drawing a blank

I don't really have a lot to write.  I haven't really even been in the writing mood this week.  It's been one of those weeks.  It's week 5 of Stan's intense language study, the last week.  How people make it through the 8, or more?--I can't remember, weeks of this when you do it full out is beyond me.  I know it doesn't help that we are fast approaching the year-since-we've-had-any-time-away-as-a-family mark, with a vacation less than a month away.  We are weary and need a break.  But really that is all just whining and I didn't want to do that.  So instead, to celebrate the end of crazy study time and our fast approaching vacay, I'm going to make a peach dump. That is what my family calls a cobbler type fruit concoction, cause you just dump all the ingredients in.  It's good despite the unappetizing name.  And I'm going to do my best to just eat one piece.  And maybe one for breakfast Saturday morning.  But that's it.  I hate that I do so well all during the week with making good food choices and exercising and then go nutso with eating bad on the weekend.  Pretty counter productive.  And I am determined to get this last 25 pounds off. 

So to end my pity party--not really, I just know none of that sounds too positive, except the dump, that's quite exciting--I just want you to go through my linked blogs and look at some amazing things God is doing.  Baby's, church plants, Frugaladee deals.  The wonderfulness is endless.  And much more interesting than me this week. 

Tomorrow I have errands to run.  Hopefully I'll remember my camera cause I'm thinking of starting a semi regular Fashion Friday, with a twist.  It's gonna be fabulous.

change of plans

Thursday afternoon my friend E called me and told me that she had talked with some people and the trip to KM was taking 8 hours by car and up to 14 hours by bus, usually it take about 3 hours by car or 4 by bus.  There are huge sections of the main road that are closed due to construction and so all traffic was put on the old, winding though the mountains road.  We just couldn't stand traveling 8 hours minimum to basically have one day to shop and retreat.  It wasn't worth it.  So my wonderful weekend away was canceled.  Sad.

We talked about some nearby alternatives but in the end I stayed home.  When I woke up Saturday morning my stomach was bothering me.  Again.  Will it ever end???  Probably not as long as I live here.  But anyway, the other ladies went to a hot springs pool.  The pool part had gone down hill in the last few years so they just sat by the pool and soaked in a little sun.  So it was probably best I didn't take my pasty self out there.  The talking and relaxing would have been wonderful but I'm sure to have gotten too much sun despite bathing in sun screen first.

Anyway, I opted for a quiet day at home with my boys.  Judah got his first haircut.  I made egg salad.  It was overall quite boring but just what I needed in preparation for this last week of Stan's everyday language studying.  I think after this week we are both going to do three a week.  For two weeks at least.  Then Stan goes to a training in KM for a week and then we head on our week vacation.  The week after we get back will be Kirby's first week of school.  There is a lot to do, but if I'm totally honest I wish it was vacation time.  I actually wish we could go on vacation now and be gone a whole month.  That would be great.  But I have some progress to make in my own language learning before I take a three week break.  And I must get prepared for starting school with Kirby.  *sigh*  We will get one week though.  One glorious, lazy, swimming, laughing week.  Unless there is a typhoon.  But I won't think about that.

This week has flown by.  My stomach has been bothering me so all last weekend and even a little bit on Monday I was being lazy and basically trying to feel better.  So since then it's been catch up.  And then yesterday was Birthday Day for Stan and sweet Judah.  What a fun time.  Pictures of Judah vs. the chocolate cake coming on the Angels blog soon.  I really wanted to write a nice letter to my husband telling him how wonderful he is, but I can't quite form the thoughts or words for that yet. 

I have a post brewing about prison.  Seems pretty random, I know.  My Big Sister's brother was just released from prison after 17 years.  Hearing her tell us about it is so sad and yet thought provoking.  I really would love to share about it so I may do that next week.

