Christmas 2011

Well, I've been preparing for this Christmas since December 1st. Christmas CD's have been playing in the car and while I'm at work and the Christmas tree has been up since then as well. I've been desperate to get myself into the Christmas spirit because this is our last Christmas before baby arrives and well, it's only going to get better with each Christmas in the future. So I have to remind myself how to get into the spirit of things and go back to that "Child-like" innocence to get the excitement that comes along with Christmas.

To start our Christmas celebrations we FINALLY got to go pick up Bradley & Shamini from the airport and get our holiday off to a good start. They arrived on Thursday (22nd) evening. Their flight was delayed by an hour and because I couldn't get off work early it worked out quite fine for us. Their flight got in after 6pm so I managed to leave the office come home for Cam as he had the day off and go straight to the airport. We stood around waiting for what seemed like forever and the airport was really packed. We love the arrivals lounge at the airport, especially around Christmas, it's always so exciting and happy and I love watching people's reactions when they see their loved ones. Because I get really stiff and sore if I stand on my feet for too long, as soon as there was a chair available we sat down, so when they finally came through the doors they couldn't see my pregnant belly. But when I stood up, their reactions were priceless... Shamini's jaw dropped to the floor and well, in between Brad's excitement to see his brother his eyes kep diverting to my tummy as if it was a mirage... PRICELESS!!! Shamini reached out to touch it to see if it was real and couldn't pick her jaw froom the ground til at least the next day!

Friday the 23rd was meant to be my first day of leave but because we've been caught up in the recent MV Rena grounding down in the Bay of Plenty I had to wrap up a few things before I officially began my leave. So was back in the office on Friday, thankfully these 3 were still asleep so I didn't miss out on anything!!! We had a quiet Friday as they were up til ungodly hours on their first night (that seemed to be the theme of the entire holiday). Come Christmas Eve we went to Westgate Mall for Brunch and then did last minute shopping for Christmas lunch. Once we were home we got into the kitchen to get our prep done for our big Christmas lunch.

Christmas morning was an early one for me. First things first was to get the ham into the pot to boil and prep the Chicken for roasting. Thankfully Shamini had helped me get the pie filling and the stuffing done the night before so it was just the roasts and sides to be done. While cooking my mum skyped me from SA. It was good talking to her, especially since she hasn't seen the pregnant belly either so she got to see how big I am. Honestly, I don't know if she wanted to cry or laugh when she saw my belly but I know she was happy to see her baby in full pregnancy glow! After chatting to her and after everything was done I quickly got ready for all the guests to arrive. We had invited Premika, Lenny & Kajal as well as our friend Romarlon for lunch so we had a pretty full house. We had to bring two tables together to fit everyone around the table for Christmas lunch and well as our dining room isn't big enough for that we rearranged the whole house to fit the two tables into the lounge. Okay, I have to apologise, I didn't take any pictures on Christmas day. I was exhausted and well, that was the furthest thing from my mind! I know Premika did take a few so will have to try to get some from her. We had an amazing lunch together though, this was our menu:

Roast Chicken with Pork & Sage stuffing
Gravy
Christmas Ham with a apricot and honey glaze
Steak & Mince pie
Salad
Sauteed Asparagus and Green Beans with chive butter
Steamed Carrots
Herb Roasted baby potatoes

The weather held up and we had a good time just sitting outside under the gazebo and enjoying each other's company. We then had Evelyn & Api, Jared and two of their friends join us that evening to continue the Christmas Celebrations. I was the stick in the mud though, by 11pm I called it a night.

On Boxing Day we had a lazy morning and headed off to Lenny & Premika's place for the afternoon. We took all the food over as well because there was still so much left over and had that for dinner that night. The guys enjoyed an evening of playing playstation (FIFA 11 I think it was), while us girls chatted about everything babies! We're all at different stages so it was good to share our stories.

