March it on. New Place!

March found us happily settling in to what we called our new home.  Here's the excerpt from the hubby if you care to read it.  I'm very much a picture person.  A picture tells the story for me but for you readers here it is.

We have settled in. We are really enjoying our new place. We do miss having people come by to make our beds, give us fresh linens, and clean our house, but it’s also nice to not be living in a hotel anymore. The kids love the new space, both in the house and in the neighborhood. We’re in a quiet pseudo-gated community and the park is just a block away. The weather is still cool-ish and neighborhood kids are coming out in the evening. Most of them can speak a little bit of English. There are a lot of expats in our community, some have only been here a year or so, one has been here since the mid nineties. With the extra space, Thuan’s aunt Di Ba is living with us because she missed Thuan so much (she helped raise Thuan). She does help around the house and has had several people in the neighborhood ask which maid service she is with. None, is the correct answer. She’s a sociable person though and has already made several friends here (some of them are maids). She stays with us most of the time but goes back down to Tien Phong occasionally to take care of things.

Since we have the space, church meetings are also taking place at our home, which we love. The church is growing. There’s us and the Halls, which make 10; Huy, baptized in Australia only a week before coming back here after he finished some schooling; Sangcheol and Yagson, a Korean couple that has been living here for a couple of years; and Darin, an expat who is getting reactivated. When she is in town, Di Ba usually joins us, and occasionally Tien, De, and Tuy, some of Thuan’s cousins, will also sit in and listen. Tien started taking the missionary discussions. She comes into our home and the AP missionaries video chat with her through Skype.

One of my favorite things about being in Vietnam is the tropical plants.  I kept telling Dan we need to go back to something slightly more warm than Seattle for me to grow these plants in my own backyard!  I want to grow bananas.

Tropical fruits are amazing and so inexpensive!

We've tried a few new fruits for the kids as well.  Here's an interesting one you don't see in America.  I give you the milk fruit (vu sua)!

Between beach and pools and school and work and extracurricular activities we've kept ourselves pretty busy.  We squeezed in some travelings as well so be sure to check back for our travel tips!  We are not your modern day nomads that travel so quick and they all seemed to really know all the things about a place they come to but we are your live in and learn it all you can traveling family.  Our instagram is thetravelingstevens [https://www.instagram.com/thetravelingstevens/].  Check us out and we'd love to meet you if you're new to our blog!