She arrived a couple of weeks ago – Nevaeh Joyce Jayde Puawai Short.

Nevaeh is heaven spelt backwards, Joyce after Dad Dave's grandmother, Jayde is a feminisation of their Pastor's name and Puawai means blossom. That's the long of it and the ‘Short' of it is, of course, the family name.

At eight pounds and six ounces the Judea newborn is big enough and healthy enough to carry such an impressive moniker.

'And we would just like people to know our lives have come together rather nicely,” says Dave, a proud dad on many levels.

That's because the Shorts first featured in The Weekend Sun in the middle of a grim winter six or seven months ago. Those were dark times for this family. They were subsisting in a cold, damp rented caravan in an exposed paddock on the fringe of Bethlehem. They were out of a home, out of work and often out of food.

'They were tough times,” says Dave. But what cut even deeper was the criticism they attracted when the story was published. Why was Dave lighting up another rollie? Why was he wasting money on tobacco? Why was his wife Elaina pregnant again? Why didn't he get a job?

'People can be harsh when you are struggling,” says Dave. But he didn't waste money on tobacco, he grew his own. And he's desperately trying to give up the fags altogether. He's had a couple of relapses but that's the nature of the toxic and highly addictive beast he's dealing with. He says he hasn't had a smoke for a few weeks, so the fight continues. And he just may be winning.

And all through that cold depressing winter Dave kept at his forestry course. This is a man who admits to a dubious past, a criminal and drug-ridden past, and now he has graduated, he has his own professional chainsaw and is waiting for a job. But he is working while he is waiting.

Like his young wife Elaina, 25 years his junior. She studied and graduated with a certificate in social services through an unplanned pregnancy.

They ended up in a rented caravan because their rented home in Greerton was sold beneath them. The rental market was stacked against them – they were out and couldn't get back in again.

Now they are in their own two-bedroomed state house in Judea. It's home for as long as they need it. And they are loving it. They are also mobile. There is a Toyota Corolla stationwagon sitting in their drive.

What is important about this car and what is different about their last car is this one is warranted and registered. It is family safe. It is also a blessing.

'Pastor gifted it to us.” The Shorts are insistent we know how they came by the car. They now hold strong to the idea that a higher power has assisted them down this road to redemption. 'I am not going back,” says Dave.

And it seems to be working for them. Despite a few critics and sceptics.