we have moved !!!

After lots of packing and tears in between and lots of really hard core cleaning we have moved. It was such a painful process because the day we were moving out our friends were moving in to the same house. So I had to double clean. ouch ouch. My legs are so sore that I can't stand for long ... lets say I cleaned literally till I could clean no more . I have had two hours of sleep. The home owners gave us the keys late of Friday evening and the bulbs were out so we couldn't really see. I under estimated how much cleaning I was in for. Turns out everything needed to be washed out literally the cupboards and the wardrobes had soup splattered on the walls, the floors were filthy and bathrooms too, all disguised by the dark evening. Yesterday I couldn't even attend all the church lessons I just went home after sacrament and entered bed. There is still a lot of work to be done . But hopefully we shall get through. Wayne has been very helpful. I'm so lucky to have a husband like him, even though he was tired helped me a lot around the house. He is such a star. I'm grateful for the members who helped us moved and words cant express how much we appreciate their help. Mom and dad are coming this week to help us settle in so I know mom will help out a lot. For now I'm really tired,till then. Will put up some pics after. PS. I still miss the farm so much .

Swine flu

Gosh we were hit by the swine flu virus not a pleasant experience. Suspected place of infection ... the airport. Wayne was down with a fever and was really ill that he was on bed rest. And for Wayne to be on bed rest he is really ill. He is the kind that will push on and on . But he was given injections and told to stay home. He improved and I fell ill went to the doctor and it was swine flu. Meanwhile during this period Oupie was not well too he had another heart attack and mom flew in from Durban to help Ouma out while Oupie was in hospital. So when Oupie's condition improved, she came to spend a few days with us and the day she arrived was the day I got ill and she and Wayne took care of me till I recovered. She then had to go back home and when she got to Durban and started feeling a bit unwell, went to the doctor the following morning and was swine flue. I thankful that we recovered from this disease as lots of people have died from it and we hope that our friends and family out there don't get it.

And then they became home owners.

After months of going through ups and downs - fights with housing agents and home owners, having our hopes crushed after offers have been accepted, its time to pop out the champagne and toast to a lovely home.
We have been blessed with a property our first and we are really excited about it it. After looking for 6 months we finally found a house that spoke to us or we liked and made an offer that was accepted and we got the bond so we now property owners. Good bye to rent and helllloo to bond payments.
we are home owners... :) its a two bedroomed house with a huge loft that cant be converted into three bedrooms , two full bathrooms , 2 garages and a big enough compound in a complex which means security as well. Another bonus we are allowed to have two animals. House hunting isn't a pleasant sport to venture into neither of us thought it would be such a pain . But alas the lord knew which house was meant for us. the sellers were such lovely people we went through the house one evening very reluctant and actually liked the place. And when we got into the car we phone the agent and told her we liked the place and put an offer. I think literally in an hour she called us back to tell the owners of the house liked us and accepted our offer. Though we placed an offer we had some concerns not with the house it was with us and well, it meant cutting out a lot of luxuries and change of lifestyle if we wanted the house. Secondly, there was another offer on the place and they were willing to pay more than we were. and we signed the papers, applied for the bond, and it got approved in exactly five days which is unheard of at this time its usually longer and we had been given 5 days to secure the bond and at midday Wayne received the call from the guys at the bank saying it was approved in four working days and the house is now ours. We hoping to move in mid November but we shall see how it goes.
Its mixed emotions for me , though Wayne is so excited. I'm sad to be leaving the farm with the animals and all. As dad said you cant always get what you want in life, you win some lose some.

Gas ! a necessity NOT a friend!!

