Family Fun

In the midst of a very hectic time we've managed to take a bit of time out just to chill as a family and spend some quality time together. Thankfully, the paddling pool makes a great focal point for fun and being silly together and the boys love being in there - making containment of Eli very easy!

Joel is very very excited as he now only has ONE sleep until Grandad arrives!

Eli & Mummy

Mission Incredible

On Sunday evening we had our invitational service at church entitled 'Mission Incredible'. As explained during the evening, we couldn't call it Mission Impossible because with God, all things are possible! However, the Nativity is incredible and actually deeply shocking (we'll not expound on that right now). The evening was great and as ever at such events we were left marvelling at the sheer array of talent we have in the congregation. Wesley gave a short, simple but punchy gospel presentation so hopefully some of the many visitors will respond to the gospel at some point.

Paddling Pool

With the eventual arrival of Summer (although it's still not very hot yet) we dug out the paddling pool only to discover it was wrecked so Paula got a nice new one for a silly price. Joel remembers well the joys of the paddling pool - pagging pool as he calls it - and once in it is very hard to get him out again! Eli took some convincing that it was a good thing but he warmed up to the idea and by the end seemed to be enjoying himself.

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Afternoon's And Coffee Spoons

Or in this case, birthday cake and Christmas trees. Saturday was a busy old day, Paula had a practice session for our evening 'event' at church on Sunday, whilst Dean was running around getting stuff ready for our Mulled Wine evening - a tradition we started at Bible College and have maintained faithfully ever since!

Nobody has ever left disappointed! During the day, Eli had a good go at demolishing a huge slab of his birthday cake and made a wonderful mess in the process. Whilst Joel helped Daddy to decorate the Christmas tree.

Eli's First Birthday Party

With Eli's birthday being so close to Christmas we had to have his party a week early to ensure that some of his friends would be able to come. Eli seemed completely oblivious to the event but was delighted to have unfettered access to a huge bowl of 'Flings' which he and Jared (his main partner in crime) set about demolishing.

Table Mountain

We are privileged to live somewhere as beautiful as we do and regularly thank God for such a blessing! This is the view of Table Mountain seen from a friends home on the Schapenberg in somerset West.

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We've circled our house in the bottom right.

Nose Picking Shepherd

Joel had a ball at the Twinkle Tots Nativity yesterday. He did himself proud and we were very proud parents! As you'll see from the photos below, Joel was very happy and enjoyed the whole experience, unlike last year when he refused to participate and cried throughout. Nata had obviously given a lot of thought as to who would take which roles and Joel was one of two shepherds. The other shepherd was a smaller boy named Liam and Joel took him under his wing and helped him along.

Joel's Last Day @ Twinkle Tots

Today is Joel's last morning at Twinkle Tots, where did his 2 years there go? He has really enjoyed his time there and we've seen him develop and flourish in so many ways. We'll always be grateful to Nata, Ouma & Yolande for taking such good care of our boy! We're also looking forward to Eli starting there in June next year. Tomorrow Joel will be a shepherd in the Twinkle Tots nativity and then it really is 'farewell' as he starts at the International School in January. Wow, he's getting all grown up!

Funny Old Weekend

Nothing spectacular happened at the weekend, but we did have a few minor but amusing incidents ranging from finding a rat in the toilet bowl (dead thankfully, presumed drowned) to a pigeon flying into a window and leaving an almost perfect imprint of itself. Poor Joel was in trouble at the time and hiding in his bedroom when we heard a loud thud, so Dad went into his bedroom to tell him off. Unfortunately, Joel was reading his biggest book which is the one he usually lobs when angry, so he got a sound telling off. Later in the afternoon we went upstairs and saw the impression of the pigeon in the window, whoops! that would explain the loud thump. Joel then must have wondered what was happening as Dad apologised to him and Mummy gave him some sweets. Great recipe for a confused child.

Bible Study Social

My bible study group went for a social this morning and we were blessed with a gift which enable us to go to a steakhouse where we all had a burger, chips and coke. As a group we had not had a trip out since John (an FYP volunteer) left a year ago so fun was had by most. Unfortunately, someone said something malicious to Peter so he was in a really bad mood all morning. Also, the weather was really naff so we couldn't go for the planned stroll along the beach. However, we did have a lot of fun and agreed to make a plan for 2007 to ensure we have more trips out. Amen to that!

