Day 24: Boys will be boys!!

Today was a pretty uneventful day.  No exciting animal encounters or interesting attractions, just us.  We got up as usual at 7AM, had breakfast and hung out in our pj's for a bit.  Nicolas enjoys wrestling and tickle fights, so many mornings include both.  These always end up in wedgies, elbows to the head, and getting velcroed in the face (Nicolas' hair resembles velcro in both texture and its ability to attract everything).  I try to stay out of the wrestling as it never seems to work out well for me. :)  After wrestling and a snack, the boys went out to play soccer while I got ready.  They got ready as well and we headed on our every-other-day trip to the grocery store, had lunch, and headed for the pool.  It was quite warm today, so the pool felt pretty good!  Today Nicolas mastered both front and back flips in the shallow end (done in the water - just in case you thought I was crazy and let my kid do flips into the pool).  He did 50 back flips in a row!!  I don't know how he wasn't dizzy!  He is continuing to get more and more comfortable in the water and is improving at treading water in the deep end as well.  He and Kevin were swimming laps back and forth and his stroke has really improved!  He is going to be quite the fish!

A storm rolled in pretty quickly mid-afternoon, so we headed inside and turned on some music.  We danced and goofed around until the storm passed, then went back out to blow bubbles.  Then came the norm - dinner and homework.  We did throw a little bonus in with a skype with Auntie Beth.  We have been able to skype a few times over the last few days and it is so great to see and hear from family and friends.  We miss you!!!  After a quick read of Dinosaurs Love Underpants, it was bedtime.

One humorous quote I forgot to share the other day:  Nicolas said to Kevin "I wish God would turn back time on certain things." Kevin asked what he would be referring to and he responded "I want you to have your beard and mustache again and for you to have more hair up here (pointing to Kevin's forehead) like you did in the pictures." :)  Kevin kindly informed him that he could grow facial hair again, but that his hair was never coming back.  Poor Kevin....

Happy Friday!  Have a great weekend!!!

The Longstreet Trio

Day 23: Soweto

It was another gorgeous day in South Africa!  I have had more time in the sun this week than I had all summer long! :)  Today we went with Auntie Bev to Soweto which is a city about 30-45 minutes from where we are staying.  I want to be cautious of relaying the history as I don't want to get it wrong, but it was started as a village for blacks.  It carries a great deal of South African history and heritage and we had the opportunity to visit several landmarks there today.  We first went to the Hector Pieterson Museum.  The museum shares the story of the effects of apartheid in Soweto which lead to the uprising in 1976.  During the uprising, many died, including Hector Pieterson who was only 13.  The government refused to allow the citizens to have a mass funeral for all those lost, so they settled by allowing for a funeral service to be held for Hector.  I am leaving out a lot of detail.  If you would like to read more about it, you can check it out here: http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/history-soweto  It was pretty depressing, but a good opportunity to learn more about the history of SA at the same time.

From there, we headed to the home of Nelson Mandela.  We were taken on a guided tour of his home and learned a great deal about his life and family.  They had letters he had written to his wife and family  while imprisoned on Robben Island available for viewing, many of the awards that he and his wife have received, gifts that they had been given, and photos and quotes from Mandela and others.  The house had actually been set on fire twice among other violent acts (bullet holes were still visible on the exterior of the house).  The house had been updated years ago to current standards, but Mandela had requested that the updates be removed and the home be restored as it had been (which happened in 2008).  We did take a few pictures there.

We took a break from our tour for lunch at a traditional South African restaurant.  After lunch, we headed to the Oppenheimer Tower. The tower was built to enable people to see all of Soweto.  The tower has 49 stairs to recognize the 49 townships of Soweto.  Also on the property is a village that we were given a guided tour of.  Below is a picture of a traditional thatch hut.

And here is the view from the top of the tower (giving proof that I went up there!).  I was completely freaked out when our guide jumped up on the ledge of the tower so casually to take our photo, leaning back to fit us in.  Near heart attack, but I made it!

The last stop on our adventure today was to an informal settlement (a.k.a village of shacks).  What an eye-opening experience.  16,000 people live in this settlement which does not have electricity, modern plumbing or proper sanitation, and one water source to provide for hundreds or more.  They received a gift from a tourist that provided them with more modern outhouse accommodations.  Despite all of this, they are happy people.  We were able to go inside one of the homes and the woman was happy with what she had.  Paffarin stove, paraffin lamps, two cramped rooms for four people.  One twin bed.  No refrigeration, heat, protection, or privacy.  It definitely makes you stop and think about how easy we have it.  She had a large basin hanging on the wall which we were told was what they used to bathe.  They would take it to their water supply, fill it, and then bring it back and bathe with that water.  Here is an image of the street we walked through.    

We made some friends along the way.  Precious children.  They asked us all kinds of questions and of course, asked for money.  I did get some smiles when I shared my gum with them.  

It really is an amazing thing they have going there.  The men that give the tours live in the village.  They keep 10% of any donations given for the tours and the rest goes into a fund for the entire community.  How different would our world be if we all worked together like that???

Makes us stop and thank God for the amazing life he has provided us with.

We headed back to our guest house and Nicolas went swimming for a bit.  He was doing all kinds of different jumps into the pool.  This was my favorite - kung fu panda.  

