Exciting times and a busy week ahead.

Hi there folks, is it just me or this year rushing past ?  It feels like the year is six months old and has just started all in one.  The one thing I do know for definite is that this is going to be a very busy week.  As a start I have managed to get a batch of Buttermilk Rusks into the oven,  it has been ages since I made some. We have been so busy with looking after Madam aka CeCe that I am tired and haven't even begun yet lol.  She is very easy to look after on the one hand, usually when she is on my lap, and the rest of the times we are looking for 'toilet gifts' that she leaves us, or saving her from whatever monsters she thinks are after her.  As I have said before she has definite neurological issues and will bounce around the house very happily until she either bumps into something or her tail whacks her then she goes crazy.  Poor old Jasper he is either being growled at by Gemma or thinks he's being growled at by CeCe, it's not always his fault although he can be a horror.  He just sits there and watches her with complete confusion on his face. Never a dull moment in this house that is a guarantee.

I am 'hopefully' thinking /hoping that Autumn is on its way as the last week or so has been very pleasant here in Bettys's Bay, today dawned  cool and overcast which makes me a very happy camper.  Hubby has taken Jelly Bean into work as is going to spend the afternoon visiting with a friend of his. He also got to play his first game of golf in absolutely ages last week and happily his shoulder is completely healed so he is a very happy man at the moment.  He had his annual physical last week and is having a Colonoscopy on Wednesday as part of all the tests, then on Thursday I have to go in for the first (and hopefully last) procedure on my eye to rotate the lens, somehow we have a habit of 'double booking' these kinds of things hehe.  Thankfully neither require an overnight stay so we will be in and out.  Jelly Bean was busy packing out books at work last week and somehow managed to hurt her shoulder which is still not 100% so we are treating that as well, like I said never a dull moment.

Princess finished off the Athletics season on a high note and can now concentrate on her academics and hockey.  Whilst we were all busy our family in the UK have been freezing with all the snow, to the point that the little 'Master Muffets' were able to go sledding over the weekend, from the pics and face time calls we had it looks like they had a whale of a time, I am quite jealous.  The rest of this amazing, diverse family are all well and doing what needs to be done.  Have I ever mentioned just how much I love and appreciate you all ?

• Jelly Bean and I were chatting the other day as we are seeing a number of  family, friends and acquaintances going through some really trying times, and as is so often the case it's usually through no fault of their own and totally out of their control, how does one cope with all the changes? My faith in God and His Word where He says "He will never leave me or forsake me" Joshua 1 v 5 - 9, and as one particular friend said "it's a negative situation but I am going to the very best I can to get through it and come back stronger," truly describes my approach to trying times or changes.  Not everything goes the way we want it to, but, every situation can be turned around and what was meant for my detriment can be made useful and cause me to grow as a person and in my faith.  As far as I am concerned giving up has never been an option, for me.  There have been many, many times where I've though "this is just too hard, or not worth the pain, or I just can't anymore," but then there is a voice that stubbornly says "yes I can, I will learn from this, I refuse to be beaten and become a victim, I have four children that need me."  These are choices that one has to consciously make and work at all the time, it is never a once off decision because every trial will challenge you in a different way.  I am very proud when I see that my children are exactly the same.  Is it easy ? Is it convenient ? Is it quick ?  NO - it is hard, and it is painful, and inconvenient and sometimes feels like it takes forever to get to the top of the mountain, but get there you will if you are determined and the outcome is always glorious and better than before.  For those of you who are facing challenges and changes you did not ask for and definitely don't want, I say to you please hang in there, don't give up, don't stop swimming, don't lie down and become overwhelmed.  Make the decision to fight, swim, pray, whatever it takes to get you through.  I am reminded of an  experience I had in December 1997, 15 months after my late husband passed away.  I have very few memories of those 15 months except to say that I felt I had been stripped of my identity and plunged into the total darkness.  I was walking into my bedroom and 'heard' God say to me " are you going to stay as you are, a victim?  Or do you want to become a victor ?  I had to make a decision, a hard decision, I decided that I wanted to be a victor and that meant I had to work unbelievably hard to dig myself out of the hole I found myself in.  It did not happen overnight or even quickly, but through the grace of God and His strength, I was able to become who I am today a very different, wiser, more compassionate woman.  Folks please don't throw in the towel, your race is not over, despite the circumstances, you are not finished, you are not a failure, YOU are a work in progress and this situation is one more step in your growth chart.

On that note I am going to say ciao ciao for this week, I am praying for you all for strength, courage, determination and energy.  Please stay safe and make the most of  very moment you have with family and friends.  Much love.

CeCe saying hi.