Oh, Summer!

It has been a beautiful summer. Rest and imagination balanced with exploration and learning. The break from the school schedule has allowed for fullness in other areas, and it has been good. Just one more week, and we're all anticipating the joy and excitement that the school year brings (this year two children in 'real school'!), even as we'll sigh a bit at the passing of later nights and mornings, time to explore the city with friends, and lots and lots of imaginative play time for siblings that love each other deeply. These are golden days, golden years, and for all these gifts we open our hands in thankfulness to God.

A few snapshots of our summer days...

Dress up at Museum Siam:: Asa the Footballer:: Transportation of Three

Emmy cooks her first dinner:: Ju the Puzzler:: Summer Thai Study

My weekend away in Krabi... in paradise with a wonderful friend 

Cousin Friends

We met in 6th grade, two little girls, when my family moved to her lifelong little town. We declared ourselves to be BFF, and I gained sisters as we became part of one another's families. We weathered the wacky years of junior high together, then high school and different colleges, then stood by one another as we each married our high school sweethearts (my marriage was to her cousin, cementing us all as family happily ever after!) They headed off to seminary and the wide world overseas, while we settled down to enjoy married life in Atlanta. Little did we dream that our turn to feel the call of missions work overseas would come just 8 years later. But it did, and now we share memories of time together in some far-flung places- Italy, France, India, Thailand. When we have these times together, the cousin kids just play from dawn until dark and the 'grown up' cousins just talk and laugh and laugh (Chris has made me laugh in a unique way ever since that first French class together all those years ago), and we have some great adventures. So thankful for the grace of God that has woven our paths and our hearts together.

A few more pictures from our recent visit and road trip to the beach...

Don't miss the children's hut in the background, surrounded by staff in orange shirts...those kiddos were photographed and fawned over completely!

Cousins in a cave

These two kayaked across to 'monkey island', where, much to Asa's chagrin, the monkeys frolicked on their boat but declined to jump on his back!

He just gets more handsome.

This was a cave that we worked hard to reach- a rocky, sweaty hike, then a jaunt across a beach filled with mosquitoes like a plague- "don't stop or they'll swarm!", then another steep, rocky, rain forest-y, somewhat treacherous hike made more exciting and slippery by a well-timed monsoon. Soaked to the skin and thankful for no injuries, we arrived in what was one of the neatest places we've seen- two underground caves, dripping with limestone, that are really giant sinkholes- it was hard to capture the grandeur in photographs, but it was amazing! The monkeys we saw swinging through the trees on our return hike were the icing on the cake, then we hired a boat to take us on the return leg from the beach...adventure complete.

The Big 1-0

 

A month before school was out, 11 beautiful little girls gathered to celebrate 10 years of life for our precious Em. Having a summer birthday, many of her friends have made an exodus by the time her big day rolls around. So for this big milestone, we decided to have an early, special day with friends.

Everybody, minus one...don't miss the '10' made with floaties

We played games...

 sang, wished, blew...

...and ate- rainbow cake! Birthday girl's special request. This was fun to make.

So then, a month later, the real day rolled around, and we had the fun of celebrating again. We began with our traditional birthday cake in bed...

Then the birthday girl wanted to make pancakes for us from her special cookbook from Aunt B. Isn't she big?!

That evening we had dinner and kitty cake with some dear friends.

We're traversing new territory, with a child in double digits. And I can say in complete honesty that the journey has been a wonderful one thus far. When you hold that precious baby, you can't anticipate how it will feel to have a child almost as tall as you are, one who is reading excellent books and with whom you can have the joy of intellectual discussion, to have someone who is devoted to you and still looks up to you with childlike adoration and yet is taking on the beginnings of who she will be as an adult, with all of the exploration and dissension that is bound to entail.  God was good and gracious to us to give us this indescribably sweet gift, 10 years ago; we have made many mistakes along the way in our first go at this parenting endeavor, and He has been gracious again and again to answer our prayers to cover over our mistakes and make up for our lack. We thank Him for our Emmalynn Jewell every day, but most poignantly on the day we remember her birth.

Remembering

So much has happened here in the last month that it's been hard to sit down and write much about it all. I'm not one to process things of depth on-line at any time; I generally write/pray in a journal (and even that has felt stifled as life has been so, well, wrenching at times), and talk to flesh and blood loved ones.

Much transition of late. The biggest and most complete transition has been watching our dear friend Tang leave this world. A struggle with cancer ended almost three weeks ago when she said she was ready for her Father to come for her. She left behind her husband and 7 month old daughter, her parents and sister and many others who love her.

Tang was such a friend to our family, walking with us through Julian's infancy, a time of emotional chaos and uncertainty for me. She was the one who could hold him when he would tolerate no one else, who could give my arms a break for a bit during a church service. She was the one who, when I was hospitalized with mastitis, came unasked to clean the house and care for the children. She and Pramote babysat for us and even cooked for us. Her joy and willingness to extend herself to this often struggling foreigner mama and my brood was a blessing to me. It was a joy to witness their wedding vows and the coming of sweet baby Peace.

We were able to go to her village again two weeks ago to say goodbye. It was a privilege to know this dear girl when she was vivacious and unceasing in love and service, to hold her hand and read scripture to her in her last days, and to say goodbye to her among so many who loved her.

Ju with village friends

Many more life happenings; will let this stand alone and return very soon.