Joshua and Rachel Stewart

Yes we are still Alive

2008-05-23T22:46:00.003+10:00

hey all out in blogland...
Hope you all are well, sorry its been so long, will endeavour to try and post at least once a week....
Malakai is now 5 months old, he has been teething for almost two months with no teeth yet breaking through, he is making all the cooing noises and laughing too.. He is trying to pull him self up into the sitting position and trying to roll over. ( Josh said he has seen him roll over a few times i am yet to see it)he has a temper though and we give in easily.....
Josh is in between jobs at the moment, which is alittle hard but we manage.
We are in the process of looking into moving to bendigo closer to Marshal, Cindi and the girls. We are praying that the Lord will give us direction with that
At the moment Josh, Malakai and i are in Canberra visiting with Mom and Dad, Valley Baptist is having their missions conference. Pastor Gregory from Faith Way Baptist in West Virginia has been their guest speaker, His preaching has been a blessing to hear...
I have also had the privilege to meet Pastor and Mrs tottingham and their loving children

Sorry its been awhile

2008-02-12T14:29:00.000+11:00

Malakai just out of the womb via csection 26th December 2007

Malakai today 12th Febuary 2008

Sorry its been awhile in between blogging getting use to having Malakai at home and getting all the daily things done that need doing as well as getting plenty of rest..
Malakai has been home almost 3weeks now still tring to get into a rountine which is hard with his feed times changing. He is a good baby sleeps well, We put him onto formula as breast milk wasnt settleling him but the formula we put him on recomended by the doctor made him consitpapted so we have changed the formula and he isnt having any problems now

Update on Malakai

2008-01-16T22:31:00.001+11:00

in this picture the clothes that fit him so well are actually for a teddy bear from pumpkin patch

Hey all...

Malakai has be graded up from 2hourly to 3hourly feeds, he is now on 3 sucks feeds a day usually spaced out through out the day/night today he had them all in a row with Josh giving him part feed in a bottle with his multi vitamin and then he had the rest via the breast. For such a little boy he sucks very well he is shocking all his nurses... Hopefully he will continue to put on weight and suck all his feeds soon. He is now 21days old (3 weeks) and it is so hard to leave him everyday. He needs to put on another 155grams and be sucking all feeds to come home.. Currently he is the oldest and the smallest in the nursery.. And everyone around him keeps going home.

We thank the Lord for allowing us to have him and raise him, and we ask that you all continue to pray for him

Update on Malakai

2008-01-08T20:51:00.001+11:00

Malakai has been off CPAP for almost a week now breathing on his own, He is out a humidity crib and went into a hot cot but because he was maintaining his body temp he is now a in a normal cot, he is tolerating his feeds and is on 13mls breast milk every 2hours and it goes up 1ml every 12hours. The drip he is on because he reached 150mls a day no goes down 0.5ml every 12hours and should be ceased Thursday night. Hopefully he will be transferred to Blacktown Hospital the hospital closer to home he was meant to be born in by Sunday to put on weight.. as he didn't need to be in the intensive care part for his weight it was for the breathing and then because he got put on a TPN drip which special care don't take care of
Today he had his first Suck feed which the nurse said he may not sucks as he doesn't know what he should be doing but to her surprise he sucked for alittle bit then went off to sleep and finished his feed via his tube. So we keep trying as he needs to be on all suck feeds to come home and to be 2kgs roughly
Thank you all for your prayers please keep them coming as he is progressing nicely
Big thanks to the LORD for his watch care over Malakai
smiling for a pic for daddy
First family photo
Great grandma Meredith (NAN) visiting with Malakai

Pics Of Malakai

2008-01-08T20:38:00.000+11:00

Malakai's first cuddle with Daddy
Josh happily Showing off his boy
Malakai happily sleeping in mummy arms

Pics of Malakai

2008-01-08T20:12:00.000+11:00

Malakai was jaundice needed photo therapy
Grandma and Grandpa Stewart visiting with Malakai
Malakai under the blue light
Malakai getting ready for cuddles
Malakai's first cuddle with Mum

INTRODUCING MALAKAI JOSHUA DONALD STEWART

2008-01-01T10:11:00.000+11:00

Born: 26th December 2007
Time: 1542
Weighing: 1.580kgs / 3lbs 5ozs
Length: 41cm

He Still remains in Hospital but is doing well.. he is requires some help with his breathing and is being fed via a tube. He gets help with his breathing for 6 hours and then has 6 hours off which is good for his gestation... he is fed via a tube as he cant suck yet and he is also given added supplements like protein stuff to help him grow and mature faster once is his off any help breathing he will be able to be transferred to the hospital closer to home he is likely to be in hospital until the day he was due to be born which in 18th feb but it depends on him..

So we will ask that you continue to pray with us that he will grow and mature with the strength and support of the Lord to be able to come home ASAP

Thank you to all who have prayed with us and for us about my pregnancy and the birth

Pregnancy Update

2007-11-21T16:26:00.000+11:00

Just got home from my antenatal appointment were i had to do my glucose test..
I went in early so i didn't have to wait after my appointment to have the test done as i had to wait an hour to have my BSL checked, my blood pressure is 140/80 which is down from the weekend it was back up to 140/90 and i had very swollen feet and hands, there was also 4+ protein in my urine so i had to have bloods taken which showed low platelet count so from Saturdays visit to the hospital I then had to go back Sunday for more bloods to be taken, had to do a 24hour urine collection for it to be tested and i had to have a renal ultrasound on my kidneys on Monday all before today's appointment. The blood test on Sunday said the platelets had increased which the doctor as happy about. So continuing on with today's appointment the doctor said that my fundal height is 27cm which works out to 27weeks, kidneys and bladder were normal there was protein in my 24hour collection but today it had gone from 4+ to 1+, swelling has almost completely gone, my sugar level after the sugar drink was 6.5 so no gestational diabetes here which is great, need to have my blood pressure checked in between hospital visits and i have my 28week ultrasound next Tuesday at 9am