We had planned to go to Hobbiton on the 27th but after the rush of the last few days we decided to just relax on the 27th and plan a full day for the 28th. We headed off early that morning, straight after breakfast and drove the 2 hours to Matamata to see Hobbiton. Anyone who has watched or even heard of the Lord of the Rings movies will understand why we HAD to go see this place. And with the new "The Hobbit" movie coming out we really had to take the opportunity to go. Only thing though, we all signed a confidentiality agreement which prohibits us from sharing any pictures of the actual set (the exciting part really) on any social website or for any personal use, so sorry people I can't share these until the release of "The Hobbit" movie in December 2012... which really sucks... But here are a few of the ones we can actually share...

It was a really long day and was even longer considering we had to drive back to Auckland the same day. So when we got home although we had planned to go out that night we were all really exhausted from the full day and just called it a night and decided we'd go out for supper the following night. The 28th brought the rain and well, it hasn't let up. We went out to Wildfire for dinner and ate til we were almost sick! We haven't been there since my 27th birthday so it was nice to go back and have some really great Brazilian Churrascaria!!!

The last few days have been really full on and I cannot believe we have one more day for 2011.

23 Weeks - 6 months

This week starts the last month of the second trimester, I cannot believe how fast time has flown. There's not much to report on the pregnancy at this stage, besides the fact that baby is always on the move. Loves the sound of music, will start moving the moment the music goes on, which makes me wonder... do we have a musician in the making? Cameron has finally started to feel all babies movements which are becoming incredibly stronger as the days go by.
This is the last belly pic we took this week, officially 6 months.

First birthdays

Well, although we've barely gotten to our own baby we're surrounding by loving little girls who both have turned one over the past 2 weeks.

First up we had Kajal's (our friends Lenny & Premika's daughter)first birthday party on the 26th of November which just happened to fall on her actual birthday. Last year we were getting ready to go to Taupo for my 42km Cycle Challenge the day she was born so this year, besides the fact that I am pregnant and unable to ride, we had to pull out of the race to celebrate our little munchkin's birthday. The Friday I baked 2 cakes for the party, a carrot cake and a red velvet chocolate cake and the Saturday morning we were off to their place, well when I could finally drag myself out of bed. I've been really exhausted over the past few weeks and early mornings just aren't my thing. The party was a great success, our little girl looked so gorgeous in her white dress and little ballet pumps. Here's just some pics of the birthday party.

Lenny, Premika & Kajal

Kajal with her grandparents

We then had baby Zivah's birthday on November 30th. As it was during the week Evelyn & Api decided they would have a BBQ on Friday night and then have a little party for her on Saturday with their family. Evelyn asked me to bake a red velvet cake as well so I did that on Thursday night and then iced the cake on Friday night. I normally make a white meringue type frosting but for Zivah I added some pink coluring and made a yummy pink frosting for her. (Sorry was such a rush so I didn't get to take pics.)
It wasn't a very formal do so we didn't get to take pics with the birthday girl but here's some pics of the two of them from Kajal's party.

Halfway there

Well we finally reached 20 weeks and now with the beginning behind us we can are getting more and more excited for the end. I'm looking more pregnant everyday and I am loving every minute. Through the exhaustion, through the discomfort and through the constant need for the loo, I am enjoying my pregnant belly and feeling baby kick and move around. I've always been the one who rubs pregnant bellies and will be the first to spoil and help out any pregnant woman I know, friend, colleague or family. So now that it's happening to me I can only but stand back and watch it happen. Everyone wants to rub my belly and the first question people ask me is, "so when is baby due?"

Well to catch up with week 20, here's what's been happening.

We've been for our 20 week scan and baby is doing really well. The scan took quite a while because the sonographer couldn't get baby to turn over to measure baby. But he was able to measure baby's arms and legs, check baby's heart and brain and, well everything else. It was so surreal when baby turned and looked straight at us, probably one of the sweetest moments to date. The one thing Cameron didn't notice was when baby gave us the thumbs up, it was the funniest thing, as the sonographer looked at baby's arms, s/he literally put his/her thumb up at us. When I spoke about it later on in the car Cameron looked at me like he didn't know what I was talking about, we then realised he didn't pay attention to that part. I guess the ultrasound doesn't really look like much to him. Even though the sonographer said, "oh look he's giving you the thumbs up". And no, he didn't mean "he" literally because as we begun the whole ultrasound I quickly blurted out, "please don't tell us the sex, we don't want to know just yet."

