The rest of Christmas 2011

So glad that my boys could be with us.

Tony's present ....couldn't resist it...you press it's hand and it sings "Dont worry be happy"....something Tony would sing when things didn't go right with the girls or me for that matter...it also taps it's foot.....when you come over I will show you ......very cute

A yearly event trying to tear open the Pinata....which of course is full of Lollies...All the bigger boys were only allowed one hit and they were pretty awesome.......all the others were allowed three.....and Anthony never wanted to stop!!!!

Sione's Christmas present 2011

What a delight and a surprise...Sione made us a clock from scraps from Landfill......he told us in all seriousness how he had made it from head gaskets from the huge Caterpillar engines...he said he just could not see it go to waste.......oh my gosh it was the TRUE start of a most marvelous day...the clock itself was from the tip and he found these blue tubes that seperated the gaskets....and he said with great gusto that they actually fitted !!!!!....he said that he wanted to hang those things on the bottom that swing....penduleums you mean Sione....yes yes...I then said that I had always wanted a clock with penduleums........with great laughter as you can see......I tell you every family should have a Sione from Tonga in theirs.....

My Tony was so impressed.......By the way he does not have a beard anymore...he grows it to protect himself from the Sun when he goes up the North of Australia and the temp reaches above 50 deg .....also with all the iron ore in the ground which reflects back up into his face......... That was not the right time...as it was about 8.a.m. Yes it now hangs in our dining room...we do love it....but feel we will have it for life !!! Sione was so impressed with his effort and worried that anyone would copy it to make one for themselves...we thought he should patent it......xx.... bless his heart..... love that boy!!!

Christmas Day 2011

The day actually began with some drama as their was a fire across the road in three seperate places...lit by some people who wanted to spoil Christmas day for the Locals...actually 6 fires were lit that day in the Bushland across the road we found out about it all because the first fires were only 100 metres away from our home ...and also the water hydrants are right in front of our house...Tony went and spoke to them......Plenty of unwanted action for the Fire Brigade... ..whom I'm sure would have loved to have been home with their families.....
When I awoke that morning my Back was in the most intense spasms....I have never had this before...pretty yuk I can tell you.....Tony gave me a blessing and with Panadiene forte...I was able to pretty well be free from pain......
Apart from the above our day started of with Nic Sione and the children coming over...showing us their presents..little Anthony wearing his Car Tshirt and glasses...oh my gosh he is a character...Pene and him then gave us a rendition....of every Christmas tune all blended into one....... hahaha

Below we are on Skype to Naomi, Luke, and Manly...missed them so much this year.

Nativity

One adorable Wise Man...Poor Ady as the Donkey

A most Angelic Mary....I adore this Photo..it depicts Mary so very well.... Maybe not the red nails !!!!

Still Christmas Eve

We had a show of Tongan dancing and little Lacey is the cutest to watch she has a beat of her own...Sione's Tongan friend really put everything into it

Christmas Eve

At lunchtime Christmas Eve Tony picked his Mother up from Armadale...this is when she will have Christmas with us..which was at Nic and Sione's home....it was a gorgeous cool afternoon which made everything more delightful......All the children decorated a Gingerbread man. or star....some great designs...Kobi had everything on his plus he decorated the plate...the kids loved it as well as their Grandfather...he loves his sugar !!!!

Yes Tone!!! it was dripping icing and he loved every bit of it...

The Highlite was when Santa came...which was Rhys...he made the best Santa ever and of course he had help from Jazmin his Elf....He really did a marvelous job asked each one if they were naughty or nice and what they wanted for Christmas...I heard several times a DS! ...Then you would hear a parent say....sorry not this year....
Sione cooked a Pig ..which seems to be the Tongan way of celebrating Christmas...Nic has already been told that there will be one waiting for them when they arrive in Tonga early tomorrow morning....hmmmm lucky them !!!
Been thinking of them today as they make the big journey travelling there with three little ones...When I said goodbye last night little Pene said "I am going to miss you Grandma"...me to...but really happy for Sione he adores his family and of course they miss him..
Going back to Christmas Eve it truly was a wonderful afternoon......what would we do without Nic and Sione in our Family as they make these things happen.

Darling Kembry

Just had to have a picture of this little darling who has a tender heart that could touch my own.

