Elizabeth Ann and Mommy

Festival dress

Here is a picture of Maggie and me in matching outfits we had made in time for some festivals this fall. As soon as Maggie saw her outfit, it was as if she knew it was dress-up material. She loved it.

Maggie and the spider

Maggie's friend also had a HUGE spider pinata at his party, much to the delight of all the kids present. Here Maggie is with the spider.

Maggie the "bug"

One of Maggie's best friends just had his third birthday party at a local park. His very creative mother put together a "bug" theme, including making all the kids a set of "bug antennae" to wear! This is a picture of Maggie seriously enjoying her antennae.

Flower girls

These two little precious flower girls, after taking their place at the front of the church, sat quietly and perfectly still for the entire ceremony. We have yet to meet any American children who could accomplish this, including our own (whose parents could barely do it). These girls were very sweet and cute!

The McCords and the happy couple

This is a picture of us with Say Say and her new husband.

Karen costume

Our sweet house helper, Say Say, got married last weekend. She invited us to her wedding, and even gave Chad and Maggie Karen outfits to wear to her wedding out in the village. You may have mistaken this pair for another couple of villagers, but it is our very own Chad and Maggie. Maggie had a great time, as always, out in the village.

Cooking mohinga

At the latest festival we went to, the big emphasis seemed to be the free food. At least this is what our friends kept telling us about...and they were right. People were opening up their homes and giving out free food left and right! These men were on the street in front of their homes cooking up these HUGE pots of mohinga to share with visitors. Our family was welcomed inside to have some!

Bhama festival

Some of our friends took us to a festival near our home a week or so ago. It was so crowded with people, and everyone seemed to be in such good spirits. We saw very little religious activity, just a lot of people getting together and sharing free food with each other. I got a picture of this little booth because it seemed to be one of the most popular at the festival judging by all the people crowding in around it...they were giving away a type of Indian flatbread that we really enjoy, too.

Maggie "helps"

Okay, so many of you are aware of our crazy move to a new house right before we left to have our new baby! Actually, things worked out great for us. We found a great new house, with air conditioners that actually work pretty much all of the time (as long as we are getting power). By the way, just let us know if you would like to read our "Ode to an Air Conditioner." Anyway, this is a picture of Maggie trying to "help" Daddy move the dresser in our room. Of course, she was torn between helping Daddy and watching her favorite Pooh video. Maybe you had to be there...but it was a pretty funny sight. :)

just for fun

Okay, this picture is a "just for fun" shot of our baby! Some local friends gave Maggie this doll for her birthday, and she loves it...it is about the same size as she is. On this particular afternoon, she had dragged it into the living room with her to watch one of her shows with her. It was so cute I just had to get a picture!

Saris

This is a picture of Alysia and Maggie in the saris our friends dressed us up in. (Of course, the sari would look a little different on a person who is not eight months pregnant.) Maggie loved dressing up in her little sari, and was very quiet and still as the ladies tucked in the little folds.

Precious in His sight

These little girls were all dressed up for the big festival this week. They looked so pretty in their pink that I just had to get a picture of them!

temple

This is a picture of a Hindu temple in our area. There has been a big Hindu festival here this week, so the Hindu temples have been major gathering places. Many Hindus travel from temple to temple all around the area this week...for hours and hours at a time. They make offerings like those left in front of the temple attendant pictured here.

“carousel”

Maggie got to go to a funfair fundraiser organized by foreign ladies. They had a carousel; she loved it so much she had a good time just WATCHING the carousel go around and waiting for her turn.

“carousel”

Maggie got to go to a funfair fundraiser organized by foreign ladies. They had a carousel; she loved it so much she had a good time just WATCHING the carousel go around and waiting for her turn.

"dinner"

This is a picture of a dinner we ate with a Hindu family. They were so gracious to us and served us so much food. In this picture, you can see Maggie POUNDING “her” banana leaf, showing our hostesses where to put her food.

