I love Rugby!

Thursday 14 May 09

On Saturday 9th May we went down to Hamilton and went to the best rugby game this season - Chiefs v Hurricanes, the top two teams in the Super 14 and the top two NZ teams this year... the the really sweet thing was - we went with some good friends, and while the boys were goin for the 'Canes, Sarah & I decided that we'd stick by the Chiefs (being Chiefs Country and all) and we won! Yeah - GO CHIEFS...

All rugged up and ready to face the Waikato Winter:

Me, Luke, Sarah ad Rob

Playing the game...

Self-portrait - you know the one, arm up trying to take a photo without knowing if you were both fitting in the screen or not!

Proper photo take by Rob of us!

Christmas Letter

MERRY CHRISTMAS…

Wednesday 24^th December 2008

Thankful Thursday...

Thursday 30th October 2008                                                                                                             9:25pm

I have been very bad updating this recently - but have just sent this post to my Christian Journalling Group, so thought I would share it here also... hopefully, if I manage to send these posts regularly (like I am hoping to), I will also update my blog more regularly ! We'll see!!!!

1) For a busy life - it did mean that I never got to write my list out last week... but it also means that we have family and friends who care for us, and want to spend time with us and I wouldn't trade that for the world!
 
2) For the ability to drive - I was a slow starter, and never got my license until about 2 years ago. Having my licnese has meant that I could pop down and do the grocery shopping straight after work today, instead of waiting for an evening my husband was free - he is working tonight, and as we went away last weekend we were hadn't shopped in two weeks!  The cupboards were very sparse, but not only did I do the grocery shopping, I have also been able to cook a nice dinner so my hubby has something yummy to come home to as well! I am so thankful for my little car !
 
3) My health - I have an uncurable disease which causes severe pain, but God is healing me and I am a totally different person to what I was even 2 years ago... I think I have mentioned this before but it is something I am constantly thankful for! I have learnt not to take my health for granted, it is something to cherish and appreciate, also something to look after when given a second chance like I have been given.
 
4) For my beautiful cat who is keeping me company while "Dad" is working... she is a little perplexed as Luke normally arrives home only 1/2 an hour after me, she has been following me around like a little puppy and even sat with me when I ate my dinner (she is not a snuggly cat, quite the independant "Little Miss")! I suspect she is trying to work out what is going on as she is a "Daddy's Girl", and doesn't like it when her routine is out of "whack"!!!!
 
5) For gorgeous babies - we are at the stage in life (married four years) when everyone around us is popping out babies, Luke's sister is pregnant and I also know of at least three others who are also pregnant! A friend of mine has just had a baby daughter, and I knew of nine babies born last year alone (family and friends)... But I am baby-mad so have revelled in all the new editions, and am really looking forward to when we can start our own family; but until then I will enjoy the cuddles that accompany friends having babies!!! I am also thankful that my husband wants to start a family, and is getting cluckier as he gets older - we're just waiting until we have a deposit for a house.
 
6) For our beautiful new TV, and our stereo - I can't imagine my life without these objects, as sad as that sounds! I love my music, and would listen to that far more often if I had my way - but my hubby likes his TV, and right now Survivor Gabon is on (I hate Survivor - but he LOVES it; so I have to suffer through it quietly every week)! I think I like our new TV because it makes my hubby so happy - he had been researching and saving for it for months before he finally bought it, and now it is his pride and joy... I also like it because next year we are going to get "Sky TV", your version of cable I suspect (pay TV) and we will be able to follow our national sports team - this will bring friends around, as most of our church friends LOVE rugby and don't have Sky. I am looking forward to next winter when we can have pot-luck dinners around the TV with friends, while watching the All Blacks play (and win) their rugby games!!!!
 
