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!

7 easy steps to putting your foot through a wall

Another week has raced by, stopping only to whack me on my back as it ran past me! From this week's title, you may have guessed that I have discovered a simple way to make a hole (the size of a foot) in an American wall, or drywall as they are called here! On Friday evening around 11pm, I decided to go downstairs and say good night to Liesel, who was watching one of her favorite programs in the lounge. I also needed to charge my laptop, so I carefully carried it with me and took my first fateful step down our staircase. Since I was balancing a laptop in my hands, I didn't have the opportunity to grab the handrail (and I don't usually since I always felt that handrails were for geriatrics). It also didn't help that I was too lazy to switch the light on, so I guess I have to take the blame as my foot missed the edge of the first step, and caused my body to submit to the law of gravity. I slid down the 7 stairs (I counted!) feet first, with my spine riding the carpet like a supertube! After coming to a stop on the landing and realizing what had just happened to me, I checked and saw that my laptop was still in my hands, unaffected by the unfortunate trip. PHEW! By this time, Liesel had rushed to me since it sounded like the house was falling down around her, and she switched the light on. That's when I saw my right foot in a newly made hole at the base of the wall on our landing! SIGH :( Now I am not sure whether I am fortunate that we don't have brick houses here, because, at least I know I wouldn't have penetrated a brick wall.... Oh yes, and my back is now bearing a carpet burn 5 inches long and 1 inch wide over the lower lumbar region of my spine. Since I can't lie on it, I guess I won't be going to abs classes this week :( But at least my laptop is fine!!!

The rest of the weekend was a lot more fun than stair surfing! On Saturday morning we went to a nursery to pick up some soil for some bulbs that Liesel planted. Nathan loved the huge nursery where he could run around with reckless abandon. This nursery also had a massive room filled with Christmas decorations and Christmas trees which he absolutely loved! Only 56 more days to Christmas!! After getting back I decided to that the yard needed a mow again, and as I got near to finishing, the wind picked up, and the rain started falling! At least I can't complain about the sweat dripping off my face anymore!

That evening, Liesel arranged for a babysitter for Nath, and we had a much deserved date night again. We went to watch the movie, Dan In Real Life, and it was hilarious! Then afterward we had a cosy meal in a quaint little Middle Eastern restaurant before heading back to relieve the babysitter.

On Sunday, I again had a week off, so I could sit with Liesel throughout the Church service. Then a bit later, our friends, Phil, Marianne and their two girls came to have luch with us. Liesel outdid herself and provided an exquisite meal! And the dessert, which Marianne provided, was also incredible. It was a chocolate cake made with 3 differnt types of chocolate desserts and then chocolate chips were added for good measure. You can't go wrong with that! Nathan had a great time playing with their two daughters too! Now that was a weekend worth writing about!


As we head into a new week, we have our first freezing temperature warning, which reinforces the fact that winter is quickly approaching! Next week, Our Daylight Savings Time comes to an end and we fall back an hour, making the time difference between South Africa and the USA 7 hours. This means that instead of the sun setting at 6:30pm as it does now, it will set at 5:30pm............ sigh......... C'mon summer (6 weeks till our SA vacation!!)

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!

Pumpkins, playgrounds and pruning

Finally, the time has come for my old Sony camera to be replaced. I think I found a worthy replacement, namely the Sony DSC-T200! It is obviously an upgrade from my last 7 year old camera, but I could see this lasting another 7 years for me! And of course, now I can add photos to my blogs again! Life is worth living again! :P

The weather was considerably cooler than last week as a cold front crawled over Cleveland, but it was still good enough to go our local nursery for their annual Fall/Halloween/Pumpkin festival! The nursery had numerous jumping castles, a haystack complete with tunnels, swings, slides, place to paint and color in, and most importantly, the hayride! Nathan went back and forth between the swings and the tunnels, until the tractor started up! It was time for Nath's hayride. Judging by Nathan's excitement, there may be a good chance that he grows up to be a farmer, just so that he could ride on a tractor everyday! Maybe I should by a ride on mower, then I get my lawn mowed everyday, and he gets a kick out of riding a tractor. To me that's a win - win situation!! Somehow, I don't think Liesel will see it the same way ;-)


That afternoon, after finally managing to drag Nathan away from his beloved tractor, I mowed the lawn again. This time, however, I had no perspiration dripping from my brow, or any other body part, since the temperature was a third of what it was last week! After mowing into the twilight, we headed out to our local Red Robin restaurant, where we all had a great dinner! My grilled salmon burger was awesome! It was the perfect way to end a great fall day!

On Sunday, I was up early again, and heading to church while the sun was rousing from it's slumber. We had a great couple of services again, and playing in the band is so rewarding! Later, after Nathan awoke from his daily nap, we took him to a playground. It had been a while since we had all gone to a playground together, and Nathan's excitement was evident! It is such a warm, satisfying feeling, seeing your son run around the playground equipment deliriously happy, without a care in the world! Yes, God has blessed us and life is good!