Exploring the garden

Joshua can now walk over the road to Granny and Grandpa, and does so any chance we give him... If the front door opens, he's out and going for it!

I got these photos on one of his more extended trips...

Looking at the flowers in Grandpa's garden
Checking out the weird post box
Back to the flowers


He's seeing something through the trailer tyre... Not sure what though...
The little windows next to my parent's front door
And the temptation is too great!

Then back home
He found his first sword (a long leaf of some kind), and he means business!
Look at that thrust!
Giving the bulbs a good swipe
This manhole is in a bit of a dip in the lawn, so that makes it all the more interesting...

So there's Joshua's journey across the road and back... And I say journey because this can take a long time... ;o)

An afternoon in my life

I had an interesting afternoon yesterday... And some aspects of it may have passed me by, but I'm grateful that I was able to notice what was happening...

Firstly, on my way to work, which is quite late in the morning ;o), it was raining quite hard, and I was noticing again that my windscreen wipers weren't working as well as they should. Then as I was on the N2, and pretty close to the Main Road turn off the one blade suddenly turned perpendicular to the angle it should be, leaving a metal hook type thing against the glass. So I immediately turned off my windscreen wipers to avoid scratching my windscreen, and they wouldn't have done any good. But thankfully this was late enough in the day that there wasn't much traffic on the road. So instead of going to UCT, I took the Main Road turnoff instead and went to Andrew's office, and he was able to save the day. So miracle number 1 - there was hardly any traffic, so I could drive slowly, and Andrew was able to fix the windscreen wiper without too much hassle.

Then after work Joshua and I went grocery shopping, and he behaved pretty well, which is a bit of a miracle on its own... Normally I carry my handbag on my shoulder, but sometimes its too heavy and uncomfortable, and I decided that I would rather put it in the trolley and then put the groceries on top of it. Just a small thought, but then as I was putting Joshua into the car at the end, and I had my bag on my shoulder again I heard a tearing noise, and the little looseness in the handle of my bag had turned into a big one that in another 10 seconds would have broken completely. So miracle number 2 - I didn't have the contents of my hand bag strewn all over the floor of Pick n Pay, which would probably have caused further problems with Joshua.

So with these two things happening I decided that I really must go and buy the handbag that I'd seen while shopping for Fathers Day, but I'd umm-ed and aah-ed because it's cost more than what I'd normally spend on a bag, and also at the same centre there's a place to buy car parts, so I also got the windscreen wipers. But while buying the bag I glanced at the entrance to the shop and there was a sister from my ward (and this really is a random shop to run into people at...) and she looked a bit upset, and then after talking a bit she told me that her daughter definitely does need the help with her accounting that we'd discussed last month but then didn't go through with because she didn't do well in her June exam. And also I gave her a suggestion for getting a birthday gift up to her son in Joburg because Colleen and Rohan are driving up next week. So miracle number 3 - I was in a totally random place and able to hopefully cheer up this sister, and also give some help for her children.

Then I went into a clothing shop to get a couple things, and while I was in the queue I thought I really should draw some money to have enough to pay our maid on Thursday and for while we're away. So after paying for the clothes I went to the ATM, open my wallet and my credit card isn't there - I had left it in the machine at the shop (these new chips cards a bit of a hassle in some ways...) So I was able to go back immediately and get my card without any problems. So miracle number 4 - I had a completely random thought, before I even forgot my credit card, which enabled me to retrieve it before going home and possibly only noticing that it was missing today or tomorrow.

I got home, and as I thought about all of these things I couldn't help but be thankful for the guidance of Heavenly Father. Such small things in some ways, but each important in their own small way.

Andrew found this talk recently by President Henry B Eyring that has made a big impact on him. This is just a quote from it:

"I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done.
"More than gratitude began to grow in my heart. Testimony grew. I became ever more certain that our Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I felt more gratitude for the softening and refining that come because of the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ. And I grew more confident that the Holy Ghost can bring all things to our remembrance—even things we did not notice or pay attention to when they happened."
(Henry B. Eyring, “O Remember, Remember,” Ensign, Nov 2007, 66–69)

I certainly often see God's hand in my life, and I am very grateful for His love and intervention that makes my life what it is!

