Cuddles

A bit of a mother daughter series- Devin took these as we sat in a great little cafe waiting for our lunch. Devin of course ordered Cobra for lunch...anyway- I love our daughter more than anyone in the world. I feel blessed to have the gift of being her mama. And despite the fact it is 100 degrees...I love her cuddles and will want her in my lap even when she is 40!

Friends

Back in February, The Ryan family and the Bailly family had some of our new friends over to our pool for a fun family play date. Natasha, Richard, Charlene and Celeste are from South Africa. Lisa, Glen, Brinna and Ruby are from New Zealand. The girls all go to school with Genevieve and Hannah. It has been nice to meet some other folks just beginning their adventures as expats in Johor Bahru.

Conversation

We had a lovely simple day at home yesterday. And at one point Nevi says, " I can't wait for next week". I said, "what is happening next week?" "Well, I think but I am not sure...we go home next week." "Oh Nev, that is not next week...but it is next month! We go home to Oregon to Visit in one month." Devin and I tune in with her...knowing her tone of voice is sweet, authentic and very honest. She is longing for home. So Devin beautifully says, "Nev, home is wherever we are together. My home is when I am with you and Mama." I agree with him and re-iterate- home is lots of places but as long as we are together we are home. Nevi says, " No, I mean Home Sweet Home." Devin says, "well yes, we were born in the USA and we live there most of the time, but home right now is here." Nevi says, " Nope, home in the US." We realize our point has been made, but this child's heart and home are in the US. Good thing we are coming for a visit in exactly one month!

Yogya people and horses

The horse carts go right in the streets with everyone else- Nevi loved this way of getting about!

We met this lovely woman when we were startled by the mouse in the alley...she had such a beautiful smile- and we communicated with laughter and smiles. She liked Devin quite a bit!

Yogyakarta, Indonesia

walking down an alley-

This man was making a guitar in his doorway as we happened to walk by~

That is a mouse in the gutter...or a small rat- no matter how you want to look at it...

A local favorite is avocado juice....and it is mixed with chocolate sauce....yum!

Another family adventure

During the week of Chinese New Year- everyone is on holiday. We decided to travel to the island of Java, Indonesia. What an incredible life we have right now- exploring SE Asia. travelling as a family is both challenging and wonderful. I have shifted gears from the travel I used to do when I was 20 years old...to travelling as a mother. At first it felt strange...uncomfortable...limiting...hard. But now, I just go with Nevi's flow. When she is rested and fed- we explore...when the heat begins to wilt her spirit we head for air con and a cold drink....when afternoon comes, we head for the hotel for down time. And boy does it help when a hotel has a pool! But when we are exploring- oh the things we see. Here are some beginning shots of us riding the different forms of transport. There are bicycles, motorbikes, taxi, horse and cart, and these carts pushed by guys riding bikes....oh how hard these beautiful people work!

Holiday

Hi. Sorry I have been not blogging recently. We went on a five day holiday to Yogjakarta, Indonesia recently so I was away from the computer. We bought a "new" used camera in Singapore before we left and downloaded pictures onto Devin's computer. I just need to get access to the photos and then I will post right away! So stay tuned for an update on our latest travel adventure!
We are off to Singapore this weekend as Devin's bosses from Wilsonville are here. We will have a nice Xerox family dinner tonight.
We are beginning to gear up for our Home Visit. Nevi and I will fly to Oregon on April 2. Devin will join us on April 17th. I can't believe now that it is only about 5 weeks away- how excited I am getting. I am looking forward to seeing my parents, who will fly from Boston to Oregon to be with us. I am excited for an infusion of family and friends! I am excited for Nevi to see her friends and cousins who she misses sooooo much. I am excited for her to ride a bike...play at the park...laugh and frolic with people she loves.....and me too for that matter. I am excited to see how I feel back in the place that is my home...as the new person I am. When you have experiences like living in another country- you never are the same person. I am excited to see how my lens is different. And then it will be glorious to come back to Asia for a few more months...having been infused with home.

So stay tuned- more post coming!