Tokyo, retreats & mouse traps

Here we three are, going to watch a movie, and have just been skyped by Tris. He's in Tokyo attending an IB (international baccalaureate) conference, and the kids and I are hanging out at home. Matthew just returned from a 2 night spiritual retreat at a beach resort outside of Jakarta. Unfortunately the kids weren't allowed to swim in the water at the beach because of strong undercurrents, but he had a great time doing all the other stuff you do at camp. We had a good talk about what he experienced and I love his insight on life. Abby built a 'mouse trap machine' according to class instructions (use your imagination and whatever supplies you have available; build a bunch of 'simple machines' to create a more elaborate complex machine) and received 2nd place standing. Tris has met 2 other teachers who are attending the same conference and they spent the evening checking out various places in Tokyo. He's having a good time and is learning a lot. Not much info here on our end. We received 3 pieces of mail last week and that was a treat!!

This is just a post to let you know that we're doing okay and that we are keepin' on.

Thanks for reading.

Blown Away

Don't panic or anything but I just about blew up my kitchen...I always tell Tris there's a reason that I don't light the campstove. Our itty bitty oven is a propane one, which is awesome when there's a power outage...you can still make dinner or better yet, bake cookies. It's not so awesome when you go to light it and, having left the propane on a touch too long, it blows up in your face. I jumped (involuntarily), the oven jumped, and the butane lighter blew up in my hands. Sri walked in with huge eyes and just stood there, checking me over. There's no damage, except to the lighter, and I decided I'd better jump right back on that horse and tame it, so to speak. I knew that if I didn't light it right away I'd let fear get the best of me so I threw a match in about 10 minutes later...my muffins are baking quite nicely now as I write. My right hand is a bit burned but there's no physical evidence...it's just 'burning'. I do have my eyebrows but the hair on my arms is rather singed and curly. Thankfully Tris hasn't left for Tokyo yet...he flies out tomorrow. He'd be upset to know I tried to burn down the house while he was away. I have friends who have had that happen to them and it's sure a headache. So, I know that people are praying for us and today is an obvious example of God's grace and protection on us. You would have better understanding of this if you could see just how small and tight the kitchen area really is.

By the way, we have received emails about our brother-in-law Paul. Apparently he's had a running accident of some kind and he has a broken wrist and broken clavicle. With both arms in a sling he isn't doing much at this point. We don't know anything else about it and would love it if someone could give us more details. Please pray for him as well, that all would heal perfectly and quickly. Thanks.

Did you know that when something blows up it really does go KABOOM!

I had to return to this post and add this: in the last few minutes I've been singing a song, unaware of what I was singing. Just realized it's "Light the Fire Again"!!! I wish I could laugh with someone about that but I'll just leave you to do the laughing for me.

Thanks for reading.

We're Spoiled!

"You don't know what you got 'til it's gone"...and then you buy a new one. We have freedom once more in our suv. Our registration papers came in and we drove, yes, it's true, drove the 2 blocks it takes to get to the school (it's just as quick to walk as it is to drive sometimes...it's the way that the flow of traffic goes that lengthens the drive). It felt really, really good to sit alongside my husband while he was driving in our own car. Three and a half months of other modes of transportation was okay, but this is better. We will continue to have to take ojegs and walk for a while but we're okay with that. Everything here is a step at a time.

Our Sunday was a wonderful one. The entire family hung around after a pancake breakfast and just wrote letters, did homework and Tris worked on his masters. Matt and I ojeg'd it over to the mall for lunch and a bit of shopping...he left printing off a project until today and it's due tomorrow. We ran out of ink and so his 'punishment' for not being prepared was heading to Hypermart with me where we stood in line for 25 minutes to buy 4 packages of fresh strawberries, some writing cards, and a litre of yogurt. It is important for me to remember that Sunday is the majority of the working population's day off, and I think 1/2 of Lippo Karawaci was there! Later we bought ink and Matthew's project (a lovely brochure of Madrid...makes me want to visit!) is complete.

Last night after church we shopped at the "Food Hall" in a ritsy Jakarta mall. We found 3 cans of blackberries (at $3 a can!) and today we enjoyed blackberry/apple pie and vanilla ice cream with the Comries. Rumour has it that expat food may be even more difficult to come by due to government restrictions soon, so I think we'd better stock up on canned blackberries and Crisco shortening. The pie topped off a great late afternoon of field games (bocci, soccer and french cricket) and order-in pizza with the Comries. I much prefer a full Sunday to one that is ONLY lazy and where we are unmotivated to do anything.

Deep moment of the week:
While searching for the HP store, Matthew and I came across an exhibit of photos taken throughout Jakarta. My favourites were 1) of an old fisherman throwing his net out to sea from his old, rickety boat; 2) and old woman sitting in the mud, turning a ceramic bowl (in Jogyakarta). The colours were crisp and clear and their surroundings were pretty intriguing, but it was their faces that caught me. I don't think I've ever looked at a stranger's photograph before and been brought to tears without an obvious reason ie/ there was no blood, no heartache, no distended stomachs, no immediate pull for compassion, . The photos were just raw and beautiful and they are what I am hoping to somehow, someday capture while I am here. God's put a desire in me and I think he must be preparing me, slowly, for something, but I have no idea what He's doing or where He wants me. I'm experiencing emotions that sit at the surface for days on end with no real reason for their existence except that they were triggered by something I saw either while driving, along the side streets of our village, at a beach, or even in a photo in a competition. If/when I get clarification I'll fill you in.

Thanks for reading.

Update on Zoey...she's home!

One more blog post for the day...I'm in the office while the dead rat/mold issue is being dealt with. There's really no where else to go and so I am enjoying some computer time...

Hi all!

Zoey came out of traction on Friday and they released her to us on Saturday after a month in the hospital. We are delighted to have her home with us again! (pictures at bottom)

Her legs were initially very tender and raw from being in traction the past month, but are already looking much better. However, her incision is still very tender as unfortunately it opened up a bit when she came out of traction and her bladder is partly protruding thru the incision. Her doctor says that unfortunately it happens in some cases like hers and she will have to wait until she is school-age before they make any further adjustments. We obviously are a little concerned about this, especially since it was really bothering her at first, but it seems to be causing her less pain with each day and as my friend Erin reminded me, God is the Healer and we place our trust in Him in this matter.

