Christmas 2012

My kids have no clue about the whole "wake-up early on Christmas" thing. But I think they're getting clued in on the whole "pajamas all-day long" thing. (this may be due to it not being limited to Christmas? jury is still out)

It was a good Christmas.  And even though it was good enough for a pj's all the live long day kind of Christmas, around 2:30pm or so I finally got the boys out of their Christmas pj's (what with the sweat and all) and put them in their oh-so handsome "Chelsea Kits" that they got as presents. Lampard(9) and Torres(8).  After a brief confusion with 6's and 9's as Isaac looked down at the number "9" upside down on his leg, we were good to go.

After all that, I have no pictures of the Chelsea kits (Soccer Jerseys for you folks outside the Commonwealth). But I do have these. I hope you enjoy them...and because it's still Christmas Day in the US right now, I hope you're enjoying these in your pajamas. Its that kind of day you know.

This one never backs down from a photo-op

This one tries his hardest to get away from every photo-op.

This one holds a light saber like a boss.

Sorry you can only see my unmake-uped face in this one, but its all we have of Bird, her helmet, AND her bike. That look on my face is me dying from overexposure to cuteness.

And these are my 3 Christmas gifts. They never get old (though they OFTEN get loud). What a blessed Mama I am!

Merry Christmas!

'merica

Couple things here folks.

1. We went to America.
2. We bought a new fancy-schmancy camera.

Anthony knows alllll kinds of things about cameras and photography and light and numbers and f-stops and ISO(?) and Av(?) etc etc.
While I know nothing about all that I figure I'll probably learn eventually. (maybe) And in the meantime I'll do my best to try to get whatever is in front of the lens in focus. Baby steps, guys. Baby. Steps. I keep the house clean and kids fed. (which doesn't take long to list it out but by golly it takes all day to do it!)

So. Using our fancy-schmancy new camera and my husband's how to, I present to you our "Thanksgiving 2012" made from scratch video. Watch the video. It has just about the prettiest rural-Florida-ness of a back drop oozing out of every frame for FREE.  Plus, you get to picture my Uncle Ronnie's stories of great 3wheeler-Mexican-Orange Tree-Roman Candle-Tractor-other heavy machinery mishaps of days gone by and feel the laughter. Feel it... (the song is catchy too)...


Thanksgiving 2012 from Anthony Rivers on Vimeo.
Good, yes?!?

Gracious it was good to be home.

You can go ahead and leave a note about why you now want to be in my family in the comments section. Please no more than a paragraph.

Home Forever

We might have pitched a fit about having to eat breakfast instead of playing with cars a few minutes before this was taken. Possibly.

What a day! We woke up to the terrible news of the school shooting in Connecticut. Not exactly the start I thought this day would have.


The night before I had gone on a date with my oh-so studly husband to see the "Hobbit" and then came home and spent a couple hours reading through a "Waiting Child" list.  I was excited about today, celebrating Rivers Day. The day Isaiah was declared officially a Rivers, forever. December 15th is quite the holiday around here. I was in such a good mood that I was even looking at 4-child sibling groups and sincerely thinking that maybe maybe I wouldn't lose my mind if those were OUR girls. (our visa here prevents us from adopting overseas at the moment...so, fine, maybe my consideration wasn't THAT sincere...)

My head hit the pillow full of hopes and joy.

Then the morning rain clouds filled me right on up with hot heaping mess of despair.  "Why is it that the world is so full of crap?!" "Why do men lose their minds and do terrible things?"

Even the sweet faces I had looked at just a few (very few) hours before changed from hope to criticism when I thought of the 20 parents who will be grieving the lives of their children from today until forever. "Why is it that there are four incredibly beautiful sisters up for adoption?"  "Even if they're adopted, the years the world and the ugliness therein has unleashed upon them will stay with them, especially the oldest ones, possibly causing irrevocable damage to their lives forever!"

That's a whole lotta awful before breakfast.

