More Halloween pics

William as a Skeleton Devil with wings ??

Kom as a Ninja Turtle

Ballerina Emmy and Korean Gracyn

The Group!

Halloween at Mantana

Aidan as a gardner

BJ as Superman

Gracyn as a Korean girl

We just finished trick or treating here in our Moo Baan (subdivision). We had a really good time and a better than last year turn out considering we got too busy to put much thought into planning. Word of mouth works well too! We had about 13 kids this year plus parents join us as we trick or treated at about 6 homes. It isn't the big extravaganza like in the USA, but we were thankful to get time with our Thai friends. They were so eager to dress up and participate. Of course the kids like the candy. We look forward to more holiday celebrations with our neighbors during the upcoming holiday season. Enjoy these shots from our little Halloween.

Thank you Ena

Thanks Ena for the animal crackers! We sure are enjoying them. Don't look at Gracyn's hair...it's a mess!

Snail invasion!

We've come under the attack of snails! We've noticed many snails in our yard each morning for a few months. Each time we see them, we'd see about 7 or so snails. They seemed harmless enough, so we left them alone and just enjoyed watching them. However, we started noticing that many of our bushes were being eaten to shreds! We decided that we probably needed to start collecting them and move them to an uninhabited area. So, we began collecting the snails each morning and would gather about 7 each day. We were sure we were getting them all. Last night though, Jack decided to take a flashlight out to search the yard. He collected 88 snails in one night! These snails aren't little either. we couldn't believe the amount of snails. No wonder our yard was looking shabby. We decided that these snails must be a result of the huge snail we adopted last May. You might remember the story of the snail we found that the street sweeper tried to kill, but lived after a fierce ground thrashing. This snail must have been so greatful for our love and care that she decided to inhabit our yard and raise families! We won't be adopting anymore snails. This is now a nuisance!

Our 8th Anniversary

I forgot to mention that in the midst of all the other craziness that has been happening in our lives, we also celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. We actually went out a few days late due to exhaustion from the previous week. Jack took me to a place called Vertigo...yeah, sounds like a U2 song. Vertigo is a really neat restaurant on top of The Banyan Tree Hotel downtown. It is on the roof of a 69 story building and it is open air. So, basically they can only open weather permitting. This is sort of predictable in Thailand so there are huge seasons of time where one could eat there without worrying about rain. We got there about half a hour before sunset. They have a little bar where you can order a drink and look out over the city before dinner. I had a Shirley Temple considering my condition. Then at 6:30 the restaurant begins to serve dinner. We were taken to the best table on the roof since Jack informed them of our anniversary. Jack ordered veal cutlet and I went for a rib eye. We both ordered monstrous ceasar salads...which had we know the size, we would have shared. Needless to say, there wasn't room for dessert. That was a shame but neither of us could manage it. However, our waiter O, brought us an anniversary drink which was green and had dry ice smoke pouring from the bottom..compliments of the chef! We were so dumb and forgot our camera! But Vertigo takes a complimentary picture for the patrons and we have one to share with you.

Keeping a secret

The blogs have been few and far between. It isn't that life has been dull with little to share. It has actually been quite the whirlwind of activity! So why haven't I blogged? I've been sitting on a secret! Some of you know this news, but about 4 weeks ago, we were given a huge shock in discovering that we are expecting our 3rd child! It was quite a surprise. I am currently about 8+ weeks along and these 4 weeks of knowing haven't been without incident either. For the first time in a pregnancy I have had morning sickness. This has been an adjustment. The other two times were "golden" with feeling good. I guess I can't expect that 3 times! That would just be unfair to so many other women. I would surely be loathed. Now I can have true fellowship. On top of all this, I got hit hard about a week ago with some sort of food poisoning. All I can say is that horrible doesn't come close to discribing it. This bout of food poisoning required a day and a half in hospital hooked up to an IV. Fun stuff, but it made me feel better. The next day I was released from the hospital and the day after that I had to rush back with a pregnancy complication! The doctor discovered that I had a tear inside that required treatments with hormones. I had the same thing with Gracyn so I was pretty calm over all and quite used to the treatments. I actually had the same treatments with Aidan but for different causes. I know how to assume "the position" for my weekly shots. The next day our team flew south to Khao Lak for a team retreat. My doctor told me that I deserved to go after the week I had! He was right. I was ordered to take it easy though and rest as much as possible. It was refreshing to get away so that meals and housekeeping could be someone else's problem for a few days. We had a great time even though I couldn't be as active as I would have liked. Small price to pay though. I will be on treatments for the next few weeks, but the baby is doing fine and looking like any other 8 week old fetus should. Here is a picture of what we have, though this is not our baby! We give God great praise for His blessings and mercies.

