Transit Part 2

Sorry to leave you all so long waiting for the rest of the story! To say its been a busy week would be an understatement . . . a huge understatement. We have been going non-stop since we got to the U.S., and especially since we got her to St. Louis. But, I digress. ;) Where did I leave off? Oh, yes, we were in Connecticut for a few precious hours with David's folks, enjoying Dunkin Donuts. :)

We spent the morning with David's parents, and around noon they drove us an hour down to New Haven to catch a train to New York. We were only in New Haven for an hour or so, but it reminded me why New England has become such a treasured place to me these past few years since I married David and joined his New England family. The summer weather was perfect--sunny, but not too bright, 70 degrees, slight ocean breeze coming off the water. Even a few minutes of this was healing for my jet-lagged, travel-ravaged, transition-ravaged soul. And the train station was beautiful. It makes me think--airports, what is wrong with you? Don't you realize how much more pleasant traveling could be if you had just a touch more charm? The station was small, but filled with carved marble and 100-yr old murals and solid wood benches where we sat and ate lunch. I decided train stations, especially New England train stations, are my new favorite thing. :)

We hopped on a train bound for NYC, and got there in a speedy hour and a half. Sarah loved the train--loved that she could stand up, no seat belt needed, even walk around a little. She loved looking out the window and seeing houses and trees and roads and bridges and rivers. It was a gorgeous day and, really, we all enjoyed the train ride. Just as we were arriving at Grand Central Station, a friendly woman on the train approached us and, seeing our luggage, asked, "Are you all going to Kennedy airport?" We said yes. She said, "I am planning on taking [such and such] subway train and transferring to [something] at [someplace]--do you know a better way?" We said no, and in fact her route had one less transfer than we had planned on, so we opted for her route. She was very friendly, was a former New Yorker so she knew exactly where to go at every subway station and where the elevators were (helpful since we had Sarah's stroller and 2 bags with us). After the first train, another very friendly New Yorker approached the four of us and, again seeing our bags, offered to walk us through the transfer at the next station since he knew exactly where to go. He did exactly that, and then left us with a wave, and we did the whole thing super quick. Unbelievably, on the last train another woman approached us and offered to guide us through the very last step to the airport!!! When you are jet-lagged and trying to make your way through an unfamiliar system of underground trains in a timely manner, there is no greater blessing than the Lord sending not just one but THREE helpful strangers to make sure you get where you are going! It was really, really amazing and really kind of felt like a "welcome home to America" from the Lord!!

We made the whole trip--New Haven to NYC subways to airport train to airport--in less than 3 hours, and got to the airport with time to spare before our 6 p.m. flight. We went to the arrival floor of the terminal where we had stored all the luggage we didn't take with us to Connecticut (for $62!! Basically, we bought our bags a hotel room for the night, how generous of us) and David easily found 2 abandoned Smart Carts just waiting around. This made him very, very happy because he (rightly) finds the $5 per cart rental price to be very disagreeable. We got our bags, and other than one of our bags (the one with our movie projector in it!!!) falling off my cart as I was trying to navigate it into the inter-airport-terminal train, we got all checked in and through security very smoothly. I had a gross and grossly over-priced egg-salad sandwich, and David and Sarah ate McDonald's for dinner for the SECOND time since we'd arrived in the USA 24 hours before. Yes, David did make a vow never to eat McDonald's again once we got back to the States. But then he discovered their Angus burger and, well, I think he might still eat McDonald's on occasion, even in this country.

We boarded our plane, which was scheduled to fly through Charlotte, NC, and arrive in Dallas 6.5 hours later. We thought that seemed like waaaay more time than needed to go from NYC to Dallas, even with a stopover. Then we found out the stopover in Charlotte was actually 2 hours and we were required to get off the plane so they could clean it. This wouldn't be so bad, since Sarah would especially enjoy getting to run around a bit in the middle of the trip. But the stopover was even MORE redeemed when we walked off the plane in Charlotte and what to our wondering eyes did appear but . . .

BOJANGLES!!!

Only David's favorite food on the planet!! And I like it pretty well too! We all had a delicious kind-of 2nd dinner, browsed some magazines, got back on the plane and arrived in Dallas, exhausted but overall feeling amazingly blessed at how the Lord had not only provided what we needed but actually given us kind of a FUN day of traveling! How often does that happen? Anyway, more Deans in the USA adventures coming soon!

