First Visit with Hudson

Nico (a volunteer from Germany) and Phil (one of the social workers) picked us up in the orphanage's van and drove us over to the Boys' Home.  When we pulled up and got out, there was a group of people (and a couple of little boys) outside.  I scanned the faces and didn't think any of them were Hudson.  They walked us into a small room, and there he was!  He was sitting on a blanket with a few toys, playing by himself.  He barely looked up when we entered.  Matt immediately got down on the floor and started playing with him.  I think I was a little in shock.  I took some pictures, but it took me a minute to process it.  This was our boy!  In real life! 

Immediately, I noticed some sores on his head.  There was a place on his head that seemed swollen.  I was concerned.  The "momma bear" in me was a little angry honestly.  Within a few minutes, the main social worker came in and visited with us.  She addressed the spot on his head and said that they are much better and that he had been under a doctor's care.  I felt better pretty quickly because they addressed it directly.  She also asked what we wanted to know about him, and we said everything that she could tell us. So, within minutes of meeting our boy, we were hearing parts of his story.  I was desperately trying to memorize every detail, knowing that these pieces of information will be precious to our son one day.  But I was also heartbroken learning about his story.  Truly sad that he ever had to leave his first family and experience such loss and trauma.  

I was with this precious boy, this precious life who will soon be placed in our hands, and I was heartbroken about his first 2 years and 8 months of life.  I also was given the impression that his coming into our family will not be an easy adjustment for him.  I prayed.  My eyes filled with tears.  Deep in my soul, I cried out to the "Father of the fatherless", the one who "sets the lonely in families".  I feel so unworthy, so inadequate to enter into his life.  Yet there is a deep, rising LOVE for this precious boy that was instant, the moment I found out about him.  It's overshadowed my feelings of concern.  Matt and I shared a couple of glances.  We wondered if we are "cut out" for this.  If we are strong enough.  If he would ever acknowledge our presence.  ;) 

As all of these conversations are going on verbally, all of these internal shifts happening, little Hudson has barely looked at us.  He hasn't spoken.  Has barely moved.  

I finally ask the social worker, "can he walk?  does he talk?" and she says "oh yeah!" and starts talking with him in Thai.  He starts identifying different animal toys and answering her prompts to pick up different things.  He got up and walked across the room to get a book, and we saw the first glimpse of his personality.  (Or maybe the withdrawn, reserved Hudson is his personality too.  We will know eventually.)  I try to get him to sit in my lap while I read him a book, but he wasn't interested.  It's okay.  I know these things will take time.  I don't want to scare him or overwhelm him.  I'm a stranger to him.  He has no idea I am his mom.  At one point, P'Nan walked out of the room, and he cried.  An intense cry that was honestly a relief to hear and see.  More evidence of "life" within him.  

After a little longer in this small room (which we found out he had never been in before), we went outside to go to his area of the orphanage.  He took Matt's hands walking down a few stairs, and he let Matt carry him across the grounds.  Matt was gracious and passed him off to me after a little while, and I was thrilled when he let me carry him the rest of the way to his lunch area.  Then I got to sit with him and feed him lunch.  He is a good eater and definitely seemed more comfortable surrounded by his friends and nanny.  His nanny asked him to tell us the names of all his friends, and he did.  There were 5 other kids with him that day.  There are usually 10 in his group.  We had already been told that he loved this nanny very much, but seeing it was a different experience.  I felt a strange mix of feeling thankful that he has this close attachment but also sorrow to know I will take him away from her in the coming weeks.  

Matt had some sweet moments of connection with him after lunch.  We stayed in his area of the orphanage for a little while until it was time for his nap.  They took us to the van and said they would come back to get us in a couple of hours.  

We went back to the hotel and found Tyndall and P'Nui.  We were anxious to tell Tyndall about his brother and show them pictures.  We also started majorly coaching Tyndall about Hudson being pretty reserved and how he needed to be reserved at our visit the next day. 

We all went to the area mall for lunch together.  Even though it was just a local mall, I noticed some differences in Southern Thai culture compared to what we're used to.  I was trying to soak it all in but also trying to process the last couple of hours.  Such an intense and powerful and wonderful morning. And we knew we would get to see Hudson again in just a couple of hours! 

His Name ~ Hudson Arthit

The very first thing we learned about our son was his name.  His name "Arthit" in Thai, means "Sun", and that is his current "play name" which most Thai kids have, like a nickname.  

We did not know if we would give him a new name or not, but after learning he is so young, we decided we will.  We have had some possible names in the mix for the past couple of years, so we revisited those first.  And after learning his play name is "Sun", we definitely wanted to incorporate that.  But we also love names ending with "s-o-n" because we want his name to be a reminder of his identity.  (And it sounds the same at the end so hopefully will be an easier adjustment for him.) 

