Home Sweet Home

It's good to be home!  It's good to be with the five of us, just being together.  We're cuddling, we're reading books, we're sharing stories.  We're so happy to finally be united as a family.  Our church community is bringing us meals and our house is spotless.  There's not much demanded of us but to be together.  It's nice to ease into life as a family of five slowly and with lots of time to just be together.

Our arrival at our house in Sarnia was a series of surprises, one after another.  The girls (and my mom) surprised us with a beautifully decorated wall to welcome Jeremy home.  Using the paints that we'd given as one of their presents while we were in South Africa, they created colourful pictures and hung their favourites with a big welcome sign for their baby brother.

Our friends Chris and Jen and their boys Ryan and Caleb also surprised us with a warm welcome.  On Sunday morning they decorated our front porch and yard with balloons and streamers to welcome us home.  Since we arrived a day earlier than we had  expected, they thought that we were still away and were coming home that day.  They were shocked to see our van in the driveway.  But they worked quickly and silently while we ate our breakfast in the kitchen and we had no idea what they were up to!

Jeremy sleeping on our nice new carpet!

We were also welcomed with another surprise.  While our parents were taking care of our kids for a month, they were also taking care of us.  Just before we got the call to go to South Africa we had begun an ambitious renovation of our basement.  We got the painting and the carpet down, but the tedious work of trimming the doors and the baseboard we left for our return.  We came home to a completely finished basement, a house with shiny clean windows, yards and gardens that looked beautiful, and the "Honey, do list" of several years running completely checked off.  Thanks Mom and Dad Brink and Mom and Dad Hoogstad for not only taking care of our girls, but taking care of our home!




We were excited to unpack the treasures that we had purchased in South Africa, most of which we had bought to decorate our new family room in the basement.  

Baskets made by local artisans in the Drakensberg Mountains puchased at Didima.

The giraffe and elephant statues we purchased at the Bruma Market in Johannesberg as well as the series of three paintings.

This gorgeous piece we purchased on the Safari that we enjoyed in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi

Sara and Leah are continuing to bond beautifully with their brother.  They love to look at Jeremy, and especially to hold him. Leah sits up so straight on the couch and holds her arms in a big circle just like we practiced during our long wait.

Sara likes to sing to Jeremy as she holds him.  If he starts to whimper, even a little, she comes in with a slightly panicked but beautiful "Twinkle twinkle" just hoping he'll settle down.

Sometimes Marc and I just sit and watch our kids.  We watch them play together.  We are amazed at their creativity and their imagination.  We even smile at their squabbles.  We're overwhelmed by love and humbled before our Gracious God who entrusted us with these three amazing children.

Our hearts are full of praise.