Holiday fever

Only two days left of our first term at school... well really it' one and a half as school closes at 11 on Thursday!! On Sunday we leave for our holiday... going by train to Cape Town... I am really looking forward to this... haven't been on an overnight train trip since I was 10... and Aaron is also VERY excited about "sleeping over"! He came home yesterday from school and showed me what he drew.....



Isn't this cute.... the Shosholoza Meyl.... and the correct colours and all...

The Easter Story

I just received this most beautiful email.... just had to share it...

"Still He Walked"
He could hear the crowds screaming "crucify" "crucify"...
He could hear the hatred in their voices,
These were his chosen people.
He loved them,
And they were going to crucify him.
He was beaten, bleeding and weakened...
His heart was broken,
But still He walked.

He could see the crowd as he came from the palace.
He knew each of the faces so well.
He had created them.
He knew every smile, every laugh, and every shed tear,
But now they were contorted with rage and anger
His heart broke,
But still He walked.

Was he scared? You and I would have been
So his humanness would have mandated that he was.
He felt alone.
His disciples had left, denied, and even betrayed him.
He searched the crowd for a loving face and he saw very few.
Then he turned his eyes to the only one that mattered
And he knew that he would never be alone.
He looked back at the crowd...
At the people who were spitting at him
Throwing rocks at him and mocking him
And he knew that because of him,
They would never be alone.
So for them, He walked.

The sounds of the hammer striking the spikes echoed through the crowd.
The sounds of his cries echoed even louder,
The cheers of the crowd, as his hands and feet were nailed to the cross,
Intensified with each blow.
Loudest of all was the still small voice
Inside his Heart that whispered "I am with you, my son",
And God's heart broke.
He had let His son walk.

Jesus could have asked God to end his suffering,
But instead he asked God to forgive.
Not to forgive him, but to forgive the ones who were persecuting him.
As he hung on that cross, dying an unimaginable death,
He looked out and saw, not only the faces in the crowd,
But also, the face of every person yet to be,
And his heart filled with love.
As his body was dying, his heart was alive.
Alive with the limitless, unconditional love he feels for each of us.
That is why He walked.

When I forget how much My God loves me,
...I remember his walk.
When I wonder if I can be forgiven,
...I remember his walk.
When I need to be reminded of how to live like Christ,
...I think of his walk.
And to show him how much I love him,
...I wake up each morning, turn my eyes to him,
.......And I walk.

Now this really sums up my whole belief and faith... in Christ I walk because without Him I just could not. Thank You Lord for my life.

A prayer for every day

Okay guess I'm just not that busy today... but I've just received my "Catch of the Day" newsletter and this one really really spoke to me and I want to share it with the world:

Sunday, any day
by John Fischer

What do I need to worship You Lord? Do I need some religious icon set in stained glass to carry my spirit up out of this earth's vain pull? Do I need music to lift my soul to another plane? Do I need to have someone tell me how I should think about You, and what I should say to You? Do I need someone else's words to communicate with You? Do I need someone else's song?

Do I need to be religious to worship You, or can we just walk along and talk like You did with Your disciples? Do I need the proper prayer order — you know, thanksgiving first, then confession, then protection, then petition, then praise — or will "Help!" suffice? Can You fill in all the rest? Aren't You here, anyway? Right here? I have the feeling I have Your attention all the time; the bigger question, I suppose, is do You have mine? I have to honestly say You do not.

Not always, and certainly not enough. Forgive me Lord for forgetting — for missing You breathing down my neck. I worry so much about things that You already know about. You know how this is going to turn out, anyway. If I could just trust You….

Hear me today, O Lord. Accept my worship today even though it's just an ordinary day. Teach me something today that will change me tomorrow. May I bring You pleasure as much by walking through my day today as I would singing in church, or reading my Bible or praying in a fellowship group.

I'm not a religious person, O God, and if You want the truth, I don't want to be. I just want to know You and know You are with me. I know You are, in my head, just help me to see You with my heart today. All day. Any day.
[Adapted from an earlier Purpose Driven Life daily reading by John Fischer.]

Amen... let's all pray this prayer today and everyday and worship God in everyway.

Yet another blog

I've just been "conned" into siging up for another blog site... I went to leave a comment and the only way to do that is to join... well it is for scrapbooking so recon I'll give it a bash... go check out http://www.mycraftivity.com/cathys but don't expect much from me!! hehehe

Marching on....

Well look at that it's a new month already! I am sooooooooooooooo excited for the next few day's events.... I'm taking Aaron to a Scripture Union "hat party" tomorrow afternoon... sounds like LOADS of fun, and on Saturday I am doing an ALL-DAY scrap... I'm attending the Champange Road Show given by Scrap Shack.... the classes look awesome and I'm VERY excited about them all. The other thing scheduled for Saturday is Keith is planning on pulling up the lounge carpet and laying down our new wooden flooring... sure hope it all happens... and then we should hopefully get rid of the black ants that keep appearing in the house!

An extra update for you on Aaron's reading progress.... he has now had four books to read in the last two weeks... some only had 4 pages in but this week's one is 40 pages... yesterday he was supposed to only read to page 12 but he decided to read the WHOLE thing! Very cute but very tiring for me to... almost like having a bedtime story read to me but in the middle of the day! Today he only read to page 22 as per his homework schedule.