In Transit and In His Grace

We are back in the U.S.A., and actually we are here in St. Louis, our future home. I will write a post about our first impressions of this city probably later this week--when hopefully I have had a little time to process them--but this post is about the kind of insane last four? five? days of our lives as we traveled from our old home in Asia to this upcoming one. Just FYI, this post is not necessarily about how we are feeling about the transition or dealing with it, because really the last few days haven't left a lot of time for feeling or thinking or dealing, just rolling with the punches. :) Still, we have seen God give us some really cool blessings, and had some really crazy and hilarious stuff happen. So, I'm just going to do this list style:

• Blessing: Sarah did really, really well on all the flights! She had a few whiny and difficult moments, but in general, this time was SO much easier than a year ago! She loved the first flight and spent half of it looking out the window and commenting on all she saw. She apparently (unlike her mama) thinks flying is a blast. As we were getting off the 16-hour flight from Shanghai to New York, she said, "Mommy, can we go airplane again?" David and I did not share her enthusiasm.
• Hilarious: There was a man on our long flight, a few rows ahead of us, who had sinus issues like I have never heard before. And this is coming from someone with serious sinus issues! He started snoring before while we were still on the ground in Shanghai, and I think he could be heard throughout the entire economy section! He snored for probably 70% of the flight, louder than I could have imagined it was possible to snore. It was unbelievable.
• Crazy: Everything went smooth till we got to New York, and then everything started to go wrong. first of all, we arrived almost 2 hours late--our 4.5 hour layover nearly cut in half. Then it took nearly two hours for them to get our baggage off the plane and onto the carousel! Meanwhile, there was a huge thunderstorm that came up (probably caused the delay with the bags) which, somehow, caused a sudden geyser of water, no lie, to burst up from under the floor of the baggage claim area a few feet from where we were waiting for our bags. Seriously, the water was spraying up from this grate in the floor, 5-6 feet in the air, and quickly flooded a huge portion of the waiting area. This sort of thing is very surreal and very amusing when you are jetlagged!
• More Crazy: So, when we finally get our bags and go through customs, we have only 30 minutes to catch our flight from New York to Dallas. We are hopeful because we heard the thunderstorm caused a bunch of delays, but we are still hustling through. Just the day before we left, I called U.S. Airways to confirm that our baggage allowance would be the same for our domestic flights as the international, and the lady also told me that it would be super easy to quickly re-check our bags right outside the international customs area at JFK at a U.S. Airways kiosk. As we exit, I see Delta and several other airlines' little kiosk, but no U.S. Airways. David is pushing one cart loaded sky high with luggage with one hand, and Sarah's stroller with the other hand. I am leaning all my body weight into controlling my piled-high luggage cart, and an airport employee informs me that U.S. Airways does not, in fact, have a kiosk here so we must transport our luggage ourselves, in less than 30 minutes, from Terminal 1 (where we were) to Terminal 7 (U.S. Airways domestic). To make the long and annoying story of this luggage journey short, we got it done, exhaustedly and not always with a good attitude, only to discover our domestic flight had not been delayed, but CANCELLED, and we could only be re-booked on the same 6:15 p.m. flight the next day . . . Oh, and then we found out that there were no hotel rooms to be had for less than $300 a night in the airport vicinity . . .
  
• Blessing: So, we called David's parents who were a 3-hour drive away in Connecticut and begged them to come pick us up. We felt horrible to inconvenience David's dad with a sudden, late-night 6 hour drive, but they were so incredibly gracious to come rescue us, and excited to see us, and we were thrilled to see them! In the end, we were so blessed to spend a few hours with them (originally, we weren't planning to get to see them till August sometime), and get to sleep and shower in their comfortable, familiar, wonderful Connecticut home! We had real New England Dunkin Donuts for breakfast in the morning, and just such a precious and unexpected blessing to get to see them for a few hours!

Anyway, that was day one-ish (I guess the total time represented by this post was more like 48 hours, but you know what I mean), there were more adventures and blessings headed our way the next day! Stay posted . . .

Update

So somehow four weeks (when I wrote the last post) has suddenly become three days!!! In just three days, David, Sarah and I will board a plane at 7:30 a.m. and say goodbye to this city we've called home for seven years . . .

So how are we feeling at this point? You know, I really never imagined I would feel as peaceful as I do at this point. The last four weeks, and really this whole Spring, the Lord has allowed us so many opportunities to savor our life and friendships here. David and I just keep talking about how grateful we feel these days--we've had an incredibly blessed life here, but we've also had time this Spring to appreciate it and begin to let it go, rather than hold tightly to it. I don't know if that makes sense, but I am so thankful for the place of gratefulness and joy and even peace that we are experiencing as we prepare to leave. I know that this has not been the experience of all or even most of our friends, especially the ones who've had to make a sudden permanent move back to the U.S. So we know the Lord did not owe us a smooth and satisfying closure to our time here, but we are so grateful that he has chosen to bless us with one.

