This week...

I can't believe another week has blown by. It seems that each day and week pass by at "Lightning McQueen speed!" In a nutshell, we worshipped in Thai Sunday morning then we had our church Concert of Prayer in the afternoon, Sunday night we went to the park to hang out to try to meet some new people and catch up with old friends, we had Mom's group on Monday, Tuesday we spent our day off as family doing absolutely NOTHING! Wednesday we had a team meeting, Thursday we had a doctors appointments, Friday we met up with a local homeschool group and helped Melanie (Thai Curry on the side bar) celebrate her 1 year anniversary in Thailand. =) Today, we had two of the Veldhorst kids over to play and have spent the rest of our time recovering from yesterday! Amidst all of that, I am trying to put together a schedule for this coming "school" year (I put "school" in quotes because we really aren't starting school, but I am still making a schedule to organize our life a bit more...there's just TOO much to do without having a schedule.)
I also ordered some Singapore math books from Singapore...I'll tell you how that goes once I get them (!) and trying to iron out details for some discipleship with a couple of Thai women...as well as taking care of some meals to help the Veldhorst family while the wife/mom of the family is still Stateside. Whew...are you tired yet?! I am tired, but it's been a blessed week, and I do mean that. It is a joy to see the many ways God is answering prayer. For instance, this recently formed homeschool group God has provided at JUST the right time for us (the Mills going on HMA, etc). The pic of the boys to the left was taken at the Children's Discovery Museum here in BKK where the BKK homeschoolers group met yesterday to get to know one another. The boys had a blast and to their delight they even got to ride on the Skytrain...always a thrill when we get to do that!
The Children's Discovery Museum was a lot of fun. It was the first time we had been. To the left you see my boys putting on a puppet show...just one of the many things you can discover here. =)













Here are the boys looking out the window of the Skytrain on our way home. They were tuckered out last night...didn't hear a peep once we turned out the light! I think tonight will go much the same way!

Our doctors appointments went well. Again, I took all three kids by myself...but it went much better this time...and I think the pediatrician is getting used to me and my brood...I wonder what he'd do if I had six kids???!!! He always seems a bit stressed when he sees me coming! =) Anyway, it went well. All three were well behaved and Adele who was scheduled for a vaccine, didn't even CRY! I don't know HOW that happened...well, I do actually. There's this Thai song that our Thai friends sing to Adele that she absolutely LOVES and so when they came at her with the needle, the nurse and I started singing it to her and she was into it and never even fussed or anything! I am going to try to find it on YOUtube and post it, if they have it. If I recall, I think Adele weighs 8.5 kg and is a tall baby as well. I don't really keep track of all the stats anymore...sorry grandparents! She is crawling on hands and knees now and doesn't like to be constrained. She's getting over her first cold. She loves to play peek-a-boo.
The second appointment was for Calvin...not his eye this time but for his skin. We found out he has really, really dry skin so the doc prescribed some moisturizer lotion and body soap. While I am giving updates, we took Calvin a couple weeks ago to the eye doctor and he said to continue massaging his eye for another three months...so next month we go back. He really doesn't want to do surgery if he doesn't have to. Please continue to pray. I feel that his eye has gotten worse since that time instead of better.
Thank to all of you who pray. Please pray for this week ahead...it's just as busy, maybe more so! Pray that we would glorify Christ in all we do.

Thai Dessert

We gathered again this past Monday for our mom's group. Thank you to those of you who are praying. I feel that we are starting to get a core group (after three months!). Anyway, one of
the women wanted to teach me (and Rhianna, but Rhianna is back Stateside for a while) how to make a Thai dessert...which I have forgotten the name. Many of you should be able to order it at a Thai restuarant near you..if you dare. It's really good, though, so I encourage you to try it. It's basically taro balls in coconut milk. We also mixed some pumpkin with some flour and added that to the taro. It was YUMMY! and SO easy to make. The first two pics are of us making the smaller balls that go into the dessert. Everyone helped roll them in their hands. Many hands make this dessert much faster and easier to make!

Then, you heat up some coconut milk, add lots of sugar and some other plant that we don't have in America and boil it for a while.













