Oftentimes, he will "read" to himself – holding the library book up, he will create a story to suit the pictures.  But, he will "read" it aloud like a first grader learning to read.

There i..s… is a d..o..g dog."

Nevermind that the book has a completely different storyline.  He thinks that since his "reading" sounds like Katie’s, then he’s reading the real deal!

It’s been all very cute.  But then, he completely surprised this mother of his, the other day, when he insisted on writing his own name on a friend’s birthday card.  Sure enough, he did.  And again on granny Bev’s card later that day.

Nowadays he has been sounding out all sorts of words. Today he asked me how an "o" looked.  He was writing "mom".  And then "dad", after I showed him how the "d" looked. 

Surprised, I have been, indeed!  And rather excited!  For the reasons that don’t matter (at almost 4, he is rather young to be grasping the concept of phonics).  And for the reasons that do…  that being that this is a lovely example of learning happening naturally, without prompting or pushing from me.  He asks. I answer.  And off he goes.  Now how is that for blissful learning?      

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Post tags: homeschooling, natural learning, phonics, unschooling

…  Please, please, please leave at least a brief "hello" comment here to say that you have tried it /want to try it!  I love to share the joy of making stuff.  It makes my day to hear that others are enjoying recipes that give us such joy too.  So, come on out of lurkdom and post a comment at the end of this post! (And if you have some tweaks and tips, please do share!)

Right, on that note, here goes! 

(Cue drum roll)

Use the "basic dough recipe" from your bread machine’s accompanying manual/recipe book.  There – done.  Simple hey? 

What?  Not satisfied?  Hmm.  Well, okay, then.  Here follows the long version….

This recipe is the real deal if you’re going to make these buns a real labour of love.  In other words … Made From Scratch.  The good news, for those who do have bread machines, is that my suggestion above is actually what I do.  It’s super simple.  I have made them using this method below before.  But, if I am going to make them as regularly as I have been these past couple of weeks, it helps to let the machine do the hard work.  The recipe below also works in the bread machine.  Simply put the ingredients into your machine in the same order that all the other recipes call for (my bread machine calls for the yeast first, then the flour and then the other ingredients, while other machines call for the yeast last). 

If you don’t have a bread machine, then this recipe is step-by-step, easy-peasy.  It just requires a bit of muscle work. 

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup (75 ml) very warm water
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) instant yeast (active dry yeast)
• 1/3 cup (75 ml) granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) salt
• 3 tablespoons (50 ml) cooking oil
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) boiling water
• 1 large egg (beat with fork, first)
• Approximately 2 1/4 cups (550 ml) white bread flour

Method

• In a bowl, dissolve 1tsp of sugar into the 1/3 cup of water.  Sprinkle yeast over top. Let it stand for 10 minutes. Stir to dissolve yeast.
• Stir second amount of sugar, salt and cooking oil into another (larger) bowl.
• Add boiling water. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Wait until it cools slightly to very warm, as opposed to boiling.  Stir in egg and yeast mixture.
• Slowly work in enough flour until soft dough forms. (You may need to add extra flour or extra water.  Add a little at a time, knead it further, until you are satisifed).  Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place dough in large greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with greased waxed paper and tea towel. Let stand in slightly warmed oven with light on and door closed for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until doubled in bulk. Punch dough down. Cover. Let rest for 5 minutes.

Congrats!  You’ve just completed your basic dough recipe.  Now to turn it into cinnamon buns…

Roll the dough out into a large rectangle. (Try keep little fingers away – unlike me, who has a lovely imprint of Micah’s inquisitive hand).

Smear the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon all over your rectangle in generous proportions.

Roll it up length-ways, being sure to pinch the edge closed (use a little water on your finger tips to aid this process)

Cut the roll into 4cm sections.  To get the perfectly round look, use cotton thread instead of a knife (I’m lazy these days and use a knife, but the cotton does give it a better finish)

Pop into a baking dish, leaving about 4cm between each roll.  Cover with a damp dishcloth and allow it time to rise – double in size is good going!  That can take an hour or more, depending on your room temp.  To speed up the process, pop your tray of rolls into a slightly heated oven (heat to about 40 degrees and then switch it off.  Place the tray in the oven once you’ve turned the oven off.)

