1 year...

It really is hard to believe that its October 14th again.  It feels like just yesterday we were stepping off our Cathay Pacific flight, after a LOOOONG journey from Vancouver to Bangkok.

So much has changed since then.  

One of the biggest things being, that there were 3 of us when we arrived in Thailand on October 14th, 2011,

and now there are 4 :)

Not to mention all of the crazy things that happened in between.

All in all, its been quite the year.  I'd say one of the deepest truths we've had reaffirmed since we've been here, is that God truly, truly is FAITHFUL and hasn't left us... not even for a second.  There have been some dark times... some of the hardest times of our lives... but also some really incredibly rich times.  And through it all, God has remained the strength that has got us through and the joy that has shone through, even when we felt like we couldn't do this.  

And I guess what I just really want to say in this post is THANK-YOU.  

Thank you to all of you who have believed in us... who have walked alongside us on the long road that got us here... who have supported us financially... who have supported us through prayer... who have sent us ridiculously awesome care packages... who have emailed and FB messaged us, just to say you're thinking of us and praying for us daily... who have taken time to Skype with us... who have come (or are planning to come) visit us... who love us... who want to see us succeed... who have made this entire last year (and the many to come) possible.  We feel deeply, deeply blessed by all of you.

Thanks for being a part of this crazy journey we're on!  We honestly couldn't do it without you and we're so thankful you're along for the ride! :)

So, as I reflect back over this past year, I guess my heart just feels really thankful.  Thankful to God and thankful to all of you.  And I can't wait to see what God has in store for us in the year to come.   

They're HERE!

Our very first, official, here-just-to-see-us visitors arrived yesterday...

... and it truly was a sweet reunion!

Welcome to Thailand Nammy & Grampa!  We're so glad you're here!!

Lions, tigers and bears, oh my!

Our very first Thailand house-guests arrived this weekend, (some friends from Jon's old stomping grounds, Prince George, BC) so we ventured out with the Owen family last night and enjoyed the Chiang Mai Night Safari.  This place is a MUST-see if you come to Chiang Mai.  It costs a little under $2 per adult (young children are free!) and there is SO much to see and do.

Callie has been a couple of times before with the Owen's but Jon and I had never been.  It definitely 'made the cut' for both of us and we plan to visit again and again.  I mean, when your little girl gets THIS excited about a place, you know its worth re-visiting.....

There are animals EVERYWHERE and most of them can be fed for a small fee of about 60 cents.  Callie was pretty eager to feed the elephants... until she actually had one grab the banana right out of her hand.  Then she figured she'd hand the job over to Daddy... :)

Many of the animals just roam around the grounds and are free for petting.  This part was especially exciting for Callie...

If I'm not mistaken, she named one of the goats "Charlie."  

Hey little fella...

But the tigers were, by far, her favourite animals.  She kept rushing us along so we could get to the tiger cage.

The stare down.

It was actually a bit creepy how much these tigers "eyed her up."  When she moved, they would follow her.  I think they thought she would be just the right size for their supper.  Sure glad they had a double fence up...

Even the garbage cans were cool at this place...

Starbucks... is that you??

There's an enormous playground, completely covered by giant white tents, so its perfect for a hot or rainy afternoon.  This playground is definitely Callie's "happy place."

Not to mention the indoor playground, ball pits, digital video games, a huge lake to walk around and see more animals, paddle boats, and oh so much more... this place pretty much has it all.

Wanna come for a visit?? :)

1st Christmas in Thailand...

Christmas definitely looked a lot different this year for our little family.  Sun shining, hot temperatures, new home... so many changes.
But, we tried to make it as "normal" as we could and anticipated the excitement of one of our favourite times of the year.

It all started with a little Christmas baking...

Callie did the stirring...

And the cookie-cutting...

Mommy did a little taste-testing... ;)

She was so proud of our creations...

Then we packaged them up (the ones that Mommy didn't eat) 

and delivered them to our neighbours...

Then, we attended our Nanny's church Christmas event.  

Callie and Eve (pronounced Ava, our Nanny's daughter) had a great time singing and dancing together...

And we got to watch Boh (our Nanny-- 2nd from the right) and her hubby (far left) be part of a drama...

Then, Christmas day arrived!  And Callie opened lots of fun gifts...

 Each one was opened with equal excitement...

And, seeing as we wouldn't be enjoying a family brunch with the Esau's this Christmas, Jon prepared some delicious breakfast bagels instead.  So. yummy.

And last but not least, just 2 days after Christmas, we boarded a train and went on a little adventure...

But I'll tell you more about that later... :)

The first of many firsts...

When you're new to a country, pretty much everything can be classified as a "first."  We've already had a lot of "firsts" in the mere 2+ months we've been here.... some better than others :)
So, here's a quick snapshot of some of our Thailand "firsts"...

The first place we stayed when we arrived in Thailand...

"The Bai Bua Resort" in Ang Sila.

First major ice-cream face...

(there have been many, many more since this was taken!)

First batch of cookies baked in my very first Thai oven...

... I used THIS recipe and they turned out great!

Opening our very first parcel... from Nammy & Dampa Glen :)

Celebrating our first American Thanksgiving with the Owen family...

Opening our first parcel from Gramma & Grampa Esau...

Experiencing my first BRUTAL mosquito bites in Thailand...

First batch of beautiful Thai flowers... birds of paradise.

And we'll be experiencing another "first" today!!  Jon just went to pick up our very first Thai car!  Up until this point, we've only had bicycles to get around on so we're VERY excited about this new found freedom.  Its amazing how much you take transportation for granted until you don't have it anymore :)  I'll post pictures of our 'new-to-us' car once its home safe and sound.