Lake Kariba + good friends = FUN

Yvonne's birthday fell on a mid-term weekend break which meant that everyone that she wanted to invite was either already away or on their way. Before she had a chance to feel "unloved" due to circumstances, God revealed His special plans for her birthday. Wonderful friends of our invited us to Lake Kariba for the weekend!

The town Kariba was built for construction workers on the lake's dam in the 1950's.

This is a view of the dam wall that links Zimbabwe with Zambia.

The whole group of us, excluding George the photographer. Yes, one can have an awezim weekend with 5 teenagers & 4 little ones.

All 7 of us on the highway with the lake behind us.
Looking out over the largest man made lake and reservoir in the world,
was a humbling experience.


George with all 5 our precious ones.
Ellen was very apprehensive, she is not a lover of bridges,
walls or any construction that involves "crossing over".


The boys really wanted to see what was on the other side of this 128m (420ft) dam wall.

One of the double highways between Zimbabwe & Zambia run over the the dam wall making it a no mans land between the 2 border posts - traffic however is limited. Samuel & Michael must have thought they struck gold as they had miles to run - crossing borders without passports :)

I would have loved to know what they were sharing - lots of baby talk & then they walked off holding hands. Brothers forever :)

When he was not "running wild" Michael made sure he was within reach :)

This is just one of the harbours in Lake Kariba where the houseboats anchor.

Definitely one of our adventures in the near future.

We visited a little church built by the workers which they used for Sunday services and funerals - this is a marble plague of remembrance for the men who lost their lives during construction.

The church interior is simple but beautiful.

After sightseeing and of course some roadside shopping to keep the economy going :) it was time to cool off. The afternoon was spent at a local hotel / timeshare with a super, super water slide!! Even some of the grown ups were like kids again - will however not post those photos here :) Here is Yvonne & Ellen with a friend.

Yvonne's "biggest" birthday gift - a visit from the hippos on our last night there. They grazed right where we were having our braai / bbq.

What an awezim weekend.

We are blessed to be living in a beautiful country.

"Sweet 16" for our Yvonne

For 14 years Yvonne was the baby of the family. She gave up that position when we adopted Samuel, however she is still our 'baby girl'.


This family photo was taken in May 2009 before I left for Ghana to fetch Samuel. And yes, she is now the tallest girl in the house!

To see her grow and change from surely the cutest, curly top baby girl to a young lady has been a privilege. She has always been a very intense child, asking some serious life questions from a young age. Yvonne is passionate about reading; has an incredible art talent (which she recently discovered & is still very shy about) and continues to ask intense questions. She has always loved ballet & any story that ends with 'happily ever after' :)

Although living with older twin sisters isn't always easy for her (her words not mine) she will take on anyone who dares to say anything about them.


Despite the fact that she is 16, Yvonne never hesitates to join one of her brothers on the playground - she really enjoys 'little kiddies activities' with the boys,always ready to play.

Yvonne is always ready to travel, her 'car activity bag' is always the most interesting & she is always the first to make any hotel / chalet room home.

Yvonne is always game for something African, whether its drumming or having her hair braided.

Yvonne is a loving sister to 2 very, very busy baby brothers!! They just love her room which is a treasure chest of books & fluffy toys. They squeal with delight when allowed to 'sneak' in when she's not looking :) Despite Samuel waking her up before 6am in the mornings by using her as a climbing exercise....

.... she cried tears of joy when seeing him after 5 weeks in Ghana.

She is always willing to share a good story with a precious brother.

From being a 'grown up' to 5 min later ...............

....... loving being a kid sliding down an embankment on a box......that's our Vonnie :)

Thank you Lord for Yvonne.

Lord, even from before her first breath You had Your hand of protection over her and

we know that You have great plans for her life.

We thank you Lord for the place she has in our family.

Vonnie you are so special and we love you LOTS!!!

Kidzcan Zimbabwe

Although our children are home schooled, we encourage our children to take part in fundraising efforts where schools are involved. On 15 February we all wore orange in support of Kidzcan Orange Day commemorating World Children's Cancer Day.

