Big Changes and Family

24th February

25th February

11th March

13th March

14th March - Only 23 hours later!

16th March

(13th February -Hoping for more of these)

And this is the reason why I happily let huge caterpillars eat a little of my citrus trees! Citrus/Orchard butterflies are the largest butterflies we see locally. I have enjoyed seeing them fluttering around over the last month- this female one was just over our fence in the neighbour's yard recently. Stunning! 

The Citrus/Orchard caterpillar changes appearance quite remarkably over a few short weeks. Sunday afternoon I saw Mr Caterpillar attaching to our mandarin tree and settling in to begin to pupate. When I looked Monday morning it still looked like a caterpillar, drying and changing colour.  I nearly completely overlooked him a few hours later, thinking Mr Kookaburra must have found him. The rapid change is stunning. He is so well hidden now I doubt He will be taken as food by a bird. Hoping for a happy ending in the fullness of time.

Looks like we'll be enjoying our own avocados again in a few months too!  :)

Good changes have been taking place in our family also with my husband making a gradual return to work (state government office job) over the last few weeks. Last week he worked 12 hours, this week he will work 15 hours and hoping to manage 18 hours next week. 

He has not been well enough to work since mid April 2014, nearly two years ago. My husband, and consequentially our whole family, have been through a maze of massive physical and mental health struggles during this time, an unpredictable rollercoaster of complex conditions and unusual complications. My husband (always accompanied) has seen a multitude of doctors and specialists, some of which we still visit regularly. His healing is ongoing yet some permanent damage remains. 

The good news is that his 'eczema' is virtually completely gone. In actuality his adult 'eczema' was always his body's reaction/addiction to the cortisone/steroid creams/drops/tablets which he was continually prescribed by various doctors and specialists for 24 years to treat the skin (which first flared on our honeymoon after a bad asthma attack a few weeks prior to our wedding was treated with lots of cortisone). His quality of life, and ours as family, has been hugely impacted by his ongoing struggles with his skin (total body, including scalp, eyelids etc) and general health over these many years.

All going well, he is hoping to increase to a full-time work load within a couple months. Maybe he will even be capable of safely driving a vehicle again within a few months. 

We are certainly hoping some of these recent chapters of life are never, ever revisited. Through perseverance, medical assistance and God's grace we stand where we are today and choose to appreciate the goodness of each day and to look ahead with humility and optimism. Big changes - for the better!