U20′s finish off on a high note

Well Done Grandma's Boy... sorry... Man really. Proud to see you in the Aussie colours... U20′s finish off on a high note
We're all proud of you...no matter what really.... But great you are such a winner both off the Ice Rink and on..xx

A time of mixed emotions

The children of our Ward put on a lovely little Nativity Play...the shed where the manger was, was beautifully set out and after some organising and many of the little girls wanting to be the Angels, the play got under way..... For me the best and most moving part was, when some of the little boys , were throwing straw all over Baby Jesus Face and little Kembry Desmond would have none of it...the sweet little thing could not bear it....as soon as they would throw it on she would lovingly wipe his face...picking up some of the straw and arranging it all around His Body......I was so touched..actually her little act brought tears to my eyes ...and the Spirit of Christmas to my soul.

I wish that I had a photo of her but I only have her head and her ponytails...the dear sweet little girl with a loving and tender heart. Thank You little Kembry I love your darling Spirit.xx

Little Lacey was poking Jesus's face with a stick of straw and maybe that was her little way of .....I don't know what !!! as you can see in the bottom picture........ohwah Kobi..... look at his hands which is full of what he is about to do.
I have missed Tony more then ever..he is NOT going away at Christmas time again...... it is awful just awful....It's hard to go to these things by myself.....and today at Church it was the worst.....left early.
Yesterday I had a long conversation with my only Cousin who lives in W.A.....she rang heartbroken ..... her husband of 54 years has advanced lung cancer. He has been a smoker since he was 11..... cigerettes were given to him by Soldiers in Holland during the War........he became addicted
and has been a heavy smoker ever since....Nobody knew then how harmfull cig...are.....They have a wonderful marriage...it's all very sad....So today has been a mixed bag...I would like to wriggle my nose and wish Tony home right now !!!

A day out with my two oldest!!

I spent the day with my oldest girl Katie and my oldest Grand daughter Jazmin...It was a wonderful day I had such a good time and thoroughly enjoyed their company...we had lunch and went to Myers to buy Jazmin her annual Christmas decoration ..started this with her when I think she was 2 and have done it ever since never a year missed..usually we go together but Katie had to get something from Hair Mart which was out that way and I invited her along......so fun we laughed a lot, such gorgeous people...It's something I could only do with Jaz as it would be too expensive to do for all our Grand daughters....sorry my other little ones...I usually make it up during the year in other ways......xxx

Naomi's weird cut on her head ..

An N for Naomi.....or even a H for Holder....do do do do !!!!

My Tony

Just spoke to Tony ...he said it was over 50 deg today....a chap there had a thermometer and it went as far as it could go which was 50deg.....how can anyone work in that heat !!!! he said that even though it was now 7.30 pm the temp was stil 38 deg.
Not for me...heat and me don't mix.....I'm still Dutch body wise.....it was never meant to tolerate that high a temp...is any ones body really !!!

Christmas with my Extended Family

Lisa and Garth.....not long been married.... look and are wonderfully happy......I'm so grateful that they found each other....fills my heart with joy.
Last Sunday we had a wonderful early Dinner with my Brother's Family...most of us were here..but of course always missing some and they were missed !!!!...I don't know how many times I thought of Naomi that day and before, as no one makes the desserts now...I made some Pavlovas but it was a meager amount...but it seemed enough...it's not the only reason for missing Naomi, Luke and Manly though......Actually they have been on my mind a lot.....Vanessa, Brendon and family were is Queensland, Jack in Kalgoorlie, Leo up North, and Belinda, Eddy's girl was down South.
It was a wonderful afternoon...I just loved having Eddy and His children here...I feel a very blessed woman

Sarah and Jarrad.....Look wonderful together...She's a keeper Jarrad..... Jarrad is the image of our Father when he was young...

Eddy and I..... my one and only Brother and apart from one cousin..we are it in Australia.....Great to see the cousins together.......it's time to lose some of that weight OLD GIRL!!!!

The Latest on Jordan

Jordan has just been made Captain of the under 20's of the Australian Team..they play the World in Poland in two months........He is still in Finland and will be there for several more months yet...so he will meet up with the team in Poland....so sad he won't be with us for Christmas as I said before..but I believe he is happy and of course doing well......

I re- read Vanessa's Birthday......sorry

Oh my gosh there were a mountain of mistakes....I was in a hurry to help with a wedding Reception this morning at 11 am....... and I just rushed through it all and never re-read it ...sorry everyone that must have been painful to read !!!!

