The House Collective

a new year.

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I sort of dread the start of each new year.

(And I’m writing this as February comes to an end, so obviously I’m a bit slow and pessimistic on the “new year” idea!)

I think that’s one of those things you’re not suppose to say. Everyone else seems to love a fresh start, new resolutions, inspiring words, & vision casting.

Yet again this year, I found myself seeing others goals, visions, words and feeling discouraged, rather than challenged. And while I’ve felt this each year that I can recall, I only now recognized it as a trend. I seem to hit a low each year at the start.

It’s always a bit isolating, as I watch so many enter with optimism that I struggle to feel. So this year, I just started to ask why.

I think it often feels like everyone has such hopes for the year; such plans. Such energy. It seems everyone sets a goal and they really might reach it.

So many of our years start with unknowns: we know that by the end of the year we’ll need a new visa, but we aren’t sure if we’ll get it. We hope to be living in the same place, but we aren’t sure we’ll be able to. We feel called to be in this community, but we aren’t always sure what will fill our days or what projects or traumas it will hold.

So many years have started with unknowns for our family personally, not knowing how long we would wait for Oak, or now how long we’ll wait to finalize his adoption. We don’t know how long it will be before we go back to the States, or if we’ll be able to travel this year at all. (In short, we might not be able to stay in this country, nor leave it–hopefully not both!— depending on how all the paperwork falls.)

We often know very little of what is in front of us; it’s a piece of the life God’s put before us. There seems to be light on just a very few steps in front of us.

And because this chaos is a bit of a normal, I often feel like I’ve just maneuvered a year of unknowns as well.

This year, I felt like I’d just managed to pull off 2019: adopting a new son and beginning to sort out how to parent alongside this community. We’ve just gotten another visa! We’ve just finished a year of training and a few small jobs. We’ve just had another community Christmas! We’re just starting to get in a groove, and perhaps we’ll make it here after all. (Even nine years in, we say this often: Hey, wait–are we making it?!)

Perhaps we’ll make it as parents.
Perhaps his adoption will be finalized this year.
Perhaps another visa will come through.
Perhaps Flour & Flowers will be profitable another year.
Perhaps English classes will still happen.
Perhaps The Reinforcers will have work.

Sometimes just a few knowns, a few concrete goals, sound so refreshing…and yet so out of reach.

And in reality, it is out of reach right now. That’s something I’m having to embrace yet again. I’m not sure of many things in our horizon.

I’m not sure where our next visa will come from, or where our next child will for that matter! I’m not sure where our role in the community is going, as we stand among some major shifts.

We did a restart in February, following the Christmas chaos and my sisters visit. We are looking to another restart in March, as Sojourn Studios moves out of our space, and summer begins: summer programs, new staff, perhaps internships?

It’s always changing. Perhaps it always will be.
Perhaps we’ll always be wondering if we are making it.
Perhaps we’ll always be praying for the next few steps to fall into place.

I’m trying to find the positive in this: it requires us to trust something bigger than ourselves. It requires us to be flexible. It asks us to take risks in the name of the Kingdom. It demands hope.

That said, we are hopeful for 2020. We’re late, but hopeful 😂
We’re also a bit tired.
Sometimes we’re fighting fear. Depending on the day, we’re a bit overwhelmed by the unknowns.

We don’t have a word to lead us. But we have a Father who leads us. Our visions and dreams are what you might describe as extremely hopeful, which means they require an incalculable number of miracles. But we follow a God of miracles. Our plans, when put in the most positive light possible, are flexible. But we have a Lord who establishes our plans.

And so as February comes to a close, I’m ready to embrace 2020 and all its unknowns. ☺️

something i’m sad about.

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While I’ve mentioned this in our newsletter, I don’t believe I’ve officially stated it here: Sojourn Studios, who we’ve been partnering with for over two years, will be moving out of our home next month.

I’m sad about it.

In short, Sojourn Studios is a project of another local organization here in Mae Sot. They make porcelain jewelry, and recently have begun a partnership with Noonday Collection. They’re successfully making it!

