A whole weekend of birthday!

I made dinner for my family on Friday evening. It was very good and I think everybody enjoyed it! We only had 3 guests: Simone, Herlien & Mark.

Simone made Decadent chocolate pudding. If you look closely you can see the chocolate oozing out on the side. It was absolutely devine!

We also bought some sparkling wine, which I insisted on finishing. The kids thought that I was very funny! Well, somebody had to finish it, it was too good to waste!

I chose my own present from Robyn and Andrew. I have been eyeing this frame for quite a while and decided that I wanted it. Now I must just decide what photo of Ethan I want to put in it. Their is space at the bottom of the frame where I can have his name engraved.

We had another helping of pudding after breakfast yesterday and then went of to do a bit of shopping and to get Robyn's birthday gift from Richard - a belly ring. We ended up going to 2 shopping centres! It was very sore! I wanted to take a photo, but Robyn didn't want me to put the photo on my blog - how horrible is that!

We left the kids in Michael and Simone's capable hands, and went out to dinner with Stef and her hubby. The food was very good! (We ate far too much this weekend) We went and saw Elvis Forever at the Barnyard afterwards. It was also very good! Strangely enough the spectators were mostly our age and older, wonder why that is? We got home rather late, but it was well worth it.

We went to church this morning and spent the afternoon with friends. We had a good lunch and then my friend and I scrapped for a while. I had a really great weekend and sadly I must now return to the real world again - until next year!!

This is the other photo from my breakfast with Stef:

Birthday breakfast

Stefanie and I went for breakfast yesterday morning. We both like eggs benedict, so we decided to go to this specific restaurant, as theirs are very good! I asked Stef to take her little camera with so that I could have some photos. We asked the waiter to take this photo:

A picture of the eggs benedict:

They were as delicious as they look! And no breakfast will be complete without a decaf latte:

We had a great time together! Thanks Stef!

Will post the dinner photos later, and a photo of our delicious pudding!

I am 45 today!

Yes, I am 45. I must admit, between the stiff neck and sore hip I sometimes feel much older! Colin brought me a cup of coffee and my present to bed this morning. Fortunately he didn't take any photos as I looked particularly sad this morning, bags under the eyes and messed up hair, sure you know what I mean! He bought me a new watch as I battle to see my other "silver" ones face. Sad getting old! Anyway, he sorted the kids out and got them of to school. Afterwards he came back so that we could have some alone time and made certain that the bed was made up and the dishes were done! Sweet man!
I complained to Colin that Robyn didn't wish me happy birthday, so he told me that she is cross as I didn't phone her on her birthday (I was in Kidds Beach). Nevermind the fact that I was busy directing furniture and boxes all day! Anyway I bought her this cupcake to apologise:
Needless to say, I was forgiven! Stefanie and I went and had a lovely breakfast at a shopping centre. We went there as they serve delicious eggs benedict. Stef did take some photos, I will post them when I get them. After breakfast we went shopping. It was a really great morning! My family, Simone, Herlien and Mark will be eating here tonight - I said I would cook. Simone is making a decadent chocolate pudding - I will take photos:

Here is a photo of granny with her little grandson. He is now 5 weeks old and too gorgeous! Seems to be getting darker by the day, but we love him so much that it doesn't matter! (Note to self: start wearing make-up, you really look dreary!!)

The little boy from closer up.

Ethan had a dirty nappy while we were there and Allisen made Michael change the nappy! He managed very well and Ethan's little "bottom parts" were thoroughly covered in fissan paste!

Stef, this is the photo I wanted to put in a frame. Only saw the face when I downloaded the photos - it will just not do!! I think I will use my favourite photo - the one where you can see his little hands.

Michael went and spoke to Simone's mom last night. She was a para-legal and knows quite a bit about the whole custody thing. She suggested that he approaches the maintenance court and then take it from there. We are NOT giving up!!! Please continue praying that the whole process goes speedily as it can sometimes take very long! In the meantime I decided to approach Allisen's mom to see if we can't go and see him again. We will just not let Michael go there on his own again - she is far too abusive!

Later folks, I have to go and cook for the masses!

Baby news

I did take photos of Ethan last night, but do not feel strong enough today to show you. He is absolutely gorgeous and when he looked at me with his big eyes I knew that I would love him forever. Allisen was very friendly and even got Michael to change Ethan's nappy - everything seemed fine. When we left I still whispered in Michaels ear that he must fight for his son. We went onto the internet the other night and discovered that all the amendments to the law is all there, but they haven't gone through parlement yet, and therefore means nothing! On the way home I prayed and asked the Lord to soften Allisen's heart and that she would allow us to see Ethan and I felt very happy after seeing him. Michael phoned me a bit later, very upset, saying that she chased him out of the house like a dog and that she said that we would never see Ethan again, that he was just a sperm donor and that he must just pay maintenance. Her parents can't do anything as she doesn't listen to them at all. I felt sorry for him, but still maintain that their is consequences when we sin, and this unfortunately is his consequence. Unfortunately we as grandparents are now reaping what he sowed when he sinned. I started crying on Monday already, because I just felt that this was what would happen. While watering the garden yesterday morning I just started weeping again - maybe the Lord was preparing me. All I can say is that my heart is broken. All I can ask is that we pray for the Lord to soften her heart and that she will come to her senses. Maybe by some miracle somebody out there will have a solution. What saddens me even more is that he will grow up without knowing who his father is, being told how bad his daddy is, and he won't know just how much he is loved.

