highlights...

Guess what? The sun has been shining brightly the last two days! E and I hit the big road as fast as we could to do some more adventuring. Although... this isn’t a post about highlights from those adventures…it is instead a very brief trip down memory lane. Do you all remember the Highlights magazines? I don’t know if they’re still being published today, but I absolutely loved them when I was young. I never had them delivered to my house, but I always grabbed them up while waiting in the doctor’s or orthodontist’s office. My favorite part was the Hidden Pictures game! If you don’t remember, maybe this will help…

Anyway…I thought I’d do a little “find the pictures” game on here to keep things exciting :-) Because I’m sometimes a sucker for product packaging designs, I’ve found it pretty interesting to see the different brands and appearances of things here. So…the following pics are ones of “different” things here….different brands…different forms of things…different ways of doing things…hopefully I’m not the only one who thinks it’s interesting :-)
So...find the...

Cereal boxes~ although we have found Cheerios, Corn Flakes and Frosted Flakes, these are Choco Scoops and Otees
White, brown, and red packets~ when ordering coffee with sugar, you may be asked if you would like white, brown or red (white sugar, brown sugar, or artificial sweetener)
Silver button~ this is the flush button on top of our toilets. You’ll notice one half has one raised dot, while the other has two. Not exactly sure what this means, but I’ve got a good guess. I’m going to ask if I can remember.
Mickey D’s fries (or chips as they are called here)~ this is a picture of our table top at McDonald’s. It’s quite a bit more stylish here than at home. Notice there’s a fashion magazine on the table.
Reusable grocery bags~ it’s nice to see how many people use these here. I think it’s mostly on behalf of Mother Earth but I’m learning that part of it is so that we can sling them over our shoulders for the long hike back home :-)
Mandarin oranges~ okay…you can only see the middle 1/3 of this picture, so picture and additional 2/3 of oranges. On the way home from the lion park the other day, local folks were selling these on the side of the road. The cost….drum roll please…17 rand…that’s a tish over $2.00!
Snacks~ Jungle oatmeal, Tuc crackers (delicious), and Glen tea
Receptacle~ this is what our receptacles look like here…E loves the little switches at the top and drives me crazy turning them on and off! You’ll notice we have an adapter in one side of this one. We have a couple of different adapters and different plugs work in different ones. Trying to get everything plugged up and working makes getting ready a challenge sometimes.
Faucet~ notice our faucets have separate hot and cold knobs. The hot water is unbearably hot and the cold is frigid. I have yet to figure out how to easily rinse my face each night.
Water bottle~ at restaurants, still water often comes in cool bottles such as this one. You must specify still…these folks drink lots of sparkling water or sparkling anything for that matter! While we’re on the topic, the sparkling apple and grape drinks are amazing!

Coca-Cola~ I’m gonna miss this. When you order a Coke, this is what you usually get…a nice cold glass bottled soda…there’s just something about them :-) And, notice there are always lemons.
Super M and Parmalat~ Chocolate milk and long-life white milk. E now recognizes the big M quickly!
Cookies~ Tim Tam and Iced Animal cookies.
Diapers~ we’re still using these at night…notice they’re called Nappies.
Soap~ we’ve resorted to Dettol because we’re already out of the Dove from home…not too bad, though.
Pickles~ for those who know him, you know E is a pickle man! He’s not eating these Miami dills quite as fast, which is probably a good thing.
Restaurant~ this is McDonald’s.
E in the swing~ all of the swings around here are made from recycled tires, which is really neat. They’re actually much more comfortable than our typical swings at home because they have a back rest and more than just the chain to hang on to.
Chip bags~ Bubbles…yummy, yummy cheese puffs in all kinds of flavors. In fact, it’ll be a while before we have these again…they were eaten way too fast this week! E loves them and the name...”I thought we just blow bubbles, not eat them, Mommy…giggle, giggle”

Before I go, thanks for all of your prayers and words of encouragement since my last post. They mean so much!

the good......the bad......& the just plain ugly......