For the past two years, three of their primary artisans have been working out of our house. They hired some of our favorite friends from our neighborhood and set up shop three days a week in our humble Housewares room and make tiny piece after tiny piece.

It is quite the process to do in two locations. The clay is formed and glazed before being sent to their studio to be fired. It then is brought back to be gold painted, and again sent for another firing. It then comes back for assembly and packaging.

All of this is done by three of my favorite friends, often while they are singing loudly, chatting about their families, and showering Oak with kisses.

So I’m really sad it’s all about to change.

I feel like we’re closing the door on a really unique, sweet season that brought out some incredible conversations and great friendships. I really love all three of these women, and I have loved seeing them so often through the week.

I have loved that they were here as we welcomed in Oak. I love the things they’ve taught him, and how he calls for his aunties when they arrive each morning. I love the things they’ve taught me day in and day out. I love their patience and kindness to us.

But most things do change, and often it isn’t up to us. So this isn’t anything new. Growth brings new seasons, and these ladies will be growing, too.

All three ladies are purchasing bicycles with their savings next week.
They’ll be biking together to work a few days a week, and working in a much more official studio space. And with a more official studio space, there might be less singing. I’m not sure.
There will be less of Oak.
There will be less free tea, which San Aye is particularly sad about!
There will be less leftover pancakes and coconuts for them to enjoy when they arrive in the morning.

This hasn’t been the easiest process on many of us involved. Growth usually involves growing pains, too. But we’ve known for about six months, and they are officially moving out in two weeks. So I’m searching how to say something.

I’m really, truly sad for the end of this season and the shift of this. But I’m also really thankful it happened.

sisters, sisters.

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They came again! Two of my sisters came to visit in January!

It has been so fun to have family come to meet Oak, and take that long flight all over again. It’s incredible to see them leave their own husbands and kids for over two weeks, just to spend time with mine.

And yet it means the world to hear Oak say “Aunt Jenn” and “Aunt Keri.” It means the world to hear him sing and giggle with them. And it means the world for them to hear his voice and learn his quirks and watch him run.

Coming right after Christmas, after camping trips and bee stings, falling into family was a crazy January. I wasn’t on my A-game (and I’m not sure I have been in a number of months?). But I guess that isn’t where the best things happen! We had fun.

I met them both in Bangkok, and we flew back to Mae Sot together. We made the most of our little border town.

Apparently my love of air hockey runs in the family 🤷🏼‍♀️

We visited Chiang Mai for a bit more fun.

The Sticky Waterfalls were way cooler than I even imagined and so much fun to climb.

Oak did amazing climbing up nearly all of it, but he was pretty cold by the end and a bit less excited than the rest of us!

And if you know Oak, you know we had to visit the elephants 🥰

This was the best Escape Room game we’ve played yet, and we did AMAZING! We got the best score, finishing in thirteen minutes under the best time.
(A couple of us are a little competitive. We were pretty proud of this. And had fun.)

One of Oak’s favorite books is Stuck, and Aunt Keri did a live performance at one of our evenings out, using the table flowers as a tree. It was one of my favorite moments.

There’s a Bra Museum & Outlet & Salad Bar & Bistro along the highway… ?!?!
Go ahead and read that again: Bra Museum + Outlet + Salad Bar + Bistro. I’m not sure there is a better time to stop than with your sisters!

We made our way to Sukhothai, one of the historical kingdoms of Thailand, to enjoy some biking and seeing historical ruins.

And then we saw them off the airport, with tears and thankfulness.
✈️🥰🥥🦕🏒🛵🐑💦🐘🔐🌳👙🚲😭😘✈️

camping.

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Camping is a part of every Christmas season for us, and this year was our first time to bring Oak! We did three trips so far, and loved every one.

The first trip is one I’ll never forget. We went to one of our favorite spots, and it was just perfect. Oak absolutely loved it.

