The Famdamily!

Our dear dear family.  Blesings a plenty when we're altogether

The best part about going home: playing with COUSINS!  It is the most precious thimg to watch these guys play "'n hond uit 'n bos uit" every time they're together!  Love, love, love these guys!

The Girls in South Africa

Our three precious girls are just loving the time in beautiful South Africa.

It's been a blessed, special and brilliantly fun time for them.

My Gorgeous Girlies

Last update for now...

A few cute pics of my beautiful gilrs.  They are such a joy, blessings beyond my imagination.  They are all growing up too fast, I wish we could  slow time down, just for a little while, to enjoy them more!

Donna 6 & 1 month, Hannah 3 & 4 months, Kelsey 3 months. 

Thank God for my little Olive shoots.

Donna's Birthday!

Catch-up #2, Donna turns 6!!

Our oldest little Princess is growing so big now... SIX years old-when did that happen??

Our little lady just continues to blossom. Her sweet, always helpful, mature but fun way is such a blessing to be part of.  She has become even more mom-like since Kelsey's birth, my little right-hand girl; I would be lost without her!  

Happy Birthday Don!



Then... A few days after her birthday we felt her first loose tooth! And a few weeks after that it was swallowed!! Poor Donna was devastated! But thanks to Sharon and her bright ideas, we ditched the Tooth Fairy and went out and bought her a charm bracelet, and just to really help the poor girl out (read "love her madly") Ryan bought her a very special duck charm (and for every next tooth she'll get another charm). She is now pretty chuffed, and can't wait to pull the next tooth...

We are so thankful for this girl, she is so special.

Praise God for you, Donna, our "Lady Light".

Hannah's birthday (embarrassing late!)

I have been terrible at updating our blog, I am sorry, but there have been so many better things to do in this swiftly passing year than blogging! But our updates are now long past overdue, so here we go . . .

Our dear Hannah turned 3 in January, and yes, the time has flown by, even faster than it did with Donna.  Her past year was just one blessing after another, I definitely cannot label it the “Terrible Two’s”.  We had our moments, but the sweet character that is growing in this little girl is just something I love to see blossom. 

God has been so gracious!

We love you little Hanny

Our Baby Kelsey

Kelsey Farah Penny
Born 15 February 2012
Latifa Hospital, Dubai
4kg, 52cm

My dearest, blessed Kelsey,

God formed your inward parts; He knitted you together in my womb.

I praise God, for you are  fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are God's works; my soul knows it very well. 

Your frame was not hidden from God,when you were being made in secret, 

intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 

God's eyes saw your unformed substance; in His book are written,

every one of them, the days that were formed for you, when as yet there was none of them.

(My paraphrased prayer of Ps 139:13-16)

  My prayer and hope and desire is that whatever and however long those blessed days with Kelsey may be, that I be faithful and committed and loving through them all, repentant and asking forgiveness when I fail this dear child, and pointing her to her awesome Father and Creator, who has given her to us for now to love, admonish, care for and cherish. 

We thank and praise the Lord for this undeserved, but beautiful gift,

our Kelsey Farah;

"Ships full of Joy".

  

Going local

There is a fresh local market very close to us that we get our fruit and fish from once a week, at least.  It is so refreshing (literally!) to see so much green stuff to eat, fruit and veggies and herbs picked that morning, and fish, crabs and other sea creatures caught/picked the same day.  The smiles that come free with every purchase, or just free, just because these wonderful people are Thai and that's what they do, they smile, makes the whole "shopping experience" priceless.

There is a super friendly local family that stays in the house just below us.  Mr Boa is also a taxi driver, which is how we met.  The other day they took us to a park, what a treat!  Our girls and their boys had so much fun, as did us adults!  It has been such a privlege to get to know a Thai family so well in this time.  Really special!

And then just 2 pics of my two most favourite little people...

Elephant Trekking!

We had the most incredible experience of going Elephant Trekking. As a South African you know elephants are enormous, but it's not until you get on top of one that you get a better understanding! And it amazed me that despite the size of these guys, they navigated even the smallest and steepest of paths, true "Gentle Giants".

My appreciation for these amazing creatures grew so much yesterday, as did my awe and love for their great Creator!  The biggest and strongest animal I have ever seen, well this close anyway, was carefully and fearfully and wonderfully and lovingly made by his and our awesome God. 

I praise God for elephants, and I praise Him for this experience!

What's to Eat at a Phuket Market?

We had the wonderful privlege of going to the Phuket Weekend Night Market-it was such an amazing experience! Busy, busy, busy and so much stuff to look at and buy, at prices that at times leave you laughing and wondering what the catch is! 

Ryan gave the girls 40baht each to spend there, that's a bit less than aed5 or R10, Donna bought a little ring, a pair of earings and a lipstick, and got 10baht change!?!?  Now that's bargain shopping at it's best!

Phuket Night Market

But by far the most... interesting (I can't think of a better word!) was the food that was on offer.  I really wish I had taken more pics of the food, but here's a "taste" of what was there...

Crabs, worms, grasshoppers, dimsums, sweets, quail eggs and every sort of meat-on-a-stick...and LOTS more!!!

Needless to say, us Pennies had fruit smoothies and water, then made supper back home in the safety of our Western Kitchen!

Dances with Dogs



Flynn and Mea

There are 3 dogs at Ao Yon beach, and they have added so much to our holiday.  The little puppy, Mea, is still just the cutest thing.  But there are two bigger dogs too that are just so much fun.  We named them Maxy and Flynn (Maximus and Flynn Rider from Tangled), and found out yesterday their real names are Ralphy and Po.  We're sticking with our names.

