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.

Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero. - Marc Brown

We're coming to the end of a year of brotherhood. Two little boys sharing their days, both big enough to build with Legos, play dress up, bash each other with swords, frolic at the park, fight with ferocity, revel in trips to the library...countless activities that weave the fabric of days and months and relationships grown closer. Soon big sister will again be sharing our days (we're so excited about this!), and then big brother and big sister will go together to school in August. So here's to the gift of brotherhood...

A couple of weeks ago, these boys were invited to a 'spy' birthday party. The invitation instructed party goers to "come dressed like a spy". Of course, we waited until Saturday morning, an hour before party time, to scratch our heads regarding what exactly spies might wear...we decided incognito was what was needed, and this is the guise that Daddy came up with, eyeliner pencil in hand...

Ahhh, it took a while before we could look at this picture without immediate and effusive laughter. The thing I find so funny about it is that Ju looks like a cute little guy with fake glasses and mustache, and Asa looks exactly like a 45 year old man. We must remember to advise him against being mustachioed in his adulthood.

 

 I don't even know what to say about this one. It's fun to be little. And I treasure these boys!

Quite Behind

I think we're in one of the times in our lives that is most full, if the activity level of each day is any indication. That, combined with my relative ambivalence toward the computer for some time now (I would much rather bury my nose in a book than a screen), means that I'm quite behind here. But I do love sharing the little stories and images from our journey here for this small group of people who love us enough to continue to walk with us. All that to say, my images of life to share are piling up! It's late and the household is sleeping, so I shall seize my moments as I can. This will be a fly-by, but nonetheless...some glimpses of our days of late...

First, the relatively recent celebration of Easter...

We dyed eggs...duck eggs, in fact, which are the only white eggs one can find here...

An egg hunt/scavenger hunt...found one!

The hunt led straight to these little cuties, perched daintily on the washer. Tim traveled recently, so we took advantage of the opportunity to procure chocolate bunnies...

 ...much to the DELIGHT of these littles. Em said, "I've always heard of chocolate bunnies, but I've never HAD one! I can't believe it!" Ju devoured his, but the other two have licked and savored, and there are still odd-looking bunny remains in the refrigerator even now.

Our small group hosted a concert to share the story of Easter with our community, and it was a joyful evening of telling that most wonderful of all narratives through music and song. This was a privilege to be a part of and we pray that it both proclaimed the truth and fostered community in preparation for the church God is building here in Bangkok.

Our growing up girl, so lovely on Easter, with her new dog (named Lunchables!), which was a gift from a friend, also decked out in smocking for the occasion.

And in the vein of dressing up, this was from a dress up day at school in which the students were allowed to dress in clothing from anywhere in Asia. Em's wearing her clothes from her cousins in India, with her beautiful Korean friend in full hanbok, and her Dutch friend in Chinese attire. The conglomeration of culture that we live in is often just plain fun.

And another dress up day to represent any culture- we do have to show our American pride sometimes...

There's a place in northern Bangkok where we've heard they rent bikes for 20 baht (68 cents), and you can ride and ride through a lovely park. We finally made the trek to see for ourselves, and wow, it was fun. And hot. But really fun. We live in a place now where riding bikes is not a possibility (hence Asa with training wheels), so it was a treat to bike all around such a beautiful setting.

Little man enjoys his perch- a little pink basket in front of Daddy is a great place to take it all in!

The park also houses a butterfly garden, and we were treated to this display of God's glory- a butterfly actually in the process of emerging from its chrysalis- incredible.

We had sticky rice and fried chicken on the way home and called it a good day.

And finally, going back a bit. We had the privilege of celebrating 14 years of marriage together way back in January. We got away, a month late, for an overnight at this beautiful place- a former private residence, turned school, turned hotel. It's on the other side of the river and there's no access to it except by boat. The family that lived here gave it up when Bangkok made the transition from being primarily a canal city to primarily a road city, back in the 1940's. It was a feast for the eyes and a chance to rest together, for a very short (less than 24 hours) but very sweet time. In some ways it's hard to believe it's been 14 years but in others not- we've known one another for such a long time. When we were newly married and having SO much fun with our newfound 'I get to live with my best friend' status, I remember saying to Tim, "Wouldn't it have been fun if we had been brother and sister? Then we could have grown up together!" He told me that, actually, that was a little strange given our current relationship, and I had to agree, but the sentiment behind it was that I enjoyed being with him so much that I kind of missed those years we didn't have together. I still stand behind that sentiment- I remain so thankful for what God has given me for so long now in Tim.

Happy Easter Time!

Much for me to catch up on here, but for the moment...

A joyful Easter from HOT Bangkok- squinting into the sun! Our day, and the season, was full of ups and downs, just as life is, but at the finish we were able to praise God for His good and perfect gifts to us. We pray that this day, for you, has been full of the true joy of celebrating our risen Savior- hope and peace in the midst of all that life holds.

FINISHED!

Just before he died, Jesus shouted from the cross, "It is finished!"

What was finished?

Jesus was saying:

Everything you need to come back home to God,
Everything you need to be free and happy in God,
Everything you need to live forever,
I've done it all!

It wasn't a cry of defeat. It was a shout of victory. The great work of rescuing us was finished!

There is now nothing you can do to make God love you more- and nothing you can do to make him love you less.

It is finished!

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!"- 2 Corinthians 9:15

-From 'Thoughts to Make your Heart Sing', Sally Lloyd-Jones