Family Camp 2009

October is the kids 'term' break at school................ one month at home, thank goodness for Family Camp. This year we went south to Nakhom Sri Tammarat, a 13 hour drive for us, me and 15 kids.

The truck is loaded and the kids are excited to meet up with their friends again.

We left Sunday afternoon, but I found the drive long as I was not feeling well. We stopped in a little town after 6 hours of driving and found an inexpensive Motel. (A nice Thai couple that understood that we really needed a place to stay the night.) We were cozy but the kids loved it - they could watch T.V.
We were able to rent 3 rooms for all of us........ we did have favor! The kids were great and after a trip to 7/11 for treats, watching a bit of T.V. everyone was asleep early.




The next day was a long drive getting on the road at around 8:30am........... we arrived at camp at 6pm. We actually drove directly to the school where the camp was being held. A beautiful setting........... we were staying at an 'old' highschool - it is still being used but definetly not the best living quarters!!
Our rooms, classrooms, were on the 3rd floor on one building. The meeting room was 3 buildings over and the dining room 4 buildings over.




Our rooms............. no mattresses, no air con, and only 2 fans for 12 of us. Okay, maybe we are getting a little spoiled, but we like spoiled!
This is our bedroom, with two lil' ones(Jessica & Matthew) that physically fell asleep in a chair in the meeting room. This was around 7pm on the last day. Aren't they beautiful!! My bed was next to Jessica and brother Al's bed was next to Matthew - yes, we both complained(to each other) how much both of these kids move during the night. I got punched in the face, in the depths of my sleep. Al got kicked.... oh well, I guess we are even.

Next let me tell you about the bathrooms............ no sinks that worked; showers, brushing teeth and potty were all done in this very confined area................
On the right is the squatty potty, with the dipper, in the left picture. The front bucket on the left is for the shower........ and somewhere there, we brush our teeth too! This is the part that I really, really have trouble with, but we do survive.

Here is couple of pictures of one of our meetings.

Of course, the kids love to pose for pictures and take pictures........... I think there were 250 extra pictures on my camera. They are just so cute!!

Caleb & Matthew

Isaac

Esther

Hannah

Grandpa

Mom

Matthew

Jessica

Then there were the 'football' games, girls team: mothers against female teenagers and boys teams: fathers and pastors against male teenagers.

Ruth, on the left, loves playing football and she is good!! Naimo is in the yellow......... what are they looking at?? It was fun to watch.






Mary, in the striped top, was the only one that scored in the womens game................go Mary go!!!! And she usually doesn't play.





All and all we had a great time at camp. The only thing we really disliked is that we came home with 'red' eye as they call it in Thailand. I remember our cows having pink eye and dad spraying it will some purple stuff..... I don't know if they have that in Thailand or not. Anyway, I believe only 4 of the kids haven't got it, but it is NOT over yet............. Mom has it right now! URGH!!

Tea with Grandma

Grandma Terry invited all her granddaughters to tea. They all arrived in their beautiful dresses, adorned in the 'party' hats Grandma had given them. The girls on the sofa our our's; front to back: Esther, Jessica, Ruth, and Hannah. Grandma had special tea, with lots of sugar and all kinds of goodies. The girls loved it.

Grandma and all her little princesses!!

Left to right: Backrow: Julia, Tammy, Grandma, Jessica, Ruth, Joy

Frontrow: Debbie, Esther, Jubilee, Hannah

THANK YOU!!!

A Big THANK YOU to all that gave for John's medical bills.

John is smiling in this picture but believe me it was only for the picture. He had fallen down a flight of stairs at school and broke his leg in two place. In the Government Hospital, where John was, they do not have the nicest bedside manner. He was in so much pain and it took them 2 hours before they gave him anything to relieve the pain. They were moving him this way and that as he was screaming............ not fun!! You can likely count the stitches he had. I wish I had got a picture before he had them removed - they were like the big staples we use in Canada for barbed wire fences!! He now has a metal plate in his leg. John is doing great and on Monday, November 2nd we return for another x-ray of his leg. We are believing for total healing !