And Stephen did, too. Camping was so much a part of Stephen’s childhood memories, and he was just over the moon to be bringing Oak along. I felt like I couldn’t capture enough photos of both of their faces the whole time.

We also did a trip after Christmas. This one had a great hike, and while we didn’t all enjoy the whole thing, it was an adventure!

Unfortunately, Oak woke up from this beautiful nap by a bee sting. We didn’t think much of it, until the next morning, when we were greeted with this.

Since we were in the middle of nowhere and not sure how this would go, we headed off to a nearby hospital. And while not what we expected for this camping trip, we made the most of it.

We had memory games to play and Starbucks to drink and motorized bicycles to borrow from the hotel!

And last, we took a camping trip with friends. This was such fun for Oak, too!

Camping always leaves me with some of my favorite holiday memories, and this year was no different. But I’m also amazed how many cycles we waited for Oak: how many Christmases we waited for him, how many years we camped just the two of us and wondered when we’d be bringing a little one along. To finally put a face to it, to pack tiny little gloves and hats for the cold, to go for a hike with a backpack on: finally. We’re just living it and loving it.

three!

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Just days after Christmas, we celebrated Oak’s third birthday! He’s three! And he’s ours. I’m still relishing in each thing we get to do with him: the meals we get to have, the books we get to read, the birthdays we get to celebrate…and the dinosaur pancakes we get to make!

A few weeks before his birthday, his social worker at the children’s home asked for our address to send him a birthday package. A group of those that loved him so much and took such good care of him then–still are! They put together the sweetest box of balloons, locally made items, and a remote-control car!

We had a birthday party planned for the afternoon, but we asked Oak what he’d like to do for the day. His request was to see Yaminoo. {I know, buddy–we love her, too!} He also asked for chicken and ice cream, so we went off to Tesco for KFC and Dairy Queen with Yaminoo!

And, y’know those rides that kids ask for every time at the store, and you just keep saying “not today”? Well, birthdays = YES TODAY.

So we rode a few rides. And Yaminoo and I played air hockey, a personal favorite.

Then we headed home to prepare for a birthday party!

We invited a combination of kids from our neighborhood and the expat community that Oak knows, but we tried to stick to his age group and a smallish group of friends (a difficult task in our community, where everyone brings along a sibling or tells their friends to come get free cake). I did love making a little invitation for him to give out to his friends, and particularly seeing his multilingual little life already happening right before our eyes.

It was every bit as chaotic as we thought it might be, attempting to host fifteen or so kids in multiple languages.

It was also every bit as great as we could have imagined.
We bought the dinosaur shaped cake, we hosted the party.
We got to do all the things we’ve been waiting for.
We got to hold the toddler we’ve been waiting for!

May there be many, many more!

2019: in review.

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I don’t want to attempt to quantify a year, but sometimes I look back on these numbers in awe. It’s incredible to see what God has done.

Long-awaited and quite miraculously, we adopted one little boy.

We spent 230 days as a family in 2019.
It was a good year. 🥰

We celebrated ten years of marriage!

Throughout different projects, eleven friends were able to have regular employment opportunities in our home.

2,900 Tranquility necklaces were made in our little border town and shipped around the world to be sold through Noonday Collection. Over half of these were made by three friends in our home.

202 bouquets of flowers were sold.
1,026 loaves of bread were baked.

And thanks to a local restaurant deciding to source their tortillas through us, a whopping 7,160 tortillas were rolled out!

This year, The Reinforcers project brought in 37,600 baht, or $1,245, which was then poured back into training and weekly work opportunities for a few teenagers.

Kelli took a regular self-defense class with a small group of young women. They completed a twelve-week program, followed by six months of regular review.

Throughout the year, we managed to renew three drivers licenses in two countries, renew a passport, renew a work permit, extend a visa, and acquire a new visa. And while I think I could count the number, I’d rather not know how many days I spent in government offices to accomplish this. 

