Bible Study

This morning we had the first meeting of our revamped Men's Bible Study in Chris Nissen. After the disappointment of the group falling apart last year I was really encouraged in the last couple of weeks by the number of men who said they would be coming to the group. Well today I was even more encouraged as seven men rocked-up and two others wanted to but were unable to (one was at the clinic and the other is in Caledon with family).

Weekend

We've generally been at home and chillin' out this weekend although we did pop to the aquarium for the morning on Saturday when we renewed our membership (this is our fourth year of membership) and had a great time wandering around. Joel was particularly excited as he'd taken his Shark puppet to "help" with the puppet show, which he did by attacking Nemo! Joel was also pleased to note that his shark and octopus puppets are exactly the same as the ones used by the aquarium. They've revamped quite a lot of the aquarium and it's looking very good. They're also changing a few of the exhibits so we look forward to some more changes there.

Simpsonized!

I've been Simpsonized!
















Join the fun at: Simpsonize Me

Gossip & Nonsense

Until recently CNP was exposed to the world, but as the builders get closer and closer to the land immediately surrounding the community so the developers see a need to build a wall around CNP. Initially the wall was just to be at the front but now it has been decided that it will completely enclose the community. The residents of CNP seem happy with this but we're not so sure that they've really given any thought to the long term implications of the wall and the inconvenience of no longer being able to duck out from their own back yards.

"Personal Touch"

I saw this logo for the accountancy firm on my way home a few nights ago and was left wondering just what kind of "touch" one might get from a chartered accountant.

Any suggestions should be submitted via the comments link below ;-)

See more of this kind of nonsense at The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks.

News Flash - Government Health Warning

Enough said.

Bits & Bobs

This week is our first week of back to normal routine since the beginning of December. The summer holiday really changed things and disrupted the usual flow so it's good to get back into a routine that works. Things are a bit different this year as Eli is in nursery five mornings a week and Joel now finishes at 1pm and has some extra mural activities so sometimes doesn't get home until 2pm. On those days we enjoy a quiet lunch together as Eli is in bed, it's great occasionally not to have the usual noise levels that accompany boys!

It's good to be back in Chris Nissen, catching up with friends and starting to visit folk again. By all accounts Christmas and New Year were unusually quiet in the community. Sadly this doesn't seem to have extended to the usual infighting between certain characters.

Returning To Normal - Slowly

We arrived back to glorious sunshine, the temperature was about 30°C with only a light breeze so we had a very pleasant welcome home. HUGE thanks to Richard & Sal who took the boys off our hands for an hour on Friday morning, without their help packing would have been a nightmare!

Time To Pack - Again!

Our Christmas break with family has just about finished, we fly home to Somerset West tonight. We're looking forward to being home and in our own space again but we'll miss family and friends who've been really good to us during our visit. The boys have coped brilliantly, especially as it's not always easy to smile and be happy when you get dragged here, there & everywhere and so many strangers want to spend time with you. When you've invaded other people's space and invariably cluttered it up or at the least increased the decibel level for a few hours/days then it's probably a relief to see the back of us. We've been blessed in our time back in Blighty and hope we were a blessing to all we met up with and spent time with. As ever we're really grateful to Susan in Wimbledon for allowing us to invade her wonderful home for two days of sanity and relaxation! Thanks too to Rhoda & Ethan for a lovely afternoon, Ethan was a star putting up with our invasion.

Natural History Museum

Today we decided to make the most of a lovely gift and have a family day out in London. We had a lot of fun visiting the Natural History Museum. Joel was especially thrilled with the train journey to London followed by two different tube trains. We managed to see quite a lot but the dinosaurs and the creepy crawlies were the biggest hits of the day! Joel was especially taken by a giant scorpion which moved, we must have spent almost half an hour watching it. We arrived home tired but having had a fantastic day full of memories for the future. It's so great when we can do this kind of thing. Thank you!

Family Fun

We had a fantastic day today with John and Diane, Eli's godparents. The boys loved being able to totally mess up the living room with toys (these are people with 3 relatively young grandchildren!!) and Eli enjoyed John's impromptu running races around the kitchen while he prepared dinner for us! It was great to catch up and to share in a bit more depth about our work. Dean even showed Diane where we live and work on Google earth, which is very impressive by the way. We had a great hour in the afternoon at the newly refurbished childrens play area, which even features a pirate ship - Joel was incredibly impressed! After an amazing tea - because we always need more food! - we went home tired and relaxed ready for the boys' bedtime. Thank you John and Diane.

