God Rolls Out the Red Carpet in D.C. Part 1

So while we're in the mountains of Tennessee with Chase and Sydney, we met these other missionaries from Uganda who were staying at Eden Ridge. 

As we were talking, they asked us if we had ever heard about a ministry called Christian Hospitality Network. We had heard of it and had been to one of their retreats in Phuket, Thailand. I won't go into all the details of what CHN does. You can read about it on their website. 

The Carriage House on Capital Hill

 But they proceeded to tell us that CHN had expanded their ministry to include 1000 Bed and Breakfasts in the states.The Bed and Breakfast owners aren't always Christian, but just wanted to offer a discounted rate for missionaries. Wow! Great! When they said it, it got my wheels turning and thinking on Clinton's desire to bring the family to D.C.

Staircase brought in from SC

After looking around at hotel prices in D.C. quit a bit, I had told Clinton there was no way we'd be able to do D.C. "Maybe another time, babe.

But this news gave me a spark of hope.

Once we left TN, and were heading to NJ, I began to search the CHN website to see what they had in D.C. There was only 1 Bed and Breakfast listed. So I gave them a call. I got a voice mail that had no message on it so I just hung up the phone.

Not very persistent. I know.

Then next day, as we're leaving Cracker Barrel, a favorite restaurant for the traveling missionary with 6 children, one daughter-in-law, and a granddaughter, I got a call from the owner of the said Bed and Breakfast.

I began to ask her if she had any openings on such and such days and how much a room would cost for missionaries. I told her we had two adopted Thai children and a Thai daughter-in-law and that we really would love to show our children our heritage and a glimpse of the capital city.

She told me there were no openings, and that she didn't really know what the price would be. "It just depends on the time of year, and if it's a holiday and such." She replied.  I felt like she was blowing me off.

I told Clinton, "That was a strange conversation and I'm not too sure why this lady had her Bed and Breakfast listed  with the CHN."

Oh! Look it's me in the reflection of this marvelous cabinet

Several hours later, as we're driving along, I get a text.

"What were the dates you wanted again?"

I replied and she text me back that those dates were open.

I then asked her if we could reserve two rooms and how much would each room cost.

She wrote back, "I no longer rent it out by room. I rent out the entire house. It's a four story home, with five bedrooms, five bathrooms and a full kitchen. It's located on Capital Hill and 1.3 miles walking distance from The Capital Building. I rent it for $610 a night, BUT I'LL GIVE IT TO YOU FOR THE CLEANING FEE OF $100 A NIGHT!!!!!!"

I thought I was misunderstanding her so I asked again to make sure.

She said, "I'll give you the entire house for $100 a night."

"Am I dreaming???"

OMGosh!!!!!!! HOLY COW!!!!!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING??????

I relayed the news to Clinton and he was so elated!! Remember, he'd been praying about this trip for months!

When we walked in the house we were awe struck. It was magnificent!! Every corner, every detail. This woman had put her heart and soul into decorating this house.

The winding staircase, that ran up and down all four floors, she had shipped in from South Carolina. The tables, the chairs, beds, pillars, chandeliers....... everything! It was beautiful!

Each room had a theme and the colors and textures she used to decorate were amazing! The whole house was like constant eye candy. Each room had french doors leading onto a porch or veranda, a flat screen TV and a beautifully decorated bathroom.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at The Carriage House on Capital Hill.

The pictures on their website are much better than the ones I took with my phone. Go have a look.

What are some ways God's rolled out the red carpet for you?

I'd love to hear your stories!

Love,
Amber

How Could I Forget Lady Liberty??

I know that I promised you in my last post, that I'd be sharing a "roll out the red carpet" moment, but as I was going through my pictures, I remembered Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty. And I COULD NOT leave it out. 

I need to start out by telling you, that had our friends not brought hats, gloves, and jackets for each person in our family we might have died on this excursion!!! 

I can see the headlines now, "Missionaries from Thailand Died From the Cold on Ellis Island"

Thank you Carrie Healy for saving our lives!

FOR MISSIONARIES WHO HAVE LIVED IN THE TROPICS FOR THE LAST 13 YEARS, IT WAS FREEZING!!!!! F.R.E.E.Z.I.N.G

Am I making it clear? 

Good.

When we stepped out of the car it was about 31 degrees F, raining and windy. 

Honestly, I wanted to jump back in the car, turn on the heater and enjoy the view of The Lady from my windshield, but our friends had purchased tickets to see The Lady, up close and personal. 

 I decided I better carry myself like a mature adult. I have boys watching. And a daughter-in-law. And a granddaughter. 

Get. Out. Of. The. Car. Amber!

Oh the responsibility a mother must carry. 

Every time we tell someone in the south that we saw The Statue of Liberty it's always accompanied with the reply, "I've never seen the Statue of Liberty! You're some pretty lucky kids."

Every item of winter clothing was borrowed. We live in Thailand. Remember?

Blessed indeed!

First stop was Ellis Island. We were able to see the port where the Immigrants were brought when entering America for the first time.

Knowing all we do about immigrating, and bringing foreigners to America, this really had a special meaning to us.

Can you imagine coming to America on a boat? Can you imagine staying on that boat for months?

