Journey to Bethlehem

Every year our Church in Thailand puts on an amazing Nativity celebration called "Journey to Bethlehem". I've really never seen anything like it. For my readers who have been with us from the beginning, you may remember me posting about it last year. It made for quite a week! But, before we get into that, here's a few from the rest of our week:

We just couldn't wait any later than Tuesday afternoon to get Jack and Scarlett back together after a week of not even seeing each other! We went over and were welcomed by a backyard picnic with a cake made especially for Jack. It said, "welcome back Jack". I'm sure it seemed like much more than a week to sweet little Scarlett. They had a great time playing together, and it is always fun to catch up with Heather and Jim.

Thursdays are a GREAT day for going to the market because the Thursday Market is open right by Jack's school. Clever name, don't you think? I wonder if it's only farangs that call it that? Anyway, after I drop Jack off at school, Jane and I usually head over there to see what's for sale, and we usually see many other mothers there doing the same sort of thing, although usually without child in tow. My friend, Sukma, is like me. We always have our little ones with us and people are worried when they see us without them. It's a bit of a challenge to take them to this market, especially now that they've temporarily narrowed a good part of it. Sukma and I went together this week and had a great time. The best part? Jane and Brandon LOVE being together. If we didn't already call enough attention to ourselves, now people were stopping to take pictures with BOTH of them! I love to see Jane find a friend she looks forward to being with so much, especially when I look forward to being with Brandon's mother just as much!

We had a very "Jack" moment on Thursday. Jack saw Janie's juice box straw and asks, "can I have that? Do you have any more?". I tell him "yes, and no, I don't have any more". He proceeds to take it and cut it into small pieces. A few minutes later, he approaches me with the tape asking, "can you tape these on?". He thought it was awesome to have "real" claws, so he could pretend to be a lion, lizard, cat, or whatever else. I don't know how long they lasted, as he was heading into quiet time shortly after, but I was impressed by the innovative mind of my 4 year old. I'm 27 and I don't think I would have thought to use a straw for claws.

Other events of the week? Jack came running out of his room on Thursday evening after throwing up all over his bed in his sleep. Not fun. We were up with him most of the night watching him be sick like we've never seen before. The next day when I called the school to say I was keeping him home to make sure he was over it, I found out he was one of at least 5 who were out that day with the SAME THING! I later have learned that even more children had it, and much worse than Jack. Some kids in his school were in the hospital, sharing rooms, receiving IV drips for their dehydration. The school administration was doing everything to pinpoint the problem. I tend to think some things get blown out of proportion here (e.g. the doctors being a little anxious to admit people, give meds, etc.), of course Jack got over his quickly, so that's probably just me being insensitive. Like when I was young and my sister, Joanna (love you, Jo!), used to always say she was car sick just so she could sit in the front seat. Yeah, right. Then one time, my dad had to pull over for her to throw up. Oops. I was a little more understanding after that. Anyway, sending your kid to school just comes with certain risks, such as picking up this bug that's going around. I'm hoping everyone will be there tomorrow feeling healthy and normal.

So on with the "Journey". This production literally takes hundreds of people to produce, everyone volunteering happily. They make the inside of our church barely recognizable with sheets painted with Bethlehem scenery. Each room has a different theme with different characters and speakers. Here's how it works. People walk into the parking lot, go to the first booth where they pick up a card with a time on it for when they can go through the journey in either Thai or English. They then can go and buy their "money" for 30 baht (90 cents), which is a small pouch with rocks in it. The rocks will buy fruit, food, drinks, ice cream, or cookies. I didn't eat much last year, but this year since I was there for at least 4 hours both nights, the kids and I ate dinner there both times, and it was delicious!

Tours for the "Journey" started every 5 min. from 6:15 until about 9:30pm. A guide would take each group from room to room which featured angels, wise men, King Herod, shepherds, the inn keeper, and Mary and Joseph. The characters were singing and speaking about their experiences during the time of Christ's birth. It's a fantastic way for children to get familiar with the Christmas story and a very touching experience.

