November: Family time!!!

November brought a visit from Oupa & Ouma, my parents. The boys could literally not keep their hands of their grandparents, almost as if they could not believe they were here in person. We spent our last weekend of their visit at Troutbeck, Nyanga. So special.

George took this amazing photo on the way there. Only God can paint such a perfect sunbeam through overcast skies.


The timeshare chalets from a golfing tee on the opposite bank.

We are here.......... note the golf course in the background :)

The hotel complex, chalets, golf course & stables - this photo was taken as we came back from World's View.

In the blink of an eye the mist would start rolling in........awesome.

The Saturday morning we went to World's View - a lookout point in the Eastern Highlands mountain range. The view is spectacular!!!! God's country for sure.

Shopping is never far........ soap stone sculptures are very popular in Zimbabwe.

Unfortunately the mist had rolled in by the time we got back to the chalets and George & Ellen had to postpone their golf game. However we had booked the boys for pony rides which turned out to be full grown horses used for the mountain trails :) Have to say I was more than apprehensive about the whole experience.

Samuel with his riding helmet........ success only until he saw the horse, then wanted nothing more to do with "safety first".

Because of no helmet, size of horse and initially frantic actions, Samuel was not alone on his ride.

He enjoyed it so much we had trouble getting him down and away from the horse.

Michael looking serious and ready for business.

After his ride with the trainer, Michael wanted to do it alone. Be still my heart!


Sunday morning was bright, clear, no rolling mist, so out came the golf clubs. I did mention George's favourite part :) the 9 hole course......actually Ellen was pretty excited about it too. Do love their passion for the game :)

Marina & Yvonne walked with the boys to meet George & Ellen. All taken from the comfort of my recliner on the chalet patio :)

It was truly a special weekend and we would have loved to stay the week. It is an amazing part of a very beautiful country, we have been blessed to have been able to live here the past 3 years.

Marina is so in love with the place she is still telling one & all that its the perfect wedding venue :) Yep, George is having heart palpitations at the thought of them having a special friend........and then we're not even close to talking leaving the nest & all that :)

Again so blessed at having a gap year with the older two - although they have lots of plans regarding volunteer work, some which includes travelling.

October: All in Pink

October was all pink as we took part in a Breast Cancer awareness campaign. All the children wore pink......easy for Yvonne as she loves pink, not to bad for Ellen as she has a collection of cancer awareness bandannas which included pink ones..... but Marina who only loves / wears black, purple and her jeans.... a different story :) But she did it like a trooper and even painted her nails pink!

Have to say the boys look very handsome in pink. On the other hand it doesn't matter what they wear we think they are the 2 cutest boys around.

October was also the beginning of our journey for 2012 as we knew George's contract in Zimbabwe was coming to an end. Various options were placed on the table and we were in a "waiting period". Never easy to be there as we knew we would only know for sure by the end of December.

September: 1 st Day of School for the boys

On advice of Samuel's occupational therapist we placed the boys in a small play school from September to December. So after an emotional visit to Jean & Annie, our play school teachers, the marking of clothes, bottles and lunchboxes began.......


Day one saw both boys being very excited at having their "nappy bags" converted to school bags and being able to go to school.

Bags on their back, hats on their heads and both thought it very funny trying to run away rather than get into the car.

Even big sisters were excited but definitely found the house too quiet as the morning progressed.

Have to say I was way too emotional on that day, Jean & Annie were amazing - they even called during the morning to give me an update.

Day two, three, four and all those following saw the boys super excited each day.

They can't wait to wave the lot of women in the house good-bye..............

Have to say it has been amazing for Samuel's speech and both of them loved the Monkeynastixs which did wonders for their balance, gross motor development.

We will miss these 2 amazing ladies when we leave........the have loved our sons as much as we do.

Ending August with a special birthday.

August ended in a high note with my brother's son turning 21. From the moment we laid eyes on him, he stole our hearts and he has a very special place in our family. Our girls grew up thinking he was their older brother and missed him terribly when he moved. But believe me when I say they made up for lost time during each holiday :)
That mischievous look in Theo Jnr's eye, is definitely something he shares with his Dad. Even to this day they always have something up their sleeve when they "put their heads together".

Theo and the girls were always on some or other mission - here they are posing as agents. This was one of our first holidays after we moved to Ghana.

