Christmas and Cuteness

Merry Christmas!

My little heartboy is home. . .I couldn't wish for a better Christmas present.

Isn't he just the cutest!

I could eat him up  



The kids had a blast putting up the tree a few weeks ago







 Our house is full to the rafters this Christmas. . .

 



Some pics of us opening presents this morning. 

Keshia with two of her brothers :)



Khensani and Nana - so happy to spend time with one another.

 

Mario had some special people in Canada get a bike for him.

He was beyond thrilled, and had to try it out right away :)

 

 

And now some more cuteness :)

 

 

Peek -A -Boo!

 

I see you!

 

He is scary flexible - loves lying like this. . .



This is how I found my little one sleeping the other morning!

Out cold - my sweet and funny boy. . .



 



So here we are - a family of 5!

God is so good - I look at my little family and can not imagine how I could be blessed in such abundance.

May you all be blessed richly this Christmas season.

 

 

Until next time,

Blessings from Africa



Sports Day Fun!

I thought I'd show you some of the fun my girls had at their sports day.

To be fair it was almost 2 months ago, but better late then never, right!

In this game the children had to slide a cookie down their face and into their mouths without using their hands and without dropping it - certainly harder than you might think!

Sihle trying her face wiggle. . .

 Pamela trying her luck - quite exciting

Then they had to take cups out of the top, and put them at the bottom until the blue cup was back on top. . .as you can see this one took some Sihle muscles.

Pammy concentrating hard

Yeah, blue back on top :)

Then they had to fill and stack coke cans - love Sihle's intense look

Almost there. . .

Timber!

Had to add one of my handsome 4 year old :)

Until next time,

blessings from Africa

My kids first Nativity play

Yesterday my three little ones plus Mario and Khensani were able to be part of a nativity play. 

It was for the Christmas party at an old folks home near our church.

This was my kids first Christmas nativity - it brought back so many memories of all the nativity plays I was part of when I was small.

I was always Mary - it just seemed to always be my part.

Guess who both Pamela and Sihle were? Yes, that's right - Mary!

Both of them!

Pamela was the Mary that walked in with Joseph, and then once they were sent to the stable Sihle became Mary, and then Pamela turned into a shepherd.

 Musa was the littlest shepherd, Mario was Joseph, and Khensani was a shepherd and then the star over the stable. . .

Joseph with his 2 Mary's!

 My three darlings - Musa was simply the cutest!

Khensani who played the star - was wonderful

 Mario - the perfect Joseph, such a gentleman

 The Cast - Superstars!

Me and my heartboy. . .soon, so soon

Until next time,

blessings from Africa

I can only imagine. . .

I'm back! Sorry for the long silence. . .life has been crazy busy since the 1st of October!
The adoption is going so well. Home study done - approved; Police clearance sorted, Psychological assessment approved - shocking I know :) Medical reports clear and good; reference letters and guardianship letters sorted; bank statements, proof of income etc sorted. . .
My Social Worker even had us meet at "heart boy's" daycare center so she could watch how my kids interacted with him, and him with us - all fine :)
Sooooooo - are you ready??????
It looks like he should be home a few days after my school closes (which is the 4th of December)! What a great Christmas present that would be - Can you imagine?!
I met him Early December 3 years ago - and fell in love. Only back then I never dared really properly dream that one day he might become part of our family.
 Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Three more weeks, and God willing we will be a family of 5! Such a wonderful crazy thought!
Dream big, because sometimes crazy big dreams do come true.
Until next time,
Blessings from Africa

