Day O' Fun Throwback

We've been out of Thailand for a couple of months, now, but I thought I'd share some pictures from one of our favorite family days back in September.

These two. Their brother was most likely swinging upside down from something while I took this. We found a little cafe with a giant, shaded playground. The kids played and jumped and swung. And I had coffee with my man. Happiness!

Actually, this little beauty was my sideline pleasure, and no, I will not share. 

Monkeying around. 

I'm pretty sure this is his inner self coming out. I think his heart and head make this face all the time. So. Much. Energy. He's all fun!!!

My sweet girl.

I LOVE this man!!! He amazes me every day. 

He's such an amazing daddy. I love watching him with his babies. They adore him. 

And they learn so much from him. He makes every moment teachable. 

We headed to a little zoo and tried to abide by the rules. 

That is one hungry giraffe. Kate and Thomas were a little nervous. Isaiah showed no fear, as usual.

Brian and Mr. Daddy Giraffe had a little heart to heart. Bless. Big guys and their big hearts. At one point, I do believe I heard Brian say, "I know how you feel, buddy." We regularly make him eat his dinner behind a wooden bar while taking pictures of other people feeding him.... Um, no...

We had a blast seeing more of the beautiful country and its beautiful wildlife. Family time is always sweet especially when I have an icey drink in my hand. :)

"Home"

Exhausted but excited. Worn out but wired. We were on American soil. We stepped out of the airport tram tired from 24 hours of travel, and as we walked into the domestic terminal where we would board our final flight "home," the smells and sights of our dear homeland hit me. "It smells like weight gain." I said to Kate. She didn't understand. Her metabolism still functions at a high level. But between the smells of cinnamon buns, doughnuts, cheeseburgers and, fried chicken, I could envision myself staring down the gauntlet of shopping for new jeans. But even that would be ok, because I was now in the land of clearance racks and bargain shopping.

I suppose I didn't know what to expect landing in our passport country. We've heard reports about so much hurt and fear from so many people. Our news websites keep us updated on the marches, the riots, the fighting over flags, the decreased moralism, the selling of babies' body parts, and the racism that was supposed to be extinct by now. And when all you hear is bad news, you set your expectations low. So many ask, "What is becoming of our country?" I guess I was asking it too. But upon arriving in Atlanta, I didn't see hate. I didn't see fear. Maybe my eyes were clouded because of the extreme exhaustion, but what I saw was the same America I have always known and loved.

I saw people helping one another get through the airport. I saw smiling faces and helping hands from all races. When we finally sat ourselves down on the plane for our final flight home, I saw two men jump up to help a woman, not from their race or background, put her luggage in the overhead compartment. I saw an older woman give her number to someone she saw carrying a sewing machine she had inherited from her dying grandmother. "Call me. My name is ... I will help you learn to sew. Really anytime day or night. Call." Perfect strangers making connections and forming community. Genuine smiles. Kind words and gentle helping hands. This is my country. These are my people. I am proud to be here and count myself among them.

I'm not always proud of us. We're a country full of imperfect people. We're broken and lost. And those of us who have the Truth can be so ridiculously self-righteous and so painfully unforgiving. We don't always listen and we don't always welcome the broken and hurting into the same sea of grace that we have been washed in. But the strong black hands that lifted a white woman's large suitcase above her head spoke that very thing. Grace. And it was beautiful and slightly reassuring. I do realize the darkness is still ruling and the pain and fear are still real, but in the nitty gritty moments (i.e. the airport, because... really) I saw a somewhat strangely united America that I don't even think I would have noticed last time I was here.

We are certainly happy to be here where customer service is an actual thing and where we can enjoy family, friends and even the genuine smiles and kindness of strangers. There's football, falling leaves, family and food! We're enjoying the beautiful rolling landscape of our gorgeous state. We are cherishing every solitary moment with family. And church. Man, I love going to church! Balm for my heart!

But most importantly, I'm not sweating. Hallelujah!

Name That Tune

These beautiful babies are learning a new song today. It's a sweet sweet sound.

Compassion on the Multitudes

Our family recently took a walk through a local, popular temple.

 Beautiful colors 

and large towering statues,

 people on their knees with hands bowed in prayers, the smells of incense, the sounds of ringing bells,

the food, flowers and money offered to idols, and the tables filled with lottery tickets for sell. 

The reality is a people who are grasping for something to hold, for someone to hear their prayers, for luck, for hope. 

And my heart is filled with compassion.... 

Super Six

Another week. Another birthday. That's how we roll in October. Our Thomas is now 6, and he couldn't be prouder. He woke up to balloons, streamers and of course, pancakes. This child has been waking up early since 2009. And he doesn't just wake up early. He wakes up like a jet engine ready to hit the day with full force. No waiting for coffee or breakfast. He's gonna rule the world one day, because the rest of the world will still be sleeping when he energetically takes it over. (As I write this he is doing burpees. Bless.)