John has one of those contagious smiles.............. he is holding up a empty bottle of rubbing alcohol. (We put this on his scar for a couple of weeks, with new dressing. )

Thank you again................ what a Blessing you are!!

Kindergarten Sports Day

We started at the park at 6am, getting organized for the big parade..... it was
Kindergarten Sport Day!!

Matthew is the lil' guy with the biggest smile, under the sign. He is so excited as this is his first sports day and he is on the 'red' team. Jessica is ready to go, she is the one looking straight at the camera and on the 'blue' team.

We leave the park in a parade, down the busy street, with all the kids and their parents (I wasn't told that we were to wear the same color as our child..... good thing as I wouldn't of had a 'blue/red' top)

We ended up at this big gymnasium - a concrete building - vibrating with the drums, trumphets, shouts, screams, laughing, crying sounds of 500+ kids, parents and teachers. Wow, what an awesome experience to be part of it all!

Jessica was a cheerleader, plus she ran in many races. Matthew was a bench cheerer plus also running in various races.

Yes, our kids did fantastic.......... they both came home with 3 medals and 3 gifts........ they were so excited.

I was fortunate enough to have one of our older girls, Rachel, spend the day with us too. The kids gave us a medal and gift too because we stayed and played with them. What a great day!!

Pattaya Park Silliness

While Dad was in Thailand we treated the kids to a trip to Pattaya Water Park - they just love it!!


We arrived at 10am and already is was well above 30c, so at first it is time to lather on the suntan lotion. They kids have now learned that you must have it on or you will be in a lot of pain.... doesn't take us long, does it?!

The older kids spend a lot of their time under the bridge in the shade or sitting by the table. They really dislike getting darker.

The bottom 5 kids are ours... usually the guy, up top, wouldn't let them come down with more then two but it wasn't very busy in the morning so he was allowing it. The kids sure do like the slides.

Then the kids need something
different to do so they pick 'mom' to work on. They think hairdressing would be a good idea. Ouch!! Specially taking the elastics out. It wasn't bad when there was just one child but they tend to come in clumps! Oh well, all in fun - and aren't I just the cutest............ okay, the oldest! :) Esther who is the lil girl on the right in both pics looked at me very, very seriously and said "Mom, I don't like your hair........... you look like a BOY........... I don't want you to ever cut it again!!!" She was very direct and stern........... all I could do was laugh. They do know what they want or what they want you to do. We all had a fantastic day and I believe Dave & I were the only ones worse for wear - both sunburned (yes, we put lotion on a few times) and just tired! Can you imagine?!

In the end, all the kids were tucked in bed and this is what we woke up to the next morning.... by the time I got the camera most of the color had dissappeared, but it is still beautiful!

Joy arrives in Thailand - Jenner too!!

Our granddaughter and daughter.................from Canada

Here they come............. we have been waiting for a year

.............................. that is a long time in the eyes of a child!

Yippee, they arrive safe and sound. (sorry the pic is so dark)

We sure didn't have to worry about keeping Joy busy........ there were 16 others taking care of that .

And was she ever pooped at the end of the day... What a sweetie, eh?!?!

The baths are a little different in Thailand - we only have showers (at least in our house) so Joy was taking her baths in this tub, which she didn't particularly care for.
Oh, Jenner's hair - that was done in Canada........XO

AND......... Grandma's get to spoil them don't they?? YES!!!!!!!!!!! (specially when I don't get to see her very often.

Oh, incase you were wondering what we did while they were in Thailand - well, we put Jenner to work and work and work. Oh, that isn't all, we went to Pattaya Water Park, the Zoo, for massages, shopping, had our nails done..... and just hung out!!

Then it all has to end and off to Canada they went.................. All the kids want for Christmas now is "Baby Joy" - they want her to live here! I am sure it would be fine for the parents to come too!!!! We really loved having the two of them here, a big "Thank You" to Orlund(dad and hubby) wish you could of come too!! There is ALWAYS a next time. :)))))

What's new??