7) For the ability to read and write - I LOVE books with a passion, and have read books properly for as long as I can remember... I also can't imagine my life without writing, it is as essential as breathing. Even though I don't write in my journal as often as I would like to, I still can't imagine my life without that escape; the opportunity to express yourself in such a way is a huge blessing and I am sure it has pulled me out of the quagmire on many occasions - it has allowed me the chance to express my anger or frustrations in a healthy way, and not take them out on those around me. God is good giving me the ability and passion to express myself like this - He knew right from the moment I started existing, that I would be one of those people who needs a way of expressing myself through writing in order to survive!!!! When I think about this I am really in awe - God gave us each different ways of expressing ourselves, I have friends who play the piano magically - this is their way of expressing those deep feelings, and yet I sucked at the piano because God knew I  needed and had a different outlet!
 
8) For my Dad - he is vey sick with emphasema and asthma, as well as CORD (Chronic Obstructive Respitory Disease); his lung capacity sunk from 67% right down to 42% over a four month period this year, and he now has to see his Specialist every 3 months. Today was his latest appointment, and praise God - his lung capacity has risen slightly from 42 to 46%, which in the big scheme of things is not huge - but it does mean that the negative spiral he was in has turned, and the Specialist is thrilled and has put him back to six monthly appointments again! Yeah; all good news for us !
 
9) For my job - in this troubled time jobs are becoming like gold, and I am so thankful that I have my job still and that I am (hopefully) fairly safe... we so need the two incomes in order to get ahead, as I would like to stay home once we have kids but until then we need to two incomes to give us a step up and allow us the opportunity to purchase our own place. So while there are days when I just don't want to be there - I generally enjoy my job, and enjoy my colleagues and appreciate the opportunity it is giving us for a better future.
 
10) For the end of this list *grin*...  I have been typing this up for a good 1.5 hours now (with quite a few distractions in between I might add), and I am running out of steam and running out of idea's; so I am thankful I have managed to get to number 10 and can now send this off to you all!!!! Yeah!!!!!!!!

--
Kind Regards,

Elizabeth

Weekly E-mail

Sunday 10^th August 2008 

I am sitting in the warm lounge with my laptop on my knee, trying to get this e-mail completed early enough that I still have some time left in the afternoon for me… sometimes it feels that these updates take so long that I hardly have any Sunday just for “me”, as by the time we get home from church, have lunch and do any little left-over chores; it’s time to sit down and start working through this J! I know it’s my own fault though, as I spend hours on it – trying to write it “just so”, as I feel I have to make it interesting and worth reading; this of course puts a whole heap of pressure on me, but do you think I could ever just “send a quick hello” update? Not likely – so I guess it’s just a “shut up and put up” situation for me, as I created the whole thing myself, and I chose to continue to keep it up. I’m not actually complaining (even if it sounds like it at this point), rather I am thinking “aloud” as I go, about why I have put myself under this kind of pressure, and why I feel such a strong obligation to make my life sound interesting to you all?!? Maybe it’s just a self-worth thing – or lack thereof? Done with the philosophical thinking now though J! 

On Monday I got a call from the couple who owned the three bedroom house we had gone to look through on the Sunday afternoon, letting us know that we were their top choice for tenants, however they had still not got hold of the person we had placed as our reference – but apparently this was just a formality. Having not realised how high up we were in the running (there were at least 30 groups had made contact, and more than half of them had shown an interest in the place), we had contacted an Agent in regards to another place we were interested in. I explained this to them over the phone, and it was agreed we’d let them know once we’d managed to go through the other place as well (the second place was more conveniently located for us). However they rang us again that night and spoke to Luke this time, asking us to make a fairly quick decision as they had others who were also interested… by that stage we had set up a time after work the following day to see the other house, so promised we’d make a decision within 24 hours and get back to them. In the end – neither of the places worked out, we decided that the first place we saw wasn’t really what we wanted, and the second place fell through before we even got to see it, as the owner found someone privately. So we’re still looking… saw two others we thought we’d be interested in; went and looked at one on Saturday morning and pretty much said no straight out, and the other one we’re waiting to hear back about (Agent is away for the weekend). This second one is on a side street off where we currently live, it is empty already – so the Agent said we could go and have a look around it; which we did, literally J! From what we could see – it is everything we want, it appears a good size, it is in the right location, it is tidy and clean (just has a very OLD oven, but everything else appeared to be in good order from what we could see). The owner had said no pets, but the Agent said he’d have a chat to them and see what he could do – so I am guessing that we’ll contact the Agent again tomorrow, see what the final decision is with regard to pets and then arrange to look through the inside properly (rather than peering through windows *grin*) IF the owners are comfortable with Pixel. Both of us have a “good” feeling about this one and are very interested… but I guess it’s a wait and see game now really. 