Another holiday photo with the girls trying to overpower Theo. Note how the girls are bundled up against the cold (we were so used to Ghana's glorious warm weather) and Theo has a short sleeve t-shirt on (he came from the UK and used to think the July weather was nice and warm)

Like father like son - both Theo 's are amazing when it comes to our boys. They accepted and loved on them right from the start. The boys having fun with the boys :)

I absolutely love this photo of the 3 generations of men in my life - they all carry the same name; despite having lived long distances apart the last few years, they have such similar personality traits that its "scary".

Whilst Ellen & I where in South Africa for some of her entrance exams, we were able to have an early birthday celebration with the family. Yep, they are father and son :) Again those mischievous looks and yep, they are quite a team :)

Thank you Lord for Theo Jnr,

Thank you Lord for the plans You have for his life;

Thank you Lord for Theo & Sharon and the way they love their son;

Thank you for grandparents who have given so much in being part of his life;

Thank you for Your hand of protection over him thus far, we pray for Your continued hand of protection over his life as he embarks on this new phase of his life;

We thank you for the blessing he has been to our entire family.

It's been 1 year already!! :)

A little over 2 years ago a baby boy was born into this family ...........

Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond their control, which included the loss of Michael's mother, they made a love decision to have this precious bundle adopted......


This pastor was one of the many people that God used in Michael's journey into our family.

This adorable little one found his way to BH and then straight into our hearts and family.

Romana & Bernard were such an integral part in the growing of our family. I truly admire their passion for what they do despite everything ........ that includes parents on adoption roller coasters & ALL the emotions and admin that goes with it. :)

Another group of people I truly admire......... they have been awesome! This photo was taken by Mariette after our adoption order was granted. I'm so sorry that in the excitement of it all I didn't get a photo of her with us because she was in court with us - she kept Samuel so quiet during the proceedings (amazing) & prayed !!

Well, what can I say - Michael is the main source of laughter in our home at the moment. He is learning to talk so he repeats everything, yep everything, we say. He keeps us on our toes because you never know what he'll repeat when :)

And then there is this look ........ he uses it often & knows that it is powerful - would you be able to say no to this cutie pie?

Then there is also the pout or kissy face...... another "weapon" he uses freely - from when he does not want to eat his veggies, to just a kiss because he wants to. He is a real little love bug :)

Michael Ayinbota Atua Versfeld - adoption date 19 August 2010
Born is our hearts long before then.

"Thank you Lord for Michael, thank you for a family that loved him enough and people that you had in place long before Michael needed them on his way into our family. Thank you Lord for the unconditional love You stirred in our family's hearts for this little boy. Thank you especially Lord for choosing us, You have blessed us beyond what we deserve."

Happy 2nd Birthday Michael!

Michael is 2 years old!!!!

I cannot believe how time has just flown by this past year. Last year this time I was in Ghana (I truly love that country :) & miss the heat and humidity & the traffic & the people & & & ......! ); I had only met Michael 2 days before and the biggest part of the adoption roller coaster ride was still ahead of us.

The biggest blessing for me though was being able to be there for his 1st birthday - George & the girls would have loved to share this day, but it was not to be......

It did not stop us though from having a good time with Michael's BH family & our "adopted" Paul family - the cake of cause a Bake Shop classic, delicious :)

This year my sister, Gretchen was there to share in the moment. She flew back with Ellen & Marina after the university entrance tests and spent about a week with us.

Auntie GiGi , as Michael calls her, with Marina and Yvonne

This photo of Ellen & Gretchen was taken at Greater Zimbabwe.

As with Samuel's birthday, we invited our friends from Jabulani to share the day with us. This amazing couple who have 6 abandoned little ones in their care are such an inspiration to us. They have a beautiful home and the little ones are most definitely no longer orphaned - they have a Mom & Dad that adore them and love on them abundantly.

Enjoying the sunshine and just being together.

This adorable little girl was the "lead singer" when we sang happy birthday. She, and the other little ones, have so much confidence and they love to sing. Michael loves all the girls, the boys are a different story :)

Michael loves a bakkie (pick up) (especially his Oupa's) and his favorite character in the movie "Cars" is Mater.

Because George could not be at home for the entire party, we decided to only cut the cake the evening. Michael had a firm grip on the knife and actually did most of the cutting himself. Another delicious cake from our friend Des - yes, we love cake :)

Hard to believe a year has passed from the first photo to this one. We are so blessed!!!!!

What a difference these two little boys have made in our lives - not only our family, but so many others lives have been touched by them.

Thank you Lord for Michael,

We know that you had a future and great plans for him long before he was knitted in his mother's womb;

Thank you that we can be part of his life; help us Lord to bring him up in Your ways;

Thank you for his smile & laughter; his unconditional "luv you".

Happy Birthday "MushaBelly"