“the family”

This is a picture of our family from early this summer at an ice cream parlor in Chiang Mai.

"Fourth of July Girl"

This is a picture of Maggie right before our Fourth of July party. She found the chocolate chips I set out for ice cream toppings, and started shoving them in.

Bangkok

This is a picture of our family this summer in Bangkok at the Hard Rock Cafe...really great American food! The staff kept bringing Maggie presents...including the blue bunny puppet in front of her.

His strength made perfect

We really love this picture. This picture was made at our gardener, Saw Etamu's wedding (Saw Etamu is standing next to Chad). Take a second and compare us to the people surrounding us. We really laughed when we first saw this picture...this is a great look at what we look like in the middle of the people here...at least a head taller than most people we meet. We certainly stand out...not just because of our height, but because of a little pale-skinned, red-haired girl who is always with us, our language differences, and a number of things about which we are still learning! As we first looked at this picture, we thought, "What a beautiful picture of His strength made perfect in our weakness!" The One we serve is able to cross ANY barrier to glorify His name. Where we are weak, He is made strong! We are so priveleged to witness His miracles. We believe it is truly a miracle that He is able to use us, who are so different from the people we want to befriend. But pr--se Him! We see Him work this miracle anytime someone grasps a foreign concept, or is willing to befriend us, or welcomes us into their culture. We are truly priveleged to stand by and see His mighty works like these all the time. May He be glorified all the more in our weaknesses, and we will continue to boast in our weakness!

On the way to Saw Etamu's wedding

Maggie and Alysia riding to Saw Etamu, our gardener's, wedding.

Sad day

This was a sad day for all of us, because it was the day Mom and Dad left and we had to say good-bye. That last morning, it started raining, and just like at home, Dad was standing outside watching the rain. Maggie came in the kitchen and saw Dad watching the rain, and sat right down next to him because she wanted to watch, too. As hard as it was knowing we were about to say good-bye, this scene was very precious to me!

Papaw's little helper

Dad completed a number of projects around our house while he was here. He set up a fan in our kitchen, fixed up our van, and got our generator running properly, among many other things. Here Maggie is, right in the middle of one of Daddy's projects. She wanted to see what was going on and help him. She loved having Papaw here.

Out to eat

Here we are, together at our favorite restaurant in Yangon. Mom is wearing a traditional longyi one-set, which we had made while she was here.

Maggie in the village

When Mom and Dad were here, we all took a trip out to our helpers' village. Maggie had a wonderful time there...there were so many animals and children to see (her favorite things). She was especially intrigued by the pigs and the baby ducks. She was so cute chasing the ducks around, as you see here!

Dad and Maggie

This picture is sometimes hard for us to believe...that my parents were actually here in our country with us! Here is my dad, riding around with Maggie in our van. Maggie quickly adapted to having them around...there was no doubt in her mind that they were HERS. If she wanted to ride up front with Papaw, that's what she would do! She had a great time. Also, for all you "car accessory" lovers out there, notice our beautifully contextualized leopard-fur dashboard cover. These types of dashboard covers are actually quite popular in our country. Hey, we are just trying to blend in. :)

Easter

Easter fell during the Water Festival this year, and because of the Water Festival, during daytime hours we were trapped in our house. It was such a blessing when some friends suggested we get together at sunrise to celebrate this holiday so precious to us. Our friend who hosted us even had an Easter basket and some eggs for Maggie to play with. This Easter celebration was a true gift for us!

Water Festival

This is a picture of what our road looked like during the Water Festival. Cars lined up for as far as we could see, filled with people. They drove by these homemade stages, where people stood spraying others with water. It was a huge party...a little crazy at times. When we went out to see what was going on, we got soaked with the best of them. During the Water Festival, pretty much nothing was happening but partying. Stores were closed...this is one of the biggest holidays of the year in our country!

