2nd Christmas on the G's farm near Fauresmith

This past weekend the B's (Jan's family) got together on Daan and Tiela's Free State farm. We picked up Jan's eldest sister, Louise and her husband Marthinus along the way and the big "kuier" (visit) started in the bakkie on the way there.

Jan in the kitchen

The kitchen was the hub of activity and talking! Tiela and Louise Jnr putting a lot of teatime treats on plates, while Louise (left) and Rina (right) do some catching up.

Another round of tea and coffee: Rina, her daughter Louise and H.P. (Daan and Tiela's youngest son).

Sitting around Tiela's beautiful table for a scrumptious feast: Louise, Gerhard, Rina, Miekie, Jan, Hendrik, Gerhard Jnr, Louise Jnr.

Louise and Tiela relaxing after lunch.

Louise, Daan and Marthinus. Louise got a camera for Christmas and she put it to good use!

The 4 B's. (Jan's younger sister, Noekie, died years ago.): Louise, Tiela, Jan, Rina

The B sisters are all three great cooks. Although Tiela was the chief cook and bottle washer this
time, Rina and Louise also brought cake for tea. My contribution was Cokes! One New Year resolution is to improve on my hostess score, but I don't give it much hope. I'm not really that kind of girl!

Capturing the family of the weekend!

I just love this photo of Marthinus and Louise. Louise retired recently, but next year she is going to teach Grade 3's. Never a dull moment for a teacher! Since my homeschooling is also on Grade 3 level, we had lots to talk about!

The Bloemfontein family: Gerhard and Rina in front and Gerhard Jnr and Louise at the back. Rina had a nasty fall in November and broke her leg and foot very badly, so she still has to hobble about on crutches. We are just so glad that Rina is alive and that the the leg is on the mend even though it is still going to take some time!

With Hendrik.

H.P. Isn't he a handsome young man? He is going to do mission work in Africa this year. Many blessings on your work H.P. !

The 4 cousins who were there on Sunday - at least there were 4 cousins there, but Gerhard had already absconded when this photo was taken. Louise just completed her B-Com degree.

Tiela's elegant sitting room - we only sat there for the photos, because it was very hot and there is air conditioning in the T.V. room! It is still very dry in the Free State and we pray that the clouds will turn into proper rain and not just a few drops like it happened all weekend long despite predictions of 60% rain.

These window panes were her grandmother's.

Another corner in the sitting room. Tiela's whole house is filled with much loved antiques - there is even an everyday ivory handle knife for each member of the family.

Christmas 2008

Here are some photos of our Christmas this year. You'll notice there are no pictures of Franco... He and his parents are with his other Oupa and Ouma. We miss them sooo much! But next year all the family will be here and then we'll have 3 toddlers! (Franco, Martelize and their niece Urielle). This year it was still very peaceful and calm, with Martelize, the only child, not mobile yet and being as good as gold.

Well hi there! Ouma Miekie plonked me down here so that I could learn how to make Pavlova. I've been watching her polishing the silver cake forks, but the whirring sound of the egg whisk really caught my interest, so she moved me over to where Mamma is busy. Notice the silly toy Ouma Miekie gave me...

The whisks going round and round, the fluffy egg whites and the noise intrigue me. How is all this going to turn out?

Ouma! A pastry brush is a stupid toy! It pricks my nose when I try to chew it.

The end result: a perfect Pavlova! The dessert is fruit cake. In Ouma's Noritake bowl is yummy caramel to go with the Pavlova....

Sunset. Oom Hendrik and Oupa Jan waiting for the F's to arrive.

Pappa's varsity friend, Oom Rudolph also came. I wore my fairy dress again, but Mamma said this time I'm not a fairy, I'm an angel....Fairy or angel, it doesn't matter, I feel so pretty!

We started our meal together with communion. Oom Hendrik instituted (is that the right word??) the proceedings.

Our dinner table: We had freshly baked bread rolls with cheese and salami, haddock mouse, rice salad, chips and dips and lots of watermellon, litchis and grapes. The big meal is on Christmas Day. so, in order not to stuff ourselves too much before Christmas, our meals on Christmas eve have traditionally been bread and cheese, mealies (corn on the cob) and lots of fruit. What would Christmas be without watermellon!! Too bad we forgot the mealies! Should bake more than a dozen bread rolls next time though!

