Sep 7, 2011 | Stories
Well friends, here we go…it’s Wednesday the 7th of September, a day that has been in our minds for quite some time. Not only is today the day the United States was nicknamed Uncle Sam (in 1813), but it’s also take-off day for us. We’re driving to Johannesburg and flying out this evening to head almost due north for a brief visit to the UK, and after nine days split unevenly between London, Edinburgh, and a special wedding in Linlithgow, we’ll arrive in the Carolinas on September 17th. Which, incidentally, is the day before my birthday.
New Year. New Decade. New Continent. New Adventure?
In the meantime, I’ve grabbed some spare moments here and there to prepare a few things for you, and I had the delightful joy of welcoming some guest posts from friends near and far. So there’s a heap of good stuff scheduled to come your way over the next ten days!
Beware, however — the posts headed your way are scheduled to show up without me pushing a button every day, and I might not get a chance to check that it’s behaving properly, that all the comments are polite and don’t need moderation, or that there aren’t any pictures posted where I have something in my teeth.
Be that as it may, there’s definitely a nice line-up on its way to your computer screen, or iPad, or cell phone, or whatever other device you might use for internet viewing.
So please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their upright and locked position, slide that seatbelt around those gorgeous hips of yours, and get ready for take-off…
Auto-pilot begins in three…two…one…
xCC
Sep 5, 2011 | Stories
Hi friends! Along with preparing suitcases, laundry, toys, and the expectations of one little Bear, I’ve been preparing a few goodies for you while we’re travelling. I know right? You can thank me later.
You can look forward to some photos of my favourite six-month-old {and possibly yours, if we’re related or you don’t have any friends with six-month-olds}, the recap of when three became the new two, some guest posts extraordinaire, and maybe a little more of this and that, let’s just see how it goes.
In the meantime, question.
How have six months passed since this happened?
Wasn’t that last Tuesday?
Feel free to say a prayer for us… the little sicknesses here and there… our stuffed suitcases… Goo-Goo and Gammy…
MANY thanks (again) to you sweet friends who’ve emailed to let me know you’re thinking of us. It means SO much! Although this transition isn’t easy, we are well.
More on the way!
xCC
Sep 3, 2011 | Stories
Thanks to an observant reader (who also happens to be meeting us at the airport to buy Mr. Potato Head) I’ve realised I accidentally said we were leaving on the 1st of September. Incorrect, mis amigos! Our departure for the UK is actually on the 7th of September — we’ll be departing on a late evening flight.
And ever since we got back from Knysna, (travelling through howling wind and serious bush fire long story to get back) time suddenly feels like it’s moving like this:
{Can you guess what the Bear’s favourite toy was from his birthday? Clever badge if you can be specific!}
So, after an early brunch in Bloemfontein, we’ll be driving off to Johannesburg for our flight to London. And I get teary-eyed just thinking about it. Or typing about it. So please say a prayer for us (and Goo-Goo and Gammy especially) on the 7th!
{And if you said a prayer for us on the 1st already, well thanks. We needed that, too.}
In the meantime, I can report the wonderful news that we picked up the Tank’s passport this morning. Hallelujah! We are so thankful to have that important little document in our hands. And I’m hoping I can take a picture of the baby’s adorable mug shot on the photo page to share with you. Because it is hands-down the sweetest little baby photo you’ve ever seen in a passport. And I’ve seen ’em all. (The Bear has three right by himself!)
Now, one last dispatch from Bloemfontein for your information and prayerful consideration: it seems like the Bear is picking up a little cold, the Hubs is sick with something, and the baby is either teething or picking up a cold or both. And we have a looooong flight on Wednesday. So there ya go.
Whatever you’re up to today, whoever you need to remember to hug or thank or call or smile at, don’t forget to seize the present opportunities. For time, my friends, she flies.
xCC
P.S. Have you been checking out the Five-Star Shots of the lovely animals and scenery at Kruger National Park, which the Hubs has been posting every day over at Quiver Tree Photo? Quality!!
Sep 1, 2011 | Stories, The Good Word
I feel a little like I’ve turned a corner with regard to sharing thoughts around these parts recently. For a long time, I felt like I needed to write because there was an empty space — a few days, maybe more, where nothing new was on the docket, and it seemed to me that empty space was a bad thing. Better to just say something than to keep quiet for a while, right?
{No Bears were harmed in the taking of this photo, circa Jan. 2010}
But I began to ponder the difference between speaking {or writing} because you have to say something and speaking because you have something to say. Then verses like these began popping out at me:
The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness. {Prov. 15:2}
Wise people store up knowledge, But the mouth of the foolish is near destruction. {Prov. 10:14}
As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, So is a lovely woman who lacks discretion. {Prov. 11:22}
A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, And the recompense of a man’s hands will be rendered to him. {Prov. 12:14}
He who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction. {Prov. 13: 3}
A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, And a word spoken in due season, how good it is! {Prov. 15:23}
Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones. {Prov. 16:24}
Whoever guards his mouth and tongue Keeps his soul from troubles. {Prov. 21:23}
A fool vents all his feelings, But a wise man holds them back. {Prov. 29:11)
Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him. {Prov. 29:20}
and my personal favourite…
Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive. {Prov. 17:28}
When it comes to a discussion of the importance of rightly wielding one’s tongue (or pen), in Proverbs alone, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
The Sermon in a Nutshell? Sometimes it’s better to wait until you have something to say than to speak just because you have to say something.
The New Testament provides a very good example of this principle — a before and after, two millenia before extreme makeovers, if you will — in the life of Peter, the disciple of Jesus, who may or may not have had ADHD. Hopefully I’ll be back to discuss that very topic in a day or two, but, ya know, I’m gonna make sure I have something to say first.
Do you struggle with speaking because you have to say something? (Great! You shouldn’t have any trouble commenting below!) Any tips for the rest of us?
xCC
Aug 31, 2011 | South Africa, Stories
We have enjoyed a few peaceful days in the Knysna area with Goo-Goo and Gammy, and we’ve been taking a stroll down memory lane at the same time. It put a smile on our faces to realise that this has become the one and only destination where we’ve spent some holiday time with all of our parents.
First with G-pa back in 2009…
{This is on the Knysna estuary…see how the Bear enjoyed the boat ride?}
And then we were back when G.C. visited South Africa in 2010…
and see how the Bear enjoyed another boat ride…
{he enjoyed it by pooping!}
And now we’re here with Goo-Goo and Gammy and the Tank is about the age the Bear was when we were here in ’09! {Photos to come!}
It’s hard to believe our departure from these beautiful southern shores for the UK and then the USA is just seven days away. If I don’t have lots to say over the next few days, just be assured it’s because we’re preparing for the journey and I’m soaking in these last few moments of calling this wonderful country home. {Although I’ve been figuring out what home means and that it isn’t exactly related to an address… still, you know what I mean.}
This is a season pregnant with emotion: highs and lows, joys and sorrows. Please say a prayer for us… especially next week, on September 1st, when we take off for the UK. I’m looking forward to the return to the place I called home for four years, (and of course to the final destination) but saying goodbye to this place won’t be easy.
Still, it is well, it is well with my soul.
xCC
P.S. I am hoping to have some guest posts for your enjoyment while we are travelling, in case I’m not consistently able to check in. If you are interested in guest posting, please email me at cedcollie {at} gmail {dot} com.
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