Tea Time!

Today I went for some tea. Not just any tea. High Tea. And it was High Tea fit for a queen!

My dear friend Liezel Lotz deserved a treat from me after helping so many times with the boys during the first days of the cancer diagnoses and chemo sessions. So we went for High Tea at The Ritz in London (yes, thé Ritz!).

It was WONDERFUL. Everything so grand that we truly felt like royalty. First you are greeted by friendly, yet very professional staff in white blazers and black bow ties. They then show you to your seat at a beautifully decorated table in a glamorous tearoom. You can choose from about fifteen different teas and then your tier of sandwiches, scones and sweet treats are delivered. And don't forget the strawberry jam (o, excuse me, preserve) and the loveliest clotted cream.

For two glorious hours we pretended that we are so used to this kind of thing. Drinking our tea, eating our scones we chatted the time away. After we took (sneak!) pictures, everyone else also took out their cameras and started taking photographs. This to me was an indication that all of them where also not used to this kind of thing, although I though they were by the looks of things.

Thanks Liezel for a wonderful afternoon. Tomorrow night we are doing cocktails at sunset!

On Wednesday I am having another chemo session. I am taking cup cakes to celebrate the halfway mark. XXX

Weekends

We had such a great weekend. The weather was perfect South African summer sunshine and relaxation was at the order of the day! Andries took me to the Marriott Hotel in Canary Wharf. We had a grand "studio room" and was allowed access to the executive lounge. There we could dig in - snack, drinks, a very fancy coffee making machine, canapes, deserts after dinner and much more. We were also able to go see a movie (Taking of Pelham 123 - very edgy!), drink some cocktails in the hotel bar afterwards and slept till 9:30am. Thanks again to Oupa and Ouma!

When spending some time alone with your spouse (which I think should be a weekly date, but difficult with small children in the house) you have time to reflect on a lot of things. The big change in our lives is definitely making us focus to think and talk about the things we really want in life. Although we are enjoying London and all its offerings so much, we miss home and the wonderful things South Africa has to offer. One big priority on our list is our family and friends.We are blessed with the most wonderful friends anyone could ask for. From all walks of life. And that really enrich our lives!

Holidays are also big on the list. Boy, Andries and I would be able to be on holiday every day of the year! We think it is important to make memories, where ever you are, and not just "tick off places" that have been visited. We started making mental notes on where we want to spend good family holidays. One or two things on the list is rowing down the Orange River and doing a few good hikes (Otter, Tsitsikama, Fish River Canyon). And our favourite place in South Africa (and probably the world) is Nature's Valley. And the boys would love camping. Hugo is also reminding Ouma Ronel on a regular basis that he is going to the Kruger National park with them.

So, I hope you are planning your next great holiday - where ever in the world. Or at least making plans for a great day out with friends! XXX

Amazing people

The last week was a good week. The highlight was Oupa André's arrival on Monday morning. We were very lucky in finding him at the pay phones at the Canary Wharf Tube station, where we also went to M&S (Marks & Sparks as the South Africans like to say) for a bag of cherries and white flesh peaches. Hugo saw Oupa and screamed from the top of his voice "Oupa! Oupa!",running towards him and grabbing him by the leg. Oupa was very surprised! Hugo was so happy to see Oupa André after him and Ouma Ronel have been counting the sleeps since two weeks ago.
It is so nice to have him here. We've send Oupa and Ouma off for a day or three of relaxation in the Cotswolds area. It is such a beautiful time of year to go there - everything green! But the boys are missing them and Hugo keeps asking when they'll be back. They sure deserved the break. Oupa finished a major project at work and Ouma needed to rest a bit after being busy with the kids and household 24/7. There is absolutely no way I would have been able to cope as well with the treatment if it wasn't for her. After a Wednesday chemo, it takes about seven days to feel 100% human and myself again. She makes it possible to stay in bed all day if I need to and to really rest and look after myself. I know that the people involved in my life is part of the medicine-regime that is making me better.
Speaking of people, I really need to mention my amazing husband (again and again and again!). There is no other partner I would want to travel this cancer road with. He is the epitome of positivity! He is so caring and always putting his own needs aside to make sure everyone around him is comfortable and happy. When home, he plays and takes care of the boys, makes bottles, have never had a problem in changing any kind of nappy, gets up at night for Ivan (long before the cancer diagnoses!) and in the mornings he will greet you (early...) with a wide grin and ready to do his part at the office. Andries, you really are amazing and I thank God every single day for you!

