Tuesday 10th July 2012

A number of things have occurred in the last few weeks which have reminded me of the importance of this blog and documenting our families journey and so it is with renewed vigour that I once again pick up my proverbial pen and again begin chronicalling our life together.

What follows is a summary of the last 3 months, a hopefully not to bad attempt at catching up our story.....

APRIL 2012

A not terribly eventful month for us, the children all continued to grow and flourish, we received word that both Phillip and Nicholas have been accepted into the school's of our choice for the next academic year and as the weather remained unseasonably warm we were able to enjoy lots of fun times with friends and a stunning day trip to Longleat Safari Park, a wildlife attraction approximately 2 hours drive from us.

 

LONGLEAT was one of those quintessentially English days the likes of which we haven't enjoyed as a family for a while. Megan's friend joined us for the day and the 7 of us shared lots of laughs whilst enjoying the antics of the animals.

 

 

Titch dropped a litter of four adorable kittens without any fuss at all on the 16th and it has been an absolute joy watching them grow and develop.

 

 

Nicholas had his first riding lesson ever at Tremaines Stable and loved loved loved every minute of it.

 

 

MAY 2012

Much of the first half of the month was spent in preparation for my Dad's visit...even as I type this now I sometimes have to pinch myself to believe that he was actually here, having my father in our home was such a blessing it defies words, but more about that in a post of its own.

11-13 May 2012

Having had to postpone my now annual birthday weekend away with the girls, the time finally arrived and Kerry and I caught the train up to London to meet Tanya and Linda in Greenwich, our "village of choice" for 2012.

 

This year Elizabeth joined us and I have to say she was an absolute gem and happily fit in with all our plans...even when they included spending almost the ENTIRE day wandling around Greenwhich Market.

 

 

Visits to the Cutty Sark, Maritime Museum, Observatory Hill and oodles of chatting (some trivial, some life changing) filled the hours and as usual time flew far to fast and before long I was once again saying goodbye to my 2 beautiful friends, again closer and more anchored in our friendship than ever.

 

Lunar dropped a single kitten on the 18th and although she definitely displayed some signs of neurosis at first she quickly settled down to being an exceptional mother.


JUNE 2012

A big month for our family...our precious daughters both reached milestone birthdays and turned 1 and 14 on the 3rd and 17th respectively.

Unfortunately Beth's birthday party had to be cancelled due to her contracting Measles the day before she turned 1 but again having my Dad here to celebrate both special days with us made them lovely irrespective.

JULY 2012

A bit of a roller coaster ride for the family so far this month...well emotionally at least...on 4th July I was diagnosed with the condition Chronic Myloid Leukemia, and although by God's grace the prognosis is brilliant it has taken some coming to terms with (the process of which I am keeping for another blog). As of today I am strong and healthy and have no reason to believe that this will change.

And so there we are, 3 months is a few sentences...my intention is to blog at least once a month going forward and more frequently if the occasion requires but I certainly never intend being away from this space...my voice for such an extended period again.




 

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Thursday 29th March

It has been unseasonably warm in the UK over the last 10 days or so with temps sitting in the high teens to low twenties. The little two and I have been enjoying lots of outdoor activities as a result and I can literally feel myself shaking away all the winter cobwebs with every gorgeous blue sky morning that dawns.

The "African girl" in me will forever feel a little strange however sitting around in a strappy top sipping cold cider and sunning my legs at 17 degrees where for the first 35 years of my life those kind of temperatures heralded jeans and a fleece at the very least...but although warmth at these low temperatures is so foreign to me I certainly don't miss the humidity and enjoy being able to literally have the kids outdoors for the whole day with just a single application of sunblock.

The Easter holidays start for Megan and Phillip this weekend and I really hope that the warmth persists a little longer so that they to can get some pleasure out of our garden, surrounding parks and nearby pool.

Thursday 22nd March 2012

How I managed to go almost two months without blogging is quite beyond me and inexcusable really but we seem to have had rather a lot of illness in the house recently and I guess my priorities have been a bit different.

As for what we have been up to...well Si celebrated his 42nd birthday at the end of January...seems crazy that I have known him since he was 21...still love him as much today as I did back then so I guess that makes us some of the lucky ones.

Megan is well and the only one in the family that didn't succumb to any of the lurgies...probably because she spends most of her time in her room doing "teenager" things and so doesn't come into contact with the rest of us very much lol. She has chosen her GCSE subjects now and is enjoying the last of her freedom before the real work begins in September. Si and I are very pleased with her subject choices as we feel they are very well balanced and the best thing is that it was her decision. She will be taking English language, English Literature, Maths, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, History, French, Critical thinking and Design technology - cooking. So lots of hard work ahead me thinks.

