gratitude [two crafty grandmas]

thanks to my two grandmas for such handmade goodness

[thanks oma for the coolest cross-stitched wall hanging 

& thanks grandma for the sweetest leaf shirt]

[8 months]

[8 months & the old man grin is back!]

baby cedar continues to grow & change at breakneck speed & we actually can't believe he is 8 months old already.  this is the month he became truly mobile & now alternates between scootching, crawling & wiggling his way through his days.  his new nickname is "cedar the curious cat" because he wants to look & touch & explore everything & everyone.  gone are the days of chilling calmly on a blanket, this little baby is on the move.  thankfully we have a bit more energy to chase after him these days now that he's gone back to sleeping through the night - hooray!

in some ways, it seems like baby cedar has always been with us & in other ways it seems we're just now realizing that baby cedar is always with us - we're not just babysitting, soon to return to our normal life. this smiley little guy & all the changes he's brought with him (most notably the lack of sleep & the realization that our schedules are no longer just about us) are here to stay!

overheard

daniel: (waking up in the middle of the night): see, i knew it!
amanda: um, you knew what?
daniel: i knew the tiger would win.

gratitude [cris]

thanks auntie cris for the beautiful nikki mcclure book.
 (i think its fair to say i'm a lifelong fan!)
 i'm learning all about what farmer's markets are like in north america.  so far my favorite page is the one with all the red apples. 

laos [luscious & lovely luang prabong]

its hard to know where to begin when describing our trip to laos.  it was such a beautiful, lush, welcoming country & we loved our time there. 

[daniel & baby cedar checking out our descent into laos]

from siem reap, blaine, lindsay, daniel, cedar & i took a flight that dropped us off in northern laos, in a town called luang prabang.  we were en route to an mcc regional retreat so we joined up with several mcc friends there.

[laotian temple buddhas]

luang prabang is officially one of my favorite place ever (perhaps vying with ubud in bali for tops). the whole town is a unesco heritage site & with good reason.  the town is a great mix of charming, vibrant, & exotic all set along the picturesque banks of the mekong & lush mountain valleys.  highlights included a trip to a waterfall, a boatride on the mekong, great times with friends & family, & the really delicious laotion food.  (its much spicier than cambodian food, which was a fun change.)

*pictures by a combination of hastings, talstras, & fowlers


a note to travellors: don't be tempted by the $1 street food buffet, even after 3 years of living in cambodia, it knocked both daniel & i out with gusto!

blaine & lindsay in cambodia

in july & august we were lucky enough to host two of my (amanda's) brothers & their lindsays (yes, they have the same name).

first to arrive on the scene were blaine & lindsay!  we hadn't seen them since their wedding exactly a year ago, so it was great to catch up, hear about their new life in colorado, introduce them to their nephew & show them our life here in cambodia.

we had some laid back days in phnom penh - recovering from jet lag on our porch,  playing with cedar, & eating fried tarantulas (eek).

after a few days in phnom penh, we headed to siem reap to explore angkor wat.  we'd been there before, but it really never ceases to be awe-inducing in its sheer epicness & this time, we had a really good tour guide to boot! (seen in the umbrella shot below, explaining something very meaningful to lindsay)

after angkor wat we headed to laong prabong & vientiane in laos & phuket in thailand, but more on that later.

*pictures taken by a combination of hastings & talstras

worry & peace

we start our monthly mcc team meetings with a short devotion time.  this month was my turn to lead & i prepared to share about worry & peace & how even when we're not lying awake at night worrying about big things (like really bad things happening to people we love, plane crashes, economic collapses, etc) there are so many small worries, stresses, anxieties that can steal the joy & meaning of the present (fear of not getting everything done in a day that we need to, of not pleasing others, of not making the right decision, etc).

but in the moment, as we all rushed into the office on monday morning with a bustle of printing agendas, wrapping up language studying, & organizing our presentations for the meeting, it seemed like the right time to stop talking about relinquishing worry & accepting the peace of Christ & a time to sit in the silence & actually pray, reflect & receive it.   a few quiet minutes before a staff meeting was too short a time, but hey, you gotta start somewhere.