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Transportation And Automobile Design One Year Course SPD

IBISWorld’s Car Wash & Auto Detailing market analysis report is a comprehensive information to market measurement and progress prospects. Our industry reviews offer strategic trade evaluation of the elements influencing corporations, including new product developments, economic, lifestyle and demographic influences, distribution and supply chain factors and pricing issues. Full analysis accompanies our information forecasts as an instance how the market responds to emerging industry traits. Auto manufacturing drives $953 billion into the economy every year by means of the gross sales and servicing of autos and flows via the financial system, from income to parts suppliers to paychecks for meeting plant staff, from income for auto-related small business to revenue for government. That company is not going to cut hours or fire anybody except they cease making a living. If they stop making money, a union will not be capable of drive them to pay everybody.

The tasks of a automobile design staff are normally cut up into three fundamental points: exterior design, inside design, and shade and trim design. Either method, the reservations alone have exceeded the first 12 months production estimates of 10,000 units and that’s without first driving the automobile. The patron has spoken. I’m not a really effectively off person, therefore cannot afford a element examination of the automotive or replace the engine. A buddy of mine prompt me to use thinker engine oil, to solve the problem however I am actually unsure, if it might serve my function.

I’m an indian and Hindu. I am getting and apportunity in Johnson Control (MNC) for working as a undertaking management specilist in Riyadh. are you able to test and verify that how is the corporate and work tradition. Also if I can get a chance to know someone who’s working for this org, that may be an … Read More ...

Transportation And Automotive Design One 12 months Course SPD

It seems like the unique automobile manufacturers see China plagiarizing the design of the vehicles that have already got massive names in the automotive universe, and sell them at a worth much cheaper will not be a novelty. Custom automobile – A factory-built vehicle that has been modified in either to enhance its performance, typically by altering or changing the engine and transmission, or it could be a private design by the builder, making the automobile look distinctive and unlike any car that may have been factory built. Though distinct from hot rods there is debate amongst customizers and rodders as to where the road needs to be drawn. A Custom Automobile cannot be a kit automotive, as a equipment car isn’t a factory-constructed vehicle that has been modified from the unique configuration.

Our Exterior Auto Detailing technicians relieve the fear of putting swirl marks within the clear coat…”. A durable carnauba wax is applied to protect the clear coat. After all the rims, tires, wheel wells, door jams, home windows and trim are all cleaned and protected as part of the process. If the swirls and scratches appear to be heavy, a Paint Restoration may be the service to which will be really helpful. If the highest level of safety on the exterior pursuits you, than our Polymer Sealant is the best choice!

Nice hub on wheel alignments Ern! This is not a job with a lot ‘repeat customers’ which most businesses need (if the job’s performed accurately anyway). Shame the boys went broke, nonetheless! Thanks Ern! A prerequisite for starting studies is a primary university degree, with which the mandatory background schooling might be confirmed, as determined in the exam rules. The exam board determines whether or not it fulfills the doorway necessities.

Smoking increases one’s threat issue … Read More ...


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Rev. Liliana Barzola
Internationally renowned Spiritual Healing and Intuitive
She is a first generation, successful Latina Entrepreneur. She has conducted over 20,000 intuitive sessions, and taught over 600 students, since 2002. She founded Lotus Lantern Healing arts which has a international clientele including individuals in Australia,  Italy, Germany, Japan, Canada, Venezuela, Africa, The UK, and every US state. She has experienced the adventures of marriage, divorce, deaths of loved ones, chronic illness, single parenting and overcoming the trauma of domestic violence. These things have leveled her, humbled her, tormented her and forced her to grow. She channels a deep reservoir of compassion and laughter to help get you through it all too.
Satsang With Your Spiritual Guardians
Led by Rev. Liliana Barzola
Satsang is a Sanskrit word that means "gathering together for the truth".
Our neon, fast-paced culture leaves us hungry for connection. A lineage of guardians surround you, give yourself permission to tap into their wisdom and yours.
Join us  in Bend, Oregon for this Intuitive Adventure Series that meets for 4 Monday evenings (April 9th - May 21st). Through play, meditation and spiritual guidance, Liliana will assist you in connecting (safely) to your healing guides; learning to put them to use in your everyday life.
Angels & Guardians
Initiation to meet your Invisible Team of Healers + Introduction to Intuition and Meditation.

Class One: April 9th, 2018 @ 6:30pm. Cost: $40 at Hawthorne Healing Arts Center 39 NW Louisiana Ave, Bend, Or 97703
Deepening with your Guides

Class Two: April 23rd, 2018 @ 6:30pm. Cost: $40 at Hawthorne Healing Arts Center 39 NW Louisiana Ave, Bend, Or 97703
Healthy Masculinity and Femininity

Class Three: May 7th, 2018 @ 6:30pm. Cost: $40 at Hawthorne Healing Arts Center 39 NW Louisiana Ave, Bend, Or 97703
Asking for Treasure from your Team

Class Four: May, 21st 2018 @ 6:30pm. Cost: $40 at Hawthorne Healing Arts Center 39 NW Louisiana Ave, Bend, Or 97703
Bring your own tea mug and journal.
Each session is 90 min. long w/ meditation, play, lecture, circle sharing, tea ceremony and journal writing.

Whether you are a master meditator or your monkey-brain drives you crazy you are absolutely welcome here. If you are called to join the series it will fit into your schedule.

Space is limited. Please RSVP using the form below. There is no obligation. We have a "pay as you go" policy:  If you don’t attend a class you don’t pay for it. You come when it serves you.
Since each class has a specific theme you are welcome to come to the class or classes of your choosing. However, this series has  more impact if you can attend the entire series.

-Owning your Intuition
-Guided Meditation to Meet your Guides.
-Honoring Grief & Loss
-Joan or Arc, Kwan Yin, Mother Mary
-Healthy Masculine and Feminine
-Wanting to be Rescued & Rescuing
-Understanding the Power of Intimacy
-Owning and Cultivating your Well-Being
-Deepening Satsang
-Treasure Finding
"Liliana is a delight to work with even when the matters we were discussing were painful, sad or scary.  She is funny, brutally honest and holds people in the highest regard.

I found her very empowering as a teacher, she'd make a great buddy if you were out on a adventure she brings that explorative, gentle & welcoming spirit to her work."

"Liliana is a gifted teacher and one of the most talented intuitives I know. I turn to her work to strengthen my own energetic toolbox. Liliana’s ways of connecting to women and embracing them whole-heartedly continues to inspire me. I have felt us together hold the energy field for our female clients. As a sister I cherished the wisdom of her voice and knowledge.”
Jennifer Karon Flores ND
"Liliana has helped me both personally and professionally.
I can't imagine my life without her consults! Her consults have been instrumental to my health and business success. I've also taken her A-Alignment course and attended her and Bri's Bridge Between Two Worlds Retreat. Both were incredible experiences that catapulted me to new levels of personal and business success. She's the real deal!"

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That’s how many hours of sleep I got this morning. 4am to 8am. I stayed up semi-studying as best I could for my Social Psych midterm. Ugh, if I do badly on this I have to do extremely well on the next midterm and the final. I believe I can change my study habits, but I know I’m just saying that because this is a good week so far. ): It won’t always be that way… no matter how much I wish it.

Anyway, I actually fuhreaking woke up and got breakfast (a mango smoothie) and then walked to class. Yeah, I’m tired, but I have to think positively considering my day will NOT end until 1am-ish tomorrow morning. Bummer. At noon I have Japanese, then at 1 I’m going to go eat some lunch (gotta keep that energy going). At 2-ish I have to go back to FT and go vote!! First, I need to refresh my memory on the propositions, though. (: So maybe 3-ish is when I’ll get to go vote. I’m glad for this break, otherwise I wouldn’t have time to go vote, imagine that! Alright, so then at 6 I have to leave again to go proxy for Paulina for the RHA meeting from 6:30 to 8. Then I get to chill for some an hour-ish ‘cus at 9:30 I have the Program Board movie to go help with and attend. Then there’s the clean-up right after… so ugh.

I don’t know when I will get my hw done, and that’s really scary because I have linguistics homework due tomorrow, and as always, Japanese hw. Ooh, actually Valeria has TA Office Hours from 5-6… I could definitely probably make it if I come back to campus right away-ish. So much for having a rest break. Damn.

Oh yeah… my macbook is having “kernal panics” … why does Apple hate me? Sean and Tyler are helping me out with the prob, though, thankfully! Glad to know these people! And yeah, I’m starting to enjoy Program Board again. The meeting yesterday was actually fun. Sweeeet-ness.

My pass time to pick classes for Spring is on Feb. 12th. So soon! I went and decided what classes I want for next quarter on a time sheet I made. I hope I can get them. Forserious.

And, this might sound impulsive and sudden, but I don’t want my double-major to include Linguistics anymore. As I’m taking Linguistics 20 this quarter I realize, yeah, it’s fun… but I’m not that great at it (at least not now…). I walked in early to linguistics yesterday and I saw my professor from my Phil4: Intro To Ethics class that I took in the summer. And it brought back memories of how passionate I was in that class, and how well I did on the essays. So… I have resolved to make my double majors Psychology and Philosophy, Concentration II: Ethics and Public Policy. That way I can focus on psychology ethics. Sweet. I love it! I’ll be taking the required course for it next semester (hopefully) and I guess that will determine how well I like it. I hate to be so impulsive, but I feel rushed to pick something and take the classes already.

I also need to retake Math 34A next quarter, ugh. My GPA for Psych major pre-reqs has to be pretty high… so I shouldn’t try to wait… and just take it again considering I did pretty badly. But that’s life. Just walk it off.

