It has been a while since my last blog posting. We have been trying to get the house in order, spend time with the kids, and Scott has been having work meetings. As I am typing this Scott and the kids are playing games in the backyard.



I think the kids are adjusting ok. Yesterday when we were driving, Alex asked “When are we going back to our other house. I like that one. My friends little Nick (Stroobosscher) and Andrew (Dieleman) are there. I have two friends. He also talks a lot about all his cousins and Riley.

Madison is ok – she has been helping me around the house and she is now on a mission to write every one of her friends from school, church, and family a letter. We had to go to the store to get some more paper and a scissors. In a few weeks check your mailboxes!!

Maddie and Alex also talk a lot about all their grandmas and grandpas. They can not wait (me either) for when we have internet at home and we can see eachother on the webcams.

We are slowly getting somewhere with the house organization. Here is our living room. It still needs the personal touches of pictures, rugs, and curtains, but it is nice to finally have a place to lay and read my books.



Here is our laundry room/room where I do the dishes. I am still working on Scott to get a dishwasher. He says we have one already – me. This is where they have the sinks to do dishes. The sink in the kitchen is a round sink used for washing food etc. It is quite awkward to wash dishes in it.



Here is our kitchen and dining room. We just purchased a dining room table (minus chairs) last night. YEAH!!

Here is the “kids room” a mess as usual – just like home.

The weather is kind of warming up a bit. It still gets pretty cold at night. Here are some pictures of the storm clouds last week coming in. VERY COLD when the sun doesn’t shine.

looking down the street from our driveway -----------accross the street

We have been able to go to the park with the kids (in our subdivision). There were a lot of kids and families there. The kids have fun at the park. They wake up in the morning wondering if we are going to go there that day.



Cooking – I have to say is very hard to do when you have limited ingredients. Just think of all the stuff we use – pizza sauce, snacks, cream of chicken soup, cresent rolls, hot dog buns, tortilla chips, Velveeta cheese, macaroni and cheese, lawrys, chocolate chips, Jiff peanut butter, ritz cracker, strawberry jam, bagels, sticks of butter - oh you name it – THEY DON’T HAVE IT. They do have, however, rows of flour, sugar, rusks (dried bread), any ingredient to make soup, eggs in packs of 5 dozen etc. I brought along my South Christian cook book very hard to use when you can not find or they do not have the ingredients. BUT GIRLS – I know you laughed at all my spices etc, I have started a very good collection so far J

We still have our favorite meals, which taste close to that of home cooked – Hamburger pie, and BLT’s, Chicken nuggets and American fries, spaghetti. We did buy some meat to cook on our braai outside when we finally get the rack to go in it.

I did find this at the store: Notice the "American Style"

We ate them in less than 1 day.

Scott – If anyone knows Scott he can not sit still. Well he has managed to find everything in the house that needs fixing. The best was the hot and cold was reversed on the upstairs faucets (minor problem). He thought a quick fix would work – well three trips to a home building store and no shower for me for a day (because he had to shut the water off), turned out to be a bigger problem. Also – I found Scott’s real passion in TV – The history channel and National Geographic. He now stays up later than me (not normal)!!

That is the latest – When we have internet at home – I promise my blog will become more exciting. We all are still recovering from our colds (not fun), and we have a trip planned to go to the Pretoria Zoo on my birthday. Not much else exciting here. I have been getting use to the fact that I have nothing to do – so I clean (oh yes mom – you would be impressed the laundry is always done and the house is always clean) and I read books – The latest books were Sophie’s Heart by Lori Wick and Too Small to Ignore by Dr. Wess Stafford (thank you Barb for the books). Scott and I also have been trying to learn Afrikaans. I also have been spending a lot of time keeping the kids busy – reading books, baking cookies, painting nails, playing spiderman, singing, going to the park, and rumbling.

I miss the interaction with family – friends – and church. Thinking of you all the time.