The last two weeks were occupied mostly with packing about 5% of our stuff to take back with us, and figuring out how to sell or give away the remaining 95%. There was a point last week where I was definitely bitter and discouraged. I didn't want to have to get rid of almost everything we own and start all over, and my disorganized, procrastinating self most certainly did not want to have to do the actual work of going through everything and sorting it all out. I prayed a lot, and in the end the Lord gave me the emotional and physical energy to get it done. The final result was one part sad--the empty apartment that used to be our home for 5 years--but also significantly freeing. I told several friends that going through all our stuff really made me want to aim to live a simpler life material-goods-wise when we move back to the U.S. My good friend Kayla said, "That is a great goal, and totally attainable! That is until you set foot in Target . . . " Oh, how well you know me, friend! Still, I think there is something spiritually beneficial to owning less . . . at least for a little while. :)

Anyway, so that is the update. There is so much more I could write--really the last few weeks have been filled with more blessings than I can count--but I may have to save those stories for later. We'd love your prayers for our flights on Friday--flying 30 plus hours with a two year old is never easy--and please keep praying for our transition too. There is an element that, since we haven't actually LEFT yet, its somehow easier to be at peace with the idea of leaving . . . So, yeah, we'd love your prayers! God is good, though, and we are so thankful for what has been and what is to come . . .

More coming soon from our new home country, the good ol' USA!

Four Weeks

Four weeks from tomorrow we will board an airplane and say a final goodbye to this country which has been our home for seven years. It is still incomprehensible to me a lot of the time, but there are more and more moments where the reality is sinking in. Those moments are intense, full of emotion--grief, loss, helplessness, and gratefulness all mixed together.

I had one of those moments, really it was more like two solid days, last weekend. On friday, I hosted a lunch/shower for my good friend Kayla who will be bringing home her long-awaited adopted daughter Jubilee this summer. It was so fun to plan and host and celebrate with this friend! Then, suddenly, I realized--this is probably the last shower I will host for anyone for a long time! Hosting a shower is something you do for a close friend, someone who genuinely knows you and who you also genuinely know. And those kind of relationships, well, I am leaving those behind. I have no doubt my friendship with Kayla and my other dear, dear friends here will continue even when we don't live on the same side of the planet, but those relationships will change and evolve--they'll have to. And in St. Louis, it will probably be quite a while before I know anyone well enough or anyone knows me well enough that I will host a shower for them. And that is hard, and sad, and reality--and only worth it, really, because 1) we know 100% that this move is God's will for us and that he goes ahead of us, preparing our new life there, and will sustain us with his grace through the grieving of our old life and the rebuilding of a new one; and because 2) we know that the community we've had here, great as it is (and it really is so so so great) is still imperfect, but we will experience it restored (!), perfected (!), deepened (!) in the ultimate life that comes after this one.

Its so neat when something your spouse says ministers to your soul. Saturday night we had our group of local friends over, as usual, and David was teaching on what it means to really live in the tension of living "in" this world but not "of" it. We talked about the importance of holding on to our gifts from the Father loosely, and David shared about our current challenge of leaving this place, by which I really mean leaving behind the community we have here. He said,

"The reason these goodbyes are so painful is because we really aren't meant to have to say goodbye to one another. We were created to enjoy this fellowship together for eternity. So it feels wrong, unjust, unnatural in every way to have to say goodbye to you all. But we don't live our lives here and now for for everything to be perfect here and now. Doing that is futile--we'll only experience disappointment. We don't build heavenly lives for ourselves now because this isn't heaven; so we know that the blessing of this community has been a taste of what is to come, and we let it increase our desire for what that time will be like."

I know that I am only beginning the journey of grieving the community we are losing here, but I write this in large part for myself--to re-read and remind myself to trust in God's timing and see the big picture when the current moments are lonely and difficult. Right now, I am trying to have a grateful heart, and do the best I can to love my friends here well for the next four weeks. I'd love your prayers!

Happy Mother's Day!!

This post is especially for my dear mom and mother-in-law. I am so blessed to have two such wonderful, caring women in my life! I know that there is nothing either of you would enjoy more on Mother's Day than to get to spend time with your granddaughter; since distance still makes that impossible, I hope your day will be brightened by these photos of her!
Mom, its cliche to say, but its true that I appreciate you more and more each day that I myself am a mom. I can tangibly understand now the sacrifices you daily made to show me love. You are a model and inspiration to my mothering. Even now, as an adult, I am surprised how much I depend on you! You email me about five times as often as I email you; you are constantly doing me favors and mailing us packages and managing logistical details in the States for us. No one could ever call the relationship you and I have reciprocal! But you serve me and still make daily sacrifices for me, and you do it all so joyfully! Thank you for modeling such sacrificial love.
Barb, I have been so blessed to get to know you these past six years since I became your daughter. You welcomed me into the family as a true daughter, not simply the girl your son was marrying. I have learned so much from seeing the way you serve your household tirelessly, the way you carefully steward your family's resources, the way you bring laughter and joy to every family get-together. Thank you for being such a wonderful grandmother to Sarah, and for being truly a wonderful friend and mother-in-law to me! I never dreamed that one of the benefits of getting married would be to inherit the blessing of a mother-in-law like you have been to me.
Both of you are dearer to me than words can describe! And, I am so thankful Sarah will grow up with the blessing of two such wonderful grandmothers!




I love you both! Happy Mother's Day!