Lastest scan of Bub

2007-11-16T22:26:00.000+11:00

BABY IS WAVING AND SMILING AT YOU ALL IN THIS PICTURE FOM THE ULTRASOUND

Hey all, hope all is well i went for my ultrasound on Thursday this scan was to check Amnio fluid around baby as its was rather low at the previous scan....
The fluid this time was fine and had improved no need for concern the Ultrasound lady said...
She also said bub is growing well and weights 830 grams at the present time..
She also said we are having a boy which made Josh's day again to get more comformation we are having a boy...
We are both so excited and cant wait for his arrival we are naming him
MALAKAI JOSHUA DONALD STEWART
After his daddy and grandpa
13weeks left roughly hoping it goes quickly we are approaching summer and not looking forward to my expanding belly and hot weather
well shall finish up but giving thanks to the Lord for improved health and a healthy baby and for making it possible to join Mom and Dad for their family church camp we head down on friday and come home on Monday and big Thanks to my brother in law who has said he would come by and feed our dog while we are away...
Take care and May the Lord bless you all

Pregnancy Update

2007-11-08T00:15:00.000+11:00

Hey all hope everyone it well...
First off Mom and Dad we are praying you have a safe trip home and we will see you both on Friday in Sydney..
I had a doctors appointment at the hospital today.. Before seeing the doctor i see the midwife and she checks my blood pressure and urine today the blood pressure was 120/70 which is good it has come down.. There was 1+ protein which isn't too bad and no glucose which is a good thing
After that i have to wait to see the Doctor who listened to bub's heart beat which was fine, checked the fundal height which matched being 25weeks felt my tummy and was happy booked a follow up ultrasound next week to check the fluid around bub and growth then i see the doctor again 21st were i will have the ultrasound reviewed, they will check bub's heart beat again and the fundal height and i will have the Glucose test done.. They are happy with me only having put on 4kgs so far its below the average and as long as bub keeps moving they will just monitor the fluid around bub..
That's all my news about the pregnancy
Josh has been busy working they have changed his shift from 6am till 4pm to 5am till 1pm
So he doesn't at the moment have to work so many hours but he his still working and has been the only one to be moved so far into a different area some people have been in the same area for months now so he is happy and they are happy with his work we are praying that he will continue to get work for this company...
Well this seems to be turning into a long post so best wind it up here and head off to bed...
Take care and God bless
Rachel

Update on Amnio fluid

2007-11-06T13:46:00.000+11:00

Hey there:
i rang the hospital and spoke with the midwife and told her what the ultrasound lady had said and she told me that she would speak with the doctors and if they need me to some in they will call but to keep my Appointment for Wednesday. She later called back and said that she had spoken with the doctors and they said they needed to read the ultrasound report and that if baby was still moving it was fine to come on Wednesday... So i shall go in tomorrow with the report and see what they say
Again i ask that you join us in praying that the baby continues to be healthy
Take care and God bless
Rachel

Went for Ultrasound today

2007-11-03T12:44:00.000+11:00

Hey all,
i had my ultrasound today and Josh was finally able to attend =)
He has worked most of my hospital appointment and ultrasounds so he was so excited and happy to see our baby on the screen...
Baby is growing well and no abnormalities were found which is a good thing
The lady who did my ultrasound was concerned about the level of amniotic fluid as it was rather low. I was ment to have this ultrasound 2weeks ago but cause of the bulk billing it would have cost abit to do it so she checked my dates and said to come back she said the amnio levels had decreased since then. She told me to ring the hospital on Monday and see what to do.
She also confirmed its a boy to which Josh responded you my new best friend to the ultrasound lady.
So i will call the hospital and see on Monday hopefully with the Lords grace i wont have to be admitted to hospital and the baby can come closer to his due date
Please help us in praying about this
Well i will head off now
take care and God Bless
Rachel

Sorry its been awhile

2007-10-28T18:14:00.000+11:00

Hey all hope everyone is well..
Josh has been sent to a job which told him they have plenty of work right up till Christmas and hopefully beyond that too...
My family last weekend had a family lunch which is unusual for us to all get together and have a meal it went really well..
Bub has been very active and can now only just be felt from the outside when he/she kicks depending on the position...
We have our next ultrasound on Saturday at 9am hopefully bub will be nice and let us know the gender... We booked for a Saturday so josh will be able to come and get a good look at his baby as he has been unable to attend most of the scans i have had..
ummmmmm not sure what else i can type brain has blocked lol
so take care and God Bless you all

Update:

2007-10-17T22:57:00.000+10:00

Hey all...
Today went to my local GP for my blood pressure check like the hospital wanted..
Got there and it had gone up to 140/90 which is bordering hospital admittance
and the doctor wasn't sure whether to send me to hospital or not and so i told him i would call antenatal and find out if they want me to go into hospital or not and they said to come in.. Got in and me blood pressure was 145/85 after 30mins resting in bed it was 126/75 so i was aloud to come home.. And have to get it check by my doctor again and then weekly until 7th of November which is my next hospital appointment..
Glad to be home and i have to have lots of bed rest..... Which i am use to with this little one... I have an ultrasound tomorrow hoping to get more information on the gender of bub.
Take care and God bless