 Not sure if you've ever read the verse in the book of Ephesians that says,

"When you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it."

Sealed. Sealed ever so tightly, strongly, and forever with the Spirit of God. The Spirit who Jesus said would be our Comforter.

And boy did he bring on the comfort today.

I broke out the "Special Rivers of the Day" plate (its inaugural use since being painted in America a few weeks ago) and my baby boy smiled the biggest smile when his hard boiled egg was put on that special piece of ceramic.

And mama was there ever joy and comfort in that moment!

The Comforter spoke to my heart right then, right there and here's what he reminded me of:

ALL sin- the "big" ones like the shooting and child slaves in Africa- and the "little" ones- like lying to get out of something or being jealous of something someone else has- ALL sin is wrong.

When God created the world, he intended to be near us, with us.  He would walk with us, his glory bright, us knowing him, enjoying him forever. But sin- a "little" one mind you of touching a tree and eating fruit!- entered the world and the sweet time with God was broken.

Our sin, our imperfection could no longer be in the presence of such glory and it has been causing one big ruckus after another since.

Personal feuds. Families torn apart. Greed. Lack of compassion. Whole civilizations that are so broken through one thing or another that parents cannot provide for their children. Armies destroying for the sake of power. Rape. Addictions. Racism.  You name it... this ol' world has got it.

So if God is so loving, why is there such sadness in the world?

The answer is long so I won't go into full detail. But...BUT...the answer is much more easily understood when each of us stops looking at the world around us, takes a minute, and examines our own lives. The "little" wrongs we've done. No more wrong than eating fruit from a tree that was forbidden, is it? It still means we are just as separated from God, just as unable to be in his presence.

God has perfect justice, too. Not just perfect love.

So why does he let suffering happen if he's so loving? Because he's also perfectly gracious and perfectly mercy-giving. If he sent a lightning bolt to kill the crazy man who shot all those kids because he had violated the perfect law- the justice system- of God... then that lie I told would get a lightning bolt too, because guilty is guilty. Imperfection is imperfection. He allows sin and suffering in the world because he is ALSO withholding his wrath and judgement and giving us time to come to him and accept the way...the only way... to undo all the wrongs we've done. Even the little ones.

And lightning bolts are what we've earned. Oh yes! Our view of God needs to be widened to think deeply and widely about just how awesome and glorious pure holiness and glory really is. When we try and contemplate the awesome weight of his glory, falling short of that becomes a bigger deal.

And if death is what we've earned ourselves- if that's the price a perfect justice system demands- then the only way out of it is if someone takes your place. And Jesus did just that. He took all the sin...the murders and the eating forbidden things, the genocide, and the petty theft, the lust...he stepped up to the plate and took it for us.  Separation from God. He endured his wrath. But then, because Jesus had done no wrong, death could not hold him. His perfection and holiness was stronger than death! He came back to life and is still alive today.

That last paragraph is the chance he's giving you in the midst of evil and suffering. He is offering his great salvation. The plan he made to save us from all the mess we do to ourselves and to each other. He's withholding that awful judgement that we deserve and asking for us to trust him, believe on him and his substitution. THAT is good news!  Hope like that is a game changer. (I'm sorry it takes me so long to type all this out...it only took about 30 seconds for all these promises to run through my head and for my despair to turn to joy in hope!)

And so with that hope in mind we celebrated the rest of Rivers Day. To see a tangible example of redemption sitting there making a total mess of a hard boiled egg only solidified the promises I had just been comforted with. His adoption was finalized. Forever mine. My redemption finalized, sealed, forever.  Surely, surely something as miraculous as this sweet boy being my son, means there's hope for this ol' world afterall!

"For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world, through him, might be saved." John 3:17

I know I know, this is supposed to be an Isaiah picture...I can't help myself!

10 days into Advent...