Things I'll Miss #2: Sense of Adventure

One of the things I have loved most about the seven years I have spent here in Asia has been the element of adventure that is a part of this life. On the one hand, there is the sense that life here is less predictable (which can be both fun and not so fun), but even more so I feel like the adventure comes from the constant possibility for discovery. If you know me, you know what a geek I am--I love learning and analyzing things and trying to figure stuff out. Living in a different culture and learning a new language--its just been really fun for me. OK, so not always fun in all circumstances, but generally speaking I have really, really enjoyed learning about this place where we've lived. I've enjoyed meeting fascinating people with amazing stories, discovering great food or a new restaurant. I like the funny, crazy things that seemingly happen every day here. I've enjoyed traveling around--the lonely-planet-ness of this life. In truth, the last few years, especially since Sarah arrived, have been much more settled and much less lonely-planet-esque, but still. It's hard to put into words exactly--all I can say is I really, really like the life I have here.

But, I have to remember, that true adventure doesn't come from living someplace exotic, but from following Christ. He is the one who is constantly asking us to risk it all, lay it all on the line, and trust him. No playing it safe in this life. And the adventure he is calling David and I to requires that we once again leave behind what is familiar and comfortable (Asia--ironically!) to go to someplace totally new and unfamiliar (St. Louis). And there will be myriads of new discoveries, and a ton to learn (or re-learn) about life there. So I am just laying down one kind of adventure for another one--the better one, because its the one He created for me, not the one I've chosen for myself. Praise him!

What Sarah's Been Up To

I finally got around to loading recent photos from my camera to my computer today, and I was surprised by how many cute Sarah photos I had from the past couple of weeks! I shouldn't be surprised--Sarah is just so much fun these days--she's just seemingly always doing something cute (or naughty, or both). And, yes, I do realize I write this on every single blog about her. Can't help it if its true!

So, here's what the girl's been up to these days:
She loved painting at her friend Austin's birthday party!

His party also included the kids getting to play various musical instruments. Sarah's uncle Josh had been here visiting just the week before, so of course she went straight for the guitar!

Sarah loves bubble baths these days. LOVES. I am sure she will love them even more when she has a full-size bathtub to take them in rather than the plastic baby tub we set inside our shower stall each time she needs a bath. As you can see, she just barely still fits . . .

We have this kid carrier thing that some good friends gave us when they left Asia, which we've never used. Our friends who gave it to us said someone had given it to them, but they had never used it. Who knows how many families have owned this thing, but the condition seems brand new to me. In any case, Sarah has recently discovered it (we were storing it in her room) and she loves sitting in it. LOVES.

Sarah yacking it up at McDonald's with her buddies Bright and Zion. Sarah talks about these boys all the time. They are 6 and 4, and they are so sweet to her! They are going to have a little sister soon, so I think Sarah is good practice for them.

THIS is my girl. Right here.

This morning I saw Sarah doing this. She was introducing the two robots to each other.

One robot is her toy robot; the other robot is the case for David's video game Killzone 2. Note they both feature glowing eyes. She is very perceptive, my little one.

Jumping rope. :) She never managed to actually jump over the rope; she was more just jumping up and down while holding the rope, but she still loved it.

Things I Won't Miss #1: Transportation Woes

Transportation has never been particularly convenient here. This problem is true of the country where we live in Asia in general, but it is really, really true in our city. A couple of years ago, our city got voted as having the worst traffic of all major cities in this country of 1.3 billion people. Not kidding. The situation has gotten slightly better as they finished construction last year on several major new freeways and intersection, but it is still just kind of a headache. The buses are few, always crowded, there are only 3 lines that stop at the stop closest to our complex, and they take forever to go only a handful of the places we typically need to go to. Recently we took a bus downtown because it was raining. We could have walked to this area in about 45 minutes, but it took us over an hour on the bus. No lie!
I read an article recently that the city has not given any new taxi permits since 2003. So while the population as well as the prosperity of the city has increased, meaning the number of people who take taxis nowadays is probably 4 times what it was in 2003, the number of taxis on the road is the same. It is literally nearly impossible to get a taxi on weekdays between the hours of 4:45 and 7 p.m., and it is very difficult almost any time on the weekend. We don't take taxis that often--I take them when I buy groceries, we take one when we have a date night to a restaurant that is not nearby, and we take them to and from the international fellowship on Sunday mornings. We've regularly wait 30, 45 minutes or an hour to catch a taxi. And if we are taking a taxi, it means we need to get somewhere that is far away and we probably need to be there at a certain time. Not fun.
They are currently beginning the construction on a subway for our city--hallelujah! This is a relatively compact city of 6 million (ish) people with way, way, way too narrow roads and far too many cars. A subway is going to be fantastic . . . when it is done in 2016 or so!
The other thing that just makes transportation a headache here is Sarah. Riding in a taxi with her is just no fun. First of all, the crazy driving and traffic and her not being strapped in to a car seat or even with a seatbelt is simply nervewracking. Secondly, she whines and cries and can't decide if she wants to sit on my lap or David's or, what she really wants, is to stand on the seat and lean out the window or climb on the bars separating the backseat from the driver . . . I am not going to miss that one bit!

