Long time, no blog.

Forgive me for only getting to the blog now! It has to be said - our little third world country's telephone service accomplish ten out of ten when compared to British Telecom. Even after Andries followed every rule and regulation, we still need to wait 14 days for the telephone line and another 14 for the broad band to be installed. So, we got wireless to help out in the mean time....

We are so blessed with our new house. The garden is wonderful and the boys are constantly outside - probably making up for nine months in a flat! They absolutely love their new trampoline and even Ivan can get himself in and out of the thing. He gets very sad if it rains outside and will be standing in front of the glass door saying "plies, plies" to go outside. He is to adorable for words!

Hugo is telling us every day that the new house is very nice and we don't miss the old flat. He is also very chuffed to be able to switch lights on and off via a little rope hanging from the roof.

Moving is always hard work, but nice when you can make a new place a home. For me personally it is nice to do things that are not related to my breast cancer. I think it is important to know that this sickness is not who I am, but only a part of my life.

We've received a wonderful gift in the form of a visit by a great friend. Bernard and his beautiful wife Cornelie and their son Ruben are on their way to Australia for a 12 month fellowship - he's an opthalmologist (eye surgeon), and still Bernard made the time to fly in for three quick days to spend with us before their move. It is wonderful to have him as a guest (of course we are missing Cornelie and Ruben like crazy!!) but feel so blessed by his words of wisdom and encouragement during a very difficult time. Thank you Bernard!

With Bernard's arrival came another gift. My mom made me a whole bunch of bandanas to wear. Even Springbok and Spiderman ones, also for the men in my life. Thank you so much Mamma, it is helping a lot to cover up the soon-to-be bald head. And no, I didn't get around to go and shave my head, so the hair is still falling out in their hundreds at a time (I really didn't realise that anyone had so much hair!!). I think I am going to start a new bandana craze here in London. The nice thing about it is that "in London, anything goes, so don't ever be surprised!" - wise words from my brother-in-law, James.

Emotionally I feel very good. It does help that I have people around me that is constantly encouraging and supporting me every step of the way. All the e-mails and text messages that keeps pouring in warms my heart every time I read them. Yes, there are moments when I still feel overwhelmed by what is happening. Moments where I just can't believe that I have breast cancer at the age of 33. And yet, there are so many woman and men (yes, men can also get breast cancer) who are in the same position that I am. So my situation is not unique and as weird as that may sound, that gives me hope. I can clearly remember the moment when I decided to do my first Argus cycle race in 2000. It was the year 1999, supporting Andries, when a (very overweight) old lady passed me on her bicycle - there and then I decided that if she can complete this race, then surely I can complete it too. So, if other people can beat this "cancer-cycle-race", then surely I must be able to beat it too. (By the way, I also completed the Argus in 2001, but we won't talk about the amount of hours it took to do so...).

When situations of great sadness crosses our life-path then a lot of things are seen in a new light. You learn that the great things in life are the simple things. One of the highlights of my week was when little Hugo came to lie next to me to take a nap. I was listening to music with the help of my iPod. I asked him if he wanted to share, he said yes, put his little arm around my neck and fell asleep, almost protecting me from the world. That moment is so much more precious than diamonds or gold and I wouldn't exchange that heart-warming feeling for ANYTHING in this world! When I look at his angel-face I get completely overwhelmed by God's goodness, grace and blessings in my life. That He loves me so much to allow me one more day with my precious children, my amazing husband and just with the people I love. I hope that you allowed someone, just for today, to love you.