So, I'd say things are going pretty well with Advent. I'm still using the guide I started with but have already decided it's not child-friendly enough. It's good stuff, to be sure, but I think my 3 year old doesn't follow and the 4 year old is just hanging on. It's just too wordy. I'm thinking I'll go the route of a Jesse Tree next year.

The activities have gone well.

Except for the salt-dough ornaments. We shoulda seen it comin what with rainy season and all.

We baked them but then after they were nearly dried out the humidity in the air caused them to soften again. Like mushy soft. We just keep rolling though. (Don't EVER complain about rainy season! It makes my kitchen a bearable temperature for holiday baking)

But the candles. Winners!

Oh yes, the candles are here to stay, Sandlot style. FOOOOOREEEE-VER!

We had dinner out 2 nights in a row. We got home and Isaac couldn't walk past the table without lighting those bad boys up. Fire. Boys. They just go together. Is it too pun-erific to say, "The candles will be memories burned in their minds for all time." No? I didn't think so either.

My boys are to fire as I am to decorating.

It just so happened that our dear B's birthday was this past week and that she happened to go out of town for 2 days and that her mom and I planned a surprise room makeover... it was my our Advent activity for 2 days.

Can you say "Christmas Cheer!"???? We had to work with the green walls (THAT should be a task on a design show!) new duvet cover, pillow sham, pillows, window cornice boards, rugs, and a mirror. It's a big deal turning 12!

 I was surprised how the boys seemed to understand waiting to surprise B with all her fun new stuff and waiting for Jesus to be born.  (somebody whose name starts with "I" totally tooted while we were hiding in her bathroom to surprise her)

We are getting oh-so festive around here! Christmas is coming!

Advent, Advent

As a life-long Baptist girl I'll be honest and confess that my first time even hearing about Advent was in 2006 (I was 25) when during a festive Thanksgiving talent show my two German friends recited -in German- an Advent poem.

circa- 2006. Me with one of the German's in the talent show.

After that a blog I follow - a fellow Baptist girl- talked about doing Advent in her home.

Since then I've added 3 whole children to my home and have had 6 years to slowly gather information about this traditional church holiday.

What have I concluded? That the season of Advent is intended to prepare the heart for the long-awaited arrival of the promised Savior. The birth of Jesus.

There are many ways to go about celebrating. Some are really liturgical, some completely secular, and everything in between. So I did what any novice Adventer would do and found a guide online from a fellow mom of preschoolers and am going to use that as my guide.

My main goal in this venture is to PREPARE.

I want to prepare our hearts for Christmas. Not just screech into Christmas Eve and Christmas morning unfocused with some nice decorations and a sleepy-eyed reading of the Christmas story while really my kids just wanna get to the gifts under the tree.

Here's how we'll be going about it:
We started December 1st.  This isn't traditional, but I know December 1st is an easy date to remember.  The chances of me repeating this endeavor, and thus creating years of meaningful Christmastime memories for my kids and instilling in them the sweet wonderful meaning of the Advent of Christ means starting every year has got to be easy.

Plus, I made these bags. (before our vacation to America...because I know you've been wondering where I went) And they have numbers on them. But only 24. Which means I'll be doing 24 days of it every time.

So December 1st it is.

I'll figure out some sort of Pinteresty way of displaying these and each day we'll open them up. So far they've been hanging where the plastic grocery bags, aprons, and backpacks get hung in the kitchen. We're a work in progress fo sho.

What will be inside?

3 things

1. Scripture focusing on the coming of Christ.
2. A tea light
3. A fun Christmas activity or treat.

I'll pretty much be following this guide for the scriptures. Maybe in future years I'll come up with my own or do something like what my friend April does.

Every day we'll add a light. (instead of the traditional 4 or 5 lights) Mostly because it goes with my OTHER fun pinterest project:  these candle holders

We'll be lighting our candles each night at dinner.  The significance of the candles will be that each night leading up to Christmas it will get brighter. The Light of the World, with us.

