Our wonderful helper, Miss Ning plays with and loves on our kids so well. i managed to capture a few sweet pictures of Emma and her reading "Snuggle Bunny" together...
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Picture of the day: September 11
Emma is really into reading (hooray!!) and kissing everyone and everything these days. I love that she'll crawl into my lap to read, or that when we Skype with people, she kisses the ipad screen.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Picture of the day: September 2
Most mornings I get to enjoy a good 30-40 minutes alone with this handsome little guy. He is such a happy boy overall, but mornings are when he is by far the happiest and full of the most giggles. We spend our time taking morning milk, laughing, pointing and staring at the ceiling fan, playing catch with a ball...which means him tossing it and me rolling it back to him, clapping, singing and squealing in delight over everything (him, not me) and sometimes taking pics.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Picture of the day: August 29
This is Owen's new thing that has developed in the last 2 weeks: feeding himself. He immediately throws his body backwards to lay down/lounge to drink it and he does it whether you are ready to catch him or not. Ha! What a goofer.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Picture of the day: August 28
Emma doesn't drink well from the nuby sippy cup but does fantastic with the straw sippy. Owen is the exact opposite. Funny kidlets with funny differences.
Monday, August 26, 2013
What if we encouraged instead of judged?
I found this post sitting in my drafts from April! Thought I would add to it and finally post!
There are so many different parenting methods out there and really, none of them work well unless you know youself and your limits, as well as the needs of your child. I am finding that what works for Owen does not work for Emma; they are individuals with different needs. Clearly, if anything, that demonstrates the necessity to know your child.
So perhaps instead of being quick to judge others for how they decide to parent or how their child behaves, or quick to offer unsolicited "words of wisdom," maybe see what doors open if you just ask how their heart is doing or how you could pray for them. Because really, if that mom had just asked me how things were going, I would have told her they weren't sleeping through the night had I thought it was a problem.
Picture of the day: August 26
One of my friends, in an effort to blog more and give glimpses into her daily life, decided to post almost daily pictures on her blog. She doesn't stress about posting a pic every day, but is at least more intentional about taking pictures. qI liked that idea, so am going to take it and run with it as well. Thanks, Clare!
Mama went to a baby shower and didn't get home until around/after bedtime. Daddy was on double bottle and bedtime duty. Good thing they can hold their own bottles...I remember when they were tiny and if I needed them to drink on their own, I had to prop up their bottle.
Mama went to a baby shower and didn't get home until around/after bedtime. Daddy was on double bottle and bedtime duty. Good thing they can hold their own bottles...I remember when they were tiny and if I needed them to drink on their own, I had to prop up their bottle.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Nothing out of the ordinary...
Mike has a sweet little girl in grade 2 who, when she was in k4, once talked to Mike about her babies (dollies) named Cake and Cookie. I remember getting a good chuckle over the names of her dollies, but after having lived in Thailand for 4+years and having students with original (and not so original) nicknames such as Cake or Cookie, it is nothing unusual now.
Transition now into this little girl being in grade 2:
Student: I have diarrhea this morning.
Mike: I am sorry to hear that.
Again nothing unusual about that...morning attendance/excuses is sent to teachers each morning and often times the reason a student is missing from school because of diarrhea. Yep...diarrhea. The excuse doesn't say an upset stomach or food poisoning or sickness. It is so interesting to me how we Americans are so private and find certain questions or conversation topics awkward. Most everything here is fair game...how much money you make, why you don't have children, why you have so many children, why you aren't married, aaaaaand bodily functions. Ha!
Transition now into this little girl being in grade 2:
Student: I have diarrhea this morning.
Mike: I am sorry to hear that.
Again nothing unusual about that...morning attendance/excuses is sent to teachers each morning and often times the reason a student is missing from school because of diarrhea. Yep...diarrhea. The excuse doesn't say an upset stomach or food poisoning or sickness. It is so interesting to me how we Americans are so private and find certain questions or conversation topics awkward. Most everything here is fair game...how much money you make, why you don't have children, why you have so many children, why you aren't married, aaaaaand bodily functions. Ha!
