T minus 12 days and counting......

As you can tell by reading this, I obviously survived my first week without my wife and son. I did not die from starvation, nor did I fall down the stairs and injure myself (again). I must say that the Work days are a lot easier to get through, since I wake up at 6am and only get back in the evening, and then it's time to think about and make myself some dinner, and finally I can collapse on the couch and watch TV before heading to bed. But on the weekend's and public holidays, it is different. The house is dead quiet, except for the faint sound of warm air emanating from the ducts. I am not used to that! I have become accustomed to hearing Little Einsteins, Barney or Teletubbies polluting my lounge, or Nathan, taking after his grandfather and setting the sound to the maximum so that his computer games can drown out every other thing that can fit inside a house. I am used to climbing into a warm bed at night, and having Liesel snuggle up to me automatically, whether she is awake or not. I have all that and more (think South African chocolates) to look forward to in just 12 days time. That's only 2 more work weeks (the easy part) and 1 weekend to get through...........

The good news from Botswana is that Gabi is getting stronger every day and is sounding much better than she was even a week ago! The bad news is Nathan has come down with a bad cough and sore throat and is quite miserable. Please pray that he gets better and for Liesel as she looks after him in Botswana.

This week we celebrated Thanksgiving Day on Thursday. During the day, I kept myself busy by doing some DIY jobs around the house. The temperature outside was dropping, and after doing what I needed to do, I came inside and watched a DVD. The DVD was pretty depressing (Reign over Me with Adam Sandler), and really did not help that I was alone. Fortunately, I had an invite from my bible study leader to join his family for a Thanksgiving dinner that evening. I headed over to his place at around 4:30 and then we drove over to his mother-in-law in Lakewood. She lives in a beautiful house that is literally perched on a cliff overlooking the Rocky River. It was amazing to see the swollen Rocky River flowing about 50 feet below us. And it was also nice to see some snow flakes falling that evening! I shared a wonderful meal with Tom and his extended family, and had a good helping of Turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing, and then had some delicious pumpkin pie and whipped cream for dessert. Afterwards we played some games together around the table, and Tom and I beat the ladies in a game of Taboo. Unfortunately, when we played scrabble, I lost to Tom's wife, Lynn, because her first word, using all her letters, was CANOEING! Who does that???? That gave her 72 points and I just couldn't catch up... CANOEING... sheesh!

On Friday morning, I awoke to see my lawn was covered in a dusting of snow! It was our first real snowfall of the season, and was quite sad that Liesel and Nathan weren't around to experience it. As I looked at the snow, I thought of them sitting in Botswana in the 100F (34C) weather, and did not envy them! Give me snow any day!


On Friday and Saturday, I hit the shops a few times in my quest for Christmas gifts. I am happy to report that I have 4 less people on my list that I need to buy for now! On Saturday evening, my manager hosted a holiday party for everyone in his department. The best thing about it is that he literally stays less than five minutes away from me! It was a really fun party and the gift exchange was rather entertaining! Also, it was somewhat interesting to meet their cat, Quincy. He is a hypo-allergenic cat (is that an oxymoron?) that doesn't shed. Who knew that such cats existed?? Well, that night my allergies didn't bother me one bit, so it must be true!


On Sunday, I played at church again, for the last time until January! It was a really good service today, since there was no message, but 4 people were asked to give their testimonies! These personal accounts of how God worked in their lives was really inspiring!
After Church i came home, and had a chat to Liesel, my mom and my sister, and then braved the 40F (5C) weather to go and clear the leaves from the lawn. Hopefully that will be the last time I need to use the lawnmower until next year April (I am sure that's what i said last week!) Theoretically, I did not use my lawn mower to cut the grass, but instead, raised it slightly and put the grass catcher on, so that it would suck up all the leaves, which it did beautifully!

Now it is time to climb into a cold bed and ride out the next couple of weeks! Than you to all of you who have been worried about me and called me, or e-mailed me. I really appreciate it!

Are you lonesome tonight?

