I'm tired...

Greetings and apologies to all my usual Sunday readers! We've had one heck of a weekend, and I'm pooped. So, here's a little something to hold you over, (because I know our lives just leave you on the edge of your seat!) until I get on the ball and post about our week.






We took these videos a few weeks ago and just haven't gotten around to posting them. We've both been LOVING watching Jack progress with his violin. And more than ever, he really ENJOYS IT! He got it out all by himself a couple of times last week, just for a little extra practice. He's really excited to put on a concert for his Grandparents next month!

A big brother

When Jack was a toddler, I started to notice that everywhere we went (parks, museums, and especially the grocery store), he would always wander off with whatever family was toting around a load of kids. He would find that mom that had 5 kids under 7 attached to her grocery cart, and join right in! I've wished many times that I could somehow give him an older sibling, since he always gets along with older children so well. This does prove to be a bit tougher than adding a younger one. We came pretty close this week though!

Remember my friend I mentioned last week who was in the hospital? (They discovered it was just a severe case of food poisoning). We got to bring her son, Curt, home with us on Monday night. I was super excited, because we all love Curt, and especially love that we could help his family out in a small way. Jack was especially excited he got to have a friend sleep over, which hardly ever happens!

Since I got to keep Curt until Tuesday afternoon, I thought this was a good occasion for Jack to play hooky and play at home with all of us. When Curt's parents came to pick him up, I even talked them into staying the night here instead of making the hour long trek home, which consists of taxi, train, bus, and motorbike. Crisse was doing much better, although still quite weak, but in very good spirits. I thought another night of rest would make the journey a bit easier.

I took the kids out for a bit, and got a lot of funny looks and questions about if Curt was mine. I wanted to just say, "YES!". We were in the truck on the way home, and this tuk-tuk driver was loving that the kids were waving to him. I also liked that you could see a motorcycle taxi to the side in this one. Too bad he doesn't have a family of 4 on the back!

The first time Jack met Curt, they were instant friends. It's fun to watch Jack have a friend who is just as silly, crazy, and also affectionate. They will wrestle one minute, then be hugging and have their arms around each other the next. They kissed each other goodbye today.

Jack thinks these lame games we have on our cell phones are so cool. Can you tell how video-game-deprived our child is compared to most kids now days? I feel just fine about it! I think Curt is Mr. Handsome in this one. What a heart breaker he's going to be!

Jack's never looked SO white until he's next to a kid like Curt. Seeing those two in the bathtub together was hilarious! Not to mention all the laughing, yelling, and splashing! We had to get out the mop afterward. Thank goodness for built in drains in the floor here. They think of everything!

Crisse and Neil just stayed one night as a family, but because of all our primary meetings this weekend, they came back Friday to spend the weekend. They were AWESOME house guests! I woke up Saturday and Sunday morning to the smell of crepes, French toast, and eggs. That was a new sensation for me! Neil is quite a cook and learned how to make American breakfasts from his American companions on his mission. This family just made themselves at home, and we felt like they were just part of the family too! Jack and Curt played and played and hardly wanted to stop to eat they were having so much fun. Jack and his "brother" didn't get sick of each other for a minute!

While Crisse and I were at a meeting, Jeff and Neil took the kids to story time at the library, then brought home grilled chicken for everyone. Jane loves this kind of lunch and dug right in! This girl is generally a picky eater, but this week, she tried ham and an olive all on her own! We're making progress!

While Jeff and Neil found a billiards hall, Crisse and I took the kids down for a swim. I took a bunch of water-friendly toys down in a sack. Jack immediately dumped everything out and what did he want to play with? The sack! He thought this was the best water toy ever! Who would have guessed?

Jane, on the other hand was so entranced by the cups, bowls, and spoons I brought down, she hardly got in the water at all! Just poured things from one container to another. Kids just don't need fancy toys!