At this point the catheter removal seems quite minor. She may have it done this Friday or if she gets bumped, then it will be the week after sometime. The surgeon is hoping it is actually stuck in the bladder so they can use a scope to remove it. Otherwise, if it is under the skin, they will make another incision to remove it. It is apparently difficult to tell from the x-rays exactly where it is located. She will probably be back in the hospital for only a day or two when it is done.

Generally, Zoey is starting to act more like her old self and is a relatively happy girl who gives us lots of smiles. It is wonderful to have her home. For those of you who are local, feel free to drop by any time to visit her (and/or us!).

Love, Steph

http://picasaweb.google.ca/gsebaker/BakerBabies?authkey=rOOSqSMJco0#


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We received the call from the hospital today that Zoey is scheduled for her catheter removal on Wednesday (tomorrow) at 11:15 a.m. and it is expected to take approx 1 1/4 hours. She will spend one night there and I'm hoping to be able to spend that night there with her (& Zach) depending on what ward she ends up in and how much space there is.

Please pray that the procedure doesn't get cancelled at the last minute and that God guides the surgeon's hands so the removal goes smoothly and painlessly.

Love, Stephanie

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great news - the catheter was still in bladder so they were able to scope it out without any incisions and instead of spending the night, we are already home! Thank you for all your prayers and kind thoughts. We aren't scheduled to see urologist again for another 3 months and that is a basic check to see how her kidneys are doing. Finally a chance now to relax and enjoy being home without another procedure looming any time soon :)

love,steph

Thanks for reading.

Mock-'kim'-bird aka 'Whistle-bird'

Do you remember, those of you who were with us in the 'early days' of our blog, my reference to a 'whistle bird'? There was a bird that used to greet us each morning outside our window, and it sounded just like a safety whistle. Sometime it would be quite close to our house and at other times it was quite far away. After a while we either got used to it or it went away. It seemed loudest when school began in those first mornings of August...

That leads me to my discovery/disclosure, and I will say, I am not afraid to make fun of myself. However, the mocking stops there! I have a perogative to laugh at myself, you can laugh behind my back, but don't mock me to my face...

I was doing something the other day, and with the way my week has been it was probably something sedentary; while I was thinking about our arrival to Indonesia, a though came to me. It hit me that the whistle-bird sounded terribly familiar and that I hear it only in the mornings when school begins (and drivers drop off their human cargo) and in the afternoons when school is out (and drivers pick up the same students they dropped off earlier). Duh. The whistle-bird isn't a bird at all. It's the taman and school satpam (security) with their whistles; they direct traffic each morning and afternoon and LOVE to use their whistles while doing so.

However, I will always remember the whistle-bird and how it made us feel like we really lived in the jungle in the mornings.

Thanks for reading.

It WAS a rat!

Ewww. Three men arrived at our house early this morning and cut a hole out of the area where the black mold has been growing. After about 1 hour I heard, from the comfort of our office, a man run out of the house like he was heaving and getting ready to vomit. That's not an unusual noise here because people often horque and heave like their life depended on it, and it isn't a pretty sound. However, this time it continued and when I poked my head out of the office door, the main maintenance guy said "mrs...mouse..." but I think it must have been a rat for all of the stink that we've endured over the last week and a bit. Tikus is a word for rat and mouse, by the way, so I'm going for the former descriptive. There were bits of fur on the floor that had fallen from the hole, so I am assuming that one of the assistants had to remove the carcass from the rat's grave. What is really weird is that the rat died in the same place as the mold had appeared a few months ago. Rats begin to decompose, especially in this heat, quite soon after they die, so we know that it hasn't been the cause of the mold. We're putting our money on it being a leak, seeing as there are streak marks all over our cement walls. My conclusion? The rat died from black mold poisoning. Thank the Lord that the maintenance guys have arrived!

Our plastic-covered main area (living room, tv room, dining room, rumpus room) You can't really see the streaking or mold (some of which has been cut out..the long rectangle is the rat graveyard...it's directly under the kids' shower)

It's our hope that once this is all over we can paint the walls a happy colour. There is an ACE hardware store here (American?) and they sell Dulux paint, which is probably the best available here. There is another option, and that is a powder based paint to which you add water. It's not very washable and it streaks, so we're going to go for the higher quality. Now the question is what colour are we going to go with? THIS is a time when I really need my girlfriends for their opinions.

Thanks for reading.

Have you ever had sweaty knees? I mean, not sweaty behind the knees...but sweaty KNEE CAPS??? I went for an awesome, long walk with Dalenea and baby Jayden (we're trying to do this regularly) and by the time I was walking up to my taman entrance, I noticed that the fronts of my knees were dripping. It wasn't coming from my thighs...it was from my knees! I didn't even know that knees had sweat glands. Guess they're all over! On that note, a reminder to anyone who decides to venture our way...cotton is comfort!

There are a few things that cause us foreigners to laugh here, and as you've seen in past posts, one of them is the number of people ("orang") who arrive to do a simple task. Last night we had our car representative show up with some insurance papers (still can't drive the vehicle until next week...processing paperwork still) and he brought a fellow salesman. When they went, I walked them to the door only to discover 2 other men outside, having a cigarette in our driveway. They were all together. At least this time all four didn't come inside like the first time these particular salesmen showed up.

Janet Weeda had a similar experience last week. She called housing to see if a padlock could be removed from a particular door in her house. Housing contacted the landlord and so he showed up with a maintenance man of his choice (probably works full-on for the landlord), along with 2 other men. The task? To dremel the padlock off the door. I am so tempted to make up my own joke of "How many Indonesians does it take..." but I think that may be a little disrespectful.

I talked to my big brother today on skype. Saw his good-looking face and everything! Sure is nice to have skype.

Thanks for reading.

Okay, so maybe I was a little hasty in saying good-bye to the Ojegs (motorcycles). Our vehicle is not yet registered and so I did have to take an ojeg to and from my friend Dalenea's house today. No problem because I love the feeling of wind in my hair, but it was a little disconcerting with the black rain clouds hovering overhead. Fortunately they didn't release until AFTER I got to school to pick up Abby. Quite often with the rain here we can wait a bit and then the rain dies down long enough for us to run home. Our economic/moral/environmental dilemma is...when we get a driver and it's pouring down rain, do I send him to go and pick up Tris? We can see the school from our house but you have to walk all of the way around the school fence to get home. Right now I say not a chance that I'll send a driver that short of a distance...but you may want to remind me of that later.

