Another Blood Donation...

I gave my third blood donation in the United States recently. (And, if my calculations are correct, my 11th blood donation in total - after previous donations while serving with Mercy Ships in Liberia, Benin, Togo, Sierra Leone, Guinea and the Republic of the Congo.) I've certainly come a long way since I was a fresh-faced Mercy Shipper donating blood for the first time back in 2008!

It's always a privilege to serve God through blood donation - and something that has taken on special personal significance after Candace's emergency back in December 2015. I'm hoping to donate again in a couple months time. Who's with me?!

 Donating blood with the American Red Cross.

Proudly wearing my Donor shirt.

Cycling with Riaan...

It had been a while since I last took Riaan for a ride on the back of my bike. He was very excited to go for a cycle with me recently. We went 14 kms or 9 miles and Riaan loved seeing the scenery. He particularly enjoyed looking at all "the cool race cars" on the road or parked by the side. :) Hopefully we'll have many more cycles over the summer months! Riaan has certainly grown a lot since we first got the bike seat for him!

Moody Skies...

We've had several storms roll through over the past few weeks. I love how apocalyptic the atmosphere becomes when these storms track through our county. Here are a few recent photos. :)

 A shelf cloud passes overhead.

 Moody clouds above.

 Interesting cloud formations in this thunderstorm.

Low-hanging clouds in northern Daviess County.

Scoops Night with Riaan...

Riaan and I went to Scoops for ice-cream one Saturday night after work. It was a great father-son date. He wanted to get "the ice-cream on the flag." I don't think he was too disappointed with his choice, since it was almost as large as his head! :)

The ice-cream cone on the flag.

Riaan's massive ice-cream! He was very happy! :)

Homegrown Radishes...

We picked our first homegrown vegetables recently - radishes! We grew them in a flower pot on our front stoep, and I ate mine with mayonnaise on a rice cake. We also have baby tomatoes growing there. We can't wait till they get ripe! :)

Mother's Day 2019...

Mother's Day was on Sunday, 12th May, in both the USA and South Africa. I surprised Candace with croissants in bed for breakfast, and we then had a lovely picnic - albeit indoors due to the weather - for lunch after church. We Skyped my parents in the afternoon to wish my mom a happy Mother's Day, and then we went to Candace's parents' house for Family Night in the evening. We are very thankful for the special Mothers in our lives! :)

 Breakfast in bed.

 Picnic lunch.

So thankful for Candace. She's a great mom to our kiddos!

Active Saturday...

Two weeks ago (11th May) was the Pregnancy Care Centre's 5-km run/walk at the East Side Park in Washington. We all took part - pushing Riaan and Eliza in their pushchairs - and had a lovely time. Once back home Riaan and I went up to the Sports Complex and watched our friends in their soccer game. And then a little later I went out for my first cycle ride in quite some time. I only did 14 kilometres or 9 miles, but it was good to be out on the bike again. It was a great, active Saturday!

 Riaan and Candace approach the finish line.

Riaan is covered in powder paint - used to throw on walkers/runners during Colour Runs.

 With Eliza at the finish.

Cycling just after lunch. There is a lot of new cycling-friendly signage around the County. :)