We all loved "Hudson" the best and thought it fit him the most compared to others we like.  We also like the meaning and immediately thought of Hudson Taylor, a pioneering missionary to China.  And because it is the name his first mother gave him, we will keep his Thai name as his middle name.
So, he will be Hudson Arthit Flagler.  

Meaning of Hudson: The name Hudson is the transferred use of an Anglo-Scottish surname originating from a medieval personal name “Hudde” which itself has three possible origins. One, it’s widely thought to be a pet form of the Old Saxon name Hugh which comes from a Germanic word “hug” meaning ‘heart, mind, spirit.’ Secondly, Hudde is also thought to have formed as a nickname for Richard which also has Germanic origins meaning ‘power, strong, hardy.’ Lastly, it could be derived from the Olde English personal name “Hūda” with uncertain origin but which gave its name to places like Huddington in Worcestershire. The surname dates back to the 13th century in Scotland and England. 

Tyndall's name is also an Anglo-Scottish surname.
And Hudson Taylor's name is actually James Hudson Taylor, so there's another brotherly connection with the name.
On other websites, we read that Hudson can mean "power" which is a strong family connection with Matt's "Powers" family--and middle name.  
Tyndall James's name reminds us of William Tyndale who translated the Bible into English, and Hudson Taylor translated most of the New Testament into Chinese.  

So, it all seemed to fit, and as we decided throughout the rest of the day, it stuck. 

A verse we are associating with his name is 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

Funny side note:  As I was researching multiple websites about the meaning of names, I read that Hudson was mostly used as a surname.  It took me a minute to make the connection that my best friend Ginger married a Hudson in 2015, so it's now the last name of my dearest friend.  So, even though it was not the reason we chose the name, it definitely was not a deterrent.  And she promised me it wasn't too weird.  

Hudson Arthit, you are loved! 

It's A Boy!

14 hours.  I waited 14 hours from our social worker's Line message about being matched.  At 8:40 am the next day (I simply could NOT wait any longer!), I sent her a "good morning" sticker.  She immediately wrote back that she was not at the office and had to go to a meeting so couldn't tell me anything more until the afternoon.  Okay, I understood.  I resolved that I would be distracted by teaching for the morning and could wait a few more hours. 

But 25 minutes later, I noticed my phone started dinging like crazy.  It was during a weekly prayer time that I have with some friends, so I waited.  When we were done, I checked my phone and saw that they were messages from her.  So I went upstairs to Matt's classroom (it was almost time for morning break), and waited for his kids to leave.  There were a couple kids who needed help with math, so I helped for a minute but then told Matt that we had messages from K. A and asked if the kids could do the math later... :) 

We read the messages together and learned that we had been matched with a BOY! And that he was born in February 2015.  Matt said, "2015?! So he's 2?"  We were truly shocked by this as we were open to kids ages 2-8 and even sibling groups.  Our understanding was that most adoptive families preferred younger children, so we just expected we would be matched with older.  So, shocked, but very happily.  

She asked if we accepted the referral, and we wrote back, "yes, of course" and then immediately started receiving pictures of our handsome son!  His face, y'all.  The sweetest.  I mean, he is just.so.adorable.  (But we will not be posting any pictures publicly until the adoption is finalized, per the understood guidelines of adoptions in Thailand.) 

After the first time we said we accepted this match, we learned about his current orphanage and a little more about his birth family.  After we said we accepted again, we learned a little more.  

We stayed in Matt's classroom for a minute soaking everything in and reading the messages over and looking at the pictures.  Then we said we wanted to go tell Tyndall.  But as soon as we got downstairs and saw Krissy and Abby & Bryn standing right there, we had to tell them.  Krissy saw our faces and said, "you know?!"  And we ran toward them and did a big group hug and I said, "WE HAVE A SON!  AND HE'S 2!!!"  And we burst into happy tears and jumped up and down.  And took pictures.  Because we want our son to know that this moment...  This moment that we found out about him and "met" him through pictures was the very moment God placed him into our family.  Just like it was with Tyndall.  It is indescribably precious.  Even with students crowding around "why are you crying, Mrs. Tricia?" and other teacher-friends sharing in our joy, at that very moment, God sunk this son of ours in our hearts.  

Before we realized it, break was over and students were going into both of our classrooms.  We realized we had to do real life for a little while.  As my students came in and got settled, I did call my mom and send her a picture of her new grandson.  :) I then told my first graders that I had just found out I have a new son.  They didn't really understand, but it will be fun teaching them more about adoption this year.  That was the hardest English lesson I've ever taught, and Matt would probably say the same.  