Things About America I'm Excited About #1: Family-Friendliness

One thing that makes me happy when I think about our new life in the U.S. is the family-friendliness of American culture. That is of course in no-way to say that the Asian culture is anti-family, in general (I do think it has its anti-family aspects, though those are balanced in many ways by being more pro-family in other aspects than we Americans are). What I mean is that, when it comes to daily life conveniences, it is simply easier to be a parent in the U.S. than it is to be one here. I'm talking about places you can take kids and things you can bring your kids along to do. One small example: the existence of restaurant highchairs.

Generally speaking, restaurants here do not have high chairs. That is because, generally speaking, people don't take their children out to eat. The average Asian household, where we live, consists of two parents, one or two grandparents, and one child. So the parents will go out to eat, often with friends or co-workers, but the child will stay home with the grandparents. Thus, no restaurant highchairs. There are a few American chain restaurants in our city that do have them (McDonalds, KFC, Papa John's, etc.) and one chain of local restaurants that, randomly, has them. Other than that, we just pull Sarah's stroller up to the table and have her eat that way (which she doesn't like), or we try to remember to bring along a little blue booster seat that straps onto the chair for her to use.

This is just one example. I must say, though, that I think Asia is growing in terms of stuff to do and places to go with kids. These little store-front Discovery Zone type places are popping up all over the place, though they are a little on the expensive side. Playgrounds are becoming slightly more common, though parks in general (in my opinion) still aren't super kid-friendly. The newer parks are better.

But America in general, and St. Louis in particular (from what we hear), has a comparable abundance of public playgrounds and parks and libraries and festivals and children's museums and zoos . . . And I am really looking forward to all those things and restaurant high chairs and booster seats too!

Things I'll Miss #1: Our Apartment

Just FYI, I am not putting the posts in this series in order of how much I'll miss each person or thing--I just sat down and made a list of things I want to write about in each category, and I'll just write about whichever one I choose each day. Obviously, in each category, what I will miss most here in Asia or what I am most excited about in America, is the people. And I will get around to writing about that. But, for today, I will post about our apartment here in Asia.
This has been our home for five years. FIVE years. That is the longest I have lived in any place other than the two houses our family lived in when I was growing up. Since David moved a lot more than I did growing up, I think there is only one house he has lived in longer than this.
Even though we don't own this apartment, it really feels like home. When we come home from vacation or from furlough, we sigh when we walk in the door. All the furniture and appliances in the apartment is ours; we chose all the paint colors and decor. I really can't wrap my head around some other apartment or house being our "home" in just a few months.
Like anything, though, there are definitely aspects of the apartment that I don't love to pieces, and which merit future blog posts of their own in the "stuff I won't miss" category: like the way this bathroom smells in the morning, the pipes that keeping breaking inside the walls, various aspects of the kitchen, etc.

But there are also a lot of things I really, really like. And just that wonderful, comfortable, familiar feeling of HOME-ness. This place, this apartment on the other side of the world, has it. And it will take a long time till our new place, wherever that may be, will have it. It will come, I'm sure, and maybe I will end up liking our new home even more than this one. But, this place will still always be very special and dear to my heart.

Sarah's room for the last two years . . .

The kitchen: the room in the apartment I have the most mixed feelings about.
Our plan in moving was originally to bring almost nothing home that wasn't essential and just sell everything--furniture, decor, kitchen stuff, appliances. My good friend Erin-Ashley, whose family just moved back to the U.S. last summer, gave me the very good advice to bring home some "unnecessary" things that simply remind us that wherever we are is home. So we will still sell all our furniture and appliances and everything big, but I am planning on bringing home more little, home-y stuff than I'd originally intended--picture frames, decorative stuff, etc., to bring some continuity from this life we've had here in this home to our next one. Still, the process of selling and packing and moving out, then buying and unpacking and moving in, is not one I am really looking forward to. But its a great chance to see the Lord sustain us, provide for us, and teach us to long for our TRUE home, the one we will never move out of . . . Praise him!