I am, and will be for 18 more days :-( Saturday was Liesel's and my 6 year wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, it was the same day that I had to drive Liesel and Nathan to Cleveland International Airport, so they could fly back to South Africa 3 weeks ahead of me :-( This will be the longest time that Liesel, Nath and myself will have been separated. But if it's for family, I will never stand in her way! Her mother was discharged from hospital last week, after the angiogram showed that there was no sign of damage or blockages in the her heart. That's an answer to prayer! She is still weak, and tires easily, but I know a good dose of Vitamin N (aka Nathan) and rest will do her a world of good.

As for me, I am finding things to keep myself busy! After returning from the airport, I replaced a coouple of light bulbs with high efficieny globes. I also managed to fix the light on our garage motor that's been faulty since we moved in! Afterward, I rewarded myself by catching up on some recorded TV that I hadn't had a chance to wacth yet. Later that evening, I wrapped up warmly (4 layers of clothing with a beanie on my head) as it was our local Shopping Centers annual Christmas Tree lighting. Our church's choir was asked to perform at the ceremony, so I decided to brave the 3C drizzly weather, to go and support them! The area around the tree was packed and the children were eagerly waiting for Santa to come turn the lights on! He arrived after our church's performance, and magically, he was able to turn on all the Christmas lights around Crocker Park! I must say, that the lighting was impressive. It tuned dull streets into sparkling, festive avenues!
Before ----------------> After



Our fearless (worship) leader, Corb and his son


On Sunday, I received a text message that Liesel and Nathan had arrived safely in South Africa. They didn't have such a happy flight, since it took off about 90 minutes late, and then Nathan was sick on the 15 hour flight too. But now they have 2 months away from the wintry mix of Cleveland!

I went to church and played in the worship team again. This week Liesel and I were also inducted as members of Providence Church, which gives us a sense of belonging! Afterwards I stopped at Home Depot, our local DIY Superstore, and picked up a digital, programmable thermostat. After a quick lunch and a phone call to check on my wife and son, I fired up the lawnmower for hopefully my last mow until April next year??? I now mow with gloves on, as its pretty nippy out!
Afterwards, I came inside and warmed up. It was then time to replace the thermostat!I removed our old analog thermostat and put the new one on! It took me about 30 minutes, but it is so much better than our previous one, since I can program it to warm up the house by the time I wake up, then the temperature can drop when I leave for work, and then it will start warming the house again just before I get home, and finally drop the temperature slightly while I sleep........ That all translates into savings for me at the end of each month when I get the heating bill!

Now its off to bed, since the house is cooling down and I have 18 more nights to get through before my reunion with my family> Goodnight Lee, goodnight Nath - love you both muchly (I made that word up) !!!!

It was the worst of times; it was the best of times

Our fun-filled weekend away in Pittsburgh, got off to a very shaky start on Friday morning, when Liesel's dad phoned her and told her that her mom had had a suspected heart attack and was rushed to hospital. This was huge shock for all of us and had left us, especially Liesel, very upset. Also, the distance between the USA and Botswana, also did not help the situation, and updates were few and far between. On Saturday, the decision was made to airlift her mom to a hospital in South Africa, as there are no cardiologists in Botswana. The good news so far, is that an angiogram was performed today, and there was no sign of any blockages or damage to the heart. However, she is still extremely tired and has hardly any strength. Those who know Liesel's mom, knows that she is a very strong woman, and there is a serious underlying problem if she tires so easily! Please pray that the doctors will pinpoint the cause of the problem and that she recovers quickly.

Liesel and Nathan are also going to try and get to South Africa this week (God-willing) so that Liesel can help out around the house, and relieve some of the pressures that her dad would have to face. Also, a few good doses of Nathan will do Gabi the world of good! The problem is that we bought the air-tickets at a discounted rate a number of months ago, so there are fees incurred for changing from the original itinerary. The other problem is that we had the actual tickets mailed to us, and before the travel agency can assist us, we need to return the tickets to them, so that they can re-issue new ones (and calculate the penalties.) So we shipped the tickets using overnight mail to the agency in New York on Saturday morning, but due to the weekend and that Monday is a public holiday here, they will only receive the tickets on Tuesday. Please pray that we will be able to sort out their air-tickets, as quickly and as cheaply as possible!

