Seasons greetings!!

Best wishes for the Season and May God's love envelope you all year through 2008.

Jesus is Better than Santa

Santa lives at the North Pole.

JESUS is everywhere.

Santa rides in a sleigh

JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.

Santa comes but once a year

JESUS is an ever present help.

Santa fills your stockings with goodies

JESUS supplies all your needs.

Santa comes down your chimney uninvited

JESUS stands at your door and knocks... and then enters your heart.

You have to stand in line to see Santa

JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.

Santa lets you sit on his lap

JESUS lets you rest in His arms.

Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, What's your name?"

JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.

Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly

JESUS has a heart full of love.

All Santa can offer is HO HO HO

JESUS offers Health, Help and Hope.

Santa says "You better not cry"

JESUS says "Cast all your cares on Me for I care for you.

Santa's little helpers make toys

JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.

Santa may make you chuckle but

JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.

While Santa puts gifts under your tree

JESUS became our Gift and died on the tree.

It's obvious there is really no comparison.

We need to remember WHO Christmas is all about.

We need to put Christ back into Christmas.

Jesus is still the reason for the season.

May The Lord Bless & Watch Over You This Christmas And May He Prosper & Bless The Work Of Your Hands In The New Year

GOD BLESS

Dana is 6 months old today

Firstly all praise to God for blessing her with us thus far and for equipping Paul and myself with wisdom to raise her for the first 6 months and providing us with the finances to sustain her and provide for her every need and more.

Our sweet pudding is 6 months I cannot believe how time flies by. It has been the most awesome blessed time as a mother. The experiences are unreal and every time I think I can’t love you anymore, you go and do something to make me love you even more. Your tiny toes, your sweet lips, that fragrance of your love, your soft skin up against mine, the stolen kisses, smiles and laughs, hugs and even tears, your strong willed personality, the fighting spirit in you, is what makes parenthood all worth while. So here is to you Dana, celebrating your first half year of your life!!!! We love you lots from Mom and Dad!!!!!

We also had her clinic visit; she weighs 7.1kg now and 68 cm.
At birth she was 2.7kg and 48cm.

I am going back in time, from present to the past with milestones and special moments of her...

What I look like today:


Sitting for the first time:


5 months Old: (eating my butternut)


Eating Solids for the first time:


4 months Old:


Touching my toes for the first time:


This says it all:


14 Weeks:


10 Weeks:


The day I got dedicated to the Lord:


6 Weeks and my first smile caught on camera:


5 Weeks:


3 Weeks:


2 Weeks:


1 Week:


1 Day Old:


My birth day:


Thank you so much for looking!!

4 Months Old!!!!!!!!

I cannot believe how the time goes, heres updated pics of her!!

3 months old!!!

On the 30th August, Dana turned 3 months old. To what started out as a 2.7kg baby, Dana has now gone to double her birth weight at 5.2kg and is 58cm tall, compared to 48cm at birth, so she has really grown!!!
All praise and glory to Jesus for reaching this milestone!

Growing and Growing!!

My smile captured finally!!

8 weeks old

10 weeks old

Dana's Dedication

Gosh, this was such and emotional day for Paul and I. It was an awesome feeling filled with lots of fear and reverance to dedicate Dana to the Lord Jesus and make the decision to raise her up in the ways of God and that one day she will too walk in the destiny and plans God has called her for. What a responsibility as parents, but we are confident that The Holy Spirit will be with us each day and guide us with wisdom and grace to fulfill this task. We were so blessed and our Pastor had a Word for Dana, while they were blessing her and laying hands, he said she is a fighter and will be an arrow of deliverance in the Kingdom, even in her short time on earth she has already placed strategic arrows, gosh that really got me going with the floods of tears...lol
Here are some pictures of the day.
Being dedicated:




My Outfit:

Motherhood is wonderful!

I know it has been a long time since I have posted. Probably 3 months ago so please forgive me. As my caption has read that mommyhood is great, it also keeps you very occupied...lol! But from now onwards there are no excuses, I promise. Dana is such a cute baby phase now, let me share her milestones with you.

• She started lifting her head at 2 weeks off my chest.
• She smiled for the first time at mommy at 3 and a half weeks.
• She can sit supported in a seat.
• She coos and semi-laughs.
• She grabs at her toys in the playgym.
• She opens and closes her hand very well.
• She is now eating her hands and bibs and starting to dribble all over.
• She loves to socialise with people
• She loves to stand on my legs and pushes down very strongly.

