I had my first solo outing with three children tonight. You might think that's wimpy, as the baby is going on 4 months old, but I thought it was quite courageous. We went to the park that's a 2 minute drive from our house. Baby in sling, big kids getting filthy in the sand. We got lots of attention, let me tell you, being the only non-Thai folks there, and with the cutest baby boy in the universe snuggled up to me like a little marsupial. He was facing out, so he was a drooling magnet.

I think tonight's outing illustrates that we're getting settled in. It will be 3 weeks tomorrow since our return, and things are feeling more normal, bit by bit. It's strange to live in two worlds! Life is taking on some rhythm, which is always a relief to me. This past weekend we went up to the mountains for a retreat with our little church. We stayed at this lovely place:

Which is a nice change of pace from Bangkok. It was 101 the day we left, so a bit of fresh air did us good. It was great to be with our church family here, and from what I can tell, the teaching was quite good (I understood almost none of it. Funny how resigned I've become to my lack of understanding!). But the fellowship was sweet, there was no cooking involved, and I got to read The Hobbit while my little boy was napping. It's even better with subsequent readings.

One of the best parts of the weekend for me was seeing how our children are re-acclimating. I looked at them running around at one point and thought, "They are having a GREAT time!" That does a mommy's heart good. In fact, they apparently had such a good time that Asa cried over and over on the way home, "I want to go back to the hote-el!" The Thais really shower our kids with love, and all the children have a good time together, as evidenced by Emmy's ride on the Bekah horse...

A kids' activity during the teaching time

The other major, not so happy event in our lives as of late was saying goodbye to our dear friends, the Henrys. This family is synonomous in our minds with Thailand, and their friendship has been a lifeline for us. I'm not sure how we're going to make it without them, but we're trusting God to provide, even as we're asking Him to give them lots of grace as they settle back into American life and begin seminary.

We love you, Paul and Crystal, and all your children, too!

Emmy and PJ playing one last game of Tigers...sigh...

Boys

Julian's getting older (and bigger) by the minute, so I thought it necessary to share a couple of recent pictures of our 3 1/2 month old boy. We went to the doctor for his excema issues (a challenge in a tropical climate, I tell you!) around his 3 month birthday, and he weighed 15.5 pounds. I'm abstaining from eggs and dairy, as our pediatrician thinks an allergy might be at work in his sweet little system. It remains to be seen, but things are looking better, in general, and we're learning to manage.

The last two weeks have been quite full. Adjusting has been a full-time job, but there's been much more on top of that. So, more to come in the next few days.

crazy baby

look at the size of those cheeks!

And, one more thing...

Daddy and his helper working on Asa's big boy bed. It should be done this week, and we'll enter a new chapter that involves Em and Asa sharing a room. I love this picture, because Asa is so expressive and funny, and this shows one of his silly expressions. He'll make these faces and then burst out laughing. He's a fun little guy.

Happy Easter from Thailand

When I look at this picture, I think we look far more with it than we actually are. This was not our most Martha Stewart Easter, what with the jet lag and fierce perspiration and all, but we managed to get dressed and to church, and it was a joy to see our friends there and celebrate Christ's resurrection.

We're feeling a little more normal every day, but transition is challenging. The kids have been up in the middle of the night hungry (also, Asa was scared of his air conditioner, sweet thing), and we have been in a bit of a fog. It's really hot here, and that makes one lethargic. I'm also very uninterested in cooking. If not for the children, I'd be happy to survive on Italian chocolate for the present.

We were greeted with much love by our wonderful friends. Signs, streamers and balloons, a sparkling clean house (with all of our things in it- hooray!), dinner, food in the fridge- we were so thankful and humbled by their service to us. We are very blessed with our community here.

And speaking of community, just look at this pool party! Big fun for the kiddos. Emmy and PJ are SOOO happy to be together again and have picked up right where they left off. I went outside today at the Henry's and found PJ sprawled out (an injured tiger), and Emmy was at the pool finding water for him in the desert before he perished. Asa, meanwhile, was making sure no one touched his water guns, as a good 2-year old should. (It's Songkran, by the way- the Thai holiday that involves copious amounts of water. We had buckets full of water thrown at us as we drove today, and everyone has a bucket or a water gun...)

And our little drummer on Easter morning at church...he makes his daddy proud...

A word about protests and riots- things are quiet where we are. The unrest seems to be located in a pretty small area of downtown. It's certainly disturbing, and we're praying for peace and hearts that are opened to God's love.