So, a HUGE part of our week was focused on the fun De Jesus family. Honestly, since we met them, I have just thought they were incredible, but couldn't really figure out what made them unique in my mind. I don't know exactly was it is. I've met some really incredible people here. But, whatever it is, it was only enhanced by having them in our home for several days this week! We ate together, played together, watched The Office together, prayed together, cleaned together, and had some great dinner conversation! Some things I learned about them that were amazing to me, were all of Neil's jobs. He's been anything from a fisherman to a tricycle driver (a motorbike with a sidecar), and now he's a math teacher. They also built their own home on government land in the Philippines with help from the missionaries on their "community service" days. His education was made possible because of the program that preceded the continuing education program organized by the church. (You hear about people benefiting from the church's programs, but it was awesome to talk with them about how it's affected their lives directly!) Crisse originally came to Thailand to teach because her dad came here and said he wanted her to come too. She didn't ask questions, but did as her dad asked, now it's working out in a really good way for her whole family. Their plan is to be here for another 3-5 years and save enough to buy their own taxi when they get home, which will present all kinds of opportunities! We're so excited for them! Curt speaks almost flawless English, Tagalog, one other Philippine dialect, and attends school in Thai. He was teaching Jack and I how to count in Tagalog during taxi rides. This is just one amazing family that we feel SO lucky to have spent time with! We've got another busy Primary weekend next week, so we're happy that they will stay with us again so Jack can have his "big brother" back!

Amidst everything else, we did do a few random things that we enjoyed. Monday morning, Jane's friend, Brandon, came over for a play date. Brandon is kind of Jane's "Curt". They get along really well, and when they haven't seen each other for a while (like during mid-term break), they go running to each other shouting out each other's names. It's quite a sight!

I've been spending a lot of time with Brandon's mom this week. We walked over to the Thursday market together again this week, although Brandon was at home sick on his Daddy's day off, so Sukma was nice enough to help me navigate this crazy market while I found the things I needed. I love the Thursday market. It's nuts, but it's so diverse and changes quite regularly. This day, I bought broccoli, carrots, mangoes, several shirts for the kids, popcorn, sticky rice, a Bingo game, and earrings. Nice to have a place I can easily get to for things we need, and some things we don't, for a really cheap price! I love Thursdays.

I've talked about Sukma a lot, and I finally got a picture of her! This woman is one of my favorites! I mentioned earlier that she watches a lot of American series and movies. Guess why Brandon's name is Brandon? Ever seen Beverly Hills 90210? I couldn't stop laughing.

We also spent a really fun evening with Anutra, Bird, and Koong. We met them at a restaurant in a small hotel that is owned by a friend of Anutra's. The whole hotel is decorated in traditional Thai style, with many originals. We took a tour afterwards, and it felt like a museum! The food at the restaurant was awesome. They even had my favorite, Masaman curry. One funny thing about restaurants here, is that they have huge TVs in them. When they saw us come in, they immediately changed the channel to Cartoon Network for the kids. I actually hate this channel. We took it off our TV completely, so we were grateful that they were playing some classic Tom and Jerry episodes. I didn't realize how violent those old cartoons are that we all grew up with, but it certainly didn't seem to effect the kids that way! They were laughing OUT LOUD, along with a really old lady on the next table, all the wait staff and.... Jeff. He was loving it! It certainly doesn't make for good conversation at dinner, but it was good fun to all be laughing together at these classic cartoons!

It was easy to get the kids to look at the "camera" because Jeff was standing right in front of the HUGE plasma screen!

We all walked to the train afterwards, and Anutra made Jeff pose for this picture next to his look-alike. These huge signs are up all over the city. Maybe that's why he started to grow the beard, so people would stop asking him for autographs!

Jane loves going for walks through the city, and is good to stay in her stroller. Jack was never content to sit in a stroller, so I've really enjoyed this about Jane. Especially in this city where she's much safer when she's contained. This day, we ended up at the park where we fed the birds some crackers, played on the toys, and ate some pineapple and som tam. I love the parks here. Although the playground equipment is anything but well-maintained, the grounds are exceptionally beautiful. It makes for a happy morning for both of us. This picture reminds me of one of Faith at a park in New Jersey. Vanessa, do you know which one I'm talking about? She was a bit older than Jane.

Jane's been super independent this week. We've been hearing a lot of "Janie's turn, okay?", or tonight when Jeff was trying to help Jane with her nightgown, "STOP! Go away! Janie's turn!". She also has been starting to tell Jack what to do. She ordered him to time out this week, "Time out! Okay?", which of course, Jack and I both thought was hilarious. I should point out that Jane says all these things with a sweet (but slightly stern) voice, which makes it just that much funnier. Also, she's been talking about her "armpips" (I remember this being a Clark term too, am I right?), and I love that whenever she looks down to see her big, round tummy, she laughs and says, "punkin!".

