Alex's First Stitches

Today Alex fell on the playground at school and cracked his chin on a stone bench. He split it wide open and there was no choice but to take him to the hospital for stitches. He was SO BRAVE! They got us in right away and he was stitched up by a surgeon in the hospital and not just a regular ER doc. Alex was determined not to cry and when the doctor stuck the needle in his chin Alex remained motionless... didn't flinch... didn't cry. I was amazed and relieved. The surgeon stitched him up nice and neat and there will only be a faint line for a scar when the stitches are removed. As you can tell by his big grins, this was a lot more traumatizing for me than it was for him! I am proud of my brave little boy.

Easter Morning

We had a really amazing Easter morning this year. It started with a sunrise baptism service on the beach. We all gathered at the school and our spiritual life director, Rich, gave an excellent sermon. Afterwards, he brought up about 8 students who had expressed the desire to be baptized. Each one took their turn at the microphone explaining why they wanted to be baptized that morning. They gathered for prayer. Then Rich walked into the Indian Ocean and one by one the students and one of their parents walked into the ocean and were baptized. It was really amazing to watch these teenage boys and girls march resolutely into the water to express their choice to be Christians in front of everyone. I was very proud of them. And what a perfect day to be baptized! And to make the day complete, our beautiful princess Natalie looked adorable!

The Beach in Batu Ferringhi

We got another week off for spring break and we decided to go check out the beaches in Batu Ferringhi. Batu us located further down the coastline in a more secluded and touristy area than where we live. The beaches are beautiful and the water is cleaner. The boys spent their time splashing in the water, having squirt gun fights, playing in the sand and exploring all the rocks. It was blistering hot as usual so we went in the morning and by 1pm we had to leave. So we ended up at one of our favorite stalls eating curry mee and spring rolls for lunch. I walked away with a massive sunburn as a souvenir (darn that Irish skin!).