Monkeys & Mountains

Having just had our worst ever weekend in terms of behaviour and boundary pushing, things seem to have settled down again and life is a lot of fun once again. Joel lost the battles and after refusing to eat (and generally behave) he's rediscovered his appetite! Thankfully, Joel & Eli generally play very well, especially when they're in Joel's bedroom. Both boys adore books and Eli quite often slopes off there to rummage through Joel's collection.

Home Based Care

Our planned Home Based Care program seems to be gathering pace without our actually doing very much about it. On Friday we had a call regarding old bedding from a local hotel which is replacing theirs. So Dean went into Cape Town and was able to load the bakkie with a huge quantity of sheets, towels, flannels etc. which is an amazing blessing. We just need to find somewhere to store it all!

Strawberry Picking

On Friday Paula went with Joel on the Twinkle Tots annual strawberry picking trip, much fun was had by all as well as many strawberries! Thankfully they didn't weigh the kids or parents on arrival or departure.

World Aids Day

We know we're a few days late, but thought we'd post something anyway.

Part of the difficulty in posting on this is that here in South Africa things are far from straightforward. Firstly, we have a government which is in denial with the nations approach to HIV/AIDS treatment, & awareness raising being overseen by a health minister who is at best laughable and at worst downright objectionable! She is know as Dr. Beetroot or as the Minister of Garlic as she favours just about any treatment except ARV's. Recently, she was interviewed at the launch of a new 'traditional' medicine in a rural area, but the medicine hadn't even been licensed by the relevant authorities. This is all very frustrating and leaves one feeling very marginalised when trying to get ARV's and counseling for those who need it.

Cell Social

On Thursday Paula took her cell group to a local farm shop for coffee and cake. Paula hadn't told the group that she had planned the trip so it was a welcome surprise for them all. The morning was extra special as Yvonne was there with Asher, Yvonne and her husband Vernon have recently moved to Durban to plant a church. A great time was had by all.

Washing Machine

Paula caught Eli attempting to climb into the washing machine this morning but rather than panic she grabbed her camera and took these cute photos of our amazing boy.

A Proud Moment!

There comes a time in a Father's life when his pride in his kids knows no bounds. Today was close to one of those moments when Joel donned his first Palace shirt. This brought a tear to my eye.

We got a few looks in church as Dad was also in his Palace shirt (a birthday present from Jo) so we were resplendent in our 'red & blue'.

That's my boy!

Weekend

It's been a funny old weekend, Paula was out on Saturday morning with Eli at a birthday party and then again in the afternoon for a practice session with the choir she's in for Christmas (all a bit Anglican!), so I got to spend most of the day just with Joel which was great, although much of my time was spent mopping up poo as Joel isn't too well. I'm not sure where today went, church was great, Sean preached a class sermon about God. How we need more of this type of preaching! But this afternoon seems to have disappeared, although part of it was stolen by the telly as Joel and I watched 'Over The Hedge'. Joel wasn't too sure why Daddy was crying and laughing at the same time, but let's just say that this is a good film which is wasted on kids.

We have some good photos to show for a non-event weekend...

Running & Running!

Wow what a day! Poor Joel is suffering really badly with diarrhoea. We think it might have to do with some dodgy swimming pool water he drank, but it could be any number of reasons. Suffice it to say, we have got through several pairs of pants and almost a bottle of bleach today! The day started with a crash when we caught him literally falling off of the kitchen work top as he was caught in his efforts to self-medicate by climbing up to the medicine cabinet. One hour later, the kitchen was clean but still a bit sticky underfoot - boys!!

Emyezweni Christmas Party

We were invited to attend the Emyezweni Christmas Party today, mainly so that Dean could entertain the kids again, but also because we try and support the work as much as possible, although in truth we don't do anywhere near as much as we'd like to for them.

As usual the Christmas party was a lot of fun, Debs, Rach' and the staff really do put a huge amount of work into it and the whole event is brilliant.

The photos tell their own story, so we hope you enjoy them..

Mountain Biking

I generally manage to go twice a week and sometimes manage three rides. On a Tuesday and Thursday I go with some friends up Sir Lowry's Pass, following the railway servitude road. The ride is great and there is a fantastic stretch of downhill on which we once clocked 75kph!