Thompson's Two Cents

Jason's 21st

2012-02-13T18:24:00.004+02:00

Jason - one of our student pastors - celebrated his 21st on Saturday. The theme -Mafiosa. I had the job of dressing up the girls, with whatever I could find to make them look vaguely mafiosa'ish'. This is what we came up with - of course the girls were thrilled, espcially with the red lipstick! The evening was beautifully organized by Jason's new fiance Natasha, and everything was decorated around the gambling mafiosa theme.

I dressed Eden in red, white and black, and she just fit in so nicely with the decor...

Introducing Zani, our Year For Life student this year!

...and Candice, Natasha's sister and Jason's future sister-in-law - All dressed up for the occasion!

Here is the birthday 'boy' with his bride to be!

I didn't actually have a taste of the mocca cake (I think that's what it was) but it looked great - I did however try Vince's dessert, which you can see beautifully presented on either side - that was delicious!

Here are some snaps from Glen's phone: Rachelle letting Eden play with her jewelery...

...me trying to get Eden to smile for the camera...

Here are Vince and Claire - Eden's babysitters when we go on our date night as well as the photographer for the better photos in this post. Thanks Vince also for the good job that you did with the catering - we had a fantastic evening and thanks to both of you for the other beautiful photos that aren't on the post!

P.S. Claire is staying with us this year for her matric year - we are very blessed to have her in our home, as she is such a good example to our girls and a real joy to have around.

Spur Fun

2012-02-13T08:38:00.002+02:00

Last week Monday we were blessed to be able to go to Spur for lunch. The girls enjoyed Spur's new airplane, and Eden enjoyed special time with her Daddy. All these pictures were taken with Glen's new phone, so the quality is not that great, espcially when you zoom in - but it was great having a camera when our actual camera was left at home. Modern technology is such a blessing!

Our little princess is 1!

2012-02-06T20:55:00.002+02:00

Can you believe that it has been a whole year since our little Eden was born! We celebrated her birth on Saturday with a teddy bear parTEA. We had an invasion of teddies hanging from the trees. The adults entertained themselves playing netball of sorts, while others just spectated, eating cake and drinking tea. Kids played in the sandpit, on the jungle gym, on the trampoline, etc. etc. We had balloons, party packs, cake, cupcakes, tarts....exhausting! Eden was showed with love and gifts and sweets from every side. I hope she felt special, because that is exactly what she is!

Thank you Father for our precious little Eden! What a wonderful gift she has been to us, we cherish her and love her, and promise to continue bringing her up in the way of the LORD! We pray that you would save her and that she would serve you with all of her heart for all of her days!

Horse Riding

2012-02-06T18:18:00.000+02:00

I'll keep this short and sweet - the girls started horse riding last week. All other extra murals have been cancelled - I am now teaching Amanda piano and flute, and Rachel piano and recorder. They are absolutely thrilled and loved their first lesson! I think this one's going to stick!!!

Andall Things Nice

2012-02-06T18:14:00.000+02:00

As you might know, we had two cats - Sugar and Spice. Spice had kittens, which we were going to call Andall, Things, and Nice. We were also going to get rid of them...but as you can see they have made themselves very much at home. We are keeping them...crazy hey? Well, for those who know us, crazy is our style - anyway, we have changed their names to, Ginger, Cinnamon, and Pepper. So now we have five cats!!! And that's the end of the story.

Scottsville & Magaliespark Holiday

2012-02-06T18:05:00.001+02:00

January has been a lovely month for us as a family. We were blessed to go down to Pietermaritzburg for Mike's induction (where Glen was asked to preach). It was wonderful to see how they are settling down as a family into a new home, new city, new church...which we found to be really lovely. Unfortunately I don't have any pics of our time down there, so I will have to add some in when Stacey sends some to me (hint for Stacey ;-))

After we got back, we got ready to go on our family holiday at Magaliespark. Glen's mom generously let us use her timeshare again, so we were blessed to be away for another whole week. It was fabulous. The girls rode their bikes, went on 'sissy walks' and swam....A LOT! We played lots of board games and braai'ed almost every day! We had a really relaxing time, and got our hearts ready for the busy year ahead! We thank God for this opportunity to recoup, and get our hearts refreshed!

Time for another catch up!

2012-01-18T17:20:00.003+02:00

Well, 2012 has begun!!! We had a great start to the year with the Grace Minister's Conference. As usual it was a wonderful time of spiritual food, much fellowship and of course a much needed break!

Below (from L to R): Ainsley, Rachel, Michelle, Me (with Eden).

Glen and Tyrell

Just a cute pic of Eden enjoying her first sucker! When I took it away, I was reminded what a disaster it can be to take 'candy away from a baby'!

We spent a weekend in Viljoenskroon with Glen's grandparents. His grandfather has just recently celebrated his 90th birthday - and he's still going strong! Our time with them was really pleasant, as we enjoyed chatting, eating and catching up on just getting to know one another better.

Eden was priviledged to be able to spend a lot of time without her clothes on, as the heat was just crazy!

This is one of Amanda's snaps - guess who...

Frozen Smoothie

2011-12-20T14:13:00.001+02:00

Lara, this is just for you my friend...you would be so proud of me! Frozen smoothie for snack - and Eden just loved it! I hope I can keep it up - such high aspirations...(sigh)

Pics of Bonnie and Clyde to follow soon...

Glen & Girls

2011-12-20T11:24:00.001+02:00

I am so blessed to have a husband who loves his family so much! He cares so much for his daughters, and they in turn love him to death. They love spending time with him, dancing, hugging, cuddling, just being close, and I pray that that will never change. He definately is the man in all of our lives, and a real gift from the Lord!

Just some lovely pics of the girls on the trampoline the other day...such princesses!

Christmas Play

2011-12-13T13:28:00.001+02:00

Thanks to Claire, I have a few pictures of the girls from this year's Christmas play. I had forgotten my camera, but Claire got a few lovely shots of my little angels.

Simon Says...

2011-12-08T09:25:00.001+02:00

Guess who's following in Rachel's footsteps...

Official goodbyes

2011-12-08T09:19:00.001+02:00

Even though we have had our farewell for the Lears a little while back, they only officially left Krugersdorp yesterday. It was a blessing to see them go, and be flooded with memories of the times we have been called into ministry and the excitement that goes with moving to a new place, meeting new people and in a sense, beginning a new life. Of course we are sad to see them go as well, as we will miss them and the contribution they have made to us as a church family and personally!

Their stuff should arrive at their new home today, and so we will be praying for them as they settle in there and adjust to life in Scottsville. See you guys soon!!!

Our queen has kittens!

2011-12-08T09:07:00.001+02:00

I must begin the blog post with an apology to my friends Liz and Debbie. We got our cat from Liz at the beginning of the year and promised her that we would have Spice (Evangeline) spayed when she reache 6 months of age. She had gotten her from the SPCA and this was her agreement with them, which she then asked us to honour. However, when the 6 months came, we just didn't have the means to send her to the vet and we had decided that it would be a really wonderful experience for the girls to see little kittens being born. So here we are almost a year later, and our queen has given birth to three healthy beautiful kittens!

The experience wasn't just awesome for the girls, but Glen and I had never seen a cat giving birth before either, and so when she went into labor, we were absolutely thrilled that we could be there to support and comfort her. The first one came out tail first, which looked really awkward, but when he was finally born, it was just awesome. The two that followed are dark in color like their dad, and are both girls.

She really is a good mommy cat, and we are very proud of her! We praise our God for the blessing of pets, and the lessons we all learned through this experience.

Samuel & Sunday School

2011-12-02T08:16:00.001+02:00

Isn't he just beautiful? This is our latest addition to the babies in the church - Samuel Adrian Grobler. He was born on the 1st of November, so he is just a month old, but still oh so small. Here is his proud mommy Lisa.

Amanda & Rachel with Samuel

The Sunday School had their prize giving this last week, and as you can see Lilian wrapped her gifts for the children and teachers and helpers so beautifully, as usual.

This ended another year of Sunday School - thank you to all the teachers and helpers who play such an important role in the lives of the children in our church! We love you guys and are greatful to your service to our God!