Here's some pics we got from the scan, he didn't give us the full profile but did give us baby's face profile and his/her little hands... if you can actually see that it's hands!

Cameron also took snaps of my belly this week...

So we're getting closer and closer but we are so far from ready. We've yet to get anything besides the first bits of clothing I bought a few weeks ago, but we've decided we'll get through Christmas first and enjoy our time with Bradley & Shamini and focus on getting all baby's stuff in the new year. I've already booked my maternity leave and will be finishing work on the 23rd of March but have to get a letter from our midwife so I can formally give my notice. We see Deb again on the 8th of December so hopefully we can get it all finalised then.

Here's to the next 20 weeks...

Patience is a Virtue, so they say!

Ok, so I should have been just a little more patient. I was so eager to feel baby kick and well, yesterday was the first time I felt it! It was a definite kick. So exciting, so surreal, so magical! I have never felt more happy, more ecstatic in all my life. The first thing I did was call Cameron, and the first thing he said to me was, "are you sure it's not indigestion?" Just got to love him!!

Here's what happened.

We went for a lunch date down to Jack Tar in Wynyard Quarter. It was a beautiful day in Auckland and was a good excuse to get out and enjoy the day. So after lunch we went back to the office and a few hours later I was just sitting at my desk busy with my day, when I felt this little flutter. I've been feeling these for a while so didn't pay much attention to it. But a few minutes later I felt this literal kick, like a huge bubble bursting on the inside. It was defined and caught me totally by surprise. I know it was a kick because I've never felt that before. I know what indigestion feels like, I am acutely aware of all the fluttering going on over the past few weeks and this was nothing remotely close to any of that.

This is just another reason for me to give God thanks. Thanks for choosing me as the vessel to bring forth this glorius life, the first in the next generation for the Pillay family, another one to add to the Bonhomme brood and an extension of Cameron & myself.

18 weeks

Well we've officially reached 5 months, so they say. I don't count it like that but hey, who am I to argue!

Well there's not much to report on, still haven't felt definite kicks yet. Still some flutters and every now and then its more defined but still not convinced. Can't wait until it's defined, frequent movement. But I'm being patient and enjoying this pregnancy for everything it's worth. My belly is really starting show now, there's no denying that we're in the second trimester. No cravings yet, although I am still loving fruit and oranges are my new flavour of the month. Backache is becoming more and more frequent but luckily our new bed arrived this weekend so Im sleeping blissfully. I can finally stomach chicken, which thrills Cameron considering he wants to eat chicken 5 out of 7 days, at least. Although I'm not quite there yet, I can't eat it everyday! I don't have to eat every two hours anymore which is much better and there is absolutely no nausea anymore. Yesterday we noticed a little swelling in my feet, but I think as it was a busy day at work yesterday I was a bit exhausted and just needed to put my feet up. Once I did that, the swelling went down.

Anyway, I think that's all I can think of reporting at the moment. So here's some pics that Cameron took yesterday.

So the next scan is in 2 weeks so we'll have to have a bit of a report back then. We also see Debbie again on the 8th of December.

I've read that baby is about 14cm or so now and should weigh around 190g (or so). It's also interesting to note that baby's reproductive organs are already formed, so we could definitely see whether we're having a boy or girl at our next scan. Babies nervous system is also fully formed and functional and his/her bones are starting to harden into real bones, so the movement should become more apparent in the next few weeks.

We're almost halfway!

Baby's first clothes and 16 weeks pregnant

This week marks our 16th week of pregnancy. They say I should only start feeling baby move around week 18 - 20 but this week I'm sure I've felt baby move around. Every now and then when I lay really still or I'm relaxing while watching tv or reading I'll feel a little movement, like a butterfly fluttering within me. Who knows but I'll keep believing that it's baby! This week I've also noticed a lot of stretching in my abdomen and aches & pains in my abdomen and back, they say the stretching is called Round ligament pain because the ligaments in my abdomen are stretching to accomodate the growing uterus and baby. All the little things they don't tell you about before you fall pregnant.
Here's some pics Cam took this week of me at 16 weeks pregnant.

