5 is BIG

blow! (firetruck cake, with Krispy Kreme wheels)

Oh, can there be any doubt? 5 is BIG. Our big 5 year old remains our little snuggler, though, whose kiss store is often open and who freely proclaims his love for all of us. This little man has surprised us from day one, doing pretty much everything in his own, unconventional way. This began with growing to a gargantuan size en utero and then giving us a first year that was both incredibly difficult and deeply joyful. Who can forget allergies and eczema and endless trips to the doctor, up all night all year long, wrinkle-nosed smiles, bowie mommy and the bottom-scoot-instead-of crawl? (His mommy will certainly never forget.) God was with us in tangible ways through it all, and we could not be more delighted with the gift God saw fit to give us. 

Happy, happy birthday, beautiful boy. May the Lord bless you as you bless us each and every day. 

A few images of this birthday...

last night of 4!

morning cake in bed

birthday morning Cheerios, thanks to a timely package from Uncle Tom and Aunt Cortney!

celebrating with his favorite people at a fabulous play venue

watch out criminals of Bangkok!

I thought I'd add this one for humor's sake...taken a few days after the big birthday, when we were finally going to get around to taking down the Christmas tree...but these three simply were not ready to let the Christmas spirit go. The tree was protected by fierce mercenaries- please don't miss the blur of the whirling nun chucks in the foreground. I was able to overcome these forces and the tree is tucked away awaiting the next 'deck the halls' night, but it didn't come down without a fight.

Big Days- Today and Tomorrow

Today-  our first worship service of the year, in our new space...literally on the same street as our home! We're anticipating what God has for Grace City Bangkok in this year to come.

Tomorrow- the first day of the "Bangkok Shutdown", an anti-government protest aimed at paralyzing the city by filling major intersections with protestors. One of the intersections is walkable from our home, at the next sky train stop. We don't anticipate any danger, but the challenge comes in not knowing how life will look in the coming days or how long this situation may last. The children were supposed to resume school after the Christmas break tomorrow, but it has been cancelled and everyone is waiting to see what tomorrow holds before further decisions are made. We are praying for a swift and peaceful resolution to this very tangled knot of political frustrations, for wisdom and forebearance for protestors, government officials, police and military alike.

If you want to read about the situation as it's anticipated now, this is a great resource:

http://www.richardbarrow.com/2014/01/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-bangkok-shutdown/

And now, just for the sake of visual happiness, is an old smile from a VERY special boy who celebrated a big birthday this week. Pictures to come, promise.

Christmas

We really savored this Christmas. There were parts that felt frantic (baking for 4 different events on the last two days of school...), but we did things we value, seeking to share the love of Jesus and savor that love. This season was full of beautiful and special people.

 

These first photos are from a Christmas Eve 'Christingle' service at an international church that we love. This was our first Christingle experience, and it was both fun and sweet. After racing across town on the sky train and a tuk tuk, trying to avoid traffic that was even more unnavigable than usual, we arrived breathless to find that the children got to dress up and be a part of the service- lovely! So we immediately had a wise man and an angel, and a wonderful, worshipful time was had by all.

Other snippets of Christmas...

Funny library Santa

Asian Christmas party- leave your shoes at the door!

Reading Christmas stories to first graders

Sister Christmas gifts

Brother Christmas gift

A house full on Christmas day

I mentioned in the previous post about the New Year's Eve lanterns in the sky...I was just beyond thrilled to get to see such a beautiful sight. We got in on the act the following night and released a New Year's lantern of our own...but no picture, as the children found it stressful to grab hold of a flaming paper cylinder- was a moment to remember, though! At least Tim was able to document the preparation of these folks...

preparing to launch lanterns on the beach

And I would be remiss not to mention that we are celebrating a VERY special boy's 5th birthday today. 'Twas a fun day of treasuring our treasure, and I will share about it soon!

Flying High

Where's Asa?

After a very FULL Christmas (about which I will share soon), we saw the New Year in on a balcony in Hua Hin, watching fireworks and paper lanterns float across the sky. It's been a sweet, quiet pocket of time after the intensity of Christmas activities and before the reality of responsibilities are fully upon us in the new year. Back to big city life tomorrow, but not before one more romp with the kite!