Farewell Faithful Friends

2011-12-01T09:00:00.001+02:00

Last Saturday we had a wonderful fellowship time at our church year end function. This year we took the opportunity to say farewell to a special couple in our church - the Lears. Both Michael and Stacey have been in the church for many many years, and so leaving is a big step for them, where they are sure to experience many blessings and challenges. Little Jono is probably a bit unawares of the changes happening around him, but we entrust them all into the loving, all-powerful, all-comforting hands of our LORD. We trust that Scottsville Baptist will be blessed with their ministry and friendship and that Scottsville will in turn be a blessing to them.

We will miss you guys and be praying for you much!

Birthday Blessings

2011-11-26T07:31:00.001+02:00

Rachel turned 8 on Thursday! Her excitement had her awake at 4am, tossing and turning until we came in just after 5 singing 'Happy Birthday'. Of course she pretended to be asleep and gently woken up from her slumber, but that all goes with the whole birthday thing, doesn't it?

As tradition has it, she cut her birthday cake, and we devoured it - caramel nut, DELICIOUS!!!

The arrangement this year was that the girls got most of their presents together on Amanda's birthday, and the family celebration would be on Rachel's birthday. So we planned a day at Gold Reef City, because the last time we went she was too short to go on the big rides, but now finally she has reached the required height of 1.3m.

I was really under the impression, based on Rachel's crazy personality, that she would just love these big rides, but as the day progressed I found out more and more that she doesn't actually like the thrill that much, and that the smaller, less thrilling rides were much more up her alley. She did try all the hectic ones though...

the golden loop...

the tower of terror...(if you look closely you will see Amanda's face on the right in total terror, mine in sheer thrilling enjoyment, and Rachel with closed eyes and head bowed...poor little things...)

...the anaconda was our last ride, and that was just too much for Rachel, she definately didn't want to do that one again!

The log ride was much more up her alley.

We all had a great time though - the girls enjoyed a dummy sucker, which in my opinion just goes with the whole Gold Reef vibe - and they all won a crazy monkey as a keep sake to remember the day.

We pray that our precious Savior would continue the work that He has begun in her and that she will continue to grow to be the girl after God's own heart that she desires to be.

Little Jono

2011-11-25T11:19:00.001+02:00

In just a few weeks little Jono will be leaving Krugersdorp with his parents Mike and Stacey. Mike has received a call from Scottsville Baptist in Pietermaritzburg and so we as a church will be losing Mike as an elder, Stacey as a member and little Jono as our personal 'guard-child'. However, even though we have lost them as a family in the church, we have personally over the past few years developed a wonderful friendship with them which I know will continue to grow in the future. We look forward to see how God will use them for His glory in this next ministry, and will continue to enjoy seeing God add to their number as a family (Lord willing).

Mike, Stacey, Jono, we love you guys big time! May the Lord bless you as you continue to serve Him as a family in ministry!

11-11-11 at 11

2011-11-12T18:54:00.001+02:00

My older sister is now, Claudia De Beer - she finally tied the knot on the 11th of the 11th 2011 at 11 (well at least that's what the invite said - she was fashionably late of course). Amanda and Rachel were her flower girls (although bubble girls would have been more appropriate names). My mom made their dresses - they looked absolutely beautiful. Here they are in the bridal suite dressed but without their jewelery and clips etc.

Eden decided to get dressed up to match her sisters (just for the photos).

Claudia made an absolutely beautiful bride - and her comment to me when she came out the church was that she hopes that she will make a beautiful wife! This is my constant challenge, and not an easy task - but God is my hope - that He is working in me - sanctifying me and purifying me day by day! Marriage is such a beautiful union which pictures our union with Christ, and I intend, even after 10 years of marriage to get as close to that picture in my marriage as possible. I pray the same for Claudia and Barry.

The informal picnic wedding was just beautiful, and just up Eden's alley, as she could just chill and chow!

Amanda took this picture - I thought it was very artistic.

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Barry De Beer!

Hair...No Hair - Tooth...No Tooth

2011-11-10T14:14:00.000+02:00

Poor little Eden fell prey to Rachel a few days ago, when as you can see, Rachel tied balloons to her pigtails. Of course Eden had an absolute ball, and we all had a good laugh - but all said and done I did ask her to take them off as she did get a little frustrated after a bit.

Glen had Jacque come over yesterday to cut his hair - or should I say, shave his head. It reminded me of the last time he had it done...we were in PE a few years back, and a few days after he had it done his front tooth broke off...he looked like a real convict...you can have a little giggle...

Catch up

2011-11-08T09:03:00.000+02:00

Once again blogging has not been my priority, and even now I am just giving you a quick run-down of the past weeks, well at least that which we have pictures of - the other stuff I can't remember, and so well, here is what I have.

Glen went away on a fraternal last week from Monday to Wednesday. Stacey spent those few days at my house and we made brownie pops and laughed a lot! Glen was blessed at the fraternal and came back encouraged and challenged.

The girls got new bikes and helmets for their birthdays. They were given them early so that they could enjoy them on their holiday, which was also last week.

Here Amanda is on her birthday blowing out her 9 candles. I can't believe that she will be 10 next year!! This time has just flown and the thought of her possibly leaving and starting her own family in the next 10 years just scares me - but for now I am going to continue building into her life those things which God has entrusted to me, and trust Him to continue the work He has begun in her. I am enjoying seeing God moulding and shaping her into His likeness as she grows in godly character, and I long to see her become the Proverbs 31 woman God wants her to be. We love you so much Amanda!!!

With the girls' birthday money which they got from their Granny Sheri and Grandpa Mike the girls bought a swimming pool, which they are thoroughly enjoying. What a blessing to be able to cool off in this heat. Eden just loves the water and is happiest when she is in it(hot or cold). Also, just for the sake of keeping up with the latest news on her, she has been crawling for a few weeks now, and so has taken our parenting of her to a whole new level. Thankfully she is a very obedient little girl. When we have told her not to touch something it is so cute to see that little finger pointing to it and her repeating 'No no'. So even her talking is slowly starting.

All I can say is that God never ceases to amaze me - His ways are too wonderful for me! Thank you Father for your constant blessing in our lives!

Waking up to a nightmare!!!

2011-10-20T09:01:00.002+02:00

Just picture it - 3am in the morning, I get up to tend to Eden, and as I open my bedroom door I see this huge bug crawling into our room. Seeing the sheer size of it I panic and wake Glen up, who can't see much because he doesn't have his glasses on. Anyway, this thing had crawled into his jersey which was on the floor acting as a doorstop. He recognized it as a PARKTOWN PRAWN!!! Thankfully Glen knows how to kill them and sent me to the kitchen to get a jug of soapy water. When I got back to the bedroom Glen had is jersey in his hands trying to shake it out, as he couldn't see where it went and thought it might have crawled into the sleeve, all the while he was telling me not to scream when I see it. All of a sudden it was there, right by his hand - we both saw it at the same time, but due to the fact that it was so close to his hand and caught him so off guard, he was the one who screamed. "AARRGGGHHH!!!" He dropped the jersey, grabbed the soapy water, threw it on the monster and then it disappeared under our bed. How on earth were we going to get it out, and how could we go to sleep knowing it was there - this started the search for the hideous creature. I heard it jump under the bed, and then there was silence. After about 10 minutes of holding my breath, Glen found it behind my side table - dead as a doorknob! Glen graciously disposed of it, but flushing it down the toilet!

So there you go - how do you kill a parktown prawn? Simply throw a jug of soapy water onto it, and in a few hops and jumps it simply keels over dead!

2011-10-20T08:39:00.001+02:00

Yesterday afternoon we had a crazy hailstorm, I have never seen hailstones so big! I would have hated to be out and about when it came bucketing down! Thankfully we were in the safety of our home :-)

Sunglasses, Stamina, Swimming, Surviving & Sunbathing

2011-10-19T09:33:00.001+02:00

We enjoyed a day at the Grobler's on Monday, where we all just hung out outside. The kids swam, the men braai'ed, the ladies chatted, and well...the pics say it all...

Hannah, with her Granny's sunglasses

Daniel showing off his rugby skills

Eden having her first swim, which she thoroughly enjoyed!

Lisa, less than two weeks away from delivery - hanging in there

Adrian (Lisa's dad) and the girls

Another one chosen to serve

2011-10-19T08:14:00.000+02:00

We are so blessed as a church to have another deacon added to office. Alan Krause was ordained on Sunday morning through the laying on of hands - and so recognised even in heaven as a deacon in our church. We thank God for him and trust that he will be faithful in his duties to God and the church and that we will see him become all God desires him to be.