This is our sweet friend from Sri Lanka. He pretty much followed me around all night, both nights, and I was happy to have him! I can see where a nanny would come in handy in situations like this because the kids wanted to run everywhere, and there were a LOT of people. He was extremely helpful to watch Jane while I was running here and there, or especially on Friday night when I was performing, he watched Jane the whole time. He is always SO happy and he and his brother call Jeff and I Auntie and Uncle. If I didn't already just want to adopt them into our family, I do now!

Besides the "Journey" and all the food, there was a stage with entertainment going on all night. Like I said, I played for a bit with Sister Alice Quan on Piano and a vocalist, Sister Breeze. I should have gotten a picture with Alice too, since she is becoming one of my favorite people ever. But, here is me with Breeze. I've met very few people who are as sincerely touched by music as she is.

Jack and Jane were so patient with me as I needed to rehearse with Breeze and Alice on Friday night. They ran around and played with whoever was there. It was nice to be in a contained room for a while. Of course, the cookies didn't hurt with keeping them grounded! Jack loved the shepherd's hats again this year, and much to Jane's enjoyment, they also provided angel halos for the girls!

This is Sarah Quan with the kids while I rehearsed with her mom. Sarah is 11 years old, but acts like she's a very mature 18 year old! She helped me while I was at her house earlier in the week too, and the kids love her. Sarah is also an extremely talented violinist! At first, it felt crazy to talk with the Quan family because they have Chinese origins, but they are as American as I am (parents grew up in Boston)! I'm just used to all Asians I come into contact with having an accent! I can't say enough about how much we LOVE this family!

Here's Jane being admired by many, as usual. On the left is Dpu from Nepal, middle is Balkrishna, and we've never met the woman.

Jack and Jane were thrilled to see their friend, Pinky, come to the church on Friday night! It was fun to have friends that we know from church and friends from elsewhere all there together!

My friend, Catherine Beck, was a guide for the "Journey". I was asked to do this as well, but was sad to realize it just wouldn't work because Jeff was an angel (very fitting, don't you think?) this year and was involved from start to finish! I just thought Catherine was looking good in her shepherds outfit. Nice!

Also on the stage was this awesome group of missionaries called "SYS", which stands for Latter-Day Saints, in Thai. These Elders were so great, and were the show stoppers for both nights. More about them later...

This is Jane as she watched the Elders being silly and singing songs. She LOVED them. I think we have a new "groupie" on our hands.

Jane LOVING her ice cream. I walked her over to the ice cream booth with a rock to buy it, but was visiting with someone and wasn't paying attention. Of course, they give her 3 SCOOPS! She's never been more excited. I should have gotten a picture right when she got it!

Saturday night was a little more laid back because I wasn't performing or lugging my violin around with me everywhere. We were thrilled to have many friends come to see Jeff do his "angel" thing and enjoy the festivities! Just when I felt like I would going to lose it trying to keep my kids by me, Jeff's friend from work, Pink, showed up with her friend, Lisa. They were so excited to see the kids, and Jack and Janie warmed up to them very quickly. They arrived around 7:30, I think, but couldn't get into a tour until 8:50, so they just ate and played with the children the whole time! Such sweet girls!

Not too long after that, Anutra, Koong, and Bird showed up as well. They brought all kinds of things for the kids to play with from Ko Kret island where they had been during the day. So, for at least an hour, my kids (and any others who were interested) played with these bubbles. Jane was getting pretty good at it after a while!

Anutra brought this toy turtle made out of a coconut shell. When she told me she bought us a pet I started to get a little nervous because I know on Ko Kret they've got all kinds of critters. I was relieved when she pulled this out! My kids love it.

Jack couldn't get enough of Mary and Joseph last year, and it was Jane's turn this year! She kept going in and out, in and out, insisting I take pictures every time. Mary and Joseph were extremely patient and welcoming! This stable is here for picture purposes, as well as Mary and Joseph to sing sporadically. I kept thinking this might warm Jane up for Disneyland in less than a month! Yahoo!

