Christmas Eve Picnic

We decided to start our Christmas with what is becoming a bit of a traditional treat - a family picnic in Vergelegen forest under the camphor trees. Once again, we were treated to fantastic food and the boys really enjoyed hunting for their treasure using the maps provided! The weather was glorious - and we felt like we chilled for the first time this holiday.

Had to rush home though to (a) check that Rose hadn't chewed or cried the house down and (b) track Santa on his travels via the official NORAD Santa Tracker!!

Rosie Comes To Stay

Today Rosie joined our family. She's a Rhodesian Ridgeback, Border Collie mix although she's missing the ridge on her back. So far she seems very playful and affectionate.

After much discussion around names the semi-finalists were Mutley and Rosie with Rosie being triumphant. The boys are delighted with Rosie although Eli is far more taken with her than Joel who is quite scared of dogs. This was part of why we wanted a dog so Joel would get over his fear, but we know it will take time.

4 Today! - Pt 2

Eli had a great day celebrating his 4th birthday. He was delighted with his presents (he didn't seem to notice the absentees due to the late post) especially his chainsaw & safety goggles. The goggles were later put to good use as he was tearing around the garden on his bike looking very pleased with himself.

Daddy & Eli had a little chat over lunchtime about where Eli would like to go for his birthday tea, not where Joel had told Eli he would like to go, so Eli chose Col'Cacchio which also pleased Mum & Dad!

4 Today!

Happy 4th Birthday Eli!!!

We were woken at 5.45 to the sound of the boys discussing Eli's potential presents!!  This then deteriorated into an argument and Joel saying he would buy Eli "the boringest present EVER..."a book full of lots and lots of words".

Thankfully, Eli was spared and got what any self-respecting 4 year old boy wanted - a chainsaw!  He was thrilled and spent the next while cutting everything down in the house and garden.  He loved all his presents and cards and did actually love the 3 books that he was given by various folk!  Thank you to everyone for your cards and gifts.  We are now busy building Meccano boats and people - deep joy!

Christmas Tree

One of the problems of moving house so close to Christmas is that the usual preparations get somewhat pushed aside. Actually that could be a blessing! Anyway, after much nagging from two small boys we managed to put the Christmas tree up much to their delight. This year Joel did most of the decorating as Eli lacked the finesse to put the baubles and bits on the tree so threw a strop and wandered off into the garden. Bless him.

Joel loves the tradition of decorating the tree and is beginning to understand the real meaning of Christmas. We had a bit of a chat about Santa and the real St. Nicholas and why he loved & served God.

Firgrove Christmas Party

This afternoon we had the privilege of joining Aunty Mona and her crew for the Firgrove kids Christmas Party. Each year she runs this party simply to bless the kids in the community. Wow what an afternoon. The turnout was fantastic and the kids had a brilliant time with the bouncy castle being the main attraction.

Family Fun Night

Last night we had a church Family Fun Night in Macassar and a fairly wild time was had by all. Sadly for us it was too late for our boys and Eli spent most of the evening asleep on Dean.

Despite this we had a fun evening and it was another great opportunity for getting to know more church folk in a relaxed setting. What was particularly good was the turnout of our youth group as they're a really good bunch. They were all very competitive so they really livened up the games, especially the coke drinking game which was a particular success!

We also hired a bouncy castle so the smaller kids had a great time playing on that. What is it about those things?

The Aftermath Of Moving

As ever when moving to a new home junk accumulates which needs to be sorted and invariably something major breaks down. Here you can see some of the excess junk waiting to find a home in the garage. What surprised me about the size of the pile is the fact that we're not hoarders by any stretch of the imagination and are quite ruthless when it comes to getting rid of stuff. But still junk accumulates!

Moved!

Last night was our first night sleeping in our new house so finally after what feels like an eternity of shifting boxes and furniture all of 100 metres it's beginning to feel like home. As with moving to any property it's only once one is in that one discovers what is or isn't so great about the place. This morning I tried the shower only to discover it is truly pathetic! That's going to have to be rectified as a matter of urgency.

Moving Day(s)

We're already exhausted and we're only half way through our move. There's a lot to be said for only moving 100m but it does bring its own challenges. Moving the 10ft trampoline was an interesting experience! Also moving a week before Christmas in 32° is not great.

Michael has been a legend and we couldn't have done half of what we have without him! He's coming again tomorrow morning when we'll move our beds and the last few bits. Then on Friday & Saturday we'll clean our old house before handing it back.

Weekend

Suddenly the decision to move just before Christmas seems a bit daft as jobs keep piling up and life seems to get messier by the minute. We're now living in chaos in two houses! Thankfully it will all be over on Friday this week as we will be fully moved in on Thursday which will give us a couple of days to get the old house cleaned up before handing it back to the landlady.

♫♪♫ School's Out For Summer ♪♫♪

School finished today for the summer holidays and were our boys delighted! Joel has just finished Year 1 and will go into P8 in January whilst Eli has just finished Pre-Nursery and will go straight into Reception next year as the school re-jigs all the early years primary classes to fit with the International Baccalaureate system.