PREGNANCY UPDATE

2007-10-11T15:23:00.000+10:00

Hey all hope all is well....
Yesterday I had a Doctors appointment at the Hospital for a check on the pregnancy, My blood pressure was 130/72 which the doctor said was still alittle on the high side and has asked me to visit my local doctor once a weeks in between visits to keep track of my blood pressure... Every time I go into the hospital for my check ups I have the see the Doctor as of the blood pressure..
The doctor tried to hear bub's heart beat and couldn't get anything other then bub moving, so she tried another machine and still couldn't pick it up, so she went and got the portable ultrasound machine and looked at bub. She asked if i knew what i was having and i said that the two ultrasound ladies thought i was having a boy but couldn't be sure as bub had legs crossed the whole time....
So I asked her to take a look for me and she looked for a few minutes and said she didn't find anything that resembled a boy but now bub has crossed the legs again.... So we are sought of none the wiser of the gender of our baby... I have an ultrasound on Thursday 18Th Oct. So hopefully we will know more..
My doctor at the hospital is ordering an ultrasound at 28 weeks and again at 34 weeks to check bub's growth.....
I have had an energy spurt and having been doing some cleaning i have somewhat put off doing...
Well better head off now
take care and God bless you all,
Rachel

DAD,

2007-10-09T18:43:00.000+10:00

Hope you have a good day and may the Lord Bless the year ahead.....
With love Josh and Rach

Pregnancy Update

2007-10-04T09:12:00.000+10:00

Hey all, Hope all is well with everyone...
Yesterday I had to go into Hospital for a Blood pressure profile as my Blood pressure has been on the high side but has come back down, because I have suffered from high blood pressure the hospital wants to keep a close eye on it for me and the baby... So spent a couple of hours in the antenatal ward in the day stay unit.. Had my blood pressure taken every hour, they tested my urine, and checked bub's heart beat, they had to try twice for that as the nurse could pick up my pulse the placenta and baby movements but he wouldn't keep still long enough for her to get it... So she came back with a different machine about 30min to an hour later and bub had settled down abit and they were able to get his heart beat. They were happy with my blood pressure as it was stable and was down to 120/80 and didn't mention anything about glucose levels which is a good thing they said i was alittle low in iron to keep taking elavit and eat iron rich foods. But other then that they were happy and i have a doctors appointment next Wednesday at the hospital,
Take care and God Bless

BABY MOVEMENTS

2007-10-02T16:55:00.000+10:00

Hey there , Hope all of you are well,
Today I am just over 20Weeks pregnant.... Half way now =)
And for the first time both Josh and I were able to feel the baby kick... Which made Josh's day as until today I have been able to feel him kicking and moving on the inside but not from the outside.. So I give a big thanks to the Lord for giving us the gift of life and for trusting us with something so precious... The church we are looking at becoming members of is full of children and pregnant women. We are looking forward to being able to add to the mix

WE ARE POSSIBLY HAVING A BOY =)

2007-09-25T21:00:00.000+10:00

BABY'S FACE

Hey all,
I had my 18 to 20 week ultrasound yesterday
which I was 19 weeks... They had a good look at the baby, and took lots of pictures of all the parts of baby.... My Doctor at the hospital likes alot of detail in for his ultrasounds... Bub had legs cross for the whole examination.... So right at the end another lady came in and checked that the lady who was doing my ultrasound had enough for my doctor and they both suggested that we are having a BOY...... =)

BABY'S PROFILE

Josh's Finger

2007-09-16T18:03:00.000+10:00

Hey all,
Josh has been seeing the local Doctor since his injury on his finger at work. He has been Cleared for going back to work to his normal duties from the 17th September and has to go back and see the doctor about his finger in a month to see how the rest of the healing is going...
Take care and God Bless you all

2007-09-10T09:21:00.000+10:00

Josh's Finger

2007-09-03T21:13:00.000+10:00

Hey all,
Josh has been going to the doctor daily for dressing changes on his finger that got caught in the machine at work... His finger is healing well he goes back on wednesday and should be able to have the dressing off for a few days and we are praying he can go back to work on wednesday next week...
Take care and God Bless

Update

2007-09-01T21:38:00.000+10:00

Hey all
Good to hear Mom and Dad Stewart arrived safely =)
Well where to start..... Got a phone call from Josh at 4:30am on Wednesday morning saying he was to the hospital. He had got his finger cought in a machine at work and was waiting for x-rays
he finally got home at 12:30pm saying he had to go to the doctor tomorrow... he burnt his finger cut through the nail, lacertated the tip of his finger and was lucky not to loose his finger... He has to go for daily dressing changes and has been put on home duties for the next week... Action His employer is paying for all medical bills and paying him $25 an hour to stay home for the week, which is what he gets when he works.
With Me on Monday i hit 15weeks, we are going to find out the gender of the baby on the 24th of this month and then on the 26th i have a doctors appointment at the hospital, i can barely feel the baby moving and have read all the booklets and info the hospital has given me and reread some of them
well better head off now
God bless
Love Josh and Rach

