Along the Way

First stop: Edmonton to spend a day or two with the Im cousins.  Apart from side adventures of walks in the park, church fellowship meeting, and setting off the home alarm, we also spent an afternoon at the West Edmonton Mall.  

The first bit we were there just us - a rare and wonderful family time.  It almost got spoiled from the start because Mommy was the driver for the rental van and rather stressed over driving it in a busy, full parking lot, but once parked and inside everyone calmed down (kids are so adept a picking up on parental stress and mirroring it!).

We stopped by to see the sea lion show -- from outside the seating arena so we couldn't hear properly, but we saw all the tricks.  Grace's favorite bit was when the sea lion swam with a fin up to look like a shark and when it jumped out of the water like a dolphin.  Jasmin liked when it dived from a high platform and then jumped up to hit a hanging buoy.

We took the girls to the Putt N Glow.  It was good fun save for the need to pass a trying-to-sleep Aiden back and forth between turns as we weren't able to take a stroller in.  Our scores were a bit of a laugh because a number of holes were on the top of raised boxes... the first one like this we counted up to 26 hits!

Then, we met up with the Im's to explore Galaxy Land.  With a 2 for 1 coupon we got the girls bracelets so they could enjoy all the rides they wanted - indeed a rare occurrence!  Of course, first on the list was the horse carousel...

helicopter flying..

And, once they had gained some confidence, the DragonWagon - a fairly tame, short roller coaster.  This was the first ride that Dad couldn't go with them and it was the fastest they'd tried too, so it was a big step. When they came around the corner near us for the first time, Grace was hanging on with both hands and such a grim look of frightened endurance that we weren't sure what kind of kid we were going to get when it stopped.  Jasmin was sitting with another girl and didn't seem to be very excited or scared.  We asked them if they liked it. Grace had a quick emphatic "No!" but Jasmin surprized us with a pretty enthusiastic yes!  But, asked if they'd like to go again, Jasmin was quick to join the no camp. All in all, a mighty special day.

 Next stop: Calgary with the Fraser cousins.  We didn't even manage to get into the house from the van before Zoe, Julena, Grace, and Jasmin were fast friends talking 10 to the dozen - about West Edmonton Mall, since they had been there this summer too.  And that is how it was for the whole week - 4 parents had a wonderfully relaxing week as we hardly saw the 4 girls except for meals and bedtimes!  Which unfortunately means that we have no pictures of our time there at all :o(

In Calgary we also got to spend some time with a family that we met in Manila. Grace and Jasmin really missed their son when they returned to Canada and we moved to Bangkok.  It was pretty special for us all to meet again: Mom and Dad to be able to fulfill a promise made that we would bring Grace and Jasmin to meet Shinji in Canada, and for the girls to have the chance to remember and renew that friendship.

Next stop: Abbotsford, BC with the Kievits. Once again, we hardly saw the kids - 7 of them this time.  I think we're going to have withdrawal once we get to Bangkok!

This is their oldest son, an excellent magician.  He even is hired to do shows for kids' birthdays and things.  He kept Jasmin entertained all afternoon one day with a handful of coins and a cup, pulling them out of thin air, making them disappear, finding them in the most unlikely places, etc.

 This cup full "appeared" all at once.  Not an easy trick, to be sure.












Now we are in Langley, BC, our last stop before heading out to Bangkok.  We are finding time to relax and reorganize so we are ready for the long haul flights ahead of us.  So, despite leaving Ottawa feeling on the edge of stress already and now a day away from our "great departure" after many stops along the way, we actually feel more ready for this next chapter of our lives.
Something only God could accomplish, I'm sure.
Thank you God!

It Has Begun - Again

This week I have been considering possessions and needs, sorting, packing, rearranging, measuring and weighing. Deciding what must come with us, what can be left behind, and what we never really needed in the first place. Folding, sorting, squeezing in one more it-would-be-nice-to-have thing into a corner of a bag. Again.

Tonight we will be going to bed in rooms empty of the "us-ness" our things gave them, 4 bulging suitcases and 5(!) carry-ons standing waiting by the door. Showered and ready-dressed for the next day's travel, the kids will burrow into their blankets, and whisper the sadness of leaving and the excitement of going. Again.

Tomorrow morning, just as it is getting light, we will be boarding a plane. Leaving behind family, friends, places that we fit into like a well-worn shoe, and ones that we would dearly love to fit that well into. Again.

Tomorrow night we will not have arrived. Indeed, it will likely be another month before we settle in a place of our own in Bangkok.  Stops to visit farther-flung family and friends, as well as work meetings punctuate our journey, breaking it up into bites-ized pieces. On the go but not there yet. Again.

This is our life, the one God has called us to. And this time we are going back.  That is a nice new thing for us. Always before we have been going on to something and some place new.  This time we are going back - to the same:

city

friends

church

language

bank account

possessions

transport system

culture 

What a head start!

How blessed we should feel to be given this great gift this time!

And the gift of God's presence each and every time we go: Grace reminded me this morning,

"The hi and byes to friends doesn't matter, only that God goes with me everywhere."

When I Grow Up

When Grace was 3, she said she wanted to be a doctor when she grows up.  A strong interest and insatiable curiosity about the human body and all things doctor has been evident ever since. At 6, the desire has not waned.

A few days ago, I came home to a bedroom-turned-hospital.  The girls were diagnosing and treating all their stuffed animals. Not unusual or that remarkable. But later I discovered this in one of Jasmin's notebooks:

 

Grace had laboriously written out medical notes of all their patients! 

Roots and Wings

Spending a summer with family, friends, and trips to old and new places has triggered a muse about family roots: how wonderful they are, and the deep puzzle of how to grow this globally nomadic family appropriate roots without clipping the wings that such a life gives.













Driving through the village where I spent my teen years
Inviting my children to enjoy places I did growing up
Watching my children in wonder over what I found common place
















Listening to my sister-in-law talk with her mother about family generations
Seeing my girls playing with their cousins and friends

Receiving grandparent blessings

Talking deeply with parents

Such things are treasured moments that bring satisfied fulfillment - and an uncomfortable sense of deep loss. For these are experiences that we get to do only in snatches every few years.  My children will see the world, be comfortable and familiar with multiple cultures, languages, ways of thinking - all great things for the future world that they will live in - but they will miss out on the rich goodness of a settled life within reach of extended family. Both worlds are good, both filled with God - yes, we miss what we have left behind, but that is not the muse.  How to bring up our children to appreciate and be able to live in both worlds is.

What kind of roots can you grow as a family on the move? That is my question of the hour, day, week, month, year, life!