The rest of our evening followed our routine - dinner, homework, ice cream (a habit we need to break - for my own good!), and we watched half of Annie.  Tomorrow should be another lazy day here at the guest house.  This week really flew by!  Many have asked us if we are ready to come home and it's a tough question to answer.  Do we miss home?  Yes.  We miss family and friends, our own bed, own shower, the dogs, our church (although New Creation is a great church away from home!), and the comforts of "home".  At the same time, though, we love it here.  Beyond the obvious beautiful weather, South Africa is a beautiful place with great people and culture.  We are grateful for the time we have here to experience all that SA has to offer and to have this time to bond with Nicolas.  We are able to see into his life here in SA, meet so many people in his life and build friendships that we will cherish forever.  So yes, we miss home, but we are blessed to have a home away from home. :)

Lastly, here is another video from Pilanesberg.  I hate to say it, but the John Ball Zoo is just not going to cut it after all we have seen here!!!

Goodnight!

Laura, Kevin, and Nicolas

Day 22: A day of rest :)

Nicolas had told us that today we would stay in our pajamas until 9 o'clock at night.  We were up at 7AM :)  This morning we had breakfast and then he jumped in our bed to read his devotional.  We lounged around for a bit playing and even had a small tickle fight.  We asked Nicolas if he would like to play soccer or baseball and he said "I thought we were going to stay in our pajamas until 9 o'clock at night?  We are supposed to be resting today."  What???  Coming from the child who spent the last two days sitting in the car.  Um no......there will be no resting all day.  Using an analogy I am borrowing from my mom, he would be like a shaken can of Coke, ready to explode.  So....we convinced him that we should play soccer and headed out into the garden.  It was very warm again today with very few clouds in the sky.  Typically, when we play soccer, one of us plays on a team with Nicolas and the other is the goalie.  This means that Kevin and I do the bulk of the running, chasing after the ball down the hill.  It's good, given that I haven't actually worked out in over a month (man is THAT going to be painful when we get home!).  Nicolas ran for the ball a couple times, then looked at Kevin and said "Why don't you get it.  I'm tired."  He has lots of energy, but it seems we may need to work on endurance.  After a bit, we switched to catch, then headed in for lunch.

After lunch, we went in the pool.  Despite some warm days, the pool is still pretty chilly from the heavy rains we had last week.  Kevin and Nicolas worked on treading water in the deep end, which is a work in progress.  He knows the motions, but stops doing them as soon as Kevin stops holding on to him. :)  We also had a jump contest.  First, it was Nicolas and I, then Nicolas and Kevin.  Kevin chose to do back flops and belly flops, which - no surprise - were painful.  I stuck with cannonballs and twists. :)  I also spent a little time this afternoon attempting to get a tan.  Pause for roaring laughter......and moving on. :)  While I don't tan, I do have a lot more freckles that I did when we got here.  Baby steps...... :)

While Kevin and Nicolas were in the pool, another guest arrived.  Kevin reminded Nicolas that we have to use good manners (specifically that he should not act like he needs help unless he really does and that he should refrain from burping, if possible since he likes to inhale pool water) and he responded with a serious face "I have been trying, but it's just not working".  Ha ha ha!  If only I wrote down all the funny things he says.

This afternoon Kevin and I also were invited to a very special one-time-only concert.  It was a tribute to all things Michael Jackson with a little Toby Mac in the finale.  He took a blanket and draped it over our counter to make his backstage area.  It was quite spectacular.

Our evening was comprised of dinner, homework, ice cream, and Despicable Me.  While Nicolas favors Vector for his direction and magnitude - OH YEAH! - I am partial to Agnes and her affinity for unicorns.  Unicorns I love them. Unicorns I love them.  Unicorns, unicorns, I looooooooove them! :)

Tomorrow, we are going to Soweto with Auntie Bev to see Nelson Mandela's home, the Oppenheimer Tower, and to have lunch at a traditional South African restaurant.  We are excited not only to see it all, but also that Nicolas hasn't been there either.  It should be a very fun day!

Here are a few more videos of our adventures at Pilanesberg:

This is an up close and personal look at the rhinos.

And this was our lion encounter.

Goodnight from South Africa!

Laura, Kevin, and Nicolas

Day 20/21: Pilanesberg National Park

All I can say is WOW!!!  Yesterday morning we drove about 2 hours to Pilanesberg to visit the game reserve.  It is said to be the best place to see the Big 5 in South Africa.  We stayed at the Golden Leopard Resort at the Munyane Gate (there are several gates into the park).  I have to say, with this trip and going to the Lion Park, it was a little reminiscent of Jurassic Park when you enter the gates. :)

We arrived at the resort around lunch time, so we had lunch at the restaurant and then walked around for a bit to pass the time until we could check in.  We quickly dropped our things off in our room and headed into the park.  I will say, we stayed at the Golden Leopard because it was a fraction of the cost of the other resorts and you get what you pay for.  Our room was clean and satisfactory, but definitely not what the website described!  Our entire chalet was the size of my kitchen at home.  It said it could sleep up to 2 adults and 2 children and we had 2 twin beds.  In addition, when we checked in they asked us how much we owed on our room (shouldn't that be logged somewhere???) and when we checked out they said we hadn't paid (again with the record keeping......).

So anyway, back to the adventure!!  We headed into the park around 2:30PM not knowing what to expect.  The park is HUGE and you could literally drive around it for days and not see everything.  Another thing to note, we are driving the equivalent of a Nissan Versa (teeny 4-cylinder).  I would like to give kudos to the car because we didn't get stuck or blow a tire, either of which were very possible on some of the trails.  We drove through the park on Monday until 6:45PM, and we only left because they close the gates at 7PM.  It seemed that every time we felt that we had been driving for a while without seeing anything, you would turn your head and there they were.  This morning we got up at 5:15AM to try to catch the animals first thing in the morning.  To our disappointment, we really didn't see much on that drive.  Who knows if we weren't in the right area or if it was just not a good day, but our after-breakfast drive was much more fruitful.  Here are some of the highlights, but as you can imagine - we have LOTS of pictures and video!

