2005 in Review!

There is no one word to sum up 2005. However, there are several that come to mind.

1. Amazing. Just to see God at work.
2. Adjustments. Beginning on Jan 1 with the proposed sale of our home in MS, our family moved and adjusted remarkably in most situations. What an answer to prayer!
3. Adventures. All the changes brought one adventure after another. How exciting it has been!

May we never take for granted God’s love, goodness and protection for our family.
Looking forward to 2006. May you have a wonderful upcoming year.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

We pray you have had a Christ filled Merry Christmas!

Santa came to Chiang Mai

Christmas Eve!

We spent Christmas Eve at a local orphanage. They requested hamburgers and one young man ate four. Austin amazed said "He is smaller than me"! What a wonderful way to spend the day. Giving and sharing God's love.

Interesting Fact About Mississippi

M - I - Crooked Letter - Crooked Letter - I - Crooked Letter - Crooked Letter - I - Hump Back - Hump Back - I.

This is posted for all of the people that put down our great state of Mississippi.

http://www.mississippibelieveit.com/

We thought the ads were well done and very interesting! Enjoy.

Santa!

Santa Thai style! Need I say more.

Earthquake!

Sunday afternoon as I stood in the living room, the house shook and the windows rattled. It was our first earthquake! The Bangkok Post reports that it was 4.1 on the Richter Scale with an epicenter in our district, Hang Dong. No injuries or damages were reported.

Jerry and the Hill Tribe Ladies

Jerry loves to bargain with the Hill Tribe ladies at the night market. He never buys anything but certainly has lots of fun passing time. Well, almost never buys anything, he once bought Adriann a bracelet for 10 baht! (That's 25 cents.) He's a big spender.

Harvest Time!

It's rice harvesting time. In all the area fields and villages, famers are harvesting rice. The rice turns a beautiful shade of gold prior to picking. This brings back fond childhood memories of the soy bean and wheat fields in Mississippi.

Brian Visits!

We had a great visit with Brian! How fun to have someone spend time in our home.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you Lord for saving me.

Thank you Lord for a family we love dearly.

Thank you for cherished friends who support and encourage us.

Thank you for health.

Thank you Father for bringing us to Chiang Mai.

There are so many things we are thankful for but one last one,

Thank you for turkey and dressing!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

We love you.

A Signed Baseball!

A package for me? What is it? Who is it from?

A signed baseball from my friends at PBC! Thank you SO much, I love it! Have fun in RA's and do a few push ups for me.

Our first Chiang Mai Visitor

We had a wonderful time visiting and look forward to seeing how God will use Stephanie in the weeks and months to come.

Austin and Adriann's First Day of Soccer

Fast Food

Fast food, Thai style. Just hook up your restaurant to your motorbike and you've got meals on wheels for only 10 or 15 baht! That's 25 or 37 cents for the meal, now it becomes a deal meal on wheels.

15 Years!

It was November 3, 1990 at Rock Hill Baptist Church, in Mississippi. That was the day I said, "I do" to the man of my dreams. Thank you God for giving me my best friend, a wonderful husband and now super Father. Happy Anniversary, Jerry, I love you! Kelly

WOW!

Pretty flowers and cute kids! Isn't God Great!

What do you see?

I see the beautiful lilypads! As you look closely, they are surrounded by dirty water. Where's your focus? It's your choice!

OOPS!

Guess people really do view this blog! Several people have emailed about no additions - oops. Forgive me this time and I'll try to do better!

Noah and his son

One night during family devotions Noah and his son visited. They taught us about being obedient and following God even when those around us are not.

Hair Cut Day!

Adriann especially loved her haircut. We've never seen it so straight!

No "Love" Loss Here

Love Bugs. What a terrible way to use such a wonderful word. LOVE. There is definitely nothing lovely or loving about the dreaded Love Bugs. We certainly don't miss them!

http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050921/NEWS01/509210302/1002

Top Ten List!

Everyone knows our family likes food!

Here's our top ten foods we like in Thailand:
1. Khaw Pad Kai
2. Crispy Fried Chicken and rice at the "Salsa" Lady's
3. Chicken and Cashews
4. Khaw Soi
5. Pizza Company
6. Mama's Tator Tot Casserole.
7. Carrot Cake
8. Sticky Rice and Mango
9. Roadhouse Steak Sandwich from The Duke's
10.Fresh Fruit Shakes

Then there's the top ten foods we miss from Mississippi, in no particular order:
1. J.D.'s Steak
2. Memaw's Dumplings
3. Meme's Mac and Cheese
4. Peas and Butterbeans
5. Sam's Chicken at Meme's
6. Mexican Food
7. Fried Catfish
8. Blackberry Cobbler
9. Homemade Ice Cream
10.O' Charley's Potatoe Soup

Bet you can guess who named each one!

