iSonto #30

This week we are thankful for the . . .

* Fun engagement anniversary trip we took to the foreshore at Howden where Dave proposed. We ate strawberries and cream on the rock where we sat all those years ago chatting about all kinds of things during our courting days!

 

* Squirmy, messy children playing on the shore where I used to play as a child! Dave and I used to talk about our "hypothetical children", who are now thankfully very real.

  

Children who love books, which makes life more peaceful.

 * Easel set up outdoors, painting on it for the first time. Prior to this all our painting has been done at the dining table, which is easier to contain.

Elnathan had an imagination in over-drive this week. His imaginary friends little bear, whale, octopus, duck, and more came to visit us and went in the car and all sorts of things!

Natey's memory verse was "Let the peace of God rule in your hearts" from Colossians 3:15.

Mercy was delightful when we took them to the beach on Sunday after church.

Mercy made circles in the sand.

  

Then she raced for the waves.

  

Water doesn't frighten this one.

  

I spent a happy twenty minutes or so following her.


 

From garden to tummies . . . corn, tomatoes, basil, oregano, capsicum, eggs, zucchini, potatoes, and more! I had to feel blessed when I was able to dig a few potatoes up just before boiling them for a potato salad.

Read more...

iSonto #29

This week we are thankful for . . .

* Two tiny people eager to help with the vacuuming.

 

* Picking a flower with Nate helped him not to be upset after a fall. These events are precious little reminders of God's care for us as expressed in the beauty around us, and how this helps us get through the troubles in our daily lives.

* Dave's presentation of his work in QLD went well.

* Frozen meals to help with the workload while he was away.

* Beautiful tomatoes to make into sauce.

Elnathan was happy with the gift his Daddy brought him from QLD, and has hardly parted with it since he received it. It is a van with a surf board on top.

 Natey's memory verse was Luke 6:31, "And just as you would have men do to you, you also do to them likewise".

Mercy was happy to have Daddy back again. She is saying Daddy now and often looked for him while he was away. Mercy has also begun to say 'Hi, Hi, Hi" and "Amen".

 

From garden to tummies . . .  

We are still enjoying the apples we harvested last month. It brings joy to be able to feed the children our own apples.

Encouragement, ideas and inspiration came from What the Duggars Can Teach You About Going With the Flow, as patience and flexibility are sorely needed around here! It was also helpful to read tips for keeping children in worship and reasons why this is beneficial.

 One funny moment was when I asked Nate what type of pet he had (in the context of a book we were reading). He replied "Mercy".

Read more...

iSonto #28

This week we are thankful for the toys we have, including this dolly I played with as a child.

Elnathan was very happy to be able to go to playgroup this week, after missing it last week due to a cold. It is sweet the way they both stand at the gate, eager to go out. It is great to have the opportunity to go out and greet and pray for people in our community.

Nate also loved pretending to be an ambulance driver and coming up and asking if I was alright and if I wanted a "arm band" (known by others as a "band aid")! He would rush up to Mercy and say "oh the teeth" and try to stick his fingers in her mouth, imitating me trying to sooth her teething.

Natey's memory verse was "Let your conduct be without covetousness, be content with such things as you have" Hebrews 13: 5.

Mercy was busy learning new words. At playgroup she went straight for the dolls and said "dolly". Here she is joining in with chalking.

From garden to tummies . . .  

Corn, tomatoes, carrots, basil, chives, parsley, potatoes, beets, beans, capsicum, and more were on the menu this week. It is the time of year when it becomes necessary to cook a lot just to get through all the produce, and we can be grateful for all the variety as we change seasons.

A book we enjoyed together was "Wow City", a picture book about a tiny girl who goes on an aeroplane to a city and says "Wow!" all the time.

Encouragement, ideas and inspiration came from "Homemaking" by J. R. Miller. Quiet reading with Nate was a rich time of inspiration for me as I read about cultivating the right spirit in our home. It was also wonderful to skim read "The Comforts of Home", which really encouraged me in my love for order and beauty.


One funny moment was Nate saying at a meal "Jesus takes our sins away". Mummy basked for a few minutes in having taught him something. Then he said "that's not good. Its not good to take things away". I didn't laugh at the time, but tried to explain that it is good to take away bad things!

Read more...

iSonto #27

This week we are thankful for the . . .

* Plums Dave preserved single handedly, without my help!

* Two walking people, two hands to hold

* Bonjela for lots of hard days and nights of teething

Elnathan made us happy showing creativity in his duplo constructions. He also taught me several songs from Play School.

Natey's memory verse was "You shall not covet".


Mercy was happy to chew on corn, and had great success in clearing a cob with her six teeth.

From garden to tummies . . .

We had lots of vegetables to have with tortillas including tomatoes with basil, radishes, lettuce, and carrot.