Tralalala. (: Two blogs in one day. Not bad.

One thought on “4

  1. Sleep is always a good thing when you have a day as long as that!!
    I could never study till 4am.. and then get up at 8am… I would be dead to the world! 😆
    Ah.. Im sorry dont feel so passionate towards Linguistics anymore.. but its good you know that you want to double major in Psycology and Philosophy. 🙂

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Heeding the Times from Harry Antonides' Desk

If you're like most Canadians, you're probably wondering exactly what the term "rights" refers to nowadays. The 1960s saw the steady advancement of a host of "rights" movements, beginning with the civil rights movement. Today, there are women's rights, gay rights, visible minority rights, and environmental rights, just to name a few.

Each of these movements has spawned a number of special interest groups-like Greenpeace, Queer Nation, or the Right to Die Society-dedicated to advancing the "rights" of their particular group. Of course, we have all noticed, particularly in arguments surrounding abortion, that one "right" sometimes conflicts with another.

How are we supposed to decide whose "right" is right?

It used to be much easier. That's because we used to think of rights as being rooted in permanent, universal principles, which, as even the Charter of Rights and Freedoms declares, "recognize the supremacy of God."

Such rights do not change with the times or because of the whim of government. They are fundamental for all people for all time. And as such, they serve to protect each and every one of us-especially against the potentially abusive power of the state.

But there is another important element to our understanding of rights that is too often ignored now-the idea of responsibility. Human rights should not be primarily based on what is "owed" as, but rather on what we owe each other.

Sadly, such sentiments have little real meaning in the "do what's good for yourself" 90s. More and more, we are only concerned with ensuring that our "rights" are being fulfilled. The term "rights" now really has come to mean entitlements, and the government, the courts, and human rights tribunals are seen as the primary dispensers of those entitlements.

The battles over who gets what are being fought most fiercely in the political arena. And the battles are brought to the people through the media, which is only too willing to bring us the latest "controversy" or "outrage." Lost in the power struggle and the attempt to balance conflicting "rights" is the idea that we can actually discern what is right.

You see, for that to happen, we need to believe that there are laws that stand above us and protect us all. Most importantly, we need to recognize the supremacy of God as the lawgiver. But in our secular age, we have elevated ourselves to the position of s u p r e m e lawgiver. We freely fashion our own laws as we see fit. And this is where the real danger begins.

How do we decide whose "rights" are worthy of protection? Our standard for justice has b e c o m e dependent on the latest opinion poll. Ironically, making shifting opinions the basis of rights will not make us any more free and democratic. On the contrary, we are rapidly drifting towards the day when might makes right.

To avoid that outcome, the Charter's reference to the supremacy of God must become more than merely a perfunctory bow to an almost forgotten tradition. In fact, freedom is now seriously endangered by the new ideas of rights, despite the ringing declarations of official documents.

Freedom can thrive only when it lives in the hearts and souls of citizens devoted to its preservation, even when such requires sacrifice. But this is one of the hardest lessons to accept in these rights-obsessed times.

Middle East Politics
Politics -West
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What Happens to Truth


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Tuesday, July 31, 2007

You might be a redneck if....

...you nurse your baby at the pig races!

Sunday we made the trek up to the California Mid-State Fair. I grew up going there, so it's always fun taking the kids.

After church we met up with Troy and Becky at A&W in Atascadero for lunch (does it get much better than 99-cent root beer floats?!), and then went to Paso where we caught the free "shuttle" (aka schoolbus) to the fairgrounds. (Anna LOVES riding this bus and it's probably one of her favorite parts of the day.)

Waiting for the bus, we discovered that it was HOT. Seriously, I thought I was going to die, especially considering that I was wearing a 15-pound baby on my chest. In spite of the heat, the kids enjoyed getting to see lots of animals, and the racing pigs. (I nursed Kaitlyn during the pig races, which strikes me as really funny for some reason.)

Early evening we went to the Jars of Clay concert. I didn't know very many of the songs but they're huge advocates for Africa so I'll go on record as saying I like them. :) Afterwards we ran into some people I grew up with, and bid farewell to the Hawkins', who had to go home and cook. :) THEN we met up with Mike, Katie, and their five kids and ate Mo's sandwiches and lemonade on the grass, yum! (I love Mo's.)

My favorite part of the day came next: the Heldt kids' first time on a carnival ride! We wandered around searching for something that wouldn't scare the kids too bad and finally settled on these trucks that go around in a circle. Biniam, Yosef and Anna squished into the cab of the truck and Kevin and I watched gleefully as they took off. The looks and shrieks of sheer delight from Yosef and Anna as we waved and cheered made me so happy...and the looks and shrieks of terror from Biniam had me laughing hysterically. Around and around they went, Yosef and Anna shouting and smiling, and Biniam hanging onto the truck for dear life, occasionally letting out a cry but generally too terrified to say a word! HA! One of my favorite "mommy moments" so far I think, getting to see (some of) my kids enjoying something so much.

Poor Anna wanted to do more rides (especially the dragon rollercoaster), but they cost a small fortune and we'd already decided that the kids would just do one ride this time. Next time we may do the bracelet thing, so they can do unlimited rides.

After the carnival excitement we met back up with Mike and Katie and family to watch Mike's brother's band perform (they opened for Aerosmith earlier in the week.) They were pretty good and our kids had a ball playing together. (At one point Anna made a beeline for the bar and was fully sitting on one of the stools!)

We finally trudged home after a long, hot, fun day, and I think we're still recovering! Here are some more pics:
Aunt Becky and Uncle Troy wrangling Yosef and Biniam at the pig races. It was their first time at the Mid-State Fair and after that heat, it may be their last!
Our kids getting on the ride

This picture says it all.....

Daddy consoling Biniam.

Monday, July 30, 2007

More Kaitlyn medical stuff

Today was "one of those days." I took Kaitlyn back to the doctor because her rash was not improving to my liking. We ended up seeing a different doctor than the one who'd diagnosed her rash as a yeast infection (neither doctor being our regular pediatrician). He took one look today and pronounced it a BACTERIAL infection (most likely strep, not staph). He also found some infection on her big toe, on the opposite foot than the one that had initially been infected (which could mean that her prior infection never actually went away). He prescribed some topical and oral medications and we had a really thorough visit with him.

THEN he said this is very unusual and if she gets another infection, we'll have to travel to a children's hospital and have a complex workup done on her, to test and see why her immune system is not working properly. The thought of my sweet little baby having some sort of compromised immune system is not really the greatest.

Anyway, she'll be on antibiotics (both oral and topical) for the next 10 days. Unfortunately this will be a little complicated with our trip to Colorado (the oral meds have to be refrigerated) but we'll make it work.

Being a mom can be hard. But I can see that God has taught me some things over the last few years--I've spent time with a roomful of HIV-positive children, dealt with developmental delay, infections, parasites, and lice with my own four kids...lots of doctor's visits, some misdiagnoses, learning how to be my childrens' advocate. Having my eyes further opened to what makes a life valuable. I have faith that God is using these experiences to shape me into the woman He wants me to be--it is a long road!

(Meanwhile sweet Kaitlyn is full of smiles and laughter. What a true joy she is!!!! Kevin will be home in awhile with a pizza and I'm hoping to get some things done around the house tonight. Today was not quite as productive as I'd hoped, but I DID get one of our cars smogged, and that must count for SOMETHING!)

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Random Heldt goings-on

It feels like we've been busy lately--lots of fun things going on, and lots of fun ahead! Last Friday we had dinner with our friends Mike and Katie, and their five kids. So fun! They have a son from Ethiopia as well, and we attempted to get a picture of the three boys together--easier said than done. :) Saturday night some more friends, Josh and Christine and their two sons, came over for dinner, as part of our 2:42 dinner group.

Wednesday was Anna's last day of the library program for the summer! I think she really enjoyed it, and I'm planning on signing her up for the next session. She got to bring home her special nametag. That night we went up to SLO for "Grace Summer Nights". Always great to visit with friends, and the seminar Tim and Susie did was awesome.

Thursday I took the kids up to my parents' house. They got to play outside in the sun, watch the Jonah Veggie Tales movie (one of Anna's favorites), and get some good quality time with their grandparents.

Unfortunately, early on in the week I noticed Kaitlyn had a bit of a diaper rash. It got worse, and after going through impetigo with Anna last year, and Kaitlyn's weird foot thing, I decided to go to the doctor's. Providentially, Kevin overslept his alarm Tuesday, so I was able to take her without the other three kids. The doctor (not our regular one, who'd already gone home for the day) said it looked to him like a yeast issue so he prescribed some topical cream and said to come back if it wasn't better or getting better in 4-5 days.

Ummm...yeah, it is now much worse. AND a day or two ago she got this icky blister on her chest that is really gross. (Assuming it's somehow related to the rash.) SO Monday I will be returning with Kaitlyn to be seen again. She doesn't seem to be in any pain or anything so that's good. I debated doing the urgent care thing today but I have had too many embittering experiences there, so I'll wait it out. Being a mom is hard, I hate not knowing exactly what is going on with my baby. Kaitlyn is such a sweetie though, always so happy and ready with a smile.

We spent today doing stuff around the house, getting ready for our trip to Denver next week. It'll just be Kevin, me and Kaitlyn--my parents will be staying with the older three. I'm already so sad to be leaving them--they'll have tons of fun and won't even miss us, but I'll miss them! We're driving (nuts, I know, but we're cheapskates), and staying overnight in Las Vegas. It'll be our first time in Vegas! Then it's on to Colorado to stay with Kevin's brother, his wife, and their two girls. After a few days there we'll be with Kevin's cousin, her husband and their two girls (also in CO). Looking forward to some fun times and to exploring Colorado a bit, as I've never been. Also looking forward to finally getting to eat at an Ethiopian restaurant again, it's been too long!