The baby's clothes I ordered the other day finally arrived this morning (so glad I took a sick day so was home when they arrived). I've taken some snaps just so I never forget what were the first baby clothes I ever bought for this little gift of ours.

Yes, everything is white and lemon because there wasn't much else to choose from JK Kids online that was gender neutral, and as we don't want to spoil the surprise and wait for the birth to find out what baby's sex is, I had to buy anything that wasn't pink or blue!

I am happy to report though that the morning sickness and nausea has come to an end, there are a few days when tension headaches rule the day but I am finally feeling normal and my old self again. Here's to an awesome pregnancy!!!

Sweet sounds

We had our second midwife visit today. Deb unfortunately was called away so we had Gail, one of her back ups to see us. It was a surprisingly short visit though. She confirmed that the blood tests had come back clear and that the 12 week scan was also clear and that no abnormalities were found. Then she sweetly said, "Now let's hear that heartbeat." When she said that my own heart skipped a beat. We've been waiting for so long to hear baby's heartbeat but at every turn realise how different things are done here in NZ. I know in SA you would go to your obstetrician for all your check ups and they would so all your scans, your bloods, etc. And at the scan you will hear baby's heartbeat. Here in NZ you only go to an obstetrician if you're having a difficult pregnancy and you go to your midwife for everything relating to your pregnancy, except you would go to a radiology lab and see a sonographer for your scans. The midwife uses what they call a Doppler device that listens to baby's heartbeat. It's looks like a mini transducer, which they use when you go for your scans. She placed it on my tummy and tried to warn me that it is sometimes hard to find the heartbeat, especially the first time. But the minute she placed the doppler on my tummy the heartbeat went crazy! Baby's heartbeat was so strong and loud. Gail says that we have a strong, healthy baby! She was very happy with everything and put us at ease with her bubbly personality.

To say that we were ecstatic in that moment is well, an understatement. We've been waiting for 15 weeks to hear this baby and when we did we couldn't contain our happiness. The sounds still resounds in my head, even as I write this.

Another milestone today, I've bought some baby clothes. I bought them online so waiting for them to be delivered and as soon as they are I will post pics.

Can't wait for this baby to come, s/he is going to be so loved. S/he already is.

Thank you Lord for this blessing!

Rugby World Cup 2011

I think we've been very fortunate to have been living in a country that hosts a World Cup, TWICE. First when South Africa hosted the RWC in 1995 and won, and again in 2011 in New Zealand. In 1995 I was too young to enjoy the World Cup, but because my brother Kale was a ball boy we got to enjoy all the hype surrounding the games. I remember he got to hold the Webb Ellis Cup and took a photo of it, not sure where those pics are now though. Anyway, this year we got to experience the World Cup in all it's glory! We had planned to go to a few of the SA games but because we were still in the first trimester of pregnancy and I was battling with nausea and exhaustion, we decided to stick to the games they played in Auckland itself and decided to go to just one. So we went to the SA vs Samoa game held at North Harbour stadium on Septemeber 30th. It was awesome. But it was a Friday so it was a manic rush to get to the North Shore. We met Cameron's manager, Kevin who had a few SA friends over from the UK & Australia, so it was a good crowd to go with. The buzz in and around the place was amazing, we took a bus from Kevin's place to the stadium, and it just so happen that every person on that bus was a Springbok supporter so the bus was literally shaking with all the singing and screaming! Then 3 Samoan supporters got on the bus about half way to the Stadium, WHOA, they couldn't escape the Springbok support then!!!

Here's just a few of the pics we took at the stadium.

