Cake Cake and even more CAKE!!

Birthday Party's seem to be a common occurrence around here at the moment. It feels like cake is being offered to me every other day.

The kiddies love birthday parties It means cake, chips and soft drink. A kiddies dream!!

I always try to make there birthdays special for them as I never know when there last birthday at TLC will be and they deserve a wonderful day where everything is about them... 

I go to the shops pick out there cake decorate it with sweeties pick up there favourite treat and drink then come back and decorate for there afternoon snack/ party with all of there TLC family. 

This month our oldest boy turned 7 ... Hes been at TLC since before my first trip. He was such a cute skinny tall child and honeslty nothing much has changed. I have all the children's birthdays saved on my phone so a few days before his big day I began hyping the day up getting him all excited for the fun day I had planned. I asked him what his dream birthday would be ... his reply was a birthday like Joanna ... instantly I regretted asking that one haha her birthday was BIG.... with lots and lots of people!! A entire afternoon/ Evening of partying food cake and DANCING!!

So .. I had to start thinking how I could make this one as great as Joanna's... thankfully I quickly came up with a plan. Friday was his actual birthday so he would still have to go to school. 

For breakfast I made him his own special food with a hot chocolate ... Inside his school bag I suprised him with his chocolate treat then I kissed him and sent him off for a day with his friends at school. On his return he was welcomed with a party with some of the managers volunteers and all his TLC brothers and sisters. A few ballloons a big cars cake cupcakes and fizzy drink. His favourite person is one of our managers children so I got the all clear to have him stay for the night. I prepared my room for 3 of the boys to have a sleep over. Treats popcorn shortbread and cookies ... cold drink and my laptop... all the kiddies love my laptop and think its incredible when I allow them to watch it .. So at their request I put on Avengers followed by Paw patrol. I was working alone so I finished getting all the other kiddies in to bed and went back to check on them ... turns out it had been a long day at school and the only one still awake was the birthday boy... I tucked him in and kissed him goodnight because I knew the saturday was going to be a long day for him full of adventures...

Saturday morning I had booked for me another adult the birthday boy and his best friend to go Acrobranching ... In the uk its GO APE! Attached to a harness and climbing through obsticals high up in the trees ...

When we had arrived at the adventure place I showed him what we would be doing... he was excited at first because we practiced on the kiddies course. It was fun, short and a learning experience! 

This little boy is strong, brave and full of adventure. He loves to play around with the younger kids at TLC but craves one on one time with the managers kiddies as they are around his age. 

I love seeing his little face light up when I tell him we are going out.. He seems to be pushed to the back of the line as hes the oldest hes always helping with the little ones and underestermates his strength at times. This is why I thought this would be a great activity for him!!

As we walked towards the blue course i could see his face start to change and fill with worry so I encouraged him. The managers son went first then my friend then Birthday boy and finally me!! This way we could keep an eye on the both of them to make sure they were ok and to encourage them every step of the way!! 

We had a few tears at one stage but the lovely team at Achrobranching supported the birthday boy and he finished off strong loving the final zip line after getting his confidence a quater of the way through. We all had a blast of a time the managers son was incredible pretty much tarzan swinging through the trees and going way ahead of the rest of us. Youd think he had done it before haha

After Achrobranching the boys where all exhausted. They asked if we could go for food so seeing as it was the little ones special day I let him choose .. and ... we ended up at MC Donalds ... you really would think its the only place they have been outside of TLC but they love it because of the toy... 

So we drove there and they named all the posh cars they could see driving past they absolutely loved it.... tummys full of food, sore muscles and a blast of a day to remember forever!!

Thank you all so much for making days like this possible!!! 

Its most likely the last birthday he will have at TLC as hes getting to old for our age groups now so thankyou for helping me to put a massive smile on this little angels face!!

 Shattered after 2 days of partying!!

A Change of Circumstances

For around the past 2 months now I have been back on rota with the older kiddies. I work from 4pm to 8am most days with the 12 oldest kiddies. Its rewarding challenging and beautiful all at the same time. I am one of the people they look up to one of the people they come too in times of hurt and struggle. the person they come to when life is on there side and they are having a wonderful day. They break my heart and mend it all at the same time. There gorgous little smiles make me smile.. when there happy im happy. I wish i could give them everything and more ... 

