Welcome Debbie

Tuesday 16th: 8:45pm. Ruth wanted to drive with Brendon to fetch Debbie from the airport this evening. A late night for her, but special to spend the extra bit of time with Debbie. Debbie's brother paid for Debbie and her mother to come to NZ for a couple of months and so we were thrilled to be able to get her to come and spend a week with us. I never dreamt this would happen. What a wonderful blessing to us both.

Wed 17th: It didn't take Debbie long to get cuddles with Anastasia.


Once Rachel was home from work we got to enjoy Brendon's birthday cake.
Debbie's birthday was on the 8th of January and Brendon's is on the 20th (the same year) and so because she is 12 days older, he calls her "granny". :-)
We have such a special friendship with Debbie and it was so amazing to be able to have her staying with us for this week. She is my best friend and I have really missed her over the last 10 years.
Happy Birthday to you both.

Rachel did really well with the cake. The only challenge was piping the ganache. I think it was a bit too cold (and hard). We also don't have the perfect equipment for piping. So that may be something she will have to invest in to get that higher quality "look".

Asher didn't want to stay for the photo and Anastasia was moaning, so this was the best group photo we could get.

And gift-giving-Ruth asked that we give Dad his presents today too (no point taking them up to Hanmer to unwrap/un-bag).

And Ruth got a gift too. Debbie bought all the moisturizing creams bottles that the shop had (which will now last us many years) as well as this amazing comb. We undid some of the braids this evening for her to have a try. It works SO well. She sat there just brushing her hair. She noted that it was the first time she has ever been able to brush her hair.
Thank you so much Debbie. It will be used and appreciated for a very long time.

Thursday 18th: Asher unfortunately had a terrible morning. She started with her now-regular pacing but it eventually changed to pain. It was really special to see her going to get some comfort from Debbie.
Ruth suggested pain medication as there was clearly a lot of pain and it was not going away but getting worse. So we did that and I also started wondering about taking her to the doctor to see if there was a clear area causing the pain. When Rachel got home from work just before lunch, she didn't hesitate in saying "get her to the doctor". She was crying in pain by then and Asher never really cries for pain. So I took her down to get checked. Her ears and throat looked fine and most importantly for me, the doctor said he felt sure it was not her stomach (or appendicitis - which was a concern for me as the pain was just building).

She needed another dose of a different pain med to finally help clear the pain. Poor girl. The doc had wondered about a urinary tract infection but after seeing her through the rest of the afternoon we wonder if it was just a really bad headache. She can't even tell us where the pain is, so it's a huge challenge. I was so relieved when the pain subsided for her.
On the way back from the doctor I stopped at the pool to quickly take this photo.

Michelle was also visiting from Auckland today, so she took Hezekiah, Hannah and Ruth to the pool for a Pool Party that was being put on. Michelle took these photos, so I was pleased to have more to add from their outing.
What a treat that Hannah got to be Sports Susie's helper.
I also heard about all the fun they had in the pool. Michelle will be very stiff from all the playing she was involved in today.

I was so thankful that the children could enjoy the party as it was totally impossible for me to have taken them. So Michelle's visit was perfectly timed. They had lunch there (way more than just a sausage sizzle) and Hezekiah was so pleased he told me they even had gluten free bread for the sausages. :-)
Then some fun on the trampoline in the afternoon.

We enjoyed fish and chips together for dinner.

Thanks for making the effort to come and spend the day with us Michelle. So pleased you could get to meet Anastasia and have so much fun with the others at the pool. What special memories.

In the evening we headed down to our church for their bible study / cell group as I had organized for Debbie to share her testimony.
Sorry for only getting the one close up of you Debbie - with your eyes closed. I had Anastasia in my arms, so it was a little tricky.
We had car trouble just as we were leaving (a flat battery on the van) so Hannah could not join us. Rachel and Ruth came with though and we were so pleased to be able to have Debbie share. We had about 20 people attend. After Debbie shared some of her testimony I then asked her a few questions and shared some of what the Lord has done in my life through my friendship with her.

Debbie has always dreamt of traveling around the world to share with people what the Lord has done (and is doing) in her life. So this was just such a wonderful opportunity for her.
She shared at her brother's church in Auckland too.

Friday 19th: More cuddles.


In the evening we went to the summer bible study on the farm. It was great for Debbie to meet a few more people.


After dinner Brendon took Asher, Hezekiah and Hannah home to get into bed. So us "girls" had a nice time out together.