Visiting Phayao, Part Three

We went to a nature center one day, and Corban (Chris and Tonya's oldest son) was the "Goat Whisperer." He told all the kids how to walk slowly and put their hands behind their backs so the goats would not be scared. So sweet! He's an animal lover like our Caleb.

At the nature center, we looked at some animals and then sat down to have a "homeschool sharing time." Our Thailand friends told us things about Thailand and we (or I) told them about Singapore. We asked questions about how our lives are different in the two countries. (Meg, the 3-year-old in the purple shirt, was obviously enthralled by our presentation! Kind of like Levi who was taking pictures of the sky and himself while I was talking.)

Only in Thailand! (Yes, Mom, adults sat back there with them!)

Teagan insisted I take a picture of him! Happy to oblige. Such a cutie!:-)

This is the street where Chris and Tonya live. It's currently under construction. It's been that way for quite some time (almost 4 weeks when we were there), and I don't know that there is any plan to finish it. They have to park in that raised area to the left and navigate the dangerous holes to get to their house at the end. It's pretty tricky at night.

Chris built his boys a tree house, and it is so cool! The boys loved playing up there.

And, Caleb is representing our Aggies and our home state of Texas all the way in Thailand!

Thanks Phayao friends for hosting us and blessing us with such a fun, relaxing time. We LOVED being with you!!

Visiting Phayao, Part 2

One of the best parts of our trip to Phayao...instant friends! All of the kids are about the same ages, so they played and played and played. It was great fun for all!

Why, yes, that is an alligator behind that fence. Doesn't look safe to you? Welcome to Thailand!

Visiting Phayao, Part One

Caleb, Levi and I flew to Thailand on June 21 to visit a team of missionaries, who all happen to be friends of mine. It's pretty cool that I have a prior relationship with all 7 adults on the team (4 from when I lived in Thailand and 3 from college). We had a GREAT time! It was wonderful to catch up with old friends, see the work they are doing in Phayao, have our kids play together, and be back in Thailand for a while (and out of the big, loud city!).

Ann and Derran's living room/the boys watching videos on my phone:

The street where Ann and Derran live. Yes, only one car at a time.

The boys' redneck version of a swimming pool. They had a BLAST! It was great for them to have a "yard" they could play in without much supervision. We miss that so much living in a condo.

The boys with some of the team kids (and Chris Fikes) doing Hello Kitty puzzles. It is Asia, after all!

Gap playing games with the kids on her iPad:

Finger painting!

I had to take this picture. Since we live in Singapore, where all power, cable and telephone lines are underground, this is something we never see:

More to come...

Phuket, Thailand

Click on the picture to enlarge.

TOP ROW: resort where we stayed, beach play, Levi and Daddy standing in front of the WINDOW from the bedroom to the shower (weird), Caleb, Levi

MIDDLE ROW: silly Caleb, beachside restaurant menu (yum!), sunset, lunch, Levi

BOTTOM ROW: lunch beachside, dog under my beach chair, beach, trying to get a good pic of the boys in their matching shirts, not happening. :-)

When Will It Go Away

My kids and I are sick again. This time with a stomach bug. Caleb's still running a fever, but Levi seems much better today. I'm so tired of being sick and my kids being sick. We can't seem to shake it around here lately. On the upside, Justin was home today to take care of all of us. We watched lots of movies and just laid around all day. I'm hoping we're all well soon and that Justin doesn't get sick. For some reason being sick makes me much more homesick. I'm not sure why.

In other, more exciting news, we're heading to Thailand on Friday! I've resisted the urge to put a countdown on here every day, but we are SO excited!! It's been almost 8 years since I was in Chiang Mai--a life-changing 6 months for me. Justin and I were dating then (it gives new meaning to the term "long distance relationship"), so I'm ready to show him places I frequented and introduce the boys to our friends there. We love, love, love the Thai people and can't wait to be among them again. Great Thai food is just the cherry on top. We're praying against any sickness next weekend!

Here are some recent pictures. Caleb hardly ever is fully dressed when we're at home. Not sure why, but he refuses to have both a shirt and shorts on at the same time. Maybe it's the heat?
I made a little reading nook out of our bathtub one day. Really, I was just trying to keep the boys out of the way. ;-)
Caleb's sticker creation. That one, he keeps us in stitches.