Little fingers

This is my refrigerator. Can you see the little hand prints that Jude left? I took this picture to save the memory of that sweet boy living in this house.

The day we sent Sally, Jon and Jude off we had a prayer time as a family. Sally was kneeling down to pray with tears streaming down her face. Jude took a Kleenex out of the box sitting on the floor and went up to Sally and wiped the tears off her face. It was THE sweetest thing. What a blessing that God has given Sally a sensitive little man to comfort her!

Here is a video of Jude just before they left! What does the Farmer say?

Trombley Time

Trombley Time!

Mary is my closest sister by location and it's been nice to have seen her

two times in the last month.

Matt and Chloe
Mary and Chloe - all smiles

Chloe turned one this week. Time flies when you are having fun.

Wedding and Family Time

It's been a month full of family fun. Mom, Dad, Mamie, Mary and Chloe and I went to Arkansas for my cousin's wedding.

Brian and Christina

Pops and Chloe

Mother of the Groom, Aunt Cindy and Amy

Then...Kaye surprised us by coming with Gracie to Houston. Sally and Jon and Jude leave soon so it was great to have us all together. Jude and Gracie just turned one.

It's such a special treat to have everyone together. I tell you though, we've realized that we need a three day cap on togetherness under the same roof. We love each other but there can be too much of a good thing. We get really tired from staying up late having fun, loosing more sleep because babies wake up in the middle of the night, and having every room occupied by warm bodies and toys... so what happens to family dynamics under one roof baby number two, three, four arrives? Sleep in tents outside?

Temples in Thailand

I was amazed to see the white temple above. The image given was of people's hands sticking up out of hell and the keeper of the gate pointing to them to stay where they are. It's interesting because Buddhism does not really have a concept of hell. I'm curious who the designer was and how he came to create such a picture. The temple is white but I tell you it is anything but a pure place. Demons are crouched everywhere "protecting" the temple.

Back in the US of A

I am at home in Houston through the summer on home assignment. I finished my job as Country Advocate and am praying about what God has next for me. Any ideas?

All us girlies.

Check out the crib:

Jude

Gracie

Chloe

Thailand- it's where i live

I live here when i don't live out of my suitcase. The food is good and the people are very kind. Here are a few pictures for you.

January Pics

Here are some random pics from life over here. Enjoy!

Lovely dinner options.

Interesting find at the grocery store. Needless to say, I didn't buy them.

At the Panda exhibit, they sell Pando Poo! I didn't buy that either.

The beautiful orchids of Thailand!

Life is good. I missed winter, though. It's been a little cool, but NOTHING like Kyrgyzstan last year.
God's creativity shows in the climates and seasons, foods and flowers the world over.

Chloe has arrived

Baby Chloe entered this world on December 17th. Unfortunately I was half a world away for this birth. I'm so glad that eveyone else was nearby. Mary and Chloe had a rough first week with health issues but they are doing much better now. Matt did a great job taking care of his girls. We are so happy to have all the 2006 babies with us!

Decorations in Chiang Mai

Take a look at the Christmas decorations in the mall in the Chiang Mai. Notice Santa hanging out on the left. This year this costume is the normal red suit. Last year it was blue. With each year they are getting more into the grove of "Happy Holidays".

Sadly that they have no idea of the meaning of Christmas.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Here is the truck I drove for my first two months in Chiang Mai. In high school I cared so much about what vehicle I drove. Now look! Can't get much worse than this! :) It's uglier up close.

So glad that now I have upgraded to a little four door sedan; it came with my new house. So much easier to drive than an old standard!

Malaysian Vacation

Super cool that my teammate's parents allowed us to use their timeshare. We spent a week on the east coast of Malaysia. Never in my life have I done so much of nothing!

There were some interesting happenings:

First we were a little weary to find out that it was typhoon season - which it turned out to only rain three times while we where there. The water wasn't as calm as normal but that was fine because we spent most of our time at the pool.

Secondly, our first few days there the resort was full of Muslims - women in full cover sitting in but mostly around the pool. This made us not want to put on our bathing suits! Lucky for us that we were the only ones who wanted to be out at the pool from 12 to 3 pm - prime sun hours. (On this side of the world many people use whitening creams to get lighter skin and there we were soaking in the rays)

Thirdly, by Wednesday the conservative guests had been replaced by Chinese Malaysian men in Speedos!

We had a great time of relaxation! A little reading, a lot of praying, listening to music, swimming, walking the beach and catching some rays. Praise the Lord for down time!

Thai Holiday

Thailand is a Buddhist country, yet here in the north there is an amazing amount of Hinduism mixed in. Sometimes you will see Buddha's right along side with the elephant god from India. Their paradigm for thinking about the world is so different from a Christians. Ancestors are very important to them. All good Buddhists have an alter by their house where they "feed" the ancestors. I guess it's kind of like "appeasing the spirits".

Here is a picture of a shrine lite up the night of their holiday.

(mentioned below)

They celebrated a holiday, Loy Katong, a couple weeks ago where they are supposed appease the water spirits or something like that. They light with fire and then send big cylinder kite like things up in the air. It looks amazing as hundreds light up the sky like stars.

I’m in Chiang Mai, Thailand

I am very glad to be here with my team. It feels pretty natural. Today as I walked in the bizarre I thought to myself, “I really live here, this is my new home. How odd yet normal feeling.” I’ve been driving all around the city in my borrowed standard pickup truck. I like the challenge of weaving in and out of lanes with motorbikes all around and at the same time making sure not to stall out in traffic that is inching along. It’s great.

Last week I went to a reservoir with my team for a little get away. We stayed on a houseboat for one night and played in the water all day as well as getting in several games of Settler’s of Catan. Very nice. All for the price of $13.00. Not bad for two days of fun in the sun.
 

Baby Grace

What a tremendous blessing that I was in Orlando for the birth of little Gracie, my sister Kaye's baby. I really didn't expect for the timing to work out. HE is good to us. I even got to assit in the delivery. Gracie is a precious little one.

Baby Jude

Baby Jude came out to play!

It's amazing how life can change in an instant. Sally, my sister, once was carefree and independant and now her life will never be what it was. It's interesting how change is inevitable. To create is to change the world. God did it in each day of creation and He is still doing it in our lives today. Whether creating a baby or creating a new decor for the living room, whether creating a job for a person in need or creating an opportunity for fun, we are living life in the same light as our Creator. With creation comes change; they go hand in hand. At times embracing change is easy; while other times change brings us to the pit of dispair. One thing constant in life is change. It's intersting how it all fits together.