The activities will be all kinds of things. Some of them short, some involved, many involving others, all of them (hopefully) fun. Crafts, food, songs, books, movies, and other activities. Christmas is a season of great joy...so for my little ones I want some of that joy to be tangible.

I'll do my best to keep the blog updated about how it goes. We are two days into it. The neighbor kids came over today and helped make snowflakes for our atrium. Isaac is already calling the lights "prop-e-see candles." The first day was glittering the jars.

 I wanna know if you do Advent in your home. And if you have any helpful resources, feel free to post them in the comments!

And for you culture vultures...here's the German Poem that started it all!

"Advent, Advent ...ein Lichtlein brennt
erst eins, dann zwei, dann drei, dann vier
dann steht das Christkind vor der Tür."

(Advent, Advent, a light is burning, first one, then two, then three then four, then the Christkind stands at the door)

Happy Preparing!

For today...

Outside my window...
It's cloudy.  It rained earlier. And my nextdoor neighbor is still rockin' those Chinese New Year pineapples.

I am thinking...
I'm so glad I just read this blog. We're making decisions about what to do with I#1 and school next year. I thought it was gonna come down to homeschool, but I recently discovered an International School here that starts in August, just like America. We mighta struck gold folks.

I am thankful for... 
Having the time today to scrub down our stroller. The fading I can't help, but those goldfish crumbs?! I got my eye on you!

From the kitchen...
There is a breeze. And there's about to be Creamy Vegetable Pasta when I finish this blogpost. It's how we roll at least once a week.

I am wearing...
My "For You Miami!" volunteer tshirt, circa 2003. It's gray, has a wee bit of Spanish on it, and reminds me of some really really great times. We go back farther than my marriage.

I am creating... 
a blogpost. Duh. Anthony is out of town tonight so after the pasta is over, the kiddos are going down early and I'm'a get started on a carseat-cover-redo. For some strange reason, Immanuelle's carseat cover (which is black) started rubbing off on all her clothes, and while the spare piece of fabric I've thrown into her seat in the meantime is "working" just fine, we're just gonna go ahead and take it up a notch.

I am going...
to America in 20 days. It says so on our countdown calendar. I have to count at least once a day on the actual calender to make sure we're at the right day. The boys get a bit overzealous with removing the days.

I am reading...
Nothing. I'd like to say "Shepherding Your Child's Heart" by Ted Tripp. But let's face it... there's a 98% chance I'll never get past chapter 15....er...whatever chapter I was at last.

I am hoping...
The carseat liners and stroller liners dry overnight despite the 100% humidity. Also that someone will give me $400 (or go-ahead and order) this camera. The "Go-Pro Black" I would probably take up surfing if it happened.

I am hearing...
The washing machine rustling all the carseat straps. It scratches my washer bin a bit, but I'm more thankful for the clean straps than I'm worried about the inside of my washer. Also Bird is sitting at my feet thinking I'm not gonna notice all the books she's pulled off the shelf (especially if she keeps buttering me up by putting her head on my lap every couple of minutes).

Around the house...
All the windows are open, the breeze is phenomenal, and "Tay- Tayo, Tay- Tayo, heeee's a friendly little bus. Speeding up, slowing down, Tayo always (something in a high pitched kiddie voice I've yet to be able to understand)" Pretty sure the voices on that cartoon are from Canada. It allllmost sounds American. But then not really. 

One of my favorite things...
Is the little romper Ellie Bird has on right now. The colors are like a summer sky. I totally made it myself and the stripes are lined up better than I hoped! And since you wanted to know...one of my un-favorite things is that I made the romper without snaps or buttons at the bottom. So diaper changes are a pain with a capital "P."

A few plans for the rest of the week...
Anthony getting home tomorrow!

Here is a picture I am sharing....
Its our Bird. Looks like a post-nap Bird. Her lips are that pink color all the time.

What really mattered about September?

Some "Sunshine" sent to my friend. 7.5 feet square (she has 5 kids to fit on it for a picnic or a snuggle when it's chilly...it had to be big). I finished it in July, but wanted to send it before I posted about it.