This is a video of the elephants.  Listen for him/her to say hello!

This is one of many giraffes we saw.

And of course, my favorite, ZEBRAS!!

Awwwwww......so cute!

Rhino, far away.....(can you see the bird sitting on its back?)

Rhinos very close!!!! (As is, practically in the road!)

Elephants in their herd (do you see the babies in the middle?)

Elephants on Tuesday (look at all those babies!)

Up close and personal!!

Who are you looking at?

Amazing view!!!

Just having a snack :) 

(We found it interesting that we saw a lot of color variation in the giraffes.  Some were very, very light and this one had a lot of contrast)

Hungry hungry hippos!  (ok.....I don't know if they were really hungry)

This is a group of springboks (The South Africa rugby team's mascot is the springbok).  There are also a couple wildebeasts in the back on the left side of the picture.

This is an impala (antelope family).  We saw lots of these, including about 25 of them right outside our chalet both last night and this morning!  They are hard to see, but this one has spiraled antlers.

We thought we wouldn't see any lions and then we came up on two cars feverishly snapping pictures of....nothing.  We looked and looked at the mountainside and could NOT figure out what they were so exicted about.  Then, we finally got it!  We would never have seen them if it weren't for those people.  Thank you!

They were completely unphased by the 3 cars in the road.  They just kept on their merry way.

What a view!!  It was amazing!!!!

So, if you do the math, we spent about 10 hours in the car (not including driving to and from Pilanesberg) in two days.  Nicolas enjoyed seeing the animals, but did not enjoy the periods between our great sightings.  So......he was very thankful to have his dvd player!  It was a fun trip for all and we now have priceless memories and photos to remember South Africa with!

Here are a few other random bits of info we learned on our trip:

1.  South Africans like to put up lots of speed limit signs within a 1/4 mile stretch of road.  It would be 120 kph, then 80, then 60, then back to 120.  We are assuming it has something to do with the intersections, but we haven't had a chance to verify.

2.  South Africans are very daring passers.  Much of the 2-lane road we drove on was really more like a 3-lane road with only 2 lanes, meaning that the shoulder of the road was the equivalent of another half lane so a driver could pull half way off the road to allow you to pass.  With that said, cars would pass with oncoming traffic present.  AGGGGH!!!!

3.  The speed limit on the highway was 120 kph (about 70 mph).  The speed limit on the 2-lane road with signs warning of potholes was also 120 kph......eeek!

Once we got back, we grabbed lunch and some groceries, hopped in the pool for a bit, cleaned up and had dinner, did homework, and then we called it a night.  It was been a long, but awesome couple of days.  Our plan is to sleep in a bit tomorrow and then we will play it by ear.  

On that note, goodnight! :)

Laura, Kevin, and Nicolas

Day 19: Dinosaurs Wear Underpants

Despite the fact that Nicolas went to bed on time and Kevin and I went to bed earlier than we have been, the alarm went off too early this morning!  There have been several mornings where it would have been a blessing for Nicolas not to wake us up at 6:30AM, but this morning - the one morning where we actually have to get up - he wants to sleep in.  Go figure!  It took both of us to convince him to get up and I think the only reason he got up is because he loves standing in the hot shower.  Even with a slow start, we made it to church on time!  Today, a member of the church gave her testimony of God's grace through infertility issues.  We also had the opportunity to talk to another member after the service who is involved with Paradigm Shift (www.shiftingparadigms.org) which is a non-profit organization focused on breaking the poverty cycle.  Her and her husband are from the States and have been living in South Africa for four years now.  They are staff members for Paradigm Shift here in SA.  I would encourage you to take a look at the website, but Paradigm Shift empowers people in impoverished communities by leveraging their skills, training and mentoring them in business and entrepreneurship, teaching them about God and the relationship they can have with Him, and providing them avenues to provide for themselves and their families.  There are testimony videos on the site.  Again, I would highly encourage you to take a look!

After church, we came back the guest house and had lunch, then we headed to Spar (grocery store) to pick up some snacks for our road trip to Pilanesberg tomorrow!  We also stopped at Click's (it's like Walgreens) to pick up some benadryl cream for the bites on Nicolas' arms.  Funny story.......I went to the pharmacy counter to ask if they had Benadryl cream.  I had to explain the benadryl was anti-itch, for bug bites....and then she understood what I was talking about.  She grabbed a box, put it in a bag, wrapped the bag up, put a tag on it, stuck it in what looked like a metal lunch box, and put a zip tie on it so that it couldn't be opened.  Then she handed it to me and told me to pay for it at the front.  Really????  All that work for a $3 tube of anti-itch cream?  I would have taken a picture of it, but we had left the phone on the charger.  They didn't have a cash register at the pharmacy, so I understand that they do it to prevent theft, but it still makes for an entertaining story. :)

