Thrills & almost Spills

I know it has been awhile since my last post! Truth is, I have been trying for 3 weeks to upload photo's of my holiday but for some strange reason, this has proven impossible, any help please???
Anyway, the holiday, as enjoyable as it was, is now old news and we are back into full swing of things again!

Yesterday I had a friend, Martin, visit! Scooters delivered a wonderful lunch of pizza and wickedly delicious dessert. After lunch we went for a walk, I was in the electric wheelchair! We walked right around the Flora Park dam, I so enjoyed the warm sunlight and fresh air!
But then we reached the bicycle/skating path. This path is narrow and full of steep humps and slopes and Martin suggested that I attempt this path but not slowly! Well, I think the last time I laughed so much was in December during one of my famous Thompson visits! Going up those slopes and zooming down again was such a thrill, even though my steering was really lacking, to say the least!
The ultimate was the last hump (or should I say 'donga')? My mistake was that I did not put the chair into a high enough speed and I was just reaching the top when the chair tipped back! I panicked (arms and legs in the air, unable to utter a sound). Ofcourse Martin was right behind and assured me that the little back wheels had done a real good job in preventing the chair from tipping back completely!
Those of you who know me well, will know that the funniest part of situations such as these are the reactions of bystanders and believe me, this time was no exception! There is now way to describe these reactions but trust me, they were PRICELESS

Pneumonia (No Moaning Here)

Towards the end of April, I became ill with bronchitis and Mark put me on strong antibiotics, I had recovered well and managed to escape the long days in bed for sometimes as long as a week, at least that's what I thought. Sunday the 1st of May, (Antje's birthday) I woke up with a bout of serious flu, I was baffled and could not understand from where it had come! I tried to carry on as normal, went to work that Mon and even had the driver collect another dose of antibiotics from Mark but by Tuesday I realized that the flu had at last gotten the better of me and I spent the rest of that week in bed. By the next Sunday the flu seemed to have cleared though my chest was still a bit sore. I stayed in bed on Monday, just to keep Liz happy, was planning to go back to work that next day. Bev "just so happened" to pop by for a visit, she was not happy with how my chest was sounding, called Mark, took me for chest x-rays and then for a consultation with Mark! After looking at the x-rays Mark told me that I needed to be admitted, I burst out laughing, honestly thought he was fooling around (as usual)! I sobered up very quickly when he picked up the phone and called the hospital to find out if an open bed was available. I had Pneumonia and it was bad!

We took this photo for my folks

So many "just so happened"s came out of this little experience and God's incredible Love was once again magnified, I was given but a fresh glimpse of just how much He Loves His children!

• I only took out a Hospital Plan in December 2009 and so far, it has covered whatever bills have come! I was in for 4 days, under the care of a Specialist, had physio therapy twice a day and was once again on very strong antibiotics. Had a constant drip and was Nebulized 3x a day! So far, all this seems to have been covered.
  
• The Lekganyane's (leaders of the ZCC) "just so happened" to come to the school to drop off a gift for me, upon hearing that I was in Hospital, they sent close relatives of theirs to visit me, I prayed that God would minister to them through me in some special way!
  
• I enjoyed very good relationships with the Sisters and nurses and prayed that they would be encouraged and that God would be glorified.
• Upon being discharged, I stayed a further 10 days with Chris and Bev, who really were amazing and took such good care of me.
  
• The love of the saints was once again, so very overwhelming.
  
• The Lord even took care of what some would call "the minor details". Tigger's stitches were due to come out the same Monday that I was admitted but Liz "just so happened" to visit me that Saturday and she decided that his wound had healed perfectly and much to my surprise, ended up removing the stitches that evening. So I was blessed with two nights before being admitted of seeing for myself that Tigger was fine and that jumping in and out of the window was not a problem for him. While I was away, Rahab and Francinah literally took great delight in caring for him and even begged me not to send him home to my folks.
• And the list of God's amazing "just so happened's" through this experience can go on and on!
  

Recovery is slow and though I still tire easily and experience shortness of breath (Mark says it will take a while as the tissue, especially in the right lung was damaged), I am much stronger and very thankful that tomorrow is the start of a five week school holiday during which I will be able to rest well.

To God Be the Glory!

Not for the squeamish

Yes, meet my new shop assistant, Miss Anica Vogel! Such a happy, fun filled 10 month old!

Over this last long weekend, I had the privilege of having Astrella and Anica staying with me for 3 nights. Marius went on a fishing trip to Bloemfontein!

"Pulling all these clothes out of the shelves is exhausting"

Though the weekend was great, it was not without its challenges!
The weather was cold & rainy so poor little Anica was restricted to the confines of my little flat! However, we did go out to bookclub on Saturday and had Sunday lunch with Seth & Shirley after church. The change of scenery really helped!

Unfortunately the amount of wild cats living around the school has increased. These cats are forever ganging up on Tigger and about 2 weeks ago he was in a very big cat fight. Because of his thick fur (not to mention, fatty bulges) I could not see any injury but 5 days after the fight I noticed an area on his stomach which was very sensitive and upon investigation, I found that a huge, painful growth had developed. A friend kindly took us to the vet and Tigger ended up having a massive operation! It turns out that where he had been bitten a hair had gone through and lodged itself, causing an abscess! The vet had cut away much of the dead fat in order to remove the hair, thus giving Tigger his very own Tummy Tuck.
Tigger came home with a huge wound and a cone on his head to keep him from pulling out the stitches! He really was not a happy kitty and soon after his return, he managed to get the cone off his head. Stress levels soared as we tried to put it back on. Thankfully Bev came over and helped Astrella refasten it. The vet was adamant that he wear the cone as he would have bitten the stitches out in no time!
I was so so grateful to have had Astrella with me over those first three days as she helped carry Tiggers sandbox in & out for me and also helped give Tigger his morning antibiotic!