Palace Result - With A Difference

Today was a proud day for me as I took Joel to watch Palace at home. Grandad was chauffer for the afternoon and we had a great time. Joel coped brilliantly and really enjoyed himself, he even got the hang of the fact that we were shouting for the Eagles & Palace. Enjoy the photos below...

Yule Tide Fun

We've been having a lot of fun enjoying a cold English Christmas with family and friends. Despite the weather we've managed to get the boys out of the house (and away from the TV) for a few trips to the local swings. Their mood brightens no end after a bit of fresh air. One of the things we forget about life in Blighty is just how sedentary it can be!

It's Very Very Cold!

We've arrived safely after a brilliant flight with SAA. We had 10 seats between the four of us so we were all able to stretch out and get some sleep. Joel enjoyed the TV on demand and Eli simply slept for the whole flight.

The weather is some 30degrees celsius less here than it was at home so we're really feeling the cold! The boys are really excited to be here and are getting on great with their cousins which is a real blessing. Lisa did a small Birthday Tea for Eli in the afternoon of our arrival which was really sweet.

If we don't post again before Christmas we hope you have a great time and remember the reason for the season: Jesus!

Christmas Hampers

In the midst of the chaos yesterday Dean took a couple of hours out to go and deliver the food hampers which church members had contributed to. The hampers for Lwandle, Sir Lowry's and Broadlands had been done on Tuesday, so Dean only had to deliver the Chris Nissen hampers. As ever we got a mixed reaction ranging from "Where's mine" to "Thank you!" but mostly the folks receiving the hampers were very grateful and very blessed.

Early 2nd Birthday

We celebrated Eli's birthday today, a few days early so as not to let it get lost in the hustle & bustle of then next few days. We fly to Blighty tomorrow evening and have still to think about packing. We've been really busy since returning from holiday, particularly with the Christmas Hampers.

Eli had a lot of fun and was very proud of being the Birthday Boy. We were quite amazed at how much he understood of what was going on. At lunchtime we went to Vergelegen for a family picnic in the camphor forest. We had a lovely lunch and a lot of fun doing the treasure hunt.

Trading Summer For Winter

We'll be arriving in the UK for a short Christmas break with family on the 21st (Eli's 2nd Birthday) and have to confess that giving up two weeks of Summer here for two weeks of winter in Blighty doesn't seem like an amusing prospect at the moment. thankfully family ties will make it more than worthwhile!

This photo came from Sheffield Hallam Uni' alumni and depicts a winter's scene in Ewden Valley just North of Sheffield. It looks very cold!

Holiday In Boggam's Baai

What a brilliant time we had in Boggam's Baai! The village is amazing as there are no commercial properties in the village which means no shops, coffee shops, ice cream vans etc, so the beach really was the focal point of the holiday. We did manage to find some shops in the nearby town of Mossel Bay so all was not lost. However, it was bliss not to have the usual assortment of seaside rubbish to deal with. The beach was stunning and empty! On one day there were about 100 people on the beach but given that it is a few kilometres long things were far from crowded (as you can see below).

We're Back

We're back from our holiday in Boggams Baai, a lovely small seaside village without a single shop or business. Very peaceful!

We'll post something meaningful later but thought you might enjoy this sign which we saw at the Outeniqua Transport /Railway Museum George.

Christmas Tree

We're off on holiday in Boggams Baai for 10 days from tomorrow and won't be posting in that time so we leave you with this to be going on with...

This evening we put our Christmas tree up, mainly in anticipation of our forthcoming Mulled Wine & Mince Pie 'do' on the 18th (anyone who's been to one in the past knows this is not to be missed).

The People Your Parents Warned You About

Tonight we had a lot of fun at our end of year leaders dinner at church. The occasion is to say 'Thank You' to those who lead cell groups throughout the year. Someone thought it would be good to get the leaders to dress up in something weird/unusual. Some really got into the spirit of the event.