Nappie Cakes

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Making 10 "Nappie cakes" for the 10 pregnant ladies in the branch, has been a fun project.  Kenny has been very patient and helpful in driving me around to find ribbon and supplies to make and decorate the cakes, (he really came along to protect his wallet!) and having the house quite a mess while they got put together.  Finding cute ribbon, a good price on diapers, and other cute things for them has been a challenge on a "limited budget", and in a "foreign land". I miss Michaels and our dollar stores among other things!

Ashburton Ward!

May 27, 2012  the Ashburton Branch became the Ashburton Ward and we have a new Bishopric!  It will take a while for everyone to get use to saying Bishop Pongia instead of President Pongia.  Mathew Ede is 1st Counselor and Vaisigano Touli is 2nd Counselor, same as before.  The Stake President, Jared Ormsby, 1st Couselor President Van't Wout and 2nd Counselor President Borne, and many stake visitors were  here, and it was a very special and wonderful day. All of the above, bore wonderful testimonies, along with David Jones, who has been a member of the branch for many years, and has served as branch president, and also Sister Johnston, who's husband served as branch president until he passed away a little over a year ago. Elder Neider and I were also ask to bear our testimonies. The youth sang, and the primary sang!  It has been so wonderful to get to be here and see this little branch grow and blossom!  Truely a blessing for us. We love the Ashburton Ward and everyone in it!

After church, they had a "3 pig feast"  with 3 roasted pigs and heaps of food.  Everyone stayed and ate  and had a happy time together!  Wonderful Day! 

Baby Shower

We had a baby shower for the 10 women who are pregnant in the branch!  I made a "nappie (diaper) cake for each one, and we had carrot cupcakes, and chocolate cupcakes, and yogurt with fresh fruit on top.   Three of the mums-to-be, didn't come, so three other ladies "stood in" for them for a picture!  Gizela even put a balloon under her shirt, and got right in front!  They were really having fun and being silly! We played games, and it was a fun and lovely evening!  Special guests were my friend Val, and Nerissa's friend Heather, and Andrea's daughter Louise and her daughter Katie, and the Sister Missionaries' friend, Lei.   And of course, the expectant mothers, Maua, Shirina, Angela, Jane, Penny, Amelia, Epenesa, Selestine, Tuigamala, and Cindy. 



Sensible shoes!

Kenny bought me  these beautiful shoes for mother’s day.  I’ve been looking at them and trying them on,  for months, but they are very “dear” (like the most expensive shoes I’ve ever owned!), but finally we decided I should get them, for Mother’s Day.  I showed them to my friend Val, and she really liked them and said,  “they are lovely, and they are sensible shoes”.  Compared to the shoes girls are wearing, like wedges and spiked heals, they are very sensible.  But I remembered what President Hinkley’s wife, said once, that now she was the age to wear sensible shoes.  I guess at 65, I am now the age to wear sensible shoes – but I think they are pretty darn cute and stylish too!  Funny, huh! 

Happy Mother's Day to all the women that we love!! 

Shopping

Somethings that we love at home, you just can't find here.  String cheese for one.  Today we found what we thought was string cheese, and even though it was $1 a stick, we thought it sounded good - it's not.  Not the same at all.  They do have mozerella cheese, just not in sticks.
I was looking for bottled marshmellow, to mix with cream cheese for fruit dip - no such thing here!  I'm going to try to melt marshmellow to make some.  hummm. (it turned out - ok.  Not as good as bottled marshmellow though.) 
So at the store, I told Kenny to look for some "cream of tarter".  He looked all through the spices and finally said, "they don't have any - they don't even have any plain tarter - or you could just get that and mix it with cream"!  Struck me so funny!
Camille brought us some onion salt - I haven't found it here.  

Autumn in New Zealand

 We are enjoying our first autumn in New Zealand.  The leaves are so beautiful, and we have had beautiful warm sunny days.  We are loving every day of it.

The last Saturday

Elder and Sister Stauffers have been coming to Ashburton most Saturdays to teach the kids here piano lessons.  This was their last week, as they are going home to Utah on May 1st.  The kids planned a "little" party for them to say goodbye!

It was so touching to hear the kids say how much they loved and appreciated the Stauffers.  Made us realize how hard it will be to say goodbye when we leave. 

Elder and Sister Stauffer were ask to come and speak in our branch in Ashburton, their last Sunday in New Zealand, which they did, and they gave beautiful talks.  Because they had to go right back after sacrament meeting, the mom's of the piano kids, prepared a lovely luncheon, for them to take in the car!  Sweet people.  We are going to miss the Stauffers most!  They have become our dear friends.