Christmas day!

Mum, dad and myself traveled through to Nelspruit on Christmas eve to spend Christmas with Cristo and Lee. The roads going down were quite hectic but we thankfully made it there in one piece.

Christmas day was very relaxed though mom had ants in her pants as she couldn't wait to start opening presies. I am wondering it it is true what they say, that as one ages, one reverts back to childlike behaviour :D, just kidding:)

I once again had the privilege of reading from the Bible before we opened our presents. I read Psalm 51 and tried to explain what kind of man David had been before he fell, how he was so remoresful of his sin and how graciously God forgave him and even referred to him as 'a man after His own heart'. I then brought Christ and the reason for His birth into the picture and explained that if David could have been restored, so can we, through Christ's Blood! I don't know about anyone else but I was blessed afresh by this passage. It is amazing how God's Word is living, never outdated!

Lee wrapped a whole lot of small gifts into a big box for Cristo and it was quite funny watching him scratch through all the newspaper to find the next gift!

Cristo & Lee bought me this T-shirt to wear when I go out in public, I am looking forward to seeing reactions. I wonder how many people will actually catch it!

We had quite a feast for Christmas lunch. Glazed ham, stuffed turkey, the works. Though the four of us did not sleep that night as we took turns all night for the bathroom! Lee was fine and she didn't have any turkey stuffing so we concluded that it was mum's stuffing that gave us all a good clean out.

Lynette's Wedding

Lynette, one of four children of my mother's late sister took the plunge and tied the knot on Sunday the 20th of December! Lynette lives in Johannesburg, her father and lovely stepmother live in Zambia and her other three siblings live overseas. So as you can imagine, apart from the wedding being a special occasion, it was really special to see family that we have not seen in many years.

Lynette was more than 40 minutes late. Poor Mike looked so relieved when he finally saw his bride coming down the isle.

A touching moment as uncle Jan gave his 2nd daughter away

The Bridal Party

I love this photo of my dad & Lynette
This is also special as the bride's father (uncle Jan) is my godfather. We have always been very close!
Elsa, Lynette's sister, & myself have quite a collection of stories to tell from spending much time together growing up,
don't we Elsa? :D
Nicola, Lynette's youngest sister and twin to Frikkie got married earlier this year in March in Zimbabwe. I really enjoyed meeting her husband, also named Mike!

Frikkie, Nicola's twin brother is always up for a good laugh!Dad, Cristo, Mom & myself!

Lee (my soon to be sister in law) & Cristo!

Time Flies When Having Fun

I can't believe how fast my time in Jhb went, especially my 9 days with Glen, Antje and the girls. As always, we had a good time together.
A very special bonus for me was to be with them and share in the great excitement when Antje found out she was pregnant!

We all enjoyed a lovely meal together on Saterday afternoon, the day before I left
Antje took this one of herself, not bad!!!

Shhhhhhh, I think Glen is trying to go for the 'Spurgeon' look!!! The three lovely ladies!!!

I was very thankful to be able to attend the morning service at Krugersdorp Baptist as not long after, my brother, Cristo and his fiancè, Lee collected me and off we went to attend my cousin, Lynette's wedding which was held in Muldersdrift that same day at 4pm! The wedding was lovely and it really was special to see family, some of whom I last saw over ten years ago! We did however have very little sleep as some partied right through to the next morning but we won't mention any names now, will we Frikkie!!!:) My next post will be photo's of the wedding!

But for now 'Thank you' all for a wonderful time in Jozi!

Awestruck!

On Monday Glen took his usual day off and we all went to Silverstar Casino to see the Musical Fountains, apparently the 2nd highest in the world. The weather was quite overcast and it was quite drizzly but I still thoroughly enjoyed it! It really was a day to remember!

As always, it has been amazing to see how these girls have grown in this last year and also the fruits of having godly parents who are so committed to bringing their children up in the way of the Lord!

These fountains were truly magnificant!
I am truly amazed by how God has given man the ability to construct such beauty!
One cannot even try to imagine what it will be like in heaven!