 Other than my baby boy turning 3, what happened in the month of September? In me, I mean. What mattered about it?

I mean, lots of things happened. I participated in each and every day, and yet, nothing stands out. We had a child go from 2 to 3 years old, went to Singapore, Legoland opened in our city, and I finally finally sent the quilt I made for my friend, to my friend.

So see? I DID stuff. But what made it all worth it?

Is that an enchilada on my plate? It IS! I haven't come down yet on if the Mexican Restaurant opening or Legoland opening is more significant. They even have Mexican glass glasses! (I sold/gave away my Mexican glass before moving to Asia...I'll just go borrow theirs for a meal every now and then)

Love.

That's what. 

I am such a hardcore truth person that I sometimes forget about the whole "love" part that must necessarily accompany truth.  Without it, the truth hurts.  It's a meal prepared, but not received because it was done while complaining. Or a boo-boo cleaned up and bandaged but no comfort given because of the "I told you so" that came with the anti-biotic ointment.

Been there? (I won't tell.)

So when I sewed the curtains, I prayed. When we made the cards to be shipped with the quilt I made SURE to emphasize the joy of giving and not the perfection of the picture (sometimes you can tell kids get it from you...especially when his stars just didn't turn out the way he wanted). Loving my children when they are tired and I am tired from all the public transportation and walking that seems part and parcel of the whole Singapore gig. Speaking kindly, letting kindness lead to repentance.


Don't get me wrong. I am not good at this naturally and I fail more than I care to admit, but the thing is... me loving has nothing to do with me. I believe all of the Bible is true. It says quite a few things about love, but one of the biggies- possibly THE biggie- is that "We love because he first loved us."


What a relief!  I don't have to come up with all the ways to love on my own!

"Who do you want to make a card for Zayah?" "Gloria." I may have cried. (see the heart?)

I can love my children because my heavenly father loves me. I can love my husband because I am the bride of Christ and have seen his deep and sold-out commitment to make my salvation a forever thing. Christ has called me friend, incredibly, he proved it by taking the punishment of my sin on himself. That's love. How then, am I to love my friends? Or better yet, how then am I ABLE to love my friends? Because I've been loved as a friend.

Even just a few minutes contemplating that kind of Love is enough to fill me up and get me through my day (add the lunchtime review of it, a mid-afternoon and evening recap too). And lets face it, as a Mom, a few minutes of contemplation is all I get sometimes. But oh, how powerful!

You can't have those curls. Sorry.

I've always been a fan of October. And even though the tropics doesn't bring football games (the kind with helmets) chilly nights, leaves changing and fall festivals to look forward to, I'm hoping to love well this month. Ya know? So even if the events just kinda slip by quickly, that my part in it will be more than a clanging cymbal of a wife and mother and friend.  To love well because I am SO loved.

I finished her pillow sham! Though I'm still holding out she'll be the first baby to not ever get big enough for a big-girl bed.

Training...

If you've ever run a race, you know that it's not the race that's the hard part. The hard part is putting on your big girl pants (or big boy pants, depending) and training the weeks and months before the race.  We're running a half-marathon in November so the subject of training is a hot topic around here.

My neigbhorhood. Approx 7:30am. It'd been raining for a week...which is the only reason I could run after 7am. Otherwise it's waaaay too hot.

 It's hard. Sometimes it's boring. Sometimes you can feel how good it's going to be to cross that finish line and cross like you own it. Sometimes you can feel how good your pillow is supporting your head. My husband claims my feet have superpowers and when his alarm goes off to wake him up early to run, my foot finds his leg and he suddenly can't get out of bed. I plead the 5th.

The big park. It's really neighborhoody feeling. I like it.

You know in your head if you skip your practice run, you'll regret it later.  You know if you push through, running the race and finishing it won't be a problem. 

