Action - A Poem by Shane

Car chases, strong guys

Burglars with lots of guns

Good guys always win

Explosions make it fun.

Goodies and baddies get bloody

Always fighting crime

Murderous killers on the loose

The bad guys are just wasting their time..

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Prayer/Praise Points

From time to time I’ll be posting about the things we’re praying for with Shane, so that if any of you want to join us you’ll know what challenges he’s facing and can pray with him too.

#1

Although Shane has made a good start to the year at school there have been a few issues with...um...organisation... Yea, he’s been pretty unorganised, some would even say a little ‘lost’ at times, and I think a lot of it is to do with him being a bit overwhelmed with the new high school routine. He’s doing ok, but we’re praying that he will continue to do well, settle in quickly, enjoy school, not be distracted by things (such as friends/girls!) and really just find his place at school and...I don’t wanna say “blossom”, but whatever the boy equivalent of that is. J

#2

School camp is coming up in a few weeks. We’re praying for the funds to pay for it. Also praying that it will be a fun and memorable experience for Shane, and that he will be safe and healthy during this trip to Mavora Lakes Reserve.

#3

Shane’s phone is broken. Devastating to a teenager, but also pretty annoying for his parents, since he’s out and about so often and his phone is important to his safety (and our sanity, if we’re going to give him any freedom at all). We’re praying for the funds to get him a new one. Money’s pretty tight at the moment with school fees, camp and a wedding in a few weeks in Christchurch, so we’re really looking for God’s help with providing these extra things!

#4

We’re praying for good influences around Shane at a time when friendships are hugely important to him. He makes pretty good choices with friends, but he tends to only really see the good in people, and overlook the bad  – we don’t want that to change, but we also don’t want him to find himself in negative situations that he doesn’t know how to get himself out of. So we’re praying for God to place good friends in his life, who will not drag Shane down, and who will influence him positively as he goes through his teen years.

Praise

***Thanks God for keeping Shane healthy and strong.

***Thanks God for the awesome weather we’ve been having. We’ve been able to do so many cool things.

***Thanks God for the boy who found Shane’s wallet on the bus, and kindly returned it to him.

***Thanks God for the good relationship between Shane and Neihana at the moment. As Neihana gets older, they are becoming really good friends, and it’s so good to see.

J

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Surf to City 2012

Today Shane participated in the Surf to City 12km bike race from Oreti Beach to Queens Park.

It was his first time entering and he has been really looking forward to it.  He had a great time, and really can’t wait to do it again next year.

By the time he got to the finish line, he was exhausted and starving! It took a while to find Mum and Dad but when we finally all got together Mum had packed a huge lunch for everyone. Shane also enjoyed the free sausage sizzle (I think he had 3!) and we spent some time hanging out at the park. Then it was time for the Kids in the City fun run, which Faith had entered, so Shane decided to jump in and run it with her so she wouldn’t get lost along the way. (Dad was really stoked about this. He was quietly freaking out about his little girl running off on her own, but with Mum’s hip playing up she couldn’t do it this year L)

Who knows where he got the energy from but Shane ran the 2km course with Faith. After that was the prizegiving, and then the boys biked home!

Noone can say they’re unfit!

Well done Shane, we are proud of you for stepping out and doing something new today, and we look forward to the next one.

J

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Waitangi Day

Today was Waitangi today so the kids and Chris all had the day off. We went for a walk along the Forest Hill track this morning. 

Forest Hill  track; Neihana looking up at a wood pigeon.

Shane spent most of the time complaining that it was boring and refusing to let me take any pictures of him. 

Avoiding obstacles.

The only picture I got of Shane - and I had to be sneaky just to get this!

He did seem to enjoy throwing sticks in the weta cave though.  We also spotted a wood pigeon, and a cute little fantail that followed us for a while.

weta cave

wood piegon

Ham & salad rolls for lunch, and some chips in front of a movie afterwards.

Shiloh feeling the moss on the trees.

Then Shane mowed the lawns (his first time) with Dad. What a legend.

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First Day of High School

Today was Shane’s first day of high school.

It started with a walk down Layard Street from the Junior Campus to the Senior campus, with their Year 8 teachers handing them over to their Year 9 teachers.

 

It’s a symbolic thing, they call it ‘Ka Hikitea – The Step Up.’ Parents line the streets and watch them , some get a bit emotional. (I didn’t cry – I may have got something in my eye though.)

Shane came home from school saying he’d had a good day. He was tired and hungry, but obviously feeling good about his new school and the years ahead. He liked his teacher (said she reminded him of the drama teacher from High School Musical) and was looking forward to starting his classes tomorrow.

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Old Friends

Today was a good day.

Years ago, when Shane was 5, he started school at Shirley Primary School in Christchurch. On his very first day of school he sat next to a little boy named Harrison. It was Harrison’s first day of school too, and they quickly became best friends as they learned together and became familiar with the new school routines. They knew each other a little as they had both had a couple of school visits together before their big first day. Shane and Harrison were best friends right up until we left Christchurch four years ago to move down here, and then unfortunately with time and space between them, they lost touch.

It turns out Facebook can actually be good for something, as a few months ago, Shane and Harrison found each other on Facebook. They started chatting and catching up on each others lives. Then this week, Harrison’s cricket team came down to Invercargill for a tournament.

Today, Shane went to watch Harrison’s cricket team play at Southland Boys High School. It was great to see him with a big smile on his face, talking about how comfortable he was with Harrison and his teammates, as though time and distance had done nothing to change their relationship. He was stoked to spend time with him and find that he still had lots in common with his friend, and that he had not changed so much, like other friends who he’d recently caught up with through Facebook who appear to have changed quite drastically.

It was a good day for him, and he’s looking forward to seeing him again in march when we all head up to Christchurch for Aunty Karla’s wedding.

A special treat that came in the mail today

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First Post

As sort of a New Year's resolution, I've decided to keep a detailed record of the kid's daily happenings this year. 2012 is a big year for us, and for Shane in particular it's his first year of high school. So this right here, is to be something like an online scrapbook for friends and family to keep in the loop of what he's up to (instead of just getting grunts, or one-syllable replies when you ask what he's been up to lately!)

I've sort of got a bit of an idea how it'll look, but as I play around with it, and as the year progresses, I'm sure it'll shape itself. Hopefully those of you interested enough to come this far will enjoy watching Shane's journey unfold on the pages throughout this year.

Happy 2012 everyone!

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