God Bless the U.S.A.

We are at the very tail end of our three week USA visit; it's bittersweet as I'm typing this at the Chicago airport. I'm excited to head back overseas and I'm feeling encouraged and refreshed after having good conversations and time spent with friends and family, but you just can't replace people and we are going to miss those close to us! At least we get to sit at the United Club.

We arrived in Houston on July 24th, just in time to get ready for Matt Murray's Wedding. Matt and Cody have been friends since high school and Cody was honored to be a groomsman. Being as jet-lagged as we were, Cody and I were able to spend some quality time together between the hours of 3:00am and 7:00am when the rest of the world wakes up. On our first morning there I had, basically, the best idea in the world..."Let's go get in line and be the FIRST PEOPLE AT SHIPLEY'S DONUTS!!" This idea was communicated at around 3:30am; I was awake, Cody was not, but once he heard donuts he was into it. In case you didn't know, Shipley's is kind of a big deal in Houston, the donuts are great the kolaches are better and both of those are best when HOT! To save you all the trouble, the original location is open 24hrs and the hot donuts don't get made until 5:30am...we had an hour in the car waiting on them, but it was totally worth it. We were also able to go run Memorial Park; ironic as that sounds after the donut story...but we had never done it when we lived in Houston. It's a 3mile trail and we were able to bring our sweet Vizsla, Lauren, with us. Matt and Liz had a beautiful wedding weekend and we were so thankful to have been included and able to attend all of the festivities!

We spent the next four days in Austin. Cody, Lauren, about 38bags, and I all crashed into Christina's welcoming home. Cody had to work at the Austin office, but I was able to spend the most amazing quality time with Christina during the day. It's amazing to think that we've been best friends since our junior year in high school. We drove to College Station for our regular dinner at Christophers and lunch at La Bodega. These were places that we frequented while at Texas A&M and it was fun to relive all of those memories. We also tried to eat as much Mexican food and Chickfila as possible and I'm pretty sure we did. There were a few pureBarre classes in there as well so we tried to balance it all out!

Tyler, Texas to see my mom, Katelyn's wedding, and a Grace Girl's Reunion were next on our agenda. This was our 4th annual weekend to get together and I am so, so glad that my friends were flexible and planned it on a weekend that I could attend!! I know how rare it is to still call these women (we're totally old enough to call each other women, weird) some of my closest friends. Most people can't wait to get out of high school, but with friends like these; I could have stayed forever! My cousin, Katelyn, also got married the first weekend that we were there to Tyler Sullins. Their ceremony was an uplifting reminder of what marriage is about and an encouragement to me and to Cody to continue, "fighting the good fight".  Beautiful couple! We were able to stay with my mom, Julie, and had such a good time catching up and hearing about all that she's working on and doing. We are really proud of her. (Can kids be proud? We are.) She also took us out to eat all of the Tyler favorites including Don Juans and Shoguns... it's amazing how much you miss food!

West was the direction that we drove from Tyler, towards the town of Hico, Texas. My Dad and Amanda recently moved back to Texas from Colorado and purchased a property close to GrandBoo's ranch. We spent five whole days playing with two dogs, two cats, and two precious little brothers. William and Jackson turn 3 & 4 this month! My dad and Amanda thoughtfully planned their birthday party for a weekend that we could attend and we just had the best time. Snow cones, a bouncy house water slide, and cake...what's not to like?! I'm also a, "velcro daughter" so it's great to have closeness with them.  Newt and Lorie, Blake and Amanda Rae were able to come, as well as Doug and Shirley and three of their grandchildren. We had a great time with our family! Cody and I were even able to practice parent for a whole 24hours- we LOVED it. Cody even learned how to give a spanking...he, apparently, was a perfect child and has only just been introduced to Farrar genetics. Good practice, because when we have kids, they will be 1/2 mine! haha! I was able to have so many great conversations with my family and am beyond blessed to have prayer warriors and women of wisdom around me.

We turned the car around and headed back to Houston for some quality time with Ricky (Cody's Dad) on Tuesday, packed on Wednesday, and flew to  Chicago on Thursday. Cody's Mom and Dennis drove to meet us last night and we were able to have a wonderful dinner and breakfast with them before heading to the airport today. What a labor of love to deal with the traffic and come all the way from the Milwaukee area to see us!

