Birthday Celebration

This past Saturday we celebrated the birthdays of both Palita and Tin. Palita's birthday was on Saturday the 5th and Tin's is on the 27th of this month. We asked them what they wanted for lunch and it was prepared for their special day. We had a lovely salad, b-b- que chicken, rice and papaya salad. Of course there was cake at the end and presents. Palita turned 14 and Tin will be 10. On the 27th, we will have a special dinner to celebrate Tin's actual birthday day. I am so glad that Big and Fon believe in the importance of making birthdays special and something to remember.

Enjoy the pictures!

Till next time.....

God Bless,
Heather

Palita in her new sports outfit 

Birthday girl 

Palita and Tin 

Let there be cake

Happy Birthday 

Photo Bomb

Our lunch 

Tin's new watch 

Minion! 

Giraffes and Zebras

We went back to Boon Rawd Farm a week ago so we could ride the trolley around the farm and stop off to see the giraffes and zebras. When you get to where the animals are, you can feed them bananas or carrots. Feeding these animals was a new experience for the kids and a couple of them did  not like it at all. Nittaya was particularly wary about doing it and I had to be there to hold her hand while she offered the food to the animals. Each time one would get close, she would say mom in a worried tone and try to pull her hand back. Many times the treat she had landed on the ground and I would pick it up and give it to one of the animals. Nittaya did not like the long, black tongue of the giraffe. Not one little bit. The other kids were a little more brave about it and I think they enjoyed seeing these animals for the very first time.

The girls and Ahmorntep- he can't ever be serious

Sylvia, Nittaya and Madi

Sylvia and Big feeding the giraffe

Nittaya is not sure about this 

Beautiful Nittaya and me

Banana, yum! 

After the trolley ride, we all went to the park at Chiang Rai Rajabhat University (CRRU) for dinner. Big and Fon picked up some of my favorite b-b-que chicken, sticky rice and papaya salad. We went to the pavilion at the park and sat inside eating while it rained a bit. After dinner, we walked around the beautiful gardens and down to the lake. We had umbrellas so we didn't worry about getting wet. The kids ran around and played games with Big and the volunteers and I simply sat, listening to music and enjoyed the peace and beauty of the place. It was a great day.

Monkey boy! 

Palita and Nom 

Beautiful Palita 

Madi 

Tin and Nom 

Hey, it says No Fishing! 

The family makes it a point to go on an outing every Sunday so the kids can experience something new in their lives. The past weekend they went on their outing on Saturday and went back to CRRU for more fun. This time they took their frisbee and badminton set so they could play even longer. Sunday they visited Fon's parents in their village.

Enjoy the pictures of both adventures.


Till next time.....

God Bless,
Heather

Pure Joy

Remember when you got your first, brand new bicycle? Can you recall the feeling of joy and excitement riding it around, feeling the wind on your face? Close your eyes and see the four children at Promise Home who have never had a bicycle, much less a new one. Can you see their faces filled with joy and happiness now that they each have one?

We took the kids shopping on Saturday for their brand new bikes and while it was a little overwhelming with all the choices they had, eventually they all found the perfect one for them, got them purchased and off we went. Got them home and each of them took off riding them around the neighborhood until dinner time. There was so much excitement that day.

Rules have been set and all of the children will be expected to follow them. Homework must be done, their things must be picked up and they must pay attention and work while in school. Following the rules last night, Ahmorntep immediately did his homework and then went to ride his bike. After dinner, he asked if he could go out, was told yes and away he ran.

The kids with their new bikes! 

Yim fits in the basket of Nittaya's bike 

Yim loves sitting in the basket

Palita- I tried this one and thought I was gonna kill myself. You should have seen the two boys laughing at me when I was riding it with my knees at my shoulders.

Nittaya- She let me ride it for a while last night. It is a very nice bike. I will have to find one like this when I get home.