Phill hasn't been well recently with a nasty gastro bug having knocked the stuffing out of him. He has been accepted to his first choice school from September and is literally counting the sleeps till he can leave primary school...there is a tendency to Molly coddle them a little bit and it is driving Phillip mad as he tries to flex his wings.

Nick nick is thriving at his nursery school and we are waiting to hear if he has a place at our first choice primary school...he is such a character and is so like his big sister it is frightening. Passionate about Wii and Xbox he has the control and understanding of all things electronic which is way beyond his years and he loves nothing more than a couple of hours gaming with his Dad or big brother.

Baby Beth is almost 10 months old and is the cutest little thing...she is packed full of spirit and I think she is going to give us quite a run around as she gets older...she already knows her own mind and has a will of steel specially when it comes to touching things she isn't supposed to. She has been crawling for about a month and spends many happy hours trashing the cats water and eating their food lol.

Generally speaking we are all in a good place and looking forward to shaking off the winter cobwebs and embracing the summer.

Tuesday 24th January 2012

Before Christmas Phill and I decided to run the "Big Bicycle Recycle" in Burgess Hill. We aimed to collect a few bikes which we could donate to less privileged children in our community and although the start was a bit slow the Lindfield parents soon came on board and today we were able to drop off 15 bicycles and 3 scooters to children aged between 3 and 14 years.

It was such a humbling experience for Phillip and I to be able to walk the street knocking on the doors of the allocated houses and watching little faces light up as the kiddies realised that today they would be given something for nothing....the road soon filled with the shrieks of excited children and it was wonderful to watch them riding up and down on the pavements, some in their pajamas, and to see the smiles which quite literally seemed to light up the street.

A real privilege to be a part of something like this in our community and Phill and I have decided that it is definitely something we want to do more of. The rewards of giving without gain can not be described in words but suffice to say that Big Bicycle Recycle 2012 will hopefully see us collect even more bikes and we will also be running a "Baby Bygone" collection in July during which we will collate donated baby goods into "care packets" for young disadvantaged mums.

A humbling and beautiful afternoon that will stay in our memories for a very long time.

How Beth has grown

Elizabeth was 7 months old yesterday and is growing more delightful every day, she is a very social little creature who is happiest in the company of friends and family. Ready with a smile for all who encounter her she has just recently started chuckling and finds her brother's a laugh a minute :0)

Still the dribbliest baby I have ever encountered she is yet to cut any teeth but I am sure that it won't be long now as literally anything she can lay her hands on goes in her mouth, including paper, banana muffins and Lunar's fur.

Having been sitting securely for a few months now she is very ready to move, but not on her hands and knees it would seem, preferring instead to try and scoot along on her bottom, which is particularly effective on slippery floors I must add. Although she is still breastfed she is now eating two solid meals a day and loves love loves her fruit (veggies not so much) so it looks like the female family sweet tooth is going to continue for another generation at least.

Being an extremely vocal baby, she enjoys sitting on the floor in the lounge "talking" to her toys and has even started "singing" along with the radio in the car in the morning. A typical Robertson, the television has already caught her attention and we have a few firm favourites we watch on Baby TV during the day.

Elizabeth was by far our greatest blessing of 2011 and I am sure as she continues to grow and thrive through 2012 she will give us many wonderful moments to treasure with her.

Wednesday 4th January 2012

2011 was a brilliant year for the Robertson family, yes there were lows but they were far outweighed by the highs and as I am getting older I am realising the importance of leaving the lows in the past and focusing on all the wonderful blessings we are given each year.

In 2011

• We moved into our new home midway through January
  
• I spend a wonderful weekend with some of my closest friends in Edinburgh to celebrate my birthday
  
• Nicholas started and loved nursery school in April
• We celebrated 3 happy years spent in England in May
  
• Our beautiful second baby daughter was born at the beginning of June
• My mother visited us for 6 weeks in the June/July
• My Sister-in-Law Jann spent a week with us in August
• I became God-Mother to little Tom Card in October
  
• We found a wonderful new church to attend where we feel comfortable
• We all continued in excellent health
• Simon's job has remained secure despite the recession which may be one of the biggest blessings of all.

To look forward to in 2012

• The culmination of the "Big Bicycle Recycle" in January
• Choosing Megan's GCSE subjects in February
• A weekend in Bath with my gorgeous girlfriends to celebrate my birthday in March (the start of a tradition I think)
• My dad's visit in May/June
• Phillip starting secondary school in September
• Nicholas starting infant school in September
• My Mom spending Christmas with us in December
  
• The launch of my new business at some point during the year....this is the year it will happen

Such a lot to look forward to and I am without doubt that there will be more blessings along the way for our family.