Alright, alright.  I know...  Not much has happened here in terms of my Lazy Photographer deal lately.  So sue me!

Here is a selfie of Sara and I on top of one of Southeast Asia's tallest buildings, Baiyoke Tower.  We had been up there before and this during this last trip we were able to do it again one evening when we stayed in Bangkok.  I wish this photo would be able to describe to you the feeling we got on top of that tower but unfortunately I'm sure it doesn't.  I love my wife and would want no other person up there with me that evening...

On another note, I have full intentions of stepping up my photography game over the next few weeks.  I pray it actually happens...  It is a stress reliever, fun and distracting from everyday life (in a good way).

So, what about you?  Are you a lazy photographer too?

 Despite my best intentions and plans, blogging from Thailand just didn't happen (as if you couldn't tell).  To those of you how kept checking back in, thanks!  Internet connectivity was a bit hard to come by at times and at other times it was just plain expensive...not to mention the lack of blogging mojo....

 So, for that I am sorry.  I truly am.  We felt your love and prayers as we were there.  This trip was really amazing.  We had some of the best conversations with our old friends and missionaries ever.  We finally felt like we could connect with them as fellow workers/will-be missionaries rather than just as their interns (as we were some three years ago).

Also, as many of you know, Sara and I have had a crazy summer as we built KidStuf from the ground up and continue to learn how to pull off this production each and every week.  Our trip provided us some of the best rest/relaxation time we have ever had as a married couple (not to mention that this was our first ever vacation).  We, for the first time, visit Krabi, Thailand, and spent two days just relaxing, reflecting and spending time together.  To be honest, I fell in love with my wife once again.

It is sometimes tough to admitt that life, stress, work and time forces one to forget what you so loved about someone else, but that has definitely been the case for me.  My wife is the best in the world...and somehow I had forgotten that...  Two days in Southern Thailand with no distractions allowed me fall back (wildly) in love with my wifey...  She's the best!

We finished off our trip with a couple of days running around the bustling SE Asian city of Bangkok...which finished out a wonderful trip.  It's hard to explain how Thailand fills us up, excites us and provokes us...  Once again, as before, we felt this overwhelming flow of love and desire for the Thai people as soon as we stepped off the plane in Bangkok.  Our Thai language came back, our ability to tackle the spicy Thai food came back, and our long term plans to return to Thailand to begin a church planting mission with our denomination were clarified and drawn closer.

Thanks for joining along in this journey.  Pictures and video is getting edited and uploaded now.  Expect them to be revealed in the days to come...

I kid, I kid!  Well, we are here safely.  We've made the flight a few times...but never does it get better.  Have you ever sat in one spot for 13 hours?  Only to turn around and sit still again, in the same spot, for another 7 hours?  It's not fun and towards the end I feel like I am about to loose my mind.

But, hey, all is well.  We are getting settled in here in Bang Saen for a few days.  We had dinner with our missionary friends briefly last night and have plans for visit with them again this evening.  Today's agendy:  shot and edit a video of Sara and I for a brief KidStuf showcase, visit the church we were a part of some three years ago now, go explore the fruit and meat market nearby (the smell of raw fish and red meat really overwhelms your body functions), dinner with missionary friends and who knows what else.

We shot a video when we first arrived that is up on YouTube (It's lame, I know, but we were tired!)but for some reason I can't get the video to embed into this site.  Hmmm...  I'll see what I can do, otherwise I just link you to it...like a good little boy.

Anyways, thanks for your prayers and thoughts.  We are here safely and look forward to the coming days.  Thanks for being a part of it with us...  Oh, and Sara blew up her hair dryer...and the outlets in our room...  Well done, world traveler!

 By the way, what did I miss during the debate?

One of the first things I noticed in Thailand was that nearly every building, business and property had a small house our in front of it.  Sometimes they were even a small-scale model of the house it was in front of.

 This is one of the many intriguing things for me as a newcomer to Thailand, and well, I'm gonna share the backstory....

The Spirit House can be seen at a prominent spot outside every business establishment in the country. It can be seen on a pedestal in Front of every hotel. It dresses the corner garden area of a restaurant, the Front of a bar, disco or put Spirit houses are even seen at outdoor food markets. They are built on the grounds of Buddhist temples. outside caves in the mountains, near Fishing ponds in the valleys, and occasionally in the middle of an otherwise uninhabited forest. Most importantly, however. the Thai Spirit House is built at the yard of every home.

The purpose of the Spirit House is to provide an appealing shelter for the spirits, or celestial beings, who would otherwise reside in the heavens, Find a place in large trees, or in caves, cliffs. waterfalls or other natural surroundings. According to folklore, the spirits themselves are either good or evil, but most are just finicky and mischievous, demanding respect from humans and capable of disastrous interferences if they don't get their way, The spirit of the land, for example. expects to be informed when a human intends to start a business or engage in improvements to an existing business. If the spirit is not informed, and if the human does not respectfully request permission, the spirit can indeed cause the venture to fail.

The style and construction of a spirit house may be as simple as a typical Thai-style shelter or as elaborate as a Thai palace. The exact style often depends on two Factors, which spirit the person wishes to invite and how much one can afford for the spirit house construction. Construction itself is a specialized field and only an expert Spirit House builder would be considered for proper construction. His responsibility, in addition to construction, is to be familiar with all the necessary rituals involved so that the spirit to be invited will find it an acceptable earthly abode.

