My Sweet Baby

Oh dear I'm now so attached to this baby! She has become part of our family, and we all love her. When she smiles at me in the morning when she wakes up, my heart overflows. When I see her during the day at school she screeches and waves her arms about and gives me this huge gummy smile - it makes me feel like the most important person in the world. She hardly ever cries, she sleeps through most nights, and she's happy and friendly.

Sherae calls her "my little sister-friend". I don't know what I'd do without Sherae. She helps entertain my little person when I need to do things like shower! Simmi doesn't like anybody feeding her except me, but when I'm desperate then Sherae manages to get some food or milk in for me.

Michael calls her his "little chick magnet" because when we go to church and she sits on his lap, all the girls stop to say how cute she is (of course), and he's getting the benefit. He's so good with her as well. She puts her arms out to him and he picks her up and holds her and chats to her.

Tyler is now a big brother. He's been the baby in the house for 12 years. It's so sweet to see him telling Simmi, "No, don't touch that!", "You mustn't do that!" in his big brother voice.

Michael is 18

On 9th October Michael turned 18. Wow, I can't believe that he's already 18 years old. Old enough to vote, get a driver's license and drink (although he doesn't). I can hardly believe this is the same little boy I became mother to almost ten years ago. He's almost finished school, and is probably off to the USA next year to be a Camp Councellor for Camp America....


Happy 18th Birthday Michael! We went out to dinner to celebrate:


Tyler & "Ouma" ("Granny" in Afrikaans)







Sherae & Michael

David, Simmi & Me

Life with Simmi

I was looking through photographs for inspiration for a blog when I came across this one. It may not look very inspiring, but it made me stop and think of how drastically my life has changed in
the last 2 weeks. This picture was taken at a coffee shop where David & I were enjoying a leisurely breakfast date. Then came Simmi.

No more leisurely anything. I'm lucky if I get to shave my legs once a week, nevermind put on more than a dash of mascara in the mornings. Afternoon naps are a thing of the past, and meals are left half-eaten. I've lost 4kg (8.81 pounds) in 2 weeks from running around after my little crawler. I've dicovered a new meaning for the word "tired", and I've been reminded of the meaning of the word "love" because love her I do! She is the sweetest baby in the whole world.

Think of me on Thursday morning. I'm going to court with Simmi to find out what her uncertain future holds. Her mother will probably be there, and I am not looking forward to meeting her under such nasty circumstances. I've had no success in trying to arrange to visit her before court. I was hoping to build some sort of relationship with her so I could visit regularly and Simmi wouldn't forget her. Our welfare system leaves a lot to be desired!

A Holiday & My New Baby

First, some pictures of our holiday.....

My goodness it's been a long time since I last blogged! I was just getting into it, and life happened. First, it was school holidays and my family and I went away for a few days to a lovely resort called Klein Kariba where there are hot water pools and tons of stuff to do. We had a wonderful time.

THEN in the 2nd week of the holidays ............... More than a year ago I registered with the Child Welfare Department as a place of safety for abandoned babies. I have been waiting all this time for them to call me, and eventually, last Monday, the call came. Simmi (Simphiwe) is a 7 month old baby girl. Her mom is a Zimbabwean national who is in SA illegally. She was caught stealing food for Simmi, and was put in jail. Simmi couldn't stay in jail with her, and was removed and has come to live with me while the children's court investigate everything. She is the most beautiful little girl. She's settled into our family perfectly, and we love her. I feel terribly sorry for her mom. I've been trying to arrange to visit her with Simmi, but the court is not very interested in arranging a visit.

Please note how in this picture I look about 100 years old! My youngest child is 12 years old, and having a 7 month old baby has been an incredible shock to my system! But it's so worth it - isn't she adorable! It will be so hard when I have to give her back. :-(