Motorbike Mom!

We are almost 3 weeks in with our visit from my mom in town from the US, so that would explain my lack of keeping up with blogging.

Family visits are so amazing it is almost un-real.  Mom and I were walking through the local Thai market the other day and it was so weird to think "my mom is with me here!"  How many times have I been to this crazy market and thought about how it would be if she or others from home could experience this.

We have been keeping so busy with birthday parties, Christmas cooking, Christmas parties, sightseeing, getting in a few shopping trips, and of course keeping up with 3 fun girls!

As I reflect on these last couple of weeks and see my moms heart to be here with us, I think the best part is her willingness to travel for a painful 24 hours to be outside of her comfort zone and away from her family for the 1st time in her life on Christmas.  As we were Skyping with family on Christmas Eve, it dawned on me that this was her first time away and I very clearly remember my first Christmas away from what a "normal" Christmas was for me.  So this is more memorable for my mom than I think we even realized before her coming here.

Now is the day to reflect on the year that is ending and looking ahead at the year to come.  It is a great time of life to reflect and refresh on life.  Taking a page from a friends blog idea I decided to ask our family what are the highlights of 2012, and here is what we came up with...

This is my wonderful life as a traveling mother!

Happy New Year 2013!

From Miraculous to Magical?

On Friday night our Advent calendar had us watching a Christmas movie and eating a salty bowl of popcorn. The 2 kids movies that I had available were Ice Age Christmas and A Charlie Brown Christmas.  After watching both short movies with the girls I realized you couldn't get any more different ideas about the meaning of Christmas.

First was Ice Age Christmas, which is a very cute movie and Hope really loves Scrat and his acorn.  Throughout the movie they refer to the magic of Christmas and believing in the magic of Santa.  

Second comes A Charlie Brown Christmas with the famous Charlie Brown searching for the true meaning of Christmas.  Then Linus explains to Charlie Brown using lines quoted from scripture:

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, 

keeping watch over their flocks at night.  

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory 

of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  

But the angel said to them, 

"Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of 

great joy that will be for all the people.  

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born 

to you; he is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you.  

You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying 

in a manger."  

Suddenly a great company of heavenly host 

appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace 

to men on whom his favor rests."  

~ Luke 2 v.8-14

There are so many miracles surrounding the birth of Jesus, Christ the Lord...

     A pregnant virgin, an angel of the Lord appeared, heavenly host appearing, wise men being led by a star and traveling many many miles, and even the situation in which Jesus was born.  We tend to glamorize the idea of the 'manger', but really it was the lowest form of a crib that we wouldn't even imagine putting our child into today.  

It is so wonderful to see our 5 year old truly excited about Christmas because it is the time when we celebrate Jesus' birthday.   Of course there is excitement about presents, she's a kid after all and loves gifts.  The important part to us as parents is for her to understand that ALL of our gifts come from God and not from anything 'magical'.  And she truly gets it and has genuine excitement for all that the Christmas season has in store!

So, how do we change back from magical to miraculous?  Take time this Christmas season to rediscover all the miracles that surround the birthday of Jesus.  How His life relates to your life and the relationship we have with the Son of God!

Beginning of Advent

For the past couple of years, of course since having children, I have been wanting to "do" an advent calendar for the kids.  Well, finally this year I actually got one made before December 1st.  After getting some inspiration from online (yes, Pinterest), and looking at the supplies I already had on hand this is what I came up with...

Advent means a time of preparation and expectant waiting.  This is our time to prepare our home and our hearts to celebrate the birth of 

Jesus, The Savior of the world!  

I'm really looking forward to this special time with our family rediscovering for myself and helping our girls understand 

the many miracles that surround Jesus' birth.  

New to Thanksgiving Cooking...

Since I come from a big family {when I say big, I mean huge...just in blood aunts & uncles I have 20!), usually I just show up maybe with a dip or can of olives and ALL the other food is made.  Until this week I really had no idea what a blessing this was!  
Now that our little family is living away from home, I decided to make a traditional Thanksgiving meal from scratch this year.  After 3 days of prep work and cooking, I now have a much better appreciation for all the hard work that goes into the food that I have eaten over the last 37 years.  

As we sat down to eat our spread we went around to give thanks in our life.  Even though our 3 girls are small now, I look forward to the years to come and what they will choose to be thankful for in life.  This year Hope is thankful for our family and school, Keziah is thankful for her Didi (which is her big sister Hope), and Zarah is thankful for mommy.  

Here is a glimpse of our time together...

What am I thankful for?  Too much to list here, but I think most of all it's that which I didn't even ask for.  The little things and the big things that God has put into my life.  Creating these memories with our family means so much to me and hopefully someday they will be meaningful to them.  

Please visit my other blog Creating Life From Scratch for my recipes.