Right after English is lunch time, so we went to find Tyndall in the lunch room.  We wanted to tell him he has a new YOUNGER BROTHER!  We told him and showed him a picture.  Right away, he grabbed my phone and gave it the biggest hug and then started showing his friends "This is my brother".   We spent a lot of time hugging and processing this news together (in the cafeteria filled with 1/2 of the school).  Other teachers were hearing our news, and we were able to tell people who have been praying with us for these last 2 years that God has given us a SON!  

Needless to say, Tyndall didn't go back to class.  He probably would have been too distracted and distracting to others.  Matt and I went to Chapel after lunch, and I could barely keep it together singing worship songs like, "My God is Powerful" and "By Faith".  I took the rest of the afternoon off, and Matt came home during his planning periods.  We tossed around a few names and then settled on a name we all liked as a family.  That will be another post.  

We learned more about him through the day (all through Line messaging) and just couldn't believe the way that God had given us another perfect boy to join our family.  

Little boy, you are so very loved already! 

Will you be praying for our boy?  Will you pray for his little heart to be prepared to meet his forever family soon?  Will you pray for us the next few weeks as our files go before the adoption board in Thailand for final approval?  It's possible that he will be home with us before Christmas.  It's a lot of change to happen in the next few weeks.  Please pray with us during this time.  

Matched!

It was a normal evening in our home.  Monday, October 16, 2017.  

School was finished, and I had just dropped off dinner for our friends who have a new baby.  Then I cooked/heated up dinner for us.  Kraft mac and cheese, edamame, and leftover meat from Beirut (a yummy Lebanese restaurant).  Super gourmet!  P'Nui, Tyndall and I had eaten and Matt came home after he finished his parent conferences.  We were talking like normal, and then I glanced at my phone.  I hadn't heard the notification.  

Here's what I saw.  A Line message from our social worker:

I gasped and put my hand over my mouth and screamed with joy.  The rest of the family started saying, "what? what?!"  And I said, "We were matched!" Then screamed again (sorry, neighbors).  And we told Tyndall, "you're getting a brother or a sister soon!" We started dreaming out loud.  Boy? Girl? Both?  "Tyndall, do you think it's a brother or a sister?" Tyndall was running in circles and dancing around the house.

Talk about shocked!  We did NOT expect to be told about a match through a message, nor did we even know that the matching board was meeting.  Shock!  Excitement!  Nervousness! 

Later in the evening, we were talking with Tyndall.  "Remember, T, your brother or sister probably won't speak English.  They will be nervous, and they might be scared to come into our home.  We are going to have to be very patient."  T says: "That's okay.  'Member when we were Thai and someone learned us how to speak English?"  I posted that statement on Facebook, but it's even better knowing the context.  He's practicing empathy for his future brother/sister.  

Then we started calling (and waking up) family in the States.  P'Nui told the Wattanabanjonkuls when she was leaving, so they came over to share in our excitement.  We called friends and cried tears of joy.  So much unknown, but soooooooooo much joy!  

Had a hard time going to sleep that night, and I found this picture on Pinterest.  The words were absolutely perfect.  

You are loved, little one, and we can't wait to meet you!  

A Day at the Barn

Today was a special day. I didn't know how much it would mean to me to share a barn with my son. It was unexpectedly awesome.

I spent a lot of time at barns when I was young. 4th grade is when I got the horse bug, and I was pretty obsessed for a few years. Outside of school, it was pretty much horses and volleyball.  This carried through college when I spent a couple of years on our school's equestrian team competing at other universities. For our school, it was a club sport but the competitions were funded by the school, and we got to travel to huge universities and spend days at their awe-inspiring barns and equestrian training centers. One year, I was the team manager which my brother-in-law branded as equestrian team cheerleader to irk me. It's still a thing. 

Anyway, today was so cool. I got to spend a few hours at a stable with some students and their families--and Tyndall. 

The smells. The dirt. The manure. The hay. The leather. The tack. It was so very familiar yet not. Because we are in Thailand, and everything is different on this side of the world. Yet not. Because the horses/ponies/dogs of the barn were so very familiar. 

You know what else? My dad often made the trips to be at my horse shows. I have several special memories of him watching me ride. And today I got to watch Tyndall ride, and it made me feel close to my dad. I'm tearing up even as I post this. It was so unexpected but delightful. A day I will treasure for a long time. 

