friends & family

Today Iaimon and Laree were here from 7:30 am till 9:00 pm. Phew. I am so lucky to have such a great person taking care of my daughter. I know Iaimon has her faults (mainly that she's hot tempered when dealing with other people than Phet and I, I'd say) but I have never had a moment of worry about Seung Yi in her hands. She's always here on time, cheery, ready to play, Seung Yi obviously loves her in a really healthy way (in other words she loves Iaimon, is sad when she goes home, but still loves me her Mom as well!), she's taught Seung Yi really important things like how to sit nicely while you're eating and how to clean up the toys when you're done with them, and I like how she's high spirited. She also cooks great food for the girls and I like it that I can munch on their leftover veggies and peeled and sliced fruits when I come home from work. I also really like that when Iaimon is here she's in charge and when I'm around I'm in charge. I don't really like seeing families where there's a weird power scene in which the Mom is kind of in charge but then doesn't really actually end up dealing with the kids, it's the nanny who has to do that, but she doesn't have any power to get the kids to do what they need to do when Mom's around. So there you have it, me I'm happy.

I have to run because there's a mosquito biting the heck out of my legs under the desk and I just can't bear to sit here at the desk anymore, but before I go a pretty representative picture of what we see around here on a daily basis (of course there are also the battles between the girls, but those are so much less fun to document!):

Charlotte, you may recognize your old polar bear jeans on Laree, and Mum you may recognize the cute white tank top you bought on Seung Yi. The girls also usually wear their matching pink and white sandals from Mum that are just the sweetest. Ahh, beautiful girls.

PS: Family updates - we hear from Phet's family that Tai Ma's jaundice is getting worse. For those of you who pray (hey there Deacon Dwyer!), put in a good word for her as she is dealing with these tough times. Phet is cutting short his business trips and will be getting his Dad in Bangkok as quickly as possible so that they can get to Toronto hopefully by the 8th of June or so. We are so lucky that his office here in Delhi and his boss in Ottawa have been so supportive of him with his family needs. They are really, truly incredible. Meanwhile, Pheuy and Jenny have been helping aunts and Gramma out every day, Sing has taken a leave of absence to stay with aunts in Toronto, and Aunt Sandy has taken a leave as well so she can help Nga Gu take care of Gramma at home as long as possible.

In other news, Uncle Rob in Calgary is in the hospital after falling and breaking his shoulder. Dad's out there helping him and Grampa out, and Em's on her way today as well. For those of you who pray (hey there Aunt Theresa!) keep all of them in your thoughts. You can imagine what Rob's going through, having to stay at the hospital, and you can probably also guess how stressed out everyone else must be as well. I keep telling them: you are doing so well. My Dad is such a truly good son and he sets an example for all of us in how much love and care he gives to everyone in his family. Emma finally gets some time off...and she's out there as well. And Grampa? Well, he's been taking care of his son for a long time now, and who knows how many of us would have been able to do the same. Everyone? Keep up the good work. You're awesome.

[Delhi-26-May-2008]