This weekend I am taking a mini retreat.  A couple other mommies, E and L, and I want to do some food shopping in KM.  And go to the fake Ikea store--it's supposed to be the Chinese version of Ikea.  We shall see.  And go to a really nice hardware store.  Stan wants a drill for his birthday gift.  I have no idea how to buy a drill, should be interesting.  And we are going to eat some yummy stuff.  TCBY is top on my list cause Stan never wants to go.  He prefers to go to Dairy Queen.  I prefer to enjoy my treat without all the guilt of DQ.  Especially after eating dinner at Papa John's.  With all the western restaurants that have opened in KM in the last year it's a REALLY good thing I don't live there.  Best of all we are taking Sunday morning for some personal retreat time.  We are staying in the apartment of some friends that are currently in the States, so there will be plenty of room for us to spread out. 

Anyway, I have a lot to do before then.  Like wash clothes so I can dress somewhat cute, cause I know E and L will be by default and I don't want to be the frumpy friend tagging along.  Plus with no one year old grabbing at me, jewelry and I will be reunited.  I also have to make a trip to Walmart so I don't leave Stan short on supplies.  He's being super great with my plan to be gone all weekend.  He's getting a drill out of it though.  And an Almond Snickers.  Maybe a bag of Doritos if I'm feeling super nice.  Oh, and I have tutoring this morning.  Oh where is my To Do list...

mother's morning out

No, I didn't start a local MMO group, although that wouldn't be a bad idea.  I did, however, take this morning to get out on my own.  I decided that I wanted a morning out and to have a quiet lunch and read or whatever.  So I took off about 9:00 this morning and headed to Old Town.  Since there is always some inexpensive jewelry to buy and I've been wanting to buy a flowy skirt--sold in abundance there--to wear on the beach on vacation and we needed more coffee--it's the only place to buy any other than instant--I took off.

My first stop was an outdoor store.  They carry many name brand outdoor clothing--North Face, Columbia, etc.  The best part is they have children's sizes and last year we got Kirby a North Face coat with the zip in fleece.  So I went today to see if they had the next size up, and they did.  It's about the equivalent of $20.  Real or not...who knows?  But it looks like the same quality as real and is the same price as poorly made Chinese brand coats and most importantly, both boys have one.  No fights.  No poked out boo boo lips because they both can't wear the other one.  I also got a few necklaces, the flowy skirt I've been eyeing and coffee--which doesn't count as shopping cause it is a neccessity.  While I was shopping I got my favorite blended iced coffee drink--just about as close as you can get to a Frappacino around here.  I then had a quiet lunch and came home.  Other than the fact that I was dripping with sweat, it was a wonderful morning. 

In just a bit we are headed off to the pool to begin family night.  I'm making Beefy Bean Burritos for dinner(let's hope the homemade salsa turns out as well as the homemade refried beans did), we will probably watch a movie (something short cause the boys haven't napped a bit out of excitement for the pool and will be ready for bed early I suspect) and if I get the notion I may just make the best brownies ever for our dessert.  I love days like this.  Hopefully tomorrow will be easy and relaxing.  Stan has earned a 'day off' for sure!

no tv

A little over a month ago Stan and I started talking about what a distraction the TV in our room had become.  Other than in my college dorm room years, I had never had a TV in my bedroom. You can read how exciting it was for me when we first moved the TV in just over a year ago.  We spent many a cold night snuggled up in the bed watching movies or shows.  It was great for those late night dream feed nursing sessions.  But it started to become and issue.

We knew with the intense language study time we would be doing this summer that the TV could seriously distract us from important study time and other tasks that needed to be done during non-study time.  So when we found out some friends were looking for an inexpensive TV, we took it as confirmation that it was time to let it go.  I know I will miss it on the nights when Stan is out of town, or next winter when it's freezing downstairs and we want to have a movie night, but...we will be OK.

Another decision we made was to cut out all weekday TV time.  For us and the boys.  I am ashamed at how many hours of TV we were letting the boys watch.  It's seriously embarrassing.  It had become the go to entertainment for them when they got bored playing outside or in their room.  So of course they eventually got to the point where they only wanted to watch TV and never play outside or in their room.  With the start of school for Kirby and our own need for more discipline we just cut it out.  We have now made it almost through three full weeks of no weekday TV.  My friend E asked me if I thought we would be glued to it 12 hours a day on Saturday and Sunday but we haven't.  The boys have chosen to have movie night for the past two Friday's but I feel a lot less guilty about it since they had gone without all week.

