Sep 1, 2005

A lot has happened since our last journal entry. We have had a long and wonderful summer. We visited Niagara Falls in July, went on a cub-scout camp in August and returned to school on August 31. We have green cards and a new Civic.

Maart 7, 2005

Ons is nou amper aan die einde van winter, hopelik !!!  Die eerste dag van Lente is veronderstel om Maart 20 te wees. Ons het hierdie winter nogal baie sneeu gehad, en die einde is nog nie in sig nie.  

Ek het intussen ‘n “work authorization card” gekry, en het daarna aansoek gedoen vir ‘n social security nommer.  Dit alles beteken net dat ek ook nou mag werk hier in die USA.  Ons het ook ons "fingerprint notification" gekry, vir die groenkaart.  Ons is baie opgewonde daaroor.  As ons gelukkig is, behoort dit daarna nie meer te lank te wees voordat ons die groenkaart het nie. Hou duim vas !!!

September 22, 2004

Soveel het intussen gebeur.  Einde Junie 2004 het ons 'n condominium gekoop, en in getrek.  Kleintjie  het Augustus 25 in die nuwe skool begin.  In Julie was ons in Suid-Afrika vir 'n vakansie, die familie besoek, en natuurlik Kleintjie se verjaarsdag daar gevier (Julie 5).  Oor die "Labor Day weekend" (September 6) het ons 'n nuwe kar gekoop (die Ford wil toe nie meer nie ....).  Ons nuwe kar is 'n 2004 Honda Accord. 

Vandag is die eerste dag van Herfs.  Die temps in die aande is al klaar heelwat koeler, maar party dae is dit nogal lekker.  Ons moes vir Kleintjie weer 'n hele klomp wintersklere koop, niks pas meer nie!!!

Halloween is weer om die draai, en daarna Thanksgiving en natuurlik Kersfees.

Natuurlik, die belangrikste ding wat met ons gebeur het, was Augustus 18, 2004.  Pappa het sy MBA studies suksesvol voltooi  !!!!! Ons is baie trots op hom. BAIE GELUK !!

January 31, 2004.

Today is Saturday. We are celebrating a birthday in the house. It is warmer than last year, with at least on day reaching 0 Celsius each week. There is still lots of snow around, from Winter Storm Connor this week. We got about 4 inches on Wednesday.

Good news -  Ford seems to be in running condition again after the major repairs over Christmas.  Dodge also needed new belt again. Seems that only one of two belts was replaced last time. Other one was now cracked.

Making progress with the MBA. This is the final week of another course. Still on track to complete in August.

December 7, 2003.

Today is Sunday. Hah!!. Did the forecasters underestimate or what? We got 17 inches of snow. This bear family spent about 2 hours this morning digging the cars out and cleaning the walkway. By this afternoon, we could get to the shops. Baby bear played on his new sled with Papa bear providing horse power

As usual, it is warm and calm directly after the snow stops falling. Within an hour the wind starts and the temperature falls way below freezing. The goal is to get the worst of the snow out of the walkways before the wind starts. We are expecting rain and temperatures in the 40's on Thursday, which will melt away a lot of snow. It just flows away when the the temperature goes over 40 and rain falls.

December 6, 2003.

Today is Saturday. Another week is gone. Baby visited the dentist this week. His 2 front teeth were loose, but would not come out at home. The dentist evaluated the situation and extracted them. The one permanent tooth is already showing. The tooth fairy is down $20 for the week.

We have the first snow of the season this morning. It looks like about 2 inches fell overnight. We expect 8 to 10 inches by Sunday night. These Bears still love the first snow of the season. Everything is so pretty just after the snow. This Bear family will be outside shortly playing and shoveling the walkway.

We had a remote starter installed in the Van last Saturday. It cost $170. We can start the Van at a distance of 500 feet, even when it is covered in snow. Now the Van is warm before we go outside and we don't have to travel the first miles in a cold Van.

November 28, 2003.

I can't believe that almost another week has flown by.  Yesterday was Thanksgiving. We watched the Macy's parade on TV in the morning. We felt so cool knowing that we have been to Macy's in person. We went to the friends in Mass. yesterday for lunch. My buddy's sister is visiting from Holland. The women all drooled over the cute little baby. His face has changed a lot in the last few weeks. It was a very enjoyable day, as it always is with the friends. The baby's grandma is still visiting till March. The baby is so good and hardly makes a sound. My other friend is still in the 3rd phase of his Green Card process. The third phase seems to consistently take 2 years now. This Bear family will have to live with the current uncertainty till Feb 2006, before we know if we can stay in this wonderful country. Then we can apply for citizenship in 2011.

I got some documents from the immigration attorneys today. The information substantiates the dates discussed above.

I am  enjoying this vacation tremendously. Thanksgiving is a bigger celebration than Christmas, and most of the shops were closed yesterday. Today, all the shops had sales, because many workers have the day off. This makes it a 4 day long weekend. And the University is closed, so I don't have to study, which means that I really have a lot of time on my hands to relax and be with my family, which we all appreciate. The good news is that I am more than halfway with the MBA.

Baby bear is going to a birthday party tomorrow. The little girl lives in our apartment complex. Her parents came from Russia about 3 years ago and they face many of the same challenges that we do

Papa bear still has work and the economy is looking a little better. But there is a permanent threat of huge layoffs at the company. On the upside, there is talk of a promotion for Papa bear. This will mean more visibility but not more money at this time, which is OK, as long as I keep the job.

We made boerewors on Nov 11, 2003 with a new recipe. The results are far superior to previous attempts. We have found a good butcher and we seem to have learned the knack. The sausage casings were a little small. I ordered them on the internet, and  seem to have chosen the wrong size. Next time we can get the right ones from the butcher.

So far we have not seen any snow. I am grateful, and the weather is pleasant (50 Degrees F during the day.) We can get away with just a light jacket.

November 22, 2003.

Check out the photo gallery to see the new Orange Belt!!! The test was successful. The new glasses seem to help, and Baby bear seems to be able to read better. We got the glasses within a few hours of placing the order yesterday.

November 20, 2003.

Baby bear went to the optician today. Baby bear was tested at school and was told his eyes are fine, but he told Mama bear that words are sometimes blurry. The optician says Baby bear is far-sighted. He can see OK in the classroom on the board, but cannot see well when reading and writing. Also, his eyes get tired when reading and doing schoolwork. The optician gave a prescription, and we are now looking to buy a pair of glasses. We are all hoping that the new glasses will dramatically improve baby bear's reading and writing skills.

November  18, 2003.

We are moving towards winter. The leaves have fallen and have blown away. It is about 35 to 45 degrees most days with clear skies. We are lucky this year, and have not had snow yet. It is dark at 4:45 PM each day. Sunrise is about 6:30 AM. Baby Bear is doing well at school, and family is healthy. Papa Bear is making good progress with MBA - more than 50% done. This degree is very hard work, involves a lot of sacrifice and we all cannot wait to get it complete. Expected completion is August 2004. We are hoping to buy real estate in May/June 2004. We are planning to visit Grandma in July/August 2004, depending on numerous events. The exchange rate of R6.60 is bad news for us. We are hoping it improves again. Thanksgiving is next week, so we are expecting a restful and short 3 day work week. We remain awed at the wonderful life in the USA, and wish we could share this life with our loved ones.