Home

At least that's how it felt finally sleeping in the trailer again.

Bee's been so happy and even sleeping better. 

I didn't realize that having her own real bed again would make such a difference. 

She is so much happier!

We all are. 

Back in our own space, and privacy.

And although I was quickly reminded just how small it does feel to live in 400 sq ft. 

It's our 400 sq ft.

Where we feel at home.

Though I have no idea what the future holds for us.

Or how long we'll be in any given place.

I want to just relish this time we have here. 

I want to look back on this summer and know we made the best memories and made the most of our time with family.

I've been reminded several times in just the last few weeks that there are no guarantees in life. 

Loved ones can be with you one second and gone the next. 

So make the most it. 

 

 

View from my kitchen table

I love how the sunlight filters through the trees and in our windows

My view from my favorite chair

The best ever sign from my nieces

Creek time on a hot summer day...love

Best friends and cousins

Lots of time to ponder and reflect driving down long country roads

Riding Cookie

We went with my cousin to her last riding lesson and were hoping to just get to pet and watch the horses. But we got to do much more and Bee was able to be on horseback for about 20 min. 

And I'm certain this will be the highlight of her time in Thailand. 

She was smiling the whole time and never showed even a hint of fear or nervousness. 

She sat up tall, held on, and just enjoyed every second. 

If you ask her she'll tell you it was a girl horse and her name is Cookie.

 She saw another horse out there with white legs and said "momma! that horse has socks on!" 

So proud of her!

Last Week

If you asked me.....

I would tell you I can't believe we're in our last week in Thailand. 

This trip has been amazing. 

Looking over my blog posts from the last 5 months brings a smile to my face. 

We've experience so much, seen beautiful things,

tasted delicious food, and have loved every moment.

We've been in the mountains of Chiang Mai, traveled in the hustle and bustle of Bangkok, and sunk our toes in the sand of Koh Tao, Koh Phangan, and Phuket. 

We have ridden on an elephant, and fed many more, Daniel even threw darts with one!

We held a white tiger cub in our laps and bottle fed him. 

Once in a lifetime thing for sure!

We've seen how the Thai people love children.

A shop keeper heard Bee tell me she was thirsty and gave me a bottled water, no charge. 

I was looking through some items at a sidewalk vendor and the owner gave Bee a hair clip. 

Every time Bee and I have gotten on a busy Songtauw, someone will stand to make sure Bee has a seat. 

I've joked with friends that there are easily a few dozen random Thai's with pictures of Bee on their phone or camera...she seems to attract a lot of attention for some reason.=)

We've traveled by every form imaginable.

Train, both by day and night.

Airplane with flights ranging from 45 mins to 15 hours.

Boat rides on little long-tails and high speed catamarans.

Double decker buses and small minivans.

Truck SongTauw, and zippy little taxis.

Even the very Thai Tuk Tuk's. 

And the 3 of us on a motorbike.

And every time Bee has amazed us with her ability to handle it all. 

She's turned into quite the little traveler. 

And I'm not even a little worried about her and I traveling alone from Chiang Mai Thailand to Dallas, TX. It will be long, 36 hours of traveling with 4 flights and layovers.

But Bee's done this before and we'll do it once more.

We've made new friends, and strengthened our family ties.

I spent time with the beautiful baby boys and girls of the ViengPing Childrens Home. 

Their faces will never leave my memory. 

I adored them and gave them all the love I could. 

They opened my heart and I feel like I'm leaving part of me with them. 

So we're leaving Thailand soon and hope to return again one day.

We've loved both the mountains and the islands, we've loved the people, and I've got some Thai dishes I'll need to make in the states. 

Thailand changed us...and we'll never forget it!