the good…
Let’s start on a positive note…since my last post, we’ve had as much light, hot water and internet access as we’ve wanted and I have continued to be amazed with every outing at how much beauty surrounds us here. I’ve also enjoyed a girls’ night out to the movies with three new friends, celebrated two birthdays with new friends, visited some really neat handmade markets over the weekend, and attended another amazing Hillsong service this past Sunday. It’s also several days closer to my Dad’s arrival since I last posted, and that’s a major plus.

the bad…
I don’t want to negate the positives by sharing about the bad, but I do want to be honest about our journey and I’m hoping that by doing so you all can continue to be in prayer for us. I know, without a doubt, that your prayers have really helped us thus far. So…the last three days have been gray, rainy, and chilly. As a result, we’ve been inside lots more than before and we’re beginning to get a little a lot stir-crazy. Because we don’t have nearly the amount of toys here as compared to home, E is more difficult to entertain indoors and gets in trouble more often. This is even after my encouraging him to jump on the bed and pass the football indoors…as any good mother would do, of course ;-)

the just plain ugly…
It’s a yucky cycle, really. E is restless and cranky…I am stressed….E falls off of the bed while jumping, I am more stressed. I am more stressed…E is more restless and cranky. It’s amazing what and how much kids can sense from you, isn’t it? Anyways, over the last couple of days I’ve really struggled. I’ve felt very, very lousy at this Mommy-thing due to my short-temper and lack of patience.

So…that being said, or typed, would you all please pray that we’ll have nothing but beautiful sunny days from here on out? Nah…I’m just kidding…I know that I’ve got to learn to have patience despite the weather or circumstances around me. Would you please, please pray that God will give me the patience that I need for sunny or rainy days?
I really appreciate it and I really hope all of you back home are enjoying your beautiful sunny days…(eye roll) ;-)

our geezer is fixed…our geezer is fixed!

Technically, I think it’s spelled geyser, but the locals pronounce it geezer when referring to our hot water heater :-) And, for the past two days our poor geezer has been giving us lots of trouble. In the end, it resulted in us losing power at several points and me almost losing my mind. Today, I’m so thankful that the problem seems to be cleared up and we can continue around here as normal.

The last couple of days have been pretty uneventful and we’ve mostly stayed around our place. PWC hosted a resiliency session for the families yesterday, and while it was really kind of them to think of us, the situation was quite comical. Picture a guy named Sven lecturing for two hours about research related to a healthy diet, healthy sleep patterns, relaxation techniques, etc. while children (including my incredibly wild little man) were wandering freely around the very small conference room with markers in their hands. Needless to say, E and I made it through less than half of the session. I’m hoping I soaked up enough info. to survive from here on out :-)

This morning, E and I headed to a lion park in an area called Drakenstein with Phil, Steve and their children. There were numerous lions there that have been rescued from abusive situations, including a female that they feel sure is the oldest lion in the world…she’s 21! Our favorite part was when they would roar back and forth with one another…I have a really neat video of it, but it takes forever to load videos here...maybe later :-)

whew...that was long...

The last four days without Jesse crept along a little more slowly than I expected. Although we don’t see him during his workdays here, it’s amazing what a difference our few evening hours with him make. And, to make matters more challenging, Eli has been the most rowdy yet over the last couple of days. Often, he gets this way just before getting sick so I’m praying that this is not the case. We did get to know some of the other families a little better over the weekend…we enjoyed some yummy meals with them…some good playground time….and a nice trip to the aquarium yesterday. Thankfully, we haven’t run into any major language barriers among us and all seem to get along well. There are two guys here that are keeping their little ones while their wives participate in the program so it’s nice to have males along as we travel around. E and I took the car out today for a quick trip to the grocery store. The driving wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be but I did at one point get the cold sweat “what in the WORLD am I doing right now…I have NO business doing this” feeling. With the exception of that moment, getting my first drive over with was a big relief. One thing’s for sure…I’m a girl who depends on her wheels! Here are some aquarium pics…



