Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Thankful





We felt a palpable sense of loss as we missed our families and our culture this Thanksgiving Day, and yet we felt a real sense of joy and fullness in the family and culture to which God has called us in this time and place. We truly have so much for which to be thankful, and a good Father to whom we give thanks. This is a sweet season of our lives and our tree literally overflowed as we have considered over this season the things, big and small, with which God has graced our lives.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Dress Up

On a recent Saturday, ready for a play date at a friend's house
 Perhaps imagination is only intelligence having fun. - George Scialabba

I'm one holiday and almost a month behind, but these were too sweet not to share. Our Dear Aunt B sent the above quote on a birthday card to Asa a few years ago, and I love it. Whether true or not, we have imagination in abundance in our home, and it makes life joyful. Halloween was a few weeks ago, as you no doubt remember, and although it's not widely celebrated here (but the creepier parts are creeping in and retailers are more and more cashing in on the trend!), our little ones gave some consideration to how they might celebrate in costume, dug through the dress up box, and here's what they came up with...


Poor lighting, but Puss in Boots was quite dashing.

Thank you again for this cuteness, Aunt Crystal!

Dress up is not to be confined to a particular day, though...especially for Asa, for whom dressing up is an almost daily event, and little brother is following closely, as little brothers do.

Papa's WWII headgear gets plenty of wear by our little warrior.


This photo fits a bit with the dress up theme- the final day of last month's Thai module, in which we studied Thai culture. We were asked on the last day to wear traditional clothing from our culture, and a few of us did. Our country is a bit tough on this front, with no easily available or discernible traditional costume, melting pot that we are, so I fell back on the trusty old red, white and blue. Not as exciting as the beautiful Thai costume, but it will do.

This one I just had to share, even though I look odd (don't bend awkwardly in pictures), because this precious little baby, whose nickname is 'Peace' was born recently to our dear friends, and we had the privilege of visiting her in her early days. She is simply beautiful. If someone handed me one of these sweet bundles on the street, I would be sorely tempted to walk away quickly without asking questions.

And a recent Ju-ism I will document for posterity...
J: Mommy...
Me: (distracted by two other simultaneous voices) Just a minute, Ju...
Me: (turning to him after a minute) Okay, buddy, what is it?
J: Ummm, well...I lost my mind. (translation: I forgot:)

Going into Thanksgiving tomorrow, thinking of many loved ones we will miss (are, in fact, missing at this very moment) from afar. So thankful for the abundance of love that God has given to us.

Sunday, November 04, 2012

Sand and Seaweed

Completely staged, but too much fun not to include
We're fortunate to live relatively near a beach. Not one of Thailand's gorgeous world-renowned beaches, but a sweet little crabby beach on the Gulf of Thailand with a big beautiful ocean nonetheless, that we can drive to in about 3 hours. We also have friends with a condo that they graciously allow us to rent on occasion. School's October break happened a couple of weeks ago, coinciding with one day off from language study, so we took ourselves off for a long weekend away. There's nothing like time away from the city, all together, to refresh and reset. I love these people so much.

Our traditional meal on the way, at an Isaan (northeastern Thailand) restaurant. Sticky rice, somtam and grilled chicken, claws and all. Beaker went along for the vacation and even had his own hook at the table, enjoying bits of cabbage and basil. He's a pampered bird, for sure.




I find it mind-boggling that someone so long-legged and beautiful once grew inside of me. I imagine I'll always feel that wonder; yes, grandparents?

Our artist sketching at the artist village we visited. Love his intensity!




This Wonder Trio has been busy with all sorts of special things, including digging through the dress up box for another scorcher of a Halloween; will share that cuteness soon. And a couple of recent tidbits to round out:

Mommy: Em, did you like the seaweed in your lunch today?
Em: Oh, yes, ma'am, and it traded really well, too!

Ju: Daddy, how do you say สับปะรด in English?
Daddy: Pineapple :)