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Monday, October 27, 2008

"That Little Girl of Mine"


The title of my post today stirs up many memories from my own youth. My dad used to sing this song, first to my older sister and then to me...and later, once I got older, I sang it with him. I won't say how many times I would tear up while singing the words to this song, but as of late, I've realized that now I have my own little girl and though I love her just as much as I love the boys, there is something different about having a girl...and I am sure this will be realized in greater depths as she grows older!

So, my baby girl turned one last week! I made some carrot/apple muffins to celebrate her big day. The boys thoroughly enjoyed helping her blow out her lone candle...and I have to laugh at her ever-cautious brother, PJ, in the picture below holding her hand so she doesn't get burned on the candle!









Adele was really funny. I don't think she knew what to do with all the attention she was receiving along with the gifts. She just seemed so confused by it all!

She enjoyed her carrot cake muffin immensely, as witness.
And, she enjoyed her new toys too. Thanks to Grammie and Grampy for the toy phone and car keys...she LOVES them! About two weeks ago she started pretending to talk on the phone so it made her day to see her very own phone to chat on!
A tiny turned up nose,
Two cheeks just like a rose,
So sweet from head to toe,
That little girl of mine.
Two eyes that shine so bright,
Two arms to hold me tight,
Two lips that kiss goodnight,
that little girl of mine.
No one will ever know,
Just what her coming has meant.
Although I love her so,
She's something heaven has sent.
She climbs upon my knee,
Whispers sweet things to me,
To me, she'll always be,
That little girl of mine.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MISS!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

to Erin with love

Thursday, October 23, 2008

A Nature Walk


A couple weeks ago the kids and I packed our water colors and paper, bird book, and water and headed over to the King's Park. I have mentioned this Park a lot in my posts because we go there pretty regularly, it's cheap, and beautiful! Before heading out the door, I called our teammate and friend "Aunt" Melanie (as the boys call her) and asked if she wanted to join us on our adventure. She heartily agreed to come along and so we were off to explore the beauty of the Park.





Once we parked and started walking along, Aunt Melanie mentioned that she hoped we would see a monitor lizard since she had never seen one before. She shared how "Miss Aunt Becky" (another teammate and friend who has since left Thailand) used to see them all the time while running in the Park. We were amazed that Aunt Melanie had never seen one, so we prayed for God to give us opportunity to see one of these fascinating creatures. No sooner were we done praying than we looked up and saw a white egret and then a few minutes later a monitor lizard came sneaking out of the water up onto the sidewalk across from us. It was an amazing answer to prayer! I tried to get a picture of it, but the one I got the lizard is really hard to see.






So, then we kept walking along and as we were going up over a little footbridge, two little Thai boys emerged from a hedge holding a very interesting creature. We asked if we could see it. They agreed. This beetle is ready to do battle, I do believe. My boys thought it was really cool.

















(barefoot and all...isn't he sweet, the boy, that is, not the beetle!)











After we walked a little more, we stopped and took out our water colors under the shade of a "sala" (Thai word for pavillion). The boys painted some beautiful artwork of all we saw that day as we enjoyed the shade and breeze that the big pond there gives off.



The boys are trying to sneak up on an egret near the big pond...they weren't successful!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Khao Yai National Park

*update on Calvin: We took Calvin to the eye doc on Monday for his one week post-op and the doc still believes there is a good chance we won't have to flush it out again. We have to keep massaging it and go back in two weeks. His eye has been watering a little since the surgery but the doc didn't seem too shaken by that, so I guess that is good! Please continue to pray for complete healing and if God so chooses to answer differently pray for patience for Paul and I as we trust in God for His will to be done. Thanks so much for your prayers.

We went to Khao Yai yesterday to escape the noise of Bangkok. It's always good for the soul to get out of the city, even if it is only for a few hours! When we first arrived and finished eating our picnic lunch, the boys and I were walking through some grass and the boys spotted a "caterpillar" and PJ proceeded to pick it up (actually there were two). These "caterpillars" were crawling in a really bizarre way but I didn't think anything of it because I had seen something like it on Planet Earth or something and so I thought it was fine. PJ shows Paul, and he quickly tell us that no, these aren't caterpillars but leeches!!! Ha, ha! That just goes to show who knows what in our family! It was really funny though, unfortunately, we got them off PJ's fingers before we thought to take a picture. As always, we prayed that we might see a "chang" or elephant...and once again, God heard and answered our prayers. We also saw some deer and monkeys.
The elephant coming up the road toward us. There were three or four cars in front of us when we arrived on the scene but they quickly backed up behind us. We aren't sure how we ended up in front, but it made for some good shots! I made a video but it was too big to post on here. Sorry! You'll have to wait to see it. She was a big packaderm, though. It was a beautiful sight to see her coming up the road with the rain falling down on her, a picture of meekness and gentleness.



