Boy Oh Boy

That's right, there's going to be another boy at the Hampton House.


The ultrasound today showed us a healthy, growing baby boy. This one is a bit more modest than Asher, but we managed to get the proof we needed.

While this does mean I need to stop perusing Baby Gap for dresses I do finally feel justified in lugging every bit of Asher's baby clothing from Indonesia to Kentucky to Vancouver to Bangkok.


Trucks, snails, cars and dirt. I think having two boys is going to fun!

Another Kind of Bubble

Our new dishes arrived from Chiang Mai last week! I'm really excited about them because they are mine, they match and I will now have more than four plates. Really, it's the little things that make me happy.

Asher was also really excited about our new dishes because they came in a box full of bubble wrap. After we unwrapped all of the dishes we threw all of the bubble wrap on the floor and let him have some fun.

He jumped right in and had a blast jumping on the bubble wrap and rolling around in it.


In this picture he looks like he just got caught doing something bad.


The best part was that when he was finished he insisted on picking up all of the bubble wrap and putting it back in the box. We are saving it for when we move (not that we have plans to move, but we move a lot and I like to stay prepared) because in the past 3 years I have spent way too much money on bubble wrap.

Have I mentioned that Asher loves to pick up stuff and put it away? At church I have to watch him because he wants to pick up toys the whole time and he has a bit of a problem understanding that other kids want to play with the toys, not just put them away. The other moms at church know how much he loves to pick up toys so they always let him put away all of the toys after church.

Tomorrow we go to the doctor for a check up and an ULTRASOUND! We are hoping that we get to see if this baby is a boy or a girl. I will hopefully have an update and pictures soon.

How We Survived

Here's how we survived a trip from North America to Southeast Asia with a very sweet (and active) 16 month old baby boy.

Actually Asher was great, so it wasn't really survival. It definitely wasn't fun, but that kind of trip is never fun.

I started taking pictures the afternoon before we left and tried to chronicle our journey from Vancouver to Bangkok.

Waking up from his last nap in Vancouver, we finally had to wake him up after almost 3 hours of sleep.

Our arrival at the airport in Vancouver. Final tally on the luggage: 3 trunks, 6 large duffel bags, 2 car seats, 1 guitar, 2 backpacks, 1 carry on suitcase, 1 small duffel bag, 1 diaper bag and 1 stroller.

Once we strolled through security we let Asher loose so he could burn off some energy before the long flight. The airport was practically empty at midnight, so Asher had plenty of space to run.

He did set down to rest for a few minutes before climbing down and discovering the moving sidewalks. We spent about 15 minutes going the wrong way on one of them.

Hour One.

On the plane and settled into our seats, Asher was exhausted, but wouldn't sleep. The lights were all on and a meal was served right after take-off and that kept him up even longer. He finally crashed about 4 am and slept for about 4 hours.

Hour Eight.

Drinking milk and talking on the phone, Asher seemed to be unaware that anything was different about today.

A video update of Asher's Airplane Adventures. There's something all over his face, I have no idea what it could be. Considering he ate Teddy Grahams almost constantly for 14 hours there's a good chance it could be crumbs.

Hour Ten.

Another video update. Asher took a good nap, he slept from the beginning to the end of, "The Informant." I was holding him at this point and appreciated his thoughtfulness and willingness to not wake up until the credits had started. When he woke up he was quite excited to see that Daddy was nearby.

Hour Twelve.

Almost there and Asher is still happy playing with Daddy, one last video update.

Hour Fifteen.

We made it to Hong Kong and raced through the airport to make our connecting flight. Roger and I were having some serious caffeine withdrawal, but didn't have time to stop for coffee. Asher kept his hands above his head the entire time we were in Hong Kong. I think this is his exhaustion pose.

Hours Sixteen - Eighteen.

Asher and Roger slept almost the whole way from Hong Kong to Bangkok, I read a book. Sorry, no pictures, we were all looking pretty rough.

