its been awhile

KIA ORANA FAMILY ... its been awhile

first off ... i really have to thank god over the last month or so for giving me the strength i've needed to work the long hours i've been doing as of late, when you're not used to working 10 or 11 hour days, and sunday's its a STRUGGLE. but all my thanks go to god for his strength each day, his mercy and his grace i couldn't have done it without him.

secondly ... happy birthday to all the july babies, to tino, rae & aunty mareta (even though you won't ever read this its the thought that counts lol) ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU ALL!!!

i haven't seen anyone in such a long time sometimes i feel like i live in an entirely different country lol so its been good reading what everyone has been up to lately. even though i haven't seen anyone for what seems like an age, its nice to know that you are all still out there in your little corners of the world living life, and are still alive and kicking.

anyways ... im so freakin' tired lol i can hardly keep my eyes open to write something. so for now this will have to do ... my little posting and shout out to everyone to say hi and bye ... and that im still alive and kicking (barely lol).

so to all my family out there ... wherever you maybe, from auckland to wellington, melbourne, albury & cairns ... my love to you all. take care and god bless ...

lottie
xox

Today is my birthday lol

Just thought I'd drop something on here - HAPPY SABBATH BTW - while I'm waiting for my sister to pick me up to go to Tokoroa (yes, if you didnt know, we're coming down!!!) for the weekend. So this will be a quick update.

Tino, I trust you enjoyed your special day ... it is special coz it only comes round ONCE a year. It was also my mum's birthday on Wednesday, she turned 78! Wow, what a blessing to have her here for soooooo long. I didnt get to know my grandparents, and I'm sad when I think if I ever have (adopted) children lol, they will probably never know their Nanny. Anyways, happy birthday again to you both.

this is an old pic, taken when Jai was like 7 months maybe?

Today I turned 37 ... not far to go till 40; so Maurice keeps texting me every year!!!

But another year, another birthday, and today - as usual - I took the day off work. Nothing special is ever planned. I just like NOT to be at work.

Had a lovely lunch with Taki, and then came home to find Atalia & TaliPorky here at home while Jax was out playing bball. Its always fun to have that sookie baby here!!! She should know better to be nice to her Aunty Rae lol

But anyways, much love to you's all. I enjoy reading our blog ... so keep posting.

Will be good to catch up with you girls this weekend. To Tino, Vanessa & the family in Albury - have a good weekend, and happy sabbath.

Much Luv

Rae xox

Close your eyes and make a wish...

Today it's my brother's birthday, Big T, Teeno, Tino, chocolate (remember Uncle Albie calling you that when you were little!).

He's 35 today, 4 years seperate us, and of late a couple of thousand miles. This is one place we can get to share what it is we have been up to, catch a glimpse into the lives of all of the family, touch base, share a moment, and keep the thinning lines of communication in tact, re join the links that grow tattered and worn over time, unload some of the fears, and share in the triumphs.

So today Tino, I would like to say Happy Birthday, and I didn't forget!

Other things I didn't do were to send a birthday card, to get you a present, as well as those I didn't remember your last 10, 11, 12, 13 birthdays... sorry!

I also didn't forget to send out a prayer this morning, to remind God that today was special for you and that when he could, when he wasn't so busy, hide little moments, or thoughts through out the day that would prove to you how special you are.
I didn't forget to think about you all week, because I didn't want to forget today, I also didn't forget how much you mean, and how much I love you!

How many ways can I tell you how special you are? Count the stars, multiply them by the amount of space and time that it takes to travel from each one to the next, that's just the tip of how much you are loved by us!

Imagine this, everyone gathered around a table, each person focussed on the flickering light coming off the 35 glowing candles, anticipation hangs in the air, will he manage to blow them out in one breathe or not? little giggles erupt from excited children, excitement at what will happen next...
For you the question would be, what is it that I want the most, of anything, what would it be? Let that be the last thought you think of my brother, before you close your eyes and make a wish!!!

Here's hoping all your wishes come true!!!
Love you much Tino

Mata, Maine and Jono, Ula and William, Koni and Pui, Jai, Tiona, Nunu, Tinokura, The prodigal brother (Tana), Mum and Dad!!!!!
xxxxxooooxxxxxxoooxxxxxx

DIY Dream Home

Can't sleep, i've spent the last hour staring at the house daydreaming about what our finished product will be.

They make it look so cool on TV. One day a family goes away on holiday and by the end of the week the bus rolls away and there it is, pristine, beautiful and just what they always wanted.

