I am keeping this blog "out there" for posterity's sake. It is fun for me and for others to look back and reflect. The kids like looking at the pictures and I hope you do too!

Well, I decided it would be easier to redirect people to my other blog instead of posting on two sites. Life in the Big mango has ended and life in the Peach has begun. The transition has gone well, though not complete. It will take time to feel normal. Right now I sort of feel like an alternate version of myself. I don't quite feel like me. So much of who I am was centered around being in Thailand for so long. I don't want to lose that but know I will have to learn to adapt to this life too. A part of me will always be in Thailand. If you want to continue keeping up with us, please read our blog at www.mommyscircus.blogspot.com .

We made it back to the States safe and sound. Our last few days in Thailand were busy, yet good overall. Being in the hotel room with 3 children prooved to be a little challenging and my middle child (2 years old) was fairly active! However he redeemed himself by being absolutely amazing on the plane. He sat patiently for almost the entire flight and only cried for maybe 5 minutes total. The other children did well too, but I wasn't all that concerned about them. Our team gave us a sweet farewell party and it was difficult to say goodbye to everyone. Even though it is a pleasure to be in the States, we are already feeling nostalgia for Thailand. We have enjoyed our time back and it has been fun to spend time with family and to go to the shops. We have enjoyed going to Target. We haven't indulged in any restaurants yet but we will! I hope to post some pics on here soon, but it may take a few days as we are knee deep in settling in. After all the weeks of packing, we are now unpacking. We are still suffering a little jet lag too. Stay tuned.

Tomorrow is our last full day in our house. The house is just about ready for the movers on Thursday. I have done about as much as I can at this point save a few things. We practically have our plane luggage packed and will just spent tomorrow doing all those last minute things in the house. Thursday the kids and I will head over to the hotel while Jack stays with the moving team. It will take two days to pack our house and then our stuff will go to storage. We are ready to be finished with all these preparatory days and just have a little bit of quiet as a family before we leave. These will be good days to help the kids get their heads round what is happening and help them prepare for the changes ahead. There are so many exciting things ahead for them like hotel stays, airplane rides, birthdays and family that we think they only process those things presently. We aren't sure if they understand the not returning part yet and if they do, what that will be like. I also want to say thanks for all the encouraging emails we are receiving from you out there. We look forward to reconnecting with you soon!

By now many of you are just learning of our future plans...if you are on our mailing list. We have finished our 4 year term here in Thailand and needed to make a decision regarding whether or not we would return for another 4 year term after our year in the States. We have decided as a family that the best thing for us as a family is to return to the States indefinately. We have loved our 6 years here in Thailand as 2 year missionaries and also as career missionaries for this 4 year term. We have had many amazing experiences, good times and bad times. We love our team, and we love Thailand. We just feel that we are being lead to move on to the States and to another form of work for Jack. My job stays the same. :)

We have exactly 6 days left here. We leave on July 29th at 1:30 A.M. We will settle in Peachtree City, Georgia with Jack's parents for about 6 months while Jack figures out the next steps. We are essentially starting over. We have no job leads, no housing of our own and basically nothing but our families to go home to! But this is another opportunity to see God lead and provide for us. If we've learned anything as missionaries, we've learned that God takes care of us always and in every situation. This one will be no different. We are scared and excited. It is hard to say goodbye here. We are leaving many people that we love. We are leaving a culture that we have assilmilated. We will bring some of those changes home with us.

Even though our lives will go from the ' big mango' to the 'big peach', I will continue to update this blog for a few more weeks. After that if you want to stay updated please see my other blog www.mommyscircus.blogspot.com .

Busy, Busy, Busy....

packing, sorting, dusting, throwing, giving, selling...
toys are dwindling, bored kids are unpacking things that must stay packed!

Baby must be nursed, cuddled, bathed and napped...
laundry must be washed and ironed, meals must be made with the remnants of our fridge and pantry...
Mommy is dreaming of a vacation by the sea!

Daddy has a million errands to run and loose ends to tie...
9 more days and we must say our goodbyes
and then...
Collapse!

Last night we had a Korean feast with our neighbors. My friend Bun is Thai and married to a Korean man. Twice a year we all gather together to eat a Korean meal in "Little Korea". There is a section of downtown where there are several Korean restaurants and other establishments all in one little mall area. We had a great time eating and fellowshipping with this family that has become so dear to us and has seen us through some of our more difficult times and have been a great source of support here in Thailand. We will miss them dearly.

