A Quick Update - And Info On A NEW WEBSITE!!!

Lots of things have been going on in our lives. Daddy has been studying Thai at home and with a tutor and Mommy has been trying to re-organize our house. We have had a lot of fun helping her! We each have our toys arranged in a special way in each of our rooms now, and William has a special toy shelf downstairs with things to play with while we are in school. We had a few weeks of a break from school before starting again. We have almost caught up to where we should be. Some of us are ahead in a few things. Our goal is to be several months ahead so that when we go to the States next year, we will be able to have free days without having to think about making up school days. We like that idea! Mommy redecorated our school room with raindrops since it is rainy season.

     William turned two years old last week!  It is hard to believe how much he has grown since we came to Bangkok.  He was only 8 months old when we moved here and he was so little!  He isn't using pacifiers, bottles, or sippy cups anymore.  Daddy and Mommy are hoping that soon he will be out of diapers.

Mommy has been working on a new website to put her blog and our blog together.  She is going to be putting our updates there from now on.  If you would like to continue following how we grow and learn, please send her an e-mail (desertmommy5@aol.com) and she will send you the information on our new website.  Thank you for letting us show you a little bit of our lives.  We hope you have enjoyed having a peek into our life.  Thank you for praying for our family.

Andrew's Actions

I had a lot of fun while my Mama, Aunt Rebecca, and Madison were here. We went to the beach and the motel pool was really special because it had a really cool slide. We got to ride an elephant and I rode with my Daddy. The man helping with our elephant let me get out of the seat and ride on the elephant's back. That was awesome!

We walked a whole lot one day when they took us to see the temples when we got back home. One of the Buddhas we saw was really big and he was laying down. I had a lot of fun getting to go out with my family.

Caleb's Circus

My Mama, Aunt Rebecca, and Madison came to visit me. We had lots of fun!

We went to the beach and played in the sand and made a sand castle and played in the pool. There was a big slide at the pool that my Daddy and Aunt Rebecca took me down. It was twisty and I laughed a lot. I got to ride an elephant with my Daddy and Andrew. I liked it. It was really high. I like animals. I like it when people come to visit us too!

Lee's Life

The last three weeks have been a lot of fun because my Mama, Aunt Rebecca, and Madison were here. They are part of the Ashcraft side of my family. The first thing we did was go to Hua Hin for almost a week. Hua Hin is south of us and is on the beach. I liked the motel because it was very big. There were 23 floors and we were on the 22nd! It was really cool! What was so cool about the pool is that is was so big. I also liked it because it had a kiddy pool for William and Caleb and it also had a slide that was lots of fun. The beach early in the morning had a lot of sand but in the middle of the day, the tide came up so far that it came all the way up to where the wall was. While we were in Hua Hin, we went to the Elephant Village. At first, I was a little frightened because the elephants were so big and I'm kind of short. But after a while, I got used to it. I got on the elephant with Mama and we rode for 30 minutes. At first, I wouldn't let go of my Mama because I thought I was going to fall off. But then, after a couple of minutes, I let go. The seat was tight but it kept leaning. The elephant ride at first was miserable because it felt like the elephant was going forwards and then backwards. I kept leaning and sliding forwards and backwards. Then my shoe almost fell off. I had to catch it before it did. Then we stopped and I thought we were going to get off. But it was only a stop to take pictures and then we started going again. I didn't want to ride the elephant, but now I am glad I did.

Another special thing I got to do was go to Wat Phra Kaew. This is a temple that has the Emerald Buddha. Some of the buildings were plated in gold. The buildings were so big that I couldn't get them in one picture!

The Emerald Buddha is green but it isn't made out of emeralds. It is really made out of jade. I had never heard of such a rock until that day. We also went to see the Reclining Buddha. It was so big, I couldn't fit it in one picture either.

We have had a lot of fun and I am very thankful that we were able to see more of Thailand that we hadn't seen before.

Mommy is adding a P.S. - I was so proud of Lee when I looked through the pictures on his camera! He took some very good pictures and the one above of the buildings on the temple grounds is from HIS camera!!! I am thinking we may be looking for a camera for him for his birthday that is a step up from what he has. ;)

William's World

This month was lots of fun! My Mama, Aunt Rebecca, and cousin, Madison, came to visit us. We hadn't seen Aunt Rebecca and Madison in over a year! We had lots of fun playing with them. We went to the beach and my Daddy and Aunt Rebecca would take me down a curvy slide into the swimming pool. I love the water! I also got to ride an elephant with my Mommy! Although I am still really little, I am learning a lot and seeing lots of things that are very unusual!

I LOVE my big brother!!!