When we are following there afternoon/ evening rota I have to remember to sit back enjoy every second and watch how much they have all grown with the help of TLC. We try to make everyday new and exciting whether thats going on a walk around the block or just to the monkey tree... whether its playing with a hoola hoop or a football... bouncing them high in the sky on the trampoline or giving them areoplane rides... Its these moments that will forever be stuck in my head... Its these times I hope they never forget where there smiles beam from ear to ear as we laugh and play together and enjoy time as one big happy family 

During the day when Im not "working" I drive people to different appointments, children to the court dates, mothers hope program to there baby scans but some days I just relax.. get out my pushchair pick one of the children from the nursery and go for a relaxing peaceful walk around the block. This one on one time helps to slow everything down and is wonderful to get to know the child and there likes and dislikes. Its 30 minutes to an hour out of my day where i can take it slow breath and reminise about all the wonderful times that ive been able to spend with these beautiful children. 

 

Since arriving one of the gorgeous little girls went to her forever family. It was a mentally hard time Id known her since she first came through TLC gates and now i was watching her leave with her wonderful new parents. I know thats what is supposed to happen but it doesnt mean its easy. I see her as my baby and the kiddies see her as a sister. Its nice to know how much love and attention she is getting now she is exelling massively and in love with her new family. Her parents are so sweet. 

Winter is REAL

South Africa is hot they say.... no such thing as winter ... it wont be cold ....

These are all things that ive heard international people say to me. When you think of south africa you think hot weather sun beaming down on you and your skin burning from the blue sky and flaming hot sun. however the reality is ... they still have WINTER ... 

Man oh man does it get cold.. mid day is beautiful hot summer weather but currently the evenings and mornings have a real chill to them and winter is defiently on its way... 

A few of my kiddies go off site to school as they are old enough now. I went through there cupboards to find warmer clothes for them but I came up empty handed. So me and one of the managers children rushed to the shop that day and picked up a few warmer outfits and a coat for the older ones as they leave TLC bright and early in the morning when it is biterly cold. They are very appreciative of there new warm clothes and ask to wear there coats nearly every morning. Its nice to know that they aren't freezing for school anymore. We even treat them with a breakfast hot chocolate on the icy cold mornings and they love this ... they are so grateful it melts your heart. None of this would be possible without all of your genorosity so thankyou from me and the kiddios.

Not only is it cold when the kiddies leave for school but also in our cottages. Ive woken up on many a night in my tracksuit hoodie fluffy socks and two blankets with numb frozen feet. Our cottage is made of wood and as of yet hasn't been insulated so it feels like your outside. Thankfully I have people who love me this side who made me a bean bag for the microwave so I can stay warm for a bit longer. Waking up in the morning is such a struggle when you have to get out of bed. But we do it for the kiddies because we all love them sooo much. 

The wet season has decided to continue this side by the sounds of things... I thought english rain was bad but its jsut a drizzle in comparrison to SOuth african rain ... The rain is heavy cold and the majority of time hail stones appear with it. Its like a light switch one minute sunny blue sky and the next evertyone is running for there lives hahah makes our days a bit more interesting ... 

we levelled out the ground at TLC then the heavens opened for a few days so as you can imagine a few cars saw the worst side of the muddy ground...

50th birthday

Joanna is our manager of the CYCC and recently she had her 50th birthday. 

We had planned things the whole week for her surprise Braii party on the Saturday with her family and friends and it was all coming together, the weather had been rough all week raining hard but Saturday was sunny warm and beautiful. 

Friday evening I was on shift with my 12 kiddios so I finished their evening routines and got them to sleep in their beds it was surprisingly easy that night ... I think God knew how tired I was already so he was giving me a easy night with the kiddies... 