Then you enjoy with friends. As we ate our dessert we discussed questions from our "Question Jar." Each time we meet, those who are present write down a question they have about family and then we answer them the next time we meet. It's a neat way to discuss a range of topics with a little bit of structure. Please continue to pray for this ministry. Pray for God to encourage each of these women in their role as a mother and wife and pray for us to have an open door to proclaim the Gospel.

some encouragement, I hope

I recently started reading a devotional book by Beth Moore entitled Voices of the Faithful. (Thanks Rhianna for letting me borrow it!) Anyway, today's reading I found encouraging and wanted to share this poem with you that the author penned. She is/was a missionary in Central Asia.

Tie my heart to here,

Let it beat with the pulse of the people.

Let it love and be loved.

And when it no longer beats

Let my soul rise to Thee.

Bind my heart to You,

Let it beat as one with Yours.

Let it pump compassion through my veins

And let it always be my heart's desire

To come to Thee!

This missionary wrote the above after she had a conversation with another missionary. She asked him, "How long did it take you and your wife to feel at home on the field?" She says she waited for his deep, spiritual answer. He said, "It never happens." She wondered how that could be and then he shared with them that the peace and calm does not come from ever feeling at home; however, it comes from becoming tied to the people God wants you to reach and knowing the Father's heart.

I think this is very important for any Christian, not just missionaries. Are we tied to God? Are we tied to the Father? Do we have purpose in the task God has given us...each of us to fulfill? In Ephesians 2:10 the Lord tells us that "we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Are you doing those things? Are you tied to the work God has for you? It may be in a different culture but for most of you, it's in YOUR very own culture...there is work for us to do but we must not ever allow the work to overcome the Person for whom we work. If we work as hard as we can for God but have not God...we will quickly burn out and have nothing left to give. If you struggle to meet God daily, I urge you, I exhort you to make it a priority because how are you ever going to speak healing words into another's life if you yourself haven't been reminded of God's promises and healing words? So, I will ask you again..(and myself) are we tied to God? If not, seek after Him for He promises to be found when we diligently seek for Him. (Jeremiah 29:13).

*and on a side note...if you are a wife and a mother this post isn't meant to make you feel guilty because you aren't out in the world leading millions of lost sinners to Christ. Your first priority, according to God's Word, is your husband and then your kids. Don't neglect them..they are part of your "good works prepared in advance for you to do." I, struggle with this A LOT! There is a certain amount of guilt that comes with being a missionary wife/mom and finding the right balance between ministry to my family and ministry to the Thais can be difficult but it gets a lot easier when I allow God to show me what He wants me to do and when I submit to and trust the leading of my husband. So, this post isn't meant to make you feel guilty...do your work as unto the Lord...you, as a wife and/or mom, perhaps have the greatest ministry on the face of the planet. Raising Godly kids isn't easy but I still exhort you to be tied to God while you do it! He will grant you wisdom and understanding and patience to endure the hard days that seem will never end! =)

And the Winner Is....(drum roll, please!!!)

TANG! And I just want to say that Tang was Pong's choice as well. Thank you to all who participated in the voting. =)

Mrs. Pregnant Beauty Pagent

Baby showers in Thailand are rare. But, since coming to Thailand, our team has introduced them to the Thais in our community and needless to say, they LOVE them! (Who doesn't love getting fun baby gear to antcipate the sweet little bundle that is about to change life forever?). Anyway, this past Friday we had a shower for one of our Thai staff. Pong cleans our office and is not yet a believer. She is going to have her third child sometime next month. We showered her with love and gifts and prayer for her, her family and her new baby.

As always, we had to play games and so I know we played the dress up a "pregnant" woman game before with toilet paper but we played it again. The first picture is of Tang, the second is Pawn and the third is P'Khiaw. P'Khiaw was the "hi-so" (high society) pregnant woman. They thought it would be fun to have a vote...so over on the sidebar, please cast your vote for who YOU think is the cutest pregnant woman of the three...later, I will tell you who Pong chose. The last pictures is of all of the pseudo-pregnant woman and the real one...can you believe she only has one more month to go? She is SOOOO small! (And this is why we, as foreigners, are constantly told how FAT we are...especially while pregnant!!!)

Happy Thai Mother's Day!