My future pilot had is big 6 pancake.

His favorite man on the planet--the man who gets up with him every morning while I am still moaning about it being too early and praying coffee would magically appear by my bed. He is the mini version of his daddy in almost every way. Same face, eyes, smile, athleticism, drive, ambition, persistence, stubbornness.... The list could go on and on.

My boy. This kid melts me. With things like, "Mom, I'm gonna marry you," and "You're my favorite," and "You're beautiful,"as far as I'm concerned, he can have anything he wants. 

Best friends. They are so fun together. They couldn't be more different, but they love each other so much! (The two year old was being two and wouldn't even begin to think about being in a picture.)

We had Thomas's party at our house. Per his request, it was all things Mario Brothers. 

There were Mario and Luigi coloring sheets,

An awesome sign made just for him (thank you SE Asia),

Musical chairs with music from the game.  

He got a little into it!

I love this kid. He's most certainly got a lot of me in him too. You should see our wedding pictures. :)

Pin the mustache on Mario or Luigi.

And the obstacle course created and designed by his dad was a major hit. There were coins, piranha plants, ghosts, and goombas for smashing. 

They had to jump over the ghosts, hit the coins, jump on the goombas, throw fire and ice power through holes in the enemy and rescue the princess.

So. Much. Fun.

Throwing fire power.

Rescue the princess! 

The food. Marshmallows for ice power, cheese balls for fire power, and star cookies. Pinteresting, right? I couldn't have pulled this party off without those awesome mommas who pin all their brilliant ideas. 

The cake. I didn't make his cake this year. I only slightly missed making it. Cakes stress me out. I always love the finished product, but it's a lot of work. The place that made his did a great job and it was super yummy!

I LOVE these people!

Cutie! He always blushes when we sing to him. 

With all his might...

We even had mustaches. Thomas wouldn't wear his, but this kid loved it. So cute.

And great gifts from great friends. What a precious group of people the Lord has put in our lives here. He is so good!

Thomas Andrew, We love you so much and we are so proud of the little man you are growing into. You are so fun, smart, kind and compassionate. You are a truth-telling, call-it-like-you-see-it, energetic, ambitious and persistent little guy who ALWAYS keeps us on our toes. We thank our great God for you, His creation. You are His. We pray that you will continue to grow in your knowledge of Him and that He will get ahold of your heart. We pray that you surrender your whole life to him, and that all of your ambition and persistence will be founded in Christ. We pray that you will be a man of integrity and godly character, that you will be bold, and obedient to Him. We love you our sweet Bubba Boo. Happy 6th! 

The Great Eight

Yes. Kate and eight rhyme (no thanks to the spelling), and I'm sure she'll hear about it all year. But if I know my girl, I know every time she hears it, she will just roll with it with a big sweet genuine smile.  She's eight and she's great and her name is Kate. Drop the beat... Yo.... I'm sorry. I can't help it.

Birthdays are a big deal around here as they should be because let's face it, our Kate is a big deal and we want her to know it every day, but especially on this day, the day we held her and looked into her beautiful eyes for the first time. And so we make attempts to throw pinterest worthy bday parties, and we fail miserably. (Don't get me started on mommy pressure. Bless us all.) We invite friends, cover our kitchen in flour and frosting, buy presents, make birthday pancakes and let her choose all the happenings of the day including a trip to Subway, her favorite restaurant "because it's healthy." Oh my goodness. (And yes, we have a Subway here. Happy Birthday to us all!) We make her boxed mac and cheese with the powdered, artificial cheese substance because it's her favorite and it's her day. We throw streamers and balloons all over the house, and we hug her and sing to her all day because she is great, her name is Kate and she's now eight.

Her bday pancake. We've been doing this since she was one. We stole this tradition from one of our favorite families on the planet, The Kirkpatricks, who imparted to us so much more than just birthday pancake wisdom. :)

My sentiments exactly!

My precious girl. 

Earlier today, we saw a picture of a baby and I said, "Look it's a baby, like my Kate." And she said, "Yeh, mom, but I'm not a baby anymore." What the!? Why!? That's just mean. Hasn't she read the manual on how to handle her mommy's heart while I mourn her growing up?! Mercy.

Brothers, one of whom is every bit of two right now. They love their big sister!!! 

These two. 

There's not too much sweeter than a daddy and his little girl.

Her party banner. Because we live in SE Asia, we can get awesome stuff like this made on the cheap. In yo' face pinterest!

This was her bday wish: cupcakes in the colors of the rainbow because she reads all the time and one of her favorite book series right now is Rainbow Magic. There are fairies and rainbows and all things magical, and this is what she wanted. This or Chronicles of Narnia and I couldn't imagine that cake so we cheered loud for this new book series. Rainbows and fairies are doable. 