I toy with the idea of driving the main road in front of our house which leads me to various friends' houses. If you were to see it you'd laugh. I can picture Kathleen saying "You've GOT to be kidding....!" if she were to see it. It's really no different than Arden Road or any other city street, except that it's 2 lanes and the drivers are on the wrong side of the road. Nothing to be scared of, except that it eventually leads to something busier and a lot scarier.

I keep having these great ideas for a blog posting but they escape me when I sit down at the computer. Anything you'd like to know about?

Thanks for reading.

Grandparent Update on Matthew

Last week was Abby's parent-teacher interview and today was Matthew's. The setup is very different for each because Matt, being in Senior School, gets a more detailed report card. After the report is distributed to the parent (who has to pick it up personally) he or she goes into one of two huge rooms, where each senior school teacher is sitting at a desk. Parents line up to speak to the teacher of their choice. Funny, but the overall pattern is that Math teachers and Science teachers are always busy, and the PE and language teachers are not as busy. That's what I was told and that's what I experienced today!

Matthew did very well on his report...better that we'd expected, actually. That was a pleasant surprise (well, maybe surprise isn't the right word...he's very capable and we know he has the potential to do excellent in all subjects). Our friends have a son in the same grade, and all of us were wondering just how our children would fair the first term. It's difficult to assess how the teachers are going to grade the kids just from what we see at home. For those who know Matthew, you will not be surprised by the adjectives used to describe Matthew: friendly, outgoing, a great contributor to class discussions, very knowledgable, respectful to peers and staff, a little too talkative at times but a treat to have in the class, etc. He is definately a presenter, when he has his information organized he does an excellent job. We are very proud of Matthew's efforts and how well he works at home. He definately loves to "hang" and we have to work that around his academic responsibilities, but there's always time for friends when the school work is done! What is different here is that it is always dark by 6:30 so the kids can't just go outside and play once they're done. We try to get their homework started after school, give them some play time, and then back to homework once it's dark. The expectations at this school (and Indonesia in general it seems) are very high, and so we like how it causes Matthew to put his nose to the grind.

Matthew's missing Canada right now. This is the first really big 'wave' of homesickness for him. Mine has been a little more rhythmic it seems, where I go in stages. Abby seems to be settling a bit more than she was last month, which is great. Tris just loves his job and is excited about the new vehicle. He leaves for Tokyo next week for 5 days...longest we've been apart since Ghana! Looks like we'll probably have a girls' sleepover next week as a friend's husband is also away at the same time AND Matthew will be on his Spiritual Retreat. Popcorn for dinner!

Thanks for reading.

We have wheels!

Good-bye Ojegs! Good-bye bis! Good-bye taksis! We've got our new suv. It arrived today around 3 pm (supposed to be here around 9 am) and it's lovely. The best thing about it is that it fits 7 comfortably so with a driver, our family and two others can go on adventures around Jakarta and beyond! The vehicle arrived when no one was home but me, so I had to do the checking for scratches, kick the tires, look under the hood, etc. Not only am I bule but I'm a woman to boot, so you KNOW that it attracted some attention. Fortunately people around here are getting used to me pulling out my camera for every possible occasion, so I easily persuaded the 2 salesmen (who delivered the suv) and 2 drivers from across the street to stay where they were so I could shoot a photo. [Unfortunately, the driver who looks like Greg Baker was not around and so I couldn't sneak a photo of him for Steph and Greg to check out. One day I'll just ask him if I can take his picture.] One of the drivers drive-shares with 2 families from school and so he is familiar enough with our family and myself that he helped me check out the vehicle for scratches and the like. Already he is asking if we have a driver and I suspect that we'll have the odd knock on our door over the next month.
One of the adventures that will NOT occur in Indonesia is Mrs. Kim driving. Tris bought his license and that is good enough for me. MAYBE if I get brave I'll drive to and from my friends' homes here in the safety of Lippo, but that would be it.

One adventure we will be having in the next week is to have our family filmed for a local television show. I'm not sure how local and what it all entails, but I imagine it's like Shaw cable and the local news blips on an obscure channel. The purpose of our being filmed is to encourage Indonesian youth to learn to speak English. We will dress in 'Canadian traditional garb' (whatever that may be!) and I'll make a traditional meal. Tris is all for roast chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy with veggies on the side. I'm leaning more towards a nice hearty stew. Mind you, pancakes with syrup would be nice (we saw maple syrup around here somewhere) except that they don't taste as good without bacon and we just can't do pork for this event. We'll be serving our meal to an Indonesian family and so we have to keep within the boundaries of any religious rules when we cook. Obviously we're all open to suggestions. I did get a bunch of Facebook, but somehow I don't think that wearing a toque in this weather will work; I don't want us passing out on tv because I don't know how or if they'd edit it!

Not sure what else is in store for us this week, but it's been a doozey so far!

Thanks for reading.

My Library Friends

I have written often about my two librarian friends, Ibu Fransesca and Ibu Risma. Finally I had opportunity to sneak into the Senior Library and take a photo of each of them.

Ibu Fransesca is the Head Librarian (not sure what we call that here) and she's got great control over her library. Ibu Risma (black jacket) is at the front desk, and she's the one who helps me with my Bahasa-Indonesia when I'm stuck. She also loads me up with books on Indonesia, Indonesian recipes and just plain old novels. These ladies have helped me to adjust to living here just by letting me go and hang at the library when I needed a quiet place to be and didn't want to be at my house anymore. In the beginning, especially, it was difficult after a while to be in a white-walled house with no one to talk to, so I would venture over to main library and study there for an hour or two. Or, I would have a volunteering position to go to and it would be an hour away from a meeting I had just attended, so the librarians have just been patient about me popping in and out at my leisure.

This has been an interesting week in terms of general day to day living. Last Friday the Housing department head finally came over to look at the mold in our house and at the leaks down our walls. Apparently there is going to be something done sooner rather than later, which is good. We haven't been too panicky about it, although it is black mold, but JUST after Ibu Rose (Housing) left it began to smell like a dead rat was in our house. The rat man had been here a week earlier and had not returned to collect his trap, so we called him and he came. There was nothing in his trap nor was there anything dead to be found anywhere: ceilings, roof tiles, drains...all were empty of dead bodies of any kind. However, even after he left there was still a strong smell of 'rotten death' (what else can I call it???) throughout the house, and strongest in the main living area, especially near the leaking wall. We've come to the conclusion that the stench comes from the leak...and so we will have to live with it until the housing department can hire someone to come out and knock out our cement wall, fix it, patch the wall, and repaint. Fortunately either we're getting used to it or the smell is going away a bit.

