Saying Goodbye

We said goodbye, finally, by giving away our kitty litter and cat food today. Our sweet *Khao Meow, who was a New Year's Day gift to us a year ago (a gift from God, that is, in the form of a stray kitten wandering at a friend's pool), is officially gone. We had him for a really good 11 months, and one day back in November he wasn't here to greet us in the evening as was his faithful habit. We waited, prayed, asked neighbors and workers nearby, nobody had seen him. We made the sign (above) and posted copies in our neighborhood, still hoping that somehow he would come back to us. We have no idea what happened to him.

Tim says that he is growing into a saintly cat in our memories, and I think this is true. He was an amazing kitty, patient with little hands, not destructive, a great lap dweller, but in our collective memories he has become something of feline perfection embodied. We still miss him; for me, it's sort of a slow grief that flares up at times and then subsides, and is, of course, lessening with time. I missed his presence a lot at Christmastime, knowing that he would have only enhanced all of that warmth and beauty. The kids still talk about him a great deal, and it's good to know he'll always be part of our family. So farewell, our dear Khao-ie.

*This obscure name is a play on the Thai word for sticky rice, which is 'khao niaw'...'niaw' rhymes with 'meow' :)

Baby, It's Cold Outside

We've been having lovely weather around here. Cool breezes in the morning and evening, highs in the 80's and lows in the 70's- very uncharacteristic, amazingly refreshing, and most certainly it will be short lived. This is cool season at its best! A good consolation prize for missing GA's first white Christmas in more than a hundred years.

Being accustomed to the continuous heat, when it's cool in the mornings our children run for their hoodies! These were taken on a recent morning before school...



Like the Ingalls girls storing up the sunshine of Indian summer before 'The Long Winter', we're soaking it up!

Twelve and Two

Twelve years ago, when I was 22 and Tim was 13- not really, he just looks it, doesn't he? This was the first snapshot taken of us after we were officially married, by my friend Beth, I believe, and I've always loved the joy in it. We couldn't have anticipated how our road together would meander, but who better to travel the road with than your best friend?

We celebrated by getting away together for 24 hours, while our very generous friends took care of our little ones, and it was incredible to have the luxury of time together- we haven't done an overnight away since Emmy was a baby and we lived in Atlanta. Thank you to Catherine and Melanie!

We spent the night in a hotel with this view from our little balcony...
Again, who would have guessed, 12 years ago? What a city!

We had fun trying to remember all of our anniversaries- most we can recall but some are lost in oblivion...of course we remember the first, which we spent hiking in north Georgia. We set out fresh and ambitious in the morning, and by the time we straggled back to our car in the dark, rainy evening we had hiked 13 miles round trip! The 5th, the first time we needed a babysitter for a dinner out...and of course, the 10th, which is usually a big one.

It was big for us- 11 pounds, 4 ounces, in fact...

Which brings me to our other celebration, just two days before, of our Julian. He was a hefty little newborn, wasn't he? Amazing to think we have enjoyed two years with this precious child.

traditional birthday morning cake in bed

and of course we must share with our siblings!

As I considered how to celebrate our boy, I thought about who, outside of his family, loves him most, and it seemed obvious...

...so we headed over to the church mid- morning to sing and eat cake and pray for Ju with our friends/colleagues there, who love all of our children in a way that brings me a lot of joy, especially being so far from our families.

(As an aside, don't we look a bit like a sitcom in this picture above? Tim and I have had a good time coming up with ideas for the pilot episode.)

While we ate cake, Julian kept repeating, "Happy new year cake!", with great enthusiasm. He is an avid talker and all around doer these days. He weighed 25 pounds at his 2 year checkup, putting him close to the 25th percentile, and he's about 50th for height. His eczema continues to be a real challenge, but for the most part, it's in a manageable state. He loves to read, write on any surface with an available pen (woe to our couch, many times over!), and do anything his big brother and sister are doing, preferably first.