The house may be permanent or temporary, made of wood, concrete or brick. At certain times the spirits are invited down only for special occasions and this is when temporary spirit houses are built. the size may vary from the very small to a large, walk-in, ground-level affair. The houses are finished with statues, small figures, or symbols of many other sorts in the center within the spirit house. In addition, there may be various animal figures, such as elephants or hones; figures of people, such as a married couple or other images; and even furniture. Outside, around the balcony that usually surrounds a spirit house, incense holders, candle sticks, and vases for flowers are placed.

Taken from Chiang Mai - Chiang Rai.com

There you have it.  Honestly, they are wild to see.  Some of them are crazy expensive and are really works of art.  But, despite their beauty, it breaks my heart every morning when we see families praying to the spirits and burning incense to the gods hoping they bring prosperity, safety and wisdom to them and their families.  Thanks for joining my Thai culture/history lesson.  Check out pictures of other Spirit Houses on Flickr here.  And leave your questions/comments below...

It would be a great understatement to say we are just excited about our coming trip to Thailand.  But, this has been yet another hectic week for us that will surely last until we actually sit down in our seats on the 747 that will take us on our way.

For the first time since we started KidStuf and UpStreet, we will not be there to insure that it will run well.  For the first time, it will have to sink or swim without us.  Which, actually, is great because the ministry will have to  float for good without us at some point as we plan our long-term return to Thailand next Summer.

So, this entire week has been crazy.  We've been working on planning three weeks of KidStuf, scripting changes, board meetings, staff changes, our travel plans, cleaning the house so my sister has a clean place to stay for the 10 days we will be gone, purchase supplies for the missionaries we will be visiting, capture voice overs and edit them for this week's KidStuf, bank and pull cash for our trip and much, much more!

I feel as though I am running on emotions right now.  Worrying about all that needs done before our leaving and excited about the opportunity we again have.  I'd hate to say that I look forward to the 23 hour plane flight, but yeah, I guess I do.  At least then we can rest...hopefully...

By the way, does anyone have any sure-fire tips for combating jet-lag from an 11 hour time change?  Supposedly it takes a day for every 1 hour change in time.  That means (if it is true) we should be getting accustomed to the new daytime about the time we arrive back home in Chicago.  Hmm...  We got a few things up our sleeves, but do you have any pointers?

 Tonight I will start a new series as Sara and I ramp up for our return trip to Thailand this Fall.  For some time we've been longing to return to Thailand.  Actually, we've been longing to return since we last left Thailand...the first of last October.

This series will be quick notes and updates about what we miss about Thailand and about what our plans are this time around.  I look forward to sharing our passion with you!

Also, feel free to sign up for our ongoing Thailand updates or respond below with your interest!

 Tonight I worked on a mail form that will allow you, the reader, to stay up-to-date on what Sara and I are up to on the Thailand front.

I realize that some of you may not know my wife and I's heart for Thailand, and if that that be you, please check out our Thailand page. We are ramping up our efforts in returning to Thailand for "many years" (read 10+) to be part of what God is doing there and help start a church-plant. Our hopes are to being moving to Thailand in just about a year from now.

We've be raising money, prayer support and working through the many different hoops we need to jump through as we partner with our denomination and OMF.

So, if you are interested in keeping up-to-date with our Thailand happenings, beyond our blog posts, please head to the Thailand page here at two10eleven.com...scroll to the bottom and fill out the form.

And above all, we could really use your prayers...

This is an interesting topic to write about. I mean, come on...free stuff is great, right? My buddy CJ recently posted some great freebies...while another buddy, Brad, has been sharing some great, free desktop wallpapers for our enjoyment. And, it's all been great. I love free stuff. I love finding nuggets of value in things I didn't have to pay anything for. But that's not always what we are looking for...or is it?

Some time ago Sara and I found ourselves teaching English in Thailand for seven months. Our main goal in this was to build relationships with the Thai people while also providing them the skills needed to take their next step in life.

I really felt like not charging a thing for the classes. After all, they gained... we gained... how could I? I mean, it already felt like I was using them.  Add making a profit to it and I would have felt REALLY bad. But then it dawned on me... free=cheap. And, while cheap sounds good to us most of the time, it doesn't always serve us well. I mean, a cheap car sounds great until it breaks down on a drive home. A cheap watch is great until it stops when we are already late to catch a bus. A cheap phone is great until it quits as we find ourselves stranded on the roadside in some God-foresaken land...

So, in reality, we really want quality at a lower cost. But, "free" doesn't give us that feeling. For our English students, "free" meant "cheap" and cheap wasn't going to do them any good. They wanted quality at a lower cost. So, that's what we did. We provided a quality conversational English learning experience at very little cost (notive I didn't say "at no cost") and the students responded better than had we not charged something.

Don't get me wrong... I love free stuff, like I said in the first couple of lines. But, in reality... we are looking for "good deals" or "quality at a lower cost"... Think about this as you offer people things. They are looking for quality from what I can tell... just at a lower cost...

I added a video we've been showing to our "Thailand" page. Go check it out... It makes us all warm inside!

Get there via the menu above...or just click here.