Poor Jessie!

Colin took Jessie to the vet last Friday, as she wasn't walking on her one back leg. The poor thing had a torn tendon and the vet operated yesterday. She came home last night and by this morning the bandage was almost completely of. Colin took her back to the vet. Apparently it is because of the shape of the leg. There is nothing to keep the bandage on. We must try and get her to keep it on for another 2 days, and then it can come of. She has 2 big cuts on her leg as the vet had to take a piece of the sheeth of the tendon out to use on the torn tendon - something like that! She is very sore and has been lying in her basket all day. The painkillers doesn't seem to be working that well.
We went to Wortelgat on a Church camp this past weekend. It is a beautifull place! We had a speaker that spoke to us about the end times and she was excellent!
We went for an early walk after breakfast and I took a photo of the view. Gorgeous isn't it.

After the 2nd session we had the afternoon of, and Colin and I went for a walk. We started down on the "beach" and this is him in child mode climbing on the rocks.

Me in my Captain Morgan advert pose:

After that we decided to leave our campsite to go and look at some of the others at Wortelgat. They have a few different "camps" that can be used by churches or schools. We walked down the road and looked at some of the new houses that are being built and eventually decided to go on the Koppie trail. It was quite steep, but well worth the effort once we got to the top. This is part of the view that we saw:

This cross was also on top of the koppie:

We had a great time. It was good getting to know more of the people from our church and the teaching was also very good. We won't mention the food - there was far too much of that!

I really hope that this will become an annual event! Until Jesus comes again that is .......

Relationships

As I am busy waiting for my friend to bring her baby for me to babysit, I decided to do a quick post. I was reflecting on support from family while I was hanging up the washing earlier and I realised that you only know who your true supporters are in times of difficulty. Should you support a family member because you want to keep the relationship going and you love them, or should you point out when you think they are wrong?

It took me back to the time when we believed that a certain baby was our grandchild. I appreciate the fact that some members of the family chose to support us, even though I don't really know what they believed. Other members of the family chose to point out that we were wrong, and I am sure they got a real cheap thrill when we were proven wrong! Personally I have a lot more respect for the people that chose to support us than for the people that didn't. I believe that especially family should support each other no matter what. What they thought when they were not with us is irrelevant. Relationships are very important to me.

I think that this is the only reason why I still think of the baby from time to time, I find it difficult to accept the fact that family can be so unsupportive.

Bedroom makeover

We changed our bedroom to pink and lilac about 5 years ago, and it was really time for a change. Our fitted sheet started to show signs of wear and tear and Colin wanted to buy new sheets. Imagine! Anyway I told him that I wanted to change our bedroom and we slept on the old sheets for a while longer. At the end of March we went out and bought some new linen and then went and chose the paint we wanted. We got the older boys to paint the room for us. Colin insisted on lying on the bed when I took the photo!
And this is the result:

I am very happy with the new look! I got Andrew to paint the bases of the lamps and then found new lampshades at Sheet Street. He also painted my one frame. I didn't mind throwing out the old picture on the wall as it was not expensive and had been on the wall for 2 years already. The new one didn't cost me too much either, but I like it a lot more.

We have been very quiet and laid back since my last post. We took Andrew to see Monsters vs Aliens yesterday and it was really good for a laugh. He thoroughly enjoyed it and that was the whole idea. I can't wait for school to start tomorrow as the same little boy is driving me up the wall today! Colin also started working again today, and I miss him. Richard is still at home as he can only start working once the schools go back and the volume of traffic on the roads are back to normal. Very nice for me as he washed the windows for me this morning - with payment! At least now I can see through them again!

I am looking forward to my life going back to normal tomorrow!

Holidays etc.

