December part two

Once again - written way back last year or at the very very start of this year.....

SORRY FOLKS!!!

Life was back to "normal" whatever normal means and i was looking forward to my last week of Nannying and Graduation.

• My last week of Nannying seemed to go so fast which was a good thing and a not so good thing at the same time.
  
  
• Our last day of class on Tuesday was certainly one to remember and we all throughly enjoyed this. We all started to wonder where the last six months of our lives had gone and were we really about to Graduate from Wellington Nannies College.
  
  
• Also, the previous week, i had heard back from The University of Waikato about my placement in the Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) programme. At that stage i had not been given a place, but also, i hadn't had my application rejected - i was just placed on the waiting list.
  
  
• Trying to find a summer job in your home town when you are 'away studying till December 18th and then heading off to Nelson for Christmas,' is slightly easier said than done - even if you do start searching from the middle of October/November

December part one

Well this was orignally all on one blog but i realised it certainly would not have all made sense and would have been far too long. So here is December Part One.... wow, what a month.

• December was just totally crazy and was the best of times yet the not so best of times all at once. It was a month where i realised how life can literally change in a instant. A couple of weeks before Graduation at Wellington Nannies College, i flew up to Hamilton for an interview at The University of Waikato for a place on their Bachelor of Primary Teaching course, beginning in Semester A.That Friday morning, I had just missed the shuttle bus so instead i had to catch a taxi from the airport to Waikato University - this turned out to be not great as i had budgeted for and so $44 later, i was outside the School of Education ready for my interview.
  
  The interview went okay and to be honest, i was not sure if i had done the best I could or not. Some of the questions i was asked, i was not entirely sure how to answered but i just hoped and prayed for the best result. After the interview i headed of to Rotorua to spend the night with Jocelyn and Alex Czerwonka and then planned to travel down with Jocelyn to Hawkes Bay on the Saturday.
  
  During the day, i had tried to contact my parents a couple of times but didn't seem to get much of a response or if i did, it was very quick conversations. I wondered what the heck was going on and then that night when i was at Jocelyn and Alex's place i found out why. Nanna (Dad's mum) had been in hospital and was not doing too well at all - she was in ICU in Hawkes Bay hospital and the family had spent most of the day up there. They hadn't wanted to tell me before my interview which was understandable so then i would do my best without being too distracted.
  
  Saturday I traveled back to Hawkes Bay nice and early in the morning. We stopped into Taupo and saw Cruz on the way which was neat. A couple of hours later and it was straight into an OSS (Order of St Stephen) workshop and a day of reflecting, prayer, worship and much more.
  
  Finally got home to see the family on Saturday night and heard that Nana had improved so that was good. I was heading back to Wellington on the bus on Monday (i think) so wanted to make the most of time in the Bay.
  
  Weekend in the bay went well and i managed to catch up with lots of the extended family see Nana in hospital too. then on Monday it was back to Wellington for my last 11days down there.
  
  
• Tuesday 8th December was a day which i will NEVER forget. I had a massive assessment on at College and because it was the 2nd to last week, we were all trying to get everything finished off so we could graduate. We had class in the morning and then I had my progress report after lunch (or maybe before). at the end of my progress report, my support person Paulene, told me that she had had a phone call from Mum to say that Nana had passed away earlier in the day and that the family were all heading towards Hawkes Bay ASAP.
  
  My initial reaction was "WHAT?!?! - I only saw her two days ago". It was weird to think that Nana would no longer be around. Wow, how strange Christmas would be.
  
  
• .After many phonecalls, txts and msn conversations, Thursday lunchtime came around and Uncle Tim and my cousins were on their way up from Nelson and were picking me up. It was decided that Nana's funeral would be on Friday so we headed up on Thursday. It had been ages since seeing all the extended family but it was certainly great to see them all, despite the circumstances. or me, the news of Nana's death, hadn't really affected me that much as i was away from Hawkes Bay. It wasn't until i arrived back on the Thursday afternoon that the news kind of "hit home" i guess you could say.
  