Happy birthday, my beautiful boy. You have been a gift to us through every joy and each challenge; we love you and thank God for you.

Yesterday Play

I walked in after rest time yesterday (Ju and I are the only ones who really rest, you know) and found this raucous play scene. Pure joy...


And today I made a birthday cake for an aspiring 2 year old. More on that soon, I'm certain!

Translation:
Happy New Year 2554!

We had our black eyed peas and greens (not collards, but kale)...

...and this yummy concoction to round out our southern meal.

We spent some time as a family today thinking back over the past year, what has been significant to each of us, for what we are thankful, what was difficult. And looking forward to the year to come...there are many unknowns ahead, and it will most assuredly be a year of transitions. Anticipation, apprehension...we trust our God to guide us, to be near us, and to grow us through it all, and we thank Him for now, for this moment of goodness. Happy New Year!

December

Before the year gets away from us, I have some pictures that have been accumulating in the last few weeks, many of which should not be withheld from grandparents...

Heading out to Em's school Christmas musical, where she sang with her classmates and displayed her writing and art- this was a really special evening, and her Daddy even accompanied her class on percussion, which delighted her. She was so lovely and excited this evening, and we truly longed for our parents to be able to accompany us.

playing 'pass Rudolph's nose' at Asa's preschool co-op Christmas party...

...and little brother was feeling quite festive at this event, as well!

I might interject a bit of reality into what is otherwise a display of all the most fun moments of the Christmas season...the morning above was memorable for me. The boys and I had two simultaneous events to attend, we were late, both boys were wailing (probably for lack of maternal attention as I frantically made lunches, gathered games, cookies, swimsuits, etc.), and we were finally buckled in and headed down the street. I stopped at the end of the street to turn, and saw, to my great sadness and consternation, my favorite Christmas plate, full of my favorite Christmas cookies (whose key ingredient has to be brought from the States), come careening from the top of the car (where I had placed it when buckling boys in), over the windshield, over the hood, and smash dramatically on the hot, dirty street. Of course, I irrationally knelt, through blinding frustration, and picked up every shard I could find and later subjected my patient Tim to the fruitless task of trying to piece it back together. When his hands were sufficiently matted with super glue and it became apparent that it was a hopeless task, the shards were disposed of and the whole thing was laid to rest. I think there are numerous morals to this story, mostly related to my idealism and lack of patience, alas!

The men of the church's holiday outing...nothing says "Merry Christmas" quite like a trip to the local bowling alley!

We began a marathon of events last weekend with a very high energy, packed neighborhood party at the church...

...a bit of a non-traditional Christmas dinner...

...beautiful Thai dancing...

...a nativity with university students as the principal players...

...and, of course, sweets!

The next evening we had the fun of sharing fellowship and the story of Christmas with Emmy's classmates and their families...

Sunday was a beautiful morning of welcoming new members into the church, seeing God's faithfulness in growing His body here in our corner of Bangkok.

And it was a very special day for our family, when our Emmy took the step of joining the church to become a communing member. She professed her faith in and desire to follow Jesus almost a year ago exactly at the dinner table, and this was a further step in her journey of faith and maturity. We are so thankful to God for His work in her life.

Ju and his buddy Charin jamming after church.

And we rounded out last weekend by enjoying an evening with our neighbors- eating, playing, coloring and sharing the story of Christmas.

"Come, celebrate Christmas with our family"

Out for Japanese with our church staff.

And, finally, we took a little jaunt downtown last week to look at lights- some of the downtown malls and hotels do themselves up fabulously for the holidays, primarily the New Year. This was a treat, as we generally aren't surrounded by even a hint of outward Christmas display in the part of Bangkok where we live. It was a very fun and festive evening, even as the perspiration rolled down my back as we trekked the crowded streets...quite a contrast to Georgia's white Christmas!

And that, in a (coco)nutshell, is our tropical Christmas.