Tomorrow it's church, and then we're off to the California Mid-State Fair. The kids are excited, especially about the racing pigs!

Thursday, July 26, 2007

How the Heldts talk about race and ethnicity

Okay so I think race and ethnicity vocabulary can be really confusing. Plus it seems like it keeps changing. Not really something I ever worried or thought much about because it really didn't come into play much in my life. Having two kids from Ethiopia though I DO naturally pay more attention both to how I, and others, refer to people.

This post is about how I talk about my children. Different people use different terminology, and the terms "race" and "ethnicity" aren't real clear cut anyhow.

--When I talk about my sons' skin color, it is "brown." This should be kinda obvious, because that's the color of their skin, afterall. (It is inaccurate to say their skin is "black", because it is not.)

--If I was going to describe their race or ethnicity I would say they are either "black", "Ethiopian", or "Ethiopian American." They could also, by most definitions, be considered "African American", but because I know where in sub-Saharan Africa they come from, I can say "Ethiopian American." (If I wanted to get REALLY technical I probably wouldn't just say "Ethiopian", because they will identify more with American culture than Ethiopian, and part of what an ethnicity implies is cultural identification.)

--Some think that "African American" is just a politically correct version of the word "black", but that's not entirely true. Yes, some black people prefer AA, but actually not all black people would identify themselves as African American--black people come from South America, the West Indies, etc. (I don't think the word "black" should have any sort of negative connotations, but I can understand why some have come to prefer "brown", or "African American", if they or their ancestors came from Africa).

Whew, I told you it is confusing. Funny thing is when I see my kids all together I don't even think about how they look like they couldn't be biologically related (to me or to each other). I see two boys, two girls. Three toddlers, one baby. I'm not "colorblind" by any means: I see two children with beautiful brown skin, big brown eyes, and curly black hair, and two children with beautiful fair skin, big blue eyes, one with straight light hair and the other with a light-brown punky mohawk. :) I love who each of my kids is, and that includes their skin tones, hair, eyes, personalities, and quirks!

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Kids and race (or, What Anna said at the library)

All I have to do when I have nothing to blog about is take Anna out in public...

We were leaving the library program today when a Black woman passed by us and smiled. Anna shouted enthusiastically, "That lady is brown!" Now the woman had already turned the corner, so I don't know if she heard, but several onlookers did. After getting over my shock and embarrassment I said, "Yes Anna, she had beautiful brown skin." Then I asked Anna what had made her comment on the woman, what was brown, and Anna's first response was, "her hair!"

Kids are pretty awesome. They don't have "baggage" associated with certain words or concepts, they just observe the world and call things how they see them. The woman's hair made more of an impession than the color of her skin (which makes sense since it was super long and in these stunning braids). There is an EXCELLENT book that all parents (adoptive or otherwise) of Black children should read called I'm Chocolate, You're Vanilla: Raising Healthy Black and Biracial Children in a Race-Conscious World: A Guide for Parents and Teachers. It's full of really helpful information about how children conceptualize race, how to explain racial issues to your kids, etc. The book has really boosted my confidence level in terms of being a transracial parent. Read it!

On the ride home I asked Anna what color her skin was, and she said, "like orange." Then I asked what color Yosef's skin was and she said, "brown." She started talking about hair color, and told me Yosef's hair was "brown, like yours!" Pretty awesome that children see similarities and things held in common where adults often only see differences. I am reminded of Jesus' words that "the kingdom of God belongs to such as these!"

After the library incident, we headed to Target, where we stood in a checkout line with a Black cashier, and behind a Black woman. I sat there wondering if Anna was going to share any more "observations", but no, she was intrigued by the receipts printing out and enjoyed chatting with the woman in front of us, who complimented Anna on HER hair.

I've been wanting to do a post on racial terminology for awhile now, so I think I'll do that next.

Monday, July 23, 2007

I picked this book up at the library a couple of weeks ago when I took Anna for story-time. As I sat reading the first few pages I was immediately drawn in and could feel myself getting choked up--I always see Yosef and Biniam's sweet faces when I read of African orphans, or of abandoned children.

I'm just now finishing it and its raw honesty has gripped me from page one. Not only me, but my dad--he began reading it at my house and was so compelled by it that I sent it home with him and he read the whole thing in one day!

Neely and Vita's hearts challenge and inspire me. There are millions of children hurting and dying in Africa...will my heart be stirred to action? God can use me to make a difference--and He can use you.

Definitely worth reading!

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Fun in the sun

My kids have basically lived in their kiddie pool these last two days. They eat their breakfast outside, hop into the pool, get out for lunch (pb&j and goldfish), and then come inside for naps. They love it! Yesterday I used the time they were swimming to weed our entire brick patio, and today I got some laundry folded sitting by the sliding glass door, where I can see them. We love Summer!

Anna and Yosef snacking on grapes in the pool. They got a real kick out of it!

On any given day, it seems at least one of the kids wants to eat their lunch "a naturale". Today it was both boys!

Tonight Jeannett, baby Henry, baby Kaitlyn and I are going up to SLO to Lisa's jewlery party, hosted by Kristen. So fun!!!! (I also hear that Becky will be there. Good times.)

Sunday, July 15, 2007

So yesterday, July 14th, was my 26th birthday. I am suddenly keenly aware that I am closer to 30 than to 20, which feels really weird!

Friday night my mom and dad came down with a cake from the Madonna Inn. We all had dinner and then homemade vanilla ice cream and cake. I spent my birthday (Saturday) at Lindsey's baby shower (so fun!), then came home and took a glorious nap (you must be a mom--or an elderly person--when your idea of a good birthday includes a NAP!), then Kevin, the kids and I tried out Cool Hand Luke's here in Santa Maria for dinner. (It was pretty good, but my steak wasn't great--sad! The kids did great--Kaitlyn was a little fussy, until I nursed her to sleep. Works every time!) I got a super sweet phone message from Kevin's aunt Sharon--love and miss you!--and I also missed a nice birthday call from Kevin's parents.

The highlight of last year was, by far, the birth of my fourth child, Kaitlyn Jane. She is precious, sweet, and brings me so much joy. I had no clue how child number four would be, or how she'd fit into our family, but she is a blessing straight from God and honestly I can't BEGIN to imagine my life without her smile!

What will my 26th year bring? Not really sure. I'm not a goal-oriented person, but my hope and prayer for this next year is to become more comfortable in my own skin, so to speak. More and more I find myself longing to be more secure in my decisions, with who God created me to be, and with the works God has prepared for me to do.

So here's to being 26!

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Being the youngest of four can be hazardous to your health

As you can imagine Kaitlyn has a rather exciting life, being the youngest in our crazy family. Here are some highlights of her day so far:

I got her dressed and put a hairclip in her hair before laying her down on a blanket in the family room. Biniam (who adores her and always seeks her out to play with) immediately came to sit by her, and I left the room for approximately three minutes. Upon returning, I found Biniam trying to roll her over ("Be gentle! That's too rough!" I shouted), and Kaitlyn all smiles (obviously enjoying the rough and tumble game with big brother)...without a hairclip. Upon asking Biniam where it was, I was informed that he put it in his mouth and ATE IT. Guess I'll find out for sure in a day or two...

Clearly Biniam is aspiring to be a dentist one day...and practicing on his baby sister, who seemed perfectly pleased to be getting a dental checkup. Becky must have inspired him! ("Do NOT put that in her mouth!" I admonished.)

Anna decided she wanted to do Kaitlyn's hair, and is attempting to put a hairclip in it. ("Anna, don't hurt her head please" I advised.)

And last night, we went to our church for Grace Summer Nights. There was this big, crazy human foosball game with beachballs we were all playing, and Kaitlyn got tagged in the head by a ball about three times. Do you think this phased her? Nope!

Never a dull moment for sweet Katie Jane!!! I cannot WAIT to see what this girl's personality is going to be like!

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Good stuff

Read this today in Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost for His Highest":

We are all capable of being spiritual sluggards; we do not want to mix with the rough and tumble of life as it is, our one object is to secure retirement...To live a remote, retired, secluded life is the antipodes of spirituality as Jesus Christ taught it.

The test of our spirituality is when we come up against injustice and meanness and ingratitude and turmoil, all of which have the tendency to make us spiritual sluggards. We want to use prayer and Bible reading for the purpose of retirement. We utilize God for the sake of getting peace and joy, that is, we do not want to realize Jesus Christ, but only our enjoyment of Him...

This is so timely and convicting for me! I am learning more and more how important "community" is, how we need to continually reach out and take risks and fight the urge to live a "safe", comfortable life, avoiding the "rough and tumble" as Chambers put it. (What might this mean for me today? I'm going to stop procrastinating and finally make a phone call about volunteering, as well as attempt to set up our 2:42 dinner group).

My prayer is that God will use me and stir my heart to action for Jesus and the world that He loves.

(And of course Erika I always think of you now when I read this book!)

Monday, July 09, 2007

Kaitlyn update and parenting style

Well little Kaitlyn is four months old as of Saturday. She is super smiley, loves to laugh, and rolled over for the first time on July 3 (right when I had my back turned! Grrrrr!) It's funny because I feel like she's always been a part of our family--was there really a time when she wasn't here???

She is such a little trooper too, always coming along on excursions that I wouldn't think would be nearly as fun for her, but she always seems to have a good time. I think she likes being part of the gang!