Medical advice V's God's Plan

2007-08-23T22:13:00.000+10:00

Hey all sorry its been awhile....
We have moved into our house and have been getting things ready and in place... It was a blessing to have Josh's Parents come up on my Birthday and help us move most of our stuff and run josh to work and pick him up in the morning and stay the night in our new home they were also here to celebrate Josh's birthday too they took us to lone star for lunch its really nice to spend time with them.... The Monday before which was 6th Aug Josh's Parents came with me for my 11-13 week ultrasound (to test the rick of trisomy 21(down syndrome) and trisomy 13,18) Josh's mum got to see her grand baby on the screen.... Well i got the results explained to me by my local GP and he wasn't happy and told me to go and have an amniocentesis and wait the results and tried to convince me to have an abortion if the was any abnormalities which i said if God wants the baby not to come he will make away if he wants it to come then the baby is coming.. Went to the hospital yesterday and had a consult wit a doctor and he wasn't happy with the group who did the test and ultrasound he said people only go there because they bulk bill and that's it... he explained the results better the the GP and said based on the results i should have an amnio but because they didn't take weight into account that the test could more then likely be misleading and if the results wouldn't change my mind i should wait for my 18-20 ultrasound..... So i book into anti natal clinic tomorrow for my hospital visits and have an ultrasound booked in house on the 24th Sept (at the Hospital) - should be able to find out the sex of the baby then too... Think i now have you all up to date shall let you know the progess....
CONGRATULATIONS TO SHANNON AND STEPHEN ON THEIR BABY NEWS!!!!!!!

We Sign our lease tomorrow

2007-08-07T10:22:00.000+10:00

Hey all we returned from our trip to Canberra on Saturday.. Big thanks goes out to Mom and Dad Stewart for having us and bringing us back with a car full of stuff for our new house.... Another Big thanks to Dad For his preaching that he did on Sunday it was a blessing to hear him Preach again.... It was also a great blessing to see Josh sing with his Dad a special number, i had never seen them both sing together.
So We sign our lease and start moving into our new place tomorrow.... We are both excited to be in our own place again....
It isn't far from were we are now and is one street away from the church, Which is moving soon..
Can you all please join our church in finding a new building we have to be out of this one next week.....
Take care and God bless
Love Rach xx

We Are Leaving on a Bus Trip Tomorrow

2007-07-31T11:04:00.000+10:00

Hey all, Hope all is well
Tomorrow we leve on a bus to Canberra to spend sometime with Josh's Parents Before they come up to preach at our church and then leave on their trip to the States....
We will be having dinner with Brian and Tonia while we are there nd because it is wednesday night we will be able to see the members at Valley Baptist too which will be great.... We get back on Saturday afternoon and Have a whole day at church on Sunday and the on Wednesday Sign our lease and start moving in to our new place..... Which will be fun
UPDATE: so far the pregnancy is progressing well.... Finished my bed rest yeterday, I have my 12 week ultrasound booked for the 6th August with a PAPPA blood test and then my first hospital visit on the 18th Spet...
Well shall head off got lost of packing to do... take care and God Bless
Love Rachel

We Got A Place

2007-07-26T15:28:00.000+10:00

Hey All hope you all are in good health...
Our Pastor and his wife just bought a house and recommended us to their landlord we went and met him at the real estate on Monday just gone and applied for the house, On Tuesday we got approved for the house and we can move in on the 10th August...
We are both so happy to finally be back in our own place.... We can take our dog with us which is great not many places allow pets these days... It is a 3 bedroom house remote control garage with internal access to the house, large lounge, kitchen, dinning, fully fenced backyard, built in brick bbq, large pond, one street away from church,
We sign the lease on the 8th August
So We give a huge thanks to the Lord for his provision
take care, love Rachel and Josh

Baby Savings

2007-07-20T22:41:00.000+10:00

Hey there... Today we went to Target they are having their toy sale where you can lay by till Christmas.... They had some baby things in the catalogue and just happened to have the three wheeler pram i wanted on sale and the bassinet to make it a reversible pram for a newborn... The pram is normally $299 and was on sale for $229 and the bassinet was $109 on sale for $79

When we got there, there was one pram left and one bassinet left and on the side of the box it said $69.89 (which was cheaper then the catalogue) so we took them both up to lay by and i thanked the Lord as they were the last ones in the store... We get up to lay by and the bassinet scanned for $6.86 and i asked the lady if i was correct and she said yes its $6.86 and i told her i would buy it today can i pay for it here and she said yes.. So we have our $6.86 bassinet here and our $229 pram on lay by till Christmas eve the pram and bassinet together would cost $408 on sale it should have cost $308 and we got it for $234.86 which we are really happy for and give thanks to the Lord the bassinet can double for in the house as well as on the pram

take care and may the Lord Bless your lives too,

Love Rach

Blood test results

2007-07-18T14:43:00.000+10:00

Hey all, Got my blood test results back today, after the bleed on Saturday the doctor wanted a follow up blood test... the levels have jumped from 13,765 to 62,997 which the doctor is happy about... still on bed rest and am to take it really easy for the next two weeks to make sure it has all settled down...
Everyone except Josh and Myself has been down with a flu/cold and is on antibiotics... Please pray that we don't get it as Josh is our only income and is on casual at the moment and with being pregnant it isn't a good thing for me either
Take care you are all in our prayers..
Love Rachel

Pregnancy Update

2007-07-16T15:44:00.000+10:00

Hey there hope this finds you all in good health and spirits
I had an ultrasound today and a blood test....
The ultrasound report said:
Findings: there is a single living intrauterine gestation. The crown to rump length measures 2cm which is equivalent to 8 weeks 3 days foetal heart heart is 169bpm
Gestational sac and yolk are of normal appearance.
Previously described subchorionic haematoma is no longer evident.
no free fluid
so due date is now 22nd Feb 08

Pregnancy Update

2007-07-12T21:26:00.001+10:00

Hey all
Hope the Lord is keeping you safe..
I am 8 weeks today, Have an ultrasound on Monday to check the Baby's graowth and the Haematoma(blood clot) that i have... Have been on two weeks bedrest which has been really hard, good to rest, been reading my Bible alot as there is only so much sleeping, watching tv a person can do... I havent been able to attend some church meetings due to the morning sickness but have kept up my church typing...
well i'll keep this one short
take care and God Bless
Rachel

Our Silent Request

2007-07-03T11:30:00.000+10:00

Hey there,
Josh n i would like to thank all of you who prayed for our silent request........