Then, pop it into the oven at 220 degrees Celsius for about 10 minutes!  Smother with icing (I use sifted icing sugar with a dash of plain yoghurt – mix until it is as thick as butter icing).

Of course, there is the Chocolate Cinnamon Bun variety too … follow the link for instructions!

Enjoy!!!!

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Post tags: basic sweet dough recipe, cinnamon bun recipe

Since first exploring the world of home made cinnamon buns, I’ve played around and finally come up with a really yummy, but simple, cinnamon bun recipe/technique.   We had loads of practice with that this week.  In addition to the tips mentioned in a previous blog post, I’ve discovered that pressing down the sugar/butter mixture with a quick once over with the rolling pin makes for a better end result.  Plus, I now pinch the length-wise end of the roll to the rest of the dough – this means that the buns stay together nicely, which means more caramel-cinnamon inside! Mmmm-mm!

My other favourite "tip" is to mix the glace icing with plain yoghurt instead of water.  The slightly sour taste of the yoghurt gives the icing a little bit of a nip – enough to take the sweetness down a notch or two, so that one can actually enjoy the taste of the cinnamon bun itself, without the overkill of icing.

Yum-diddly-um-tious!

The dough recipe I use makes pretty cool savoury buns too.  I’ve experimented with that too and discovered that it’s easy just to replace the cinnamon-sugar-butter spread with something savoury.  Cheese, pesto and tomato goes down a treat!

Chocolate Cinnamon Buns

This past Sunday afternoon, we decided to do some more experimenting with my trusty cinnamon bun recipe.  Craig is away on business and the kids were itching to do something fun.  Well, chocolate is fun, isn’t it?  And experiments generally go down well in the kids’ book of "fun stuff to do".  So experimental chocolate it was!

We took photos of the step-by-step in case it turned out well enough to blog about (or badly enough to blog about!).  So, here goes…

Step One: smear a generous layer of butter all over the rolled out dough.  Step Two: smear a generous layer of treacle sugar all over the butter.  Step Three: sprinkle a (yes, you guessed it) generous layer of cinnamon all over the sugar.  So far it’s looking pretty much like conventional cinnamon buns.  So far…

But then …

Step Four: mix generous portions of sifted icing sugar and cocoa together in a bowl.

Step Five: pour the mix over the sugar-butter-cinnamon layers and spread out smoothly.

Step Six: sprinkle a couple of handfuls of chocolate chips all over the cocoa-icing sugar mix.  (Don’t get too over zealous here.  Actually… scratch that – get as zealous as you like!  No such thing as too much chocolate!)

Step Seven: Roll the dough from length to length.  Remember to press down the first lip of dough so that it makes a firm centre and pinch the roll closed along the length.  We want to keep as much of the yummy, gooey chocolate inside as possible!

Step Eight: then slice across the width of the roll, about every 2cm or so.  Place the rolls in a greased baking tray, about 2-5cm apart.

Step Nine: Let them prove for about 1-2 hours (i.e. leave them in a warmish spot; room temperature is fine.  Cover the pan loosely with a dish towel.  Let them expand until about double the size). 

Step Ten: bake at 220 degrees Celsius for about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

(You can cover these with glace icing too, but that would be overkill.  These are decadent all on their own!)

And finally… stuff your face!

Next time I will use all the dough for these babies (this time we halved the dough, using the other half for more conventional cinnamon buns).  And, I will not roll the dough so thin.  The dough-ier buns are definitely yummier.  And with all that chocolate … mmmm, I am salivating already! 

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Post tags: chocolate cinnamon buns

Today is the first day that we have a 2 year old in our home and this mamma is not pregnant or cradling a new baba.  Does that make me deliriously happy?  Not at all.  Desperately sad?  Not really.  Bittersweet?  Definitely.