International Night

Tonight was International Night at Gracyn's school. This is always a fun school event. I can remember being a teacher at my first International night back in 1996 and thinking how neat it was to see all my students proudly display their heritages through dance and food. 10 years later, I was able to take my daughter to her first International Night. International Night begins with a cultural program in which students separate into nationality groups and perform traditional songs or dances. Everyone wears their traditional clothing as well. The students look so neat and beautiful in traditional dress. Tonight was full of dances from Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, India, China and one group even tried to do a typical American football half-time show. The kids dressed in cheerleading outfits and band outfits. The most hilarious part of that show was that their wasn't a single American in the group! The Americans didn't perform this year. Maybe their weren't any parents willing to help with choreography. The show was fun for the kids and for adults alike. There were tons of technical glitches tonight, but a good time was still had by all. I think this Indian kid stole the show. He was about 12 or so and performed a solo dance. His dance was about unrequited love, but it looked more like a John Travolta show! He was decked out in a glittery costume and was giving the dance 110%. It was fun. Jack commented that at his age, he had guts to get out there in do a solo like that. It looked like a Bollywood show...India's version of Hollywood. Very disco-like.

After the show, everyone was able to travel around sampling foods from all the nations represented. That's the best part. The Americans typically do it up right with desserts. We don't bring too much food. I made Mrs. Field's cookies and snickerdoodles. We didn't get any of our own desserts or any others, unfortunately. But, the food was plentiful at the Indian, Korean, and Thai stalls. Jack feasted on Indian and I stuck to Korean and Thai. The lines were so long! The Canadians actually had a very interesting dish of french fries with gravy and cheese on top. It sounds weird but it was pretty good! I can't remember what they called it. I wish I could have stuck around and ate more of those good foods.

I also had a good time seeing my old students as seniors! They were running all sorts of fund raisers for their senior class. Of course, I had to help out and buy some stuff. They are all so grown and beautiful. Next year they will be launched on the world. I want to enjoy watching them while I can. The best part for me though, occured when a middle school aged boy said hello to me. I recognized the face, but it took a minute to realize that he was Akaraya's brother! Akaraya was perhaps one of my closest students. I brought her home with me, to the States, at the end of my first year teaching 3rd grade. She stayed with my family and I for a month in Atlanta. We had a blast. When I finally realized that it was Pichayute talking to me, I had to chase him down and ask about Akaraya. She left ICS several years ago to attend a school with a program for learning to be an Ambassador...which is her dream. She graduated high school last year and is now studying in England! I haven't seen her since 2001. After talking with Pichayute for awhile, I saw Akaraya's mom and she gives me the biggest bear hug. She was as happy to see me and I was her. It was great seeing her. She was always so sweet to me. We talked for awhile and I gave them my email address to pass to Akaraya in England. I hope I hear from her. She's a special girl. It was great seeing Pichayute too. I met him when he was 4 and couldn't speak any English. He used to call me on the phone and say " Miss Kim" and giggle...because that was all he could say! He's now in the 8th grade, can speak English and even did a year of high school in Indiana last year! What a fun night! Here are some of the pictures...I wish I took more.

Care Package!

Thank you Koiner family for the wonderful care package! We were so excited to receive it. We look forward to your site visit next month and to the beginnings of a new friendship!