We are renting this place on a farm, very beautiful and every time people come visit us they are amazed at how we got this place. We live on a farm in the middle of the city with lots of friendly animals like deer, horses, ponies, goats, ducks, hen, cows, crazy wild cats etc. and we are really at home; paradise is what we sometimes refer to it, however we have encountered some difficulties and these particular one only appear during winter. We have had electricity black outs no power for days and when there isn't power it means we often run short of water as the system runs on an electric pump which isn't a big issue since we also have the municipal water which is turned on. We had no power as one of the main boards was on fire and the municipal here take their time to fix things. In fact if one had to wait for them, they would the chances of them having power is never as they are full of useless excuses as to why they wont pitch up to do their work or why they will pitch up in the dark to fix electricity but wont do it because its dark and they are cold. We had had the same problem a couple of weeks back so when it happened this time we called up our wonderful friends the Parsons who where kind to lend us their generator till our electricity was fixed. First we spent about two hours driving up and down looking for gas for our gas heater turns out that the size of the gas bottle we had were out of stock so we eventually head out to Sean and Shelley's to pick up this life saver, and they even prepared dinner for us since it was quite late after 9pm. After dinner we headed home all happy as we were going to have hot showers and have some light at home and not worry a bout the deep freeze and fridge and our stomachs full. Wayne set up the generator and the last bit needed some light to make sure all was in place correctly. Then we remembered we had a gas lantern that we could provide us with the needed light. We lit two candles so Wayne could see clearly as he replaced the lantern canister. As he did that he asked if i could push the candles nearer so he could see properly. Next thing we know the gas is leaking out and there is a hissing sound and baam!!!! , Wayne is on fire literally his hands, his face, his hair a.d
Im watching in shock as he slaps the fire off his face which he eventually does. and the canister is on fire the flame is getting bigger and bigger and to make matters wore we were fixing this in our kitchen that has a grass thatched roof. He eventually manages to run out with the canister to the porch and we try to use a dry cloth to put out the fire which doesn't help, then we remember lets try a wet cloth , nothing helps lets try a blanket nothing works the fire gets even bigger eventually Wayne the genius shouts "sand" i know what we should do, SAND!!!! he runs to the garage grabs the shovel and scoops dirt form the flower bed and throws it on the fire which dies after about eight trios of sand were made. We then use a candle to fix the generator and turn it on. And then check Wayne out to see the damage done. As we checking him out we just burst out and laugh so hard, I think it was from all the shock. The damage his eye brows his hair and part of his arms had been burnt so I took him to the bathroom and used a small pair to scissors to trim the eye brows and hair that had been burnt and we applied first aid to the burn on his arm. Thanks to elastoplus the burn spray it worked like magic as when we woke up in the morning there was no sign of a burn on Wayne's arm yet when it all happened it was starting to blister. So We ended up having hot showers,sleeping in a warm bed and watching tv with the whole house smelling of fried/brunt hair. We called mom to tell her about it as we thought she would laugh with us but boy she wasn't thrilled at all that we found it funny but was alright the following morning. But we were both grateful for electricity and more so for the fact that Wayne wasn't hurt so bad. I must say the whole day I have been in shock from the incident but getting over it slowly.We have learnt our lesson and hope something like this never occurs again. Once is enough.PS: Gas can be very dangerous
We are so grateful for the protection the lord has blessed us with and for all the many blessings He has given us.

Bridget and Colin !!

Being far from my first home is something that I sometimes wrestle with... but after i got married home is where i am with my wonderful husband. Back in Uganda, while i was a university i lived with one of my close friends Bridget. she was my flat mate a wonderful one at that. I hadn't met her for the first time at the campus we in fact went to the same primary school thought we didn't talk much but we became quite close at uni she was like a big sister to me since she was the more responsible one of the two of us. After we finished uni we both drifted into different ways didn't see much of each other but kept in touch. she got married and we even drifted more apart. but kept in touch occasionally. I then got married and moved to south Africa and didn't really get the chance to chat and all. After getting married I went to Uganda for my sisters wedding hoping i would get to see her but because of different arrangements we just spoke on the phone and didn't meet up , i came back to south Africa,. then one day i got a text message she was arriving at Jhb the following day , Wayne and i rushed to meet her at the airport she was on transit to Botswana and we didn't see each other as she wasn't allowed to come to the domestic departures to which we had access. Then in December she sent another text message this time she was coming to South Africa-Capetown so we would meet before their connecting flight, it turns out, the timing was wrong, at the time they arrived at Jhb Wayne and i were in Durban so we missed each other. Then eventually last week she sent me another text and this time they were spending two days in Jhb so we made it and managed to see each other after three years of missing one another as her hubby Collin put it " we were like in the movies" so a happy get together in the end. It was great to catchup over dinner and talk till late in the night. We had a wonderful time and looking forward to catching up again sometime soon. It was a late night as we got home after mid night. We paid the following day coz we use to going to bed at 8.30pm but it was so worth it.

