The Bush Blog

Tyson Update

2012-01-11T09:15:00.001-05:00

What an amazing blessing YOU all have been! Who knew the Lord could use Facebook to bring so much encouragement. Thank you to all who called and visited and PRAYED!! The prayers where the biggest blessing to us. We could feel you all lifting us up and it's nice to not feel alone in hard times.

Update:

This morning Tyson had his follow up appointment with the surgeon. Everything is looking good! Praise the Lord Tyson is healing. He still has to take it easy and has to take these boiling hot baths 3 times a day for the next 6 weeks. Still looking at 3 months until he is at 100% but only 3 more weeks of being really careful. There is a MAJOR prayer request we have though. The dr. said 50% of people get another smaller type infection which requires another small surgery. He said there is no way to prevent it but sometimes it just "happens" during the healing process. We are PRAYING this does not happen in Tyson's case.

Otherwise Ty is feeling ok. He's in pretty good spirits but it's hard for him to be so "still and chill". He's more of a "mover and a doer". His pain has gone down a lot but he still can't do much. Rest and take these hot baths all day are the dr.'s orders.

Please keep our family in your prayers. We are all a bit tired and run down. God is faithful and we feel His hand in our lives even through all this craziness.

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!!

Picking out our Christmas Tree

2011-12-30T09:59:00.000-05:00

I remember as a kid always getting so excited to pick out our Christmas tree. We would all go as a family and decide on the "prefect" tree. Sawyer has taken on the same joy for finding our tree and now even Percy is getting into it. These 2 had a blast running down the isles of trees and feeling "lost in the forest" as they fond the middle row. I love the joy in small things and I love sharing these fun memories with my favorite little boys.

Annual Visit to Santa

2011-12-30T09:48:00.000-05:00

Last year we decided our trip to see Santa would be a family event. My cousin and Kelly's 2 nieces were with us the day we were going to go so we decided to all get in the picture. It was so fun having everyone in the pic we decided to make it "our thing". Whoever is at the house when we decide to see Santa gets to be in the pic. This year it was all the family. It works out well because neither one of the boys wanted to sit on Santa's lap.

(sorry for the bad copy..my scanner isn't set up so I took a quick pic of the pic with my phone)

After our visit with Santa we went to the playground and ate some lunch. I love my family!

On our way home we stopped off the check out the Christmas lights. Amanda was in our car and she and Sawyer had a blast running through the lights! She even let Sawyer touch the train....

Sawyer is 3

2011-12-08T15:41:00.001-05:00

I feel like every time I post anything about Sawyer these days I comment on how I can't get over how big he is. Well it's true he is so grown up and it blows my mind. My baby is now a big boy. When I ask him if he's a baby or a big boy he proudly says "I'm big". This year he actually knew when his birthday was and he was telling anyone who will listen "My birthday is December 5th!" Every age I say this is my favorite time...but I am really enjoying this age he's at. He loves talking to me. He tells me anything and everything. I asks him questions and he always has things to say. He is starting to enjoy talking on the phone as well. He loves calling my dad and reporting everything that's happened since he's been at work.

Every year on his birthday I take of picture of him in his bed when he first wakes up. This year he slept until 10 and I had to wake him up.

December 5, 2008 (FEW HOURS OLD)

December 5, 2009 (1 YEAR OLD)

December 5, 2010 (2 YEARS OLD)

December 5, 2011 (3 YEARS OLD)

I made a special pancake breakfast with Christmas patterns.

First thing in the morning Percy came downstairs and gave Sawyer birthday hugs. It was really the cutest thing. Love these boys

Kelly, Jesse, Tyson, Percy, Arthur and Grammy all went with us to Chucky Cheese for lunch. This was Sawyer's first time there. He loved it. Sawyer and Percy ran around for almost 3 hours playing in the playground.

First time playing ski ball. He wanted to throw overhand...

There are a few things I just don't want to forget:

- When we were moving and selling things Sawyer ran in and put his blue crocs on as fast as he could. Then he looked at me and said "don't sell my blue shoes mom"

- After we cleaned out our house and were packing to move Sawyer found a shipping box we wern't using and put all his trains inside. He carried that box around and announced "my trains are packed I'm ready to go".

- When we were on our last flight home Sawyer was looking out the window. We were about an hour away and he announced "I SEE GRAAA!" I asked him where? and he said "There he is on the top of that mountain".

Sawyer's 3rd Birthday Party

2011-12-05T01:25:00.001-05:00

Sawyer's 3rd birthday snuck up on me. With moving and everything getting adjusted here we had so many things going on. I had a ton of ideas and then I almost didn't even have a party because we were all so tired. We had our hardest jet lag ever and I was thinking he's only 3. In the end I knew I would be sad if I didn't do something for him. It's the first year he actually knows what his birthday is. He even thought Paul and Amanda came in town just for his birthday party since we were having it on Thanksgiving weekend.

He is so into Cars and Trains I did a little mix of both. He requested Chokate (Chocolate) cake so he got his own and then I made cupcakes for the kids. I found these little 2 pack cars for party favors and used them for cake decoration.

We have to have BALLOONS!

"Uncle Paul is here for my birday"

Wow he looks big

Our baby is so grown up!

Zach was the first one to arrive at the party and Sawyer ran to the door yelling "YAAA our friends are here!!!"

Ricky is always good for a laugh. He was so sweet with all the little kids. I can't get over how grown up he is.

I found these little clay banks at the dollar tree. They came with paint and a little paint brush and bonus they had trains and cars. Sawyer LOVED this! He took it so serious and painted and painted and painted. We had a few friends who were not able to come last minute so Sawyer ended up painting 2 trains and a car. haha

Pizza for dinner! Sawyer kept saying "this is so good, I love pizza, yummy yummy in my tummy" haha

The hi light of the night was singing happy birthday to Sawyer. He was so cute and happy to have everyone singing to him. It was so sweet because he knows the song now. His understanding that this was his birthday party made it so much fun! This is my favorite picture Sawyer still has pizza on his face but look how much he looks like his daddy.

Trying to get a pic with our dear friends...hahaha

Birthday hugs!

All the partying wore Arthur out!

Christmas Town Busch Gardens

2011-11-29T01:23:00.000-05:00

This was my first time going to Christmas Town Busch Gardens. My mom went last year and said it was a blast so we wanted to take Sawyer. We got there in the evening and it was already dark Sawyer heard the loud train and saw steem coming from nowhere and he thought the place was on fire. Poor kids was so freaked out for the first 30 minutes we were there. Next year if we go again I will definatly get there while it's still light out so he has a chance to adjust. We went to Octoberfest and watched the show while eating dinner and that got Sawyer in a good mood for the rest of the night.

Sawyer has never watched Sesame street in his life but he does know Elmo from some songs he like to watch on youtube. He LOVED the Sesame Street show they had. It was really well done and he was captivated the entire time.

I love watching Ty enjoy Sawyer. We have so much fun with him! I love my little family.

Danceing with Grammy and Graa in Ireland

haha

waiting to see the pengwins.

We waited in line forever to see the pangwne and I was hinking we should just skip this but we had already told Sawyer we could see tham and he was set on it. I was SO GLAD we stayed. Saywer is reallyinto pengwins right now so even though there were only like 3 little stations of pengwins he loved it.

"Look mom I found him it's the pengWHEN"

"he's so cute"

Like I said he LOVED them

Can't believe how big he looks!!!

I am so thankful for fun times with my family!

These are a few of my favorite things.....Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T01:12:00.000-05:00

It was my intention to post everyday leading up to Thanksgiving on things I am thankful for. There are so many things (items) I have now that I didn't have in Thailand. I immediately started thinking about how thankful I was for a washer AND dryer a garbage disposal a dishwasher.....but then I loaded some of these photos that I have taken over the last few weeks since being home. These are the things I am most thankful for:

Sawyer is a joy. His smile in the morning is a light and I am thankful for the joy he has and brings to life.

YAY for garage sales! My sister in law Kelly and I packed the boys up and took them yard saleing. We bought them hotcakes at Macdonalds and they were so pumped up about it. I'm so thankful for great deals at yard sales and fun with my sis in law.

