Visit with Mom

How do I pass up a cute picture of a baby yawning?  I can't!

So while in Asia, I try to stop by my mom's place when I get a chance in that part of the world.  I'm still treated like a guest and like a Westerner.  I think she's not sure if I can take the real village life in Thailand quite yet so she makes sure that I have a regular (ok, by Asian standards) Western bed somewhere in her village along with a real bathroom (and by real bathroom I mean it has four walls and a tile floor along with lighting, a toilet, and without animals/insects in it... relatively).  But either way, I still get bucket showers, which I'm pleased to say, I'm quite use to and almost prefer now.  It's amazing how little water one really needs to clean themselves with when they're efficient with the water and soap time they have.

These pictures I took of my great-nieces while on the train into my mom's village and the pictures of my mom are on the way out of the village to take me to the bus station.   The cute little baby is my step-father's sister's daughter's daughter.  I can't even begin to think what that is in relation to me.. my step-great niece??  Anyway... whenever I've seen my mom in a mode of transportation that involves actually being outdoors and feeling the wind in her hair, she always seems to be in her element and at her happiest.  I know she chose a country life over city life and even chose to raise her great granddaughters there as well knowing they would have a better quality of life.  And on so many levels now, I couldn't agree with her more.