Our hope is to keep this going.  I thought it would be challenging but since we only watch DVDs it has been pretty easy.  And since we only keep up with maybe 4 current shows it won't be hard to download them and save them for the weekend once the new seasons begin.  This has definitely been helpful as I've been getting more organized and disciplined.

shopping

For time that is.  Shopping for Time is a book by Carolyn Mahaney and her three daughters.  A friend recommended it to me and let me borrow her copy--I should add that she did this out of my asking for prayer in the area of 'getting it together' not out of her perceiption that I needed help, at least that is what she told me.  I also had heard that several other friends, all Godly women, had or were reading this.  I had it for several weeks and never had time to pick it up and read it.  Despite the fact that it's a really thin book.  Pretty ironic.  Finally one afternoon I had a few free minutes and got started.  Seriously, it took me about 1 1/2 to 2 hours total to read it, over a couple of days that is.  So once I finished I thought, 'I need to read that again'.  So I did.  And took notes.  Not in the book cause my friend E wouldn't like that so much.

For whatever life stage you are in, it was a really practical step-by-step on how to get it together.  I consider myself to be a pretty organized person.  My house may not always reflect that but I live with four other people, all of them male, so it's not completely in my control.  But I felt that since having Kirby, and then Bennett, and then Judah with a move to a new country mixed in there, my personal organization and productivity slowly made a downward spiral.  I would have a week here and there where I was super productive and super organized but it wasn't a growing trend.  Enter, my new favorite book.

The first thing it had to say I really didn't like.  Rise early.  Now that isn't fun.  After reading and praying I knew I had to do it.  Anyone who has ever lived with me will tell you quite quickly that I am not a morning person.  The ladies I lived with in college even went so far as to name my early morning expression 'The Morning Face'.  They made sure to warn Stan.  And I think he in turn has warned each of our boys on the day of their birth.  But all the same it is a neccessary evil.  The book introduced the 5 AM Club.  That is just pure insanity.  I thought 6 AM was WAY early enough for me.  But after two weeks I decided that another 30 minutes would really give me a better start.  So ladies, I am now a full member of the 5:30 Club.  It physically hurts me to get up that early.  But three hours later I have spent time in the Word, gone on a brisk walk, showered and had breakfast.  All that with only two cups of coffee.  And, so far, it feels great.

There were many other suggestions given by these ladies, which were also great, but this one was a big step for me.  I am so thankful for some great reminders and a few new ideas.  If you are struggling to fit in the things you want to do each day, the things you need to do each day and the things you should do each day, this book is a must read.

you're welcome

We had some people over for breakfast this morning and I made these scones.  A friend made them for me--really she made them for her pregnant-with-twins-self and let me have one--while I was in BKK having pre-term labor with Judah...so well over a year ago.  I loved them and asked for the recipe and I'm just now getting around to giving them a go.

I am oh. so. glad. that I did.

This recipe is wonderful in that if gives a basic scone and you can add in whatever yumminess you would like.  Today I divided the dough in half and did half chocolate chip and half craisin.

Which would have also been wonderful together.

Grandma Scones

1 cup whipping cream

1 tsp baking soda

4 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp salt

1 cup butter

1 egg

1-1 1/2 cups of something delicious

In a small bowl mix the whipping cream and baking soda.

In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt.

Cut slightly softened butter into dry ingredients with a pastry blender (or spatula, knives, fork, whatever you got) until the butter and dry ingredients are fully combined with no large chunks.

Beat the egg and add into whipping cream mixture.

Lightly mix wet and dry ingredients, forming a loose dough.

Mix in your something delicious.

Make two 3/4 inch thick rounds and cut into 8 triangles (think patting out pizza dough and then cutting it like a pizza).

Place triangles on greased baking sheet and bake @ 400 degrees for about 12-15 minutes or until nicely browned on top.

You will want to eat them hot.

And save some for later.

I think next I will try bacon cheddar.  The original giver of the recipe suggested leaving out the sugar when making a savory flavored scone.  Also, be careful not to let your add in deliciousness be too liquidy.  The dough will be too wet and you won't get that sconey biscuit like texture that melts in your mouth.

Please tell me when you make these.  It's super easy!

a sign

This is my current cell phone...