South Africa won this game but it was too close for comfort. The stadium atmosphere was electric and it was defintiely worth it. I think I screamed til my throat was raw. But we got to see our boys (even though they weren't in green & gold) up close, including my favourite John Smit and others like JP Petersen, Brian Habana and Victor Matfield (who captained the team for this game).

And baby makes three

Cameron & I have been married for over 3 years now and well, people keep asking us, "when's the baby coming" and we keep saying "oh, soon, maybe next year". Well next year finally came! Cameron's mum & dad are really eager to be grandparents and I promised his mum that by her 60th birthday she would be a granny. And she's held me to it! Anyway, at the beginning of the year we decided that once my pack of the pill finished we wouldn't go get more but rather start the plan to get pregnant. So April this year I started the 3 month "planning phase". When July came we decided that this would be the time to start trying so that we could hopefully be pregnant by Christmas, I thought we would fall pregnant by Oct/Nov and have baby by July 2012. Well, God had other plans for us. On August 11th I realised I was a week late and on the way home I bought a HPT (Home Pregnancy test). I didn't want to tell Cameron just in case it was a false alarm so come Friday morning (the 12th) I took the HPT and well, within seconds this is what happened.

I quickly ran to tell Cameron and we sat staring at each other & the HPT for what seemed like forever, each with a silly little grin on our faces.
We then steadily got ready for work and went about our day. I can tell you this, it was the hardest day to go through!!! I then made an appointment at our doctor and just after lunch we went to the doctor's offices. He did another urine test, but the line was quite faint so he sent us to get some blood tests done. I was due to do one the Friday and then again on Monday. But Saturday morning I had a slight bleed and so we decided to go to the hospital to see if everything was ok. At the hopsital, they did more blood tests and from the one I'd done the day before they could see that my HcG levels had increased, which was a good sign. They also did an internal exam and as there was no bleeding I went home. We were still in the "are we pregnant or aren't we" stage, cos we could not get a definite answer. It was still so up in the air at that stage. Auckland hospital had made an appointment for me for that Monday at Greenlane Clinic's Early pregnancy centre. So Monday morning we were off there, where they did more bloods and a scan. The scan showed that there was definitely a pregnancy and although it looked viable we had to wait for the blood results to confirm it. The nurse at Greenlane then called me once the blood results were back, which was later that day, and confirmed that the HcG levels were increasing and that she could confirm that it was a viable pregnancy! I was so ecstatic... But we decided just to keep it a secret until we were out of the "risk zone". But Cameron was so happy and it was hard for him to keep it quiet, so we finally told his parents, my mum and Bradley & Shamini. But it was under strict instruction to not breathe a word to anyone else until we knew for sure that everything was going well. Everyone's reaction to the news got us even more excited and it was really hard for us to keep this quiet.We then had another appointment at Greenlane the following Monday, they wanted to keep an eye on me to see if anything had changed and the scan that Monday once again proved that baby was doing well. It was strange though because at 6 weeks there was just a little spec in my uterus that kept blinking at us! The fetal pole was strong and that was a good sign. After that scan it was hard to keep this quiet so we decided that we would share the news with everyone. In a split second Cameron had put in on Facebook and within nanoseconds it went viral. Then we called my brother, Quentin and he's reaction was awesome. It made us miss being home so much, to be surrounded by friends and family at the moment is all we wanted. Luckily the friends we have here in NZ are our family and we were surrounded with them.

Once everyone knew and the doctors had confirmed that it was indeed a viable pregnancy we then had to find a midwife. Luckily I'm surrounded by friends who've just recently had babies. A friend of mine who lived in the same area we did had a South African midwife and highly recommended her. So I contacted her and we went for our first appointment with Debbie Ross on the 22nd of September. The week before we moved house though, I started having slight bleeding again and was getting really stressed about it. I contated Debbie and she assured me it was okay but to put my mind at ease arranged for another scan. I went for a scan during my 9th week, by this time our little blob was a really a baby (well a foetus to be technically correct) but there was a head and arms and legs and a little heart beating.

