Mom's Final Sunday...

We walked to Harvest for the service on this final Sunday of Mom's visit this year. We enjoyed the message by Jeff and being able to hear my friend Dan's testimony. It was all about discipleship, mentoring, fellowship and community - all very important factors in the Christian walk.

We then walked back home and shortly thereafter drove to Jeff and Allyson's house south-east of Washington, where we had a lovely lunch and time of fellowship. It was also very special as Jeff and Allyson (and all of us) surrounded Mom and prayed over her for safe travels over the coming days.

We were back home soon after 16h00 and then had family pop in to visit in the evening. We then prepared the kiddos for bed and Mom enjoyed reading Riaan his bedtime stories and playing with Eliza late into the night.

 Riaan loves the piano.

 Colouring at Jeff and Allyson's place.

 Praying over Mom.

 Sweet Riaan ready for bed.

Brave Eliza in her pretty dress.

Granny with the Kiddos...

A final photo of Mom on the swing with her two beautiful South African-American grandchildren. :)

Sweet memories. :)

Final Saturday...

Mom's final Saturday in Indiana was a fun, full day. The day started with me waking up early and watching South Africa's opening game (vs New Zealand) of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. Although the Springboks lost 23-13 to the All Blacks, there were plenty of positives that gave me hope for South Africa's campaign moving forward. Mom and I then went for a great 25 km (16 mile) cycle around the surrounding areas. There was a bit of everything on this bike ride - smooth roads, gravel sections, steep climbs and fast downhills - and it made for a fun final cycle together for this trip. Candace and the kiddos stayed home and Riaan and Eliza had fun playing in the sandpit while we were out cycling. 

Once home, I made a fire in our fire pit and we had a lovely family braai (barbecue) together. We enjoyed chops and sausages, toasted sarmies (toasted sandwiches done over the fire), potato salad and Simba Nik-Naks, one of South Africa's best-loved chip snacks. We had a relaxing afternoon doing various tasks and then in the evening we did do a quick trip to Wal-Mart to print photos and shop for various items. We ate popcorn and watched a war movie in the late evening to wrap up our final Saturday together for some time.

 Kiddos playing in the sandpit.

 Adding charcoal to the fire.

 Eliza and Granny relaxing by the fire.

 My little helper.

Meat on the braai - yum!

Checking the meat.

Waiting on the toasted sarmies...

 And they're done!

 No braai is complete without Nik-Naks!

Yummy lunch! :)

Harmonie State Park with Mom...

We took Mom to visit Harmonie State Park, on the banks of the Wabash River, on Friday, 20th September. Upon arriving at Indiana's furthest south-west state park, we went to a nice playground where the kiddos played and we had a picnic lunch.

We then drove to the campground entrance from where we walked to the lovely little Nature Centre. Here we enjoyed seeing the various displays, and we then took a relatively brief walk through the forest. We went to the Wabash River and looked across the river into Illinois, before driving home via Evansville. It was a great way to spend Mom's final Friday in Indiana for this trip!

 The round barn in southern Daviess County.

 Motorbikes - all with trailers - on I-64 heading west.

 Raised trailer home down by the Wabash River.

 Maple Hill Cemetery, near New Harmony.

 Blowing bubbles in the playground.

 Riaan and Granny enjoying the swings.

 Picnic time!

 Interesting tree in the campground.

 Preserved part of a tree trunk, showing the rings. It also has some toy cars inside!

 The Nature Centre at Harmonie.

 Little Free Library.

 The small one-roomed Nature Centre.

 Dove resting outside the bird watching window.

 Hummingbird in a tree.

 Tiger salamander.

 Eastern garter snake.

 Candace and Riaan playing a matching game.

 Hiking through the forest.

 Pretty flowers.

  A turtle suns itself on a log in one of the ponds.

 Driving through the lush vegetation.

 Family selfie on the banks of the Wabash River.

 Riaan peers through the binoculars and spies something on the far shore...

 A wreck of a small boat!

 A tree stump perched precariously on the edge. The rest of it has already fallen into the river.

 A school of tiny minnows swimming in the water.

 Large muscular black rat snake sunning itself on the road.

 Head of the black rat snake.

 Cool sundial near the park entrance.

 A double cab pickup with Crawford on the side!

 Tall grain silo on the drive towards Evansville.

City of Evansville emblazoned on the bridge.