Winter Cycle...

It was a relatively warm day (for the season) on Friday, 11th December, and so I decided to go for a nice late-afternoon cycle. It is becoming a tradition of mine to go for a cycle around Christmas-time, as I did last year. I didn't travel too far in terms of distance (just 18 kms or 12 miles), but it was good to keep the legs turning. I'm trying to cycle or exercise a little more regularly throughout the winter, although it can be difficult when it is so cold!

On my way home I visited the new play park which is being constructed on the west side of town. It is funded by United Way of Daviess County. :)

Strike a Pose...

It seems that all of our kiddos have inherited my trademark Murray camera pose - the picture here was from back in November 2012 when we were still with Mercy Ships. I would strike up this pose with my normal digital camera and take it myself before selfies were even a thing! Riaan, Eliza and Anya have all broken out the famous Murray pose in their young days! :)

Riaan, 2015.

Eliza, 2018.

Anya, 2020.

Happy Christmas 2020...

To all our friends, family and blog readers throughout the world: Happy Christmas! We pray that you would know God's love and peace as we come to the end of this rather turbulent year. It has been an exceptionally challenging and difficult year for many people, but there have been some unexpected blessings, including the latest addition to our family, Anya Joy. :) 

We hope for many more unexpected blessings in the New Year! May it be a somewhat better and hope-filled year than what 2020 has been for many people. Peace out, 2020! 

Thanks, as always, for reading our news. Blessings, Murray, Candace, Riaan, Eliza, Anya and Rusty. :)

Silly family photo - and Rusty's nose made it into the photo, too. :)

Riaan's Fifth Birthday...

We celebrated our big boy on Monday, 7th December! He turned five and is such a blessing to us. He had a pretty low-key day at home. I was at work, but he opened presents first-thing in the morning and I then took him out for a celebratory ice-cream at the Cherry Ghost once I was home from work. He also enjoyed a Hobbit's Breakfast for supper followed by a yummy rainbow cake! :) You can see how much he has changed since last year, here!

 

We blew up some balloons during the night.

 

Birthday banner over his door.

Birthday cards from both South Africa and America. :)

 

A Bear Grylls activity book!

Opening another present. :)

 

Hanging out at the Cherry Ghost.

 

 

Hobbit breakfast for supper! Yum!

 

 Mixture for rainbow cake.

Rainbow cake. A South African Crawford tradition! :)

Mashed Avo on Toast...

Growing up, we had about six avocado trees in our back garden in Cape Town. They provided hundreds of delicious avos each season, and so we grew up loving this tasty and nutritious fruit. And so, whenever avos are on sale here, I make sure to stock up. They're delicious mashed with a bit of salt and pepper and spread on bread or toast! My favourite! :)

Christmas Tree Decorating...

We put up our Christmas Tree and decorated it nice and early on Friday, 4th December. It was lovely to share in this activity as a family. Later that weekend Candace and the kiddos also made homemade Christmas decorations with applesauce and cinnamon. :)

Riaan looks at some of the decorations on the Christmas Tree.

Rusty the reindeer. :)

Candace with the kiddos making decorations. :)

Red Sky in the Morning...

... Shepherd's Warning, or so the old adage goes. There was no denying the red morning sky on the 3rd December here in Washington, Indiana. It was absolutely stunning! And, thankfully, no warnings were needed throughout the day!

The sky behind this church steeple is breathtaking.

Lovely warm hues in the sky.

Introducing Anya...

Our third child, Anya Joy, made her grand appearance in the outside world on Friday, 27th November. She was born at 08h23 via another scheduled c-section. We are so thankful for her safe arrival and we were so excited to introduce her to our Crawford clan here. Both Riaan and Eliza were beside themselves with excitement when we returned with Anya from the hospital! :)

Candace and I bright and early in the morning of Anya's arrival.

Safely admitted and filling in paperwork on the OB unit.

The view looking out as the sun rises over Washington.

Holding Candace's hand as the surgeons and OR staff perform the c-section.

First glimpse of sweet Anya Joy.

Proud Daddy.

So proud of Candace! Snuggles are the best!

Introducing the kiddos (at our friends Dan and Erin's house) to their new sister! :)

Sweet chubby face.

Introducing Rusty to Anya's smell. :)

Ready to go home on Sunday, 29th November! So excited! :)

Pulling in at home. The kiddos were thrilled to meet their sister!

Eliza's face was priceless! She was overjoyed!

Welcome home signs made by Riaan and Eliza (with auntie Hannah's help) on the door.

One of the first of many siblings photos together!

First family photo. So blessed! :)

Mischievous Squirrel...

Rusty's arch-nemesis appeared on our bird feeder on Thanksgiving day. He is definitely not a winged creature! And while Rusty, our dog, may not be a fan, we don't mind him in our garden. He certainly is cute!

That's definitely not a bird up there!

Storm Clouds...

I was driving home when I noticed a line of rain and storm clouds approaching from the west. I pulled over and snapped this photo as the clouds moved over Washington. We had a rather flooded back garden just fifty minutes later!

Heavy rain for us means a river running through our back garden!

Thirty-Eight Weeks...

Here's Candace just eight days before our third child was scheduled to be born. We were so excited to meet little Anya!

F4U-4 Corsair model...

I've always been a fan of intricate, detail-oriented work, and growing up I loved building plastic model kits. I had a whole air force of multiple planes and helicopters hanging from the ceiling of my bedroom at my parent's house in Cape Town! And, if I'm honest, this is a hobby that I still enjoy when time and money allows. I found this World War II-era F4U-4 Corsair model on clearance at Hobby Lobby in Evansville, and Riaan and I had a blast assembling it! :)

The 1/72 scale model plane.