Once again, it is such a blessing to watch the girls have so much fun.  To see them out in the sun, on the beach and playing with animals, is simply heart warming.  I'm so thankful for God's creation and that there's so much of it unspoilt here.

We are loving it.

The beautiful Ao Yon Beach

Our Trip to PhiPhi Island Village

I know God is unchanging, but I am also convinced that He was extra creative when He created the beautiful PhiPhi Islands!  As an extra special treat, Zoffie took us to the PhiPhi Island village for 3 nights, and what an extra, extra special treat it was!

The Ferry rides on the Sea Angel there and back were top just by themselves, well at least for Donna and I they were, the only 2 who didn't sleep!

On Board the Sea Angel

The place was just stunning, you get there, take a deep breath and relax as even time takes a rest as everything is laid back and slow.  Natural beauty surrounds you and you just marvel at God's creation and awesome kindness at each new thing you see. 

I struggled to switch my camera off...

Some of my favourite pics

The best seat in the house

We had such good times there, the girls especially.  The rooms/little huts were just brilliant, "luxury without being luxurious", so cosy and comfortable, with the best view of the sea out the big sliding doors and balcony. 

The people on the Island were so, well... typically Thai.  So friendly, kind and helpful, they really make the stay so special. 

The best time was the morning we went snorkelling.  We met a great Thai guy, Mr Chet at his restaurant on the first evening.  He survived the actual tsunami wave by hanging onto a coconut palm tree and was able to hold his breath through it because he was a diver.  In his words "I've been given a second life".  I pray that he genuinely has.

The time was such a blessed one because of the fun we had with the girls.  I think for the first time we enjoyed something like this all together.  To enjoy the sea in all it's beauty, snorkelling with Donna next to us and Hannah catching a ride on our backs and taking small turns at snorkelling too, it was filled with moments I will never forget.

Praise God for His blessings, they are awesome.

Snorkelling in PhiPhi with Mr Chet

Two Amazing Dinners

We had the privileged experience of having some wonderful Thai people come cook us an amazing meal in our villa.  All round, it was just a brilliant evening.  The team, headed by Khon Pond cooked up a storm that was the best Thai food I have tasted.  And they were so friendly and kind-it made the meal all the more sweet (and spicy!).  We hope to do it again before we go, for obvious reasons....

The best Home Cooked Meal I've ever had!

The very next day we got to spend Mel's birthday with her again-in Thailand-again!!!  I must say I love Mel's birthdays!  We had supper at the gorgeous Sri Panwa, words can really not explain this place, it is unbelievable! And of course, the food was fantastic too!

Happy Birthday Mel!

Our blessed stay in Thailand begins!

We arrived in beautiful Phuket after two smooth and easy flights.  The girlies only went to sleep 1am Dubai time after watching 2 movies each and enjoying the flight to the max.  But after “supper” (at midnight!) it was definitely time to sleep...

Our place is absolutely stunning, a real home kitted out with absolutely everything we need and more-we’re very, very thankful!  There is a beach 2 minutes walk down from us on one side, and 5 minutes on the other side there is a great little swimming beach, complete with tyre swings into the sea, huts for Thai massages, and an awesome little tea garden place that I just imagine my mom running (this type of place has always been her dream!). 

Oh and there are two gorgeous dogs there too, one of them a lively little puppy that is just the cutest thing in the world.  She is small enough to fit in my suitcase, so I might be bringing her home…     

Little Mea

Time to go home and sleep!

The house has a beautiful pool that overlooks Chalong Bay, that is just such a treat! 

Hannah loving the pool

The gorgeous guy taking a rest from writing



My prayer is that we enjoy this beautiful place, but never cease to praise the Creator of it all, and use the time wisely to grow in His likeness and love each other more than ever.

Riding Billy and Playing with Ponies!

Both girls got to ride the beautiful Billy; Donna looked like an expert little rider, and Hannah, oh little darling Hannah-she just loved every single second of her first ride on a real horse!  We went to see the little ponies as well, man they were too adorable!  The phrase “as excited as kids in a candy store” needs to be changed to “as excited as two little girls in a pony stable”!! It was an absolute treat, for them for sure; but for me to watch them, possibly a small bit more!

Donna's Fifth Birthday

Donna had a party that I think lasted about a week!

It all started 2 days before Donna’s birthday with a movie and pies with Warren and Kate. They supplied the movie, the stunning "Tangled", hand delivered personally by Mr Muir all the way from the States.  Donna wanted a Hamster cake for her party, so I had to practice making it. Kate and Warren very kindly agreed to help sample it too.  The first Hamster didn’t look so good, but it was so full of chocolate that it tasted fine! (A chocolate cake, with white chocolate icing and a coconut and flake mix pressed into the icing for the “fur”…) I very stupidly didn’t get any pics of that evening-sorry!

Next was Don’s actual birthday.  Donna has been wanting to go to the Snow Park for a long time-so this was the day. Granma and Grandpa Zoffie were here, so they got lugged into the snow-not that they seemed to mind at all! Hannah and I patiently waited and watched them like real tourists through the window…  We then all had a great lunch and hot chocolate with Uncle Buck at St Moritz (as you do after a morning skiing-even if it is in the desert!). 

That evening Donna had her wish of Lasagna and Ice Cream for supper, followed by pink cup cakes, lots of laughs and funny photos.

It all started just nice and easy...

And then it all went crazy...

It got worse...

And thankfully back to "normal" again



The Yongs and Neals joined us for a Pool Party that next Thursday.  The Hamster looked better this time, but was not as loaded with chocolate, but at least her ears stayed on!   

Special friends


It was a spoil-I know, but Donna is a special girl and birthdays only come once a year-thankfully!

 

The differences between Donna and Hannah - in pictures