At that moment, everything became real to us and it wasn't just a dream of a dream anymore! I couldn't stop staring at this picture of this baby that was growing inside me, and couldn't wipe the grin off my face. My gratitude to God for choosing me to be the vessel that brings forth this special life was so profound in that moment. The sonographer assured me that all was as it should be and that baby was developing well for the 9 weeks. We walked out of that radiology clinic with all the pride and happiness this world could offer. With all our anxiety in not wanting to tell everyone, I remember my mum telling me when I first told her, you're pregnant and nothing can change that so why not tell everyone! (Or words to that effect!)It didn't make sense to me at the time but I soon realised that this is God's plan and nothing was going to change that! I'm so glad I have a mother who is a prayer-warrior because everytime I would feel ill, or get a scare or have a moment of anxiety I would call her and she would reassure me that this baby was ordained by God and that nothing was going to change that!


Here's the pic of that first scan at 9 weeks.

On the 22nd (week 10) we headed off to meet Debbie for the first time. So weird how she's South African and from Durban too. Small world! All in all, the appointment went well and I'm glad we've chosen Deb. She organised another scan for week 12 and another round of blood tests which would look for hormonal abnormalities such as Down Syndrome, etc. This scan was even better, baby was moving around quite a bit and it was so surreal for me cos I couldn't feel anything but watching this baby move around I was like, seriously? How can I not feel that!!! But baby was bigger and his/her legs and arms were fully formed and moving around like crazy! The sonographer showed us baby's head, torso, spine, everything. Cameron had the silliest smile on his face, it was priceless.

Here's baby at 12 weeks.

We also finally took a belly pic, I've been so self-conscious cos I wasn't really showing much so felt weird taking pics of my tummy, but this morning I finally just gave Cam the camera and just got him to do it.

Here's me at 13 weeks pregnant, be good to see how this belly grows over the next few months.

We have another midwife appointment on the 27th of October (2 weeks time) and then another scan at 20weeks. We haven't had the chance to hear baby's heartbeat yet and I'm hoping this will be done at our midwife appointment. Will keep you posted.

Our official due date is the 16th of April 2012. At this stage we've decided not to find out the sex of the baby as we would love to leave it as a surprise at the birth but we will see how we feel when we get to that scan.

Right now we are just enjoying being expectant parents and we're waiting patiently and very excitedly for the birth of our first baby and the extension of our family.

Housing News

God's timing is impeccable. When He has a plan He will bring it to pass regardless of what you want or what you think.

