A praise..

Every time we have to renew visas...we cringe.

It's the biggest headache...ever.

We do all we can to go in prepared with the copies of every tiny thing they want and it never fails that we don't have something because they didn't tell us. It's a 20-30 minute taxi ride one way to get to the place. You take a number, sit down and wait, sometimes all morning before they get to you. You give them your documents and oops...you need this one obscure peice of documentation that could take weeks to get from your school. Oh well, your visas will expire in the mean time. Ug.

One time I was so frustrated with the annoying visa guy for talking down to me when he had forgotten to tell me something I needed and I was on my THIRD trip (my husband had made THREE trips to another office for another document) to their office that I almost went off on him in English (of which he spoke some). I finally did make my point and before I left wrote down the exact LIST of things to bring for the next time and as soon as my feet hit the ground outside their office and I knew he couldn't see me (after all, I do try to remember my witness!)...I went off...to myself...to nobody...just to get it off my chest...to God! I remember saying, let me organize this country!!! LOL. This is life in a foreign country...

Anyway, our kids visas expire at a different time than ours by less than a month. You would think we were asking for an act of Congress. No one wants to help us...especially during the summer when their work load slows down some.

Anyway, it was that dreaded time this week. But ALL PRAISE TO GOD...He made it so smooth. The annoying visa guy who talked down to me last time asked me about my language progress and we were able to converse a bit in his language and he was actually KIND to me. I left there thinking, hmmm...weird...but "thank you Lord!"

It may seem like a small thing to you, but to us, it's huge. The enemy tries to use every little nuance of life in a foreign country to steal our joy. He didn't win this time. Maybe because it was easier, maybe because we had a better attitude, maybe, maybe, maybe... whatever. He lost. We walked away with a smile on our faces and kind words to the usually annoying visa guy. And...annoying visa guy.....actually smiled back. A rarity.

Um, really?

You've seen this picture with LilBit, but what I didn't post was the close up of the bag attached to the back...

The reality is...SOMEONE must have tried it or they would not feel the need to tell you NOT to do it, don't you think?

I haven't seen signs like this in this country, but I've seen that kind of stuff going on...the one (or two) that gets me most...
...mom riding in the front seat of a CRAZY TAXI holding an infant in her arms.

...OR

...I think this might be WORSE....

...Mom on the back of a motorcyle with an infant in her arms...in the rain...without a helmet...in THIS COUNTRY...she must be desperate to get home to do that.

I'll never understand it.

My poor mother!

He thinks he is funny. Well, actually, I think he's funny. I have a tone of pictures with him making silly faces. Of course, it didn't take long for me to join in the fun!

Sometimes I wonder how my mom survived our childhood!

Baseball!

As kids, we ALL played baseball. I've always loved it. As a family, went to watch a game. It was great fun. We got tickets that included a free gift and all you can eat dinner. Hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, cookies, etc. Afterwards, there were fireworks.

Someone is always CRASHING A PICTURE...it's just usually my son. :)

Love these peeps.

Mt SIL and her Dad.

My SIL, three neices, one nephew, my son, and other nephew with me peeking over the top. Even Jesus was there. :)

I was so excited to be there. I didn't even care if they won or lost. Before the game started, we all stood for the national anthem. I literally had chill bumps. That is something that I have wondered about...what will it be like to be in MY country and hear MY national anthem when I've lived in a FOREIGN one for so long? It was sweet to hear. After the game, they had a fireworks display which was awesome, but before they began, they played "God Bless the USA." I cried. My brother knew exactly how I felt.

I never had a CHANCE!

When scrolling through my pictures to see what I should post next, I realized that 1/3 of my pics are of this little brown-eyed darling or had her in them. She completely captivated me. She was so friendly and amazingly excited to see us. I attribute that to my family, probably my mom mostly, telling her about us. When my mom had her, we would try to skype. She has seen pictures of the "Cousins" and knew we were coming to see her. Of course, we came to see them all, but if you were three...wouldn't you think you were the main attraction too? And by the amount of pictures I took of her...she was. However, all of my neices and nephews are my favorite. If I had to choose one...I couldn't. Each one is a treasure with a unique personality and charm. I enjoyed them all immensely. One thing I noticed about them was that they are well-rounded. They got along well. There was no jealousy amongst them. Just a genuine love for each other. Pretty amazing at their ages. Of course, I'm proud. You would be, too. Now that I've bragged on them, remember how much I love them ALL as you scroll through these pics of LILBIT. I don't have brown-eyed children. So I was helpless against those chocolate eyes! I almost felt sorry for my Baby brother...almost. If she weren't such a doll...I might have.

Snowcones all around! My sister-in-law would give her a tiny one. She amost always wanted something pink!

Everyone's toy!

Such a charmer...she charmed my friends. She didn't know them, but I did. I guess that was enough for her.

She was dictating what MKRH should write.

As I was tucking her in, I first tucked in "your pink Monkey doll, your Little sister doll, and you" But she said, "your Tinkerbell doll." Of course, MY Tinkerbell doll. And make no mistake...she IS A DOLL.