She continues to be a great sleeper at night, but a horrible napper during the day. She'll sleep for maybe 30 minutes at a time. This is completely foreign to me as Anna, from day one, LOVED naps, and still does! Oh well.

I've been thinking about my parenting style lately (probably best described as "frazzled"!). Honestly when I had Anna I didn't do any reading on parenting, how to get your baby to sleep, etc. I just followed her cues and we quickly found a routine that worked for us. Then once we began the adoption process I read a lot about attachment theory, love and logic parenting (natural consequences), and so a lot of my parenting ideas I've gleaned from the adoptive parents community.

I've discovered that even though I don't follow all the tenets, I'd probably most fall in the category of attachment parenting in general (in the attachment vs. Ezzo models). I nurse on demand (hilarious to me because ultimately it comes out to be the same as scheduled nursing, since Kaitlyn wants to nurse every 2-3 hours), Kaitlyn sleeps either in a bassinett right next to our bed or in bed with us (usually just in the mornings), and we aren't really into the whole "letting her cry it out" thing (although she fusses herself to sleep sometimes, it's just how she goes to sleep.) Anyhow it's funny to discover you fit into some category when you never even knew about the category. Attachment parenting is GREAT for adopted children, especially (when they're light enough!) baby wearing. We did that a lot with our boys. I think co-sleeping would be great too, except we didn't do it a whole lot with our boys--two rambunctious little boys in bed with us didn't sound particularly restful! (In the beginning however they would often end up in our bed--they did a lot of grieving and would wake in the middle of the night crying so mournfully, really sad.)

The love and logic parenting stuff has been super helpful also. Especially with Anna who has a strong will sometimes. For me parenting has been such a learning process. You hope in the end your child will grow into a well-adjusted, loving person both because of and in spite of your parenting. So what's your parenting style????

(The above picture of Kaitlyn is from the 4th of July--with so many kids to tote around we sometimes have to get creative with how we carry everything. Heehee!)

Friday, July 06, 2007

Getting caught up with the Heldts

I have been out of blog-commission for awhile now! Kevin's parents and his sister (pictured here with Anna and Bin) visited us for about a week. It was fun to see the kids enjoying their grandparents, and Aunt Krystal was a huge hit--Anna couldn't get enough of her. She thought her aunt was just too cool!

We hung out around the house, Kevin's family took the kids to the park, we all went to the beach and McDonald's, and Kevin's dad put together an outdoors chair set that the kids love. Kevin, Krystal and I went with the kids to Red Robin one night, and another night after putting the kids to bed Kevin and I snuck out (with Kaitlyn in tow) to go visit some friends and then go out to dessert.

Anna started the summer library program last Wednesday. She did GREAT and LOVED it! Maybe because they read a story right up her alley, something like "Scary Green Monster Go Away". (She loves spooky things!) I totally spied on her and she was doing all the hand motions and stuff. She fell in line and went with the other kids, no separation anxiety there. I'm going to continue doing this throughout the year. I was able to chat for a lot of the time with another mom.

Kevin's family left July 3rd. July 4th we went to the annual church picnic up in SLO, came home for a couple of hours and then headed over to our friends' home to do fireworks. After that some other friends came over to OUR house with their extended family who was in town, for apple pie and smores. Yum!

Our kids loved the fireworks for the most part. At the very first one, Anna jumped up and ran and hid in the bushes. But after that she enjoyed it (she said her favorites were the purple ones). Yosef was giddy the entire time, he loved it! Biniam cried the whole time, that is until Kevin handed him to me--he instantly stopped crying! Makes me feel good to know that Biniam trusts me and looks to me for comfort. Kaitlyn sat in her carrier carseat the entire time, on the sidewalk, and fell asleep. When they busted out the sparklers, Anna loved it (at one point I looked over to see her grinning doing TWO at a time!) Yosef, interestingly, was too scared to do one, and Biniam allowed Kevin to force him to do one.

I am exhausted! But it is so worth it to see your kids enjoying and anticipating things. Yesterday I set the kids' pool up and they've been swimming ever since. I see one of my greatest callings as a mom to give my kids a fun-filled, magical childhood. Summer days spent swimming, eating otterpops, enjoying fireworks with friends all bundled up (and getting to stay up wayyyyyyyyy past bedtime), all the things that make for warm memories.
Tomorrow we get to go to a sweet friend's birthday party in Morro Bay. Life is good!!!
Anna, Biniam and Yosef enjoying the bench from Grandma and Grandpa Heldt.
Anna with her aunt Krystal.
Me and Kevin at the beach.
Kaitlyn all smiles at the beach.
Our little family before church on Sunday.
Kaitlyn napping at the beach--this picture cracks me up!

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Vanity Fair and Africa

Yes bloggers, I'm still alive. :) We were blessed to have Kevin's parents and sister visiting us this past week so I haven't been blogging. I'll share some pics from their visit later.

For now I wanted to mention the special edition of Vanity Fair magazine that is all about Africa, and guest-edited by Bono. Be sure to check it out!!!

(But what is with all the seductive advertisements in there for perfume, etc.? Sheesh!)

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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Thanksgiving is over.

Our month-long steady-stream-of-houseguests is all gone.

My daughter's dance performance was last night.

I've packed my big kids' lunches for their homeschool school tomorrow.

And, now I'm doing laundry.

Cleaning bathrooms.

Making mental lists.

Because my daughter is having open-heart surgery on Friday.

Thursday is pre-op at the hospital--EKG, full physical, tour of the facilities, meetings with the surgeon and anaesthesiologist who will be doing the four-hour-long procedure.

Now that all of our Fall activities and visitors are over and done, I'm thinking a whole lot more about the whole thing.  About the fact that my baby, who has only been my baby for the past two months, is having a very serious surgery.  That will necessitate 7-10 days in the hospital...if there are no complications.

Kevin will thankfully be able to work from home next week, so he'll be holding down the fort here with our other six kiddos.  I'll of course be at the hospital with Mekdes.

Dear friends are watching our kids both Thursday and Friday.  Dear friends will be bringing meals to my husband and other children while Mekdes and I are at the hospital.

This has been an incredibly humbling season in my life (to say the least!), which is definitely a good thing...but it has its challenges too.  Because I'm horrible at accepting help.  I hate feeling like a "taker."  I feel like because I have a big family, I really, REALLY have to have it all together.  And honestly, many of the very people who have been taking care of us since our girls came home are people we've not known more than a few months.  What a blessing they have been.

I'll update you all on how the pre-op goes tomorrow.  Please be praying that she's cleared for surgery.  And in the meantime I'll be doing laundry and scrubbing toilets and soaking up time with each of my precious little ones.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Of ornaments and redemption

SO excited to hang a shiny red ornament on the Christmas tree.  For the first time ever.

Finding just the right spot.

Concentrating, because this is serious business.

Pure joy.  So, so proud.  Be still my mama heart.

Just days before her open heart surgery, Mekdes hung her first ornament and took part in the general chaos that is Heldt-family-decorating-for-Christmas.

This is going to be an amazingly incredible, emotional holiday season for us.  Heart surgery on December 2nd, at least a week in the hospital, then home to recover and enjoy what is left of December as we anticipate and reflect on the coming of Jesus.

Redemption, come into the world.

Especially real this year because some of that beautiful redemption is actually living at my house.

And I got a glimpse of it when Mekdes hung her first ornament.

I am humbled.

Monday, November 28, 2011

A Happy Thanksgiving

There's something so beautiful about all of the many firsts for an adopted child who's recently joined your family.

This was of course Mekdes' and Tigist's first Thanksgiving.

Our family (minus me, since I was still getting over a stomach virus) started the day off by going to Mass, then in the afternoon we all headed down to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's home for Thanksgiving dinner.  Kevin's parents were there too.  So nice to be with family!

On a personal note, there are two things in particular--among my many, many blessings--that I found myself thankful for this year.

One of them is of course the fact that Tigist and Mekdes are HOME.  With us.  They are a delight in every possible way, and it's as if they've always been here.  I continue to be in awe of their transition.  Oh the joy they bring to each of our hearts!

The second thing I am grateful for is Christ and His Church.  Since being received into the Catholic Church a month ago or so, I have been continually amazed and humbled by the way God has worked in our lives through the Sacrament and through His body here on earth.  How sweet it it is to receive the Eucharist each week, and how blessed we are by the many friends God has brought our way.  How sweet it is to be home.

I hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving as well!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Journey to Rome: How I fell in love with Mary (part II)

A portrait of Mary in our hotel room.  Rome, 2011.

Well, buckle up folks.  Because today I'm sharing how exactly I came to terms with some of the harder Marian dogmas and doctrines of the Catholic faith.  If there's anything about Catholicism that makes Protestants want to run far, far away, it's Mary.

And, I kind of get that.

Quite frankly, Mary was one of my "hang-ups" with the Catholic Church for some time--even after educating myself on what the Church actually teaches (and doesn't teach) about Mary the mother of God.  It was all very new for me, and I struggled to understand why any of it mattered, and how Mary's place in the Church fit with the worship of Jesus.  Was it idolatry?  What was the point of praying to Mary when I could just, you know, pray directly to God?

But I'd also come to believe that the Catholic Church is true.  And the fact is that the deposit of faith (the Bible + Tradition), handed down by the Apostles, includes ideas like the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption.  So I kept reading, and kept praying.  I read what the early Church fathers and Christians wrote about Mary.  I read the Bible.  I read works by various apologists, both Catholic and Protestant.  I read statements by the Reformers.  I even read a book about the Vatican-approved Marian apparition in Rwanda, Our Lady of Kibeho

I was not an easy sell.  :)

But...I kept coming back to the idea that Jesus has given us the Church, and from very early on, well, the Church venerated Mary.  Not to mention, Mary-as-the-new-Eve (Paul of course tells us that Jesus was the new Adam) is incredibly compelling from a theological perspective.