But, at the same time, I’m enjoying enjoying my youngest.  His funny quirks and cute sayings; his chubby little body that he likes to expose, nekid, to the world, even in the dead of winter; his cheeky grin … he is the sweetest little boy and …

…my feistiest 2-year old yet.  Yes, that would be my angelic-blonde-curls, blue-eyed boy … Micah.  Don’t let those cute curls deceive you (actually, they shouldn’t these days, since I gave them a bit of a chop yesterday!).  Behind that delighted grin and the chortling giggles lurks a mini monster!  It usually comes out when it hears the, otherwise innocuous, words: "No, Micah!" 

Mini Micah Monster accomplishes some pretty impressive feats, including turning beet red in under 1 second flat, and puce in 2 (seconds).  Usually, the shades of purple are accompanied by fist biting (his own), hair pulling (his sisters’) and body slapping (anyone within range, including himself) and whole body tremors as he clenches his fists and holds himself tight in an attempt to channel his anger somewhere.  It would be kind of scary if it weren’t so funny.  Especially when he sneaks a peek at us from under his furrowed eyebrows to check the audience reaction. 

Thankfully, little Micah is not endlessly stubborn and once he’s established that he’s not going to get his own way, he usually complies readily.  This is helpful when having to dress him, feed him or put him down for an unwanted nap.  It’s been an interesting discovery, as my other kids at this age showed decidedly more perseverance with the tantrums in the face of reprimand than Micah does.  Especially when their initial outbursts were as impressive as Micah’s run of the mill ones.  Full of fireworks; explosive and sometimes self-destructive – but seldom does it last too long and always his sweet grin returns untainted by his former display.

And that little grin is in a class of its own.  If we’ve been apart for any length of time, his little face lights up with delight when he sees me return.  I should bottle it and sell it as a Self Image Booster.  His ear-to-ear open-mouthed beam melds into giggles and chortles.  Little arms pump up and down with excitement.  It’s too cute.  No one can walk away from a Micah Reception without feeling on top of the world. 

His gorgeous grin is the same as his cheeky face.  That’s the face I get to see every time he casts a glance over his shoulder while running away from me.  Usually, he’s stark nekid and escaping the after bath/get changed routine.  I also get to see Mr Cheeky Grin when he’s horsing around with his siblings or being caught doing something he shouldn’t do – like plastering mommy’s make up all over his face.  That’s a fairly regular occurrence.  Hmmm, should I be worried?

Mostly, he is just a sweetheart, who loves to cuddle (and will actually stay still, cuddling with us in the early mornings, unlike the other lot who all wriggled within 5 seconds of crawling under the covers) … loves to do what his big siblings are doing ("do skool, mommy! do skool!") … loves to sing… loves to tease… loves to play… loves to allow his big sisters to dress him up (as a girl… there goes the worry factor again) and loves to hug and kiss and cuddle.

He has a few special people in his life.  One of those is Johanna, our very reliable and most wonderful domestic worker.  Johanna agreed to speak only Afrikaans to him, since he was little.  And so she does.  Mikes has learnt a whole load of Afrikaans from her.  He understands most of what she is saying and even answers back in Afrikaans from time to time.  It’s very cute hearing his little voice pipe up with "Daar’s hy" or "dankie!" in unexpected moments.  Johanna gets the same excited reception he reserves for those he loves.  Usually she is bowled over before she even has time to step past the front door.  And Johanna loves Micah.  I love coming home from an extra mural, or Lunch Bunch with the bigger kids to find Johanna and Micah outside, playing soccer or improvised hockey with old squash rackets and plastic beach balls.  Johanna gives Micah just as much love as we do – and he loves her to bits too.

His Afrikaans and English mix hasn’t seemed to hinder him too much in the language department.  He doesn’t talk nearly as the others did at this age, but he makes up for it with his earnest babbling which sounds so very much like real words with deep meaning!  When he does articulate himself, it’s too cute.  "Yook" for look and "moofies" for music/movies, to name but two.  And, where he lacks in verbal maturity, he makes up for in physical maturity.  He’s our tallest kid yet and has no qualms about taking on his big brother.  Too many times the squabbles between them end in wails… from Sam, howling, "Mommy, Micah just (fill in the blank)-ed me!"

