HE'S NO DRAGON! HE'S OUR BROTHER!

Sorry Rhys!
We really do love you!

In our last letter we said a lot about our brother, Rhys. Some of the things were not very nice. We feel sorry now because we do love him a lot. He’s our eldest brother and he does so much for us. He’s like the Dad we don’t have. We know that he gets frustrated with life. But we do feel so happy that we don’t have to do the pump anymore. That was the only thing that made us sad about Rhys because he doesn’t listen to our point of view. He just shouts. And we got upset that he shouted at us when we didn’t want to do the pump.

I think when you get old like him I think you forget what it’s like to be a little boy and to be scared. It’s a long way to the pump and sometimes it’s very dark. Then the devil brings scary thoughts like … somebody’s going to jump out of the bushes and grab you. I know it’s silly, but when you have to go past the Garden of Remembrance where all the dead babies are, it sends shivers down my back! And I am also scared of the snakes that they are going to come and bite us. After that snake story the other time I became even more terrified.

I don’t like going to the pump at night because when I get very scared I get pains in my chest and feel like I am going to die because I can’t breathe. That’s because I have a problem with my heart. I was born like that. I get very scared because of Macson too. He was murdered right there near the pump. I remember that his teeth were on the floor and there was a lot of blood. B-r-r-r-r. What if those murderers are still lurking and waiting for somebody to kill! I just keep thinking ‘THANK YOU GOD! THANK YOU GOD! THANK YOU THAT WE DON’T HAVE TO GO TO THE PUMP ANYMORE.

Now our little bit bigger, brother, Carlton is going down to the pump. He’s much more brave than us. Maybe he doesn’t have so much imagination! Anyway, somebody donated a small TV and he asked Mom if he could have it for his room. And Mom said SURE … but then you have to do the pump. And Carlton said SURE MOM. NO PROBLEM! THANK YOU GOD! THANK YOU CARLTON! THANK YOU MOM.

Bongani Khumalo

The day before yesterday we were all sitting in the barn and watching Bafana Bafana. All of a sudden, Khumalo scored a goal. We were all screaming and shouting we were so happy! Pippa said – Fetch Mommy, fetch Mommy quick and tell her we scored a goal. So Mom came running from the office. Then we were all watching and shouting for Bafana Bafana and blowing our vuvuzela’s and wishing that Bafana could get 5 goals so that we could go through.

Kutlego Mphela

After a while, suddenly there was another goal from Kutlego Mphela Wow! We were sure we were going to go all the way. But it was very sad because not too long after that France scored a goal too and at the end it was 2 – 1. That means we can't go through.

But after the game Rhys and all the big guys said that we should be proud of Bafana Bafana. They did very well, even though they could not go through. And we ARE proud of them because they are our own special South African Team and we will always stand by them. We love them. And we will always praise them for what they did for our nation.

Yesterday we rented some movies to watch in the barn because we were all so bored and Pippa said that we had been behaving so nicely. So we rented The Mummy and Spiderman 3. The movies were really cool. Some of the parts made me shake and jump up. And Pippa gave us suckers and cold drinks. We love Pippa so much. She works so hard for all of us and she takes such good care of us. She is like our second Mom. Three of my brothers, Reuel, Joshua and Brett are going to see the Italy and Slovakia match with some Chinese people this afternoon at Ellis Park. They are so lucky! But we are looking forward to going to Lynette now now. She will be coming around at lunch time to pick us up. It’s going to be fun and a change from being at home.

Reuel putting snake in Pippa's bag!

Reuel played a horrible trick on Pippa yesterday! He was playing with his snake and then he let the snake go into Pippa’s bag. When she got back to the room she picked it up and said : “Why is my bag so heavy? And when she looked inside she saw the snake and we all thought she was going to faint. She was very cross with Reuel. But he thought it was hilarious. I didn’t think it was funny either. I am scared of snakes. But they call me a sissy. Most of my brothers love the snakes. Even little Jerome loves to play with the snake. B-r-r-r-r! It gives me the shivers and I always run away when they are playing with the snakes. My Mom also says I’m silly because it’s not a poisoness snake. I don’t care. I just can’t like it!

Even Jerome's not scared of the snake!

