Sometimes Smooth Sailing ...

Do you ever feel like you are being watched?

Despite the humour of this photograph we all felt this quite keenly last Thursday. Our Beloved Bernard went to the bank with the driver Alfred. He withdrew his monthly salary to send home to his family in Zimbabwe, as he always does, and he cashed the TLC Wages cheque for Viv while he was out.

As they arrived at the TLC driveway a vehicle follwed them in and when they parked the occupants of the other car jumped out and robbed them at gunpoint! Needless to say it was a terrifying ordeal for eveyone involved. When our security guard attempted to lock the gate to hold them in, they threatened to shoot him too! The security company feel that they must have followed the two home and taken advantage of our unpreparedness.

All this happened on the same day we were preparing to take the kids on a camping weekend.  Just like the devil... to try ruin what turned out to be a spectacularly, wonderful, marvelous, tremendous camping weekend.

We spent it with our dear, like minded friends the Hardings. Chris and Mark run the children's home called Tshepo ya Bana. They are blessed to be located in the new Dinokeng Game Reserve and so they have many varieties of animals right on their doorstep!

Here the boys enjoyed some "Custard" which is actually Creme Brulee that we were generously donated by the company called "Rich's".  In the distance behind them you can just see the huge tent the boys used. The girls used smaller ones :-)

We did all the good camping things: sleeping in tents, meals over the campfire, we each had a game drive and even had a water balloon fight. The Hardings' children and ours got along famously. It was the best weekend I've had in ... years, probably.





When we got back it was back to work. The nursery is running so smoothly. The volunteers are well and with the return of Astrid to her birth mother and Grace to her forever family things are pretty quiet really. We look forward to some new arrivals in the Nest shortly.

Here are some pictures of what the Nightshift have had time to do while on shift:

SPARKLY FLOORS

FAYE'S SPLINTS ALL READY TO WORK!

TOILET PAPER PYRAMDS!

TIDY, LABELLED TOOTHBRUSHES

PERFECTLY PACKED TOILETRY CUPBOARD

BEAUTIFULLY ORDERED LAUNDRY


AND ALL OF THIS MAKES FOR HAPPY, CONTENTED AND SECURE CHILDREN.

ENJOYING THE NEW TRAMPOLINE MAT!

TUCKERED OUT AFTER LUNCH

SLEEPING SOUNDLY

THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR LOVELY FRIENDS.  MOM AND ZOE RETURNED HOME SAFE AND SOUND THIS MORNING SO THINGS SHOULD GO BACK TO "NORMAL" NOW :-)

PLEASE REMEMBER TO PLAN YOUR 67 MINUTES FOR MANDELA! IT'S A SHAME TO WASTE SUCH A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW YOUR COMMITMENT TO MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE!

WE LOVE YOU ALL
PIPPA