I began my cleaning of sweeping mopping tidying the kitchen washing up drying cleaning the sides laundry tidying kiddies bedrooms and preparing there clothes for the big party day 

And then it was the monster challenge of blowing up 50 balloons by my mouth... It was a challenge but it was only for a while and I knew once it was done I could go to bed. 1am in the morning and I realised that my bed was actually covered in balloons so I moved to the couch for the night did potty training then fell fast asleep. That was until 5am anyway hahah.... I woke up put my laundry on and tidied my kiddies garden and began moving furniture around before making the kids breakfast and completing their morning routine. Once the weekend lady was here to look after the kiddies I had a quick shower did my hair and jumped in the car to go to the shops. We blew up the helium balloons brought veg for salads and collected the birthday cake. Everything was coming together perfectly. We began the decorating process hanging up balloons decorating the different rooms covering the tables and making everything look pretty. 

we started of with 50 balloons and by the time Joanna arrived there were about 15 haha the wind was strong and I think we all had a mini heart attack every time one exploded. At one point I was ready to go stab them all and pop them myself so i'd know when it was going to go BANG!!!

Joanna arrived and we had a dance party... speeches, presents and a looot of foood!!! The guys did the Braii which was incredible then we had a South African food called Pap with lots of different salads and pasta and bread. It was a lovely spread of foods that went down a treat. 

The kiddies loved the party it was a big thing with lots of people so to start with they were a bit scared but they quickly got used to it and enjoyed every second of it. They also loved being able to help themselves to sweets, chocolate chips and cake without being told off. Yoh they ate sugar ... and lots of it!!! 

I was worried they would be buzzing but once the party finished and everyone left they had a snack and watched a movie and all fell straight asleep once they got into their beds. It was a long fun exciting day for everyone and i'm pretty sure Joanna loved it too xxx

Month 4

Month 4 - I was in the car with my friend yesterday looking at my hectic calender for the week when i noticed it was already basically May - well it will be by the time i'm probably able to post this. As I said before power electricity and water are a big problem here when the country turns off the power supply to save money things can get rough very quick especially because we are in a children's home. 

We have to change up routines just to make sure they can bath and wash so they are clean in bed otherwise it could be a while before they are clean again. My age kiddies have a TV and at the moment are in love with the movie Encanto. They can tell you that movie word for word and know all the songs - but we don't talk about Bruno ... 

So they had spent the whole day at preschool and recently its been 100% English weather here.. its been rough. First world problems but all my shoes are destroyed and caked in mud haha. So because of the weather they haven't been able to go outside. They either watch a movie or play in there bedrooms after school. It was such a relaxing evening everything felt so chilled. Then I realised I hadn't turned my Whatsapp notifications on. This is how we communicate about everything TLC related. When I realised there was a message sent earlier in the day saying loadshedding from 6pm. At this point it was 5:45pm 

Ahhh I had a mini freak out laughed to myself and told the kiddies to run to the bathroom. 3 in the bath 3 in the shower and then all over again with another bunch of kids. It was one of the funniest bath times we have had because it was so hectic but everyone was happy and laughing. 

After bathing they went to go eat dinner, this is when the power went out. I turned my phone upside down put my torch on with a glass of water on top ... makes the perfect light... 

And they all ate without messing on themselves. 👏 we tidied up the tables and chairs and had an hour long dance party.... i'm not sure who was more exhausted afterwards me and the other caregiver or the kiddies... 

It was a magical evening the kiddies laughter was contagious it was pretty dark in the room without the power on but it was relaxing. We were one big happy family with the small newbies on our backs to make sure they weren't trampled. Everyone was smiling and joyful. 

It was such a beautiful evening. Its days and moments like this that make all the hard times worth it. I wont lie the past month has definitely had its ups and downs. I've been exhausted from work and sickness but it's these special times that make you think back to day one and the reason I chose to come to TLC in the first place. The kiddies being relaxed and smiling brings so much joy to my life. 

Something so simple that we all take for granted in England is power and electric but maybe just try a few hours without it. It can be one of the best things you do to take a break from the normal in life just light candles and relax without your phone or laptop. It can get hard without it - no power means no water here so once we run out of our jug water that's it. It's finished and we have to make a plan. Once our phones have run out of battery we are running the kiddies back and forth to the toilet in total darkness but you just have too. I love cleaning once we have eaten but here I had to learn its not the end of the world if a few dishes stay dirty for the night the kiddies are my priority and as long as they are enjoying life that's all that matters. 

Time Flies when your having fun

 Time is flying by its actually quite scary i keep thinking to myself how is soo much happening so quickly... I have had my ups and downs with illness over the past few weeks i managed to be bitten by spiders on my face, in my hair and on my wrist, which ended me up in hospital once again. 