Misty rain coming. I wonder when that apartment building will be done? Will it have a pool and will I live there? :)

 I'm not sure if the Apostle Paul was an athlete or not.  Was he the track star at Pharisee High?  Could I make a lamer bible joke? His athletic prowess aside, the man knew what he was talking about when he wrote in 1 Corinthians chapter 9 . 

Rain. But it felt good. I was close to home. Just up there on the right beyond the little car.

Oh man, to finish my life's race and be counted as "good and faithful." Problem is, at it's heart, my life has no goodness or faithfulness in it... it's corrupt through deceitful desires. All of it is tainted by sin. The things I'll be able to present to my Father at the end of my life will be the things He Himself has given me. HIS righteousness and holiness. The gifts of HIS Spirit...goodness, gentleness, love, mercy, self-control, faithfulness, joy, peace, patience, kindness- things I want. Things I'll get at the finish line in full...because at the finish line is when I get to enjoy God forever.

If you wanna do 12k (my farthest so far!) before it gets hot, ya gotta roll on out.

Most of the time when I run I let my mind wander. I zone out. Sometimes I zone out praying for someone or asking God to give me wisdom about a situation or issue. Sometimes I think people's exterior paint color choices are hideous. "Ooooo. I like what he did with his balcony reno. He's probably got a great view up there." Sometimes when I have to run past the foreign construction workers I make up contingency plans in case they ever come after me. It varies.

Sunrise a few minutes later helps (this was taken literally 12 minutes after the  one above.  Equator has no slow sunrises or sunsets. It's like a switch. On and off every 12 hours.

But I think for the next bit I'm gonna be meditating on these thoughts; what's it gonna take for me to cross that finish line as a victor one day? To not rest on yesterday's workout. Yesterday's prayer. To cling with regularity to the God who saved me. Sometimes it'll be easy and I'll picture that finish line as doable and attainable...it may even feel close at hand some days. But on the days when there's rain, when the race has to be run in the dark. To trust. To put one foot in front of the other and have faith that my path will be made straight and that one day I WILL cross the finish line. If I keep at it, Jesus will always be faithful to give me everything I need to keep it up. And then at the end, when I get to rest, I'll hear, "Well done!" Then for forever, I'll offer up thanks and praise to Him who helped me finish.

That kiddie pool was worth its weight in gold.
Lord help me to remember the day will come when the race will have been worth it and I obtain the prize of life eternal with You!

"Mama! I'm all done!"

I finished Immanuelle's quilt.

I call it "Ragged Rectangles." I did an adapted version of this quilt. Instructions were provided. But since I don't have a nifty cutting board thing like real quilters do, I chose to cut 9 big rectangles instead of 90 small ones.

I feel particularly motherly about it.  I am looong over the turquoise and pink color scheme, but there are some projects that just require you to push on through to the end because there isn't budget enough or Kaylee enough to start over.  Plus, this is only my 2nd quilt ever so I don't even have the skills to do anything more than what I did with it, no matter the color scheme.

My thoughts wandered from how sweet it'll be to tuck my big girl in under a quilt to thinking how there'll probably be an age where she thinks her handmade (and lets get real, a bit wonky on the sides) quilt is totally lame and wants to replace it with something cooler.

 Like they'll even say things like "lame" and "cool" when she's older... my opinion of her future taste is high but who knows if she'll just simply want to update it to a more sophisticated Pottery Barn look or put stickers {gasp!} or posters {oh no sir!} and a blanket with the faces of the latest one-album-wonder-boy-band on it. It'd probably be a Kpop group though (TCK's can be global enigmas).

In the midst of my sewing-mind-ramblings I'd hear "OH NO! OH NO! I GOT FAST POOP! I GOT FAST POOP!"  Pulling down Hershey-squirted undies will pull you out of thoughtful sewing reverie and replace it with about every tasteless (but let's be honest, hilarious) idiom that has the "S-word" in it.


