Think Big

When I was with my brother and SIL in New Zealand we chatted about the fact that Keziah was planning a Hannah Montana party. We thought it would be fun to find a long blond wig for her, so that she could really do the polished rock star thing. Well clearly Emma took this to heart but couldn't find a straight, polished looking wig, so went for the crazy blond look ... yesterday this arrived in the post and we have all had SO much fun taking it in turns to do the mad hair thing. Keziah took it into school this morning (well, other kids have taken their pets into class, so why not her?!) and it was a big hit with all the Grade 2s.

I think Manu's Crazy Blond impression is a big winner ... so I thought I'd share the joy and give you all a giggle ;-)

Race around the Roses

Wednesday night is a somewhat unusual time for a race but Petra and I had a GREAT time at Klein Simonsvlei vineyard yesterday evening. It was 9km of many uphills and switchbacks (one very long hill) then a long, steep 4km downhill ... I felt like I was about to take off ;-) The views were amazing.

The atmosphere was awesome - all picnicking families, wine-tasting and live music - but the best bit was that instead of a medal each runner received a great bottle of 2007 cab: yum :-)

Funky Diva

It's been a rocking few days in the company of Hannah Montana, Keziah's chosen birthday partner this year! For the first time we had a house full of just girls for her birthday party ... it was all sparkly make-up and high-pitched excitement in a swirl of pink and purple balloons and ribbons. We cleared one half of our loft room to make way for Hannah/Miley-style karaoke and dancing, although in the end the treasure hunt for party bag goodies seemed to go down just as well.

For me, though, the highlight was the birthday gift and that had to wait until today. In fact, although Keziah was up with the larks, it had to wait until this afternoon. And this just shows that she's her father's daughter ... I mean, what kind of kid asks to just open small gifts in the morning and to wait until after school to open her big surprise? Only one whose dad used to save his Easter chocolate until round about Christmas!! I'm pretty much banking on Emmanuelle having a normal level of impatience and a healthy lack of self control, just so that I don't have to feel like the alien around here ;-)

Of course, me being me (I have a history of finding presents before I should, opening them and wrapping them up again!) I was nearly wetting myself with the excitement of seeing Kez open her gift. I had to pinch myself to stop from getting her to guess at a series of hints, although needless to say Tim had issued a gag order.

Finally she got home from school and to much shared excitement she unwrapped her oh-so-perfect-for-a-wannabe-rockstar pink guitar. Yes, people, pink: it doesn't get much better than this.

Well, maybe I better reserve judgement until we see if she can acutally play the thing ;-)

First Sports Day

Today Keziah endured her first sports day. I say endured because it was a bit of an emotional trauma ... well, let's not overstate it: she did really well at dealing with the emotions inherent in being super-competitive; she curbed her desire to avoid anything she felt she might not win in all but one race(!); and she ended the day with a smile on her face and ribbons on her chest, the proud member of the winning team.

I wasn't in quite such good shape, it has to be said. The energy it took to keep up a semi-constant pep-talk, let alone the nerve-jangling I myself feel at the hint of a competition, took its toll. As we parted ways - Kez to spend the afternoon rehashing their successes with her friend, and me to collect Emmanuelle - I turned up my music to LOUD and careered my way at speed around the back streets of Fish Hoek.

Is it only me, or did anyone else miss all this in the small print of the Cosmic Guide to Parenting?!

Gorgeous, me?!

Mel, the darling, has tagged me with the Gorgeous Blogger Award. What a cute way to relieve me of my dilemma recently aired on Facebook: "[I've been] comparing my blog with those of others and wondering if I ought to be more focused on finding as many angles as possible to share our life IN MINISTRY, or whether my more personal journal has its own merit? I'd appreciate some feedback!"

Back to the award. The way I understand it, to merit this auspicious accolade I need only mention 6 things that you, my unsuspecting readers, don't know about me. And then tag 6 friends for the same honour.

So here goes with Part 1:

1.I have a habit of fainting on airplanes, once succeeding in falling down a stairway into the stewards' cabin, knocking myself out and giving myself a bleed on the brain to boot. All on one trans-Africa flight.

2. While we were still dating my husband-to-be thought it romantic to rugby tackle me (you know, in the days when any physical contact was desirable!). He broke my rib ... I still married him ;-)

3. I love horse-riding and can hold my seat fairly well ... but was once thrown off a donkey on our way down an Ethiopian mountainside. My 2 year old daughter cried more than I did ... I just felt very stupid sitting in the dirt with numerous bemused locals looking on.

4. In the past 7 years I have traveled to about 25 countries but I have lived in the same house in Kalk Bay, South Africa: the longest I have lived anywhere my entire life (the nomadic thing is not new!).

5. I have been a vegetarian for 15 years. The most interesting 'vegetarian' dish I've been offered was in Zimbabwe ... it was crocodile (I declined)!