May God continue to add to us for His glory! Praise the LORD!

All round blessing!

2011-10-16T12:45:00.001+02:00

Children really are a blessing from the Lord, and mine are no exception, of course! As I was going through the pictures I took this week, I saw one of Rachel reading to Eden. Something both Amanda and Rachel do often, and of course Eden just loves looking at all the pictures and having her big sister's full attention. I was reminded of a picture from one of my first blog posts of Amanda reading to Rachel. Not only are children a blessing to us as parents, but they are such a blessing even to each other.

I look forward to the day when I see little Eden reading to her little brother or sister, whatever the Lord blesses us all with next!

Fun in the shade

2011-10-09T14:47:00.003+02:00

The title of this post could have been 'Fun in the Sun' but how unlike me that would be - I HATE being in the sun, and avoid it at all costs. So we spent the better part of yesterday outside in the shade enjoying a lovely afternoon as a family - and of course we had a braai - which we have decided we really should do more often!

Eden was cute playing peek-a-boo with my hat...

Rachel thought that being under the trampoline would be a good spot for her to veg, and as she got under there her hair stood right up...of course she grabbed the opportunity to pull funny faces...these are just two of them.

Glen involved the girls in the braaiing this time - he got them to turn the chicken rotisary style, which they did very carefully...well done girls!

This is the only picture I got of Amanda the whole afternoon, as she spent most of the time behind the camera, and Glen had his shirt off, which is not for family viewing.

Blessed Lord's Day!

2011-10-04T12:18:00.003+02:00

How blessed we were this Sunday to have 5 baptisms! We are so excited about what God is doing in every one of their lives as well as our life as a church. We look forward to making them members officially in a few weeks! Praise the Lord!

Jason

Silvana

Carla

Luke

Linda

Three of those kiddies are junior members of our church already, but we wait in anticipation for God to save them and add them all to our number if it is His will. Oh Lord, please save them!

Peacock Pleasure

2011-09-20T12:50:00.000+02:00

Two Sunday's ago I was looking through my bedroom window when I suddenly realised these big birds strutting around. I didn't have my glasses on, and my first thought was that they were really big hadedas, but then I thought that they walked really funny for a hadeda and had a closer look, only to be surprised by peacocks. We had one male and two female peacocks in our garden! How cool is that!! Something you really don't see every day. In fact it's an absolute first for me...

They stuck around for a little while, until Clyde chased them over the fence into someone elses garden. Apparently these three wild peacocks make an apprearance in our area every now and then, so maybe we will see them again.

Lovely Surprise Visit

2011-09-17T11:01:00.004+02:00

Dad and Sherilee-ann dropped by yesterday for a quick visit as they were in the area. It was great to catch up a bit and just hang out. We spent most of the time trying to get Eden to smile for the camera or for anyone, but as usual she made us work really hard, and then still produced very little by way of smiles or giggles or any expression actually. She is very camera shy and very wary of people in general, but after a while she generally thaws out a bit and becomes easier to please...

Here a little pic of the three stooges...

...and here Amanda insisted on a photo before they left - any opportunity for her to use the camera is gladly taken ;-)

Glen's Daughter

2011-09-17T07:31:00.002+02:00

For someone who was so serious and quiet as a baby, Rachel certainly has becom a card. She continues to make us laugh with all her funny faces and sense of humour. What should I expect with her having Glen as a dad?

10 Years

2011-09-01T07:58:00.001+02:00

Today Glen and I celebrate our 10 year anniversary. Honestly these have been the best 10 years of my life. God has blessed me beyond what I could have ever asked or thought and all the praise and glory goes to Him alone for our marriage. Without Him we never would have met, we never would have gotten married, and even if we had, I doubt that we would still be married today without His grace in our lives.

He continues to mould us and shape us, and continues to teach us to love one another. He continues to sanctify us and show us how much we need Him. He continues to pour His blessings onto us in ways that we are constantly humbled and full of praise! Without our Lord our marriage will not see through the next 10 years! We praise Him for our children, for our ministry, for our home, our pets, our car, our clothes, our daily provision - we praise Him for the gift of each other and the grace to continue on this journey heavenward together! We praise Him for EVERYTHING!

Amanda's Visit

2011-08-26T09:16:00.002+02:00

A few weeks ago we spent the morning with our dear friend Amanda Abrahamse. She took the following pics and sent them to me today. They were too beautiful to skip putting on the blog, so I thought I would share them with you!

Thank you Amanda - looking forward to our next visit!

Opa & Sylvia's relaxed visit

2011-08-25T15:36:00.003+02:00

On Saturday afternoon we were blessed to have my dad and his friend Sylvia over for a short visit. It was the first time that Sylvia met little Eden. She was so keen for her to wake up so that she could spend some time with her. The afternoon was spent with them handing out gifts from their last holiday to Reunion Island; watching a DVD on the island and just chilling outside in the warm sun while Glen and Rachel played swingball, and Amanda took photos...

Love

2011-08-25T15:29:00.002+02:00

I know that you get to see a lot of Eden, and that's okay with me! I love to look at her and thank God for the blessing of having her - and so I love to share the blessing with you all...

Our prayer is that she will grow up to love our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, because of His great love for her!

Mabula Holiday

2011-08-21T08:01:00.000+02:00

A few snippets from our holiday two weeks ago. I have been having problems with my internet connection, and so have battled to get these photos uploaded, but finally they are here, and hopefully I will have more joy with my internet.

Here we have all the kiddies watching 'Boom' - a kids channel on DSTV which we let them watch on holiday as a treat, as none of our families have DSTV or let our kids watch a lot of TV...here you can see them glued, as no kid should be glued in the normal flow of things...

Next to them on the floor, little Hannah and Eden becoming friends...notice the holding of hands...Hannah trying so hard to be gentle and loving - she is preparing for her little brother who is due to arrive early November.

The lovely sunset from our patio - just gorgeous!

Early morning coffee outside, with Glen tinkling on his guitar - so peaceful!

A giraffe outside our chalet - what a treat!

This picture was taken during Daddy time with Eden on the bed - what a beautiful little girl - we love you SO much!

The last two nights Leah spent at our place, and so I made them a finger dinner - they felt really spoilt - I hope!

All in all a lovely holiday, lovely place - Thank you Father for this time of rest and for friends to share it with!

Relax Time

2011-07-28T10:36:00.003+02:00

Sunday afternoon is always a veg time for us, well at least until Glen goes back to his office for prep, but until then we just eat lunch, chat and park off. The girls busy themselves will silly things, like this...

and Glen amuses us all with things like this...

Toofies!

2011-07-19T21:34:00.002+02:00

Eden seems to be growing far too quickly. She now has two teeth, she rolls over from her tummy to her back, and sits for a really long time without falling over. She is eating her solids nicely, she has tried carrots, butternut, sweet potato (home made), porridge, apples, banana, peaches, prunes(purity) and has even had some of our left overs all blended up...so far I've given her beef stew and rice, which she absolutely loved, and waiting for her in the freezer is some mashed up rice and tomotoey mince stuff! I am enjoying making all these meals for her and have found this a more cost effective way of feading her ;-)

Baptisms

2011-07-19T20:08:00.002+02:00

Two weekends ago we had another baptism service. Two young guys, Xolani and Kenny gave their hearts to the Lord recently, Kenny just that same week, and Xolani a few months ago. We are blessed to see how God is working through the preaching of His Word in our midst. We celebrate with the angels in heaven at the salvation of these two souls! Thank you Jesus!

Paper World

2011-07-09T19:17:00.003+02:00

I don't know where she gets it, but Rachel certainly is one of a kind...this is what she busied herself with this afternoon, while we were having our "Soul Satisfying Saturday' at church, where we watched a DVD by John Piper, called "Seeing and Savouring Jesus Christ"...

Rachel folded a progam into this TV stand with a TV on top...

this pulipt...

and this preacher, I guess it must be Glen, with his hands swinging in the air like that...

...she made beds and couches as well...

Enjoy this clip of her playing in her paper world...

Green eggs, no ham

2011-07-05T08:28:00.002+02:00

After a wonderful afternoon with the Groblers, we decided to have a relaxed dinner. Glen and I had leftovers, and I thought I would cook cheese omlettes for the girls, who were watching their Monday movie. Every now and then I get these crazy evil streaks - this time it was to give the girls green eggs. I ran the idea past Glen, as I know that if I were to give him anything like that he just wouldn't eat it, but he thought it was a great idea and improved on it, by adding that I should give it to them in the dark...as the room was dark due to the movie, and then, when they were half way, turn on the lights and see their reaction...