On Tuesday I had a dentist appointment – the teeth were given a thorough going over and clean, and it turns out I have one more small filling to take care of (in October), and hopefully after that life will settle down. However the cleaning I got was a bit rough, and my bottom left tooth is still very sore – I can’t even eat on that side yet, as it is so sensitive. Hopefully it will settle down before I need yet another trip to the dentist (but this is their fault, so I won’t be paying – grrrrr)! Both Monday and Tuesday evenings were quiet nights at home as well – this week has been quite the opposite to what we have been dealing with lately J! 

Wednesday was homegroup as usual, and as will be the norm for the next 9 weeks – we girls sat in the nice warm lounge and watched a Beth Moore DVD, while the boys cosied up in the study and talked through the book of Acts (they’re doing 4 chapters a week). From the laughter coming from the boys room this time, it did appear that they weren’t only discussing the bible *grin*, but I am sure there were some deep theological discussions had in the middle of all the hilarity!!!! It was Wednesday that we also got the text from Wendy regarding Trish’s not-so-good results, and also Wednesday that Luke had his job review. Luke has now gone from an eight month contract to a full-time contract, he is getting a new laptop (which means I get his old one – yeah), and he has asked for a payrise which has not yet been confirmed. So Luke came out totally ecstatic, as it looks like he’ll be getting all he asked for J! We also found out on Wednesday that we will be having our job reviews next week; our new HR Manager has put a new system in place – and we now have to go through two hour reviews every six months, and we are not to discuss possible pay-rises with our boss; he has to decide after the review and will then let us know what he thinks (with no discussion from us). I really am not keen on this new system – I mean TWO hours, what is there to talk about that could take TWO hours?!? Oh well – I guess I’ll find out this coming week… 

Thursday we went down to the mall and had Burger Fuel for dinner, followed by doing our grocery shopping – all very exciting !!!! I did not get much sleep that night, as Luke had come down with a sore throat and spent most of the night tossing and turning, in between he was also up and down due to not being able to sleep himself – so that made Friday a very LONG day!!!! However, I got a HUGE compliment on Friday afternoon – I bumped into our CEO in the kitchen, and he said to me that he’d been told I was the “Rising Star” of our Department, and he had also noticed that I didn’t shy away from hardwork… I thought that was pretty cool, and it has taken the pressure of my review somewhat (not that I am expecting to fly through it either, as I know I have made some pretty dumb mistakes recently). That night was our marriage course – this week focused on conflict, and next week is forgiveness… it was a good night, and we both enjoyed ourselves. Luke seemed to have perked up a bit by then, but by the time we got home from the course – he was feeling pretty grotty again; and there started our weekend J! 

Saturday Luke woke up feeling pretty crook, and didn’t really seem to improve all that much – we spent most of the day sitting around in our lounge, with the door shut and the heater on (it was fairly miserable and cold). The only time we went out, was to see the first unit and then we went to the mall and paid the vodaphone bill and had a coffee; then that afternoon we went for a quick walk to get some fresh air. Other than that we just mucked around – Luke studied as much as his mushy brain would let him, I read and played on the computer, we watched Olympics, chatted on the phone and generally just had a “blob” day doing nothing – I felt quite blah really, I HATE days like that; when you just don’t have the energy or motivation to do anything. That afternoon I found an article called “Hidden Treasure” by Liz Curtis Higgs, that just had me in tears… for a long time I have felt that I have needed to go back to my writing, but I have never had the guts to do it; this article really hit a nerve, to the point that I have got my “novel” up on my laptop and have been re-reading it and thinking about where to take it next. I was also reading that book I mentioned last week called “Leaving The Saints”, and while it is an autobiography and thus written in the first person – it is written in quite a similar vein as how I have started mine (starting in the “present” and then going back to where the “story” began, and then finishing off where it started from again). So that also got my juices flowing – as it was very well written, very interesting and had other idea’s that I hadn’t thought to corporate into mine… Maybe one day, seriously, you may see something I have written actually in print J! 

