The Fey Family

If you are at all familiar with the Leapfrog phonic’s DVD, you can thank me later for putting the alphabet song in your head. The volunteers are working hard to help Thato learn her letters and their sounds, so this DVD is frequently played and parts of the song repeated by all of the kids up at the main house. When Thato said “The T says Tuh, for Thato and Tyson” without any prompting, it made having this song in my head totally worth it! The Warrior Race is coming up in less than 2 weeks. Sadly, my training has taken a nose dive. I was just starting to feel all athletic and strong and then I realized I was walking around like a robot, a robot with very sore knees and shins. I have been resting and icing, but it appears that allowing my muscles to remain dormant for so long is making my recovery time move at a snail’s pace, which is about how fast I’ll be running in the Warrior Race! Ha. We really do covet your prayers as we run this race, that we will spread the word about Tshep...

In college, I had to take three Physical Education classes. Now, I am not the most athletic person (shocking!), which led to my taking the following three classes; Social Dance, where I learned to waltz, fox trot, line dance and more, Women’s Self Defense, where I learned some sweet moves to protect myself and Walking. Yes, walking. I was supposed to walk around and keep a journal reporting how many laps I completed, but even this proved to be too much exercise for me and most days I walked myself right back to my dorm room where I watched TV until I needed to return to the gym to turn in my journal. Since college, there have been a couple times where I decided to get serious about exercising. I bought an exercise ball and DVD from one of those “As Seen on TV” ads, promising my husband that I would workout every day. This did not happen and I spent the next several years trying to find a convenient place to store a giant inflatable ball that I would surely get serious about using ...

We were having a wonderful time with Grandma Karen, but were eager for Grandpa Rick to arrive. After a quick stop in Germany for business, Grandpa finally arrived on Wednesday, December 11 and on Thursday the 12 th , we headed to Magoebaskloof for a holiday. We arrived at the Magoebaskloof Ruskamp late in the afternoon after a few stops along the way for food and bathroom breaks. We picked up some groceries and got settled in. Tyson and Jori were eager to explore and were running all over the property. It was nice and quiet as the weekend hadn’t quite started. On Friday we headed out for our canopy tour, anticipating some fun, some thrills and some fearful moments! We experienced all of that and more. First, we were fitted out with helmets, gloves, a harness and a variety of cables and ropes. Then we followed our guides down a steep trail until we reached the first platform. This is where the action began. Tyson, Jori and Darin were thrilled. Grandpa was happy. Grandma and I w...

Ok, I don’t know how many parts this little series will end up being and I will probably end up writing stuff out of order and making a mess of things, but I know I need to just start writing before I can’t even remember all the fun we had! (Well, I will always remember, but you know what I mean!) Grandma Karen arrived on November 20. Grandpa Rick couldn’t get quite so much time off work, so he didn’t join the party til later, so no worries if you don’t read anything about Grandpa at this time! Grandma arrived at a very, very busy time…moving time! She quickly stepped into help wherever help was needed, and that help was invaluable. Tyson and Jori were still in school when Grandma arrived, so she spent a lot of her day helping me wash walls, clean floors, paint, sort, carry, organize and all the other stuff that goes along with moving. I’d disappear for the afternoon and come back to a freshly painted bedroom. It was pretty awesome. Not only did Grandma help with the move, but...

Lately, I have been tasting summer. There are sweet mangoes, with a scent so heavy and ripe that I can smell them as I lay in bed at night. These mangoes are small enough that I peel and eat 2 or three while I stand over our kitchen sink. The mamas and papas have been bringing them from their own trees and there is something extra good about eating this fruit that has been shared by friends. We have also been enjoying ripe, red watermelon. I will eat it warm from the sun or cold from the fridge. I’ve always enjoyed watermelon, but there is something about eating it here in South Africa that is just so much better. Maybe it is just the taste of sweet juice and crisp bites of fruit being eaten on the hottest of days. I’m not sure, but it is delicious. I have been smelling summer as well. Not only in the scent of fruit, but in the plant life all around. The scent of grass, standing tall or freshly cut is a delight. The smell of earth after a heavy rain makes me want to be still a...

It is a new week. I am still covering books for school and already dealing with book covers that have broken. Let’s just say, this does not make me happy. My mom had partial corneal replacement surgery on Tuesday. The surgery went well and now she is in the recovery time. We are hoping everything goes smoothly and that she will be able to clearly see our big smiling faces when they arrive here on February 26!!! Dimpho, aka Pontsa, Thato’s sister keeps falling, and falling and falling. She has fallen over 5 times just today. Her face bears the brunt of the scrapes and bruises giving her quite the tough appearance for such a little girl. She is already 3 ½, but looks to be only about 18 months. She does have a nice round tummy, so maybe that is throwing her off balance and causing her to fall so often J Our swimming pool is finally blue! Darin is so proud of the clear pool, which has taken him a long time to sort out. Broken pumps, storms, and a host of other things have kep...

Tomorrow is the beginning of a new school year. Tyson and Jori have already attended Jabulane for a year and a half, Tyson completing the second half of Grade 2 and all of Grade 3 and Jori completing the second half of Grade 1 and all of Grade 2. At the end of last year we talked with Tyson’s teacher and the principal and decided to move him on to Grade 5, so that is where he will be starting tomorrow. He is really excited about heading back to school and is especially looking forward to Science and Afrikaans. Jori will be starting Grade 3 and is a bit nervous, but she is excited that she gets to go to Assembly this year. This year when I was shopping for uniforms and school supplies I felt like I kind of got it. I now know what koki pens and Flip Files are, and I also know the difference between Feint and Margin and Irish and Margin notebooks. I will be honest, there are parts of the education system that are still strange to me and will probably always seem not quite right, but ...