Tabitha turns 2!

On Wednesday we commemorated the life, and what would have been the second birthday, of our dearest baby girl and hero, Tabitha. My parents came to visit which was very special, and because a few of my friends wanted to take me out for coffee on the day, I decided to rather invite them for a tea at my house instead. My mom and I had to get everything ready for the tea, which made the day exciting rather than sad. Life goes on, so I don't want to get stuck in the sadness of yesterday. But her life and death has had such a profound impact on our lives, so I never want to forget. I also want to remind myself that she was real, not just an event that happened to us. Watching the videos we took of her in hospital was a great way to pierce my mind back through the wall of time that so easily clouds up our memories. We miss you baby girl. We miss you!

We had balloons for the tea so we wrote messages on them and released them into the air. If nothing else, seeing pretty balloons rise up into the blue sky is such a happy moment. It is like uplifting house, but without the house and without the music. (lol). On a more serious note, the balloons remind me that Tabitha is not gone, she is just not HERE. Where we are she cannot be, but by God's saving grace I am on my way there. She has already reached the final destination of glory.

Thanks everyone for making it such a delightful day!

Up, up and away!

The evening we spent quietly at home with my parents. We had a little Bible study and we discussed the Lord's goodness in bringing us so far, teaching us so much, and giving us the strength we need, even now. I still stand amazed at how He knew exactly what we needed when we would never have thought we needed it. I never want to go through the hard times of 2 years ago ever again, but I would honestly not trade it for the world. It might not make a lot of sense to you, but its like a blind man that can see for the first time - he never wants to go back to the way things were! The Lord has given us an urgency to get to know Him more, and how wonderful it is to know Him! How blessed we are to know our Creator, the more we get to know Him the more we stand in awe of His greatness and the more we become aware of our sinfulness and our need for The Saviour, and our utter dependence on Him! We also listened to Tabitha's lullaby - 'The Steadfast love'. None of us can sing that song without a good cry, so we just bit on our shaking lips and listened!

It was a perfect day.

Wessel and I did not forget about our kite flying tradition. We were planning a trip to the Drakensberg for the long weekend, and we took our new and improved kite along. Tabitha's little bunny also faithfully came. The weather was freezing when we arrived on Friday, but nevertheless, as soon as we arrived at our destination (close to Giant's Castle), we attempted the first kite launch. It was very windy, perfect for staying indoors and making a fire, but Wessel insisted that it is 'perfect for kite flying'. So out into the open spaces we went, with our skiing jackets, thermals, beanies and 2 pairs of gloves. Our poor kite took a plunge as soon as it went up, and one arm broke. Not so easily demoralised, we fixed it with a strengthening beam and tried again, but to no avail. The other arm also broke. Seems like the tail was not heavy enough for the strong wind so we attached some socks to it to add weight. However, we decided to call it a day because the second break required some specialised materials that we could not immediately obtain. That, and a fire seemed more attractive!

The next day we went to Giant's Castle and took our mended and strengthened kite along, in case the next flying opportunity presented itself. However, the wind speed for the day averaged at approximately 0mph. Not even a slight breeze! So Sunday was our last chance. We decided to stop at an open field, not far from the guest house where we stayed. There was a gentle puff in the air, which constituted all the encouragement we needed. It was not long before the local Zulu kids gathered around to see what we were up to. It is sort of in the middle of nowhere, between Estcourt and Pit Sonder Water. We took off all the socks because of the marginal wind. Wessel managed to get the kite in the air and it was a beautiful, memorable, successful flight. All the kids clapped as our kite went up into the blue skies, joining two eagles gliding above. Wow what a sight it was! The ribbons were so pretty! It went so high it was only a speck on my camera. I also had a turn, but as the wind was not very reliable the kite came crashing down (or was it the pilot's fault?). Anyway, after 2 crashes we called it a day. The poor kite would never be the same again, but we decided to donate it to our little Zulu spectators who were delighted. If nothing else, I'm sure the ribbons would look pretty in their hair! We thought it might inspire them to build their own. They ran home to show their parents. I'm sure that was more action than what they've experienced in a lifetime in their remote little village! And so our kite flying weekend mission ended in delight.

Enjoy the pictures!

Wessel and his engineering piece of genius

Just because you can't see the eagles don't mean they're not there!

Good form, good function!

This picture makes me feel like some sort of Philanthropist!

Luv how Wessel captured the sun in this pic as well!

Spectators become participators...

Excited to show the rest of the community their new toy!