New Series and Inspiration

So, I am not sure why, but the last month or so I just haven't really been inspired to blog. Which is wierd, because its not like there is nothing going on here. We've had birthdays and fun parties with friends, my sister Becky and her husband Josh have come and visited and left us with about a million fantastic pictures, and I have about a billion thoughts and feelings swirling around in my head about the transition we are coming up on in less than two months . . . And every time I thought about blogging I just didn't know where to begin with all that. But today I saw the blog of a friend of a friend who would be moving soon, and she was doing a series on 40 things she would miss about Raleigh--one for each day left before she moves. Now, if any of you know me you know that I am not what you call "goal-oriented." So trying to do one post per day for the rest of our time here . . . well, there is no better way to pretty much kill my blogging forever. So, instead, I'll just take this inspiration, make a rough and flexible plan, and see where it takes us. :)

So, I am starting a series with 3 types of blog posts: things I am going to miss about life in Asia, things I am NOT going to miss about life in Asia, and things that make me excited to start a new life in the U.S. Hopefully, this general structure will help me to process this move as well as provide all of you with some insight into everything going on in my life right now. :) I apologize in advance if my blog becomes a little self-indulgent (though what is blogging, exactly, if not self-indulgent??), so I will try to throw in some Sarah pics here and there to keep the grandmothers and grandfathers and aunts and uncles and great-aunts and great-uncles (i.e. basically my entire readership ;) ) interested! I love all of you, and I am so glad I have this blog as way to communicate regularly with you.

Re-Post: Big Things First

Note: I originally posted this a week or so ago, but David asked me to take it down since he was still in negotiations with Washington University in St Louis about his scholarship and didn't want them to somehow accidentally find this and realized we were pretty much going there no matter what. He heard the final word on his scholarship a few days ago (not as much as we'd hoped, but still very, very generous), so I can re-post this now!

The last couple of months haven't been more busy than usual, in terms of actual events or commitments going on, so I don't really have that excuse for why my blogging has tapered off. And actually I have a bunch of photos I want to post from David's birthday, some fun times with friends, silly stuff Sarah has been doing. What's been holding up my blogging is that there is this big, big, BIG change coming in our lives, and I have just gotten overwhelmed thinking about blogging about it.

This probably isn't even news to many of you, as we have been talking about making this change for two years (just not on the blog) and we made the official announcement in our update letter last month, but the big news is this:

Our family is moving back to the U.S. in less than three months for David to start law school in the fall.

Like I said, BIG CHANGE!!! So, my life hasn't been too too busy lately, but its about to get insane. But our hearts and minds have been busy. We literally just made our official decision as to where David will be going to school next year less than a week ago--Washington University in St. Louis!! He has recieved a very, very generous scholarship there, which we hope will allow him to get his law degree with very little or even no traditional student loan debt! This is just one of many, many ways we see the Lord providing for us as we make this transition--his hand is very clearly in it, and we are so thankful for the confirmation that this is indeed the right next step in our lives.

A quick aside--its a rainy cold day outside, so Sarah is staying inside and watching the movie "Cars" as I write this. We just watched the scene at the beginning where the big semi truck (please forgive me for forgetting his name) and Lightning McQueen drive from Charlotte across the country toward California to the song "Life is a Highway," and I had to stop writing this in order to burst into tears for a few minutes. We have so many, many emotions right now--we are thrilled, bursting with excitement to start this new chapter and learn a new place (neither of us have even ever been to St. Louis!) and be closer to family and friends in the U.S.; and we are sad and grieving and mourning the end of this chapter of our lives which we have loved and which its not possible to over-state the significance in our lives. So, yeah, I have periods of numbness and periods where I burst into tears at kids movies for no reason because I love America so much and I am really, really excited to live there again but at the same time I love, love Asia with a love so deep I never could have imagined it, and I can't believe I am really going to have to say goodbye to this place so soon.

Sigh. I am glad to be finally writing this and sharing with you all. :)

As for the history of this big decision and our hopes for the future, I wrote it out in much more detail in our last update letter--and if you didn't get it, just drop me an email at mariannebdean@yahoo.com, and I will send it to you by email. But here is the quick version:

When we moved back here to Asia in 2006, we were committing to living here for 3-5 years. We knew that at the end of that time, it would more or less be a decision to commit to David's spending his whole "career" here--you know, the 20-30 year thing, living here till we retire or longer, etc., or returning back to the U.S. to do something else. When we first came back, we weren't open really to the long, long-term thing, but by 2008, HE began working in our hearts and we started to be open to that. I am so thankful, because just a few months later we began to sense HIM actually leading us to take steps forward in the law school direction, by David taking the LSAT, etc., and in the fall of 2009, we decided law school would be the next step and we would move home to do it in 2011.

We are so thankful, because we are not leaving because of burn-out or other major problems, and the work we have been doing here is in a good place to transition over to others leading it. We feel certain that this is the step our Father intends for us, and our hope is that this degree, in the long term, will enable David and our family to continue to serve and minister and pursue the same goals we have built our lives around these 7 years in Asia. In fact, we hope that eventually we may even be once again living overseas with David using his profession as an attorney to spread the Good News in both word and through the tangible advancement of HIS justice in the world. So, we are full of hope--for the next few years in St. Louis, for the future HE has for us beyond that . . . but leaving behind our community of both foreign and local brothers and sisters here will be only softened by the knowledge that we will be reunited when we all return to our TRUE HOME in heaven.

Please, feel free to contact me with any questions you have about this, or any encouragement or advice! So thankful for all of you, on BOTH sides of the world, and your prayers, love, support and friendship as we experience the closing of one chapter and the beginning of another!