I don't believe I've introduced Kurt yet. This is Jack's friend who just moved into our ward. He moved here with his Mom and Dad from the Philippines, and he and Jack have become fast and best friends! They are both very silly, very physical, and good boys. I love to watch them play together, and Kurt's parents are priceless! They were both singing as angels with Jeff both nights too, so Kurt was there with his Grandmother. As rough and tough as these boys are together, it's hilarious to see them never part ways without a tight hug. Kurt even kissed him on the cheek the other day.

This is the whole cast. Can you find Jeff up on the top row by King Herod? These volunteers sacrificed so much time and energy participating in this! Hours and hours of rehearsals and performances, not to mention all the behind the scenes work that's been going on for months! Very impressive! Last year about 3000 people attended this event. We haven't gotten the count for this year, but I suspect there were even more. It was incredible. Notice Jane watching in awe.

It was so much fun to see Jane enjoy the performances so much. She would just sit and watch the singers, totally content! This makes me excited for taking her to the shows at Disneyland. Can you tell it's on my mind a little bit?

Anybody else just let your daughters plop down right on the asphalt? I'm learning that I'm a little bit of a laid back mom. Maybe too laid back.

So, the missionaries... I was so impressed with what they are doing. I went and asked them if their mothers had been able to see what they are doing with their talents. They all looked at me as if a) they'd never thought of it or b) their mother's wouldn't be at all interested. I thought this was funny, but probably the same response my brother would have given (Jesse, am I right?). I told them I was going to share my video with their families, so I needed their email addresses. Honestly, if this was my brother or son doing this, I would LOVE to actually SEE it, not just hear about it. So, coming soon will be some video clips of these performing elders.

With the passing of Thanksgiving, and this wonderful Nativity experience this weekend, the Christmas season has finally began! But, I have to admit, it's hard to feel it when it's still hot, there's no snow, and just the thought of sitting by a fireplace makes me break into a sweat. After leaving church today (by myself because I had forgotten something and sent everyone ahead), I ran into a Thai man I had met over the weekend. We stopped and chatted and finally exchanged names. As we said our goodbyes, he turned back around and yelled, "Sister, Merry Christmas!". For some reason, that little farewell is what has finally triggered the season for me.

Chiang Mai

As promised, I am finally getting around to posting all about what we did this last week since Vanessa arrived. It was a fun-filled week for sure, and I really just do the same stuff over again because it all went really well. Not because I'm an expert planner, because I don't always think that guarantees a fabulous time, but because we just were together and whatever we did, we enjoyed. But, don't get me wrong, we did fun stuff.

I put together a video where you can see an overview of most everything. The things I regret not getting pictures of? For one, the girls night out, which was the first night Vanessa got here. We let the guys put the kids down, and we went and got 90 min. massages at a new place on our soi. Very nice! The girls there were so sweet, and when Vanessa joked about wanting to take her girl home with her, she said, “I want to go to U.S.A. in your bag!”. They were all fantastic. In fact, they were so great, that Vanessa and Mom went back on their last night as well! Can't beat a 90 min. massage for less than $20 (and this was one of the more expensive places!). After our massages that first night, we wanted to hit some of the street markets, which was really Vanessa's first chance to see the city on foot. We didn't buy much, but, in the video, you can see the flowers made out of soap that we loved watching the guy make. He was quite the salesman! Plus, just getting out on the streets is a big reason I love living in the city. There is something charming about buying things off the street! Maybe it's just that there's so much to see in so little space!