Kate had a pool party with all her classmates, well all the female classmates because we didn't figure the boys would appreciate the fairy magic.

I'm not sure what's happening here. I blame 8. Cute cute 8!

Sweet friends gathered around her to make her feel so special!

This! Precious! We are so thankful that Kate has so many sweet friends to share her first birthday with in SE Asia. God is good!

Happy Birthday to you!

We also took her to get her ears pierced for her big day. She was so brave! This indian was outside the store where she got it done. Thomas's face says it all. 

Our family with an 8 year old.

Kate Joy, We LOVE you so much!!! We pray that this year is full of laughter, joy and so much goodness. We pray that you continue to grow in the knowledge of our Father's love for you. We pray that you will always remember that you are made in His image and cherished in His eyes. He is with you always. I pray that your love for His Word will not wane one bit. Dig into Him. Abide in Him. Rest in Him. I love your face, my sweet Scoot. Happy Birthday!!!

What I Want For My Kids

There is so much I want for my kids. The list could be infinite. I could name a gazillion things that I want them to know, do, learn. I could write a million words on how I want them to behave, respect their elders, strive for greatness, walk in integrity.  I want so many things for my kids. Good things.  Maybe even Godly things. But all of that good stuff doesn't amount to anything valuable without Christ.

In talking with seasoned mommies and mommies in the same phase of chaos as me, I have realized this mess doesn't get easier. These little years of chaos aren't even necessarily the hardest work. These little years are the grunt work, to be sure. "The World's Dirtiest Jobs" really should do a piece on stay at home moms (and also preschools workers because, bless). I have to bust my tail to make sure all these blonde heads are fed something beside ketchup as their only vegetable and strawberry ice cream as their only dairy with a little fruit. I work hard to make sure they go through their day with clean tushies and clean noses. I regularly pick up the brown thing off the floor and smell it in hopes that it is just chocolate, or, at worst, a hardened raisin. I step in puddles of yuck in the bathroom. I constantly answer questions. Constantly! I take little boys to play golf, a game for which I have very little interest.  I paint toenails and brush hair. I help with homework. I break up fights. And maybe I get a shower. At the end of the day when this introverted momma wants to crawl in a hole and hibernate for the winter (read: next 18 years), I finish up the dishes, tuck my little ones in bed, lay my hands on them and beg God to move in their lives.

Full blown 2 year old temper tantrum.

This season is hard. As the saying goes: The days are long, but the years are short. God has blessed me with women in my life who have older children, women who have just shipped their babies across the world for college, women who have walked a mile in my shoes. They have raised kids in literal war zones while their husbands were out ministering to mis-placed war refugees. They have shepherded their kids as they walked through learning a new language and living in a new culture far away from grandparents, a strong local church (with child care! Hello!) and the latest video games. I have had the immense privilege of watching them raise amazing kids who love Jesus with their whole hearts. And they have earned every right to say to me, "Cherish your time with your little ones. It goes by fast." Those words are not only a tender reminder that I only have a little while to hold my babies as they fall asleep and to play hide and seek with them around the house but they are also a reminder that I only have a little while to tell them all the things I want them to know. To teach them to be kind and respectful. To make sure they know that I love them, that I am for them. To teach them to obey the One who made them. To teach them to throw their hands in the air and dance in worship and hit their knees in prayer on the good days and the bad days. 

And so the conversations when we all get together and agree that this mothering thing is way harder than we could have ever dreamed when we were pushing around plastic strollers filled with Cabbage Patch Kids are good and helpful. I have no doubt that the conversations about diapers, potty training, temper tantrums, and sleepless nights will turn into conversations about puberty (bleh!), dating, curfews and colleges. We will go from being physically exhausted to being emotionally spent. It's what moms do, I suppose, on account of all the love--the sweet, deep, painful, terrifying love. Because I love them so deeply, I want to instill in them all the good things. But every night when I pray for them, sometimes the only thing I can muster the strength to ask is Lord, let them be found in You. Abide in them. Get ahold of their hearts and don't let go. And don't let them let go of You.  

Amen.

The end. 

Because all the knowledge and musical talent, all the golf and soccer practices, all the kindness to siblings and good grades will pass away. But Jesus remains forever. So, I will do my hardy best to instill in them all the good things and try not lose my temper when I step in the yellow puddles. And I will pray that down the road when I am looking at the young momma who is has no make-up on and whose hair is a mess, I can know that my big grown-up babies are walking in the power of the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus  O that they may taste and see that He is good. That they will be made alive together with Him. Oh that He will be their all in all! Let them gain Christ and be found in Him. That's all I really want for my kids.