First week back

I really have not taken many pics, but here are a few:


refinding old toys



emptying the closet and washing everything, 20+loads to get the must and mildew out...


Bella looking grown up in a mini skirt and jacket


Sophia now likes to wear jeans, probably because they are from Cousin Anna. She is looking more and more like a little girl...growing up. SLOW down!


math time: patterns, Bella participates too.


Both girls wearing their aprons that Aunt Julie and the Williams gave them for their birthdays



watching Abby make tortillas, she even helped roll out the dough a little.

What she's saying

Sophia that is.
In her prayer yesterday: 'Thank you God for the baby in Mommy's belly, and thank you God for the baby that already came out of Mommy's belly, Bella booskie.'

'Mommy, tomorrow will you please not wake me up from my nap.' (sure honey, after you start sleeping better at night. The next morning she slept until past 7:30. )

'I am going to go to school everyday because I am a big girl now'

'I am going to take you and Big Caleb to school, and then I am going to go to a meeting. I will be back.'

Last day in the U.S.

Saturday, a big college game day, happened to be our last day in the U.S. I put NC State outfits on the girls to show team spirit and we then watched them get beat, while Florida did as well.
But our day was wonderful, we packed, played, grilled out, made ice cream, and just had a not too stressful day to await our trip back across the ocean.



we all joined the theme for Wolfpack Red


Packing and weighing, packing and weighing...


things that did not make it: two sets of twin sheets I had bought for the girls, too heavy and big, three boxes of mac and cheese, we never eat it, but I thought it would be a good thing for a sick day or something when convenience is needed, oh well, and a few other things I now forget so they must not have been that important


Bella woke up from her nap and cuddled with CC for almost an hour. She must have known she was leaving her soon. She never does this and hasn't since.


watching Poppy make homemade peach ice cream


Awww... go Pack!


CC, who used to be a majorette, showed Sophia some basics of marching and twirling, it was quite fun to watch



Our fam, and me at almost 12 weeks prego in the picture


Love this cuddly pic, these girls love their Poppy and CC

Water and Electricity

When we arrived it was a clear sunny day. Then it rained non stop for the next five. This means I washed my hair in the sink, and finally succumbed to boiling water for a small bath. We have solar water that does work great. Only about two to three times a year does it get where we don't have warm water and have to really 'make do.' The rain made it difficult for lots of things, running errands, eating out (which we did a lot our first week), etc. We do not have a car so we walk or taxi everywhere, when the rain comes we just don the rain jackets and umbrellas and trudge on with life in the downpour. With more and more cars being on the road here, we are not sure if a car is even a desire of ours anymore, it is crazy! But when it rains like that I always dream...

Now it is sunshiny and really warm again, we are thankful for it all, rain or shine. But the rain makes me even more thankful for the sun when it does shine!

You may remember This post about our electrical woes here. Well, upon return almost all of our lights did not work, and at one point fire fell from one of the lights. This has happened a few times before, not to mention when David's office light fixture just completely busted and pretty much 'blew up' to shreds on the floor. God has protected our family in so many ways with these mishaps. There is something wrong with the wiring, we think it could be water or who knows. During our fourth night here, our circuit breaker blew (in the Middle of the night), but it turned Sophia's fan off and she called for us (at 2 a.m.), we smelled an electrical type burning smell in our dining area. David slept on the couch and the next day double checked the smoke detectors we put up. But there was nothing we could do about this issue. There is still nothing to do, unless people tear into all of our walls. The smells are gone, people came and fixed our fans, and replaced our lights. We move on, with faulty wiring and all.

Things learned while visiting the US: parenting

Sophia, never having lived in a house with four other children before, had the time of her life. But it was also a trying time. She had to learn how to cope with some joking and teasing that was all in fun. How did she do? She spit. She hit. She cried. She threw fits. We had to remain consistent in discipline and training ALL THE TIME. Watching my sis' family was just hands on learning. Their kids have a real air of obedience and respect. They are not perfect but in general the 'air is there.' They got compliments at every restaurant we went to. We learned so much from this:

a. Stay consistent in training and discipline at a very young age, no matter where you are. we already knew this but to see it practiced well was helpful and to see results of all the labor was great.
b. Chill out. Travis and Julie are very laid back, but they are intentional in all they do in parenting. David and I realized we needed to chill in some areas and be more intentional in others.
c. Morning devotions. We completely changed how we do family devos after watching the Williams. We were always 'before bed' kind of folks. Always tired, always rushing. Now we start our day with them and they are simple but focused.
d. I just have to give props to my hubby. David spent a lot of his time in the US researching and looking up great teaching materials for our family time and things to really focus our life on the Cross. He also collected and put into booklets the hymns and songs we will sing and got all the music needed for him to learn to play them on the piano. We are so enjoying the piano and our times in the word have been very meaningful, and though they are geared for little ones, I am always challenged by them.

This pregnancy is different

Nausea. Enough said.
With Sophia and Bella I had zero morning sickness. Not so with this little one. Almost daily I have had real feelings of nausea, they seem to be tapering some now. Some days are way better than others, but with our last few weeks in the States being ones where I just did not feel well, it made everything even harder. But I am glad for the many graces through it all and that it was during a time where I had lots of help. The Father knows just what we need when we need it!

Some speculate this could mean we may be having a boy...we will see. It is definitely what Sophia is hoping for, though I know she will be happy with a girl too, she already said she would name her 'Bella.'

Telling Sophia...

Sitting in RDU we headed to find some breakfast. Everything had to be good and special this day, because it all started out so sad. We turned our focus on the trip and how to make it an exciting adventure for Sophia. We decided then and there that we would tell Sophia about the baby 'growing in mommy's belly.' Yes, that is right. We are expecting. Sophia has been praying for a long time for a baby brother, and of course she may not get one, but who knows? She ate her chocolate muffin (crazy parents), and we ate our bagels. When we told her her eyes lit up and she said: 'I am going to have a baby brother.' We had to tell her that she will have to keep praying for that because it may be a baby sis. But she was excited. Surprisingly, however, she soon forgot and didn't really bring it up again unless we did. This is because she cannot see my belly getting bigger just yet. I am already 12 weeks and am due April 19th. We will deliver in Bangkok again and have a C-section again. We are very excited and blessed.