When you look at the miracle of a child you just see the Fathers love in the creation all the time. Her perfectly framed body with tiny fingers and toes. To be blessed to be a mother is extrodinary. I cant thank God enough each day for Dana, my miracle child. She now sleeps practically through the night! One of my most proud priveleges is being able to breastfeed her uptil now. Its a such a wonderful bonding experience that makes you all warm and fuzzy inside.

Here are some updated pictures of her, and since I have not updated I will start at 3 weeks till now.

3 Weeks old

























6 Weeks old

Hope for the Day

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"HOPE FOR THE DAY" from Clara Hinton
http://www.silentgrief.com
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June 11, 2007
When we lose someone it feels as if the center of our world is gone. And, when the center is gone, nothing seems to fit into place like it once did. Everything just seems to swim around and not have any real meaning or any real place to go.

It takes a long time following the death of a child to begin to fill in the empty space in the center of our world again. We know it will never feel completely right again, but with time and lots of adjustments our world can begin to fill in with purpose and meaning again.

Hope is the one thing that brings life back to us when all has been taken away. We can see hope in the budding of a flower, in the fluttering of a butterfly, and in the rainbow following the storm. We see hope in everyday kindnesses shown to us - the smile from a stranger, the hug from a friend, and the phone call from someone who cares and has not forgotten us in our pain.
Hope knows exactly when to arrive and it is never late. Hope begins to fill in the empty space, and in time we feel a comfort that we know is real. Our world that was once diminished by loss has begun to grow again.

Hang in there, and remember that the emptiness does not last forever. Hope is so powerful that it can build roots when the tree has been cut down. Hope can bring a new day when we've only been seeing night. Hope is alive and will give us new life! --Clara Hinton

"Sometimes when one person is missing the whole world seems empty, but hope is stronger than any emptiness and will fill our soul with peace!" -- Clara Hinton

"He will keep your soul." --Psalm 121:8b

Dana has arrived!!!!!!

Dana’s Birth Story – 30th May 2007

We found out we were expecting Dana, after a very long difficult journey of healing the loss of our first daughter, it had taken me a year after that to ovulate and the doctor then diagnosed me with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), and told me he cannot guarantee when I will conceive again, but that I needed to keep my stress levels down and he prescribed glucophage and clomid, which will help me to ovulate every month and regulate my insulin levels. Dana was conceived after 2 months on the prescribed medication, so she is definitely our miracle baby, Praise God!!! Her expected due date was the 16th June 2007.My pregnancy was pretty easy with no complications. The only stressing part of the journey was that my Obstetrician ended up going on sick leave, and so from week 32 I had to see a new doc, it was a bit stressful, but I took it in my stride and went with it, putting my faith in God and not on the doctor. It helped also that he was an excellent obstetrician with good credentials, so it made the transition much easier. On my week 34 appointment at the doc, he checked Dana out and said she may have to come out earlier than the expected Caesar date of the 6th of June, because the blood flow to the placenta was a bit low and he was scared she may not receive enough nutrients in the last stages of growing and she might go into distress. So he told me to come in for an amniocentesis on the 23rd May, and if the lungs were mature, he would do the Caesar the following day.The 23rd May arrived with much excitement and anxiety as she would only be 36wk3days and I was a bit hesitant with her being born early. At 12h00 I had the amnio done and a checkup. Doc then told me he will give me a call after 4pm to let me know what decision he has come to. After 4pm, he called and told me that he would like Dana to bake another week, as her lungs are not mature enough for him, and she will be better out the following week as well as the blood flow was fine, so there was nothing to be concerned about for now. So the Caesar date was then rescheduled for the 30th May 2007 at 07h30 and I would have to have cortisone injections the Monday and Tuesday of the following week before the Caesar. The Tuesday evening arrived with much joy and anxiety. DH and I could not believe that we were going to meet our precious girl tomorrow. I was booked into hospital 20h30 pm and prepped for surgery for the next morning. I could not sleep the entire evening as I had continuous heartburn and winds, so I tossed and turned the entire evening...Lol At 05h00 I was awoken to take a bath/shower as they would be taking me up to Labour Ward at 06h00. I managed to have a quiet moment before then and thanked the Lord for a pleasant and safe delivery of a healthy baby girl. At 07h00 the nurse attempted to put my drip into my hand twice but failed and my hand swelled up immensely and was really sore, so she told me she would get the anesthetists to put the drip in. At exactly 07h30 I walked into theater and got up onto the operating table where the anesthetist administered the epidural. It happened in no time and I started feeling the tingling sensation in my legs. They stared cutting me and then the Ob started having slight problems, Dana turned and was lying transverse and he was having difficulty getting her out, she eventually came out bum first, then an arm, her legs and her head last!! Even the pediatrician was helping to press down on my tummy to assist. All I remember my doc saying she is giving me grey hairs here!! She eventually came out at 07h54, crying. Her feet were blue from them trying to get her out. She weighed 2.760 kg, and 48cm. Her apgar scores were 6/10 and then 8/10 because of her delivery. They took her to the incubabator immediately after mommy had a chance to meet her to warm her up. I was totally in love and couldn’t believe she finally arrived. Her sugar levels were also low because of the glucophage that had to be taken throughout my pg, but other than that we had a very healthy baby girl.I thank God for this amazing experience once again, the miracle of life. The opportunity once again to become parents and having that awesome privilege once again. It was an amazing birth experience, despite the minor complication in theater, but was handled smoothly by the hands of the doctors, that I believe God handpicked for her safe journey into the world. There were so many ways I have seen God’s hand in this, I had a wonderful healthy pregnancy, a smooth birth, I even managed to carry to 37 and a half weeks, I ended up with a completely different Obstetrician, Pediatrician and anesthetist, hospital and nursing staff . It was confirmation to us that we were meant to have a totally different experience second time around with joy, peace and love.

