Merry Christmas

My Christmas weekend started on Friday when we were dismissed from work at 2pm! So I headed home, and picked up my mom and headed off to a couple of stores for some last minute Christmas shopping! Later that evening, Liesel and I were again able to go and watch a movie together, and went to see "We are Marshall". It was an inspirational (and true) story that was very well told.
On Saturday morning, the weather had turned considerably cooler, but we still headed for downtown Cleveland. We got out and walked around the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Great Lakes Science Center, and Cleveland Brown's Stadium. after about 30 minutes, I (being the only one without gloves and a hat!) called it a day and got everyone bundled into the car again. We stopped at Tower City, which is a unique shopping mall in one of the tallest buildings in Cleveland. In Tower City, right at the bottom, there is a train station. Then above that, there is a 3 level shopping mall. It had amazing Christmas decorations all suspended in the air, with animated characters in each display! Nathan was enthralled! We also, showed Nathan the fountains in the center of the mall! This is a wishing fountains, so Liesel and myself gave him some pennies to throw into the water. This turned out to be his favorite thing of the day, with him constantly turning to us and asking us "More?". We must have given him at least 50c worth of pennies between us, but watching the joy on his face was priceless!

Church was first on our itinerary for Sunday! It was a great service with amazing music provided by an orchestra (complete with Kettle Drums) and the Providence Choir! After Church, we were invited to our friends for a Christmas Eve lunch! They spoilt us with a huge lunch and chocolate cake for dessert! Later that afternoon, after a well earned afternoon nap, we did our bunteteller. Bunteteller is a German tradition, where Christmas cookies, chocolates, marzipan, etc, are shared amongst all of us in the household. Then this collection of calories is yours to keep and devour as quickly (my personal choice) or as slowly as you like......
Once Nathan was asleep, Liesel and I kicked into full gear and started moving presents around. Nathan's main gift is a 350 piece train set on a table, with a parking garage, gas station, firestation, etc etc. This needed to be put together, and required quite a bit of effort, as most things had to be screwed down, fastened and tightened! It took us longer than expected, but I had a heck of a lot of fun playing (I mean putting it together!) Finally, at about 1am, I could go to bed and eagerly wait for Santa's friendly invasion.

Woohoo, Christmas in Cleveland finally arrived. Nathan wandered into the lounge at 8am and it didn't take long for his eyes to fall upon his train table! This wooden toy proceeded to monopolize Nathan's attention for the next couple of hours! In the meantime, my mom, Liesel and I opened some of our gifts and spoke to loved ones in Southern Africa. We all were spoilt and very happy with our gifts! Lunch was another spectacular feast that Liesel prepared! It consisted of Roast Chicken, glazed ham, fresh bread rolls, sweet potato and vegetables. Dessert was chocolate mousse for me, and cherry pie for the rest!!! (guess who will be needing to spend a few extra hours in the gym this week)
And that was our first Christmas in the USA as permanent residents! Life is good, and I am certain that next Christmas will be even better!

We wish you all a very blessed Christmas and a prosperous 2007!
Grant, Liesel and Nathan

A glimpse of Normality??

Life has turned toward the general direction of normality again. Back to working the 5 day week, but still blessed to come home to my wife and mother! The beauty of having my mother here, is that she volunteers to look after Nathan at any time, and this gives Liesel and myself a taste of freedom. On Friday, Liesel and I had our first meal alone in a restaurant since leaving South Africa! It was fantastic, the restaurant was perfect too. It was a seafood restaurant with a great ambiance! Liesel ordered the:
New England Seafood Sampler
Lobster, crab and seafood-stuffed mushrooms, bacon-wrapped scallops and lightly breaded clam strips.
I had the chef's special, which was Salmon coated with a spicy coating, covered with shrimps - heerlik (delicious)!!! A great evening out for us!
On Saturday I took my mom down to the Prime Outlet mall, where they have all the factory stores for Reebok, Adidas, Levi's etc.... We used this opportunity to buy some shoes and clothes for my sister and her husband back in South Africa. I also had used this chance to buy Liesel's gift, as well as a couple of things for my self ;-)
Sunday's church service was great, with the Providence Bell Choir ringing while we sang carols! This afternoon I took my mom to some shops she hadn't yet been to. She took a particular liking to the Dollar Tree store. Everything in this store (no matter what it is) costs $1! Had it not been for luggage weight constraints, she would have spent hours in the shop and walked out with an interesting inventory!
We then went to a shop that I could spend hours in and easily spend $10000!! If you have even the tiniest musical bone in your body, you haven't lived until you have visited a shop called Guitar Center! I walked into the door and stopped as my eyes fell upon a wall that must have contained 100+ Electric guitars! There were amplifiers stacked throughout the store, not to mention Bass guitars, keyboards, digital pianos, drum kits, cases, pedals, books, cables, etc etc. I then entered another room where all the acoustic guitars were kept. Every guitar is kept in tune and you are encouraged to pick it up and play! It was almost like heaven, except that you had to pay for the guitars ;-) There were guitars (both electric and acoustic) for over $2000! One day when I grow up, I will own one of those!

First time ever!!!! Guest blog!

I thought I would give my mom an opportunity to share her experiences after spending her first week in the USA!

So here is her account:--------------------------

A lot of folk have been asking what everyday life is like in the USA. From what I have seen it is very quiet and peaceful, even in Grant and Liesel's complex, one hardly ever sees anyone else. Everybody is very friendly and when one enters a shop the assistants say "good morning, how you doing" - they also ask "can I help you with anything?" One thing that amazes me is that there are no boundary fences between the properties, not even down the sides of a property. How does one know where to mow the lawn - where does your property begin and where does the neighbour's property end??? Are you mowing the neighbour's lawn???? The only exception is where a family owns a pet, they erect a small fence to keep the animals inside. No high 6 ft walls, just a small wire fence. I really enjoy looking at the houses, some very large and larny in this area - we went for a drive down Chairman’s Row and had a look at some of the property there, some which sold for over $1000 000. All the houses seem to be made of wood, even the apartment we are staying in - we can hear the people above walking when the floor boards creak.!!!! Another thing that amazes me is that about half the houses fly the United States flag - these people are really very patriotic. Most houses also have wreaths hanging from the front door and most windows as well. Lots of houses also have Christmas displays in the gardens, everything from the Nativity scene, to blow up Santa Claus and reindeer. There are lots of lights in trees and around the windows and front of the houses. Grant has bought a living Christmas tree and bought lights and strung them from his balcony and they have a wreath at the front door. All the shops have Christmas carols playing and many display Nativity Scenes - different from SA??? Also there is an amazing variety of goods in the shop – like buying Rice Crispies in about ten different flavours and colours!!!!

Yesterday afternoon we went sledding in the remnants of the snow. I went down a hill in the sled, rather scary when there is only about 3mm of plastic between your bot and the snow!!!!!! I went down shouting "Oooo Oooo" all the way and landed just the other side of the sludge. Lee and Grant had been mad enough to try sledding on Thursday in the falling snow, and Friday in the bitter cold. It was still very cold today but there was not such a biting wind. After lunch today Grant and I went for a drive along the shores of Lake Erie – it was lovely to see the lake in the sunlight all blue and sparkly after the snow. The lake is huge and one cannot see the other side. I must say I take my hat off to Grant, driving on the wrong side of the road and also negotiating the snow and ice – I am sure it can’t be too easy!!! Here when the robot (traffic light) turns green you can drive – not like in SA where you have to watch and make sure that the taxis have finished turning into your lane!!!!!!!!!