Tyndall? He was okay. He was proud that he was brave to ride the pony. He liked the cool stuff he got to wear, especially the gloves. He was nervous and wanted me to walk beside him. I did for awhile but then let him go by himself. Then he was bored and wanted to go faster. Or get off. He tried to get off, but then it was his turn to go into the trotting area, so he decided to give that a try. When the instructors and leads had the pony trot, he liked it but his hat was too big and flopped around a lot. He was ready to be done after that, so I let him be done. He was more excited about petting the horses and the hedgehog that my student Nut brought to the barn and the barn dogs. Tyndall is definitely a lover of animals. I'm so very thankful for that! 

Interview with Tyndall on his 4th Birthday

Well, the day after his 4th birthday.  

1. What is something mommy always says to you? Don't eat something.
    What is something daddy always says to you? You're not having the balloon. (Note: ?)
2. What makes you happy? When I don't have spankings.
3. What makes you sad? Nufing.
4. What makes you laugh? When you tickle me. 
5. How old are you? Four!
6. How old is Mommy? 12.
7. How old is Daddy? 16.
8. What is your favorite thing to do? to play! play trucks, tracks
9. Who is your best friend? Keaton! and Ezra, and Eddie and Elinor. No, not Elinor. (Note: Sorry Ellie)
10. What do you want to be when you grow up? Daddy!  (Note: awwwwww)
11. What are you really good at? helping
12. What are you not very good at? not helping
13. What did you do today? Go to Children's museum (Note: that was yesterday)
14. What is your favorite food? Chocolate cake.
15. What is your favorite song? Jesus Loves Me.
16. What do you want for your birthday this year? another teddy bear, please
17. What is your favorite animal? Horse. No, not horse.  Lions!  Do you like lions, Daddy?
18. What is love? I hate.
19. What does daddy do for work? Nufing. 
20. Where do you live? at Thailand.
21. Where is your favorite place to go? That's too many questions!

Flagler Family Asia Adventure! Part 1-Thailand

Stephani and Steven arrived in Thailand late on May 26th. Their flights were smooth, and all their luggage arrived with them, which made the reunion at the airport extra sweet!
We came right back to GES where our friend Sarah was staying with Tyndall who had been too excited to sleep!  So he got to have some aunt and uncle snuggles in the middle of the night and stayed up a couple of hours because everyone was so excited.  We ate nachos and Face-Timed Mark and the girls and eventually settled in enough to get some sleep.  

Matt and I were still working the next day, but we took Steph and Steven to P'Nee's for lunch and to 7 for drinks and for a tour around the school.  When we were done with work, we took them on a tuk-tuk to the pier where we caught a water-taxi to KhaoSan Rd.  

At KhaoSan, Steph and I got fish pedicures. And we did some shopping and lots of snacking (coconut ice cream, fruit shakes, waffles on a stick) mostly while walking around in the rain.  For dinner, we met the Boydas at the robot restaurant at Central Westgate then had Coldstone.  Tyndall and I caught a ride home with the Boydas, but Steph, Steven and Matt went back to KhaoSan for more adventures.  

The next day was a Saturday and Matt and I taught our last Joy Club.  Steven and Stephani went exploring at BigC that morning while we taught.  For lunch, we went to SamSep, which is a restaurant owned by one of our student's family.  The food is delicious, and we ate a ton of it! Stephani said it was the best fish she's ever eaten. After lunch, we went to Chatachuk Market to explore but got lost and turned around more than usual. (It's the largest outdoor market in the world where we have gone quite a few times but still manage to get turned around, especially if looking for something specific.)  Amidst the wandering around, there was still lots of shopping and snacking.  After JJ, we came back to get Tyndall and then went to The Mall for dinner.  We just ate at the food court there and were going to get massages, but they didn't have any availability.  And then we were going to see a movie, but that didn't happen either.  So we came home to get ready for our next adventures.  

Sunday we took it easy in the morning while we packed for the upcoming travel.  We went to check-in to our hotel downtown Bangkok where Matt and I had an Adoption Seminar.  After checking in, we went to Beirut for Lebanese food.  Though we had a slight sidetrack at "Le Beirut Cafe" which is more French food, we eventually got pointed downstairs to the real Beirut, and it was sooooooooooooooooooo good.  I had heard about this place for years, and yes, it is worth the hype.  So, we all ate a ton of food to the point where we were too miserable to do much else.  But we headed to Siam Paragon to walk around.  That was such a cool thing because I had envisioned going there with Stephani and Steven for so long.  As expected, the luxury hall was ogled over, and the car stores (in the mall!) were drooled over by Steven.  From there, Tyndall and I head back to the hotel, and the siblings went on a tuk-tuk food tour which they all loved!  They went to a few different stops for different types of food but also got to visit different wats (temples) and learn about Bangkok history in between food courses.  

