Month: May 2019

Almost Sweet Sixteen

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What a busy few weeks we have had … for a change! May is birthday month for us. My birthday is in early may and Kyah’s birthday is towards the end of May. This year Kyah will be sixteen.

Here is a photo of the most amazing chocolate and beetroot cake that we had for my birthday. A dear friend, Carol, made it for us all. Thank you so much Carol.

We had Gerry,  a friend, come up and cook a lovely meal for us. BBQ ribs, mashed sweet potato, and salad for dinner. Then we had fruit salad with cream for dessert. It was difficult to be training my clients and smelling the food cooking. It smelled so great;  we were all getting hungry. Kyah and Gerry made sure the meal was ready as soon as I finished work, so the evening wasn’t too late. We have very early mornings at our place. Thanks for taking the time to come up from the Gold Coast and cooking a very yummy meal.

We both went to the dress rehearsal of The Masters Series, by Queensland Ballet. It’s the first time I’ve been to a dress rehearsal of Queensland Ballet’s and it was very good. Pretty much the same as if it was a normal performance – you could not tell it was a dress rehearsal. As I have said before, as part of the Academy Program, students are able to see the dress rehearsals. It is a great way for them to learn a bit about how Queensland Ballet operate  and to watch the company perform; they are just amazing, a real pleasure to watch. I have to drive in to Southbank to pick Kyah up at the end of the dress rehearsals, so I figured I may as well watch the ballet on the same night, and  we could leave together. It turned out to be a good idea. Here is a link to Queensland Ballets website describing The Masters Series. If you get a chance, I recommend you go see it. Well worth the effort. It is ta triple bill showing Serenade, Shadows Behind Us and Soldier’s Mass. Soldier’s Mass was an all male cast. It was really enjoyable to watch; 12 male ballet dancers performing.

https://www.queenslandballet.com.au/on-stage/2019/the-masters-series

On Saturday afternoon, I gave Kyah her birthday presents, because we had an international student arrive on the Sunday. It was nice to be able to sit and enjoy her opening her presents. One of her presents was tickets to see Expressions Dance Company (EDC), perform The Dinner Party, for that Saturday night. It was great. We haven’t seen EDC perform for a while, and they are simply amazing, and so enjoyable to watch. Very different from ballet. Most ballet companies have a contemporary element of dance style as part of what they do. The styles are so very different, however, both require huge amounts of talent, dedication, and motivation. This is why Kyah has also participated in the Expressions Dance Company workshops over the years. It is all good experience, and training. Again, if you get  a chance to see EDC perform, I thoroughly recommend it.

The international student arrived today, Sunday. She was a few hours late, because the airline left her luggage in Japan! She was able to buy some pyjamas and essential toiletries for the first night. The airline assure us her luggage will be delivered tomorrow. She seems to be quite nice and both Kyah and I are looking forward to getting to know her while she is here.

We have another very busy week coming up. It is Kyah’s actual birthday this week. There are a number of functions and activities for her to be a part of. All of these things on top of the usual frantic pace we run at, but we would not have it any other way.

Psa 19:9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.

 

 

Powering On

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It is the middle of May 2019 already. Kyah is going along so well. She has been extremely diligent with getting up at 4.50am every day to get ready for ballet and school. Leaves the house by 6am. She has been doing Pilates at least 3-4 times per week. Any opportunity she gets, she will book herself in and go and participate in another class. She is definitely getting stronger and so many people are commenting on that when they see Kyah, especially  if they have not seen her for a while.

ANZAC Day, Kyah got up early and watched the dawn service on the television. She very much enjoys watching the dawn service. It is a bit difficult and unwise for us to get up at 3am to get to a service and stand around for a few hours in the cold. Both of us are running on the edge of not getting sick, so we simply don’t push the boundaries too hard. If she gets sick, she simply does not get an opportunity to stop and recover and get better, so we need to be wise with what we do and do not do. One of Kyah’s uncles, Vincent, passed away on ANZAC Day 5 years ago, and he used to always attend the dawn service, so there is another incentive for her to attend; to honour him. He wasn’t in the services, but he very much admired and respected them and attended every dawn service for many, many years.