Here we go with another full week. I'm in the final stages of preparing for the Ultimate Easter Activity for the Primary kids. We're really excited for our first one, and if we can just get everyone into the city on a Saturday morning, we'll be in really good shape!

Love you all, and have a GREAT week!

I do!

Until yesterday, this had been a most ordinary week. But, yesterday we did something we never thought we would have a chance of doing. We were invited to a Thai wedding ceremony for our friends, Don and Nan. We just recently met Nan, but Don we've known for quite some time and he's now our home teacher. His visit last month marks the first time we've been home taught in 4 years. Wow. Needless to say, we think he is great, and were very happy for him to be married to a sweet lady like Nan.

We've planned on the wedding for a few weeks now, but Monday night we got a call from Nan and her friend, Napa, to ask if we could help out with the wedding ceremony. I couldn't understand what they needed, but told them to come over anyway and we'll do whatever they need. They came over a couple hours later and explained that Bishop Anderson wasn't able to be there to act as Don's Guests of Honor, and they wanted Jeff and I to play that part in the ceremony and party. To make a long story short, Jeff needed to learn to give marital advice in Thai, and I needed to stand and smile. Both things we are capable of. So, Jeff, being the genius and dedicated Thai student that he is, learned how to say many phrases in Thai for his "speech". A big thanks to his friends at work, the missionaries, and our wonderful Anutra! Is Jeff not amazing?

SO many pictures from yesterday, but we thought we'd share mostly the ones that show a little culture along with the people. We felt so honored to be a part of this wedding party, and although we don't know what everything symbolizes, we were loving seeing it first hand, and enjoying the traditions.

Kind of a funny place to start, because the morning part of the wedding was not a traditional Thai wedding in the least bit! It was held at our new church (we move in next month), and the Bishop married them. I was able to play my violin and conduct the music, which was interesting to conduct while singing in English, but 95% of the audience was singing in Thai! We were glad Bishop could be there for the morning so he could conduct the ceremony and give his words of advice based on his own 30 years of marriage. He's a little beyond us when it comes to experience!

There were very few children there, so it was nice to have so many people to help with our two! Jane found a balloon and was using it like a fitness ball in the hallway after the ceremony was over. Whatever keeps her happy!

We had about 2 hours at home, then off to the afternoon/evening events. This was a part of the ceremony where they had a whole bunch of people walk around a building holding platters of all kinds of food and flowers. Then they walked through three "doors", one of which was Jack and Janie holding a gold necklace they needed to pass through. Don was required to negotiate his way through each door with pink envelopes full of cash. The children thought this was great, and loved being a part of it. Jack and Jane both got an envelope of their own. Jack was THRILLED! He's never had 100 baht before! The flower thing on the left of the photo is what Jeff was carrying as a part of the group.

As they came in, they placed everything on this table for all to see. Notice the cooked chicken (and maybe pork) at the end of the table. Also, the big pan of cash on the lower right hand.

Are my kids not SO cute in these Thai outfits? They were so excited to get all dressed up!

So, here's the story about MY Thai outfit. When they came on Monday, they measured us all for traditional clothing. I made sure to tell them that I'm BIG and TALL compared to Thai women. I was sure everything would be fine if they remembered that. Well, I don't know what happened, but when I got my clothes, I tried them on and was sure they had confused my clothing with Napa (Nan's good friend) because the shirt was extremely short and I couldn't even button it up! I have no idea what happened. I eventually made the skirt work, but in this shot, I only had my normal (very wrinkly) dress on with the sash. I felt like an idiot for messing up the entire Thai look, but what's a girl to do? I'm just NOT a size 2 and 5 feet tall like most Thai woman! BUT, everyone else looked wonderful, so like my mom always says, "smile, and no one will notice!".

Don put out loads of money on a platter (pictured above) to offer to Nan's mother as dowry. A woman packaged it all up, then they presented it to Nan's mother in a special way. It was interesting to watch, I just wished we had a running commentary on what everything means! I love the amount of respect they show their elders here.

Later, we all went into the big hall and Jeff and I were able to place string on their heads symbolizing unity between them, flowers around their necks, and we ran water down each of their hands, then stepped back to watch as many others did the same while offering congratulations and encouraging words. We all stood for pictures for probably a good 45 minutes, as we had people come and go, yet we were in almost all the pictures! Even after we were done, Jack had been turned into a prop and stayed for even more. What a good sport!