"Winter" in the 90's...?

So it is "Winter" here in Thailand, but when the temperature is in the 90's I have to put the word winter in quotations.  

Since posting about my quiet controversy last week, I decided to post about something a little less controversial...how blessed I am to be a full-time mom!  Here are some of the highlights from this week.  

After some time of wanting to build a sandbox inside this unused water pond in our yard...I finally stopped at the sand store!

And I am very proud to share that Hope is...

Thankfully this is one of those times in life as a parent where the Lord was watching over and made sure I was ready!  You see, Hope's teacher Ms. West doesn't even tell the parents before hand when students receive this award.   From not wanting to get out of bed that morning, to having my camera with me and then ready.  I thank God that I get the chance to be there for my daughter to share these moments.  

Our reason is obedience.

Let me just start by saying that our family does not "celebrate" halloween.  Now you know what to expect by reading more, but if you are reading this blog then you must care about our family and might be interested in the reason.

Living overseas definitely gives a different perspective on many things in life.  Many of my Australian and British friends are surprised that American Christians actually celebrate halloween.  However, this surprised me that it wasn't more acceptable to them, because it is SO acceptable to participate in halloween activities in our American culture...yes, even Christians.

Okay, so let's go back... I did celebrate halloween as a child, teenager, and young adult as most "normal" American's do.  When I came to know Jesus as my Savior, there were many very drastic changes in my life...halloween was not one of them.  Then came marriage and a baby in a baby carriage!  Like all new parents, we were forced to make decisions about how to raise our children.  So when halloween rolled around the first year, we went to scripture like any "good Christian" would do.  Of course there is no mention of halloween in The Word of God, but there are verses to direct our path in this situation.

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness..." 

Matthew 6 v.33

"Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end.  Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart.  Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.  Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word." 

Psalm 119 v.33-35, 37.

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action, be self-controlled, set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.  As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written, 'Be holy, because I am holy.'  Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.  For you know that  it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect."   1 Peter 1 v.13-19

Of course there are many more verses that could be written here, but I'm guessing you get the point.

To be honest, it is hard for me as a person to not participate because it was a part of how I grew up.  As a parent, we definitely had conviction about spending time celebrating halloween, so for our family our reason for not dressing up our kids, going Trick or Treating, or carving pumpkins into scary faces, etc. on October 31st is obedience to what God has laid on our hearts as we raise children to know Jesus as their Savior.

Also, I want to say that I Am Not Perfect. There are areas in my life that are not in line with scripture that I know of and others I probably am not aware of.  I'm just hoping that if you are reading this you may think twice about what you celebrate and teach your children as a Christian.  I'm not casting stones, just making a point.

I do understand that we as Christians use the halloween holiday to reach out to our communities of non-believers, but that is our job year round.  So have a dress-up party in May and invite the neighbors, or have a bowl of candy by your door year round to give away when visitors come by your house (although for many of us it might empty without visitors ;-)).

This is a quiet controversial topic point, there are many of us quiet Christians who do not participate on October 31st and do not really talk about it.  These are my personal thoughts on the halloween celebrations, and I do apologize if you are offended by my words.

And lastly, one of my favorite Bible verses...

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me - put it into practice.  And the God of peace will be with you." Philippians 4 v.8-9

This is my life as a Traveling Mother,
Jennifer

P.S.  You are always welcome to post a comment...

Draw Near

Those of you reading who know me well, probably know that I usually have A LOT to say ;-)...yes, I am a talker,  Well, all I can say is that at least I'm aware of it...that's the first step right?  That to say I have started Another Blog that I wanted to let you all know about, and I'm super excited to finally officially announce it...

Creating Life From Scratch

It is still somewhat "under construction", as I continue to add pictures from the past year of our family life.  There is a new post about pumpkins that I recommend to read (especially my fellow Americans).

This last week Hope and Sheraz had a week off of school for the semester break and I wanted to share  from a fun filled week together, as spending time as a family has been sparse for us.  We started off the week by driving home from our visit to Chiang Rai over last weekend, which is a town about 3 hours north of Chiang Mai.  We had been invited to visit by some local YWAMers, and it was great for Sheraz and I to feel right at home as a "YWAM couple".

Our 3 little girls are great car travelers, and this has been a huge blessing for us.

Another thing this week brought was that I finally changed the wallpaper on my computer, and for some reason it was this verse

"Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you."

~ James 4 v.8  

After looking at this verse for 5 days, Friday God showed me exactly what it means.  The girls and I ended the week by going to a GREAT pool in the area with some of our play group friends.  

