Adoption Photo Challenge – Part Two of Three

Are you ready for Part Two of my #heartmamajoy posts from the Adoption Awareness month photo challenge on Instagram? Coming right up!

Day 11, SCREENING |  Meet Cliffie, our wonderful Social Worker from Wandisa, who is an honorary member of the family after walking three adoption journeys with us. Cliffie has been to our home countless times yet always managed to get lost finding her way, shared heartache and joy with us & always made a point to pray for our family at every visit. She’s a special one, even attending Kira’s baby dedication. This pic is from our last follow up visit earlier this year.Continue Reading

Adoption Photo Challenge – Part One of Three

November was Adoption Awareness month featuring World Adoption Day on 9 November. I wasn’t always a fan of #WorldAdoptionDay, but have realised that it’s a great platform for us to talk adoption and share the good, the bad (& the ugly) with each other. With this in mind, I put out the challenge for other (South African) adoptive parents to join me for a 30 day photo challenge on Instagram using prompts as inspiration for them to share part of their adoption story – stories are important, it’s the way we can learn & encourage each other. I was stoked that so many people took up the challenge, with 507 public posts on the #heartmamajoy hashtag! Continue Reading

The Gift That Keeps On Giving – A Jungle Gym from The Pole Yard

This time last year we invested in a jungle gym for the kids. We have a small garden and found that the kids were running around the place like caged lions and that they really needed a way to exert more energy in our garden as it isn’t  always possible to take them to the park for a run around. I shared a little while back about how important it is to give your kids ‘green time’ and I wanted to find a way to encourage the kids out of the house.Continue Reading

How To Christmas With Kids (Like The Kynies)

It’s almost December and albeit the most jolly and sunny time of the year, it is also pretty daunting for us moms. The Christmas shopping is daunting because we don’t only have to consider that Father Christmas is paying a visit to our home on Christmas day, but also that he’s popping in to visit the kids at school as well as making an appearance at Uncle Willy’s Christmas party.Continue Reading

We Celebrated Kira’s 4th Birthday With An African Princess Party

As a mom I soon discovered that my kids’ lives revolve around their birthday and party suggestions – they talk about their birthdays tirelessly and are forever declaring out loud who can and can’t come to their party. It’s relentless. Kira had been talking about turning four for the looongest time and her party theme requests ranged from ‘kitty cat’ to ‘Barbie’ to ‘Princess’, favouring the last two options. I wasn’t keen on either option, mostly because the party decor available in the shops flashes blonde Barbies and Disney princesses who look nothing like my beautiful daughter. I was at a loss and wondering how I could satisfy her desire for a princess party, yet use it as an opportunity to affirm her beauty. Also, I wanted to keep things simple and had planned to host the party for a few school friends in our back garden.

Continue Reading