Daily Delights

I guess Anna was more tired than I thought...




And Micah, pretending to squirt me with his "water gun" pitcher,
then taking refuge from my "squirting" under Daddy's desk.

Abigail, on the other hand, has an ear infection and a fever and has slept the day away. Poor girl.

Visit from Uncle Jason & Aunt Kristin

Yesterday, Uncle Jason and Aunt Kristin came to visit for the night.
It was fun for all, and the kids ate it up!!



Abigail with Aunt Kristin

Jealous, Uncle Jeremy?

Practicing for fatherhood, maybe?

Thanks for all the smiles and laughter!

Cambodia continued

The Genocide Museum: a sobering lesson on the trauma that Camobodians
have lived through in our lifetimes (1975-1978), during the brutal reign of
Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge regime.
One in three Cambodians were killed in those three years.

A fairly common sight to see a row of townhouses: tall, narrow houses
in which many of the expatriate workers live. We visited a British woman
at her similar house for lunch and a house tour.

Buddhist monks on their daily rounds to their more faithful parishoners,
who will give them rice or other food; then the monks will bless them with their chants.

A spirit house, where incense is offered daily (I think) to the spirits to bring
their blessing and especially to ward off their evil power.

Asia Trip Part 3: Phnom Penh, Cambodia

A tuk-tuk: a taxi pulled by motorbike. This is a common means of travel
around the city and not a bad ride!


The motorbike; the most common means of transportation.
We saw as many as 5, yes FIVE people on a motorbike at a time!
Beware, however; motorbike drivers help to make the traffic chaotic
and dangerous, and rarely do they wear helmets!


A nearby market for fruit, vegetables, herbs, meat, fish, desserts, toys...
you name it.

Three older ladies at the entrance to the market, all selling ingredients
for "betel nut", which is a popular tobacco-like thing that one chews
and spits juice from. It stains the teeth and lips quite red after years of use!

Asia Trip Part 2: Kunming, China

Here is a look at our trip in December to Kunming, China. After Jeff spent his two weeks in Guangzhou (as posted above), we met in Kunming for three days to check it out for the future. There's much that could be said, but the following briefs will have to suffice...

One of my favorite places was the "wet market", a quite long building with stalls on each side and a long row of stands down the middle; all different vendors selling greens, fruit, meat, fish, breads, desserts, toys, flowers, and all kinds of other foods unidentifiable to me!

All the kids we saw were bundled up so much they could hardly walk (it was somewhere around 45-50 degrees)-- except for those that were squatting in split-bottomed pants to pee right on the curbs.

We visited a clinic in Kunming that focuses on several different areas; an outpatient clinic, dentistry, leprosy patients and incorporating them back into a community that normally will have nothing to do with them, rehab for all kinds of patients young and old, helping parents to teach and help handicapped kids, and a prosthetics lab that makes and fits prosthetics to patients and helps with their rehab. Above you see the casting area for the prosthetics department.

One of the projects supported by the clinic is a work program for the deaf and mute. The men learn to build furniture; here you can see a dollhouse and bookcase, and there was also some beautiful cabinetry, tables and chairs, and more. The women learn sewing/crafting skills and create things like wall hangings, clothes, cloth Christmas trees, ornaments, dolls, etc. There is a store called Hearts and Hands that sells the products.





So, that's a snapshot of our time in Kunming, China. It was a great time, especially thanks to one of our Butler friends, Shelley, flying across China to meet us there for the weekend. Such fun to see her in her new native land!
Stay tuned for a post about the Cambodia portion of our trip!