Monday, Matt and I were in Adoption training from 8-5.  We were a little bummed that this training fell during Steven & Steph's visit, but it also worked out because it meant Tyndall got to have some special time with them.  While we were in training, they slept in, had breakfast and then explored Siam Paragon on their own.  They went to the aquarium, had high tea, and did shopping.  Apparently Tyndall was a perfect angel.  We met up after training at Terminal 21 and ate dinner at Sunrise Tacos and then had leg massages (and a manicure for Steven) across the street before heading back to our hotel.  

Tuesday, Matt and I still had training, and Steven and Steph were sick of malls.  So they arranged for a Grand Palace tour with transportation by boat.  But there was some mixup (and probably tourist trap), so they didn't end up doing the Grand Palace but saw some of the temples downtown and went to some markets where Steven had some pants tailored.  

After the training and waiting around for said-pants to be ready, we made our way back to GES. Sadly, we got back after most of the local restaurants had closed, so we had a hodge-podge of a dinner while we packed for Cambodia and Malaysia.  

Spring Semester Recap!

Spring semester at GES brought more changes for us.  I started long-term subbing in Grade 1 for Kristin who was out on maternity leave.  Tyndall changed classes to K-1 since he was (mostly) potty-trained and needing a little bit more structure.  That meant he also changed to having a "farang" (foreign) teacher instead of just Thai teachers, so it also made it easier for us to communicate and understand how he was doing during the day.  He has loved being in the preschool class, and it's been a great change for him.  

Because my job changed from part-time to full-time, we needed a helper for Tyndall after school and around the house.  God brought P'Nui into our lives, and she has become more than Tyndall's nanny, our house-manager, shopper, dinner-prepper, Thai teacher, but an incredible friend!  She is a sweet sister in Christ, and it's so neat to get to know her heart for others and for Thailand!  She's one of the worship leaders at her church and helped lead Thai worship at our lower elementary chapel one week.  We are excited for her to start seminary soon, even though we won't get to see her as much!  George and his family also help us out a ton, mostly on Saturdays when we teach Joy Club.  We are so thankful for them as well and continue to learn so much through their friendship.  These friendships have been unexpected blessings, but definitely some of the most treasured ones of our first year here! 

My Grade 1 class was full of life and adventure.  I had (most of the semester) 23 kiddos who kept me on my toes daily.  I loved hearing different accounts of their days and having lots and lots of questions and opinions and comments from their little (and big!) personalities.  :)  Thankful that I was allowed to spend a few months with them and prayerfully show them more of Jesus.  I look forward to seeing a lot of those relationships grow over the years.  Now that Kristin is back from maternity leave, I'm spending time with the lower elementary ELW (English Language Workshop for Grades 1-3) teacher since that's what I'll teach next year.  

Matt has enjoyed teaching Grade 2 again (it's what he taught when we were here in 2008-2009), and he will be teaching Grade 2 next year, which means he will have a lot of the students I had this semester.  That should be interesting! I really love seeing Matt as a teacher!  He cares so much for the kids but also enjoys teaching them new things.  It's just neat to see!  

One thing that I've really appreciated too is that we live approximately 143 steps from our classrooms.  It's so nice to run home on breaks and (for me) have some alone time.  Most of my lunch breaks, I get like 20 minutes to myself which can help recharge me for the rest of the day, and I usually get a mini Thai lesson from P'Nui during lunch as well.  It's not always easy having the school right outside our home, but a majority of the time it's a blessing!  

In addition to teaching the regular daily school schedule (7:30-4:40), we both did a lot of tutoring and continued to teach the Saturday school, Joy Club.  This has had its pros and cons but overall, it's allowed us to get to know more students and build more relationships with parents as well as have more spending money and giving money. I think it also helps us enjoy our family time a lot on the weekends.  Matt and I typically have an afternoon date on Saturdays and then Sundays are full days with meeting with our church, eating lunch at Que Pasa with friends, naps, then hanging out in the evenings (lately we've been swimming in the evenings which has been fun!) and prepping for the week. 

We had our first visitors in March!  Emily and Sheila came to Thailand for their Spring Break, which was way too short.  They were troopers powering through jet lag and experiencing Thailand in such a short amount of time.  We didn't see them as much as we would have liked (in retrospect, we should have taken some days off), but we were super thankful for the time we did hang out.  Loved hearing about their adventures in Kanchanaburi and Cooking with Poo and their day trip to the beach.  My favorite was hanging out at their condo pool and getting dinner and foot massages on their last day.  Can't wait for our next visitors to come at the end of May! 

So thankful for friendships that have grown this semester! This stage of life with 2 working parents and an incredibly active little by would be incredibly draining were it not for life-giving friends.  The kind who bring coffee and random snacks to your classroom.  The kind you go get massages with.  The kind whose kids play with yours.  The kind who babysit for date nights.  The kind who come over for dinner and don't mind making themselves at home.  The kind who do games.  The kind who do movies.  We are thankful.  

