A word from the Willies

Above: Derek, dancing to "Stayin' Alive," per request of his students during a game at a gathering in our apartment. (SE Asia)

Above: Who would've thought 4:45 a.m. could be this much fun? A jet lagged toddler who thinks it's 8:15 a.m., that's who! (Bulgaria, at the company conference we just returned from)

Above: Stacey enjoys sweet fellowship with some good, good friends. (Bulgaria, same conference as above)

We've been living in SE Asia since early June 2008. For those of you who've been checking up on us thru the blog, sorry to disappoint you!!! Our time at the internet cafe has been limited; but we are still optimistic that we can occasionally add posts that can keep you involved in our lives!



Here's a brief synopsis of what life's been like and what we're anticipating:

Derek is an English language consultant at a private center. He's only with his class part time, but due to the location of the school and the timing of his two classes, he was gone 10 hrs a day M-W-F during his first term. T and Th were days off, so that's when we did language study and other things to try and settle into our new home. This next term his two classes are closer together in the day, so HM and I will be very happy to be seeing more of him.



We've learned to readjust our expectations of how quickly "settling in" happens in a new country. It's a whole new system of transportation, shopping, and communication. Since we can't hop in our car and drive to the mall to pick up most of what we need, we've learned to expect the process to move slowly. If we work all day to accomplish one thing on an unending list of things we need to do, buy, or find out about, then we can consider it a successful day. And, even if we don't accomplish that one thing, if we've learned something about how the new (to us) system works in the process of not accomplishing anything... well, then we've accomplished something! This is easier to say than it is to live, but we're learning.



HM has done extremely well and settled in marvelously. She's picked up some Burmese mannerisms and has even taught us a few Burmese words in the midst of her ever expanding English vocab. This is definitely her home, and we are thrilled to see her thriving. We are so blessed by how well people love her.



Finally, the big news... we're expecting our second baby to be born in mid April! I'm feeling better and am hoping that this pregancy will follow the textbook and offer me complete relief from morning sickness during this 2nd trimester.



Hope to post more soon. Check out more pics: www.picasaweb.google.com/dshwilliams

Mid-March Madness

H swimming in Daddy's sweatshirt as she "helps" with the laundry

That's Mommy's wedding shoe, which H was prancing around with while donning the lovely flower forehead that is all the rage these days.

Funny girl

These are just cute pictures of our little girl. Enjoy!

H in September

More history posts will be coming soon, but we wanted to give you a quick glimpse of what H is looking like these days. This was September 10: what a joy! H and her friend J Munoz, who is a little over a year old, play "E.T. phone home"

September 2: Crawling is looming in the near future! For now she mostly just turns in circles and scoots backwards.

Picture-perfect.

And she's gone...

H & Grandpa Swenson: March 31, 2007

Life couldn't get any better: relaxing with Grandpa Swenson. Aaahhh, life is good.

Wow - Grandpa has a lot of interesting things to say too!

Adventures with Grandma Sally

Soon after H met Grandma Sally, we all had an adventure together. Grandma, who was visiting us from MO, was staying in the middle of the triplex where we were living. She had heard a loud electrical zap in her apartment, and then her microwave started smoking. Being right next door, she came over and Derek went to go check it out. While Derek was away, we heard another current of electricity buzz through the kitchen wall and into/through the living room walls, until we heard a big "boom" come from the area where the computer was. Then we saw smoke coming from behind the desk. Grandma, ever alert to H's safety, made sure we got H outside while we investigated the cause.

Later we found out that a power surge had occurred. Let us take a moment to endorse surge protectors. As you can see from the pictures, this surge protector had a hole burned right through it. There was even a burn on the carpet - which is what was smoking. But, all of the equipment that was plugged into the surge protector (including the computer I'm typing on right now) was in perfect condition following the surge. The protector was destroyed, but it did its job well! Way to go, surge protector companies! Thank you!

H meets Grandma Sally: March 23, 2007

From the very beginning, H could count on Grandma Sally to sing to her.

H's first present for Grandpa Williams - March 18, 2007

H was so relaxed with Grandpa that she decided to have her first blow-out while he was holding her! In case you couldn't spot it in the above picture, here's a closeup:

But don't worry: both Grandpa and H found some clean clothes to change into, and they got along just fine after that.

Quality Time with Grandpa and Grandma Williams, March 17 & 18

H looks right at home with Grandpa and Grandma!

Grandma has brought up an interesting point. I must think about this further!

The Due Date: March 17, 2007

March 17: the "due date" for H's arrival (we're glad she decided to come a little early!) Can you tell who the proud grandparents are? (Hint: the ones armed with cameras.) In addition to meeting Grandpa and Grandma Williams, H got to meet Great Uncle Rob & Great Aunt Marty! H decided to sleep during the family photo. Sorry if these photos are small - we tried something new.

March 8, 2007: 8 days old

Where is all that hair now?

Day 1: March 1, 2007

These are other pictures from Day 1 - such a tiny, beautiful bundle of joy!

The History Channel

We're posting some old pics now, so all can see how H has grown! This was March 1, 2007- hours after she first came into the world!

H the Rock-Star

Rock-starness is in her blood, just like Daddy!

July 20, 2007

H and her little friends

Is there a baby under that hat?

The reason people came to our yard sale

H is all decked out in her sun hat for the yard sale we had on July 14. Thanks to Abby & Wendy who gave her some relief from the sun and brought her into the AC to take these cute pics while mom & dad sold their stuff!