Hour Nineteen.

Arrival in Bangkok. After being an angel for nineteen hours of travel Asher lost it while we were in line for immigration. Perfect timing. An immigration official came and got us from the back of the line and took us through to the front. Asher is amazing.

Hour Twenty.

Luggage collected and trip over. We finally made it to our new home. Somehow by the end of all of this Asher ended up with a baggage tag on his arm.

Pictures from Bangkok and the new house coming soon.

To His Fourth Country

Sixteen Months of Life. Six Months of Training. Five Homes. Four Countries. Two Continents. One Asher.

We are on our way to Bangkok, where, after 13 months of transition, we will finally settle down in a semi-permanent home. Since Asher has been born we have moved to a new country every 4 months (on average). That's a lot of moving, a lot of transitioning and a lot of packing.

Lord willing we will be in Bangkok much longer than that.

Right now we are in the midst of our trip, flying from Vancouver to Hong Kong and then on to Bangkok. Leaving from the West Coast actually makes it a much shorter trip and we only have one long (14 hours) flight. I've packed plenty of snacks, books and movies for Asher, so he should be entertained during the flight.

We will let you know when we arrive.

An Asher Video

Asher is mostly recovered from his Scary Day and things are getting back to normal around here. Well, at least as normal as things can get when you are moving to a new country in a week.

Back before Asher got sick we took a break from working and packing and had some fun during supper.

Asher's Canadian Room

I have had this dream of having a nursery for Asher for a while now, like way before he was born. It didn't happen in Indonesia (not enough time), it didn't happen in Kentucky (no room) and it didn't happen in Virginia (not our place). Now that we have settled down in Canada for the next four months in our very own apartment Asher gets to have his own room and my little dream has come true!

Here are some pictures of the fun stuff in Asher's room.

Thank you Beth Jackson for making the letters for Asher's name, it is a wonderful gift. Beth made them to match Asher's bumper pad and I think they are amazing. She even made them out of foam board so they would be super light weight and easy to pack.

Asher's elephants are all from Bangkok, except for the big one, it's a humidifier from Target.

We got all of the stuffed elephants while we were in Bangkok for our honeymoon and a few years later when we were there for vacation. When we got them I never dreamed they would end up in my baby's room.

The coat rack we also bought while on our honeymoon in a neat little shop in Chiang Mai, I can't wait to get back there and buy more fun stuff for our home in Bangkok. Each of the hooks is a little elephant. Asher's winter coat and hat are ready for the cold days ahead, he hasn't worn them much yet, but it is definitely getting colder here. Asher's little backpack (his birthday gift from Mimi) looks so cute hanging up there.

The Cheeser

So far Asher has done well adjusting to another new place. This week he has been in childcare almost all day everyday, but he has had a lot of fun. He loves the people taking care of him and has fun playing with the other kiddos.

Today when we went to pick him up his teachers had a funny story for us. There is one other preschooler here and Asher and her usually play together just fine. Today his teacher noticed that he kept chasing her around trying to grab her back. After a while she realized that the little girls shirt was made from the same material as Asher's blanket. Asher thought she was wearing a blanket and wanted to rub his face on her! He's such a funny baby!

To His Third Country

In the morning Asher is heading to Canada to experience four months of urban living and cold weather before heading off to Bangkok in February. This will mark the third country he has lived in and the fourth place he will have called home during the past year.

It will probably be a few days before we can update again, so while we travel enjoy some recent pictures of Asher.

Asher loves the dogs, but he enjoys them a lot more when they are behind a fence.

While Roger was mowing the yard Asher got to ride around with him for a minute, he liked in at first, but then he got scared.

For his birthday Asher got a backpack. He sort of freaks out when we put it on his back and if there is anything in it at all he tends to tip over backwards.

Pictures of Asher in Canada are coming soon!