Amanda was like, "Hey! My eggs are green....and so are yours Rachel." Rachel's face dropped in disgust, while Glen acted shocked, and I was giggling around the corner. Then I came in and said, "Sorry girls, the eggs were a bit off, but don't worry, I am sure they won't make you sick, they taste okay don't they?" Rachel's face just got more and more disgusted and shocked...and then Glen and I both packed up laughing and told the girls that I had put food coloring in. All in all a good harmless prank to play on your children!

Glen...the man!

2011-07-05T08:11:00.002+02:00

After Sunday night's sermon on the church at Leodecia, who were incedently a rich church, who had forgotten their need of their Savior, and were relying on their own strength and own wealth, and had basically left Jesus out of their worship...after that convicting sermon on letting Jesus in again, Glen slaughtered us all in a game of poker...it was ruthless, or should I say, he was ruthless, he spared none of us, he literally cleared the table, that is, he relieved us all of our money 'chips'...and enjoyed it thoroughly...

Obviously this is just a harmless game...and no real money was at stake - however I am sure that the thrill of winning can easily get the better of us all! And of us losers, well, we had to deal with our loss of not enjoying that thrill ourselves! Thanks guys for a great evening!!!

I must conclude by saying that the last round of the game, everyone had to play 'all in'. We all had to bet all we had and play our last round...in that last round, I WON!!!! Still, Glen insists that he won the night...and well, I would have to agree, although it is fun to have a little of that thrill!

Surpise Visit

2011-07-02T13:07:00.002+02:00

Granny time was changed from yesterday to today, but there was an added surprise, the cousins (Selby and Kelly) came to play as well. Eden enjoyed all the attention, as usual, and they all enjoyed making her laugh and jump in her jumper. We also enjoyed a lovely lunch which the girls made with Granny Zan's help - Mince, Potatoes, and Salad...delicious!

Thank you guys for a lovely visit!

Rachel the Builder

2011-07-02T12:29:00.002+02:00

Since the new play room we have a box of blocks again, and Rachel is enjoying just building simple little houses and stuff...here she is busily building...

Play Room

2011-07-02T12:00:00.002+02:00

We were recently blessed with a whole bunch of toys and books, which Sharon, Glen's sister has kindly passed on to us - this inspired a redo of our play room, and the girls had fund decorating with bendaroos etc...

Origami Flowers

2011-07-01T14:26:00.004+02:00

Over the past few weeks, the girl's granny time with Omi'Son has been focusing on origami - the art of folding paper into animals or flowers, or whatever, I guess...anyway, they have been folding flowers and leaves. Here are their creations - I think they are really pretty. They definately look better than the real, dying plant on the shelf! Good job girls!

Friends

2011-06-30T11:42:00.003+02:00

Last Friday, as usual, we had our time with Mike and Stacey and Jono...he's such a cutie!

I was helping Stacey with some stuff on my computer, and so we put the little ones on the play mat. I didn't get very good pics, but they were so cute. Jono was enjoying the little turtle, and Eden was trying her best to grab hold of him. At one point they were actually holding hands, but I missed it...

Here is a pic of them almost holding hands...

Our little 'Guard-son' is growing up so beautifully...I am blessed to be a part of his life ;-)

Coffee and the Canon

2011-06-24T07:48:00.006+02:00

Check out Glen's new blog - Coffee and the Canon, and become a follower!

Amanda's Music Concert

2011-06-22T09:10:00.004+02:00

Amanda had a little concert on Tuesday. She played piano and flute. This is a clip of her playing "Tap Dance" on the piano.

During the concert, Eden was so cute...

Unfortunately I was battling to upload Amanda playing "Edelweiss" on the flute. I'll try again another time.

4 months

2011-06-09T08:19:00.003+02:00

Eden is 4 months old and as cute as ever. She is really such a joy to us and such a happy little girl. If you look closely you'll see that she has cut her first tooth, and the second one is well on it's way...

I have started her on a little bit of solid food, and she has really taken to it! I think she is going to be a good eater and as you can see her cheeks have filled our really nicely, and so has the rest of her ;-)

She has also started taking toys from me and holding on to them and shaking them like mad - which is her absolute delight. Her favorite toy is her jolly jumper which keeps her happy for about half an hour while I am schooling. She is sleeping through the night beautifully, and has naps at consistent times in the day, which is really a blessing for me with planning my day. She likes to blow bubbles and make all sorts of weird noises - especially when it's food time ;-) She loves staring at the light and when I hold her by the window she looks at everything outside with such excitement and awe. It's such a blessing having a baby in the house again - she is an absolute pleasure, and I am loving starting to see her little personality surfacing!

All things nice

2011-06-07T10:43:00.002+02:00

Alan came along for Granny time on Friday, where the girls baked a gluted free chocolate cake - he of course knew what was on the menu, so he came along for the taste. The cake was a success, and even though it didn't taste like ordinary cake, it was lovely. Rachel is of course a huge fan, as she can eat it without feeling sore afterwards - thanks Granny Zan.

This was so cute - while we were having coffee and eating cake, Spice decided to perch herself on Alan's shoulder. Pets are such a blessing from the Lord, they really bring joy to our hearts!

Fun

2011-06-07T09:41:00.002+02:00

We had some fellowship after church on Sunday (last Sunday actually) and while we were busy Rachel decided to style my hair...this was the outcome. I told her that I would pose for a photo but then it had to come out - just imagine me walking around like that all day!

Now this is a funny one, Glen fell asleep playing his guitar, and I caught it on camera...

I am sure he'll get me back for this one!

Twin Evening

2011-06-07T09:17:00.002+02:00

Last week Friday our Sunday School hosted another fun evening. This time we had to be tied together and act out a Bible character for our team to guess. Some of the couples even dressed the same, as seen here...

Vince, Rachelle, and Duncan were the judges for the evening, and personally I think that they did a great job in giving the right people the prizes, although Glen and I didn't win anything, which must have been a mistake somewhere of course!

Amanda and her friend Meg acted as Mary...they also won a prize for best acting, if I recall...

Here Glen and I are acting out Nehemiah...we are on the last part of the name here, I am acting out 'I' and Glen is acting out 'High'...somehow they guessed it

Emiel and Lisa were David...can you see them 'gooiing' that stone with their sling? I love Emiel's concentration...

It was as fun evening indeed with lots of laughs - thanks Sunday School for yet another wonderful fun-filled evening!

Baptismal Service

2011-05-22T15:51:00.002+02:00

Yesterday morning the girls helped Aunty Suzie with this arrangement seen below, they really enjoyed putting it together and learning from a pro. Aunty Suzie told me this morning how she enjoyed teaching them, and how they were such good pupils - she also said that she would love to teach them how to arrange their own bouquets in the future - I of course am so keen for them to learn what I am totally hopeless at - thank you Aunty Suzie for your creativity and your gift to the church.

Val Botha, Jacques Botha's mom was baptised this morning,

...along with Koketso....

and Abigail.

We were blessed with a wonderful sermon on Acts chapter 2, where Glen expounded to us from the Scriptures all about the last Pentecost - what a wonderful portion of the Bible, which ties to so much of the Old Testament - there is much for us all to go and meditate on and be blessed by as we continue to search the Scriptures.

We are blessed to have these three sisters as part of us, and pray that God would continue to mould them and shape them into His likeness!

Opa & Eden

2011-05-22T15:43:00.002+02:00

My 'Papa' came to visit me last night, just for a belated birthday kiss and coffee - I also scored some delicious Lindt chocolates out of the visit, and he scored a taste of my freshly baked French bread, which I must confess I didn't bake, the credit for that goes to my new bread machine - marvelous invention!

It was a lovely evening of listening to our new song for Eden, showing him some recent pics, and talking about some old records he is currently getting loaded onto his computer. Even though Eden was a little miserable and hungry, she did manage to give him a smile and some cuddles.

All in all a lovely visit - and yes, Eden is getting big soooo quickly! Don't miss out!

What makes me glad

2011-05-20T12:30:00.003+02:00

Colorful flowers are my inspiration;

What a gorgeous part of all God's creation!

They are sweet smelling; what a lovely scent;

I would rather gather flowers than read in my tent!