The Mouth of My Babe

I am probably beginning to sound like a broken record, but having a two year old is seriously a blast and seriously exhausting--seriously hilarious and seriously, seriously draining. But today, I am going to talk about the hilarious/blast part. :)
Sarah's imagination is growing with leaps and bounds, and whether she is running around the house under a towel pretending to be who knows what or just trying to learn and interpret the world around her, those surrounding her are bound to see and hear some hilarious things!
A couple of jewels from this week: Sarah has started calling bugs, "buggers" instead of "bucks." But the awesome thing about this is, this week I opened a package of almonds for us to snack on, and Sarah immediately began begging for some "buggers." She ate some and said, "Mmmm, yummy buggers!" I tried to explain that these were nuts and not bugs, but she was having none of it. I am now taking bets on how long it takes before she samples a live bugger, only to discover that kind is not as yummy as the kind mommy eats.
This morning we were looking at one of Sarah's books which features some cowboys. I decided to let her wear my house-cleaning bandana around her neck so she could be a cowgirl too! We got her stuffed cow ("Horsey the Cow"--she still can't discern the difference between a horse and a cow), and she rode it for a little while. Until she realized what she really wanted was another bandana around her neck, so she went and grabbed a banana from the kitchen and shoved it inside her bandana. Problem solved!
While Sarah is learning a ton these days, she also definitely has a stubborn side. We were looking at pictures of butterflies the other day, and she said, "Oh! Pretty hair bows!" She insisted that those were hair bows and would not be dissuaded, despite the fact that she will have basically nothing to do with hair bows herself.
Sarah's spiritual side is also growing in some funny ways! Most of what she knows she has learned from songs, and "Jesus Loves Me" is one of her favorites. Sometimes she refers to it simply as Jesus, and occasionally she will request that we sing it to her wherever we happen to be. So this can lead to us being out in public, and all the sudden Sarah is yelling, "Jesus! Jesus! JESUS!!" at the top of her lungs, trying to get us to sing it to her. Awesome.

Obviously, spiritual concepts are still rather vague to her, but I also loved this exchange the other day. Sarah went to the refrigerator and opened the door, and said, "I want some chocolate!" I told her we didn't have any chocolate, and would she like some yogurt. "I want some cake!" she said, and again I had to offer her yogurt as a substitute. Finally she said, "I want some Jesus!" I told her that Jesus wasn't to be found in the refrigerator, and finally she accepted some yogurt, but only after having requested Jesus about six more times at the top of her lungs. :)

In a Spring Season

This past weekend, my friend Kayla and I attended a retreat for mom's in a city just an hour's flight north of where we live. The speakers were a group of wise older women who came all the way from the States to teach and encourage us moms, and the theme of the weekend was the "Seasons of Life." They shared with a lot of wisdom and biblical insight, that all of us at various times in our lives, would encounter these seasons: winter (a period of suffering and difficulty), autumn (a time of change and transition), summer (a period of busyness, opportunity and fruitfulness), and spring (a time of relative tranquility and routine, where seeds are planted and a foundation is built for the future).

It was really helpful for me to think about what season of life I am currently in, and what are the opportunities this specific season affords me that I ought to be taking advantage of. I realized that this Spring, in particular, is really a spring-season for me and I want to be sure to seize the opportunity of these routine days as a stay at home mom of just one child (plenty challenging, to be sure, but still a relatively predictable and tranquil time) to really savor and dig deep in my times with the Lord, exercise and do things that help me be healthy physically, emotionally and spiritually while I actually have the time and ability to do them. Especially, since I know that a very summer and autumn-y season is coming up in my life very soon this summer and autumn (more on that later this week . . . )!

Anyway, I thought I would share some photos from my routine, predictable, nice, safe spring-y life these past few weeks:

This is something Sarah loves to do these days! She never liked sitting in this bouncy seat as a baby, but now she loves to lounge around in it. In the morning after I finish my coffee, she has her "coffee"--a sippy cup of milk in my empty coffee mug!

Sarah discovered candy on her second birthday. My in-laws sent her a blue puppy-shaped lollipop in honor of her love of blues clues, and she enjoyed it for days, as these photos would suggest. I am still finding sticky blue goop in random places all over our apartment!




A couple weeks ago, David and I took Sarah to a park in our city with some friends and rented a little motor boat to go out on the small lake in the park.
It was a gorgeous spring day, and Sarah loved seeing the fish swimming just outside the boat!
Since she's turned two, Sarah's really turned a corner in terms of enjoying playing together with other little friends. Here she is enjoying a dress-up time with her friends Callie and Zane.
Sarah has also learned to escape from her pack n' play, which causes scenes such as this:
She doesn't do it much at night time, but in the day when she is supposed to be napping, she will sometimes stealthily climb out and set about utterly destroying her room. Lovely!