HAPPY 4th of JULY

I sure hope everyone had a great 4th of July with family and friends. I was sitting yesterday thinking (which may not be good to do sometimes) about going to the cottages and the holiday. I was crying a bit, because even though we have only been gone a little while – I know that the Leenstra’s will be up at their cottage (in the sun) and the Dieleman/Wierenga – Brummel Clan will be up at the cottage on good ole Whitefish Lake. The Veenstra’s probably on the river on a boat. It sure is nice to be around family. We definitely have been spending a lot of quality time together as a family here.

It is terribly cold. Think of it as camping in the end of October. I bet it has not reached over 50 degrees in the house the last few days. I am definitely not use to this. Oh – I also have received the cold virus from my wonderful family. I have almost finished a 450 page book in two days. I can not put it down. I do not remember the last time I have sat and read a book. It sure is nice to not be so busy at night with this and that.

We sure are learning a lot already. People are nice and willing to help as much as they can. We now have a gardener. It was weird watching him do our small yard and mop the patio deck. He was happy to get another job. They do not make much, but they are so eager to work.

Scott had his first business meeting today and is going to finish the entry.

The meeting went well. The meeting started b/f I arrived (I wasn’t late) and everyone was speaking in Afrikaans. They kindly switched to English for me. I met a contractor there who is interested in building with the type of blocks that we will be making. It looks like for this first project (if we get it) he will do the wall building if we just supply the blocks. Long term he is willing to work with us and be the general contractor for building walls and home and will let us use our own teams of guys to actually build the walls and house structures.

I have a quote due by the middle of the month, so I need to have a few more meetings to make sure we are all on the same page. If it all works out, we will have to have a block yard up and running by the beginning of October.

It’s 6:30 pm and I have to go b/f the store closes. We need another heater.

OUR HOME

HOME

This is a picture of our new home. We are still in the process of getting furniture and everyday things. We have “upgraded” our kitchen table to a pile of boxes and I was able to make Spaghetti in the microwave.

Today has been a tough day. Alex has hit his breaking point. He cried (putting it softly) at the furniture store for about 30 min. He was so angry/hungry/sick/tired that he tried to run away and he knocked over a planter and we then had to add an extra $120.00 USD to pay for it. The “good thing” is we got to take it home with us. Maybe we can piece it back together.

Anyway the sickness has limited us on doing a lot. Yesterday we went home to give Alex a nap and by the time he woke up all the stores were closed. I know I could send Scott out to get things, but I would prefer my taste over his.

We are moving at a slow pace – We were finally able to get to the phone place and they have informed us it will be 10 – 14 days for phone service and then another 2 weeks for internet. Also the furniture that was to come today – half will be here tomorrow and the other half on Thursday. As I am typing all of this and gripping over the slowness of everything here, I am realizing how much I obsess about material items. As we were driving to a store we saw people sleeping under trees in the fields with all of their possessions under the tree. I keep thinking about how cold I am on an air mattress and 4 blankets and wearing 3 sets of clothes in a house and there are so many here sleeping in the cold. I have taken a lot for granted and God sure is opening my eyes to the world outside of my little world.

Anyway, my main purpose for this blog entry is to give you all our Postal Address here it is:

Scott and Lia Leenstra
PO Box 184
Montana Park 0159
South Africa

Keep the emails and comments coming. Thank you to all those who have emailed your messages, thoughts, and prayers they really mean a lot to us.


JUST A FUN PICTURE OF THE KIDS

HERE IS THE LATEST

The bad news first – The family is sick – Scott, Maddie and Alex are sick with bad colds/fevers. That leaves me as being the healthy one. It is really hard to shop as a family when your husband and kids need naps. Please pray for their health – they are all tired,stuffed up and weak.

Now the fun stuff – Where do I start. Scott left the kids and I at a shopping center for a couple hours to drive with Stevan Prost (the guy we are renting the house from) to set up power and water to the house. So the kids and I attempted McDonalds (across 8 lanes of traffic). Scott left the van (picture below),

but I was too afraid to drive it. This driving on the wrong side of the road and having the van being a stick shift does not motivate me to drive yet. We made it across traffic just fine, but the traffic in McD’s was awful – We waited 25 minutes to order our food (I guess this is the hot spot around here). The kids said this was the best day ever. That night Alex fell asleep at the dinner table in the restraunt – I have never seen him do that. It gets dark around 6:00pm and the kids are in bed by 7:00pm and Scott and I are in bed by 10:00pm at the latest (and if you know me that is not normal).

