Rachelle is such a blessing! She invited me to her house for lunch, which was really lovely as always, the girls swam, and we just chatted and relaxed. She then organized for the young adults to come over to my place after church in the evening. I think they all feel bad for me being here without Glen, knowing that I would just be bored on my own - thanks guys! The fellowship was really great, we just played some silly games and hung out together.

What a wonderful blessing to be part of the Body - I present to you my brothers and sisters in Christ!

On the spur of the moment I decided to go and visit my dad and Geraldine (my little sister) in Alberton yesterday. It turned out that Claudia (my big sister) and her boyfriend Barry were also going, so it ended up being a lovely get together around the pool, with really good food - like usual!

Here Geraldine is choosing her playlist for the day...good music always sets the tone of any get-together...

This is my dad...enjoying having all his daughters with him...a real treat, as this doesn't happen often.

Rachel, risking the cold water....

Barry...enduring all the girls around...

Amanda and Claudia posing for the 'blue eyes' photo...just lovely!

All in all a wonderful relaxing day...braaiing, swimming, chatting, eating! I even ate beerbread for the first time, and it was really delicious, so I am looking forward to making my own at the next braai we have - thanks for the recipe Gerri!

As you know on Friday's we have 'Granny-time'. My mom treated us to lunch at Spur, which was such a treat - Thanks again Mom - and then we went home to do the craft she had prepared. Unfortunately because of our lovely time at Spur we ran out of time to complete the craft with my mom, but in the end, with much hard labour (on my part) we got the craft done.

This morning the girls made birth certificates for them....

...Kirsty....

...Cerifina

It's so great to see the girls doing things like this on their own...

This picture is especially for Craig, Lara, Aidan and Paige, just so that they can see that Bonnie is still happy here with us - don't you just love that smile?

...and here, Glen attempting the same move...not so skillfully...you gotta love him for trying!!!

Rachel enjoying being played with - the simple joys in life - what a blessing!

I had to take the girls to the dentist today as they have both had abscesses in their mouths over the last few days, and I needed to get them checked out. They are both on anti-biotics to get rid of the infection, but generally the dentist doesn't seem too worried. Rachel got an abscess because her big teeth are coming in, and so he said that I could expect to see more in the future, and that I don't have to worry unless it is too painful for her. While she was in he suggested that we seal her permanent teeth at the back to prevent holes in the future...so this is what they look like now...

Amanda is getting abscesses at the back of her mouth as her last molar on the top right is stuck on the other tooth and causing infection. He is going to x-ray tomorrow and then file the other tooth down a bit to make space for it to push past. He doesn't want her to have head-gear to rectify the problem, but says that I will need to watch it in the future...so tomorrow she will go to get that done and at the same time he will seal her teeth as well. We are so blessed to have been referred to a fantastic dentist who the girls really liked, so hopefully when they get older they won't dread going to the dentist as much as I do. Who knows, I might even be cured of my phobia of dentist...

I realised yesterday that I hadn't yet taken a photo of my anniversary gift to Glen...so here we go, Rocky in action...well not quite. Glen really enjoys hitting the bag every now and then, but he doesn't usually last more than 5 minutes, apparently hitting the bag is quite exhausing. He is also complaining of having a sore hand since the punching started, don't know how good that is, but I know that the little bit of excercise is doing him a world of good. I am sure that if he perseveres it will only get easier to go for longer.

Just to let you know, I added a cool new gadget at the bottom of the page. You can play on my piano by either using your mouse to press on the keys, or playing with your keyboard (better option). The keys actually play in alphabetical order...it's so much fun!! Anyway, just thought I would add something for your entertainment too...I am sure the kiddies will enjoy it!

Have fun!

With it being Spring now, Granny Zan decided that it is too hot to knit, and so today she brought along little tapestries for the girls. They found this a lot easier to do than the knitting, and found instant gratification in it! When this project is done, which I am sure will take them a few weeks, they will be framed and hung up in their play room.

It's just wonderful that the girls can learn so much fun stuff from their grannies and as you can see Granny is oh so proud!!!

We had a special treat during our snack time yesterday as the O60 (Over 60s) group had a music-filled morning as 4 musicians entertained them with some classic classics. The musicians themselves were elderly, which made it just up their alley. It is wonderful to see how these older saints use their gifts to encourage one another in the Lord.

This is Jerry, he is a deacon in our church and such a blessing! He is an on-fire German-speaking lover of God from Namibia. It really is wonderful for me to see and be in fellowship with a German Christian. Usually, they have the reputation of being hard and generally unemotional - Jerry is not like that at all, God has completely changed his life and he is now full of the joy of the Lord. It really is encouraging to see how different Christians are!

This is Pricilla, she is the lady who faithfully organizes the music at our church every Sunday. She plays the piano and the acordion - she organized this O60 event.

This is Betty, full of the joy of the Lord - she is such an encouragement to me! She always tells me how blessed she is after the Ladies Bible Study. It is such a blessing when you can see older saints still learning and growing in the Lord after many years of being a Christian.

In the afternoon the girls went to Melanie's home for craft and play. She had organized a lovely craft for them which they got cracking on as soon as we got there. First they painted a clothes peg green and let it dry. Then they stuck on green wings which they had to decorate...the fun part...then feelers and eyes...and...(drum roll)...a beautiful butterfly to hold their memory verse each week which they get during the children's talk in church. A beautiful but practical craft - I love it!