Cynthia's Corner

Last month, I turned 9 years old! I got a Little Pet Shop house and some clothes. My Mommy made a cupcake cake that was brown and pink. It was really pretty. It was shaped like a "C." A few days after my birthday, Mama (Daddy's mother), Aunt Rebecca (Daddy's sister), and Madison came to visit us! We were so excited. I had a birthday party after they came and I invited a few of my new friends also. My Granny (Mommy's mother) made me a skirt and gave me a shirt to go with it. It must have taken a long time to make it. It is green with pink flowers on it. Granny and Granddaddy also gave me a doll with clothes. It is kind of like a Barbie doll but looks more like a girl my age. I really like her! Mama, Aunt Rebecca, and Madison gave me an American Girl doll with clothes. She looks like a Mexican! Her name is Josefina.

While Mama, Aunt Rebecca, and Madison were here, we went to the beach. We got to go to an Elephant Safari and ride elephants! I was scared at first but I got used to it. Then they let me get out of the seat and ride on the elephant's back. That was really fun! They also had monkeys and one of them kept jumping on me. It was really funny. We went back home and got to do some shopping and they took us with them to go to the temples. One of the Buddhas was called the Emerald Buddha. He is three feet tall and he is green. The other Buddha we saw was the Reclining Buddha. He was really, really long and was gold. People would drop coins into bowls for good luck.We had lots of fun while Mama, Aunt Rebecca, and Madison were here and I can't wait to see them again!

Everyone's Environment

Cynthia's Corner

The special holiday for this month is called Memorial Day. We celebrate this day to remember all the soldiers who died for our flag. Mommy taught us about military funerals today and the special things they do during them. I am glad my Mommy fixes our school room special. It makes it fun to learn new things.

Andrew's Actions

My Mommy made a super awesomely cool video about Memorial Day. I learned about the Riderless Horse today. Mommy had a picture of a black horse with boots turned backwards. The horse she showed us was named Black Jack. She also decorated our room with gravestones to show us that many people died during wars. I think it is sad that those people had to die but I am glad we have our flag still and our country.

Lee's Life

The video I saw this morning was really cool! I liked all the pictures, especially the one with the horse. I learned that the black horse's name was Black Jack. He was used in the funeral of President Ronald Reagan. I also learned the song called "Taps". I learned that they fold the American flag a certain way. I am so glad my Mommy made the video for us and is teaching us new things. I am excited to learn about the airplanes I saw and why they were in the video also.

Everyone's Environment

Okay, for a change, Mommy is going to add something before the children! So much is going to happen for us during the month of May. We are anxiously awaiting a visit from Randy's Mom and his sister, Rebecca, and her little girl, Madison. We haven't seen Rebecca and Madison in one year! It is hard to believe that much time has passed since we saw them last.

With serving the Lord where we are, we have many blessings of seeing things we have never seen and experiencing holidays unlike the ones we have in America. Also, there are holidays that we miss out on because we are not in America. One of those holidays is Memorial Day. Since Randy's family is coming during the end of the month, I decided to decorate the room with things of Memorial Day and teach the children a few interesting things about the holiday. A new thing I have done with this set of lessons is an introductory video to peak their interest. Since it seemed to turn out so well, I thought I would share it with you. If you would like to use it as well, please feel free! I can't wait until the children see it! One interesting thing is that a couple of the first pictures of monuments are ones that I took while we were in South Korea two years ago. It is in both Korean and English.

I think Memorial Day is one of the more important holidays in the U.S. that is quickly losing it's meaning. To many, it is just another "holiday" that gives them a day off from work. May we never forget the true meaning of this day and always remember that "Freedom is not free."

Everyone's Easter Environment

We had fun helping Mommy decorate our classroom this month. We helped cut things out and hang them up. Even Caleb helped out some. Thailand doesn't celebrate Easter and that is very sad. The Christians celebrate but not like we did in the United States. At our church this morning, we did a special craft about the resurrection. We didn't have Easter baskets this year or new clothes but we still had a fun day and even had chocolate! One of the men in our church gave us some special candy and we really liked that. We are glad that God wants to use our family to help teach Thai people about God so that they can get saved and celebrate Easter also.

Our Granny sent us the big eggs and lambs. We thought it would be a good idea to put them together since Mommy taught us that they represent new life in the springtime.

This was our favorite part of our room. We had fun helping Mommy decide where to put the words. It was our idea to use different colors for each section. Mommy thought it was a great idea!

Cynthia's Corner

Last month, we went to Singapore. It was a lot of fun even though it was a work week. We went to a water park called Wild Wild Wet. We got on lots of water slides. We had a lot of fun there. While we were in Singapore, we got to eat at Long John Silver's. That was a lot of fun because we hadn't gotten to eat there since we were in America. We went on a Night Safari. It was special because it is the only one like it in the whole entire world. We saw rhinos, elephants, bears, and all sorts of other animals that are usually only awake at night.

Last week, we got to go to the Water Buffalo Village. We saw lots of water buffalos. Only Lee and I got to go because Daddy was not here and Mommy couldn't take all of us, so Mrs. Tammy said that we could go with the church group. Mrs. Tammy is the pastor's wife. She is a lot of fun to be around. Thank you, Mrs. Tammy, for letting us go! Mommy is going to put a few pictures under what I say. It is so neat to live in Thailand because there are so many fun things that we can go to see.