After mailing the tickets to NY, we were in the car with our (Not so) trustworthy navigator directing us South East to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania! we arrived at the hotel at midday, and Liesel finally met her friend from High School, who she has not seen for 13 years! After introducing all new family members to the other one, we headed to the Duquesne Incline!

This is a trolley that starts down by the river and goes up Mt Washington. At the top you get a spectacular view of the city of Pittsburgh, and you see where the three rivers meet that run like a moat around the city! Next stop (after a few wrong turn given by the ambiguous navigator) was the Pittsburgh Children's museum. This place was fantastic, and Nathan loved every minute of the 3 hours we spent there. Nathan took a particular liking to the water room, where children can play with plastic tubing and various connectors to make their own plumbing contraptions. Of course it took about 15 minutes to convince him to put on one of the raincoats that they supplied. Of course this was 15 minutes too late as his pants and feet we already soaked! Luckily we (Liesel) always carry a spare set of clothes for Nathan! Afterwards, we headed out to dinner and then came back to the hotel and put the kids to bed. Liesel and I then went to her friend's room and we chatted until close to 11pm before retiring for the night!

On Sunday, after a delicious breakfast buffet, we went to the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. Our previous zoo experience in Cleveland, wasn't a pleasant one, but this one was actually a much better experience. It must have been a combination of the company we had, and that Nathan is older and is far more fascinated by animals than before. He was so excited, running ahead of us and shouting "O wow! Look, a zebra!", and "Look, there's an elephant!". We then went into an indoor tropical forest to look at monkey's and Nath shout's out in glee "Mama, look, a wah-wah (ceiling fan!)". That to him is far more exciting than a bunch of smelly primates dangling from the vines!
The zoo also caters for the children and has an entire section especially for them. The section has some farm animals for them to pet, slides and tunnels to crawl through, enclosures with deer and kangaroo that they are allowed to walk through and a variety of other things for them.


After an exhaustive morning of running behind Nathan, we said our goodbyes and headed our separate ways back home. Nathan has been asleep now for 2 hours, and I feel that it's my turn next!!!

Eish, the winter - she is coming!

Only 5 more weeks until I get to enjoy the mid-summer weather that Johannesburg has to offer! This past week really hurtled us into Fall, with a few days starting off below freezing. Those days also gave our lawn a silvery layer of frost! Fortunately for the children of North East Ohio, the cold weather only settled in AFTER Halloween, which allowed the children a comfortable climate for their annual collection of calories. We participated in our first Halloween, but only as bystanders with candy. Nathan is still too young to enjoy the experience, and he is busy fighting off a cold. However, he loved opening the door on Wednesday night, as children rung the doorbell, dressed in their creative outfits! Liesel and I underestimated the candy-carrying capacity of these children and ran out of chocolates and lollipops. Luckily, it was only 15 minutes before the official cut-off time, and we could just switch off our porch light, which is the local sign for "The Candy Stockpile has been depleted, please try again next year!"

Other exciting news this week, was the announcement that I have been selected to participate in an intensive Java Programming course that will last 3 and a half months starting in January! This is very exciting, as it will afford me the opportunity to learn some new valuable skills, and make me a much more valuable resource for my company! God has been so good to us, yet again, and we praise Him for the doors He has opened for me.

Finally this weekend was pretty average. I took Nathan shopping with me on Saturday morning, which gave Liesel a chance to clean the house. When we got home, I did a few things around the house, including fixing the hole in the wall that I made last weekend!
On Sunday, everyone in the USA should have received an extra hour's sleep, as it was the official change from Daylight Savings time to Standard time. This is when everybody should have set their clocks back one hour, which equates to an extra 60 minutes in bed for the majority. My name was down on the roster to play in the worship team again, which I love doing! Our service today included a song performed by our choir, with an orchestra providing the music. That was pretty impressive! When I got home from church, it was time for lunch and then the inevitable call of the yard was heard, and I had to go out and tame the grass, with my weed whacker!
And thus ends my week, with the temperature outside at 2C, and the first snow fall of the season is expected this coming week!

Next weekend, we will be in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, meeting up with Liesel's long lost friend from South Africa!