I returned from Kidds Beach on 1 April, and we left to go to Goudini on the 5th. It was an absolute mad rush to get everything done in time, with the result that blogging was the last thing on my mind! I squeesed in a pedicure, had my nails done and then also had to go have my hair tinted, cut, etc. Inbetween all that I bought a canvas for our bedroom and visited Stef a few times to get all the goodies together as I wanted to take the canvas with me to do while we were away. I actually enjoy having a project to do! Here I am busy painting my canvas outside the tent.
It was actually our 24th wedding anniversary while we were away, and Colin and I celebrated by having breakfast at the restaurant at Goudini (without the kids). We went through to Worcester later in the morning to buy some stuff that we forgot at home, and also to get a bottle of bubbly for supper, as well as pudding. We ended of having a feast for supper. Robyn took some photos of us, but they didn't come out very well. Not because she took bad photos, just because I look a bit yukky on the photos. No make-up, etc. Another think we did when I got home on the first was to buy a "friend" for Chilly. I decided that the poor thing was never going to get enough attention from his "mother" and therefor a friend was a good idea. Colin agreed and we bought this little cutey! It is supposed to be a girl, so here's hoping! Her name is Ginger and she is quite cute. Chilly is already a lot happier. We specially bought a baby as I thought that an adult bird might bully Chilly. They make a very cute "couple" and caused quite a few laughs while we were away.

Andrew asked us to take a drive to go and look at the new 5 star accommodation at Goudini. It is called Slanghoek Villas and they are absolutely stunning! This is the view from no. 1.

Andrew entered in the putt-putt competition and this was his team - The Fabulous Four! They didn't win anything, but good fun was had by all. Andrew made friends with the 2 little boys - a real "rainbow" friendship!

Our home away from home! Robyn's tent is on the right and that obviously makes the tent on the left Andrews. We were a bit concerned about how he would cope with sleeping alone in a tent, but he was so exhausted at night that he passed out! There was no issue with the sleeping arrangements after the first night. I really enjoy camping - it is such a lovely way of relaxing. It also amazed us how nice it was to only camp with the 2 kids. The place stayed much tidier and we made so much less food!

We came back from Goudini on Thursday and went and visited Ethan in the evening. He is now 3 weeks old and has really grown. He weighed 2,9kg at birth and now weighs 4,2kg. Not bad! He was not a happy boy when we saw him, he just wanted to cry, so I handed him over to his mommy!

Grandpa holding Ethan.

Ta-da!!! The completed canvas. I am very happy with the way it came out. I copied a layout out of the Creative Memories magazine of August 2008.

The photo was taken last year on our anniversary. We balanced the camera on Jamie's cage and set the timer. Colin took the photo from an angle, as there was quite a glare on the photo if he took it from the front. What do you think? It is 50cm by 50cm and looks very nice against our freshly painted brown bedroom wall. Will take a photo of the completed bedroom makeover and show you soon!

So far we have had a very quiet easter weekend. We went to church on Friday morning and again this morning and the rest of the weekend we basically chilled. It is lovely having a quiet weekend as we are going on the Church Family camp next weekend. After that we will be at home until December - everything in one month! We had the in-laws around for tea this afternoon and we are planning on taking the kids to a movie tomorrow.

The "big" move

As some of you know I have been agonising about my parents retiring in Kidd's Beach for a very long time. My mom and I have become very close over the last few years and their leaving will leave a very big space in my life. Richard and I went and helped them pack up their last things last Thursday and then left for the Eastern Cape on Friday morning. It turned out to be a very good trip with my mom and I laughing about silly things and talking about the good old days. I did most of the driving, but then that is why I went with. We stopped at my Uncle and Aunts house in Jeffreys Bay for tea and then went through to PE where we spent the night with Lynette and her family. My mom was not very well and went to bed early. We left quite early on the Saturday morning and had another pleasant drive to our destination. It took about 3 hours, but the scenery was lovely. There is a lot of rivers and gorgeous vegetation along the way. We arrived in Kidd's Beach and it took us quite a while to unpack the cars and to get settled. My mom was still not well and we all went to bed very early (8H30) that first night. I got my mother to take her blood pressure on Sunday morning and it was very high. I then made her sit quietly in the lounge while my dad and I showed the removal people where everything had to go. It was a hectic day with a whole lot of mess at the end of it. Fortunately my mom planned very well and had two meals frozen and ready for the first 2 nights. The blood pressure was still quite high and mom went to bed early again on Saturday night. Her blood pressure was a bit down on the Monday and she started feeling better.
Eating their first breakfast in their new home.

Isn't it such a lovely sight - the waves and the dunes! This is what you see when you look towards the east.
And to the west. It is really a stunning place.

I really enjoyed reading this when we walked down past the river!

I am very glad that I went with as I was their to help out while my mom was feeling sick, but also because I now know where they are and that they will be very happy there. It is probably the most peaceful place I have ever been to. Their isn't even an ATM - very weird for somebody that comes from Cape Town!

I flew back to Cape Town yesterday and although I am very worried about the two of them, I trust that the Lord will be with them. Being with my mom made me realise that if I don't do something about my fitness level now I am going to be very decrepid when I am their age. My mom is very fit and she still battled, what will happen to me? Scary thought!

I have been very busy trying to catch up and getting things done at home because we are leaving for Goudini on Sunday. It will probably a last minute rush as usual!