The Tells in Thailand: Valentine's Day!

When we first moved to Chiang Mai as a newly married couple, we didn't feel very connected. Everyone in our organization was in a different period of life and we felt like we didn't have another couple who was sharing this same time in their lives. That started to change about a year ago when James and Twyla moved next door. Joey had gone to school with James and been good friends with Twyla's brother, but we didn't really know eachother very well. Now a year later we've had the joy of becoming good friends over food, and lots of Settlers of Catan. They've watched Ilyria many times for us, and we've enjoyed petsitting for them. They're expecting a daughter in July and we're now anticipating the fun of having a little friend for Ilyria just next door.

This month we got to celebrate Valentine's together, rather unexpectedly! Twyla and I knew we wanted to bake some cookies together, so we had made plans for that. Then the day before Valentine's, Joey and James decided to have a guys date and go out and buy their ladies chocolates and flowers. So Twyla and I spent the afternoon making cookies, playing with Ilyria and chatting about a multitude of things. Then when the guys came back we decided to all pool our ingredients and whip up pasta and sauce, and a delicious salad topped with chicken! We ended up with a beautiful dinner, with flowers and candlelight and a rousing game of Ticket to Ride! It was a great day and reminded us again just how thankful we are for how God has given us friends and community for our little family here in Chiang Mai!