Despite the below freezing temperatures I have not really felt cold - the coldest was, I think in Washington when Grant and I went walking in the cold wind - that was cold. Here we are in and out of the car and the shops all the time so one does not get chilled to the bone. Something else that amazes me is that there are not many big, enclosed Shopping Malls with undercover or indoor parking. Most of the shops are spread out with parking lots. This means than one has to run in the falling snow from the car to the shop, and then out again in the snow to the next shop - if only they had more Malls like Westgate etc. We had just on three days of snow - it cleared yesterday afternoon and today it was sunny, although the temperature was still just on freezing point.
This morning we went to Providence Church where the Sunday School was giving their Christmas programme. The theme was the Bethlehem Star, and the little ones were to sing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”. At first Nathan was not too keen to sing, but after watching the others he got the hand of it and started doing the actions and sang “Twinkle Star”. He was really cute, just about the youngest of the group. Made me feel quite weepy!!! Everybody was very friendly and chatted to me, asking me where I was from etc. etc. Maybe they were intrigued by the accent.

Back to work for a vacation!

Phew!!! This last week was so jammed packed with exciting happenings in the McCarthy's lives, that I am looking forward to work on Monday morning for a well-earned break! ;-) I have had to start writing this blog a couple of hours earlier tonight, as I will need the extra time to capture all that has taken place this past week!! As a well known songs say: Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start!
Monday: A very cold day in Washington, with temperatures hanging around the -10C range with the wind chill. The four of us walked a couple of blocks and then descended into the Washington DC Subway system. We caught a train to the Smithsonian station a couple of miles east of us. After we emerged from the underground, we still had a couple of blocks to walk in the frigid winter air to the Air and Space Museum! This was an amazing place with actual planes hanging from the ceilings, full sized rockets standing in majestically in various spots throughout the museum. Nathan loved sitting in the cockpit of the Cessna they had there (possible future career?)! We spent almost 3 hours wandering around this museum before heading back to the Underground, back to our hotel! That afternoon my mom and I took another walk to the White House and this time I took her around the back of the White House! This also makes a great photo!
Tuesday: With the car packed full of luggage, we started our drive back to Cleveland. The drive went smoothly even when we drove into a snow storm and my mom got to see her first snow in 25 years! When we got to Cleveland, we saw that we had just missed the season's first snow storm that had dumped 3 or 4 inches of cold white fluffy stuff over the entire landscape! It was really an awesome site to behold and a perfect ending to our Washington trip!
Wednesday: This was a day that we set aside to help my mom acclimatize to Cleveland. We took her to some of our local shops and then I drove her to the lake front, so she could see Lake Erie for herself! It was quite a sight with snow all along the shoreline, with the icy water gently tickling the frozen sand. The rest of the afternoon was used to look at some of the dream homes that overlook the fresh waters of the lake. Maybe one day.... if I ever win a lottery, I could afford one of these mansions........
Thursday: The biggest snowfall of the season so far! WOOHOO!! I can't explain the feeling when you wake up and look outside, and everything is stunningly white! As the snow fell, I decided to try out my winter gear, and went outside and made my first snowman in 25 years! Later on, while my mom babysat Nathan, Liesel and I headed for the sledding hill at our local recreation center! This was the best thing since learning to ride a bike! I cannot believe that I had missed out on this for 32 years! If there was a reason to move to Cleveland, then this is it ;-) OK, Liesel and I were the oldest people going down the sledding, but why put an age limit on something so fun?!?! See my video at http://mccarthys-videos.blogspot.com . Lesson learnt: ALWAYS wear thermal underwear when sledding!! Later that afternoon my mom and I went out to buy our very first, living, Christmas tree! It is over 6ft tall and has a lovely pine aroma that it gives. Nathan was so excited to see the tree as I hauled it through our front door! His squeals of glee and shouts of enthusiasm made buying the tree all worth it! He even helped decorate the tree!
Friday: More snow! In total we must have had around 6 inches over the last 2 days! We ventured out in the weather to our mall so Nathan can get to run around in the play area, since he was most likely suffering from cabin fever! Later that afternoon, Liesel and I hit the sledding slopes again! This time the thermal underwear was in place and it was far more enjoyable!
Saturday: Temperatures are climbing back above the freezing mark, Liesel took Nathan to a Sunday School concert rehearsal, while I took my mom shopping. That afternoon, we took Nathan and my mom to a playground with a more gentle sledding hill. The snow was melting now, so this was the last chance to get some sledding in for a while. I managed to talk my mom into going downhill on a moulded piece of plastic separating her from the icy slush beneath her! Well, I captured that on video for generations to see ;-) Also at http://mccarthys-videos.blogspot.com ! Nathan didn't share the same enthusiasm for sledding but he did enjoy making and throwing snowballs! That evening, Liesel and I went out to watch our 2nd movie in the USA since landing in March! We saw The Holiday, which was OK. I think I enjoyed the hot chocolate beforehand, and the Christmas lights in Crocker Park, more than the movie! But it does feel great going out again!
Sunday: Nathan partook in his first ever Sunday school concert. The 2 year old class stood up in the beginning and gave their best rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. In the first service, Nathan was very wary of all the goings-ons around him, and he wasn't very comfortable. But the 2nd Service, Nathan was far more relaxed, and stood up and sang with the rest of the 2 year olds. He was our own little superstar! That afternoon I took my mom for a drive down the lake front towards Cleveland. It was a beautiful day and the skyline stood proudly in the afternoon sun!
A great day for photographs! After supper, we took my mom and Nathan for a drive around the area to see the Christmas lights that so beautifully decorate the houses and buildings! There is something to be said about how a few hundred little lights can change an average abode in the daytime, to a brilliant fairyland castle at night! This is one of the reasons I love the USA at Christmas time!
And now its back to work and the gym for me! Looking forward to getting back into my routines again............ so until next week, CIAO!

She made it - bags and all!!!!

After 6 tiring days wandering around the palaces and attractions of London, my mother finally stepped onto American soil yesterday afternoon, with her plethora of bags! Liesel, Nathan and I left Cleveland before 8am in order to be at the airport on time. The Rendezvous (our car) went like a dream and transported us effortlessly through the beautiful countryside of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania's state motto must surely be "The Toll Road State". Despite forking out various tolls throughout the state, Liesel and I had a good laugh when we passed a sign board that read: Your toll money at work. This road construction project completed one year ahead of schedule. We look at each other and almost in union said "That's something you will NEVER see in Africa!" Those of you from South Africa know exactly what we were talking about ;-) To cut a long story short, after a few wrong turns (DC is not the world's best signposted city), we arrived at the airport 20 mins after my mom's plane landed. Unbeknown to us, the customs and immigration process is painfully slow, and she only made her debut appearance in the American public area at around 3:30pm!!! It was good to see her again and Nathan took to her immediately!