My newest nephew Arthur was born a little over a week before I came home. I am so thankful to be able to snuggle and kiss this sweet little guy,

Sawyer and Percy are thankful for Ari too

These pictures were taken on a beautiful day at the park. I love watching Sawyer play!

Sawyer watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade for the first time ever. He could not get enough. He wanted to watch it all day and when it was over he said let's watch again. There was a Dora balloon that Percy had and Sawyer started marching around the room with it he said it was his Dora float. haha

I found this cute idea on Pintrest and made turkey shirts for the boys. I took their hand print for the feathers. Even Ari had a tiny one.

They were not fans of the shirts haha they ripped all the "feathers" off within 2 min.

We are all thankful Paul and Amanda are here!

My best friend Jennifer and her beautiful family were in town for Thanksgiving. Sawyer and her son Ezra were able to play together one afternoon. I am so so thankful for lifelong friends!

Sweet little twin buddies. I got to hang out with these guys a lot before their move to Florida. We are so thankful for the Ruckel family and are blessed to be their friends.

Hunt Club Farm...punkins

2011-11-07T00:52:00.000-05:00

Hunt club farm has become a little tradition of our in the fall. We have taken sawyer there every fall to pick out a pumpkin and see the animals. It's fun now he's older he can actually enjoy it more. We had been talking about going and picking out a pumpkin for a while so Sawyer was obsessed with getting there. He had so much fun running around trying to find the perfect one.

They had a huge pile of hay and the boys had a blast playing in it :-)

As soon as Sawyer found the slide and playground he didn't care to see the animals anymore. That's my boy all about the climbing, sliding and jumping.

Percy LOVED the pony ride as always. He is so cute on that pony riding around with that huge grin.

"A PUNKIN"

Driving the tractor with Graa

Driving is very serious business....

Sawyer's pants were too bug but he is really the cutest thing I've ever seen. HAHA look at that face!

That's my happy boy

I love him so much

Finally found the perfect one!

The Adventures of Sawyer and Finn

2011-11-03T11:31:00.000-04:00

Sawyer has a great little buddy Finn. I was typing the title out for this post and I said to Tyson "the adventures of Sawyer and Finn that sounds like a novel". haha "Wait it is a novel". I didn't even put it together until then Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. Anyway they are perfect little buddies and I guess it was meant to be. Sawyer loves hanging out and playing with Finn. They are so silly and have such a great time together. The laugh and run and play cars and pretty much like to do anything together.

I'm so thankful the Lord brought such a sweet family into our lives and that Sawyer has a great friend in Finn.

Here they are at the mall

We went to the aquarium a few times and the zoo. My camera battery died so I didn't get many pictures.

Running or course running......

ICE CREAM!

Our last week in Thailand we got to hang out with Finn and Jen several times. One afternoon we took the boys to the train station. They have a big train out front the kids can play on. Sawyer is so into playing with trains this was something I've been wanting to do for a while.

I think they have a few more adventures in store.....

celebration

2011-11-02T10:04:00.000-04:00

The last night before the kids went home we had a celebration dinner. The news all the kids would be able to attend the Hope and a Future school at Hope House was exciting for everyone. They love these diners we have had a few times. Everyone get's their own pot to cook on and it's fun for all.

The Yee Ping Festival and THE LANTERNS!!!

2011-10-29T12:55:00.000-04:00

We were so happy to be in Chiang Mia during the Yee Ping Festival. Last year we missed seeing the lanterns because we were in the states. This year my dear friend Jen and her family went and we joined in the fun. It was so beautiful and unique to Thailand. We had a blast with them and Sawyer LOVED seeing the all the lanterns in the sky.
Everyone stands in the field and lets go at the same time so there is literally a blanket of thousand of lights going up into the sky at the same time. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience. I have many more thoughts about the events that I want to post but for now I'm trying to get up to date so I'll leave it with the basics. To come the history of the festival and what it's about.....
When the fireworks went off right next to us with no warning Sawyer lost it. It was so late and it had been a long night

Minute to Win it

2011-10-10T13:33:00.000-04:00

The kids all went home for a short break at the end of October but before they left we had a fun weekend of activities. My mother in law and sister in law put together an entire Minute to Win it Game time. If you have never seen the show or played the game....you get 60 seconds to complete a task. For example balancing a toothbrush at the end of a hat and walking across the room.

Everyone had a great time. The best part is the last 10 seconds all the kids counting down. When someone would win everyone would cheer and it was so loud and exciting.

Here we go again.....

2011-10-09T13:31:00.000-04:00

When I was a kid we had one of those above ground pools in the backyard. They are good for 3 things 1. getting cooled off 2. choreographing synchronized swimming routines (yes Katie B. we were awesome) and 3. whirlpools. The whirlpools were the best. Everyone walks in the same directions until you get a current so strong that you all let go and swirl around the pool together. After that became boring we would make the Whirlpool and as soon as it got going strong we would suddenly turn in the other direction and fight the current. It was hard to go and often we would slip and get carried away but eventually we would get the water moving in the correct direction again.
That is what my life is a little bit like. Working in a direction and it's not easy it's work and then once the current gets flowing and I'm floating along it's time to change directions. We have been building and moving in the direction of life in Thailand. We sold our house and all our belongings and came to do what God told us. What an incredible time we have had here the last year and a half. We knew the Lord told us to go for a year and we committed to that. After arriving and settling in we hoped he would provide a way for us to continue in the work here. Things just don't always turn out as we plan. After much prayer we have decided to return to the USA. It's hard when money is an issue. But you cannot ignore it. You need money to live and function in life. God has control of all things including finances. I am so blessed that I learned from a young age that God has my best life planned ahead of me. I just have to continue to remind myself of that lesson in times like this. I wonder why He leads us and provides a way and then when you get settled in BOOM time to turn directions again. I have been through so many emotions through this process that it's been challenging to write it out. I am sad to leave Thailand. We have been a part of something so wonderful and life changing. To see God use you for something so much greater than yourself is so rewarding. We have made some dear friends. And saying goodbye is never easy. I have peace and hope for our future. He has lead us this far and I know He will continue to lead us. For now I'm trying to think about how wonderful it will be to see many dear friends and family on the other side of the world.
Please be in prayer for us these next few weeks as we have a lot to do. We don't know exactly where we will end up but we do have to start taking steps. Please pray that the Lord will show us the way and open doors for us as we follow His leading. Please pray for us as we say goodbye to life here in Thailand and hello to another chapter.
Here we go again.....

Knitting Class and Taco night

2011-10-08T04:09:00.000-04:00

Tuesday nights a few of the older girls have been coming over to our house to learn to knit. I was amazed at how quickly they picked it up. We knit, eat snacks and watch movies. Tuesday nights have become a favorite time around here. Sawyer LOVES having the girls here. When the door bell rings he yells out "yay the girls are here". He usually runs around and shows off as much as he can.

I got this video of him a few weeks ago. He was showing off his Thai for the girls. They get a kick out him and I love watching them.

Our last week (before fall break) they came for dinner. None of them had ever had Mexican food so we made tacos. They loved it. They all wanted their picture taken with the tacos.

At the end of the night I gave them all their own knitting needles. They were thrilled. I was really happy with how their scarves turned out.

I really enjoy spending time with these girls. They are so eager to learn new things teaching them to sew and then knit have been major highlights in the last year and a half. They are a wonderful group of girls and I'm really going to miss them.

