The fun we have - holidays in Cape Town - 2014

It is holiday time again!

I love to spend time with my boys doing things we never get to do. We plan some things that do not cost a great deal and try and spend some time with each other and with some friends too.

This morning we spent time with Georgi and Sven at Rondevlei. It is a nature reserve in the Western Cape. It included the vlei or wetlands in the local area. We saw chameleons, 2 mongoose, 2 tortoises, pelicans and many other birds, hippo tracks but no hippo, a said snake but we could not see it, beautiful flowers and spiders, and insects. 

It is an outing well worth it. It costs R12 for adults and R6 for children.

This is our Thomas. 

Thomas loves to move and be active. He is a great sportsman. His fab fav sport right now is squash. He is driven and dedicated to learning all there is to learn and put it into action.

This holiday he is enjoying a three day hocky clinic and squash lessons. 

The Science centre was one of the places we visited.

 The things of science and wonder. We had a fun time with some good friends.

 Spending time with family is an unusual treat for us as we live a great distance from nearly all of them except for the lovley Jones family. Worcester here we come!!

 The evolution of man!!

 Nutella for breakfast!!

The beautiful Cape!!

Thoughts on : When our child is faced with dissapointment.

This world , with its focus on success and triumph, will offer its share of dissapointments. Our children are not immune from this. As with most of the difficulties of being a good enough parent, I find the hard, painful dissapointments of some of the trickiest and personally painful. 

This new week at school began with tears and dissapointment. 

Holidays were over and school is back on. 

The reality of this is no small thing for any ADHD child.

One of our sons has a strong competative aspect to his nature. This is a good thing for him for various reasons. But it also means that he sets his aim very, very high and sometimes he does not reach this target.

Dissapointment is a constant friend when sometimes striving fails.

I am learning to hold his dissapointment with tenderness and care. I am learning to help him feel it and grieve it and thats ok. Today, again, I found myself on my spiritual knees before the Father asking for  the right words..... for wisdom. 

Today again I found myself being able to offer those real words of life. I held them out to our precious son and watched as he listened and drank. 

I talked about the reality of dissapointments that this life has in store for him. I reminded him that God has a plan for him and that plan is good and perfect. That sometimes God allows these dissapointments so that we can hold the things of this world lightly and we can cling to HIM with all we have. 

Jesus is our treasure above all things.

It is painful for me to see his wounded soul and knwoing that there is absolutely nothing I can do to prevent or stop the pain. 

And yet the pain and heartache is ALL in the safe and loving careful planning and care of God.

But I can share Jesus and I can pray.

and these two things are not nothing. They are everything.

So today again , like when he was a little boy, I picked him up and held him near and whispered words of love and comfort from my heart to his. Once again , I shared my faith and my saviour and once again I entrust him to the God who will never dissapoint. 

Ever!