Some sort of terrible awful, no good, really bad sickness has slid into the 1st and 3rd's bodies. Full body rash, fever, and diarrhea. Each coming a day or so after the other so you think you're in the clear and then you're staring bare-handed into Lightning McQueen undies that have been shat in.

This morning.

Oh my, this morning.

It all happened so fast. One second I was asleep and the next Isaac says, "Oh no Mama! I got fast poop in my underwear and my bed again." while simultaneously smacking the wet dirty underwear square on my unsuspecting hand, "See!?" I've never thought about the importance of hand-placement while sleeping, but I can assure you priorities have now been rearranged as my eyes opened to the *stink in my hand.

So finishing up the quilt has been a challenge for sure. And I've earned more than just my quilting-badge in the process. Taken care of a kid with the runs have you? On a squatty potty? Done that. What my nursing assistant class didn't teach me about "aseptic technique," I figured out anyway.

I feel like Special Agent Oso in designing my own badges:
"Disinfecting Diarrhea Feet!"badge
"The biggest Muslim Holiday in the World so few clinics are open and your kid gets the *craps and you manage to keep him from getting dehydrated" badge
"No Tile left Unwiped" badge, which goes hand in hand, with the
"Wall-to-Wall tile appreciation"-badge
"You just WISH they were *crapping bricks"-badge
"Quarantined with your kids for 4 whole days inside"-badge
And
"Trail expert" badge (for excellence in the field of finding fast poop tracks after mad dashes to the squatty potty)

With my sash full of badges, I step back and look at all of this as a huge grace. I won't deny the un-fun-ness of my baby needing 2 baths before 9am this morning. The grace is in what the Lord has shown me about my life right now.  I've done what I can and have even been able to catch a couple breaths above the stink and make an effort to do more than just stewing in a big crock of diarrhea, angry until all is right again.  There's been quilting, cookies, homeschool, prayer time, Friday Night Family Movie Night, and a little cooking...they're outward displays of the grace and peace I feel inside even in a *storm like this one.

I'm no super mom. But *stuff happens. And I'm thankful for the grace that weeks like this bring. You bleach it and pray for it to go away and then be thankful so you can see the Lord's good hand in it. Because it is there. Have you seen it in your week?


*I won't condemn you one eensy-weensy little bit if you said the "s-word" out loud or in your mind while reading. Promise.

Parental Pictoral Post-game Post

My parents and my lovely young (though I won't say "little" because she's as tall as me!) 13 year old cousin came to visit for 3 whole weeks. 

It was fun and relaxed and slow and non-stop all at the same time. 

Family is like that.  

The cleanliness of my floors suffered greatly due to unnamed people who forget they're in Asia and must take off their shoes. But no one complains because dirt on white tile floors is negligible when held against finding extremely fast go-karts in our city, and when miniature Walt Disney World Monorail systems are handed out freely, and rainbow-y kitchen rugs are bought and gifted on the spot when certain 2nd-born daughters claim, "they'll go perfectly in my kitchen!" Waterfalls and satay and movies every.single.night. was it how rolled around here for 3 weeks. Enjoy some of the moments!

Our dear Kak Aygee is helping to free our children from rubberbands-off-the-ground-borne diseases that threaten to infect our middle son at any and all public outings.

"They can't fall in!!!" Yeah, right! Like safety standards exist here!

"Don't show your teeth. They think it's a challenge."

Wanna know the cure for pink-eye? Ketchup. And Ikea.

And if that doesn't work, an afro-puff and some chlorine will seal the deal.

"Satay!"

Rice you stab with a stick. Tell me how your night could be better?

Ok, ok. You're right!  Pinterest and glow-sticks in coke bottles polishes an evening off rather dreamy.

I know it's hard to look at our mugs when there's random camping guys' underwear on the rock next to us.

I swear we were really trying to make it a good one!

What American WaterBirds look like when they hatch in Southeast Asia.

 Thanks parents and Laina for shelling out big bucks to come all this way and do things like go grocery shopping and swim.  Our socks are blessed clean off to have the family we do!