Around Town

Here are a few of Tim's photos from around town; a glimpse of Thailand...

A monk at the Grand Palace, the home of bygone kings of Thailand, with the Thai flag.

Who would have imagined you could transport so much on a scooter? Efficiency at its finest...

An enormous Buddha watches over the highway...

A close up of the famous Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho in Bangkok...

And a small statue that sits with the Reclining Buddha.
Thailand is replete with these images.

And here are a few shots from Khao Yai National Park, a favorite place to be outdoors and a great place to see monkeys and even the occasional herd of elephants...

Some of the guys on our team (with special guest Phil...and following are a few shots Phil took...)

This tiger is stuffed in the welcome center. He apparently attacked some campers some years back, so he serves as a friendly reminder to be oh so careful should you choose to stay a while!

Tim at one of the park's lovely waterfalls...

This is a great sign. Apparently you are not allowed to shoot a fellow parkgoer in the backside as he picks flowers!

Khruu Rhi

Sunday evening was definitely one of those "How in the world did I end up here?" experiences. Our preschool had its 'grand opening'...when a new home is purchased or a business begun in Thailand, there is often a celebration that includes monks spending time in blessing the establishment and a party where a lot of people are invited for a meal. This is the school's first year, so the celebration took place on Sunday. We went in the evening for the dinner, and I was doing double duty as both teacher ("khruu" in Thai) and parent. They even gave me an official snazzy blue jacket to wear so that I'd look like a respectable member of the staff. I had to stop and wonder at God's directing hand to put me in a place I would never have anticipated but am so enjoying.

Here are some of the lovely women that teach and direct the school. I was introduced with the rest of the staff, and I went up on the stage, smiling and wai-ing, not understanding much of what they were saying. When I came back to the table, Tim said, "They said you went to Harvard! Did you tell them that?" Very funny. The rest of the evening we just enjoyed the festivities, which included a traditional Chinese meal (with the delicacy 'sharkfin soup') and Thai dancing, which is so very beautiful to watch.

And here's my favorite student in her special sporty outfit they wear on Wednesdays. We found out today that they do Thai dance on Wednesdays! She was showing us her moves tonight, and the cuteness was simply overwhelming.

And She's Off!...

She may look like she's off to see the wizard, but she's off to preschool! Our little girl had her first day today, and we thank all of you who prayed for her. She was very excited to go, and just a little distressed at our leaving. She didn't cry, which was wonderful because that would have been very hard for Mommy! She had a good day, and the teachers reported that she was happy. We picked her up after her lunch of Thai food, which she'll eat every day that she's there. Best of all, she's excited about going back tomorrow! It will be a tremendous learning curve for her as she adjusts to being surrounded by a language she doesn't understand, but we're praying that she will quickly begin to integrate it and be able to teach us a thing or two about speaking Thai! Doesn't she look adorable in her uniform? We think we might have stumbled onto the school with the cutest uniforms in all of Bangkok.

She's going to the school where I'm teaching English on Thursday mornings, so it's such a blessing to know the teachers and feel really comfortable with the environment. When we arrived this morning, one of the students immediately came to me and hugged me, which is one of the major advantages of being a teacher! And several of Emmy's classmates said, "Good morning" as they wai-ed to me, which is proof positive that they're getting something out of my instruction!

Obviously, she has a height advantage and will be a real asset to the preschool basketball team...

With one of her teachers and a very serious fellow student...

Here's Tim (in the driver's seat) ready to pull out in our newest blessing- a vehicle! It's a minivan-ish type of car that seats seven, and we're so grateful to have it. It has been truly amazing to see how God has provided perfectly in the areas of preschool and a vehicle, down to the detail of providing the car just in time for the drive to school on the first day. Adjusting to driving on the other side of the road and with much looser traffic patterns is our next adventure!

The kiddos enjoying the luxury of carseats- hooray!

And, not to be outdone...while Sister was at school learning all sorts of exciting things, Brother was at home working on his numbers.

Independence Day, A Growing Girl, and a Friend from Home...

We really love the 4th of July. My ideal 4th is picking peaches and blueberries in Locust Grove, making homemade ice cream and watching fireworks. We did none of that this year, but still had a grand time. The weekend before, we headed down to the U.S. Embassy with Crystal and her boys for Bangkok's annual celebration. No peaches, but ribs and cotton candy, and a big fun party. A good time was had by all. It did end with us waiting under a stairwell on the side of the road in the pouring rain while Tim tried to find a taxi (a very difficult task in the rain), but it was far better than last year, when we waited almost an hour in the rain and I was 7 months pregnant!

The family at the embassy...

And at home on the 4th, where we celebrated with dinner with friends.

In other news, Emmy had her four year old checkup last week. Here she is with her wonderful pediatrician, Dr. B. We're so blessed to have her to take care of our children. She pronounced Emmy to be "perfect" and "beautiful". My sentiments exactly. She weighed 39 pounds and was 43 inches tall. She's still off the growth chart for height!

And our final big excitement of the week was a visit from Phil, Tucker resident extraordinaire, good neighbor and great friend. It was strange and yet very normal to have him at our breakfast table! He was kind enough to stop by on his way home from China, and he had a great adventure in Thailand. Here he is looking like a local downtown. He and Tim spent a day downtown and a day at a national park, where they saw a herd of wild elephants and lots of monkeys. He really had the total experience. We missed you, Christy and Andrew...