We checked into our hotel later that afternoon and were very impressed with the our new accommodation! Our room has a stand-alone kitchen, with a dining room and lounge suite. You then go through some doors to a passage with the bedroom (2 queen size beds) on one side and the bath room on the other. Our views are impressive to, being on the 7th floor! We have the Washington Monument rising up a few blocks away and the US Capital building is also visible.

After unloading the car, we took our first walk due south. We walked alongside the Vietnam Memorial, and then onto the Lincoln Memorial, all now lit up as the sun quickly retreated to its early winter resting place. We could also see the majestic Washington Monument standing proudly with its flawless mirrored image in the Reflecting Pools beneath the full moon. Awesome!

Today we made our way to Arlington National Cemetery. It is always a very humbling and moving experience visiting this place. Today we took the tour bus to all the key sites within the Cemetery and learnt some fascinating facts about various events in history. For instance, did you know that the ground was broken for the building of the Pentagon on September 11, 1941. I filed that fact under my "Things that make you go hmmmmm" mental folder! I also witnessed the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for the first time. Talk about dedication and precision! Definitely the highlight of my day! Before heading home for lunch, we stopped at the Iwo Jima Memorial.

This afternoon, while Nathan napped and Liesel watched him, my mom and I went for the tourist trek! We walked 6 blocks to the White House, and headed South to the Washington Monument. From there another walk to the World War II Memorial, then past the Reflecting Pools and finally to the Korean War Memorial. From there we made pitstops at a few roadside vendors. After recharging our batteries with a cup of hot chocolate, made our way back to the hotel! What a day! Tomorrow we plan to hit a few of the museums in Washington, and then back up north to where a snow covered landscape should be welcoming us in Cleveland on Tuesday!

So stay tuned for future episodes, and find out if my mom survive the Ohio winters!

Around the Lakes in 80 hours*

Thanksgiving 2006 has come and gone. It was our first Thanksgiving as US residents, and it was a memorable one. It started at 8am on Wednesday when we headed to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. We had cleverly avoided the Thanksgiving travel rush and went straight to the Airline counter to check-in our luggage. We had already printed out our boarding passes the night before on our home computer, which also sped up the whole process! We also got through the security (after removing jackets, shoes, laptop etc.) in a couple of minutes.

Our plane left on time, with Nathan having his very own seat for the first time. He loved the flight and was perfectly behaved for the duration of the hour long flight. We flew over Lake Erie, Detroit, Grand Rapids, and then Lake Michigan before landing in Milwaukee. At the car rental counter, we were given an option to upgrade our rental to a luxury car at a reduced rate, and of course, I said, "Yes!" Shortly thereafter we navigating our way northwards in the luxury Chrysler 300 Touring missile!

It was wonderful reuniting with the family that we spent Thanksgiving with in 2003! Our time spent in Green Bay was refreshing. The weather was much warmer than average for that time of the year, so we could spend a lot of time outdoors. Nathan made new friends with Liesel's younger cousins, who entertained him for countless hours. And the FOOD!! Delicious meals were prepared every mealtime and there was definitely no shortage of anything!
















The highlight of our trip there was a visit to the Lake Michigan beachfront! The sun was shining, and the waves were hitting the beach with vigour! It was a beautiful setting for us to throw around a football, and a baseball - slowly helping me adapt to the American lifestyle ;-)

It was sad to bid the family farewell as we reluctantly made our way back to Milwaukee. The airport procedures were again amazingly efficient, and we were soon strapped into our seats heading back to Cleveland. Onboard the jet, we were offered my favorite decadence, fresh hot chocolate chip cookies! What a fitting way to end our premiere Thanksgiving episode in the USA as permanent residents!

Go look at my new videos that I have posted at http://mccarthys-videos.blogspot.com/ !!

* the number of hours are only approximate ;-)

5 years ago: Who would have guessed???

In 2001, on November 17, we were getting married under the African summer sun. 5 years later, we are just entering the Northern Ohio winter, expecting temperatures below freezing and snowfall :-) Who would have guessed our lives would have changed that much in half a decade!

To celebrate our paper anniversary, we went to the Outback restaurant. This is an Australian themed restaurant where we hoped we could get a taste of the Southern Hemisphere! The atmosphere was good, and the food and service were excellent. Even Nathan was on his best behavior! He loved his Macaroni and cheese! Liesel ordered the :
Bronzed Chicken with Corn Cakes
Bronzed chicken breast and grilled corn cakes with bits of bacon, topped with shrimp in a creamy garlic mushroom sauce

and I had the :

Alice Springs Chicken®
Grilled chicken breast and bacon smothered in mushrooms, melted Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheeses, with honey mustard sauce. Served with Aussie chips

HEERLIK!

However, they had nothing evenly faintly resembling a South African dish :-( but is was good anyway (despite being Australian).

Finally, we had a dry Saturday and we took full advantage of this! Liesel went to have her hair done and some shopping on her own, so the boys went on our own shopping trip! We spent an hour or so at Costco looking at their LCD televisions with coveting hearts! I think Nathan would support me in my quest obtaining this dream digital display, since he was totally engrossed in Finding Nemo that was showing on one one of them!

Later that afternoon, we headed to a playground. After 5 mins in the 5C weather, we decided to cut down the playtime down to a limit that wouldn't expose us all to hypothermia! After Nathan had his fill of swings and slides, and Liesel and I had our fill of frostbite, we headed back home. It was the perfect evening to have another fire in the fireplace! Nathan's excitement always makes the fire worthwhile! Maybe we should give him a couple of logs for Christmas ;-)

Sunday was your average run-of-the-mill Sunday. It was also the last Sunday I would chat to my mom on Skype! Next time it will be face to face in 12 days time....... Cannot wait!!! Those days should fly by as we will be flying up to Green Bay, WI for Thanksgiving on Wednesday, returning on Saturday! We are looking forward to reuniting with family that we had last seen in 2003! The weather in Green Bay is generally colder than Cleveland, but we can handle just about anything now ;-) The temperature forecasted for Green Bay on Thanksgiving is : 9C

Random fact: The weather in Georgia (down south where I applied for a job before Cleveland) will be a lovely 17C on Thanksgiving Day! I think I would prefer spending my Thanksgiving down in Georgia ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving

Here is Nathan's first work of art!

The first family fire (in the fireplace)

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may be able to pick up a trend with our weekend weather! You don't have to be a rocket scientist to guess that it rained on Saturday.... again. It appears that God has set his weather machine to "Rain" for Cleveland every Saturday. But that doesn't get us down anymore ;) We started off the weekend with an appointment at Target for our first-ever professional family portrait for Christmas! They were very professional, and had us pose in different ways and made Nathan laugh at the right time. We should be able to pick up these photos on Monday, November 27.
Next on our agenda was to head out to Family Christian Store to do some more Christmas shopping! They had a bag sale, that whatever you could fit into a large paper bag, would qualify for an extra 20% off! Another reason for emigrating! This also worked out well for us, as while Liesel shopped at the store, I could take Nathan to the mall's play area so he could expend some of his never-ending supply of energy!

