iSonto #55

 It is good to be well enough to blog this week. Above you can see Bill getting up to mischief with the little chair again.

We got a play pen for the first time at our third toddler! This new pen with a gate means the older children can also build without interruption. In fact, Nate thinks of it as his play pen. One funny moment was when he said "Help. Bill is trying to get into my playpen!" Believe me, I am grateful when my active five year old wants to shut himself up in there for a while :).

Nate's fabric picture.

Dave and the children made a cake. The excuse was that in July six years ago God provided for us in many ways: this house, Dave's job, and Dave's working visa, as well as a trip booked to South Africa.  It is always good to talk about God's goodness . . . and who needs an excuse to bake cakes and ice them blue anyway!!

Mercy and I made a paper pizza in response to the story "Pete's Pizza". Mercy added arms and a legs for her talking pizza :). This was good for her cutting skills.

The round African houses Dave made with the children as one of the activities in our new South African curriculum we are starting before we go over next month. This curriculum is a wonderful opportunity to take the children on an adventure there before we even set foot on the ground :).

Here is two weeks worth of my thanks list:
Mercy rejoicing in her pink shoes with bows
Lying on my bed in the sunlight in a quiet house!
Dave taking the children to the beach for a walk.
A new denim dress bought on sale for Mercy, just what I imagined getting for her before she was born.
Early morning reading in the car at the beach.
Christ-centered marriage book "What Did You Expect" by Paul David Tripp
Heating in the car!
New coat and jacket on order.
Receiving teaching on contentment from Revive Our Hearts podcasts.
Midyear sales.
Heart to pray for my extended family.
Mercy bright eyed reciting John 15:14
Tissues!
Joy buying clothes for orphans
Laughing at my passport photo in which I look (and was) very sick!
Able to pay for expensive passport.
White sky and bare brown branches above red mohair blanket
Able to cough without sharp, pounding sinus pain in ears and head
Friends offering help and prayer
Antibiotics
Dave's carer leave
Able to laugh, cough and sit up without severe pain.
Bill spinning and dancing to music in room time.

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The Zulu of Africa

 It has been fun to check out some books from our local library that could be useful in teaching Elnathan about his South African heritage. The Zulu of Africa is full of lovely photos. It focuses on traditional and rural Zulu culture. This means that it does not give a detailed idea of what Zulu life is generally like today. However, it is useful from a historical perspective. It is also an enjoyable read because it focuses on the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal, where Dave spent several happy years. We have also spent a lot of time together there. Thsi book might be worth owning. I believe that it is good to own books that you want children to identify with as part of their childhood and history. I remember reading and re-reading books about Tasmanian aboriginal people as a child, because we had these in our home.

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What do your walls teach?

I was prompted to ask this question when I read that walls are one of a home's best teaching tools in Educating the Wholehearted Child by Clay and Sally Clarkson. In all honesty, I'm not sure what our walls teach at the moment! I have taken pictures of some of our walls to give you a little tour.

Elnathan has a bug Grandma drew and a growth chart from friends in South Africa. The little pictures include two cross stitches I made as a child and two pictures made for me by childhood friends.

On the other side of the room we have the quilt I made of Australian and South African animals. This quilt represents Elnathan's heritage as the child of a South African and an Australian, and there is a special message on the back about how we want him to love both places. You can also see a teddy bear I painted during an art class I attended as a teen, and a clock Gran in South Africa gave Elnathan. On the drawers are three toys I made as a teenager.

Step out into the hall and we have a collection of wall ornaments from South Africa. A friend made the collage of people who could not make it to our wedding.

In the bathroom we have a picture from Cradle Mountain, where we went for our honeymoon. You can see one of our elephants on the windowsill reflected in the picture!

Step back into the hall and you see another African item, which Dave purchased on one of his trips in Africa. The little red item is a beaded bug Dave enjoyed purchasing from a stall on our first trip together to South Africa.

In our room we have a wedding picture over our bed (sorry about the poor photo).

I was also recently able to complete this picture which includes our full wedding vows. It is wonderful to have the reminder on the wall all the time!

We also have a picture of a man, a lady and a house. I love the images of fruitfulness in this cross stitch, and the verse about God giving to us according to the fruit of our doings. It seems appropriate for a family like ours as we love to grow things.

In our living room we have two prints of John Glover paintings (one is pictured here) and two watercolours. You can also see our Advent calendar in this picture! All the pictures in our living room are of Tasmania.

In other parts of our house we have lists of words we are trying to learn in Zulu, photos taken by Dave and by my younger brother, a map of Africa, a framed BA certificate, and more handwork.

I am not sure what Elnathan will learn from our walls, but here are some thoughts . . .

* We love Tasmania and Africa.

* We appreciate making things and displaying the things others have made. Making things is a valuable thing to do!

* We love to delight in the beauty God has given us, and the memories of special places and events.

Perhaps walls serve as a tool for remembering and displaying what the family cares about, and what defines them as people.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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