Overall, we continue to love our new lives in Thailand.  Sure, we have rough days and days where the cultural differences and not knowing the language are hard and challenging and frustrating.  More of them lately with trying to do business-sy stuff. But that's part of living cross-culturally.  And we understand a lot of those things better this time around.  The cockroaches and spiders and snakes and smells and heat... still not our favorite things.  But it's easier to take the good with the bad.  

All that being said, we are super excited to have time in the States this summer.  We miss our family and friends A LOT and can't wait to see everyone and have quality time with everyone soon.  I'm also excited for everyone to see Tyndall and see how much he's grown and what an incredible little boy he is.  It's going to be GREAT to see him playing with his cousins and our extended family again. Only about a month away, and lots of fun to be had in the meantime! 

Pictures are on Facebook.  I'll maybe add some in here later for my own sake, but for now, I feel accomplished having gotten this done. ;) 

First Semester Recap

In a perfect world, I would have been posting a lot more regularly and done {at the very least} monthly updates.  It would be a great way to connect with family and to help me remember in years to come what our lives look like these days.  That would have been nice.  

Instead, I was busy and consumed emotionally with transitioning to our new lives in Thailand.  I'm allowing myself some leeway.  However, one of my 'outlets' and ways of processing is to write.  I want to document these days for the reasons above and also to help me truly experience and find joy in the present.  So, I will be a bit more active here.  

In the interest of chronology, and because I'm a bit too particular to start with now, here's a bit of a recap of our first 5 months in our new home.  

August~We literally landed in BKK on the first of August which makes it wonderfully easy to remember how long we've been here.  Most of August was spent in the awe of being back here with our son in tow.  We made LOTS of trips to Big C (the Nonthaburi equivalent of Super WalMart) to make our home more home-y.  We eventually purchased some living room furniture, a 50" tv, some rugs and decor to help us settle in.  Each day, this new place became more our home.  We spent time reconnecting with friends and students who were here 7 years ago as well as beginning to get to know all the new faces.  MUCH has changed.  Some things are the same.  Once school started, we liked getting into the new routine and learning the new schedules and students and systems of life on a school campus.  We had a couple of weekend outings to explore the city.  We went to Dusit Zoo and got annual passes to Ocean World. Mostly, we focused on adjusting to our new jobs and home.  Speaking of jobs, here's what we do: 

Matt is teaching second grade and has 14 kids in his homeroom.  He also teaches the higher-level English students for all of Grade 2 and Science for both Grade 2 classes.  In the first semester, Tricia was working 3 days a week as a substitute teacher for all grades.  When she wasn't subbing, she was working in the office as an assistant to one of the school administrators.  (This is changing for 2nd semester.) Tyndall goes to Nursery Monday-Friday from 8:00am-3:00pm (naps for a couple hours there).  It's on our school campus, and we get to peek glimpses of him during the day.  

September~September was definitely about settling in.  We had a staff retreat out of town for a couple of days.  During that time, Tyndall fell off an incredibly tall ladder, so we had a bit of a health scare.  Thankfully, he was totally fine, but it was definitely a monumental day for our family.  I think it helped us become closer to more people here as well.  In September, we started investing more in relationships with people here.  I had a couple of one-on-one coffee morning dates with new friends, and we went out with a couple families for dinner.  We also spent a lot of time in the evening watching shows like Parenthood, The Walking Dead, and Bones.  I started doing a women's Bible Study group through our church on Monday evenings and was teaching ESL at our church on Tuesday evenings.  We also had Overnight Camp on campus where all of elementary school kids have extra time at school (grades 2 and above spend the night).  Matt became really sick that weekend, which caused him to miss a couple days of school the next week.  Everyone said our immune systems would be weak this first year as we adjust to a new environment and living at a school.  Which brings us to October... 

