Grace and Jasmin on the Butterfly Farm

 We had never been to the Butterfly Farm before. There was LOTS of butterflies. Every - every- everywhere! Some butterflies are very fast. Some butterflies are big. Some are small. Sometimes they even land on people! One guy had lots and lots of butterflies on his head.

There is also a place for these strange turtles. There is also a giant centipede area.  When you pass the butterfly area, there is lots of other bugs you can learn about: Scorpions, frogs, snakes, beetles, huge beetles, moths, huge moths until you are finally out of it.

























There are things on sale, facts, and there is a lot of collections of ancient times in the jungle, even statues from Bangkok. Chariots, big statues of dragons. Some things are for sale: pretty jewelry, real rubies, real safires, real jewels, t shirts with butterflies on them, butterfly wings, lots of butterflies - no, not real ones only pretend! And that' the end of the butterfly farm. How far I can explain.
-Jasmin






I'd say it was really great and other people should go there too. If you like insects, butterflies, or reptiles. If you like butterflies, the farm is the place to be.  When I was there I was basically taking pictures of every kind I could see.
-Grace

 It was a fantastic afternoon! Grace started out reading all the information stations, but soon turned to trying to take pictures of as many kinds of butterflies as possible.  Since Jasmin was also doing this, we have a LOT of pictures to sort through!
The best of it for mommy was that Aiden also had a blast running after butterflies, trying to touch them, playing with the chain curtains at the exit, exploring the lower displays of live bugs and reptiles, etc. Even though it was a super stimulating afternoon and in a hot steamy place, he didn't get screechy from missing his nap.  An most welcome extra since we then went to the beach and out to supper!

 

We really liked to horned frogs - the horns gave them a wonderful expression that you could see all sorts in.  Excellent camouflage too - we undertook the challenge to find the 30 in the inclosure, but failed to find the last 5.

 Rather than rotting fruit dishes to feed and attract the butterflies, there were these grates of hand-picked hibiscus... brilliant and beautiful.  Jasmin was tickled by the number of butterflies that she found on the underside.

Five Minute Friday - she

She has a lovely home.
    Immaculate yet welcoming. Matching. Interesting.
Mine is full of collected cast offs, loud, messy.

She is a fantastic mom.
   Never impatient. Always creative. Forever intentional.
I am forever biting my tongue (or not), too often desperate for an idea, missing fantastic oportunities.

She is the perfect wife.
   Always there. Passionate. Fantastic willing helper.
I am often occupied, too tired, reluctant to do more.

She knows how to dress.
   Just right for herself, the weather, the occasion.
I am glad to manage just one of these right.

She is the greatest friend.
   Open and honest. Loyal. Warm and caring.
I am slow, careful, too often wordless.

And then, I discover I am that "she" to someone.
What a marvel!
Shifts the looking glass and glasses
To see again
Perhaps more of what God sees
of Me and She.

In Pursuit of a Date

For our anniversary this Spring we had special plans.  Then I woke up with mumps that day.

For my birthday I nixed the plans feeling miserable full of a nasty cold.

Our next opportunity we did actually manage to get out, but it was necessarily low key (Michael felt sick this time), short, and combined with a bunch of necessary errands.

Today we nixed a semi-date plan in a more dramatic way...

The kids and Mommy had a bit of a biking accident on the way home from the market this morning.  Remember Jasmin's accident? (foot stuck in the wheel of the bike) Well, Grace copied it this morning in a most dramatic fashion.  Since she was wearing better shoes, her foot is not as robbed of skin; but because of the more robust shoe, her ankle took a bruising (as well as the bike). It was more dramatic also since we were fully loaded: bike trailer with Jasmin and groceries, Aiden in his seat behind me, and Grace in front. So we had Grace almost screaming, Aiden definitely screaming, and Jasmin more than a little worried. 

We got to stay home instead of going out
Grace is limping
My bike needs the wheel straightening

But all is well:

We got immediate, more than enough help from people on the street - someone got Aiden out of his seat, a biker had tools to make my bike ride-able to get it home, someone helped me get Grace's foot unstuck, someone gave the girl's a ride home, etc.

Grace is limping, but her foot is fine, and lost less skin than Jasmin.

Jasmin keeps her head under pressure and makes a good nurse/gopher

We've had a good day at home and Daddy's gotten more work caught up than he thought he would.

My computer has intermittently recharged today, making it useable.  Since our outing was triggered by the need to fix my computer (not recharging at all), this is a nice extra to the all is well.

What happened after

Well, our ill-fated return journey didn't get much better from Singapore...

Mommy had to contend with the runs (thankfully mostly while in Singapore and not on planes!)

Our flight out of Bangkok was delayed by nearly an hour - after we got on the plane - and since it was our last flight, Aiden wasn't too impressed - he screamed and writhed nearly that whole hour (thankfully people around us seemed sympathetic rather than annoyed)

Our arrival in Penang was mixed relief as our suitcase didn't arrive with us (thankfully the taxi Daddy arranged to meet us was still around!)

It poured so hard on the way back from the airport, we had to creep along as the driver could hardly see too much of the time (but we made it safely)

Because of that longish taxi ride, Mommy didn't make it to a bathroom in time...

Home and showered and ready for bed and Aiden threw up some more...

And yet, somehow the homecoming still wasn't a tumble-into-bed-flop of thankful misery after an "I'll never do that again" trip.

How amazing is that?!?! God's grace is not just for the big things but for the "little" also.  Thank you God.

Our suitcase caught up with us a day or two later, intact, with all contents, though a little wet.

Thank you God.