Josh and I are expecting our first child...... Due on the 21st February 2008I will be 7 weeks on Thursday, had an ultrasound yesterday and the report said:the gestational sac is where it should be, foetus is in the sac and is of the gestational age of 6weeks and 4days foetal heart rate was 110bpm which is in normal limitsSo another big thank you to all who prayed about our silent request we ask that you keep us in your prayers for a healthy pregnancy and baby....thanks again take care and God Bless,Love, Rachel

The Lord is Gracious

2007-06-26T15:11:00.000+10:00

Hey all hope the Lord is keeping you all well...
Josh has had an answer to Pray he has been put on a better roaster and is on 3months training with view to permanent....
Our Silent request is slowly coming along we ask that you continue to pray with us about it...
Take care and May the Lord Bless you all..
Love Rachel

Thank the Lord for the Sunshine

2007-06-23T18:49:00.000+10:00

Today was the first Saturday for three weeks that we have been able to go out letterboxing so we give thanks to the Lord for the Rain as it was needed but we also give thanks to the Lord for the Good weather we had today to be able to letterbox all of one area, Praying that we get some visitors from it, After letterboxing we had lunch with Pastor and his family, We spend a lot of time with them, they are a great family and its great to be following the Lord again.
Well best head off and print the church Bulletin, and finsh the work on the church letter head..
may the Lord keep you all in his will.
Love Rachel
Thanks to all of you who continue to pray for our silent request.

Thanked the Lord for Answered Prayer

2007-06-18T17:41:00.000+10:00

Hey all.....
Just wanting to give thanks to the Lord for our Local Church and being able to fellowship with other Christians we had a friendship Sunday and we had 32 people in the morning and 65 in the Evening and after both services we had good food and a good time with the visitors..It was a whole day affair and Josh sang twice with the Pastor's son... The day after being Monday was a public holiday and Pastor invited us for lunch we ended up spending the whole day and having dinner with them also...
Saturday just gone Josh and i went out fro dinner with the Pastor and his family so we are able to enjoy more fellowship with them, we went to Lonestar and the Steak was great... On Sunday we went to the morning service and after the morning service Pastor witnessed to Rikki-lee and praises to the Lord she got saved, which is another answer to Prayer for me...we again spent the whole day with Pastor and his family and at evening service my sisters got up and sang a special which was really nice to see.
Update: Josh still busy working, had an injury at work boxes fell on his nose last Friday , thank the Lord the corner missed is eye (came close though) he is back at work missed only 6 hours of work... He is still not smoking cigarettes and is doing very well with that which is good....
attending every service at church and its all going really well
I will ask you all to still pray about our silent request.... Will let you all know when it is answered.....
Thanks again
Take care and God Bless

2007-06-15T22:49:00.000+10:00

Quick Hello

2007-06-15T18:22:00.000+10:00

Hey All, Hope this Message reaches you all in good spirits....
Just thought i would update you all on whats been happening here in Old Sydney Town...
We are continuing to be faithful in going to church we attend every meeting and letter boxing every Saturday weather permitting. Hope to start our bible study with the Pastor soon he is study for 1 month with another church family who are newly saved and baptized.
Josh is still Busy with work, and has gotten up the last 2 Sundays to do a special with the Pastor's Son, Last Sunday they actually did two....
I have been doing the church bulletin, prayer letter and any other typing and printing the Pastor would like me to do.
We would ask that you please still pray with us about our silent request... Thank you
may the Lord have many blessings for you all,
take care and God bless
Love Rachel..

Pictures from our Family night out

2007-06-15T17:20:00.001+10:00

Hey All these were taken out our family night out about 2 months ago sorry it took so long to get them on the blog..... As you can see Josh and I took my sisters, Mum and Nephew bowling It was a good night out and we all had a good time my nephew is four and it is the first time he has ever gotten to bowl at first he would use the ramp to bowl it down but then he wanted to be like his aunty's and bowl it down as best he could..... The two girls and Jocob played together and Mum, Josh and myself played we all played two games before comming home
Josh getting his shoes on

Rowanne getting ready to bowl her ball

Rikki-lee about to bowl her ball

Jocob with his ball
Jocob after he Bowled his ball(left)
my mum after she had bowled her ball(below)

Prayer Request

2007-06-13T08:36:00.000+10:00

Greetings to all,
Josh and I have a silent request we would like you to pray with us about....
thank you for your help on this..
Love Josh and Rach

Greetings

2007-06-08T07:48:00.000+10:00

Hey all,
sorry it has been awhile since the last post.... We have been filling our days with church, cleaning, (josh working), Letterboxing is a weekly thing for our church, and getting ready for Sunday coming it is Friendship Sunday and we are having a Pot Luck Dinner in the evening.
Josh today will be meeting with the Pastor's Son today for song practise as they found out last Sunday that Pastor would like then to sing a special in the morning and one in the evening. For Sunday I am making my Potato Salad (a Stewart favourite) some Marinated chicken and a cake
I would also like to give praise to the Lord for his Provision...... Two days ago i noticed what looked like a bed out the front of a new neighbours yard it had been there since they moved in last week... The Son was out playing and i asked if it was a bed or a cot as couldn't really see from my house, he said a cot i asked if they were getting rid of it and offered to buy it. His mum came out and said that she was just going to give it away, i asked if she minded if i took it off her hands and she gave it to us.... it is worth over $500 and we have gotten it for free with a mattress too...
Her husband came out while Josh and I were getting the Cot and asked if we needed anything else as we are trying to gather things for when we move out... The husband said he has a washer, dryer, vacuum cleaner, microwave, and a whole lot of stuff, we asked how much he said just take it..... So we are giving a HUGE thanks to the Lord
May the Lord keep you all safe and well
take care, Rachel

