family pictures

p's parents came to visit in december and we went to a studio to take a family picture...










this is our friend and her family. we really enjoy their company. they are expecting in the next few months...







these people are our neighbors... family.... friends








this is e's parents and sister...

Let me see your cheeks

Last Friday, I took A to McDonald's here in town after going to the zoo. I told A that we could get an ice-cream if she ate all her food, so then I went up to get an ice-cream cone, but I experienced the weirdest thing... don't even know what to call it, weird is maybe not the word.

At the counter as I was ordering, a manager, who is a man, came up to all the cashiers, who were young girls, with a clipboard to check their make-up. Each girl was asked to show their face to the manager to see if their face was up to standard. While I was standing there, one girl was asked to go back and put lipstick on and another girl was asked to go touch up on her blush. I couldn't believe what I was seeing and hearing. I'm still learning about this place. :)

Rambutan Picking

On Sunday our family went on an outing with our neighbors and their relatives to another family member's house about two hours away. We had a full day of eating, picking rambutans, playing, resting and eating again. It was a very rich time for us to spend with our neighbors. This was our second time doing this with this family. Hopefully it could be tradition every rambutan season.

Playtime

A is with her friend here. They love playing with each other. Her friend is 6 months older so it's a lot of fun to see them together.


A is singing in the rain... she loves her umbrella and backpack. When our friend asked if she had a rain jacket, A went to her room and pointed on the hook at the back of her door... Smarty.

Better than life

P and I have been blessed by this song, especially the line that is big and bold.


Better Than Life
Words and Music by Marty Sampson

Better than the riches of this world
Better than the sound of my friend's voices
Better than the biggest dreams of my heart
And that's just the start

Better than getting what I say I need
Better than living the life that I want to
Better than the love anyone could give
Your love is

You hold me now in your arms
And never let me go

You oh lord make the sun shine
And the moon light in the night sky
You give me breath and all your love
I give my heart to you because

I can't stop falling in love with you
I'll never stop falling in love with you
I can't stop falling in love with you
I'll never stop falling in love with you

high school basketball

just 3 days after joining our family, kumis passed away. A keeps asking where she is at. she furrows her brow and says, "Kumis?" while it appears to be the normal gold fish-die three days after you buy it- syndrome, we are not ruling out the possibility of foul play. we had thought that bubbles was okay with his new tank-mate, but you never know.


tonight with our english discussion group we will watch remember the titans and talk about it. it is still one of our all time favorite movies in the P&E family.



this weekend we went to a high school basketball tournament to watch our friends' daughter, hannah. it was so much fun- felt like we were in the states for a couple hours- and hannah's team won. way to go, hannah!

Bubbles

Earlier this month we bought A a fish for her second birthday. Today I brought home a second fish so that E would not feel left out. She named her new fish “kumis,” which means “mustache,” because she is yellow but has a little black mustache and black on her tail fin. We were excited that A’s fish, Bubbles, would have a new friend. Unfortunately, he wasn’t too happy to get a tank-mate. He chased after Kumis (who is much bigger than him) relentlessly until we started to feel bad for her. After thinking about the situation for a bit I decided to put Bubbles in isolation. He is now in a plastic bag (like the kind you bring a new fish home in) floating in his own tank, while Kumis swims around freely. A cried for a second when she saw what I was doing to Bubbles, but I told her that Bubbles wasn’t being nice and had to be in time out for a bit. She seemed okay with that…. and I’m sure that she learned some sort of lesson about obedience at the same time. Tim, feel free to use that one if you ever write a devo book for toddlers.

On a different topic, A decided that she didnt' want help going to the potty anymore. this morning she said, "no mommy... A do!" then she took her pants off, walked into the bathroom climbed up onto the the squatty potty, positioned her self and squatted and went to the bathroom all by herself. she's been doing it all day and is so proud of herself.