XXXX

Watch out Demi, here's the real GI Jane!

Today I took the plunge! The hair went!! I woke up this morning and decided that I am ready for the GI Gane look. My hair, or the little that was left, irritated me immensely, so the decision was easy.

The whole hair-cutting session went very quickly and I felt free afterwards. I have always wanted to know what I would look like without hair, and now I do. On asking Hugo what mommy looks like, he replied (in no uncertain terms) "... so sexy!". Boy, little ones can be so honest....

Afterwards he helped me to put cream on my now exposed dome. I think I ought to wear sunblock in the future as well.

I know for a lot of people this might be a lot to bear so forgive me for baring all. But this is a part of my life I need to remember. I know that I've grown on a personal, emotional and especially spiritual level. And although daunting at first, I am not afraid to travel this road. All my loved ones (even the ones far away in beautiful SA and other parts of the world) are surrounding me with encouragement, support, laughter (and tears as well) and have been the wind beneath my wings. Thank you all for that!! XXXX

Oxford Street Shopping!

My mom-in-law and I decided to take on Oxford Street for some high street wig shopping. Now let me just put it in perspective. If you want to go for extravagant shops with extravagant price tags Oxford and Bond streets are the places to go in London.

We started our search for wigs at a grand store with a nice wig studio, Selfridges. On entering the shop I immediately knew there would be a premium on the price. Therefore, I tried on a few and on hearing the price (equal to about five theatre tickets on the West End!) I very politely reply that I'll think about it, and thought by myself that I love the theatre much more...

From there we went on to House of Fraser. On entering the wig shop, we were met by a very friendly and helpful young woman. The best part - the wig shop is closing down on Sunday and EVERYTHING in store is less 50%. What a bargain!!

So, I left the shop with a short bob-style wig, wig shampoo, conditioner and a spray, for less than one West End theatre ticket. When showing off my new wig to my husband, he replied: "are you silly, at that price you should buy a blonde and red wig as well! This is the one time in your life you can really play around with your hair".

So, on that note I went back and got myself a wig with longer hair as well. And yes, I did try on the blonde wig - it really didn't suit me.

We are having lots of fun with the new hair styles. Come to think of it, there are lots of things we can laugh and have fun with during this cancer-road.

I hope you will be doing FUN things this coming weekend. Even silly things! Life is just to short and our loved ones just to precious to not have have fun, every day of the week and twice on Sundays!

Take my son...

Today was chemo day no. 3. All went very well - I just feel a bit tired and will go to bed early. I also bought a wig, actually two. On Oxford street, very larney, hey!

With the next blog-entry I will tell you all about the wigs and add pics to.

Today I want to share an e-mail from another breast cancer friend, Anette. (Please pray with me for her full recovery).

Here goes:
A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.

When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.

About a month later, just before Christmas,

There was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands..

He said, 'Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly... He often talked about you, and your love for art.' The young man held out this package. 'I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.'

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture.. 'Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift.'

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.

On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. 'We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?'

There was silence..

Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, 'We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.'

But the auctioneer persisted. 'Will somebody bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?'

Another voice angrily. 'We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Gogh's, the Rembrandts. Get on with the

Real bids!'

But still the auctioneer continued. 'The son! The son! Who'll take the son?'

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. 'I'll give $10 for the painting...' Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.

'We have $10, who will bid $20?'

'Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters.'

The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son.

The auctioneer pounded the gavel. 'Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!'

The auctioneer laid down his gavel. 'I'm sorry, the auction is over.'

'What about the paintings?'

'I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings.

The man who took the son gets everything!'

God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on the cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: 'The son, the son, who'll take the son?'

Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.

FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, WHO SO EVER BELIEVETH, SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE...THAT'S LOVE !

XXXXXX

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.