After letting the twins swim for a little bit they mostly stayed on the side with me while we watched Hope slide and swim.  As I was standing there and Keziah was standing near my leg, I could feel her closing in on my leg and eventually in a full on hug of my leg.  I thought to myself, "someone around her must be causing some fear or anxiousness in her little heart for her to want to be so close to mommy.  As I looked over, sure enough there was a strange (to her) lady giving her attention and smiling at her.  In that moment it dawned on me the meaning of this verse in James.  

When we have something in our lives that causes us to be anxious, or for us adults we would feel "stress", that is when we often draw near to God by praying or reading scripture.  Let me tell you how much I adored that feeling of Keziah drawing so close to my leg that NOTHING was going to tear her away.  Even though for her it wasn't an actual enemy, for us many times the devil is "playing" with us to cause us stress.  That is the time we are to "Draw near to God" and hold on tight.  

I really love when God gives me such a real life example of His Word, now that verse has so much more meaning for my life.  

This is my life in the traveling motherhood!

Jennifer

The 1-Year Mark

Can hardly believe I haven't posted since Hope's birthday in August...a little ashamed of my blog neglect.
Started with not feeling like I had anything exciting to post about then it turned into so much time that it has been hard to pick it back up.  But here I am...back at again!

Last week we hit the 1-year mark of arriving here in Chiang Mai, Thailand.  With this milestone I thought it would be good to share some "fun-facts" that we have learned since living here.

1.  Don't bother spending any amount of time doing your hair if you plan to ride a motorbike to where you are going.  The helmet ruins your "do", no matter how long or short amount of time you have it on.

2.  The "3-second Rule" for food falling on the floor/ground does NOT apply in Thailand!

3.  Just because the sun is shining and the weather is hot does not mean you are on vacation.  This would be more specific to my Pacific NW readers ;-).

4.  There are more coffee stands in Chiang Mai than there are in the Seattle & surrounding area.  I would bet on it!

And most important I have learned that my family is my team!  God has been so faithful to keep us healthy and provide for all of our basic needs. I will admit, there have been some very hard times during this last year, but God's love is so powerful to get us through the good and the hard.

We look forward to what the upcoming year has in store whether here in Thailand or where ever in the world God directs our path.  Will keep you posted...

This is my life as a traveling mother,
Jennifer

Happy 5th Birthday Hope!

My little girl celebrated her 5th birthday today!  Since Hope just started Grade 1, she will be learning to read and about books having a beginning, middle, and end.  So here's how her day went...

Beginning:

We hung balloons as she slept last night (yes, Hope is that little bump at the head of her bed)

Happy Birthday banner.
Amazing what you can do with just a few craft supplies & of course...Cardboard!

Middle:

Cupcakes ready to go to school for the party.
Hope & I have been watching Cupcake Wars and here is the product of our inspiration ;-)

Hope at school doing her work.

She caught a glimpse of mommy, love this picture of her!

Singing Happy Birthday with all her friends.

Blowing the candles!

YEEEAAAAAAA!

Friends. Eli, Hope, and Abella

More birthday friends; Nong Iy, Janina, Square, Mikey, Jhan

More birthday friends; Phena, Phosa, Kate, Eli, Alize, Angelique

The "boys" and Ms Jenny; Jonas, Spencer, and Oscar

Birthday certificate presented to Hope from Miss West!

Ending: 

And her choice for dinner....McDonalds!
A true American 5 year old in Thailand, Ha Ha.

Playing in the play area at the new McDonalds

Birthday chocolate sundae!

And sisters enjoying Hope's birthday
Keziah was actually pushing the stroller with Zarah cracking up sitting inside.
They brought a little joy to the people sitting around us!

The End

& 

Goodnight!

4th of July Kids Carnival

Cannot believe it has taken me over a week to blog about our big Carnival that we hosted on the 4th of July.  After being inspired by Pinterest, I thought it would be fun to do it for Hope and her friends so they could see each other in the summer.  But I didn't get serious until my friend Tammy said she sounded like fun too AND she would help!  So here are the pictures of our good time!

Sign out front, made from paper plates & paint!

Hope excited for the day to start!

Decorations of balloons and fabric banners

Game Signs.

made from cardboard boxes & paint

Fish out of Water

Hit the Target

Karla working her game booth

Spray Away

Spray Away

Clothespin Drop

Ring Toss

Tattoo

Tickets = Prizes!

Prize Table

Twins enjoying the Carnival out on the lawn (Thanks Gook!)

Popcorn!           Popsicle!           Popdog! 

Delivering POP-Dogs  (best way ever to serve hot dogs!)

Wet & Wild

Water Balloon Toss!

Have to say that one of the funnest parts of the day was watching the kids at the 3-legged races!

Congratulations to the winners Kate & Abella!

What a day! 

 Even as exhausted as I was the 2nd half of the day...I would do it again in a heartbeat.  

So much fun for the kids!!

P.S. A BIG THANKS to everyone who helped prepare and during the event.