SA to USA

 That last week in South Africa was intense!  We had so many things to prepare for the trip, and loose ends to tie up.  Included in that was FOUR trips to try to get a driver's license for James and Evangel, two each.  No licenses were scored, but that added to the tension (and tears).  James pulled an all-nighter the last night to finish DVD's for us to take to the States.  Poor guy.  We hope to do better next time.  I'm glad that we could take the time to do a special outing in honor of Connie's 4th birthday!  Gloria and I took these 4 to the World of Birds in Hout Bay. 

 They had enough guinea pigs to make a Peruvian drool!  This could be lunch for 25 people!

 The World of Birds includes many rescued owls, but the thing Connie most wanted to see was the

 monkeys!  We got to go into the squirrel monkey encounter and let them climb all over us. 

 We weren't supposed to touch them, just let them touch us.  They might bite if they feel threatened, but otherwise they're cute little rascals.  It's hard not to touch them, but our kids did well. 



Cousin Josh made the "cake"! 

 On the last day in South Africa, we had a little early pink birthday party for Connie. 
 She liked trying on her clip on earrings, and thought it pretty funny I could wear them on my nose too. 

 Connie testing out her dangerous new stilts.  It was a lovely last day, and very nice and warm.  The next day was all busy and bustling and we flew out to arrive to things like this:

 Brr!  Our kids were very impressed with the first ice storm they remember. 

 I am so pleased they could see all this beauty!

 I think this one will end up on Evangel's blog www.proverbialwomanhood.blogspot.com with a verse like "Behold the beauty of the Lord!" or "the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof!"  Iced over pecan trees in the sun make me know there's a beauty loving Creator!  And our God supplies our needs.  Look where we're going to be staying much of the next 4 months!

 Paul's uncle gave this beautiful motorhome to Paul's sisters who are loaning it to us.  We're going in style! 

This is another thing I'm glad the kids get to experience.  We lived in a motorhome for 3 years before we moved to South Africa, but Josh has no memory of it, and Tim doesn't remember much so now they'll have their own memories of the roving, rolling lifestyle. 

I was a little nervous abut driving it, but when the time came, it's just like driving anything else.  You just can't think of all that is behind you.  And it's a good idea to stay on the right side of the road.  That took a while to get our minds switched over, but I think we're there now.

Ostrich, Oryx, and Octopus

My cousin Ivy's son Calvin is here visiting us for a month.  We are enjoying his visit.  

Calvin loves animals, and he gets very enthusiastic about anything we do with animals, so each day, we have been showing him some of the sights of Cape Town. 



Daniel had enough enthusiasm for all of us. 

Rhodes Memorial was another
day.





Yesterday we went to The World of Birds in Hout Bay.  I hadn't been there since our kids were little and I wasn't extremely enthusiastic about it this time because the weather was more "sit by a fire and read" weather, in my mind.  It was cold, rainy, and windy, but Calvin has one month here, and it is going fast, and we're trying to get him to see and do as much as possible, so off we went.

It was certainly well worth getting away from the fire (especially since we rarely, rarely make a fire) and out to see those birds!  We went from one to the other, exclaiming over funny feet, amazing colors, brilliant beaks, extreme ugliness, and owl eyes. 

These two looked like I felt when we started. 

Daniel and I agree the Cockatoos are the best because they are the friendliest.  We had encounters with an owl that put him as my second favourite.

I wouldn't have dared just let him on my arm without my winter coat on. 

 

 

 

 

Daniel and I had a chat about the birds.

 

Me:  Do you know who colored the birds?
D: The manses.  (men)
Me:  Who made the birds?
D:  Jesus. 
Me:  Yes, God made the birds so He's the one who picked the colors.
 
I wanted to wax eloquent on how He must like bright colors and even eye shadow and eye liner because of the way He decorated some of these birds, but a 5 year old can only stand so much chat when there are worlds to conquer and big cousins to keep up with.  I think God's object lessons are way better than my speeches anyway.

Eww!  The owls left a bit of their lunch lying around. 



It's good to have all your ducks in a row.  Calvin and Daniel are
cousin's cousins which suits them just fine. 



This owl made me feel better that I wasn't the only one having a bad hair day. 



We also got to hold monkeys!  He had to know what was in Calvin's pocket.

 


They are trusting little creatures. 




            This lion really wanted to play.  He followed Calvin back and forth several times, until of the workers asked Calvin to quit "aggravating" the lion.  That was sad, because the lion was enjoying it too, though I doubt his idea of play would have been quite what ours would have been. 


See the works of the Lord! 




                PS  As to why I called this Ostrich, Oryx, and Octopus, we've been trying to serve Calvin some foods that are new                to him.  Ostrich is normal for us, we have it nearly every week, and octopus is Calamari which we got a                        seafood shop with French fries, but the Oryx/Gemsbok was a first for all of us.  We decided it tastes like turkey.