yes, about that little blog silence...

Well.......... mmm............. what to say after not saying anything for so long? Where does one start, or restart? It was great to be back in New Zealand, even though it turned out to be much busier than we’d anticipated. Travelling around for speaking engagements 2-3 times a week, health appointments 4-5 times a week (I ended up in A & E a week into the trip after hurting my back again, and made a wonderful impression on our home church the next morning hobbling up to speak while high on morphine and having just finished vomitting in the bathroom!).  Meetings, catching up with people, stocking up on supplies to bring back, working through our long 'to do' list and I can't remember what else filled in most of our time. The kids were absolute troopers - sleeping in at least 7 different places in 7 weeks, they got to do somme fun stuff though - sleepovers, birthday parties, Riana went to school with a friend for a day, Josiah got his motorbike license, Drew got the bow he'd been eyeing up online for months, Jed got to sub in as goalie for his friends soccer team, Charlotte got to play in snow and Lily got to see her soulmate from birth and self declared husband to be! 

I had good intentions of blogging about what we were up to, and well, that just didn’t happen – tiredness took over, and to be honest – I didn’t feel like writing much. In fact I still don’t, but I know if I don’t soon, then weeks will turn into months and months into years and before I know it I’ll be in a nursing home and my fingers will be too stiff to type, and my brain too mushy to remember what I’ve been doing for the last 50 years. My regret will drive me to eat way too much chocolate from the stash I hid from the nursing home staff, then I’ll be the only 90 year old in the home with geriatric acne all because I didn’t just write even though I didn’t feel like it. Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating, but what if I’m not? I don’t want to risk being the only 90 year old that has to use Clearasil so I’m just going to dive back in and start writing as though I never stopped. I’m not even going to feel guilty about not filling in all the gaps of the past few months!

I'll leave you with a few pics of our time in NZ - sadly we didn't think to get the camera out anywhere near as much as we should have and half these pics are from a friends phone (thanks Andrew, you're awesome!!) - mental note made for next time!

half way there, Bangkok airport - only 20 hours to go!

lookout NZ - we've arrived!

wahoo!!! Warm blankets, chips and lollies under all the seatbelts in the van friends got for us to use. You rock Brown family!!

Our first McDonalds in a year and a half! Not the most glamorous photo but we'd now been awake for 2 days lol! 

surprising my mum at work on way home from airport - righthand side of the pic you can see her starting to run!

blown away by all the special things friends did to make us feel totally loved! Thanks Maclean and Higgins families for not just letting us crash at your homes but spoiling us rotten!

cousin time!

"look Dad, African undies" Of course we bought them! (and just for the record, we totally could've lived at the Warehouse, or the supermarket - oh the choices, the newness, the choices, the cleanness, the choices...)

Just loved being in the countryside again. Loved waking up to gorgeous frosty mornings, but was so good to get back to warmth of Uganda and let the chillblains thaw out!

If I was in the pic there'd be 4 generations! My lovely mum and Nan - who I must say looks amazing for 92!

Visit with Grandad

... and Uganda bound again, at yet another airport. Can't even remember which one this was, and yes, Lily is sleeping! So thankful for these trolleys!