Today we didn’t bother going to church, as Luke is still feeling pretty bad – so it has been the same kind of day as yesterday really, however it has also been beautiful weather with cloudless blue skies above; so I have not felt half as “blah” (amazing how the weather really effects our moods) and have been much more motivated to do housework and generally make my weekend worthwhile!!!! So I have done a whole heap of washing, hung it out on the line and have since brought it back in (some was even dry – wow), I finished my book and I have (like I said above), actually taken my novel out of hiding and have started re-reading it J! 

Next weekend we’re hoping Mum and Dad will be up, as they have been invited to attend a surprise 60^th birthday party… but Mum had a “wee accident” in the car earlier this week, and it depends on how quickly the repair takes place, as to whether or not they make it. Talking of Mum – she has had to make a HUGE decision this week, and has sent her resignation in as Manager of the Tokoroa CLC Bookshop, and thus as of August 29^th it will be closing down… there were a lot of reasons behind this decision, and it wasn’t made lightly – so please pray for peace for her, and also that the closing will go smoothly, and she manages to pay all the bills with the clearance sale now on. 

Anyway; that’s it from me for now folks, so until next week – haera ra J! 

Love

Elizabeth (& Luke)

Weekly Update

Sunday 3rd August 2008

Good evening family & friends, 

I am feeling tired and lazy tonight – so I won’t keep you long J! 

Once more it has been a busy week, and quite emotionally draining… on Monday we had the Mortgage Broker come around despite being declined by National Bank for a mortgage on the previous Friday; Luke had rung him that afternoon and explained what happened – but he felt he could offer us more, and wanted to come and around and talk anyway. So we spent an hour and a half with him that evening, and when he left felt quite hopeful again. We had decided to bring our top figure down reasonably significantly, because we’d realised that even though we could currently afford those re-payments as is, if anything had happened to either one of us; we were stuffed. It turned out that Willy (the Broker) knew Luke from his Tennis days in Manurewa in his late teens / early twenties, so they also had a quick catch up as to what had happened over the subsequent years; and it was a lovely evening. Willy told us that we should hear from him with an answer by Thursday at the latest – all going well. 

Tuesday night was a quiet night, so much so Luke decided we needed to pop out and see Russell and Rowie; as Russell had asked him to pop over and see the bookcase he was making… so we rang them to make sure they were home, and headed over there to annoy them for an hour or so. It was good to hear how Rowie was settling into her new job, and how things were going for them; Luke was highly impressed with Russell’s shelves and became even keener on getting into that kind of thing soon. He has been promising me he’ll make us a coffee table since we got married, well the list has now grown into an entertainment unit, 2x bedroom drawers + side cabinets, side tables to match coffee table and a dining suite (chairs and all) J! I’m still waiting on the coffee table *grin* J! Hence why we need to find a unit/house with a garage for him, as he is fairly serious about starting all of these things soon (apparently the drawers are going to be first now; not the coffee table). 

Wednesday was BMG as per usual – this term the guys and girls are splitting for the whole evening; and we are doing a Beth Moore study on “Believing God” (instead of just Believing In Him), and the boys are studying the book of Acts… we had our first week this past week, and got our study books, and watched the first DVD; this study has five nights of homework associated with each week, so it will keep me fairly busy. The homework is supposed to take 30 minutes each night, but I think I can blitz them in about 15 minutes each (which makes me think I am not getting as much out of it as I could be doing I suspect J). But so far I am enjoying it… hopefully the motivation lasts long enough to complete the whole course!!!!! Luke LOVED the first week doing Acts as well, he struggles with the way BMG is normally run with us following a book – and doing a chapter a week, and reading it aloud as a group first; so this type of bible study just appeals and the boys got quite hyped up, as I gather they all had different theories and opinions (Luke’s latest interest has been pre-destination versus free-will, and he tends to stick very strongly to pre-destination and as that was a big discussion point for the past week – he was in his element trying to prove his point) J! 

