From Birthdays to Bokke, Pumpkins to Party

Heck! Is it just me, or does time seem to have broken away from our grasp and now it is running recklessly down the street, with you falling over your feet trying to catch up?
Well, on Wednesday this week, I woke up and had a 3 year old son! Nathan is now 3 years old (which he can tell you with the utmost pride)! He loved every waking second of his birthday as he was showered with gifts!!! He got some DVD's and videos, books, and spelling aids that stick to the fridge door, Fisher Price Airport and mini keyboard/piano to name a few! That should keep him occupied until we head to South Africa in 7 weeks time!

This weekend also pounced upon us! We were having some friends over for a mini-birthday party for Nathan on Sunday, so we had a few chores to get done before then. Liesel cleaned the house, while I entertained Nathan outside, in between getting some yard work done. That included pulling out weeds and transplanting a fully grown bush! I also tried my hand at carving my first-ever pumpkin! I need to practice for an upcoming pumpkin carving competition at work, so this was the perfect opportunity to train :) I thought it came out pretty well! Then it was Liesel's turn to show off her artistic side, as she made Nathan a fire-engine birthday cake! Her result was very impressive!



By the time we had finished decorating the cake, the Bokke were busy clawing their way to World Cup victory. No US television station has any interest in rugby, but I was at least able to listen to it via live streaming from the SAfm website! It was great to hear the ref blow the final whistle, but as my fellow ex-pat, Greg Naude, said: "kinda wierd not being able to run around in the streets afterwards, hey!"
We did, however, wear our Springbok Rugby jersey's and have a Springbok Rugby flag proudly displayed in a window on the street side of our house! But then again, American's don't understand rugby, probably because they can't look past the fact the rugby players, don't need helmets and have their bodies covered with multiple layers of thick padding :P



After dinner that night, we all went for a tranquil stroll around the neighborhood, with Nathan tearing up the sidewalks with his South African motorbike!

On Sunday, I had the day off from guitar duty, so I could go to church with Lee and Nathan again. Today we had something I don't think you would ever see in a South African church. This morning, we had a fire drill in our church service! Who knows when the Holy Spirit will come down again in tongues of fire - so it's always good to be prepared!

Later that afternoon, we had our friends come over for Nathan's birthday party. Their 2 boys and Nath had a great time and Nath's finally got his wish, to eat his fire-engine cake!