Same thing with a twist

2011-10-06T02:39:00.001-04:00

I got out the playdough this morning for something new. I bought these boiled egg shaper things... (Not sure what the official name is). Of course he loved the car one. All he wanted was to make a car from each color and drive them on
the table. He did this for a half hour and would not let me do anything else with the playdough.... So we did the same thing with a variation. At least he's easy to please. :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Just hanging out

2011-10-04T09:41:00.000-04:00

I brought my camera up to the school one afternoon and snapped a few shots. These kids are so beautiful and I love taking pictures of their sweet faces. The Birds Nest play area has been under construction. All the kids including Sawyer are happy it's open again and ready for some fun. :-)

Cars 2

2011-09-29T09:37:00.000-04:00

My favorite little man is totally into anything Cars. Not just the movie but anything with wheels and he will love it. But he also LOVES the movie and the characters. When I was home in June my mom bought Sawyer some of the cars from the new movie. Well Cars 2 came out the day after we left the states so we didn't get to take Sawyer to see it. For some odd reason the movie theatres in Thailand didn't release Cars 2 until today....yes 3 months later. Well yesterday we told Sawyer we were finally going to see the new cars movie and he was over the top excited about it. My mom and dad got him a Finn McMissile and a Lightning McQueen remote control cars. He carried them around all day long and they also accompanied him to bed. (he now refers to them as big McMissile and big Lightning). It was so cute all day he kept saying "tomorrow I'm going to see cars 2" over and over. He kept telling us all the characters that were in the movie. It's amazing how he has been asking and waiting and asking and asking to see Cars 2 and the day was finally going to arrive and he understood "tomorrow".
First thing this morning he popped his little head up and said "see Cars 2 today".

Well....it's been raining and raining here and the Ping River has overflowed and many parts of town including roads and homes are flooded. Well my husband was determined to keep his promise to his son and we set out to brave the roads. It took us an hour to get to the mall and the other side of the road (the one to get home) was totally flooded. We did make it in one piece.
We went to get our tickets and they only had the regular version playing in Thai so we had to see the 3D version. I wasn't thrilled with that and they wouldn't give Sawyer his own glasses because he was free and they said only paying costumers get the glasses. There were only 6 other people in the theater with us and I thought it was crazy they wouldn't give us the glasses but Sawyer wouldn't really keep them on anyway when I gave him mine so it didn't really matter. The movie itself was pretty cute and Sawyer enjoyed it of course. It was a little hard as some parts because of the 3D without the glasses it got blurry but he got to see most of it. I was kind of glad he had to wait so long to see it. He knew who all the characters where (thanks mom for the cars) so when they were onscreen he would yell out the names.

What a fun day! It took us an hour to get home and we had to try 3 different ways until we found a road that was open. When we got in the car Sawyer actually said "Thank you daddy for taking to see Disney's Pixar Cars 2" hahaha I love having the greatest family it was a wonderful fun day with my boys!

I missed September.....

2011-09-27T09:50:00.004-04:00

I am alive! The month of September has been rough one. First Sawyer had a weird stomach bug. Poor kid couldn't walk right because his bottom hurt from all the "issues" his stomach was having. After a little over a week he was back to normal.
Then 2 day break and he woke up with a cough. It was just a cold and he seemed to feel fine just some coughing no fever. I try my best to not give him a bunch of drugs and let his body fight off infection. After 5 days I decided to give him a decongestant. That helped and he was tons better. 2 days later he was seemingly back to normal and I was happy he seemed to be feeling fine. We went to dinner with my in laws and were hanging out at their house for the evening when out of nowhere Sawyer came running over to me crying. He said his ear hurt and he kept pressing his head against my chest. This was the first time he said anything to me about his ear or any pain at all. He complained on and off the rest of the evening by the time we were going home he was acting totally "off". He kept saying his ear hurt and his head was wobbling back and forth like he was dizzy. Tyson asked him if he was ok and the poor little guy burst into tears. At that moment we headed straight for the hospital. Sawyer had never acted this way before and after a chest cold for over a week I didn't want to mess around. We had to wait in the ER for the Dr. to arrive. Sawyer cried for 2 hours!! It took forever for the Dr. to arrive. Sawyer finally passed out asleep from all the crying. I can tell you now my heart has never hurt like it did that night. To see your kid so upset is heart wrenching. The kicker in all of this is that he never even had a fever. When we were waiting on the Dr. they took his temperature and still no fever. We finally got in to see the Dr. and he was very nice. Praise the Lord he spoke great English. Sawyer immediately started crying again when we had to go into the exam room but the amazing part was when I layed him on the table for the Dr to check his ears he sat perfectly still. Tears were running down his face but he didn't move. It was like he knew the Dr. needed to see his ear to make it better. My baby laying there upset and yet calm was overwhelming.
Poor guy had a double ear infection. The Dr. told us his right ear was very serious and his ear drum would probably burst. Tyson and I were both a bit freaked and then the Dr. said it was totally normal and he'll be fine. He said it will take 3 months to heal. Apparently the cold he had came with lots of drainage and his ear couldn't get rid of it fast enough. We then had to wait another 30 min but they filled the prescription in the hospital so it was worth the waiting. While we were in the waiting room Sawyer said to me "mommy my ear hurts I just wanna go home". I'm telling you now I almost cried right there. We had to walk through the ER on our way out and Sawyer was not happy about going back in there. The crying started up again. I reassured him we were all done and we were going home. In his pitiful cracked voice he said "yay home, bye bye Dr." haha Gosh I have the cutest little boy.
In the car on the way home he was in so much pain he threw up all over me. I can tell you as a mom I have seen some nasty stuff and this was up there on the list but in the moment I didn't even care. It's crazy how the "mom" kicks in and when you baby is not feeling good you will do anything to help them feel better. After that moment he conked out for the rest of the drive home and I was just happy he seemed to be at peace.
When we got home I rinsed him off took a quick shower and we let Sawyer lay in our bed with us. I was worried his ear would burst during the night or something. He fell right to sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. About 10 minutes after he fell asleep he suddenly woke up looked at me and said "talk to Graa mommy...need to talk to Graa." I was amazed he asked so I got the computer and we called my parents on skype. Sawyer layed in my bed with his head down and my parents talked to him for a few minutes. Then out of no where he just said in his tired cracked voice "I love you Graa" I think both of my parents started crying. It was the sweetest moment ever.They said goodnight and we all went to sleep.
Tyson and I prayed over his ears and prayed they wouldn't burst. Praise the Lord it never did. The Dr. seemed pretty sure the infection was so severe it was a done deal but I truly believe the Lord healed him. I gave him the antibiotics and both of his ears are clear now. PTL!!!
The day after the ER I woke up with Sawyer's cold and let me tell you it was a kicker!!! I was down for the count for over a week...Being sick and taking care of a sick little boy is no fun. My eyes watered so much I thought I was going to dehydrate. But through all the sickness WE SURVIVED!!! We are all healthy now and trying to get our life in order. I looked at the calendar and I can't believe September is almost over it flew by and I missed it....oh well bring on October and a healthy house!!

oh yeah and a bunch of the kids at hope house got pink eye so looks like we'll be staying at our house for another week....NO PINK EYE FOR US THIS YEAR IN JESUS NAME!

Animals eating out of your hand

2011-09-10T00:38:00.000-04:00

Our friend Tele had his 1st birthday party at the night safari. We have been there several times but always in the morning. In the late afternoon is when they run the trams so it was our first time seeing the entire place. What an amazing experience we got to pet a white tiger!! The animals come right up to the tram and eat out of your hand.

Baby Kangaroo sticking out of the pouch.

Sawyer and his buddy Ellie. Isn't see the cutest !!

Ellie is my buddy too

Hello there Giraffe

I was so proud of Sawyer he walked right over to the big elephant and fed him a banana. Of course I missed the moment. Deborah got him to do it again and I did get it on video. :-)

The Zebra almost took my toes off. They were a little scary since the tour guide told us they have really sharp teeth and could take your hand off. We were instructed to throw them food but not to hand it out to them. Yeah no thanks Mr. Zebra I would like to keep my toes.

Potty Training and the Thai Immigration Office

2011-09-09T06:59:00.000-04:00

To fully appreciate this story you have to understand a few things about the toilets in Thailand

1. They are glorified holes in the ground. There is no seat you literally stand on either side and squat.

2. Most bathrooms do not provide toilet paper.....

3. You don't flush you take a pale of water from a bucket and dump it in the toilet...

This one pictured is clean but I have NEVER seen one this clean.....I just didn't want to post a nasty picture

Today:

We had to go to the immigration office for visa stuff. I was filling out all our paperwork with our passports at the counter when I hear a little voice in the back of the room "I needa go potty!!" Tyson had to go hunt down a bathroom for Sawyer.

