Margaret & Terry Reflect on 2018
1st January 2019
MargaretNga mihi o te tau hou - Happy New year, greetings for the new year.
We have get togethers with the family which we really enjoy. I enjoy sewing for the grandies. I have made bows for the girls to wear, we play games and we love watching and hearing the stories of their lives. This year I made lip balm and cranberry scrub for gifts which was great fun, enjoyed making some with the granddaughters! The older grandies, Elijah and Holly (Sarah & Si's), playing cricket and hockey in the winter months. Olive is 6 and will play next year and Isaiah turns 4yrs old this week. Lucy is 4 yrs old and Penny 2yrs (Jono & Jen's). Lucy is very caring and Penny is our youngest grandchild. Eden (Davie and Ingrid's) started school and Gwendolyn (3ys) spends one day a week at Aunty Sarah's with Isaiah. We love having the grandchildren come over for night time stays and to babysit. Feel very blessed having them all nearby. Sarah is re training for teaching, Simon has become Associate Professor in Classics at Victoria University. Jono had a promotion this year at DB and is managing all of the South and the lower north Island. Jen is running Chipmunks - the ultimate place for kids to play. Lucy often tells me she has friends there - Lucy is at kindy and Penny is at home with an au pair, Larissa, from Germany. Davie is in the gaming industry and works for Aurora 44 - they recently released the game Ashen. From Stuff, "One of the studios at the forefront of this mini tech boom is Wellington based Aurora44.This team is made up of Kiwi developers, coders and artists in their 20's and 30's who have been hard at work creating something that could go on to be one of the biggest NZ-made games of all time." Ingrid teaches two days a week at Tawa Primary, the same school Eden goes to. Caleb is at Kiwi bank involved in data encryption and Chrissie (partner) works for the Ministry of Justice. We are incredibly proud of our kids and their partners. We went for a walk about 5 km with some grandies today with Pippin (our dog) who has a friend staying called Yoda (same breed) - very good mates. I enjoy being close to my sister Liz & Ho and enjoy our get togethers during the rugby season and over meals. Work continues to be busy and enjoyable. I am Supportive Care Manager and Deputy CEO of the Cancer Society Wellington Division. With the hick up (pneumonia) and the trip to hospital it is a good reminder to pace myself!! I have a fantastic team of people to work with and enjoy being part of the wider management team. Life seems to be full on at times, so we plan to have a break every three months this year. We have had dear friends return from Australia and it is so good to have them down the road at Pahiatua (Alrena - my bridesmaid and her husband Alan). We are both looking forward to 2019 which may include a European trip August-September. |
Terry2018 began with us renovating my deceased brother's (Gordon) house in Palmerston North in preparation for its sale. With my sister Margaret & her husband Simon we spent about two weeks there, successfully negotiating a sale and in due season settled his estate.
A highlight in February was having Craig, Moa, William and Ellinor Purdie from Finland stay for a week as they began their extended NZ holiday. Craig was a part of our Spreydon, Christchurch congregation and has remained close friends with all the family since. Easter came early at the end of March after a busy Lent which included two weekly groups working through Lenten studies entitled, "A Sent People" which involved 25 church attendees. April was undoubtedly dominated by the arrival of our new Schnauzer puppy (Pippin) who arrived from Christchurch accompanied by Margaret who had flown down to collect her from Prebbleton. We have had a number of friends stay throughout the year including Sue Lee from Tauranga in February, Catherine Richardson from Timaru (she had stayed earlier with husband Brent and daughter Kit in January) plus Derek & Lea Tovey from Auckland during May; followed by Iain Foxell (June), Mike Hawke (July) and relatives John & Lois Milne plus Murray & Lynne Walker in August. Derek & Lea returned in October with Elaine Roub from Belfast, Northern Ireland who stayed a week as she furthered her research into the support of migrant refugees aided by a Churchill Fellowship. During July I completed 16 months as interim priest with St Hilda's as a clergy couple were appointed to be the permanent priests. This concluded my longest interim ministry and a very enjoyable one too. And, Eden started school this month. Early September saw a new interim ministry begin with Porirua Anglicans. A big plus is that St Anne's where this ministry is based is very close to home and is in fact where we have done much of our shopping and other involvements since we came to Tawa in 1994. A feature of Porirua Anglicans is how multi-cultural the church (and community) is. At the end of September Margaret had a bout of pneumonia that required hospitalisation and five weeks off work. It's rapid onset was a scary experience for Terry who saw his beloved's health go downhill so very quickly before her late night ambulance trip to hospital and slow recovery. November and December have flown by with Margaret's return to work and my enjoying a new ministry and developing the gardens at home during a very vigorous growing season. Our family Christmas was at Jonathan, Jennifer, Lucy and Penelope and Larissa's home on Boxing Day evening. All 19 of us enjoying being family together. A quiet week has followed which ended with us celebrating the arrival of 2019 at Phil & Mary Clare McCarthy's Tawa open home, then watching a little TV before we hugged, kissed and welcomed the new year in. |