Challenges of cooking in Asia

UUUGGGHH! I am so grossed out! I give up! The past three times I have cooked...

1. I opened the meat the same day I bought it. And it smelled rotten.

2. I washed the cabbage and found worms. Red, shiny, worms flopping about under the running water.

3. I rinsed the rice and let it soak. Then I found little dead black bugs mixed in with the washed rice.

Am I doing something wrong. I have never found bugs in food this much! And that's not to mention the on going battle of keeping ants out of the cabinets. It is robbing me of an appetite.

Trip to Thailand

We went to Thailand last week.

We were able to visit some friends that are living in Thailand.

It is so refreshing to see the Lord's hand at work. We live by His promises that He is working in this world and in each of His children, but to see it is a real blessing.

We could nearly walk everywhere we needed to go. That was nice. However, I did step into a pretty nasty puddle that contained many unidentifiable smells and colors. I just threw those shoes away!

Lydia did not sleep much during our nights in Thailand. She was too excited to see new people and a new place.

But one afternoon she crashed hard while we were out and about. She slept in Micah's arms until we walked back to the church to lay her down.

Our little sleeping beauties slept the afternoon away and gave us time to get to know some of the local Thai's that are serving full time at the church.

Lydia also fell asleep on our flight home. I have not been able to hold Lydia like this since... well a long time! It was such a treat to cradle her in my arms for two hours!

Last week my Nanny and my mom had surgery. It is hard being away from them during times like these. They both are home now and have begun the healing process. I am so grateful they are well!

Yesterday was Lydia's birthday! We had a wonderful day!!! We will post pics soon!!

Christmas is here!

Well, I had my first Christmas cry today. I think the reality of being a grown up is setting in.

I am getting more and more impressed with my mom. I have these wonderful memories of doing Christmas stuff. Decorating the tree was delightfully memorable! The fire was going, cinnamon apple cider on the stove filled the whole house with yummy holiday scents, Christmas tunes going in the background, and every nook and cranny had Christmas all over it. The tree was the last thing to complete the holiday decor. And my mom always pre did all the hard work of getting the tree up and lights on. We got to come in and sing and dance as we hung ornaments.

Well, I'm not so good. I mean, I know I am new at it and I can only get better. But it is hard being so far from family and feeling like I am not able to make Christmas special for my family. It will be a truly special Christmas, I am confident of that. But in my weaker moments I feel quite inadequate and realize how much I miss our families.

We do have our Christmas tree up and many holiday festivities to look forward to!

It is amazing to see the Christmas hoopla that takes place here in Asia. This country may be only 9% Christian, but it is 100% commercialized. The malls are beautifully decorated and jolly Christmas songs are going non-stop. It is nice to have some familiarity!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Marilyn Monroe?? Nope, just Lydia playing in the wind.

Elli ready to go!

Well, this week was much more busy than we had anticipated. We have been dancing with the embassy trying to get all of our paperwork in to get Elli's documents completed. Micah and Lydia went to the computer lab to print out paperwork. Lydia was occupied by the mouse and the screen saver. She's such a computer girl!

Elli is growing fast. She is thickening up well.

Her newborn clothes finally fit!

Lydia is a really good big sister. She has learned the art of sticking her finger in Elli's mouth so Elli can suck.

Lydia does better when mommy and daddy don't overreact to her approaching the baby. She really likes playing with Elli. We tend to be concerned with Lydia's excitement leading to her being harsh with Elli. But she has yet to hurt her little sister. She really cares about Elli. It is so sweet to witness.

Lydia is growing up fast too! She got a Pooh book bag from a friend of ours from church. She looks so grown up carrying around her own entertainment.

This is a common flower here. Micah took this picture in front of Phil and Barb's house. We just love these flowers!

One day this week Micah and I took a nap while the girls were napping. We woke up to a bird chirping unusually close. I pulled the curtain back and found a little bird on our window seal.

Elli's growing cheeks!

Thanksgiving at Phil and Barb's! After dinner we sang some hymns together.