Thank you Jesus for our miracle. We promise to look well after her.

Some pics of her from birth till now:

Hope for the Day!

It has been a bit hectic at work and while on maternity leave, so could not update as I have wanted to, but hopefully will be back on track now, giving updates and hope and encouragement.

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"HOPE FOR THE DAY" from SilentGrief.com
http://www.silentgrief.com
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June 4, 2007
What's the hardest part about losing someone? That's the question that most people in grief answer every day of their lives. They know the answer because they live with it day in and day out. Separation. It's knowing that there is separation from the one that was loved so much.
Some people might say that the separation should be easy when you believe in heaven, but the person in grief will tell you that, although knowing you will meet again some day, the pain of separation is still the most difficult pain of all.
It's foolish to expect to "get over" a loss. The pain is always there. In time, the pain isn't always at the forefront, but it's still there. There's always the fantasy of what might have been. There are always those times when you will wonder what if things had been different.
On the hard days it helps to remember that the pain will not always be this acute. Hope has a way of seeping into the heart and lighting a small flame that eventually burns brighter and brighter until we can be happy on most days in spite of the grief. Hope assures us that we are never alone.
Hope anchors us to the thought of a better tomorrow. Hope shows us the miracles found in each new day. Hope allows us to lay our heads down on our pillow at night and sleep.
Hope keeps us sane on those days when we feel like we're losing it. And, hope surprises us by appearing at times when we least expect it. Life takes a sudden turn and we are given new strength and new doors are opened. A new friend walks into our life. A new job leads you to a strong support system. A new season gives you the boost your soul needs. Hope is amazing. It is never late, and it always arrives in just the right way! --Clara Hinton
"Hope is the link that anchors us to God." --Clara Hinton
"This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast..." --Hebrews 6:19

Happy Easter

Hello family!!!
Well we had an awesome Easter Weekend with lots of fun. Just thought I would share some pictures of the Easter Egg Hunt we had with the family, we had loads of fun and everyone took part including the adults. Nicole did a Survivor Treasure hunt for the older kids, and Deo put together a fun itenarary for the little ones, activities included egg&spoon race, duck walk, tug of war and races. The kids had an awesome time and was rewarded with lovely rich chocolate eggs of different sizes and shapes. They also all took one of their easter eggs that they received and blessed an underpriveleged child after the race. Most importantly it was great fun had by all and the most important lesson learnt on Good Friday was what Jesus did for us on the cross, I hope you all enjoy the photos!!! Until next time, thanks for coming along with me on my journey!!!

The guys


Getting ready for the race


Family group photo


Boys getting ready for race




Tug of War




Some more races..




The latest edition to the family: Emma (From Alfie's side)