If you plant it, they will come and other happenings as of late

We had the pleasure of visiting our dear friends, the Cunninghams, last week. They were on a family holiday to Disney World (of all the wonderful places!) and so we drove out to see them for a couple hours before they left town. The kids LOVED seeing each other again. It's amazing to me the bonds that Gracyn (their oldest) and PJ have from living in Thailand together. They still look at each other as best friends...and of course they are quick to mention Emmy Mills...who is also one of those best friends! We served with Jack and Kim our first three years in Thailand and then they felt the Lord calling them back to the States. We have managed to keep up with them...and Kim has been a tremendous source of encouragement to me over the years...as it seems she's always just a step ahead of me in terms of life lessons....so it's been wonderful to have her to talk to. I thank God for the bonds he strengthened between us while in Thailand...and how they continue to grow! Thanks Cunninghams for seeing us! (Our husbands were each busy...Paul in classes and Jack started a weekend conference also here in Orlando).


And, in other news, I have mentioned (I think) that PJ is our butterfly boy. I remember when my brother Matt was fascinated with butterflies. He would save his money to buy plants for them to perch on. One time, as my mom tells the story, she had a friend over and the friend remarked how alive a butterfly looked on her house plant...my mom had to inform her that it was alive! So, I guess between Paul for a dad and my brother for an uncle, he's bound to love nature! Anyway, we took him to the store the other day and bought him some plants for his very own butterfly garden. I was SO very proud of him. You can see him in the picture...working hard...and even at times by himself, to get his plants in the ground. He has been keeping vigil for any butterflies in the yard/neighborhood and he can hardly wait until they start coming around. His obsession with butterflies started last summer in Pennsylvania when he decided he wanted to catch them. And, while we were living with Paul's folks, his obsession increased even more as Grammy has plenty of beautiful plants that attract butterflies. When we moved back to Orlando all PJ could think about was getting some of our own plants...but of course that was October, butterfly season was dying down a bit and so we asked him to wait...and wait he did, so patiently! Now, we have to wait some more for the butterflies to come!

Mideival Faire 2011

We attended the Hoggetowne Midieval Faire the other week and we had such a wonderful time. The kids LOVED all the weaponry and shows. Calvin enjoyed throwing knives and PJ enjoyed fencing with his cousin, Gabe. Adele enjoyed watching the Knife Act (well, they all did) and Daddy even took Adele and PJ on an elephant ride!

Our favorite things were seeing and trying on hand crafted weapons and armor. Several of the kids cousins also attended with their parents and so they enjoyed spending the day with them as well!
One of my favorite acts was the jousting. No one got knocked of their horse but it was really neat to see them riding at each other with jousting sticks in hand.









The line-up of cousins...all dressed in costume for the event. Notice my Adele is barefoot!












The knights jousting.


















The knight, Sir Joseph, that we cheered for.















Sir Gabriel (on the left) and Sir Paul (on the right) fencing.















Sir Paul





















Calvin and Uncle Tim sword fighting.
















Trying on real armor...and checking out weaponry.
Lastly, Paul and kids decked out in their costumes.

Calvin's 5th Birthday

(These pictures are in order from what happened last to first.)
Calvin turned 5 on January 31. Since his 4th birthday he has desired a birthday party with his friends, so this year we broke our usual tradition of just celebrating as a family and invited three boys to Calvin's party. I must say, he went to sleep that night happy and feeling well loved. His day was great...
Since all the rage in our house is Star Wars we did a Star Wars themed party. You will see evidence of this in the following pictures. After eating cake they had fun playing with balloons.


































The best picture of Calvin with his cake...simply a strawberry cake with the Star Wars logo on it (simple enough, huh?!) We served the cake with Yoda Sodas (very yummy and green...and easy to make!)













To get the party started we played some traditional games with a Star Wars slant. Paul made a "Death Star" pinnata and the boys (and Adele) had fun whacking at it. Finally it burst open and all the candy came falling out. We were glad our young Jedis were able to destroy it.








Here's Calvin's turn.

















The line up of friends.














And no party would be complete without Musical Chairs set to the Star Wars theme music. The kids LOVED this and had so much fun seeing who would be left out. Can you see how happy our boy is? Happy Birthday Calvin Lewis! We love you.

like an old friend

I hope, dear reader, that you have picked up on the fact that I LOVE Thai food. I hope you have picked up on the fact that I enjoy learning how to cook Thai food and I especially enjoy EATING Thai food! The spicier, the better, in my book and no, I haven't always felt that way! So, you may wonder why I have been content to shop at local grocery stores for the past 1 1/2 years when there are several Asian grocers in Orlando that have the exact ingredients needed to make the delicious Thai dishes that I love. There are a couple reasons. One, I never took the time to go off and find said Asian grocers...most are a good 30 minutes away and in the downtown sector where I rarely venture. 2) I am usually with the kids...thus shopping at an Asian grocery market just doesn't sound fun to me to take all three of my precious bundles. Three, I thought for sure it would be a waste of my time. But, probably the number one reason is that my friends have kept us well stocked with Thai curry pastes and other goodies that have held us over.