Our story is just a little bit different lol.

About a month of clearing up, cleaning and throwing stuff away was followed by 2 weeks of re-wiring, knocking down walls, gibbing and painting which was then followed by 5 months of .... nothing hahaha.

In that time I've discovered that jobs like sanding, sweeping up the dust, cleaning the walls, clearing out the cupboards etc - all the GIRL jobs aren't half as fun as the BOY jobs like plastering, painting, hanging gib etc.... i've also discovered that if I were not a Case Manager I wouldn't mind having a crack at being a builder - so long as i only build new things and don't have to touch anything too gross or dirty lol.

I watch my bank balance grow in anticipation of what i'm going to spend it on, taps, gib, tiles, new shower, re-enameling the bath.... and my new favourite stores are bunnings and mitre10 mega. Stink how paydays take ages and saving up for all this seems to take forever - but that means that i can dream just that little bit longer.

Definately gotta take the good with the bad in the whole DIY game huh.

I think the best and worst thing of this whole process is finding all those hidden surprises in all the nooks and crannies of the house.

On the one hand you find out how many blimmin nooks and crannies this place HAS, but then there are those unexpected things...

like finding out that all the stuff mum has wasn't actually crap, i'd say a good 50% of it has come in really handy

like finding all the certificates we had gotten as kids, tucked in amongst the really important papers that dad has filed away

like finding freindship books that were filled in 10+ years ago and laughing at how you saw the world way back then

like the complete pleasure you got from chucking away all those materials that you spent hours as a kid having to stack and sort and restack for mum

like finding a picture of maine, dad and i and jai jai thinking it was her and numia with papa tino.

I can't wait to cook the first meal in our new kitchen. To finally be able to have a shower in this house, to be able to sit with our family all in one room and to all actually have a seat.... To see mum and dad's faces when they see what we've done.

I can't wait to finish!

3am.. i've got work in the morning... i'm gonna regret staying up this late in the morning lol.

Have a great week family.

xxoxxo Ula :)

Sitting here at work and thought that I would try out camera on laptop....

Me at work on Thursday 16/07/09

Well, my sister gave me some great instructions ( over the phone ) on how to add photos. And WOW, I actually did it...This is me mucking around with the camera on my laptop at work. How mundane is that ! Everyone has gone home ( as they should as it is 7:30pm) and I am still here trying to finish off issues that have just landed on my desk this afternoon.

It has been a long time since I have posted anything and I thought that maybe it would pay to visit and get updates.

Well, what is there to report?? Having a really bad week at work and wish that I could find another job ( sooner than later ) but as it goes, there is a recession.. NOT AT FRUCOR THERE AIN'T !! I am counting down the days that we go on holiday ( approximately 64 days ??).

This year is a big year for me and my best friends from school as we hit the big 40!!. 2 of my friends have already turned 40 ( Ellen and Dax ) the next 2 are in August ( Nicole and Vinnie ) I'm by myself in September and then my friend Darren in Feb 2010. What a milestone !! I can't believe that it is already here. In reading my sister's post I thought that I would make my own comments. I also have other friends that turn 40 but I haven't stayed as close to them as I have with Vinnie, Ellen, Nicole, Dax and Darren. Imagine this ? Even after not seeing each other for may be 5 - 6 years and finally meeting up again, it's like nothing has changed. We still drink the same crap we drank back then ( BERNADINO SPUMANTE !!!) , we still talk to each other like we were still at school even though between the 6 of us we have approximately 8 kids ( Ellen has 2 boys, Nicole has 3 boys and 1 girl and I have 1 girl and 1 boy. Great times with them.

I have learnt to appreciate my family as there was a rather rough period between 1988 and 2000 where there were major issues happening that I would rather forget about. Things have changed dramatically and I am so happy that they have. I still can't fathom when I see other families having issues ( and believe me , my nana's (dad's mum) family are prime examples - wichman side) that they can't deal with the past. That use to be me and that's why I never progressed until 2000 when I realised that living in the past and having all these things follow in the future are absolutely fruitless. When I put the past behind me, opportunities galore came to me. Great job, moving back to NZ to be with my family, buying a house and settling down here in NZ ( even I would still prefer to go back to Sydney).