After our adventures at the store, we headed back and Nicolas and Kevin went in the pool.  We have had heavy storms the last two nights, so the water is cooler and I just couldn't bring myself to freeze.  I went in yesterday and I had to dance around to prevent myself from turning into a human ice cube.  I remember the days when I used to BEG my parents to let me go in the pool at the very moment that it was fit for swimming.  It was absolutely freezing, but I was so excited I didn't care.  Then, when my parents finally caved and let me go in, they would ask how it was and I would say (with blue lips and chattering teeth) "It's great!"  He is a spitting image of me in that respect! :)  Kevin and I were holding his hands and feet and swinging him into the pool (carefully of course).  He loved it!  I don't think we could have done it enough! :)

We came in for dinner and a warm shower for the boys.  After dinner is homework time.  We have gotten through his first grade assessment books and it seems like he is going to be right on track for school in January.  He is a very fast learner, so I think he will adapt to all our American-ness pretty well.  We finished watching Rio before bed.  On the nights that Nicolas isn't tired before bed, we also read a bedtime story.  His favorite by far is Dinosaurs Love Underpants (thanks Mom!).  If you haven't read it, it's pretty great!  I think what makes it his favorite is that I read it in a British accent (at his request) and ad-lib extra text into it based on whatever comes to mind from that day.  Plus, what boy doesn't love a story about underpants? :)

Tomorrow, we will head to Pilanesberg, which is a big 5 game reserve.  You can look it up here: www.pilanesbergnationalpark.org  We plan to drive there in the morning so that we can go through the park during the day, at night, and then early Tuesday morning.  Hopefully, we will have some great National Geographic-esque photos to share with you when we return.  We do not know whether we will have internet access there, so we will update again as we are able.

Hope you all had a great holiday weekend!  Let the Christmas music begin! :)

Laura and Kevin

Day 18: Real Superheroes Wear Underpants

Today was a lazy Saturday.  We had heavy rain and thunderstorms last night and the rained lasted into the morning.  The skies cleared around lunch time, but the clouds hung around through the day.  We spent the morning in our pj’s playing cars, games and reading.  After lunch, we showered and played some more.  In a 3-game match of memory, it was Mom: 1, Nicolas: 2, Dad: 0.  There was also a very humorous wrestling match between Kevin and Nicolas.  Let’s just say that Nicolas had his shorts pulled up like they were hi rise panties and was dancing around saying he was superman.  J  The boys had a cars vs. dinosaurs war while I made dinner.

I made chicken and potato soup tonight for dinner.  Given that I have limited spices and made it up as I went along, I was pleased that it turned out. J  After dinner we did school work and then Kevin and Nicolas were going on adventures through Google earth.  Kevin showed him where we live, his school, where we both work, and some of our families’ homes.  He thought it was pretty cool!

I have added some more pictures below, as well as some humorous quotes from Nicolas.  Enjoy!

Laura and Kevin

It's not that I hate it, it's just the taste....(referring to a red sweet pepper) - Nicolas

This was this afternoon's wrestling match :)

Nicolas in his South Africa rugby hat

Rocking out to Toby Mac!

Ahhhhh....this is the life!  Relaxing in the papasan chair by the pool.

I'm flying!!!!

And a few more quotes:

Only real superheroes wear their underpants over their shorts. - Nicolas
Both direction and magnitude....OH YEAHHHHH!!! - Vector (Despicable Me)

Day 17: Nicolas' First Time Bowling

Well, after a very exciting day yesterday, we were all exhausted!!!  We slept in a little this morning and spent much of the morning just hanging out in our room.  We got ourselves around , had lunch, and headed back to Monte Casino for the third time this week, this time to take Nicolas bowling.  He had never bowled before, so we were excited for him to try it!

The bowling alley was a lot like home.  It was a small alley, only 12 lanes.  We thought we had paid for 3 games each, but it turned out we bought 3 games, one for each of us.  They had a big party coming in, so we'll plan to go back another day to practice more.

The lightest ball they had was 7 lbs, so Nicolas threw it two-handed.  After two gutter balls, he decided the bumpers might be nice.  Here's a clip to show how well he did!

And how about an action shot:

Not that we were keeping score, but I did win! :)  I hardly broke 100, but for me that's pretty good!  Since we were only able to play 1 game of bowling, we decided to take Nicolas to the arcade.  Here he is playing fruit ninja:

How excited will he be when he finds out that we have Fruit Ninja on the xbox at home??  He had a great time playing games in the arcade and was pretty pumped to turn in his tickets for a little fighter jet and 3 small dinosaurs!

After we left Monte Casino, we stopped at the grocery store on the way home.  Then it was time for our fish to get back in the water. :)  He is swimming across the pool with confidence now!  He even swam under the pool vacuum hose in the deep end today!  He still is working on getting comfortable treading water on his own, but I bet he'll get it before we know it!

I made tacos for dinner tonight because Nicolas had told me he'd never had them, but once he saw them he said "Oh those are tacos.  Yes, I've had those before."  Ah well.  At least now we know he likes them!  While you can make tacos in SA, they aren't the same.  Nicolas also convinced us to buy smoked beef flavored potato chips which Kevin and I both agree taste like what we would imagine dog treats to taste like.  Kevin also says they smell like the chews that Penelope takes, which could add to the reason we think they taste that way.  Thankfully, I don't think smoked beef flavored chips have made it to the states yet. :)

After dinner, we did homework and then watched Chicken Run.  Ok, I slept through most of it. :)  We don't have any big plans for this weekend other than swimming and church.  Monday we are going to Pilanesberg, which is a game reserve that has all of the Big 5 animals in Africa - elephants, rhinos, buffalo, lions, and leopards.  We plan to stay overnight there so that we can do both a morning and evening drive as those are the times the animals are most active.  We're really looking forward to it and hope to get some amazing photos to share!