I had set some personal goals for the year, but I didn’t do incredible at reaching them or even knowing if I did. 
I read 43 books this year, not meeting my goal of 52.
I memorized 51 Bible verses, and I’m working on the last one.
I kept running.
I kept swimming.
I kept biking.
But I have no idea how far I went.
I know I took this little guy along for quite a bit of it.

It was a good year. 🥰

the collective christmas 2019: still coming.

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Sometimes it just keeps coming!

Every year [recently], the hotel where we having a swimming membership has a gingerbread house in the lobby. Not just any gingerbread house–a GIANT gingerbread house.

I love it.

I had been to swim once or twice on my own and had seen it, but it had been really cold, so Stephen nor Oak had been by in the week before Christmas. So I put it on the list to stop by. [It was particularly epic this year with a bridge crossing two tables!]

We didn’t make it before Christmas, but since Christmas Day is very relative here, I didn’t think anything of it. We piled into the car after Oak was in pajamas on the 26th and headed over to see it.

WE MISSED IT.

I was sad. Stephen really couldn’t have cared less–he thinks it isn’t as cool as IT IS– and Oak didn’t even know what he was missing. But they made sad faces with me for camaraderie.

And then we went across the street to the mall, where the tree was still standing and still lit. 🤷🏼‍♀️

A few days following Christmas, our church held their annual Christmas party as well!

The Reinforcers ran sound, and Yaminoo danced; Stephen & I were called on stage to call raffle numbers…some things are just traditional 😁

the collective christmas 2019: christmas day.

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Christmas morning with a kid is everything I’d always hoped for. We had so much fun.

He loved it all, from the pumpkin bread for breakfast, to the crazy idea of sticking your hand in a stocking and pulling out treasures, to ripping off paper and finding gifts inside “for Oak!”

After a morning of fun, we headed out to deliver Christmas gifts to the community. After nine years, we found the BEST way to deliver gifts: plastic tubs. The neighbors were thrilled to have them, and it made it easier to sort by family. Each family had a bin with parents gifts unwrapped and a package for each child individually wrapped on the inside. This was SO MUCH EASIER to load, unload, and keep sorted.

And again, he did so well delivering gifts and watching friends open their treasures–for almost four hours!

We wrapped up our evening with a family meal and Christmas movie bundled up in bed, and I know we couldn’t have asked for anything more this Christmas.

the collective christmas 2019: christmas eve.

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Christmas Eve was really beautiful. We had a worship service outside, where two of the girls from our church came to help Stephen lead a few carols in Burmese. This is particularly special for a few reasons–one of the girls is Yaminoo, who we’ve known and loved for nearly ten years now, and is a young woman learning more and more about her walk with Christ every day. Also, Stephen sang and led entirely in Burmese, which is beautiful in its own way.

The Reinforcers ran sound, our church came to support and participate; I ran Powerpoint with Oak on my lap.

Really beautiful in more ways than one: so many of our favorite things; so much of our heart, sweating around candles on a balmy Christmas Eve on this street.


Then Stephen shared why Christmas is important to our faith, and invited everyone to a Bible class we’re going to offer in a few months. As you read this, take a moment to pray for this class that we’ll be hosting in March.

Following our Christmas Eve carols, we opened our Christmas pajamas as a family. This is also when Oak discovered all those packages under the tree had good things inside for him!

And while we had all the community gifts and Oak’s wrapped by Christmas Eve, we hadn’t finished wrapping for one another. So Stephen and I sat on either side of this door, wrapping presents while we watched a Christmas movie!

the collective christmas 2019: community meal

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Each Christmas, we do a community meal. And it’s always just that epic.

In many ways, this year was very much the same…

…we still had fish blood running down our car on the way home.

We still bought and chopped incredible amounts of vegetables and fish and spices and noodles.

And Thida still did most all of the work!
We still served a few hundred people.
And we still had so much fun!

And even when it’s so much the same, I’m amazed each year to see how much relationships have changed, and how the community has evolved and developed.
That’s just as epic as the meal!