Mercy Ships T-shirt Blanket...

My talented wife Candace finished up our Mercy Ships t-shirt blanket this past weekend. It includes many Field Service crew t-shirts - from Liberia 2008 all the way through to Congo 2014 - as well as other Mercy Ships-related shirts. The blanket even contains several coveted United Nations Mission In Liberia (UNMIL) shirts from when we were in that special country back in 2008. Lots of happy memories in this blanket! :)

The back of the blanket. :)

Mince Pies...

Candace has embraced Commonwealth culture when it comes to Christmas. Mince pies are a quintessential part of Christmas tradition in South Africa, and are often served with brandy butter on the side. Candace made 84 of the delicious treats (not all for us) in the week leading up to Christmas day. Yum!

A tray of Candace's mince pies. :)

Seven Years of Life...

The 15th of December marked seven years since Candace's postpartum haemorrhage several days after Riaan's birth in 2015. On that day, which you can read about in two parts here and here, Candace required 12 units of life-giving blood and plasma. The surgeons and medical staff were able to stop the bleeding, but even then still thought long and hard about performing a hysterectomy. 

Thankfully, they gave her the option to have more children, and thus we have added two special blessings - pictured here with Candace - to our family since that day. I'm always blown away by the Lord's goodness when I think about this fact. As is tradition, I celebrated Candace's day of life with a gift of flowers. It remains a day of thankfulness and appreciation for us.

Happy Christmas 2022...

After the excitement of last year's Christmas in Cape Town, this year has been rather quiet in comparison. We have stayed safe and warm at home while it has been brutally cold outside - with snow on the ground, too. 

We wish you and yours a very happy Christmas and a blessed 2023. 

Thanks, as always, for reading our blog! :)

Candace's Birthday...

Candace celebrated her birthday just two days after Riaan's special day. It was a rather low-key day as I was working, but we still celebrated her with gifts and we even went out for a rare family dinner in the evening. We went to Procopio's Pizza and Pasta in Vincennes, for a delicious Italian meal. :)

One of Candace's presents was an apron made out of this rare Nelson Mandela fabric. I found it on eBay and knew I had to buy it for her. She won't be using it as an apron, though, since she's been looking for this fabric for years!

The other side of the material - Madiba's Range.

A special family meal at a restaurant together!

Riaan's Seventh Birthday...

Riaan celebrated his Crown birthday (where your age matches the actual day of the month) on Wednesday, 7th December. He had a good day, starting with pancakes for breakfast and then opening presents.

I worked for most of his special day, but once I was finished we enjoyed delicious birthday cupcakes (made into the shape of a dinosaur) together as a family. I also took him out to the Cherry Ghost for a traditional birthday hot chocolate.

Here is last year's sixth birthday post. :)

Opening presents.

Anya grinning at her big brother.

Riaan wearing a dino crown on his crown birthday.

So excited for birthday cupcakes!

Christmas Tree Decorating 2022...

We put up our Christmas tree on Sunday, 4th December. The two older children made extremely light work of hanging the decorations on the tree. Everything was finished in record time this year! Of course, last Christmas we were in South Africa and did not put any decorations up prior to our travels. But this year, we decided to put the tree up early - and many South African decorations were included on the tree this year!

Advent calendars from auntie Shirley - and our wooden nativity scene.

Stockings that Shirl had made for our South African Christmas last year.

Eliza decorating the tree.

So pretty! :)

Portrait of Me, by Eliza...

 

Eliza drew this accurate representation of me recently. I'm holding a baby and wearing a striped shirt! :)

Gifts from Granny and Grandad...

We had good friends recently return from a month-long visit to Cape Town. We were able to send a parcel of cards and goodies with them for my family. My parents sent back new clothes for the children, as well as chips and South African chocolate for all of us. Thanks, Cape Town Crawfords!

Tristan da Cunha shopping bag.

Anya in her beautiful new dress.

Eliza in her lovely dress.

Riaan in his fantastic Springboks shirt!

Anya's Second Birthday...

Our youngest child celebrated her second birthday on Sunday, 27th November. Anya opened her presents in the morning and then later in the day we had a few family members round for cake and drinks. Candace baked a delicious cake in the shape of a fish. :) 

Anya truly lives up to her middle name and is a Joy to everyone! Here is last year's birthday post, so you can see how much she has changed!

Gifts included a beautiful crocheted doll...

And Duplo, of course!

Video-chatting with Granny and Grandad, and our Cape Town family. :)

Two big helpers assisted Candace with decorating the cake.

The yummy fish-shaped cake. :)

Enjoying time with family in the afternoon.

Thanksgiving Skies...

There's an old adage which goes, "Red Sky in the Morning, Shepherd's Warning; Red Sky at Night, Shepherd's Delight." And while the old weather folklore didn't quite agree with the colours in the sky, both sunset the night before Thanksgiving and sunrise on the morning of Thanksgiving itself were quite magnificent! :)

Thanksgiving 2022 sunrise was one of the best I've ever seen!

Costume Party...

The kids hosted a costume party for a few friends last Sunday (20th November). They had lots of fun and it gave us adults an opportunity to get dressed up, too. I was Siya Kolisi, captain of the Springboks (South Africa's national rugby team), while Candace was a cute hobbit. Riaan was a pirate and Eliza was a princess. :)

Snowy Saturday...

We woke up on Saturday, 12th November, to a surprise two-inches (5 cm) of snow that had fallen during the night. Both Riaan and Eliza had lots of fun in the cold white stuff, while Anya was not that much of a fan. The children even built a small snowman before the snow disappeared. :)

We woke up to a snowy scene!

The two older children loved it!

Zinnia flower wearing a snow hat.

Black-Eyed Susan with snow.

The storm drain was covered in snow.

Eliza and Riaan with their sweet snowman.

Windy Saturday Adventure...

We drove to Vernon, Indiana, on one of the windiest days that we can remember, recently. We had a rather challenging drive with lots of flying leaves and branches across the road, but once there we had a good time hanging out with our Mercy Ships friends Justin and Noel and their family. :) We walked in a beautiful park and our children loved the amazing playgrounds!

Clearing storm debris from the road.

The Medora Covered Bridge, one of the longest covered bridges in the USA!

Walnut Grove one-room school, originally built in 1913.

Anya loved the playground at Muscatatuck County Park.

Eliza and her friend Levi.

Sweet Riaan.

The ruins at Vinegar Mill Stone Cutting Quarry. There was once a water mill here that cut rocks!

A view of the Muscatatuck River.

The children and I hold up the cliff!

Heading up the stairs towards the parking area at Vinegar Mill.

Walking at Tripton Park in North Vernon.

Candace and Anya with Noel.

The kiddos found a massive leaf!

Selfie with my sweet Anya Joy.

There's a large solar park here.

We love walks no matter the weather!

The large musical instruments at the playgrounds are fantastic!

Pretty skies as we headed back towards Washington, Indiana.