Part One of my Gauteng Visit

I was very fortunate to get a lift with Doug & Shanaè to Pretoria. We were supposed to leave early Tuesday morning but at 15:15, while I was at the gym having my massage, I got a call from Doug informing me that there had been a change of plan and we would be leaving for Pretoria at 5pm that same day! So it was a mad rush to get back to the Wren's, shower and pack. Thank the Lord I had Bev's priceless help with the packing.

I spent two nights with Quintin, Leandra and their little 6 week old baby boy, Levi! Quintin and Leandra kindly took me through to Johannesburg to stay with Gerhard and Christelle. The 5 of us had a lovely day of fellowship!

Gerhard with his bearded Komodo dragon

Gerhard & Christelle's first baby (Babs), their first human baby is on the way!

In the evening we enjoyed a supper with members of Antioch Bible Church where Tim Cantrelle serves as senior pastor and Gerhard as associate pastor! To my absolute Joy, I got to meet their new addition to their family:

Little Ezekiel was born on the 21st of November. He was a little premature. The Cantrelle's got to take him home on Monday the 7th of December, exactly one week ago!

I was blessed to have tea with Michelle on Thursday and scored great brownie points with Jana Marie when I asked her to take photo's with my camera! She felt VERY important!

Check these out:

Christelle enjoyed holding little Zeke, her own little one will be entering the world in February!

Gerhard and Christelle dropped me off in Krugersdorp with Glen & Antje on Friday afternoon and so far spending time with them has been wonderful!

Had a Photoshoot on Saturday but you'll have to watch the space for more details on this amazing opportunity!

Christmas Tree

At last I am able to blog again! have been visiting various friends around gauteng but have not had internet access so I look forward to sharing all my news
Last Sunday afternoon was spent with Seth & Shirley. We had a lovely lunch together and great fellowship! I also had such a funtime helping Shirley decorate their Christmas tree. I am not usually able to do this as the tree decorations that I know all have little loops which are very difficult for me to handle. But Shirley's decorations had nice hooks so it was much easier for me to just hook the decorations over the tree. While Shirley and I were having fun, Seth was taking photo's.

Amazing Three Ladies

A couple of weeks ago Sonja took Rahab, Philistus and myself out to Spur to say "thank you" for all our hard work!!! We had the privilege of having Pieter, Sonja's little boy join us. Although Philistus works in the sickbay, she kindly comes over to give us a helping hand when things get a bit hectic at the shop. All three ladies, Sonja, Rahab and Philistus love the Lord with all their hearts. I truly thank the Lord for giving me these ladies to work with me.

The countdown has begun!!

Yesterday Anet kindly took Tigger through to Tzaneen. Her son had an exam to write at Merensky High School and so it was very convenient for mom & dad not to have to come through to Polokwane to fetch him. I am wondering how he is getting along with the other two cats. The first few days are normally filled with lots of hissing and spitting (basically, a lot of hot air). The next few days are spent exploring possibilities of actually playing with each other and from then on, the game is on and there is no stopping those fur balls.

Yesterday afternoon Lesley helped me to transport my valuables (computer, tv, HiFi etc.) down to my office so that I could lock them away in a more secure area and then I spent my first night with Chris & Bev last night and as usual, slept so well! The rain was lovely and there were no sirens or inconsiderate loud voices to disturb my slumber! Even though I am working till 4pm today and have to be back here on Monday, the reality of fast approaching vacation has set in!!! Yihaa, can't wait!

Marking Centre Grrrrrrrr!

The High school has been cordoned off as it is being used as a Marking Centre. There are +/- 600 Markers and security is so tight, one can hardly breath! I even have a security guard posted a few feet away from my flat during the day!

This is the Pass which I need just to get to my flat. Apologies for the bad photo but I took it myself, that should explain everything!The lady who kindly came to fetch me for church yesterday, almost lost her sanctification!!! The guards refused point blank to allow her on to the premises to pick me up!!! She finally phoned me after she had made 3 trips between the two entrance gates and had explained a dozen times that I was disabled and unable to walk to the gate! I in turn phoned one of our male teachers and asked him to sort out the problem. I really don't blame the guards, after all, they are just doing their jobs. I am however annoyed with school management as I brought this potential problem to their attention a month ago and gave ideas for possible solutions but I was told that I had nothing to worry about!!!