I am waiting right now for our car to arrive. We bought one out of the showroom, otherwise we'd have to wait to what could be halfway through my parents' visit while a new order came in.

The suv was due here last night and I just have to wait patiently for it to arrive today.

Thanks for reading.

So the story on Abby is this...today she didn't get the awards that I was told that she was going to get BUT they did announce it during the Junior School Assembly.

Yesterday the parent-teacher interviews went on and I was the first parent to be schedules for Abby's class (Matt's are next week). To make a long story short, Abby's teacher, Mr. Jonathon, was very pleased with Abby's work and her attitude in class. She received all 'highest distinction' marks (highest you can receive) in both english and biblical studies. These are the classes for which she was going to be given an award today, but apparently the awards were not finalized by the time of the assembly and so they are going to present them at a later date. However, Abby ALSO got an award today for her excellent attitude and contribution to the class, and so she had to stand up with other students in Junior School to receive a clap from her Junior School mates. It was at this time that, when they announced Abby's name for today's recognition award, that they also announced that Abby had received her awards for Biblical Studies and English. She had no idea and so it was fun to watch her face when she realized what the students at the front were saying.

As pleased as we are with Abby's academic excellence, what got Tris and I choked up was the report on her attitude and presence in her class. Mr. Jonathon was very pleased how Abby does not praise herself or show off her great marks in class, that she helps others and does it quietly so that she doesn't draw attention to herself, and has a very mature and responsible attitude about her relationship with God and with others. [By the way, she may not brag about herself, but it's my job to do so:)] When Mr. Jonathon told me this was when tears came to my eyes, and I noticed that when I was repeating the interview results to Tris, it wasn't when I told him of her good marks, it was when I told him of her integrity in class that he teared up as well. Why cry? There is just something about knowing that what you are teaching your child and hopefully sometimes even modelling is registering in your child, and that you are doing an ok job as a parent. We've told Abby (and Matt too) that we're more excited to hear of good life choices than of good grades (but good grades are important, too. I need to add that just in case the kids read this.....).

That is this morning's news in a nutshell. I'm excited for when Abby comes home and we can talk about how she felt knowing she is being rewarded for all the hard work she's done over the last 3 months.

Thanks for reading!

More Birthday

Today was a great day, and I think that Matthew had a good birthday. We bought him a small cd player for his room...wasn't the i-pod that he wanted but we're calling it a 'room-pod.' He doesn't think that's very funny. We were told that electronics in SE Asia were way less expensive than at home...that's NOT correct. What would have cost us about $30 in Canada cost us more than $50 here.

I love this shot sequence because it shows just how funny Matt's cake was. It was very plain...just chocolate, but we'd bought continuous candles, so even when he blew them all out, the majority would come back. The Weeda family joined us for cake and we were all laughing pretty hard at how much work Matthew had to do to blow them out. Look at how tired he looks after about 3 minutes of blowing and laughing!


These are the Weeda boys watching Matt unwrap his gifts (Neil, Eric and Mr. Steve). This family is like family to us...they're the ones that were on the same plane as us as we flew out of San Fran but didn't meet them until Hong Kong (they sat directly in front of us for 17 hours!). We're very thankful for their friendship and just how "real" they are.





And these are the Weeda girls and Abby. Hope is 4 and she's Abby's buddy; she LOVES hanging with Abby.

Now for MY really cool news...I have a garden!

When I asked for new grass, I mentioned that I wanted a garden to be dug out around the edge of the grass so that later I could plant bright flowers. Our gardener showed up yesterday with his workers, they planted the front and back yards with grass plugs (see the example of these below) and then showed me a bag of flowers.

Most of the flowers that they planted I have not seen around here very much, so I'm not sure how long they last. They had no idea what kind of flowers I wanted, but I'd expected them to bring me really tropical plants. When they pulled out mini-mums and mini-carnations as well as 2 tea rose bushes (hello!!!!) I think I almost jumped up and down. They laugh at everything I do anyways (it's a really pleasant thing to know that I am a constant source of entertainment for Indonesians) but I think I would have really given them something to laugh about. If you look to the right of the last guy you'll see my 2 red rose bushes behind him. They're potted so i can move them around as I wish. If you look behind the guy on the far left (that's Pak Suki, our main gardener who hired the other guys shown) there's a black box. That's our mail box and that's where all the good stuff gets put, if it ever gets here! Behind the guys is a lamp stand with a ball lamp on the end. For months I have not turned on that light because the yard was such a dump...all patches of grass and dirt, all lumpy and bumpy and just BAD in gardeners terms. Last night I turned it on and to tell you the truth, I kept going back outside to look at the nice yard. Once rainy season kicks in fully apparently the grass will just take off.

For those interested in my childrens' school progress, tune in for my next post. I went to Parent-Teacher interviews yesterday for Abby and she is receiving some awards in about 1 hour at the Junior school assembly, unbeknownst to Ab. I hope to get some photos and I'll fill you in.

Thanks for reading!

Matt turns 13 and is loving every minute of it!

Happy 13th Birthday Matthew!

Well, my firstborn has entered the next 'realm' of growing up. Thirteen years old. We never know what life is going to offer us and look what Tris and I ended up with. An incredible, funny, intelligent, good-looking, compassionate, out-going son who loves his family, his friends, and asks questions about life like he can't get enough. For his birthday breakfast I gave him a stone egg on a pedestal...an unusual gift for a 13 year old boy, but he loves rocks! This one is from Indonesian soil, made here and sold to me by an Indonesian man. It's a reminder of his first year here as well as a reminder of how cool creation is. That's what I love about Matthew...he notices and appreciates the world around him.

Also, Matthew received a rather thick book on trivia about WWII. He was so excited that he started reading it at the table (surprise, surprise???) and took it to school with him. Wonder what he's going to be when he grows up?

The top photo was taken this morning while he was talking to Grandma Sunny on skype. Thank the Lord for Skype! We could hear her clear as a bell and now we can start chatting more regularly. If, by the way, you are on Facebook, Matt has already checked his profile and was thrilled to see how many greetings he got on it...if you haven't already sent him a birthday greeting and are able, please do! I think that is the biggest gift he could get...lots of hellos. Also, if you go to the "blogs I read" at the top right of our blog, you can click on Matt's blog and write a comment on there as well if you'd like.

