. Dressed in South Asian Love .

 After Riley was born, I learned several "cultural" things that happen here- that quite honestly had caught me off guard and left me a little hurt and missing America...

It is common here for people you employ: house helper, gardener, car washer, etc... 

(anyone who may considered a benefactor of yours)

to ask for money when you have a child.

Or they expect you to feed them sweets to celebrate the birth.

Their thoughts are : God has blessed you, so  you pass the blessing along.

HOWEVER...

This heart of mine wasn't prepared for this, so I immediately was thinking:

We DON'T do this in AMERICA!

When a woman gives birth, people go out of their way to pour out love on US and our family... bringing meals, flowers, kind words, sweets, etc...

But they would NEVER ask it FROM me.

So if I wasn't already missing home, family, and the whole bit- this was the last thing I needed.

(I admit- I may have taken a violent shove into culture shock in the moment. haha)

THEN...

We returned to our home in our city,

and the Lord redeemed this culture and kindled my love for it and the people once again.

A family we have befriended came by to meet Riley, and as soon as they walked through the door they did not demand ONE THING, but rather began pulling out gift after gift for both Riley and I.

(Mind you, this family does NOT have a lot of money- yet they CHOSE to pour out LOVE on us)

My heart lifted- and the Lord put a smile on my face through the kindness of these women!

So here we are- sporting the outfits they bought for us:

And to top it off, our house helper (whom we were told would demand money from us)

instead brought an outfit for Riley, Levi, and myself- also and never asked for a thing.

Don't you LOVE how the Lord works?

I sure do, and am so grateful when He sees my heart and provides a way to protect it from bitterness and resentment (which the enemy would just love to breed, wouldn't he?)...

Instead He leaves me overwhelmed by the LOVE I feel by those He has placed in my life.

~ Redeemed & Grateful ~

:: Hands Raised High ::

While at our national friend's wedding here in South Asia, 

we were asked to reach our hand out toward the couple as we prayed for them and their marriage....

As I looked down in front of me, this is what I saw 

(completely unprompted):

I LOVE this little boy with ALL my heart!

.Y.U.M.M.Y.

One thing is for sure.... This boy LOOOOVES sweet things.

I guess you could have figured that out on your own from these:

BROWNIES = YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!

:: Projects... COMPLETE ::

Well I have been working on a few little projects since last fall, and I thought I would give you a glimpse of the end results:

Riley Jo's blanket:

Levi's WVU blanket:

I began this blanket for my friend's baby, however, she lost her little girl after just 2 months :(

So I decided to make it a little bigger for her to use herself.

Notice the trend? haha.

Yea- if it ain't broke, why fix/change it- Right?

I just stick with the same stitch and change up the colors and design.

Maybe one day I will be brave to try something else, but until then- this works. :)

(Thanks Grandma Painter for teaching me to crochet and Grandma Sis for teaching me this stitch!)

Together... Forever :)

 When I found out I was pregnant again, last May-

 I was THRILLED at the thought of Levi having a full time playmate.

In my mind, I had accepted it being a year or so down the road before this truly unfolded...

However, the Lord is sweet, and has already planted a desire in this sweet boy's heart to ALWAYS want to have Riley by his side!

My heart remains so FULL it could burst every time I see this :)

Little stinker even felt the need to "save the day" when Riley was crying in her pack n play, 

so he climbed in all by himself and then had this ornery smile on his face when I found him:

 Squeezes in beside her on the couch and even provides the assist with the pacifier :)

So Tender:

Giving her HUGS:

Making sure she is ready for the road:

 Anytime Riley and I are hanging out on the bed,

it's almost a sure bet that Levi will be by our side :)

Right when Riley turned 3 months I set up her play mat,

and guess was there in an instant to show her how things worked?

That's right, none other than her Big Brother:

I love-love-love when I catch them staring into each others eyes!

Off all the places he could drive his cars... this is where he chooses:

He plops her pacifier in her mouth:

Then proceeds to drive his car around her chair 

(But is actually quite good about minding his distance from her)

 

Stops to check in on his buddy, switches on the vibrate button to make sure she is comfy:)

Can't contain his adoration and love for his little sister!!!

Couldn't ask for a better big brother:

This day was, by far, one of my favorites.

Craig and I were sitting in our downstairs when we saw Riley's bassinet start appearing from our bedroom door ... all while Riley is still just chilling in it :)

Then the culprit appears... Levi

He proceeds to push her out the door, along the floor toward his bedroom, through his bedroom door, and onto his car mat.

That's right- he just wanted her to be right next to him while he played his cars.

Let's just say I couldn't wipe the smile off my face when I saw this:

She was loving it:

As he proceeded to push his cars around the floor and trains along the track, he would make sure he stopped to show Riley the cars, also, so that she could enjoy.

How thoughtful?!?!

He makes sure that her love tank is filled every single day:

As he watched his show one day, he even patted the pillow beside him wanting her to "sit" next to him:

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I pray that the Lord continues to grow the bond between these two, and that with each day they would only grow fonder of each other and cherish many many many moments together in the days ahead.

He is GOOD!