Thanks Melanie for a wondeful afternoon!!!

On Monday sometime we made a mention of visiting an orphanage or children's home with the girls. They were so excited about the prospect that we actually did go to Tsholofelo children's home, we didn't actually see the kids there though as our timing was bad and they were all down for a nap. Since then the girls have been playing orphanage games - this is what I found in our driveway yesterday...

Children really are such a blessing from the Lord - I love to see them using what they learn in their play time. My prayer is that they would grow up with a heart for those less fortunate than themselves, and that they would share the love of Jesus with the world!

Our day off started off really well, after two weeks of not being able to take the dogs for a walk, due to Clyde having an injury, we were finally able to take them for their much-loved outing. This is fast becoming one of our most enjoyable family day events...for the WHOLE family! Clyde coped very well even though he is not 100% healed yet...we didn't let him push himself too hard!

After our morning exercise, we went out for the morning, the girls really wanted to go and see a movie which we have been itching to see since we saw the trailer, and so we all went to see 'Up'. I must tell you that this is a must-see! We thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it - Glen even shed a tear...although for those of you who know Glen, this is to be expected, he really has a soft heart. The rest of the day was spent at home, just relaxing...doing as little as possible!

In typical Monday tradition, Glen enjoys time with the girls on the trampoline. This has become their favorite game...please note the un-planned sound effect in the background...the motorbike really just made the right sound for this clip!....Boiiiiing!

When Craig and Lara left for Australia, they blessed us with their jungle-gym (which we are so thankful for), anyway, while I was sitting outside watching the girls and Glen on the trompoline I noticed a hosepipe connection under the slide! Glen said that he always knew it was there, but it was a total surprise to me, and to the girls. When they found out that the slide could become a water slide, they were absolutely delighted! They rushed off to put on their cozzies and Glen organized the hose...it was the perfect ending to a perfect day! I praise the Lord for the little thigns that He has given us to enjoy as a family.

Once a month we have a young adults get together. Our church joins up with Muldersdrift Union, as we just have a social time and fellowship together. Over the last few months we have actually grown into a group that really get on well and enjoy each other's company. We are thankful for the fellowship we can have with other like-minded brethren.

Last night we had a lovely traditional bring & braai at Jacques place (he is one of the young adults at Muldersdrift Union). We almost couldn't make it because we had a problem with our gate...anyway, after we made a plan for that and got the kids to bed, cooked our meat at home, so that the others wouldn't have to wait for us and then organized a baby-sitter...we eventually joined them just in time to be tempted to eat again when we saw them all chowing down on their kingly feast.


Mike and Stacey...

Megan (Jacques finace) and Rachelle...

Jacques - the host...

...no comment....

Others that were also there, but who I didn't get good enough pictures of were, Royden and Debbie (from Florida Baptist), Peter, and then Andrew Roy (also from Muldersdrift - his picture is at the bottom.

All in all it was another successful fellowship time, we played some pool games with a pool table, not water...which I lost, jumped on pogo sticks, and after we left they still continued to play 30 seconds. I believe they played boys against girls and they both won a game...although I do believe that Michael cheated...you know these guys, they have to do something to get ahead....

Here's Glen trying to bounce with the pogo stick...sorry that it's on it's side, I keep forgetting to hold the camera the right way when I am taking a video...anyway, you get the idea - good fun. Andrew Roy was the champ at this and managed 107 jumps! Well done Andrew!!!

Doesn't he just look so proud of himself!

Every now and then the Sunday School hosts a fun evening at the church on a Friday night. This time it was Hobo night. There would be prizes given for the best dressed hobo, hobo family etc. Of course, wanting to set an example of complete commitment we went all out to look the part.

The girls not only looked the part, but acted it so well...

We asked Pinky to take a picture of us...she couldn't help but laugh...she said "You guys look so ugly!"...what a compliment!

The girls were not the only ones who completely got in character, as you can imagine, Glen had a total ball...he was even lying in the parking lot outside the church waiting for everyone to arrive...I hope he didn't scare anyone away...

Michael, the youth leader gave a great gospel message, using the hobo theme...talking about us being completely dependent like children and realizing that how we looked on the outside (as hobos) was our spiritual condition without Christ. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Rogan won the prize for the youngest hobo, and Jay-Jay won the prize for the dirtiest hobo...

They even had them rummaging through the garbage to find food...marie biscuits, which we then used for a fun activity...

With regards to the prizes, Amanda won a prize because she ate the most dog food - it looked like dog food, smelled like dog food, we were told it was dog food, but after the 'pass the parcel' game...which was really terrifying, we were told that it was made of weet-bix, orange jelly and nutty choloate...who would've though!

Rachel won the prize for the most believable hobo...we all had to do a little performance, and she just acted so sad, dragging her rag-doll behind her, as she told the judges that she didn't have a home and she didn't have a mommy...they were almost in tears.

I won the prize for the "best dressed" lady hobo. Glen won the prize for the best dressed male hobo...and he won the prize for the best overall hobo! Well done Love!!!

We ended the evening with a song - Jehovah Jireh. God truly has provided for us in sending His only Son to take upon Himself our sin. He has fully paid our debt, He has given us His perfect life as a free gift and in Him we have every spiritual blessing it the heavenly places. Hallelujah!

For those of you who enjoy Glen's acting, you should enjoy this!