This photo was taken a day after the operation. He has since been to the vet for a checkup and another antibiotic injection. The vet is happy with his progress and his stitches will be coming out next Friday. In the meantime he has become accustomed to the cone for which I am VERY grateful. Not only does it stop him from licking his wound but it restricts his walkabouts to only the courtyard because it is too big and he can't fit through the bars of the gate.

While Tigger is restricted, I am making plans with the SPCA to come and catch the wild cats and remove them from the school!
I would be very relieved if this mission were accomplished!

Christ is the Key

I have been having a very frustrating time with my Bible study girls! I officially have seven precious souls but they are only in Grade 9 and even though I have had them for over a year, they are just not committed. So with them being so inconsistent, I have found it very difficult to go through a book with them systematically.
Lately, for various reasons I have been waking up between 2 & 2:30am and that is it, my zzzzzzzz time is over and instead of sleeping, the grey matter kicks into overdrive! During one of my early morning mental marathons, I started wondering what to do with these girls and how better I could serve them. I remembered how I used object lessons when I gave Bible Study in the Home to intellectually impaired adults! These lessons were short but full of impact. I prepared my first object lesson but last week, only 2 girls pitched up 55 minutes late. I was very discouraged but our Faithful Lord gave me an idea and I suggested to the two girls that we should have a leader who would be responsible for ensuring that the girls remember Bible study, arrive on time or come and inform me when nobody is able to attend! This leader would also be responsible for praying for the other girls with me. They loved idea and I appointed the girl who is the least spiritually strongest out of the two to be the first leader.
Yesterday was the first Bible study with Kabelo as leader and I was amazed! I had FIVE girls and they were only 10min late.
The lesson went very well! I had a locked padlock and asked them to lock my gate (without giving them the key). The same with a can of tuna (without a can opener, they had to open the can for me as I needed it for my dinner). The gist: the padlock is useless without a key as is the reason for living without Christ. This was thickly coated in backup Scripture!
I pray that our Bible study has reached a positive turning point.

A Fairtale Wedding

I am now at home for the March school holidays. I quickly uploaded & saved these wedding photo's before I left so that it would not affect my folks internet bill, now I just have to fill in the captions and publish the post so that you can FINALLY see my brothers wedding pics!

It was an honour for me to be a Bride's maid, even though, as usual, I was nervous! However, Cristo and Lee were very thoughtful and assigned Pieter, one of the Best men to be my personal assistant! I have known Pieter a long time and felt comfortable with him. Although, a real character, he did a wonderful job assisting me.

Finally Married!!!
Lee wanted a fairy wedding and instead of confettie, everyone blew bubbles, was quite pretty!
The main table!

I am very happy about my new sister, she really is a loving, caring person!

It was lovely to be able to dance with my uncle again, even though he has terrible back pain! He always was one to get me onto the dance floor!!!

The Bride changed into casual clothes and had a ball!
My cousin did a lovely collage with some of the photo's which she took!!!

I pray the Lord will bless this union and that Cristo & Lee will find true happiness & joy as they discover union with the True Saviour and His Love, Grace and daily Sustaning Power!

Home Makeover!

Since deciding to stay in Polokwane, as an incentive, I made myself a few promises! One of them was to try and make my flat a little more homely. The school, thankfully agreed to buy the paint and other materials and we went mad with Sonja, my supervisor behind all the excellent ideas. Very kind friends of mine from church (Anet & Bazil) organized the painting and one of their friends, Gert very kindly did the painting and a lot of fixing up while I was away for my brother's wedding! But before I left, Sonja and myself had some of the handymen from the school remount the counter which used to be an island and place it under the window, thus giving me so much more space! I hope this photo gives an idea of the changes. We even fixed up the cupboards and had new handles and hinges mounted.
I really needed a new desk, my old one was nearly 20 years old, falling apart and really didn't suit my new look! Sonja "happened" to see the perfect desk for me. It was on special and selling at a very good price! Sonja enjoyed kindly putting the desk together for me!
I am really happy with this desk!
Sorry for the poor quality photo's, yours truly took them!After two weeks of firstly clearing the flat out for the painters and then, this week putting everything back, though tired, I am very thankful for all the help and very happy with the end result!

Great success, amazing Grace!

I know that I have slipped up big time with my blog but this past month has been crazy!!! Hopefully I will be able to update you on everything and you will have a good idea of what I have been up to!
At the beginning of March we tackled our year end stocktake, I must admit that this is not my most favourite stock take of the year as everything is in a shambles after the back to school rush!
It really is nice to have Rahab back even though her leg was still very painful! However, now she is doing much better. She still wears a dressing but the burn is healing very nicely!

The uniform stocktake went extremely well and out of R1.5 million worth of stock on hand, I only had a 0.05% discrepancy.

My stationery stocktake also went extremely well.

Rahab and Philistus are such amazing helpers during the hectic times!
I truly am so thankful to our Lord, without His Hand over us, this would never be possible!