Tell Your Story

Last month I did a photography workshop for our Hatyai homeschool co-op. I was a little nervous because I‘m by no means an expert on photography. However, teaching the kids was so much fun and really renewed my love for this hobby of mine. In my Photography 101 worksheet I also created a Tell Your Story Challenge for the kids to communicate their unique perspective of life while growing up in Hatyai, Thailand.

For 10 days my oldest daughter Evie and I did this challenge together. She then submitted her work for the Art Show I coordinated a month later. It was such a blast doing this project together and showing her how to think more carefully about the pictures she takes and the stories she tells through photography. She was already able to share her story with her friends. Then I thought it would be fun to share my story on my blog. So here is my Tell Your Story 10-Day Photography Challenge to give you a few snapshots about our Hatyai home.

Tell Your Story Photo Challenge

Day 1 | HOME

This is my peaceful space in the house. Every day the sun says, “Good Morning!” here while I sit, read my Bible, and drink my coffee. It’s the first place I see when I come downstairs in the morning, inviting me to breathe before the crazy begins. With two babies in the house, I don’t get the quiet mornings I used to, but for this season, this space reminds me that a peace-filled space is still available in our home. Being a mom of three has cause me to slow WAY down. I find sunshine is a sweet and simple delight every morning. It's a joy to journal here and watch my babies discover new things from this perch of mine.

Day 2 | FAVORITE COLOR

At the end of my first 5 days alone with the girls, my husband bought me this fun water cup. He knows I adore yellow flowers. Yellow also represents my newer love for bees. About 6 years ago I found a little bee charm with this quote that continues to inspire me:

“According to laws of aerodynamics the bumble bee cannot fly. It’s body is too heavy for its wings and that’s the simple reason why. But the bumble bee doesn’t know this fact, and so it flies anyway for all to see. Remember this when you’re losing faith or hope God’s proof that the impossible can be.” -A. S. Waldrop

Another fun fact about colors, in Thailand every day of the week has a special color. Whatever day you are born on, that is your color. I was born on a Monday, which just so happens to be yellow.

Day 3 | EYES

These days I spend a lot of time looking into Emelyn’s eyes. Such is life with babies and bottles, but goodness, she does have gorgeous blue eyes! Soon she will be just as busy as the other two, but for now, she watches, smiles, and coos at mom. Her eyes are getting lighter and only time will tell if they will be just as light as mine. All my girls have various shades of blue. Evie has a dark shade like dad. Ellie has a lighter shade even than me. One thing I love is that all my girls have dark blue outlines around their eyes just like mine. I think there's something just so special having your children carry on some genetic from your family tree. The Finn genes are stong!

Day 4 | HAPPINESS

Since I’m home quite a bit with two babies and we homeschool right now, I am learning the importance of making happy spaces throughout our home. These days it’s the simple things that bring me happiness, in particular my coffee nook and hedgehog mug. I absolutely ADORE hedgehogs! When I was a little girl living in Finland, my dad would set out warm milk in the evenings for the hedgehogs that lived in the city wall next to our apartment. Dad brought one inside for us girls to pet once or twice. It’s one of my favorite early childhood memories. When I look at my hedgehog mug, I fondly think of those sweet and simple times.

Day 5 | NATURE

When we lived in Bangkok, we didn’t have easy access to nature. And if you did, it consisted of crazy deranged pigeons that peered in from the windowsill of our 23rd floor apartment, mutated from a lifetime of inhaling toxic pollution. Now that we’re in Hatyai, we live in a house with a yard, and we observe all sorts of wildlife from our living room. Lots of birds, geckos, lizards, snails, frogs, bugs, a water monitor lizard, and a 2-meter long snake (we still aren’t sure if that was a rat snake or a King Cobra). Most of the time it’s these large snails we see on a daily basis crawling the walls and patios, particularly during rainy season. They are gross with beautiful shells and so I don’t entirely mind seeing them pass by.

Day 6 | CRAFT

Painting birch trees a fairly new hobby of mine. About 7 years ago my sister and I took two painting classes at a seniors center, which was a lot of fun even if we were the only ones under 80. This love of birch tress continues to blossom into a beautiful journey that has branched into various forms of adult coloring, journaling, painting, and crafts. I’m learning so much simply by doing and trying new things. I am by no means the best artist, but I am learning to love this craft and express my love of nature joyfully. I painted this during last year’s initial Covid lockdown after I had just found out I was pregnant with Emelyn.

Day 7 | WATER

We live by Songkhla Lake, which is the largest and only fresh water lake in Thailand. Lately Evie and I have been doing a lot of research about our area for her Science class. We discovered that Songkhla Lake is actually a lagoon and even has it’s own pod of indigenous Irrawady Dolphin. There are only around 90 of these types of dolphins left in the world today. I’ve always wanted to live by a body of water, because there is something so calming and peaceful about the sight and sound of the sea. I’m really looking forward to exploring more as Covid restrictions continue lifting.

Day 8 | BOOKS

I can’t express my love of physical books enough, but living overseas isn’t conducive to for this love. I’m so thankful for my Kindle and the ability to ready anytime anywhere. This year I decided I’m going to take steps to be a healthier me and establish more effective family rhythms. This huge shift has me scrambling, and I decided that I don't want to live in "survival" mode anymore. The things I did when we were a family of 3 just don't work for a family of 5. I've got to make the most effective and important changes to sustain us and help us thrive now and in the future. How thankful I am to have accress to so many resources through the magic of my kindle.

Day 9 | SIGNS

I bought this sign at Hobby Lobby when we were Stateside. Originally I only imagined using it for the Thanksgiving season, but it’s become a monthly habit of thankfulness. I write down a Scripture God has put in my heart for the month with things I’m thankful. I intentionally read it several times a day going up and down the stairs, which has helped me with meditation and memorization. I’m trying to be more proactive about memorizing God’s Word, so this has helped tremendously. Little changes like this throughout my day have been so helpful for my mental and spiritual health.

Day 10 | LITTLE THINGS

There are lots of little things in my life these days, which naturally happens when you have babies. My littlest lady is such a gift. A year ago I had no idea Emelyn was already on the way. She was such a surprise. At that time I felt so overwhelmed by the prospect of having another baby and everything that back-to-back pregnancies meant for me physcially. Today I see how perfectly she fits into our family. I can’t imagine our lives without her. Learning to trust God’s timing with all the little surprises that continue popping up in my life.