SKIING!

We live at the bottom of a ski mountain, so we figured we should take advantage of it. This past Saturday the girls started their ski lessons. There is a great deal where kids their age can get rentals and a 2 hour lesson for super cheap. They both did great! Kiera liked it okay, but she got cold and lost interest quickly, I will give her a little credit and say that it was 19 degrees on the mountain. But the cold didn't slow Selah down. She loved the lesson. As soon as it was over she came inside, ate half of her lunch and was back out on the bunny slope. She quickly learned how to use the tow rope and spent the next 3.5 hours practicing on the bunny slope. She didn't get cold or tired. That girl has determination! She is so excited because this Saturday Ross is going to ski with her in the afternoon and take her on the lift.

Mason also got in on the action... Because I didn't know if Mason would really want to ski, I didn't rent him skis or boots, but once he saw his sisters getting their equipment and out in the snow he wanted to be part of things too. Once Kiera had her lesson and was done being cold for the day, Mason put on her boots and skis (both were too big for him, but he didn't mind) and went out to ski with our friend, Melody. She was the girls instructor also, but for Mason, who has a special place in her heart, she gave him a 30 minute lesson later in the day for free. What a blessing! Mason loved skiing, so when we go skiing again in a few days, I will get him his own boots and skis and Mel and daddy will work with him.

I'm a snowboarding bum who can't teach my kiddos how to ski, but I can pick them up when they fall down and cheer for them as they are learning to turn and stop.

Selah being silly.

Kiera posing with her scarf and matching hat. She got this set a few years ago and has always liked it, but now she understands better why you would want a hat and scarf :-)

Prayer Requests - 2/24/13

I think I'll try to have regular prayer requests that 1. list our prayer requests and 2. update you on fulfilled prayer requests. I think it will be fun and encouraging to watch as God answers us - with Yes, No or Wait.

On Dec 3, 2012 I posted a few prayer requests:
1. That Kiera and Mason wouldn't get strep even after Selah had it and all those around us seemed to be getting it. ANSWER: They didn't get strep. The kids didn't have any more sickness before we left or even while traveling. Well, Kiera got sick on the flight home, but other than that - the kids were all healthy! 

2. For God's plan for housing upon our return. ANSWER: God provided 2 more months for us to live in the dorm upon our return. That meant that we didn't have to pack up our dorm rooms right before we moved and when we got back from Thailand, we got to move right back into our rooms and beds. 

Today's prayer requests:
1. Housing :-) While we are thankful that we have the dorm room until the end of March, the end of March will be here soon and we need somewhere to move to. So far I have looked into all rentals in our area and called each house that is for sale to see if they would be willing to rent. I've also called property management places, talked to realtors, looked in the papers and craigslist and asked locals if they know of anywhere to rent. Can you tell I don't know what else to do? I'm sure this is exactly where God wants me. Where He can show Himself so much bigger than I understand Him to be. So, my request is that God would provide the housing in a way that gives Him all the glory, not me and my searching abilities. Also, that I would not be anxious as I wait expectantly for our next housing solution.

2. Health - Ross has been sick since we got home and is finally feeling better, but prayer that he wouldn't get sick again.

3. Health - Mason is having lots of digestive issues and it makes it hard for him to know when he needs to go potty. Plus, he tummy just hurts a lot. Pray that he starts feeling better and that everything he eats doesn't flow right through him.

Last Week in Thailand - Part 2 (traveling home)

So... Before you think we drugged our children, let me explain. Our flight left Bangkok at 1:20 am - which meant that we got to the airport at 10:30 pm. Our kids were wiped out! They fell asleep in the song taew on the way to the airport and they were picked up, carried, then placed on carts full of luggage, driven through the airport and they slept until we checked in our bags and had to pick them up again. Selah managed to stay up until after the plane took-off and she now thinks she should stay up till after midnight all the time :-)

We had a 10-hour layover in Seoul that somehow included a super nice hotel (thank you, Asiana Air). Here are a few pictures from the hotel. We all napped multiple hours, then we had lunch in the hotel restaurant (complimentary), followed by the best shower I had had in 2 months. A little slice of heaven.

The Seoul Airport

Last Week in Thailand - Part 1

We went on an accidental hike through rice fields and construction sites (we were taking a "short cut") and had to find our own way. I asked a local Thai man if we could cut through his construction site and then climb over the fence (this was all in charades, because he didn't speak any English), he nicely said no and showed us that we could go around the fence. I then acted out that the grass was really high, he seemed to understand and was our guide through the first two rice fields and over the creek, then he went back and we kept picking our way through the fields and more construction sites until we got back to our hotel. The kids picked flowers along the way, here is a picture of a flower that Mason picked.