Hope you all had a great Black Friday!

Laura, Kevin, and Nicolas

Day 16: Court - Making It Official!!!

What an amazing day today has been!  This is definitely a Thanksgiving we will always remember!

This morning we got up, had breakfast, and started getting ready for our day.  Auntie Bev picked us up at 9:00 to head to court.  As is the case at home with some places as well, there isn't sufficient parking in front of the Randburg court, so we had to park about a quarter-mile down the road and walk.  When we went through security, we found out that we couldn't bring our camera or snacks for Nicolas in with us, so we had to run back to the car and drop them off.  After a second run through security (and a second look through our bags), we were allowed to head up to the family court to meet Ruth (from our Agency in SA) and Brad (our lawyer).  We met briefly with the clerk to verify that our information was correct on the last few documents and then headed to the Magistrate's office for our appt.  She was such a kind woman!  She gave Nicolas a sweet (candy) and had a table with toys and books in the corner to keep him occupied while we did the paperwork.  She expressed how excited she was for us - we couldn't have had a better experience!  The whole process was done in under an hour.  After court, we headed out for celebratory milkshakes. :)  I had a toffee peanut butter shake that was amazing!!

After our shakes, we thanked Ruth and Brad for all of their hard work in making this process a reality and parted ways as they were heading back to Capetown this afternoon.  Bev brought us back to our guest house and Nicolas changed into his swimsuit and headed to the pool!  He and Kevin spent a couple hours in the pool before we headed to Auntie Beth's house for Thanksgiving.  Nicolas did take a spill on the steps by the pool and got a cut on his shin, but after a little love and a Spiderman plaster (band-aid), he felt much better. :)

We had the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with the Oasis Haven team at Auntie Beth's house.
They are such an amazing group of people!!  We are so blessed to have them in our lives and also that Nicolas has had such a great team caring for him and loving on him over the last few years!  Auntie Beth and her friend Claire made a delicious Thanksgiving spread - turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cornbread stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, and pumpkin pie.  It was so delicious!  It felt like home away from home. :)

It's so hard to believe that after so much praying, waiting, stressing, over-analyzing  crying, rejoicing, waiting and did I mention waiting? :) -  We are finally here!  The Longstreet family is now 3!  We are officially Mom and Dad.  It feels so weird still to say it, but so awesome at the same time.  He is our son!

Here we are with our presiding Officer after our paperwork was completed!

Here we are in front of the court house with Ruth and Brad from Wandisa, our agency here in South Africa.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I am exhausted, so I will post more pictures tomorrow :)

Laura, Kevin, and Nicolas

Day 15: Monte Casino Times Two!

Here we are at Luigi's Pizzeria having dessert and taking advantage of free wi-fi since our internet has been out for 2 days now.  We're busy rocking and rolling by sitting down :) (courtesy of "N").  Today, we went to Monte Casino a second time to meet with Ruth and Petra (our social workers in SA), Brad (our lawyer), and Lee and her son Thato (official - woo hoo!!!) who had their court appointment this morning.  Originally, the plan was to meet at our guest house, but their court appt ran long, so we met at Spur in the Monte Casino instead, which was great because "N" loves it!!  While there were some complications with Lee's court process today, Ruth and team are confident that our process will run smoothly tomorrow as we are in a different court district.  "N" and Thato spent most of the time playing games while the rest of us went over what the process will look like after court.  Lots of paperwork and lots of details to remember.  We are very thankful to have them to help us through this process!

After we left the restaurant, we headed back home and "N" had dinner (he wasn't hungry when we were out - amazing!  :) That never happens!) and then did homework before heading to Luigi's for wi-fi.

Tomorrow is our big day!!!!  It is so amazing that it is finally here!!  After all the prayers, all the tears, all the ups, downs, and in-betweens, it's here!!  Get ready because tomorrow I can start posting all of the pictures I have been holding for 2 weeks!  Tomorrow, we are officially recognized at a family!!  It will definitely be a Thanksgiving to remember and one where we are so, so thankful!!!  We will be praying that you all have a great Thanksgiving as well!!  One request, please eat extra mashed potatoes for me!! :)

And, while I mean no offense to all my retail buds, I am thankful that - for the first time in longer than I can remember - that I am not working on Black Friday!!! :)

We do not know when our internet will be back up, so posts may be sporadic.

As promised the other day, here are the pics of my super awesome Sharks rugby hat!

I know.....jealousy is setting in.

Shark fin!!!

Lots of love!!

Laura, Kevin, and "N"

Day 14: Great Time Spent with New Friends

This post is from yesterday, 11/20/12, but we did not have internet.

We were blessed with another hot day today – a perfect day for a swim play date with our new friends Lee and “T”.  This morning, we hung out at the guest house playing and reading.  After lunch, we packed up our swim goodies and headed to Lee and T’s” guest house.  The boys and Kevin played in the pool for hours!  Kevin was pulling them around in the pool, throwing them, helping them with their swimming.  Lee and I caught up under the canopy as we have both seen more sun than our skin is used to. J  It was so awesome to watch them play together.  Both boys were jumping into the pool over and over and gained confidence in jumping into the deeper parts!  We have some adorable pictures of “N” and “T” jumping into the pool holding hands. J  We also have a great cannonball photo with all three of them jumping in at once.  “N” is getting progressively more comfortable in the water each day.  He swam the entire length of the pool by himself with no floaties today (and their pool is probably twice the size of ours!!!)!!  So proud!!!