Whatever you believe, God used Mary to play a significant role in salvation history: to carry and birth and raise our Savior--and through giving birth to Jesus, she essentially gave birth to the Church.  She said yes to God when Eve said no.  She is a shining example of sacrifice.  She is the mother of my Lord, and how blessed we are to have her for our mother as well.

So as Catholics, we venerate (or honor) Mary, which is not the same as "worshipping" her the way we would God the Father, or Jesus the Son.  (That has never been taught by the Church, ever.)  And we honor her because Jesus honored her.  Rather than taking honor away from Jesus, Mary points us toward Him.

The Catholic Church teaches that when Jesus placed Mary in John's care, as He was dying on the cross, He was ultimately giving her to the Church, as a mother.  (John 19:25-27.)  So we believe that she is the loving mother of all Christians.  And just like we hang family photos in our homes, we oftentimes also have artwork depicting the Holy Family.  We like us some statues for the same reason.  And we believe in the Communion of Saints and so believe that Mary prays and intercedes for us.  Which is all kinds of awesome, no?

When Catholics pray to Mary, they are asking her to pray to God for them--just like sometimes we ask our friends or religious leaders or coworkers to pray for us.  The more prayers on my behalf, the better.  The more prayers on my behalf spoken by Jesus' mother, the better.

And yes, all of this is based on the Catholic understanding of scripture (both Old and New Testaments), as well as a historical and traditional understanding of early Church history.

I want you to check out this fascinating and beautiful video.  The symbology is pretty astounding--an 11 minutes well spent.  :)

I am honestly falling more and more in love with Mary the mother of Jesus.  I love knowing that she prays for me, and for the Church, and that she knows what it is to be a mama.  When I start to wonder if God is asking too much of me...I think of her and how she said yes to Him.  When my children are hurting or suffering...I think of her and how she watched her beloved son die unjustly on a cross.  And I love that God uses the stuff of this earth--bread, wine, humanity, water, a virgin from Nazareth--to do His supernatural, Heavenly bidding.  What an incredible miracle and mystery.

If you're interested, I highly recommend Scott Hahn's Hail, Holy Queen.  He writes in a super engaging way, it's not a long read, and hey, he used to be a Protestant.  :)

I'm so very grateful and humbled that God has brought me to accept--and celebrate!--the Catholic Church's position on Mary.  I do understand that it's difficult at best (and offensive at worst) for many Protestants.  But when I sit at Mass each Sunday, as I pray to Jesus and prepare to receive Him in the Eucharist, I love to look upon the statue of the Blessed Virgin.  And when I do, I love to think about the amazing gift she gave the world when she simply said yes to her God.

May I have the grace to do the same.

{Part I of my journey from Protestantism to Catholicism can be found here.}

Monday, November 21, 2011

Update on my daughter's heart

Mekdes rocking out at a Stephen Curtis Chapman concert.

On December 2nd, my five-year-old daughter Mekdes is having open heart surgery.

It hasn't really sunken in yet.  I do know I'm not looking forward to it.  But I'll be glad to get it done.

The cardiologist said we could have until summertime, but it's just too hard to wait that long with something so huge hanging over our heads.  Plus, we've already hit our max for the year with insurance (funny how two heart surgeries will do that for you) so from a financial perspective, it makes sense to have it done now.

The surgery itself is four hours long, and we're looking at a 7-10 day hospital stay, provided there are no complications.  That's going to be a lot of juggling for us, but we'll make it work.

Without this particular surgery, my daughter would have a very short life.  She's extremely blessed as it is that she has not incurred any serious heart damage yet, and that would eventually change.  Scary stuff.  So we're of course really hoping that the surgeon is successful in fixing her defect, since it's a pretty big deal.

I've been thinking a lot about Mekdes' birth mom and how, when we met her, she was adamant about two things:

She wanted to know if we were Christians, and wept with relief when we said yes, and

She wanted her daughter to get the medical help she needed so that she could live a good life.

This woman of course had no clue that her daughter really was looking at a greatly-shortened lifespan due to the heart defect she was living with.  Oh how I wish I was able to tell her about Mekdes' surgeries and about how we're taking care of her.  I wish I could tell her about how our priest prayed over Mekdes and about how all of our friends have supported us with prayers, meals, and love.

Mekdes' pre-op is on Thursday, December 1st, and then she'll be admitted the next day for surgery.  And in the meantime it's homeschooling and Thanksgiving and houseguests and putting up the Christmas tree and Anna's dance performance.  Life marching on.  Even amidst open heart surgery.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Journey to Rome: an overview (part I)

Mary and me, and Michelangelo's Pieta, in Rome.  April 2011.

As promised, I am (finally) opening up about why my husband and I walked away from a combined 61 years of Protestant join the Catholic Church.

Things like this aren't easy to explain, in part because a faith journey can be an intensely personal experience, and also because in our case (like so many) it is multi-faceted and messy.  A lot of you won't be able to relate, and that's okay.

I personally come from a long line of Catholics and former-Catholics.  (My maiden name is Perruzzi.  It makes sense.)  My formerly-Lutheran husband does not.  (His last name is Heldt.  It makes sense.)  And I've discovered that no matter what your background, there is a lot of widespread misinformation about Catholicism.  While I am happy to share the truth, I'm not an apologist and won't attempt to correct every single misconception or argue with you about the Immaculate Conception.  I have friends much better suited for that sort of thing.  I on the other hand will humbly attempt to share my story.  (But if you have questions and you ask nicely, I'll do my best to answer them!  :)  )

Roughly four years ago, I read a book by Thomas Howard that would (unbenownst to me) set my conversion in motion.  It was called Evangelical is Not Enough: Worship of God Through Liturgy and Sacrament.  The title may sound inflammatory and not like anything a lifelong Evangelical Christian would ever read, but the author is Elisabeth Elliott's brother (and who doesn't love Elisabeth Elliott?), and I wanted to learn more about the Sacraments.  I'd always belonged to non-denominational churches that taught that baptism and communion were merely symbols, even though most Christians around the world say otherwise.  And my husband used to be a Lutheran and we had a lot of theological conversations about those things.

Howard's book (which is EXCELLENT), along with much conversation and prayer and a lot of Bible study, brought me to a point where I did believe in the Sacraments as such.  I felt convicted that we ought to be a part of a liturgical church that observed the Sacraments and was solidly embedded in the historical Christian faith.  (My husband felt the same, and always had, really.)  We knew though that we'd be moving shortly so we remained at our non-denominational church in the meantime.

Allow me to break here and say that my ten years at Grace Church were blessed and fruitful.  Grace was an anchor in my life when I came to college and was seeking the Lord in great earnest.  Many faithful, amazing people crossed my path there--people committed to loving and living like Jesus.  I gained a greater understanding of the Bible and of my faith.  The Gospel and Word of God were the standard.  I met  my husband there.  Thus, I am ever grateful for how God worked in my life during my time at Grace.

I will also say that my prior eighteen years at Creston Community Church were quite wonderful as well.  I never knew a day where I didn't know the love of Jesus.  My childhood church involvement set an excellent foundation for the rest of my life, and I learned how to follow God and work out my faith in this little country church.  Again, nothing but gratitude.

But when we moved to Denver, we found a Reformed Protestant church to attend downtown (PCA at the time, though it soon switched to the RCA denomination.)  Considering my own background, it may as well have been Catholic--I felt clumsy at first because it was all very new to me.  But, I loved it.  Lots of liturgy.  Communion each week.  My children were all baptized shortly after Mary was born.  Our time there (three years, as it turns out) was wonderful as well.  We made a few good friends and I fell in love with historical Christianity and with communion-as-a-Sacrament.  While I don't think we ever quite "fit" in certain ways, we didn't really anticipate leaving, at least not anytime soon.

In fact, we probably would have been content remaining in Protestant Reformed circles, never giving Catholicism a second thought, were it not for the other piece of the story.

You see, shortly after we'd moved to Denver, I became interested in the historic Christian teaching on, well, contraception.  Random, I know.  We'd been convicted for years about this issue, and I wanted once and for all to understand what Christians have believed about this throughout the ages.  And I get that most people don't really care.  Most people don't see what birth control has to do with a guy who died on a Roman cross two thousand years ago.  It's a non-essential in Protestantism.  And I wanted to know why, because it sure seemed to me that something as fundamental as the playing out of our sexuality, something that affects pretty much every single part of our lives, should matter to the God who created us, who "made them man and woman".

The truth is that I was shocked at what I found.  Turns out it wasn't always a non-essential.  In fact, the Protestant faith was united with Catholics on this matter for centuries, up until the 1930s or so, when the Anglican Church changed its position (allowing for contraception in "some" cases).  The vast majority of Protestant groups eventually followed, the pill came along in the 1960s, and the rest is history.

Naturally I now wanted to know why exactly Catholics continue to teach against the use of contraception.

Again, I was shocked.  The Roman Catholic Church's teachings on marriage, children, vocation, and personhood were the most profound, simplistic, beautiful, and cohesive things I'd read on the subject.  Ever.  And they actually made sense.  Both Kevin and I dug in, anxious to learn more.  We read things like Covenanted Happiness, books on Theology of the Body, writings from John Paul II, and work by Kimberly Hahn and Christopher West.  It seemed one could never fully mine the depths of wisdom pouring from the Church on these issues.  It seriously felt as if we'd struck gold.  No joke.

