Celebrating the last days in my 20's

My birthday month has been full of exciting adventures. We went Geocaching

at the war museum in Hanoi. We also got a free grill from some friends who never used the sad little thing so we have had many nights roasting marshmallows.

In Thailand October is hot so we usually found ourselves at the pool on my birthday, but in Hanoi the weather has been very cool. We have loved wearing long sleeves and jackets. Im told we won't love it so much in Feb. when it is cold and wet.

I baked my first apple pie of the season. I don't really use a recipe so you never know how they turn out. I gave this one a 7 out of 10.

We had friends staying with us for a week, so we took them to a pottery village outside of town. Preston got to paint a rooster and was happy as could be. He named him Painter (I know the creativity runs deep)

All in all it has been a good month, but we are looking forward to spending some time in Thailand while waiting for new visas to get processed for Viet Nam.

The meditation of my heart today

Today I read the following out of the Message...Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean, scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life. Tune me in to foot-tapping songs, set these once-broken bones to dancing. Don't look too close for blemishes, give me a clean bill of health. God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life. Don't throw me out with the trash, or fail to breathe holiness in me. Bring me back from gray exile, put a fresh wind in my sails! Psalm 51

Most of you know that Tim and I have had many struggles when it comes to baring children. Those closest to us know the pain this season has been. Since it took us a long time to conceive Preston and visits to a fertility Dr in Chiang Mai we started "trying" again for #2 when Preston turned 1 year old in Dec. of 2008. When we finally got pregnant again in August of this year I was obviously excited, but my world crumbled when we lost our precious miracle. I will never know the "why" but pray that as I live out my suffering Gods grace is sufficient for me.

Life has been hard...we all go through valleys, but that doesnt make my valley any easier or less painful. The month of Sept was mostly a blur as I cried almost every day of the month and sometimes couldn't get out of bed or function. October came and I could begin to breathe again. I could get through days with out crying and some days with out thinking about our fertility struggle and the fight to conceive a healthy baby.

In the last days as I have opened my Bible the psalms have been speaking to me or at least resonating with my sorrow. We have started another month and a new cycle since the loss of our baby in Sept. We have to go back to Chiang Mai for some visa things in Nov and while we are there we are once again going to implant some of our embryos that are frozen. The last 2 days have been a blur. My thoughts have been consumed with the possibility that it wont work. My heart just feels fragile and I need you to stand by me with prayer. I need people to stand with me and help me fight this battle because more days than not I don't have the energy to fight it myself.

Please pray for a successful FET (frozen embryo transfer) and a healthy beautiful baby 9 months from now. I will let you know on Dec. 1st if it was successful, but in the mean time please just pray for me, for Tim, and for Preston.

Hanoi's 1000th Birthday!

What is that you say, "1000 YEARS" WOW! Then Preston points to his shirt which says good morning Vietnam.
People were very patriotic with red banners that read I love Hanoi and stickers on their cheeks. The lakes in Hanoi always have people around walking, taking pictures, and just relaxing. However, on 10-10-10 there were more people then normal. Thousands of people were out to celebrate the special anniversary of their beloved city.

We had a lot of fun walking around, but if we stayed in one place for long, massive amounts of people would close in on us wanting to take pictures of Preston. If you ever want to know what it feels like to have paparazzi follow you then come to Vietnam or China with a small child. Getting your picture taken will become a daily occurrence. Preston has started putting his hands up by his eyes and pretending to take pictures of other people.

Fall moon festival

During the fall moon festival we went into the main city, to see how the locals celebrate. In Viet Nam mid Autumn festival is one of the most popular family holidays. It is held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. Vietnamese plan this holiday around the children in their family. In a Vietnamese folklore, parents were working so hard to prepare for the harvest that they left the children to play by themselves. To make up for lost time, parents would use the mid autumn festival to make up for lost time. We decided to head out and see what the families were doing to celebrate. Below is Preston playing a drum while the other kids danced and played with masks and other musical instruments.

If I had to compare this holiday with something in the states. I would say it is a mix between Halloween and Thanksgiving.

The most popular food ate during this holiday is the moon cake