So, what will you see in the video? We spent Monday (without Vanessa) at the Ancient City with Anutra. This place is a small replica of Thailand. You can go to temples, palaces, ancient ruins, floating market, and see royal barges all in one day! With Anutra's background as a tour guide, she is the best person to go with. Plus, she is fun to visit with and has become a huge part of our Bangkok family this past year. Unfortunately, Khun Bird had to work, so he couldn't come too, but she brought Koong, one of her students, and we had a GREAT time together. Fantastic Thai food, lots of sights, and Mom and Dad got to visit with Anutra, whom they've heard so much about! Notice the toga that Jane is wearing? She threw up on the way there (too much time in the car, maybe?) all over her and me. Mimi sacrificed one of her shirts for Jane, and I did my best to avoid stinking all day. Rough start, but it still turned out to be a good day!

I picked Vanessa up Monday night (and was SO impressed with how she was using her “Sawatdii kha” and “khap khun kha” as she stepped off the plane!) and could hardly resist staying up to all hours visiting with my sweet sister! We spent Tuesday night at the Crocodile Farm. Always fun, and lots of new things in a short amount of time. And fortunately, there was less stink this time! The only down side was that for some reason they were not selling food for the crocodiles this time. It's amazing how disappointing it can be to NOT get to throw duck carcasses to crocodiles. I don't really know how disappointed everyone else was though.

We spent 4 days in Chiang Mai, which was GREAT! It was only a 1 hour flight and Jack could hardly believe it when we said we were there! As we got off the plane, Vanessa said, “we're in Chiang Mai, Jack!”. His response was, “only ONE plane?” with a HUGE grin on his face. He could hardly believe that we didn't have to take several planes and travel all day to get where we were going. I'm glad he had a short experience on the plane for once!

Thanks to a good friend in the ward, we got an amazing deal for this trip! The hotel was great, and we had plenty of space with connecting rooms, a fantastic staff, and amazing breakfast! Did you know that it's weird that Americans eat different foods for different times of day? In Thailand, all the meals are pretty much the same, no food specifically for breakfast, dinner, etc. Vanessa ate noodles every day for breakfast, what an open-minded girl she is! Everyone was SO good to try just about everything, I was very impressed!

In Chiang Mai, we did a TON of shopping at night because our hotel was about 10 steps away from the night bazaar, it was awesome! It was funny to get back to the hotel at midnight each night (kids were sleeping, watched by whatever adult who didn't want to go out) and I would feel like I had spent a TON of money. I was shocked all three nights that I really had spent less than about $10 each night. I just felt like I had spent loads because I was doing all the talking for everyone else. I got the best of both worlds. I got to haggle (which was more fun than ever because people were even MORE friendly than in Bangkok markets), find cheap deals, and buy fun things, but I didn't spend any money doing it! My "shopping Thai" got LOTS of practice! We also went on amazing Elephant rides, watched the best show ever (notice the elephants painting pictures! I think they auctioned them off at the end), and got to see a lot of the handicrafts “factories”. The umbrella factory was the best. Doesn't look like much of a factory though, at least not how American's think! It was pretty much a bunch of ladies sitting together doing their own job, and it was fascinating. All by hand, and very skilled! We all loved Chiang Mai. It was nice to get away from it all, even from our life in Bangkok where our phones were still ringing and we still had things to do!

Loy Kratong festival was going on during our last night there, as well as the big celebration the night we returned home. This is such a fantastic holiday where they create kratongs made of banana leaves, decorated with flowers, candles, and incense. You put them in the water to represent sending away bad luck or watching your sins float away. I've read several different meanings for this holiday, and I think it's fascinating. It is so beautiful to see the kratongs on the water, the fireworks, and in Chiang Mai, we got to see a big parade, and these balloon things they send into the sky. They are SUCH a hazard, but beautiful once they are up and in a safer zone (away from all the wires and buildings!). We saw more proof than I care to talk about why these are not allowed in Bangkok or probably anywhere else in the world. But, I loved the idea of it, and it was fascinating to watch!

Sunday, we invited Rikker and Kaaw over for dinner so Mom, Dad, and Vanessa could visit with them too! It is always so fun to have them over, even when Jeff and Rikker get a bit boring talking about all the technicalities of Thai that go WAY over our heads, but I love that he loves the language so much, so I'm not complaining! Plus, Rikker is an awesome resource for his questions and recommending books and whatnot. Isn't family awesome? Kaaw is due any day now and we are anxious to hear how everything goes! Good luck guys!