Tin- After I rode Nittaya's last night, Tin had me try his. Even worse than Palita's because my knees were at my ears. Tin generously followed behind to help me along (by pushing of course)

Ahmorntep- He is a wild child on his bike. He roars up and down the street at breakneck speed and will often lean to one side or the other so one training wheel is off the ground. He careens around corners and looks like he is going to tip over at any minute. He is certainly enjoying every minute of his bike even after experiencing the pain of a boys bike, twice now. Hard not to smile when you see him standing there holding his privates and you know exactly what happened, especially the second time. I don' t mean to laugh at his pain but his face was priceless.

Nom- Her gift from Mom. Her bike is like Palita's and after trying that one, I declined the offer to ride Nom's.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to those who donated money to purchase these bicycles for the four kids at Promise Home. Nom's new bike is a present from Mom. Each one of the children thanked me many times and I received the best hugs and kisses. I only wish I could share those with all of you. I pray you know that your generosity provided a wonderful gift to these children who have had so little in their lives. Know that you gave them something very special and for that, I am very grateful.

Enjoy the pictures!

Till next time...

God Bless,
Heather

Settling In

Hello from Chiang Rai~

Today is the beginning of week number three for the two young volunteers at Promise Home. They are no longer strangers but are considered part of the family. They have been able to enjoy a lot of fun and activities with the children.

Last week, Big, the house father created a wall board with pictures of the family at Promise Home along with their names and birthdays. He told me he thought it was important to share "big" days with everyone in the home. Along with the pictures of the kids, he posted others with my nieces and the two volunteers included. They are officially members of the Promise Home family so he felt it only appropriate to include them in the pictures as well. The board also includes the five (5) rules of the family that Big feels are the most important. Here is the English translation:

#1- We eat together at the same time
#2- We will maintain a clean home duties or obligations either assigned to each
#3- We have Bible study every Saturday after work is completed
#4- We will take one and read the Bible every morning before we eat everyday
#5- We may talk politely, We will love each other, We will not quarrel

One the bottom of the page he has a note. It reads: "To honor others. Obedience to the teachings of their parents and other adults is something that every child should follow."

The board hanging on the wall inside the door

The Family Tree with birthdays 

Everyone in the family 

Family Rules

The college girls are great help with the lessons every night. They have jumped right in and have some fun, creative ways to teach the kids and this helps them remember their lessons. They joined the family for one Saturday evening of Bible study in the area where Big and his family lived before we hired them and all of his neighbors asked the girls if they wouldn't mind coming early on Saturday night to teach them more English as well. So this past Saturday, we all went and helped the kids with their body parts. We played head, shoulders, knees and toes and did the Hokey Pokey. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Along with the lessons, the girls play games after dinner before the kids study. They play soccer, badminton, run, chase, etc. All of the children enjoy their company and have developed a wonderful rapport with them. They also help with preparing the meals, Big is an excellent cook and he invites them in to learn how to cook all of the time. They will help setting the table, clearing it after the meal and doing the dishes. We know that all of these things are assigned duties and obligations for Palita and Nittaya so they don't try to do too much, but like me, they want to help out. Whenever Big catches me doing something he always goes, "Oh Mom, what are you doing?" I tell him I am just helping out and I am fine. He is so caring for not only the kids but me as well. On the first Sunday outing where we played soccer, I had on a different pair of shoes and they rubbed a small blister on my left index toe. When we got home, I asked him for the first aid kit so I could clean it and put a bandaid on it, he ran upstairs to get it. He brought it down and I was going to take care of my toes but instead, he took it upon himself to clean it and then he put the bandaid on my toe. How kind is that? Both he and Fon are very loving to the children and it is evident that the children love them as well.

Here are some pictures of our outing yesterday to Boon Rawd Farms in Singha Park. We didn't make it in time to take the trolley around to see the farm and go to the zebras and giraffes but Big said we would go again, but earlier next time. Enjoy!

The girls at the Singha lion

Madi and Sylvia with the family

Palita and Nittaya

Handsome men

The four kids

Madi and Sylvia with the kids 

Fon, Nam, Yim and Big

Big and the boys

Nittaya

Palita 

Ahmorntep chasing Tin 

Till next time.....

God Bless,
Heather