6. I am a closet thrill-seeker. I loved the bridge-swing and the paragliding, although neither elicited the colourful language I'm known for when facing a difficult move on a rock face. My secret ambition is to race rally cars, even though I failed my driving test first time around.

Only six, people? I'm on a roll here ;-)

Anyway, on to Part 2:

I tag Misha (she will have some very interesting things to say!); Johanna (sure to spin a good yarn); Vikki (and don't forget stories from pre-John days!); Belinda; Tim (not just as a token guy, either); and to prove it, Ben.

Not sure whether you guys will mind being tagged as 'Gorgeous Bloggers' but hey, it's never too late to dilute the girliness of a chick-post ;-)

[Okay, okay .. Tim insists that I tell you something that will really shock the socks off you - those of you that know me well but only from the past 15 years. So I hereby admit to growing up in an uber-conservative church and to still covering my head in Christian services whilst at university. This blog is not the place for theological debate - I am now, after all, a part of an interdenominational missions organization - but there you have it, my secret past as a submissive female!!]

Time to regroup & recharge

All things considered, the title for this post is a little lame: "Time to .."? The time to regroup and recharge is long overdue, I feel.

I took myself off to the gym this morning. I was lacking motivation but given that this year I have been more often out of my routine than in it, I thought perhaps I needed to get myself back into the groove. Only as I left the gym to run the 15 minutes home did I think, "I'm knackered". Truly, at that point I could have hitched a lift with a psychopathic Hell's Angel, if only they would take me home without doing me too much damage.

Since no obliging psychopath appeared, I plodded home under my own diminishing steam. As I did so I mused about my on-off - and recently more on than off - fatigue. True, I've just recovered from jet-lag following my trip to Australia and New Zealand. True, this year I've spent 5 months away from home. But is it normal to have to pull oneself up by one's bootstraps so often, ignoring exhaustion in the misguided opinion that if starved of attention it will just go away?

I decided to do a little study. What have I been doing with my life that's so flippin' tiring? And then it began to make a little more sense ... by going back through my photo files I reminded myself that since Keziah was born on average I have traveled to a different country every 10 weeks. Given the fact that quite a few of these trips have been overland, two-thirds of them have been to locations in Africa that are not what you'd call easy, and many times we've been traveling with young kids and I'd say there's a recipe for fatigue right there!

I have to back up a little. When I was with my brother recently he said that he finds it hard to relate to our unusual lifestyle; it can sound so exotic and adventurous to be traveling to all these way-out places. I assured him that we are, in fact, a totally normal family who have to change nappies and do school-runs like anyone else, but I think he was unconvinced. It's true, it's an incredible privilege to visit all the places we do ... I mean, who gets to do that as part of their work?

Well, in YWAM there are quite a few who do, flying here and there to teach, give leadership, or support staff members around the world. But if I come to think about it, those that do tend not to have small kids in tow. In any case, this weary traveler is very thankful to be home and more than happy to take a moment to put my feet up and contemplate life ;-)

Haunted by a Harlequin

There was drama at our house yesterday, when Keziah and her friend spotted a snake just a short distance from where they were sitting eating their lunch (or third lunch, if I counted correctly!). "Shh, stay still!" Kez told Rach, before trying to call me with just enough volume to get me to react without the snake reacting.

Ushering the girls and the dog - who definitely has far less sense in a situation like this than two 7 year olds - into the house, I immediately consulted all-knowing Google to establish just what we were dealing with. Meanwhile, Kez and Rach insisted on shutting all the doors and windows to keep the snake out. It was all I could do to persuade them not to go into the room where Emmanuelle was sleeping to close her window ;-)

"Humm, could be a coral snake", I mused. The markings were very bright orange and yellow bands on black, so although the critter was quite wee, as snakes go, I thought it could well be venomous. Rachel and Keziah had their noses up against the window, charting the snake's movements (which proves the youth of their eyesight, since I couldn't see a thing). Enough ... taking my life in my hands I armed myself with my cellphone - not to call 911 but to take a photo - and a shovel, with which to murder the cheeky blighter. Predictably, he was too quick for me and took refuge beneath the plentiful rocks that hold up our garden against the inexorable slide of the hillside behind us.

Hearing Keziah yelling the good tidings of our thrilling tale, I regrouped to ask advise from our savvy neighbours. Ah, phone the snake park, what a bright idea ;-) The helpful woman who picked up assured me that this snake was probably only the semi-venomous Harlequin snake ... oh, that's alright then!!

Although she did offer to come and take him to somewhere he'd be more welcome, if we could just trap him inside a bucket until she could get here, we declined. We did as she suggested and left him to wend his way out of the garden ... which we hope he has done by now. We haven't seen him, but then that's not to say he isn't lurking somewhere, waiting for an unsuspecting guest to pass his way ;-)