Their colors are so very pretty;

And them that hate them I greatly pity!

Oh, what a lovely creation;

Flowers are my inspiration!

by Amanda Thompson

Amanda's Take

2011-05-16T20:59:00.004+02:00

Amanda was enjoying taking some pics today, while we were fellowshipping with the Grobler family and Duncan - who is a good friend of Glen's from many years back and has recently moved to Krugersdorp. We are blessed to have him fellowship with us at KBC, and we pray that God will bless him here as He has us, and that he would in turn be a blessing to us here.

As you can see from the next to pics, Duncan is really enjoying being here with us...

That's all from me...over and out!

"Skabenga-Bacon" visit

2011-05-16T20:45:00.002+02:00

The Cunningham family, AKA Skabenga-Bacon family visited us last weekend. It was wonderful to see them again after a whole 2 years! These two years were evidenced by taller kids, and well, older parents - now that Malcolm has been in the ministry for 2 years, you can really see those serious adult lines starting to show...only kidding! Jacqui, of course, looks wonderful, and is still loving being a stay home, home-school mom and of course pastor's wife!

It was great having them in every way - the kids played beautifully together - Malcolm preached at KBC on Sunday morning, and Jacqui and I just chatted about all sorts of things.

It really was a super visit - we look very forward to seeing this beautiful family again! Thanks guys for a lovely weekend!!!

Little Musician in the making

2011-04-23T11:24:00.002+02:00

This clip was taken during Glen's special time with Amanda...this is just her making up her own piece on the spot - I thought it was quite musical - she definately has the talent! I guess those music lessons are starting to pay off! Enjoy!

Photo Shoot

2011-04-18T19:47:00.004+02:00

We recently went to a photo shoot which my sisters gave to us as a gift. It was a really enjoyable hour in a white room, in front of a very big umbrella, light and camera. The kids were made to feel like princesses, and Glen and I were urged to REALLY smile...

I must say that I would do this kind of family shoot again any day - the pictures are a real treasure! Thanks Sis and Big Sis for this special gift!!!

Baptismal Service

2011-04-14T11:31:00.003+02:00

We were blessed this Lord's Day to witness three baptisms. Ryan, Fleur, and Douglas proclaimed their love for Jesus in their visual presentation of being united with Christ in His death and resurrection. So it is no longer Ryan, Fleur or Douglas who lives, but Christ who lives in them, not because of their baptism, that is simply a sign, but because Christ has saved them!

When Eden is awake at church it is very seldom that I hold her. She is passed from one 'aunty' to another - we have been blessed with so many brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers in Christ!

I just LOVE the church!

Girls

2011-04-14T11:18:00.004+02:00

Just some chilled pics on the couch the other day...if you look closely at the second pic, you'll see Eden giving a nice smile, unfortunately Rachel's head got a in the way...

Making Eden smile is one of the girl's favorite things to do...but like all children, they don't always do what they should when you want them to...here are some attempted smiles...

Beaumont Fun

2011-04-14T10:54:00.003+02:00

Brett Beaumont and his lovely wife Suzie visited our church a few weeks ago. Brett is a friend of Glen from primary school days. We have enjoyed having them and their children (Tyler and Jasmine) over for supper and are looking forward to much fellowship with them in the future.

After Mike's ordination service, Amanda got hold of the camera, and was taking some pics of the kids playing...these are some of the clearer photos...most of them were a crazy blur.

Rachel...

Jasmine...

and Tyler.

Elder Mike

2011-04-14T10:48:00.002+02:00

Forgive the shabby blogging at the moment, I know that those with little ones will understand why this is the case...anyway, just a quick pic to show Mike being officially ordained as an elder in our church. God is gracious to us to give us a godly young man with lots of vision, passion and wisdom...

WONDERFUL NEWS

2011-03-31T11:28:00.002+02:00

We found out today that our precious little Eden is HIV negative!!! Woohoo!!! We want to thank our wonderful God, that in spite of the hospital's negligence in not giving her ARV's for her first two weeks, He has protected our little girl from getting the HIV virus. We are so thankful for His answer to our prayers, and the prayers of our church family and friends! Thank you all!

Little Jonathan

2011-03-25T11:14:00.002+02:00

As mentioned in a previous post, Mike and Stacy's little one, Jonathan Jaden Calvin Lear, was born on Thursday night at 21:45, after a whole day of waiting for the induction to take, and then ending off with a caesarian anyway. Even though things don't always go as planned, we are still blessed at God's hand in protecting both mom and baby, and for the blessings of caesers when necessary! Even though things don't go how we thought they might, we know that God is in control and God is good!

So here, a few days later, we have a very happy and proud dad...

a tired, recovering, proud mommy...

and eventually, after much anticipation I got to hold my god-son for the first time.

Glen and I are proud god-parents and are looking forward to watching little Jonathan grow up in the way of the Lord, and are excited to play a part in that all the way!

We love you Jonathan - LOTS and LOTS!!!!

For Liz & Debbie

2011-03-25T09:33:00.003+02:00

Just a little clip to show you how well little Evangelina and Sugar are getting on.

Enjoy

Eden Update

2011-03-25T09:16:00.002+02:00

Eden is growing so beautifully. At 6 weeks she weighs 4.66kg's. Now that may not mean a lot to you, but she has picked up almost a kilo in 2 weeks, which means that she is a healthy little baby! She is starting to smile - a lot - and is also starting to sleep through the night, which I am very happy about! She hasn't done it consistently yet, but in the past 3 nights she has done it twice, so I am sure that it will get more consistant with time. Although she battles a little with winds during the day, it is getting better - which I am also very thankful for!

We don't have her birth certificate yet, as we are still waiting for the social worker, and so we haven't yet added her to our hospital plan. Once that is done we can have all relevant pending tests done, to find out whether or not she is HIV positive etc. Will let you know when we know. Please keep her in your prayers!

Deacons

2011-03-25T09:00:00.002+02:00

We are very blessed as a church to have two official Biblical deacons. We had our ordination service this last week, and we are just so excited at what God is doing in our church. Alex and Peter have been studying what a Biblical deacon and elder is since Glen has begun this ministry, and now we officially have these two men to serve us in this way!

We ended off the morning with a wonderful time of fellowship, as usual with special occasions!

The elder elect - Mike Lear, who was also supposed to be ordained on Sunday, was unable to make it due to his wife Stacy having her baby on Thursday, and only coming home on Sunday afternoon. His ordination will take place this week in the evening. We are looking forward!

Debbie's Visit

2011-03-25T08:50:00.003+02:00

A few weeks ago our good friend Debbie came to visit us. Unfortunately she could only come for the weekend, but it was great seeing her again, and for her to meet our new addition.

Her lift, Liz, also a good friend of ours had adopted a little kitten from the SPCA. She was hoping to leave it with her parents in her home in Jo'burg, but it didn't quite work out that way. So to cut a long story short, we ended up adopting this little kitten - Evangelina - so adorable.

So, our house is a bit of a mad house at the moment, but at the same time filled with joy at our little ones, and of course our bigger ones! God has sure blessed our home!

Kiara Lodge Holiday

2011-03-03T13:07:00.006+02:00

When God does something, He does it perfectly! In His perfect providence, our holiday with Emiel and Lisa, which had been planned months ago, came at the perfect time for us to take some time off to get to know our new little one. We were priviledged enough to go to this beautiful resort in the Drakensburg, near Clarens. The views were just breath-taking - just what we needed to relax!

Our chalet was really top class, and situated on a lovely little hill, which was what occupied the kids for most of the holiday, especially when Glen turned some boxes into lovely slope sliders!

The girls enjoyed a lovely big loft upstairs, where they felt really 'big' with their own bathroom and everything!!!

Our days were spent braaing and of course eating, and our evenings were filled with fellowship and games and of course more eating...

We would daily take the kids to the park or the pool, and on this particular day, we took a walk to the little touch farm - which ended up being a bit of a scary experience when the ram started ramming into Emiel. Thankfully he is very skilled with these beasts of the field, that he quickly had it by the horns and back in his pen where he belongs!

This picture was taken during a really special time Glen had with Eden. He really knows how to make her face light up with a smile!

On one of the evenings the girls hung out watching a DVD and drinking hot chocolate. What a girly treat!

The boys hanging out...

Gorgeous Daniel...

Monkeying around...