 

the kids walking along the edge of the rice field

Kids posing for a picture at the end of the hike 

Here is Mason with an umbrella hat. It belonged to the grandma that owned the hotel and a few convenient stores. Mason liked to go in the store because she or her husband would give him bags of chips and lots of hugs.

At our favorite restaurant - 7 Sisters. The owner, the one holding the kids, lives in Florida half the year, so her English was great and she and I bonded over talking about Florida. I hope to go back to Chiang Rai to visit her and her restaurant.

So, we met a Thai university student named Peanut. We all loved Peanut. She played with the kids and loved on them and bought them Thai treats - all ways to their hearts! She and Kiera bonded the most. See them below?

Kiera, Peanut, Mason

Kiera, Peanut, Selah

Our last 3 days in Thailand were spent at a beach called Kosamet. It is a few hours south of Bangkok and you can only get to it by boat. Here are some pictures from the boat. I don't actually have any/many from the beach. Not sure how that happened.

The girls getting their hair braided at the beach

And here is Kiera a few weeks later once we took the braids out. This is actually tame, she looked like she had a lion mane for a day!

I would like to clarify - we met quite a few wonderful Thai friends - at the university, at restaurants, at the ministries we worked out. I don't want any of our friends to be left out - we just had lots of pictures of Peanut, so I thought I would share them with you!

HOME!!!

Hello! We are home! We got home from Thailand on Feb 2. It was a very long trip home with the kids sleeping in lots of random places. Kiera was fine when we left Thailand, but after a 5 hour flight to Seoul and 10 hour layover in Seoul (thank goodness we had a hotel room!) - see below:

she developed a fever for the duration of our trip, a 10 hour flight to Seattle, layover in Seattle, then flight home. I felt so bad for her, but it did make her a great traveler, she just slept the entire time, even in a ball in the corner of the airport - see below:

Mason slept amazingly well on the plane and then after hours in the Seattle airport he finally crashed at dinner - see below:

Here's a picture of Mason in the Bangkok airport playing with Truss, one of the boys that went with us on outreach.

Here are some pictures of the kiddos in a wig that our dear friends, the Wideners, sent us in a welcome home box. It was full of treats and treasures - thank you, Wideners!

It was so nice to be back in our cozy dorm room, eating in the cafeteria and seeing all our friends... for a few weeks. Now the dorm room coze and the cafeteria ease has worn off and we are looking for a new place to live! We do love living in community and the great neighbors that we have on our hall, but we are longing for fresh bread, yummy soups and healthy smoothies.

Since we have been back we spent the first week finishing DTS with a "de-briefing" week. It was a week of lecture and good-bye/graduation activities. It was nice to have that week to say good-bye to our friends in DTS as well as get over jet lag. Starting the second week Ross got to go to 100 Fold Studio each day, all day. He is like a little boy coming home each day. He LOVES it! The work, the people, the mission - it all aligns so well with what we've dreamed of doing since we've been married. I've taken the past week and a half to just enjoy normalcy - doing laundry, washing dishes, getting tasks marked off the list like - health insurance, auto insurance, taxes, finding us a place to live... I will have to remind myself in a few weeks when I'm ready for the next adventure that I had fun doing laundry and dishes and just resting.

Once Mason is potty-trained then I will start going into the 100 Fold office most days while Mason and Kiera are at preschool.  For now, I'm going to start going during lunch 3-4 days a week while Ross takes the kids to lunch so I can start helping with the CRM install project (the stuff that gets me excited!).

UPDATE: Mason is doing really well with potty training, he goes most days without an accident. I've realized that if he gets upset and starts crying / throwing a fit, there is a good chance he'll have an accident, so I have to make sure he uses the potty or has a diaper on before he is disciplined :-)

The girls have transitioned home well - both LOVING school still and wanting to go on Saturdays too! Selah and Kiera both have good friends here and Selah is at the age where it is a fight after school most days because she wants to keep playing with her friends after school too.

I'm really enjoying being home and getting settled - I'm going to a mom's group tomorrow and I've gotten to spend time with some of my favorite friends here. I've also started reading One Thousand Gifts and I LOVE IT! It was hard for me to get into the first few pages, but now that I'm a few chapters in, I just want to read more and more. I'm going to start my gratitude list tonight and even the thought of that makes me happy!

Ross is doing well - like I said he really, really, really likes work, but he has been sick. YUCK! So, please pray for him if you think of it. First it was the flu, then it turned into coughing, headstuff (we self-diagnosed the coughing and chest feelings as walking-pneumonia, he also thinks he has a sinus infection). I feel like one main way the enemy attacks our marriage and our family is through Ross being sick. I am not a good nurse and I end up mad at him (mature, I know). So, if you would please pray for health for him and also health as a protection of our marriage and even our ministry here, we would really appreciate it.

Okay, this long post must end. I will try to add a few pictures from the last week in Thailand soon. Much love to all!