If people asked, I found myself telling them we followed the Catholic Church's teachings on marriage and contraception.

Which was weird, because we weren't Catholic.  :)

But we wholeheartedly believed that this historic position, formerly held by Protestant Christians as well, was true.

It was around this time that I became intrigued to discover that there were actually lots of people converting from Protestantism to Catholicism.  People like Thomas Howard, Francis Beckwith, and Scott Hahn.  And did you know that Rich Mullins was about to join the Catholic Church when he died?  Or that Elisabeth Elliott is a regular guest and speaker at various Catholic universities, and has taken some flack from the Protestant community on account of this?

We started to wonder what else the Catholic Church said and stood for, if they were the only group standing firm on the issue of contraception and if so many well-respected Christians were compelled enough to convert.

The theology was fascinating.  We quickly gained an IMMENSE respect and appreciation for the Roman Catholic faith, even though we thought we'd NEVER be able to become card-carrying members...thanks to those few pesky issues like Mary and the infallibility of the Pope.

Still we kept reading.  And, guess what, there are reasons (both rooted in the Bible and in Tradition) for those more controversial doctrines.  They were actually not as scary as Jack Chick and Loraine Boettner would have wanted us to believe.

And we began to see that so very much of the divide between Catholics and Protestants comes down to one word: authority.

How does the Holy Spirit work?  Why are so many earnest, prayerful and solid believers divided over such significant issues?  Why does the Bible refer to the Church as "the pillar and foundation of the truth"?  What are we supposed to make of Peter receiving the keys to the kingdom of Heaven?  Why can no one agree on what the Church is supposed to look like today?

What on EARTH do we do with passages like John 6?

Basically we started wondering, does authority ultimately rest with each individual person and their private interpretation of the Bible, or is there more to it?

And as the misconceptions about Catholicism were replaced with knowledge about what they actually believe (and why), and as we pondered all of the above questions, we eventually arrived at the surprising and humbling conclusion that authority ought to rest with Christ's Church.  The one established by Jesus, founded upon Peter, and carried forward by the faithful down through the ages.  Just like Jesus promised.

Initially, we were, um, somewhat terrified by this conclusion.  What would people say?  How would we leave our church?  So we told ourselves that we'd just be secret Catholics-at-heart for awhile, that there was no need to do anything rash.  But God wasn't content with that and brought us to the place where we had to acknowledge that if we truly believed this was Christ's Church, why would we deliberately spend another moment outside of it and the graces therein?

So in August, we began attending a local parish.

In September, we formally announced that we were leaving our Protestant faith community of the past three-plus years.

And in October, we came into full communion with the Catholic Church.

We received the Eucharist for the first time.

We have been blessed beyond anything we could have imagined.

Now before someone has a bunch of Chick Tracts anonymously delivered to my house, allow me to say that we've explored all of these issues from both sides--devil's advocate and all that.  This was not an immediate or purely emotion-based conversion.  It took four years and was pretty difficult in many ways.  My husband worked in a Christian bookstore in college where the only books touching on Catholicism were written by Protestants--and shelved in the "Cults" section.  (He didn't put them there though, just so we're clear.  :)  )  I own a John MacArthur study Bible that has its own interpretation of John 6.  People can go back and forth all day arguing the meaning of scripture, and that's why it eventually always comes down to authority: who do you believe?  So we are well aware of the counter-points, and of the theology reflected in Protestantism.  Still, we chose the Catholic Church--or rather, She chose us.

There is really so much more that I want to share. The dear people we've met on the journey, the books and blogs we've poured over, how Kevin and I have wrestled with these things together and yet sometimes reached different conclusions at different times, the many blessings and also the challenges.  I'll do that soon.

But in the meantime, here is my feeble introductory explanation of how--and why--we've "gone all in" with Rome.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Surgeries and blessings

Well, we made it.  :)

Surgery day started early...I got up at 4:30 am, got ready, and packed up our overnight bag, my laptop, a bunch of books, and of course my girlies.

Kevin stayed home with our other kids until lunchtime, when he took them to a dear friend's house so he could meet me at the hospital.

We got to Denver Children's Hospital at 6 am, checked in, and headed up to cardiac pre-op.  Here are Mekdes and Tigist in the wagon during check-in.  Happy as clams.  Just like always.

Tigist's procedure was first.  Could she be any cuter in her hospital gown?!

I met the anaesthesiologist who, it turns out, lived in Ethiopia and worked at the Black Lion Hospital for some number of years.  Crazy.  And Tigist's nurse's in-laws were missionaries in Ethiopia.

When it was time for surgery, they had me suit up in all the gear, and carry my dear baby into the room.  I laid her down on the operating table, stood with her while they put her under, and then they had me give her a final kiss and leave the room.

I nearly bawled.  It was awful.  Flooded with emotion and "what if"'s and love for my dear, beautiful Tigist.  But I kept it together.  (Because when I cry, it's always the ugly cry.  Always.  And I knew I'd never be able to stop.)

I came back to find Mekdes napping.  In a chair.  Sister having heart surgery?  Right before you go in for heart surgery?  No big deal.  May as well take a snooze.

Eventually it was time to start her pre-op.  She made the gown look good too.  :)

And before I knew it, someone came and told me that Tigist was all done.

That things had gone well.

That her heart was fixed

Again, me on the brink of bursting into tears.

Something so impossible in Ethiopia, but so very important for my daughter, healed in the span of an hour and a half or so.

Of course then it was time to take Mekdes in for her procedure.  Another heart-wrenching kiss goodbye.

I spent the duration of Mekdes' surgery with Tigist in recovery.  (This is what you do when you have two kids having heart procedures on the same day, back-to-back.)  Who was cute as could be and wanted NOTHING to do with having to lay flat on her back for four hours.  The girl wanted to play.  I did my best to keep her distracted with Baby Einstein and multiple slushies and some pudding.

I also did a lot of praying for and thinking about Mekdes.  Unlike Tigist's, her procedure was just diagnostic.  Because she needs open heart surgery to fix her defect.  And she's lived way too long with it, and it's not uncommon to develop lasting, serious heart damage when that happens.  The surgeon needed to see if her body can even withstand open heart surgery, if her heart is even operable.

Those are pretty high stakes.  Because we'd been told that without open heart surgery, her lifespan will be cut drastically short by eventual heart failure.  NOT something a parent wants to hear.  Ever.

So, yeah, I was pretty anxious the entire time she was in there.  What would they find?

But then the surgeon came out.

Told me she did great.

She has literally NO HEART DAMAGE.

She is an EXCELLENT CANDIDATE for open heart surgery.

And she apparently USED to have a hole in another part of her heart.  But at some point it closed on its own.

Had it not, her heart would have been inoperable.

Meaning a much shortened lifespan.  But that hole healed, so now she can have the surgery she so desperately needs.

Just like her first mama would have wanted her to have.

Here she is sleeping in recovery.  When she woke up, she was crying inconsolably from the drugs.  So, so sad.

I'm sure any parent whose child has ever had serious surgery knows what I mean when I say I wanted to grab the surgeon and give him a huge hug while jumping up and down and cheering and crying, all at once.  I didn't, but I wanted to.  God used him to give my babies another shot at life.  I'll always be grateful for Dr. Darst and his care and concern for my daughters.

Because things could not have gone better than they did.  They went so well, in fact, that we were discharged that afternoon and didn't even have to spend the night!  (Guess I didn't need all my books afterall.  :)  )

And I am convinced, beyond any doubt, that God worked miracles through the Sacrament they received Thursday night, and through all the prayers of friends and family.  My parish homeschool group prayed a novena for my daughters in the days leading up to the surgeries, and that morning they all prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet together, for my girls.  Friends dedicated their Mass intentions to us.  I am beyond grateful, and beyond touched.  More than you can imagine.

God has been so extremely faithful to our family throughout all of this.  And NOT simply because we had a good outcome.  He has lovingly cared for us through His Church and through our many wonderful friends.  In a more general sense, I feel as if God has been working overtime in my life this past month and a half or so, breaking me down and building me up.  That is, ultimately, a good thing, even if the circumstances are hard.  Maybe especially because the circumstances are hard.

So thank you, thank you, thank you for everything!!!  Mekdes and Tigist are doing great, and I'll be sure to let you know when we get the (deep breath) open heart surgery scheduled.

Here they are on Friday night, home after their procedures, smiling and playing before bedtime.  Tigist with her healed heart, and Mekdes with the potential for a long life up ahead.  Oh how blessed we are!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Surgery day!

Today is the day.

My daughters Mekdes and Tigist are having heart surgery.

In fact, as you read this, at least one of the procedures has already begun.

I'm writing this the night before, though.  (Isn't Blogger and its ability to schedule posts so fancy?  It's like time-travel.  Sort of.  :)  )

Right now my mind is swirling and my emotions are all over the place and I just feel so very vulnerable and small.

I'm thinking about how life is fragile and ever so precious.

I'm thinking about how there is so much more to life than meets the eye, than what we see here on earth.  So.much.more.

I'm thinking about redemption and suffering and the big-ness of my daughters' stories.  And about how their stories have collided with mine, and have become mine.  It's kind of funny how God works.  He joins hearts and brings beauty from ashes and shows up in the most unexpected of places and circumstances.

As a child or young adult I never dreamed that TWO of my children would one day be undergoing heart surgery.  Nope, never crossed my mind.  I never imagined I'd be spending a lot of my time at a children's hospital while a surgeon attempted to repair my daughters' congenital heart defects.  Of course, most people probably don't anticipate facing those sorts of decisions and trials.  If it's not part of your life experience, you just don't think about it.  You think life will go as planned.

