Time to sit down and put pen to paper  - so to speak.  My problem is where to start as a lot has happened since I  wrote my last blog.  The last 2 weeks have been filled with times of joy and happiness but also with sadness and loss.

My birthday weekend was awe-some!  It was so good to spend time with my children and grandchildren.  The house we stayed at was a large stunning old Villa surrounded by beautiful gardens.  It was very peaceful and relaxing.  On the Saturday afternoon  we  invited family and close friends to come and join the celebrations and with the weather being beautiful we were outside most of the afternoon/evening and I think everyone had an great time.  My children did me proud - they churned out an almost endless supply of wonderful tasting pizza's which were cooked in the very, very large pizza oven.  They ran everything smoothly and did an awesome job.  My very talented daughter made the most amazing birthday cake for me which truly blew everyone away.  I wore my new dress and felt greatly complimented when my youngest son saw me and said - "Wow mum you look great" - love you hun.  Thanks too for all other compliments I received - it was a nice wee ego boost ;0).  And it's nice to know all my swimming is paying off.  I have since bought myself another dress - that makes 2!! - amazing the things you suddenly do at 50 :0)

My birthday party was a wonderful occasion, a time of creating new memories and although I did have a 'wee' teary  moment when everyone sang happy birthday I feel very blessed, not only by my wonderful family and extended family but also by the dear friends who came to celebrate with me.  I want to thank you all for not only making my 50th birthday a wonderful celebration but also for your support and encouragement since Roy's death.  I am honored to call you my friends. Thank you too for all the lovely cards and gifts. I have been very spoilt.

Here are some photos, but not one of me in my dress as I don't actually have one yet.  I might post one later.

Manakau Retreat

I was allowed to sleep in this wonderful room since it was my birthday!

My birthday cake - it was very yummy too.

On Sunday morning we woke to the news that the Lord had called Mum N (Nana) home to be with Him.  We all shed tears, not so much of sorrow, but more relief that her suffering was now over and she was finally at peace.  On the Thursday before my birthday Nana had suffered another stroke and things didn't look good so the news of her passing into glory really came as no surprise.  We decided rather than stay out at the Villa, that we'd head home.  We all went to visit Dad N (Pop) which he really appreciated.

The week that has since past has been a flurry of activity - family arrived from Australia, funeral preparations where made, more family arrived from different parts of NZ and from Australia - some were delayed because airports were closed due to fog but they all finally made it, some of the  Aussies had to travel the 'long' way to get here - via Auckland rather than flying into Wellington which meant an all night road trip down to Levin.  All Pop and Nana's 14 grandchildren were able to be at the funeral.

Pop with his 14 grandchildren

The funeral service for Nana was held on Friday - I wasn't sure how I was going to react, but it was actually ok.  Two of the songs we sang at Roy's funeral were also sung at Nana's and they were very hard  for me to sing, but otherwise I was fine. Maybe because the funeral firstly was less personal to me, but also there was a difference because of the age of the person who had died. I can now finally say I have been to the cemetery and although for a moment it was hard to see the spot where Roy was buried, it was also a bit of a relief to have finally done it and having all my children and family with me made it a lot easier.  I had actually been curious as to what the grave would look like and I was pleased to see a small cross with his name on it marking to spot of his earthly remains.  My Dad made a lovely comment as we were about to leave - he said "On resurrection day this is going to be a really busy place" - what an awesome thought.

As I said it has been a time of happiness and sadness - a whole bunch of firsts have been faced and through it all the Lord has upheld and sustained not only me but the whole family.  Today the last of the family departed Levin and now the reality of what has happened will hit Pop. He has been amazingly strong this last week, but please pray for him, that he might feel the Lord's continuing comfort and strength as he faces the days, weeks and months ahead without a visit from his beloved Janna.

Even with everything going on I have still been Aqua jogging 4 morning this last week, applied for 3 more jobs, looked after Noah and had him stay over night - which ended up being a bit of a bad night as the poor wee guy threw up twice during the night right through his cot and over himself. In the end I took him into my bed.  I put pillows all down one side so he wouldn't fall off the edge and I 'slept' (not much) on the other edge and Noah literally used up the rest of the bed.  For such a little person he sure takes up a lot of room - needless to say I didn't get a lot of sleep that night.  I also washed the car, did some gardening and weeding, had people for lunch, dinner and staying a few nights, loads of washing (thanks to Noah) and been busy with Rawleigh customers.  And the weather has been hot, hot, hot even at night which has meant only sleeping under a sheet with all the windows open and being eaten for dinner by the mozzies - I have 7 bites on the top part of my left arm and they are sooooooo itchy.  I'm thinking I might need to apply insect repellent before bed to keep the wee suckers from using me as their meal.

Oh that's the other thing that happened on Tuesday this week I again had no hot water - this time I didn't have a major meltdown but rang Electra who sent around someone to check the meter box and this time it wasn't the pole fuse that had blown but the fuse in the meter box.  The Electra guy changed the fuse and when he popped it back in it blew straight away so he said the fault was with the element and that I'd need the services of an electrician.  I rang my friendly electrician and he came and fixed the problem and also replaced the thermostat - which was prob the original as it was in Fahrenheit and no longer working - sometimes at night you could hear the cylinder bubbling.  It will be interesting to see what sort of difference this will make to my power bill.  

All in all it has been an eventful few weeks with much more to come over the next few weeks.  The weekends on my March calendar are getting very full with birthday parties to attend, 2 for my grand children and one for my oldest son. I was thinking about my non-existent social life the other day - not that Roy and I were social butterflies, but we'd have a meal out now and then, go to the stock cars or a movie but I'm not going to do those things by myself - so I now have the social life of a hermit!!!!  How sad is that - lol!!  I need to get a life!!!!

Well that's enough wonderings for this edition.

Thanks again for your continued, love, support and encouragement.

Till next time.

Love and blessings

Jolanda