Yesterday was also Adele Grace's 1st birthday! I can't believe my baby is one already. The past year has really gone by so fast...it makes me sad how fast it's gone by. We didn't really celebrate yesterday (we will be celebrating tomorrow) and I think it worked out well because Adele was sick! On the way to Khao Yai she didn't seem like she was herself but once we got into the Park, I quickly realized that she was sick..she had a fever and a few other symptoms. Thankfully, I have a small bottle of children's tylenol in my diaper bag that goes everywhere and I was able to relieve some of her discomfort. She was a bit better today but still not back 100 per cent. So, due to her being sick, we had to split up to see the waterfall. Paul and the boys went to see it and then when they got back I walked down to see it. There are several waterfalls at Khao Yai and this is the time of year to see them in their full glory and splendor (the end of the rainy season). We were hoping to walk to another waterfall but decided not to once we realized Adele wasn't up to par. So, it was my first time to go all the way down a zillion steps to this one particular waterfall (Haew Suwat, for those who are familiar). It was gorgeous. I just wish I could've sat there for a couple hours to drink in the beauty and spend some time with God. But, I couldn't. I climbed back up the zillion steps (which felt like 3 zillion climbinb UP!) and found Paul, Adele and the boys completely fascinated with a monkey who was climbing in some trees beyond where our truck was parked. A few minutes later, this same monkey tried to jump in our truck eager to find something to snack on. I was puttting Adele in her carseat and the next thing I know Paul is swatting an umbrella at a monkey by the front car door! I thought it was PJ! =) Too funny!


Can you spot the monkey? He's in the tree near the corner of the roof of the building...sorry it's not the best picture! He did come a whole lot closer by the time we were done.

And, here the boys are hanging out the windows keeping a close eye on the monkey in the tree.
On the way home, Paul hit a dog on the highway. It was sad but thankfully PJ didn't have any clue we hit it because he was asleep! It's amazing but this was the first time we've hit a dog here...and if you've been here, you know that is something because there are dogs all over the streets and roads and they are quite lazy. This one, however was running down the middle of our lane, he swerved out of the way and Paul swerved the other way but then at the last minute the dog went back the other way and bam, he was gone. A few minutes later we almost hit a motorcyclist who ran a red light. We immediately thanked God for His care. I told Paul that I think I still haven't adjusted to the craziness of traffic here. The things people do sometimes, is just, well, crazy! And, I believe it all comes back to their worldview believing that fate will have its way, but goodness...I still think I would be a bit more careful! I am sure driving in America will feel like a breeze now that I've been here!




Paul found some "birds" to fly around (pictured with PJ below). They had a lot of fun flying them about and watching the wind take them.

All in all the day was a fun time, had by all!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Update on Calvin

Dear Friends,
Yesterday went so well. Thank you for praying. It was quite evident that God was with us and listening to your prayers for our little guy. Calvin was quite fascinated with the whole experience much like Curious George when he goes to the hospital! The anesthesiologist was great (we take our kids to a children's hospital here so they are really kid friendly). The eye procedure took about 20 minutes but Calvin coming out of being anesthetized took about two hours! We give God praise for His protection over Calvin and a good report from the eye doctor. He is hopeful that Calvin's eye will drain naturally now though we do have to continue to massage it for a couple weeks. Please continue to pray that this procedure was a success and we won't have to do it again. Thanks to all of you who are praying. Please continue to do so. =)

On a side note, I would request one more item of prayer. Our friend Ying's mother was hit by a motorcylce yesterday morning around 5am. She had some bleeding in her head and so they were operating and then she will be placed in ICU. Please pray for this woman (I don't know her first name) and their family. They are all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Please pray that they would trust our great God who is able to heal their wife and mother. Please pray that they would know His presence, comfort and peace during this time and pray for our team as we seek to encourage and minister to them during this time (though she is in a hospital about three hours away). Mostly, pray for God to be glorified in this situation and for His grace to shine forth. Thank you, once again, for your faithful prayers.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

A Prayer Request

Hi all,
For those of you who may not be on our e-prayer letter mailing list, this is for you!

Please be in prayer for our son Calvin (2 1/2 years old) as he will be having a minor procedure done to his right tear duct Monday morning (BKK time; Sunday night USA time). The doctor will be flushing it out due to his tears not draining properly. He has had this problem for over a year now. In order to do the procedure they must put Calvin under general anesthesia. Please pray for the Lord to protect his body and prevent any complications. Pray for Paul and I to trust the Lord. Please also pray for this procedure to work! It has an 80 per cent success rate. If it doesn't work this time they will do it once again and then if the second time fails they will put a stint in. Thank you so much for praying for us.