Crazy

Life has been so full lately. We've been doing LOTS of people things, which has been both a joy and a whirlwind. Really, I've missed this community and am thankful for the opportunity to be with so many we love here. Many happy moments with friends, and the joy of seeing our children enjoy old friends and new ones; it's especially fun to see our kids enjoy the kids of our good friends while we enjoy catching up...

Enjoying a beautiful day with Bethy's little ones...


Reunited with Gracyn! We had a fun day with our friends and former teammates, the Cunninghams, enjoying a state park and the beauty of Georgia late summer. Emmy has missed this girl SO much...



Playing dress-up with Keri and Rusty's adorable children...

And enjoying a well-earned juice box after a soccer game. Go Rockets!

Futbol

Our girl started soccer (actually, her league is officially a "futbol" league:) last week. This picture is from her first practice. I love seeing my beautiful girl as an athlete! Even though she's growing up, it's still a bit like dressing a doll. Except that this doll most certainly has a mind of her own.

Her first game was last Saturday, and they were so cute. We're really proud of her effort; she's never even watched a soccer game and now we're telling her to "go get the ball! kick it! that way!". She's running with the rest of the pack; not aggressive, but she gets her foot in there occasionally. Although she's by no means an enthusiast yet, she's hanging in there and has complained very little, even during her game in the blazing hot sun, so this is a good start...

Birthday Boy

Our baby just turned two. Which is just unbelievable when I consider that it was such a very short time ago that he came to us...in Bangkok...so BIG and beautiful. He has been a joy every single day and I did not know the depth of love of a mama for her boy! We celebrated with a party with family and friends around us, which was such a luxury after being far away from so many we love for quite some time. Now if only we could bring those we love in Thailand here, all would be just right...

The birthday boy's fascination with trucks inspired our theme, and the cake was a long and involved project involving lots of little pieces of cake being glued together and a great deal of improvisation. But he was very happy with it, as you can see in his delighted little countenance in this video...(and I love the way his sister keeps coming in for kisses)...

The little boys celebrating together. As long as everyone kept his hands off Asa's new bat, all was well. Let's just say that all of the pictures were not this harmonious!

Daddy made some fun coloring sheets...

This gift from Papa Jeff was a big "hit"...he didn't let the bat and ball out of his sight (or grasp) all day. It's such fun to see your boy enjoying being a boy!



And Mommy loved having her friends there to celebrate, too- we all had little boys at the same time, which is such fun! I LOVE being with these girls.


We spent the actual birthday day out and about in Atlanta- here Sister enjoys the playground at Centennial Olympic Park...


Then we headed to the Varsity to introduce them to an Atlanta tradition. The hot dogs and frosted orange went over tremendously well.

Happy Birthday, sweet boy! We love you tremendously!

Two Weeks

Two weeks have flown by at record speed. It really has been a whirlwind, and we're settling in well in Atlanta. The travel was LONG, but really went as well as we could have asked with two little children and one on the way. We had a 12 hour layover in Korea, which sounded terrible before the trip, but ended up being an amazing blessing, as it gave us the chance to regather our wits, rest and get clean in a hotel room before tackling the 13 hour leg of the trip. It was so, so good to land in Georgia. A couple of pictures of our travelin' kids...

6 am in Seoul, not sure what time it is in Bangkok or Atlanta...the disorientation has begun

Happy to be off the airplane, enjoying a park in Korea

We arrived in Atlanta to the welcoming arms of friends and family. Much love went into making our house a home for us, and it is wonderful for our family. We can walk to any number of great restaurants, to grocery stores, to church- what else could we ask for? Friends brought incredible meals for the first week while we recovered our senses, for which we are so very thankful!

Our first days were also marked by sadness as we grieved with our friends the Peabodys, who lost their precious son Joseph after a 9 month battle with a brain tumor. We were far away during the diagnosis and the treatment, and we were so thankful to be here to go to Nashville to hug them and be with them. We continue to grieve with and pray for you, friends.

A number of people have asked me how we're adjusting and if I'm experiencing "culture shock". For now the answer seems to be just fine, and not really. We've definitely noticed differences, but overall it just feels like home. Emotions are fickle things and I know that could change next week, but for now it all feels very normal. In some ways it seems that we've missed only a couple of weeks, not years- the same people are leading worship in church, we see the same faces on the nursery hall...but all of the children are bigger! I'm struck with the ease of certain everyday things- from the magic of the dishwasher, to the hot water coming through the pipes for dishes and laundry, to the ease of putting sugar in the cabinet and knowing it won't be overrun with ants within an hour- and it's rather fun to have the perspective of appreciating these "normal" things.

A few pictures from our first weeks...

Emmy at the American Girl store with her new friends- a long awaited birthday treat from Granna

And Asa on Paw Paw's Harley. He's a big fan of motorcycles, but you don't see them like this in Bangkok!
Today we're celebrating our boy's birthday...more to come soon!