The past 6 months in review

Hey!! It has been almost a year since the last time I posted . . . and what a truly crazy year it has been.  We headed back to the states last May and were there for 9 month.  We all had mixed emotions about the time there, it was difficult and yet refreshing at the same time, and yes, that is possible! :) We have been back here in Malaysia since the 31st of January and it has been an adventure only He could see us through . . . I will do a little photo tour of the last 6 months here.

These uploaded a little out of order, but I will just explain with a caption what each one is all about.

 The end of May we moved . . .  to a condominium, for many reasons, but mainly for a smaller more manageable place . . . and one of the biggest bonuses is that it has a pool! You can find me and the kids getting exercise here nearly daily while daddy gets work or school done.

 Here are few photos of our new place . .  . I love the little window into our cute little kitchen!

 We went to the Philippines in March for a dear friends wedding, and had the extra blessing of a Jackson family reunion!!

Papa and Grandma with all their grandkiddos!

This is a picture of our living room at our new apartment.

Our sweet Gabby girl turned 10!!

Zoe was the flower girl at the wedding I wrote about above . . . this is her and the awesome groom Joseph!

We were stoked to get back to Malaysia to enjoy our bubble tea again!

It has been a seriously tiring 6 months with Andy going to school, running Andy's BBQ, moving to a new house, homeschooling and everything else we fit into a day . . . I loved this sight, when I looked over and saw Andy passed out sleeping . . . so glad for the blessing of random moments of rest!

For Eli's 8th birthday we bought the kids turtles . . . the are in love with Reef, Coral, and Yoda!

Ramadan came to an end this past Sunday and the first day of Raya (celebrating the end of the fasting month) was yesterday . . . we enjoyed going to many of our friends open houses!

Selamat Hari Raya! Celebrating with my dear friend Ima and her family.

This was actually one of the first pictures we took when we got back . . . Eli finally got his fish balls! If any of you talked to this boy when he has stateside, this is one of the things he misses the most when we are not over on this side of the world.

The kiddos again with their turtles.

Eli turned 8!!!

We had not been on a family vacation, just us, since Eli was 18 months old . . . we thought it was time we took some time away to relax for a few days and enjoy one another, God, and His creation.  Here is Eli with a friend he met while were there on Tioman Island.  The boy was stoked!

A smile that melts me every time!

Our other two gems.

Having way too much fun enjoying God's blessings!

The water was so beautiful . . . and the snorkeling was simply breathtaking!

Here is the view from our new place . . . we are actually living in the same apartment building that we were in from 2006-2008 when we first moved here . . . . we just live 3 floors higher.

Here is Gabby celebrating turning 10 with some of her buddies.

We love the pool at the condo . . . such a blessing . . . for exercise, cool downs on crazy hot days, and some really great family time.

Here is Gabby, Eli, and Zoe baking together one of the last days that we were at our old house.

Well, that is a brief rundown of the past 6 months . . . I need to take some pictures of all our Andy's BBQ happenings . . . because big things are happening!! Thanks for checking out our blog.  I want to be better about posting here and taking time to keep you updated on the goings on of our family.  Love to you all!

First Day of 1st and 4th Grade!

Gabby and Eli started school yesterday! Gabby is in 4th grade now and Eli is in 1st grade . . . We are homeschooling again this year, it is the best choice for our family for many reasons!

Zoe is 3 and 1/2 years old and always full of life and fun!! She desperately wanted to get some photos taken of her while I was taking the school pictures of the other two! :) And of course she is hamming it up like the goof she is!

Gabby turns 9!!

Gabrielle Turned 9!!

We celebrated our Gabby's 9 years of life with a fantastic fairy party!!  We had a house full of 6 other girls, plus our three kids!! It was a lot of fun! They had fun swimming, eating pizza, watching movies, making cake pops, eating cake and ice cream, eating Oreo pops and having an awesome sleepover!! I was so busy partying that I didn't take nearly enough photos :) . . . but I did get a few to remember Gab's special day!! Enjoy!

