...Finally Here!

After much planning and preparation, time and travel, we're finally here, writing from Cambodia. That's right, all four of us: Ryan, Bethany, Juliana, and Kai are all her in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital.
We've been here for about a week and a half, arriving here late Sunday evening, April 13th. Our long weekend of travel went well, better than we were fearing it might! Juliana did especially well. We weren't sure how we were going to channel all her energy in ways that would not be disruptive to other passengers. One activity she enjoyed was going to the back of the plane and tossing/kicking an inflatable neck pillow back and forth with Ryan. (No injuries sustained!) We made all our connections (not always with a lot of time), and the only real disappointments were when Bethany got peed on while changing Kai on her lap at the gate waiting area in LAX, and when Kai had a leaky, diarrhea diaper while Ryan was holding him on the flight to Seoul. So we're very grateful for all your prayers for us while traveling.
We have many things to be grateful for. We continue to enjoy the fantastic living situation we have. How nice to not have to "set up house" right away because of the opportunity to be in a fully furnished place. Mike and Rachel Hill (who will be home in the U.K. for several months) left very clear and helpful instructions/advice about the house and how to relate with the landlords and house helper, Ty (sounds like "tie").
The landlords are already grandparents and therefore have taken also to Juliana and Kai. "Yey" (rhymes with "say," Khmer for "grandma") made sure to let us know that if ever we need someone to hold Kai, she'd be happy to do the honors. She also likes to swing him in her hammock. Yey is not the only one eager to spend time with our little chunk of a man. We might have to soon be concerned about him getting spoiled by all the attention of the doting neighbor women. They love to hold him always comment about how big and white he is. It really is ideal for us to live in an area where we'll have lots of contact with neighbors. It gives us frequent opportunity for interaction, building relationships, and practicing our Khmer.
How are we experiencing the transition? Well, we're each experiencing it in our own unique way. The one thing we have in common is that it seems that we have all learned to get our days and nights straight. Ryan is excited and optimistic (what's new?) Bethany is happy, but feeling a bit overwhelmed by the balancing act of getting settled, being a parent, and learning Khmer. Juliana had a first rough week, made obvious by some of her emotional outbursts. She was often confused by us talking a new language, and would sometimes (in a disoriented and emotionally-charged tone) say, "Say it plain Daddy!" (To her, anything besides English is not "plain speech.") She is doing better with this already and is now responding correctly to some simple questions we ask her in Khmer. (We speak mostly in English, but are using more and more Khmer vocab in the home as we learn it.) Yesterday she spent a couple hours playing with Yey's granddaughter. They threw/kicked a small soccer ball back and forth and ran around pretending to be wolves, "hoooowl!!!" It's neat to see how language barriers don't keep Juliana from having fun with her peers here. Kai seems to be his same contented self. It's hard for him to keep cool and he's often just wearing a diaper around the house. Both he and Juliana have suffered a bit from heat rash, but some powder (and a haircut for Juliana) have helped Kai's behind and Juliana's neck to feel better.
Well, that's it for now. I'm disappointed to not be able to include pictures with this posting. (I'm not writing from my own computer.) We will try to figure something out before next week so we can share some snapshots with you.
Blessings to you...