Joining the Local Church

2007-05-27T14:41:00.000+10:00

Today was our first Sunday back at the local church near home and today we were accepted as members of their church, We had the privilege to witness three baptisms today which was a great blessing, it reminds you of how you felt when you were first baptized.. Rikki-lee attended church with us this today and she wants to come back again which is good please join us in prayer for her salvation. Josh is practising a special with the Pastor's son, Glenn. To sing for our friendship Sunday, We are both looking forward to seeing how we can help out in the church, I am in the process of working on a Church Bulletin for our members. We also have an event coming up in either October or November in which a little booklet will need to be made which i am going to help out with. We have also asked Pastor Marquez if we can have a bible study on Wednesday nights, He said yes and we are now having a prayer meeting on Wednesday evenings.
Take care and God Bless
Rachel

Medieval Festival

2007-05-26T18:12:00.000+10:00

Josh, myself and Bear

Hey all we went today to the medieval festival here at a Park near home it is, the park is usually full of lovely greenery they have weddings, receptions and wedding photo's done there all the time, they usually have a nice waterfall etc too but due to our drought and water restrictions their dam is low and waterfall isn't running but it was a nice place to hold such a festival they had people dressed in medieval attire and had medieval battles and jousting as well with the horses dressed up as well as the knights in armour, they didn't knock each other off the horses like they would have back in the day but they did hit each other hard enough to break the jousting poles all in all it was a great day out... Mum and the 2 little ones went with us. Another bonus as you can see we got to take Bear with us too and we met up with Renee, Chris and the boys ( as the park is across from their house)

Here are Rowanne , Rikki-Lee(my little sisters) and our friend Cassie in order from left to right

The Girls waiting to be stoned and/or beheaded

2007-05-26T18:11:00.000+10:00

These were also taken at teh medieval festival

Rikki-Lee

Cassie

Rowanne

More pics of Medieval fesival

2007-05-26T17:58:00.000+10:00

Here is some knights in armour jouling hand to hand combat

more hand to hand combat

Two jesters playing music (their music scared Bear )

The other two Jesters

Girls get to ride a Camel

2007-05-26T17:46:00.000+10:00

Rikki-Lee and Cassie waiting to get on the Camel

Again on the Camel

Mid ride with the Camel

Ridding past the camera

Getting ready to hope down

Also at the medieval festival

Thank the Lord for answered Prayer

2007-05-22T20:48:00.000+10:00

Recently my 11 year old sister accepted the Lord as her saviour and has been attending our church, upon returning from Canberra, Mum shared with us that my youngest sister (all of 9 years old) had gone to her service in the Mormon church on Sunday just gone and told the gentleman who picks her up and brings her home that she didn't want to attend the Mormon church any more and wanted to attend "her sisters church" which i give thanks to the Lord as we have been praying that she would come with us to church and soon have her name written in the Lambs book of life.... I feel blessed to know that Rowanne will live eternally with the Lord and that Rikki-lee may soon follow we shall keep praying for her salvation and would ask that you also please join us in this prayer,
May the Lord keep you safe and in good health,
Rachel

Returned Home Safely

2007-05-22T13:47:00.000+10:00

Hi All,
We left Canberra this morning at 6.37 which was rather early we were up at 4.30am... Had a few cups of coffee before leaving... Got to order a hot breakfast on the train and we had found a new type of coffee in the shops that heats its self up in the can which turned out to be a good thing for travelling and just happens to be an American product.... We arrived home Mum picked us up from the station near home which was nice of her, She had also been kind enough to watch Bear for us while we went aways for the few days when we got home he ran straight to us as if to say you came back for me which was really cute he has gotten so much bigger in the few days we were away.... (will post more pics soon of him, trying to get more pics of us too)It was good to hear Josh's Dad peach again, In the evening service Brother Page had a good message to preach it was good to see the Church members again..
Well better stop typing now this message is getting rather long
take care, Rachel

Greetings From Canberra

2007-05-19T13:40:00.000+10:00

Hi All,
We have ventured down from Sydney to Canberra to visit with Josh's Parents for a few days, We were fortunate enough to have a ride down here as Josh's Dad had come to Sydney and offered us a lift to Canberra so we are here till early Tuesday morning, Then we catch the train home to Sydney, We are looking forward to listening to Josh's dad peach on Sunday and seeing some of the old church members should be fun..
Well better had off now
Take care and may the Lord Bless you,
Rachel

Introducing the new addition

2007-05-13T17:13:00.000+10:00

Hey all,
This is the new addition to our family, His name is BEAR, he is eight weeks old going on nine weeks, He is a German Sheppard cross Rotti

More Pics of BEAR

2007-05-13T17:11:00.000+10:00

More Pics of BEAR

2007-05-13T17:10:00.000+10:00

BATH TIME

Dear Mom Stewart

2007-05-12T16:46:00.000+10:00

Happy Mothers day may the Lord bless your life with good health
Love Josh and Rachel