We have Bradley & Shamini (Cam's brother & his wife& one of my closest friends) and Wayne & Tish (Cam's best friend and his girlfriend) coming in December. We are so excited and have been planning for this since the beginning of the year when they told us they were coming. Because we are currently renting a 1 & a half bedroom house we are unable to accomodate everyone in such a small and confined space. Although it won't be too much of a hassle we thought to make everyone comfortable we would just start looking for a three bedroom house to rent. And also because we were planning on being pregnant this year too, it just made more sense to get a bigger space. Looking at rental prices in Auckland we were just flabergasted and thought well, if we are paying that much for rent, let's just see how much we could pay for a decnt size, 3 bedroom house. So we went on the search for our first home in NZ. We searched online sites such as www.trademe.co.nz and realestate.co.nz and other real estate websites during the week and on weekends spent our days at open homes. It was a looooonnnng, tiresome search and we were almost at our wits end when we found a really gorgeous little house just down the road from where we're renting currently. We were quite excited and put in a conditional offer that was accepted. So we went about planning to have the conditions met. First off was getting a building report. Cameron called the building inspector we had been using (it was the second inspection we'd done on a house we were interested in), and he subsequently went about doing his thing. At first glance this house was PERFECT. It was three bedrooms, seperate bath & toilet, double garage, brick & tile and was in the same area we lived so we wouldn't have to change much of our lifestyle. BUt once the inspector dug deeper he found out that this house was a leaky home. NZ has a big problem with leaky homes. For most of you who wouldn't know what that is, let me explain. About 15 years ago, NZ builders went about building houses with untreated timber and alot of shody work had been done on these houses. As we're unfamiliar with timber houses we've had to learn the hard way! Also when houses were built in the past in NZ the walls would be built straight against the timber frame which would leave no room for water to pass through and as the timber was untreated the water would soak into the timber and cause it to rot. The buildings were constructed with plaster (a type of paint painted over the weatherboard)and this type of material would not hold back the moisture, so home would leak. So many people in NZ have bought homes that looked so good and within a few years the moisture would come through. This house, although it was predominantly brick & tile (a brick facade built over the timber framing) did have a small patch of plaster work in the kitchen. The building inspector found this and his moisture readings went balistic when he inspected the area. This scared us silly and so we thought it best to pull out of the deal. It would have costed us much much more if we had to try to fix it and there was no guarantee that the timber hadn't been affected which would mean the whole area in the kitchen would have to rebuilt! So with heavy hearts we pulled out of the deal and begun our search all over again, very reluctantly. But you know what they say, every cloud has a silver lining! And the scripture I hold so dear, really came into effect in our live, Jeremiah 29:11-13, '"For I know the plans I have for you", says the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come & pray to me, & I will listen to you, You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."' Just when we were giving up, saying oh well we'll have to make do with what we have at Christmas and just get through it somehow. Then Cameron decided that we should expand our search area, so we started looking in West Auckland. We lived there for a few weeks with friends when we first got to NZ so we are familiar with the area. He found a few houses and so come Saturday morning we were on our way to West Auckland looking at Open homes. The ones we saw we liked but still weren't head over heels for. Then he saw one on realestate.co.nz but it didn't have an address so he called the agent and arranged for a viewing that Sunday. Well, from the minute we walked into this house we fell in love, it was EXACTLY what we were looking for, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, double garage and to top it all off, it was built in 2010 which means it was not built in the time when leaky home were being built and subsequently was built under new laws which required all home to be built with a cavity, which just means that there's space between the frame and the walls which allows water to run through and not affect the timber framing or the walls, which means, NO MOISTURE. So we put in an offer, negotiated a bit and put in our conditions and started the ball rolling. We weren't hoildin our breath because we'd been let down before. Cameron called the inspector and he came around and looked at the property. He said to Cameron, and I am paraphrasing here, this is what you should have been looking for, this is what suits you & your wife. He found not one fault in this house, NOT ONE!! Praise God!!! Once that came through, we met the other conditions which weren't much and as we stand today, our offer in unconditional and our settlement date is September 9th with moving day planned for September 10th.
This is just a few pics of the house, will take more once we've moved and we have our own furniture in.

We are so excited and can't stop thanking God for blessing us with this home. It is in an area out west so we will have to find our new locals, like a barber for Cam and a new dairy (corner shop) and a new supermarket and stuff like that but that is so small in the big scheme of things. God has his hand on us and we are so excited.

Date night

Cameron & I have been so busy lately that we haven't had much time to just dedicate to each other. As I worked yesterday, Cameron thought he would spoil me by taking me out to dinner.

There's a South African restaurant on Auckland's North Shore that we've been so eager to try out called Serengeti Restaurant. So that's where we headed.

The restaurant was so relaxed and chilled and was such a wonderful, warming experience. They play South African music, including Miriam Makeba, Yvonne Chaka Chaka & Mafikizolo, it was awesome! It's owned by South Africans and even the waitresses are all South African. The menu was so intriguing with all the South African food listed and all the specialities were there, including pap & vleis & samp & beans! You could order ostrich too!

Cam ordered a Rib & Steak combo and I had the Surf & turf! The food was amazing and tasted of home! And of course, Cam had to have his Carling Black Label beer and I ordered a Savannah Dry cider. We definitely are going back there, even though it's a half hour drive!!! We walked out of the restuarant totally satisfied and had to keep reminding ourselves that we were not in South Africa but in NZ! It reminded us so much of home and the good food we so dearly miss. It's taken us 3 years to find a restaurant that we both dearly love and enjoy eating at and I can tell you this, WE'VE FOUND IT!!!

All in all it was a great date and I can't wait for the next date night!