A Fundamo Development Team

This is a picture of one of the Fundamo Development Teams celebrating after the release of and important milestone on one of our projects. I thought that this is such a beautiful picture that I wanted to post it on my personal blog. But this is also special because I work with each of these individuals in some capacity or other. We are busy with such exciting things and it gives me a lot of pride to see them excell.

Our children

Just before Izak left for Pretoria again, I took this photo of the kids in the kitchen at de Wijnlanden. Ernst doing so well at his work with responsibilities way beyond what one could expect of someone of his age, Izak growing in a new career with complex engineering challenges, Mariet just having been nominated as one of the top architectural students in the country and Catherine stepping into a marketing job with grace that people with twice her experience would battle to do. In addition they radiate love for each other and most important for their Creator. We are indeed blessed.

Annelie's birthday dinner

We celebrated Annelie's birthday with close friends at one of our favorite restaurants; Pomegranate. We enjoyed the wonderful food and the company of close friends. After Quintes asked for grace on this special occasion, he asked every-one present to say something about Annelie and what she means to us. I realised how fortunate I am to be sharing my life with this special person. I thanked God for his grace and blessings that he bestow on us.

Izak in Cape Town

Izak is visiting from Pretoria. He flew in last weekend and will be returning on Sunday. In this picture, one can see how happy we are to have him at home for a short while.

Boekenhoutskloof tasting

We had the most amazing winetasting tonight at Boekenhoutskloof presented by South African winemaker of the year for 2007: Marc Kent. This was an exceptional winetasting for a number of reasons: We were able to taste all of the Semillon's made on the estate since the first vintage (1995), we were the first group in the world that tasted the new flagship wine (yet to be released) - the Journeyman 2005, we finished the evening with a dinner prepared by one of the chefs from Reuben's (voted the best restaurant in South Africa last year). But more important, this was just so special because we could experience this with longstanding friends. Even through all of this "Whao!"- experiences, what made tonight worthwhile was to experience the warmth of friendship.

First draft of Boksemdais

The first draft of the book that Annelie will be publishing some of her poems was received on Sunday. We hosted a number of her co-authors at deWijnlanden to talk and celebrate. This is Annelie, with Andre, Antionette and Marriaan, with the first drafts.

The mountains behind Hawston and Father's day

I cycled up the mountains behind Hawston today. It was a crisp and cold day and the road up the mountain was steep and sometimes difficult to navigate, but the view was so spectacular that it was worth it. Ernst and Catherine joined us at the house at Meerenbosch (right at the mouth of the river into the ocean in the middle of the picture) later in the day. We watched rugby together, cooked meat on an open fire and just talked. I was specially blessed when they gave me a wonderful card on father's-day. It was really special to hear that they value me as their father, notwithstanding all my shortcomings.

Product Worksession

It is going hectic at work. We had to double our headcount since the beginning of the year and we have more work than what we can effectively deliver. At the same time, we have to figure out how we organise ourselves to be more effective. This is some of the Fundamo staff in worksession to design a new version of our product.

Robertson Mountainbike Challenge

I finished a tough Mountain Bike race today. It rained and the whole track was one mud track. At the end of the race everything was covered in mud. I also suffered mild cramps because I was not well prepared for the race. However, I enjoyed the outing, particularly because Annelie joined me. We had a nice time driving to the venue and then back again. We will hopefully do this again.

World Economic Forum in Cape Town

An important WEF meeting was held in Cape Town (yesterday and today). Some of the global captains of industry and political leaders gathered in Cape Town to discuss matters of joint interest. I met a number of people at the Convention Center in the Foreshore. As I look at the beautiful mountain and the fresh air and saw the important people walking around, I realised that the world is not just what happens in London.

Guilford Hotel

I stayed at this Hotel in South Kensington this week. A typical hotel in London with good fittings and a bath (not really a shower). The stay was enjoyable and very successful, but I could not wait to get back to Cape Town.

Grace Community Church

I attended the morning service at the Grace Community Church in Sevenage. (It was a church that I found on the web and close to the hotel where I stayed after my visit to Duxbury). I found many blessings by attending this church and will be thinking of them in my prayers.