Michael Jackson

I know I know every one is going to wonder well most people will, why one would write about Michael on their blog. Its just one of the rare days w hen i wasn't able to share a lift with Wayne to work, he had to go to one of the branches. Before I went to bed I had a smile on my face so happy as my exam results were out and i hard passed my exams. Woke up smiling, drove out of the gate and wondering why they were playing Michael's songs on the radio because its rare . then baaam!!! came the kick they presenter announced that Michael was dead. First instinct was to call Wayne and tell him ad he replied "yeah its a shame man" and I was like no it cant be while in tears bowling my eyes out. with thoughts that I hope he didn't die lonely... his kids shame how its not nice to grow up without a dad.... and who will look after them .. I cried driving myself for an hour and half all the way to work. I had appointment and I decided I wasn't going to even bother rushing. eventually get to work all red eyed and the person had been waiting asked if all was alright and it just made matters worse I replied in tears "Michael is dead its not a good day".
Reason for my reaction, my childhood memories revolved around this guy his music and the movies I watched, I recall singing with my friends and dancing to songs especially girlfriend,in the movies and it was all we talked about. Watching and listening to his songs were the highlights of our days we planned the time and sacrificed playing out in the sun to watch him. All I can say is he will be missed a lot. And hope his children are looked after well. And Im grateful for the wonderful memories I have as a result of his being.
I

Happy Father's Day DAD !!!

Happy fathers day Dad, we love you so much and are so blessed to have you in our lives. The example you are to us the love you give us and the joy you give, the great company, the wisdom and the laughter you bring always keeps our hearts warm with gratitude that we have a father like you.
We love you so much and hope you have a lovely day.

Confederations cup Brazil vs USA

Soccer fever isn't enough to describe the hype about the confed cup. Everyone here is going on and on about the soccer. While the guys are enjoying it some of my lady friends are dying for it to end. On the other hand Im really glad as Wayne enjoys all sport soccer being among them. Every Saturday morning at 6.am he goes to play soccer with the guys at church. Its something that he looks forward to as its catch up time and they all seem to get along well and get to play at tournaments ie stake and against other wards. On Wednesday afternoon I received call asking me if i could Thursday afternoon off from work so we could go and watch a soccer match Brazil vs USA. Oh boy did I kick myself for having a job that I couldn't get out of. well I couldn't take the afternoon off because I'm the only one in the office and I couldn't lie to my boss so I could get out of work so that was my dilemma. well it turned out Wayne was able to get 50 tickets for the game. But it was up to last minute he was promised he would get them but time line wasn't given. So having told most of his colleagues about their chances of going to this game. Everyone's hopes high, well we.. more less I was worried that what if the tickets didn't pull through. Anyway after waiting all Thursday morning for the tickets they eventually arrived at about midday . So he drove back to the office in Joburg from Pretoria where he was picking up the tickets and then left with his friend for the game. Apparently it was really great and he says it was worth the stress and he would do it all over again i think Brazil won 3-0. After the match at about 6pm he drove back to work since he hadn't spent the day at the office to catch up with work and he was home at about 10.30pm. I'm really glad he had the chance to go and watch that match.

Fun Day!!

Saturday was a very special day for us, first of all this winter thing isn't fun at all. So we were both looking forward to sleeping in but well I had enrichment at 8.30am which meant I had to be up so early. And being the first enrichment activity since our ward started , I couldn't let this pass me by so I dragged myself out of bed got ready and off I went about 30mins late but im glad I went. It was great to mingle with the ladies and get to know something different about each of them. and at about 10.30am went home with some stuff for Wayne from the RS ladies so i didn't make him breakfast. we then sat and chatted and the next thing we knew it was an hours time to the baby shower we were invited to that Wayne was so indifferent about attending , baby showers usually involve only women but the one we were going to the men were invited. as we sat lazily waiting for the energy to get up with received a call from one of our friends the Fengs, they asked if we could baby sit their little angel Jia bhou as they wanted to go the temple and the person who should have baby sat had other commitments and we gladly agreed to the task. In about 45 mins our little guest arrived and boy were we excited to have him around. He is the cutest kid ever.

Isnt he the cutest???

He seemed really excited as well. Between Wayne and I we had to at some points try to figure out what he was saying as he spoke English and Chinese as well and it was fun. We then left for the baby shower.As we were leaving he realized his parents weren't coming with so he began to cry asking for his mom and we tried to distract him and carry him which worked eventually as he stopped crying and we headed out. It was quite strange as we had to make adjustments I had to sit with him behind as Wayne drove us. About 15 mins into the drive he fell asleep and woke up when we arrived. On arrival some of our friends thought we had adopted a little Chinese boy; you know to be a multi racial family..white,Asian and black.....He is such an adorable kid with lots of energy.

He entertained us at the baby shower and before we knew it, it was time to go back home as his parents were returning from the temple. So we dropped him off at his house. His parents cooked us a lovely meal beef stew Chinese style. We are actually grateful for the opportunity as we got to know him a little more and we looking forward to spending more days with him.

on our way home

Happy Birthday Al!!!