Vanessa's Birthday

Today is our girls Birthday...let me tell you a little about her and the day or rather night she was born.
It was the Eve of St Nicholas and we were celebrating it with little presents and the story surrounding St Nic and what happens on that day in Holland.....Years before the night Van was born, The Grader Family who lived in Kalgoorlie for awhile, would celebrate St Nicholas Eve on the 5th of Dec with us.... actually they introduced it to us......We always had the jingle sound and have the children standing in certain places and draw there attention to the sound and of course they were full of excitement and then Tony or someone pre-arranged would throw over the fence or whatever lollies and Peppernotjes.
Luckily all that had finished and we were at the eating part...I was 9 months pregnant and lo and behold my waters broke...our celebration quickly drew to a halt and we immediately went to the Hospital as Labour had started pretty well full on.
Only a short time after that our Vanessa was born......What an amazing wonderful joy.... another beautiful girl ....perfect in everyway..... golden hair and so pretty.......We were both very relieved, as we weren't sure if all would be well.
After we had Rebecca...I became pregnant had the tests etc and at 8 weeks as we were travelling to Perth I had the most severe cramps....that lasted all the way to Perth...Tony had to stop many times throughout our journey as I just needed to get out and stretch and go into the bush find a private place and go to the toilet and have a little silent scream!!!!!.......gosh the cramps were so bad and of course we were worried.
We arrived at Mum and Dad's where again I needed to go to the toilet and that is where I had a miscarriage.
I went to the Dr and he advised me to have a Curette ...which I did after we had gone to Eneabba to visit Tony's Brother and Sister in Law Don and Jan.......Even though it was lovely to be there we were feeling strange and a bit bewildered and of course sad..but didn't tell anyone...we didn't want any attention on it... told them later of course............Had the D.C. but my body just wouldn't stop cramping etc. so I ended up having two more Curettes..until a Specialist told me to just let it all settle and not have anymore interference...........I did fall pregnant again not long after with Vanessa but after about 2 months or so I started bleeding..I was put into Hospital for complete bedrest......stayed there about two weeks and was allowed home but with limited housework duties..... Honor my friend was so good to me at that time.....So you can see we were a little worried.....But with Heavenly Father's help all went well and we had a healthy baby.
Vanessa has and is a joy..she is a marvelous Mother and Wife...She is a person who has a strong sense for right and wrong and her children are lucky to have such a conscientious Mother.
She has a fabulous sense of fun and humour...We love being around her when she is like this as she just makes everything so joyous...... She is diligent in all that she does....She is a hard worker I mean a really hard worker like a man.....there is nothing that girl can't put her hand to...moving huge rocks to delicate cross stitch ...A possessions that takes such pride in our Home is a cross stitch that she made for my 60th....intricate and huge ..she did it in 4 months.... her husband Brendon said that there was not a moment that she had to spare that she didn't pick up this work to finish before my Birthday......which she did......She studies and learns about everything .....a simple explanation may not be sufficient...but we all know that she will do a research on it.......She is a lover of Learning and we love her for it..... She is organised and will help anyone...I have often found when talking to people that when they were in difficulty...... Vanessa helped them in some way .....After we had her and it being so close to Christmas we had Carolers knocking on our door in Kal....we all went outside and I was holding our little babe in my arms and felt so blessed and felt like I was holding a Holy Child.......I remember at her Baby blessing..... She was told that she would be an example to all her Brothers and Sisters..I felt that extended beyond her family.
How Blessed are we to have such an amazing person in our Family and we can call her OURS.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARLING XXXXX

Jordan Kyros :: Perth Thunder’s Young Gun

That's my No one Grandson.         Jordan Kyros :: Perth Thunder’s Young Gun
Wonderful article...I'm so glad that he mentions his Dad..

Jacaranda Trees

One of the delights around everywhere you look is the Jacaranda Trees just splashes of purple in every which way and it's a great delight.....I would love to fly in a helicopter (maybe Tony could fly take me up in a light plane) just to take photo's of them......in every suburb you see them...and as I am seriously considering becoming a red hatter...purple is the in colour for me right now.......don't cringe girls Mother is getting older and it may be time to join the old girls league......

