a jam packed weekend full of firsts

Hello Everyone

Trust you all had a great weekend - we got up to a lot of things since Friday!

my dear very dear friend Sharon and her family will be immigrating to Australia on the 25th of May. This has been a few years in the making and finally all in order and ready to go to start their new Lives in Sydney. Megs , Keaton and I met up with the Shaz and the boys, Lyal and Cameron ( who have grown so big and into such beautiful kids) on Friday for some breakfast and to say goodbye - but none of us could say goodbye quite yet so we are hoping to still see Shaz this week to have the official goodbye. I am going to miss you so much my friend and 'sister'. We have been through so much together and have a friendship that has really lasted the test of time. I admire your strength , determination and courage. You are a fantastic Mom Shaz, and I hope you and Grant and the boys are very very happy down under. I am going to miss you more then you will know, but look forward to planning a trip to come and visit you and the dolphins soon soon!

I shall leave my official goodbye message for later in the week, but already missing you my dear friend.

later Friday afternoon, Nanna and I decided it was time to give Deqlan his very first her cut. We didn't want to cut to much off as i love Deqlans hair the length it is and think we can even go a bit longer, but Nanna was brave enough to catch our soldier when he was least expecting it , just to tidy it up a bit!

We also discovered that Mickey Mouse has become a new favorite of Deqlans - he brings a huge smile to his face - amazing how kids love things the one day and not the next - but at the moment Dub and Mickey seem to be his best pals!

Then on Saturday , Dada, Mama and Deqlan joined Louise for her 30th Birthday Celebration at Irene Country lodge - it was really the perfect place to take Deqlan out to - the restaurant is out in the open , so we didn't have to worry about germs in an enclosed area. There is oodles and oodles of space and best of all animals ! Geese, ducks, cows! Deqlan LOVED the geese - He giggled and laughed at them and then try to walk, make that run around with them - its the first time he has seen geese! But, Mark and I where a little weary as we have heard geese have a very strong bite! Deqlan also loved looking at the stream and actually dove into it to try and take a swim! Mark calmly came back to the table asking if I had other clothes with me and when i asked why , I had a look at Deqlans hair , spiked from being wet and the water dripping down off his little shirt! Oh boy! We got to watch our little water baby - he tries to get into anything that has water - he tried to get into the bath with me to this morning and i caught him before he could get over! Deqlan also thoroughly enjoyed Uncle Tylers 4x4 - he decided the canopy at the back was a great trampoline!We had an absolute ball on Saturday afternoon, lovely company, and lots of precious one on one time with our Deqlan. The sun was setting and everyone was relaxed and laid back as we enjoyed the afternoon. Cant wait to take Deqlan back there!

We all slept a little late on Sunday, not that late but late for us, 7am, as we where exhausted from all the running around on Saturday! After a little midmorning nap, we took a drive to Dada's work! Another first for us. Deqlan had a great time, swinging around in Dada's chair and using the keys to open and close his drawers. I think it was a very proud moment for Dada to show his little boy where he works so hard for us every day.

Marks office is very close to OR Tambo airport, our international airport so we decided to take Deqlan to see the aeroplanes, yip another first! He didn't quite understand why we pulled over on the side of the road and why on earth where we pointing to the sky? As the planes got closer and you could actually see the lights and hear the roaring engines, Deqlan looked up in awe at the huge piece of machine that was right in front of his eyes! We watched 4 planes land , and had an absolutely great time and plan on doing this again very soon! Imagine if Deqlan could get his hands on spinning those wheels!

My week started off with a bang, or a drill should i say - at least i thought so! I have had a bit of a nagging sensation in a molar the dentist worked on exactly 1 year ago - i remember this clearly as this experience was one of the least pleasant i have ever experienced. I was petrified i would have to go through the same pain and time i did through last time as half of my tooth cracked off. Thank my lucky stars, no need for injections or drills - the break was so bad last time and so deep, that is has now formed an air pocket and that's causing the pain i have been moaning about - so some fluoride was applied to try and strengthen the area and lets hold thumbs that does the trick! I know, i am such a baby - my son has gone through things a zillion times worse, i continue to learn so much from him...

I don't know whats going on with the layout of photos and comments on the blog , as it creates huge gaps between photos comments so enjoy a combination of photos from over the weekend!

Have a great week ahead,please continue to pray for our soldier that his tests are normal and that he remains NED always. Please extend your prayers to include all our friends from all our the world

God Bless and lots of love

Mark, Samm & Deqlan

'FAITH IS LIKE A RAINDROP THAT KNOWS A RIVER, BUT DREAMS OF AN OCEAN'