Our South African Life

3 Months Old

2012-02-26T14:30:00.002-06:00

Our little Charlie is 3 months old today. He has been such a wonderful addition to our family.

We love you Charlie!

Playing with baby dolls

2012-02-25T14:18:00.004-06:00

From time to time Lindie can convince Liam to play with her baby dolls.

This is how they play, by wrapping the baby dolls onto their backs. Ya Gotta love it.

Ready for Town

2012-02-25T14:11:00.003-06:00

Lindie loves going to town, especially Pick n Pay our local grocery store.

She pretty much dressed herself and went all out with the sunglasses, about 20 hairbands that she uses as bracelets & her Dora bag.

She has so much personality and spunk. And she always provides us with good laughs.

Love you Lindie

Oh Charlie

2012-02-24T09:02:00.004-06:00

Our little boy is growing up so fast. He is almost 3 months old. He loves sleeping and playing on his tummy, which is a new one for me. Liam and Lindie hated being on their tummies. He is also spoiling me by sleeping 7-8 hours at night.

Just a few fun pictures of Charlie.

{Charlie watching Liam and Lindie play}

{Luving the Bumbo}

Sunday Lunch

2012-02-20T04:53:00.006-06:00

The ministry of Restoring Hope Village reaches beyond the walls of the property and into the community. #7 is a nearby squatter camp that contains around 50 shacks. We have been ministering to these people, especially the children since arriving in 2006. Two of the boys, Sabanka and Doompy often come to play at The Village with the children, especially when school is on break. They also help with small jobs around the property when the are visiting. If they come to visit it is usually for the entire day. It is heartbreaking to know that these boys stay away from their home all day and no one is concerned for their whereabouts. Occasionally we see them roaming around town.

Sabanka and Doompy have been coming to church with us on a regular basis and we praise the Lord for this. We've known Sabanka the longest so he has heard the Bible stories many times and has been exposed to The Word more than Doompy. After church we give them lunch before they head out.

Doompy showed up for church on Christmas Day and then spent the rest of the day with us. He enjoyed lunch and the flurry of activities that day. Before school started in January, we gave them each a new school bag with school supplies. We know that their grannies won't give them money for such items.

Please keep Sabanka and Doompy in your prayers that they may soon come to know Jesus as their Savior.

Tom and Todd

2012-02-18T04:17:00.005-06:00

Tom and Todd recently spent 2 weeks with us at The Village. This was Tom's fifth trip to help us and this time his brother Todd also came along. Tom and Todd were great fun to have around and also very helpful. They helped Brian construct an electric fence for the entire perimeter of the property. They also helped with other projects around The Village.

The kids loved hanging out with them in the afternoons. There last night here they spoiled everyone with pizza and steak for supper.

Thanks guys, we can't wait until you come again...hopefully soon!

{This is the electric fence they constructed. Its a bit difficult to get a good picture of the fence and the picture doesn't give all the long days of hard work justice}

Fun at the mall

2012-01-30T12:06:00.004-06:00

The mall in town has a nice coffee shop that we enjoying visiting from time to time. There is also a place for kids to play in the water fountains. Liam and Lindie have a lot fun playing and getting wet.

Girls Talk A LOT

2012-01-29T08:21:00.005-06:00

In the past 2 weeks we have been blessed by more girls coming to join the Village family. Praise the Lord. He is always faithful.

Unfortunately, we've recently had a few children leave The Village to go back to family. The social worker made the decision to send them back to bad situations. We didn't agree but we unfortunately don't have any say in the matter. That left us with available openings in the houses but we weren't receiving any calls asking us to take children. It was very strange. After a couple of weeks we started getting phone calls from social workers and every call was asking us to take a girl. Our plan was to keep the boys and girls in separate houses but after having this many calls we decided its best to roll with who the Lord is sending us. We have 3 new girls giving us a total of 8 girls. And boy can those girls talk loud and long!

Modiehi joined us this week. She is 9 years old and has started school with the rest of the children. She hasn't attended school regularly before joining us, so she has to start at the beginning in kindergarten.

Christina age 14 joined us 2 weeks ago and arrived with bruises and cuts. The aunt she was living with beat her with a mop handle and the police took her to a social worker who brought her to us. She has fit in with the girls perfectly and she is a real talker.

Paulina hanging out with Tumi

Girls always have to do their hair.

Christina is braiding Ntswaki's hair. Ntswaki joined us this week. We've known Ntswaki for about 5 years now and we are pleased to have her with us.

Dieketseng checking out the newspaper

The girls having fun with Charlie

Charlie 8 weeks old

2012-01-25T02:55:00.003-06:00

Where has the time gone? Charlie is already 8 weeks old. He is growing so fast, changing everyday and I think he is starting to look like his daddy. Charlie still has his blue eyes and at times his hair looks like it has red in it. We will see what happenings.

Liam and Lindie enjoy their little brother a lot and it is so much fun watching them love on him.

Reality

2011-12-30T13:14:00.003-06:00

We really enjoy being missionaries in South Africa and truly love our job but somedays we do ask ourselves ‘WHY’. Our job description covers a vast variety of duties and that includes working closely with each child’s social worker.

I understand that being a social work isn’t easy-they have a lot of cases to manage, their job is difficult and not fun because they are always seeing devastation and it must get depressing at times. But yesterday was just about all we could handle.

Since August we’ve been caring for a 2 year old boy because his father was in jail for rape and his mother had died. His father is now out of jail on bail. Yesterday his father came to The Village demanding to have his child back and was very forceful. Brian could not control his father and we ended up pushing our panic emergency button for the security system we have at the property. Our loud siren went off and that was enough to scare him. He quickly put his child down and walked away. I notified his social worker that his father came here demanding his child and saying he had a letter stating he could have him back but the father said “he forgot to bring the letter”. The social worker said the father doesn’t listen to her and he is very hostel. We were told to go to court and get a restraining order against this father.

Not even 3 hours after that I received a call from the same social saying the father could have the child back. This is the same person who told me to get a restraining order against this father and even described him as very hostel. Obviously I didn’t understand and questioned her decision skeptically. She explained that the father did bring her a letter showing that the rape charge against him had been dropped so she decided he could have his child back. I said, so just because the charges are dropped that makes him a fit father? The social worker went onto say lets look at it this way, when his father was arrested he took his son to jail with him so he wouldn’t be left alone at home. So I guess that makes him a fit father.

I brought up a few other questionable things to her and she finally said. I am not going to ask the father, I don’t want to know what he does and I just want to close the case. Bottom line, she just wanted to get rid of a case and didn’t really care what was best for the boy. Thirty minutes later we had to let the father have him back. The child left crying & our hearts were breaking.

We thank God for the time we had to show this little guy love & we pray for his future. Only time will tell but maybe he will back. Until then we pray for his safety and salvation of his father.

Please know we have a lot of great, fantastic days here but somedays end up being rather rough.

Bikes for Christmas

2011-12-30T12:36:00.005-06:00

Thanks to Hope Community Church in New Jersey for blessing the children at Restoring Hope with 5 new bikes & a little scooter for Siya to ride! We saved the best gift 'til last for the kids on Christmas day. Uncle Louie had all the kids go into their house while the rest of us adults parked all the bikes and little scooter behind the bus. When we were ready we had kids come out together and see the big surprise. They were really surprised and super excited. It didn't take them long to jump on and take them for a ride. The bikes have been great fun this week as the kids are on school break.

Thanks Hope Community Church

My Little Elf

2011-12-29T14:08:00.004-06:00

Things we do to our children...I had a little fun with Charlie and dressed him up in an Elf outfit for Christmas.

Charlie finally said he had enough and it was time to put the camera away :)

Restoring Hope Village Christmas

2011-12-26T13:24:00.007-06:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS

On Christmas Eve we enjoyed our Christmas celebration with the children. The children were given generous presents from many sponsors and others who deeply care about them. The Village also gave each child and housemother a present. Before the unwrapping of the gifts started, we took time to read the Christmas story & to discuss why we give gifts to each other. For many of the children and even for some of our housemothers this was their first Christmas to celebrate with presents and to reflect on the REAL meaning of CHRISTmas.