Anyway, there is a light at the end of the tunnel:) I will be staying with Chris & Bev as from Thursday. My last day at work is next Monday. Thankfully, I seem to have a lift to Johannesburg next Tuesday where I will be staying with Gerhard and Christelle! On Friday the 11th I will be going to Glen and Antje until the 20th!!! Really, really looking forward to this trip.

Bits & Pieces!!!

These are just some interesting tit-bits that I thought I would share! Hopefully it'll put a smile on your dial!!!

This is a fridge magnet which my Supervisor bought for me the other day!!! Though it does not say much about me, I still have a really good giggle every time I see it! Thanks Sonja!!!

Nic, Tammy and myself went to the Kruger Park for a weekend at the end of October. We wanted to explore the camp but didn't have a wheelchair. So we asked reception for one and much to our surprise, they brought this cleverly homemade one!!! Though very hard to push, I can imagine that these low cost chairs would be of great benefit to those in our country who can't afford a proper wheelchair but I wonder how our overseas guests would feel if they were given this chair. They would probably think it was the ultimate African experience!!!
On one of our game drives, during the same weekend, we came across a cluster of cars containing very excited occupants. Apparently there was a leopard in the area and he had killed and dragged a porcupine up this tree. If you look closely, you'll see it's intestines hanging out!!

Blog Bug Bites

It has been a whole week since my last post and just in case you may have thought that I had lost interest in blogging, I assure you it was quite the contrary!!! The internet was down AGAIN.... and by Friday I had started suffering withdrawal symptoms. I think the blog bug has bitten!!!

Wonderful Weekend!!!

My weekend kicked off with a meal at the new Five Star hotel in Polokwane on Friday evening! It was our staff Year-end function and quite larney, just a pity my photo's didn't come out so well!

On Saturday morning we enjoyed getting together for ladies book club!! Shirley hosted this one and we were able to enjoy her lovely new veranda! To be honest, though we get to enjoy many books, the book club is just an excuse the get together for some great fellowship!

I enjoyed a nice cuddle with Veronica's little one (Corban) Santie is a very proud Granny!

At about 5pm on Saturday, my dear friend Liz picked me up and we spent a good amount of time browsing book and music shops for Christmas gifts!!!
Liz and I had dinner at our usual restaurant, Mug 'n Bean and had the pleasure of Doug and Shanaè joining us, well, put it this way, Shanaè was a pleasure:) Ok, just joking, so was Doug!
Ozzi 2 & Ozzie 1

Ozzie 1 (Osborne) has been a waiter at Mug 'n Bean for awhile now. He is from Zimbabwe and knows Liz & I well. He even knows my special needs and it is such a pleasure for me to be served without having to always ask for a straw etc. Pretty soon he will be serving me my food already cut up:) Ozzie 1 very enthusiastically introduced us to Ozzie 2 (Oswald) who turns out to be his twin brother!!! We are so thankful that Ozzie 2 was also able to get a job in SA and help provide for their struggling family back in Zims.

After our meal, Liz and I went to the movies, we watched "Law Abiding Citizen". We both thought it was very original and full of suspense, though definitely not for children!!!


After a really good service on Sunday morning, a bunch of us got together to celebrate Tammy's 30th birthday!!! Happy Birthday my friend, life only starts now!!!

Nic took great delight in organizing his wife's surprise get together!!!

An Idea of the group that all invaded Nic & Tammy's home!!!
Pizza was the name of the game!!!
Had a wonderful time catching up with Dorcas

Shanaè managed to get a really good shot of Tanya and herself! Although it really does look mischievous!!!

IT IS MY PRAYER THAT ALL MY BLOGGER FRIENDS WILL HAVE A VERY BLESSED WEEK!!!