Eden hanging out on Mom's shoulder...

...and lastly a little pic of her just out of the bath...

Thanks again Emiel and Lisa for this awesome treat, it was wonderful speding times together as a family (all 5 of us) and spending times as a family with your family (all 5 of you). Kiara Lodge is definately a suggested resort - absolutely lovely!

Saturday's visits

2011-03-03T12:41:00.000+02:00

Some very proud grandparents...

and Aunties...

First day home

2011-03-03T12:21:00.001+02:00

Here are some pics of Eden's first day home...

Poor Clyde

2011-02-28T21:08:00.002+02:00

Poor ol' Clyde has been had it tough the last few weeks. Every now and then he gets a little limp, but is better in a few days. This time round however, the injury seemed to be a lot worse, and he simply couldn't walk on his back leg. After taking him to the vet we discovered that he had torn a ligament in his knee, and so needed it to be replaced, as mending it is just impossible. They did this replacement from some 'white sinue' stuff from his leg. Apparently he will only start using his leg fully in about 3 months.

Poor Bonnie was so very worried about him, this was a sad doggie day!

Since these photos, Clyde's stiches have come out, the bandage is off and everything is looking good. So Martin family, no need to worry about your precious darlyings!

Eden Brenna

2011-02-19T19:55:00.003+02:00

Once again blogging has not been on my list of priorities, but I must tell you that between the last post and this one God has done one miracle after the next in our little family. If you have followed my blog closely you would know that I have had a few early miscarriages over the past year - 4 to be exact...well to cut a long story short, God used all of this to bring Glen and I to a point of considering, once again, adoption. We were watching a testimony by Steven Curtis Chapman, about when he adopted his first little girl and God just used it to move us strongly to relook at this whole issue again. Anyway, we found ourselves in the social worker's office on Monday morning the 7th of Feb, and the next Tuesday, the 15th, we were told about a little girl who had been abandoned in a park. Our hearts just grew for her as we kept her in our prayers, and asked God to really lead us in this whole process. On Wednesday morning we were in the hospital waiting to meet 'Unknown' - her 'name' in the hospital. Well...when we saw her, both of us just knew that this was our daughter - given to us by our loving heavenly Father. God opened the way for us to be able to bring her home with us on Friday...so I present to you our new little baby girl...Eden Brenna Thompson...

Leah's Baptism

2011-01-11T13:53:00.002+02:00

This is Leah Grobler. Her parents were both baptised a little while back in our church and she has also made a serious commitment to the Lord and was waiting for her grandparents to come over from England to witness her baptism. We rejoice in seeing children giving their lives to Jesus, and becoming members of our local church. As Baptists we don't believe in adult baptism but rather in believers baptism, and so even though she is only 6 years old, she has a credible profession of faith, and so who can forbid her from being baptised?

We rejoice with her family as a church in seeing this outward profession of faith and look forward to seeing her grow in grace as she is taught all that Jesus has commanded us and as she continues to follow her Shepherd.

Beauty Treatment Experiment

2011-01-11T13:38:00.004+02:00

The cool things that are available these days just amaze me! This is one of them. Amanda got this beauty science experiment kit for her birthday from Yanina. The goal of this one is to learn how to measure certain ingredients, and add them together to make a beauty product. There were two different kinds of face masks. They tried the one on themselves and the other one on me.

Did the experiments work?...Yes! Did we become more beautiful? Haha, that's another question!

Frogs Galore

2011-01-11T13:33:00.004+02:00

What's the difference between a frog and a toad anyway? I think I'll have to research that one and get back to you...I have heard that the one has teeth and the other doesn't, don't know how true that is yet. Anyway, whatever they are, there are a lot of them in our garden at the moment, and Rachel is having a ball catching them, keeping them for a little bit and then letting them go...

I don't really mind, as long as they are kept outside, and doesn't throw one at me!

If you would like to know the difference between a frog and a toad, here is a site that simply explains the difference: http://allaboutfrogs.org/weird/general/frogtoad.html

Grace Ministers Conference 2011

2011-01-11T13:04:00.005+02:00

What a wonderful way to begin the year! We were priviledged once again to attend this conference for pastors and their wives, which was once again held at Valley Lodge in Magaliesburg. Our speakers this year were Philip Ryken, who is currently the President of Wheaton College in Illinois, USA. He was a real blessing to listen to as he shared three sessions with us on 'What every minister needs'.

Three years ago we were blessed to hear Conrad Mbewe speak at this same conference, and once again it was a joy to hear him speak, this time on the topic of 'Worship'. He gave us a lot to think about, and his messages were used by God to help me get back to the heart of true worship again.

Following are just a few pics of other couples and people who we enjoyed some fellowship with on the conference...

Andrew and Sharon George...

Tim Cantrell...

Leigh and Irene Robinson, on the right, and JC in the middle...

Willem Bronkhost and his lovely wife, who's name escapes me now...

Angus and Sue McKee..

Michael and Natalie Rogers...

Mike Marsland (left) and our third speaker, who was a local - Dr. P.J. (Flip) Buys, who spoke on Demonology and the Sovereignty of God...

and Tyrell and Ainsley Haag.

All in all it was a very uplifting conference, filled once again with good fellowship and good food, both physically and spiritually.

Last few weeks of 2010

2011-01-02T15:12:00.005+02:00

Once again I was rapped over the knuckles for not blogging enough and so I thought I had better get a move on...and so here is another quick catch up post for those of you who have wondered what we have been up to. These pics are not extensive, but simply cover the events that I had captured on camera, and sorry to say, but there really isn't much here at all...I haven't even taken a picture this whole year!!

Anyway, I'll start off with this get youth get together at Jacque, Claire and Douglas's home (a new family in our church). Why were we invited you might ask, we simply because we're cool :-)

The girls enjoyed dressing up, and so here, Goldilocks and...I don't know...who is that???

Then, just a quick pic of Sugar sleeping on the couch...please notice his feet hanging off the edge...completely in his element!

We did our first official 'Jesse' tree, which we have renamed the 'Redeemer Tree' or 'Tree of Life'. Even though it was a bit of a last minute thing, we enjoyed making the little symbol ornaments from 'Bendaroos' which by the way are really cool, and also going through all the Scripture verses in our family worship times. It's just so wonderful to focus on Christ throughout the Bible at this time and to show the children the unity of God's Word.

Here are some of our ornaments - The tree itself symbolising the 'Tree of Life', the angels, obviously picturing the host of angels telling of the birth of Jesus, the Savior of the world, the lights, showing that Jesus is the light of the world, the gold showing the Kingship of Christ, the pinecones, symbolising the seed of Abraham...and then the actual made ornament, the dove, symbolising the Spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters at Creation, and Creation itself.

The ram, symbolizing Jesus, through the story of Abraham and Isaac, when God provided the ram in Isaac's place - just as Christ was sacrificed in our place and took God's wrath in our place.

Then of course the rainbow, focusing on the flood, where only eight people were saved in the ark - also symbolising Jesus. Whoever is in Jesus will be saved, and then the rainbow pointing us to God's faithfulnes in keeping His promises and also pointing us to a time when God's judgement will fall upon this world again, this time with fire...

We really enjoyed all the symbols we have of Christ in the Scriptures and look forward to many more Christ-focused Christmases in our home. Praise God for the precious gift of His Son to save a wretch like me!

Christmas Eve and Christmas day were spent with Glen's grandparents in Viljoenskroon, in the Orange Free State. It was really hot there, but we had a good time, opening gifts and eating good food...we even had some opportunity to share Christ with some of the family....

All in all a lovely Christmas, and the New Year was spent at church with church family. What a blessing! We sang songs, listened to God's Word being preached and fellowshipped until the strike of midnight. Thankfully it was raining and so the fireworks were very minimal. Not so good for those who were waiting for a spectacular show...but good for Bonnie and Clyde who just hate those frightening sounds.

And so I have come to the end of this year of blogging, and will hopefully be more diligent in this year ahead. I wonder what God has got planned for us this year!

Jesus Loves Me

2010-12-08T14:37:00.002+02:00

We had the amazing blessing of having Willem Bronkhorst visit us this morning, through to afternoon. He played his beautiful guitar for us, and sang us some of his own written songs and some arrangements. It was so wonderful to have fellowship with another like minded brother in the Lord and to share our music with him as well.

We hope to have much more fellowship with him in the future!

