Heartbeat

When I press my ear against my daughter's chest,
And I hear her heart beating - quick and strong,
And I marvel that it's been beating since she was the size of a sesame seed,
And will beat until the day she dies,
And that her life depends on this little, toddler fist-sized organ thumping away,
I realize: life is so fragile but so strong.

48 Hours at the Beach

Five months of Bangkok had me wound up tight. On Friday afternoon, I found out Grace's preschool was closed for a Buddhist holiday on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, so we hightailed it to the beach.

I remember beach vacations pre-kids -- spreading a towel over the lumpy sand; pulling a novel out of my backpack; reading, snuggling, and chatting while listening to the waves and feeling the breeze.

Nowadays, our three-year-old and one-year-old come along. We slather the sunscreen on thick, build sand castles, help our preschooler overcome her fear of waves, hope the toddler doesn't poop in her swim diaper, hunt for seashells, and poke a dead jellyfish (One finger! Gentle!) -- thanks, Dory and Marlin, for teaching me that the tops don't sting.

In the midst of all the work and play, play and work that is vacation with little kids, we managed to all return feeling refreshed. This is the good, hard, blessed, tiring, joyful life of raising children.

New Home

"I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself."  - Maya Angelou

Here are some pictures from Bangkok, our new home.

Grace is the center of attention when we are with Michael's family.

A street and an alley near our house.

Taxiing to the grocery store for the first time. What did the girls think about the freedom of no car seats? They loved it, of course!

Grace is obsessed escalators.

Grace and Cora "fah-weeping" our front porch.

Did I mention yet that it's hot in Bangkok? It's hot - as in low 90's (err... 33 celsius) and 70% or higher humidity. We own a whopping twelve fans. At any given time, at least four are running.

There are so many yummy food vendors near us. A modest-sized meal usually costs around $1. So, we eat out all the time. Here's Cora waiting for lunch.

Couldn't quite get myself to eat these conjoined bananas. The girls ate them though.

Again, lots of delicious food nearby. These intimidating little guys cost about 70 cents. They were salty, greasy, crispy, and delicious. I need to buy them again.

My Favorite Shots - Part Three

When I deleted hundreds (thousands?) of my photos this past summer, I found some old gems including these. Here are some favorite photos from the past few years.

~

Michael and baby Grace holding my fingers.

Cora starting solids. I love how clear and bright and sharp this picture is.

Grace and Cora playing on a bag of rice.

My piano.

Hydrangeas from the side of our house.

Spices from our favorite Thai restaurant.

A purple haze carrot from our garden.

Grace getting soaked in the rain.

Here's part one of this three part series. And here's part two.

My Favorite Shots - Part Two

I recently deleted about 80% of my photos. It was a months-long project, but I figure that the fewer photos I own, the more I will look at them. So out went hundreds of shots. In the process, I discovered some old gems. Including these.

Here's part one of my three posts. And part three.

~

Bristlecone Pine tree at Cedar Breaks National Monument. It is thousands of years old.

Snowflakes.

Why, hello there!

We set the camera on the trunk of our car with a timer to get this one. Cambria, California. Little did we know how much our lives would change just a few weeks later when our first was born!

I love coffee.

Self portrait using my bathroom mirror.

I don't even really like makeup, but I like this shot.

Another engagement photo of Jason & Andrea.

My Favorite Shots - Part One

For the past several months, I have been deleting, deleting, and deleting old photos. I figure that the fewer photos I own, the more I will look at them. So out went all the boring shots, the super blurry shots, and the doubles, triples, and quadruples of the same old thing. I only kept the best 20%, and I'm so glad I did it. Even though pictures don't clutter up physical space, it still feels good to do a giant purge.

As I went through every picture, I found a few I love. Here are some of my favorite shots.

~

Sunset outside my parents' home in Colorado.

Sixth anniversary flowers

My dad at St. Mary's Glacier shot on a piece of junk point and shoot. You don't necessarily need good equipment to get fun shots, though good equipment sure helps!

Another Colorado sunset.

I don't know why I like this one so much.

Cheery.

Engagement shot for my sister and brother-in-law.

Grace kissing Cora.

I'd like to say this is dew, but I think it's just sprinkler.

A dead, gnarly tree at Joshua Tree National Park. (No, this isn't a Joshua Tree.)

Oh, crab!

My Favorite Shots - Part Two
My Favorite Shots - Part Three

The Past Month in Pictures

We just got back from a month-long trip to Colorado. Here are some of my favorite shots from the past month.

We spent some time in a mountain house in Crested Butte with my parents and siblings. The incredible display of wildflowers ran our allergies wild. We went on a few small hikes and picnics. We ate lots of delicious food, including campfire s'mores for breakfast.

We attended a two-week orientation with the missions agency that is sending us to Thailand and supporting us while we're there. It was an incredibly intense and exhausting two weeks. But, we survived and we made some awesome friends with like-minded, Jesus-loving people, including the Pals (pictured below) who are headed to Japan.

Post-orientation decompressing at the park and at the pool:

May August be peaceful and uneventful.