This morning we had another photo shoot...here they are, my three precious babes...all cute and cuddly..ok, maybe not cuddly but definitely cute! (sorry, I have to say that, I am their mom!).
Adele has been "wai-ing" for a while now but here she is in motion. Thank you to Aunt Gracie for the adorable dress. Since we celebrated Thai Mother's Day today, it was the perfect option to wear on her because on Mother's Day in Thailand one must wear BLUE! I also put a barrette in her hair for the first time today...and she just melted our hearts! PJ said "She is so beautiful, mommy!" And I must agree!
















The three of them "posing".
















Adoring big brother.

5 Years and Proud of it!

PJ's eager to announce that he is five now. He likes that he can do things now that he's five that he couldn't do before...like reach the light switch to the bathroom. To the left is another big 5 year old thing he can do...he can eat a grown up hamburger...well, at least he tried! While at the beach we ate at the Great American Rib Company (can you believe they have a restuarant like this here????). Anyway, PJ set his heart on this monster burger and ended up not eating it due to some spice factor in the meat. He enjoyed the fries immensely though!




















I often tell PJ and Emmy that they are two peas in a pod. They are the best of friends. They enjoy being animals and crawling around like dogs or cats or whinnying like horses. When listening in on their play I am always amused, especially by Emmy Mills' narration of whatever it is they are doing. I swear, she will be a writer one day...I hope she remembers me when she's making the big bucks! =) On our recent trip to the beach with the Mills family, we hardly saw PJ. He and Emmy were always off on some adventure, no doubt. We did manage to get them to play about 3 minutes of soccer on the beach and then they were tired. Not good news for our sprouting football players! We will be saying "goodbye" the the Mills family in exactly one week. We are sad. We will lose our playmates and our friends for seven months and then once they return we will be heading off for our furlough...oh, sadness indeed, but this is life as a missionary! PJ has asked me on ocassion why people can't just stay here. It's hard, please pray for us as we make this transition. Pray that it would be a neat time for PJ to grow as he will have to branch out and meet new friends.
PJ loves it when we have guests staying with us. We love it too, as I have said in the post about Adele. But, I really, selfishly, love it all the more when I see how much my kids are growing to love hosting people and learning about people from different parts of the world...this time from Atlanta, GA. PJ quickly took to the team but he especially took to Mandy (pictured with PJ). Mandy and her husband Brian are in seminary and desire to serve God overseas. Please pray with us that Thailand would be that field of service (!). Anyway, as I was saying, PJ LOVED Mandy. One morning early on in their stay with us the team was getting ready to do their team devotions. I saw PJ running thru the house and then I saw in his hand his children's Bible and he sat down next to Mandy and proceeded to open his Bible to study God's Word with them. Mandy patiently showed PJ where they were in the Bible and explained what they were reading and talking about. They then had some time in quiet prayer and PJ sat thru the whole time. I was so proud of him, but more so I praised God in my heart that He is drawing PJ to Himself and showing HImself to PJ thru each and every person that comes thru our door (if they're a Christian). I thank God for the Body of Christ. I have heard many a sermon preached on the Body of Christ and I have often taken it for granted as we have had family around so much but being on the other side of the world, you begin to see it a little differently. You begin to see that though we're not "blood" relatives, we really are "blood" relatives if we are worshipping Christ...we are all bought with His blood and it connects us to one another in such a beautiful way. When teams come (or individuals) and stay with us, I rejoice that God has given us opportunity to rely on each other. I can be a sister to someone whose sister is a world away, I can be an auntie to a child whose auntie is on the other side of the world. And, those who labor here, whether one week or four years are sisters and aunties, uncles, cousins to us and our children...and that, as a mom, is priceless! So, thanks to all of you short termers (and long termers) who have loved on us and our children. You have no idea what a ministry it is to missionary families...so keep it up!