Can you imagine coming to a Nation where you didn't know the language?

Okay. Doesn't this picture make you want to sing the National Anthem??

She really is a grand as you think she is! It was breathtaking and tear jerking to see her standing in the harbor!

On the ferry going to see Lady Liberty

That's New York behind us!

I had to add this picture because of their faces. Have you ever seen someone make a face like this on purpose and want you to take a picture? No?

Well, this is a cute face for the Thais. It's very acceptable and common to see this face in many pictures.

I still don't get it. I've been there a long time and I still. don't. get. it.

But who says I need to.

You're probably wondering how in the world we got this shot??
We are standing on the base of The Lady and Clinton is lying down on the ground in front of me.

Yes, he's lying with his entire back on the ground and lifting his head up just enough to see through the camera lens.

I had to get me and my baby in front of The Lady. He's even saying cheese for the picture.

Blistering cold. But fun.

We made some memories!

Until tomorrow.

Love,
Amber

Together Again!!

Wow! Wow! Wow! 

We're all together again and this time with an addition!! 

And of course, our first dinner together was Thai food! I made some Penang curry and stir fried veggies.

We had a rendezvous in Tennessee at a place called Eden Ridge. We stayed a  beautiful log cabin on 130 acres on the Cumberland Plateau. 

The cabins were built for missionary families to come and take a rest in the quiet of God's creation.

We rented the entire cabin for only $39 a night!!! God is amazing!!

Of upmost importance was for the boys to worship together! When they play together the presence of God comes!!

It was a time of family bonding! Long talks. Worship. Food. Playing games.

Did I mention that I love my boys!!

I mean, how many mothers have two generations of sons in the same house! I DO!!!

Though we passed through some rocky times, we've made it through and we love each other and respect each other even more. God is faithful.

My older boys have become men of God and my younger boys are learning from the older ones.

And just to make sure things don't get too mushy, I thought I post a picture of myself with some green food in my tooth. Nice, Amber.

And Ms. Sydney fits right in! I mean she could be Chan's mom. Look at those two faces.  We love you!

We spent three nights together and had the time of our lives.

Thank you Father for making this possible.

What are some of your favorite things to do as a family?

Love,
Amber

Digital Project Life

Digital Project Life Cherry Edition

I am SO excited!! After a year of hard work, when I didn't think that I'd finish, I did it! I finally finished my Digital Project Life 

I have my files at the printer now and am sooooooo excited to get my photo book back.

They say when you're doing Digital Project Life you should have the pages printed ever so often to keep you motivated to finish. 

I thought it would be fun to share with you some of the pages from my DPL photo book. 

In case you're wondering Digital Project Life is a form of Project Life but in digital form. It's  system that lets you chronicle your life as it happens week by week in pictures and journaling. 

Becky Higgins is the creator of Project Life and this is what she has to say about it. 

Project Life provides an ultra-simple solution that helps us get those pictures into albums without draining our time, energy, and wallets. The idea is simple: Photos + memorabilia + journaling together in an album - everything slips into pockets. No requirement to cut or glue or embellish a thing. And yet - the results are stunning. Project Life is back-to-basics scrapbooking at its finest.

It can be a simple or complex as you have time for, that's the beauty of it. If you have time to embellish each page then you can but if all you have time for is to slip the pictures in slots then that's fine too. It's so versatile.

I love taking photos and I love having photos in an album for the kids to look at . It's something so special to help everyone remember.

The older I get the more I forget. lol

But this way, the whole family can remember what we did throughout the year.

Now for me,  Project Life wasn't an option for many reasons.

1. I live in Thailand and having the book and all that goes with it shipped here would be too costly.

2. I'm severely handicap when it comes to cutting anything... I can't cut a straight line to save me life!

3. No tape, glue or scissors involved. I'm handicap remember!?!

4. With the use of the internet, I have access to TONS of free scrapbooking materials.

The digital version, to me, is so wonderful because all you have to do is drag and drop your images into the slots and Photoshop does all the cutting for you.

I took an online class that was only $35 from Jessica Sprague  With this class you not only get fabulous teaching but you also get a full Digital Project Life Kit to use on your first album. I started with the Cherry Kit  but then moved into fun freebies on the internet. So my album is a mix match of lots of different patterns.

In the class, she takes you step by step in how to use Photoshop in just six lessons.

But the cool thing is the lessons are video so you can watch them anytime you want.

You always have access to any classes you buy from her. Her classes also come with lost of free material which is always a bonus.

I really love journaling our homeschool with DPL. I want to remember these moments forever and I want the children to remember them too.

You can go to Becky Higgins Digital Project Life site and view all the core kits that are available.

Celebrating Chandler's 1st birthday

Our sweet grand-daughter, Bella Rose

This day, the boys wanted to swim. It was SO. HOT. So we cleaned up the cement bucket and let them take a swim. They had a blast. Can you tell?

So there's a little peek into our year.

How do you keep track of pictures and memory making? Do you scrapbook? Do you do Project Life?

I'd love to know!

We fly out in just 5 days!!!!! I'm so excited that I've been up since 3am. It's 5am now. ; )

Love you~
Amber