But, even if he grows into a huge hulking adult male, he’ll still always be my baby.  And, I will always look fondly back at videos like this one below, where my cherub is bouncing around, grinning and singing and enjoying being 2.

(can’t view the video? click here: Micah Sings.  You’ll notice some background noise – that would be Sam and Katie arguing, again! Oh, and turn down your volume!  This is quite loud!)

Happy Birthday, my Micah Moo (aka Mickey Micah Moo, Mikes, Mikey Mike and more)!  We love you so very much and we keep praying that you’ll grow into your verse sake as you grow into manhood.  Micah 6:8.

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Post tags: birthday, Micah Hayes

I’ve just recently finished reading a moving true story of a woman missionary trapped in the Indonesian jungle during the Second World War.  Suffering the most horrific of diseases and from starvation, she and her fellow POWs lived in the shadow of death on a daily basis.  Evidence Not Seen chronicles Darlene Diebler Rose’s time of imprisonment. 

It’s a deeply challenging book.  The easy pace in which it is written does not detract from the depth of emotion and story.  Reading how she remained firmly rooted in Him during this time; how she clung to Scriptures she had memorised, while feverish on the dirty floor of a Japanese prison; how she reached out to others and told her Japanese captor the gospel, so that tears streamed down his face … reading these stories can only inspire one "to live for Christ", knowing that "to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21).  

And, amongst the evidence of her faithfulness to God, is the overarching evidence of His faithfulness to her.  Even while suffering in a Japanese prison camp, she does not feel abandoned by God.  There is story after story of miraculous moments where God saves her mortal body time and again.  And then there are the stories of those small needs met; those humble prayers answered. 

Darlene relates stories of a torch (flashlight) that remained hidden and working the entire 4 year duration of capture – never ever needing a battery change, despite being used often.  She speaks of prayers prayed – a desire to know how her husband, imprisoned in another war camp, died.  When the friend she expects to hear the news from dies before he can relate the story, she is bitterly sad.  Yet, in the same day, God brings, through extreme circumstances, 3 individuals who could all relate to her their encounter with her husband in his dying days – answering her desire for knowledge and closure in ways greater than she could have fathomed.

It’s inspiring. 

And it’s heart warming.

For, while we know that God is all-power and ever-loving, somehow we’re still delighted with the little gifts he gives us on top of everything else.  Much like a small child when his Daddy unexpectantly scoops him up for a cuddle and a hug.

_____________________…

Today, I got to experience a little of that firsthand.  I had made a pan of cinnamon buns last night.  This morning I thought that it would be something small that I could bless Lerma and her family with. I could always make another pan for our family later. Between errands this morning, I swung by her home quickly to drop it off.  It felt a rather foolish and small gesture, especially since I’ve not been able to see her yet, due to being sick with flu and then a cold.  But, clearly God had other ideas.  You see, I had no idea that she had particularly craved something sweet just that very morning.  I had no idea that her appetite had come back just recently.  And I had no idea that today and tomorrow are the only days that she has left before she starts her next round of chemo – when cinnamon buns will definitely not be a blessing!  In this little window period of good appetite, her humble desire was for something sweet.  And the same morning, God mobilised my lazy self in order to bring something sweet straight to her door. 

Speaking to my mother later, I found out that God has been doing quite a bit of this for Lerma!  Also, just recently, the family were discussing what to do about keeping the towels separate so that she isn’t exposed to more germs than she needs to be.  While they were discussing this, the doorbell rang and Di arrived at the door with food and two monogrammed handtowels.  "Do you do bath towels too?" they asked.  "Sure!"  And Di left that same day with an armful of towels to monogram on her embroidery machine. 

Small things.  Simple things. 

Yet, they are exhilarating moments filled with a sense of assurance, love and joy for our Father, our Saviour and our King.

They are… hugs from God.

© Hayes Family for , 2010. | Permalink | 3 comments. Add your comments here. | Add to facebook
Post tags: Darlene Diebler Rose, hugs from God, lerma macleod

From time to time, I will repost some of my favourite posts from the past.  This post is an old post from July 20, 2008.  It comes to mind because I’ve just recently bought another of Patricia’s books, Star of Light, that I found at a great charity book store in Kirstenhof for R15.  Patricia St John writes beautiful children’s stories that poignant, honest and refreshing. 