Our hearts and our tummies are so full! (I had Whataburger no less than 5 times) We're so grateful for the time we had with those that love us and will just draw on those memories as we embark on our journey back "home" to the Far East. We will be in Singapore for 9 days and then we'll be going on a BUCKET LIST TRIP to New Zealand's South Island. We've gone through some trials recently (That's life) and we are excited to have some time where it is just us and where we will be able to pray and listen to the Lord and what His plan for our life is. I think looking up at the mountains and glaciers is a perfect place to do that! We will update during or after that adventure. Thanks for checking up on us. We love you!

Christie & Cody  

Suzhou, China & Seoul, South Korea

A few weeks ago Cody had a work trip to Suzhou and Seoul; I got to tag along. It was our first trip to South Korea! Here are pictures of all the cool stuff we did! WE'RE COMING BACK TO TEXAS NEXT WEEK!!!!!!!

Wear Pants When You Ride an Elephant

That is the advice I give to you this morning. In case you didn't know: Singapore has world class healthcare, which is good, because apparently I frequent the doctor here. When we lived Stateside I NEVER got sick, like maybe a cold every other year. Over here, it's a totally different story. I guess the "bugs" are different and we do travel to some pretty remote locations and frequently... so it's good that my Dr. is my new best friend. (Look at that; I'm making friends!) Annnnyway, yesterday was my 5th visit to Raffles Hospital. Look it's not my fault, my skin was just made to stay in the 1st world. A couple of prescriptions later and I'm on my way to recovery....recovery from some kind of horrific reaction to hanging out on top of an elephant in shorts. An allergic reaction or a bacteria that was unfamiliar to my body- either way, left me with this AWESOME red dot rash all the way down both of my legs. Chickenpox for adults. Pants are my new best friend! (Sorry Dr. Packard)  It's been a wake-up call for me to start being more thankful about good health; I definitely took that for granted.

The elephant ride in question came on the end of an awesome trip! My dad and Amanda came over to visit for about a week and we were able to jump over to Thailand for a few days in the middle. We stayed at the MOST INCREDIBLE place ever! This resort off the coast of Thailand- Six Senses Yao Noi.  It's monsoon season in this part of the world, but we got a little sun and a lot of relaxing in. We more than likely wore them out dragging them all over Singapore and showing them, "our places." Mostly, it was just so exciting to see family! That's a long flight so my little brothers stayed home for this one- we were thrilled to have the grown ups come visit. We'll get to hug the boys when we're home NEXT MONTH!!!!

The day that they landed Cody and I were also just getting back to Singapore. We are now, certified to scuba dive! We spent the weekend in Tioman, Malaysia with a group of about 20 other divers and came home certified. Getting there was quite the adventure. That was the first time in a long time that we weren't responsible for all facets of our travel arrangements and that felt kind of weird. We met at Gill Divers on Friday at 6pm (almost missed the bus because taxis stop picking you up right when you need them) and drove to Malaysia. Once we cleared customs and were heading for the Ferry terminal we noticed just how fast the bus was driving- like, out of control! Kind of gave us the feeling that we were late or something was wrong, but we didn't know what until we arrived. The Ferry Terminal is basically an open air pavilion with a few rows of plastic chairs and a fan and one bathroom. We all got lined up (around 12am) only to be told that we had, "missed the tide" and would be spending the night there. Here's the best part- I get sea sick- so I had already taken more than the recommended dosage of Dramamine so that I would go night, night on the boat. Poor Cody. I was perfectly happy to lay down with my beach towel as a blanket and a sleeping mask-dead to the world- and woke up around 5:30am when we finally were able to board. Lesson learned- even the WORST circumstances can be handled with a good attitude. Granted, mine was helped by large doses of a mild tranquilizer, but now I can say I spent the night in a ferry terminal in Malaysia...yay! (You are probably seeing how I get sick so much) Four hours on a boat later and we had reached Tioman. We were really behind on our diving schedule so we only had time to drop our bags and get back on the boat. We did 3 dives the first day and one the following morning before heading back. It was SO AWESOME. Kind of eerie, but also really peaceful. I hope that we get to go again soon!

Currently, I'm sitting in the lounge at Changi Airport, my home away from home. We're flying out today for a 10 day trip to Suzhou, China (Outside Shanghai) and Seoul, South Korea. Cody will be working and I'll be getting to explore. It's a different life; but it's also really, really good.

Love,

Christie

Helicopter ride over to Yao Noi 

Incredible view from the hilltop

Gathering Seashells by the seashore 

Watching our lanterns float away

Chased by waves in Phuket

Monsoon Elephant Ride

The Distance Difference. Not so much.

