Thanksgiving 2023...

Despite being in a new city and state for Thanksgiving this year, we felt really loved and welcomed by the community here. We were invited to a church family's home for a lovely afternoon Thanksgiving meal.

We created special family memories beforehand, too. We watched the annual "America's Thanksgiving Parade" through downtown Detroit on the television, and then visited a nearby school playground and walked laps on the track around the field. It was a great way to spend the holiday. We have much for which we can be thankful!

Watching the parade on a chilly morning.

They even had a Rainbow Fish float! (A favourite story of Riaan's when he was younger.)

Walking laps of the field.

Heart-shaped knot in this tree.

Batman!

All three of our children are so creative. They all love to draw and colour in their own pictures. Recently, both Riaan and Eliza drew Batman in action - complete with his Bat-boomerang. It's a privilege to watch their artistic leanings as they grow older. :)

Melktert...

Candace made delicious melktert (milk tart), a South African dessert, for the International Thanksgiving dinner that we went to several weeks ago. I decided that it needed some South African flair, and so I created a Springbok stencil for the cinnamon that is sprinkled on top of the tart. :)

Easy-to-make stencil.

The finished creation. :) Yum!

ESL Thanksgiving Dinner...

Two weeks ago, an International Thanksgiving dinner was held at Dearborn Covenant - for those students who attend the English as a Second Language classes. I teach one of the advanced classes in the evenings, while Candace and our children help with childcare in the mornings. It was a lovely afternoon with delicious food from various cultures. :)

A lively discussion at one of my recent English classes.

Beautiful plates, cups and saucers, and cutlery all neatly laid out.

There was also worship in Arabic in the afternoon.

(Fake) Fire Place Fun...

It's not quite Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, but we can still pretend with a YouTube channel as the cold Michigan winter approaches! The girls really enjoyed pretending that we had a roaring warm fire. :) 

Coffee Date with the Children...

A fun coffee date at our favourite organic coffee shop in Dearborn! :)

Late Autumn Cycle...

I was able to go on a couple of cycle rides in late October and early November - before the weather changed and the mornings became quite chilly. It was great to see the changing colours and flowers still holding on to their beauty before the first frost arrived.

Selfie in front of Nankin Mills.

A beautiful green and gold tree.

Flowers holding on to their beauty.

Christmas lights have been put up and there is even a cyclist!

Rugby World Cup 2023...

After South Africa won the Rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019 (which I was able to watch online), we went into this year's Rugby World Cup in France far from being favourites to defend our title. Ireland and France were definitely the top countries in terms of rugby. Before the World Cup started, I was sure to subscribe to NBC's Peacock channel, which was broadcasting all the games live from France.

Having had a nervy pool with games against Scotland and Ireland, we emerged from the pool in second position - qualifying for a tough quarter-final against hosts France. In what was quite possibly the game of the World Cup, we were victorious 29-28 and moved on to the semi-finals to face England. Another nail-biting game ended in a 16-15 victory for the Springboks! We were into our second-consecutive final to face old rivals the All Blacks of New Zealand. 

It was an extremely tense game which ended in yet another single point victory for South Africa! We won 12-11 to be the first country to win four William Webb Ellis Cups. It was wonderful to witness this amazing tournament and then to see the joy that their victory brought the people of South Africa. I'm so proud to be South African! :)

Tension and biltong on the couch during the final!

Selfie in South Africa's 2023 Rugby World Cup jersey. :)

Autumn Colours...

We were treated to some glorious leaf colours during our first autumn in Michigan - yellows, oranges, reds, purples, and browns. It really is a special time! The photo here was taken at a park during the golden hour of the day.

A creeper on a car park showing brilliant red leaves.

Plymouth Apple Orchard...

Towards the end of October, we visited the Plymouth Apple Orchard on the far western outskirts of the greater metro Detroit area. It was the first time visiting a Michigan apple orchard since our first trip to Detroit back in 2016. 

We had a lovely time strolling around the farmyard and seeing all of the delicious apples. We also bought some apple cider and doughnuts. Yum! 

Eliza makes a cute little caterpillar.

Bags of apples.

Gourds and vegetables for sale.

Riaan is around four feet tall.

On the wagon display.

Enjoying the chickens, turkeys, and ducks.

Eliza on a hay bale.

Riaan driving a tractor.

A view of the orchard.

The drive home was pretty.

Kids Safety Day...

A few weeks ago, our church hosted a safety day for the children. A large ladder truck from the local fire station came to visit, along with a couple of police cruisers - including a K-9 unit. The children (and adults, too) had lots of fun asking questions about fire safety, what you should do in the event of an emergency, and how to call 911. It was a great morning!

Meeting the firemen in front of their big ladder truck.

It was a really interesting time...

... And one of the firefighters even got kitted out in his firefighting gear!

Next, we met a couple of policemen and a lovely police dog, Loki.

Learning about the police dog.

The children also enjoyed turning on the lights and sounding the siren in the police car. :)

Losing Rusty...

After nine years with Rusty in our household, we had to say goodbye to him after a short but devastating illness. Our sweet canine family member became ill on Thursday, September 21^st. He refused to eat his food and he even turned up his nose at his favourite dog biscuits. He also developed a nasty cough and seemed to be struggling to breathe, and would stand still, staring off into space – often with his legs collapsing from under him. I knew that something was seriously wrong.

Since moving to Michigan, I hadn’t set up a vet for him yet, but I found a nearby animal hospital. Eliza and I took him and they did an x-ray, which showed massive inflammation and possible tumours throughout his chest. He had limited lung capacity and was slowly suffocating. Upon hearing this news, I started weeping and Eliza was so sweet, putting her arm around me and comforting me, telling me, “Daddy, we can still smile even when we’re sad.” 

Throughout the next few days he rebounded a bit and was eating again, and he seemed happy. But it was just the medicine that the vet had given us. His cough returned on Friday, September 29^th, and he rapidly declined that weekend. I spent all of Sunday (October 1^st) at home with my sweet boy. Eliza was especially concerned for him. He was breathing noisily and wandering around aimlessly that night, and she got down and lay with him on the carpet. I walked in on them a few minutes later and she was reading a book to Rusty (pictured here). She has such a huge heart! I also spent that night down in the living room next to Rusty in his basket. Thankfully, he passed a peaceful night.

On Monday, October 2^nd, we called the animal hospital and made the heartbreaking decision to put Rusty down. It would be too selfish of me to prolong his suffering just because I couldn’t let him go. Candace (and Anya) stayed with me in the room as we said farewell to our beloved canine family member. We were all in tears as he took his final breath on this earth.

Rusty really was the best dog for me, from that very first day back in 2014. He had been with me through all of my American adventures, challenges, mental health issues – and for most of our marriage. For nine years, we matched each other perfectly with our anxious tendencies. He loved us well by constantly pawing for attention, licking my ears, and being so very patient with our children. It's been a month now and I still miss him so much.

Rusty and I on our very first day together in 2014.

Pregnancy announcement.

Sitting with Riaan.

He was always so patient with our children.

Typical Rusty pose in his basket. "Scratch my belly!"

Rusty and I on our final day together in 2023.

Candace and her mom made the most beautiful memory cushion out of his blanket.

His pawprint that I collected from the vet a week or so after we put him down.

A beautiful watercolour painting of Rusty that good friends here gave us. It was so thoughtful of them!