Bake-cation

Remember VBS as a kid? Well, this is BBS- same same, but with cupcakes :)

The Garden of Hope is closed for it's annual holiday break, and so I invited the kidletts to come enjoy our new kitchen this week. We learned how to make Pizza

sugar cookie shapes

That's how we rollIf Martha Stewart was Thai and 9 years old, this would be her :)

P'Hollie! P'Hollie! P'Hollie! Yes? ummmmm..... (giggle giggle)

*the kids still think I can speak Thai :) Thanks Judy!

We did a science experiment: How many sprinkles is it physically possible to fit on a cookie?

(stars have the most surface area)

I missed the Blue Angels this week

Friday we had Iron Chef: boys v. girls

The challenge? Pancakes. It was intense.

We learned about the weapons of warfare, manna in the desert, Jesus feeding the 5000+

and made Panda Cupcakes ;)

They properly christened the new building, baptizing it in sprinkles.

It was sad getting up this morning; knowing that the kitchen would be all squeaky clean and quiet. I miss my kiddos. But the pizza song kept me company :)

*Special thanks to all the helpers (Twyla, Cheri, Ahna, Tony- and to P'Angkhana for translating and P'Mary for cleaning smeared sprinkles all week :) And, to the tuk tuk driver who tried to pick me up: Sorry, I've got 12 kids- as they all came running and yelling out the door. ha ha ha!*

If the world would end tomorrow. . .

"I'd plant a tree."

So said Martin Luther.

So on a day when nothing was certain and I couldn't do a thing about it-

I went and bought a bunch of bright pink flowers.

and dug out the weeds and cacti from the third floor flower box at the new building with my Thai coworkers Angkhana and Nong.

We had to fight back years of deep, angry roots. The more I thought about the beautiful, tender little flowers that were going to live in this soil- the more I hated those roots of bitterness. When my 30 baht shovel bent- I attacked them with my bare hands. No way would they win- and live to entangle and choke our flowers. As I was hanging over the balcony overlooking the seedy Karaoke bars that surrounded me, I realized this is what we are doing. Yes, my hands were covered in dirt instead of flour, but it's the same battle. And it's the same hope that plants and waters and prays please grow little flowers- grow strong.
I can't think of a better way to start this new project.