Happy Birthday Al, its amazing how much you have grown, three years already. We are so blessed to have you in our lives and the laughter you bring. You are such a sweet and adorable nephew and we love you so much. We wish we could have been there to celebrate with you. You are in our thoughts and we wish you many more years of happiness and joy to come. We hope you have a lovely day filled lots of fun and get spoilt rotten. Miss you lots. love uncle Wayne and aunt irene

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

Happy Birthday dad!!! Hope you have a lovely day and get spoilt. We love you so much and wish we could have been there to celebrate with you. We wish you all the best and many more years to come. You are such a wonderful dad.
ps. We owe you a cake when you come to visit.

Happy Birthday Sha!!

Happy Birthday our princess!!! Twelve years already, it seems like yesterday I was carrying you in my arms and all you could speak was baby language. And being referred to as capsule ... You have grown in to a very remarkable young lady we are so thankful to have a niece like you in our lives. We hope you have a fun filled day we miss you so much and wish we could be there to celebrate with you.Love you lots Aunt Irene & Uncle Wayne

happy birthday wends!!!

Happy Birthday Wendy, hope you have a great day filled with lots of fun and great memories. We wish you many more years to come. You're in our thoughts. We love you and miss you so much.

Happy Birthday Wayne!!

Happy Birthday hun!! my sweetie gained another year of wisdom and boy its amazing how time flies. Im so proud of him for all that he has accomplished . He has been such a pillar for me and I cant find the words to describe what a wonderful husband and man he is. I hope you have a lovely day and cant wait to spoil you . wishing you all the happiness and joy.
Its not fun to have your birthday on the same day as an exam, when i got back from work i found him so exhausted but got him one of his favorite cakes a bar one and fudge chocolate cake. It was delish.

Happy birthday again Hun !!!

Happy Anniversary mom and Dad

Happy Anniversary mom and dad. We hope you both have a wonderful day filled with great memories. 39 years is a long time, we so grateful for the example you are to us and we hope you have many more years of happiness and joy together. We love you so much.

South Coast holiday Pt 3

After Durban Hillcrest, our next destination was the south coast with mom and dad so we could just spend time with them. A being far from Durban we don't get to see them as often as we would like to this was a great opportunity for us. it was about an hours drive to Hibedene were we stayed at a family friends cottage at the beach. the place has such a magnificent view and the weather was great so we were able to lie and be lazy on the beach and go for walks on the beach.

view from the balcony

Although it was sunny the water was so cold so we didn't swim in ocean or pool. We were joined by Brad and Wendy the following early morning as it was the only opportunity we had to see them as they both have busy schedules work and school so we felt really loved for them to spend the day with us amidst studying. it was nice to chat and spend time as family. The boys went fishing quite early and we joined them after a while and had to get back o make breakfast. Oh no fish were caught.... but it was great bonding time for the two brothers as it had been a while since they actually did something together which was really lovely.

The brothers fishing

Dad found this sea louse

And dad had to go back into town as he had a hockey tournament. When he got back it was time for Brad and Wends to leave. We then spent the rest of the remaining days watching tv, reading novels and hiking.

Dad leaving for his hockey tournament

Time flies when one's having fun and no sooner did we know it was time to return home back to joburg. It was a needed holiday as by the time we left we were both missing home and work as well.

Body doubles

Like far like son in all likeliness

mom and dad on the balcony

us

my wonderful man :)

mom and dad . so cute

Durban Holiday Pt 2

After the four days in the mountains it was time to head to Durban where we were able to meet our friends and still lots of catching up as we stayed with mom and dad. We met up with the boys for a drink and chatted. Meanwhile before we left for the trip I had kinda organised a surprise birthday party for Wayne. As we run around seeing people and old friends i was "trying" to coordinate this. I must say it I felt terrible hiding it a way from him but it was worth it. I was able to see my former boss and friends the Boreham family while Wayne remained home studying because he had an exam the day after we returned home. And playing with the babies during his breaks.

In action with Chance

With our baby Patches... we hoping to bring her back to Jhb with us soon. she looks like a fat cat

His majesty Fudgie boy just chilling in bed such a spoilt lil boy while others are at play.

