In Memory: Grandma

My Grandma Veta passed away on Wednesday.  To say it was unexpected would be untrue, but who is ever ready for the phone call telling you a loved one has passed away?

My Grandma was one of the greatest prayer warriors I have ever known.  She was up early every morning praying and studying the Word.  She and her last husband, Jerry, had a large world map above her kitchen table and would spend time every day praying over those who lived all over that map.  They taught Sunday School classes until they couldn't anymore, and faithfully took their weekly Sunday School lesson to shut-ins and nursing homes all over Lawton.  She prayed faithfully for her children, her grandchildren, her great-grandchildren, and I am sure she even had the opportunity to praise Father for the new great-great-grandchild she met a few days before she went home to Heaven.

What I remember most about my Grandma Veta was that she was always fun and full of life. Her house was full of suprises and treasures and lots of fun things for a child to do.  Her car always had butterscotch candy in it and it was such a treat to indulge in Grandma's car.

 One of my earliest memories of my Grandma was as a five- year-old, when my tonsils were removed.  She stayed with me during the day while my mom taught school, and together we made miles and miles of paper chain.  I thought it was the coolest thing! She was always creating and making something beautiful.  Her home in Ardmore had a craft room, where she was always working on creations and would let me go in and paint at times.  She taught me how to cross-stitch and sew, not that it took, but I have the knowledge.   When my brother, Ryan, was born she brought me a gift of a beautiful waterfall project that would take me years to work on.....in fact, she finally finished it for me when I was in high school because it just sat year after year, unfinished.   When we moved out of the house I had grown up in,  she gave me a beautiful painting of my childhood home, that she had made just for me.  Grandma always had time for us, played with us, fed us, and even played video games with us. Her best was Atari River Raft, where she would contort her face, arms, legs, and anything else just to win!  I remember some summers with my cousins at her house and we had such fun mowing with her, being outside with her, climbing down into the scary cellar, and fishing in her pond.  Of course the countless games I played of Skip-Bo with cousins, brothers, uncles, aunts and my own children will never be forgotten, nor her simple way of saying, "your time" when my turn finally came around.

More then the fond memories I am so grateful for the Godly heritage she has passed on to me, our families, and those who knew her and loved her.  From the time I began to understand the fruits of the Spirit, I knew several in tangible ways, from the life of my Grandma.  I had seen her gift of mercy time and again as she cared for ailing relatives, children who needed her, and numerous people in her church and community.  She also displayed the gift of service, always willing to do more than was asked of her, working and serving those around her, never seeking the spotlight, never seeking accolades.  And her quiet gift of encouragement, her letter writing.  I know my brothers and I all have long letters we have received at times in our lives that are beatifully written and express love and encouragement from our Grandma.  I am sure my mom, her brothers, and my cousins all have similar letters as well, for this was who my Grandma was.

I once heard someone talk about how it is necessary to at times "get your hands dirty" in peoples lives as they walk through difficulties.  Grandma Veta was never afraid to do this, and for this example in front of me I will always be grateful. 

Grandma, you will be missed. I pray I can follow in your footsteps considering others as more important than myself, and loving Jesus until the day I go Home.

Cutting

I am a pretty laid-back girl, but there is one thing that irritates me more than anything......cutting in line.

Today we flew internationally out of Bangkok.  Word to the wise, if you are ever flying internationally from Bangkok you will have a very long immigration line, get there early.  First we waited to enter the immigration hall.  Finaly we passed through a little opening and the world, literally, was waiting.  (SEE ABOVE VIDEO)  Everyone you could imagine, wall to wall people. We waited over one hour and barely moved, people continuing to press into the hall, pushing, sweating.....GROSS!!!

As I stood there and waited with my family, I noticed 4 people looking shifty (I won't tell you which country they were from but they weren't American, Asian, or Middle Eastern).  They entered the immigration hall well after my family and started moving there way up through the gaps in the lines when people weren't paying attention.  One of the guys actually went all the way to the front of the line and then called his girl to join him at the front.  His friend did the same thing in the neighboring line.  I was furious! How dare they cut!!  It wasn't fair because I was waiting politely in my line, minding my own business, keeping my son from bumping into others in line with his backpack.   As the cutters kept inching forward trying to mesh into the line, I caught the eye of one of them and glared.....letting them know I knew what they were doing.  It didn't matter. They glared right back at me as they sailed through the immigration line a good 15-20 minutes before I did.

While fuming and sweating in line, I thought about what made 4 people cut in line and thousands more, stand still and follow "rules".  It wasn't the slow lines and poor planning of the immigration hall employees that made me upset, but the 4 people who did it their way and just ignored what was right and didn't get caught, justifying in their own minds that they were smarter than all of us in the crowded room. 