Kyah got all her hair chopped off. As part of her (upcoming) birthday, I gave her a treat of a hair wash, scalp massage, style cut, blow dry. She loves going to the hairdressers, having her hair washed and the scalp massage. The only issue is that we don’t really have time for her to do it in school term. So this was a treat for her at the end of the school holidays. Here are the before and after photos. She really likes having shorter hair because it means the daily bun is easier to do and less weighty. It is also much better for the load on her neck.

         

I had the opportunity to meet with Kyah’s main ballet teacher at the end of April to discuss how Kyah is going. It seems she is doing quite well. Obviously there is always lots of room for improvement and progression, and she needs to continue striving to be the best she can be. I was pleased with the discussion we had and the feedback I was given from her teacher; considering the stage of the year we are in and how she will continue to be moulded and improve as the year moves on.

Kyah does not have any issues at all with her foot. No-one can see there is a difference in her feet – strength, function, balance, agility etc. They are both extremely strong and almost identical in performance.  If anything, I think her left foot (the injured one), is stronger and has more balance and proprioception ability than her right one. Her left is still slightly larger than her right, and that is something I do not think will ever change now. The huge blessing is that she does not have any residual issues with her injured foot at all.

We have had quite a busy social calendar these last three weeks. Kyah went over to a friend of ours from church,  Luell, house and had a dinner with her and some other girls. They had such a fun evening, when I went to pick her up she did not want to leave. That is a great sign. We ended up both staying for another couple of hours.

We met up with a friend of Kyah’s, Emma, and her mum, Susan, and sister, Addilyn, in the city. We went out for dinner and wandered around for a while. We were going to play Ten Pin Bowling but the lanes were totally booked out for at least 2 hours, and it was getting late, so we decided not to do that. But Kyah had a great time chatting with Emma. It is always nice to see them. Kyah has known Emma since we moved up to Queensland in 2013 and they have kept in contact since then. They don’t see each other regularly but when they catch up, they just continue on from where they left off.

Kyah had organised a bit of a surprise birthday party for me this week.  She has been very busy contacting people and organising the finer details of it all. She told me a day before the event  so I at least had time to sort out nibbles, drinks, prepping the house etc. The party was Saturday night and it was really great fun. We had some dear friends come up from the Gold Coast as well as from our church, and everyone got on so well. It was a fairly late night for both of us, and Sunday, Mother’s Day, was a bit laid back trying to rest and recuperate as well as clean and tidy everything.

Friday night Kyah took me out for dinner and to the movies. We saw The Hustle. It was entertaining. The nicest thing was spending time together. I often think about how our relationship has changed as she has grown up. We interact differently considering the stage of life she is at.

Growing with our children and meeting their needs as they mature and change is a gradual process, but when you look back it is amazing to see the changes they have gone through and how much they develop and learn from us as parents, as well as their peers and life experiences. Kyah has had a few very tough experiences and although they were very difficult for us to go through, she managed to get through them with help from some people close to her. They have all made her who she is today: one very strong, determined young lady. I am so blessed to have her as my daughter, and I thank God every day for giving me her to look after on this earth.

Each morning for the last couple of weeks, Kyah has been having toasted banana bread for breakfast. So I decided to make her some. Gluten free banana bread with crushed walnuts and some LSA added. This way I know what she is eating and it has some protein added. It was delicious, especially straight out of the oven.

This week is going to be very busy. A friend is taking us out for dinner for both of our birthdays; Kyah’s is coming up.  We have The Master Series, performed by Queensland Ballet, we are out to see Expressions Dance Company Perform The Dinner Party. Not to mention, the usual dance, school, and Pilates schedule on top of that. In there somewhere she needs to do some work on her Business Diploma.

Psa 110:1-2 The LORD says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying “Rule in the midst of your enemies!”