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.

Life

Where to start?
        ...had a bad "mom" day to start today...
...living the house hunting life...
                  ...constant fundraising for survival...
    ...planning for the 4th of July...
         ...finding coupon-ing deals to pack my mom's bags 6 months away...
 ...constant battle of the budge...
                  ........oh, and did I mention that I have a husband in full-time master's degree school & 3 kids??

I think when you have a lot to do and think about, a calm moment comes and I really cherish that time.  The other day I had one of those moments just watching my husband feed the dogs and talking with him, instead of having my head in the computer, and it really made me think "how would life be if computers and internet had never been introduced to us?"

Being so far away from friends and family, I tend to be near my computer more than I should.  Getting to see what people are doing are getting to chat gives me the comfort of home.  The downside to that is that I feel like it literally takes me away from friends and family here.

What did people do before computers?  More involved with each other’s daily activities, more uninterrupted conversations, in general more time together?  I definitely think that I would spend more focused attention with my husband and kids if I "unplugged" myself from the computer.  For sure this is an area that is taking away from my kids.  I thank God for showing me this time stealer before it is too late.  Years from now, when the girls are grown I don't want to regret wasting the time I have with them.

And on the flip side it is hard, because we are so thankful to have such amazing resources to keep in close contact while living halfway around the world.  I guess like any other worldly possession (i.e. money, food, clothes, shoes, etc.) computers and the internet are all about moderation, and not letting it overtake your life.  

For me it is TIME to make a change...I would love to hear your thoughts and struggles on this issue!  Please leave a comment.

This is my life of as a traveling mother!  

Jennifer

Summer fun with the kids

Week 1: Zarah's 1st visit to a play area, she loved it!

Week 1: Keziah's 1st slide!  Weeeeeeee!

Week 1: Hope playing on the swings, she loved having her sisters with her!

Week 2: Fruits & Vegetables, this is Hope's craft.

Week 2: Fruits & Vegetables, Tuesday Time to Cook Day!

The was a great snack to have a helper, Hope washed the vege's,
scooped out the bread to make bowls, and put the ranch dip in.  

Also helped put the vege's in the bowl & of course eat them!

(The best part about this kitchen time was that I couldn't get Hope to think about eating celery & peppers.  But...once we made it "fun" she ate them all with joy!)

Week 2: Combined "friend day" & "theater day". Hope & her friend Janina on the way to the movies!

Watching Madagascar 3 in 3D, great movie!

So far so good this summer, it has been fun playing with my daughters!

Will keep you posted as we go...

~ Jennifer