10 minutes later Tyson and Sawyer come back to the office. Sawyer has no pants on (only underpants) and Tyson had Sawyer's pants in a ball. He hands the wadded up pants to me and says "these have poop on them I'll tell you about it later. "

ok...

Here's the story: Tyson finds the toilet and it's a MESS. He said one of the nastiest dirtiest toilets he has ever seen. Sawyer by this time is squirming he has to go so bad. Tyson set him up in front of the toilet and tells him to aim and go. Sawyer has not yet learned how to pee standing up so Tyson thought no time like the present than to teach him. Sawyer stood there a minute and said "I need to sit down daddy" Tyson encourages him to be a big boy and pee standing up. Tyson thought he just had stage fright so he encouraged him to be a man and go standing up. Sawyer was skeptical but he listens and stood there facing the toilet and let it rip. Ty didn't realize that "I needa go potty" meant Sawyer needed to go #2. Before Tyson could react to the strained red face little boy in front of him it was to late. There it was a huge turd landed right on Tyson's foot. Sawyer of course immediately started yelling out "oh no oh no I missed the potty I missed it" (he hates even seeing poop in the toilet). Tyson said although he was gagging he tried to remain calm so Sawyer wouldn't get freaked. There of course is NO TOILET PAPER or anything to wipe with and I had the bag with our stuff in the office. He had to rinse his foot in the dirty toilet!! Tyson just kept telling Sawyer not to worry about it and that it was daddy's fault. The mess had gotten on Sawyer shorts so Ty used them to help clean Sawyer up.

When Tyson was telling me the details I laughed so hard I thought I was going to cry. I had to write this down because it's to funny to forget about. Plus Anyone who knows Ty can IMAGINE his face as he walked into that office with wadded up poopy shorts....HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I am also happy to report. Sawyer seemed satisfied with blaming daddy for the incident and is not scared by these events.

Just another adventure on the mission field.

Our version of I spy...

2011-09-07T08:10:00.002-04:00

The background: So Sawyer and I have been playing this game of pointing things out that we see while driving. It started about a year ago and I would show him numbers on buildings etc. As he got older he loved pointing out to me things that he saw before me. Now it's become our own version of the classic game I spy. I see something out the window and point to it. For example: I say "I see a RED car" Sawyer says "I see a RED car too". Sometimes it's not the same car I originally saw but the idea is he can find he own as long as it's the same item. Then it's his turn to pick something he sees for me to find.

Today: in the mall we were eating dinner and all the sudden he points and yells "I see an OLD MAN!!" I look and sure enough this really old man was eating his dinner in the restaurant across from us. Lucky for us he smiled at Sawyer (I don't think he spoke English).

Mr. Personality learns "the faces"

2011-09-03T10:31:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite things about teaching the "the babies" ballet class was watching them learn "the faces". This week I've been thinking a lot about my dear friend, teacher, mentor, longtime best buddy Ms. Gail. My entire dance life and inspiration has come from her and she taught me the most important things about worshiping God with the gift of dance. Perhaps because I started a dance class with the kids this week she has been on my mind extra. So in honor of her I decided to teach Sawyer some of "the faces".

He has so much personality it wasn't hard to get him to learn the faces....getting him to be still so I could take the pictures was the difficult part. So tonight before bed I was able to get a few. For your enjoyment:

HAPPY FACE (that's not hard for him he's always smiling)

ZERO FACE (I put 2 pics because they were both cute)

SAD FACE (this one needs some work...but hey being sad isn't easy for this happy guy) HAHA

SURPRISE FACE ( he's such a ham)

SHOCK FACE ( SO FUNNY)

I couldn't get a picture of his fake mad face so I'll add it later. :-)

Love you Ms. Gail and missing you!

Small Farm Field Trip

2011-09-03T01:25:00.001-04:00

We were able to take the kids on a field trip to this little farm about an hour away. It was a cute little place that had your usual farm animals. I laugh because Sawyer was asking were the monkey's and tigers were. haha He figured any place with animals should have his favorites

He did like looking at the horses. He kept saying "they are big horses".

The kids had to do a report about what they saw. This was after all a school field trip.

All the kids were able to take a ride in the horse drawn buggy.

Don't worry it's not loaded...

The wonderful Hope House Staff

After the farm we went and had a picnic lunch by a waterfall nearby.

The kids all went swimming in the river

Sawyer had his own little pool

Sawyer's response when it was time to leave...haha

He's Back

2011-09-01T05:53:00.001-04:00

After several weeks of having a cranky unruly wild little boy I am happy to say my son has returned!!! Since I took his paci away nap time has been a downright fight. I must admit I felt so bad for taking away his paci that I gave in to his demands for too long. After over a month of wondering where my sweet little boy went I decided it was time to MAKE nap time happen again. No games and toys and staying up... it was time. Monday was the worst he got in trouble 3 times and finally fell asleep after fighting me for 2 hours. But I stuck to my guns. Tuesday he only got in trouble once and it only took an hour to get him down. Wednesday he went right down and slept for 3 HOURS!!! PTL!! He had a real nap. I had to wake him up...I made a HUGE deal about him being such a good boy etc etc. When we came downstairs he told Tyson. "Paci went bye bye and I took a nap!" Today he went down no problems and slept his normal 3 hours again. I am so RELIEVED he didn't lose his nap yet. Beyond anything else he is SO MUCH happier and pleasant to be around. I am thankful so thankful my sweet little man is back...phewwwwww

The best playground

2011-08-31T07:09:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago we found an amazing playground. It's all padded and full of fun play items. Sawyer favorite part is the really big slide that ends in a big pit of balls. There are lots of things to climb and swing on. The best part is it only cost 1 dollar.

We decided to take the hope house kids for some fun. They wonderful ladies that run it let us all in for 50 cents each. The kids had a blast running around. (put a short video at the end)

After playing for a few hours we took all the kids to Dairy Queen and it only cost a few bucks to get everyone a cone. You have to love the cost of living in Thailand.

Friends and the night Safari

2011-08-22T00:18:00.005-04:00

There is this really neat place here in Chiang Mai. It's a "night Safari" but you can go during the day for really cheep. It's better than the local zoo. My friend Jen and I took the boys the other day and they all had a wonderful time. I mean what little boy doesn't love lots of space to run and cool animals to look at. :-) Plus the kids are free BONUS!
He so much fun!

I love watching them play.

Jen, Liam and Finn

chicken

2011-08-12T10:13:00.002-04:00

we took Sawyer on a field trip with the hope house kids (pics to come) to this little farm. When we were leaving this was the conversation Sawyer and I had:

Sawyer: I saw sheeps

Me: did you like the sheep?

Sawyer: no it's dirty

Me: well what did you see that you liked?

