Special Delivery...

I was out driving the other day when a large truck or semi-trailer passed me. It was carrying a huge piece of mechanical equipment - probably for the nearby power station. It was surrounded by two "Oversize Load" vehicles and about four or five police cars. I respectfully pulled over and watched the convoy head on its way.

 The truck carrying the heavy equipment passes me.

The rear of the convoy.

Norfolk Southern Railway Train...

I was driving deliveries for work the other day and came across a long train stopped by a red light. It was in nearby Elnora, a little town that has many railway lines criss-crossing it. The locomotives were owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway, and it looked as if it was hauling coal to one of the power plants in the area.

 There was a really long line of trucks behind the locomotives - easily over fifty.

 The locomotives at the front of the train.

Donating Blood Together...

Candace and I were both able to donate blood together on the Red Cross bus on Tuesday, 18th December. It was a very special time, since it was just over three years to the day since Candace's emergency and the first time that we have both been able to donate on the same day. It's definitely a worthwhile act of service and I would encourage everyone eligible who is reading this to make a difference by donating blood!

 The American Red Cross blood bus in Washington, Indiana.

 Selfie during the donation process.

 With Candace back at home after two successful blood donations! :)

Winter Swim at Brown County State Park...

We took a family trip to Brown County State Park on Saturday, 15th December. We were celebrating both Riaan's and Candace's birthdays from the week before. We had a lovely picnic lunch in front of the roaring fire in the main lounge of Abe Martin Lodge, and we then went to the indoor Aquatics Centre and had a fun time swimming and relaxing as a family. It was a fantastic afternoon! :)

 Picnic lunch in the main lounge.

 Riaan loved the indoor water park!

Riaan in front of the bear in the hotel lobby. He loves having his photo taken here, as can be seen in previous visits in September 2016 and in April 2018.

Three Years...

It has been over three years since my wife Candace suffered a postpartum haemorrhage in the early morning hours of the 15th December, 2015. We almost lost her that day, but praise God she survived and continues to bless us to this day. And if it were not for God sparing her life - and her uterus - that day, we would never have had our little baby girl Eliza Lucy in our family. We are truly blessed and Candace is a fantastic mother to both Riaan and Eliza, and a wonderful wife to me. We celebrated Candace with a couple of fun events over the past couple of weeks, but more on those another time. You can read Part 1 of Candace's story here and Part 2 here.

A necklace I bought Candace to mark her third Celebration of Life anniversary. The passage on the jewellery is from Ezekiel 34: 26. It was the hymn Showers of Blessing that Candace sung in the ambulance on the way to the hospital that cold December morning.

Happy Christmas 2018...

This is to say that we hope all our friends, family and blog followers have had a lovely, blessed Christmas! We trust that you have an amazing holiday season and that God richly blesses you into this New Year. May 2019 be your best year yet! Much love and blessings, Murray, Candace, Riaan, Eliza and Rusty. :)

A Day with Daddy...

Eliza was sick for several days a fortnight ago, and so Candace was able to take some time off work to help look after her. During this time, Riaan and I were able to go to Washington to do several tasks and we even had a coffee date at the Cherry Ghost Coffee House. Later that same day, we went to my work Christmas party while Candace stayed home with Eliza. It was a special day spending time together as father and son. Children are truly a blessing from the Lord. :)

Enjoying time together at the Cherry Ghost Coffee House.

Muskrat in the Pond...

We've had a little semi-aquatic visitor in the pond lately - a small muskrat has made two homes for itself along the bank of the pond. It's favourite residence seems to be under the paddle-boat, but it has also been busy digging channels and burrows under the small jetty. It is rather elusive and shy, and so I have not been able to capture any good photos. But it is interesting to watch!

 The muskrat swimming to its home.

Pretty ripples just after the muskrat disappeared under the surface.

 Tracks under the small jetty.

The underwater channel that it uses as an entrance can be clearly seen here.

Riaan's Third Birthday...

We celebrated Riaan's third birthday on Friday, 7th December. We had a pretty low-key day. I worked for most of it, and once I was home we had his birthday cake and he opened presents. He wanted a cookie monster cake and Candace did a fantastic job recreating this Sesame Street character in cake form! We also Skyped with his South African Granny and Grandad who wished him, too. :) You can see how much he has changed since last year, here.

 Riaan on his last night of being two. This was a recreation of this photo from two years ago.

 Cookie Monster cake!

 Siblings together on Riaan's birthday.

 Opening presents.

 He was so excited!

 Building Lego with Daddy.

Celebrating with Granny in Cape Town via Skype. :)

Rusty's New Toy...

We bought Rusty a new chew toy a few weeks back. He was so excited that he kept it in his basket the first night and over the following days he wanted to take it out with us every time we went outside for a walk. I like to imagine that he wanted to show off his new toy to all the animals outside. :)

He's so proud of his new chew toy!

Cool Clouds...

We were driving down to Evansville last Sunday (2nd December) and saw these amazing clouds overhead. It was quite a windy day and it looked as if the clouds were forming roads and rivers in the sky. :)

 Cloud pathways in the sky.

Cool clouds as we drive down I-69.

Blessed...

 I am incredibly blessed to call these wonderful people my little family. :) I love them so much!

Double Stop!

I've come across a number of intersections with double stop signs lately. Now this is probably due to road construction nearby, but perhaps the authorities just want to make sure that people get the message to "Stop!" :)

Booster Separation Complete!

Our firstborn is very interested in space shuttles and space ships at the moment, and loves to watch space shuttle launches on the computer - as do I, in fact. I came across this Lego space shuttle on eBay for an extremely good price, and so I bought it to show him the various parts of a space shuttle. Lego is a great educational tool and also stimulates creativity. He also enjoys playing with his play-dough and building space ships with Daddy!

 Port side view of this Lego orbiter.

 Astronauts inside.

 Play-dough space shuttle and rockets.

 Flying the play-dough space ship.

"Booster separation complete!"

Enjoying creative play together!

Happy Thanksgiving...

From our family to yours, we hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving this past week. It's so important to be thankful every day and not just on this American holiday. We are very thankful for God's many blessings!

Happy Thanksgiving 2018!

Ice Storm Warning...

My weather radio woke us up at about 3am very early last Thursday morning to let us know that there was an Ice Storm Warning for the area issued by the National Weather Service. We could see the evidence of the snow and ice on Thursday, as there was still ice on the road when I went to work at 10am. There was also a light dusting of snow in the fields and icicles clinging to most surfaces! :)

 Icicles clinging to the Stop sign at the end of our road.

Icicles on one of the side view mirrors.

Train Crossing...

I was stopped by a train on my way to work recently. It's always cool to see these powerful engines lumbering past, pulling a load of freight to the next stop. :)

 The train approaches the crossing.

 The lead locomotive crosses the road.

 Heading in the direction of Odon.

Driving parallel to the train. :)