WHEN is Thanksgiving?

It baffles me. Somehow in my mind, I picture a little computer elf inside this machine just snickering every time I try something new. Just when I figure something out....just when I am sure that I know what I'm doing....this little elf moves things around and I'm lost again. There are times when I just want to throw my hands up in the air and give up, but as soon as I walk away, I feel the pull to try one more time! However, I know that as frustrating as the computer is to me, I am grateful for it....technology has blessed our world and helps us move the work much faster.

Speaking of grateful.....what a wonderful season this is. I really do love Thanksgiving. It's true that in Thailand things are much different....as a matter of fact, our first year, I forgot all about it! But, even in the midst of turkey baking, potato mashing, gravy lumping, whip cream licking, and table decorating.....I can't help but remember all of the things I am thankful for.

I am blessed to have my wonderful family. Not a day goes by that I don't ponder that fact and wonder what I did to deserve them. They really do define who I am and give me joy beyond imagination......what a blessing it is to know that if we make the right choices in this life, we can be together forever.

Well, happy Thanksgiving to all...... As I have already said, in Thailand we do it a little differently. Amber's play opens on Thursday so we can't have the holiday then....Friday, Saturday, the play again AND Stake Conference.....Sunday, Stake Conference....Monday, dignitary dinner.....Tuesday..TUESDAY...that's when we'll have our traditional dinner! Break out the dishes, I'm rrrrready!

Family in Thailand

Visit www.moblyng.com to make your own!

Family. I miss them. Lindsay and Brian are happily going about their business in NC, the kids are cuter than ever.....Michelle is substitute teaching in UT.....and Brian, well, he is still serving the Lord in Austria. Anyway you look at it, our family is WAY too far away. We have 4 clocks up in the mission home, each with a different time zone. I hope that this is the only time in our lives that each one of our kids has their own .....crazy.

I can't help but think about the visits that we have had here in Thailand.....visits from our kids. This is a wonderful calling, one that I would never wish away.....but if we couldn't share it with our family, it would be, somehow not the same. We will never forget McKenzie walking down the river next to our bamboo raft, Carson watching the elephants paint and Lindsay and Brian walking hand in hand through the street markets!

Even though one of the first things in Thailand that Michelle saw was a man releving himself on the side of the road, she loves it here too! As a matter of fact, I think that she especially loves the 'character' of the country. She and Amber loved finding beautiful Christmas decorations. OK, not so beautiful....but you have to say that a Christmas Tree decorated with Halloween ghosts has character!

Brian has been here too.....he was a bit pre-occupied by the fact that he was getting ready for his own mission, but he enjoyed the elephants and the country too. He will finish his mission on December 18 and we are soooo excited that he will be returning 'home' to Thailand....Karl will be able to release him from his mission and he will spend a few months here with us..... With us, Michelle AND her best friend, Whitney. We are sooo excited about this, but we will miss the Alders! At least we will have MOST of our family together again.

Amber has been amazing during these mission years. She has been totally supportive and has even learned to enjoy her school. OK, the school isn't perfect, it has some real quirks, but she has made the best of it and we are proud of her. She is excited that her brother and sister are coming for a few months...it will be almost like old times, and there is so much to show them! You can never get tired of seeing fried bugs sold on the side of the street! YUM

Nothing is more fun than seeing this great country through someone else's eyes! Art and Katherine came for a couple of weeks and it was so great to be able to show them around! No matter how many times I describe something, it just isn't the same as seeing it for yourself! We, Karl included, spent a couple of days in Phuket and the Phi Phi Islands. Soooo beautiful. How can anyone wonder if there is a God? Anyway, it was a blast just being with family, and sharing this country made it even better!

Chaing Mai was also part of their trip. Karl and Amber couldn't make it, but I tagged along.....not one to be left out of the fun. We went to ride the elephants, took a raft trip down the river, saw the Hilltribes, (longnecks), umbrella factory, jewelry factory, wood carving (or as the sign says, wood CRAVING) and lots of other stuff....

And then, there were a couple of days in Bangkok..... Of course they needed to have new suits cut, went to the floating market and Art took about a million pictures of the electrical wires hanging above the streets.... I don't know how they know what to fix when things go wrong.....by the looks of it, they don't fix the problem, they just hang another wire.

There is nothing like family.

Funny thing. I just finish a busy week with the anticipation of 'kicking back' a bit, and before I know it, the next week fills up! Amber starts play practice on Monday and I have decided that it is time to try to figure out what we need to do before we cob. (finish) I really hate to even think about it because we do love it here, but we said early on that we did NOT want to get to the very end of this mission and 'remember something we forgot'! So, somewhere between Amber's play practices, her school, and the mission, I need to decide what we need to see, and do, and buy, before it is too late.

The Family

Yes well, I guess I figured out how to put a slide show up but.......I haven't figured out why the quality of the pictures is bad.....why I can't pull up more recent photos......why this is so hard for me...... Anyway, like I've said before......baby steps.

School Starts

A new week.... We are gearing up for the busiest week of the moves cycle. Every six weeks we get new missionaries and send finishing missionaries home. Lots of fun, but tons of work! For more information, you need to check out our Thailand Bangkok Mission blog, but for this one just know that we are busy!

Today was also the rush to get Amber ready to start school on Wednesday. It is always exciting to start a new school year, lots of expectations and hopes, but lots of worries too! We bought her uniforms and, I think we are ready to roll! She is happy to start the new year. Being a senior is quite an adventure....although she still gets accused of being in middle school.... I really believe it will be a great year for her....I'M excited!