Sawyer: I saw chickens, I like chickens, I eat chickens mmmm

Me: HAHAHA

I did not know he made the connection I asked tyson later if he told him and he said he didn't. Well I guess that saves me from having a conversation with him later about where meat comes from. haha

Cheesburger please

2011-08-07T11:47:00.001-04:00

One of our favorite spots to eat is this Mexican place called Miguels. In addition to having great quesadillas and amazing salsa they also serve some classic American food. You can get a great cheeseburger with real beef. Sawyer usually shares a quisadilla with me but on this day he informed the waitress he needed he own menu. She gave him one and he carefully turned each page. Then he looks at the waitress and says " I like a cheeseburger please." Ty and I just started cracking up laughing Sawyer looked at us like please stop laughing and order you food. We both ordered, then sawyer says to the waitress "and a # 2 Kapkoonkap (thank you in Thai)". haha yeah he's big stuff :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Saraphi,Thailand

Best Friend

2011-07-30T08:08:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I was able to go out for the afternoon with a friend. Tyson had Sawyer for the day. They dropped me off and when I got out of the car Sawyer was not happy I left. I saw his sad face crying when they drove away but I knew he would get happy in 2 seconds. He loves his daddy so much and he likes having Tyson all to himself. Many times I walk in the room and Sawyer will look at me and say "no thank you mommy". Meaning whatever you are about to ask daddy to do it can wait we are busy playing haha. It's so cool that Sawyer can express how he feels about things to us. He will come up and Say "I love you mommy" and give me a kiss out of the blue. Yesterday Tyson took Sawyer for pizza while I was out. Sawyer kept asking "where's mommy" so Ty told him mommy's out with a friend. Sawyer then looked at Ty and said "daddy you my best friend". I couldn't believe that he could express that. Tyson has said to him several times your my best little buddy and now Sawyer can communicate his feelings as well. Then this morning Tyson was playing cars with Sawyer and he said it again. He looked right at Ty and said "you my best friend". Wow my little boy is all grown up and I couldn't be happier with his choice for a best friend as long as he doesn't mind sharing with me. :-)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Cute moments

2011-07-24T05:06:00.001-04:00

Lately it's been so hot we have been spending a lot of time watching movies in our room (no central AC only AC in our rooms). Today before lunch we were watching a movie Tyson was laying on his stomach and Sawyer got right next to him. I got up and told Sawyer to come downstairs for lunch. Tyson got up and sat against the back of the bed. Sawyer was upset and said "daddy watch with me." he grabbed tyson's hand and pulled him back down to his stomach, then he looked at me and said "watching my show with daddy". I laughed so hard. He does things like this all the time and I forget to write it down. It's still amazes me that he knows what he wants and can communicate those wants. I love how much Sawyer loves being with his daddy and doing what daddy does. I let him enjoy his time with his dad and lunch can wait.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Goodbye paci

2011-07-24T02:15:00.001-04:00

The day has arrive... Bye bye paci. Honestly I wanted it gone a while back but with traveling and being away from daddy I decided to wait. Now Sawyer is 2 and a half it's time to go. One of the reasons I have waited this long is because he only gets it at night. Since he was a baby we only used it for sleeping and as he got older it always stayed in his bed. It doesn't bother me much because he didn't use it walking around all day. It hasn't hindered his speech but I'm not wanting it to mess up his teeth. So today is the day and I can truly say it's killing me. Somehow the paci kept Sawyer a baby and with all his talking and potty trained it's the last thing.... Today's nap is his first time without it. He is acting heart broken about it being gone and his little tears made me want to cry too. He searched his bed and under his pillow while he cried "where my paci I need it I just need it". I feel awful about taking it but I know it's for the best. Anyone out there who has some tips on easing the transition I'm all ears.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

you know your potty training when...

2011-07-20T13:05:00.002-04:00

Yesterday Sawyer and I were at a friends house for a play date. I went to the bathroom and when I came out Sawyer yelled as loud as he could. "YAY MOMMY WENT POTTY, I am SO proud of you!!" haha Who doesn't love a little encouragement.

Once in a lifetime

2011-07-15T11:17:00.011-04:00

Tyson has been trying to come up with fun things for the Hope House kids to do throughout the week. He went to the stadium where the professional Chiang Mai FC soccer team plays. He met with the office staff and they made him an AMAZING deal for the kids to be able to come play in the stadium.

We were able to be in the stadium for several hours. The boys have a Hope House soccer team and they played against the staff. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience for all of them. Even the staff was thrilled with the opportunity. Everyone came out for the fun. The girls cheered in the stands and the little boys were able to play on the field before and after the "big game". It's thrilling watching these kids light up with a new experience that would have never had. God is so good to provide us with opportunities to bless these kids with not only Jesus, education, food, clothes but also FUN! That's exactly what we did this day had an amazing time.

I got some great pictures of Tyson and Sawyer together. Ever since we got back from our trip Sawyer has not wanted Tyson out of his sight. It is super cute and I know Tyson is enjoying it, he really missed the little man. Wherever Tyson was that's where Sawyer wanted to be. Towards the end of "the game" we had missed nap time for Sawyer and were entering the melt down zone. Sawyer got in trouble and then it was all over but the crying. He spotted Tyson on the field (still can't believe he could pick him out that far away) and reached his little arm out and in his most dramatic and sob filled voice said "I can't reach daddy I just can't do it". haha Tyson told me later that he could here him down on the field crying for him. I guess since the stadium was empty his voice carried pretty far.

Getting stretched out for the game

Sawyer wants to do whatever Ty is doing

The little boys playing before the game started

so happy together

LOVE THIS! One of my favorite pictures!

Chang and Sawyer they are buddies

running the field

Love this picture too! Hard not to love Chang he's a sweet little guy.

Getting ready for the match

little man Chang running the field. It was so hot out everyone else retreated to the shade. Not Chang he wanted to run the field. haha

Prayer before the game starts.

And they're off

Wit scored a goal!!!

I must say I was impressed that my man kept up with these young boys in the heat. 31 looks good on him. :-)

Tyson scored a goal and I got the pic! yes!

There are no words for this cuteness!!

The Hope House soccer team

The stadium

Everyone all together!

A few of the boys asked me to take their picture in the stadium

My boys

They are my joy in life!

Ty and his mini me

I enjoy watching these boys with Ty. They respect and love him and I know he feels the same about them. I wish I got a pic of him with all the boys but here's a great one of him with a few.

A few more shots of the stadium and the field

After the game we had a picnic lunch in a park behind the stadium. You can see the stadium in the background of this pic.

eating lunch

Sawyer off to explore the woods

Nutt one of Sawyer's BFF's

Hours of running, jumping and of course laughing!

2011-07-08T04:02:00.004-04:00

Percy and Sawyer had way to much fun together. I'm afraid Sawyer's love for climbing and jumping off of EVERYTHING rubbed off on Percy during our visit. They turned my mom's living room into a playing jungle gym. I have to say I have the most amazing parents who let the grandchildren literally take over the house.

One Saturday while Kelly my mom and I were yard sailing Grandpa was in charge of the boys. We came home and the furniture was all pushed to the center of the room. Grandpa arranged the couch and chairs so the boys could run circles around the living room...not to mention dive over the back of the couch. All the couch cushions were on the floor as extra padding and the couch was the trampoline. The final touch was the kitchen table moved against the window so the boys had a clear runway that led from the back hallway all the way through the kitchen and into the living room. HOURS were spent running and jumping and climbing and of course LAUGHING!

These pics are from another night. Sawyer was jumping from the fireplace into the bean bag chair. Percy still trying to figure out the jumping thing mostly dives...it's the cutest thing ever. He's like a mini man doing timber into the bean bag chair.

I know some people might think it's nuts letting my kid jump off things and climb everywhere. Honestly in our home (and my mom's because I know she doesn't mind at all) I love letting him be his adventurous self. He knows not to go crazy at other peoples houses (it's taken time to teach him the difference but he's learning not every couch is a trampoline). I love letting him run and jump and get all his wiggles out. I believe he's learned many limits in the comfort (and safety) of our home. He's only 2 and still has a long way to go on learning how to behave but I figure I have time to teach him as we go. There is a time and a place for everything and right now that's what I'm trying to teach him. Fun times!

The Marine Science Museum

2011-07-08T03:52:00.004-04:00

The Marine Science Museum is one of our favorite places to go. Kelly's good friend Hannah has a pass and was able to get us all in for free. (Which was a tremendous blessing Thank you again Hannah if you happen to read my blog). The kids had so much fun running around. Sawyer loves looking at fish. Something about the water and the animals moving is so fascinating to him.

I love all the great pictures I usually get of him while he is so enthralled.....but I couldn't believe it my camera battery died only after a few pictures were taken.

I laugh because as much as I love pictures this happens to me FAR TO OFTEN. The battery will die or I'll take several amazing pictures and realize there is no memory card in the camera..oops oh well sometimes it's easier to live in the moment when you aren't worried about capturing a moment.

Here are a few moments we did capture.

Yes we are the happiest shark attack survivors ever.