(Pastor Uncle Louie reading the Christmas story. -notice the nice book rest he used)

(Housemother Selina helping Siya & Granny Susie helping Tumi open their presents)

(Dieketseng very pleased with her gifts)

(Motshidisi wish came true for a watch)

(Siya can't decide what to play with first and

ran out of hands so he could eat his candy)

(Komehelgo is very pleased with his car that makes car noises)

(Paulina got her wish for a doll & tea set)

Thank You to everyone who generously gave to the children at Restoring Hope Village to make Christmas so special for them. The children had a super exciting day & were very blessed by all the gifts they received. I do believe each child is truly grateful.

Our Family Christmas!

2011-12-26T12:39:00.005-06:00

Our family it still trying to figure out what our 'Christmas traditions' are going to be. Since moving to South Africa each Christmas has been unique. When we moved to South Africa it was just the two of us and forming our own traditions didn't seem to be important to us & the day was filled with many others to celebrate with. Now with our own three children we feel the need to set some family traditions. This year we celebrated our Christmas on Christmas Eve evening & it was wonderful. I believe this will be our tradition to carry on.

We had a Skype Christmas with my parents & they were able to watch the kids open their presents from them. Skype is such a wonderful gift to us, it bridges the gap of not being able to be together in such a wonderful way.

{Skyping with Papa and Nana in Iowa}

After our Skype Christmas, we enjoyed a Christmas supper & opening of presents with Brian's parents that are here with us. We read the Christmas story with the kids and talked about the importance of Christmas. And of course, we enjoyed watching Liam and Lindie open their presents. Charlie is a bit small to enjoy Christmas yet :)

{Daddy reading the Christmas story. Liam & Lindie enjoying the pictures

and answering questions.}

{Grandma and Grandpa gave Lindie a doll baby crib

& it happens to be a perfect fit for Charlie}

Christmas Eve was a busy day. Prior to our family Christmas celebration we celebrated with The Village Kids, but that is going to be another post.

We Have 3 Children!

2011-12-18T23:49:00.005-06:00

Yesterday as we were getting ready to leave for church we had one of those moments that made us realize we really do have 3 children. Life has been pretty easy up to this point with 3 kids. We were about 1 minute away from walking out the door for church when Lindie took the cap off a black sharpie marker that had a leak. She was wearing her ivory Christmas dress that is still soaking in hopes that the black ink will come out. Needless to say, I had black ink on me and daddy and grandma quickly cleaned Lindie up and changed her dress. Now we are out the door and onto the bus to take everyone at The Village to Church when Charlie decides to spit-up big time. He even managed to get the bus floor. I took Charlie back inside to do a complenoutfit change. Brian left with the bus and kids for church and Charlie and I drove separately. Yes, today is the first time it felt like we had 3 kids that are ages 3 years, 2 years and 3 weeks old.

Before spitting up on his outfit-3 weeks old

I managed to get to church in time to see the children's Christmas program. They did a great job. This is Drake, Komahelgo and Liam dressed as shepherds. You can also see Meredith dressed as an angel.

Charlie is growing!

2011-12-18T11:25:00.005-06:00

A few new pictures of Charlie. He's getting so cute and changing quickly.

We've been without internet for a while & still don't have it back...the joys of South Africa.

Enjoying Charlie

2011-11-30T08:49:00.006-06:00

Everyone at The Village is enjoying baby Charlie & he is getting extra spoiled. Even the kids line up to take turns to hold him.

Dieketseng comes everyday after school to see if he is awake so she can hold him.

Charlie has had a big welcome to The Village Family!

Baby Charlie

2011-11-29T09:38:00.009-06:00

On Saturday morning, we welcomed our newest addition to our family. Charlie Levi was born at 9:24AM. His arrival was a bit of a surprise since he was almost 3 weeks early but he was ready to join the family on his schedule.

Charlie has already captured his big brother's love. Liam loves trying to give him toys to play with. Liam is already asking when will Charlie be big so they can play together. Lindie is also fascinated with her little brother and is even willing to share her blanket with him (this is a big deal). We are enjoying being a family of five and Charlie is a perfect addition. We love you so much little guy!

Daddy made Charlie his own website, check it out. http://web.me.com/bniehoff/Charlie_Levi_Niehoff

{Last prego picture before Charlie was born}

{Charlie's first picture right after being delivered}

{Charlie and Daddy}

{All sleepy after his first bath & looking very cute.

We love his fuzzy hair. Thanks Nanna Cain for my cute outfit}

{Daddy and his two boys}

{Mommy & her 3 little bundles of joy}

Thabang

2011-11-20T12:26:00.002-06:00

Louie O'Tool shared this on their blog and I wanted to share it with all of you also. Life isn't always fun and games over here and reality hurts at times.

Usually we're pretty upbeat about ministry. Sometimes it's still hard to believe that we get to do this job. But there are hard times. And last week we had one of those experiences.

On November 1st we had a new boy join The Village. Thabang is 11 years old. He is orphaned and had been living with an elderly great-aunt who could no longer care for him. His school was over 3km away and without any encouragement from home he just quit going. Apparently his behavior was becoming difficult for her to handle as well.

We usually don't take children this age, as by this point they are typically too streetwise and independent to be molded. In this case, knowing the background, we hoped there were extenuating circumstances (such as hunger) leading to some of the problems. We told the social workers we would work with Thabang and try to help him.

The first night he was here we found that he had gotten up in the middle of the night and taken food into the bathroom and eaten it. He wasn't very good at covering his tracks. This type of behavior is very normal when new children arrive, as so many of them have been fending for themselves. We are usually able to break that behavior simply by feeding the child and showing them they will be cared for. With Thabang this wasn't the case. He continued to steal food, and then if he was given something he didn't like he would try to secretly throw it away and then take something he liked more.

We learned quickly that he hadn't had much authority in his young life. Having quit school there wasn't really anyone telling him what to do at all. Twice he left The Village just to go wandering around just because he wanted to, even though he had been told by 3 different people not to leave the property without supervision. When given instruction by his housemother he would completely ignore it, or even blatantly challenge it.

While Thabang was clearly very intimidated by Brian and me, he displayed no concept of respect for his housemother. He even told one of the other boys that he didn't care what she said or if she tried to punish him because he was big enough to take it.

In the short time he was with us several of us tried to reason with him. Brian spoke with him a couple times, as did I. We even had Zachariah speak with him in hopes that the communication barrier would be removed. Once I tried to explain to him how good his life could be at The Village, that this could be the best thing that ever happened to him. But his behavior continued as he rejected our counsel.

Eventually, knowing that this kind of behavior could hinder the growth of the other children, we had to tell the social worker that they needed to find a new place for Thabang.

That hurts. When an 11 year old kid has already been set on this path in life, knowing the window has passed where he can be helped, it is hard to accept. You would love to invest everything trying to reach him, but you can't put the other children at risk in the meantime.

I hesitate to share this story, but you need to know the reality of life here. "A child left to himself will bring his mother to shame." We are seeing the fruits of scores of children left to themselves.

The most poignant truth I see in situations like these is God's relationship with mankind. He is there, offering His love, offering adoption into His family, giving us freely the best life we could imagine. But in our stubbornness so many of us turn Him away. We continue to treasure the petty pleasures we find in life, rejecting the awesomeness that He wants to give us. God doesn't reject us, we reject Him. As Thabang refused to soften, refused to listen, so also do we, not willing to see the riches He will provide in Christ. If that is you, please, I beg you, stop living your miserable life and accept the love and forgiveness God offers through His Son.

Liam Reading to Lindie

2011-11-09T12:42:00.005-06:00

Liam loves reading books and enjoys sharing them with Lindie. One afternoon I was sneaky enough to get him on video reading a Thomas book to Lindie. This video is about 3 months old, but it is too cute not to post.

Liam Riding his Dirt Bike

2011-10-27T08:33:00.007-05:00

Brian bought this little dirt bike before Liam was even a year old. Brian loves riding dirt bikes and quad bikes as form of entertainment. He also enjoys teaching the kids here how to ride and to give them rides around the property.