Later that afternoon, Liesel took Nathan to the library, while I went out to find some firewood. I was going to be making my first ever fire in my own fireplace. I am happy to report that we still have a roof over our heads and that it worked out pretty well. Even Nathan seemed transfixed by the fire, and not even the painfully pervasive Barney theme song could distract him! Finally, after putting him to bed, Liesel and I could lie back and watch the DVD, "The Lake House".

Sunday presented us with the usual assortment of Church, Sunday School and catching up with family all over the world! And thus ends yet another episode of Life in the USA!

Forthcoming Attractions: This coming week I will be working my final 5 days a s a contractor, before being switched to a Full Time Employee. I say again, life is good!!

Pretty average, non-eventful weekend

It seems after the 2 posts from earlier this week, that our weekend feels rather like an anti-climax :( On Saturday morning, with the temperature hovering around the -2C mark, we drove to the mall for Nathan to get his playtime in, and Liesel to find some bargains! It was mind-boggling to see snow still lying undisturbed on sections of roofs, and sheltered corners of gardens! The boggling of one's mind begins when you fathom that 36 hours had passed, yet the temperature hasn't been obliging to allow the snow to gently disintegrate back to it's origin...... and we are still in the Fall season!!!

After the mall excursion, we again trusted in our faithful Satellite Navigator as it directed us to a home for sale in Westlake that we found on the internet. From the street the house looked "nice", but didn't grab us. We know all about books and their covers, but luckily for us, we still have a couple of months to locate our dream house! So we still have a few more "covers" to inspect, before we will have the urge to delve into the pages of the "book". Speaking about books, that afternoon we went to the library. I went with to be Nath's chaperone, while Liesel had the freedom to browse, and take her time looking for books, videos and DVD's for her and Nathan! That is a luxury a stay at home mom doesn't get to experience regularly!

Sunday was the same as most Sundays, with Church in the morning, and our FLOCKS group in the evening. Because the temperature in Celsius was in double digits, I took Nathan out to the playground to enjoy the fantastic (sic) weather, while we can! And there you have it, another exciting episode of the McCarthy's in Westlake! Stayed tuned as we begin the countdown until my mom lands on US soil! Until next week, CIAO!

NEWSFLASH: Our first REAL snowfall in Cleveland

This evening, in a matter of 2 hours or so, a whole new outlook greeted us! Cars, roofs and sidewalks were covered in snow. It is really a beautiful sight to behold! Bear in mind, the snowfall here is EXTREMELY light. Historically, the west side of Cleveland (where Westlake is) receives MUCH lighter snowfalls than the eastern side! (I researched this before moving to Cleveland for this very reason) So when we get an inch or two of snow, the east would be having a foot or two of snow!

The moral of the story: the east side could be building snowmen and skiing, while we may not even have enough to go sledding!

Liesel's car!

Office Halloween party

Yesterday was my first halloween in the USA. While I don't really agree with the celebration, as I don't understand why there is a need to scare the living "jeebees" out of the children and exposing them to things that are normally seen in R-Rated Horror movies!! However, my department was having a halloween party and it was compulsory to dress up! I went as a vampire, as my team of 4 decided that our theme would be "Buffy, the vampire slayer"

Looks like we will be staying in England, I mean, Cleveland for a few more years

God is so good to us!! This week I was made an offer to become a full time employee at my company! I met with my manager and she made me a very decent offer. After discussing it with Liesel, I have decided to accept the offer, and we will be staying on in Cleveland for at least a few good years. It is a wonderful feeling, knowing that we can start putting our roots down in a place, and starting to build our lives again! So its all good!! To celebrate our new sense of permanence, we went out and bought our first bit of lounge furniture. Its a chocolate colored sofa (with fabric protection for Nathan's creativity!) But the best part is that it folds down into a bed. So my mother now has a place to sleep, and she doesn't need to worry about sharing Nathan's toddler bed anymore ;-)

The weather on Saturday was as dreary, cold and wet as one could imagine from a mid winter's day in England. Between the gusts of 60mph (100km/h) and the frozen rain, the temperature hovered around the 0C mark. Not exactly playground weather! We headed to the mall for 2 reasons, indoor play area for Nathan and winter coat sale fore Liesel! While Nathan jubilantly ran around the rubberized fishes and tortoises, Liesel was busy saving over 65% on a winter coat! This coat will be generously donated to my mother for the duration of her trip to Cleveland. So my mother really scored this weekend!

Later on Saturday, we took a drive past Lake Erie. In the summertime, this is usually a placid lake with a few ripples, lapping at the shoreline. With the 60mph gusts, waves of 5 - 8m were generated! I had to see this for myself, and imagine my surprise when my eyes beheld surfers in water! Now that is worth writing home about!


Sunday's weather was brighter, with sunshine, and fewer gusts, although the wind chill still kept your nose and ears pink! This afternoon, Nathan and I made a brief appearance at the playground, but after 20 chilling minutes, we decided to go house hunting instead. It wasn't very successful, considering I inadvertently started the search in the more afluent areas of Westlake. And so ends another weekend (of many, many more) in Cleveland!

2 + 1 = 3 more videos!

My video page has 3 new videos! Go to http://mccarthys-videos.blogspot.com

Birthday celebrations, breath-taking autumn colors and BRRRRRRRRR

Tuesday was Nathan's BIG day. He turned 2 and it was time to celebrate. Watch the celebrations here! He is growing up so quickly, and its obvious by how much fun he had on his birthday. We hid most of his presents in one cupboard, and he soon caught on to the fact that this was the "pressie" cupboard! You just mention the P word and his face lights up as he runs toward you, then past you to the "pressie" cupboard! He was spoilt by us, as well as his extended family! It appears Fisher-Price will be making a better than expected profit this year from Nathan's birthday ;-) Our lounge should be re-labeled as the playroom, as I think now Nathan has more toys than we have furniture! But its all good! Besides, with the weather turning cold, he will be spending a lot more time indoors from now on!
Thank you all for you gifts, e-mails, cards and well wishes for Nathan's birthday, we value them dearly!

On Wednesday we won our volleyball match again and are currently placed 4th in the league! Really enjoying it!!

On Saturday, we hit the mall again as the weather was cooler, and there is no better place for Nathan to run around in a warm, safe environment. After we thought that Nathan had got his fill of slides, cars, tunnels, and fishes we stopped at the Christian Family Store to buy a couple of Christmas presents. That afternoon, the sun came out and now whenever the sun is shining, we jump at the opportunity to go outdoors. We drove to a park down the road from us that has some lovely trees, hoping for a display of the finest autum colors. We weren't disappointed. We also went for a walk along a leaf-lined pathway around a pond and through the trees. It was a lovely afternoon out! See for yourself on the Video page!

On Sunday, it was another wet and cool day in Cleveland. We went to Church and Nathan changed from the 1 year olds class to the 2 year old class! It was a missions weekend at the church, and it was quite amusing to see the Providence choir (all whities in their starched church outfits) singing an African song. Don't get me wrong, it sounded beautiful, but Liesel and I are used to dark faces, colorful outfits and some definite moving to the rhythm when a song like that is sung. So we had a good chuckle about that! The rest of the day was spent indoors as it was around 7C with wind. Right now as I am typing this up, its pouring outside with the temperature at 0C. The forecasters have predicted snow for Monday and Tuesday, and then again on Thursday and Friday. They say that the snow might accummulate this time around so I may be posting pictures of a white blanket covering the gardens here. Praise the Lord for Central heating though as, I am currently wearing a T-Shirt as I type this!

