Ornithology Anyone?

Not that I've taken up bird watching or anything, but New Zealand has some beautiful birds. This creature has been visiting the pond visible from our kitchen window. I've had trouble getting a good look at him, as he departs the scene at the slightest movement, whether indoors or outdoors. My curiosity as to what it was began to heighten with each visit. He is often accompanied by a companion. He gingerly walks around the perimeter of the pond looking for food. His movement is quiet and very slow. I began to desire a good photo, that I might be able to recognize his marking and coloring. And, of course I searched for his identity online. I discovered that he is a white faced heron. Cool, huh?

Loinne's Visit

Happy New Year! We trust you reflected upon the goodness and grace of God to you throughout 2011. We have certainly been blessed by doing so!

Greg's mum, Loinne, has been here for a visit since Dec. 27 and we've been having a wonderful time. We enjoyed a couple of nights in Taupo (picture of Micah and Grandma is taken above Huka Falls). And, of course, we've shown her around the beautiful Hawkes Bay. So Thursday (Jan. 5), we had a couple of extra hours, so we decided a drive up to Te Mata Peak was in order. Micah was at an all day birthday party/sleepover, and we had plans to eat in town. It was a beautiful sunny day, of which we have had few during Loinne's visit. Just yards from the top of the peak, the car died...as in stopped running. Ugh, here we are climbing the hill toward Te Mata Peak...and the car dies. Fortunately, there was enough of a shoulder to pull over and get off of the roadway, to enable cars to get by us. We waited a few minutes, tried to re-start the car. Nope! Dead! On the phone to AA (that's the Auto Club here...not Alcoholics Anonymous)! Well, we were near the top of Te Mata Peak, so we had to wait for AA to arrive. At least we had a beautiful view and it was a warm day. Greg didn't have a sun hat, so I convinced him wear mine! He was a good sport, but he sure didn't fancy people going by seeing him wear a sun hat with a bow on it. I told him that the hat looked far better than more scars on his face would (from removal of skin cancer)! I assured him he just looked like a Southern California gardener! Turns out we were low enough on fuel that with climbing the hill, the fuel couldn't make it to the motor to do its job. Once AA brought us some fuel, then we also needed help starting the car as we had worn the battery down trying to start the car. So much for Te Mata Peak.

Oh, the other photo is having lunch with the Hohnecks.

Holidays and Harvests

The broccoli patch needed harvesting--as did the potatoes, zucchini, snow peas, and onions. Knowing we were going to the TSBC graduation, we decided it would be a perfect place to bless others with the bountiful broccoli harvest. So, we harvested most of the broccoli and took it along with us to Saturday's graduation ceremony. It's always a blessing to bless others.

Well, we're now two days into summer vacation, known as 'school holidays' around here. Micah has already become bored, as our neighbor boys aren't finished for another couple of days. One of the girls in Micah's class invited the entire class to her home for a bonfire and supper (evening snack). As Greg and Micah were off for this event, I decided I'd better get busy grating the zucchini we picked on Saturday. After all, why does one grow zucchini? For zucchini bread of course! (Well, we've had some nice stir-fry as well as a lovely plate of veggies prepared for the TSBC graduation tea). I want zucchini bread year round, so I keep it grated in the freezer. After grating up Saturdays harvest, I went out to the garden and picked the pile that's pictured here. I ended up with 27 sandwich size Ziploc bags full of grated zucchini. Yum!

End of School Year!

Well, we've come to the end of our first full school year. Micah has just completed year 7 and TSBC students (and faculty) are breathing a sigh of relief. While it may be Christmas where you are (and likely cold), it is summer here in New Zealand. We've had a relatively cool start to the summer with cool temps and several days of rain. Last week the schedule was full of end-of-the-year activities, including Hastings Christian School's Prizegiving (the Kiwi version of an awards ceremony/graduation. Unfortunately, I was unable to get any good pictures of Micah at the prizegiving, as he stood in the back of the student body, besides we were seated near the back, but here's a picture of Bea playing her cello in the school orchestra.

The Making of a Man

This past weekend, a small group of young families from Riverbend enjoyed a retreat together at a nearby Christian camp. Each husband/father participates in a men's Bible study, where they are encouraged to be men, that is to be men who lead their homes biblically. We were invited to join them, as Greg was asked to speak to this group on Sunday morning on the subject,'The Making of a Man'. This group of young husbands recognize that they are on the front-line in the fight for the sanctity of their homes and meet together weekly to encourage and support one another in the fight. We were greatly encouraged to see their commitment to be men of the Word, to love their wives as Christ loves His church and to raise their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. We were also blessed by sweet fellowship and good Kiwi fun! Greg did a great job addressing the men, as well as involving the wives and children in his Sunday message. We are so grateful for the ministry set before us. May we be faithful ambassadors!

Blast from the Past

Well, the day we arrived home from the states, our long time friend, Linda arrived for a week-long visit. We first met Linda when Micah was in the hospital as an infant. She was in charge of Micah's home health care nurses, when he first was discharged from the hospital. Before long, she was our dear friend and often babysat Micah in his first year. Linda is our first visitor from the US (apart from Kevin Edwards--who came for the TMAI Symposium). We had a lovely visit with Linda, showing her bits and pieces of life in NZ. Of course, we had to take her to the beach, where Micah was intent on boogie boarding for the first time this season.

An Unexpected Journey

Life often brings unexpected journeys doesn't it? And, walking with the Lord is always a journey, of sorts. We don't know what a day holds--despite our calendar keeping skills, our to-do lists, our planning. We do know that nothing takes our Lord by surprise. He is absolutely sovereign in all things and He knows what is best for us. On October 3rd, Greg's dad was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and was given twelve weeks to live. After having several weeks of medical tests, months of severe back pain and numerous other medical issues, doctors finally determined the cause. Immediately, we began to make plans for an unexpected journey to the US to visit him. With each passing day, his health deteriorated dramatically, and we began to wonder if we would even make it home in time to see him. Well, as the Lord would have it, we didn't make it. We received word on our way to the airport, that Glenn had gone home to be with the Lord. We praise the Lord that he didn't suffer longer than he did. But now, Mom begins an unexpected journey, that of life without her partner of 55 years, whom she met at fifteen years old.