Asher in Virginia - Week 9

These are pictures from our last four days in Virginia. We survived our second round of FPO and are getting everything ready to leave the country. I finished my project and have 60 pictures of Asher, one a day from the time we left Kentucky until we returned.

I'm still trying to decide if I should try to do a picture a day while we are in Vancouver. We will be there for 16 weeks and I can't decide if that might be a bit much. Any ideas?

Sunday was, of course, Asher's first birthday. Our friend Candy Nights* took some great pictures for us during the party, this one is my favorite.

*name changed to protect the secure

Monday Asher had to miss school because he was sick. We stayed in the quad all day long playing and starting to pack. As you can see Asher was ready to get home to Mimi's house.

Tuesday night after Asher's bath we got out the camera to mess around with the new lens and got some wonderful shots of his little toes. He may be getting big, but he still has sweet baby feet.

Wednesday morning we dropped off Asher at school for the last time. I was pretty sad that it was his last day, we have really loved his school. He walked right into his room and went straight to the toys.

Well, that's all of Asher's time in Virginia. We celebrated Asher's birthday for the second time today, this time with our families in Kentucky. I am working on a post with more birthday pictures and we still need to take Asher's last monthly photo. While you are waiting for that go check out Asher's favorite girlfriend, Maddie, and her sweet birthday message to Asher.

Asher in Virginia - Week 5

Another week of training finished, another week closer to moving somewhere else. Here's another week of Asher in pictures.

Sunday night after "Sub-Saharan African Peoples Worship" we went down to the lake to get some photos of Asher. The light was perfect and Asher was full of smiles. By the way, Asher loved the African music and bounced and clapped the whole time we were there.

Monday evening after dinner we skyped Mimi. Asher had taken a few steps before this, but while Mimi was talking to him he stood up and walked all the way across the room. Look closely in the background of the picture and you can see Mimi on the computer screen. Some additional random trivia: this outfit is identical to the one Asher wore the first time he met Mimi at the Surabaya airport.

Tuesday afternoon after school Asher practiced pulling up. He learned to walk before he learned to stand.

Wednesday afternoon after school Asher was checking out what was going on outside of the quad. He is getting better at standing on his own, especially when there is a door to hold on to.

Thursday evening Asher and Daddy had fun while Asher cruised around the bed.

Friday evening we put Asher in a box and tried to mail him back to Kentucky. It cost too much so we decided to keep him here with us for the next 3.5 weeks.

Saturday we went to Washington, D. C. to explore our nation's capital. We visited The Capital Building and The White House. Asher was obviously very impressed by The White House even though we didn't get to go inside and we didn't meet our buddy (and fellow former Indonesian resident) Barack.

Asher in Virginia - Week 3

Sunday afternoon after his nap, Asher wanted to see what was going on outside. He likes to walk over to the door and check out the world, sometimes the glass confuses him and he walks right into it.

After a busy Monday Asher had fun playing in the tub and I had fun playing with his hair. When he gets really excited he beats on the side of the tub, he loves the noise and the splashing that it creates.

Tuesday morning before school Asher was crawling and rolling around on the floor. He loves shoes and was enjoying playing in our big shoe pile. In order to prepare to live in another culture everyone has to remove their shoes when coming into the Quad, the result is, of course, a huge pile of shoes for Asher to play with.

Wednesday night Asher was getting ready to go to bed and he decided he needed to take one last crawl around our bed before heading to his room.

Thursday morning before school Asher was playing in the kitchen floor while we packed his bag for school. His toy of choice these days are the empty water bottles that he finds all over the place.

Friday morning before school there was fog covering our campus. Roger went outside to take some pictures of the lake and Asher and I watched from inside.

Saturday, our day of no school, found us shopping at the outlets in Williamsburg before heading across the Chesapeake Bay to Cape Charles, Virginia. Asher has been to the beach before, but his was the first time he was interested in the sand. He played in the sand and walked in the water for a long time before we cleaned up and had crab cakes for dinner.