The joys and sorrows go hand in hand

How is it possible that the human heart can be so completely captivated with one tiny little fur covered, creature? Our Creator alone knows! We are so grateful to Him for the really amazing two months we had with our little Goosley. She saturated our lives with laughter and such joy. She taught us so much about the beauty and miracle of life, and how fragile it is. We will forever remember her little peeps, her tickles, her chasing her tail, her games of hide and seek with the dogs, her unsatisfiable appetite for grasshoppers and cheese, her purring cuddles, and most of all her soft sweet face. She is buried in our little pet graveyard out front, overlooking the bush. While she had become such fast friends and a favorite with Lady and Champ, sadly the kittens did not share in affection for her. The Mommy cat had a very great respect for her, running away at each meeting. The young kittens considered her to look too much like a mouse.... and sadly our Goosley was not much more than a large mouse in size. Champ & Lady had gone with me for my usual morning walk, but Champ somehow got tangled with a mother warthog, and required some urgent attention from the vet. I rushed him into town for stitches. While away, our little Goosley snuck out of the house through the doggy door.... she was killed by one of the 8 week old kittens, and my lady who works in my home just could not get to her in time.

At little catching up to do. ! :)

Trevor & Rhyanne, Welcome to South Africa! We have full moon over the bush veldt, and lots of memories to make! What a joy to open the season with our 11 year old "South Carolina Huntress".

New friendships and new challenges. So who is going to shoot the most birds??? :)

The three children have clicked and there is much laughter and fun filling each day. "It truly is a blessing to hear the laughter of children"! (to quote Bill Snow)

We have had a little (much needed) rain, but otherwise our days are warm, sunny, clear, and beautiful!

Rhyanne made such a fantastic shot on her Gemsbuck! He dropped on the spot, and she has every reason to be very proud of her self!!! I think the hogs and impala need to beware. ;)

On a family note - Mom is doing very well. She is pretty mobile now with her crutches, and she is back into the teaching mode with the children. They will break for school holidays at the end of March. It has been a long first term!
Young Goosley has made the adventureous journey outdoors several times now, and has befriended the dogs! They play endless games of tag and hide & seek! The cats are pretty weary of her (giving her a wide bearth), and she has the run of the office! She is extremely playful, purrs like a kitten, and is very affectionate.

Mom is home!

We are so thankful... After a successful hip replacement operation last Monday (21st Feb), Mom and Dad arrived home yesterday afternoon. We missed them so much, and are so grateful that it all went well. It was a very tough time for them both, particularly Mom. We value your continued prayers for them both, and thank you for all of the calls and smses!

Here are a few pictures of little Gustav.... Or should I say Goosley.... (We are beginning to think that 'he' may in actual fact be a 'she', but we are not 100% sure!) We are slowly introducing Champ and Lady to her. The speed with which she moves has them quite uncertain about her, but "so far so good"!
Curled up asleep on my lap. Playing 'hide & seek' first thing in the morning while Micaela is trying to do her school work!

Great Anticipation!

Great excitement in anticipation of Dad's return. Micaela spent the afternoon in the kitchen, and look what she cooked up! It doesn't only look good, but believe me - it tastes heavenly! We got to sample some of the 'regular' cookies / biscuits from the rest of the batch.
Here is our little Gustav with a monster size grasshopper... he took about ten minutes to tackle this snack! "CRUNCH CRUNCH" ... My stomach struggles to cope with it, but his doesn't!!! :)

New Baby Buffalo!

Oh what a stunning day! Sunny, warm, refreshed after the rains yesterday. And what a blessing to see the herd of buffalo this morning - three babies in total now! :)
Ken'll be home Wednesday. YAY
Carol is in for her Op today. YAY. We are all very glad that all is in place for that!
Happy Monday to you all!!!

Mongoose CPR

Yup - you read right! On Friday during his usual feeding (he still drinks from the syringe with a small rubber teat fitted to the end - about 4 mls at a time) he somehow managed to choke! I got such a fright, and really thought I was going to loose him. He was very evidently not able to breathe, and his little body was completely stretched out and clawing for air. I prayed like crazy for him, pumped his little chest several times, and blew into his mouth three times before he started to breathe again, and move normally. I was so sure that he wasn't going to make it. What a fright! For the rest of the day, he didn't eat at all, and didn't want to play either. I felt so terrible! Thank goodness the next day he was fine, and eating like normal.
He is extremely playful, and moves at lightening speed. I don't think that he even has a 'walking' speed really! He is now eating grasshoppers, and the odd other insect. He is not that familiar yet at catching them for himself, unless their jumping legs have been removed, but it won't be long and he will have that figured out! He is very clever, and has figured out how to climb out of his little 'home'. His range of sounds and noises is growing every day, and we already know his happy, hungry, tired, thirsty, playful and 'need to wee!' sounds. It's quite crazy to think that someone so small can have such a huge impact on our lives. :)

Fishing friends and fun!!!

This little Gustav is really starting to play! It's too cute for words!!!

What a secial day JohnD's fishing trip was - despite all of the rain... it cleared up so beautifully. The kids just had toooo much fun. They ALL CAUGHT a fish and JohnD proved his passion with ease by out catching us all! It was special to visit with Wighard, Saar, Mica and Sume again, those little girls are growing up so fast! The girls decided on a mud bath!

This beautiful chappie surprised us on our way out... much to all of our delight. He enjoyed the left over bread!

Ya! Even I caught a fish! But JohnD caught the most....