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
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