  
  
• Thursday night and Friday morning were spent with mum and I rehearsing to play "The Power of Your Love" on the Piano and Clarinet. I had asked people earlier in the week if they wanted me to do a Clarinet Solo at the funeral and the Aunt's decided this would be a great idea. At the time i thought it would be too but trying to choose a piece to play was certainly not an easy task - neither was standing up in front of everyone on the Friday morning playing my clarinet.
  
  
• What an amazing funeral it was. So many stories were shared about Nana and the family growing up and just about Nana's life in general. Nana had been really involved in her church and especially in the flowers which decorated the church each week. The flowers that were there at her funeral were absolutely stunning and were just so typically her. I was involved so much in the funeral and had about four or five jobs to do - i was kept busy for sure. During my clarinet item, i was shaking so much and really did not want to do it but as i later found out, all the old laddies from the church who Nana used to spend a lot of time with, had heard so much about me playing clarinet and how proud Nana was me yet they had never heard it. After those conversations, I realised that playing my clarinet there was something i certainly had needed to do and was pleased i had done so.
  
  
• There had not been one single time, previous to Nana's funeral when each and every grandchild had been together in the same place at the same time. What was evident that day when all of us were together was that we all appreciated Nana and Poppa so much and that Nana had been and was still so proud of each and every one of us for what we had achieved so far and for what the future had in store for us. We really relied on each other that Friday morning for support and just for a shoulder to lean on - two of her grandchildren in the armed forces did a stood at attention as Nana was carried out of the church and even tears were in their eyes. What an incredible day.
  
  
• That night some of us were joking around a bit and then one of us commented that we would never be able to taste Nana's triffle or her steamed pudding again on Christmas day - that it would just not be the same.
  
  

After the funeral and a day to relax, it was back to Wellington, nice and early on Sunday morning, to prepare for my last week of nannying and look forward to graduation on Friday 18th.

One thing that really helped me get through everything during that crazy week, was the fact that i had the support of family and friends - some whom i had only known since July but were still there for me, praying and offering to help in any way they could.

Times change and everything in life seems to happen for a reason. Why Nana passed away, we are still not all sure of but i personally know that God has a plan for our lives and we need not worry.

When something like this happens, we need to hold onto what we have - the memories, the moments we shared together, the pictures/photographs we have and the lessons we have learnt from those particular people in our lives.

The past few months at a glance... part 1

So i was sitting here in my bedroom at Taurima Christian Hostel in Hamilton, reading other people's blogs and realised that it is certainly time that i updated my blog considering my last post was September 16 2009.

Wow is pretty much all i can say. The last few months, God has been there right beside me through the thick and thin and has taken me on such an incredible journey.

Where to begin??

• I Well for starters.... i ended up totally loving the rest of my time in Wellington last year at Wellington Nannies College. I graduated from there on December 18th 2009. On our graduation night, it was a time of celebration but also a time of looking back over the past 22 weeks and realising how far we had all come. The friendships we had all made, the experiences we had all shared, the laughter, the tears, the life lessons learnt and the skills gained which will come in handy for having our own children one day - everything about the course was great and the support from tutors was just outstanding
  
  
• When in Welly i attended ARISE Church which was usually based at the Michael Fowler Centre. This was such an incredible church and i really did form life long friendships with people down there. All the people that i got to know were just such an inspiration and support on my life journey and more importantly my relationship with my Savior - Jesus Christ.
  
  Leaving the people in Wellington was certainly not an easy task but looking back now i realise how much i grew up - both mentally and spiritually (if that makes sense).
  
  
• Throughout my time at WNC, i learnt so much from the course and from the children. I throughly enjoyed the course (even though at times it was hard or i had to step out of my comfort zone) but all in all it was fantastic. I realised during my course that it was Primary School aged children that I had a deeper desire to work with and teach so i enrolled at The University of Waikato after much thought and talking with many people and waited for God to reveal the next part of his plan to me.
  

Greetings and hello to all,

apparently some people are starting to question whether i am still alive or not since there hasn't been a blog update for nearly 3 weeks!!! Well i come bearing good news - YES I AM STILL ALIVE!!!!!! :)

Sorry but the last two-three weeks just seem to have gone by in such a flash and i just haven't been very organised at gettting this blog update - whoops!

So i apoligse to one and all for not filling you in with the goss - there will be a good update later because a few things have certainly happened since my last update. If you are not patient enough to wait and read then contact mum, dad, Ash or a couple of other peps and they will fill you in!!!