So, yeah, having a two-year-old isn't without challenges, but mostly our days are fun and a good time for learning and growth for BOTH of us. If only life always stayed the same . . .

Thailand Higlights #3--Phi Phi

Whew! I had 300 photos from vacation, which I have "narrowed" down to about 60, which I have edited (mostly just the size) and uploaded (which is super slow) and finally, almost a month later, I am posting the final installation of our pics from Thailand. Again, I say, whew!

Anyway, after our week in Koh Lanta, we decided to splurge a little and travel for two days to the gorgeous island of Phi Phi. Back when David and I were just dating in 2004, we had planned on going with a big group of singles to Phi Phi, a small island with dramatically beautiful scenery made famous because it was where Leonardo DiCaprio's movie "The Beach" was filmed. Then, the tsunami tragedy happened a couple of weeks before our planned trip, and the island was devastated and many, many people died there. So, needless to say, we didn't go. In recent years, the island's resorts have been rebuilt, mostly higher end, and each year we would look into going and be scared off by the price tag (hard to find any accomodations, other than hostels built over noisy bars, for less than $100 a night). But this year, we decided we would pay the slightly-big-bucks for just 2 nights and see this gorgeous place!
This is our hotel, the Phi Phi Cabana, which had the perfect location for us--right on the main beach near the town, but situated off to the side by itself so we weren't blasted by party music from the bars all night long (another big complaint since the island was rebuilt).
We had a great view of the pool area from our room and the balcony.
Sarah loved the big picture windows, and couldn't wait to dive into that pool!
We also had this great view of the bay.

We took a one-hour ferry ride from Koh Lanta to Phi Phi in the afternoon, had a quick dip in the pool, and then set out for a walk through the main town.
We really liked the village on Phi Phi. In addition to plenty of souvenir shops and tattoo parlors and such, it had lots of food stalls and tons of restaurant choices and coffee shops and bakeries . . . in other words, it was a little tropical food paradise!
We stopped at this little stall to get fried rice for dinner for Sarah, since David and I were going to go out on our own later. But then we saw these:
Some of the yummiest barbecue I have ever had! The chicken was amazing, but my favorite was the skewers with pineapple, onion, tomatoes and chicken together! David and I ate like 8 of these! I highly subscribe to Anthony Bourdain's theory that a lot of the most delicious food in the world comes from little stalls, i.e. "street food."
That night, David and I went out to a dinner at an Italian restaurant on the beach called Ciao Bella.
You sat at the tables with your feet in the sand!
The ambiance was definitely romantic! And while the food was good, to be honest it couldn't really compare to the 75-cent barbecue chicken skewers we had earlier in the day!
At night, they light all these little fires and you can lounge on the beach.
The next morning, we got up bright and early (thanks to our precious human alarm clock!), and set out to take a boat ride to a secluded beach in a different part of the island called "Monkey Beach."

Now, whether I am a horrible parent or a fantastic parent for willingly taking my toddler to a place with wild monkeys running around is up for debate, I grant you. But it had been highly recommended by a nice British couple we'd met the day before on the ferry, and I asked around and everyone I talked to said the monkeys were perfectly safe. The Brits also recommended we bring a bunch of bananas for the monkeys.
NOTE: Do not listen to Brits when they tell you to bring bananas for the monkeys!!
We got out of the boat, David holding Sarah and me holding the plastic bag of bananas. Immediately, this completely fearless alpha male runs up and acosts me, basically wrapping his whole body around the bag of bananas. I, of course, freak out and throw the bag with the attatched monkey several feet across the beach!
Then, thankfully, I calmed down and got my camera out and took a picture to document the monkey thoroughly enjoying his prize! We kept a pretty tight grip on Sarah, but after the banana incident, the monkeys pretty much kept to themselves, thankfully.
Still, Sarah LOVED the monkeys! She watched and watched and watched them.
And giggled incessantly. Monkey Island was a hit!
In addition to the monkeys, we had landed ourselves on an absolutely pristine, magnificent beach! This is literally the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. The sand was almost a snowy-white and as fine as can be. The water was so clear, you could wade in up to your neck, look down and see your toes like you were looking through glass.
I wish Sarah was smiling in this picture!
We stayed and played in the water and sand for a couple of hours.
At first, because we had gone so early, we were the only ones on the beach. Slowly, more boats and tourists began to arrive.
Still, our adventure was as close to perfect as can be!


Sarah loved playing with the soft sand!

We headed back to the main beach around lunch time, and David spotted this sign:
David loved the idea of a buffet where he didn't have to pay as much for my food as his (or a ladyboy's, for that matter), since I never eat enough for him to justify the price of an all-you-can-eat buffet. We ended up going back there that night, where I felt perfectly justified about the amount of food I ate for the price and David gorged himself on like five servings of various meats. :)
On the third day, it was back to the pier to board the ferry to the mainland. Though short, it was a truly memorable trip and a great little adventure for our family of three!