Here are some pictures of the bed and breakfast we stayed at on Friday night and Saturday. It was very welcoming. It is a 10,000 square foot house!!! The kids fell in love with it the second 6 (yes 6) dogs came out of it barking at them.

We came to find out through our stay here that the lady and her two sons started Bougainvilla Estates (the estate we are living in). Her sons live in the estates pretty close to us. They have little girls Maddie’s age. How awesome is that. So I guess you can say Maddie meet her first new friend. These couples have been very helpful to us and have shared a lot of good information for us to get started here. They even invited us to their Durban home on the Indian Sea – They stated we needed to make sure we saw the country. I still strongly believe God has his hand in having us meet these people!!!!

OHH THE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE – you think this would be every woman’s dream to purchase everything new to fill up a home. Well – It is quite overwhelming with limited stores to shop at, the hours when stores are open (most close at 5:00pm), sick family, and crunch time. We are officially in our house tonight (Sunday) with no furniture, no beds, no plates, no refrigerator, washer, dryer and the big thing no heat (it is cold at night- to give you an idea I am currently wearing a short sleeve shirt with 2 sweatshirts on and a pair of sweats with a pair of jeans over top). We bought some necessities like a blow up air mattress for sleeping tonight. We did find sheets, blankets, and a portable heater. Some furniture will be delivered on Tuesday and we have to get the rest yet. Here is something funny – We were purchasing a TV and the sales guy asked us for our permit. This threw Scott off and he said a what? A permit from the post office to own a TV. Well of course we did not – Who WOULDA THUNK OF THAT. Here are some pictures of some before shoots of the house – I will post the after pictures later(it takes so long to upload here. The kids thought it was fun blowing up the air mattresses and having cinnamon toast and popcorn for supper – YUM.

eating supper on a blanket in the living room

What we had for dinner

Our bedroom after I cleaned it

temporary beds for two nights

sweet dreams kids

Alex's room

kids blowing up matress to sleep on

OUR FIRST GROCERY/CLEANING SUPPLIES BILL – 1257.55
Plastic bag to bag groceries .21 each
1 loaf of bread 5.49

1 bag microwave popcorn 5.69
Bag of Apples 10.99
Lemon Poppy Seed muffins 15.99
Dish Cloths 32.99
Nappies (Pull ups) 107.99
Toliet Paper (18 rolls) 58.99
Portable Heater 359.99
This is all in Rand (1 USD = 7 Rand). It is very hard to shop and not know how much money you are spending. I guess you spend less when your bill hits R1000.00.

Well – we all are very tired – long days – too much out to eat food – too much bickering over little (I mean little) stuff (like I said shopping with a sick family is not that fun), but this is nothing that will not pass – I hope sooner rather than later.

We do not have phone service or internet yet, but I will blog as much as a can until than. Love you all.

We are here!! With only a few mishaps, the trip went very well. We couldn’t have asked for better kids. They played, slept, and ate what they could of the airplane food. (We forgot to order kids meals for the plane 72 hours in advance). We were at the airport in Amsterdam and the big gossip around the airport was how much snow Joburg had. It was cold (50) when we got to Joburg, and I thought oh I can not wait to get to our bed and breakfast into our nice warm beds. Well – I forgot that they do not have heat in most places - sooo the nice warm bed was freezing cold. Maddie woke up this morning and I asked her how she slept and she went on about how cold her sheets were until she cozied them up. The lady here stated that this has been a cold winter so far – and she talked about how the snow covered their cars. They should come to Michigan some time.

Both kids were amazed to see that the roof of where we are staying is made out of thatch (straw). By the way it was almost midnight when we finally arrived at the bed and breakfast. We had to wake the owners up and they stated they did not have us down until tomorrow. I almost lost it (so tired)!! They were very nice and they were able to get us in and we all slept pretty good. We are now on our way to our new home to meet the guy who rented it to us. He is going to help us turn on the power, and get all the stuff we need to get into the complex.

