Plett Lagoon

Joel and dad at Plett lagoon. This was Joel's favourite bit of beach as there was no tide and the water was very shallow.

Beach

Walking on the beach with mum.

Seesaw

On the seesaw with mum. Not sure who enjoyed it the most!

Elephants

Joel watching the elephants at Knysna Elephant Park. Joel was able to feed the elephants and really enjoyed getting this close.

View

The view from our bedroom balcony in Plettenberg Bay

Holiday

We've been back home for a week now having spent 2 fabulous weeks in Plettenberg Bay on a family holiday. Despite traveling through one of the worst storms the Cape has seen for years (roads collapsing and parts of the country losing 10 years worth of top soil, for example!), we managed to arrive relatively unscathed with a new pair of windscreen wipers, having driven for 8 km in driving rain without any - not to be recommended!

Getting Ready

Forgive our lack of communication since our last Blog, life has been hectic and will continue to be so until Monday when we set off on a 5 -6 hour drive for two weeks by the beach. That's Monday, before then we've got so much to do.

Last weekend we had Joel's birthday party at a little indoor play centre. Joel had about 8 friends there and they all had a ball. It was great too for the parents as we could sit and chat over coffee whilst the kids ran themselves ragged in a totally safe environment. We'll be back there again!

Catch Up

Life has been pretty hectic since our return from Bloemfontein. We celebrated Joel's 2nd birthday a couple of days late (we missed it whilst we were in Bloem) but he more than made up for it. He got a kiddies tent which he loves playing in. We gave him a toy microwave with lights and stuff which he enjoys and he was given a Barney DVD which he is glued to when he's allowed to watch the tv.

Photos Of Zim Friends

Below is a selection of photographs taken over the weekend at the NFI leaders conference in Bloemfontein.

The photos are of friends from Zimbabwe whom we haven't seen since our departure in 2003. Some of these friends are still faithfully plugging away in Zimbabwe and a few have moved to Jo'burg to be a part of a new church plant there called God First.

Travelling Across SA

We have had quite a monumental weekend which began with us setting off on Thursday morning for an 8 hour drive up to Colesberg where we were staying overnight before driving the final couple of hours up to Bloemfontein for the NFI Southern African annual leaders conference. We thank God that we enjoyed great safety on the road in both directions, despite seeing some absolutely classic driving! However, it was extremely uncomfortable on Thursday in particular driving that far in the heat of the day (40's) with no air con!

Getting Ready

This past week has been really hectic as we prepare to drive to Bloemfontein for the NFI Africa leaders conference. We've been quite stressed about the childcare arrangements or lack of them and after much discussion and negotiation have decided to leave Joel behind with some good friends. This is better in many ways as he won't have to endure the 10 hour drive (Bloem is just over 1000km's) and we'll be able to attend all the sessions without having to worry about him. Sadly however, we will miss his 2nd birthday on Saturday and needless to say feel quite gutted about this and just a little guilty! We'll have to make it up to him when we return on Monday.