Men's Hearts Shall Fail Them

Landfill Gas and Power

Yesterday we went to their Christmas Party which was held in a Park....oh thank goodness it was cooler..
It was a lovely barbecue with yummy salads...food always tastes better when you don't have to make it.
We, all the workers get a wonderful bucket or box of goodies usually full of chocolates and biscuits...hard to resist stuff  ....... Tony has subcontracted to this Company for 20 years plus...but I did wonder yesterday if this was the last Christmas Party we would go to as he gets very little work from them now..they have exhausted all the methane off the Rubbish Tips around Perth for now.....but we will see..hope he can still get some work from them...Anyway as much as we tried to remain strong and resist we did indulge a little of the forbidden stuff !!!!
All the Ladies got a voucher of $30 for the Body Shop and there was also a $30 voucher for Bunnings..I still have last years so I now have $70 vouchers for Bunnings which will go down nicely for some paint....they draw a raffle and this year WE WON  $200 voucher for the Good Guys.....I was sooooo excited, although I did try to give it to someone else...as I feel we are so blessed and these other people could use it more then us...but they absolutely refused...so now my mind is racing.... oh what can I get......I will have a good look around...OH I DO LOVE SHOPPING !!! sad hey !
It was a good day all and all.
Came home and ironed for an hour and that felt good to when I finished..

Oh Yes Sione's

Sione's little reveal was that he slept with his Mother until he was 16....he said there was this big log and we only had one room....now let me elaborate on his little tale....which was lovely.
The big log was THEIR PILLOW   ...His Father was out fishing each night......if he didn't catch anything they the family went hungry he said that there were many hungry days.......Sione is very close with His Mum.....it's a very sweet relationship....Sione's Mother still has a log for a pillow and still prefers to sleep on the floor.

Pot Luck Dinner

I went to a Church Dinner Party last night...Tony had gone to Port Hedland and was on his way home....I generally don't like going to things like that by my self but I went and did enjoy my self...we played a little game where some people were selected to tell something about themselves that no one else might know about them...it was a fun game..and some interesting little bits came out...like my two friends who cheekily wrap up parcels with leaves or grass or anything that obscure in them.....then put a really pretty wrapping around it and place it somewhere obvious then hide and see the reactions of people who think that they have stumbled on something wonderful.........ohwah!!!!!  Honor and Sylvia two little cheeky old girls.
I dobbed my Tony in and told them that no one knew this about him....come to think about it not even his children know....maybe the older ones....but Tony can pilot a light plane !!!   I gave him Flying Lessons as a Birthday Present many years ago now...... he never completed all the mandatory Flying hours due to work pressures....Maybe he should take it up again.....but I bet each Flying Lesson is so expensive now..... I told ya he is marvelous...he can put his hand to almost everything.....I asked him last week actually...if we were in an emergency situation could you take over from a pilot and land the plane....he said the hardest part of flying is taking off and landing...... up in the air is pretty easy but yes with some help he probably could....well probably is better then no......

Thank You Song By Brianna Haynes : Video Clips From The Coolest One

America Celebrate Thanksgiving...my wish is that we all would celebrate that and make a big thing of it.....

What a different world we would live in if we all were GRATEFUL for the MANY BLESSINGS Our Heavenly Father has given us.

It's funny how those of us who have much ....complain...but those that have so little don't and share more easily.

My Son in Laws Family in Tonga have so little and share all that they have....

That is my wish for this Christmas ...... is that we give of ourselves and be grateful for what we do have.

For me it is My Faith, My Husband, My darling Family, My wonderful Friends....who I hold so dear.My health.

My Camera hahaha... my home ..The Nature Reserve across the road and all that is in there...except the drunk a few days ago ......

..oh that is a bit harsh..but drugs and drunkeness frighten me....hope he to finds peace and love ...

If I do all that I can do within the bounds of my home..I am contributing to a better world..thats my theory anyway.

The food we have particularly the strawberries I'm eating this morning

My comfortable bed oh yes our Car...our Christmas decorations which fill our home with the Spirit of Christmas.

For shelter for food...for all I have.

Thank You Song By Brianna Haynes : Video Clips From The Coolest One

The clip below...

It really is special as one man sings all levels of voice and sounds like 4 different Men....I love it hope you do to.

How Great Thou Art - HD - Barbershop Multitrack

My First Red Hatter's Outing

Oh No she has become a Red Hatter.....No, I'm not ready yet...but I did go out with them tonight....so I thought I would get into the spirit of it...and made this with cardboard and a scarfe the cardboard was meant to be in a heart shape and the red band was from a trip that I did with the Dianella Y.W. to Sydney to attend the Temple...... We visited the snow and I bought the band there.

What a great bunch of women...I think it is wonderful what they do..... So many excellent outings, I think they cheer the soul and enliven the heart....good on ya !!! I might just start looking out for a purple outfit and of course the obligatory Red Hat......maybe I could get away with the tiniest little red bow !!!! thats just in case though.....p.s. these photo's were taken by me...just in case you were wondering...