I thought I better get to work and post something so you don't think we have forgotten. A rundown of what are family is doing right now.....

Sarah got married in March, 2009 living in southern with her husband(Fan) and we have just received an email from her saying they are expecting their first child. We pray that she is feeling well during her pregnancy!

Rachel has been attending University in Canada, upgrading her English. She has just written an exam to challenge the English courses in hopes of attending an acedemic program this fall. We find out the results on August 7th. She has been a fantastic help painting the house in Canada too!!

Mary is working for us in the home. She has a 'beautiful' apartment upstairs with more responsiblilities and freedom. Mary is becoming a fantastic cook, willing to try new recipes. She also does most of the laundry and cleaning in the home.

Peter has graduated from High School and is looking forward to attending Victory Bible College International here in Sriracha. We are so excited for him. In the meantime he has been helping mom build on a kitchen as well as working as the maintenance man for the Lighthouse. He is a fantastic help. We will miss him when he moves upstairs into the dorms when school starts in September........... oh well, they all do grow and move on.

Steve, now 17 years old, has started grade 10 in a Vocational School in the computer program. He has found it a huge challenge with lots of extra homework but he does believe he is doing well.

Both Caleb, 16 and Naomi, 17 are in grade 10 this year and have just changed High Schools. They thought by going to a smaller school they would do better. They are both extremely bright so we are sure they will do well wherever they go. We will see all marks in October.

John, in grade 9, is in a separate High School from the others. He is doing well, just trying to finish the year. He still has the biggest smile you can imagine! He is also working hard on growing his garden.

Mark, in grade 8, is having a difficult time just attending school. He needs prayer in this area, if he misses one more class he will be kicked out of school. He is really trying to hang in there but 4 years seems a long time to continue in school. He is very bright and perhaps finds it not challenging enough. We are believing that he can make it through and we will continue to work with him on that.

David is in grade 6, doing very well as is Hannah in grade 5. They are both very disciplined kids in their homework and duties at school.
And just a joy to have as 'our' kids.

Victor, Ruth, and Alan are all in grade 4. They are all doing well, although Victor is usually inventing something or taking something apart......... just very inquisitive and there is nothing wrong with that.

Isaac and Esther are in grade 1 and both enjoying it. Isaac has calmed down some from last year so he isn't coming home with his clothes in shreds - this was a daily occurrence last year, he still is very busy and a monkey.

Jessica and Matthew are in Kindergarten and having fun.
They charm all who come to visit us.

All the kids are growing like weeds. We sure are enjoying each and everyone of them. We are becoming so close with them all!

So, I hope that gives you a quick overview of our family. Do go to our website to see more stories: http://www.elshaddai2.com/ Our daughter Jennifer does the posting on it so I will make sure she gets it updated too.

MEET OUR KIDS!

Peter.....18 years old.

Okay, he is going to ask me to remove this one picture, but it is okay for kids to be kids! He will laugh about it. Peter loves playing guitar and he is an awesome Worship leader. He graduates in 2 weeks with big plans ahead........will keep you posted. He is a real blessing to have in our family!

Ruth.....10 years old

She is a piece-maker in the home. She loves to look pretty but look out if there is a football game happening - she is there! She is very smart and is learning the English language very fast. Look at that beautiful smile!

Mary.....19 years old.

She is the oldest child in the house. She is so beautiful and a great help for mom. She is trying to figure out what she wants to do; work for mom, go get a job - but what would she like to do?? Questions, questions.

Steve.............17 years old.

He is 'hot' so the kids at school say. He is very quiet and loves to play guitar. Naomi and Steve both needed glasses to see the blackboard at school - are they not cute?! He is a good brother and gets along with everyone well.

Jessica.........4 years old. She is in Kindergarten 2

and loving school. Her teacher thinks she is so special as she can speak English so well. She did spend a long time with Mom & Dad alone, so she picked up the language very fast. She loves to dress up and be pretty or dress in someones bigger shoes. She is beautiful!

