I haven't been blogging much recently: as all my energy's gone to spending time with some very special visitors then recovering from their visits!
Firstly, my brother and his family came over from Scotland. I hadn't seen Keith for three years, and I hadn't seen Carolyn or their children for 6 1/2 years!
![](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D0yPgqXQtNo/VqGvzZTl3SI/AAAAAAAABUc/3wVDTUpKF2E/s320/IMG_5571.JPG) |
On one of their first days here, Martin and I joined them for a swim. Here the adults are resting on the beach, with the kids still enjoying the water. |
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TDPxFMxr6_g/VqGusjxB8UI/AAAAAAAABTI/uRTWtYNo1Ok/s320/IMG_5588.JPG) |
Aidan and Megan got me started with learning to marble paper. |
![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hh8hpbkG_7E/VqGwpc-7VyI/AAAAAAAABUw/VjI-GnTG1O8/s320/IMG_5604.JPG) |
Christmas Day at my parents' place. We've had that Christmas tree almost as long as I can remember! This year it had a theological theme, decorated with lights (symbolising Jesus as the light of the world), chains (the chains of sin that Jesus broke for us) and fruit (the good things Jesus brings). |
![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u2vhRxrTyd0/VqGwop4fY-I/AAAAAAAABUs/zz05Yn912TU/s320/IMG_5609.JPG) |
Again, Christmas Day at my parents' |
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g0FDlFF-phE/VqGu4gMKPFI/AAAAAAAABTo/L-eevhlvGuw/s320/IMG_5619.JPG) |
We got many lovely presents, but I think this lamp from Megan was my favourite. It's now high up in the corner of our room: I loves the stars it throws on the ceiling. Something about it means that my little tea-light oil lamps burn really cleanly in, too, which is nice :-) |
|
|
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ruMUgwSWpHg/VqGv-xOp6QI/AAAAAAAABUo/AsXmrD38q4g/s320/IMG_5626.JPG) |
All of us together. |
|
A day or two after Christmas, we returned home.
![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g9t8SBceziE/VqGupipulgI/AAAAAAAABTA/gHAZFIYqBWs/s320/IMG_5557.JPG) |
The 'Hope Bears' Martin's Aunty Elspeth made us a few years back hanging in our bedroom. |
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zx2BkN10T_I/VqGun3f7x1I/AAAAAAAABS4/7_hOdMWxHs4/s320/IMG_5556.JPG) |
Our dressing table, decorated for Christmas with an advent wreath and Christmas tree. |
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m8mz11z3jzQ/VqGvDiSc5EI/AAAAAAAABUA/tB5G9ZRVjTI/s320/IMG_5659.JPG) |
Our main tree in the living room. The lights are actual candles: the holders were given to my mum by my German great-aunt many, many years ago (my mum now has half and I have half). They take very slender candles that are tricky to find, so I've taken to making my own from old candle-ends :-) |
![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lkBCAOYzcYw/VqGu88zNIhI/AAAAAAAABTw/XBSEwLz_EwA/s320/IMG_5640.JPG) |
My mum's birthday is just after Christmas. She came to celebrate at our place, along with my brother and his family. |
![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3y_QRuKDknA/VqGvABGPbmI/AAAAAAAABT4/edgeXaEDn94/s320/IMG_5645.JPG) |
Aidan made her these super-cool felted flowers. He showed me a bit of how he does it and, while I really like the effects he can create, I think it would be too physical for me to take up. |
![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZGfKMtio8mE/VqRGmN16Z3I/AAAAAAAABV0/ffr4r4hw2Co/s320/IMG_5648a.JPG) |
Megan and Aidan presented me with this mirror: a memento of our trip to
the beach earlier in their holiday. It features a border of shells
they collected that day. I was super-touched - it makes me smile every
time I look at it :-) |
Overlapping with my brother's visit was a visit by Martin's Thai sister, Nok, and her husband, Nut. Nok was fostered/informally adopted by his family when Martin was 2 and she was 9. I'd never met her before and was really looking forward to it, although I was also a bit nervous about how we'd communicate as I'd heard her English was limited, and my Thai is non-existent! However, I needn't have worried. We managed to have fun together, learn a bit about each other's worlds and even talk about some quite big stuff, with occasional translation help from Martin and his parents :-)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mQFTATCHH04/VqGuUvBj8GI/AAAAAAAABSA/jBhnSCOixoE/s320/IMG_0145.JPG) |
Martin met pi-Nok and Nut at the airport and had a snack with them before they headed up to Whangarei to his parents house. |
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yDrbPDez-0c/VqGucSVD68I/AAAAAAAABSQ/yJIOeyYB51Y/s320/IMG_1129.JPG) |
A few days later, they came to stay with us in Auckland, along with Martin's parents. |
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5Nt2kgjugHc/VqGuOqvULhI/AAAAAAAABR4/irLMGQTZ9Ds/s320/20160106_132208.jpg) |
One day Martin's cousin, Andy, came to visit. Here he is getting Mum to help him demonstrate one aspect of Kiwi culture. |
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6-6I-5V6wUo/VqGvK-9s3KI/AAAAAAAABUQ/8_SaLs1GnWM/s320/IMG_5702.JPG) |
pi-Nok was interested in our door-mat, which is made from strips of old T-shirts braided together. She wants to make one for herself sometime, so I had a go at showing her how to do it. |
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J1FaISP-nn0/VqGuYAhrEaI/AAAAAAAABSI/UhhDggkzyrE/s320/IMG_1128.JPG) |
I came to really love pi-Nok. I'm so pleased to have met her at last! |
No comments:
Post a Comment