She LOVED my boy! Well, she loved all the cousins, especially the boys. They would carry her around when she wanted..the would play with her. I'm sure she felt safe with them. She bounced from one to the other. :)

One day when Gma was feeling poorly, the King and I took LilBit shopping with us. She saw this cart...and that was it. I was not about to tell her no. Especially when she gives me that smile!

Sacked out!

Too pooped to carry on...unless she's carried by an Uncle!

Freebirds burritos! Yum! She decided to save a little for later.

Cracking up! How did she make her eyes so big!

We entertained ourselves with my ipod touch....ALOT. :)

Cotton Candy!

She was happiest with the cousins or the Big BRO/SIS.

Entertaining ourselves...she was trying to mimic my face! I was LOL!

Notice the dimple high on her cheek. She has TWO!. Mercy.

She stole my heart!

Oh. My. Word. Ha-LARIOUS!

Always willing to pose!

Catching bubbles!

Pony rides!

Striking a pose!

Always willing to give a kiss!

She was entertaining herself and I was too slow with the camera, so Big Sis helped her re-enact the fun. :)

She would turn those chocolate eyes on me and ask to use my "i-pAHHHHd" How could I say no? Why would I? See? You understand.

At the mall, she wanted to jump...but we thought her too tiny. However the man in charge said he helped younger smaller kids to do it. So...we gave it a shot. She LOVED it!

Drive In Movies

One of the fun things we did as a family was to go to a double feature drive-in movie. I have great memories of this from my childhood. When I was young, you paid by the car...we had a Suburban! My mom would pop a garbage bag full of popcorn and make a cooler full of Kool*Aid. We would take blankets and pillows and PILE IN.

Here's an interesting piece of trivia...My very first job was at the concession stand at the Drive-In Theater in my home town.
The newest addition is a radio station...you don't have to pull a speaker into your car anymore. You just tune in. Cool.
When the sun goes down...the movie starts. This theater has three screens to choose from. We took lawn chairs and snacks.
The Littlest Family member was a trooper. She held on as long as she could and wasn't grumpy as long as she was with the "Cousins".

It was a good time and good memories.

A funny...

Since we have embarked on this journey, we have had to do TONS of traveling. We have coached our kids on how to behave and what they are allowed to say and not say in an airport. The Prince thought in was funny to call me, "The Bomb!" at the airport. NOT COOL.

Anyway, when we arrived at the airport to go back to the states...the sliding doors opened...we walked in...and my kids said simultaneously, "home" " now this is familiar!" I turned to see them both smiling and I had to grin. My kids are now a part of a group of people called, "third culture kids" and those people feel most at home in airports. Funny.

A few of my favorite faces...

My BFF drove HOURS to be with me and mine. She and her family pour into mine so sweetly. We are blessed to know them all. Time with BFF's is ALWAYS too short, isn't it?

I admit it. I'm a 40 year old Daddy's girl. My dad only got a few days off while we were there. This is the picture just before he left to go to the airport. I was going with him to see him off, but the sadness was too much and he told me not to go. So we took one last snapshot. There is something amazingly wonderful in being loved so completely by your parents. Dad, you are a treasure.

When we moved away, I was just getting to know this little sweetheart. She's an addition to our family by marriage. I spent several days trying to get a good picture of her. She would not fully cooperate. My blessing was that she spent most of her time wrapped around my waist, hugging me. I don't know what caused the bond to grow between us, but I love it. She is like all kids and can be a pill, but she needs to know she's loved and cherished. A great thing about being an Aunt is that I can do that. Love on them. Even if I'm on the other side of the world. Love you, M.

These girls have hearts as big as the world. They both are servants, givers, loving. With my large family there is always chaos. No matter how hard we try, we cannot move in a straight line...it's more like a giant amoeba! These two (among others) were so flexible and loving. Whatever they could do to make everyone or anyone happy...they did it. Completely selfless and fun.

The Moms in my life. Mine and my husbands. Where would we be without them? This life we're living would be so much more difficult without the ways they help us. I often think about how hard it must be to work so hard to rear your children to be independent, loving, Godly, etc...and then to actually have to step back and let them be those things. At some point, parents step into a "friend" shoe to their kids. They will always be parents, always willing to help, but at some point they have to learn to wait until they are asked for the advice that used to come forth so readily. How do you learn that, I wonder as my oldest is on the brink of adulthood? My thoughts...one step at a time. It must be a journey like all else. Otherwise, we might feel like our children are ripped from our bosoms. Or...it could be that the difficult teenage years prepare us to let go and say (tongue in cheek), "See ya. You have it all figured out! Go for it!" LOL. No matter which way, it can't be easy.

I'm undyingly grateful to these two women. So much so that mere words cannot express it. It's a good thing that God sees my heart. When my words fail to express the depth of thanks and honor that I want to give him for his creation and gifts to me...He knows my heart.

Inseparable...

Three peas in a pod......no....the Three Musketeers....no....the Three Stooges! More like it. LOL. Whatever the title, the description needs to say, "Joined at the hip."