This week I plan to go talk to my manager about my job here, so please pray for me that it goes well, and I can get what I am asking for! Until next week ---> or a good dose of snow - whichever comes first!

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY NATH!!!

Dear Nath

Your mom and I are so thankful that you have come into our lives! You are an awesome little man and we praise God for you every day. We love seeing you develop and grow up, and are often amazed at what you can do! We are so proud of you and will do our best to give you everything you need for life! We love you so much and pray that you will grow up following God, so that he may shower you with blessings! Happy Birthday big guy!

Love mama and dada!

Two new videos!!!

On http://mccarthys-videos.blogspot.com, I have added 2 new videos. The one is from the Pumpkin Festival at a local nursery last week, when we took Nathan on a hayride. The other one is taken out of the sunroof of our car on our way to Church last week! We wanted to give you an idea of the neighborhood we live in as well as seeing some of the autumn colors in the leaves and fields! Enjoy!

Our first date night and our first snow - no, seriously

On Thursday this week, a triple cold front hit us! On the left is what the temp was for us! It is actually very unseasonal to get this kind of weather so early, but it is also a good wake up call for us, as its still going to get a lot colder! While at work on Thursday, I got a call from Liesel, saying that its snowing in Westlake! When I drove home I drove through a cloud that was spewing snow at me! It was quite exciting actually. Fortunately for us, the ground was too warm for any snow to accumulate, so as it hit the ground, it melted immediately. So there was no driving in snow or slipping on ice for me yet...... (yet being the operative word). The rest of the weekend remained cool with highs around 7C. Liesel and I are starting to change our perceptions because today was a lovely day for us - even though the temperature was 8C. In SA, we would consider 8C horribly cold and not venture outside, but in Cleveland if the sun is shining and the wind is not too bad, 8C is a cause to celebrate ;-)

On Saturday morning we went to IHOP (International house of Pancakes) for a mini-birthday celebration for Nathan. We also invite some friends from Church with their 2 daughters (3 & 5 years old) who Nathan just loves! We had some delicious pancakes for breakfast and Nathan behaved himself and had a really fun time with the two girls! In the afternoon, we went to these friends' house, as they had offered to look after Nathan for the evening for us, so Liesel and I could enjoy a date night - something we haven't done for over 8 months! We started by going to watch a movie (The Guardian with Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher - Highly recommended!). At the theater, I ordered 1 medium popcorn and 1 medium Coke. When we got the food, the medium popcorn was about 2.5 times bigger than a South African LARGE popcorn! And the Coke, was easily 1.5 liters large. Luckily I didn't order a large combo ;-) After the movie, we walked over to a nearby restaurant. We were told that there was a 70 - 80 minute wait for that restaurant. We tried 3 other restaurants after that and they all had queues of people outside, so we eventually had to settle for a Panera Bread shop. This is similar to a Mugg & Bean and serve smaller, more "informal" foods, which turned out to be a good thing for us. Liesel and I were so full from the popcorn, that if we had gone to a proper restaurant, we know that we would not have been able to finish any thing and end up wasting money! So it all worked out perfectly. We returned to our friends' place to get Nathan, and he was still happily running around and playing with Faith and Sarah! It's good to know that we can leave him with our friends in future (even though Liesel sat with the cell phone on her lap the entire time.) But Liesel and I did cherish the time we had together and decided that we need to do this more often!

Pumpkin Festivals!

Can't believe another week has gone by and that we have now been in the USA for over 6 months! And in 7 weeks time, my mother should be enjoying her stopover in London on her way to see us! We have made reservations at a hotel 4 blocks away from the White House, so we will have a few days to spend in Washington DC with her. We are looking forward to going back to Washington and this time, looking at some of the Museums we didn't get a chance to last time. Of course, everything will be new for my mom, and I still haven't got the heart to tell her, that the Bush's don't just invite the general public or tourists into the White House for tea ;-)

On Wednesday, I played in our 2nd league volleyball match and unfortunately we lost this one 1-2. But at least it wasn't due to our own incompetence, the other team were a better team than us! You know you are going to be playing a tough team, when their girls are as tall, if not taller than you are, and they are diving all over the indoor court during their warm ups!

This weekend, we had lovely weather. Liesel left at 8am to go to a Kiddies market. She came back with some excelent bargains, such as Fisher Price toys for Nath, and some lovely woolen jerseys and polo necks for him, as well as a Potty toilet! Yes, it seems like it is time to teach Nathan the art of tinkling and toilet-going! Watch this space for updates.....

On Saturday afternoon we went to a local Nursery where they were having a pumpkin Festival. They had a number of inflatable jumping castles and Slides, as well as a Hay maze set up on their premises. Not to mention the hundreds (literally) of pumpkins that were for sale for Halloween! The nursey had a huge property that had a small dam (with ducks) and a paddock area witha horse and goat in it. They were also offering hay rides around the property and we took Nathan on one. He loved it, as the trailer was pulled by this antique tractor around the property. Nathan was very quick to point out the ducks, goat and horse to us and we slowly rolled past them!

Sunday, was another beautiful day, and as per usual, we headed off to Church. I took the video camera in the car with me so I could video some of area around us, and the route to church which is lined with trees starting to change colours for fall. People must have thought we were crazy driving with the video camera sticking out of the sun roof! Don't worry, Liesel drove while I was filming :-D I haven't had time to put the clips together yet, but I should have some clips up before next week's blog!

This evening we went to our first FLOCKS (Bible Study) group at some people's house just down the road from us. We had a great time with the people there, but we were even more amazed at how Nathan just seamlessly integrated with the other children there!!! He is growing up so quickly, as we realized tonight that he can be left alone (with a babysitter of course!) and keep himself occupied. He is not old enough to interact with the older kids yet, but he has no problem being around them!!! He makes us sooo proud.

As for this week ahead, a triple cold front is hitting us later this week, and the forecasters have even mentioned snow!!!! All I say is, "Bring it on!!!"

Here are some pictures of the Autumn colours. First one is Liesel's car underneath a tree that has now turned yellow.

If you're happy and you know it...

Watch Nath singing along and doing the actions for the well known song!

Click here => http://mccarthys-videos.blogspot.com

Life (and weather) returning to normal...

Things are slowly but surely returning to normal in the McCarthy household. The trunks have been unpacked and are being relocated to our garage. We are finally eating with our own crockery and cutlery, which means we can return the rented utensils, and save a few dollars a month! Nathan has a MOUNTAIN of toys to choose from and so we have included a 15-minute "tidy-up time" to his routine at the end of his day. By doing that we get to see the color of our lounge floor again ;-)

This week we were hit by a cold front and have been having lots of rain and maximum temps hovering around 10C (50F)! There was even a day when the mercury didn't rise above 9C! So basically we are experiencing Johannesburg's middle of winter in the 1st week of FALL here!! But it seems that the cold front moved off today and we had sunny skies and I could wear a T-shirt again!