A book we enjoyed together was "The Friday Nights of Nanna", a story about preparing the house for a Jewish Sabbath and then the family coming for a meal. We have been known to read this more than three times in one day. When we had our lifegroup for dinner and a study on Friday and they left Nate said "Our family are leaving now". This was both a good reminder to us that church is family and a reflection of what we have been reading about preparing dinners for guests!

Encouragement, ideas and inspiration came from "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp again. I read the chapter about serving and cleaning being for God not people on just the right messy, frustrating day!

One funny moment occured because Nate wanted a car made out of an old beer can that Dave purchased on a trip to Madagascar, wihch is an ornament and not a toy. All this was explained, along with the fact that the car is for grown ups. These things are hard for a small boy to understand and he kept wanting to play with it. He said to me: "One day Gascar will come and he will give me the car as a treat. Gascar is a grown up." . . . We have been trying to explain that Madagascar is a country, not a person, but that is also hard for a small boy to understand!

Read more...

iSonto #26

This week we are thankful for . . .

* Dave's brother visiting from QLD with his daughter.

* Cousins Elnathan and Meggan being very kind to each other and playing together well.

* A swing for the little ones.

* Mercy and Elnathan laughing and laughing together on a chair

* Mercy walking all the way to the community center happily in the little walking shoes Nate used to wear!

* Our first corn

Elnathan was beginning to make up his own prayers, interrupting Daddy's prayers with "and thank you God for the cars, and for the trucks".

Natey's memory verse was 'Salvation is of the Lord" Jonah 2:9.

Mercy was very excited about her cousin visiting, and rushed to play with the two older children. Meggie loved Mercy's doll. Mercy loves the beach and delighted in the sand and water when we took them all to play there.

From garden to tummies . . .

Here is our future Saturday night dinner, to go with roast chicken.

Encouragement, ideas and inspiration came from "Homemaking" by J. R. Miller which is providing fresh insights into the importance of the way we treat each other in marriage.

One funny moment was Mercy laughing and trying to say "sit down" while she sat and stood from a stool over and over again. She found it funny, anyway, and it is a delight to laugh with them!

Read more...

iSonto #25

Elnathan was eager to complete a puzzle he called "the quite hard one" at every opportunity.

Mercy was amazingly happy during her "room time", playing for half an hour or more on her own. I would take a peek and she would be happily examining her toys.

From garden to tummies . . .

Here we are eating pizza with our tomatoes, basil, and zucchini on top. The chooks were eager to have some and Daisy (the boldest one) even hopped up on us.

This week we are thankful for the thriving basil crop, and the climbing beans that were stunted and stopped growing but have now recovered and begun to produce.

The sunflower poking above the corn has delighted us.

Nate said the sunflower was big and beautiful and "you made the sunflower for my birthday, didn't you?"

I have also been very thankful for Mercy's predictable afternoon naps of an hour or more. After a year of challenges, this is lovely! 

A book we enjoyed together was "You are Brave", a sweet story about the ways you can be brave. We have now borrowed "You are Friendly" and "You are Helpful" as well.

Encouragement, ideas and inspiration came from Are you happy?

One funny moment was Nate dancing with a little friend. She glided around the room with ballet-like flowing motions. He jumped up and down vigorously, providing a funny contrast!

Read more...

iSonto #24

Elnathan was happy with his playdough! We were amazed when he began to show some real creativity, adding a spare tyre to the car that Mum made for him.

Mercy was saying "Buuum Buuum" a lot, which is her version of "Yum Yum". This is a big improvement upon squeals of desperation.

From garden to tummies . . .  

Unsure of what to do with the lemon after grating the rind? I often find myself in this position, and hate to waste homegrown lemon! Well, this time I fed it to the children and they devoured it! They kept asking for more. "Buumy, Buumy" said Mercy!

A book we enjoyed together was The Blue Lotus, one of Dave's Tintin collection. Nate is fascinated with them. I read them out to him trying to miss out all the bits about killing people that are included in the adventures! These are designed for adults, so it is extra fun for me to read them, but they appeal to children due to the illustrations.

Encouragement, ideas and inspiration came from the Stellenbosch Community Development Association website. What a pleasure it was to read about the good work they are doing in a township near to where Dave attended university! This is one more idea for how we can remember the poor as God tells us to do, even when we live a world away.

This week we are thankful for  a fun and successful zucchini pickling night! Too many zucchinis? Try a triple batch of zucchini pickle! Our neighbour and a friend from church joined us. We made 12 jars in all.

Another big thing to be thankful for was Dave doing the washing up while I took my friend home :). We are also one step closer to our new kitchen with dishwasher, having chosen a joinery company. Praise God for that!

Read more...