"Its ok Mommy. Grammy come back again. Maybe not tonight."

Wow. We sure did have a wonderful time while my mom and dad were here. I didn't want it to end. Praise the Lord their travel was uneventful and no sickness, exactly what we prayed for. Sophie loved having multiple playmates everyday. Her favorite phrase was, "Come on Grammy, follow me." And you know my mom followed her everywhere she led. We stayed at our house in Khon Kaen for the first two weeks. Marc was still on campus so mom and dad just got to see our normal life, Sophie and I at home all day :-). We did make a few short excursions to some nearby places, King Cobra Village, The Obonrat Dam, a friend's rice field. We took it easy. Hopefully, it was a good taste of Thai culture for them. We don't have cable so we had to get my dad set up on the internet to follow a few football games, Ga. Tech to be specific. Other than that, we just spent time together, drinking coffee, reading books and laughing at Sophie. One thing about living so far from family is that when we are all together it is quality time.

My favorite part of everyday was waking up, walking downstairs to the smell of coffee brewing. My dad would already be sitting on the front porch reading with a pot of coffee ready for my mom and me. I usually always drink coffee alone in the morning so it was really nice to enjoy the mornings with them. My mom and I would then sit on the couch and talk, drinking coffee and sometimes talking to my sisters on skype. So, my mornings now are a little sad but it was precious while it lasted.
We spent the last week of their trip in Khao Yai and Bangkok. I decided to wear them out the last few days. I loved being their tour guide. We rode elephants, saw wild monkeys at the National Park, rode in a taxi for hours on end (my dad's least favorite part). All the while sitting not more than 2 inches from one another, always close enough to grab their hand or put my arm around them, and that's all that mattered.


I knew my dad was wild at heart but I guess its laid dormant for the last few years. He decided to let it fly while he was here- eating bugs, handling snakes, even getting a tattoo in Bangkok. I loved watching it all. My mom just rolls with it. The craziest thing we did was sit and get a mural painted on our toenails. I came really close to eating a bug with my dad but I just couldn't do it.

I was getting sadder and sadder as the day approached for them to leave. I shed a few tears at the hotel before Marc took them to the airport, but I was ok. We drove home to Khon Kaen the next day. Getting back to our house was the difficult part. We walked in the door and the smell of our new bamboo blinds made me burst into tears. My dad worked so hard to get those hung. He was our regular fix-it man while he was here. He loves fixing and building, he really ministered to us. Then I walked into "grammy and papa's room" and more tears came. Sophie came up, looked right into my eyes, and said, "you little bit sad, mom?", I said, "yes, i miss Grammy and Papa." she answered, "It be ok, Mom. Grammy come back again...Maybe not tonight." Of course this made me laugh and I hugged her little body til it hurt. She is my sunshine.

So, its only been 4 days since they left but for some reason it seems like a month. I love my family. I love my home country. But I also love this life that the Lord has called us to. Its not easy but it sure does bring me to my knees. I don't know how God is going to use us here in Thailand, but He sure is using Thailand to do a work in us. My peace and true satisfaction is found nowhere but in Jesus. He is my strength when I am weak, He is the treasure that I seek, He is my all in all.