We were in a whole series of pictures that the children were not in before the one above, so all the while, Jack and Jane were just running around this room while I tried to stay calm for the camera. I'm sure I did a lousy job of it, because every time Jack came near this cake, I was stressing out! I had these visions of it toppling over on top of him before everyone even sat down to eat! I'm happy to say that besides orange soda all over my dress, Jack's pants, the white chair cover, and floor, oh, yes, and a broken glass, no cake touched the floor. Whew!

We all sat down and had dinner while the program carried on. They eventually called Jeff up, the guest of honor, and he was incredible. I think everything stopped when he got up there and started to speak Thai. Everyone was SO impressed, and it was very obvious they were pleased with what what he said. I thought I was off the hook when I knew I could count on Jeff to represent us, but no. They called me up too, and I said a bit, but in English, so I think about 5% of the crowd understood (Jeff pointed out later that besides a French woman from church, we were the only farangs there all night). Speaking at a wedding is fine, but when you also have two children tugging on you and wandering in all directions, it's a little rough. Throughout the entire night, we were SO grateful (as we always are) that Thais are so fond of children. Anywhere else, this would never have worked!

This little boy was Nan's nephew, and Jack and Jane were very fond of him! They had a GREAT time on the dance floor!

Jack and Jane are always dancing together lately. Jane will spontaneously grab Jack's hands and start singing "I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream...", so having music and a very captive audience, they went at it and entertained the whole crowd!

And, eventually, they got cake! They brought over this huge piece for the children, and Dipu let them dig right in! Dipu and Napa are good friends of Nan and Don, and we've had a small amount of contact with them at different church functions. After spending this day with them, we have realized they are SO WONDERFUL! Our kids love them, and they were so helpful and fun to be with! We are hoping to hear a wedding announcement from them soon too!

We took pictures in the morning, while we were getting in our Thai dress, before the ceremony, during the ceremony, after the ceremony, in our normal clothes, during the program, and as we went to say goodbye, it started all over again! It was kind of like a "line" in the traditional western reception, except instead of people just offering their congratulations, they all stopped to take pictures with the bride and groom. And, there were at least 3 BIG cameras (with huge lights) going the whole time. It was crazy. But, they'll have lots to remember this special day by! By this time, we had spent the last 5 hours at this place, and were all pretty beat! It was a HUGE day! It made me super excited about my brother's wedding day in April (YAY Jesse and Danielle!), because I think it will be fun to have a day like this with our family being all together! Although, this day was crazy with our two children. Add my sister's families (8 more kids!), and it will be quite a sight! I can't wait!

If you are wondering if we did anything else during the week, the answer is... not really. Like I said, it really was an ordinary week. But, we did spend a short time at Ocean world, so our picture of the week is Jack holding this awesome snake! Like I said in my latest post (Joanna tagged me), Jane also wanted to hold it all by herself, but I didn't quite trust the snake with a two year old. She was a little too excited for my comfort level. Maybe in another year or two.

Jane loved this turtle and walked up and down this side of the tank with it for several minutes. These turtles really are quite impressive and have become something we look forward to each time.

Jane's also become a little "nurturer" recently. She has us help her wrap up this little baby so she can carry it around the house. It's funny to see her putting the baby to bed when we go places or helping the baby sword fight with Jack. She can be so gentle, but watch out! If she gets distracted, that baby is the first thing to go! It's hilarious!

I know I've asked this before, but does anybody else let their children go out with weird things on their heads, or in costumes or something? My kids always want to, and I rarely think it's worth the hassle of saying "no", so I let them. Do your kids like to do this too?

Our good friend, Crisse DeJesus (mother of Jack's friend, Kurt, from the Philippines), is in the hospital tonight with something they haven't figured out yet. Instead of having a primary presidency meeting like we scheduled right after church, I went to Alice's house and watched everyone's children (7 to be exact) for several hours while they moved Crisse from one hospital to another trying to find the right care at a reasonable price. Crisse is also in the presidency with us, and this was going to be the first time we could get all 4 of us together at once, and she's in the hospital! I think she's going to be fine, but she's in a lot of pain and will probably go in for a CT scan tonight. We're a little worried about her, so please remember her in your prayers.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!