Calvin's News

Calvin is my wild child. He is generally happy but as of late (the past four months or so) he has taken on his two-year-oldness with a vengeance. He enjoys saying, "no" a whole lot, even when he means "yes" he will still say "no". Yu (one of our Thai friends and co-laborer here) told me on Sunday that I should teach him how to say "yes." I assured her that he can say "yes" he just chooses not to. She seemed very confused by this! =) Calvin also LOVES, loves, loves fruit. And, since we live in Thailand where fruit is plentiful, he gets his fill. He especially loves to eat a fruit called rambutan. Just about every Sunday after church while we're eating together as a body, Calvin parks near the fruit tray and eats his fill of rambutan...until it's all gone. Of course, the Thais love that this little foreign boy eats so much of this yummy Thai fruit but I am always a bit embarrassed at the amount he can put away. It's like he's chain smoking only it's healthier!!!
In other Calvin news, he is pretty much potty trained. I say "pretty much" because we still have accidents (like today) and he still doesn't do #2 on the potty nor does he go thru naps or nighttime without a diaper on...but most of the day he finds himself diaper free...yeah for us and yeah for Calvin!!! I thought he'd NEVER get it. It seemed like it took months (and I guess it did) but a few weeks ago it all just seemed to "click" for him and now he tells us (usually) when he needs to go. I praise the Lord for this. A few weeks ago (just before the enlightenment) I prayed about this issue. I believe God deliberately and quickly answered my prayer because it was a day or two after that that Calvin "got it."

Calvin also really enjoys singing. Some of his favorites are "Holy, Holy, Holy", "Deep and Wide" and Jesus Loves Me.

He still lines all his cars and trucks up and pushes them around. I think this is his favorite activity to do! He loves "The Little Red Caboose" and "Goodnight Gorilla" books and anything Dr. Seuss!



Calvin loves to run around the house with his brother playing "knights and dragons" or some such thing. They get into wrestling matches often enough too! (I must say it's usually Calvin tackling PJ!) Here he is pictured running from the dragon with his helmet on. Last night we were kicking a ball around and Calvin decided to put this helmet on while doing that. It was pretty funny to see him try to play "football" (soccer) with a helmet on!


















And earlier this week we stole off to the beach for a couple days of RandR with the Mills family before they head back to the States for furlough. It was a lot of fun even with five children (and one on the way, the Mills, not us!). Anyway, Calvin enjoyed learning about different sea creatures such as jelly fish (lots of them on the beach) and hermit crabs and starfish and sand dollars. Then he got to see lots of airplanes and helicopters as we were staying near a small airport. He also went down the sliding board at the pool for the first time and jumped off the diving board (with Daddy's help) for the first time. He enjoyed both immensely but when asked if he wanted to do it again, he said...yep, you guessed it, "no." And I think he meant it!!!

Adell-a Bell-a

That's her new nickname...and she is a DOLL! She is blossoming into quite a mobile baby. She isn't crawling on all fours yet, but that doesn't stop her from getting from point A to point B! She continues to be the love of her brothers hearts, both are very proud of her and are still (after 9 1/2 months!) eager to kiss her first thing in the morning. Calvin recently figured out how to give a kiss, so he is eager to kiss anyone these days...as he thinks it's big fun! The picture to the left was taken a few Sunday mornings ago before church. I think the second pic of Adele is hilarious...not sure what she was thinking!!! =)

It's been a crazy busy couple of weeks here in Bangkok. We've been busy with ministry and life with three kids is rarely dull but we also hosted a short term team from Atlanta, GA. They stayed with our family...which was so encouraging and wonderful. It really was. I don't say that because I have to, we really enjoy having people in our home. We had 4 couples come for a week. They did a lot of different ministries from CPR training to our Mom's group/community to pouring concrete in Maahaathai 3.
So, this picture is of Adele with Khun Aree's son, Mario. They are two weeks apart (Mario being the younger). They always have a good time when together. This was taken the day of the CPR training for our mom's group. We had 6 women come...and this coming Monday we are meeting again for another "glum samrap khun mae" (mom's group). Please pray for us as we encourage these women in their role as mom/wife but pray that they would be hungry for the Gospel and for Christ.


I just had to post this picture for the grandparents. She is getting big..and somedays my heart aches because you're missing it and I know your hearts ache, too. My comfort comes from knowing that God is being glorified and when that happens it doesn't matter where we are or what we're doing; it's His fame we are to be concerned about and HIS glory. I am thankful for His grace for the moment! I am thankful for you, our parents, who have loved us unconditionally and supported us faithfully and have encouraged us endlessly and prayed for us fervently...thank YOU for being godly examples to us and for fearing the Lord to let us come here.
Ok, sorry for the little tangent, but Adele is a "belle" and I think you will all agree the next time you see her! (Lord willing)