It gets dropped at least 5 times a day.  It gets sat on.  It gets in the hands of little people.  It gets the occasional slobber bath.  And that is a good day.  It is also about 12 steps up from the green screen cell I had before moving here.  And it's actually not the first one I bought here.  The first one was a Chinese brand, cost more than this one and broke in less than a year.  While I was TL dealing with this and one of the worst possible times to be without a phone.  So I had to buy a new one immediately.  Got a great price with the only drawback being that I can't text Chinese characters, which can be quite handy here.  I can however text in Thai, a language in which I know two phrases.

Anyway.

I, like many people, would love to have an iphone.  Or maybe I am one of the few last remaining people to not own a smartphone of any kind. But I have played with those belonging to other people.  Looked longingly at them online.  And even purused Ebay for a good deal on a used one.  But after reading this (I know this is an ipad and not an iphone but the screens are the same), and seeing a few similar pictures on facebook and such I am wondering if God is trying to tell me something.  Are my wants outweighing my needs?  By a lot?  Not that it's wrong to want an iphone.  I just have a perfectly good, working and durable to my clumbsiness phone that, at the moment, doesn't need to be replaced.  So I will just be content in my red Nokia.

Although, if someone is looking to give their old iphone away, you got a taker right here.

sunday psalm

1Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory,

 for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

2Why should the nations say,

"Where is their God?"

3Our God is in the heavens;

 he does all that he pleases.

4Their idols are silver and gold,

 the work of human hands.

5They have mouths, but do not speak;

eyes, but do not see.

6They have ears, but do not hear;

noses, but do not smell.

7They have hands, but do not feel;

feet, but do not walk;

and they do not make a sound in their throat.

8Those who make them become like them;

so do all who trust in them.

9 O Israel, trust in the LORD!

He is their help and their shield.

10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD!

He is their help and their shield.

11You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD!

He is their help and their shield.

12The LORD has remembered us; he will bless us;

he will bless the house of Israel;

he will bless the house of Aaron;

13he will bless those who fear the LORD,

both the small and the great.

14May the LORD give you increase,

you and your children!

15May you be blessed by the LORD,

who made heaven and earth!

16The heavens are the LORD’s heavens,

but the earth he has given to the children of man.

17The dead do not praise the LORD,

nor do any who go down into silence.

18But we will bless the LORD

from this time forth and forevermore.

Praise the LORD!

Psalm 115

a great day

I went for a walk this morning.  Just as I reached our house I looked up and saw this...

Who wouldn't have hope for a great day--weekend even--after seeing this first thing?!?

two years

(I'm not actually to writing this until Friday, but I still wanted to write it.  But I really wanted it documented on the first.  I just couldn't lie to your sweet little faces.)


It's been two years since we moved here.  Two years.  Last year at this time we had just arrived in Bangkok and were waiting on Judah so it was overwhelming.  Realizing that we had made it through our first year in a different country and the most difficult pregnancy we had experienced was a lot but there was also a ton we were looking forward in the weeks to come.  So this year it seems to be hitting me double.

I know we are exactly where we are supposed to be.  I, of course, miss family and friends, and some of the comforts I grew to love in America, but it has been such a blessing living here.  The challenge of learning a language that is as far from English on the language spectrum as can be possible, has been more than I could have ever imagined.  But more than that, it is also rewarding.  I have learned much more than just a new language.  I have learned to cook using basic ingredients and not so many of the convenience items I was used to--and actually love it.  I have survived two years without driving a car--watch out when I'm on the roads when we get back.  I learned to shop to provide for my family in a whole new way.  But most of all I have learned to lean on God in a way that before would have been so hard for me.

It is not all sunshine and roses, that's for sure, but it is exactly where I know we should be. 

We have just over one year before we return to the States for a six month visit.  There are already many things that I'm looking forward to.  Sitting on the couch with my Granny.  Hanging out at the beach with my mom.  Eating Mexican food...at a restaurant.  Walking around Target, Starbucks in hand.  But I decided back a few months ago when I was really struggling and homesick, that if I'm living for one Stateside time to the next, that I'm not really living.  So I'm not spending my days longing for what isn't here, but living in the present.  Letting it be what it is.  And loving it.