Liam and Lindie both LOVE riding on the dirt bike with daddy. It is one of their most favorite things to do. Both of them started riding before they were a year old. Brian recently decided that it was time for Liam to learn how to ride his dirt bike. He also wants Liam to learn how to ride his dirt bike before he learns how to ride a regular bike :)

The clever daddy that he is, ridged up training wheels for the dirt bike and adjusted the throttle to keep it from going full force.

Here is Liam on his first solo ride & he did great.

Lakeside Team

2011-10-23T09:37:00.005-05:00

A week ago a team from Lakeside Church in Polk City arrived and ready to work. This past week they have been involved in a variety of outreaches including planting a garden for a family in Thabong, Hospice Daycare, Sunday School and homework ect. We've also kept them busy at The Village building the O'Tool's house. I'll let the pictures do the explaining on how hard they've been working.

Working on the gable ends of the house

Mixing and pouring a lot of cement into the walls

Setting trusses

We've thoroughly enjoyed getting to know this team and have had a lot fun amongst the work.

Liam having fun with the guys

A little time off to have fun on the quad bikes

Baby N at 32 weeks

2011-10-20T13:12:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we had another baby doctor's appointment and the doctor was able to get some really good pictures of little baby N's face. I am now 32 weeks, so just 8 weeks or possibly less left to go. Liam and Lindie are both getting excited about their new little brother. Liam says the baby is still 'loading' and isn't ready yet. Haha, cute kid.

O'Tool Staff House

2011-10-16T03:58:00.005-05:00

This past week the guys started laying the cement blocks for the O'Tool's staff house. By Friday they made it to truss height, just the peeks on the ends of the house are left to be completed. We have a team from Lakeside Church, from Polk City Iowa, arriving today and their first project will be helping with the O'Tool house by setting the trusses and putting on the roof. They will also be working on the playground for The Village.

By the end of Monday this is what was completed. The laying of the first two rows of cement blocks are the most time consuming because they have to make sure the spacing is very accurate.

This is progress from Tuesday and Wednesday. You can clearly see the openings for the windows. This is the front of the house.

By the end of Wednesday

This photo shows where our house is located in relation to the O'Tool's house. Our house is on the left in this picture. There is enough space between our two houses for both families to have a double wide covered parking area.

End of Thursday and the trusses were delivered!

Birthday Party for 3 kids

2011-10-14T08:25:00.004-05:00

Today we celebrated three birthdays at The Village.

Dumisang but we call him Tumi, turned 1 today. This little butter ball of a baby joined us in May & ever since we've been enjoying him. Lerato is his favorite person at The Village and she enjoys him very much. She is about the only person that can get him to smile on demand. Tumi just got his first 2 teeth a few weeks ago and has just started crawling.

{Lerato helping Tumi open his presents}

{Checking out his new cup}

{Lerato where did my cake go?}

Siya joined us at the end of August and the day he came to The Village it was his birthday. We didn't want to skip over his birthday so he joined in on the celebration today. He turned 2. Siya is a loud little guy that has brought new life to The Village. He keeps his housemother busy but is a lot of fun.

{Opening his new truck}

{He loves having his picture taken}

{Enjoying his cake}

Paulina joined The Village on Sept 2 & has adjusted very well to living with Mama Lizzar and the other girls. Her birthday was just before she arrived. Most of the time birthdays are forgotten and not celebrated at all due to families not having money. We didn't want to make her wait another year before she could have a proper birthday so she also received presents and celebrated turning 11.

{Paulina 11 yrs old}

{Of course we all enjoyed some cake}

Emergency Care

2011-10-01T08:09:00.003-05:00

On Thursday, The Village grew by 4 children. A social worker phoned needing temporary care for these children and we quickly stepped in to help. Currently we only have place for boys long-term and the social worker didn't want to split them up. After meeting the children, I think it would have been impossible to separate them even if the social worker wanted to. Thankfully we were able to help them for the night, so they didn't have to sleep at the police station.

It appears the older 2 (the girl holding the baby and the girl in the black shirt) are siblings and their sister was suppose to be caring for them and her 2 children (the younger 2). The mother of the older two had died sometime ago. So essentially we have 2 aunts with their nephews. The entire family situation and relationships are a bit blurred. After listening to the social worker we believe the oldest girl in the photo, age 11, has been trying to care for the 4 of them. The children have now gone to another home where they can all stay together.

“Though my mother and father forsake me the Lord will rescue me.” Ps 27:10

{Children when they arrived}

{After a good bath, new clothes, shoes and a small toy for them to keep}

The Village Family

2011-09-25T09:11:00.003-05:00

The Village Family is growing & life is becoming busy around here. Here is the latest photo of everyone together.

Construction Continues

2011-09-20T13:57:00.004-05:00

Progress at The Village is continuing and we are thankful for that. On September 9th the O'Tool family staff house foundation was poured. The Lord gave the guys a beautiful working day and good help. We are looking forward to getting their house built so they can move onto the property & be with all of us. All of the cement blocks are ready to go for the house and it looks like the team coming in October will be helping with the building of their house.

Just Being Cute

2011-09-20T12:05:00.004-05:00

Final Family Vacation Photos

2011-09-20T11:25:00.006-05:00

We had a lot of fun together and enjoyed some beautiful scenery. Welkom is a very flat, dry place to live so when we get the chance to see the ocean, mountains and a variety of animals we love it. We also enjoy watching the kids take in so many new adventures.

When you take a vacation that is 9 hrs away, you have to make a lot of stops. Making the trip more like 11 hrs away, but the kids are great travelers. This stop is lunch time and enjoying some KFC.

Our first vacation spot was in George and we visited good friends of ours-Val and Danie. We also helped Val celebrate her birthday.

We went to a wonderful farmers market on Saturday morning and had a yummy breakfast of fresh fruits, breads, coffee and pancakes

It is always fun to play in the rocks

Picking flowers

Watching the ocean

Whale watching-we saw many whales with their calves

Monkey Land

2011-09-19T14:09:00.005-05:00

Next on our holiday we visited a place called Monkey Land. We took a guided walking tour through the park and the kids were able to get really close to some monkeys. We weren't allowed to touch them but the monkey's would run up right next to us and didn't mind the kids getting close.

Liam and Lindie really enjoyed the monkeys and they are still talking about the fun.

{I know its not a monkey, but there were also lots of tortoises}

Elephant Park

2011-09-11T07:38:00.007-05:00

While away on holiday we visited an elephant park near Plettenburg. The kids were very excited about the elephants until they got close and personal with them. We had a bucket of fruits and vegetables to feed them which made the elephants very eager to stick their trunks out to be fed. One elephant even gave Lindie a kiss on the cheek which made her a bit more afraid.

It was a warm day, so the elephants had been playing in the mud making it a messy adventure for us. Brian and I enjoyed the elephants and maybe when the kids are older they will enjoy doing it again.

Red Berry Farm

2011-09-09T06:49:00.005-05:00

Last week our family had the opportunity to go on holiday (as they say it in SA or vacation). We decided to go to a place we haven't been before. We headed 10 hours South to George. The kids did great traveling, even Liam after being so sick the day before. It took him a few days to get back to 100% but he still had fun.

Our first full day in George we went to the Red Berry Farm & picked yummy fresh strawberries. Our friends, Val and Danie, moved to George this past May so we spent a few days with them and they showed us around. This strawberry farm has a few rules: to go into the strawberry field each person has to have their own bucket, no eating the strawberries while in the field and you can't fill your container too full. {Haha only in South Africa}

Ok, do you know how difficult it is to explain to a 2 and 3 year old that they can't eat their strawberries yet? Rather difficult...they ended up eating two each.

After our picking fun we had a very yummy snack of fresh scones with cream, strawberry jam and coffee or tea. This was a perfect way to start our holiday.

Liam's New Bed

2011-08-23T06:23:00.007-05:00

Last week a family we know from Welkom moved to Zambia. They were moving to a furnished house, which allowed us to buy a few pieces of furniture for ourselves and The Village. Liam ended up with a set of bunk-beds. He was super excited about getting a 'big' bed. The timing was perfect because the week before Lindie learned how to climb out of her crib, but in a rather uncontrolled manner. While we were waiting for the bunk-beds, Lindie took over Liam's toddler bed for safety reasons and Liam slept in the crib because he could climb in and out without difficulty. Liam thought it was great fun sleeping in Lindie's bed-so it worked out fine.