Just as a little aside, we have had gardeners in our yard this week, preparing the ground for grass. They've spent hours just chopping at the ground with hand tools (they do everything close to the ground, not high up like we do) and breaking up the clay soil. The ground is ready and the grass was delivered last night. See the bags? They're full of grass! I thought it was a hoot, especially when they arrived on 2 motorbikes, piled up on the back. Today the workers will come and plant it. The "mini gaja" rumput or "small elephant grass" comes as little plugs, which they put into the ground in rows. When it's done maybe I'll take a close up. You CAN buy what we would consider regular grass here but it is more expensive and has much higher maintenance. The stuff we're buying is pretty reasonable and pretty popular...probably because you don't really have to mow it!

I'd like to buy a topiary tree and the gardeners say it's really expensive. They're quoting me about $50-70, which if I am correct, would be about the price in Canada of a bonsai tree in a little pot! I'll think on it, because we have a bunch of purchases we've made but still have to pay for when they arrive (desk, bedding) and hope to still buy a vehicle soon. The car guys come to your house if you can't get to them, so unfortunately it's Matt's birthday and we have 2 guys coming at 5:30 tonight. I keep telling him maybe dad's buying him a car for his birthday!

Well, that's all that I have for you this morning. I hope your Tuesday is as wonderful as mine was yesterday.

Thanks for reading.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! And Happy Birthday to Lucy who turned 5 yesterday!!!

















I realize that the meals and family times are over, but we still always have opportunity to give thanks and this is mine. I just want to list a few things that I am thankful for. I believe that blogs are personal reflections of who we are, and so if this gets corny, it's because it's who I am....

Some of the things that i am thankful for are:

*salvation and that I have a God who is powerful and gracious and forgives

*my health, the health of Tris and my kids. Actually, we have a pretty healthy extended family, too!

*the support and love of family and friends who, although you love and miss us, let us know that what we are doing here is good and that we have made a good life choice.

*letters and parcels!!

*Tris and his positive outlook on life no matter what's going on. He's my balance!

*Matt and his unquenchable thirst for knowledge. He's an intellectual sponge with a great sense of humour...

*Abby and her desire for excellence...look out world...

*bright blue sky and a cool breeze now and then....also

*overcast sky which means it's not QUITE so hot

*new friends that have helped our transition so much more pleasant. It's not easy but it's more fun when others are in the same position as us and can relate to the weird stuff (like the rat in our bathroom...more to follow)

*rat traps

*opportunity to see, do, and live life differently

*my mom and dad who are my "marriage heroes." They have lived a life that says commitment, love and a strong faith in Jesus are the answer to turning a difficult marriage into one that is life-giving and "until death do us part."

*Tris and Sunny who have told me since day one that I am the one that they prayed for for their son.

*excellent examples of generosity by our parents of their wisdom, love, support and their finances.

*girlfriends who cry about my absence. Who would have thought?? I'm thankful for the ones who don't cry, too!

*the house we've been given to live in. What I was expecting and what we actually received are two way different things. It's clean, bright, intact and has room for greenery outside.

*my brothers

*simple things like the lavender sprouts that keep on growing (slowwwwly) in my pot outside; the smile of the guy who sweeps the road outside our house; Edwin McCain on my stereo.

*surrogate family members

*the incredible redheads in my life:)

I think I could fill a whole page with things I am thankful for....and the list goes on as life goes on.

This is a photo of a grade 7 teacher named Becky Bertram and Tris and I. We originally thought that Becky would be teaching Matthew but that changed with the school year. See the Canadian flag? Pretty creative, eh? And to think that it was unplanned!

The woman with dark brown hair is Christine and she's helping Melissa, who organized a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner. She found turkeys at the local supermarket and everything! Check out all of the food...and the table on the green tablecloth in the background had all the desserts on it. The amount of food was incredible.
We weren't able to find real pumpkins but a really dark orange squash worked for pie. Tasted pretty much the same. For those of you who tasted the last pumpkin pies i made...this time I actually included sugar!

This is what Indo kids do on Thanksgiving...go swimming! We were commenting on how for the majority of us it was the first time that we'd ever worn shorts during a Thanksgiving meal. While some of the kids were swimming the people inside took a 'family photo.' Pretty happy looking bunch, aren't we? Full of turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce, that's why. I was thinking that it would be funny if someone was looking over this photo and recognized someone here from school or something. Weirder things have happened.

If you look closely you'll see that Tris and I are some of the 'older' people in the crowd.

I think this photo is of Matthew contemplating his turning 13 tomorrow. Looks pretty calm about it, I'd say! We're trying to think of something fun to do this weekend. Probably we'll go ice skating, which is not a common event here. We'll just pile a bunch of kids into 2 taxis and head over to the mall that has an arena in it.

Now for a few updates:

There tends to be a bit of a 'stink' that comes with living in Indonesia. It's an overall sewage smell that once in a while wafts up to your nose when you least expect it. Unfortunately it creeps into our house now and then, so I have tried to tackle it to the best of my ability. I have nice smelly soaps in the bathrooms, and have stuffed the floor drains with plastic bags. The other day I went into the 'powder room' and what do you know, the drain lid was off and the plastic bag had popped out. Nothing came of it and so we shoved the bag back in. It so happens that the rat guy came last week and has yet to come by to pick up his (hopefully full) traps from the ceiling space. Maybe he put the traps in the wrong place, because on Sunday Matthew was in the lou and said "hey mom, come listen to this.' Of course I heard nothing until the second time he called "hey mom, there's definately something in the drain!" What we heard was the sound of scratching and sniffing and the wrinkle of plastic. Under the plastic bag I'd stuffed into the drain was some rodent-creature trying to make his way out. Tris banged on the drain lid and the sound went away. However, the saga continues! I wonder if the fluffy, shiny and plump rat that I saw running across our taman's entry road was the same on that likes to visit us? I am pretty sure when he was running in front of me that he looked at me and smirked.


It's Matt's birthday tomorrow. If any of you are on Facebook and have a moment, please send him a birthday greeting. I think that it would make his day extra special to know that his friends/family are thinking about him.