My first gift and Mamma captures the moment. Too save money and too make tidying up very easy, our family wraps our gifts for each other in newspaper. It is fun to just tear it off and not to have to try to carefully open parcels in order to salvage the expensive wrapping paper! I enjoyed the paper more than the gifts, but my hands needed washing after all this!

Look my pretty dress with orange flowers! As usual Mamma and daughter are colour co-ordinated!

My first ponytail! Ouma Miekie put the clip in my hair.

Opening presents is hard work.... I fell asleep right here on my playing mat. Note my pretty panties.

Where's my dummy? I am 4 months and 3 weeks and I can put it in my mouth myself!

Getting ready to go to visit Ouma Jo. Mamma Thelwyn is snapping our German shepherd dogs, Sandy and Zaran, as they scramble into the bakkie. Pappa is putting all my stuff (pram, cot, bath chair, other chair, lots and lots of bags) in the back.

Sending us off: Oom Hendrik, Ouma Miekie and Oupa Jan.

Christmas lunch at Camp Reynard with the F's: Clockwise: Jansie, Jan, Eugenie, Ethie, Hendrik, Gene, Lalie and with her back to the camera Ouma Duifie (90) (Without the H's, the L's and some of the F's)

A Hungry girl is an angry girl. Martelize eating her Christmas meal (cereal). This was her 2nd or 3rd day of eating solids!

Martelize opening a gift. (Oops forgot that one cannot turn the camera sideways for a video!)

How we celebrate Christ(mas)

For about 20 years the F's and the B's have been celebrating Christmas together by each member of the family expressing what Christ has meant to him / her that particular year. To create a lasting impression each of us brings a symbol to put on or under a bare Christmas tree which then becomes the symbol Christmas tree (or table). For example if you are lead to confess that Jesus is your Saviour, your symbol might be a cross... or an eraser because he erases all sin or if Jesus has been your source of power, the symbol might be a battery. Throughout the years we have had arrows, rocks, lights, horses, shepherd crooks, etc. etc. My mother usually chose a stethoscope or a plaster because God had healed her once more. (She was quite an active person and used to fall quite often - even in her nineties! This will be the first Christmas without her).

To go with the symbol each member of the two families (or whoever is with us the particular Christmas) chooses a Bible verse to illustrate his "message" and a song of his/ her choice. It is usually a struggle to get everyone to SMS or email or phone through their pieces of scripture because everyone is so busy before Christmas! However, because of the programme everyone is forced to reflect on his relationship with Christ: what is it that I particularly need to share with the rest of the family on Christmas Eve? What aspect of my relationship with Christ was highlighted this year?

Before Christmas Eve we type a programme with all the symbols, Bible verses and songs. This makes it easy for everyone to follow and is a record of a family's faith. In the early years, one would just say "Jesus is my light" or "Jesus is my King" or "Jesus is my Saviour." As the children (and adults) grew spiritually, the symbols got more intricate and the confessions and explanations longer and more personal. In my minds eye, I still see the children sitting and reading their Bibles before Christmas and preparing symbols, rather than worrying about food or gifts.

When the children were younger we also used to all dress up as Wise Men or what have you and go up to the stable to perform the nativity there. For this a programme was typed out as well to include guests or new boyfriends or whoever joined us that year. The last couple of years, however, we resorted to a programme of more scripture reading - not only the nativity. We used a similar programme for the community get together last Sunday and I'll post it on my other blog. (Didn't work - can't get it published? Will ask Frans to help.) However, as the grandchildren grow up, I am sure that we will once again do the stable thing! We might even do it with the local community next year!

I remember the first time we did it, the cow stable was scrubbed the afternoon before, but when we all kneeled in the stable, the hem of my dress got wet and it was quite smelly!! If you are in a stable, you can only begin to imagine what Mary and Jesus went through! My brother in law and his son were on top of the stable roof and when we got to where the angels appeared to the shepherds, they suddenly lit a LOT of sparklers! Did I get a fright! I still remember it very well and that was more than 26 years ago! (Jopie was still little and he is now 29 years old!) We'll definitely do it again!!

