WHY SUCH A HAPPY FACE?

         a package in the mail!

We would like to say a huge thank you to the Vergers family.  Your prayers, encouraging emails and support had already spoken volumes to us about what a generous family you are but when a parcel arrived in the post this week we were even more overcome with gratitude.

The children had so much fun opening up their present and looking through all the different things that you’d sent.  

Eliana put her bracelet on straight away and then enjoyed playing doctors with me for a good hour or so.  I was glad to sit and relax while she gently gave me pretend needles and listened to my heart.

She was also thrilled to see that some of the books you sent were about creatures that live in the sea.  This is the theme her class has taken this term and she is going to take the books in as her show and tell.

Tobi packed and repacked the backpack full of all the goodies then set about beginning to write in the notepad and add some stickers to his work.

Spencer ran around gleefully with a spirit of excitement.  

This week his ‘spark’ has completely returned which makes us so happy.  He loved looking at the books too and will enjoy reading them over and over ... as he loves to do.

So again, Vergers family, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your generosity and thoughtful gifts.  

Blessings,

From the Crossies.

A genuine friend encourages and challenges us to live out our best thoughts, honor our purest motives and achieve our most significant dreams.

Dan Reiland

THEY SAY THAT, ‘HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS’...

...but gee it feels good to have finally unpacked our boxes of worldly possessions!!  

Can I just say, NOW it feels like home.

It’s funny the things that I just can’t seem to find over here like baking paper, good quality nappies, delicious tasting bread (sometimes all I can find is that sweet white bread) and soy yoghurt.  But then there’s things that really surprise me like this morning when I went to the shops and asked at the pharmacy for Bonjela, they actually sold it!  Not only do they sell it, it was about $2 a tube which is so cheap!

Eliana’s teacher bought me some desiccated coconut and golden syrup too which is of course necessary for making Anzac biscuits but very hard to come by.  It certainly is an entirely different experience doing the grocery shopping over here.  If I scan the shops quickly, things can appear quite ‘normal’ to what I’m used to but on closer inspection I generally don’t know what about 50% of the products even are!  Hopefully, in time, these items will become the new normal!

Well, I think I will leave you with some pictures of Tobi doing his “homework” just to prove that it’s not all fun and games over here!!!  Ha ha! One of us 5 is actually doing some work LOL.

Actually Eli got her first homework assignment today too so it will give me an excuse to use my printer, guillotine and laminator to help her put her little project together... Yay!

Oh and sorry Dave, I forgot, you’re working too doing bits for Quality Signs.... ah “sigh” okay so maybe it’s just Spencer and I that are living the good life.

Speaking of the wooly mammoth, also known as Spencer, I had to give him another haircut today as his curls were, once again, growing out of control.  He looked like a little surfer dude to me but the Thai people ask us about 20 times a day (seriously) if he’s a girl or boy!  

And then they act so shocked when we say he’s a boy!!!  Unfortunately when Dave came home today, he thought that my hair styling had made him look even more feminine so I’ll be keen to gauge from the feedback we receive tomorrow whether I’ve done a good job or not.  

Take care x.

The photo up top: the dried fruit section at one of our local shops.  The dried kiwi fruit was DELICIOUS!

ROAD TRIP

Are We THERE Yet?

Dave organised a spontaneous ‘road trip’ for us yesterday.  I was feeling exhausted after church and needed a long, Sunday nanny-nap.  After a couple of hours though (long enough according to Dave) I was awoken to a freshly brewed coffee and the plans to jump in the car and take a trip out to the new ZOE buildings - which are still under construction.  It’s about a 45 minute drive so we strapped the kids in and off we went.

To say that Dave was excited about our road trip would be a massive under statement.  He must have told us about thirty times how much he loves the car and how great it is that’s it’s a four-wheel-drive!! “Okay already, we know” I was starting to think.  That was until we actually got a little lost trying to find the building site on the very rural, unmade roads.  Then I too starting chiming in about how great the car was... too funny!

This stretch of road (above) in Doi Saket is just so pretty
and leads in to where the new ZOE land is.

