happy 70th birthday Dee!

To our one and only Dee,

Wishing you a spectacular 70th Birthday for day and many many more!

Hope its unforgetable and that the year ahead is nothing but full of love and excellent health, peace and rewards for all the hard work you put in each and every single day!

Thank you for all you have done for us, as i said to you , Mom used the analagy of you being her "lighthouse " and 'anchor'. For us you are our life saver and life guard, you always throw the buoy out to us when we are in stormy seas and come to our rescue- there are not enough times and ways we could thank you for all you have done for us Dee and i pray that you are showered with every blessing you bestow upon all of us!

Always know how much you are loved and treasured and appreciated!

You are one amazing person and our lives are richer having you come into our family

You are an amazing dad and a fantastic Grandfather - you are so loved and adored !

God Bless you and give you many many more

All our Love

Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

Its the most wonderful time of the year!

Wishing you all a very Merry and Blessed Christmas!

May the celebrations we share , in honor of the birth of the baby Jesus, let us appreciate the gifts we have in each other and in every moment spent with our loved ones.

We hope you all had a beautiful, peaceful day surrounded by your loved ones, sharing loving and priceless moments, making unforgetable memories.

We had a lovely Christmas Eve, i went to childrens mass at our church, and the first carol was my favorite of all time, Oh night divine, i get goosebumps even typing it out - i absolutely adore this carol, what a way to start the mass. It was very touching and very moving to watch our Priest carry the baby Jesus down the aisle and place him in the nativity scene. It was beautiful to watch all the children running to the front to come and see the beautiful baby!

I then met Mark and Logan and Deqlan, at Tyler and Gaynors, where we all spent a beautiful Christmas eve together, among beautiful twinkling lights and hearing soft Christmas carols , while enjoying a delicious meal together. Gran , Uncle Bill and Aunty Kathy were up for Aunty Rene's funeral so they also joined us for Christmas Eve celebrations. Deqlan had a fantastic time running between the people , dancing and clapping to the Christmas carols and watching everyone open presents. Of Course Deqlan headed straight for Kaiden's presents - dont know what it is but he has a fascination for all things Kaiden ! We got the most beautiful gifts from Kevin and Louise from New Zealand - hope to post pics soon! Our absolute favorite is a puzzle they sourced for Deqlan , from a company in New Zealand that specialises in toys and activities for kids on the autism spectrum! Its really awesome and i promise to post pics and details on all our lovely gifts soon soon! Thank you to Tyler and Gaynor and Kaiden to for our lovely goodies. We were blown away by gifts for the kids, that Granny Rene had bought for them.........

Poor Logan started to not feel well towards the end of the evening and by the time we got in the driveway of Nanna's house she quickly signalled for me to open the door. And i did. Just in time. Poor thing. She spent most of Christmas day on the couch but by the evening was back to her normal self.

We had a lovely Christmas morning opening gifts and i was blown away by my gift from Mark of a new camera!!!! he was tired of me saying my camera wasnt working properly and blury! Thank you SO much my love, its perfect, and treasured and you know how much i love photos ! The kids were spoilt rotten, we were spoilt rotten!

Mom OUTDID herself in the stunning decorations she so lovingly created- with her own hands, with every spare second she hand in the last very few busy weeks - she personalised our name cards with messages she specially selected from the bible for each of us - it was absolutely stunning Mom, thank you and Dee for the magnificent lunch!

We were honored to also have Conrad and Megs and Keatie and Khloe, my grandparents , Sophie, and My Uncle Ken and Aunty Jenni, Jeran and Denise and Kejenne, who flew in from France a week ago to come and visit - it was more then lovely to all be together , laughing, eating, drinking, swimming- it was a precious gift. My heart gcould not help but feel sore for Mark, who had his first Christmas without his Mom. He was so very brave during the day and made the absolute most of it cherishing every moment with Deqlan and Logan and the rest of the family.

Deqlan had an absolute ball running around dancing and clapping to Christmas carols, singing "Jingle Bells" and "The Most wonderful time of the year!" it was beautiful to watch!

It was beautiful to watch Deqlan and Keaton taking turns jumping into the pool, being cheered on by Kej, who just fell in love with her little cousins. It was beautiful to hold Khloe in the pool, feeling her wriggle and splash and laugh with delight.

As the sun set on Christmas day, we all sat outside in the African summer day, enjoying some champagne, lots of laughs and the twinkle of all the Christmas lights around us

It was a perfect day - thank You Lord- a Christmas to remember and treasure always

Photos to follow soon, i promise!

peace

Mark,Kevin and Tyler arranged the most memorable and special servive for their mom today.most people came in Aunty Renes favorite colour of purple.the songs she loved were played,the last being Take me home by John Denver,very very touching.Aunty Rene was and will always be loved by many.many happy memories will always remain in our thoughts and hearts.


