Quick Catch-up Post.

I'm afraid the days of Paul being a "baby" are over. Yes, he's 18 months. Yes, he just started walking in February. Yes, we're still teaching him things like eating what's on his tray. But when it comes to protecting him from bumps, bruises, and scratches, now we're talking about a five year old - at least! 

I've done lots of babysitting in the past, and I don't think I've ever seen a kid so accident-prone. Uncle Tom, he's taking after YOU!! For instance, tonight we decided to have a family night since the rest of the week is insanely busy. We settled on watching a Road To Avonlea 45- minute movie. During that time, Paul ran into the edge of the bed no less than three times and that third time finally got to him. He is now sporting a shiner on his cheek, poor kid. The worst part was we were right there and I even watched him do it (slow motion of course), but couldn't intervene in time because my ankle was propped up. Oh the tears did flow...

In other fun news from last week (I'm so punctual!), the precious ladies from my home church gave me a Skype baby shower complete with decorations, unwrapped gifts, and muffins. My husband rose to the occasion and made sure to make muffins so I could enjoy some while the ladies had theirs. I think I ate two bites in between personally chatting with many of the ladies who took a few moments at the computer to visit. It was a fantastic time and instantly transported me back to PA. Thailand is home now and yet so is Pennsylvania, especially when visiting with dear friends I haven't seen in a while!

Today we wimped out and decide to turn the air conditioner on in the afternoon. Unlike in PA where the hottest time of the day is around noon, here it's between 3-4 PM. After school we stopped by the market to pick up produce, but we took turns sitting in the car with Paul, who was sleeping. Our poor AC did it's very best, but sitting in direct sunlight at 99* was just too hot. So when we came home, I made a beeline for the AC switch and turned it on. After and hour or so, things cooled down to where we could get by with a fan. We have been running the AC a little bit at night, but have it on a timer so it clicks off soon after we go to bed. I'm actually impressed that we haven't run the AC as much as I thought we would've by now, but I think my memory is bringing to mind living in Bangkok (8 hours south) and how we ran it practically year-round. So we've been enjoying and taking advantage of the cooler mornings. It sure makes up for the hotter afternoons!

Next week we're taking a break from school since it's the Thai New Year. Is it wrong to say I'm looking forward to that break? :-) My brain feels like it's on Thai language overload sometimes, so it will be good to put a pause on the intake of information and just try to process what's in there! We're almost finished with the Thai conversation module, and the next module is reading and writing. Baby Nutmeg is due to make her appearance sometime in May, so I'm interested to see how going to school and having a newborn are going to jive. Of course family is first priority, so if it doesn't work out to go to school, then we'll explore another option. But for now my plan is to continue with school.

So there you have it! A quick catch-up with what's going on in our little corner of the world. :-)

A Glimpse

A glimpse into my day (so far)...

- Three kilos of fresh tomatoes turned into sauce.

- A cheesecake... just because!

- An active little guy who is currently playing with a wooden spoon. Simple pleasures.

- Today is not a school day, but there is always studying that needs to be done.

Not pictured:

- 6:00 AM wake-up 

- Pancakes for breakfast 

- Naptime for Paul... and for me!

Nat's at an physical therapy appointment right now and has plans to take Paul later for Paul's first real haircut at a barber. Paul's had a haircut every month of his life except this last month and it's starting to show. :-) We'll see how that goes for Mr. Squirmy!

Sunday.

I thought I would give you all a small glimpse into what our day to day lives look like, so every now and then I'll do a post on "a day in the life of the Williams family."  What better day to start with than Sunday?!?!

The alarm went off early, followed by the real alarm in the form of our 18-month-old son. :-) These days he's been waking up earlier and earlier and we're finally catching on to that little fact (and saying a sad good-bye to 8 AM as a normal wake up time for him!). Snuggling with Paul is a morning routine, one that I thoroughly enjoy! Soon showers and quiet time are finished, making way for breakfast. Paul's little gecko friend is still hanging out on the wall, and that brings about some shrieks of joy... followed by a frantic look for the usual banana to chew on. I make some crepes and soon we're all enjoying breakfast.

Since the church we attend doesn't have services until 5 PM, we have a Bible study time with some missionary friends of ours. Of course that time includes lunch, so right after breakfast cleanup I start in on lunch. This time the menu is taco salad with fresh watermelon on the side. I finish lunch preparations just in time to settle Paul down for his nap. Nat heads out to pick up at the market some cilantro for me and then picks up our friends for the study. Unfortunately, Paul wasn't so willing to settle down for a nap and is still crying by the time Nat returns. We start our Bible study off without singing this time. Paul soon drifts off to sleep and we enjoy a study in Colossians 2. Right on cue after the study, Paul wakes up... just in time for lunch! We enjoy a sweet time of fellowship with our friends since they are returning to the States this week on furlough.

Nat heads out the door again to return our friends to their house and then he continues on to a meeting with a man he met last week while passing out tracts. Paul and I stay home and attempt to clean up. The following pictures should give you a good idea as to why I used the word "attempt." :-)

The last one is blurry, but it show Paul doing what he now loves to do: walk! Oh and climb on everything. :-)

Once Nat returns to the house, we have minutes to get ready for the church service. Since we live 30 minutes away, the drive to church gives Paul a good opportunity to take a nap and get recharged for more activity. :-)

The service is all in Thai, with the occasional English translation thrown in for good measure. Friends of ours gave us a copy of some hymns in Thai written out phonetically, and we do our best to sing in Thai. I stumble over the words of one hymn because it seems like there are more Thai words than usual. One day at a time, I remind myself. The pastor starts to preach and I'm armed with ways to keep Paul quiet: a bottle of milk and a croissant. Effective, but 3/4 of the way through and Paul is ready to run around again. I take him to the back of the room and stand with him. 

Soon the service is over and we catch up with a dear friend who just moved to our city after being in the States on furlough for the past year. We move on to the next room where a yummy Thai meal is served, all the while chatting with various people. As we prepare to return home, the pastor asks if we would take a lady home who doesn't live too far from us. She just moved to the area and we are more than happy to help. Nat's Thai saves the day in being able to communicate with her, although she did know a few English phrases.

We return home with a very tired little boy who goes straight to bath time. After Paul's bedtime routine of reading, singing, and praying we settle him down for the night. Nat and I are exhausted, but spend some time together reading through a book and talking. Prayer time for us rounds out the night and we are soon asleep... ready to start off another week, but thankful for a day of rest.