Matthew......4 years old.
The youngest in our family and as you can see a happy lil' guy. What a change we have seen in him. He is the only one at home during the day so he keeps mom entertained. He loves to go shopping(for groceries), to bake cookies, go to the park, he just likes to be busy.



Caleb...........15 years old. He must be always on the move as all the pictures I have of him are a blurrrrr. Caleb is an excellent student, we are trying to push him in a better direction as he would love just to take it easy. He loves to play sports and is on the track team at school. He is one of the first of our kids to get out front and play football(soccer).

Naomi.....16 years old
She is beautiful and is wanting to grow up faster then her years. She is the top in her class in school and works hard at it. Naomi likes to tease which does get her in trouble at times but she is a loveable huggable girl.

Victor.....10 years old.

What a joyful son. He always has a big smile, although at times it is because of his sneakiness, and he loves the hugs. He is always building something out of scraps, very creative.

David......11 years old. How he loves playing football(soccer) and he is good at it too. On the left he was really creative when we were doing some Christmas crafts. He does extremely well in school and all the kids love him.



Esther ...... 5 years old......she really is a beautiful light in our family. She is in Kindergarden 3 and is absolutely loving school. She has been blessed with the art of talking......non-stop talking or singing.(you would think she was related!) It is very, very rare to ever see Esther upset, she just loves everyone and everything.

Isaac..........6 years old.
He is our 'monkey' in all ways! He can climb anything or anybody faster than you can say his name. Oh, we had to shave his head, on the right, as one day when he was supposed to be napping -- him and Matthew thought they should cut their hair ----whew, they made a real mess and this was the only fix-it solution. Isaac needs the hugs and gives them. One eye always need to be in his direction or poof - he is gone.............busy, busy!!

John..........15 years old

John has one of the most beautiful smiles as you can see. He is a huge help around the home. John is one of those people that can do anything with his hands. In the background of the picture where he is helping do laundry is where 'his' garden is. He has two banana trees and many ground plants growing. We are hoping to get him a huge amount of dirt as he really is wanting to grow a garden, the soil is clay and rock. He is faithfully outside by 6 am every morning watering his plants.

Alan..........9 years old. Alan is our softy, such a gentle boy making it real easy for the others to tease him. At school, he is the leader of his class, always willing to help anyone with anything. His father is deceased and his mom could not care for him. It was very hard for him to leave the northern village but he now says he will never go back.

Hannah................11 years old. She is our princess - being 'all' girl.
She will play football if they really need a goalie but she would never stop the ball. She is the youngest of 10 or 12 - she isn't sure. Her mom is on her own and couldn't care for Hannah. Hannah is doing extremely well at school and is an all round peace keeper.

Mark................14 years old. Mark is our 'tall' son, being much bigger than all the other children. He is a great help, all we have to do is ask. He loves to play football (soccer), play guitar and helps to translate for mom. He is very brilliant young man, now in grade 7. He is brother to Naomi and Moses. Their dad had kicked mom and the kids out of the house and the mom could not care for the kids. They have been in the home for eight years.

Moses...............18 years old and Samuel......................19 years old have both left our home and gone out on their own. They both are working and doing their own thing.

Sarah..........21 years old. Sarah graduated this last year and had hopes of going to music college this year, but that has been postponed until next year, so at present she is working. She has connections with a college in the United States that she is hoping to attend. There is so much 'red tape' that we have to go through to get these kids to another country. We do miss Sarah in the home too as she was very helpful but we do get to see her at church services on Sunday and usually at Praise and Worship on thursday.

Rachel.........21 years old. She has the biggest smile in this picture as she is at the Bangkok airport heading to Canada. Many first's for her; on an airplane, by herself, in Canada, in university, etc, etc... Rachel is staying with dad(Dave) in Kamloops while she is studying English at Thompson Rivers University. Rachel has always been such a blessing to have in our home, helping out wherever she can, so we have given her the opportunity to study in Canada and to be totally emersed in the English language. She says that her studies are going great and she is meeting a lot of interesting people.