Happy Valentine's Day

In 2006 I started an annual Valentine's Dinner just for my family.  I made all their favorite dishes, used the fine china, and decorated for a fancy dinner.  From the time the kids were little we have always enjoyed doing this.  Since we moved overseas, most years we have found ourselves traveling and not home during Valentines, so this year we were thrilled to have a chance to celebrate together tonight.  Living here, we have to adapt and make most of what we decorate with....which turns out to be really fun!

My house helper was a little baffled as to why I was decorating the dining area, but after I explained it to her all afternoon, she was starting to get it.  She watched me make dessert and just shook her head at all the steps I was taking to make one thing.  She said (in her own language) "you sure do things different!" 

I had a lot of fun cutting and hanging hearts from lights and making a banner to go across the door, though I didn't get a picture of it.  I found vintage valentine cards that I cut out and turned into napkin holders. And we all made each other Valentines with special messages on them. It was a super fun dinner!

Please note my beautiful roses in the above picture!  The best moment of the day came when Rob had some roses delivered to me.  I said, "Oh, these must be from my husband!"  The rose lady replied, "I don't know if the guy was your husband or not!"  I laughed and asked if the man who bought the flowers was a foreigner, and she said "YES!"   Pretty sure since my husband is the ONLY foreigner in town, they were from him.

One other special part of dinner was dessert!! My sweet friend Rachel sent me (via the husbands) some special treats she can get where she is, but we can't get where we are.  It just so happened one of the things she sent was a recipe for chocolate chip cheesecake ball and all the ingredients I needed to make it.  I have put the ban on all sweets and general junk food in our hosue, so this was extra special for our family. Thanks again Rach!!

 And here are the people I love more than anything and and their sweet faces! 

Conversations

I love the conversations that happen in my home.  Sometimes it just makes me laugh listening to the situation unfold.  Here is what I heard today, as Hannah finished working on her current event report for the week.

Hannah: My current event is going to be the absolute best this week!! I give you a one word hint.....commode.

Hudson:  Commode?!?  What's a commode?!?!

Mom:(lauging in the kitchen becasue what 5th grade boy isn't going to find the word commode enjoyable)

Hudson: Mom, what's a commode?

Mom: I don't know but I bet you will use one sometime today. Look it up!

Hudson: Hmmm....commode....how do you spell it?

Hannah: C-O-M-M-O-D-E

Hudson: OK, hold on.........(reads) "a piece of furniture, a chair elderly people may sit on.....(explodes into laughter) ....YOU WROTE ABOUT TOILETS!!! I gotta read this!

You are all invited to join us each Friday for current event reports.  This week is supposed to be really interesting!

The Dry House

Yesterday the sun came out.  Yea! hooray! We stood out on our balcony, rode bikes, soaked in some Vitamin D!

One problem, however, the cold concrete that is our apartment began to sweat.  And sweat it did.  You know, like when you have a ice cold drink and you take it outside on a hot day.....it sweats.  Most people here throw open their doors and let the warm air come inside, but the problem with that method is that is soaks your walls and floors and furniture and clothes and GROSS!!!  So we are careful to keep everything else closed, and let everything warm up slowly.  

Today, my new helper arrived at 9am and began exclaiming, "Your floors are dry!" "Your walls are dry!" "My whole house is soaked, I don't understand." I quickly told her that we kept our place closed up.  To which she replied, "Ahhhhh, you know how to live."  I thought that was pretty funny, because normally we are looked at as weird, but I guess she doesn't like having a wet house as much as I don't like having a wet house.  Maybe it will also make her think twice before opening every door and window she passes in my house. 

Who Cut the Cheese?

Upon our arrival back to this part of the world, we began restocking our cabinets and refridgerator/freezer.  Living out here requires planning ahead, being stocked in what you need, and being resourceful.  One of the first weekends we were back we drove into the big city to buy some butter and cheese.  To our horror and shock, Walmart no longer sells Land-o-lakes cheese.  There were a few imported cheeses from Switzerland and Holland, but the price was more than the Land-o-lakes (which was already very high), and let's just say it had aged nicely there on the shelf.

What are Americans to do if there is no cheese?  Buy it in bulk on the internet.

This week we purchased 20 pounds of cheese on Taobao, the local cross between amazon and ebay. My friend who helped me buy the 20 pounds of cheese can't fathom how huge it would be and it usually leads her to a fit of laughter every time it comes to her mind.  The glorious part of all this is that this cheese, once divided will be only a third of what we were paying in the big city!

I think today I am going to make pizza!!

Good Morning Cold

I know that every year that I have been here I have complained on the blog how cold it is here.  And while it isn't freezing or snowing or icing, it is just cold all the time, everywhere you go. 

Here is what we woke up to the other morning.  I was in the classroom preparing for the school day and this was the temperature in the room, as well as throughout the house.  54.  Thankfully this room is the only one with a heater, becasue who could concentrate on school with your teeth chattering. 

On the bright side, after 3 cold winters here, we decided we would buy 3 big space heaters.  And they make all the difference in the world!!