Yesterday, however, I turned the page and embarked on a journey that as I write this today, still brings a huge smile to my face! I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and so was kid free and decided to make the trek downtown to one of the Asian grocers. I found it with no problems and actually have driven right past it several times on my way to various homeschooling events. I had my list in my hand (of items I was specifically looking for and hoping for). The carts where lined up right outside the door and so I grabbed one and went inside. As soon as I walked inside, I was REALLY glad I didn't have ANY of my children with me! I am sure PJ and Calvin (on their own) would have been fine but I was still glad. This store was packed wall to wall with food stuff from countries all over Asia. I walked in and was welcomed by all the Thai/Japanese/Korean snack foods that readily greeted us wherever we went in Thailand. I smiled. And then I didn't stop smiling until...well, I am STILL smiling! =) As I walked the aisles and saw familiar ingredients (fresh!) I would smile some more or chuckle to myself and say, "wow". Yeah, I think others in the store probably thought something was wrong with me. But, it was like being reunited with old friends! Seriously! I saw unripe papaya for 59 cents/lb (which I didn't think was a bad price). Now, most Americans if they are familiar with papaya are used to it being ripe and fruity. In Thailand, we eat it that way too. But, it is probably mostly enjoyed unripe in a Thai Isaan salad known as Som Tam which is eaten with sticky rice and grilled chicken...yeah, it's good stuff (and the more bird peppers you can eat in it, the more the Thais admire you!). I have a friend who eats her Som Tam with 15 bird peppers!!! Let me tell you that is really, really, really hot. I eat mine with 2, maybe 3, and remember, I like spicy!
I finally found galangal or "kha" as it is known as in Thai. Galangal is a main ingredient in the Thai soup Tom Yum Kung (a favorite of Paul's which I haven't been able to make since returning because I could never find galangal).
I also saw pigs feet and ears for sale in the "deli" along with other animal body parts I daresay most Americans wouldn't eat. That, too, made me chuckle!
So, I came home with everything on my list...but now that I am home I wished I had picked up some other things that I decided to leave. I guess that way my way of saying, "I have to come back, so I better leave this here for next time."
You may be wondering what inspired this trip. Well, tonight we are having dear friends over for a Thai feast (of which I am cooking) and I wanted to make some different dishes and so here's the menu...it's a lot but leftovers are always good!
*Tom Yum Kung (spicy shrimp soup) pictured at left.
*Tom Kha Kai (chicken in coconut soup)
*Kai Phat MetMamuanghimaphaa (cashew chicken)
*Kai Phat Kraphrow (holy basil and pork stir fry)
*Kai Satay with Yam Tengkwaa (chicken satay with cucumber salad)
*Khai Ciaw sai Muu (pork and egg omelette)
*Cantaloupe
*brownies (ha, ha, I know, not very Thai of me...but give a girl a break!)

Let's hope that all these dishes turn out yummy. I am not a very good Thai cook, very amateur, in fact, but I do enjoy it. I'll let you know how it goes!

more Christmas pics

We did a Gingerbread house this year. The kids thoroughly enjoyed decorating the little people and the house. You may notice in the first pic Adele STILL inseparable with her bink. Well, I am happy to report that shortly after this was taken we took away all binks from Adele and we are now bink-free..for a few months anyway! =)














Here they are with their finished work. Notice Adele got into the blue candies!














PJ's gingerbread man ready for the cold with his earmuffs.





















Calvin decorating the snowman.

Christmas Morn 2010 Part 4, I think

Ok, so this is post-Christmas picture with a pre-Christmas story. PJ lost his other tooth beside his front teeth and so now is missing both of them...he looks kinda toothless, well, I guess he is. Here's a funny picture of him smiling without his teeth.







Also post Christmas was the celebration of Grammy's birthday yesterday. Most of the family was able to be there. Becky made her a yummy cake along with some brownies (when you're feeding a crowd like the Henry Clan you need more than one cake!). The kids enjoyed singing to Grammy and celebrating her life. We are so thankful for her and for all the love she dishes out daily to each of her children, grandchildren and countless others!




Adele posing in her Christmas dress that actually didn't get worn until the day after. I had to get at least one picture of her in it! Notice the chocolate in her hands...this girl is a chocoholic some other folks I know!











And no Christmas day would be complete at Grampy and Grammy's without the Christmas night swim in the jacuzzi. These boys had their romp and Grampy made sure there were lots of bubbles. They had a blast.










As you can imagine, no grown ups ventured in the jacuzzi with this wild crowd.

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. The only down side is that we didn't get to see my family. That has made me a little sad, to say the least, but I am looking forward to the next time I do get to see them. My cousin, Jesse and his wife did come for Christmas dinner at the Henry's (they live down here in FL too) so that was really nice.
We hope each of you had a wonderful Christmas season and that you will have a Happy New Year full of the Lord's presence.

Henry family playing Grampy's new game, Hink Pink. Lots of fun.













Two little girls playing dolls on Christmas morn.















Calvin enjoying his dress up gifts from Daddy and Grammy.
PJ...can you say excited?! He was so excited about this LEGO set from Grammy and Grampy.

Christmas Morn 2010 Part 2

Grammie opening her gift from us...jewelry from Namibia!
















Adele opening her "big" gift, a dollhouse for her dollies!















PJ and Calvin getting started with their gifts from under the tree.
















Calvin and Adele opening stocking gifts.















PJ dumping his entire stocking out to see what is inside.

Christmas Morn 2010

Paul admiring the stocking all hung by the fire with care....
















Calvin and Mommy waiting.
















PJ and Adele waiting...

for Pappy

Ho, ho, ho

These are for my Dad...I hope you enjoy them!