I have also made time for myself on the weekends as they are supposedly my off days ... meaning it doesnt always happen like that... I have been out on my friends boat, Jetski and had wonderful evenings with friends and people I now class as family 

one of our precious little girls fell in love with her forever family and moved overseas. 

Public holidays in South Africa can be quite hectic. Everyone is off work so the volunteers really have to step up. I was asked by management if I could work with my friend Kay from Saturday morning at 8am until monday at 4pm with 10 of the children aged from 2- 7 years. To say I was scared and stressed was understatement 10 children to feed, dress, cream adminster crutial medications and to calm down to get to sleep was going to be interesting. 

I had said to Kay that I thought we should take them for an outting as it could get boring being at TLC the entire weekend. So Saturday morning we packed up our bags (nappy bags with a spare outfit hat and suncream for each child) we headed off to the local Tesco which here is called Pick n Pay ... I jumped out brought a whole lot of picnic stuff and headed in the car for around an hour... this was the longest car journey they had ever been on for many of the kids at TLC so we played multiple games... 

spot the yellow car and the LOOOOK OOOUUUTTT game under every bridge we passed. 

Here is the Handover message that I sent to management and the rest of the caregivers from that busy Saturday Exploring Willow feather farm in Centurion. 

The lions and tigers were very excited to see Me, Kay and baby L on arrival. ❤️

Baby L had a quick play date with them and then returned back to his house 🏡

I asked the kiddies what they had planned for us to do for the weekend …. And they all looked at me very confused 🤔

After a little while of playing outside Kay had the bright idea 💡 to take a picnic to a wonderful little spot farrrr away in centurion 🌎

We packed up, went to the toilet and headed to the car for a fun day of adventures…

We stopped off at pick n pay and I jumped out and got picnic food for everyone 🥗🍉🍌🥖 - the kiddies were very concerned that Kay was going to leave me there….

When we were on our journey we played the LOOK OUTTTT 👀 game under every bridge and the spot muffassa yellow car 🚙 - yoh these kids are quick at finding things….

Once we arrived at our destination we played on multiple new jungle gyms, had multiple toilet breaks… snack of yoghurt and juice🥤 then we wondered round feeding the geese and looking at all the wonderful smelly animals ….🐷🐽🐥🦆🐓🐇🐄🐪🐠🐟🐮

We had our picnic 🧺 and I made the quick decision after about 25 more minutes of swinging on jungle gyms that it would be best to head home 🏡 as things started to become emotional 😥

We got in the car just in time for nap time 😴…. Did they tho …. NO!!

Child T, R and A were a little sleepy 🥱 however no one else napped …. Toddler J told me he’s a big boy now 🙈 - and didn’t sleep at all!!!!

Once we arrived home 🏡 we played outside in the garden with some visitors bounced on the trampoline enjoyed colouring and mopping the floor….

Kay made them there own stone friends by painting and naming them - all equipment was returned to preschool unharmed 🙂

Dinner was lasagna and Child R had vegan Mac n cheese 🧀 with veggies 🥕
Everyone ate everything although some took a little convincing 🥰

The girls then had a relaxing peaceful bath 🛀 and foot massage whilst the boys where boys outside with Kay

Then the boys bathed whilst they girls watched a movie 🎥

Everyone was creamed and all medications administered!! 💊
(Thankyou muffassa)

Snack was flings and everyone ate whilst watching the movie 🍿

We all did our teeth 🦷 washed our faces and went for a weeeee before 🛌.

Everyone got into bed calmly we then had prayers 🙏 stories 📕 goodnight cuddles and kisses 😚 and everyone went to sleep 😴 without any problem …. They were all fast asleep by 20:20 🥰

Washed up, swept 🧹 mopped, folded laundry and got out clothes ready for another fun filled day tomorrow ❤️

Sorry guys for the loonnnggg handover 😘🤣😴xx

The following day I decided that it would be a wonderful experience to take the 10 kiddies to Church in Centurion an hour away again. Its the church me and Kay try to go to every week and its very child friendly. We dressed them in smart clothes. Im gutted I didnt get a photo because they looked adorable. 

