Our Days.

Here's a quick peek into our lives from the last several days... 

I've been enjoying doing some daily scripture writing and I love the little nuggets that come out as I read and write. 

We've been (slowly) working on our little plot of ground out front. Last week we had some dirt delivered, but we have to break up the clumps. The other day our neighbor boys came over to help! Next step is to get some sod down.

Hardly a day goes by that we are not visiting the playground. The kids love to play on the equipment and the local school kids love to play with Paul and Ellie. :-)

The other day I found this rather humorous as I was waiting to make a u-turn. This was the third bus to do the u-turn and he did much better than the first two! Anything goes around here. 

My teacher and I were studying Thai out on our porch on Tuesday when Ellie came out looking like a cowgirl!

We went to the playground today and it just so happened to be recess for local school kids. Everyone loves Ellie!

Meanwhile Paul enjoyed playing ball with some boys... Or running away from them. ;-)

So cute! Thai kids do a great job taking care of my little people and loving on them.

We found a new restaurant here in our town. As in, only 3 miles away! Coffee shop, great smoothies, Thai and western food, and lovely ambience means we'll be back! I'm so glad we didn't have to drive 45 minutes away like we usually do. The smoothies were kid-approved and we walked away with no spills, no broken dishes, and calm children. That's a good restaurant visit in my book. :-)

Victory In Jesus.

An old, sweet hymn ministered to my heart today. Perhaps in part because we had a friend accompanying on the guitar. All of our singing is done without any music, so the guitar playing was a wonderful treat. But oh the words to this hymn! So familiar, and yet so fresh. The wonder of salvation is all about Him, because He is the one who sought me. Praise the Lord for Victory In Jesus!

I heard an old, old story, How a Saviour came from Glory,

How He gave His life on Calvary To save a wretch like me;

I heard about His groaning, Of His precious blood's atoning,

Then I repented of my sins And won the victory.

O victory in Jesus, my Saviour, forever,

He sought me and bought me, With His redeeming blood;

He loved me ere I knew Him And all my love is due Him,

He plunged me to victory, Beneath the cleansing flood.

Family Time.

We try hard to keep Wednesday as our family day. Even then, something may come up. This past Wednesday was no exception, but by 10 AM, we were ready for to go. 

Our first stop was a strawberry farm Nat recently saw and wanted to check out. The fields were pretty, and the lake out front with the mountains in the back made for a second glance.

Paul took one look at this tractor and knew he had to check it out. Fascination with farm equipment is in his blood!

Of course we had to stop to let our little celebrity have her picture taken. :-)

Amazingly enough, this place is also a resort! So if staying in a strawberry house is your thing... Here you go!

The mountains fascinate me. Such mystery and intrigue...

All in all, it was a wonderful, refreshing day!

Visual Antics.

I thought I would give another picture update of what life has been like around here! Starring Paul and Ellie, of course...

Ellie is the new owner of a little bike her size! (Paul seems to think he is partial owner.)

The first sunrise of 2016 was stunning! Actually almost every morning offers a spectacular show, but unfortunately a camera just can't capture what the human eye can see. 

Paul thought this was a great place to eat his morning snack, and Ellie did too. It's so sweet to watch these two do things together.

We got a laugh out of this one. One of the men Nat is working with received two boxes from Operation Christmas Child. Since his kids are older, he gave them to us for our kids! From America to Thailand, and currently on the way to another country now. :-)

Ellie is definitely watching her older brother and following in his steps - both good and bad. She figured she could stand on the fence too.

While Nat got his hair cut, this sweet lady entertained the kids, mainly by giving them little tangerines.

Thirty minutes later, and the kids started to get restless. Running off steam on the barber's front porch was a great solution! 

Unchanging Grace.

Sweet words are found in the old hymn, "The Solid Rock" and ministered to my heart this morning:

When darkness veils His lovely face,

I rest on His unchanging grace;

In every high and stormy gale,

My anchor holds within the veil.

When the storms of life come (not if, but when!), sometimes I feel alone. I'm not wrestling with a particular struggle or trial right now, but I suppose that's why the words of this song captivated me. At times, darkness does hide His face. But His grace doesn't change. Ever. Isn't that precious?! That's what I'm thinking about today ~ the amazing grace of my God.

Happy New Year!

There's something so fresh about a new year, and I do believe this is the most excited I've been over January 1st in a really long time. I am not a to-do list, goal setting type of person. That would be my husband. :-) But I've actually set some goals in a few areas of my life and I even wrote them down! That right there is a major accomplishment for me. (It helps having a cute journal given by a sweet friend!) So now I'm exited to see some of these goals accomplished throughout the year. 

I should do a quick review from the last month, though. We put our Christmas decorations up the day after Thanksgiving, and that really gave a festive feel to the house! My mom left in the beginning of December, after a lovely month-long visit. Immediately after she left, we enjoyed lots of cool weather. Figures! Poor Mom was pretty warm when she was here. We've decided to stop telling people when it's "cool" here, because we've adapted and now have a new definition of cool! 

Wednesday is our family day, and recently we have really enjoyed taking some scenic drives around the different mountains in our area. This past Wednesday we stumbled upon a resort and restaurant on a river with gorgeous views all around. The cashew nut chicken was fabulous and the creative handiwork of our God was incredible. What a blessing to enjoy living in this beautiful country.

And now? Now it's a new day, new month, and new year. Praise God for new beginnings!