I really missed wishing everyone back home a happy Father’s Day on Sunday. I’m thankful to share life with so many awesome Daddies and I hope you all had a wonderful day. E and I spent the first part of our day at Hillsong Church, which I mentioned in an earlier post, and it was amazing. It was a little overwhelming at first because it’s a really large facility, it was packed full of strangers, and I had to be apart from E for a while. To my surprise, he did well and I was able to enjoy the entire service. Next week, they will be having an “I love my church” celebration in honor of their 4 year anniversary so I’m really, really looking forward to that! When I first heard of Hillsong here, I was completely forgetting that I’d heard of them before…particularly their music. I actually have a beautiful song by them on my ipad. If you haven’t heard them, you should definitely check them out. Of course, all of the music won’t be from the Cape Town church as they have different locations, but all that I’ve heard from them is great.

home alone...

I guess I should say “home away from home” alone. Jesse and the other participants had to leave early this morning for a four-day retreat away from the office and their families. If they’d asked me, I would have suggested that our retreat to SA was enough, but then, they didn't :-) I have to confess that earlier in the week I was beginning to get a little aggravated at the thought, but I eventually decided I might as well make the best of it. I’m trying to see it as a time for those of us left behind to get to know each other better. Today, we met up with some of them for lunch and we’ve made plans for the next few days so I feel pretty good about the situation. I talked with my Mama for a while this morning and she’s set to come visit for a week in late July which makes me really, really happy! I’ve always known it, but this trip has re-affirmed (is that a real word?) for me that God has given to me two of the most special parents on the planet. They are both making pretty big sacrifices of their time and money to come see us. I’ve got to spend some time practicing behind the wheel so that I can tour them around. Tomorrow, E and I are going to check out what seems to be a great church here in Cape Town, called Hillsong, so that should be fun. It’s just a short walk from our place. Here are some pics from our day yesterday…we made one of our stops at Boulder Beach, where there are lots of penguins. We’ll probably be making our way back there a few more times :-)


Images © of CA :-)

brace yourself...

because I feel sure that you all are about to become green with envy over our new ride for the next couple of months. Thanks to my financially-conscious husband, we are riding in style and saving lots of money at the same time. We took “her” out today for a long drive around the mountains and seashore and she did just fine. It is pretty funny to hear all of her rumbles, smell her exhaust, and see E completely lounged back in the car seat that came with her…every time we take a ride he falls asleep. All jokes aside, though, I am extremely thankful to have a set of wheels while I’m here because many others around here don’t have that luxury. As much as I have snickered, I have to admit it’s actually a lot of fun cruising around in a “hoopty” (as we would have called it in high school)…it makes this time all the more adventurous…

So…feast your eyes folks…here she is…


Isn't she a beaut?

The guy in the pic with me is Charlie, another PWC participant from Houston. He is super nice and is quickly becoming a good friend. Eli loves him and even named the car after him...the Charlie Car ;-)

come on in, y'all...

Our home here is much different than what I'm used to, but it's growing on me a little. I can't say the same for Eli, though. A couple of times I've slipped and said "Let's go home for a while" and he quickly corrects me and reminds me that we belong in McA :-) Many of you have been curious about our place and have asked about our address, so this post is for you. You'll notice that the couches are white...solid white...all over! (along with all of the bedspreads and most curtains as well) This makes for quite a bit of fun with a toddler, especially when he's on a major chocolate milk kick :-) The chocolate milk is quite good here...so good that E and I have been having it in our cereal each morning. I'm gonna post about foods at some point. Although there are certainly many things I recognize and I'm eating plenty, I've come across some interesting finds as well. Jesse is off of work tomorrow so we're going to be sightseeing all day. Stay tuned for more pics...




Jesse &/or Summer Bachman
Shop 6 La Savina
The Island club
Century City, Cape Town, South Africa
7441

we made it!

Greetings from Cape Town! We're only about 5 days into this journey, but it seems that we've experienced so much already. The Lord has been so faithful to hear your prayers for us and has granted me much peace during this time of change. So...to you that have been praying for us, thanks a bunch! The thought of blogging about our experiences here excites me and overwhelms me all at the same time. I've been feeling the same way that I felt when I spent a month in Germany years ago...there's so much that I want to share, but can't possibly fit it all in!