I have had the opportunity to really know my brother, my sisters, my mum and my son. I have also enjoyed being with Aunty Tatu and Aunty Urau as well. I wish that when I am their age that I can be that close to my sisters. They have an absolute phenomenal relationship and bond that has seen them through countless heartaches, arguments, disagreements and let downs but they still hold their head high and enjoy who they are and don't pretend about who they aren't. I am so glad to have the kind of family that we have. Good, Bad or Ugly, this is who we are and we should be proud and enjoy the time we have left with them. I can't think of how it would be if we lost them.

Enough blah blah blah. I could write more but I had better finish my work so that I can go home.

Love you all and catch up next time.

xoxoxTaki

I've been sitting here ...

thinking that someone should add to our blog already ... because, lets face it ... the last post was 2nd July ... today is the 13th ... come on people!!! So, deciding I would take up the challenge, and while deliberating on such an onerous task, I've made a few comments to posts here and there, added a few of my favourite pics ... I've also deleted some draft posts - just the "blank" posts ... not the one's that have writing in them ... a special note to whoever started the one about Nana ... perhaps you might like to finish and publish that one ....

So anyways, back to ... what am I going to write about??

Well, I'm sitting here switching the TV back and forth between channels - mainly the ANZ Netball Semi-final and Brothers & Sisters LOL not the most exciting night, but generally how most of my nights after work pan out.

I used to DREAM of these days, thinking it would be SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO great when I finally finished studying, and just came home after WORK, and sat down in front of the TV, and did nothing for the rest of the night ... well, while I do cherish these moments LOL ... some people would think it kinda makes for a boring life.

BUT, I have to say, I love my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! as much as I b*tch and moan about sh*t on a daily basis lol ... Days like TODAY happen. And it reminds me, that for some reason or another, I have affected people in my lifetime ... I have impacted in some way, the life of another. Whether good or bad, or just plain juvenile.

Have you ever thought whether YOU, have ever really impacted the life of a stranger? friend? acquaintance? lover? Do you ever think, "before I die, it would be kool if someone, randomly, just decided today would be the day they would let me know that I made a difference in their life? that one smile, or kind word, or act of selfishness (no, I did not misspell selflessness, I really do mean, selfishness) and self gratitude LOL made a difference to them???"

Well, I dont generally ... but sometimes the thought does pop into my mind ... but I have to say ... without reserve, that I have no regrets about my life. About the choices that I have made, or have been made for me ... the loves that have come and gone, the friends that have come in and out of my life ...

Some things I do know ...

1. I am truly grateful for my family. Every single one of you.
2. I have come to appreciate what we call "coincidence", as providence. Gods providence. I wholeheartedly believe everything happens for a reason.
3. The people we most b*tch and moan about, are the very ones that we most love and adore!! hmmm, might have to rethink this one lol
4. Everyone has good intentions - however good intentions always seem to come just before, procrastination!
5. We dont post enough on this blog


Well, so much for not knowing what to write about ... :-)


Hope you all have a blessed day ... time to sign off ...

Love to you all xox
Rae

Some old pics ...

well, what can I say lol



Youth Camp - White Water Rafting 2000
(Mata, Ula, Maine & Rae)



Girls trip up North - Easter 2003



Auckland Airport - 2nd trip to Aitutaki, December 2004
(Rae, Lorna, Lotay, Maurice)

DVD's

Thank you so much Rae for the DVD's. They are awesome. They arrived on Friday and I have watched them all a few times each in the last couple of days. The kids love Talias wedding and couldnt stop laughing at the ororra and how everyone was dancing. I see them swell with pride when i tell them this is your aunty, thats your cuz, thats nana and great nana, they love it thank you.

Grandads funeral was sad,i know it was a long time ago but for me it was my first time.
I watched this DVD in the kids room by myself cause i wasnt sure how the kids would react.
I could feel the sadness and respect along with all the other emotions coming through the TV. After a while the kids came in the room looking for me and saw me crying. they said nothing, they just down next to me, held my hand and watched.
i cried when they carried him to his grave and to see him lifted up high on the shoulders, showed me just how much honour and respect Grandad had in the community.
its the one time i really wished I was back in TOK, just to carry him those final steps to his resting place. i am so sorry for not being there.

I am so grateful for these DVDs and everyone posting on the blog. My kids are starting to notice that they are a little different from the others at school and are so excited that they have relations that look like them, the same age, and that theres HEAPS of them.

one last thing, the singing, its unreal. some of the kids can sing man. I dont know who it is but one of them sang solo without a mic and was almost louder than the choir. BUT i must say the BEST song out of all the DVDs is the one Taki, Rae and Mata sang Love him. Number 1 girls.

Later.T