To MUM

2007-05-12T16:44:00.000+10:00

Dear Mum,
Happy mothers day may the presence of your mum be with you through out the day,
all us girls love you so much,
Love your baby girl and son in law,
Rachel and Josh

To All the Mums / Moms out there

2007-05-12T16:34:00.000+10:00

Hope you all have a lovely day filled with love..
Love Rachel and Josh

Update

2007-05-12T16:26:00.000+10:00

Hey All,
Just a quick post to let you all know we are doing fine here...
Josh is still working and enjoying it which is really good
The things that were happening with the miscarriage have settled down everything is back to normal, so we can try again soon
We are both doing really well with the loss, Josh wasn't dealing to well with it in the beginning, i got him a puppy and his in good spirits now
We are enjoying attending the local church. My little sister has since coming with us to church has been saved (we give thanks to the Lord in that answered prayer) We attended the Pastor's Son 6Th birthday last weekend
well best be off now, have a mothers day dinner to prepare
Take care and may the Lord watch over you all..
Hugs and kisses,
Rachel

Pslam 23

2007-05-01T10:34:00.000+10:00

The Lord is our Sheppard and will provide all that we need to get through this part of our life, Thank you all for your prayers,
love Josh n Rachel

Dear Mom

2007-04-30T22:22:00.002+10:00

Hope you had a great day best wishes for the years to come...
May the Lord have many blessing for you
Love Josh and Rach

Remembering the Lord has a plan for all of us....

2007-04-30T22:22:00.001+10:00

Well it hit home today just how precious life is, and how we should be faithful in the Lords plan for us, That there will be things there to test our faithfulness to the Lord, Today would have to have been one of the hardest days in my life.....
To found out that you have miscarried isn't the nicest thing to hear... But fact is fact... I'm so glad we have found a church close to home that we can go to, to continue renewing our faith in the Lord and find out his plan for our lives.....
Though blood test we found out my hormone levels had dropped off from 4000+ to 1300
and last ultrasound showed a sack but nothing growing on the inside.. So this time it wasn't ment to be. The Lord knows when it will the the right time....
Thank you so much Mom and Dad Stewart for your visit... your company and words helped more then you will ever know....
Thank you to all of you who have prayed for us, i ask that you keep us in your prayers that the Lord will make a right spirit within our hearts to keep us going forward.....
We shall keep you all posted on our progress and things that come in the future
Hugs and kisses to you all
Love Rachel and Josh

Pregnancy update

2007-04-24T17:37:00.000+10:00

Hey,
Had some bleeding on the 22nd April, was sent to the hospital by my work,
they did a blood test the HCG levels had gone from 334 to 3201.... Had an ultrasound yesterday and it confirmed I'm just over 5weeks pregnant... had to have another blood test today and go for another ultrasound in a week. I have been referred to EPAC- early pregnancy assessment clinic for the time being for the blood test and ultrasounds to make sure things progress OK

Four weeks today

2007-04-15T22:25:00.000+10:00

hey all,
We have reached four weeks today, two more weeks before we go for the dating ultrasound
trying to make it for Josh's day off as he wants to be there for it...
Both of us are still working hard i am in the process of trying to get Sundays off.... or at least an afternoon shift as the church here has a morning service and they do bible study on sunday afternoons.... The church is walking distance from mum's house
we shall keep you all posted on the ultrasound results
take care love to you all,
Rachel

Due Date

2007-04-10T22:32:00.000+10:00

Hi,
I had a blood test on Monday 2nd April and it confirmed i am pregnant,
so by our calculations i am due around the 22nd December...
The baby will be born at Blacktown, it is the hospital i was born in.
No morning sickness yet just nausea,
well i better head off now we will keep you all up todate on how things are going
take care, love Rachel

Just A Quick Note to Let You all Know

2007-04-04T12:19:00.000+10:00

Hi All just a quick note to let you all know that we are expecting our first child

Quick post to say......

2007-03-20T21:29:00.000+11:00

Hi all, hope this finds you all well and in good spirts.

Josh and I are still busy with work and really enjoying it

I will have worked 100 hours by then end of my roster for the fortnight and i have 106 hours booked for next roster....

With th Lord by your side you really do have an angel in your pocket... In the past 2months we really have been blessed..... both found a good relationship with my mum, both now have good jobs which we enjoy and now can work on getting our own place which is really good...

since josh's work is one way and mine in the other we are undecided where to move... if we move too far josh will loose his ride to work and then would then have to catch public transport to work.... so we are looking for somewhere close to mum hopefully we can find something in our price range...

well shall be off now, stay safe and well...

feel free to email us on joshnrach@hotmail.com

Happy Anniversary

2007-03-18T18:37:00.000+11:00

To Josh,

Happy Anniversary Babe...
With Love always your wife,
Rachel

Our First Wedding Anniversary

2007-03-18T18:03:00.000+11:00

Hi all, sorry its been awhile we both have been busy with work.... Which is great Well today is our fisrt wedding Anniversary, but due to my work schedule I suprised Josh with a Romance Retreat at a nearby Resort/Hotel.... Josh Had know idea what we were doing or where we were going.... So i let mum in on the plans and she helped me..
We blind folded Josh before leaving the house and told him he has to waer it until he was told it was ok to take if off... We had him thinking he had to take the train with it on.. But i got mum to drop us at the hotel and i lead him in the door...

This is Josh Blind folded on
the way to the Hotel

This was the entry part of the room,taken from inside the room

this was the lounge area,
with me in the pic

view of the pool from our room,
we were on the top floor

the comfy bed we got to sleep in

And the spa that was in the room

We Had dinner At at the resturant and breakie was included in the package we got to take home our robes that the provide you with while you stay there.

