Our Last Week In Houston.........

An exciting week but also bittersweet - we are so sad leaving but so happy to be heading down under to spend more time with our family - Jesse here we come and Houston we'll be back!!!!

Thursday 21st April:

Breakfast with Judy – today we celebrated Judy’s birthday – so glad we were able to be with her on her special day and to also have this time to say farewell.

We have no doubt that Judy will visit us down under and we’re certainly excited about that. Judy has been a big part of our lives and definitely played a big part in Jesse’s life – not only did she perform his baptism, she also opened her home for the occasion.

Friday 22nd:

Yoga farewell lunch – I’ve been going to Friday morning yoga for 4 years now and have made many friends in this class – particularly with our instructor Nancy. Nancy organized a farewell lunch at her house to farewell John & I and also fellow Aussie classmate Heather who is heading back to Melbourne.

Saturday 23rd:

Houston Fit breakfast at Fountainview Café – organized by Patty. This was our second farewell with friends from Houston Fit – what a fabulous group of people – we will really miss ya'll.

Tuesday 26th:

Breakfast with Dev - thanks for all the lovely sentiments and words of appreciation you expressed – we value your friendship too.

Nancy’s visit – a very emotional visit as Nancy gave me a most precious gift – a hand carved owl brooch made by her grandfather for her mother. Nancy is just so special and I only accepted this amazing gift on the proviso I can return it to her one day when she visits us in NZ!

Dinner with Hugh & Donna - Hugh and Donna are two really special friends. We met them through Houston Fit and one of John’s most memorable occasions was when he crossed the marathon finish line with Hugh – it was Hugh’s first ever marathon making it extra special. We were also honored to be invited to their daughter Joanna’s wedding. Hugh always says we have parallel lives – we have been married as long as them and have two children, a boy & a girl who are approx. the same ages. We enjoyed a lovely evening together and will definitely miss these two wonderful people.

Wednesday:

Packing/Removal Day. After an exhausting month of sorting out what was going and what was staying the reality that we are moving arrived. A five man packing crew arrived at 9am and at 9pm they squeezed the last of our stuff into the 20’ container. These guys were just awesome and John pitched in and helped cart boxes out to the container. We will see that container again in NZ in about 3 months. We are now sleeping in an empty apartment on 2 borrowed single mattresses and two fold up chairs and a small table complete our range of furniture (thanks to Jackie & Chris from upstairs) – there is a definite camping feel in the air……..

Thursday:

John – farewell lunch with work. John’s work crew took him out for a farewell lunch where they reminisced about his ventures all over North America. He has had some incredible work experiences and worked alongside some most inspiring colleagues with whom he will stay in touch.

Julie - Lunch with the girls - Pat, Candace, Diane & Beth. We gathered at Baba Yega’s, one of my favorite restaurants, and enjoyed a most wonderful time together. Diane presented me with my very first corsage - I felt like a prom queen!

Today we also said farewell to our “surrogate” grandson, Patrick and his mum Ginny. He was born just a few months after Jesse so we loved spending time with him when he visited his grandma and grandpa, Jackie & Chris. When Jesse visited us in Houston last year, he and Patrick got together and enjoyed a play date. We’ll all keep in touch with Skype – it will be fun seeing Patrick grow up from the other side of the world and lovely that Jesse has a little international buddy.

Farewell dinner with Raw Food Potluck - Our preference for eating raw foods is one of the many life changing experiences we take from our time here so it was fitting that we attend our last pot luck and thank those who have taught us so much.

Friday:

Up at 4am to watch Will & Kate get married – of course it will have nothing on the wedding next week of Queen Blake & Duke Jonno!

Lunch with Jackie & Chris, Nancy & Laura at Crickets in the Heights. This was the last time we were going to see Jackie so it was our final farewell – very sad but we’re sure her & Chris will make the trip down under so we certainly look forward to that – in the meantime we’ll just have to skype. We both became first time grandmothers within 3 months of each other so have definitely bonded with our grandson stories and we just love that she has been so generous in sharing her little Patrick with us.

Farewell to Chris & Thia & Lydia – we couldn’t leave without saying farewell to Chris & Thia, the owners of our favorite tea house “The Path of Tea”. They also lived in NZ for 6 years and would love to visit there again one day. Lydia joined us at The Path of Tea and we had quite a tearful farewell with her – she is one of our most special friends and we’ll miss her heaps.