____________________________

Having just recently read her book, Treasures of the Snow, and her autobiography, I am now a big fan.  Patricia died in 1992 – leaving behind her a legacy of a life lived for Christ.  She is most famed for the wonderful novels and biographies she wrote – most especially the children’s books.  Treasures of the Snow and The Tanglewood Secret are just two of these much-loved stories.  She wrote these stories to teach and warm the hearts of the children under her care when she was a house mother for missionary kids in boarding school.  At the time, Christian stories for children were about dying orphans – not the bedtime reading she was hoping to enrich the lives of her students with.  So, she wrote her own.  And now the world over benefits from her skilfully woven stories, coloured with brilliant illustrations of God’s love and mercy for us; the reality of human struggles and the freedom there is in Christ. On reading Treasures of the Snow, I was taken with this beautiful and apt illustration of God’s redemption of us.  Too often we believe that we’re not good enough to even contemplate being in His presence or being His child.  We feel like we need to clean up our act and then come to Him for forgiveness.  One such person is found in the pages of her novel … a young girl called Annette, struggling with hatred towards a boy who hurt her brother.  The wise words of her grandmother explain so vividly just how it is God who does the work of changing us…

"If you hated someone you could not ask Jesus to come in, could you?" (asks Annette of her grandmother)

"If you hate someone," said grandmother, "it just shows how badly you need to ask Him to come in.  The darker the room, the more it needs the light."

"But I couldn’t stop hating Lucien," said Annette softly, fingering her long plaits thoughtfully.

"No," said Grandmother. "You’re quite right.  None of us can stop ourselves thinking wrong thoughts, and it isn’t much good trying.  But Annette – when you come down in the morning and find this room dark with the shutters closed, do you say to yourself, ‘I must chase away the darkness and the shadows first, and then I will open the shutters and let in the sun?’  Do you waste time trying to get rid of the dark?"

"Of course not!"

"Then how do you get rid of the dark?"

"Well, I pull back the shutters, of course, and then the light comes in!"

"But what happens to the dark?"

"I don’t know; it just goes when the light comes!"

"That is just what happens when you ask the Lord Jesus to come in," said Grandmother. "He is love and when love comes in, hatred and selfishness and unkindness will give way to it, just as the darkness gives way when you let in the sunshine.  But to try to chase it out alone would be like trying to chase the shadows out of a dark room.  It would be a waste of time."

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Post tags: patricia st john, start of light, tanglewood secret, treasures of the snow

One of these simple pleasures that ignites ripples of bubbling anticipation in my stomach is the promise of Spring.

I’m not a winter girl.  Lately, I’ve been very grateful that our winters are actually quite mild, compared to the rest of the world, and I’ve even embraced some of winter’s special treats like stories by the fireplace and a toasty bed, warmed by our 12-year old electric blanket.  But, even then, I don’t like waking up at 7am and finding that it is still dark outside.  I don’t like having the kids run their bath at 5:30 to see the sun disappearing behind the mountain and minutes later throwing a dark blanket across our skies.  I don’t like hopping from one foot to the other in a desperate attempt to warm up after a shower.  Layers of clothing?  Closed shoes all day? Winter weight? Endless days of rain, rain, rain?  Urgh.  Not my thing.

I’m more a summer girl.  Despite the sweat-dripping hot days we can have.  Despite the lethargy that sometimes accompanies those days.  Despite the body-image-crisis that seems to coincide with the necessity of wearing fewer clothes.  Despite these things, I love summer.  And the first hint of summer is …

Spring…

I think, after 18 years of knowing me, Craig has earned the right to roll his eyes when I suddenly gasp, "Honey! Look! It’s 6:30pm and the sun is still up!"  But, despite the predictability of my behaviour, I still enjoy that excitement as if it were brand new. 