It was a great night...

Greetings

2007-03-03T18:57:00.000+11:00

Hey to all,
Just dropping aline to let you all know Josh is still with action work force but had been put onto a roster for a company he did a shift for... which is good news, he is working 12hour shifts and on monday he starts 7pm to 7am shifts.... the nursing home is great...... few people have left so my chances of picking up alot more hours is very good...
well better run cooking dinner now
take care,
Love Rachel

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RHIANNON

2007-02-27T12:49:00.000+11:00

Dear Rhiannon,

hope you have a great day , may all your dreams come true,
with love always
your big sister, Rachel and Joshua

Thank the Lord for answered prayer

2007-02-26T18:01:00.000+11:00

Hi to all,
Just wanted to let you all know....
I got work and Im so far rostered on for 56 hours a fortnight....
Some mornings and some evenings... Which is good get a varity of shifts
and....
Josh also worked today they asked him back tomorrow and for wednesday to friday and then monday and tuesday so far, the company he worked for last week have asked action (his employer) to send him back there as they like him and his work... which is really good....
So we both give thanks to Lord for his provision....
and a BIG thanks to all those who prayed for us....
lots of love to you all,
Rachel

Reminising about childhood

2007-02-25T17:13:00.000+11:00

Hey all,
Was looking through some pictures on mums computer and found this one
I think it was taken in September 1982
It is: a young Cheryl (mum) and a baby Rachel.... Hadn't seen it for awhile...
Hard to believe i was that tiny....

Hi from Rachel

2007-02-23T19:05:00.000+11:00

hey all.
survived my frist 4am wake up and it was a pretty good day at work... have so far eight shifts of the rest of the roster... Staff were friendly and the residents were nice too, They have plans tendered to buil a four level residentail apartments and nursing home right next door to where i am, the facility i work in is 43yrs old, it has had renovations done... it use to be a maturnaty hospital. There is a resident there alive today, she was the first admission to the facility when it was converted to a nursing home
well better keep it short....
Josh has work lined up for Monday.... Praying it last more then a day.....
thinking of you all,
Love, Rachel

Greetings

2007-02-22T11:15:00.000+11:00

Hi all,
Hope this post find you all in good health and spirts...
Had my job interview today and i give thanks to the Lord for answered prayer, as Rebecca the DON has asked me back tomorrow to start work with them.... So i have to be there at 6.30am which means a very early morning, but i got the job i wanted which is great...
Take care and may the Lord bless you all,
Love Rachel

Quick Hello from Rachel

2007-02-21T19:28:00.000+11:00

Hi all,
just a quick post to let you all know, No work for Josh today, but yesterday i applied for about a dozen jobs yesterday and i got a call from Cabrini Nursing home today and they would like to see me tomorrow (Thursday) for a job interview, praying all goes well....
anyways keep this short, take care
love Rachel

Josh got work

2007-02-20T22:01:00.000+11:00

Hey all,
Josh had his interview yesterday....
And got his first shift today. work was going to last a few days but he got all the work done today, so back on call again with the agency, hopefully they will come through with more work for him....
Hope you back is feeling better soon Mom, take it easy and rest up....
love to you all, Rachel and Josh

Greetings

2007-02-18T12:54:00.000+11:00

Hi hope everyone is well..
Josh has a job interview tomorrow (Monday) with a labour hire company.... We are hoping that they will be able to get him work, He is still trying to get into Trend windows which he worked for in Canberra, But they are still running on minimal staff.. Hopefully Action can provide him with some work...
As for Me i haven't as of yet done any shifts for campaign nursing but the said work is coming in more now so hopefully soon I'll be working again too. I have emailed a few nursing home my resume so praying on those to come through too.
Take care will post again soon,
love Rachel

Sending a hug out to all we cant be with at the moment

2007-02-18T12:50:00.000+11:00

Courtesy of SparkleTags.com

HAPPY VALETINES DAY

2007-02-14T21:38:00.000+11:00

To All,
Happy Valentines Day, hope it was day filled with love,
From Rachel and Josh

2007-02-14T21:33:00.000+11:00

To My Hubby,
Happy Valentines Day, I love you so much and may the Lord Bless our marriage with many blessing for the future
Love Always Rachel

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA

2007-02-14T13:27:00.000+11:00

Dear Grandpa,
Happy 76th birthday, hope you have had great day filled with many blessing
love always, Joshua and Rachel

2007-02-11T17:45:00.000+11:00

Hi to all,
Just wanting to say thanks to you all for being apart of our lives, your love and friendships means so much to both of us, may the Lord bless all your lives
love Rachel and Joshua

My youngest sisters

2007-02-05T20:30:00.000+11:00

Hello to all,
Its Rachel here would like to take this time to introduce you all to some of my family this is Rowanne (on the left) and Rikki-lee (on the right) Rowanne has just had her 11th birthday on the 2nd Feb 2007...
Rikki-lee will be 10 on the 6th Sept 2007

COLTS WON THE SUPER BOWL

2007-02-05T14:16:00.000+11:00

Hey All,
Indianapolis Colts won the super bowl... 29 to 17 against the Chicago Bears... Go the Colts, the bears played a good game, but were not match for the colts.... the game was plagued with constant rain, could have had better half time entertainment though.... i enjoyed watching my first American football game....
Take care and talk with you soon

2007-02-05T06:09:00.000+11:00

Hi Everyone,
We are having fun learning all about blogging hope all goes well,
May the Lord provide many blessings this year for you all...

2007-02-05T06:02:00.000+11:00