Phuket, Earthquake and Tsunami Sirens

Wow, what a week. And it went by so fast! We arrived in Phuket the night before Easter. Easter morning we met out at the beach at 7:30, had a little service, and enjoyed some beach time(well, most of us did, if you read my previous post you'll know Bee hated the beach after this day). We listened to David remind us of the beauty of the ocean, the waves crashing, and quesadillas (he meant cicadas) =)
Monday morning we attempted the ocean again, and again Bee and I were knocked down.
Tuesday morning was our last try at the ocean. After having waves so high they were splashing us in the water, I decided we were now done with all things beach and ocean.
The rest of the week Bee and I went back and forth between our room, the pool, and the minimart (for ice cream treats).
Laying watching cartoons on Wednesday afternoon the bed starts shaking, water in the glasses are splashing, and the empty pool outside my window is as choppy as the lake on a windy day. After about 30 seconds I  realized I wasn't crazy and this was an earthquake.
I quickly called my uncle next door and asked if earthquakes are common here, he said they do have them on occasion and he would check into it. Ten minutes later he let's me know to pack up quickly because we are heading to the top floor. By the time we were heading up there was a mass exit of people fron the beach following the Tsunami evacuation signs and the sirens were going off.
A little before 4 pm an 8.7 earthquake hit just off Indonesia. At 5:45 an aftershock of 8.1 shook us again. And yes, I was praying the whole time. Seeing frantic faces, sirens going off, and people standing on tops of buildings looking out at the water will get your heart pumping pretty quick. A few hours after the last aftershock, the danger had passed. We were very thankful that the earthquake had been a horizontal earthquake which doesn't displace the water like a vertical earthquake does.
And people remembered the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami which was a 9.0 magnitude also off the coast of Indonesia. That tsunami killed 283,000 people. So we were not taking any chances when we ran to the top floor of the hotel.
We arrived back late last night and are thankful for a great and safe week in Phuket, Thailand.
This means we now have 1 week and 3 days before we fly back to the states!

Sun setting on Karon Beach in Phuket Thailand

Our wonderful room looking out to the pool

We saw some serious waves!

Fun in the pool with Aunt Michelle and Brianna

Where we spent most of our week

The girls taught her to use the peace sign while saying "asian"....she put her own spin on it and says "CHINA!" I have no idea why.

Fun Poses

Second day on the beach...her face lets you know what she thinks of it!

Brielle and Brianna

The fish we talked to every day

She didn't even want to walk on the sand.

This was her happiest moment on the beach, building this sand mound.

A Grateful Easter.

Today could have been so different. Today I have no doubt I could have lost my baby girl. And my heart hurts at the thought.
Bee and I were caught by a wave and thrown off my feet. The undercurrent was so strong it took all my strength to hold myself back from being pulled under. If I'd not had a good grip or God hadn't been holding us up, today could have been a very different story. And I am grateful. Grateful to have my girly laying me next to me watching Pingu. Even grateful for the meltdown in the middle of a busy store with her crying "mommy, I'm just so tired". Grateful for the chance to clean sand out of her ears for the umpteenth time today. Just grateful to be her mommy.
I love you my little Bee.

what.we.do.

My sweet girl. We've been busy together. 

Learning our letters and lots of coloring. 

Taking a trip to the mall to paint little ceramics. She could do this for h.o.u.r.s.

Occasionally taking a snooze.

And playing with her new favorite toys. Unicorn and the Squinkies.

If you asked me.....

If you asked me, I would tell you we miss Daddy.

A. Lot.

He had to go back to the states a week ago.

We'll be apart for four more weeks.

On some days,

it feels like an eternity.

Bee is all out of sorts without him here, like not being "able" to walk because she scratched her leg. Evidently even sliding out of bed was physically impossible.

I took it as a cry for more Love and Hugs and obliged her need to be carried around.

Thankfully, she realized this morning that she could walk though only on her tippy toes.

If you asked me, I would tell you about my visit to the orphanage yesterday. So many new faces since I was there 5 weeks ago. Both in the Toddler house and the Baby House.
So many precious adorable faces.

Some familiar faces weren't there. Like little EQ. I really wanted to see him again. I'm praying the reason he wasn't there is that his Mommy and Daddy came for him.

If you asked, I'd tell you that secretly I wanted to be his Mommy. He grabbed my heart and I haven't stopped thinking about him for the last 5 weeks.

If you asked me, I'd tell you that I don't know what our future holds once we are back in the states. But I do have a Peace.
Peace that God will provide.
He will give direction.
He will open doors.

That Peace enables me to continue every day.

My Thailand Faves

I don't have access to all my pictures, but here are a few of my favorites. Hard to believe we've been here for 4 months, and have only 4 weeks left.
Enjoy!

.three.

Three years

Three years since my life changed.

Three years of changing everything I ever thought I knew.

Three years of watching you grow. 

Three years of cuddles and snuggles.

Three years of the most precious smiles. 

My precious daughter.

I can't begin to express my gratefulness to God for blessing our family with you. 

You bring such excitement and Joy to our lives. 

You were a gift from God to Daddy and Me. Did you know I had a dream about you 6 weeks before I found out I was pregnant?

I dreamt that I had a beautiful baby girl, with gorgeous brown hair and big brown eyes. 

In my dream, someone asked me what her name was, 

"Bethanna" was my response. 

I'd never heard that name before and I believe with all my heart God gave us that name for you. 

He made you special and gave you a beautiful name!

Your name means "daughter of God, one whom God looks kindly upon". 

You are his daughter and He loves you so much!!

You are a Princess! 

All my love,

Momma