Ellen loves a bandana - although she has a wide variety, the love started with her first collection of Sunflower bandanas & every year she buys the entire rainbow of their new collection. These bandanas are on sale from about August each year on behalf of The Sunflower Fund (http://www.sunflowerfund.org.za/). Not only are the funds raised by the sales and Bandana Day (12 October this year) going to a very good cause, but people are made aware of the plight of especially young leukemia sufferers.

Back to Kidzcan...Between the girls' collection of Sunflower bandanas we were able to all wear at least one orange item for the day - yes, George did wear a bandana to work with his suit :) Must say I do love the boys in their bandanas - Samuel thinks he's a pirate, Michael did not care so much for his Mickey Mouse one :)

Kidzcan Zimbabwe (http://www.kidzcanzimbabwe.org/) have been working tirelessly not only to raise funds to pay for medical treatment, but also establish support groups and offer practical assistance for the children & their families in the paediatric wards of Harare's main hospital. Parents often have no choice but to leave their little ones to face cancer treatment alone and that's were Kidzcan steps in. They have been working closely with paediatric doctors and surgeons, stepping in as a caregiver for many of these little ones.

To date Kidzcan raised U$15.546-00 with their Orange day and donations are still coming in!

No words necessary

I love this fun photo of some of the teenagers we have come to know.

It was taken in our lounge window when we had a "send off" braai (barbeque) for Staci,

one of the girls' best friends.

Staci now loves life at Rhodes University in South Africa - she is 4th from the left.

Happy 3rd birthday Samuel

Samuel is 3!!!

Looking back to that first day George & I met Samuel it is hard to believe this is the same little boy we collected late on a Sunday afternoon. There is so much to say about this special son of ours. Yes, we have days that are more challenging than others, nights especially is still tough. BUT every day is a blessing; each milestone a celebration. So far this year we have been blessed almost daily with a new milestone - from small things like a new word out of the blue, to bigger things like balancing on a balance beam and walking on tippy toes -

for him tippy toes are HUGE :)

How much do we love this little one.

The boys & I went to the shops and when we arrived home, Samuel immediately picked up this doll and cuddled it just the way we cuddle them - even doing the necessary baby sounds :)

For his birthday we bought Samuel a miniature jumping castle. Although it sounds like a major toy expense, Samuel needs a safe space to learn balance & jumping. His OT loves this toy and so does both boys....... I've even caught the girls in there :)

Samuel loves a guitar and when we gave him the birthday cake book to page through, guess what he picked. Yes, I know it has more than 3 strings - but what can I say we are 3!!

Samuel uses sign and words to communicate. I love this photo of him showing light after he switched on the bedside lamp. Just look at him trying to get the words right!

Here I'm trying to get him to stand still on his birthday to measure his height - we could not get him to stop laughing long enough to measure him.

Samuel learns a lot through role play / copying others. He loves cleaning with Lucia, he even has his own dust cloth.

Did I mention that he loves a Hoover, not only to push it around & actually vacuum, but he also takes it apart after he saw Lucia clean it one day :)

A friend's son upgraded to a bunk bed & wanted Samuel to have his "baby" bed which is a car bed. Our intention was to paint it first before using it, but Samuel was so excited that the painting will have to wait. Because of his sleep apnea, he seems to sleep better in an upright position - maybe this is taking it a bit far :)

Thank you Lord for Samuel.

Thank you for the tears - some of frustration,some even sorrow but mostly joy,

because that is what love is all about.

We rejoice in each new day with this special son of ours.

Samuel we love you!

Jan 2011: 18Mnths + 5Mnths = 2 busy boys

We celebrated Samuel's 18-month and Michael's 5-month adoption anniversaries in January.

When we started our adoption process of Michael, people were concerned that Samuel would not do well with a younger brother who would be "pushing his (Samuel's) limits".

But what an amazing bond these two little ones have, even with the normal healthy sibling rivalry.

A "love you hug" from Samuel. Michael took some time to get use to this hugging thing - but now he loves it.