Lee and I chatted about how the boys are doing, how the process has been for her and for us, the funny things the boys say and do, and such.  It is so nice to have another family here to spend time with and share this experience with.  Our journeys have been similar in the sense that we were both down to the wire to get here this year, so we are excited to be in it together. 

Lee and “T” have their court date tomorrow, so it will be a very exciting day for them!!  All the T’s are crossed, the I’s are dotted, and it’s finally time to make it official!!!  We can’t wait to celebrate our two families coming together in this Thanksgiving week!! J

After we left Lee and “T’s” house, we headed to the store to pick up a few more groceries.  Then, it was back in the pool for a bit.  “N” just can’t get enough of the pool!  Food is really the only reason he wanted to get out. J

Tonight was burger night (again) because “N” loves them!  We paired them with the sweet pap (with sweetened condensed milk and corn).  We worked on solving addition problems, telling time, spelling, and reading after dinner and then we played games until bed.

Tomorrow, our social workers will be coming over to go over what to expect in our process after court.  Then, Thursday is our big day – Gotcha Day! J 

Happy almost Thanksgiving everyone!!

Laura and Kevin

Day 13: Monte Casino Bird Gardens

Today was packed with fun!  This morning, we went to Monte Casino which is as it sounds, a casino. It's like Las Vegas invaded Johannesburg!  The picture below is the entrance.  You can see the giant Hyundai hot air balloon in the background.  The boys were planning on taking a ride in it, but it was too windy.  So, we'll go back another day.

Entrance to Monte Casino (one of them at least - it's huge)

This is a picture inside the hotel.  For those of you who know me well, my memory is not the best.  This hotel is strikingly similar to one of the Vegas hotels, but I cannot remember which one it is.  Anyone want to help me out here?

Inside Monte Casino

After wandering around a bit, we headed out to the Bird Gardens.  We chose a weekday to avoid the crowds, which I am thankful for, but a weekday means school groups, which I was not thankful for.  After they took over one of the aviaries, we did our best to steer clear of them.  Much better :)  It's hard to do justice to this place without you being able to see it first hand.  Blue, red, and green macaws - perched on tree branches, completely free to roam.  One of them stood on the path right next to us.  "N" was quick to point out the cockatoo from Rio and I reminded him that the lemurs were from Madagascar.  They also had small displays of snakes, frogs, and some seriously disgusting tarantulas.  One of them was called a Pink Beauty.  Let me tell you, there was nothing beautiful about it!!!  There we also lizards, turtles, plenty of ducks, geese, and swans, flamingos, meerkats (seriously adorable - can I have one???), and tons more!

About an hour after we arrived, there was a bird show in the amphitheater   While a bit cheesy, it was fun and a great chance to see how smart birds are.  Here are some pictures of the show:

Here we go again with my bad memory....I can't remember what this one was called.  It's a crane, but which one I am not sure.  But....cool huh? :)

This is Dennis the Blue Crane.  Blue Cranes are the national bird of South Africa and were once endangered, but are not any longer.  Yay!

They call him the Rockstar - Oliver the Pelican.  It was pretty neat to see him fly and skim across the pond.  He's huge!!  

This is Tango the Toucan.  Kevin managed to snap this awesome picture of him in flight.

Below are a few more pictures we took as we walked:

I have no idea what this bird is, but it's beautiful!

Red Macaw stretching its wings.

This area was completely open.  So nice to see these beautiful birds given the opportunity to have some freedom!

This is one of the many crane species at the Gardens.  Check out his crown.  If only we could all have guaranteed good hair days!! :)

We had lunch inside the hotel at Wimpy, which is a fast food-ish restaurant that I think would be most like Johnny Rockets.  It's a burger and fry joint, but you have a server.  With "N's" new-found love for grilled cheese, it was no surprise that he had another one for lunch. :)  One thing that we found interesting about Monte Casino was that the casino part of it was actually quite small and completely quiet. There were only a handful of people in it and there were no bells, dings, or jingles.  

After lunch we headed out to one of the malls to try to find SA rubgy hats and to get groceries.  The boys got coordinating green and yellow SA rugby hats and I, in my quirkiness, chose a Sharks rubgy hat.  I took a picture of it, but we didn't bring the right cable to upload it.  I'll tale another one tomorrow.  Let's just say that it's awesome and you are totally going to want one!

Once back at the guesthouse, it was off to the pool we went!  After playing catch in the shallow end for a bit, we grabbed "N's" floaties and Kevin worked on coaxing him into the deep end again.  While he realizes that the floaties prevent him from going under, he still didn't trust them completely.  After many trips back and forth across the pool with Dad, he finally worked up the courage to swim all the way across the pool with his floaties on by himself!  And as if that's not cool enough, he took them off and did it without them!  Yes, I took video.  Again, I did it with the camera that we don't have the right cable for, so I won't be able to post it until we get home, but the video is priceless.  He is a ham for the camera, so there's a dance beforehand as well. :)  He was so proud, as were we!  We are going to go visit Lee and "T" tomorrow at their guesthouse, so we'll see how he feels in a different pool!