Last night I was at the orphanage and was looking through a North American flower book with one of the teens. As I pointed out my favourite flowers we'd discuss them and if they had an Indo name she'd tell it to me. I laughed when she told me that marigolds are (direct translation) called "poop of chickens." That made me think of Sunny and her love of marigolds and how she collected seeds for hours in Courtenay one day. One day I hope that those seeds of "chicken poop" flowers grow abundantly in your garden, Sunny. Marigolds are happy and sunny and they're beautiful in any garden. Not so sure about the origin of that name, but I still love the flower!

I think that that's all I've got for you today. It's a long one!

Thanks for reading.

It arrived!

Before I tell you what I am referring to, I need to say that God always knows what He's doing. My day started out quite lovely when a friend came and picked me up at 7 am to go to a traditional market. Turns out it was no big deal so we didn't stay (nothing like the wet market I went to a month ago). Instead we went to Janet's to watch the rest of a dvd we'd started yesterday. For the record, we've been trying to have a 'girls' morning when the kids are all at school where we just sit and watch a movie. However, yesterday we mostly accomplished this except that Janet was doing my ironing and I was making stew for the crock pot (yes, I bought a 2nd hand crock pot and I love it!); we were able to watch about 5/8 of "Shall We Dance" before school got out. Today we were able to finish it while we also did some stitching...she was cross stitching and i was sewing rips and tears in my family's clothes. We had more time than movie so we ended up starting to watch Pride and Prejudice as well, and laughed at how closely our lives resembled those of Jane Austin's characters. Instead of chatting around a piano or stitching together near a fire, her and I were doing the same around a dvd player! Weird.

After this we went to the post office to mail off some birthday cards/treats. I was so angry by the time I left because the fellow was ripping me off big time...he was charging me 'bule' prices and I knew it, yet he insisted that they were the regular prices. This happens a lot here and so it gets very frustrating. Needless to say I walked out without mailing letters to my neice Lucy or my nephew Tristian. We are not supposed to be rude or show anger here (don't want to insult the Indonesian people) but it was very difficult not to show my frustration. Sri is going to take the packages/cards and see if she cannot mail them at local prices for me.

When I returned home the rat man was there and had put out a trap for the rodent in our ceiling. Unbeknownst to me, he was also spraying for bugs....ants, mosquitoes, spiders...and never warned us. Not sure where he got the idea or permission but as I was in the house he started bombing the outside/backyard with this huge plume of white smoky spray, and it came into the house (the house doesn't close securely...there are vents everywhere). I told Sri to leave the house and I ran out with Janet, headed to school and now I"m on the library computer waiting for the smoke to settle. Do I sound ticked off? Now when I go home I have to rewash all our dishes and any food that was left out has to be turfed.

On that note, when I got home from the post office there was a lovely yellow package, very beat up, on my dining room table. It was my parcel that was mailed July 15 by Dale!!! Yeah!!! I unloaded the package and Janet gave me a big hug, knowing how at the moment I needed the package more than anything. I had just said JUST before seeing the package "I hate it here sometimes!!" I've told Dale over and over again not to worry, that God would provide the package when I most needed it, and I think today was a great day.

When the smoke started billowing into the house I threw the package into the fridge and ran out. Unfortunately I forgot the letter that was included so I'll have to read it when I get back home. What a treat! Thank you Dale!

I have to go and have lunch with Tris now. Spontaneity is fun sometimes!!

Thanks for reading.

Memories...light the corners of my mind.

Has it been 2 days already? It has been a quiet day here at the White house...family has all gone to school, Sri is still on holidays and I didn't even shower until 8:30, which around here gets to be a little late. What I'd like to do is share a few more photo highlights with you; unfortunately there are some on Tris' computer that I'll have to get on the blog later.

The photo above is our family on one of our last rides on the 'beach shuttle' from our hotel to the beach that you see in most of the water-shots here. Check out how they serve the food, especially when there are fries. Neat!

The music here is quite unique...probably a bit like Laura described to me regarding Thailand: interesting and amusing the first time you hear it, but once is probably enough. Actually, I enjoy it when it's light and far away, but when you are sitting right in the same room you cannot have a conversation with anybody.

The dancing is unique as well. Lots of makeup to emphasize the eyes, which at times "pop" when they dance. The eyes and the hands are very controlled at times look like the dancer is a puppet, or possessed. Kind of scary on a little girl especially, but the dancing is still intriguing.

We were very blessed to have such great company (and I'm not saying that just because I know Alexis will read this...haha). Everyone was very laid back and weren't even impatient with my 'need to move" most of the time. You see, everybody there except me is full-time at school and sometimes busy after school, so I had all of this energy saved up whereas they had all of theirs spent before they got there. Unfortunately for my family they came home refreshed and I came home with even more energy stored up...maybe I'll get a wall painted after all!

On our first day in Bali we went to a waterpark called "waterbom" and it was a hoot! The biggest, scariest ride is the boomerang, and Bruce, being a veteran boomeranger, was attempting to use the heaviest of us to gain enough speed so he could touch the top of the slide with his foot. This isn't really allowed, by the way, but it adds to the thrill of the ride. Last time Bruce went he had a rather large friend along, and his foot went right overtop of the slide, but I think Tris was actually happy to say that he wasn't heavy enough for that (otherwise all of his weight loss pride may be shattered)

Another of the rides the kids tried out was the bungy-jumping where you have 2 huge elastics attached to your waist. They're not crazy about heights but did pretty good!

This one is Matthew doing the 'frog-fly.'

There were so many things we'd like to share with you about our trip, but really, it was a lot of laying around and drinking smoothies and fresh fruit juices. It was the perfect trip that I was hoping for for Tris and the kids...and I got in some good shopping to boot.

Thanks for reading.

We're Back!!!

Well, we arrived home late last night (actually early this morning) and are now getting ready to start back at work/school tomorrow. I`d like to say that I`m glad to be home, but I am actually struggling with that. To be a bit crass, I went into the holiday a `Bali virgin` and like the saying goes, once you`ve had Bali, you`ll never go back to what you knew before. Our typical family vacation is a camping trip or a few nights in a nice hotel. This was an incredible introduction to 5-star resorts, king sized beds, excellent cooking (at a variety of restaurants) and the very difficult decision of whether to get out of bed on the left side or the right. Of course, it being a king and with Tris on one side, the decision was made easier...crawl the 1/2 block across the bed, swing my legs over the side and hop onto the cool wood floors. Some days that seemed to be the most exercise we had all day...except for the days like last Friday, where we had to get from the bar/restaurant on the beach where we had lunch, and walk the 30 meters to our umbrella'ed loungers. There is just something absolutely phenomenal about eating in an outdoor restaurant with the bright blue sky above (something we don't experience too often in the Jakarta area), the huge waves crashing onto the shore, drinking fresh fruit juice, and hanging with excellent company. I definately need to buy the the "I (heart) Bali" t-shirt.

