There is no safer place under heaven
Than here
Inhaling the truth of your care, exhaling fears
In the cool shallows of this earthly pool
Its overhanging branches filled with fruit and the flutter of life
All the earth is calmed by the promise of your sovereign strength
Ever-present
Truth that never alters
There is no safer place under heaven
Than here
Inhaling the truth of your care, exhaling fears
Becky’s Hope In God
Love
“Love suffers long and is kind;
love does not envy;
love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
does not behave rudely,
it does not seek its own,
is not provoked,
thinks no evil,
does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth;
bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.
Love never fails.” 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8
Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right. Love the ones who don’t just because you can. Believe everything happens for a reason. If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.If it changes your life, let it. Kiss slowly.Forgive quickly.God never said life would be easy. He just promised it would be worth it.
Christmas is Only 11 Months away…etc
Another Christmas surrounded by loved ones has come and gone.
2008 brought many firsts. Isabel’s first Christmas, Rachel’s first Christmas Eve gathering; Olivia’s first taste of Gingerbread ornaments; Patty’s first time wearing Becky’s clothes; Becky’s first Christmas without a major freak out; Leanna’s first year getting something she REALLY wanted. (I wanted it too, but didn’t have the heart to steal it.) ; Matt and Jeremy’s first time with us and Lauren’s first year without us! And it was the first time we had people sleeping in Kelly and Joshua’s guestroom and on Rachel and Johnny’s sofa.
We also repeated some great traditions . We seated two smallish siblings on the bench. We sang the 12 Days of Christmas, repeating a certain line MANY times for a certain person in Australia. We ate sausage wheel and lasagna (because that is what I make EVERY year).
What is so amazing to me is that we still can not figure out how many years we have done this! Another amazing thought is that there are only 11 more flips of the Corbett and Co calendar before Jim and I have our house decked out with lights and trinkets, our fridge stocked with goodies, our hearts filled with the anticipation of making new traditions, while clinging to some of the old ones.
Jim and I are grateful to all who came and brought their love , gifts, and uniqueness to our home. God bless you! May the next 11 months be filled with blessings and bring you back to us.
From Hervey Bay to Melbourne
I now know how to order my own coffee, know what it means when an Australian asks me “how are you going” , and know what a capsicum is (pepper). Now, to catch you up on the last month and how I ended up in Melbourne.
I believe I left off when I was headed to Frazier Island so I’ll start there. It was awesome. It is an island completely made of sand and the only way to travel on it is in a 4 X 4. So, you pay for a package, they give you a 20 min explanation, tell you not to tip the car and your off! I love Australia, no rules! You camp on the beach at night and they give you a loose itinerary of lakes or champagne pools or look out points to go visit. You can drive 80 kph on the beach, just watch out for Dingos and planes landing.
Next onto Byron Bay. We stayed at the best hostel which had a sand volleyball court, basketball court, pool, ping pong tables, bar, movie theater, and my favorite a talent show. The talent show was great but it didn’t start off that way! For those of you familiar with the movie “She’s All That” where Fredi Prince Jr. kicks a hacky sack, mimicking him juggling the pressures in his life, it was a bit like that except the guy who was kicking the hacky sack was doing some sweet Irish dancing moves in between kicks. I had almost lost hope when, two Israeli guys sang their own rendition of “In The Jungle.” There poor English and horrible voices were hilarious and I almost lost it when they came to the whim-a whop part, definitely not a version I have heard before.
The next day was an early one. We had to be at the bus at 7:15 to go…. Skydiving! It was a 20 min drive to the site and Alana and I were trying to pump ourselves up so we wouldn’t think about the 14,000 ft we were going to plummet from. We got to the place and Alana decided to purchase a DVD of her. I opted not to have my terrified wind blown cheeks on permanent record. We waited in anticipation to meet our instructors. Mine came up first and introduced himself as BJ, anxiety quickly settled back in. (For those of you that don’t know BJ was the name of my ex-boyfriend) I’m already freaking out and now I have to trust BJ with my life, whatever it’s cool its only 14,000 ft and the waiver only said “not responsible for possible death”!
We all crammed in the plane, I was strapped to BJ who was explaining to me how we were going to exit the plane. I was supposed to scoot to the edge and dangle out of the plane and then he would push us off, I just had to lean my head back, cross my arms and fall, sounds easy enough?! After he finished his explanation he pointed to his watch we were only half way and we’d been flying for ten min already! We were the last ones to go and I scooted to the edge as instructed. I thought there would be a one, two count or maybe an, “Are you ready” or “tell me when” but as soon as I scooted he pushed me out. Those first few seconds right out of the plane were the best! The wind resistance hasn’t kicked in and you just feel free of everything even gravity at that moment it was so cool! Then you fall for about 30 more seconds before the parachute comes out. BJ showed me the great ocean highway, some mountain top I can’t remember, and the eastern most point of Australia. We landed without any trouble and I was on adrenalin high for the next 3 hours!