We spent our last day in Bangkok shopping a bit and we met Jeff for lunch at his work cafeteria. Very glamorous, I know, but it really was fun and everyone wanted to see where his work is. At the table we are all eating Jeff's favorite: coconut milk ice cream. He eats it almost every day. Plus, you can see the picture of all the toppings for the ice cream. Looks a bit like a salad bar, doesn't it? We were completely exhausted from a busy week, so this was a nice, low key day before they needed to head off. It hit me that night when the kids had to say goodbye before bedtime that having them leave isn't fun. Honestly, I know there's always a certain relief when company leaves and rooms free up and you can just worry about yourselves, even when you REALLY love your company. Am I right? But, I really would have just had them stay for another week in a heartbeat! Rather than feeling grateful for the extra space, the apartment has just felt empty! Especially because we were never busting at the seams even with everyone here! Jack LOVED sharing a room with Vanessa and has never slept on that top bunk better. Jane moved herself into a big bed and is doing amazingly well, and Jeff and I loved having them to visit with, play with the kids, and just share our lives with. It was a VERY positive trip. But, life goes on, and knowing that Vanessa was going to return home to her sweet husband and four children made me feel better about her leaving. I'm sure Andrew had it all under control, but I know those kids love their Mommy! Thanks to Mom, Dad, and Vanessa for a wondeful trip! Such great memories together. I only wish I could do that with all my family. Maybe when I win the lottery. I'll put that in my 5 year plan.

Enjoy the video. I'm feeling like my videos are getting a bit boring and repetitive lately. I think I'm doing too many, but it does seem to be the best way to share a good compilation of pictures. Plus, for selfish reasons, it's one of my favorite ways of looking back on things with the kids. I'm getting somewhat sick of my own taste in music actually. Although I love the music I put to the videos, they don't always “go” with it, if you know what I mean. I've loved listening to Christmas music this week. I have my favorite albums, but I also love trying out new ones. Any favorites you love enough to suggest?

Call me Miss Lazy

Anybody else have a FANTASTIC week? We did! We have had SO much fun with Mimi, Papa, and Vanessa, that it's hard to believe that an entire week has passed already. Actually, we have had so much fun, that I am completely exhausted. So, for anyone who actually looks forward to my blog, you will be a bit disappointed. I have high hopes that I can report on at least some of our adventures early this next week, but as for tonight, it's just not happening.

Here's a very short summary of our week together. We saw and interacted with amazing animals, visited the Ancient City, rode elephants, flew to Chiang Mai for four wonderful days, met amazing people ate delicious Thai food, and shopped 'till we dropped. SO fun!

Our sweet Jane has had a rough week. But, THIS day she was extremely happy, so we were making the most of it. She cuddled and kissed Jeff as much as she could, and we got such a kick out of it. Vaness snapped this picture, and I thought it was fun.

I think the elephants were the highlight of our trip to Chiang Mai! Although we rode elephants earlier in the week at the crocodile farm, this was a completely different experience! FANTASTIC! Isn't this picture great of my cute parents? This fulfilled a dream of my Dad's, which made it even more fun. The elephants were amazing. Mine was 34 years old, and you should see his tusks! Wow!

I love my sisters! Having Vanessa here was so much fun. Kind of still feels like a dream, actually. We've had so much fun visiting, playing with the kids, and exploring the city. Sisters are such a blessing. We missed you, Jo!

Talk about NON-traditional Thanksgiving feast! Actually our meal on Thursday was a disaster, so we decided to count this one on Friday as IT. The driver took us to an orchid farm on the way home from the elephant camp and it was amazing. Delicious Thai food, we were the only customers there, and amazingly affordable!

Stay tuned for more to come, hopefully in just a few days or less. We are having too much fun with our family to stop and sit at the computer! We've got lots to share from this past week, but for now, we're enjoying the moment.