Hard Drive Down

Patti and I arrived safely at Mike and Morgan's and have been enjoying our first week spending time with them and seeing some of the sights. We have been up to Doi Suthep which is a Buddist temple with a huge statue of Budda; visited the waterfalls on the way for a picnic; been to the downtown market and the night bazaar; seen the old city walls and moat and visited a lovely park nearby; had authentic Thai food and some great Western food as well; Mike and I have played golf; had a great birthday party with Aidan; visited the Chiang Mai zoo, which is really cool; and generally having a great time while we have gotten adjusted to the time difference.


Additionally, our new camera has been taking some wonderful pictures. However, after downloading all the pictures to my laptop to post on the blog, and clearing them off of our camera card, I'm sorry to report that the harddrive on my laptop has apparently failed. Dell doesn't think it can be fixed until after we get back to the states and the IT guys at Mike's company are going to try to get the information off so we don't lose anything.

So now we have to figure how to get pictures off the camera and on to Mike and Morgan's computer so we can put some up in the blog. I don't have a cable for the transfer since I didn't need one with my computer, so it is a problem. Just as bad, all of my e-mail addresses are on the computer as well! So I'm really locked up when it comes to communicating with some of our friends who don't read the blog.


Just a couple of observations before I sign off:

Things you can find anywhere on earth:

1. Coca-Cola
2. Roaches
3. Starbuck's
4. Mosquitos
5. Pigeons
6. Motor scooters
7. $3.00/gal gasoline.

So with that information now in the public domain, I will sign off until we can figure out our technical glitches. Oh, one word of advice - buy McIntosh!!!

Mike and Patti

First Leg - I Can't Believe We've Come This Far

Patti and I are sitting in the United Airlines International Travelers Lounge at Tokyo's Narita airport. We left DFW this morning at 8:07 and flew to San Francisco to change planes and head for Tokyo. We landed in Tokyo at 2AM Dallas time, so including the San Francisco leg and time between flights it was a total of 18 hours. Arrrrgh! We have a three hour layover here before heading on to Bangkok. Notes from the trip:

It was raining in Dallas when we left. It was raining in Tokyo when we arrived. Hmmmm. The flight was incredibly long, but business class really takes the edge off. The seats fully recline and the food was great! I can't remember the last time I got something more than peanuts on a flight. We had a great Japanese meal including smoked salmon, green salad, some tasty things I didn't recognize and some really wonderful sesame chicken with noodles and mixed vegetables. Coffee, soft drinks, water snacks and lots of fruit filled out the rest of the time. By the way, I know that United Airlines is not the snazziest airline around, but the service, food and flight attendants were great. Patti has been handled with kid gloves and wonderful courtesy the whole way.

There was a choice of nine movies on board. The only one I watched was Wild Hogs for the second time. Otherwise listening to music, reading and sleeping.

Here is Patti in Business Class:

Here is a look at the upper deck, all business class, on the 747:

Here is the plane:

Narita Airport is a pretty interesting place. For one thing, the lounge we are in is very delux. If you've ever been in an airline club like the American Admiral's Club, you know they are nice. This is like an Admiral's club on steroids. Lots of room, showers if you need one, free food, drink and even direct telephone lines to the U.S., Canada, China, Singapore, Korea and Thailand. This is just one section.

When you walk outside the lounge you are absolutely assaulted with Duty Free stores selling all kinds of cosmetics, electronics, jewelry, watches, clothing, you name it! Here's a sample:

I mean, what airport could possibly be complete without a Tiffany's!!

Finally, one of the more popular pastimes at Narita is enjoying a relaxing, vibrating recliner while waiting for your flight. These guys all looked like they were having the time of their lives right here!!

Please pray for me (Mike). I managed, wouldn't you know it, to develop a rollicking head cold just before we left. It would really be nice to get over it in the next day and not infect any family members!!!

Forever in Him,

Mike and Patti

Really Cool Trip!

Way too cool! Patti and I are going to Thailand for the next two weeks to visit Mike, Morgan and Aidan!!!!!!!!!!

For those of you who are fluent in Thai, that means we are pai teeo. For those of you who aren't, that means we are going traveling. And travel we will. We fly from DFW to San Francisco to Tokyo to Bangkok. That whole trip is approximately 24 hours in the air! Needless to say we will be travel weary when we get to Bangkok. We will spend the night there and push on to Chiang Mai and a happy reunion the following day. We have a new camera so I hope to be posting pictures during the trip.

Pray for safe travel, health and a great time together!

More later...

Mike and Patti

New Faces - No Names! Kids & Grandkids Update

In the last few months we have been blessed with two, yes TWO, blessed announcements!

Mike and Morgan, who currently reside in Thailand with Grandson #1, Aidan (Devestatingly cute and just turned 3), are expecting a baby brother, grandchild #4, in October!! Interestingly, the due date is October 10th - the same as Mike Sr.'s birthday! That means there is a good chance there will be at least one grandchild's birthday he won't forget!!

Paige and Todd, who currently reside in Tallahassee, FL, announced their new arrival, grandchild #5, is scheduled for January of 2008! Don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet, but Paige is having fun working on eyes, fingers, toes, etc.

Nick and Abbey, in Simsboro, LA, continue to enjoy the blessings and challenges of raising two beautiful children Cadence (Turning 3 in August) and Cole (Turning 1 in July) (Both also devestatingly cute as well).

Stephen, attending LSU in Baton Rouge, will graduate in December and is working now with Mike Sr.'s company, Millennium Protection Group and pursuing other ventures as well.

All are doing well and we give glory to God for His goodness! Check the links to visit their blogs and learn and see more!

M & P

Graduation Day

Hi! Remember me? Long time no post!


On Thursday, May 31st, Patti graduated from re-hab! YAY! God blessed us with 18 months of intensive work for Patti to assist in her recovery. That's amazing in itself because most of the people she saw coming through re-hab only stayed a few months. Many had insurance restrictions that forced them out. Others had no family or friend support and gave up. Still others quit on life altogether regardless of the support they had.


Exiting formal re-hab is exciting, but it is also a big adjustment. The truth is that re-hab continues - just at home. So Patti is continuing to work hard each day on various aspects of her on-going recovery. She works out at the YMCA three times a week and the therapists at the re-hab center gave her a small library of tools to help her along and she uses these daily. We are exploring other ways to make the effort more interesting.

Getting back into a rhythm of life is more important now, also. We have settled into a wonderful fellowship group at church that meets on Saturday nights. They have welcomed us and we have numerous new friendships developing.

I continue to be busy with work which means that Patti has a lot of time during the day by herself. Transportation when she needs to go somewhere is a problem if I'm not available. Dallas Area Rapid Transit has a door-to-door service available that Patti is now qualified for which will come in very handy in the future. We are also looking for part-time driver for Patti so that she will have the mobility she needs to go places and do things.

Please pray that we find the right person for driving and that Patti's activities settle into place in a way that is pleasing to her and promotes her on-going recovery.

Sorry for the huge gap in the blog! We will attempt to get current and stay that way!

Forever in Him!

Mike and Patti