October~was a very different month.  We had committed to teaching Joy Club, which is English school on Saturdays for (mostly) kids who don't go to GES.  Matt teaches K2&3 (ages 4-6), and I teach K1 (ages 2-3).  We started that on Saturday mornings, but we were both feeling run down.  Matt started feeling better after about a week, but I started feeling worse.  I broke down and went to the doctor one day and found out I had pneumonia.  Yuck.  They wanted me to stay at the hospital, but that was intimidating to me in a new country, away from my family, so I opted to just travel to the hospital each day for breathing treatments and IVs.  That lasted about a week, and then I just had to go a couple times a week.  By the third week in October, I was starting to feel better but was still just wiped out.  That happened to coordinate with October Break for the school.  We had originally planned to travel to Cambodia for the break, but opted to stay home and do day adventures instead.  We did things like Imagania, Ocean World, Safari World, Ikea, Tyndall's first movie at a theater, and hanging out with families at the school.  The Ikea trip was fruitful in that we got lots of more things to make our home more home-y.  My birthday also fell over October Break, and I share a birthday with another teacher here.  So, we took our families to lunch and to the Children's Museum together.  Then, we left the kids with Matt and went and got foot massages. Then she babysat Tyndall so Matt and I could have a date night.  So sweet!   Even though I probably should have rested a lot more, October Break was fun!  I remained pretty exhausted and out of gas for the rest of October, even though I returned to work, and we both started tutoring kids after school.  Our friend George started hanging out with Tyndall after nursery while Matt and I were tutoring.  My pneumonia stayed around until the 2nd week of November, but I was feeling much better by the end of October.  

November~November was busy.  I did a LOT of subbing and even worked extra days to make up for time that I would miss from school in December.  We also had a lot of teachers out for various reasons, including the birth of a new baby. While the new daddy was out for a week, I taught his high school chemistry classes.  Hilarious.  I also spent a few days shadowing one of the first grade teachers because I will be long-term subbing for her while she is out for maternity leave.  Between normal jobs and tutoring and Joy Club, we kept ourselves busy.  In November, I was also back to Bible Study and ESL on Tuesdays most weeks.  But when I committed to teaching full-time this coming semester, I knew I wouldn't be able to teach ESL as well.  I was a little sad to give that up, but I know I can do that in another season.  I realized that my time at home with Tyndall was becoming pretty limited, and I want to have more of that.  Thanksgiving was definitely different.  On the actual Thursday, we ended up having friends over for dinner at the spur-of-the-moment and didn't actual realize it was Thanksgiving dinner until after. Our school did a BIG Thanksgiving dinner the Saturday after.  We had about 100 people.  Ham, chicken, and sides-a-plenty!  It was good.  Definitely started missing family (and familiar traditions) more though.  

December~was CrAzY.  Matt was getting his kids ready for the big Christmas program, and for the end of the semester.  The first week of December, I worked extra days to get ready for the time I was about to be off...
On December 5th, I flew to Cancun, Mexico for my best friend, Ginger's wedding!  Mom met me there, and we spent a few days on a beautiful resort hanging out with the Henry~Hudson wedding guests which was so much fun.  It was honestly the best resort I've ever been to and the people were really fun to get to know.  Very, very fun and refreshing few days.  Not to mention getting to watch Ginger marry the man of her dreams, a man we have prayed together for for years!  After Cancun, I flew to SC for a few days and spent a little time trying to see a lot of people and get a lot of stuff done.  Overall, it was a great few days.  I feel like I got to have time with almost everyone I wanted to and it was even quality time.  I got to see Valerie and Zeb's new house and dance around to Disney songs with my niece Sadie.  I got to have a mock Christmas breakfast with the Flagler fam and even a typical Sunday lunch on my "bonus day" (my flight was delayed leaving Charleston, and by then I had missed all connections to Bangkok, so I had to stay an extra day).  Got to see the James Island Christmas lights with the Flaglers and my other nieces, have Panera dates with friends and even an airport breakfast with the fresh-from-her-honeymoon Mrs. Hudson.  A great, whirlwind trip for sure, but praise God, jet lag didn't put a damper on things!  Once back home in Bangkok with my boys (and SIX suitcases!), it was straight to working in the office then time for Christmas program (a 3 day intense event right in our front yard.)  Tyndall handled the change in schedule and loud music outside his bedroom window quite well.  But we were also really glad when it was over because then it was time for CHRISTMAS BREAK!  

{Forgive the lack of pictures.  Again, this is really just for my remembrance down the road.  Plenty of pics can be found on Facebook.}

Tyndall James is 3 Years Old!

I wrote his last milestone update half his life ago.  That's crazy.  And, now he's 3.  So, I was due for an update. I love looking back on these already, so I assume they'll be really special 10, 20, 30 years from now.  When he's my age.  Oh dear.   That will happen soon enough, but for now, he's 3.  