Liam received Thomas the Train sheets and blanket for his birthday so he was all prepared to have a new bed.

{Helping daddy put his bed together}

{Halfway Done}

{Yeah, Liam is very happy}

{Job Well Done}

{Lindie checking out the top bed, even tho she still sleeps in the toddler bed}

Baby #3 Update

2011-08-23T05:39:00.006-05:00

Our family was planning on leaving for a holiday today but poor little Liam was sick throughout the night so our plans changed a bit. We are still hoping to leave tomorrow for our holiday. Liam seems a bit better this afternoon. We are praying he will be up to traveling tomorrow and that we get a good night sleep tonight before heading out for a 10 hour drive. Since we are home today, I have a bit of time to blog. {Yeah, that doesn't happen often anymore}

We had a baby doctor appointment yesterday and everything went really well. We got new pictures of the handsome baby boy. Per the ultrasound he is registering at a nice size and he is very busy inside. Even tho I did not need an ultrasound to tell me he is a busy boy.

{Hand & arm in front of his face}

I am now 24 weeks and this is my baby bubble.

Village Update

2011-08-08T06:44:00.005-05:00

A lot of progress has been made since my last blog (about 6 months ago) about The Village. I'll try to keep it short and let the photos do the talking.

March 31 our first children's house opened and Mama Lizzar, Lerato and Monica moved into the new house. It was a busy and exciting day. Much of April was busy just getting housemothers and kids adjusted to life.

The end of April started our steady stream of visitors and family. Stephanie, Brian's sister, and Jennifer joined us for 15 days.

We had a great time with them and Liam loved all the attention. They were also a big help finishing up painting projects, organizing a lot of items in the container, making inventory lists and spending time with the Village kids. They also helped us celebrate Liam's 3rd Birthday. Aunt Stephanie and Jennifer made Liam a Thomas the Train cake-it was pretty awesome.

Mid May brought us 6 visitors- Aaron and Tommy stayed for 3 weeks, Allison and Michelle for 6 weeks and Louie's brother Tim and sister Rosina stayed for 3 months. Allison stayed with our family and we enjoyed her greatly. Just about 10 days after their arrival we were joined by another two guys who are medical students, Taylor and Matthew. They spent the majority of their time volunteering in the ARV clinic and at the government hospital. When they weren't busy playing doctor they helped with construction projects and kids at The Village.

During May we added two babies to the house. Baby Amohelang joined us when she was just 3 weeks old weighing 1.9 kgs (4.1 pounds) and 3 days later baby Tumi came. He was 6 months old weighing 19 pounds-so the exact opposite of our little peanut.

In early June our last 2 girls for the house joined us. Motshidisi age 17 and Dieketseng age 15 are sisters and have been a delightful addition to The Village.

As I finish up this post, the second house for children is ready to go. The beds have been made, the kitchen items are stocked and our housemother is eager to start. We actually thought 2 children were coming last Friday but the social worker ended up finding relatives for the children. So we are praying for the children that the Lord has for us to take into our next home. We are anticipating this house to be for boys.

{Started in mid-May and completed by August}

{The house is complete, just need a picture}

Lindie Turned 2 years Old!

2011-08-06T09:31:00.007-05:00

Yesterday we had a wonderful time celebrating Lindie's 2nd birthday. I remember when Liam turned 2 he really didn't understand that it was his birthday. But I'm pretty sure Lindie understood it was her birthday because Liam has been prepping her for the past few weeks.

Her special day started with birthday chocolate chip pancakes. After breakfast we opened presents from family. She had fun opening gifts and she even shared with Liam. After all of that it was a usual day until the afternoon.

Together Brian and I made her cake. We planned on making a castle cake and had an idea of how to do it and I asked Brian to help me trim the cakes and make them flat. Well shortly after he started helping he kinda took over and pretty much decorated the entire cake by himself. We had a lot of fun working together.

Around 3:30 our friends started coming and we enjoyed the yummy cake, popcorn, candies and juice. Of course the kids had fun playing with toys and making messes-we had about 9 kids here.

We always miss our family on special days like this but we are thankful for skype and video chats to help us share the day with them.

Announcing Baby #3

2011-07-27T08:27:00.006-05:00

I thought I better start off with our biggest news, we are excited to share Baby #3 is coming our way. I am already 20 weeks, so time is passing by swiftly. Our due date is December 16, but I am hoping this baby keeps up with the trend and comes a little early.

One thing different and nice about OB doctor appointments here is that we get an ultrasound every time we go to the doctor. We had an appointment this past Monday and the doctor did a detailed ultrasound looking at the heart, stomach, major organs, 10 fingers and 10 toes. Even saw the baby boy waving and open and closing his little mouth. So it looks like we are going to have a talker :)

Liam says that the baby is his Christmas present, so he is very excited about having a baby. He also thinks that Christmas is tomorrow and not 5 months away. Lindie on the other hand says "no" to a baby brother so we will have to keep working on her.

We Are Back Online

2011-07-27T06:56:00.006-05:00

It has been a long 6 months since I last posted but I have good reasons. I won't take the time to list them all, just the #1 reason. We moved into our house at the end of January without having a telephone line installed. By installed I mean the actual line wasn't even in the ground to our property. Our telephone company said they would get it done in February. I was thinking, okay we will be without a telephone and internet for 2 months. I must have forgot where we are living-Hello this is Africa. February quickly passed by with no action, March came & the guy in charge said it wouldn't happen in March because it was the end of the financial year, but he promised it would happen in April. In other words-they didn't have the money to do it. Half way through April Brian started calling the guy everyday to check on the progress. The guy quickly started recognizing Brian's number and stopped answering his calls, so he had to use my cell phone. In May, Brian started making regular visits to the guy's office so he could see him in person and get the entire story. Finally towards the end of May work started to happen, phone line trenches were being dug and telephone junction boxes installed. Of course this took another month but finally on June 22nd we had an operational phone line and in another few days we had internet. WaHoo!

So you may be wondering what has taken so long to start blogging again? Well we've had a whirlwind of visitors, volunteers & a team. The last week I'v been trying to get organized again and decided that today was the day to start posting again. Obviously I can't recount the last 6 months, but I will be sharing the highlights mostly by photos so you can see the changes at The Village and what Liam and Lindie have been doing.

Christmas Pictures

2011-01-16T06:11:00.010-06:00

Well I can't believe I'm so behind in posting Christmas picture. For that matter, I am just behind in posting anything recently. We've been extra busy since Christmas with working on the house and now packing. This coming week we are making the big move to The Village and I am super excited about it. This will be our 3rd time to move in the past 9 months, but Lord willing our last move for a long while.

We had a wonderful Christmas and the kids were too cute so I have to post these pictures, even if they are really late.

{Liam and Lindie opened their presents from Papa and Nana over

Skype on Christmas Eve. This is Liam showing them his presents}

{Lindie opening her present from Nana and Papa}

{Liam looking at his new book}

{Liam opening his stocking on Christmas Eve}

{Lindie and her Christmas Sock}

{Pops and Nana came over Christmas morning after church to share the fun}

{Liam and his new Cars legos from Aunt Becka, Uncle Larry and cousins}

{We had lunch at Nan Val and Oupa Danie's. We enjoyed eating turkey and lamb}

{Christmas afternoon ended with a swim at Nan Val and Oupa Danie's}

{She's not always a little princes, but she is really cute}

Having Fun

2011-01-02T12:59:00.005-06:00

Two weeks ago I watched Meredith, Drake, Lerato and Monica for the day while Amber, Louie, Bob and Susan went to the chiropractor. Yes going to the chiropractor takes all day, he is 2 hours away.

It was fun having Lerato and Monica around so we could get to know them a little better. All six kids were very busy, but behaved most of the time. The day started at 6:30AM and they left around 3:30pm. In that amount of time we played with everything and did about every activity possible. We played with toys, puzzles, rode little bikes, went swimming 2 times, played on the slide, jumped on the trampoline, colored Christmas pages, played with play-dough, watched part of a movie and ate a snack and lunch. I figured out what its like to run a daycare.