While we were waiting for the bus to take us back we popped in Alana’s DVD which only further endorsed my decision NOT to get a DVD! Somehow the cameraman managed to hang on the plane and shoot Alana falling out of the plane from below. Her legs are tucked under the plane and her head resting back on her instructor’s shoulder (like instructed) so the camera man has a lovely shot of her neck and chin about 2 feet away! (DVD available soon on a Facebook near you). After watching the DVD once in regular speed once in slow motion, for effect, we headed back to our hostel.
After I beat an Israel guy at a game of basketball (in flip flops I might add) Alana and I had conquered everything there was to do in Byron and hopped another greyhound bus to Sydney. My friend Rachel met us and took us on a walk through Darling harbor to get us oriented with downtown Sydney. The next day I got up early, my roommate gave me a map and a walking tour of The Rocks so I headed out determined to find the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House. Three hours later I stumbled upon both. The Opera House is massive and an amazing site to see. I then did a walking tour of The Rocks which is where the convicts first settled when they were exiled to Australia which is conveniently located right under the Harbor Bridge. After my exhausting day I came back to find out Alana had managed to get out of bed and get a pedicure. Later that night we went out with Rachel, Rachel and Sean for some real Mexican food. No more of these quesadillas with pumpkin and eggplant in them, I was ready for “the whole enchilada!”
After a visit to the botanical gardens and some more sightseeing around Sydney we hopped our last bus to Melbourne. We were greeted by my friend Drew from back home and went out for a night on the town! Melbourne is a great city it’s very European where all the restaurants and cool shops are tucked away in alleyways. You can go out to eat at a place and love it and never find it again! Luckily we made it to Melbourne in time for the Melbourne Cup, and, since we are in Australia, Melbourne cup is actually a national holiday that everyone celebrates so you get the day off! The cup is a week long event with the actual holiday falling on a Tuesday. We went to Derby day on Saturday which was so much fun. Everyone dresses up in matching dresses and fascinators or big hats and gloves so naturally Alana and I played the part got all dressed up.
Alana and I are setting up camp here in Melbourne I have already started looking for jobs and plan to continue my job search next week. I am still unsure how long I plan to stay considering the American Economy is still crappy and over hear you get paid $20 an hour minimum wage. I miss all of you and now that I am starting to lead a normal life I expect all of you to write to make my life more exciting! Miss and love you all,
Lauren
Big Day for Shyanne!!!
Shyanne and I went to the store on Saturday and bought her what every growing young woman needs — makeup! We went home and I taught Shyanne the tricks of the trade. She picked it up like a pro and has been using her artist’s skill every since.
Why my son is amazing…
Daniel never ceases to amaze me. Recently I had to tackle a school issue in which I removed Daniel for a few months from the gifted program he had tested into. I literally had to argue with the GEM teacher over the issue, stating again and again that Daniel needs to get back to his normal classroom and excell there — that it is more beneficial for him to be successful in his normal classroom than average in a gifted program — the change in environment was too much for him, and that I knew my son better than they did (ahhhhh!). Apparently in the public school system, this isn’t the norm – ”how dare you remove your child from an advanced program?” was the attitude I was greeted with. Moving the issue to the next level, we told the principal that Daniel, although gifted, does not need this program to train and grow his ‘gifts’. Later in the week, Daniel asked if her could use the air-dry clay. Thinking nothing of it, I went about my business — even left him alone at home for a little while while I ran an errand. When I came home, this is what my child had created — from his imagination — after reading Eragon, Eldest and Brinsingr (800 page books geared towards kids 12 and up).
Then, the next day, Johnny surprised Daniel with something he’s been begging for forever — his own dirtbike (just like Daddy). Johnny took him out today and taught him to ride it. He picked it up like it was nothing, proudly showing off his scrapes and bruises!
How dare I remove him from the gifted program that meets for one day a week for five hours? Because his life is his gifted program!!!
Early sighting of the Easter Bunny…
A rare and early sighting of the Easter Bunny on Halloween Night 2008 at the Lohrman Home
50% Daddy + 50% Mommy = 100% Perfect
Kelly and Isabel 2008
Baby Kelly Isabel Neville in 1980
Joshua and Isabel 2008
Baby Joshua Formo in 1979
Isabel Quinn Formo 2008
Top Model Isabel Poses With Proud Parents
Tucson’s top model Isabel Formo posed with her parents last night in an impromptu visit to the Neville home, revealing her loveliness (in her pink flowered onesie and soft pink flannel wrap) to all those attending the Neville pizza bash.
Isabel was able to stay awake for only a short time due to her recent appearances at local hospitals and doctor’s offices. But all in attendance agreed that she is lovely whether asleep or awake, and whether dressed or only in a diaper. Her father mentioned that he had not imagined how beautiful she would be and the impact she would have on him. Her mother smiled constantly, while quietly and proudly taking in Isabel’s amazing beauty.
The family departed early in order to catch up on sleep.
The paparazzi were kept outside, due to the many spatial constraints of the location, so photos were taken by an amateur…thus explaining the quality.
Attending were grandparents, Jim and Becky; Aunts, Vanessa and Emily; as well as boyfriends Matt and Jeremy. Aunt Rachel and Uncle John and cousins Shyanne, Daniel and Elma did not happen to pop in, therefore were not present, but were greatly missed.