I know she loved the service by Rev Atholl and the beautiful unforgetable words said by kevin on behalf of her boys.

It was hard to place our roses and say our last goodbyes,Deqlan waiving goodbye to Granny and Logan,precious Logan was very heartsore.its hard to explain things to her,being so young.it trally hit her hard today and we plan on extra love and hugs and cuddles for her

So very proud of you my love,kev and tyler,what fine young guys your mom have us gifts to us.I continue to pray for you to be lifted in the days and years to come and in every moment you miss your mom.may Our Lord fill your hearts and minds with peace and comfort,strength and guidance

We will miss you Mom, Aunty, Granny Rene rest in peace and joy with God,we love you and already miss you so much

Rest well Aunty Rene

Our family was rocked this week by the devastating and tragic news of Marks mom, Rene', passing away , late Tuesday evening.

I ask you all to pray for Rene', that she is at peace, filled with joy , in the arms of Our Lord

I ask you all to pray for Mark, and his brothers and their families Mark Samm Deqlan and Logan, Kevin Louise and Kiwi, Tyler Gaynor and Kaiden, please pray for strength, comfort , guidance, peace

I ask you to pray for her grandchildren , that we may continue to keep her memory alive and well as we tell them stories and memories about her

Please pray for a very heartbroken Gran

Please pray for her precious cats that adored her

We will all miss you dearly Aunty Rene, there are so many things about you that bring a smile to our faces, that stir a memory or feeling

- i will never forgotet the very first time i met you, how proud Mark was to introduce me to you

- thank you for all the rides to work, all the chats and laughs and memories

- i will always remember your love of Tina Turner - coming to my 21st dressed as your favorite singer and dancing the night away to your favorite song, YOURE SIMPLY THE BEST

- i will always remember the many trips to the vaal, especially on boxing day most years. i was so scared to drive that jet ski and came hell or high water you forced me, and i was so happy you did cause you proved i could do it!

- your love of the colour purple , lip ice and fanta grape!

- your love of animals, especially dogs and cats, your all time favorite being cats

- your many and long phone calls about any and every subject - especially over planning our wedding , my pregnancy with Deqlan and throughout Deqlan conquering cancer and then so interested in what we were doing to help Deqlan recover from Autism

- your love and devotion to Logan - thank you for always making me feel included and important and special during the early years

- your love and devotion and care for Logan while Deqlan was in treatment and we couldnt see her to protect his immune system

- watching your delight at Deqlans Grandparents day school concert. You were so proud of Deqlan clapping on stage. You were so involved in each class that sang, you wrote so many details down on the progamme for the day

- your surprise speech you made for us at our wedding

- the surprise you set up for me to have my hair done, the weekend Mark planned to propose to me

- thank you for always thinking of Megs and Keaton and Khloe to, every birthday and Christmas and even for Mother's day this year

- thank you for all the phone calls to my family on their birthdays, you never forgot

- Deqlan loved and got so used to coming to visit you with Mark on a Saturday Morning " want grannys house' You were so proud to hear him call you Granny when he saw you.

- thank you so much for looking after Shelby and Stuffy and Blue when we went away to the Midlands and now that we are staying with my mom and Dee , i know they got lots of love and attention from you

- thank you for sharing so many stories with me about the family and especially of Mark growing up and all his achievements when he was little, you were such a proud mom of all of your boys and very protective of them

- i will always smile when thinking of Mark birthday this year - when Bafana Bafana was playing and you went all out to show your support by wearing a very festive alice band with south african flags on, stickers on your cheeks and the soccer to gave you for Mothers day

- i will treasure, the last peaceful,beautiful memory of you pulling Deqlan close to you on Saturday night, and giving him kisses on his head

It was a tough year for you Aunty Rene' and i wish i did more to be there for you. I promise that i will love your son, look after him, support him, and comfort him through these very difficult days and years ahead . I promise to keep your memory alive in Deqlan and Logan by telling them all about you as they grow.

Rest In Peace and joy with Your Lord and Savior, you will be sorely missed , never forgotten

All our love always

Logan's Birthday Celebrations

belly dancer Khloe
us 4

Happy 9th Birthday Loggy - stay as special as you are! we love you and are so proud of you

Meggie and Logs

Khloe and Conrad

Dada and Deqlan enjoying some breakfast treats

Deqlan and Keaton also got a turn to blow the candle out

making a wish!

bff's

arent they gorgeous?