Our new little puppy, Millie, also had a big day. The girls loved Millie and tried carrying her around all day. Millie also ended up swimming, riding bikes, getting pushed down the slide & jumping on the trampoline.

Enjoy some of the pictures from our fun day. As you can see Lerato and Monica are settling into life with the O'Tools nicely and getting to know Liam and Lindie.

{This didn't last very long, but it was nice while it did!}

{Lerato}

{Monica}

Lerato and Monica

2010-12-23T12:30:00.003-06:00

Lerato, age 10, and Monica, age 6 are cousins and both girls' mothers passed away this year. For the last few months they have been staying with an uncle in a situation that has been less than ideal. There are 6 other men living in the house with

no women, although to this point it seems that nothing terrible has happened. He has been trying to keep them only for the small grant he receives each month for foster care.

At The Village our first house is nearing completion. Many man-hours have been invested and we are almost ready. Since things aren't fully completed the two girls will be staying with the O'Tools until the house is finished. In the meantime we continue to make arrangements for their full-time care. Dunamis Christian School is holding a place for them, and we have several leads for housemothers. Lois and Amber have sorted clothes, found backpacks and school supplies, and prepared Christmas gifts for the girls.

Soon Lerato and Monica will be experiencing the same outpouring of love we have experienced over the past year during the establishment of Restoring Hope Village. It is through your faithful prayers and support that this day is possible. These two girls, along with many others will soon be shown of the love that God has given us. We are privileged to be the hands and feet of Christ, and your representatives to those who so desperately need Him.

Your partnership in ministry is essential. Many of you have already joined us in the work. Here are some ways you can continue to partner with Restoring Hope:

Continue to pray for the ministry here. Pray for the children, our church outreach ministry, and ongoing work at The Village.

Consider a 2010 year end donation. As 2010 draws to a close, consider a financial gift to help us finish our goal of $8,000 to ensure we are prepared to care for the children God brings us. We are over halfway there, and hope to reach our goal by the end of the year. You can give on-line at www.restoringhopeint.org or mail your gift to the address below.

Sponsor a Child. We have had several people already sign up for sponsoring a child. To learn more about our sponsorship, contact us at childsponsor@restoringhopeint.org

Join a team. We have several teams and visitors already scheduled for 2011. If you are interested, please contact us at info@restoringhopeint.org

Join us in thanksgiving for God's wonderful provision and blessing throughout this past year.

The Staff at Restoring Hope Village

Brian & Lois Niehoff

Louis & Amber O'Tool

Restoring Hope International

PO Box 372, Ankeny, Iowa 50021 · 515.963.6794

Nearing Completion

2010-12-23T08:59:00.000-06:00

I love going to the property and seeing every new step that is happening. Each step of progress now really makes the house take on a new look. The door jams and trim are completed! All the painting is done! All the tile has been laid! Just the grouting needs to be done. Today my bathroom mirror was hung along with the toilet being installed and all those fun jobs in the bathroom.

On Wednesday we get carpet for the bedrooms-another yeah. And the sun is out today. We've had A LOT of rain recently along with high winds. We've experienced winds like never before. Even our neighbors at The Village said they've never seen anything like it before. The winds were so bad on Sunday evening that is cause a large section of our concrete fencing to fall over. Another section of the fence also suffered damage but it is still standing. The company that supplied our fence is taking partial blame for the fence materials not holding up against the winds and will be replacing some of the fence at their expense. Praise the Lord!!!

{Lindie and Liam love going to the house during lunch time}

{Brian, Bob and Louie laying the tile}

{Living room and passage almost done}

{As you can see, we received a lot of rain}

{Lawrence, or better known as Pops, helped at

the house by varnishing our front and back door}

{Trim painted and is now all installed}

{Our bedroom}

{Liam and Lindie's bedroom}

{measuring our old curtain, and now Susie is hemming them to length}

Since I started this blog post more has been accomplished. This week carpet was installed in the 3 bedrooms. The front door is on and has a lock :) and the back yard has been tilled up and planted with grass seed.

A Day That Won't Be Forgotten

2010-12-20T06:55:00.015-06:00

{This post was written the day Amber and I picked up Lerato and Monica from the social worker's office-December 20}

Today is a day that won't be forgotten anytime soon.

Today is the day that the first 2 girls came to live at Restoring Hope Village. A day that we, the staff at Restoring Hope Village, have been eagerly anticipating for a while now. We have known about these girls and their situations for more then a month now and have been praying for them. Praying for their safety, for their family or lack of family situation and for their understanding of what is about to come.

Today is a day that these two girls will also not forget anytime soon but with time we pray their hearts will heal and their lives will be mended.

Today is a day that will forever change our lives. Each time God gives us a new child to care for, to love and to help mold them into His likeness, is a life changing day.

Now let me clarify a few details. Restoring Hope Village's first house is nearing completion, but not yet finished. A local social worker, that we work closely with, asked us to do her a favor. To consider taking these 2 girls into our own home while The Village is being completed. After much prayer and guidance from our local trustees the O'Tool family (our co-workers) felt the Lord directing them in this direction. We also desired to take these girls into our own home, but we knew with our upcoming move, having family currently living with us and once we move into our new house at The Village we wouldn't have a proper bedroom for them, we also knew it would be best for the girls to live with the O'Tools.

We have pretty much been on-call for these girls since December 8th but today was the day-December 20th. Their family situation is still a bit fuzzy to us, as the details aren't totally clear. Lerato is 10 years old and Monica is 6. They are cousins and have both been living with their Uncle since both of their mothers died. They have been living in a house full of men, with no mother figure and no one really caring for them. Neighbors report that the girls run in the streets all day and often don't even sleep in their Uncle's home at night.

Today is the day that their entire world got turned upside down again. Their Uncle brought them into see the social worker and that is when they found out that they were not returning with their Uncle to the township. Today they left everything that is familiar and what they call home.

Over the past 4 years of living in Welkom and caring for orphaned and vulnerable children it has become apparent to me how much family means to these children. It doesn't matter if it is an uncle, auntie, cousin, granny and often it isn't even a close blood relative but these children desperately hang onto these family members. It doesn't matter to them if they aren't fed, clothed, or loved by these so called family members. Love doesn't even enter these children's minds, only survival. These children don't even know what love is nor do they know how to accept it. Love is a foreign concept to them. The lasting comment from the social worker today "These children don't even know the love of a mother's heart."

Today Amber and I held 2 screaming, kicking, fighting little girls that in reality didn't know how to act differently. They were most likely acting out of fear. Fear of being ripped out of their Uncle's care, fear of these two white ladies holding them and fear of the unknown.

You may be asking yourself, so why did these 2 girls have to leave their uncle? I asked myself that many times in the short timespan of 30 minutes which seemed more like an eternity. Could their uncle be that bad? YES. The girls are filthy from not being washed properly, their shoes are too small, their clothes have holes and even though these are all materialistic things we know he hasn't been caring for their needs. They are small in size for their age, the uncle drinks way too much, and the only reason he desires to keep them is for the small foster grant he receives from the government for caring for them.

Even though today and most likely tomorrow and all this week will seem rather foreign to them and bewildering, we pray that Lerato and Monica will settle into their home comfortably. We pray they will be able to understand what love is and how to accept it. Most of all, we pray for their spiritual life-that they will come to understand and know that their Heavenly Father loves them more then we love them.

We ask that you also pray for Lerato and Monica.

Prior to their arrival we picked out clothes, shoes, school bags and Christmas presents for the girls. They arrived at The O'Tool's house with Christmas presents under the tree for them. I'm sure that is also another first of many firsts to come their way.

{Lerato}

{Monica}

Church in Thabong

2010-12-14T09:20:00.009-06:00

This past Sunday (December 12th) we held our second church service in Thabong at a local high school. The need for a good, Bible preaching church in Thabong is overwhelming. Thabong has many, many churches but we have come to realize that most of these churches do not preach the Word of God-often they don't even open the Bible.

Because most of the children that we will be caring for come from Thabong and the young men that have come to know Christ also live in Thabong, it only make sense to start a church where they live.