We marvel at how well the boys have done and how they've blossomed through the year. Joel's reading is really good and he adores books which is great.

Eli just had a year of playing but in the midst of it actually learnt quite a lot. He often amazes us with just how much he knows and can do.

To celebrate the end of year and how well Joel & Eli have done this year we took them out for their tea to Primi's. Joel devoured a huge plate of spaghetti whilst Eli did serious damage to his pizza.

Nativity

This year we were really pleased that the boys' school decided to put on a proper Nativity after avoiding it for a couple of years. Sadly they felt the need to send permission slips out to ensure that no-one was forced to take part that might not want to. We don't recall them doing that for Diwali.

Joel was really pleased to be a king with Calvin & Jason whilst Eli was one of Santa's little helpers (not sure where that fits with the Nativity) and showed no sense of being intimidated by the stage or audience. If anything, he played up to the crowd!

The production was great and really well done and as to be expected the evening was not without a few priceless comedy moments. The best being the miraculous birth of a white Jesus to a black Mary, truly a miracle!

Turner Prize

I saw on the BBC News website that the Turner Prize winner has been announced. This year the prize was won by painter Richard Wright. Wright was presented with the £25,000 prize by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy at Tate Britain in London, with judges praising his "profound originality".

Freight Arrived!

Hallelujah! Our freight was delivered this afternoon. Apparently it cleared customs very easily which is a great answer to prayer. We weren't expecting problems but you never know with customs.

The delivery guy was really helpful and thankfully Michael was already with me at the house so he too got stuck in with the unloading. Even the boys had a go at carrying some of the lighter boxes.

Weekend Sans Enfant

Just as we had planned, on Friday evening we sat out on the veranda overlooking Pringle Bay whilst sipping on an ice cold ’09 sauvignon blanc. 2009 really is an amazing year for sauvignon blanc and we look forward to a few years time when the reds are released.

We made the most of our weekend sans enfants and went to Pringle Bay where Peter & Gloria at the Wild Olive have an amazing way of making one feel at home in their guest house. Gloria is the perfect host and Peter is a phenomenal chef, so one doesn’t even have to go out for dinner.

Running Around Like A Loony

At some point later today we'll sit down on a balcony enjoying spectacular views over Pringle Bay looking out towards the Cape Peninsula whilst sipping on a glass of chilled Sauvignon Blanc, sans enfant. Bliss!

However between now and then we'll be running around like lunatics as there's a mountain of stuff to do which began with Joel & Eli's graduation ceremony. Whilst Dean feels it's bordering on the psychotic to celebrate the end of each school year quite so formally it was a really good service with each of the children getting a certificate.

Door

This morning I was with Michael in Chris Nissen helping him to fit a door onto the front of his hokkie.

We had previously fitted the steel plates to the front of the door and at last we were able to hang it. Being a hokkie it's not an exact science trying to fit a stable door within a 'frame' that isn't true. Still, it makes for some interesting on the hoof adjustments but it's all good fun.

The main thing is that Michael was delighted to finally be able to close and lock the door. Tomorrow he's got a friend from church coming to fit glass to his last open window and then the hokkie will be secure.

Pending Move

Today we figured out our moving day so we've notified Telkom to transfer the phone and ADSL line on or around the 19th, our moving day. We've booked a trailer for the 17th & 18th to move the biggest bits with a view to being in on the 19th. Hopefully the gate will be installed by early next week as once the gate is fitted the house will be secure and we can start moving stuff over, so we'll begin with the bookcases, books and other non-essential stuff.

Eli's 4th Birthday Party

Today we celebrated Eli's 4th birthday with a party for his friends. Eli had a blast and was really proud to have his friends at his house. Because Eli's birthday is on the 21st Dec' we have to have his party in the last week of school otherwise all his friends will be away on their summer hols.

Sadly his best mate "The little Daniel" couldn't be there but everyone else rocked up. We kept it all low key and only did two organised games but because there were so many boys they were more than happy to run riot in the garden and explored it to the max. From a brief post-party examination it seems they left no corner untouched.

The girls were a bit calmer but they still had a lot of fun. The parents of Eli's friends are a really nice crowd too so it was a pleasure getting to know some of them a bit better.

Leaders Training

This morning I attended the Senior Leaders Training hosted by Jubilee Community Church in Cape Town. To be honest I didn't really want to go but thought I ought to given that I've signed up for it and paid.

As I was driving into Cape Town I was really struck by the beauty of where we live. One of the highlights of the drive is Table Mountain as it starts of quite small in the distance and just keeps getting larger and larger the closer you get. What a privilege to live somewhere so spectacular!

The training was great, as ever and really helpful. I always enjoy listening to Steve Van Rhyn but this morning it was listening to Lex Loizides that really spoke to me. Steve had spoken about the Sovereignty of God followed by Lex on Our Authority in the Supernatural.