What is the struggle, you ask? The struggle is this: I did not miss my home here in Jakarta, I did not miss my life in Canada (until the last 2 days). I truly just lived in the 'now' and enjoyed the beauty of God's creation around me. Coming home here to this rented home was actually something that I dreaded. The question was: would I be glad to come home? I may sound like a spoiled brat, but there is something about returning to a place that is yours by placement...this is the home that strangers arranged for us to live in. It has a few of our own possessions in it, and although we are filling the rooms with lovely "things" these items still have no history with us. They're just that...things. The walls are still white and will remain just that until we can deal with the possible water leak we have in our ceiling/walls. The curtains were chosen by a stranger (who now, by the way is a good friend and I am thankful for her good taste) and so was the furniture. During the last 2 days of our holiday, when I was on the beach and thought of coming home, I struggled with the idea that I wasn't going home to Canada (that the last 2 months haven't just been an adventurous dream) and that when I got home I would have to go back to the same routine/lifestyle that we have created around our lives here. I am happy to report that when we arrived late last night, when we opened the door to our home, I felt peace and a sense of coming home. You know what was the biggest part of that? I arrived home not alone, but with 3 other people, and as I have said to Tris since day one, where ever he goes is home to me. Now, as I sit at the kitchen table writing on Tris' laptop, I have my new candles burning (shopping in Bali is great!) and Matthew's new Hillsong cd is on the stereo. The boys are doing the dishes (Sri is still on holidays) and Abby is reading. All is well in the White house...actually, the White home.

I could end my blog here, but I have a bunch of things in my head that if I don't write them down they'll get lost with the movement of time. One of those is that I again return to the topic of roast beef. As I mentioned before, a good fatty chunk of meat is hard to find here, unless I want to purchase it from the wet market, which I may just do someday. However, today I found a largish piece of chuck roast in the local supermarket and roasted it for dinner. Now I know that it wasn't the best chunk of beef we've ever had, but it was funny when Matthew, chewing and chewing and chewing his dinner, nonchalantly comments out of the blue "I sure miss Grandma Bea's cooking." The look of realization of what he'd just said and how it may be received was priceless; he backtracked and said how much the roast beef he was eating reminded him of Grandma's cooking. I'm a big girl, I can take it. So Grandma Bea, my kids miss your roast beef too!

Today I was in Hypermart and noticed a whole wall of moth balls for sale...the brand of moth balls is called "Swallow." Ewww.

I have been receiving requests from various friends/sources for different prayer requests. Please know that I really appreciate being included in your lives. It's so difficult when I know that people I love are on the other side of the earth and some of them are experiencing heartbreak, and there's nothing I can do but pray. However, sometimes that's the best that we can do, so I will continue to pray and please know that the prayers go out with love. For those of you with good news, again, thank you for letting me know how God is working in your lives. He is an incredible God who loves to do the impossible in our lives.

Well, this is quite a bit of random thoughts.

Thanks for reading.

Update on Baby Zoey, Oct 2008 (2 parts)

Sept 3o (I haven't checked email until recently)
Hi everyone, Zoey is continuing to do well. She has just 1 catheter and a drain in her bladder left as attachments, and of course is still in traction. The plan is to remove a catheter tomorrow and likely take her out of traction on friday. She'll probably need some physio and monitoring and hopefully will be home 24-72 hours after that.Both Dr's and nurses have told me that Zoey is the favourite baby on the ward as she interacts and smiles with staff. She is usually in good spirits although sometimes in some discomfort from gas, particularly since she can'tbe burped. God has definitely answered our prayers for her to have angels of peace and comfort at her bedside. Hopefully the next email you receive from us will be of her homecoming :) Love, Stephanie & co.
ps. picture of her in traction on our album below http://picasaweb.google.com/gsebaker/ZachZoey


October 2

Hi everyone,Unfortunately yesterday when they tried to take out the catheter it twisted and when they pulled it snapped off inside. So now she will need another surgery under general anaesthesia to remove it. The surgeon said he's bookedup and will try to cancel someone else to get it done in the next week or two. She is still slated to come out of traction tomorrow (friday) and he thought perhaps she'd go home monday or wednesday and then we'd bring her back for the surgery again when there's an opening. We'll see. Please pray that the xray shows that the catheter is close to the skin andvery easy to remove and that zoey won't have any pain from that surgery.

Thanks for continuing to pray for little Zoey, her parents and her sibs.

Thanks for reading!

Lizards and Monkeys and Birds, O My!!

Here is a little "titbit" of a sign for you. Take a good look and see if you can figure out what they're really trying to say. Hmmmm. I love 'lost in translation' signs!!

We spent the day today at the Bali Bird Park, Reptile Park and also the Monkey Forest. I think this was one of Matthew's dream days when it comes to 'hanging' with animals. Abby was pretty thrilled, too!

Check out this monkey family. Don't they look adorable? NOT REALLY! They're actually evil, greedy little creatures that only want what you've got for them. They sure look cute, until you see them in a photo that you accidentally took of your son. Check this out...can you believe it???!!! Matt complained later that the monkey bit him, but we thought it was just a little itty bitty wiping of his lips on Matthew. Look closer!

By the way, no animals or humans were harmed in the making of that photo. No blood, no broken skin. Just a really surprised almost-13 year old. You know who else got a surprise?? This time Tris was attacked by a water-stealing monkey who grabbed Tris' water bottle out of his backpack, UNDID THE LID, drank a few sips and turfed the bottle. Hilarious! When we all got home everybody stunk so bad...

It all started when our family rented a car and driver for the day to have a 'family day.' It began with a tour of a batik-making factory, where women and a few men hand-draw, wax, dye and weave batik. Very interesting, but obviously the store inside was priced for "bule" (white) tourists, or those willing to pay a pretty penny. After that we went to a silver/gold jewellery making shop, but it was so touristy and expensive that we asked our driver to pass by those kinds of things and just take us to the Bird Park. It was still "touristy" and although we saw monkeys and reptiles today, Matthew says he loved this park the most.