We arrived on Saturday evening around 9:30 and stayed up until 2 getting unpacked and settled in. Our place is decent for the area, but not nearly as cozy as home. It reminds me of a lot of the places I see on House Hunters Intl with all-over tile floors and neutral everything. I've taken some pics and will post them later. After traveling for about 27 hours total and staying up so late, we all piled up in bed and slept 11 hours! We spent the day on Sunday just checking out our hotel/condo area, getting groceries, and meeting up with a couple of new folks for dinner.

On Monday, we went to a meet & greet for the PWC participants and then headed into town with some new friends. Because we had flown in at night and hadn't really ventured out of our little area on Sunday, it was so exciting to see what surrounds us! After lunch by the water, we took a double-decker bus tour to see the city, Table Mountain, and one of the beach areas. The sights were incredible and just made me even more excited to see more in the months ahead.

Today was Jesse's first day of work which I've really been dreading. So... it was really nice to find out that E and I would have some part in it. At 11 this morning, the PWC families were picked up by a bus and taken to the office for an opening ceremony. We were greeted by tons of smiling faces and a group of native men playing music on xylophones and drums. We all joined together in a banquet-like room for greetings from company leaders and songs from local school children which was a super special treat! Along the edges of the room were local folks giving out handmade bracelets, beautiful fresh flowers and other works of art. Other folks were passing out favorite local foods for us to try. Eli was able to join other kids for games, face-painting, etc. so that was nice.

The people here have been especially nice and hospitable to us thus far. Eli is very interested in the service workers here around our place and they really get a kick out of him wanting to help them :-)

It's late here as we're 6 hours ahead of you back home. So...I should probably get some rest for now. Please continue to pray for us. At this point, please pray that Jesse will continue to enjoy and do well in the program and that Eli and I will meet more friends and establish some sort of daily schedule...I don't do well without one! Also, Jesse will be going away for a retreat this weekend so please remember us in that respect as well.

Here are some firsts of the many pics to come...

t is for thomas, tweetie, and time's almost up...

So...we're down to our last three days at home and my nails are more nubby than ever. These are not good times for a nail-biting girl! Today was my last day of work and I'll spend the next couple of days packing. We've already said our good-byes with lots of people and it was more difficult than I thought. It's so funny how comforting it is just to know that people are near by even if you don't see them all of the time. The mix of emotions is even stronger for me now than before but in the midst of it all, I have a peace and know that our God is going with us and will take great of us. Please...prayer warriors continue to pray...especially for Friday...for safe travels and no nervous breakdowns :-) Also...please pray for my family. They are used to spending lots and lots of time with E, so this will be quite the adjustment for them. And...lastly, please begin to pray that my Daddy will have safe travels when he comes to visit us in early July....Yipee!...he's gonna stay with us for 17 days!

I heard a message on the radio today about loneliness and it made me think of how different this situation would be if we didn't have so many wonderful people to say good-bye to and for that I am SO thankful. When I get afraid and think that August seems so far away, I remember how fun it will be to see everyone when we get back! We have had numerous people offer to do something to help out while we're gone and people who were so kind to let us borrow luggage and other items for the flight. Thank you to all of you sweet, sweet friends!

This past Sunday we spent the day with my family and Thomas at Tweetsie. It was such nice weather and so much fun! I wanted to take E one more time while he's still free! If you have small kids and haven't been to Tweetsie yet, consider it. It's such a nice place to spend the day. Here are some pics...



I'm also super excited about my new Smashbook that I purchased this past weekend! It basically provides an easy and informal way to scrap book your memories, thoughts, etc. and there are so many cool little knick-knacks that you can get to go along with it! I know...I know...I'm definitely a little strange for getting so excited about this but...if you're also a paper junkie and want to join me in this madness, google them. They're made by K & Company. I think these would make great gifts too!