The high school we meet at is in an absolute disarray. The amount of theft, vandalism and graffiti is overwhelming. Most classrooms don't even look like classrooms anymore. All of the electric cables have been ripped out and stolen. You can see that the classroom doors have been locked at one point, but people have just broken through the locks. The school use to have security fencing around the property, but as you can see the fencing has been relocated to inside the school classrooms. A security guard is also suppose to be on duty, but for both Sundays we have not seen any evidence of a security guard. I can not imagine kids actually learning in this type of environment. I'd love to just observe a few hours during the school day to see how or if these kids actually learn.

We hold church in whatever classroom that can be cleaned up the best. We move all the chairs to sweep up the dirt, litter and other obscene items found. We clean off the chairs, straighten them into rows, set up the key board powered by batteries and prepare for church. Both Sundays we have had 25 people in attendance.

DJ opens the service and also does the scripture reading. Louie and Amber lead songs and Louie preaches.

Amber has been holding Sunday School for children 6 and younger outside.

We are eager to see this church grow and to see many people come to know Christ as their personal Savior. It is only Jesus Christ that can change this country from the ways of their sinful actions. So many people want to see an HIV free generation in South Africa, therefore they promote safe sex and all these other views. What we want these people to come to know, understand and believe is that they need to turn to God. The only way we will ever see a HIV free generation is by changed lives through Jesus Christ.

Please keep this new church in your prayers. Pray that many more will come to church and openly hear the True Word of God. Thank you for your love, support and prayers. We will keep you posted on how things continue to go at church.

Since I'm a little late in getting this posted. This past Sunday, Dec 19, we had 36 in attendance!

My Birthday Present

2010-12-14T07:23:00.008-06:00

This past Saturday was my birthday and I turned 30. I don't think its so bad and at least I don't feel any older :) And I got a really, super cute Yorkie puppy for my birthday from Brian.

I had a fantastic day and pretty much celebrated the entire day. Bob and Susan took us out for breakfast to Wimpy's, then we went to the market and ended up buying my puppy. The kids also rode a few rides, which they enjoyed. Then home for a relaxing afternoon, while Bob and Susan prepared supper for the guests they invited over. That evening they hosted a birthday supper party for me and it ended with a very yummy German chocolate cake with 30 candles. So turning 30 was actually very nice and I'd do it again any day!

{Birthday breakfast at Wimpy's}

{Liam enjoying breakfast}

{Picking out which puppy we want}

{My new puppy}

{Lindie's first ride at the market}

{I had lots of help opening my birthday presents.

Christmas will be lots of fun this year}

{Lindie also loves the new puppy}

{Birthday supper party and cake}

{Our new puppy, Millie}

Our 8 year Anniversary

2010-12-14T07:00:00.007-06:00

Today Brian and I have been married 8 years. Wow, times sure goes by quickly when you are having fun. We've been so blessed throughout our 8 years of marriage-we've experienced a lot of wonderful things together. Our two most precious gifts from God-Liam and Lindie came along in the past 2 1/2 years and have filled our lives with so much joy.

We also have spent half of our married life living in South Africa and loving it. The Lord has given us so many blessings to be thankful for.

Last week we took 5 days off and went on a holiday to Uvongo and the Indian Ocean. We relaxed, took naps, played in the ocean, visited a light house, and ate banana pancakes at a banana farm. The kids stayed home with grandma and grandpa-so we truly had a relaxing time. We discovered that this was our first time to travel alone in South Africa since 2005. We've decided we should make it an annual holiday.

{Indian Ocean}

{View of the ocean from the balcony of our flat}

{Lighthouse in Port Edwards. We climbed to the top

but couldn't go outside on the balcony because of the high winds}

{Brian on some big rocks out in the ocean}

{We spent a few hours everyday playing in the big ocean waves}

{Enjoyed watching the monkeys}

Christmas Ornaments

2010-12-10T07:54:00.003-06:00

This year we started a new tradition with the cousins doing an ornament exchange that they each make. This year Liam and Lindie made hand reindeer ornaments with their photo on the back. I enjoyed making their ornaments with them. It was a bit of a challenge to get a 2 year old and a 1 year olds hand print to turn out well enough, but we managed. We also managed not to get everything else painted brown along the way. Liam does not like having his hands messy, so I had to convince him that it was ok for mommy to paint his hand brown. Lindie loves being messy, so I had to keep her from painting the rest of her body brown.

Here are the ornaments we made. We also made 2 for our own Christmas tree.

Thanksgiving!

2010-12-01T07:17:00.005-06:00

We celebrated Thanksgiving on Saturday and had a wonderful day. We didn't celebrate on Thursday because Brian's parents arrived on Wednesday evening!!!! {Yeah} so it would have been too rushing to get everything ready and Thursday is just another day here in South Africa so our friends wouldn't have been able to join us.

We had a beautiful day, its summer ya know, so we are having warm, sunny temperatures while our family is embracing winter. We had a full menu including turkey, stuffing, jello salad, homemade bread rolls, carrots, pumpkin casserole, and pumpkin fritters and more. We finished off with pumpkin and rhubarb pie-It was so yummy!

After our friends left, the O'Tools stayed around for a few more hours. Grandpa Bob gave the kids rides on the four wheeler around our yard and they loved it. Surprisingly enough, Lindie loved it the most I think. Anytime Grandpa Bob tried to get away without her, she'd start running towards the four wheeler with her arms up. She gonna be a little girl with her daddy's adventurous spirit. And that is okay!

Lindie Fun!

2010-11-21T12:12:00.005-06:00

I just can't believe that Lindie is already 15 months old. She is growing up so fast and really starting to take on her own personality. She is just so cute. She already has 10 teeth and loves to show them off. She often gives us this cheezy smile.

Lindie started taking steps on her own in September and slowly put more and more steps together. Early this month she just started taking off. She walks everywhere now and very fast. More impressively she can walk very good with shoes on already. So life in our house is no longer the same. Lindie can now effectively follow, chase, take toys, and pick on her big brother. There is no hiding from her anymore.

Cowboy and Bubble Bee

2010-11-21T11:44:00.004-06:00

Liam's preschool teacher was very intrigued with the idea of halloween and dressing up, so this year at school she had a halloween party. To help celebrate, I made jack-o-latern cupcakes for Liam to take to school and he dressed up as a cowboy.

The O'Tools and us also had our own little halloween party for our kids. We really aren't into halloween that much, but to help provide a little bit of fun for the kids we decided to dress them up. Since there is no trick or treating here, we hid candy outside for them to find, pretty much it was an Easter egg hunt for Halloween. At least they had a little fun, ate candy, cake and it gave us something to do.

Lindie was not impressed with her bubble bee outfit, so it didn't stay on very long. She also would not sit still for any pictures.

Update on Our House at The Village

2010-11-12T07:18:00.007-06:00

Its been a while since I'v posted pictures on the progress being made on our house at The Village.

This week Brian installed the windows, so that really made the house look real. They also started to layout out where the walls are suppose to go and fastening the footplates to the concrete floor. The bathtub and shower are sitting in the house now and the interior of the house has been plastered. Brian started doing this and quickly discovered he needed to hire this part of the house out. He's never plastered before and it was taking him too long.

Pictures are always better-so here ya go.

{back of our house before windows}

{bathtub and shower}

{a local company sent a backhoe and driver to help us on a Saturday.

The were able to backfill the sewer trench, dig a new trench for electrical service and

backfill that trench in one morning}

{Lindie enjoying some raisins off the dirty floor}

{There is always a little bit of time for fun with daddy}

{front of the house with windows in}

Liam on the Roof!

2010-11-04T13:12:00.011-05:00

The other night Brian was outside playing with Liam and his bouncy ball. Liam LOVES playing with any kind of ball, but bouncy balls are very fun. Of course Brian had to see how high he could make it bounce, which lead to it getting stuck on the roof of the house. So next came getting out a ladder and climbing on the roof to find it. While Brian was on the roof looking for the ball and I was in the house getting supper ready, Liam decided to climb up the ladder by himself.

Now Liam is very use to climbing ladders and he started rather young. He successfully learned to climb up and down a ladder by himself at 15 months.

The next thing Brian sees is Liam on the roof. Thankfully Brian wasn't too far away and quickly helped him down, after I got his picture.