I will post more later, but I thought I would let everyone know that we are here and the kids are well and excited to go to the new house and pick out their new beds today. I want to say thank you to everyone for all of your help in the past few weeks and all your prayers and words of encouragement. Thank you to all of you who were at the airport, It meant a lot to us to see our family and friends there. We love you all. Here are a few pictures. (If you can believe it I even got a kiss on the check from my brother Dan – Thanks Dan – I love you). In some of the other pictures do not mind the ugliness of my sobbing face.
Post more later!! Love and Kisses – Mom and girls – Have fun and relaxing time at the cottage.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADDIE

MADDIE TURNS 6!!!! SHE SURE IS GROWING UP



It was Maddie's 6th birthday on June 13. We spent the day at Michigan's Adventure with our friends the Reitsma's and Donker's. (we usually go on our annual camping trip to Ludington, but this had to do this year) What a hot day. Maddie loves the roller coasters and the best was the water park. We ended the day with ice cream and presents. Maddie had a great day. She also celebrated her birthday along with Grandma's Birthday and Father's Day. What a fun time spending it with family. God Bless you Maddie with many more great and exciting years. Just think next year you will celebrate your birthday across the world. ALL OUR LOVE MADDIE!!!


On a spinney ride with Alex, Zoe, Ella, and Justin



Enjoying the water park


Of course the day would not be complete without a ride on the carousel


Maddie and her friends Justin and Zoe


Taking a ride on the Frog Hopper with Dad, Alex, Justin and Zoe
Can not have a birthday party without ice cream!


At Grandma's Pool




Maddie enjoying time with her cousins



Maddie opening her gifts (Did I mention she is a precious gift to us!)

I HAD TO ADD THIS PICTURE - THE TRUE MADDIE

Maddie's true passion - CATCHING TOADS/FROGS!!

Emotions

You may be wondering what is going on in Lia's head in these last final weeks. I can sum it up into a bunch of emotions. It amazes me how many emotions you can have in a single moment.

Happy – that the house has sold, that God is showing us that this is the path we are suppose to take, for a wonderful husband who puts up with my many spur of the moment emotions, for all of those who are taking care of loose ends while we are gone, that our dog Riley will have a great home, for those who have blogs to help me stay connected.

Sad – the people we are leaving behind, our dog, our church family, everything that is familiar, that Madison’s stomach hurts every night because she is nervous,

Exhausted – Physically, mentally, and emotionally

Excited – Wow what an adventure - New culture, new food, new people to meet, an opportunity to witness, New furniture, going to the Pretoria Zoo, to take my passion of GEMS to a whole new part of the world, the new bonding of our family and marriage,

Nervous – I am nervous about the unknown – What is it really going to be like? Are the kids going to like it? Will we all adjust? What about a good church family? Am I going to feel so alone? Is this too far out of my comfort zone? Is Scott going to get his job/new company going?

Blessed – I have always realized how blessed I am, but these last few weeks, I have really seen all the blessing I have – Family – Friends – Kids - Scotts job, Church family

Loved – I am feeling very loved and encouraged by family and friends.

Angry – that I can not seem to get myself to pack up the house. Who in the right mind waits for last minute!!!! As I say – I am the most productful when the push comes to shove.

Comforted – Knowing that God’s hand was and is in every step of this process. He was there at the GEMS Convention when I stated that I would go to Africa to help the GEMS clubs there (little did God know that I was joking – or so I thought), He was there when Scott and I decided to put our name in the “drawing” to go to South Africa – He was there in the room when Scott’s work decided we were the ones to go – He was there when we told our family and friends our big decision – He was there through the process of getting papers filed, shots administered, etc – He was there on our pre trip – He was there for the selling of our house – He is here during the last few weeks of preparation – and I truly believe that he is in South Africa in our new home preparing the place, people, school, and Scott’s new job. He will continue to be with us and he will also be here with those that we leave behind. What a comfort! God is good!!!!
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Please continue to pray for us as the date is fast approaching!!