Asher is Home!

We just wanted to let everyone know that we made it to Kentucky. It was a long trip, but Asher was great and we didn't have any problems. We are all jet-lagged (especially Asher), but we are recovering and adjusting to the icy conditions in Paducah. It is great to be home with our family and we are looking forward to spending lots of time with them over the next 6 months.

We did have a great send-off from Surabaya. As soon as our friends arrived to take us to the airport it started raining. It wasn't just a few sprinkles, it was a full out rainstorm. Everyone was soaked by the time our 2 suitcases, 4 duffel bags, 2 carry ons, diaper bag, car seat, and stroller were loaded into the car. During the whole loading process our electricity went out and the street and house began to flood. We jumped into the car and took off for the airport before it got any worse. Luckily we made it just fine, but we have been told that our street flooded quite a bit after we left.

No new pictures for now, we forgot the power cord for our computer in Surabaya (since we were leaving in the dark). Hopefully it will be here soon and we will be able to post some pictures for our last days in Surabaya and our first days in America.

Asher is Going to America

Tomorrow afternoon Asher will leave the land of his birth to go to the land of his parent's birth. It's strange leaving here because we know that more than likely we will never return to this city. Although Asher is very excited to get to Kentucky and see Granny and Mimi there are some things he will miss about Indonesia.

From the time Asher came home from the hospital he has slept in a Moses Basket next to our bed. When we get to Kentucky he will be making the move to a big crib. When we first brought Asher home from the hospital he fit nicely in the middle of the basket, now he takes up the entire basket. It's a good thing we are moving now or we would have to find him a new place to sleep.

He takes up almost the whole basket.

Sleeping away the day in his cozy little basket.

Behind our bed are some beautiful, blue, polyester curtains. While Roger and I are not a big fan of them, Asher loves them. In fact, he loves them so much that sometimes he would rather smile at them than eat.

Oooh! Aaah! Asher loves those ugly curtains.

In the late afternoon it cools off enough that we can take Asher on walks around the neighborhood. While he will be able to still go for walks in Kentucky he will miss all of the exciting things our Indonesian neighborhood has to offer.

Checking out the neighborhood becak.

The neighborhood goat. We didn't want to get too close.

One person Asher will definitely miss is his Ibu. She comes to our house several times a week to clean, do laundry, cook, etc. One of her favorite things to do is to hold Asher and look out the front door. Asher loves to talk to her and smile at her while they check out what the neighbors are doing.

Asher and Ibu hanging out by the front door.

Of course Asher will miss his Indonesian friends, too. Whenever we go for a walk everybody comes running out of their house to say hi to Asher. They all think he is the cutest baby in all of Indonesia (we agree!). And they always tell us that they hope he will one day be president of the United States (just like another famous American that once lived in Indonesia.)

Visiting friends.

Last, there is our family here. These are the people that were with us when Asher was born, spent hours at the hospital teaching us how to take care of him and spent even more hours at our house taking care of us. They have been with us through everything the last two years. Even though Asher will not remember them, they are definitely the thing Roger and I will miss the most about Indonesia.

Our Indonesian family. We love these guys.

Rolling Around

Last Tuesday (December 2) Asher surprised us and himself when he rolled over. He was enjoying some tummy time before bed and just flipped right on over. Luckily we had the video camera out and were able to capture the whole thing. Turn on your speakers if you want to hear Roger get really excited.



Asher had been trying to roll over for a few days, so we had been watching and hoping that we would be able to catch it on video when it happened. Since then he has rolled over several more times. Now he is working on rolling from his back to his belly. He's a strong little man!

Thanksgiving

In Pictures - Asher's First Thanksgiving

Waking up in his big boy pajamas.
Thanks Aunt Jessica!


Hanging out in the sling.


Sleeping in Daddy's arms.


Watching everybody eat way too much food.

Asher needed some Mommy time after his busy day.

Sleepy baby, worn out after all that fun.