The highlight of our Christmas celebration, however, remains the 2nd part i.e. the symbol programme. This has brought us as a family closer together and through the years we have either laughed with someone or shed tears in empathy with hardship or joy. We have gone through exam anxieties, lone travels all over the world, hardships at work, jubilation over engagements, weddings and pregnancies, problems with depression and joys over spiritual victories!

This Christmas some members of the two families are visiting the "in-laws". Because our symbol event is so special to all of us, we have decided to postpone the symbol thing to New Year's Eve. We will do the scripture and carol singing programme and Hendrik will lead us in communion tomorrow evening - we have enough time, seeing that we will not be doing the symbol thingy. We have all Christmas to reflect on what we want to share about Jesus on the 31st. I believe it will be a wonderful way with which to end the year and to celebrate Gert's birthday as well!

To anyone who might be reading this:

MAY YOU HAVE A VERY BLESSED CHRISTMAS AND EXPERIENCE IMMANUEL!

My "Wedding" Photos

In my previous post I waxed lyrical about my nephew's farm wedding, but couldn't find my camera! Well I finally found it, so here are my photos. There are none of the groom and bride or the boat or the horse or the barn with the beautiful tables and decorations.... But I am sure there will be plenty later on Thelwyn's blog.


The morning of the wedding we helped to get everything ready. Here Jan and Dorette are threading crystals onto satin ribbon to decorate the wedding canopy on the island.

Waiting for the wedding to begin: My sister Elsabe's 2nd daughter, Netta, with her pretty little Elsabe. Young Elsabe's nickname is "Blom".

After rowing across the dam, the bridal party crossed the bridge to the island.

"Kyk Ouma, ek het vlerke!" After the wedding, Thelwyn clipped on wings to Martelize's fairy dress - a gift from her Aunt Dorette.

The wings from behind. I thought they would bother Martelize, but she was quite happy to wear them and Franco thought they were very interesting! Nice things to grab and chew!
Ouma couldn't get enough of this pretty little fairy

Well hi there! Haven't seen you for two days!

My children: Hendrik, Dorette, Gert with Franco and Thelwyn with Martelize. (Frans stayed behind to look after the farm.) Just after taking this photo the mothers put the children on a blanket on the lawn, where they happily played while we had some punch and hors d'ouvres.

The tractors were of course taken out of the barn for the wedding and lined up out of sight - but not out of sight of Elsabe's grandchildren who had a grand time on them: each little boy had his own tractor! Here is Jan, Netta's son.

Hananiel, Ethelwyn's (Elsabe's oldest daughter) second son.

Alma, Ethelwyn's youngest. Have you ever seen such gorgeous hair?

Evan, Ethelwyn's eldest. Die "haasbekkie" (missing teeth) says it all! Guess who is going to Grade 1 in January?

The line of tractors with my sister Elsabe and Alma standing close by. Koos and Elsabe have 8 grandchildren with 2 more on their way. They live in Kwazulu-Natal, so we don't get to see them often. Their son Hendrik is getting married in January and then we'll get together again!

On the Monday after the wedding we went to my sister Anne's farm near Ladybrand where we had a fun drive on the back of the bakkie (pickup) and a lovely picnic. Here Martelize and Franco enjoy the outdoors, sharing a "Spoegdoek" (cloth nappy used for dribbles and comfort).

The old sandstone farm house. It is almost impossible to have a going concern on that farm, because is it right on the border with Lesotho and there are many thefts. Anne's daughter dreams of living there and farming with something that is not likely to be stolen - something like herbs perhaps.

Marianne and her friend Riaan. (A part of her dreams?) They are both into making of videos (professional ones that is) and they made a lovely video of Neil and Marissa (the bride and groom) for the guests to watch while waiting for the bridal couple. We can't wait to see the DVD they made of the wedding.

Marianne's friend Riaan getting the fire going for the braai. Hendrik, Marianne and Dorette in the background.

Thelwyn with Martelize, Hendrik, Jan, Dorette, Marianne, her mother (my sister) Anne and Gert with Franco in front.

TheCaledon River: the border of their farm, but also the border between Lesotho and South Africa.

Gert standing in the shade with Franco. The sun was hot and despite sun screen, both Dad and son get sunburnt easily.