Khloe giving Logan some birthday hugs!

Megs with Khloe and Deqie

the birthday breakfast table

opening presents

KIWI UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Huge Congratulations Kevin and Louise on your very special news!!!!

We are thrilled for you both and ask Our Lord to keep your

little Kiwi

safe and happy and healthy always!

All our love, we are elated!

Mark Samm Deqlan Logan

A Magnificent report

a reindeer made with Deqlans hand and foot prints!
Deqlan's Santa!
Deqlans Christmas stocking and angel

a beautiful pine cone decorated by our clever boy!

a gift from Nanna for the teachers at Little Leaps - she loves them and appreciates them just as much we do!

The most beautiful words filled the pages of Deqlans final report for his first school year, what a beautiful and precious gift

we all wept tears of joy reading how far Deqlan has come this year and the expectations he has met and far beyond!

Merry Christmas treats for Little Leaps!

We are once again on our knees in thanks and Praise to Our Lord for Deqlans magnificent report from Little Leaps.

I wanted to share a piece from his report with you

'Deqlan is a happy boy with a sweet and kind disposition. He has made astonishing achievements this year. He listens beautifully and he thrives on praise and positive reinforcement. He has a wide field of interests and particularly enjoys literacy , numeracy ,creative activities and learning about the weekly theme. Deqlan loves to be at school! he participates enthusiastically in daily activities and us always eager to learn new things. he is an absolute joy to have in my class and positively influences his peers. He also has an incredible memory and every week he will exceed expectations as he easily retains informations and skills previously learnt. His vocabulary is increasing daily and he can now have a three way conversation with an adult. He is more and more responsive to his name and instructions and has a better understanding of what is expected of him. He has also learnt to deal with his emotions and to verbally express his needs, feelings and wants. Deqlan is only four years old and has already exceeded so many expectations and milestones of that of a 'neurotypical child'. It is in his best interst to focus on skills that he has not yet fully developed such as social skills, fine and gross motor skills.

Deqlan is enormously loved by everyone at Little Leaps and we are so proud of his achievements. He is our little 'joker' with a cheerful personality . He continues to discover his own potential and we are extremely proud of him . I am blessed to have him in my class and i see only great things for him in the future "

MY HEART SWELLS WITH PRIDE

MY SOUL SINGS WITH JOY

MY KNEES STAND FIRM IN THANKS AND PRAISE

Thank You Lord for opening these doors for Deqlan to learn, thank you for leading us to Little Leaps, thank you for giving Deqlan the best teacher in the world!

Ayline, you already know how much we love and appreciate you, you are our blessing and i cant thank you enough for the love and dedication you give to Deqlan every single day - YOU HAVE MADE A MASSIVE DIFFERENCE IN DEQLANS FUTURE and for that I WILL BE ALWAYS BE ETERNALLY GREATFUL! God has given you a gift to work with kids that need someone to be a little more patient, a little more understanding, someone that loves every moment of every day, accepts each individuals differences and dedicates and puts her all into every thing she does with each learner! Ayline, you are our earth angel sent to help our beautiful boy reach his full potential and beyond!

Thank you to you and to Little Leaps for making Deqlans first school year unforgetable and magical and blessed in every way!

All our love and thanks

Mark Samm and Deqlan

P.S - NOW ITS TIME TO DO THE HOT DOG DANCE!

Yolandies baby shower

I went through to Vanderbijlpark on Saturday to attend Yolandies baby shower! Yolandie is angel Ruan's mommy and will be blessed with another little boy in Feb next year - i am so happy for you dear friend, that God continues to bless you and guide you and keep you the strong person you are

'breaking waters' game, what a laugh - you had to use only your knees to try and pop the balloons full of water!


nappy changing game - Yolandie got such a surprise to find a parcel of chocolate and nuts she had to change!

Ouma Marie , drinking out the potty! we where not allowed to say ' aw' or 'ooh' 'cute' etc - if anyone did they had to drink out the potty

Yolandie and Ouma Marie arriving

The tree of gifts - the photo doesnt do it justice! Yolandies family went out of their way to make this day unforgetable, it was stunning and done with so much love!

attention to every single detail!

Baby is due in Feb and will be named after Yolandie's Dad - Henry!

I wish you all the love and happiness in the world my dear friend - you are one amazing person and God trusts you to take care of another beautiful boy! We all love you and wish you many many years of blessings and love with your little one! I am sure Ruan has his hand in choosing this beautiful little boy especially for you!