Day out @ Bally Vaugh

This past Saturday we visited a animal sanctuary not to far from Harare. Not only do they have "orphaned" domestic animals (pigs,geese,chickens,rabbits,etc) but they also have a number of lions, zebras, crocodiles, variety of monkeys/baboons and other. All the children loved it - the boys were initially overwhelmed, but quickly recovered and then they were unstoppable.

Despite our friends' son ending up with stitches in his leg and a mishap of my own (last photo) a fabulous time was had by all.

On our way.

George & Samuel

George & Michael

This 3 week old orphan almost had a new home.

The boys (and girls) fell in love with him :)

Michael loving on the little one after he realised he could not pick it up,

he did try his best though.

Samuel got hold of a leg, would not let go and

proceeded to plant kisses all over the little one :)

Look, look..........
Michael was almost besides himself with excitement when he saw .........

the zorse...........

no petting of this little one though, he was skittish.

It started with a slow walk through the water..........

then a slight slip on the mossy slope .............

The rest is history................yes, the water was rather chilly :)

The view from our table where we were having lunch, awezim!

Samuel got frantic every time Jacob & friends got to close.

George thought Jacob looked better with my hat than me :)

Jacob, the donkey, getting up close and personal.

A little nibble from Jacob resulted in this - yes, its MY arm!!

Teething, tonsils all in the month of March

Since we removed Samuel's adenoids in December, his breathing improved, but his tonsils didn't. So just after his 3rd birthday we made the decision to rather have them removed. So came March Mommy & the boys went to South Africa and George & the girls remained in Zimbabwe.



Arriving at Johannesburg - 1 nappy bag, 1 laptop bag, 2 boys, 2 prams, 3 suitcases = 1 very stressed out Mommy. Especially since there was a hiccup at immigration with Samuel's visa :)

Oh, did I mention Michael also had a very high fever at the time and did not want anyone near him :( During the first week in South Africa Michael also had a terrible infection of his gums, apart from teething that is, and was not a happy chappy. However it wasn't long before he was up to mischief.

Samuel looking way to adorable in his red pajamas on surgery day.

He did not fancy the "dress" and promptly pulled his arm through - looked more like a Ghanaian kente cloth draping :) which was more to his liking.

God knew that this Mommy doesn't handle surgeries well (not even minor ones) and blessed us with a very healthy Downsie. It was soooo hard for me to leave Samuel in theatre and I was crying more than him when they gave him back to me afterwards.

Despite having lost weight initially, Samuel is currently eating like a typical boy! :) His speech is improving daily, especially when asking for something to eat. One can't help but love this :)

So many people prayed for Samuel for healing not only from the tonsils, but also his sleep apnea. God heard those prayers and Samuel's sleep has improved in leaps & bounds.

I'm constantly made aware of the fact that God loved our children, all of them, even before George & I became their parents.

His hand of protection is strong, constant and forever.

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!