So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good night

Well I didn’t want you to worry about me, and why I wasn’t posting in such a long time (because, of course, I’m such a regular blogger) – SNORT!

You might remember last year that I told you I was going to Vietnam with Samaritan’s Purse – to hand out Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes?

Well the time has come … and on Wednesday I’m leaving my little country town, and winging to the great metropolis of Melbourne to spend the night – then meeting the rest of my team on Thursday to fly to Vietnam (10 ladies … plus our male team leader – poor man – and a few Vietnamese guides once we get to the other end).

EXCITEMENT!!! … with just a touch of nervousness thrown in, which no doubt might be quite a LOT of nervousness later in the week.  I’ve been having fun buying travel size things to go in my case.  It feels like I’m miniaturising my life!  Perhaps I’m really like Gulliver in Gulliver’s Travels?

No, not really.  So … if you are a person who prays at all, I would very much appreciate your prayers while I’m away.  I have never been to Asia before so I expect it will be a rather steep learning curve … but I’m so excited to see Vietnam.  Everyone says it is such a beautiful country.  AND I am especially excited to be able to give out shoeboxes to beautiful little Vietnamese children.  I have bought rather a lot of tissues as I suspect this might be quite an emotional journey.

Farewell my friends … I will see you on the other side with LOTS of photos and experiences to share, I’m sure.  I return to Australia on the 26th of Feb.

Blessings,  Fee

Wrapping Up New Zealand

Well I know it has taken F-O-R-E-V-E-R and it’s been days, and days since my holiday, but here are some final snaps of my whirlwind trip to NZ for Mum’s birthday bash.

How gorgeously green is this?  And it was like this EVERYWHERE we looked. So beautiful …  especially if you could see how brown and awful it is where I live right now!!

The War Memorial in the small country town where Mum and Dad live.  Check out those beautiful roses!

Mum and Dad with their much loved Lucy (who you might remember they rescued a year or so ago?)

Lynda with Mum and Dad

Mum, Me and Dad

Just a smallish dairy herd (not joking!) – Cows are BIG where Mum and Dad live and they have some enormous herds of dairy cows which seem to go on forever when you are driving past!

A bit of local traffic! 

Pukerua Bay Store – who make THE best double-scoop ice-creams in the entire world … see below!

Lynda enjoying her double-scoop hokey pokey & goody-goody gumdrop icecream (and holding mine while I took the photo – just in case you thought she was being extremely greedy)!

Beautiful, fluffy, big, bumblebee (which we don’t get in this part of Australia – not sure about elsewhere) – I was so excited to see a whole bunch of them hanging out on these lavender plants 

And that pretty much wraps it up.  Well actually, I could have showed you 50 million other photos, but this little selection will probably suffice.

I miss New Zealand scenery, the green, the cool … and it was so special to celebrate your birthday with you Mum!  Here’s hoping it won’t be another 4 years before I make a little jaunt back home.

And in other news … I now have TWO High School students (Years 7 and 9), we are a TWO iPad family (and Master 11 discovered this evening that generally it is best to remember the actual security code you have entered into your iPad – and not just the 4 numbers in any old random order!), Miss B is a big Year 3 girl who is now learning the violin (eeep!), and it’s only 14 more sleeps until I wing my way to Vietnam.

Back soon with more news and pics.

As always, thanks for stopping by.

Fee x