Dinner, schoolwork, ice cream, and How To Train Your Dragon topped off our evening.  After all that activity, it took some work to get him up to brush his teeth for bed.  Only a few more days until court!  We will be meeting with our social workers here in SA on Wednesday to go over what we will need to do with our paperwork after court.  Then, after court on Thursday, we have been invited to Thanksgiving at Auntie Beth's house (she is the director of Oasis Haven and is from California).  We are so excited to be able to share the holiday with our new friends and people that have made such an amazing impact in "N's" life.  From the Bethany team in the States, to the Wandisa and Oasis Haven teams here in SA, God has blessed us with great friends to help us through this process.  Yes, there were some bumps along the way, but each one was a labor of love to get us to this point.  There is no doubt in our minds that it has all come through in His perfect timing.  What better day could we choose than Thanksgiving Day to have as our Gotcha Day?  We have so much to be thankful for!!!

Laura and Kevin

Day 12: Cycle for a Cause

Early on in our time here, I made a calendar.  Yes, I have one on my phone, but I wanted a visual at my disposal.  So, I went old school.  Grid lines on notebook paper, people.  I needed a visual so that I knew what day (and date) it was.  When it's 85 in November, I haven't had to go to work in two weeks, and my only responsibility is to hang out with my super awesome kid - I need a calendar to keep track.  Thankfully, time is not racing past us.  While we look forward to getting home, introducing "N" to family, friends and life in Michigan, and getting into our routines (and a snowball fight) - we love being here in SA also.  This time that we have to give "N" all the attention is a priceless gift.  The only thing that makes me miss home would be bugs.  Bugs in my bed.  Yes, I pulled back my sheets to write this post, and there was a mystery bug running across my spot.  I contained my 'freak-out' since "N" sleeps less than 10 feet from us, but thankfully Kevin had a kleenex nearby and swooped in for the kill.  You see, in SA, they do not have screens on their windows.  They have grates (I'd call them bars, but then it sounds like a jail cell - they run horizontally, not vertically) on the windows, but as you can imagine that only keeps people and large animals out.  I have become increasingly good at killing flies with a kitchen towel.  I know you are impressed. :)  Anyway, let me get back to what you are really here for - "N".

If you read the post from yesterday, you know that we were concerned that we wouldn't make it to church because we were parked in.  Just in the nick of time (at 8:25), the car blocking us in left, so we were able to head out for church.  There was a huge bicycle race in Joburg today, sponsored by one of the radio stations.  They had mentioned on the radio that many major roads were blocked for the race, so we were unsure as to whether or not we would have to seek an alternate route.  Turned out that we did not need to.  Church was not as full today as a large portion of the congregation was either participating in or spectating at the race.  Let me backtrack briefly to explain that "N" has attended a Christian school here in Joburg that is a part of New Creation Family Church.  The organization who has been caring for him for the last few years is Oasis Haven, a ministry of the church.  I am pleased to say that Team Oasis Haven was well-represented in the race, working to raise money for the two homes that care for 16 orphaned children.  Its actually quite amazing how many major outreach ministries the church has.  In addition to their support of Oasis, they also talked in the service today about a ministry they are starting in India to help young entrepreneurs get the training and assistance they need to avoid the life that many of their peers face in human trafficking.  They have a team leaving on Wednesday, so please pray for their safety, their ministry, and their effectiveness.

I still haven't got to anything about "N" - sorry about that.  He goes to a children's service during church, so he basically disappears when we walk in the door, will drop by for a flash from time to time, and then doesn't reappear until he's ready to head home fore lunch.  We have met a lot of people at New Creation who know "N" and have loved him and cared for him.  Today, we met Jacky who has helped him with his studies and Carl and Jenny who are missionaries here in SA that are from California and have also grown to love our little guy.  It has been such a blessing to meet so many people who have made an impact on his life, to have the opportunity to say thank you.  Thank you hardly seems to scratch the surface of the gratitude we feel, but I pray that they know how much it means to us, and to "N".

After church and lunch, we did a little reading and, no surprise, headed out to the pool.  He is a fish, getting stronger in his swimming by the day.  He loves the water and splashing around.  He also likes being the shark in the pool! :)

Our meals today were a smorgasbord of leftovers from the last couple days.  I made grilled cheese to add something new.  I am telling you, the key to "N's" heart is grilled cheese.  He LOVES it!  He has a tendency to make a terribly cute puppy dog face when he wants something.  He ate his two grilled cheese squares first, and with a plate still 3/4 full of food, he looks at me with those eyes and said " I love this sandwich.  I wish I could have more."  Oh geez, sure you can have more!  He did eat the rest of his food as well, and we did take the opportunity to share with him that he should not try to use the puppy dog face on all of you to get his way.  I make no guarantees that he won't try it, so prepare yourselves and be strong!

On our evening routine, we did school work after dinner and then had some ice cream and a movie.

It is a beautiful, clear night, so below is a picture of the walkway from our room to the pool.  The photo is taken from the pool looking toward the entrance to our room, which is on the left.  Truly an amazing view.

Tomorrow we are headed to Monte Casino to the bird conservatory.  Have a great night!

Laura and Kevin

Day 11: Goggles Make All the Difference

After the storm last night settled, it gave way to a quiet night and a beautiful Saturday.  It was about 85 degrees today with a few clouds in the sky.  We had another lazy morning, just hanging out.  "N" played with his cars, he and Kevin did some coloring, and then we got ready.  "N" reminded us that today we were going back to Sportsman's Warehouse (again) for goggles.  He likes to be under the water in the pool and also likes to be able to see where he is going.  So, goggles are the answer!  After lunch and a very amusing goggle fitting session, we were off the to the pool!