So, this month holds loads of little spots of joy for me, as creation starts to show buds of new life and brighter colours in celebration of warmer, and longer, days ahead.  And this year, it started in August, as we were driving to a Lunch Bunch outing in Kommetjie, we noticed the first Spring flowers carpeting the verges of our route.  Even the kids were subjected to mommy’s exclamations of joy!  On arriving at our destination we were greeted with more beautiful glimmers of spring flowers.  And the kids loved the fresh air and bright skies.  Even the nip in the air did not dampen my little-girl-thrill for summer ahead!  Walking along the Slangkop walkway with flowers blossoming on either side of us, was a treat indeed.

And now I look forward to more glimmers of Spring, and promises of Summer … the sun going down later and getting up earlier; the first buds on our back garden tree swelling and then exploding into vivid green splashes of fresh Spring leaves; the blossoms peaking over our neighbour’s fence; the warmer weather; the smell of freshly cut lawn … even the 5 minutes less it will take to dress a wriggly toddler in the mornings! 

Ah!  The anticipation of something so close is invigorating indeed!

What is your favourite thing about Spring or Summer?  Or, if you’re a Winter baby – tell us why!  Maybe you can convert me to the dark side!

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Post tags: blossoms, excitement, Spring

Recently, I decided it was time we got going with it again.  I like the many benefits of having scripture memorised and really would like to make it more of a habit in our day.  If only I weren’t so fickle in the execution! 

To keep us going this time, I’ve written our memory verse up on our fridge and we’ve been practising it over our breakfast.  At random times during the day, I’ve been pointing to one of the kids and starting the verse for them.  They love these impromptu pop quizzes!  It’s quite cute watching their little faces screw up in concentration as they try to remember the words of an unfamiliar verse.  Sam has been particularly enthusiastic – he’s finally at that age when he can remember the verses well enough to say them on his own.  But he’s also at that age where his lispy voice, and his tendency to pronounce "th"s as "f"s make him come across as super cute!

We reviewed the last three weeks verses on video this morning.  Like most kids, performing for the camera brings out new levels of enthusiasm!  And in this case, that helps along the learning process!  Here is Sam’s rendition of Joshua 1:9 – unfortunately his sisters were distracting him quite a bit, so we don’t get the best idea of how he says it, which is really cute!  But, this is pretty cute too

Do you have some fun bible memorisation tricks or activities to share?  Please give us some more ideas or links!  We’d love to hear how you do things in your home!

© Hayes Family for , 2010. | Permalink | 11 comments. Add your comments here. | Add to facebook
Post tags: bible memory, joshua 1:9

Not so my aunt, Lerma.  From the day Lerma entered our lives, she has brought with her joy and upliftment.  It is most difficult to come into her presence and not feel her warmth wash over you like a wave of love.  I know of not one person who has experienced Lerma’s loving kindness and infectious joy and walked away untouched.  From waiters in coffee shops to presidents of companies, Lerma’s warmth has effected everyone in her path.

In the last 6 weeks, Lerma has been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia. Some years ago, she worked with Benzene on a daily basis for a period of 2 years.  According to the doctors, benzene is a known contributor to leukaemia.  Her first round of chemotherapy found her suffering debilitating side effects and pain.  She lost most of her hair.  And yet, she is still smiling.  Still rejoicing. Still giving God the glory.  Still encouraging those who come to encourage her.  Every time my mother speaks with her, she is encouraged by her love for Jesus and her willingness to submit to His will. 

Recently, my mother shared this prayer letter with friends and family.  It shares her heart which reflects Lerma so well and deeply.  As you read it, please keep Lerma and Guy in your prayers.

Hi dear family and friends,

Thank you so much for your prayers and well wishes sent to Lerma.

We came to Cape Town yesterday and visited Lerma at the Constantiaberg Hospital last evening.

We were met by one very cheerful lady despite her ordeal to date!

She has undergone her first treatment of chemotherapy. Initially hair started to fall out but seems to have stopped.