Finger Painting

2011-07-08T03:41:00.004-04:00

After the messy business of baking a cake we figured why not add to the mess with a little finger paint. Sawyer loves painting and coloring of any kind. But there is something about painting with his fingers.
Percy is enjoying the finger painting too

I honestly LOVE watching Sawyer paint or color or anything artistic. Even though he is 2 and a mess he often gets very serous about his "art" haha. There is a method to his madness...
There is the look of true fun. He's my absolute favorite artist. I guess I'm biased but that's ok :-)

Making a Cake with Grammy

2011-07-08T03:22:00.004-04:00

My mom is so great about coming up with fun and simple things to do. Father's Day and a chocolate cake mix became the fun thing to do with Sawyer this day...

Reading the instructions

Pooring in the mix

crack the eggs

mom I did it

When do we get to put the icing on?

poor the water

poor the mix into the pan

licking the bowl is the best part

Percy came just in time for clean up

I don't think this picture could be any cuter

Flip Flop Day = Free Smoothies

2011-07-08T02:55:00.008-04:00

June 17th was national flip flop day at Tropical Smoothie. Kelly and I put the boys in their cute flip flops and went to get our free smoothies. Unfortunately for us they had already given out all their free smoothies but they still had the strawberry banana smoothies for half off. The boys LOVED their smoothies. It was our plan to share with the boys but we couldn't hardly get a sip in. I was shocked they didn't get brain freeze.getting excited!

yummy

Strawberry Picking

2011-07-06T05:07:00.005-04:00

Sawyer loves strawberries so while I was home I knew I wanted to take him to pick some. We went a little late in the season so there wasn't much to pick but we still had a blast. Sawyer would pick a few berries and then eat a few he didn't like his bucket to be empty but he also couldn't resist eating them.There is something about his little hands picking strawberries that makes me smile.

Percy would put one in the bucket and then immediately eat it. He was so messy with strawberry juice but he enjoyed every bite.

When it was time to go we had to put our bucket on the scale to weigh what we had picked. Sawyer was not happy about giving up his bucket of strawberries. Our grand total was $1.38 and the bucket cost a $1.00 so Sawyer picked 38 cents worth in strawberries. haha next time we'll have to go early in the season before they are all gone.

Fabulous day friends...

2011-07-06T04:39:00.006-04:00

Sawyer and I had so much fun playing with our friends. It was such a treat for me to be able to spend time with dear friends and enjoy watching our kids play together.

The Keipers have a new big trampoline and Sawyer had a blast jumping with Mason and Kennedy.I made these backpacks for many of our friends. Kennedy's fit perfectly.

got to love those curls

The Ruckel boys are growing up so fast. I'm amazed at how time goes by and the kids just keep growing. It's sad for me at times that I'm missing out on all these little peoples live who I love dearly. But instead of being sad about what I don't get to be a part of I am thankful for the internet and the ability to visit.

I made the Ruckel boys their own backpacks. Ben is sporting his. :-)

Little Matty is not so little anymore. Love those smiles.
Big boy Sam...I could eat them up.
Who knew the hallway was the place to be.

Gabe checkin out his backpack.
Our boys playing together.

Grammy and Graa Day

2011-07-06T04:10:00.005-04:00

There is a park my mom loves to take Sawyer to play. There is a fun playground for him to climb on and a trail that goes around a lake. The last time we were there I had to stay with him on the playground because I didn't want him to fall or jump off. Now he is a big boy and can climb and jump and slide all by himself.

The smile says it all!

Peekaboo

I love taking pictures of Sawyer. His smile is so big I can see it from far away.

Million dollar smile
The lake is Sawyer's favorite spot. He jumped in before I could take his clothes off.
Graaa showing Sawyer how to skip rocks. A little boy throwing rocks in a lake what could be more fun.

ahhh the cool down

graaa climbs the tree haha

After the park we took Sawyer to Bruster's Ice cream. He is small enough to get a free cone.
yummmm

Hunt Club

2011-07-06T03:49:00.004-04:00

I love the Hunt Club Farm. It's such a fun place to take kids. They have all kinds of barn yard animals and pony rides. We didn't do the hay ride this time because Sawyer was pretty tired and in the melt down zone by the end as we approached nap time.

Sawyer loved feeding the chickens. He was saying "here you go chinkin". haha

Sawyer didn't want Percy to close to the turkeys haha
Pony Rides!
He loved it until we passed the playground and then all he wanted to do was get off the pony so he could climb the playground.
Percy was so cute on the pony. He didn't want Kelly to hold him. He wanted to be a big boy and ride alone. :--)

family chill time

2011-07-06T03:40:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite things about my family is the chill time. We all love going going going but the down time is sometimes just as much fun. Sawyer loves Paul he is always telling me "paul's so funny" haha to which I say "yes sawyer I agree". We had several days to just hang out the house and recover from our jet lag. Paul and Amanda were in town from ATL and Sawyer spent lots of time playing Angry Birds on Paul's ipad.

The back porch is a favorite spot in my parents house. It's covered and my mom has a squishy mat down so the kids can jump and fall in a "safe zone" There is a little playhouse back there and the boys were playing in it. Sawyer was not happy until my dad got in the house. Sitting outside the house didn't cut it. There they are all squeezed in.
Snuggles from Sawyer are a rare occurrence. Jet lag helped with that a little. Grammy got some good snuggles those first few days while he was recovering. :-)

Let's start with the park

2011-07-06T03:31:00.005-04:00

I have so many pictures from my visit home I don't really know where to start or finish for that matter. I realize why my scrapbooks never look a "professional" as some of my friends....I never know how to narrow it down. I have far to many pics that "have" to be in the book. I think my blog is the same way. I have a hard time only picking a few pictures. So I have decided to just do several posts. That way the pics aren't overwhelming but I can still have as many as I want posted. :-)

So let's start with a afternoon at the park. This was the day after we got there and poor Sawyer was so tired with jet lag but he was a trouper. He didn't want to miss any fun.

Grammy and Sawyer walking the park

Percy is a little baseball player. He loves to hit the ball off of his Tee. There was a nice field at this park we were at and the boys had fun running in the dirt.

Sawyer trying to stay awake

static hair

Percy and Kelly

Big boy sliding by himself. haha gotta love that face

These pictures are from "our park" by my mom and dad's house. It's my favorite place to take him. This is the park I grew up going to and it's also where Tyson asked me to marry him.

Sawyer has graduated to a big boy swing. It's so cute seeing him swing with a proud smile on his face. Why do they grow up so fast!!

Traveling across the world with a 2 year old BY MYSELF! and my tips for traveling with a child

2011-07-06T03:18:00.010-04:00

Sawyer and I were able to take a last minute trip to VA. It was a huge blessing and it came at a perfect time for me. Sadly Tyson wasn't able to come with us. He had a lot of things already in the works here in Thailand and plus Sawyer is 2 now which means full price air fair *ouch*. So we made the decision Sawyer and I would go it alone for 5 weeks!! In the 11 years Tyson and I have been together I have never been away from him that long before. Plus the thought of traveling to the other side of the world alone was a little scary.

The way the itinerary worked out we had to stay overnight in Bangkok alone....I wasn't thrilled with that plan but it was a lot cheaper to go that way so I bit the bullet. We left Chiang Mai at 3 in the afternoon which put us to arrive in Bangkok at 4. Everything went smooth and we made it no glitches. Sawyer got to ride in his own seat and he was super proud of himself.
my big boy in his own seat.

Haha he LOVES flying. He had been talking about going to see Grammy and Graa for weeks and he couldn't wait to get on the plane. The only problem was he didn't understand daddy wasn't coming. When we started to back out of the gate he was yelling out "Oh no daddy not here yet daddy not here yet" He didn't not want us to leave without Ty. Not gonna lie made me cry too. But we both recovered in about 2 min and then enjoyed our quick flight to Bangkok.

Once we arrived we had to get all our baggage and find our shuttle that would take us to our hotel. My first thought was how and I going to get all our bags and not lose Sawyer in the process. Solution:

he actually enjoyed riding on the push cart and we got lots of laughs in the airport. We found our shuttle and got to our hotel. It was not the Ritz but it was clean. To tell you the truth once we checked in I went strait to our room and locked the doors and didn't leave. It's was a little sketchy but for $15.00 a night I didn't expect much.