And then we did a turkey craft!

Louisa and Nadi helped Lydia paint hers.

We sure do miss our families!! But we are so grateful to have our friends here to celebrate Thanksgiving with us!

Life is back to 'normal'

It's so nice to have Micah back home!! Yesterday we went grocery shopping. It's amazing how exhausting shopping can be 8 months pregnant with a toddler. Last night, after Micah was able to get some work done, he came in to play soccer with Lydia to help get some of her energy out. They were so cute. Lydia has perfect form for throwing the soccer ball and she can dribble!

Today we all went to the Afghan school Micah has been investigating. This school is located in a neighborhood where many Afghan's live. It was great to be able to meet some of the students and to hear the story of how this school came to be nearly two years ago. Micah along with a couple of university students are wanting to help out regularly. The school is in desperate need of more teachers. Pray with us as we get to know the leaders of this school and seek God's will on whether or not we would be best to serve here.

Now Micah is out meeting with another student. Life is back to 'normal'. You don't really know what 'normal' is until you don't have it. I like our 'normal' and am glad to have it back!

Micah's Back from Myanmar!

View from Micah's hotel

Phil and a pastor translating for him as he teaches a seminar.

The seminars started at 9 each morning and went to 2 in the afternoon.

A pastor of church in a poor village. Many of the members of his church are still suffering from the cyclone last year.

This is an orphanage they visited.

Here is the same orphanage from a distance. This home is made of bamboo and tin roof.

This is a common home for those living outside the city.

More pictures and information to come.

I found some pics you haven't seen!!

Here we are with our friend from Bangladesh who flew in for the Bible Conference last week where Brian Chapell was the featured speaker.

Here we are passing the time in traffic.

I have kept Lydia and myself too busy this week. I tried to pack my days while Micah is away, but now we are due for some rest. Today Lydia did not nap until 4pm, and she was letting everyone around know that she was ready for a nap. We went to Ladies' Bible Study this morning and then to IKEA with Dar and her kids. IKEA has the best child's care ever. Kids beg to go. Lydia is still too young, but all the other kids I know love it. And they have the BEST Curry Puffs!! So who needs to shop when the kids can play and the mom's can eat? :) Well, I think a quiet evening of cuddling is what is next on our agenda.

Just the Girls

Micah left for Myanmar today. I woke up at 6:30 a.m. to see him off. That is a normal hour for many moms, but I have not seen 6:30 a.m. in some time! After church Lydia and I both came home and crashed! This afternoon "The Grinch" came on t.v. I thought it would be fun to get Lydia a little more exposed to the idea of Christmas. However, she wanted to go "bye-bye" the whole time. My little social bug. This evening we will go to the local mall to walk around and eat dinner so she can get out.

Sorry, still no pics. We have been looking into buying a new camera, but it is out of our price range at the moment. It's hard blogging without pictures of Lydia. She is usually the theme. I will do my best in the mean time. :)

Pregnant Life

We went to the Dr. again this week. Elli is moving around and growing well. I am 34+ weeks and counting. The midwife that assists my Dr. walked us through the process of all we needed to do when we arrive to the hospital in labor. She gave me some body prep tips like squatting, walking, massaging my tummy, and a few more that you probably know but I would rather not mention. ;) She also mentioned that I could go ahead and prepare my overnight bag. I have been eager to do so, but I felt a little silly thinking it was too early. We filled out all of the pre-admission paper work. So now we are just waiting. Micah keeps reminding me how wonderful my life is. Each morning he asks me what I am doing that day. And then he smiles and says, "swimming, going to the store, relaxing on the couch?" I really do have a nice life. I am grateful to be able to stay home and make my family my priority.

This week I also attended a mommy's play group. Some new moms in our church got together for lunch at the church. It was great! I miss sitting around and talking about nursing, our bodies, our husbands, and all the changes that occur after having a baby. They are curious about my experience of having Lydia in the U.S. And I am very curious about their experience of having their babies here. Our church is in the middle of a serious baby boom! There are a total of 14 babies that are due in 2009 and already another 5 due in 2010. Maybe it was the Lord's way of making me feel in the loop by having me pregnant during this time. :)

Just Another Weekend

Lydia is getting into the idea of being a big girl. She has noticed that mommy carries a purse everywhere. And now she too wants to carry a purse when we go out.

