Two months already!

Well, we've been here for two months. This week was definitely quieter than the last which was nice, even though there's never enough hours in a day. On the homefront, I've done a bit of baking to stock up the cupboard. I have a gas stove and I find the heating/baking to be very even. I've learned that 350 degrees Fahrenheit is equivalent to 180 degrees celcius! Baking here is a bit trickier here as they don't really have good self raising flour, plus it's expensive, so you need to make your own with baking powder and salt. 

On Tuesday there was a Ladies Aid meeting. They organise and co-ordinate the fundraising ventures that take place and with the proceeds, assist the school with various items such as books, chairs, allowances for school excursions etc. Currently they are taking orders for apple pies with a special incentives this year: if you get 12 orders, you get one free pie. So Shantel has been around the neighbourhood and we have so far got 9 orders. They sell for $8 and are 9" pies. And for this venture, this Friday will be apple picking at an orchard in the area, then on Monday evening and Tuesday, it will be making the apple pies. So more on that next week.

Jared Bouwman had to go to Sydney for a few days last week, so Liana Faber (Kampman) asked if there was anything we would like him to get for us. So we put in the order for Moccona coffee, Nutrigrain, Vegemite and passionfruit in tins. Thanks Jared! We will use them very carefully!

And on Friday night, the Cornerstone Christian School had it's very first sleepover! Thanks to the Aussie influence, this turned out to be a wonderful event, which by all accounts, will be repeated! The weather didn't look too good in the morning but at 3pm, the rain let up and held off till 11:30pm or so. So the games, in particular, generals, worked out really well. The kids loved the game and clued in to its strategies, very quickly! And Steve had an hours' nap soon after getting home on Saturday morning!

Dinner in the RV while Steve and the two older kids were at the sleepover!

 Yes, we purchased an RV! This has the twofold purpose of one: our home for when travelling the country, and two: a homebase for any relatives or friends that may come and need somewhere to stay.

She's 31ft and we've named her 'Sunni'. In fact, we've named all our vehicles! The toyota is 'Sienna' and the Suzuki is 'Susie'. Sunni is 15 years old but in very good condition. I've been spending the last week cleaning her bit by bit and she's really coming up nice. When she's all done, I'll take a few photos of the interior. Our intention is to take her for her maiden voyage and our first little holiday in two weeks time when we have a long weekend coming up. I think its Columbus day?! So we are trying to get her all done by then.

And some photos of the last week:

The girls set up a play mat and then took a photo of it!

Making a card for Mrs Bareman's (Shantel's teacher) birthday

 Toys are really cheap - second hand that is! There is a store called Second Chance and Tuesday 10am is the time to go as they stockup on Monday. Most of the toys are either Little Tykes or Fisher Price and are mostly just a dollar.

Noah's Ark - Noah is missing and a couple of the animals are missing their mate! But the girls love playing with it all the same!

Piano with a wonderful selection of classical music. The girls will play with their toys and have this as background music!

Making something with lego and their music in the background

The weekend turned out really wet and windy. At 5:30pm Saturday Jaclyn had just put the pizzas in the oven when the lights flickered once and then went out. After confirming with Bernice that yes, it was all along the street, we went there for dinner as they have a generator! So we had soup, raisin bread and pizzas! Yum! And when we got home we still had no power. So with the aid of torches, we bundled the girls off too bed and thankfully, the hot water system is run by gas, so we could still take showers! And we went to bed early too! And in the morning, the power was still off. I think it finally came on around 11am. Just as well, because there was meat etc in the freezers and I didn't fancy a big cookup!

Sunday was still wet. We had Wielenga twice and visited the Buitenbos' for coffee and lunch. Hannah is Mrs deBoer's sister (from Rev deBoer) and Ray has a sister married to Des Swarts, both in Australia. It's amazing how most people do have connections. We could welcome Willem and Linda vanderven this afternoon who have come for the wedding of Elissa Bosveld! I believe a whole contingent are on their way for this event!

So that's it for this week! We continue to try and adjust to the yankee language.

You use a  flashlight, not a torch. 

Kids like suckers, not lollipops. 

And when going on holidays, you take a trailer, not a caravan!

Fall is certainly on its way. The weather has changed and is getting cooler.
The leaves are changing colour with lovely shades of red and orange. 

We thank God for His Goodness.