Singapore is about as far away from Texas as you can get; I also think all of our pictures and "Asian Adventures" can attest to how different it is...But the thing that I've been really struck by this week is how in spite of all of the distance and the differences, our lives are really still the same. I still struggle with the same insecurities (plus or minus some new ones) and it just really drives home for me the fact that you can't escape your life. I'm not saying we moved to get away from anyone or anything, but part of me totally thought, "Oh, perfect! I clearly won't have to think about ______or deal with ________ nearly as much." Boy, was that wrong. If anything, being located on the opposite side of the world just intensifies everything. It's like being stuck in an echo room. Back home, all of the constant friends and activities could really drown out those thoughts or feelings, but when you're basically solo you can hear yourself loud and clear-clear-clear. (That was the echo; I'm so witty.)

Basically, the last few weeks have been a time for reflection for me and as painful as it has been in some ways I really do feel like the Lord is speaking to me and teaching me through it. Dealing with rejection from a loved one, or hurting for friends that I can't physically be there for, worrying about family... these are the things that keep me up at night. Literally- I've had a recent 'bout with Insomnia and I'm none too pleased with it. Obviously, my life has changed a lot in the last six months. I've gone from working a full time job with people that I loved, being a part of a small group at a church I loved, and LIVING IN TEXAS with friends and family that I loved... to an expat in Asia living the life of a housewife, sans the kids. So where is my worth? How am I valuable? What should I do with my time? These are the questions that I'm looking to God for answers to. My quiet time has become almost a daily habit; I'm glad for that. Even when I feel like the scriptures for my reading have nothing to do with me right now; I find myself thinking on them later and that feels good. Cody has been an enormous help. He hasn't once made me feel worthless for not working and has probably put up with some attitude as I've struggled to find my groove. I'm thankful for a patient husband these days.

I'm also thankful for the expat friends that we do have, John & Halie and Kate & Danny. We aren't even on the same continent, but being able to share the struggles and joys with them has been a blessing. I have also been so surprised and humbled by the outpouring of love from our friends and family back home. The effort that it takes to set up and schedule a FaceTime call may not seem like much, but when you're juggling lives and time differences it's huge. I can't explain the joy we feel when we get to see a familiar face and hear about what's happening back home and the fact that we have people in our lives that are reaching out to keep in touch with us just means the world to me.

Every day is a different challenge; but internally not any different than what I was dealing with at home. So, since it's a small world after all, I better push my sleeves up and dig into what I'm on it for. We booked our flights home this summer-- July 25-August 15. Can't wait to see anyone and everyone that we can.

Love,

Christie

Philippians 4:4-8

4Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!5Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

8Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. 

Konnichiwa

Konnichiwa...or Good Afternoon in Japanese! Cody's last work trip took us to Tokyo, Japan where we spent two weeks exploring the city. So far, this has been our favorite culture in Asia; everything was so clean and organized and the people are focused on respect. Even in the incredibly crowded Tokyo Station someone walked up and asked if they could help us find our destination. While Cody was at the office I spent the days exploring the Imperial Gardens, attending a traditional tea ceremony, and retracing some of the steps that GrandBoo took when she was here in 1960. So much fun! The food was incredible and I don't think we'll ever get used to people bowing to us all the time, but it was awesome! I channeled every movie that reminded me of this place: 3 Ninja's Kick back, Kill Bill, and the Karate Kid. With so many people there was a great deal of hustle and bustle, but we still felt like we really got to know the place. We left the country with a few souvenirs... including an amazing Katana (Samurai Sword) worthy of Kill Bill... it is currently located at the Singapore Police Station. They're deciding if we are dangerous enough to get it back. So fun to live in a different country and dealing with customs! Lots and lots of pictures below. We also just booked our trip home to the US! July 25-August 15. Looking forward to seeing friends, family, and eating Mexican food! Go ahead and watch out for us on the road since we won't have been behind the wheel in 6 months.

Love,

Christie 

Really Awesome Vending Machine

Tokyo Station 

Soba Noodles with Tempura Vegetables

Vending Machine where you order the noodles

Korean Style BBQ!

Shangri-La Tokyo 

Imperial Gardens

Imperial Hotel Lobby

Imperial Hotel Lobby

Cody and his boss Scott 

Weekend Lunch

Sake Barrels 

Meiji Shrine 

These robes were in our room...we had to! 

Sumo Wrestler's Hand vs. Cody's

Edo Tokyo Museum

The only cherry blooms we got to see!  

Yellow Hair Warrior

Kill Bill: House of Blue Leaves movie scene- Gonpachi

Shibuya Crossing 

Tea Ceremony 

Tokyo Tower

Last night out- Dinner at Jomon Roppongi