Happy Heart

So, there's big news on the home front. I had my first official meeting with my "heart boy's" social worker yesterday, and it looks like he could be home by the beginning of December! I do have heaps, and heaps of paperwork to do in the next month if that is to be possible, but bring it on, I'm ready.
I wish I could be more forth coming with who my darling is, but until I'm further on in the process I don't want to jeopardize his adoption with me. But. . . .if you look back, I'm sure you can find something on my "heart boy" - :)
It's my birthday today, and so yesterday's news that I could very very soon be Mommy to 4 was the best birthday present possible! Please keep us in your prayers. So many little things could influence how this adoption goes, and my Mommy heart is so excited, and yet so afraid to be too hopeful. December!!!!! could this really be possible - yes, with God all things are possible. My God is a God of miracles. He's shown me so many during my past 6 years here in South Africa. Above all else I have grown in my faith that he is ever faithful. Even though I sometimes look at a situation and see no way through or around it, God has no such vision problem, and clears a way through each seemingly impossible situation.
My heart boy has a number of health difficulties, please pray that he stays stable until I can get him onto my proper medical aid and find him the specialists he so badly needs.
So, I will keep you posted as the next few months progresses.
Blessings from Africa

Magic moments

Who needs words with faces like this!?

 Pamela and friends at TLC

Louise, a returning volunteer spreading the love :)

Until next time,

blessings from Africa

Once Upon a Time. . .

Once upon a time. . .

there lived two princesses. . .

but they had a great problem. . .

they were princesses but had no crowns. . .

To the rescue came a beautiful maiden who promised. . .

to make crowns worthy of the princesses' beauty. . .

Princess number one was greatly delighted with her crown of flowery jewels. . .

Princess number 2 was also enchanted with her crown of jeweled blossoms. . .

But alas. . .

The young and handsome prince was distraught that he alone did not have a crown. . .

The beautiful young maiden put an end to the poor prince's suffering. . .

Quick as a flash she fashioned a special crown for the one and only prince. . .

 He thought the crown to be perfect. . .

and wore it with great pride. . .

And so. . .

Tragedy was averted. . .

and the 2 princesses and the one and only prince. . .

 Lived happily ever after. . .

THE END

My Treasures - Then and Now

A few weeks ago I had the great pleasure of spending an entire weekend at TLC. 

They were very short on volunteers, and so Keshia, the little ones and I all headed over to lend a hand.

I spent one afternoon looking after the Lions (the 2-4 year olds), and took this picture of them (and my 4) eating afternoon snack. . .I was reminded of a picture I had taken of the Lions back in 2009.

This was the picture - same stoop, different season, different children - well, not completely different. See my two little girls there in the middle? Look how small they are!

 Sihle was 2 and a half and Pamela was 3 and a half. . .

Look at them now! When did they grow SO big?! 

This started me thinking just how far my precious little treasures have come. . .

This was my darling Pammy a few weeks after she arrived at TLC. 22 months and only 5.8 kgs (12.7 lbs)

These clothes were 3-6 months! She was so fragile, and stole my heart completely.

Here she was about 9 months later - still small, but so much better. . .

 Here she was a little over 3 years old, healthy and strong. But she was suspicious of everyone, not willing to let her guard down - look at her face. . .she had leaned to guard her little heart very carefully.

This picture is from our recent weekend at TLC. I can't get over the change in her face - how much more open and happy she is. My brave and amazingly beautiful Pamela!

This was my Musa when he was 2 and a half months. By this point I had been told he would likely have moderate to severe CP - he had all the symptoms, high tone, clenched fists, abnormal brain scan. . .

 Here he was at 6 and a half months - he had chronic chest infections (hence the oxygen), low weight, delayed milestones. . .

 And here he is today! No CP, cheeky and oh so funny - he is the clown of the family. How dull my family would be without his infusion of life and energy!

Here's my Sihle when she first arrived at TLC. 6 months old and only 3.5 kgs (7.7 lbs)

She was so very sick, and was so sore she cried every time we picked her up.

 We didn't get a smile out of her for weeks. . .poor baby, she was such a sad little soul.

Now, you can rarely find her without an ear to ear grin. Her smile lights up my house from morning to night!

These three treasures GOD has given me - each a miracle! 

I marvel that I was chosen to be Mother to such amazing children. . .

I count my blessings, 1, 2, 3 each and every day!

Until next time,

blessings from Africa