 This is the adorable Tinkerbell cake that I ordered from a new friend of mine here, her name is Maza and she did an amazing job, this is exactly how we wanted it!! She does made to order cakes, with whipped or fondant decorations!! If you live here in Malaysia and want her info, let me know!!

 Dishing up her absolute favorite ice cream; cookies'n'cream!!

 Eating the cake pops that they had worked so hard on!

Everyone had a blast!!

Celebrating our ten year anniversary in Koh Samui Thailand

An Amazing Surprise!

The kids went to stay with Uncle Dave and Aunt Bethany on the night August 6th . . . Andy told me it was so we could have a quiet day at home and a nice dinner out, just the two of us, the next day to celebrate our ten year wedding anniversary . . . little did I know that he had a crazy plan up his sleeve that he had been scheming for the past month or so! Instead of sleeping in and lazing around the next day . . .  Andy's alarm went off while it was still dark out and he tapped me saying that I needed to get up and get ready so that we wouldn't miss our flight.  Flight!?! I thought.  So I got up and got ready, he had already packed our bag so all I had to do is be along for the ride.  He began to reveal things to me as we were on our way . . . in the car he told me it would be a 5 day vacation!! I started to be a bit concerned . . . what about the kids? What about work? . . . but I was so blown away by my wonderful husbands amazing getaway plan! He had taken care of ALL of the details! Then we arrived at the bus station to catch the bus to the airport . . . in the elevator he told me we were going to Koh Samui Thailand to an amazing resort there! I was so excited . . . but also seriously nervous . . . I DID NOT want to leave the country without the kids (because we are still waiting on a more permanent visa)!! We road the bus to the airport and when we arrived I was met by all three of my kids squealing with glee as they ran over to greet me!!  Much to my surprise, Dave and Bethany AND my kids were coming along too!! Dave and Bethany were coming to babysit the kids so that we could have plenty of alone time to just be us and relax while we celebrated 10 wonderful years!! Thank you Andy for this amazing gift . . .  I am so blessed!! AND . . . thank you Dave and Bethany for watching the kids!!  It was an hour and a half plane ride, an hour and half bus ride, and an hour and a half ferry ride . . .  we then arrived in a spectacular tropical paradise!! Koh Samui Thailand: 

Building sand castles together.

 . . . and doing some yoga?  Hehe :). . .

 . . . so much fun! . . .

 . . . playing is such hard work . . . 

. . . sun, sand, and fun little waves to play in . . .

 . . . soooo HAPPY . . .

 . . . don't forget about the ice cream and popsicles! . . .

 . . . sharing . . .

 . . . living the dream!! . . .

 . . . little Lucy Grace's first time to the beach!! . . .

 . . . awesome family time!! . . .

 . . . one of my favorite photos from the time there!! . . .

 . . . POOL TIME!!! . . .

 . . . as many of you know; we lost our passports along the way and it was totally God's amazing grace and HIS answer to many many prayers that they were safely returned to us!! These couple of gorgeous photos are from Andy and my ferry ride over to meet the guy who brought the passports back to us . . .

 . . . God created this beauty for us to enjoy . . .

 . . . incredible, breathtaking . . . pictures don't do it justice . . .

 . . . so relaxed, passports in hand!! . . .

. . . Gabby and Eli on the way to dinner on the beach . . .

 . . . eating the breakfast of champions; bangers and mash . . .

. . . we were blessed with eating breakfast here every morning . . . 

 . . . MORE ice cream !?! . . .

 . . . the girls getting mani-pedis while Eli chilled . . . 

 . . . more fun in the sand . . .

Thank you Andy for planning this amazing adventure . . . and thank you God for blessing us with 10 amazing years and for allowing us to enjoy your creation in Thailand!! Thanks guys for checking out our pictures and following us, via our blog, on our adventures around the world!!