What's up with this, Mom!

I received this "article" today and could not resist sharing it!!

News Flash!!
Earlier today Peggy P., a 65 year old Grandmother managed to single handedly stop a Bull from escaping into the yard of her son. Upon seeing the Bull push down the chain fence, the Grandmother sped over to the rescue in her Silver Ford Sable. As she explained to Clay, "I was going to let down the window to YELL at the bull, but opened the door instead." The Bull was stopped and Ms Peggy received some damage to the driver's door on her car. Clay, her son-in-law, stated it wrapped around a tree as she was backing up the car!
He said, "Thank Goodness her head was not out the door, it would have been between the car and the tree". Ms Peggy will take her car to have a new door placed on Monday, hopefully she will also have the dent in the back left fender and the front repaired at the same time.
The bright news for Peggy was, her power was returned today. At press time, we are not sure which came first the Power or the Bull.

This is Debbie with DPJ Broacasting.

Glad to hear things on the home front are going so well!!!

Homework Time!

"Doing my homework on the front porch is really fun."

Going to School!

What Now?

Katrina - sounds like a pretty little girl's name, but oh how not so pretty it turned out to be. Reflecting back over the past week, with thousands dead and damage beyond anyone's comprehension, we often want to say "Why?". I myself have asked why. Why will so many children be left without parents? Why are people turning to violence and crime? Why?...

I am reminded that several prominent biblical figures asked God why.
The people of Israel - Why has this happened to me? Jer. 13:22
David - Why have you rejected me? Ps 43:2 Why do you hide your face from me? Ps 88:14
Jesus - My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me? Mark 15:34

There is no easy answer for the question why? As my thoughts have constantly been on the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, God gently reminded me that it's ok to ask "why?", but sometimes it is a question filled with frustration. Try asking "what now?", which is filled with expectation. Ask "what now?" and anticipate what God will do next. What can and will God do through this situation? God is in New Orleans. God is in Hattiesburg. God is in Mt. Olive. He is there in the midst of the storm area and He is calling everyone to come to Him with all their cares and burdens. I pray that many souls will come to know Him personally through the events of the past week. "What now?", the possibilities are endless!

Our prayers continue to be with our family and friends in Mississippi, as well as the millions who have been touched by Katrina's violence.

We love you all!

Friends Baking Cookies!

Khun Kae and Kelly had a great time cooking Thai food as well as baking cookies!

First Day of School!

The first day of school was filled with meeting

new friends and new teachers.

Austin and Adriann both had a GREAT day!

Playing Games

Adriann intensely playing Ms. Pac-Man with Marie, while Mary is asleep.

Thanks Gap Class!

Jerry loved his birthday present!

Happy Day!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday Aunt Debbie, Happy Birthday to YOU!!

We love you!

Mystery solved!

After two weeks of finding four baby snakes in the house, it was discovered that a beautiful plant we bought had snake eggs inside, hatching in our home! Needless to say the plant will NOT be coming back inside! Silk plants will work wonderfully! Life lesson learned: Things are not always as they appear on the outside.

Count Down to School

The count down is on.  There are just 9 days left until school begins and the kids so excited.  Adriann met her teacher and will have 9 in her class.  What a great ratio!!  Austin will find out in the next couple of day about his class. 

Recent Visitor in Southern Home

One night, after eating at a local Thai restaurant, we returned to find a new friend/foe in our pantry room. Austin turned on the light and calmly stated "Daddy, you need to come in the pantry". After encouraging the family to go upstairs, Dad sweep it into a zip lock bag. To read more about our visitor, visit the following sites:

http://members.fortunecity.com/ukp001/naja/colubridae/amphiesma_stolata.htm

http://wildthailandphotos.com/stripedkeelback.0218.en.htm

This post, in no way suggests that we like snakes. However, next time I encounter this species I may be more apt to let it go since I have now found out that it was nonpoisonous.

Our House in Chiang Mai

One form of Taxi!

Song Thaew! They are used to travel within the city and from city to city.

Another form of Taxi

Tuk - Tuk! It's a cool ride.

Daddy is so much fun in the Pool!

Sunday Afternoon Swimming!

Sunday afternoons have become a favorite time to swim at the neighborhood pool.

Afternoon stroll!

We took a beautiful ride into the mountains on the elephants, at their camp. The elephants played soccer painted and played the Harmonica. Pretty talented, we thought!

Locking the Gate!

The beautiful orchids!

All Smiles!

Motorcycles!

A parking lot of motorcycles at the mall.

The Angels!

Austin's baseball team! He had a great season and enjoyed meeting lots of new friends.

Welcome to our Blog!

Newly created for your enjoyment! We hope you will visit often to see updates and photos of life in Chiang Mai. We love it here and know that you would too!