Lerma has reacted to the drug by coming out in a dark wine colour rash all over her body. Her doctor has not seen such a reaction like this before. Her ears swelled to what she describes as fat purple aubergines. She suggested to the doctor that she gets her hair coloured purple to match the ears. She refers to herself as ‘ Purple Lady’! What a lady ! She so cheerfully makes fun of these irritating things that she is having to contend with!

She has been running a temperature which the doctor says is due to a bacterial infection. She is not allowed home until her temperature is down. We are praying that it will be soon!

Lerma is experiencing the “Peace of the Lord’ as she undergoes her treatment for Leukemia. Her faith and trust in the Lord is strong.

She has a close relationship with her Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. One cannot but be encouraged by her wonderful positive outlook on life. She radiates ‘the joy of the Lord’ and truly demonstrates what Jesus said we all must do and that is “ to love one another as I have loved you!”

In the 14 years I have known her I do not recall ever hearing her say one unkind word about anyone. She has had many challenges in her life and to date it seems that each trial she undergoes she takes them in her stride. She gives all credit to the Lord and says it is ‘Jesus who gives me strength – without Him in my heart I would not have managed. “The Joy of the Lord is my strength”. (quoting Lerma).

Lerma is such a tonic and an inspiration to me.

The other morning I woke up pretty early with the song “I love you with the love of the Lord’ going around in my head. I wanted to sing it to Lerma but it was far too early to cell phone her. (each morning I send her a scripture and each evening I phone her). At this rather unearthly hour I smsed it but did not remember all the words. I ‘la la’d the words that were missing’. Lerma phoned me later in the morning singing the song to me. I joined along with her and then she went on to sing ‘In His time, in His time, He makes all things beautiful in His time…” So there we were the two of us singing away together. Tears were running down my face as we praised and worshipped the Lord together. I was blessed as my sister in law with her beautiful voice sang to the Lord. I was bathed by God’s presence which was awesome!

Donna, Lerma’s daughter, comes into the hospital each day to help her mum. Lerma has about 5 tubes attached to her which she has named her 5 x 5! She says she drives her 5 x 5 into the loo, into the shower.

Guy, my brother, is finding this pretty tough as one can imagine. He adores his ‘tweetiebird’ as he calls her. He hates to see her having to go through all this. It is so hard to be on the outside looking on. One can feel so helpless. Please keep him covered in prayer.

Please stand together with us as we faithfully look to Jesus to restore Lerma to perfect health.

Lerma sends her love to you all and says thank you for your prayer support!

With much love to you in Christ,

Mum Sal

Please consider dropping a note of encouragement for Lerma here in the comments section.  She will definitely value your prayers and words of encouragement!

© Hayes Family for , 2010. | Permalink | 6 comments. Add your comments here. | Add to facebook
Post tags: acute myeloid leukemia, cancer, lerma macleod, leukaemia

Sometimes I post a craft that I hope someone else may benefit from.  Sometimes it’s a product review that I notice gets a few hits from google searches.  Sometimes I worry that I’m coming across as got-it-all together and wonder if that’s how it is being received. 

In each circumstance, I’m curious to know what you, the reader, is thinking.  So, this is THE post – appealing to you all to drop a comment if you stop by here at Hayes Happenings.  For whatever reason, for example…

• If you’ve landed on a (admittedly, rare!) crafty activity page because you’ve googled a craft idea – has it been helpful?  Have you found other ideas on the same subject?  If so, please share!  The more ideas the merrier! 
• If you’ve searched for a particular product or idea, what is your opinion on that product?  Did the Hayes Happenings post you landed on help you in your search?  Do you have other helpful links to share?  I’ve noticed loads of repeat searches for things like piano tuning, black motorbikes, mcups, pressure cookers, kefir, Uncle Willy’s Party and much more on my google analytics feeds. 
• Perhaps you are a regular lurker – why not pop up for a moment and introduce yourself – say "hi" and share how you first came to visit here at Hayes Happenings.  I love to be able to interact with readers! 
• Or, if there are things you feel need to be challenged, you’re welcome to do that too – in love, of course!

Whatever your reason for landing here, I’d love to "meet" you or hear more about how you came to stop by here.  So, take a moment or two, click on the blue comments link at the end of this post and say hi!   

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