On a boat on our recent trip to Chiang Mai

Nicknames:  T, T-man, T-baby,  Bubba, "Kendo", "Tindon"

Favorite things to do:  Play outside, play trains, watch Play-Doh videos on YouTube, watch shows, go on adventures, drink milk, play with friends, go to Nursery, "ride" his tricycle (he is just now starting to pedal instead of scoot), read books, play hide & seek

Looking through a new book on Christmas morning

Favorite books:  We're Going On a Bear Hunt, Jamberry, God Is Bigger than the Boogie Man, God made You Special, A-Z Alphabet book, 5 Little Monsters, There's A Nightmare in My Closet, Jesus Storybook Bible, (and lots of other books about construction trucks and animals) 

His Bedtime Buddies

Favorite toys:  CinnaBear! (might even be his best friend), other stuffed animals (Pig, Shark, Octopus, VanillaBear, Monkey, Cocky, etc.), matching game, cars, Play Doh, train set, play kitchen, dinosaurs, Connect 4 in Daddy's classroom, games on Mommy's phone. 

Favorite TV Shows/Movies:  Peppa Pig, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Frozen, Despicable Me 1&2, Play-Doh videos on YouTube (especially DCTC), Jake & the Neverland Pirates, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, The Lion King, Curious George, Spongebob, Horton Hears a Who

Favorite Foods:  PB&J sandwiches, eggs, cheese, fruit, broccoli, protein shakes, chicken, fruit shakes, rice, noodles (Apparently he eats a lot at school but not too much at home.), ice cream, quesadillas

Friends:  Boyda boys (Keaton, Landon & Trevor), Ezra, Emma & Ellie, Rooney, Alisia, Sa, Meacha, In-In, Shita and many more! 

Ring-around-the-rosie with the Boyda boys

Basket swing with Ezra and Keaton

Favorite Sayings:  What is this?  Why?  I want to hold you.  Let's go outside.  Will you play with me?  Can I have some?  Why?  Can I watch ...?  I want to play a game on Mommy's phone.  Let's play...  Why?  "I Tyndall James Flagler", There's monsters in there?  Why?  Monsters can't get us here.  That's not scary.  Why?  No, thank you.  

silly face on the swing

Things he doesn't like:  Fireworks, Thunderstorms, swimming, being told "no", bugs, 

Things that happened while he was 2:  Kept going to MMO and made good friends with Khyla, Capers, and Aaron.  Went on the boat with the Petersons.  Spent lots of time with family and cousins Hailey, Kayte and Sadie.  Loved our back yard at our old house and playing in the yard with Zoe and neighborhood friends.  Started bilingual preschool at Papa & Gigi's church.  Had 2 visists to the ER because Mommy thought he ate some Tylenol (same week). Went to BeBe's house for July 4th weekend.  Moved to Thailand.  Started going to Thai nursery 5 days a week.  Went to Thai ER for falling 5-6 meters off a ladder.   "Helped" Mommy teach an English club for 3 year olds on Saturday mornings.  Loved going to church nursery and playing "Play-Doh".  Fed giraffes.  Performed in first Christmas program on a big stage. Rode on an elephant.    

Hanging with Hailey right before we moved

with Grandma in July

with Sadie in the moving boxes in July

first tuk-tuk ride

playing with Ezra after school

with Daddy in Thai style

first elephant ride

This has been a big year for our boy!  I love watching him grow and his personality develop.   He has handled an international move like a pro!  For the most part, he jumps right into things and is quick to make friends.  He's fearless, adventurous, and brave.  He loves trying new things.  In Thailand, his blonde hair and fair skin really stand out from a crowd, and Thai people are quick to notice him.  I've lost count of the number of people who have taken pictures with him, touched him, kissed him, and asked to hold him.  He handles it well, for the most part, but can be grumpy about it sometimes.  We are discovering that he is a true extrovert by getting charged up from being around people.  He looooooooooooooves being around people and laughing and making others laugh.  He keeps us giggling and moving! He is not a boy who likes to stay still, especially outside.  Thankfully, he can also enjoy relaxing, chilling and watching some shows or snuggling and reading books.  Recently, he has started saying, "I need a break from..." whatever he's doing and then he will change gears.

Christmas Eve 2015

Even this last month, his growing vocabulary and skills are blowing me away.  He can say all and recognize most letters of the English alphabet and even say most of their sounds.  He can also do the same for a few Thai letters, though Mommy and Daddy don't work on those as much at home (since we don't know them yet ourselves).  He can count to 10 (most of the time) in both languages too!  It's fun to watch him learn and grow! He is currently mastering going to the potty exclusively and riding his tricycle. 

He is kind.  He is loving.  He is fearless and brave.  Others describe him as wild and busy.  We are thankful to the Lord that he is healthy, strong-bodied and strong-willed.  Well, at least, people tell us we'll be thankful for the last one eventually.  For now, he keeps us laughing, busy, tired, but full of joy.  And we remain incredibly grateful to the Lord for creating and sustaining his life and choosing us to be his parents.  

Happy 3rd Birthday, Tyndall James!

Birthday cupcakes at dinner on 12-28-2015