Rain

It's finally raining. They've been promising it for about a week or so, but all we've had are broken promises. And now I can hear the tiny, hurried, tinkling sounds of rain water dripping from the roof top to the soggy grass below. The air is cool and CLEAN!

We awoke to an orange tint in the air this morning because there is (was?) a fire burning a little less than 100 miles to the south. When we left church this afternoon, I was transported right back to Thailand. They burn a lot there...garbage mostly.

My favorite rain is the kind that comes down in sheets, flashes lightning and bellows thunder. If the house shakes, it's even better. Having the power go out makes me want to cuddle with the kids (as long as I'm not trying to make dinner that is...I'm spoiled that way). Of course, my house has never been flooded or slammed with a mudslide. That might alter my feelings a bit.

Thailand's best season was the rainy season. I'll never forget riding my bike down the main street of Roi-Et with water past the axles of my bike tires. (My gears never quite worked the same after that.) It wasn't so great to have to walk in it. I'll never forget having to remove my shoes and go barefoot in the flooded streets of Thonburi (Bangkok). I was surprised to come out of that without any injuries and I was certain I'd catch some kind of parasite. I must have been given extra blessings then.


The worst rain storm I experienced as a missionary was in my greenie area. Sister Duerichen and I were on our way back from Service (we worked at a plant nursery) and got caught in a storm. Instead of letting up, it got worse and worse, causing motor traffic to pull to the side of the road. We were two sister missionaries and had to show that we were tough! But the lightning worried us a little and we were traveling on a road that was higher than the surrounding countryside...on metal bicycles.

We'd already passed up a chance to wait out the worst of it when we peddled by a covered bus stop. Of course, now that we were humbled enough to stop and take shelter, there were none to be found! Eventually, we came upon some kind of construction materials yard that had some huge cement culverts. We rode our bikes down to them and abandoned them for the circular shelter of the culverts. They were large enough to stoop over in and probably about 5 or 6 feet long. Luckily, we'd just been to Service and were wearing pants!

The thunder crashed, the lightning flashed and the water level rose. Bits and pieces of wood floated by outside our shelter. We could SMELL the burn of the lightning scorched air! We sang some hymns to ward off the feeling of "we're going to get electrocuted any second" and waited out the tempest. It was likely only 15 minutes, but it felt like 30.

When the storm started to let up, we climbed back up the slope to the road and finished our trip home. By the time we got there, it was sunny again!

But most of the rain in Thailand came quickly, without warning and only lasted a few minutes. It was just enough to get you soaked before the sun came back out to increase the humidity! During rainy season, we kept our proselyting bags (strapped to the back of our bikes) wrapped in at least two plastic grocery bags.


I love rain. It's one of the things I still miss from living in Washington. Mold...I don't care for as much!

We went to Thailand

That was once mentioned as a possibility for celebrating our 10th Anniversary (I served my mission in Thailand). I was pretty sure I would either be pregnant or nursing and so not sure how likely it all would be.

Well, as it turns out, I was right. We're also broke, too. So a real trip to Thailand was not even considered. But we got as close as we could.

I had it all planned for a month. We went to a Thai restaurant and stuffed ourselves with DELICIOUS, spicy (couldn't talk) Thai food. Then we checked into the Thailand room at Destinations Inn, a newer themed-suite hotel in the area. Here are some pictures from their website. The room has evolved a bit (like all 4 windows in the last picture are covered up with murals), but this is pretty much what it still looks like.



When we arrived, there was sparkling cider chilling and cheesecake in the fridge. In the morning, they served a simple, but yummy breakfast at your chosen time. There were no kids, the phone didn't ring and we could sleep in as long as we wanted. Unfortunately, we've been programmed to wake before 8. It would take drugs to sleep in any longer than that.

My mom and step-dad came up from Utah and stayed with the kids for the night. The kids had a lot of fun. I'm a little worried about Nathan, though. He didn't realize we hadn't come back later that night - even though he didn't see us until 9:30 that morning. I DID tell him. Next time I'll make sure he looks up from the computer when I'm talking to him.

Thanks to my mom and step-dad for the over-night stay and for the help with the pasture fence and cow herding. The timing couldn't have been better!

On a sad note, the last little kitten died this weekend. I hope the next time this momma cat finds herself with kittens, she'll be more interested in mothering them. If not, I'll get her fixed because these kids don't need extra sadness like that! I'd even gone ahead and let Leah name the poor thing. I'm proud of the way my kids handled it. I don't think I would have been as good about it at their ages.