College Minx Update

Please note the coats. Yes, Daddy was unable to resist forking out the bucks once he saw this picture. What father could? I am happy to report that said coats are keeping warm the backsides of the two Minxes. One of the reasons we are overseas is so that we can help out the girls with school, even if it is only for a couple of years.

Jordan just celebrated her 20th birthday last weekend. She was born at the peak of winter in one of the snowiest days on record in West Michigan. However she is the sunshine of our lives. From the time she was able to smile, she did so constantly. She only cried when she was hurt and she never whined. Malaina was born in the Spring of the following year, and all she did for 3 months was cry. In fact all she did for 3 years was cry. I thought she was insane. I would lay in bed at night and cry to Dave that our daughter was crazy. Thank heaven it was just that her brain was too advanced for her speech skills. Once both were in sinc, she was and still is a DREAM CHILD.

Where did the years go? From the crib to the dorm...

from the baby to the college minx... life is good.

Cambodian Christmas

My goodness, it seems like ages since this was updated. Let me first start by saying I was in Motherhood heaven having my two oldest babies with me for two weeks. I missed them from the depths of my soul. However, they are on the right track in their lives pursuing their educations and I know they are in the right place! It has been a beautiful thing watching my children fly into adulthood. They have had the opportunity to face decisions and trials without Mom and Dad right next to them. It has been wonderful to see them grow.

We know we are living a surreal sort of existence for a time. It has its ups and downs, but, for the most part we are truly grateful for being here in this mysterious part of the world. Wow.. Cambodia! Who would have ever thought we Gaddis' from good ole' Provo would have ever set foot in this land? It is a beautiful place too. It is heartbreakingly poor. But the people of Cambodia are fiercely proud of their county. When ever I visit a new place I try to do my geography and history homework so I can better appreciate my stay. Cambodia has overcome huge obstacles and they still do as there are more that 3 million live landmines still in this country! As you can tell from some of these photos they have a very rich history as well. Many of these ruins were built in the 10th century. Many archaeologists are agog at the magnitude of such an undertaking. These ruins are the largest religious ruins in the world! They span miles and miles of countryside. Some of the stones quarried from these ruins are from quarries many km. away. How did they accomplish such a thing?

These photos are from Kampung Ppluck. A village built on 15 foot high stilts way out on the verge of the largest lake in Southeast Asia. Why the stilts? Well to accomodate the rise and fall of the lake! It looked like scene from a movie set. This was the highlight of my Cambodia trip. We were the only tourists here. It took 2 hours by boat to reach this village. I am throwing the pants away! I can't believe the girls let me leave the hotel looking like I did.

My kids have former schoolmates from all over the world now. One cute story they tell is of a friend and her sister from Phenom Penn, Cambodia. These sisters are children of Christian missionaries and have lived in Cambodia all their lives. One summer when they were home (they are boarding at Dalat Intl. School where the girls went)and they were driving and saw Angelina Jolie in the car next to them! The one sister started shouting... "Angelina, Angelina!!" Angelina rolled down her window and beckoned for them to come closer to talk to her. The girls were so startled that they sped off giggling on their motorcycle, leaving Angelina in the dust.

You can see the ruins that were made famous from the Tomb Raider movie here with us in front of them. We feel really fortunate to have visited Cambodia. It was very inspiring.

We did come home extremely sick with Traveler's tribulation. I was so sick I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. I spent a good 5 days recuperating and 2 more weeks getting over the main troubling symptom that makes a person need her bathroom!

We ran into a set of Senior Missionaries at AngkorWat! Small world:)