My favourite holiday

Nope, not Christmas… although that runs a close second place.  My favourite is Thanksgiving.  I have a tradition that we started in South Africa.  We always have a Thanksgiving meal – although it may not fall on either Canadian or American Thanksgiving.  In SA, we often had it half way in between the two… late October or early November.  But we always have it, and always invite beautiful friends (or family if we are with them) to share it with! Read More…

Camouflage

I can’t say we are truly Canadian yet.  You might just have heard me saying “now now” to my patient today – and the quizzical look on his face reminded me that the words that just came out of my mouth are not understood in my new life.  It also made me wonder how often my kids say things at school that others don’t understand.  Or vice versa. Read More…

Eviction Notice

Thankfully we don’t have one of those!  An eviction notice…  My wonderful in-laws have let us wholly invade their space for the past 6 weeks while we wait for our tenant’s lease to be up.  And tomorrow is the day! Read More…

TCK – Totally Clued-in Kids or Totally Clueless Kids

To quote Elise, “I wonder sometimes if this really is my life now?”   This transition has not been an easy one for my teen and pre-teen children.  They were 4 years old, 2 years old, and 1 month old when we left the country of their birth and so now identify strongly with South Africa.  You hear a lot about “biltong” and “lekker braais” in my house.  The kids miss their country of familiarity.  They knew what to expect in South Africa.  They were confident and secure. Read More…

Family Ties

We have often been lauded for the sacrifice we made when we moved our young family half way around the world.  We left a safe, happy, Canadian suburb for a country that has been labelled by some as a “crime capital.”  We chose to live behind bars for safety and have our children “locked” in our yard.   All the South Africans that we met were astonished that we had moved there – as many of them were trying to leave. Read More…

One month gone

Since I last blogged, we have been through 3 countries, flown in 4 airplanes, rode the train under the English channel, experienced all manner of public transportation in London and Paris, and walked miles and miles around the English and French countrysides.   Read More…

Grateful Season

Years back, I read a quote by Heracletus, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”  Looking back on a decade of life in South Africa, and the end of our season at Seed of Hope, I see how much we’ve changed.

These past few months, we’ve shared a lot of our preparations for returning to Canada, and some of the day to day experiences of wrapping things up.  We’ve had a healthy amount of time to reflect on all that’s happened in our lives since that pivotal decision to move our family in 2007.  It’s led us to a deep sense of gratitude. Read More…

And we are down to one week….

Sorry about the lapse in countdown, folks.  But we are back!  Today I am going to show you a few pictures of the farewells I planned for my kiddos.  Trying to help them end this chapter in their lives well (and hoping they won’t blame their parents for ruining their lives and talk about us in therapy…)  So we celebrated their friendships and were absolutely overwhelmed at all the beautiful friendships they have!  Read More…

It’s Countdown Time Again

I might be hyperventilating next time you see me (or sobbing my eyes out)…  Less than 3 weeks now!  The official good-byes have started and that feels a bit overwhelming, but yet good at the same time.  Hope you enjoyed reading the kids’ viewpoints for the last couple of weeks.  You may hear from them again before this countdown is over, but for today, it is my turn.  Read More…

Olly’s Point of View – 4 weeks from today

Hi there, my name is Olly and I am Marae’s most trusted companion, her watch.  I go with her everywhere – to school, to swim training, to the beach.  I must say, I don’t like the beach very much.  I always get sand in my buttons and then they don’t work well.  Marae loves the sea though, so I begrudgingly go with her. Read More…

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