Okay and then more news/update on past events.... last week Friday we went to the school's Leap Year Picnic under the Stars... except it turned into picnic under the clouds as it had rained during the afternoon and was very threatening all evening... though it never did rain.. we had a good evening out, braaied an all... the kids thoroughly enjoyed it... running around in the dark with torches and staying up way past bedtime!

Right I think that's it for now... my brain is havig a meltdown in remembering things... I'm sooooooooo busy at work I'm not even sure which day it is anymore!

Till next time... :)

He can read!

Aaron can read.... he has been at school a month and this week got his first reading book... today he read the WHOLE thing,(all 32 pages!) beautifully... he makes me soooooooooo proud. And it sure brings back memories too.... "Kathy and Mark" all over again. Such an accomplishment for such a little guy who wanted to learn to read.

Barndance feedback

Well I think I did promise you some feedback from the barndance... to put it precisely... IT WAS A SUCCESS..... we were around 50 people at the end of the day (not quite the 60/70 expected) but those of us who were there thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

The ladies on the committee helped me on Saturday morning to decorate the hall (see pics) and we were done within an hour or two... quick and easy.





I would highly recommend this type of entertainment for a party... even heard that it is good exercise (think I must find out more about it)... so Yeehah and away we go to do the "heel and toe"...

Here are a few more pics of the fun and dancing






So now you know and can see... when's the next one??? I'm definately not organising it!! hehehe... but will always be willing to attend... so send me an invite!

Happy Valentine's Day

Well I again seem to be apologising for not having updated my blog in a while... I guess I should just stop apologising and start updating... and be thankful that I do update even if it is only monthly! hehehe.... okay so what have I been up to lately??? Well it's been time to settle into the new school routine... traffic has been madness but we are slowly finding our routine... we leave home at 6:50 and manage to get to school between 7:30 and 7:45 most days... school starts at 7:50! I then sit in the car and read my latest story book till around 8:20 when I make my way to work... that way I only sit for half an hour getting to work instead of up to TWO hours if I leave at 7:30... I arrive at work much less stressed and more able to face my day.


Workwise I've been busy and not so busy and then VERY busy... just finding my head today while I wait for our I.T. guy to come give me access to the Server... all very technical. Anyway I will be taking on doing the accounts here at work to so in between drawings I will be crunching numbers... will at least keep me occupied for my four hours each day!


On the church front I've been very busy planning and organising our Valentine's barndance which is on Saturday... all of it is coming together nicely... going to do a big red/white theme with hearts and all... and a few picnic blankets thrown in just to make it romantic. We will be less than 60 people I think but I'm sure we will all have an absolute ball.


Aaron has civies day at school today... they had to pay R5 to have the privelege of wearing red/white to school... here is the pic of him and his teacher. All the kids looked very sweet in their various combinations of red, white and pink... with a few interspered wearing other colours too!

Well even I got in on the act and wore red and white today... feeling very festive.

Okay enough waffle for this month... hehehe... hopefully I will update next week with pics from the barndance.

The New Year

Well the new year is now almost old... hehehe.. January is just about finished! Wow the time is sure going fast... each day just melts into the next and when I look again another month is gone.

What's my excuse for not blogging?? well it's been hectic over the last two months....

- my birthday,

- Aaron's birthday,

- going to Plettenberg Bay for a weekend to celebrate Keith's folks' 50th wedding anniversary,

- Christmas (we spent a few days at my folks)

- the drama just before New Year when Aaron split open his lip and required 4 stitches (ouch!),

-New Years (which was very quiet besides for fireworks going off in our area)

-Aaron spending a week with my parents... including a visit from my brother and all his family

- a trip to the zoo

- Aaron's first day of school (for which we were 20 minutes late due to traffic!)

- lots of load shedding (new term for power cuts)

- planning a barndance for Valentine's Day for our Ladies Fellowship at church

So as you can see I HAVE been busy... and in the middle of all that I reformated my pc at home and then it wouldn't switch on for two weeks!! SOoooooooooooooooooo frustrating.


Well I endeavor now to keep my blog more up to date... no promised for now but I will try. So anyway here is a pic of Aaron on his first day at school.

Oh and other extremely good news.... my kitchen is just about done... yip we have moved back in.. all my cupboards are packed, the gas hob is connected (and certified) and things are getting back to normal... just got the extractor hood to install, the door and window frames to finish painting AND THERE IT WILL BE DONE!!! Just over a year in the making... phew!

Why no blogging....

I've been very lax lately about blogging... no real excuse except that I've been BUSY!!!! Yip since my last entry we've moved office (3km up the road!), I've planned and organised (with help from my outstanding committee) the Ladies Tea which is on Saturday at church, put shelving paper in the cupboards in the kitchen, planned Aaron's birthday party for next Saturday... and and and... just been BUSY!!!

Also had Aaron's concert last Saturday.. and my little guy was an absolute STAR... he had told me all along he was going to be a reindeer (not the red nose one but a black nose one)... well when I dropped him off at school on Saturday to get ready we were informed that Aaron would now be doing TWO parts... the reindeer as well as one of the wise men! He did them both so well.. made me EXTREMELY proud.

The Three wise men
My Reindeer.. after the concert.

And then the other highlight of my weekend was GETTING MY FRIDGE back in my kitchen... we are making progress... so nice to see. And also notice the dishwasher is in place, the counter top is up and I have a shelf for my recipe books. Getting there!!



Okay so that's my update for this week... lets see how long it takes me to get back here again! hehehe...

Enjoy
C