He finally comes out and does this

Had a chance to visit uncle Russ who isn't so well but we were actually surprised because he looked so well, see oupie who was in Durban on a business trip, and visit Brad and Wendy's beautiful home and their baby Gobbit such a cutie. Shame Wendy was also reading for her exams but it was nice to sit and just enjoy her company as Brad was at work.

wayne, oupie, wends and mom

Brad, Wends and Gobbit

So the night before we left for the south coast with mom and dad, we threw Wayne what should have been a surprise birthday party a bring and braai ... (guys it was awesome having you all there) everyone should have arrived at 6pm but no one was in time so we had to adapt plan B, ie we would bring the cake out after dinner and shout surprise!!! As everyone arrived the questions started from Wayne why is so and so here, what is happening... because we had seen all the guys the night before and spent most of the day with Mike though Wayne was still clueless about the whole thing. So my answer was dad asked if our friends could come back for an impromptu braai.
There was lots of laughter in the air a midst a game of rugby and a fire side then it was time for dinner and before we knew it, it was time to call it a day.

The holiday - Drakensberg Mountains, Pt 1

Its been a while since we have actually posted anything new , we have actually been updating old posts. But .. yeah we had the blessing of going on holiday for two weeks. It was wonderful. Wayne hadn't been on holiday in 19 months several reasons .... so by the time we went on leave his body was really begging him for a break. We should have left for our Holiday on Friday 8th May but it didn't go to plan it just started as a disaster I had lots of things to windup and put together. So we left on Saturday morning at about 1am, we hit the road and arrived at the cottage at about 7am. I slept most of the journey as Wayne did all the driving. Our first destination- the Cottage at the Drakensburg. It was a breath of fresh air, our moto for the holiday was sleep, eat and grow. It was very cold between 3 and 12 degrees so most of the time we spent indoors.

me lying by the fire place
Wayne sitting on one of them rocks

The reason as to why the cottage is called rocky ridge is because of the rocks

We were able to go up the mountain for a hike and had a picnic . it was wonderful to just enjoy the breeze and view as we soaked up some bit of sun and lay lazily on the grass gazing at the sky.One of Wayne's favorite.

Its such a long walk from the cottage to the top but quite relaxing.

The view not from the peak like a quarter the distance to the top

We went on a stroll down by the river,we found some fish and also horses by the river side, enjoyed the sound of water gashing down the stream and the waterfall. The view/scenery was just so spectacular. Jumped on rocks and walked along the river bank. Such lovely weather to be outdoors. On our way back was the part i dreaded we had two encounters with snakes . eeek!! I'm not a fan of snakes at all...ok and lizards too. Well Wayne doesn't mind them in fact he had a pet snake when he was little. I was grossed and freaked out. The first snake was a small I think yellow or brown as I was too freaked out to notice the colour just as we left the river.We almost stepped on it and the other one was quite big it was green and black as we walked into the drive way of the cottage it was just lying there. Wayne's explanation as to why it was lying in the drive way on the concrete was to get some sun. Lets just say I never got out of the house when it got dark and after that encounter the doors and windows were shut all the time. And I watched every step I took when out of the house just in case there was something lying around.

The weather was great during the day and from around 3pm it started getting cold so by 5pm dinner was ready. We decided to braai all our meals which was fun as we rarely do that back at home because of other commitments. It was wonderful. It was lovely to sit and chat as we waited for dinner to get ready. We had date nights all through the our time in the berg.

On one of the days we kinda slowed down a lot. It was really nice to have my sweetie all to myself again.

Wayne's braai-ing is phenomenal you can see the end result.

One of the nights as we lay in bed watching tv kinda nodding off we received visit from an uninvited guest who from no where started flying and flapping its wings like crazy. Its was scary as we didn't know what it was and all I did was scream and I think the more I screamed the more the bat freaked out. Eventually my Wayne got out of bed while I lay underneath the covers and caught it using a towel and took it to the window where we think it flew away as we never saw it again for the rest of our stay.

Bat the uninvited guest.

We also spent time with aunt Sannie which was lovely to just sit catch up and enjoy her company and Roxie as well. It was great to have them over for dinner. Roxie aka lovie is aunt Sannie's dog the cutes dong ever full of life and every entertaining.This dog is so intelligent that it takes itself for walks it puts her leash in her mouth and takes herself for a walk and when she has had enough she comes back. We also went to aunt Sannie's place for tea by the fireside and stories the air was filled with lots of laughter and also running around playing catch. We also made some discoveries.

Wayne and Roxie playing
Aunt Sannie with Roxie

Wayne at the sword wall, its unbelievable .. the detailed engravings on the swords .Me wearing the helmet its actually heavy so I don't know how people wore it without their necks bending to the side but its pretty cool.

After the four days in the mountains it was time to head to Durban.

On the way to Durban