Newborn boot camp should be winding up soon. We have almost reached the 6 week milestone which typically brings some more stabilty and confidence to the home. Last night, Jasper slept 6 hours through the night! There is light on the horizon. :) Sleep does wonderful things for new mothers and for any mother of little ones. Hopefully this is a new trend in our home.

We have been busy tying up loose ends as our 4 year term in Thailand comes to a close and we head back to the States. We have been preparing to move out of our home and have been busy with all the logistics of making an international move with 3 kids and a dog! It has been quite hectic doing this with a newborn. Ideally, I would have time to just be a new mother, but we will be leaving Thailand on July 29th...just 16 more days. This is also Gracyn's 6th birthday! She wanted to fly on her birthday. She will get to have her birthday for 48 hrs as we live the same day twice! We can have her actual celebration once we get to the States. We are excited about getting to see our family members. Some we haven't seen in almost 2 years and some we haven't seen in 4 years! It will be good for the kids to spend time with family as they really haven't been able to do much of that.

It has been a good 4 years and we are thankful for all the experiences...even the hard ones that caused us to cling to God even more. We saw a faithful God here and we are blessed. We are ready for a little pampering by family and time to rest and reflect on these past 4 years. Hopefully we can take a couple weeks rest before life carries us away on our next set of responsibilities. Please remember us as we fly on July 29th at 1:30 in the morning for 20 hrs with our children. Pray that the kids will adapt well to the States and that jet lag won't kill us!

I'm one month old!

Embassy trip(s)

Tuesday we made our way downtown to our Embassy. I walked into American services to fill out a passport application for Jasper. I filled it out quickly and we had a brief wait before our number was called to approach the window to speak with the staff. We thought we were doing pretty well. We asked to apply for a passport for the baby and the staff member said, "do you have an appointment?" Yikes! No, we did not make an appointment!! We had all our paperwork completed, sans marriage license on hand, but did not have an appointment. We hoped there would be grace for us, but to our dismay we would have to return on Wednesday to start all over again. After two babies and two passports, we neglected to think of making an appointment. So, on Wednesday we got the whole family back in the car and schlepped everyone back downtown for our appointment. This time we had everything in order. Jasper will be officially an American citizen in 3 weeks. He will hold a US Passport and have his certificate of citizenship. On Tuesday after our disappointment, we consoled ourselves with going to All Seasons Place (right next door) to eat at our favorite Chinese restaurant. At least we could do that. HOWEVER, the place closed down!!!! We weren't having a successful day at all. I really wanted to eat there and we were already drooling over the thought of some of our favorite dishes. I haven't been there in a year, but at least Tim Mills brought us take away from there several months back while on my bedrest. Little did Tim know that that would be our last meal from there. :( Such is life for businesses in Thailand...here today and gone tomorrow. Farewell Shianghai Din Xin..."long noodles" and scallion pancakes.

This is my new ride!

I'm 3 weeks old and loving my paci!

Jasper is 3 weeks old today! I hope to have some pictures of him at this week posted soon. First, I need to take them! Tomorrow, we will begin the process of applying for Jasper's passport and getting all his paperwork processed to confirm his American citizenship. Jasper is an American from the moment of his birth because we are, but we have to go through a whole rigamarole with the Embassy to secure a passport and get a certificate of citizenship. Thankfully, we've done this 2 times already and kind of know the drill. We have to take Jasper to the Embassy to prove he is a real person and Jack and I must also be present to prove we are his real parents. It is kind of a hassle, but at least we are Americans and can go straight to American services and not wait in the lines with all the other people. It's red, white and blue for you Jasper!

Jasper at two weeks old

Graduation Day

On June 7, 2007, Gracyn graduated from Kindergarten at International Community school here in Bangkok, Thailand.
Gracyn was voted "friendliest" in her class for superlatives. Mrs. Ann says she was popular and well-liked by all!
Gracyn and Mrs. Ann after graduation.
Gracyn and Miss Yo, the teacher's assistant

Gracyn had a great year inspite of her mommy being on bed rest for most of it. She is reading, writing and doing basic math skills. She has grown in maturity and responsibility. She's even lost 3 teeth this year! We are proud of her growth and accomplishments. Congratulations Gracyn...rising 1st grader!

Some Jasper pics

Mommy and Jasper ready to leave the hospital.

