Wednesday, February 22, 2023

The Twins Turn Three!




Caleb and Gallup turned 3 on the second of February, that neat birthday they share of 02/02/2020.



 

No Greater Love


In January, Michelle Frew, one of Evangel's besties, got engaged to Morne Hendricks!  Big news!  BIG HAPPY NEWS!  Evangel had told her she'd try to come to the wedding, so she and then we began to make plans.  It turned out that Evangel could come, and bring 17 month old Cadie with her.  So she came 6 days early to visit with us, and get over her jet lag, then I would go with her to help with Cadie while she was busy doing bridesmaid things.  

Whether or not it was going to be an outdoor wedding or not was a cliffhanger right up til the last minute!  It was planned for 5 PM, and it rained off and on all day.  Bucket-loads of rain.  Limpopo has had flooding recently with unusual amounts of rain.  

 It was outdoors, as hoped, and there was no rain for the rest of the evening.  What a beautiful wedding!!!  Cadie and I made it right through without having to leave for any loud noises.  Evangel was amazed (new respect for Mimi  :-)   but really, I think Cadie was fascinated with all the other kids around her, especially the little Ava across the aisle in a pink dress that glittered!  Is there anything prettier in the world?  Cadie was fascinated.  Also Heidi, who sat next to me and translated the Afrikaans, let Cadie wear her bangles and play with them when the thrills of the pink dress wore off.  
 

After it was over, Cadie and Lilia tried out the arch themselves.  Lilia is Michelle's youngest sister.  
Here comes the bridesmaid!  Michelle and her family have been super special to our family since 2006 when we met them.  They have the same heart for adoption that Evangel has, along with many other similar interests.  They made movies together, went to camps together, and cooked donuts together.  they played in mud together in Mokopane.  We were at their house when Evangel's appendix saga began back in 2009.  We have history!  

This is the first wedding I've ever been to where they threw wood shavings instead of rice or birdseed!  This was acknowledging Morne's job at Shayandima School of Tomorow which includes maintenance.  Michelle works there too, as the receptionist at the moment.  
We loved the flowering trees along the road to Shayandima.  
Cadie and I with her plastic dinosaur, made it through the cermony without disgracing ourselves!  

Bridesmaids were friend Melissa, sister Elisa, Evangel, and sister Berdine.  Groomsmen were brother and father of the groom.  
Isn't that the cutest, most original wedding getaway?!?!  Nothing says "good sport" like a bride that will get into a bucket of a little bulldozer.  This bodes well for this couple.  

After the wedding was an amazing reception, under a lapa so no more tension about the rain.  The next tension was loadshedding!  The electricity went off at 9 PM, just as we were getting into the clean up.  Evangel went to put our tired, wired Cadie to bed in her mosquito net, while I helped clean up til she came back.  

Can you imagine a whole big clean-up in the dark?  It was awkward, with lots and lots of helping hands.   Michelle didn't have 6 siblings for nothing!  And the school co-workers did a ton of work.  Some of the romantic little twinkling lights were battery operated, so that helped.  I found a big tray with high sides that was perfect for carting the glasses back to the kitchen.  

I hope they all got Sunday afternoon naps the next day.  Not us!  Evangel and Cadie and I, along with Michelle's grandmother Dot, all headed back to Johannesburg where Evangel flew out for Boston, and I snoozed my way back to Cape Town, thrilled to be back to Paul and the coolness of Muizenberg and our own bed.  

 Marriage in honourable in all...!!!  Hebrews 13:4

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

To Grandmother's House They Flew!

 Christmas 2022 goes down as one of the THE MOST SPECIAL ever!!!  Our daughter Evangel and her husband Ryan and the three grandchildren flew over from America for just about a month!  Grampa and Mimi (that's me!) LOVED having them around!  

Besides the 8 of us in our flat, Evangel's friend Michelle was there, and The Cousins as we call James and his family, bringing us to 16 people for lunch!  It was a loud, lovely time of a perfectly matched 8 kids to 8 adults.  But we didn't forget the appointment we had with Josh for 2:30 in the afternoon.  Josh gave us some more happy news!  These 3 are not to be our only grandkids for long.  Another one is due in July!!!  Our cup of happiness runneth over...I cried.  

Uncle Tim and Cadie 
The whole gang after church Sunday in our backyard.  
Nathanael and Cadie.  The cousin interaction was wonderful! 
Stuck!
Connie helping Cadie and Cyrus at the Scratch Patch. 
Squishing!  


Mimi and Cadie after visiting the penguins. 

Our friend Megan reading to Clarity.  Clarity is a good listener.  

Table Mountain rises grandly behind us.  

Joe holding Clarity on the stumps. 

Jedidiah posing with a cutaway showing how thick the glass is on the shark tank at the aquarium.  So you can relax, Cecilia.  

James had his birthday on the 29th, marred by his hurting finger from being bit by a dog on the 23rd.  That fast, vicious dog took the tip off his finger and broke the bone!  It's healing, but it's not as long as it used to be.  
Cadie likes to go shopping.  

Evangel and her friend Michelle with Cadie at the Giraffe House.  

Gallup on the highest stump.  

Gallup pulling the kids a bit in the wagon.  It didn't work very well, but we had fun trying.  
The 5 Fords and the 4 Blouws.   

Cyrus thought watching an ostrich eat is the funniest thing.  He wouldn't feed them, but loved watching his Dad.

Evangel got new glasses while she was with us.  Cadie swiped toys from the office by dropping them inside her clothes and we only discovered them later.  I'm still returning them! 

Evangel and Cadie with Berdine.  

The giraffes had to take a back seat to Cadie.  

Cyrus loves sand!  And rocks!  And water.  

Cyrus loved our trip to the Scratch Patch...

And the penguins

And doing cookie art at home.  

The paint was edible, thankfully. 



All the Cousins together for a photo shoot.  Some were making sand piles to get a bit of extra height.  

Clarity, Jedi, and Nathanael, surfing RSA.  

Clarity in the Cousins hammock.  

Clarity and a boulder.  

Cadie has good taste...one in each hand!  

Youngs and Fords

My best Mimi meal.  :-) 

What a special play area!

The day at the aquarium was "The best day Ever!!!!" said Clarity.  Here Cadie and Connie are captivated by something.  


Helping in the kitchen is so fun!

Watching the laundry spin is good entertainment.  

They brought their own wheels!

Clarity and the Agapanthus on a very hot day at the giraffes who are very under-represented in these pictures.
  








Joe and Blessing Malete came after Christmas for a little more than a week. It was fun to have them for their first time in Cape Town. Joe jumped in with outreaches and Blessing did too on the big New Year's Day outreach. So now that it's just the 3 of us again, Tim, Paul and me, we're missing them!!! 

"Children's children are the crown of old men..." Proverbs 17:6

We are crowned and blessed and happy and thankful.  God is good to us!