I love the way they get dirty together. Michael is definitely more adventurous than Samuel which is great as Samuel learns best through following an example.

Samuel & Daddy on his adoption anniversary day, 17 January.

A somewhat sleep deprived Mommy & Samuel on his adoption anniversary.

2 Clean boys ready for bed - although I'm sure Michael had other ideas :)

This photo taken of Michael on his adoption anniversary, 19 January, shows the independent, self assured little boy that he is. His best toys remain a ball, any ball :)

Both boys love music, especially the African drums and Samuel's first love -a guitar. Here they are dancing to a Phil Collins DVD, Samuel's dance moves being "tweaked" by his brother.
To me they always look super cute in their pajamas.

This started off as a fight for control of the bike, then they realised they could both fit on it, but still not the joy that Mommy wanted to see when it comes to sharing.

Day 2 of "sharing transport" was more of a joyous occasion. They helped each other on & off and even waved as they "hit the road".

Then Michael discovered Samuel's legs are longer and therefor he should be doing all the work. Michael was laughing all the time - he had the rest of us in stitches.
Since Michael started walking, this is a regular sight. Two brothers on their way to cause trouble / investigate something new. Here they are patrolling the back garden for a tortoise!

Sometime last year we had 2 tortoises move into our garden. The boys love to go looking for them in the garden. The day before this photo was taken the tortoise was cruising the back garden. Michael is showing Daddy where it was last seen and calling the tortoise to come out.

I love this photo of the two boys. Samuel loves on Michael at unexpected times - he just hugs him & kisses him on the top of his head, signing brother & me :)

When God brought these two little boys into our family, He blessed us way beyond what we deserve, ever. I almost can not imagine our lives without them. I don't know what the future holds for them (or any of our girls for that matter), but what I do know is that they are loved beyond words, they have the Father's loving hand of protection over them and He has a plan and a purpose for each of our 5 children.

My prayer for 2011 is that families would open their hearts and homes for children in need; that we will be able to make a difference. That we would love unconditionally, just like Jesus.

Belated December 2010

Our holidays started rather "shaky" with Samuel having his adenoids removed (to help with his breathing and sleep apnea) and grommets inserted (to sort out some hearing problems) on day 2 after arrival. Although his speech is improving daily, we are still struggling with his disturbed sleep pattern at night :( Samuel did well during the procedure, Mommy not so good - especially since George was still in Zimbabwe and the girls spent a day out with Gretch. I get way to emotional when it comes to our children. The same day of the procedure, we also had Samuel's heart sonar & EEG done which showed no irregularities of major concern - Praise God!


The rest of the holidays were spent trying to sort out the rest of our things that still needed unpacking and catching up with family and friends. Oh and of course doing some "small-small" shopping - the boys did grow quite a bit and well, girls will be girls :) and George will always love an electronics store :)

Samuel & Daddy having fun with a shop assistant's "accessories", whilst the girls shop.

Cousin Theo & Michael trying out a new red hat - still in the same shop :)

Summer means sharing watermelon with Oupa.

It also means lots of cuddles from Ouma.

Ouma, Oupa and all the grandchildren- yep they're a busy bunch :)

The girls bought the boys an inflatable barnyard for Christmas. It kept them entertained for hours, they loved hiding in the barn.

Yes, Mommy loved it a lot too. It's amazing what you can get into a suitcase if you want too. It is currently in our lounge - now an indoor play area.

Then there is our 2 precious bikers - thanks Oupa & Ouma.

Michael trying out his new serious biker face.

Theo has a very place in our hearts and this was the first holiday that Samuel really interacted with him. Both boys can point him out on a photo and say his name. Since he lives in the UK and we only see him once a year, it was a special time. He even did a day of baby sitting the boys, with Ouma's help of course, whilst the girls & I were out.

25 December 2010 - full house

At the beginning of 2010 we knew that this was going to be a year of adjustment, stretching, learning, growing as we started Michael's adoption process.

The year was not always easy and some days were tougher than other, yet we would do it again - it was so worth it!!!!!

God provided each day exactly what was needed!

We serve an awezim God!