If you can see Lydia is wearing two hair clips. This particular day she insisted on these specific hair clips.

So grown up with a mind of her own!

Saturday we went to the grocery store. I tend to go to the store during the week. On a typical Saturday the parking lot is jammed and we do not dare go into the store. But this Saturday the parking lot was only half full. So we ventured in.

It was still filled with a sea of people.

I can't imagine what it looks like on a typical Saturday.

Micah and Lydia hanging out Sunday afternoon.

Today Micah and I helped out in Lydia's Sunday school. The first little girl you see is also Lydia. She is about 5 months older than our Lydia, but she is so tiny.

Tonight Lydia was going 100 miles a minute. Micah caught a glimpse of her hyper rage on camera. She managed to take her dress off and act really silly.

This week in Asia...

Micah has been busy preparing for upcoming talks. He is leading our cell group bible study Friday night, giving a talk to the college and university ministry folks on Saturday and preparing to assist Phil in teaching a course at a Seminary in Myanmar in a couple of weeks. And being the Mr. Social that he is he cannot turn down opportunities to get together with people in between. He is pretty amazing. I get exhausted from doing the dishes. The pregnant lady tiredness is really hitting hard. I feel better about it if I can take Lydia swimming. Then I feel I have a small reason to feel so tired. :) I know my body is busy making a baby, but it's just weird to sit around all day and feel so tired.

Ramadan is over! For the past month the restaurants have been vacant during day light hours. It really hit me hard when I saw our friend that works at our local grocery store. He is a precious little man from Bangladesh that pulls carts in from the parking lot. I see him every time we go to the store. He was so excited we got to see his country a few months ago. But this past month he has not been himself. I walked by and he was sitting on the ground staring at the side of a car in a hard daze. He did not notice anyone passing by. He works all day in the hot sun. Ramadan is the month of fasting. No food or water can enter your mouth during daylight hours. My heart broke for this man.

A bit of our weekend/week...

Saturday we had a pool party at our apartment complex for CDPC's College and University Ministry. The funny thing about the tropics is that many people do not like to swim.

Nonetheless, the pool is the hot spot in our building. We had food and games for those who didn't want to jump in. Several of our guys organized and played a made up water polo/basketball game in the pool with a group of students from Uzbekistan from apartment complex. This was Micah's highlight of the weekend as it was a lot of fun and a great way to connect with these students. We hung out from about 3p.m. to 8:30p.m. The day was a success as the ministry leaders got to know the CDPC's students better and we were all able to begin building new relationships with other students.

Today I had a Dr. appointment. We waited a really long time before seeing the Doctor. Lydia did well entertaining herself for the most part. She figured out the wheel chair. She taught herself how to unlock the wheels, push it forward and backward, open the seat when it was folded up, climb in and out of the seat, and finally how to push it over when it was folded up. That was a loud attention getter. I think it scared her. She didn't go near the wheel chair after she had knocked it down.

We waited... and waited....

We watched T.V.

We watched Lydia find things to climb.

She found a fake plant to touch.

She read a magazine in Mandarin and Bahasa. Are you so impressed??

When we did get to see the doctor we heard nothing but good news. Elli is about 1.5 kilos right now. I think that is about 3.3 pounds. Her head is positioned down as it should be. I am measuring between 31 and 32 weeks. Right on schedule!

After leaving the dr. we went to lunch at the mall by our place. The waitresses were enamored with Lydia. She was pretty tired and subdued, but let them take pictures anyway. The locals here are so sweet to her. She is treated like a princess.

Walking through the mall, Lydia looked at some bracelets and nearly knocked down the whole rack. Instead of getting upset, the lady working behind the counter invited Lydia back to see all the bracelets she was pulling out of packages to display.