Another busy week

2010-12-08T14:21:00.003+02:00

Last week was yet again another hectic week - we had our end of year council dinner...which would mean the council as well as their partners. This year we did a really low key dinner of simply ordering pizzas - yummy!

We also had our church end of year function. Janet and her helpers decorated the tables and made all the food - (cold meat, rolls, salads)...very delicious...

Aunty Suzie arranged the flowers...beautiful as always...

and Glen and I played the music while sharing our Christian testimony. I trust that it was a blessing to our church, as it was a real blessing to use our music for the building up of the body here at Krugersdorp.

I also thought I'd add in this pic of Stacy as her little bump is growing day by day - I even felt her little one kick just the other day. I really can't wait to meet her...or him...although I'm pretty convinced that it's a her...anyway, either way I can't wait to meet this little blessing from the Lord.

This time of the year is just so full of blessings, even though it is so hectic, we just thank the Lord for His goodness to us over this year, as a family and as a church family. I can't wait to see what God is going to bring across our path next year!

Sunday School end of year function

2010-12-05T15:13:00.005+02:00

Every year after the Christmas play the Sunday school hosts an end of year function at the Gilbert's home. This year, it started out really hot, where we were all hoping for a little rain to cool things off, and at the end we were pretty much rained out, but we still had a wonderful time of fellowship and games, giving gifts and laughing together...even though it pretty much took place in the garage - thankfully it was big enough to fit us all in with a squeeze...nothing like getting close hey?

Again, all I can say is that this day was most enjoyable for everyone! Thanks Liliana for and all Sunday School teachers for another successful year - all praise and glory to our King on high!

Sunday School Christmas Play

2010-12-05T14:44:00.004+02:00

Here are just a few pictures of the kids getting ready for their end of year Christmas play...

Okay, Hannah wasn't in the play, but she also wanted to be beautified...not that she needs any makeup...oh she is soooo cute!

...and Daniel...well, he also wanted a beard...

Thank you Sunday School for a lovely play to remind everyone what Christmas is really all about: the wonderful gift of God's Son, Jesus Christ to His people for the forgiveness of their sins, and eternal life in Christ. May your Christmas season this year be filled with praises for our King of glory with thankful hearts for all He has done for us! It indeed is ALWAYS a season to be jolly!

Year For Life Graduation

2010-12-05T14:17:00.003+02:00

The 'Year For Life' program has finally come to an end, and we are very proud of the four young men that were part of it for the first time; Jacques, Jason, Steve and Vince. Jacques, Jason and Steve, as well as Jacques Botha are all going to study for the ministry next year, and Vince, seen in this picture below, is going to study to be a chef. To show off his potential Vince baked all the cakes and stuff for the fellowship time after the service - thanks Vince, we are looking forward to eating your delicious food for years to come.

Even though Sugar, the popular church cat, wasn't part of YFL, he came to show his support of Vince's cooking by eating some of it before the service, for which he was punished by spending the time locked up in Glen's office - to his utmost disgust. He is seen here in this picture in typical fashion, spread out accross the top of the church stairs waiting for people to make a fuss of him...I tell you, he just loves to be adored!

Below are the books and CDs the guys went though during the year - I am sure that they have grown a heck of a lot! From left to right - Bible Overview, Church History, Systematic Theology, as well as listening to the whole Bible on CD in a year. I know that those that audited the classes have grown so much with just the one subject that they took part in over the year, how awesome to have done all of it. I do hope that future matrics will consider doing this 'Year For Life' as a 'gap' year after school.

Here, a 'cheesy' photo of Glen in the pulpit. I thought I'd put it in as I don't actually have another one like it, and he does have such a sweet face....doesn't he?

Dr. Kevin Roy, pastor of Muldersdrift Union shared a lovely message for us on the evening, and I was blessed to get this picture of him with his glasses on top of his head, which also is a typical Kevin thing...cool!

Here is of course a silly picture of the YFL'ers and their teachers...

We are so proud of each and every one of you, and look forward as a church to see how God is going to use you all for the extension of His Kingdom.

Still blessed

2010-12-03T15:04:00.003+02:00

We have once again received bad news, that there is no more pregnancy. This time it ended a lot sooner than the last two times. Yes, we are sad, but also blessed for two reasons: Firstly that we didn't have to wait long to find out, and can therefore start trying again sooner, and secondly because we know that God is in control and He gives and He takes away, and we will continue to serve Him and praise Him no matter what.

God is good all the time!!!

Blessed

2010-12-01T16:09:00.002+02:00

I haven't updated the blog properly, but am interrupting my silence with this interesting news broadcast - I AM PREGNANT - as you can see with the widget above. We are all excited about this life which God has given us, and we look very much forward to him/her growing big and strong...and hopefully, if God wills, to meeting him or her in 9 months time.

Thank you for all your prayers, we covet your contiuous prayers for this little one.

God is good all the time!

Seven already!

2010-11-25T16:10:00.003+02:00

This picture was taken at 5:30am on Wednesday morning...in traditional Thompson fashion, we wake up the birthday girl with Glen playing on the guitar, Amanda opening all doors for us and leading the way, and me holding the lit birthday cake ready for the blowing.

Looks like Amanda was helping Rachel a little...

I know it's really early to eat cake, but it's only on SPECIAL occassions...

Rachel just loved her little gifts and has been playing with them ever since...

And here, the picture to let you see that Glen also exists and was actually there as well...

Now for those of you who are concerned about the whole magic thing...we are aware about the dangers behind real magic, but the girls are well aware that these are simply tricks and not really magic at all. They have been entertaining us with magic shows to practise...and all I can say is that they need a lot more of it!

Twister of course is a real hit, and it's a game the whole family can play together...although Glen says that he is getting a little old - I hope not, especially if he still wants more kids...come on love, you're still a spring chicken!!!

A lovely birthday month, too much cake though, and not nearly enough exercise...Twister, here we come!

Pyjama Pamper Party

2010-11-25T14:48:00.005+02:00

This year we decided to have an elite birthday party where the girls could pick only a few friends to come and sleep over and to have a real pamper treat the next morning.

We turned the lounge into the slumber room, although not much slumbering was actually done therein.

No party is complete without some yummy goodies...

After they were all bathed and pyjama'ed, we played the usual 'Pass the Parcel'. Only with this one, we said that whoever won the prize, which was a slab of chocolates, would have to share it with the others, so they chose to eat it while they were being pampered the next day.

We then had some 'musical statues', which is of course always fun, especially when you have bouncy mattresses under your feet.

A game of Kids 30 Seconds was next on the agenda...

After we thought that we had tired them out quite a lot, we got them to brush their teeth, and get into bed and get ready for the movie, where they could enjoy their snacks, which I must add, didn't even last 10 minutes. I think they eventually got to bed at aroudn 11pm - to my knowledge that is...

The next day the real fun began. They started out with a healthy fruit salad breakfast with yoghurt, nuts and honey....delicious - thanks Lara for your wonderful inspiration! Due to the terrible disaster we had with the face mask a few weeks ago, I made up a lovely avo face mask - 1 avo, 1 tbsp yoghurt, 1 tbsp honey...just lovely...

I didn't get loads of pics of them getting their nails done, as I was very busy taking old nail polish off, soaking hands, filing nails, painting nails, and massaging hands to get clicking as well...thankfully my friend Lisa who had also stayed over the night before helped with all those nails...thank you SOOOO much!

My other friend Yanina came to join us in the morning for the pampering part, as she is just so good with this kind of stuff, and I must say that if it wasn't for her, this party would have been a real flop. She was such a blessing! After showing the girls how to clean their faces after the mask, she preceded to lovingly spoil their feet...she had rose petals, bubbles, exfoliating cream, nail polish...the works!

Ahhh...the final product...happy girls!

Yanina, Lisa and I on the other hand were completely exhausted and needed some of our own pampering...which didn't happen.

I must say that a few days later my beautiful girls did treat me to a back rub and a relaxing foot massage...what a spoil!

All in all a successful party!

Time just flies!

2010-11-25T14:19:00.002+02:00

I just can't believe that it has been 8 years since Amanda was born. She really is getting so big, and she is definately going from little girl to young lady...

I think that as a parent it must be very difficult to finally let go of your children and to see them leave your home and start a new one. Thankfully I still have a few more years before that happens!! I just praise the Lord for the work that He has begun in her life, and am looking so forward to seeing her grow more and more in her faith. For now, I'll just enjoy every minute and hope that it doesn't fly by too quickly.