On Wednesday night, I played in my first Volleyball Intermediate co-ed 4's game. For the uneducated, this means we play indoors, in matches with a team consisting of two guys and two girls. I have a great team and even though we won (2-1), we still had so much fun, just playing and teasing each other. I am looking forward to the rest of our games and hopefully continue with our winning form!

On Saturday, it was really cold and raining, Liesel made use of the seat warmer feature in our SUV! So we decided to go to a local mall so Nathan could run around and play in their indoor kiddies play area. It was so interesting to watch him play, because when there were a few kids in the area with him, he was an extrovert and ran around shouting at the top of his voice, Then when the area filled up with more kids, he retreated to himself, quietened down and became very cautious. then when the majority of kids left, he came out of his shell again!

While he was playing in the area with Liesel watching him, I went to go look at a sports store in the mall. This is no ordinary sports store! It has two levels and in the center is an artificial rock climbing wall that must be about 10 - 15m (30 - 45ft) high! I went to go look at volleyballs and in South Africa, you are lucky to find one, maybe two volleyballs in a sports store. Here, I found about 20 different volleyballs to choose from!

But not even that made my day! When I walked into the store I noticed they had winter jackets on a clearance rack. I do not have a proper winter jacket that would be able to withstand the Ohio winters yet, so I browsed through the rack. I came across a Nike 3 in 1 jacket. Basically, it has a weather-proof outer shell, and a separate fleecy jacket that is used as a lining. The fleecy jacket can be worn by itself, or for extreme conditions, it is designed to be zipped into the outer shell for double insulation. And of course the outer shell can also be worn without the fleecy inner jacket if you wanted a lighter weight weather-proof jacket. Now this was originally marked at $180, which I probably would have been prepared to pay for it, but since it was on clearance, it was marked down to $79. So for less than 1/2 price, I was definitely taking it. At the till, they ring it up and the final price is only $57!!! That is less than a 1/3 of the original place. GOD BLESS AMERICA ;-)

On Sunday, we headed for Church, and were very pleased to see the sun again. We had a great Sunday school class, and a good service that followed. After lunch and the afternoon nap, Nathan and I headed to the playground to enjoy the warmer weather while we could. We spent and hour on the swings and the slides and then headed home. So all in all that was a pretty normal week for us, and it ended with a lovely day!

Same weather .... different child!!!

This week was an unusually busy one for the McCarthy's in Cleveland! It all started on Monday when Liesel and Nathan had their first MOPS meeting and then a visit to the pediatrician! The doctor diagnosed a mild cough and prescribed some anti-biotics for Nathan. On Tuesday, after a lot of last minute rushing to and from places, I managed to get our trunks from South Africa cleared and loaded into the back of my Honda CR-V! Read the whole episode in my previous blog! On Wednesday, I went to an optometrist who fitted me for some new contact lenses! I should be getting those soon! Thursday, was Liesel's and Nathan's Apple Picking day with the playgroup from MOPS! You must go see the video clip (1 of 3 new ones) on http://mccarthys-videos.blogspot.com . I also received a brand new replacement HP laptop, because my old one had a faulty DVD drive, and they took too long to replace the part. To summarize, I complained, and they apologized and sent me a faster laptop to replace my one with a faulty drive! Not too shabby, Nige!

We woke to a cool and wet Saturday morning, very similar to last weekend! One big difference though, and that was Nathan! It is amazing what prayers, anti-biotics, and some long lost toys from South Africa, can do to perk a child up. He was totally the opposite to what he was last week! His laughter and squeals of glee warmed up our apartment again. Liesel took this opportunity to leave him in my capable hands to go and do some personal clothes shopping on her own, a feat that cannot be accomplished with Nathan ;-) Later on that day, Liesel called her folks in Botswana and was so happy to hear that they had finally received the DVD we made for them with video clips of Nathan! Then that evening I finally sat down and completed my SA Tax returns. I know it is WAY overdue, but I did get an extension, and I couldn't complete it until I could get my hands on a copy from my 2005 tax returns - which was in the trunks! So after putting that to bed, I followed at 1am ;-)

On Sunday we headed off to church where we are still enjoying our Sunday School class, followed by Church. Nathan was still filled with the joys of life, and even responded "Nay-thin" when someone at church asked him his name! I wish you could all share these moments of his with us as he grows up!

The wather is really starting to cool down now as we head into fall. The maximum temps are hovering between 15-18C (so Johannesburg is now hotter than us!) I was even mocked by my colleague (Brian) for wearing a jacket on what I thought was a really cold day last week! He replied that they are still sleeping with their windows open ... seriously! So looks like I am in for a fun time for the next 5 months!

Sorry that there are no photos for this week, but I have added 3 videos at http://mccarthys-videos.blogspot.com
Be sure to watch them and please leave comments! We love hearing from you guys, even if it just one sentence!

Nathan and Liesel at the Apple farm

Go have a look at Nathan loving his Apple Farm outing with the MOPS group. Thanks Liesel for taking the video!!!

http://mccarthys-videos.blogspot.com

Christmas in September!!!

It is like Christmas for us in the McCarthy household! Our trunks arrived, all intact, after 6 days of shipping!

We decided that we would not ship our trunks immediately after leaving SA, as we wanted to be sure we had a place and were more settled before squeezing the extra 204kg's into our apartment. So last week we arranged for our trunks dropped off at CosmoTrans in SA and after a few e-mails back and forth - and payment with my SA credit card, they were on their way!

They arrived yesterday and I could finally go pick them up today!!! When I got to the shipping company, they asked if i had a money order, which I did not I did have cash and a credit card, but these were unacceptable - so I had to jump back into my CR-V and go looking for a bank. Found a bank and got the money order - then made my way back to them. They now hand me documents that I need to take to US Customs to get the clearance... sigh.... so off to US Customs I go - just down the road luckily. It was now 4:20 and they close at 4:30. The shipping company said that they would most likely tell me to come back tomorrow to clear the stuff... AAARRGGHH. However, I said many a prayer and God obviously heard them, because at the US Customs - the officer, took the papers and my green card and then came back about 5 minutes later and stamped everything He handed it back to me and told me to take these forms back to the shipping company and collect the trunks. So back in my car and off to the shippers again!!! I got there at 4:50 and they were closing at 5:00!! They were so surprised to see me, and said that's the fastest they have ever seen goods cleared at Customs! But my prayers worked and I got all my trunks in the back of the CR-V and headed home!!!!

It was fantastic opening them up and finding our old SA items. Nathan (who has been sick the last couple of days), forgot all about his cold and his eyes lit up and his smile brightened the room, when he saw his old toys!!!!

What was even more special is that my friends and family have put a few special things in the trunks for us. I found some belated birthday presents which included a Springbok Rugby blanket, towel, cap and Jersey!!!! Something I wanted so that I might meet other South Africans in Cleveland!! It was fantastic. Other special items included Horlicks, Five Roses tea, Milo, Wellingtons Sweet Chili Sauce and hundreds of chocolates!!!



If anyone needs to ship stuff from SA, I highly recommend CosmoTrans, who charge $4 per kilo for consignments of 100kg's! They were also very easy to deal with via e-mail.

