugs and kisses and ‘congratulations.’ It was really heartwarming.

We spent the afternoon at the bay with our bridal party, drivers and photographer. Laughing, talking, posing, eating and enjoying each other’s company.

The reception was at Shangri-La Gardens at Wynnum. The room was set up beautifully. We had a wonderful night with 130 of our very closest friends and family. The food was fantastic, the speeches were funny and the dancing was fabulous. I feel like I didn’t get to thank everyone who was there. So, thank you.

Thank you to Uncle Michael, our MC for the night with his ‘powerpoint’ presentation, quiz and stories of our first meeting and first date. (Thank you also for sharing your wedding anniversary with us.) Thanks to Uncle Tony who said grace and Gary Epps who prayed at the end, you both mean a lot to us. Thanks to our Dad’s who made speeches and spoke very well, with not too many embarrassing stories. Thank you to Jess for reading her lovely poem about love and marriage written by ‘anonymous.’ Thank you to Gareth who won the hearts of the ladies with stories of his antics with Josh in high school. Thanks to Zac for his humorous and humbling speech about the real Josh and Rachelle.

Thanks also must go to those people who lovingly decorated my car! Streamers, flour, balloons it was all there! Thank you so much for that lovely end to a lovely night. (By the way, we know where you live and have photographic proof of who you are!)

Thank you to Trish and Kaylea for making our wedding cake. Thank you to Mum for being my wedding planner and organising everything with me. Thank you to my family and to Josh for putting up with me while I stressed on the little things. We got there in the end and it was perfect. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Also, to Josh, I love you babe. Thanks for marrying me and making the day all worthwhile. I love you.

written by Shell