headed off in the car on another adventure to church. When we were about 10 minutes away it started to sink in that these younger children had never been to an actual church. we read the bible to them and pray with them but they had never got to experience the actual feeling of being in church. I was a bit aprehensive because the children havent really been with other children. So I looked at kay and smiled. We both knew it was going to be difficult even just transporting 10 children from the car in to kids church it was going to be a mission with the 2 of us adults. However we did it. God is awesome and incredible and showed me so much on that weekend with the kiddies. Everyone at church was so welcoming and even tho they were shocked to see the amount of children you could tell that they loved them like there own. The children had an incredible time and many of them asked to go back another time. They got to meet other children and learn about the Love that God has for them.  It was wonderful to hear all of there stories in the car journey home about how much fun they had knowing that God loved them. 

Our weekend was hard stressful, full of love and joy. We did many different activities that weekend and they all had so much fun. We even managed to take them on a 2 hour walk from the property in a circle and back home again. We walked on walls, watched rabbits hop across the road and we talked lots about our favourite parts of the weekend. 

Sooo so much has happened recently what with no power and electricity and multiple health problems it has been hard to write and post blogs... this is just a snippet of my life at TLC and I am busy the majority of the time so Im sorry if it takes long to post. 

Thankyou so much for giving the kiddies the opportunity to go on these fun exciting adventures they absolutely loved it xxx 

 

Home Sweet Home

 My first day at TLC was full of all kinds of emotions, happy, sad, calmness and it sure was full of suprises. South Africa welcomed me back beautifully as it always does NO WATER or electricity! Otherwise known as loadshedding. As you can imagine after 11 long hours on a airplane all you want is a shower and to feel clean again. I arrived at TLC around 10 am and was finally able to have a shower at 3:30pm I was over the moon. Already getting used to the South African Realities. 

For the rest of the day I was able to meet the new babies and reconnect with the small children and adults that I was able to spend so much of my time with at TLC on my previous trips. I felt like I was already settled. I unpacked and greated the international volunteers relaxing in our stunning cottage.

The following day was saturday the 5th February, all the managers had meetings, one was on duty and the others were busy so they asked me to take 2 of our oldest children to a birthday party for a school friend. It was a lovely day getting to know the 2 older kiddios again. I had been at TLC on and off since they were both in the grubs section and they have both grown leaps and bounds since our first time meeting each other. They were happy to tell me all about there school friends and about what they liked and disliked.

They seemed to get used to me very quickly and loved there day out at there friends party. I had known about the party since a few days before I left England so me and my Auntie headed out to the shops and guessed their clothes and shoe sizes and brought them gorgous little outfits. I have honestly never seen a child smile so much with there shoes and clothes. Just knowing that at this property they know what is theres is incredible they have their own space for there own clothes and toys. So they were quick to show me where they were going to put them. They party became a 7 hour celebration. This was great bonding time and also incredible to be able to meet their school friends and the people they speak so highly off. The parents of the children where also so lovely which was great and it made making friendships with them a lot easier.  

The following day I went to church around an hour away with my friend and we spent the whole day in Centurion where the Church is. It was incredible to be back everything felt so peaceful and so right. I felt safe and happy. Nothing could ever make me question my decision on coming back. This is where I am meant to be!

Monday the start of a new week. The day that I began volunteering in the nursery. I spent the majority of my day making baby food with the nursery supervisor. It was a wonderful time to get to know her as she wasn't here on my previous trips. We made beatroot puree, carrot puree, butternut sqaush puree and two types of meat to go with the veggies. It felt like I was back in the swing of things. 

Later on in the afternoon I had a welcome meeting with the management team. This is where they gave me the chance to make a buddy with one of the children. This child is precious and beautiful in so many ways so ofcourse I said yes! I had worked with him as part of a group in my previous trips but this time I am able to spend one on one time with him and honestly it is already making such a difference in his life thanks to everyone who helps to take care of him. 

This time at TLC my job role is different so I join in with many different activities like doctors appointments, court dates, one on one time and community outreach programmes. 

I honestly cant explain how much life has changed for the better for the babies, kiddies and everyone else on this new property. Life is calm peaceful and everyone has settled in nicely to there new home!

Thank you so much for all the support and prayers during my first 2 weeks here at TLC Children's Home