Now its up to Liesel to find space in the apartment for all these new things - good luck to her

Weekend at home with Nathan

Since last week, Nathan hasn't improved and has actually gotten worse :-( On Saturday, Liesel and I noticed that Nathan wasn't his normal happy self. He was a lot more lethargic than normal. Also, since the weather was overcast and drizzly, we decided to keep Nathan indoors. I took Nathan to the Westlake Library, where he could play with puzzles, trains and build towers with cardboard building blocks. We spent about 30 - 40 minutes there before heading home. At home, he started developing a fever and was becoming very irritable. We dosed him with some medicine to try and help and put him down for a nap. By supper time, he was still running a temperature, and so we gave him a luke warm bath and that seemed to help a bit. We put him to bed shortly afterwards. On Sunday he woke up without a temperature, ate most of his breakfast, and seemed to be on the mend. So we went to church in two separate cars so that Liesel could bring him back home right after the adult Bible Study class. Back at home, he seemed to deteriorate again and by mid afternoon was running a fever again. Again we gave him a lukewarm bath and medicine which seemed to help. Right now he is asleep but I can still here him coughing every now and then! Tomorrow Liesel is taking him to the pediatrician. Please pray for him that he recovers from whatever he has.

On the brighter side, the weather today was wonderful. During Liesel's and Nathan's afternoon nap, I got to wash my car. The weather forecasters say that today is the "last gasp" of summer. A cold front hits this week and our maximum temps will be falling to around 15C. On the left is a photo of the sun setting behind the apartments.

More good news is that our 7 trunks, weighing in at 204kg, have traveled halfway across the world and should be waiting at the airport for me tomorrow. I am quite excited, not at getting our old stuff again, but more so to see what my friends and family have put in the trunks for us! Liesel is looking forward to the Nescafe Classic coffee, to enjoy with her new kettle! Hopefully everything in those trunks is deemed to be legal so there won't be any issues with the customs officials!!! I can't wait to open my Birthday presents from family and friends!!!!

Sorry about the shorter, boring blog, but with a sick child, you don't get to do much!

Now to let you in on a secret..... below is a photo of why I actually emigrated to the USA ;-) Hopefully I will have a more interesting blog with better news next weekend!

Video Clip of Nathan reading his favorite story

See the video at http://mccarthys-videos.blogspot.com

Got sled - now where's the snow?!?!

This weekend started out with us visiting a number of shops. The Fall weather is right around the corner and you can actually feel a little nip in the air now. Even driving to work now, the sun is only rising on may way in - which is after 7am. At this rate, what time will it be rising in the middle of winter? 10am?? Anyway, since the last time Nathan needed long pants was last winter for us, we have found that he has grown since (a good thing that means he is normal) and is lacking some long trousers. We also went to Costco where I almost gave in to my desires and purchased a flat panel LCD TV which was on sale. But I managed to fight off the urge.... this time. That afternoon while Liesel and Nathan were sleeping, I went across to the K-Mart next door to us. They are closing down and a Sears will be opening there in November, so everything has been marked down to ridiculous prices. I found a long sleeve fleecy sweater for $4.70 and another one for $7. But my best buy of all was a toboggan/sled. This is a piece of plastic that is specially molded to fit one or 2 people and carry them down a snow covered hill! I paid $6 for that! Can't wait to send my mom and Nathan down a hill in that in December. I will definitely be taking video of that so watch this space!

On Sunday, we had a hectic day lined up for us. Our Church has 2 services in the morning. There are also a number of adult "Sunday school" classes to choose from if you so wish. Some of the topics include, facts about the Catholic Church and how to convert them to Christianity, Christian apologetics, Living life to the full with the Holy Spirit, etc etc. Liesel and I chose Dynamics in a Christian Marriage. The class was very interesting (in a good way) and we discussed different personality types and how to deal with them. We also took a test to see what our personality type is. So I am looking forward to next week's class to find out! This was at 9:30 (during the 1st service) so afterwards we attended the 2nd service! All this time Nathan was on his best behavior in the nursery impressing all the ladies there with his counting skills! After the church service, we went through to the another room where they were having a lunch for any new comers to the church. At this lunch, the pastor stood up and told everyone what their church believes, how it was started and just some other interesting information. Liesel and I were very impressed and will be very happy there knowing that they are so similar to the Baptist church of South Africa! We finally got home after 4 hours of church at 1:15pm. We were also invited to a bible study group that meet every Sunday evening around the corner from us, but we turned them down because Liesel had strained her back picking up Nathan and needed to rest.

This week I went to play Volleyball on Wednesday evening at our Recreation Center, only to be told when I got there, that only 3 people signed up and that we would all be refunded. It was quite disappointing as I was looking forward to that. On the bright side tho, is that I have been asked to play beach volleyball again on Monday evening. The guy that has been asking me to play beach with him has also signed me up to play in an indoor league with him on Thursday nights, starting at the end of September!!!!

Finally, please pray for Nathan as he seems to have a little cough. During the day he is fine and filled with the joys of life, but in the evenings and in the morning when he wakes up, he has a nasty little cough. If you are a parent, you know how difficult it is to hear your child coughing and you cannot do much too help.

Labor Day weekend in Detroit


I have set up a 2nd Blog site that will contain all my video clips from now on. This should reduce the clutter on this blog with less scrolling required. I have put up a video clip from our time in Detroit. It is Nathan playing with Liesel's cousins (who are a actually a lot closer to Nathan's age than Liesel's age!)

Have a look at my ALL NEW VIDEO BLOG

We're ba-ack!!!

We got from Detroit this evening, after spending the last 3 days with Andreas and Jaqui, Liesel's uncle and aunt. We left on Saturday morning at 8am for the 3 hour trip. Since we know we will taking a few more long trips with Nathan this year, we decided to buy a Car DVD system for Nathan. It worked brilliantly! It comes with 2 screens. One screen I attached to the back of Liesel's headrest (in front of Nathan) with the velcro straps that are provided. The other screen contains the actual DVD player, and is connected to the other one with a cable. Liesel kept it close to her, so she could start the DVD when she wanted to and switch it off. When we were 2 hours into our journey, Liesel started the DVD, and Nathan was transfixed! This purchase so far has already had great returns!


We arrived there at just after 11am, and we found Andreas hard at work painting their house. Since the houses have a lot of wood, it needs a decent barrier to protect it from the elements. I volunteered to help, and got painting almost straight away. I am glad I was painting, because that gave Andreas and I a great opportunity to chat. While we were painting outside, Liesel was helping Jaqui inside with the children and preparing meals, tidying up etc.

That night I was so proud of Nathan. He is growing up so quickly :-( He was going to sleep with Jaqui and Andreas' 2 kids (2.5 and 5 year old) in their room. He would sleep in the toddler bed and the other kids would sleep in the bunk beds. Jaqui got her kids ready for bed and was sitting on the carpet reading them a bible story. Nathan came and joined them and sat quietly on my lap while Jaqui read and then prayed. I then tucked him into bed, and there were no protests whatsoever. We put the lights out and soon they were all fast asleep!