Jasper and Daddy

Jasper in his "going home" outfit...."I ain't happy right now".

Me and my big sis!

Here is Gracyn with baby Jasper at 8 days old! She is enjoying being a new big sister again.

He's Here!

Jasper Finlay was born on June 4th, 2007 at 6:59 A.M. He's 3.530 kilograms and 50 cms long. I am not sure what the conversion to lbs is on this but we think 7 lbs and 12 ozs. Jasper came into the world with a smooth delivery for both Mommy and baby! We are both doing well and trying to adjust to a new lifestyle. Jasper's name is means precious stone. Jasper is definately a precious stone to us. The Book of Revelations also mentions jasper several times. John refers to the face of God being as jasper and also the walls and foundations of heaven being made of jasper. Finlay is a Scottish name which means " little soldier". Jasper has been a little soldier throughout a difficult pregnancy and against some not so good odds. However, God is no respecter of odds! We are thrilled to have him finally here and we give God great praise and honor for this great gift! More pictures soon!

A no go

So the full moon theory is basically junk. The moon did not cause me to have anything different than I am already having. Last night my contractions did reappear at 1:26 A.M. and were coming every 10-15 minutes but were not strong. I laid awake for hours wondering if I would need to make wake up calls to half of Bangkok. We were having a large storm last night which is characteristic of this time of year. We had torrential rains, big lightening and peals of thunder. One big boom brought Gracyn to our room crying. Jack was trying to sleep and I was contracting but keeping it to myself. I didn't want to cause any alarm and wanted to allow even just a few more moments of sleep for those who could sleep. Finally at 3 A.M. I fell asleep and woke up in the morning without a baby by my side. I am starting to lose confidence in knowing what labor is. I do know it hurts a WHOLE lot worse than what I'm experiencing. I hope at least I'm making some progress so that my labor will not be a marathon. Hopefully this won't go on and on. I only have 4 days left to reach my due date. However, people are known to out last that date too! Sigh.

June Bug

It looks like we will have a June Bug after all. May ended yesterday with the baby still content to stay put. Actually, I had contractions all day yesterday and was convinced we would end up in labor and delivery by the end of the day. Instead 9:30 P.M. found me sleeping peacefully. My contractions were coming every 15-30 minutes all day long, but did not increase in intensity or time span. We stayed put at home and finished up a few last minute preparations. I thought I would perhaps have to wake Jack in the wee hours of the morning but the morning came without a baby. Today has been pretty calm with very few contractions. I could probably count them on one hand. Today doesn't seem like the day, but the irony of this story would be that it is! Isn't this supposed to be more predictable the 3rd time around? Each day feels like walking through a field of landmines. I keep waiting for the trigger to be tripped and am genuinely surprised to last another day. I think there is supposed to be a full moon tonight...don't those trigger labor?

39th week check-up

My check-up went well yesterday. I still had a slightly elevated blood pressure upon arrival but it settled back to the normal range within 15 minutes of resting. The fetal monitoring showed that baby is still doing well. Gracyn was with me this week for the monitoring as she had to see a doctor that morning as well. She was my contraction monitor. She didn't really want to sit still for 30 minutes during the monitoring so I gave her a job. She watched the " green numbers" which registered the intensity of contractions. Mine were mild, but Gracyn was excited any time the numbers rose over 20...which isn't anything to write home about. Now we continue the waiting game...will baby ever arrive?

Gracyn is still battling this cough she has had since Easter. Actually, Aidan and Jack are coughing as well. We decided to take all of them to the doctor...again...in hopes of ridding our lives of constant illnesses. Gracyn has been diagnosed with some kind of bronchial inflammation which requires her to use a steroid inhaler. She was unresponsive to antibiotics and our pediatrician felt an inhaler would help. If she is still coughing after two weeks of using the inhaler, she will see an allergist. I really don't suspect allergies as she began this coughing marathon on Easter day with a fever. I believe she just never really was able to get over the cough. Aidan is on his 3rd cough and cold in 2 months. He actually gets well, but then gets reinfected. Jack, the poor guy, is getting coughed on constantly by someone and well...gets sick. I'm ready to take up residence in a bubble and have become OCD about handwashing. Miraculously I'm still fine. Thanks for your prayers. We are trying to get everyone well before the baby arrives so that our little one can start his life in a healthy environment. Please pray to that end.