Life Today...

It seems that I've developed a pinched nerve. I've had one before only it's generally in the other side of me. Now I've got it in the right and according to the snitch of research I've done, I could possibly be stuck with it until she comes out. Most unfortunate. I thought it was gone for a bit this afternoon, but then it came back after sitting with a leg on either side of the concrete bench out front of the house trying to get Jube to stand up, sit down, squat, wiggle around, etc., to alleviate his miserables...

He's constipated, poor guy. Things are moving very slowly and at times painfully. He was walking around complaining with his hands on his bottom earlier today. So I need to figure out how to effectively push the fluids. I think we'll get some orange juice on hand and maybe buy some of those little mandarin oranges that he likes so well. That should get things going.

My little boy will soon be talking. He's communicating using only one word at this point. And he's getting his point across. Yesterday he came to me and said something was "stuck." I wasn't sure what he was saying until he led me around the house and showed me where his little shovel had fallen down between some pipes and he couldn't get it out. Once I saw the problem I realized what he was saying and he used the word several other times then. So he knows when things are stuck.

Today we were leaving Mae Wahn's and an airplane was flying over, "Bin!" he insisted, over and over until I realized he was trying to say, "Kruang bin," the Thai word for airplane. He'll opt for Thai if he realizes it's easier to say. Thus, water is naam. If he doesn't want something he'll say, "ow," rather than "mai ow," which means, not want. But that's two syllables. So he just says "Ow," which is to say he does want it, but I know better.

His favorite place to be is perched on mom's kitchen counter with the mixing bowl between his legs and something going on in the mixing bowl. When mom's not cooking, he still likes to sit up there an watch me work and play with all the utensils in the canister. The other day we made cookies and he was only in is pamper. When I got him down I realized something had bitten him all over his back. Thankfully, it didn't bother him. I washed his back with soap and the redness went down.

He is no longer scared of creepy crawlies. He brings snails, of which there is an abundance, into my house. He carried a little dead gecko out by his bare little fingers for me the other day. He startled his dad by carrying a cockroach around by it's antennae. He's taken to trying to share his food with the creepy crawlies. He's a little leery of the little ants cause he knows they'll bite him. But he'll still squish them now and then. So far, we haven't had snakes in our yard. There is a growth of weeds on the the corner of the property that I'm worried could house snakes...and I don't really want Jube to find snakes, there are some quite poison ones here.

Can you believe it? I lost one of the hose extentions to my vacuum sweeper so I have bend way down to vacuum. I have searched high and low with no luck finding it at all. It's very stupid helpless feeling. Especially when I'm pregnant. I'm blaming Jube for playing with it...which probably isn't such a bad guess on my part. But where is it?

The neighbor man says the problem with our old car is that it had complications of the A/C. And he thinks its solved now. And Dru thinks perhaps he's right. I'm dubious, very dubious. Only it partly makes sense when one considers that sometimes when we'd turn the A/C off, it would start again. But now what are we going to do with two cars. And which one do we resell? I'm rather fond of our little pickup/car, but it's truly not as practical for children as the other one. But the other one is almost as old as I am, literally, which is quite old in car years. And it doesn't have a cool pickup bed on it so you can haul things like mattresses about in.

Oh, Frank, we bought you a mattress so now you have to come. Actually, we bought it cause we need to get at and get that one room turned into a real bedroom anyway. Looks like Jessica's coming too, and we like to have a place available for Mae Wahn every now and then. The wardrobe we're picking up on Saturday and that's going into that room too. That will get filled with storage stuff. Like suitcases and extra baby clothes, and all that good stuff. I walked into the room that will be the children's room and asked myself, "Now what can I just get rid of?" But you don't throw away boy baby clothes when you've only had one baby boy and some day may have another one. And you don't throw away your non pregnancy wardrobe. And you don't throw away empty suitcases or extra bedding... But it has to go somewhere because I don't have room in there for a baby crib and a bed for Jube. Thus the wardrobe. But where are we going to put the bookcase that we're getting with the wardrobe? Still pondering that one. Dru needs the book case but after agreeing to buy it he wished maybe he hadn't simply cause it costs money (imagine that!) and we're not sure where to put it at this point.

Anyway, it feels like we've been going through money like water lately. Like everything happens at once. Car problems, furniture problems, baby coming, etc...And on top of that we still have to eat.

What else to say? We're finally getting a bit of hot season. About a week of it now. I'm so thankful for my A/C. So is Dru. Only he's a snitch under the weather and draggy. He said a bit ago that he's not getting anything done at the computer, which is where he needs to be getting things done. The pressures on now to get the last lesson plans and worksheets, etc. finished up since we've started the children's English classes. But the dear man can't think down there. I went down a bit ago and the air was still and he had no water at his desk. He was pushing a chair around on his screen making a worksheet. (The chair Amy drew actually.) So I got him some water and turned on the fan and told him not to go on a guilt trip for not getting anything done today. He even had a nice long nap and he's still feeling yucky. I tried to get him to come work in the A/C but he's all set up down there and doesn't like to move. It's nearly 5:30 now and pretty soon I'm going to go down and try to coax him to leave his hole and do something he doesn't have to think about...like spend time with me. :) It's Thursday, so it's our night.

And Jube is sleeping, and sleeping, and sleeping...I've been waiting for him to do that. He has this thing of every once in a while he'll try to see how little sleep he can get. Until one day he sleeps way in in the morning, or takes a very long nap. Silly boy. He's pushing a four hour nap by now, but he's stirring beside me--or was. Maybe he's not feeling too well either, on top of his other problem. I don't think he likes the heat very well. I've noticed that he'll be fussy at times but as soon as he's playing in the water outside or comes up to the A/C, he perks up. Truly, this family is farang and heat is not our thing.

I just asked Dru if it was okay to share this, and he said it was so I shall. :) Right now we're thinking and praying about if the Lord would have us change our direction a little, again. Really, we've been quite involved in the CMCC church now for about a year. We love the people. Yet, we're beginning to see some very significant theological differences and realizing that they're eventually going to impact our family even more directly than they already do. One of these issues just came to our attention in the last several months. We don't know if the Lord is calling us to move directions or abide patently in prayer here, or what or what. We also realize that God can change the hearts of people, so maybe that should be the first thing to pray for. When Dru has an opportunity and open door, he needs to discuss some of these things with Pastor Kiat. For us, it's hard to believe that God could change someone's way of thinking in these issues, but God can. After all, we came here to be an influence in that direction. A light and a testimony. We came because we ARE different. So we don't want to run away from what we're called to do either. Anyway, we're not up and thinking...okay, time to go back to the USA! We're thinking, cautiously, about how the Lord might lead us around the next corner. (About the only time Dru talks about going back to the states is when he encounters large bugs and creepy-crawlies. He gets homesick around holiday season.) We don't feel like our time here has been wasted at all and we do see how the Lord has used us at CMCC, so that's encouraging.

So I guess all that tells you how to pray for us. Oh, and pray for Jubers with a sister coming. He loves babies...but will that really look like when he has to share Mom and Dad? We'll see.

And I don't have any pics on this computer to share I don't believe...so please bear with me, again.