We're at the end of what has felt like a lengthy Lenten season. Easter tends to sneak up on us, but this year we made strides to prepare our hearts- readings, candles, reflection. The season was brought to a close this morning as we sang to God in Thai with our church family, first at 6 am at the park and then again later in the morning. When I think of the last few weeks and the last few days, a number of things come to mind.
The weeks of hot walks with small children to catch a song taew, which carried us to a taxi, which then carried us to school or any other desired destination. (The van finally returned to us, at long last, yesterday. There was dancing involved.)
My efforts toward blending preparation of our hearts for Easter and traditional fun- the Easter eggs that were dropped after being dyed, the egg hunt moved to the living room during a rainstorm, the fatigue and lack of patience that can plague me, sometimes showing through my efforts and making them feel hollow to me. Yet still the children experience joy and express gratitude.
The Easter story cookies we made- I liked this activity because it was tactile- touch the ingredients, read the scripture they point to, seal those cookies into the turned off oven to stay overnight and in the morning you should find them empty like the tomb. But we forgot to consider our unrelenting, ever-present, indefatigable nemesis. When we opened the oven, we pulled out a cookie sheet swarming with ants.
Ants, ants. Ants on our toothbrushes, ants randomly walking on our necks, our arms. Ants on dirty plates, ants on clean plates. Julian recently grabbed the broom before dinner and trotted over to his chair to clean off the ants before being seated. I wonder if all 2 year olds are this helpful and well trained? When I am an old woman, I think I will absently swat myself and mutter about ants. Or perhaps mosquitoes. Or shriek in remembrance of opening kitchen drawers and cabinet doors and finding cockroaches or lizards.
In the midst of all of this, these joys and inconveniences and reminders of personal brokenness, I am more sincerely grateful and assured than I have ever been that Jesus died for this broken world, for me, and that all things will be renewed. He is risen indeed.
And I should mention the good, restful vacation with friends that we enjoyed in Chiang Mai over spring break, in spite of the fact that our mode of transportation was still out of commission and we had to make last minute travel changes...as promised to dear grandparents, pictures...
pretty accommodations 
Em practices Thai
sweet 7 year olds, hailing from Thailand and Laos, tea party-ing
by the jackfruit tree
the kiddos in our group, oldest to youngest
