Too many goodbyes

My kids are cute. There's no denying it.

Watching them play together makes my role as "referee" all worth it!

This is a classic Jack picture. In his underpants with his latest creation. I think he was surfing down the bedsheets or something.

Our week basically went like this: Wake up, take Jack to school, run errands, pick Jack up, afternoon activity, dinner, bed. Does this sound like anyone else's days this week? Our routine is getting a little bit... routine. We haven't done anything much to mix it up since we've returned home. Basically, just getting back into our routine has been adventure enough.

Yesterday turned out to be our best day of the week. Jeff was able to meet up with a new missionary, Elder Yeats, (his companion had a meeting) to go and teach several different families throughout the morning and afternoon. I had NO idea what I was going to do with the kids all day Saturday. So, when Wyatt called and said he and his friend were coming to stay for the weekend, I was thrilled! We had a GREAT day together, that ended even better.

Wyatt is from Lake Town, UT (right near Bear Lake) and has been studying in Bangkok for the last 5 months. We were lucky enough to have him over for dinner his first Sunday in the city, and we regret that we haven't had him since! Luckily, he's been in Primary with me and we've all gotten to be great friends, so we were so happy he let us house him for his last couple of nights in town before heading back home. His friend, Ming Wei, is from Taiwan, where Wyatt served his mission. Ming Wei was baptized 3 days before he left Taiwan to come to Bangkok to work. The Elder who baptized him is the son of one of the families in our ward here. Can you believe what a small world it is? I think Ming Wei and Wyatt met his first Sunday here and they quickly became very close friends. Probably closer to brothers. They even wore matching ties to church today. I love it!

Anyway, they wanted to go shopping yesterday, so we all went out to lunch at Sizzler together, which turned out to be extremely easy even without Jeff because these two are so helpful! The kids knew Wyatt already, but I was surprised at how well they took to Ming Wei too, quite unusual for Jane right now. We're happy that Ming Wei is in Bangkok for a while. Although he doesn't speak a lot of English, it's definitely enough to get by and we're hoping he'll want to practice his language at our house. We've LOVED having him and Wyatt over.

We walked down the road a bit to our friend's tailor shop that just opened. I've talked about Dypu some on my post about our friend's wedding. He loves Jane, and Jane loves him (although she was quite tired in this photo). He loved having our crazy kids in his quiet shop, and I think I found a fabric I want Jeff to make a suit out of. Fun and productive!

Jeff finally got home at 5pm and I was thrilled the missionaries could fit in dinner with us too. Elders Yeats and Olson came over for a fun chat over pizza. It's so funny to have them over because I always feel SUPER old when the missionaries are over. Old at 28. It doesn't make sense. I wished I would have gotten a picture because despite feeling "old", I also just think it's hilarious that we're all just a bunch of kids. Sometimes I feel like we're just playing house!

So, today I've been thinking a lot about goodbyes. Tonight, we say goodbye to Wyatt. Next month we say goodbye to George and Mary who will leave for Holland. Soon we will also say goodbye to Ashley and Vibushen who have been accepted this week by Canada. They are the brothers who call us Uncle and Auntie. I love that. Wyatt and I were talking tonight about how much we hate saying goodbye to people. It's just not fun. It can be really hard, but as Wyatt put it, "but sometimes, do you really care?". Honestly, sometimes it's not that hard. Some people come into our lives and we enjoy them while they are with us, learn what we can, and have great memories together, but it's easy to accept that that was our experience together. Other people are different. Other people we truly connect with and genuinely care for. We care about where life takes them next, we want to make sure they are taken care of, treated well, and are as happy as they deserve. Some days I wish I didn't have so many people I care about. Life would be easier if I could just say "goodbye" and move on. If I didn't think of them again. If I didn't remember the way I felt when I was with them, the good laughs we shared, or the way they've changed me. My heart wouldn't hurt when I face the fact that our goodbyes here are quite definite. It's hard to say goodbye. It would be easier if I didn't care. But, I am grateful that I do.

Remember this guy? He's back.