We went to bed at 6pm because we had to get up at 2am to get to the shuttle to take us to the airport for our flight that left at 5am. I honestly didn't sleep at all. I missed Ty and I was a little worried I wouldn't wake up and that we would miss our flight. Sawyer slept a few hours and was AMAZING when it was time to get up. He was so excited to be going to see my parents and to get on the airplane I wish I had his energy in the morning.

Who looks that cute at 3am when you were woken up at 2am??

Our first flight was Bangkok to Tokyo almost 7 hours. Sawyer slept about 5 of those hours and I slept 1. yep I was exhausted but couldn't sleep. The other 2 hours Sawyer was amazing he looked out the window and played games I opened our bag of tricks (tips from me on traveling with a 2 yr old at the end). We made it to Japan on a super bumpy flight. I was telling the lady next to me that my husband would have been freaking out (Ty hates flying). Sawyer on the other hand was saying weeeeee again mommy again. He loved the turbulence. 3 hour layover in Japan and we were on our way to DC YAY!! 13 hours in the air and we would be with my parents. Sawyer slept about 9 of the 13 hours (yes I gave him Dramamine). I slept maybe 3hrs. Our flight attendant was so rude to me the entire flight I almost wrote a complaint to the airline. Sawyer was a gem the entire time. He didn't cry or have one melt down there was no reason for this woman to be so rude to me. She woke me up several times to tell me random things and was totally rude about it. (note: when flying from Asia to the US use an Asian airline the flight attendants are AMAZING American Air not so much). We made it and I think the only thing keeping me going was pure adrenaline. We got to DC in the evening I think around 6 my poor parents got stuck in traffic on the way to get us so we got to chill and wait in the airport.

Here is sawyer playing his game while we wait.

When my parents arrived I so wish I had my video camera out. Sawyer and I were walking around because I knew they would be there any minute. Sawyer spotted my mom from across the airport. I was amazed he could see that far. He yelled as loud as he could GRAMMY and took off running. It was like a scene from a movie his arms were moving as fast as his legs. About half way to my mom he spotted my dad too and yelled GRAAA. Both my parents were crying and Sawyer greeted them with lots of hugs and kisses. It was priceless.

The first thing we did was get something to eat at you guessed it Olive Garden. Then we drove home. We got stuck in a bit of traffic but we still had a blast my parents sang songs and laughed. Every time they finished singing sawyer would say sing again so we would sing another song. Finally he passed out in the car for about an hour on the way home. When we got to the main road by my parents house Sawyer pointed out the window and said "it's the park " It was dark and you couldn't see anything but he knew right where our park was I could not believe it. Then we pulled into my parents court and he pointed to their house and said "there it is Grammy's house" haha. Paul and Amanda were there waiting with Jesse and Kelly. Percy tried to stay awake but couldn't make it. Sawyer was so excited to see everyone. He kept looking at all the faces and smiling. It was so sweet.

I love my family so much and is was amazing to be together as soon as we got in. I was really happy Paul and Amanda were able to make it up from Atlanta.

Tess' Tips on traveling with a 2 year old:

1. If it's a long flight that happens during usual nap or bed time I recommend Dramamine. I find that it doesn't make Sawyer droopy or loopy it just helps him stay asleep once he is asleep. half a pill was enough to keep him asleep for 8 hours. note: I have heard other moms say Dramamine made their kids wired so I recommend trying it out before your flight like one night before bed or a nap time. Also it usually takes sawyer about 20 min to calm down after I give it to him. I usually give it to him and then take him on a walk to the bathroom give him a chance to stretch his legs and walk a little bit.

2. Again for long trips. several changes of clothes. Pjs especially. Sawyer like to have clean clothes something about a fresh shirt and pants keeps him happy. (I'm the same way)

3. Food: Lots of different "special" snacks things you don't get a lot. For us we don't get gold fish in Thailand because they are really expensive but that's one thing I had on hand. Even if it's the same stuff I put them in separate small little containers. It makes it special to open a little blue box and eat your cereal out of it. I like to have 10-12 different little snack treats.

4. candy is a good one too. My recommendation would be after they wake up not before you put them to sleep. Lolly pops are great ring pops are the best. They are special and fun and fit in their little fingers. Sawyer thinks fruit snacks are candy so I use those as treats for him too. I also use the snacks as games. For example how many red M&M's do you see....separating all the colors and eating them one at a time.

5. Color Wonder markers and coloring book. These are the special markers that only show up on the special paper. Totally worth the money. Sawyer will color for a while with these, I love them because I don't have to worry about it getting on his clothes or all over the plane.

6. New toys. I like the dollar store for this. Any little toys that are new (they have not seen before). This last trip I had a little toy plane and several little animals.

7. Stickers. I got a bunch of stickers when I was home from the dollar tree that are great. I have also made my own. Buy some sticky paper and google image your child's favorite characters put them in a word document and print them on the sticky paper. I would cut them out and stick them in a zip lock bag with a big sticker on the front.

- Vinyl sticker books are great too. Sawyer likes resticking the stickers so these books are great for that.

8. Stamps. The ones that are attached to their own pad. I wouldn't recommend getting a pad with different stamps that seems like a major mess. I'm talking about the little stamps that have characters and you take the bottom off and stamp on paper but the pad is in the lid. Then you can put the lid on and you don't have a bunch of stamps with ink getting everywhere.

9. Leapster anything. When sawyer was little we had a leapster phone that he would play with for HOURS. Then we upgraded to a leapster computer. It teaches the ABC's and also letter sounds. I used it to teach him and he now knows his alphabet and most of the letter sounds. He still uses it a lot. We also got him a Leapster Explorer for his birthday/Christmas. The games are a little advanced for his age but he amazingly enough has figured most of them out. He will play it for a while and it also has a place for headphones so he doesn't have to have the volume up bothering our neighbors. It's also great because we can add a new games as one of his "new toys" on a trip.

10. I also have an old video ipod I let him use. I have downloaded many YouTube clips and converted them so they will play in itunes and I can load them on the ipod. He has some of his favorite show on there and can sit with the headphone and watch (no Internet needed). I spent the 15 bucks and bought a set of headphones that don't go in the ear. They have the cushion and sit outside your ear plus the top is adjustable so it can adjust to a child size head.

11. Mini Play dough. I tried this once with lots of options and then I learned only having 2 or 3 is much better. I bought the little jars and he had 2 colors at a time. There wasn't much but it was enough to keep him busy for a while. I didn't bring a lot to go with it just a mini rolling pin. Making little balls and then flattening them out is tons of fun.

12. Juice boxes. Sawyer drinks a lot and it always seems like forever to get a flight attendant so I like to have plenty of drinking options available. Milk in a juice box is also convenient. Sawyer loves milk before bed so for those overnight flights it really helps. I also like to bring an empty cup that way if the flight attendant give me an open cup I have something to poor it into.

13. His own neck pillow. You can see the little frog pillow in the picture. He loves it and I'm so happy we got it. It's small enough to fit in my backpack but it has stayed in great shape after traveling the world 5 times now. I think it was $12 at Target.

14. Every child is different so you know what things you can't go without. For us it's Buzz Lightyear and Woody (and Woody's hat).

15. Sawyer loves to read so I like having a few books on hand too. The Disney pack small cardboard books are great. Dr. Seuss is also a favorite.

16. My mother in law made sawyer a really cute picture ring. She used clip art and printed out about 50 pictures a little smaller than an index car size. She laminated the pictures and hole punched the corner and attached them to a ring. Sawyer flipped through those pictures telling me each one over and over. He is a little big for that one now but it was great for the 1-2 age.