Monday, July 22, 2013
The tipping point
It's mid July and our time in Minnesota is winding down. This summer seemed to fly by at warp speed, as did this past school year. The birth of the twins seemed to be the spark that kicked life into high gear and we haven't looked back since!
We have had a delightful 6 weeks stateside. We have enjoyed spending time with family and friends, hanging out in the kiddie pool, being part of my best friend's wedding day, seeing my brother and his new wife, taking naps, playing in the grass, watching our beautiful babes take everything in and learn new things, watching our kids interact with the children of so many of our dear friends, spending time together as a family, eating good beef, worshipping at Sovereign Grace Church, riding bikes with a trailer for the babes, etc.
Yet despite all these wonderful things, this year--like every other year that we come back for a visit, I never feel quite at home. Part of it is living with other people, living out of a suitcase, having people constantly around, not having our normal routine, etc., but I think we have reached a tipping point in our life now. Mike and I have been feeling the effects of being in Thailand for four years. We have now lived in Thailand the same number of years we lived in Minnesota as a married couple, we have been in Thailand almost twice as long as the number of years we spent worshipping at Sovereign Grace. This next year, Mike will have taught the same number of years in Thailand as in Minnesota.
In all of this, our church body has changed and we feel like we don't know half the people anymore, some friendships are perhaps a little more distant from not keeping up on a regular basis through the year, former acquaintances are not really acquaintances anymore, and once familiar places are not quite as easy to remember how to get to anymore, conversations are more updates because our worlds are just different.
Parts of me grieve all these changes that I feel and observe, knowing that the longer we stay in Thailand (or wherever we live) the more pronounced they will become. Despite change not being anything out of the ordinary...close friends stay close, acquaintances drift, policies and populations change...it doesn't make the sometimes abrupt feeling change (due to being overseas and only coming back for a few weeks in the summer) easier.
But even when my heart aches for things of this earth though, I delight in knowing that Thailand is where we are supposed to be for this season.
We have had a delightful 6 weeks stateside. We have enjoyed spending time with family and friends, hanging out in the kiddie pool, being part of my best friend's wedding day, seeing my brother and his new wife, taking naps, playing in the grass, watching our beautiful babes take everything in and learn new things, watching our kids interact with the children of so many of our dear friends, spending time together as a family, eating good beef, worshipping at Sovereign Grace Church, riding bikes with a trailer for the babes, etc.
Yet despite all these wonderful things, this year--like every other year that we come back for a visit, I never feel quite at home. Part of it is living with other people, living out of a suitcase, having people constantly around, not having our normal routine, etc., but I think we have reached a tipping point in our life now. Mike and I have been feeling the effects of being in Thailand for four years. We have now lived in Thailand the same number of years we lived in Minnesota as a married couple, we have been in Thailand almost twice as long as the number of years we spent worshipping at Sovereign Grace. This next year, Mike will have taught the same number of years in Thailand as in Minnesota.
In all of this, our church body has changed and we feel like we don't know half the people anymore, some friendships are perhaps a little more distant from not keeping up on a regular basis through the year, former acquaintances are not really acquaintances anymore, and once familiar places are not quite as easy to remember how to get to anymore, conversations are more updates because our worlds are just different.
Parts of me grieve all these changes that I feel and observe, knowing that the longer we stay in Thailand (or wherever we live) the more pronounced they will become. Despite change not being anything out of the ordinary...close friends stay close, acquaintances drift, policies and populations change...it doesn't make the sometimes abrupt feeling change (due to being overseas and only coming back for a few weeks in the summer) easier.
But even when my heart aches for things of this earth though, I delight in knowing that Thailand is where we are supposed to be for this season.
Monday, May 27, 2013
Thoughts from an adoptee
My beautiful friend, Holly, wrote this remarkable blog post on being an adopted Korean-American, growing up in California, but currently residing in Asia...and what that means, how it feels, etc. As I read her post, I found myself literally saying aloud, "Yeah!! That's totally how it is!" She so eloquently expressed things for which I simply did not have words.