But then you grow up and you discover that things don't go the way you thought.  Pretty much ever.

And I have to be honest and say that my life has actually far surpassed any of my expectations.  God has done wonderful, beautiful things and no day has been wasted, not one.  And today is the same.  I don't know how things will go, how my daughters will do, if Tigist's defects will be fixed or if Mekdes will be a good candidate for open heart surgery.  But God is in today, just like He was in yesterday.  That I know.  I also know that it is the unseen that matters most of all, and that God is working in ways I don't even understand yet.

Still I'm afraid, and I think that is normal.

I feel the weight of responsibility, and it's heavy.

I feel the weight of the procedures, and the risks involved.

I feel the weight of open heart surgery looming in the distance.

I feel the weight of meeting my daughters' respective birth mothers, and of my promises to them that I would love their girls and make sure they got the medical assistance that they needed.  I can see their eyes and tears as if it was yesterday.  I want to do right by my daughters, and by the women who gave them life.  It's big stuff.

However things go tomorrow, I have faith in God's provision for my little girls.  Their very lives are a testament to that.  Two children with multiple heart defects (related to the fact that they were born with Down syndrome), born into poverty in a developing country, eventually relinquished by their mothers, spending roughly two years in an orphanage waiting and waiting for a family to come and get them.

They are survivors.

And God is faithful.

So we begin to write the next chapter of their story today--them and the surgeon in the Cath Lab and me in the waiting room.  I don't know the future or the plans God ultimately has for our family, but He is strong and perfect in our weakness.

Last night, our daughters received the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick in preparation for today.  It was just our family (all nine of us), our friend Troy (the girls' godfather), and Father Daniel (our priest).  What a precious time.  My heart felt so encouraged and I was incredibly blessed by the Sacrament itself and by the prayers and the support shown to our family.  I felt truly strengthened.

And the crazy thing was, as soon as we finished, Tigist got into the crawling position...for the first time ever.  No joke.  She has never been able to do this, and her therapists were really hoping that eventually she could.  I honestly think God has a pretty great sense of humor...apparently, who needs a physical therapist when you have the Sacraments?  :)

I will do my best to update on Facebook and Twitter throughout the day.  Barring any complications, each procedure should only be 2-3 hours or so.  The same surgeon is performing both.  (And of course it's always possible that the surgeries may need to be rescheduled due to random health issues, but I'm praying that's not the case.)  I'll arrive at the hospital with the girls at 6 am and Kevin will be home with our other kids until lunchtime or so, when he'll probably drop them off with a dear friend and meet me at the hospital.

Today's a big day for Tigist and Mekdes.

And so I'll close by saying I'm so very grateful for my dear, sweet, brave little girls, for those near and far who are journeying with us, and for the hope we have in Jesus.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

In which we cross the Tiber

I've thought long and hard about how to share this.

Because like most things in my life, it's something most people won't understand.

And, that's hard for me.  I'm generally a people-pleaser and I have a history of caring way too much about what others think of me.  I avoid conflict and confrontation and any sort of direct involvement in controversy.

I'm committed to being honest, and to this blog being a window into my life.  My actual life.  Not a glossy, mostly-fictional account of all of the fabulous things I do or the ways in which I'm an amazingly-awesome-mother-and-wife who reads Beth Moore while knitting Kevin a Snuggie.  So I'm not about to start keeping significant parts of my story hidden from view in order to make it more palatable to the masses.

And I actually have something really exciting to share!  I want to tell you about it!  It has been years in the making.  It is about our faith and it is beautiful and sacred and deeply meaningful to me and my husband and to our children.

So the Big Announcement is that:

Two weeks ago, we were received into the Roman Catholic Church.

Yes, the former-Lutheran and the lifetime-Evangelical "swam the Tiber".

On Reformation Sunday, no less.  :)

I'm so anxious to share our journey and hearts with you, and will be doing so in the coming days.  So be sure to come back!

And please believe me when I say that I know it doesn't make sense to most people, and there are those who genuinely fear for our souls and who think we've lost our minds.

That is humbling.

And hard.

But where God leads, we must follow.

And so we're Catholic now.

It's good to be home.

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Empty house and random updates

Matching Dorothy's on Halloween.  Love these two together!

I know, it hardly seems possible with nine people in our family!  But as of today, our houseguests are all gone and it feels a bit empty around here...even with seven kids racing around.  :)  My dad was visiting for a couple of weeks, and my dear friend and her three kids were here for a few days.  I already miss every single one of them!

Things at the House of Heldt are going well for the most part.  Assorted kids are recovering from assorted colds.  I'm still on antibiotics for my second round of strep throat and am feeling pretty well, though am a bit paranoid about whether or not I've actually kicked this thing or not.

Tigist just finished up her first week of therapy--physical therapy on Tuesday, and occupational therapy today.  I have been so impressed with the therapists and their enthusiasm and gentle way with my daughter.  Who of course is a huge hit with her smiling and clapping and positive attitude.  So proud of that girl!

Friday of course is surgery day for both Tigist and Mekdes.  Gearing up for that and desperately hoping they will be healthy enough to have the procedures.

There is really just so much to catch up on, between housework and laundry and email and general life stuff.  Oh, and blogging.  I'm looking forward to digging in over the next several days and reconnecting with all of you!

So in the meantime, I hope you're having a fabulous week and enjoying this beautiful Fall season.

Thursday, November 03, 2011

Upcoming surgeries (life all mixed up)

Yesterday we received letters from the hospital detailing my daughters' upcoming heart surgeries.

{My husband and I recently brought our girls home from Ethiopia, and they were both born with Down syndrome.  You can read more about their heart conditions here.}

The surgeries are scheduled for November 11.  A week from tomorrow.

So far the whole thing has been super surreal.  Consulting with surgeons and cardiologists and all of that, while my sweet little ones chatter and play, and then we all go home as if nothing happened.  No big deal.

But seeing those letters, with instructions for fasting and times to arrive at the hospital and details about staying overnight, made everything a whole lot more real.  And scary.

I've decided that there's just something about heart surgery.  Not that I would want my child needing ANY sort of surgical procedure, but when it comes to the heart, well, it's extra frightening.  Has it been too long?  Will the surgeries be successful?  Will Mekdes even be a candidate for the open heart surgery she so desperately needs?

So many unknowns.  Not to mention I have no idea how I'm going to survive the hours that they're actually in surgery.  No clue.  Those two blocks of 180 minutes or so are going to seem like a torturous eternity, I am sure.

I'm suddenly just really aware that there are so.many.things. that are completely out of my control.  I feel vulnerable.  I'm handing my beloved daughters over to someone to {hopefully} fix a problem, and I really don't have a choice in the matter.  Because of course they need the procedure.  But it's risky.  And there's no guarantee that it will be successful, especially since this is something that should have happened long ago.

But the thing is, God is in control.  And while it hardly seems fair that two children with such an incredibly difficult start in life now need major heart surgery, I know that Jesus is no stranger to suffering.  I also know that Mary, Jesus' mother, watched her son suffer, and she must have felt so helpless too.  All of that to say that I'm in good company.  And I hope to really think on those things as I'm pacing around the waiting room and praying my heart out for my babies.

People naturally continue to ask if we "knew" about the heart defects when we pursued these adoptions.  I always tell them yes, we knew it was highly likely.

But I don't look at it as "choosing to adopt a child who has a heart defect"--as opposed to choosing a "healthy" child or a child with a different medical need.  Plain and simple, it's really just choosing life.  Life for my daughters, and life for myself, and life for our family.  It's simply following after Jesus and finding His face in my children.

And it honestly wasn't too hard making the decision to adopt Tigist and Mekdes.  I don't know that there are two sweeter souls on this planet!  (Though I do confess that during the process there were many times when I nearly hit the panic button.  I'll share more about that later.)

But heart surgery is hard.  Letting go is hard.  Trusting God with (two of!) my most precious of gifts is hard.

Still I recognize that this is grace and redemption and faith and love and beauty and pain all at once.  Like so very much of life.  Good and bad, all mixed up.  My daughters have to have major surgery...yet it's something they need, that they can finally receive, and so in that sense it's a gift.  And of course our family will surely endure this trial and God is working something through this, He truly is.

I gotta say that life in our family these past few weeks has been incredibly difficult from a health-perspective--to the point where I've begun to ask, what else will go wrong?  And yet there have also been some incredibly beautiful things happening too (that I can't wait to share with you).  All at once.  All mixed up.  Life.

A week out from surgery, and it's finally starting to set in.  I feel woefully inadequate for the tasks set before me, but am ever aware that God is more faithful than I can imagine.  And really?  He's been looking out for my daughters a lot longer than I have.  Through both the good and the bad and the all-mixed-up stuff too.

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Still alive (but barely :) )

I'm sorry for the lack of bloggage this past week!  SO much going on, and our laptop-that-works-well still doesn't have a functional power cord, and I have strep throat again (I don't think it ever fully went away and I also think one of my kids is some sort of secret carrier), and my dad's visiting (and HE'S sick), and pretty much everyone in this house is on some type of medication.

And as a result, I really haven't blogged.  Even though there is quite a bit I want to share with you.

Anyway, just checking in and telling you I'm still here, and I miss you all, and I hope you had a blessed All Saints Day today.

Hoping to be back in the groove soon!

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March 2012

29th March

I don't know if I'm coming or going - TWO books released in a week! Yes, the revised and improved 2nd edition of Gondarlan is also now available from at the much more affordable price of £7.99... and will soon be out in e-book and Kindle versions too, at £4.99! Added to which, we're already taking advance orders and making sales on Walk Towton 1461... so it's been a pretty exciting time on the publications front.