After the bird park we had lunch and headed to the reptile park just next door. It was much smaller but we got to hold reptiles...the staff were practically throwing them at us! I think it had something to do with the photo shop at the entrance...if you downloaded a photo from your camera onto their computer they'd print it on a shirt for a price. We held iguanas, turtles (big ones!) and blue-tongued skinks. Check out the tongue on Abby's forehead.

Ever held an iguana before? I held this in honour of Kathleen and her boys! This iguana was kind of warm from the sun, scaly and dry. I could feel him breathing and just wanted to take him home with me. Matthew hung with a Monitor lizard and would like to have one for a pet, still. Things haven't changed much in that area. Abby was way braver than I'd expected her to be. She had a hoot with the lizards!

I was pretty surprised as well when it came to Abby bartering for a skirt she wanted to buy. She's one tough cookie, and wouldn't back down for anything. I saw the makings of a politician or a lawyer in her today...she knew what she wanted, the means to get it, and she applied those tools. Eventually she walked out of the shop with a wrap skirt that was originally priced at 95,000 rp and that she got down to 50,000 rp. Indonesian living is rubbing off on her.

It was after the Parks that we went to the Monkey Forest, but I just had to show off those photos first. It was definately a highlight of this trip, especially when Tris was attacked by the monkey who stole his water. Needless to say, by the end of this "animal trek" we were hot and sweaty-tired. We were definately shiny, happy people!

After the forest we went to our last stop, a Hindu temple that was unearthed in 1923, and is thought to have originated in the 10th century. At one point our self-appointed guide was trying to get us to wash our faced in the holy water for good luck, but we weren't into luck so we discreetly moved on. I've got something better than luck!

The stone statue that had toppled to the ground was incredible. The thought of it standing 100s of years ago was quite a thrill. Notice Tris' skirt? He and I had to put on a covering so as to remain respectful to the worshippers.

To end the Coles' notes version of an incredible day, I have included a photo that I have been trying to take since we moved here. This is a common mode of transportation for a family of 4 or 5, but they move so quickly that I usually cannot pull out my camera fast enough. Thanks to Tris and his fast action with the camera, I get to share this with you, finally!

Thanks for reading!

Three Nights in Sanur Bali

Welcome to Bali!

Last night we arrived at our 2nd destination, Nusa Dua, but this blog will be about our prior stay at Sanur. This door is the entryway out of our villa; the latter had 3 bedrooms and a den, and 4 bathrooms. We arrived at night and the lights were on the garden and the pool (yes, we had an awesome L-shaped grey-tiled pool), and the pool water-feature was splashing into the water as well, and the effect was magical! The living room and dining room were outside, roofed but no walls. What an unusual experience for us...we're used to walls, walls and more walls. Apparently it's the 'bali way.' There are stairs on both sides of this door...this is to fool the dumber spirits, so that they cannot find their way into our place. Most of our villa info is on our video camera, so I'll try and get that onto Facebook later, when we get home. It truly was incredible.



What we have noticed on this trip is, the island being mostly Hindu, that there are statues EVERYWHERE! On a lot of these statues, and some trees as well, are checkered table-cloth looking sarongs. We're not sure of the meaning of this, but we are pretty sure that it has something to do with worship. There are so many spirits that are recognized here, and many unrecognized ones, that they fear missing one out, so they worship a whole gamut of things. The religions here are so fear-based; you don't want to displease any of the gods and so you appease all of them. Twice a day food is placed in small banana leaf baskets, along with a coin or a cigarette, and given to the gods. Usually the basket is placed in front of the house/store/hotel doors, just far enough away so that they won't get stepped on. Quite often the wild animals around here eat the offerings, but I even saw a dog turn its nose up at a basket because all it contained was rice and veggies. Even the local wild dogs get tired of rice and veggies!

On our first day we spent at Waterbom, which is a huge waterslide park. I asked if it was okay if I take my parents, even if we have no kids with us. I know they'd love it, and it's quite 'adult friendly.' There is an easy slide that eases into a warm river, which takes you through various sprays and falls. It was quite reminiscent of the King Fisher hydropath and is incredibly cheaper! Those photos are still on our small digital but I may share them later.

On our 2nd day we (the royal 'we') went snorkelling. It cost 420,000 rp to rent a boat with 2 guides, who took us just past the reef, where the ocean waves broke. The gang didn't see a whole lot until near the end (the water was quite choppy) but they did get the experience and they hope to try again here at this resort we're now at one more time. Once we got beyond the breakers they all jumped in...this is a photo of Tris and Matthew (look closely at the right of the 2nd photo)...nice big waves, eh?






The day after that, our 3rd day, we took a trip to a bunch of areas, two being a black sand beach and the other a white sand beach. The former was nice but it wasn't kid-friendly, so we discreetly observed a Hindu priest doing his rituals and then went on our way. We didn't get very far, because as you can see, we had a little tire issue. That was okay because we had 2 strong guys to take care of the rest of us; us 'girls' decided to have a little snack by the side of the road and make the best of it. Like Tris said, in Ghana he had had to wait 5 hours for help with a flat tire...we waited 1/2 hour.

After the tire was fixed we headed off to find lunch. Little did we know we'd find a little piece of paradise! We stopped at a resort called Nirwana, and we were welcome to use the pool after lunch. As you can see, there is a pool and then a wall, then the wild ocean. It was incredibly beautiful!

After lunch we headed to find White Sand Beach, a remote little spot where, unfortunately, in 2 years time will not be remote anymore. They're building a huge hotel on the spot where we went; very sad! The whole beach was empty except for local huts and their owners/proprietors. After the gang swam in the huge waves they were led into the village by locals and brought to a shower. My frustration is that I didn't want to swim because of the salt water and no showers (long story)...later to find out we had showers available to us. Also, to get the showers they got to go into the village...I wanted to go in earlier and take photos but didn't want to be rude...I missed my chance! Also, as they were showering, both Judy and Alexis stayed on the beach. The sun was setting and alas, I had to pee. Wouldn't you know it...while I was trying to balance on the squat toilet (see photo...the wide spots are for your feet...I just 'hovered' with my feet on the ground) a few hundred/maybe thousand bats came out of a cave and flew over Alexis and Judy. Bummer! Needless to say, I was very frustrated from a photographer's point of view.

I know I have more to write, but we're headed to the beach and everyone's waiting for me. I didn't work out the editing/glitches but I may be able to later.

Thanks for reading!