As a mother, did this phase me? Not really. Liam pretty much climbs anything and hangs from high places. He's been on the roofs at the property with Brian and Uncle Louie, he has hung from the rafters and continues to go back for more. Its to be expected when raising a boy!

{Brian lifting Liam off the roof to me.

I accidentally took a picture as I was reaching for him}

{Liam on the wall of the children's house at The Village.

Yes, that's right-He is about 11ft up in the air & enjoying it}

Where did October Go?

2010-11-03T14:13:00.004-05:00

I can't believe how busy we have been. I actually have a few funny things and lots of other general happenings to blog about, but haven't had the time.

Last week we moved into another house because the house we were renting was sold and we had to move. I have to admit that moving isn't my favorite thing to do, but we've done a lot of it in the past year. We are praying that we are only in this house for 2 maybe 3 months. Brian and crew are working hard on our house at The Village, in hopes of us moving in by the end of December. That would be fantastic! Needless to say, I am not unpacking everything and not decorating the house. A few pictures on the wall, mainly so they aren't laying around to get broken. We will put up the Christmas tree and decorations when the time comes.

During the move, Liam came down with a nasty stomach bug that seems to be going around Welkom. He was sick for about a day, but managed to make a LOT of laundry for me to do. Liam threw up on Brian 3 times and got him good every time. It was nasty.

The move hasn't been as easy on the kids as we thought it would be. Liam was a bit off for a few days, really naughty and potty training went backwards. Thankfully, Liam is now becoming more comfortable with the house and is getting back to normal. Lindie is now running a fever throughout the day, but I discovered she has 2 big molars coming in. So ouch! Poor little girl.

While I unpacked the kitchen dishes, Liam and Lindie played with play dough. Lindie has started to climb, a lot. She thinks its so much fun to stand on the chair-which I always tell her to sit down. She's learning, I hope.

But when I'm not watching, I also often find her sitting or standing on the table. {Naughty little girl}

Random Pictures of Liam and Lindie

2010-10-20T12:01:00.001-05:00

Just a few fun pictures of the kids.

Liam helped me make pancakes for breakfast one morning. He did a good job dumping in the ingredients and stirring.

Just for fun. I took this picture because she looked so peaceful sleeping.

Liam is leaning how to paint with water paints.

Liam, Lindie, Meredith and Drake enjoying the evening together.

She knows she is being naughty by sitting on the dishwasher and look at how pleased she is with herself.

Liam having lunch with his cars and trucks

Enjoying a cracker

Swimming!

2010-10-19T12:34:00.004-05:00

As our friends in the States are enjoying Fall and getting ready for Winter, we have ushered in Spring and enjoying Summer like weather. YEAH

Even though its technically only Spring, the temperatures have been hot enough for the kids to play in their kiddy pool. We had a blow up pool that I dug out and started filling up, but quickly discovered it had a few leaks. We looked at the local stores for a kiddy pool but they are all expensive and a piece of junk. So resourceful daddy came up with another plan.

About 2 years ago some friends offered us a small fish pond that they were no longer using in their yard. At the time we had no need for a fish pond. Brian went back to them now and asked if they still had it and they did.

Check this out-Brian made this old, fiberglass fish pond into a wonderful little kiddy pool for Liam and Lindie. He drilled a hole in the bottom and put in a bathtub drain and plug to make it easy for draining and cleaning, cleaned it up and painted it.

{Before}

{After}

Liam and Lindie have fun in it almost every day and often Meredith and Drake join us! Its a bit crowed with 4 kids, but it works out because they usually are busy enough getting in and out.

When Mommy is gone interesting things happen

2010-10-13T13:44:00.003-05:00

While the team was here, Brian stayed home with the kids on a Saturday morning and I took the team to the hospital to visit some children and onto Thabong for a traditional township lunch. Besides watching the kids, Brian was also left with instructions to make a salad for supper that night. When I arrived home about 4 hours later, the salad was made, the kitchen clean, Lindie was napping and Liam looked like this. I didn't even ask...Ya gotta love it!

{It looks like he is wearing shorts, but it really is his underwear}

Team Fun

2010-10-13T08:10:00.006-05:00

I am a bit behind on posting things on the blog. Here are a few more pictures of the POG team.

{Few more construction pictures}

{Lori and Sara helping us with craft time at the Hospice Daycare}

{Listening to Tom read a very long Dr Seuss Book at

7:30AM was great entertainment for all of us}

{The kids also enjoyed the team and received a little TLC from them}

{After visiting children in the hospital and a tour of Hani Park, the team had lunch and DJ's house. A traditional meal in the township of Walkie Talkies (chicken feet and heads). Tom was the only one to eat a chickens head}

Lindie getting a little attention during lunch time at the property}

{The team visited Dunamis Christian School and gifted 17 children

with new school bags and supplies}

{A little daddy time during lunch}

So Much Accomplished!

2010-10-03T08:47:00.006-05:00

Wow, where has the time gone? The Point of Grace team has been gone for a week already, I have lots of blogging to catch-up on. Even with the team gone, this week remained hectic just trying to get things done around the house and the usual weekly chores.

The team was a lot of fun to have around and the amount of work they accomplished was unbelievable. The first week they were able to build the entire exterior of the house, visit Dunamis Christian School and bless 17 children with new school backpacks and supplies, visit children in the hospital and gave them small gifts, have lunch at DJ's house in Thabong and a few more things.

Here are some pictures of their first week.

{stacks of cement blocks that the team hauled over to the property.

These things are heavy, each weighing 32 pounds}

{Lunch time at the property with the team}

{By Friday, just 5 days of building, the team built the house to roof height.

The gable ends took a lot of work}

The weekend was busy but not as physically exhausting as the work during the week. We gave them two days to recuperate. On Monday the team put up all the trusses for the house. The day was a bit windy and dusty, so not overly ideal for the task at hand, but they managed. Tuesday the sheet metal went up for the roof and the team was able to secure all the roofing and start the facia work.

On Monday, we found out that the house we are renting has been sold and that we need to move by the end of November. Well, we weren't really excited to hear this news but the Lord's timing is perfect. We just need to keep relying on Him and trusting. In light of this news and because the shell of the children's house is up and the roof on, the team chose to help Brian and crew start on our house. Wow, what a blessing and praise.

On Wednesday, the team started hauling over more cement blocks in preparation for our house. By the afternoon they were busy laying the blocks. Thursday they finished hauling over the remaining of the blocks that were made and by Friday lunch time they had laid all the blocks. They were able to get the front of the house to window lentil height, the sides about half done, and the back needs a bit more. The team really saved Brian, Louie, DJ and Brilliant a lot of time and hard work they would have had to do on their own. Thanks Guys.

Pictures from their second week.

{Day 6 of construction, putting up the roof trusses}

{Day 7, installing the roof}

{Our house after 3 days of work and the team couldn't go any further

because we they used up all the cement blocks that were made}

{working on installing the sewer pipes}

Thanks Mark & Sara, Mick and Lori, Tom T and Tom L for all your hard work, wonderful spirits, friendship and fun. Come back again anytime!

Liam "Where the peanut"

2010-09-24T08:46:00.006-05:00

Yesterday after picking up Liam from preschool, he came home and wanted a snack. He took his snack of peanuts and raisins to the living room and sat of the floor to play . Lori Wegner, from the POG team, was sitting in the living room with him and I was in our bedroom putting things away. Pretty soon I heard Lori say "I think Liam put a peanut up his nose." I came into the room and Liam said with his hands in the air "where the peanut" and then he pointed to his nose.

I found a flash light and looked up his nose and found the peanut. It took a bit to find it because it was really high. Lori and I were trying to show Liam how to sneeze but he couldn't understand what we wanted, he would just throw his head forward like a sneeze. I sent Brian a text and told him about Liam and he came home shortly after that. Before Brian arrived, I tried getting the peanut out with tweezers but the snot around it was making it too slippery. When daddy arrived he also tried the tweezer but that was not going to work.

Only Brian would think of this. He taped a drinking straw to the end of our vacuum hose to suck out the peanut. It was a bit different but it sure did work. And of course I had to take a video of it. Hope you enjoy the video of the Liam and the Peanut.