Hope all is well wherever you all are (M and W - i hope everyone is safe and well in Uganda!!! I love you both lots and hope that God is using you and your talents in the most amazing ways)

Miss everyone lots and lots but according to the countdown thingy on my wall in my room, its only 9 days till im home in the mighty HB again!

Love and Blessings to all from a sunny and warm spring day in Wellington!

Finger Painting and Hand prints are fun :)

This blog was orignally written sometime last year when I was nannying - just been going through my blogs and finally publishing some of those random drafts that I started many months ago.....

Today i was back with my second family again - it has only been a week since i have seen those three particular children but it is amazing how much i had missed them in one week.

Sophie (10 -nearly 11 month old) is feeling much better thank goodness and also Elise (2 year old) didnt have the measles - yay for that! Yet another "thanks God" moment there because of the measles outbreak going around NZ at the mo.

So today being back with the children was great even though the first part of the morning was windy and raining so we were stuck inside. With Cooper off at school now, it gives me more time to spend with Sophie and Elise so when Sophie went off for her morning sleep, it was Kathryn and Elise time!

Because i had not been able to do what i had planned for Friday (because of not working), it was time to act like a little child (which is not really much out of the ordinary), get out the paints, paint brushes, sponges, paper and have a blast.

IT WAS AMAZING FUN AND ALL HAD A FANTASTIC DAY! It is so interesting to see what you can learn from children through a fun activity such as finger painting :)

Don't be afraid to be the child you once were - be the child within you and never underestimate that child's abilities!

Pics of Mt Kau Kau

Saturday stroll in Khandallah turned Mountainous

Once upon a typical Saturday afternoon in Khandallah, Kathryn decided to go for a walk. Well it wasnt really a typical Saturday afternoon as normally i would probably have been out of the house early in the morning and not be back till late at night but since the budget is fairly tight at the moment (silly studylink), it was a quiet day at home in Khandallah.

Anyway, back

to the story.........................

So Kathryn decided to go for a walk - well yes! I knew a few places in Khandallah but wanted to go somewhere nice and quite but beautiful at the same time (if possible) and just be able to relax and read my bible.

For those of you that don't know, Khandallah is very hilly and there are quite a few steep roads scattered over the place (well more like every where you look!!!!).

I knew that Mt Kau Kau existed but i had no idea where to go to climb/walk up this mountain. I would have loved to have gone up but seriously had no full intention of doing so. I just walked and walked for nearly 20ish mins, taking turns in the road here and there and avoiding the streets that were practically vertical (im sure you can all picture me walking up those roads :D ). I then turned into Simla Cres and much to my amazement saw a sign which said something about Johnsonville Park and Khandallah Park. I then took a closer look at this sign and saw that there was a walk right up to the top of Mt Kau Kau! WOW, total "Thanks God" moment just then.

I started walking the track and although my legs were aching after only a short while, i kept going and within about 20-30mins, i had realised i had found my new favourite place in Khandallah - i was soooooooooooooooooo happy!!!!

The view was AMAZING and the best part was that it was a fantastic SUNNY DAY IN WELLINGTON! And i (Kathryn Allison Stewart), had just climbed/walked up a mountain!!!!!!!!

Two and a half hours after starting, i was nearly back home (legs feeling like jelly) but proud as heck of myself! The one thing that i had not thought about when trecking Mt Kau Kau, was that at the end of this incredible journey, i would then have to walk up hills and steep streets to get back home (Khandallah home of course) and my gosh what a challenge that was....

Got home, had a shower and felt so great (not so great that i could do all again right then though). It had been a great afternoon walk, i found my new favourite place in Khandallah, i pushed myself beyond my limits, i got my bible study done and i enjoyed being up a mountain!

Something must have been working over the last few weeks coz then at church on Sunday night, one of the girls in my life group (bible study group), said to me that it looked like i had lost weight - yay! Maybe if she had seen a couple of my pics of the day before then she would have had second thoughts but still i was stoaked!

I guess being on the internship over the summer and walking Cooks Cove, did teach me something afterall! Ohh and Cruz and Hayden - i didnt have fish and chips straight after this walk either :)