I took this picture because the water buffalos were funny. They would smile at us.I took this picture because this water buffalos horns were so wide!

This is one of the deaf men from our church. We really like him because he is so fun!

Lee and I with Miss Minnie. She is our Thai Sunday School teacher.

Andrew's Actions

My Daddy and Mommy took us to Singapore and we got to go to a museum. They had made a building with sticks. That was really neat! We also got to go to a playground and have fun while Daddy was doing work for our visas. We got to go to a zoo and it was fun. They had a whole lot of animals. We got to go at night! While we ate, they had a show with people playing with fire. We got to see an elephant and a tiger and hyenas. And, also, we got to see a rhinocerous. I liked how the rhinocerous looked like he had armor and he was very fat.

When Lee and Cynthia went to the Water Buffalo Village, I got to go with Mommy to my favorite restaurant, Bar-B-Q Plaza. Miss Amanda, my Sunday School teacher, went with us and after we ate we got to go to the hospital and see her baby, Alissa. She wasn't as big as I thought she would be. I had a lot of fun and it was special to get to see Alissa.

Lee's Life

Last month we went to Singapore. I had a lot of fun! I saw many new things and I saw the Merlion of Singapore. The next day, we went to the Singapore Night Safari. I saw many animals and my favorite was the deer. I was a little frightened because the tapirs were not in a cage. The only thing separating us and them were some low bushes. It was a really neat trip for me and my family because it's the only night safari in the world!

This month, I went to the Water Buffalo Village. At first, I was a little frightened there, too, but after a while, I got used to being closer to them. I got to pet a very large water buffalo. I took many pictures. There was one buffalo that I really liked. In a way, you could say he was very ugly but I thought he was cute. His bottom teeth stuck out of his mouth because he had no top teeth. He was about the size of a calf. My sister at first was very scared of them but she was okay after a while. My Mommy is going to put a few of my pictures under this.

Miss Minnie took this picture of me. Thank you, Miss Minnie!

I thought this buffalo was funny the way he looked like he was smiling!

I think this buffalo must fight a lot!

This is the "ugly" buffalo that I thought was cute!

Everyone's Environment

Our Papa and Mama came to visit!!! We were surprised again by our parents. They told us we could stay up late one night while Daddy went out for a while. Right before we went to bed, Daddy got home and they were with him. We have had a lot of fun. We got to go to the Valentine Banquet at our church and Papa did the lesson. We enjoyed getting to hear him. Then, for Valentine's Day, we were at the beach. We left after church on Sunday and spent several days at the beach. We are so happy that our Papa and Mama came to visit.

Everyone's Valentine Environment

Mommy fixed our school room with hearts! The really neat part was when she traced our hands and made a big heart out of our handprints! Then she put our verse for the month around the hand heart. We have an easy verse to learn this month.

William's World

I love learning new games!!! Cynthia and Andrew have been teaching me how to play Ring Around The Rosy. I love all my brothers and my sister!

Everyone's Environment - Relaxing!!!

We had a great time a couple weekends ago when Daddy and Mommy took us swimming. We love it when we do good during the week so we can go swimming on the weekend. We have fun playing in the water and jumping in. Going down the slide is a lot of fun!

William's World

My first haircut!!!

BEFORE

DURING
AFTER

Everyone's Environment

We had so much fun during December! We would love to play in some snow but we are really liking the warm weather. We got to do a lot of fun things around Christmas. We got to do a play at a huge mall close to our house. We told people what the things on a Christmas tree represent and the pastor's wife from our church translated it into Thai so the people could understand. Then we had a really fun Christmas party at our church. We got to help Daddy make a piñata for the party! When the party was over, we all went outside where Daddy showed them how to hit at the piñata. It was a lot of fun!

Daddy and Mommy and some friends of ours from church, Bro. Wat and Mrs. Amanda, our Sunday School teacher, took us to a mall where they had lots of decorations outside. We got to get inside a huge ball that had a snowman in it to take a picture! That was really neat. Before we went there, we got to go to Pizza Hut for supper! That was a big surprise.

We all got to help Mommy make special things for our big Christmas lunch. We made cookies, fudge, and peanut butter candy. Yum!!!

Usually on Christmas Eve, we get to open one present and it is always a Christmas ornament. Mommy told us she ordered some but they still haven't gotten to our house! So, since we couldn't have them, Mommy and Daddy put special toys for each of us in a stocking. Lee, Andrew, and Caleb got little dinosaurs to play with. William got four little balls. Cynthia got 2 little Chihuahua dogs and one had a little Mexican sombrero!

For Christmas, our biggest and neatest Christmas present was bicycles! Since it is so warm here, Daddy and Mommy took us to the park so we could ride our bicycles on Christmas Day.

For New Year's, Daddy and Mommy let us stay up til midnight and watch the fireworks on tv. We even got to see a few fireworks down the street from our house. On New Year's Day, they took us swimming at a pool close to our house. We have had a lot of fun during the last few weeks. It has been very different here for Christmas and winter. But we are enjoying the hot weather!