Maggie and Saw Etamu

It may be difficult to see Maggie in this picture, but she is behind the stroller. She loves to push her big stroller up and down the driveway. Saw Etamu, our gardener, is so sweet to help her and play with her. Here, he is supervising the stroller-pushing to make sure Maggie does not hurt herself. Also, Maggie is not as strong as she thinks she is. She thinks she can push the stroller by herself, but almost every time, Saw Etamu is standing behind her, helping.

On the bus

The ladies in the "English group" are so gracious to take me out and allow me to experience the culture of our country the way they do. On one of our outings, we took the bus.
This picture was taken while standing in the middle of public transportation in Yangon. The bus was actually relatively empty on this day! I really enjoyed riding the bus with them, because I was so glad they were there to tell me where the bus was going!

School yard games

These Burmese school children are having fun with a playground game. The kids link legs and jump around in circles. These kids kept showing us different games they play...the jump rope tricks were amazing! They kept inviting Chad and me to join them...as if we could do this!

PaO worship at Ketku

While up north, we also had the chance to attend a huge festival held by the PaO people. The traditional dress of the PaO is the long, black garment and brightly colored "gaung-baung" (headwrap) you see here. It was very interesting to see so many people in this traditional dress. The festival spanned at least three days, and at night we were able to see a talent show. Villagers from all over the Shan state had practiced traditional singing and dancing, and performed for all of their people. In the morning, worshippers visited this temple, often having traveled many miles with their offerings. The importance of the religious aspect of the festival shows the strong influence Buddhism has on the daily lives of the people. Thousands and thousands traveled to worship. It was a sobering sight to observe so many without the hope we have, speaking a language which so few of our brothers and sisters even understand. The frontier remains.

Hindu temple in Kalaw

While I (Alysia) traveled to Kalaw, a town north of our city, I was able to find out more about H people in our country. While in Kalaw, we visited a Hindu temple and learned about the number of Hindu people living in the area and how they worship. This is a picture of a Hindu temple we saw and the Hindu lady who lead us around and told us about her religion.

little big girl

This is Maggie in her sunglasses sent from home (thank you Mrs. Rita and Tara!). She loved wearing her glasses on the beach like a big girl.
She had so much fun playing on that beach!

The family

This is a picture of us on the beach one night with the sunset in the background. It was incredible!

Maggie at the beach

This is a photo from our trip to Ngapali beach. Ngapali is up to 15 hours from here by car (because of coastlines, bad roads, and mountains). But we took a flight that was only a little over an hour. We decided to make a quick trip there for a break from city life. It was wonderful! As you can see, the beach was absolutely beautiful. It was very secluded; there were only a few restaurants on the strip where we stayed. Maggie had a great time playing on the beach, and the waves were peaceful and the water was clear. Also, we had air conditioners in our hotel, which was like a vacation in and of itself! We had a great time. Here is Maggie running along the beach...one of her favorite activities. It was as if she was testing herself to see how close she could get to the water without being afraid.

Mohinga at home

This is us eating mohinga with our helpers. This is Sai Sai, our house helper. She is very sweet to Maggie. And Saw Etamou, our gardener, is sitting next to Chad. Sai Sai showed me how to make the mohinga. She also came to the market with me, showing me what to buy. She helped me pick out the fish right from the table! Mohinga is not expensive to make, but takes several steps. Maggie was so curious about what we were eating. She may have been the most adventurous of us all!

Tuk-tuk

This is a picture of us in a tuk-tuk in Thailand. The tuk-tuk was one of the main forms of transportation we used while we were in Chiang Mai. They are basically a lot like a covered three-wheeler (ATV). Maggie loved riding in them.

mohinga

This picture was taken at a New Year's Eve party we were fortunate to be able to attend. Alysia is holding a bowl of one of the favorite national foods, mohinga. It is basically a lot like a soup, and it is served over a bed of noodles. The base of mohinga is made by boiling a fish. It also includes a variety of local items, including ginger, garlic, onion, banana stem, "smelly gourd," and duck egg.