17. Sawyer loves playing with change and putting them into piggy bank type things. We used a plastic cylinder container that had a lid and cut a slit in the top. I printed a Toy Story sticker to put around it and Sawyer then had a plastic bank. I had lots of change that he dropped in it and then we could take the lid off dump the change and do it again. My mother in law had the idea that plastic poker chips would be better than change. They are bigger (not a choking hazard) and less noisy. I couldn't find any here in Thailand but I'm sure they wouldn't be hard to find in the states.

18. Glow sticks. They sell them in packs at the dollar store. Sawyer love the sticks or the bracelets. They put off enough light for them to play when it's dark in the plane but it's not so bright to disturb the other passengers.

19. Magnets. My friend Jenna gave Sawyer these magnetic balls that have rods that connect with them magnetically. Entertainment for hours! There are other things out there like magnetic shapes and letters so anything along that line would work.

That is all I can think of now that I have done that's worked for us. The key is keeping things interesting for the child. Their attention span isn't that long but if you are playing with them they will stay interested for a lot longer. Sawyer will color alone for 10 min but if I am coloring with him he will go at least 20 min or more. Same thing applies to pretty much everything else. I also like to wrap things up in pretty paper and let him open it... the toys, candies anything new. He knows that means it's special and it adds to the excitement. I have added and removed items from my list as he has gotten older I'm sure I'll be adding more through the years.

If you have anything you have found works for your child please comment and add to my list. :-)

Shopping cart cover

2011-07-05T10:24:00.001-04:00

I recently made this for my sister in law Deb. It's one of those shopping cart covers for kids. It folds neatly into a bag and then the safety buckles becomes the strap. I'm really happy with how it turned out.It can fold into either pocket the pink or the green :-)

then the pocket you fold it into becomes a place to put toys or snack or juice.

Coloring Easter Eggs

2011-05-22T10:34:00.001-04:00

This Easter was the first year Sawyer has been old enough to do the egg dying thing by himself. My wonderful mother sent us an amazing "Easter package" with lots of fun stuff for Sawyer including and egg dying kit. I was so excited about this so we decided to have a little egg dieting party with some of our new friends.
This is Jen and Finn. Sawyer and Finn play so well together and she is wonderful.
Finn enjoying the coloring
Elle and her mom Beka. They have become our good friends too.

This is Tele. Isn't he cute. He was a little young for the egg dying but he enjoyed the plastic eggs on the floor.

Keisha and Tele

My niece Aliyah. she was enjoying the party so much but the busy toddlers wore her out.

Bunny shaped PB&J

I made little Easter baskets out of egg carton for them to take their eggs home.

My Buddy....

2011-05-13T10:36:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I sing myself that old commercial for that doll called "My Buddy". Does anyone remember that doll? haha "My Buddy, my buddy, wherever I go he goes; My buddy and me" Anywhere that's me and Sawyer he goes where I go. At times that a challenge but most of the time we make it work.

This is a picture of Sawyer with me at the market...right after he nocked over a ton of fabric...haha look at that face. Guilty!

Messenger Bag X 60

2011-05-09T10:27:00.001-04:00

My main project I worked on while the kids were gone was making them each a new bag for the upcoming school year. So here they are 60 messenger bags I made for the kids. Now they are off to be screen printed with the Hope House mascot. I'm very happy with how they turned out.

My little Fish

2011-04-30T10:31:00.003-04:00

My boy loves to swim. He would be in the pool every day if I let him. Anything to do with water he is in! He is getting really good at swimming by himself now. He still needs the floats for his arms but I'm thinking he'll be swimming on his own by the end of this summer.

Songkran (Thailand New Year)

2011-04-13T09:58:00.001-04:00

The Thailand New Year is in April. Every year there is a HUGE celebration that they refer to as Songkran. It's basically a national water fight. Everyone gets geared up with water guns, hoses, buckets and buckets of water. There is a moat around the old city that is still filled with water and everyone drives around the circle soaking each other. It's really a blast!People stand on the sides of the road with their buckets in hand waiting to drench anyone that drives by.

Tyson going into the moat to get more water...

Family Day in the Park

2011-04-10T09:45:00.001-04:00

The weather has been getting warm but not super hot. We took a family day to this park near the soccer stadium. There were lots of fun things for Sawyer to climb on but his favorite thing was this "train swing". He did not get up for about 30 minutes.

Andrew finally coaxed sawyer off of the train and they tried a few other things.

the bikes

and finally a helicopter. This was almost as fun as the train. you spin the wheel in the middle and it makes the propeller on top spin. Sawyer was fascinated. After the afternoon in the park we when to a Chiang Mai FC (local pro soccer team) game. Sawyer loves watching the games it's amazing to me how he'll sit there for so long and watch the players run back and forth. He's 2 and his attention for the games last longer than mine...

Hide and seek

2011-04-10T02:41:00.001-04:00

Lately Sawyer has been really into playing hid and seek. Usually he hides in the same place over and over( the stairs). Today we were Cleaning the house and he climbed into Ty's closet. I live his sweet little face. That big smile melts me every time I see it. He is truly my little joy bug.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Chiang Mai Zoo Day

2011-04-09T09:34:00.006-04:00

Sawyer has a new friend Finn. His mom Jen and I have gotten them together a few times and they are becoming fast friends. We took them to the Chiag Mai zoo and aquarium. They had a blast running around looking at the fish. I wish I took more pictures but I was trying to enjoy to moment. :-)

This is Liam Jenn's other son. He is a sweet boy also. I am very thankful for this sweet family.
This is Jenn's husband Bill with Sawyer and Finn he was holding them up so they could se the seal show.

Hair cut and a treat

2011-04-05T10:20:00.001-04:00

Sawyer has had countless hair cuts since he was a baby. He has so much hair and it grows so fast. Recently he had a not so great experience with the hair stylist. Poor guy cried the entire time and the woman didn't know what in the world she was doing.

I love his hair longer but here it's to hot here in Thailand so we have to keep it short and thinned. It's crazy that my 2 year old gets his hair thinned haha

Last time I took him to get his hair cut he was nervous ( after the last time). He cried and cried and was saying "please no hair cut please mommy please" it about killed me. But this time we went back to the guy who knows what he is doing and does a fantastic job. Sawyer made it through ok...there were some tears but he survived. After we went to this little bakery and had a cinnamon roll for a treat. I bought one for us to share and the owner of the shop brought sawyer his own for free. She said he looked like such a big boy with his new hair cut that he needed his own. Sawyer beamed it was so cute.

A Seat for Sawyer

2011-04-05T10:16:00.003-04:00

My mom sent this booster seat for Sawyer. There are no safely laws in Thailand for kids in car seats which means trying to find one and then buy one it's going to cost 4 times what it would be in the states. So my mom sent this great little booster so Sawyer wouldn't have to keep sitting on my lap whenever we drive. He LOVES it. It even has a cup holder for his drink.

Some of My Favorites

2011-04-05T10:12:00.001-04:00

One thing I love about having my iphone is that it takes pretty decent "in the moment" photos. I still prefer my "big" camera but for the day to day I can't bring that big thing around everywhere.

These are a few of my favorite phone pics I've taken recently. :-)

Sawyer in the baby pool at Hope House

checking out his Easter package from my mom and dad

eating his favorite snack. popcorn

Sawyer and his best buddy Buzz

Sawyer using my yard stick as a light saber

Best Buddies

2011-04-01T10:08:00.005-04:00

I love how my boys love each other. I enjoy watching them play together. Sawyer loves jumping and playing with his daddy. Tyson is so good with Sawyer. I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband who loves our son and takes the time to get on the floor and play with him. Sawyer adores Tyson and he wants to everything Ty does. It's so cute watching Sawyer watch his daddy. Ty eats ketchup on his eggs now sawyer wants "dip dip" for his eggs too. Now it's copying whatever ty says too. Today Tyson was explaining to me about the super highways and the roads here in Thailand. Sawyer all the sudden started blabbing and telling me mommy turn left turn right hahaha It was so funny.

Chiang Mai Ballet

2011-03-29T09:06:00.001-04:00

Tyson bought me 2 tickets to the Chiang Mai ballet. My neighbor Pam went with me. We had wonderful seats 2nd row in the balcony. It was wonderful and a truly fun experience.