5 years

We celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary yesterday. It has been 5 very good years for us and we had a really nice day yesterday to celebrate it.

We took stock while we were out eating breakfast of where the last 5 years have taken us.

• We have a baby
• We have bought a house
• We've paid off our car
• I finished my studies and my articles and am now qualified
• I am in a job that I love, that is ideal for our family
• Andrew has progressed through his studies and only has one year left
• Andrew has got a lot more responsibility at work, with more probably on the way
• We have both been serving in the Church the whole time in various capacities
• We have been able to visit the temple at least once a year (one year I think we did 3 times!)

So we feel that this has been a good start to our marriage, and may the good times keep on coming!

Joshua moments - May 2009

This is long overdue and I've cheated a bit by backdating this post (it's currently April 2010), but here is Joshua is May 2009.

He loves lying down like this on any available soft thing...


He just loves reading his books...

Trying very hard to stand up in the bath!


And how did he climb up on the chair like this?

And being a climbing monkey again!


Ooh, yay, pot lids to bang...

That's loud!

Starting to feed himself.





Peek-a-boo!

Ooh... Pretty flower!


Our little computer nerd ;o)


Unpacking the laundry cupboard...


And getting this whole walking thing right.


Almost!

I'm a real boy!

There is NO doubt that Joshua is a boy, but he seems to be getting more boyish all the time! (If this continues I shudder to think what he'll be like as a teenager...)

So this evening he was playing with his ball in the lounge. But he throws it, then dives onto the ball, then gets up and throws it again... And he was doing this for literally about 15 minutes. That's a long time when you're 13 months! And he was walking and walking and walking. He was really enjoying his walking this evening.






Then he got his tractor and was pushing it across the floor. He knows exactly what to do with a car...


And then he decided to climb into his box. He normally just gets in and does his thing, but today he sat in there and was unpacking everything so that he could sit more comfortably. But just look at what he did. See those tissues behind the tv? Those were also all mixed up in his box, and he put them on the table, but everything else on the floor around him... I couldn't quite believe it when I saw it...


So, just in case there were any doubts, tonight has proven beyond any doubt that Joshua is a BOY!

Inspirational story

I heard a really amazing story on the radio yesterday. This lady called in to tell about her retired domestic worker.

So this domestic worker worked for this lady for about 40 years in Joburg, and then when the family moved to Cape Town she was ready for retirement basically and she said to her boss that if she'd been born in another time she would have wanted to go to university, study law and become a lawyer, but now she had decided to study a theology degree though UNISA. She only had a Grade 4 school education, but she graduated from UNISA cum laude. She then went on to study a nursery school teaching course, and again finished cum laude.

She went back to the Eastern Cape where her family is, and she's opened a creche/school for AIDS orphans. On the weekends she looks after teenagers who don't have anywhere to go, and everyday she provides a meal for the old people in the village from her garden.

She's got a huge garden apparently, and she now supplies the local Pick n Pay with fruit and vegetables. She also entered her garden in a competition, and won the regional (winning a tractor) and then in the national she won R25 000. So I think that gives you an idea of what the garden is like...

Isn't this an amazing example of rising above what the world throws at you, and becoming a better person despite it all... I was very moved...

Josh

Joshua is getting very vocal these days, and yesterday he surprised us by very nonchalantly saying "Josh"... And of course there's no excitement on his part - but we were very impressed!

He's also decided in the last 3 days that walking is a really good idea. So where before he was walking just a few times a day (as if he was just making sure he remembered how), he's now walking more than 50% of the time. He's finally decided to join the big people! But he's still pretty wobbly, so it's so cute to watch him move across the room... Oh, and he's also able to walk really far now all in one go. So all big improvements ;o)