Dearest Samuel,I know that you now like to get called Sam but you will always be Samuel to us! How I love your smile and how proud we are that you are our son!The past 14 years have gone very fast. From the day you were born, our lives changed. Such a sweet baby, and a bright bright little boy. As you know, we still have the original answering machine message that you recorded on our phone...'Thanks for calling Kate, Staaan, Samuel, Zacawee and Bwonte. Please leave a message after all the beeps....there's quite a few. Bye." I love it. It is in your bestest 4 year old voice and I remember the day we recorded it. I wrote it down and you read it out. We only had to record twice. And now, 10 years later, it is still on our phone. I can never imagine taking it off although some people try to encourage it!You have had your share of troublesome times from operations to schooling issues but come through them all so wonderfully, from a sick little boy, you are now a healthy young man (and yes! you WILL get tall soon!!!). You began reading at the age of 18months - funny thing is, at the time, we thought all kids did that! All without any prompting from us. I was wayyyy too busy with you and your little brother Zachary to school you in ANYTHING! - After all, there is only 14months between you both.You have so many lovely lovely friends, a true testament to your niceness. I am very proud of you for that - now if only you could be that nice to your siblings all the time!!!I love how you have achieved so well academically, I love how you love dancing and love music. I love how you and your friend Hayley, DJ at little kids parties and get paid for it! I love how you enter online design competitions and get paid for it! I love that you have some direction in life (so far!). I love you!!!!Happy 14th birthday Samuel Andrew!
Here is a photo that I really like of Samuel and Bronte together today at the track...deep in conversation perhaps??'Oops! I haven't updated here in a while!' Sorry for those who do actually read...Photos from today - we went to the motorbike track (well it IS Sunday after all!) and I took quite a few photos with Stan's camera...cool Panasonic point and shoot thing!But last week I purchased a DSLR - digital SLR camera...yay! I have been saving my pennies for quite some time - using birthday money that I get every year from Stan's mum and sister, Ailsa. So....I bought a PENTAX K200D which is fabulous.One of the reasons I bought this camera is that many moons ago in another life, I used to study Art. Included in the Study of art was Photography, not to mention sculpture and printmaking. Anyway, way back in the year dot, my brother and father bought me a fabulous SLR which, at the time, was Camera of the Year. It was a Pentax ME Super and I have a few lenses for it.As the old lenses for the ME can be used on the K200D, I thought why not?? So I bought it for a great price from JB Hi Fi - $621.00 to be exact - yay! Not bad for a 10 MP DSLR I reckon.Anyway - I have taken about 222 photos with the K200D - all of the cat! Will show you them another time! lol
A slightly sad and VERY frustrated Zachary! Today at the track he just was not riding to his best ability and he was very teary. I must admit, he was tired - after all I went out last night with some old highschool friends and I didn't get home until around 2am. Of course, Stan was in 'charge' of the kids and Stan went off to bed at 9pm. The kids did not go until way way after that apparently....Another reason that he is frustrated is that he has had a broken finger for 6 weeks now. Very very difficult to ride with a broken middle finger.... It happened at school at the end of last term. He tripped over, his friend tripped over him and stood on Zachary's hand. Long story short, he has a Salter-Harris Fracture type II. He is going for his third x-ray on Wednesday and 6th doctor appointment (not including the specialist appt!) next week. Hopefully we will have some better news...
Here he is in action...a close up shot!
The colourful Bronte...love this photo!!Below are a series of shots showing Bronte in one of the trees in our backyard. She loves to climb this tree - as does Zachary. Now she has put all manner of items in the tree and while I was hanging out the washing this afternoon, I looked up and saw this cacophony of colour! I had to snap away - again using Stan's point and shoot camera!Don't forget to click on the photos for a better view.