   

This is one of the roads that were thankful we had our four wheel drive on... we actually drove on some worse than this too.

So, were we glad to eventually ‘find’ the ZOE buildings? 

Ah yes!

What an adventure.  It’s amazing to think that back in July when we visited there were only just the beginnings of the foundations being laid.  It was so special to be able to walk through and start to visualise how it’s all going to look and how many children it will be home to.

This picture is the view from the very top of the roof. Nice!

It was a great time of night to be out as the sun was setting and it looked so pretty and peaceful. 

It was also nice to see one of the ZOE family pods out on their family date night.  They’d decided to come and have a picnic on the land and they generously shared their dessert of fresh, sweet mandarines with us which was so lovely.

It also meant so much to Dave and I to have our own children there with us and to be able to share with them what we, as a family, are going to be a part of.

We are so excited about the future.

Andie:)

Where Have We Been?

NEWS!  NEWS!  NEWS!

So what’s been going on since I last wrote on this blog? The answer to that is … LOTS!

Life is starting to get some sort of rhythm to it now.  I could easily get used to having Dave home full time that’s for sure!

We were getting ourselves in to a bit of a routine, but this week has been BUSY. Let me explain.

You remember Dave had been car hunting and found a car that he was happy with but was still negotiating the deal? Well onTuesday he drove that car up our drive way! Yay! It is a “beast-y” car that’s for sure.  I say that because it is a four-wheel-drive and will take some getting used to but it safe and really is so cool!

We decided to hit the shops Tuesday night with Jess so that we could take the car for a spin but the children were so tired that the whole night ended up being a disaster and we (the three adults) were all left feeling a wee bit traumatised by the outing.

On Wednesday we arose early to prepare for the kindergarten ‘Sport’s Day’.  We weren’t sure what to expect but it was a wonderful day in every respect.  The day was so well organised. Dave and I had fun helping with the children’s races, joining in the parent’s events and cheering for Tobi and Eli. There were so many proud moments throughout the day.  I was beaming from ear to ear at how special it was to see the children interacting with their teachers and peers as well as participating in all the races so enthusiastically. It’s hard to believe they’ve only been in this country for three weeks during moments like these.

Every class had a different colour on for the day which made it easy. Eli’s class were all dressed in yellow and Tobi’s pink!

Below are some photos taken from the day:

Eli in the sponge relay and carrying a ball in a basket on her head.

Mr Todd (Tobi’s teacher) helping him in the dress up relay and me assisting a girl from Eli’s class in the race.

Ring tossing, three legged race
and ball carrying game.

The car race.

Over and under, wet sponge relay.

Eliana doing the obstacle course. 

Dave and Spencer cheering! 

Dave and Tobi in the “pecking” race.

Spencer also had a ball joining in wherever he could or posing for parents and teachers who wanted to take his photo!!

At the end of the day, all the participants stood on the podium to receive their hard-earned medals!!

After the sport’s day, I felt so exhausted that I had to have a sleep.  It’s hard work being a spectator!  

Wednesday night brought a big accomplishment for me when I ventured out in dark of night in the car by myself… driving to the shops and back, dodging motorbikes and navigating myself through foreign streets!  Okay, okay the shops are really not that far and it was very quiet on the roads BUT it was still a moment that I was proud of.  

I will try to get as much experience driving now till Dave goes back to work so that I can get some sense of direction around the place!

So how could Thursday possibly top the previous two days?  There’s only one way and that was .......... having our boxes finally arrive!!!!  

   Spencer didn’t know what to play with 

first! But Dave did, quickly locating the 

coffee machine.  First things first!

I cannot begin to tell you how happy I was to see the truck pull up outside our house.  It had been almost three weeks of living with many borrowed items and few personal belongings BUT we made it.  We had not seen the contents of the boxes since the end of August/start of September when we moved out of our Dingley home so, it was definitely like Christmas time all over

It was so much fun setting up the children’s bedrooms and the toys for when they got home from kindergarten.  Needless to say they were also thrilled to see their precious dolls, toy cars and teddies. 

So that’s us! Busy unpacking and finally getting to set up home. I am one happy girl!!!