We also had a splendid time last night - doing the Doggett double-act on 'The Savile Family & the Battle of Wakefield' for the Friends of Rectory Park at the beautiful parish church of St Michael and All Angels at Thornhill. A very apt setting, since the family's chapel there has just been cleaned and restored, so we got chance to come face-to-face with some 14th and 15th century Saviles... quite a thrill, as you can see from the pictures below. As was going to the Savile Arms for a drink afterwards - because my very own husband (albeit a rather younger version!) features in a mural in their back room, painted by TBS member Stephen Hines:

gondarlan cover
sandal fran
sandal louise
sandal bill drill

Then on Sunday, we rounded the week off in perfect style (and in perfect, glorious sunshine) with a trip up to the Crooked Billet for our last archery practice before the Big Day (at least, I did - hubcap went off to Towton to tidy the field up with a bit of strimming)! Alan and I were very pleased to make our first sale of Walk Towton to 'Tall Mike' Wilson of TBS... and after a very pleasant shooting session we all sat down for a slap-up lunch. Somehow Mick managed to pack away one of the Billet's ginormous burgers with all the trimmings, while I thought I'd go for something light... only to find the char-grilled chicken salad with sauteed potatoes was almost as substantial! Ah well... I guess we'd burned off a lot of calories...

18th March

Some VERY exciting news to share! I was thrilled to receive a call this week from West Yorkshire Archaeology Service (WYAS), inviting me to get involved with a project that could (fingers crossed) be literally ground-breaking. WYAS are working with Wakefield Museums, Wakefield Historical Society, and Towton Battlefield Society's very own renowned battlefield archaeologist, Tim Sutherland, on plans to begin a systematic programme of fieldwork and research on the battlefield at Wakefield!

Needless to say that would be a dream come true for me... the battlefield has been crying out for serious investigation to try and clear up some of the mysteries, and answer some of the many questions, about the Battle of Wakefield. So, the first step is this free launch event (see left) at Sandal Castle Visitor Centre on Saturday 24th March, from 11.30 am to 2.30 pm. WYAS hopes it will raise local awareness and interest in this historic encounter, and that people living in the Sandal and Portobello area will come along with any objects they may have dug up in their gardens! Tim will be on hand to help with object identification, and explain the importance of such evidence in showing what happened literally in their back yards in December 1460... and I'll be there with some Frei Compagnie chums - in costume, of course - to give visitors a taste of living history and help to entertain the children.

The next stage, assuming funding and support are forthcoming, will be some field-walking (hopefully later this year), followed by other types of archaeological investigation and ultimately, a 'Big Dig' with test pits in local gardens to try and unearth finds from the battle. Meanwhile Wakefield Historical Society are busy studying maps and archive evidence... and I'm desperately hoping that in a couple of years time, I'll be able to revisit Wakefield Revisited with more hard evidence to back up my battle theories (or else to re-write it altogether!). This is SUCH an important project... I do hope it'll come off.

wakefield leaflet
cleanup crew
barn clean

2nd March

Tan tara! Here's hubcap's pic from the TBS Palmsunday Archers meeting on 26th February: me and Alan Stringer (an apt name for an archer!) posing proudly with the proof copy of our new publication. Yup, that's Walk Towton 1461... we're very pleased with it, and the order's gone off for an initial 500 copies so that it can be launched at the Battle of Towton commemoration on Palm Sunday. (We had a good shoot that day, too - lobbing blunts at a padded plank representing Lord Clifford, to get us in trim for 'killing' him in the Battle of Dintingdale finale on the day). And we've already started tentatively discussing a third volume in the 'Walk...' series... Edward IV's continuing campaigns against Lancastrian loyalists in Northumbria and Wales, post-Towton to 1468... although both of us have other projects to finish before can embark on that!

For me, that means Lay of Angor... having worked hard on it lately, I'm now up to Chapter 22 of the second volume - so it's well on track for completion/launch later this year, which means there won't be too long a gap between the revised second edition coming out (should be any time) and the next instalment!

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From the moment we opened the doors to our wedding consultation and design firm more than 18 years ago, the search was on to find the most comprehensive, efficient way to manage our business and with that, each wedding.

From meticulously prepared three ring client binders filled with custom Word documents and complicated Excel spreadsheets to modern-day online project management tools, we tried every possible way to find a comprehensive solution that would keep my team and I organized, impress our clients and encourage productivity in an online workspace we loved to work in. In those long, invigorating days of dreaming, creating, and endless inspiration, Aisle Planner was born, and we set out to create the perfect solution for a wedding planner's every need.

We wholeheartedly thank you for your interest in Aisle Planner, and we hope that it proves to be the solution you too have been searching for to streamline your business, easily collaborate with your clients, and efficiently manage every detail for every event.

We promise to stay clear and focused on our original mission — to serve and support wedding professionals as business owners, to share your work and your stories and to celebrate the one thing we have in common — our passion for the wedding industry.

Welcome to the Aisle Planner Community.

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Launch screen with explanations

The Launch screen can be used as the first screen when when the app starts for the first time.

It opens a second layer over the standart interface, that give the new user explanations for each button

e.g.: button "A" stand for a bigger font

-- As requested by Applementalist

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Included in v1.0.2, as released on the App Store.

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Event Director

Add/Remove A Person From the Payment Notification List

Need to make sure someone gets an email with your Transaction Summary each period? Not a problem! You can set this up in the same place you tell us where to send payments each period. Here's how you can add, change or remove someone from your payment notification list:

  1. From your dashboard, click the red edit link to the right of your event name

  2. Click Payment Info on the left sidebar

  3. Click edit next to the existing payment info

    • Add, change or remove people in the Notifications section on the right

  4. Click Save Payee when everything is set up the way you like, and you're all set!

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This article assumes you have already installed and activated the Snapppt Wordpress plugin - if you haven't, please be sure to read our Snapppt Wordpress Plugin installation article and return here for the next steps!

So, you've got the plugin installed and activated. In order to now insert your Snapppt embed into your pages, you'll need to follow these steps:

  1. Copy your account ID which is shown within the 'Account details' section of your Snapppt account:

note that your account ID will be different to the example shown in the screenshot

2. Enter your copied Snapppt account ID into the Snapppt settings of your Wordpress website, and then click to save changes:

3. With your Snapppt account connected, you can now easily embed your Snapppt feed into any page or post, via a Shortcode that you can easily insert using the Snapppt button at the top of the page editor:

Here you'll be given the choice of which Snapppt embed you would like to insert. Once inserted, hit save changes and visit the page on the front end to see your embed!

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Improve your IT support service and technical support operation here.

“My customer’s aren’t complaining, we’re good!”… Ever Find Yourself Saying This? Read On

A recent interaction with one of my clients went something like this: Me: “How’s your help desk doing?” Client: “Great! We haven’t had a complaint in over a month!” Me:  “That’s not good.” Client: “What do you mean?!?! It’s great!”


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Aerial view of the Church Of Scientology in Auckland
Photo curtesy of Church of Scientology New Zealand

Church of Scientology tour

FreeAccessibleCentral Auckland

Saturday 29 September to Sunday 14 October:
- Monday to Friday 11am, 1pm, 3pm and 7pm
- Saturday and Sunday 1pm, 3pm and 5pm

Church of Scientology building

136 Grafton Rd, Grafton

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Bookings are preferred

Contact Alli Axford:

021 340 341

Event details

A unique opportunity to experience the feel of this building, with its history as a place of knowledge and spiritual learning.

Rich with the history of its inhabitants, the Church of Scientology building has been lovingly restored to its former glory by master craftsmen who have worked on some of England's and Europe's heritage buildings.

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Fast Facts:

When: Saturday, 31 March – Sunday, 1 April 2018

Where: Spicers Hidden Vale – Hidden Vale Adventure Park (HVAP)

What: MERIDA Hidden Vale 24HR

Race Options: 24HR – 4HR – 24MIN (KIDS).

The ‘MERIDA Hidden Vale 24HR’ is a Solo, Team Relay and Kids mountain biking event starting at 12pm Saturday and finishing at 12pm Sunday. Riders compete for medals, prizes and bragging rights. It’s a weekend filled with camaraderie, early Easter activities and fun that you’ll never forget!

Spectators are welcome, so if you want to come and get involved in the atmosphere and excitement of the MERIDA HV24HR weekend, feel free to either utilise our free day parking area, or book yourself a camp site (through the event registration system – just click on the ‘extra’s’ option at the bottom), and stay the night to cheer on the riders all the way through to lunch time!

Anyone who can ride a bike can do this!

Decide as a team how many laps each person rides – do 1 or a whole bunch. If 24 hours is a little intimidating but you still want to be apart of the action or looking to introduce someone new to the sport we have a 4hr event that could suit you!? Take it on Solo or as a Team.

So grab your Easter eggs, bike, camp gear, friends, family, and whatever else that will keep you going for 24 hours and come on out. There will be plenty of fun activities to keep the kids entertained including their very own 24min race, jumping castle and they may even catch a glimpse of the Easter Bunny getting ready off in the stunning surrounds of the Hidden Vale property! Lots of giveaways and a prize for best Easter themed pit lane marquee set up and on-course costume. This is the perfect setting to enjoy time with friends and family camping – whether you are an avid Mountain Biker, first time rider, or you just want to bring the kids out for a weekend of fun!

Hidden Vale Adventure Park
Spicers Hidden Vale
0414 343 579
617 Mt Mort Rd
Grandchester, QLD 4340
Map and Directions