One of the first things that Holly asked me after the birth of Owen and Emma was, "So how does it feel to have your first blood relations?" Deep. I hadn't really sorted through the raw emotion of it at the time, but since then I've unpacked more of what it means to me, a fellow adopted Korean-American.
Adoption is a beautiful thing. Families are made and babies are not aborted or entirely abandoned. However, it is not without its issues no matter how well families address them. It took going to counseling for me to really understand the impact that adoption has had on me. I struggled; namely with abandonment and self-esteem issues, which manifested in seeking attention, control and security. I also struggled, as many adoptees tend to, with over attachment and under attachment issues as well, which swung like a pendulum through the years.
Due to being adopted myself, adoption has honestly never been something I have been drawn to. Maybe my heart will change but I think it is, like many things, a calling...and one that I simply do not currently feel called to. Some might say that I would understand adoptee issues well, but I think there is a part of me that fears having to continue to deal with them, just on a different level. That being said, it has always been really really important to me to have my own biological children.
So how does it feel to have my first biological relations in my midst? Amazing. Amazing to love and hold them from birth. Amazing to have them recognize me and attach to me emotionally. Amazing to see both Mike and me in them. Amazing to see characteristics or personality traits of Mike and me. Amazing... Simply amazing.
And then there is a part of me that is so enormously relieved. Relieved to know that they won't be asked, "Where's your REAL family" or " Who's your REAL mom?" Yeah..try dealing with that as a kindergartener! That they (hopefully) won't get mistaken as their sibling's significant other, or feel ashamed of the color of their hair and eyes or the shape of their eyes and nose. Relieved that they won't have peers ask them if they are a "commi" from North Korea. Relieved that when they look at family pictures, there won't be twinges of insecurity at being different. Relieved that they get to answer some of the family medical history questions at the doctor because they will actually know some of their medical history, albeit parts of it missing due to my lack of knowledge of my own family history.
So...as grateful for I am for the gift that adoption is to adoptees (including myself) and adopters, as an adoptee, having biological children of my own is really truly one of the greatest gifts I could have ever been given.
One of the first things that Holly asked me after the birth of Owen and Emma was, "So how does it feel to have your first blood relations?" Deep. I hadn't really sorted through the raw emotion of it at the time, but since then I've unpacked more of what it means to me, a fellow adopted Korean-American.
Adoption is a beautiful thing. Families are made and babies are not aborted or entirely abandoned. However, it is not without its issues no matter how well families address them. It took going to counseling for me to really understand the impact that adoption has had on me. I struggled; namely with abandonment and self-esteem issues, which manifested in seeking attention, control and security. I also struggled, as many adoptees tend to, with over attachment and under attachment issues as well, which swung like a pendulum through the years.
Due to being adopted myself, adoption has honestly never been something I have been drawn to. Maybe my heart will change but I think it is, like many things, a calling...and one that I simply do not currently feel called to. Some might say that I would understand adoptee issues well, but I think there is a part of me that fears having to continue to deal with them, just on a different level. That being said, it has always been really really important to me to have my own biological children.
So how does it feel to have my first biological relations in my midst? Amazing. Amazing to love and hold them from birth. Amazing to have them recognize me and attach to me emotionally. Amazing to see both Mike and me in them. Amazing to see characteristics or personality traits of Mike and me. Amazing... Simply amazing.
And then there is a part of me that is so enormously relieved. Relieved to know that they won't be asked, "Where's your REAL family" or " Who's your REAL mom?" Yeah..try dealing with that as a kindergartener! That they (hopefully) won't get mistaken as their sibling's significant other, or feel ashamed of the color of their hair and eyes or the shape of their eyes and nose. Relieved that they won't have peers ask them if they are a "commi" from North Korea. Relieved that when they look at family pictures, there won't be twinges of insecurity at being different. Relieved that they get to answer some of the family medical history questions at the doctor because they will actually know some of their medical history, albeit parts of it missing due to my lack of knowledge of my own family history.
So...as grateful for I am for the gift that adoption is to adoptees (including myself) and adopters, as an adoptee, having biological children of my own is really truly one of the greatest gifts I could have ever been given.
Friday, May 17, 2013
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