The goggles made all the difference!  Despite the fact that they seemed to be fogged up most of the time, he was having the best time!!  Back and forth, back and forth he went.  He didn't have his ball in the pool at first because there are two other dogs here right now, one of which tried to eat his soccer ball.  After a bit, though, they put the dogs inside so we were able to get the beach ball out.  Today, Kevin was tossing the ball from the side of the pool and "N" would jump in to catch it.  I'm sorry I can't post the pictures....they are so good!  Thursday :)  He also donned his floaties for a bit to swim in the deep end.  My favorite quote today was when "N" said as he tried to dive down in the water with his floaties on "I can't dive under with these things!".  Yes, dear, that's the point. :)  He would have stayed in the pool all day if it was up to him.  Unfortunately, one of the new dogs (who loves swimming in the pool also) was swimming by him and scratched him in the head, so we decided to call it quits for today.  It's only a surface scratch (thank you God!).  A little neosporin should do the trick.  He was bummed, but was back to his normal self by the time he was done rinsing off in the shower - singing and dancing.  It's amazing we haven't had more accidents!  He moonwalks in the shower and, with a tile floor, it gets very slippery.

Before dinner, the guys turned on the rugby game - South Africa vs. Scotland.  I made pasta per "N's" request this evening.  I added meat to the sauce to make it a little more interesting.  As usual, he loved it.  We need to prepare ourselves. :)  "N" can eat as much as me and he's 7!  After dinner, we finished watching the rugby game (even though I still don't understand how it works) and SA won 21-10!  Woo hoo!!

Keeping to our routine, we did school work after the match was finished, and then had another skype date.  I know he wouldn't admit it, but I think he was a little tired this evening.  We finished watching the last of Annie and he was off to bed.

We are hoping to head to New Creation for church again in the morning, although it will depend on whether we are parked in, which we presently are.  We'll be praying that the cars move out soon.  Being parked in (in my opinion) is a pretty lame reason to miss church!  I would imagine that tomorrow afternoon will be spent in the pool as long as the dog isn't around.  

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!  Thank you again for all your prayers and comments!

Kevin and Laura

Day 10: Just Keep Swimming

Currently, it is storming outside.  It seems that Joburg weather is not that different from Michigan weather after all.  The weather forecast says we have a 10% chance of rain this evening.  As I was washing my face, the winds picked up out of nowhere, and the rain, thunder and lightning arrived with it.  I poked my head out of the bathroom and "N" was in our bed... afraid of the storm, We got in bed on either side of him and I read him a chapter of The Story.  He dozed off.....I remember when I used to be terrified of storms.  I remember when the movie Twister came out.  My parents had gone to the movies (not to see that I don't think, but to give you an idea of the time frame) and a big storm came in while they were gone.  Thunder, lightning, pouring rain - the whole nine yards.  I laid in my parents bed with myself completely covered under all of the blankets, despite the fact that it was probably 85 degrees out.  I cried and continued to sweat under those blankets as if the storm might snatch me right up.  Of course, it didn't, but I know how he feels :)  The thunder and the rain are still going here in Joburg, but our little guy is snoring on the couch.  We are thankful that he is a pretty heavy sleeper. :)

Let me backtrack to this morning.  I woke "N" up for breakfast.  Normally, he sits up and says "Good Morning", but today he said "I'm tired" and took his blankets back.  So, I let him eat his breakfast in bed.  By the time he was done eating, he was awake anyway, so he came up and sat in our bed and we read his Devotionals for Guys book.  "N" knows so much about the Bible and about God.  It's so awesome!  We just hung out in bed for a bit.  I told him I was going to miss being able to veg out in bed together when we get home.  He's pretty fun to be around and never says no to a hug! :)

We all got around and headed out the grocery store to restock our fridge.  Then we had lunch.  Finally, a first for "N"!  I made grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches.  "N" likes just about everything, so he's pretty easy to please, but he got pretty pumped about grilled cheese!  I'm hoping he'll continue to be this impressed with my cooking! :)

After lunch, we had another skype date.  We were able to skype from our guesthouse today.  There was still a delay, but it was much better than our last few attempts.  This afternoon was all about the pool.  "N" loves being in the pool!  I think he especially enjoys wrestling around and climbing on his Dad. :)  We have been working with him to help him improve his swimming stroke.  With floaties on, Kevin was bringing him into the deep end and coaching him on his kicks.  So cute!  I bet by the time we leave, he'll be jumping in the deep end all by himself!  Once we all looked like prunes, we headed in to rinse off and hang out before dinner.

Dinner tonight was salad, another variation of chicken - this time with a tomato and onion sauce and cheese (this boy loves chicken!) and the sweet pap I made the other day.  I think, if he had his way, "N" would rotate between chicken, pizza, and burgers every day! :)

We have developed a routine of doing schoolwork after dinner and it seems to work out quite nicely.  He actually did his reading while I was making dinner with Dad, so we only had spelling and math to do after dinner.  After a bowl of ice cream, we sat down for the night's feature presentation - Annie.  I didn't think it would ever happen, but he actually started dozing off during the movie, so we will have to finish the last of it tomorrow.  The storm kicked up right after he got in bed, which brings you up to speed.

We learned last weekend when we fought the crowds (every person looking as if they will walk right into us) at the mall that we are better off to stay in on the weekends.  So, my guess is that we will lay low tomorrow and then, of course, church on Sunday morning.  We are planning to attend New Creation again this Sunday and we're excited!  I think I mentioned it, but last week's message was given by one of the life groups, which was really neat to see.  Can't wait to see what God has in store for us next week!

Laura and Kevin