Thursday we both had a day off work – it was just “one of those things”, he has been quite tired and drained recently, so I suggested he take some time off (seeing as I have just had a holiday)… so he took Thursday off and at the beginning of that week he asked if I could have it off with him; so I checked with my boss and he was very relaxed and told me there were no problems and to go and enjoy myself (very sweet) J! So we slept in, then went to the shops and had a wonder around and a coffee, followed by grocery shopping… in the afternoon Luke studied, and I pottered – doing some housework, looking up rental properties and generally mucking around on the computer. I forgot to mention that we’d got the call from Willy on Wednesday afternoon at work to say that while we’d been offered a mortgage, it was substantially lower than what we’d asked for – and one of the decisions we’d made was that if we didn’t get what we asked for then we’d take that as a “sign” that it’s not the right time to buy for us. Basically the reason for this is that prices in our area are still reasonably high; so going any lower than what we’d asked for would limit what we could buy and in what area – making it almost impossible for us to get anything of interest to us. So we thanked Willy very much for all his hard work (and are going to get him and Linda thank you cards for all the hard work they have put in for us), and told him we’d be back in 12 months with a serious deposit and a very keen eye for a bargain J! Thursday evening we were meant to have had Shaun and Sharon over for dinner, but Shaun postponed as he had a meeting he’d forgotten about; so we got to spend the evening at home by ourselves for the first time for a LONG time, I can’t even remember the last time we managed that (and it meant we got to do the homework for the marriage course for Friday night, oops – very last minute *grin*) J! 

Friday I spent the day catching up on myself at work, as it is month-end and always busy – but I managed to do everything I needed to do; so I was quite proud of myself! That evening we had our Marriage Course again, and this week it was on communication; again we had a great time, the company was good and we really appreciated it… worked through some interesting communication issues and generally enjoyed the night out!!!! Luke is a big fan of it now, and has been recommending it to anyone who asks us about it J! 

Saturday was a quiet day – with another trip to the shops (and some new shoes acquired for Luke, all his shoes seem to be falling apart at the same time), as well as two new books for me as Whitcoulls had a sale on and I can’t resist a bargain – one is called “Leaving The Saints” and is an autobiography of a woman who grew up as a morman, and while she left the church for a while in her twenties; she came back to it as a young mother. However coming back into it as an adult allowed her to see things she had never noticed as a child, and ultimately she left the church again and has written a book on her experiences within the morman religion; very, very interesting. The other is just a novel, but it sounds pretty interesting also – guess I’ll have to wait and see, as I am working my way through the other one first… The afternoon was very lazy, we did no housework at all yesterday, in fact I am not even sure what we did do; Luke had a nana-nap at one point and I just puddle around in between reading my book. Shaun and Sharon came over at 5pm for dinner, Luke cooked divine roast chicken and veges on his own – it was very tender and cooked to perfection (as is normal for him these days)!!! We then headed out to the Barrel Inn Bar to watch the rugby with BMG; it was the sweetest night, VERY sweet revenge I must say. Go All Blacks J!!!!!! 

Today has been quiet – we had church in the morning, then we headed off to Mitre 10 for Luke to start dreaming about building drawers, followed by lunch and housework at home… again we just had a quiet afternoon puddling around, Luke on the computer and me reading, in between both of us cleaning and doing all those domestic things! At 4:30pm we headed out to look through a rental property we’d seen on Trade-Me, it was 3 bedrooms in a nice area and going quite cheaply – due to this there were about 30 others with the same idea, we have seen a few others of interest, and I will be contacting a couple of Agents tomorrow to see what they have on their books; please pray we find the right place, for the right price quickly J… I am very impatient, as we’ve been here quite long enough now J!!!!! 

Anyway – that’s about it from me for now; so until next time I will take my leave! 

Love

Elizabeth (& Luke & Pixel) J!