One day when my Mom is free I am going to buy JAWS. NO! I have not forgotten about JAWS. I still want it and I will get it one of these days. When I went shopping with my Mom a few days ago with 6 of my brothers, I actually saw it in the shop. But my Mom said No, it is ‘13 Violence’ and so she doesn’t want to buy it. But people lie, because so many things that say ‘13 Violence’ are not even as violent as The Three Little Pigs!

Anyway, my Mom was not interested in buying it because she gets hassled when there are so many of us with her at the shop and everybody wants her to buy stuff. It’s better to go with her on your own. But remember it was supposed to be part of my birthday presents so she must still get it for me. But shame, my poor Mom has to buy so much stuff for so many people. So I must be patient with her.

One day I will see the Lord Face to Face. That is going to be such an awesome day. I asked my Mom, Mom why can’t I see God? And she said, - Look in my eyes - Look very well. Look Deeper!  Look Deeper!  And I looked, and looked. And then she said, Can't you see Him peeping out of the windows? LOL LOL LOL LOL

I want to tell you something very interesting. I am busy writing a real story. Every day I write a little bit more and a little bit more. And one day I am going to publish that story and I am going to be rich and famous. That will be so cool because then I will be able to spoil my whole family and will give them all gifts that their hearts desired. And then I will keep after (look after) my Mom when she is old. And then (don’t tell anybody), but I am going to run TLC and keep after my Mom at the same time. LOL LOL Oh shoosh Jay!

I'm laughing because Mom has always told us about the naughty things our Ouma used get up to. And even the naughty things HER Ouma used to do. They are the funniest stories you have ever heard in your life. So, Kay, what are you going to do when Mommy takes after those ladies? Hey Kay?

Well, I don't care. I know I will be the best person in the world to keep after her. I know she might be old and cranky and it will be hard to look after an old lady but I love her so much and I will manage.

If she is in a wheelchair, I will take her out into the garden and put a hat on her head so that she doesn’t get sunburned. That’s how much I will love my Mom when she is very old. And if she is in the shade I will take the hat off and put pretty flowers in her snow white hair. I know that will make her smile. I wonder if she will still have teeth. But even if she doesn’t, I will still love her. The way she has always loved me. If she gets cold I will buy an extra special soft and warm shawl and put it around her shoulders to make sure she is warm and comfortable. Nobody knows or loves my Mom they way I do. We have lots of secrets. Sometimes I get up in the middle of the night to check if she’s okay and sometimes I find her praying. Sometimes she cries when she prays. Then I sit next to her and hold her hand softly and I pray too. And after we have finished she tells me the secrets that God told her. She thinks I am a very special boy. And that’s why I love my Mom and nobody else in the whole wide world loves her more than I do.

The toothpick that came out of Benji's toe!

Yesterday my brother, Benjamin came hopping down the stairs calling, Mom! Mommy! Mom looked and saw a piece of stick sticking out of his big toe. So she sat down and he sat down next to her and she tried to pull it out of his toe but she couldn't. Then our eldest sister, Joanna, came and she tried to pull it out but couldn't. So Pippa went to fetch a pair of plyers and she pulled and pulled and finally it came out. It was a 3/4 piece of toothpick! It had gone right into his toe with only a small piece sticking out!

Khali-Leah!

Also, yesterday we gave two of our dogs a bath. Khali and Basher. They looked awesome! I love it when they are all clean. They are such lovely dogs. Khali looks wonderful now! He is the white poodle in the picture. And Basher is the brown one. She is a cross between a sausage dog and a chihuahua. My Mom says she is the most loving dog she has ever had. The two of them follow Mommy around all day and all night. If she goes out for a while they wait where she parks her car until she comes back and then they are so happy to see her again.

We were very happy that England won yesterday and that they are going through. Especially Thabang. He has been cheering for England from the beginning. He loves England because our Dad lives there. Our Dad was the first person that Thabang met when he came into our family and he always talks about him. He really wants England to win the World Cup.

So, that’s all I have to say for now. We think Lynette will be here any minute. That's why we did our Slobberdog story early this week. Next week I will be able to tell you all the exciting things that happened with Lynette.

Okay I am going now. I actually don’t feel so well so I should go inside. I have a headache and I feel like I might vomit. I think it’s all that talk about snakes, Macson and dead babies! Bye everyone!