And Painted Nails...

Following on from the last blog post, Pet Snails, we now have Painted Nails! Eliza gave me a lovely pedicure and painted my nails with her sidewalk chalk! :) 

Pet Snails...

Anya and Eliza have officially adopted the resident garden snails as their pets. I'm not sure how I feel about this... :)

Fair Lane Estate Walk...

We visited scenic Fair Lane Estate for a family walk earlier this month. I had never seen the large lake up close, and so Riaan and I headed there to explore it. Candace and the girls wandered around the former rose garden. It's wonderful to have such vast green belts in the midst of a city!

The weeping birch tree.

The lake at the estate.

The former rose garden - now largely left to nature.

View looking back over the pond and the rose garden.

Saturday Afternoon Reading...

Nothing beats time spent outside with a good book for the whole family. :) We have read a lot of books aloud to our children, including The Famous Five (Enid Blyton), The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien), The Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis), the Ranger's Apprentice series (John Flanagan), Watership Down (Richard Adams), The Kine Saga (A.R. Lloyd) and many more. It is a firm family tradition for us to read together most evenings. :)

Retirement Home Singing...

Back in early August we visited a nearby retirement home, where we sung hymns and worship songs to the residents. The children also enjoyed meeting the elderly folks as they stepped off the lift, handing them a bag of sweets and a note of encouragement. :)

It was such a special morning.

Insects in the Garden...

Summer in Michigan is lovely. We have seen many amazing creatures in our back garden, including these interesting insects and pollinators. This is a swallowtail caterpillar - the first one we spotted in our garden. It recently shed a skin - you can see it just behind. :)

Camouflaged female katydid on a leaf.

Bumblebee on Candace's anise hyssop. Honey bees and other pollinators are frequent visitors to this native plant.

Question Mark Butterfly...

A rather ragged-looking question mark butterfly takes a breather on our rain gauge during the golden hour. :) 

Mercy Ships Reunion in Detroit...

Our good Mercy Ships friends Dan and Kylie - along with their daughter Hannah - visited us for a relaxing meal last month. They have returned to the Metro Detroit area after two years onboard the Global Mercy. We had last connected with them in May 2018 - so it had been a while! 

Since they are back in the area, we plan on seeing each other more frequently. :) Yay for Mercy Ships reunions!

Christian's Visit...

After the summit ended, a good friend that I met in Lebanon last year, Christian, stayed for several days at our house. He also works in the Horizons' Communications department, and so it was good to work together and connect in person. We introduced Christian to a few of our favourite haunts in Metro Detroit, including the Eastern Market (the huge outdoor flower, fruit, and veggie market) and the Detroit Riverfront, and we took him to Jiran and church at Dearborn Covenant. We also spent time in fellowship with friends for Bible study and a pool party. It was so much fun to host someone!

Working from the dining room.

Card game fun.

Arabic worship at Jiran.

Pool party.

Eastern Market is a cultural hotspot.

Proteas - South Africa's national flower!

It was fitting that I had a Protea emblem on my Springbok jersey!

Eliza smells the sweet flowers.

Lots of cool murals in this part of Detroit.

Walking along the Detroit Riverfront. Canada to the left.

It was a beautiful day!

Two river cruise boats operating on this Saturday.

The Detroit Princess is another option for tourists eager to see a different view of the city.

Family portrait at a viewpoint along the Detroit River.

Horizons' North American Staff Summit...

The Horizons International summit occurred over the middle of the month and was hosted by Dearborn Covenant Church. This gathering brought together 60 staff members and their families - and it was an amazing time of equipping, multilingual worship, prayer, and fellowship. There were also opportunities for park outreach as well as a holiday club for the little ones. 

As with all the events that bring us together, this summit was no different. It fostered a sense of togetherness and unity. I enjoyed seeing the connections that I have forged online, now being solidified in person. Face to face interaction is so beneficial. In fact, it's key to facilitate trust and friendship. 

We certainly loved seeing our Horizons family again, and for Candace it was so helpful to introduce her to this special ministry that, although small, has such a vast gospel reach. Candace and the children have certainly caught the vision for sharing the love of Christ with others!

The summit was an incredibly busy time for our entire family, as we helped with logistics and some behind-the-scenes organisational tasks before, during, and after the summit. But it was so fulfilling. On the final night of the summit, we hosted some friends for an evening of fellowship and fun. It was a great way to wrap up this fantastic time together.