On Sunday, we went to church in the morning. For lunch I offered to take us all to the Rainforest Cafe. This is a themed restaurant, with a number of aquariums with amazing fish, and a whole lot of "robotic" wild animals. They have elephants that trumpet, move their heads and flap their ears. There are gorillas that beat their chest and a leopard in the tree that looks down at you and growls.
It has a great atmosphere, and the kids are always intrigued, sometimes frightened by the wild animals. The food was good too! The rest of the day was relaxful, no painting taking place on the Sabbath ;-)

On Monday, Andreas and I got back to painting. The ladies took the children to a park and later prepared a fantastic lunch! We had barbecued chicken breasts and Brats (Sausage that was pretty close to Boerewors). After Nathan's nap, and my shower, we had the car packed and headed back home. Nathan seemed to have bonded with his "cousins" in Detroit as he has been asking many times, "Where's Claudi (Claudia)? Karl? Jaqui? Bassi (his name for Andreas)?"


It would be great if we lived closer so that we could make visits like that more often! Now I am off to bed to get a good night's sleep as house painting can wear you out!

Nathan and Liesel ejoying their favorite pasttime

You may need to turn up yor sound!

Happy Birthday Liesel!!!!!

To my gorgeous wife!!!

Hope you have a fantastic day today! May your first birthday as a US resident be a wonderful experience, and may the rest be even better. I look forward to the many adventures that lie before us in the USA and can't wait to share them with you. Thanks for everything you do for Nathan and me, the way you look after us and make sure we do not lack anything. We are truly blessed to have you in our lives and pray that we may be able to spoil you even if it is only a fraction of what you deserve. We love you so much!!!

with heaps of love

Your two men in your life

Grant and Nath

Just another average weekend

Well, there is nothing phenomenal that we did this weekend that is really worth writing about. On Saturday, we headed down to a another park for a picnic. This park again is in a beautiful setting. A place where anyone who is a little boy at heart will love. On the one side of the park is a train line, a river runs down the other side, and with the airport being about 3 miles away, aircraft flying a couple of hundred meters above on their final approach. Then of course there's the playground. Nathan had a great time running up and down and exploring the structures. At lunchtime, we decided to bring out the food.... bad idea. Five seconds after the containers were opened, insects (bees, I think) descended upon us. Didn't take us long to realize that if we stayed we may get some extra protein in our diets, so we packed up and headed back home to have lunch in an air-conditioned, pest-free environment.

That afternoon, Nath and I went to Costco, to get new tyres fitted to Liesel's Buick. The service is exceptional, as these tyres come with lifetime pressure checks, wheel balancing, and tyre rotations. These are the tyres that will get is through the winter season, and are specially designed for snow! Bring it on (in small quantities please)

On Sunday, we went to Church, later on that afternoon, we went to Barnes & Noble bookstore. In the children's section, there is a Thomas the train train set laid out. Nathan can easily spend hours here playing with Thomas and all his friends. And that was our weekend! Tomorrow (Monday) I have been invited to play beach volleyball again by a colleague at work. It will be at the same place as last time, on Lake Erie's edge, but this time we will be playing under flood lights since the sun is setting so much earlier!

Next weekend is a long weekend here in the USA as we celebrate Labor Day on Monday. This day officially marks the end of summer :-( We will be driving to Liesel's family in Detroit to spend the weekend there (about 3.5 hours drive). So my blog may only be updated on Tuesday once we return from Detroit.

Then, of course, its my beautiful wife's birthday on Tuesday. Looking forward to spoiling her on her special day! Until Tuesday next week then........ (video to follow shortly)

Nathan helping with the washing

Nathan helping Liesel do the laundry

Preparing for Winter

Now don't read too much into the title. We are not on the brink of a blizzard just yet! The weather has been generally the same as last week with high's around 25C. It was raining on saturday, and since we couldn't do any outdoor activity with nathan, we decided to take a drive to Burlington Coat Factory. This is a wholesale factory that has all kinds of clothing and other stuff like baby furniture, but they specialize in winter clothing. We thought that we may get better prices for some winter clothes now, before there is a huge demand for it later on in the year! We found a big winter jacket for Nath, as well as a very cute (and warm) snow suit. We are making sure that he will be ready for sledding when his granny arrives in December! When we tried it on him, he wasn't too impressed with this bulky blue uniform, but I suppose you can't blame him when its 25C outside ;-)

As it rained throughout the day, I took Nathan with me to Costco (similar to Makro). This is a excellent place to be if you want to covet! They have all the latest and greatest plasma and LCD televisions. Then we also had a few samples of food that were being handed out all over the store. Not a bad way to spend a rainy afternoon!

On Sunday we went to church as usual. Nathan is loving church because he gets to hang out with other children his age in the nursery! Today, the lady watching them told us how Nathan was pointing to differnet animals and telling everyone in the room what animal it was, and then he made the sound of that animal. The others in the class clapped for him each time! He seemed to love that so much that he even started clapping for himself! This kept the "teacher" amused the whole time we were in church!

After Nathan's afternnon nap, I took him with me to the Westlake Recreation Center. Here I signed up for indoor volleyball that will take place from September 6 onwards. It is held every Wednesday night from 8pm to 9:30pm! Looking forward to getting back into the game!!!! After the quick sign-up Nathan and I spent some time in the playground before heading home for supper!

Our condolences to the Cloete family

Last night, my brother-in-law's (Roy) father passed away from a heart attack. It was quite sudden and has taken the family by surprise. He leaves behind his wife, and 3 sons. Please pray for them as they drive out to the farm to be with their mother and sort out the estate.

So much for Summer!!!!

Yes, its true - it seems like the weather has changed, and fall is making its final approach
:-( Compare the 2 photos here, first one taken only 3 weeks ago, and the other one taken yesterday! See the difference. Also, the days are visibly becoming shorter and the temperatures have dropped 10C since last week! Well, Summer was fun while it lasted.

Liesel had been on a picnic this week with Nathan and the lady that arranges the Mothers of Pre-Schoolers (MOPS) group in our area. They all had a wonderful time and Nathan absolutely loved it! So, on Saturday morning we headed off to one of the parks in the area for a family picnic! The park was in a stunning setting with a playground, a covered lapa, a pond (which you could skate on in winter) and a sledding hill. After a good lunch and some compulsory time in the playground, we ventured back home for Nathan's nap. He was so exhausted from the playground that he slept for almost 4 hours, about twice as long as normal!


On Sunday, we went to church and had a good sermon by the pastor, entitled "Trust God, but lock your bike!". The pastor says we must make use of our "feurons" (when you use your common sense, you use the neurons in your brain. Now if you combine faith with your neurons, you get "feurons"). Afterwards we met Marianne, the MOPS organizer, in the child care wing of the church. She is a lovely lady, and she introduced us to her husband Phil. They were so warm and friendly, that they invited us out to lunch with them that afternoon. Unfortunately, Nath was in desperate need of a sleep, so we took a rain check on that. Phil told me about the men's ministry of the church and how the men have been going on outings together, even white water rafting!! That sounds like my kind of men's ministry!

After church we headed home, where I chatted to my mom on Skype, spoke to my sister and her family on Skype with our web cams, and then later spoke to Liesel's parents in Botswana. I love the weekends as it's my time to catch up with family!

Till next weekend then, just pray that I won't be sending photos of snow in next week's blog ;-)