Happy Thanksgiving 2019...

We celebrated Thanksgiving on Thursday, 28th November. We spent the afternoon at Candace's cousin's house and enjoyed fellowship and fun together with the Miller side of the family. While Thanksgiving day is a good time to be thankful, it is also so important to remember to be thankful throughout the year!

 Eliza and me on Thanksgiving morning.

 Happy Thanksgiving treats.

 Riaan holding his new cousin, Everleigh.

 Children's table.

 Handsome boy with his yummy meal.

 Eliza tucks into her meal.

 Lunch table.

 Arts and crafts in the afternoon...

And board games, too. :)

Cloud Shield...

It was on a very windy Wednesday that this low-level cloud bank drifted over the area. It felt rather surreal as this cloud bank passed over us - causing the morning to turn to early evening. It was almost like a scene from the movie Independence Day, when the alien spaceship emerges from its cloud shield. :)

 The cloud bank approaches the area from the west...

... And eventually blots out the newly-risen sun in the east.

Carpentry Fun...

We spent an afternoon with Candace's parents back in mid-November. Riaan wanted to build a bird house for our back garden, and so he spent a few hours helping his Grandpa make one in the wood shop. Eliza was just happy playing with off-cuts and visiting the horses next door. It was very sweet watching Riaan helping in the carpentry process - and then he even got to paint the bird house! :)

 Thumbs-up for carpentry fun!

 Little Eliza happy to scribble on some wooden off-cuts.

 Using the nail gun with Grandpa.

 Painting with Grandma.

Eliza loved the horses next door!

Donate blood and save lives!

I donated blood for my fifth time in the United States - and my thirteenth time overall - last month. Before moving to the USA, I was a blood donor while serving with Mercy Ships and was able to donate blood in several African countries - albeit onboard the M/V Africa Mercy - and thus served our patients in a different yet tangible way. And after Candace's emergency of four years ago, I'm an even bigger supporter of blood donation. It really does save lives and keeps families together!

X marks the spot!

First Snow of the Season...

We had our first significant snowfall of the season on Remembrance (Veteran's) Day, the 11th November 2019. We received between two and three inches of snow in the early evening and overnight. The temperatures stayed cold enough for the snow to remain on the ground for several days. The first snow is always beautiful to see - especially when it isn't too significant a snowfall and it doesn't cause too many travel issues. :)

 Snow starting to stick on the windscreen.

 Snow in the back garden the next morning.

 The front of our house two days later.

Pretty sunset over the melting snow.

Another SA Passport...

Eliza's South African passport arrived, all in good order, during early November. We were very excited that it had arrived safely after quite a long process that started back in May 2018 - getting her first registered as a South African by descent. We received her SA birth certificate back in May 2019 and then applied for her SA passport in June - after a quick trip to the Consulate in Chicago. Riaan received his SA passport back in 2016.

Good to have the green-and-gold passport safely here! :)

Rugby World Cup Victory!

The Rugby World Cup occurs every four years and sees the world's top rugby nations battle for world rugby domination. The All Blacks have won three editions and up until this year, South Africa had won two: 1995 and 2007. I can still remember the euphoria that South Africa's victory brought the country in the aftermath of both of those World Cups. It was amazing!

This year, I enjoyed watching South Africa's journey through the 2019 Rugby World Cup from afar. It has been wonderful being able to watch the games live online, albeit very early in the morning. And so it was that I woke up early and watched South Africa defeat England 32-12 in an entertaining Final to win their third Rugby World Cup on November 2nd. Riaan was also quite excited - as he proudly shows off his "Bokkie" here. The tournament in Japan was fantastic and I'm so proud to be South African! :) I also dressed up as a Springbok rugby player for my work's dress-up day late in October!

 My Springbok costume for my work's dress-up day.

 2019 Rugby World Cup jersey.

Streaming the Final live on my cell phone. :)