Thursday, August 28, 2008

Toddler Tidbits

Sometimes little guys say the cutest things! They try to use big words or expressions they've heard you say. Or they say things that are just hilarious to you, but are very serious and mean a lot to them. Here are some things Kiara said recently:



We were eating lunch together and one of the kids were being silly and teasing her dad.

Adult: "Is (name of child) being naughty? Does he need a spanking?"

Kiara(very seriously): "No, cuz Jesus says you need to love your enemies!"



This morning Kiara was waiting while Joy got her breakfast and Niki came and sat next to her. Later Joy told me their conversation. It went like this:



Niki: "Did you sleep well last night?"

Kiara: "Yes, but...I had a whoopsie!"

Niki: "A whoopsie. What's a whoopsie?"

Kiara: "I went peepsie...I...I mean peepee, in my bed."

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Off To The Zoo We Go

On Monday we took the kids to a big zoo in Jo-burg. It looked pretty big on the map so we asked the kids which animals they really wanted to see, and we went to see those. We stayed in the zoo for at least 3 hours and we didn't see half of it. The kids had fun though, we saw the lions real close, they fed and petted the horses.--They loved it. I had a hard time trying to keep up with the older kids, take pictures, and push the stroller at the same time. We had brought a cooler bag that was full of juice, apples, and bananas. That, along with Kiara's backpack was so heavy every time Kiara got out of the stroller it would fall backwards. It was actually kinda funny.


"He's not a real crocodile." For some reason Kiara was convinced that this wasn't a real crocodile. It's probably because he stayed so still most of the time. I had to talk and explain for quite a while that it was in fact a real, alive crocodile. "ROAR..." This looks like a silly picture but she's actually making lion noises for the camera. That's the lioness's head poking up right there next to us. They had a nice enclosure with glass windows so we could see the lions close-up.

"Sitting still for pictures sure is boring."

"The horses are 'tinky."

"Say Cheese!"





Dros


Last Saturday evening a few of us went out for a few drinks at a pub nearby. We drank, had fun, and took a few silly photos. "Drink up me hearties. Yo ho!"
With Joy and Anita, posing for one of those "pretty girlie shots". Of course the camera man is saying something ridiculous hoping you'll pull a silly face. That explains my grin.

"Ready, set, go! Glug, glug, glug..."





Warning! Warning! The hazards of drinking.


If there's any of you I haven't told yet, this is my boyfriend, Steve. So yeah, now you know.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Puppies

Our chows have two puppies, a boy and a girl. They're so chunky and they barely have their eyes open. I put a puppy on Kiara's lap so she could have a chance to hold it. They're still quite young so the poor little guy was scared being away from the dog house. I explained this to Kiara and here in the picture she's trying to soothe him saying, "Don't worry, don't be scared."
Cute widdle puppy, so fat he can barely stand.

Here she's singing to comfort the puppy.














Teaching--My Life

For those of you who don't know, I'm a full-time teacher. I teach one of the cutest little girls on the face of the earth. (or at least that's what I think) Her name is Kiara(Gabe and Nora's daughter), she's a typical little pisces with blond hair and blue eyes. I've been her teacher/caretaker since she was 5 months, and now she's two.
Teaching her is so much fun! Toddlers are just adorable. I can't resist their smiles, chubby cheeks, and the cute things they say. Since Kiara and teaching are such a big part of my life I'll be posting pictures and stories of her here on my blog. For those of you who love little people, stay tuned!

Here's a picture of myself holding Kiara the first month or two I started taking care of her. The rest are the most recent pictures I have of her.









Thursday, August 14, 2008

A Little Snip


June has a friend at a hair salon who offered to give us complimentary haircuts. The lady's real sweet and friendly and letting us have haircuts benefits her as well. The "learners" get to "practice" on us. Ha, don't worry it's not as bad as it sounds. Tecnically they know how to cut hair they just lack practice/experience. So they get to use us as their models and everyone's happy. We get a haircut and they continue learning.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Visa Complications

Yesterday I went with Gabe and Lisa to Home Affairs. Lisa's visa was ready and Gabe was hoping we could also get mine and thus save us a trip later in the future. Everything went as usual. You know how it is in places like these: lines of people so long they start outside the building. Fortunately for us it wasn't that bad. Gabe told us laddies to sit down and he would stand in line. I took a look and one of the chairs and thought, "No thank you! Don't really want to get lice or whatever else is in that chair. Hmmm, what to do?" I spied another chair that looked less fortunate in wildlife and decided to sit on the edge. "Oh well, we're gonna be here a while anyway. Might as well do some prayer vigil and catch up on my reading."
After a bit of waiting, reading, climbing flights of stairs, waiting some more, taking out papers, putting them back...and more waiting, we finally discovered they couldn't find my application papers anywhere. "Go back downstairs." they told us. "Okay, here we go again." After even more waiting, interspersed with questions and phone calls they told us the news.
"Your papers have been sent down to Durban." Gabe was so upset poor guy I was afraid he'd have a heart attack right then and there. I however was feeling a little confused. "Durban? Why did they send the papers to Durban?" Apparently at the very bottom of the letter from our association was a tiny little line giving our old address in Durban. They didn't do that to anyone else's visa papers though. Oh well TIA!

By the way please keep praying for my visa. Gabe says that we'll have to contact an agent in Durban and get him to take care of it for us. Just pray that all works out and that there won't be anymore glitches.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

National Women's Day

I just found out that today is "National Woman's Day". Whoopee, it's a day to celebrate all those wonderful women out there!! The first two women that come to mind are my dear mothers. Yes, I have not just one but two mothers. I'm twice blessed and they are the bestest in the whole wide world.
To Mama and Mommy (aka. Jessica and Rose):
Thank you for everything! For loving me, teaching me, molding me, and helping me grow into the person I am today. A mother's love is forever and both of you have always been there for me. When I was small you'd lift me up, wipe my tears and kiss away the pain. Now that I'm no longer at home you still do the same for me in your prayers. I love you both.
Much love, your daughter