{Disclaimer: Do not try this at home. Serious injury could occur to the nasal and sinus cavity if not done under the proper supervision of a Master Building in South Africa. If your child gets a peanut stuck in their nose please contact your local doctor and don't take our advice. But it did work and we didn't have any medical bills afterwards.}

Hosting Point of Grace Team

2010-09-14T13:49:00.006-05:00

On Sunday Brian picked up a group of 6 from Point of Grace. All the team members are returning for their second, third or even the fourth time. So, its kinda like welcoming family back.

Because we don't have guest housing built yet we are hosting 2 two members in our home, 2 at the O'Tools house and 2 at some friend's house. Amber and I make lunch and deliver it to the property and everyone gather's at our home for supper, team devos and games in the evening.

The team arrived in Welkom Sunday night around 10pm and we had them working by 10AM Monday. By lunch time on Monday the team had already moved 280 cement blocks, that each weigh 32 pounds, to the property. After lunch, they jumped right into learning how to lay the blocks. By the end of the day, they had walls window high all the way around and the walls without windows were a bit higher.

This morning the team visited Dunamis Christian School and received a nice tour and then gave out backpacks and school supplies to children who needed them. The kindergarten and preschool classes sang songs and recited scripture for us. It was a wonderful morning and we were blessed by everything.

The rest of the day was spent building the house--yeah. The walls are almost roof high. You can clearly see the outline of all windows and doorways. The progress being made is awesome, encouraging, and exciting. Everything is now becoming a true reality. Trusses have been delivered for the roof and windows are ready to be picked up.

Can't wait to see what happens tomorrow and over the next two weeks.

Family Time!

2010-09-11T12:21:00.007-05:00

Last weekend we took a little road trip and left Welkom for 2 days.

I read on-line that Fouriesburg, located in Eastern Free State, about 3 hrs from us was having a Spring Fair. I am always up for getting away and trying to find something fun to do. According to the information on their website it looked like it should be fun. The O'Tools and we left Saturday morning around 8AM. We stopped in Bethlehem and checked into our guest house and the O'Tools went on to check into their place located near Ficksburg.

We ended up getting to the Spring Fair before them and checked it out. My expectations are always too high. In typical, South African style, the advertisement was the best part of the event. Lets see if I can list all the things happening. There was a face painting tent, small craft tent, used book sale, homemade jams to buy and a snow cone tent {by far that was the highlight}. There was a Cherry farm located 20km away that was offering tractor ride tours of the farm. We met the O'Tools there and found out it cost R50 per person {or $6.10} and they wouldn't give the tour until there was a big enough group to go. So we just sat on the deck and enjoyed a chocolate milk shake. After that we drove into Ficksburg to check out that little town and found nothing of interest, so we stopped at a small grocery store and bought lunch to braii at the place where the O'Tools were staying.

The kids had a great afternoon of swimming and playing. Us adults enjoyed our time relaxation and the beautiful scenery. The Easter Free State is so much prettier then Welkom. They have beautiful mountains, lots of fruit trees, and overall just a pleasant atmosphere.

Sunday morning we went to Wimpy's for a yummy breakfast. Lindie was having eye problems, I think she might have seasonal allergies. But she was still very happy, just doesn't look the best.

After breakfast we drove through Golden Gate National Park, something we haven't done before and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The kids slept through most of it, so that was great.

We also found some nice camping sites that we might have to try out as a family get away or team outing. Brian wants to hike some of these mountains sometime soon.

We had a very nice weekend away and it was our way of celebrating Labor Day.

Ah Kids

2010-08-29T04:40:00.005-05:00

I noticed its been a while since I'v posted pictures of Liam and Lindie. Well, Liam often makes it into the construction pictures. Lindie doesn't get in the pictures because she gets left in the car while I deliver lunch and take video of the progress...poor little girl.

Lindie is growing leaps and bounds, she is just so cute. For a while she has been pulling herself up and walking around the furniture. She loves letting go to balance for a few seconds and then falling down on her bum. She thinks this is great fun. She especially loves doing it in her bed because she likes the bounce. She is learning to sign 'Thank You', 'Please' & 'More'. If she forgets how to do it Liam is quick to take her hands and show her how.

Liam and Lindie really enjoy playing together, so far not many fights. Liam is very good at sharing his toys and making sure she has plenty of things to play with. For Christmas, Liam got a play tent with an attached tunnel...Lindie loves playing in the tunnel and Liam chases her through it. {you can watch them play in the video}

Liam is growing up and is a little boy these days. We have been 'seriously' potty training for more then a month now, as in no diaper during the day, even for naps. Somedays are great, one 1 or 2 accidents, other days are bad with many accidents. Friday was a super duper day with no accidents! We might be making progress!

Liam has learned how to take off his shirt, so he is often shirtless. He can count 1-5 and is trying to get his fingers to show the right numbers. He has a wide vocabulary and is now putting many words together like "How are you" and "Happy Birthday Pops".

Liam and Lindie share a bedroom, during nap time they are so funny. They talk to each other for about 10-15 minutes and then finally fall asleep. Somedays it gets a little loud but most of the time they stay under control.

People warned us that having kids 15 months apart was going to be a lot of work. I have to say, we so enjoy having our kids spaced closely. They were both really good babies and are both good little kids who enjoy each others friendship. I am praying they remain good friends and loving siblings!

Being Flexible-that's what life is all about!

2010-08-22T12:50:00.006-05:00

Ah, life has been Good, Hectic, Encouraging, Always Changing & Never Dull.

From August 4-17, we hosted a group of guys from ISU and thoroughly enjoyed getting back into the groove of having teams. All of the guys stayed with the O'Tools but we were involved daily with the team.

Brian organized all the daily projects and kept everyone busy at the property. I was mainly involved with helping Amber cook at their house. Everyday around 11Am, the kids and I would go to their house to make lunch for the group and then take it to the property. We made a lot of sandwiches! In the afternoons, I'd go back and help with supper preparations. Sometimes we would join the group for supper and other times just headed home. We never knew when the guys were going to stop working for the day-so supper needed to be ready anytime between 6-7:30pm. {This is one area where flexibility was important}

{24 tune-apple sandwiches}

{Lunch at the property}

Sometime the kids and I would visit the property 2 or 3 times a day to keep up with the progress being made. I need lots of pictures and video! On really busy work days {pouring cement} we provide mid morning and mid afternoon snacks and drinks. Liam loves visiting daddy and the guys at the property. It is a true highlight of his day. I often don't know what Brian will think of next for Liam to enjoy. Check out the latest video of Liam! Who would have thought? But it worked out just fine! Liam loves watching this video clip. Meredith also enjoyed her turn. By far, this isn't the craziest thing he has done-I do believe riding in the cement mixer still tops it all! {to view Liam riding in the cement mixer check this post out http://niehoffsa.blogspot.com/2010/06/unconventional-daddy.html}

Starting the 1st Children's House at The Village!

2010-08-21T13:41:00.006-05:00

{The Guys from ISU}

After working two 12 hour days of shoveling cement, sand and stone into cement mixers, the guys from ISU jumped right in, on Wednesday, to start the foundation of the first children's house. These guys worked so hard and fast, that they dug the majority of the foundation in a day. Their goal was to dig and prepare the foundation by Friday, so the foundation could be poured on Monday. Ambitious goal and they achieved it.

{The guys digging the foundation for the children's house}

Thursday they finished digging the foundation, compacting the top stone, laying the plastic down and installing the steel for the foundation. Friday half of the guys made bricks with Louie and the other half formed up the foundation. By the afternoon everything was ready to go for Monday. {Exciting}

{Brian talking with a building inspector during the pour, all is A-O-K}

Around 6:30AM the guys started in shoveling and mixing cement again. This Monday, the weather was awesome-sunny, warm, and no wind. When I visited around 9AM, with a delivery of muffins, they were already 1/4 of the way done. The guys were working super fast. {of course they had a lot of experience from the week before}. When we delivered lunch around noon, the guys were more then 3/4 of the way done.

{lots of sand, stone and cement to shovel}

{the guys using the humongous screed}

They finished pouring of the foundation by 2pm and had everything cleaned up by 3:30pm. {Super exciting!} We now have 2 foundations completed and will soon be laying bricks and making houses!

{Brian power troweling the foundation}