Rachel's Mask

2010-11-25T13:35:00.003+02:00

A couple of weeks ago, Rachel made this mask, which I thought was just sooo cool, especially her idea of keeping it on her face. She then did a whole bunch of Elvis songs, 'cause she thought that this looked just like him.

"I just wanna be....yoooouuur teddy bear...." -Yip, another Elvis fan in the family!

KBC Yearbook Challenge

2010-11-25T13:28:00.003+02:00

Just for fun I have a challenge for any Krugersdorp Baptist followers. 10 points for anyone who can identify the following people in our church. Please note: No points given to those who belong to the faces :-)

Apologies

2010-11-25T13:25:00.002+02:00

Once again I am full of excuses as to why I haven't added a post on my blog for I don't even know how long...well my excuse is very simple, I was having problems with my camera...not the actual camera, as taking pictures wasn't a problem, it was simply getting the pictures onto the computer...an error message kept coming up, and eventually I just gave up! I decided to just give it another go today...and surprise, surprise...NO PROBLEM - Computers...aaarrrggghhh...you can't live with them and you can't live without them hey? Oh well, I'll try and catch up what I have managed to catch on camera over the past few weeks to give you a brief catch up!

Gold Reef City

2010-11-02T10:39:00.004+02:00

The Martins couldn't do a SA trip without going to Golf Reef City of course. Here the kids are being entertained by a magician clown...quite enthralled I must say...

The bumper cars are always a favourite...

Gold Reef has a new kiddies ride, a real roller coaster called the Shongololo...really cool!

Amanda couldn't go on all the kids rides as she is now officially over the kiddies limit, but was allowed on those where parents could accompany small children...she did however enjoy going on the Golden Loop and even the Tower of Terror...brave girl! I am sure that Craig will upload the Tower of Terror ride on his blog when he gets back...and you can have a good laugh at yours truly screaming my lungs out...what fun!!!

This peacock displayed his beautiful feathers to us on the way out...oh how we marvel at God's amazing creation!

Thank you Martin family for a wonderful holiday! Hope you come back again soon - we love you sooooooooo much!!!!!

Spa Treatment

2010-11-02T09:13:00.006+02:00

One of the days...I don't remember which one, Craig and Glen and Aidan went on a boys day out with Craig's nephews to play lazer quest and ten-pin bowling...and so we decided to have a girls day where we gave the girls a spa treatment. We started out by going to Dischem to get some things, which was followed by a short stop at Lara's much loved 'Mugg & Bean'.

Then the treatment started - first a bath, to scrub those dirty fingers and toes...whatever we did to them they had to do to their babies...

Then Lara showed them how to gently exfoliate their faces...

Then we steamed them...

Then we masked them...haha, this has a silly story attached to it...we wanted to put a really healthy mask on them which had nothing in it to harm their delicate faces, we were recommended a very good one from Dischem, which we felt really confident to use on them. When we put it on the girls complained that it was stinging...and we just laughed it off and told them it felt weird because it was pulling their skin as it was drying...when I tried it on myself the next day however, I realized that it really did burn - what terrible mothers we are...anyway, you live and you learn hey? No permanent damage done!!!

Lara followed with a relaxing shoulder massage as they listened to delicate worship music....ahhhh...

Then it was time for the foot scrub and massage...

Followed by a hand massage and of course we had to paint all the nails...

Besides the terrible mask, it was a wonderful spa treatment...and actually a lot of fun for us all...although Lara and I were completely exhausted afterward and needed our own relax time!

Martin Snippets

2010-11-02T08:10:00.004+02:00

We had the awesome priviledge as a family to have the Martins come and stay with us for two weeks while they were here in Johannesburg. As I am sure most of you know, they are truly some of our best friend in this world, and since they now live in Australia, this time with them was cherished - every minute!

Because of our focused time with them, taking pictures just wasn't on the priority list, even though I could have done with a few more memories of their time here...

Anyway, the first week we had a lot of tired guests as they were getting over their jet-lag, but it was very relaxing none the less and the kids enjoyed spending time with their friends, especially at the early hours of the morning - like 4:30 - HELP!!!

Lara, in all her splendour, taught Amanda and Rachel how to make a healthy fruit salad for breakfast, and so even now, a week after their departure, we are still eating fruit salad. I have even gotten Glen to eat fruits which he forgot he liked - well done Lara on being such a healthy influence!

Another highlight...or should I say 'lowlight' was that Rachel got chicknpox just before the Martins were to leave for Cape Town. After a lot of internet research we saw that there was hope that Aidan and Paige might only get it when they were back in Australia, and so at least they should be able to get on the plane back home.

Poor Rachel was very itchy, and very sad about the way she looked and was not allowed to enter into any public place, but we all went to the airport to say goodbye, but did so outside the doors...once again a very quick goodbye, where the crying was left for the ride home...oh how I am going to miss them - I can't wait for heaven where there will be no more goodbyes!

Concert time

2010-10-18T16:05:00.002+02:00

Amanda and Leah both attend the Monnas Music School here in Krugersdorp and both have the same teacher, who is actually Leah's aunt, Sanet Louw. Amanda takes piano and flute lessons with her and Leah takes recorder.
On Wednesday night all the best pupils got to perform at a special concert. Unfortunately we didn't stay to hear anyone else play, as Lara and Aidan were with us and still suffering from jet lag. That reminds me...the Martin family is here from Australia for a lovely 2 week visit, they arrived on Tuesday.

Amanda recently did her music exams and did very well - we are so proud of you my girl, keep using your gift for the Lord!

Baptism Service

2010-10-18T15:30:00.004+02:00

Another couple in have gone through the waters of baptism and are wanting to become members of our church. Warrick and Helena are such a blessing to us. We have not spent that much time with them yet, but have enjoyed their company when they attended 'The Biblical Portrait of Marriage'. They have a little girl, Kayla. Hopefully we will be seeing more of them as they become more integrated in our fellowship.

Jason, one of the YFLers, was also baptised, even though he is already a member of our church. He says that he was not a christian when he was baptised the first time and wanted to be baptised now as a born again believer - Praise the Lord!

Thank you Father for adding to our number in such a wonderful way!

Travelling Supper

2010-10-18T15:05:00.004+02:00

Last week Saturday, we had a young adult's travelling supper. Unfortunately I only took my camera out at the end of the evening, but it was such a blessing, and actually my first supper of this kind.

We started off at the Gilbert's home, where we enjoyed Rachelle's special chicken salad, which was really delicious. Unfortunately Lisa couldn't enjoy it as she is allergic to nuts...good thing she asked before she took a bite!

We then all travelled to Zuleka's home, who happens to live a few houses down from us, for a wonderful spread of turkey, beef, spiced rice, potato salad, bean salad, and other yummy stuff. We spent a little time there sitting on cumfy coushins and telling jokes...

We then made our way to Chris and Taryn's home in where the lights happened to go out soon after we got there. She had diligently made a pile of pancakes with decadent toppings...mmmm...mouth-watering.

This pancake was the most artistic and belonged to Luanda - (above middle)

As usual, Glen entertained me with his funny faces.

Thanks Rachelle for organizing such a wonderful evening!

Fruit Cakes & Freaky Frogs

2010-10-09T11:31:00.002+02:00

Granny time yesterday was spent drinking Sprite Floats and making 'Christmas Mince Pies' - which I must say the girls really did enjoy making.

They are really easy to make, especially when you have a precooked bought filling...just the way I like to bake...

The girls spent the evening catching frogs, and freaking me out!

Rachel was very sad when she was told that she was not allowed to keep it inside, and when I told her to let it go...

When she said goodbye, she kissed it and said..."I love you...I'm going to miss you...*sniff*"

Rachel is such a character!

I dunno...

2010-10-02T11:13:00.002+02:00

Glen received some CNA vouchers from his dad and stepmom for his birthday, and decided to furnish our games cupboard with some more fun. This was one of the games he picked out, and we had an opportunity with Jacques and Megan to play it last night...

...neither of our teams were very good at the game, and the most common answer was...'I dunno...' I think Glen and I took a total of 2 pie slices...not very bright! Hopefully after a few years we would have picked up on some more of the answers to actually get somewhere. I confess - Trivial Pursuit is really not my No.1 game...or No.2...or 3, 4, 5....you get the picture.