Thankful

The last couple days have been a little tough since Daniel has decided to no longer sleep through the night. To make matters worse I kicked my coffee habit for him and so I have no "quick fix" for the morning sleepiness right now. I've found myself being a little crankier and also have felt the slightest depression settle in the past couple days. It's nothing major but it's there pestering me when I don't want it around. But, in the midst of all of this I have been reading a great book called Calm My Anxious Heart. The timeliness of this book couldn't be better as I'm facing classes starting up again next week, volunteering for our summer Bible study and have a husband who is traveling to Mongolia, Canada and Australia all within a 3 week period. I find anxious thoughts lurking in my mind and am reminded in this book of the following verse:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." -Phil 4:6-7

So, I've spent the past few days trying to switch my thought process from entertaining negative thoughts to dwelling on everything I have to give thanks for. (Forgive me, English majors, for ending my sentence in a preposition but this won't be the only time it happens in this blog). And to my delight I've found myself truly grateful for so many wonderful things. Here are some of the things I spend my time thinking about and being thankful for throughout my day:

- a rock star husband

- a son I'm head over heals for

- the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom

- a supportive family and a great set of in-laws

- a network of friends in Bangkok that encourage and lift me up

- friends in the US that I miss dearly but get to talk to regularly over Skype

- a housekeeper who is incredible

- a ladies church group that helps me grow immensely

- a cute, fluffy dog

- the time and energy to work on my Master's

- play dates!

- Thai food available all day/everyday

and on, and on, and on...

While on the outside I may look haggard, worn-out and exhausted (which all of these I am), on the inside I have a heart overflowing with gratitude for each and every gift I've been given. That is what I praise God for today.

Trips to Pattaya

We've had a busy couple weeks with 2 fun visitors. Mary visited from the US for a long weekend and Lizzy visited from Canada for 2 weeks. We took two different trips to Pattaya. Here are some pictures from the trips.

Mary and Daniel poolside.

Overlooking Pattaya beach

Sonya and Jacob after wading through sewage water to get on our boat. Disgusting, but worth the trip was worth it. Unfortunately Sonya's flip-flop broke and she had to go barefoot the rest of the trip.

Lizzy and Aidan on the boat

Aidan clinging to Jay for dear life

Daniel's first boat ride

The island we visited for the afternoon

The boat ride knocked out all the boys

Relaxing in the shade

Daniel's first dip in the ocean. The water was nice and warm so he thought it was a giant bathtub.

The Schmucks

Go-karting

My mother's day surprise... good husband.

Those Kalnins play hard. We came home with 3 sick kids and a couple sick adults but it was worth it now that everyone's on the mend.