The Bryan Family

Trip to Houston, Texas

Wed, 19 May 2010 00:00:00 +0700

We had to make an unexpected trip to Houston to say goodbye to Neale’s grandmother, “Mama Jean”. Neale and I had all of our things packed and were all set to go on Saturday (May 15). Right before we were about to head out the door, Ellie gets sick…. all over her uncle Derek. We were hoping that she would feel better soon, so we decided to go ahead and leave. As we were putting Ellie in her car seat, she gets sick again. We decided that a 13 hour car ride with a sick toddler would not be fun, so Neale went on by himself to Houston. By Sunday evening Ellie was feeling a lot better (No more running to get buckets). We found an early flight Monday morning so that Ellie and I would be able to attend the memorial service for Mama Jean. Even though it was sad to say goodbye to her, we had a good time visiting with family, playing with baby Max (Neale finally got to meet his nephew), and sharing memories of sweet Mama Jean.

Our cute little nephew, Max Williams

The Bryan family (minus Marvin)

Mama Jean 1920-2010

Sat, 15 May 2010 00:00:00 +0700

A tribute to Mama Jean, written by Neale’s father:

Thursday night Cheryl and I sat in my study at the church building talking to Ganelle and James (my sister and brother-in-law) on the speaker phone about the worsening condition of my mother’s dementia. It was becoming increasingly evident that she could not continue to live on her own. A variety of options were discussed, including having her come to Imperial and live with us.

Friday morning, about 8:30, James called to tell us that my precious, sweet little Mama had died peacefully in her sleep. It was like she was somehow aware of our concern for her and how to best care for her – so she took matters into her own hands. As usual, she had a better way. The steadfast faith that guided her life and molded her character has now been realized, and she is at home. Blessed are those who die in the Lord!

She and my Dad were childhood sweethearts. As second-graders in my grandmother’s classroom, he asked her to marry him – she said she would if he’d buy her a car! (Well, over the years, he bought her lots of cars.)

They were separated for over ten years because of their families’ moves to different parts of the state. Then as a sophomore at Texas A&M, Dad began looking for her, calling relatives he thought might know of her whereabouts. He found her, working for Western Auto in San Antonio; and so began the true romance of The Summer of 42. They were married on December 19, 1942.
Those were war years. In 1944, at the beginning of his senior year, Dad’s class at A&M was called up early for service. He was commissioned a second lieutenant and told to prepare for combat training and deployment.

I was born on December 9, 1944. Two weeks later Dad received orders sending him to New York for embarkation. A few days later my mother left a three-week-old infant with grandparents and took a train to New York to be with Dad before he was deployed. He shipped out for the war in Germany on Christmas Day, 1944.

I am one of the many fortunate war babies in that my Dad came home. He and Mom built a life and family (two sisters) together – a home and family that now flood my mind with the fondest of memories.

Dad died on June 3, 1984, while visiting us on the mission field in South Africa. His death was sudden and gut-wrenching. We were stunned and overwhelmed with grief. He was a good man, a devout servant of God, a loving husband and father. It took a long time to recover from his loss.

Mom – the word “gone” seems so unnatural because she’s always been “there.” Yet, reacting to the news of her death, I feel no great sorrow. Oh to be sure, I am writing these words through
tear-blurred eyes. I am sad. But I am also profoundly thankful. I am thankful I knew the woman named Jean Bryan. I’m thankful she was my mother. I’m thankful for all the good things that characterized her life. And I’m thankful her life ended swiftly and peacefully in the repose of sleep.

I love you, Mom, forever. Your Billy-boy.

Ellie meets her great-grandmother. Eleanor Jean Bryan and Mama Jean December 2008

Ellie with Mama Jean, December 2008

The Bryan family with Mama Jean December 2008

Ellie’s first baseball game at Busch Stadium. We went...

Thu, 13 May 2010 00:00:00 +0700

Ellie's Cardinal shirt I made for her.

Ellie's really enjoying the game.

My sister, Dede, and niece, Katie

My niece, Kayla with fiance, Josh

Ellie and Granddaddy

Ellie’s first baseball game at Busch Stadium. We went just 24 hours after stepping off the airplane. We were pretty tired, but had a great time!

We're Back!

Thu, 13 May 2010 00:00:00 +0700

We arrived safely in St. Louis in the late afternoon on Wednesday the 12th. We had an uneventful flight, and Ellie did great on all three flights. This was the shortest trip we’ve ever made (around 23 hours total travel time). We were greeted at the St. Louis airport by Dalissa’s dad and soon-to-be nephew Josh. We arrived at Dalissa’s parent’s house to surprise her mom (who had no idea that we had come home) and saw one of Dalissa’s sisters and two nieces. We took a video of our surprise homecoming, so hopefully we can get that up soon.

We had to quickly get ready to make it to Wednesday night Bible study that night. Here are a few pictures of Ellie with her church friends, Anastyn (who shares the same birthday as Ellie), and Mya.

Goodbye Thailand

Wed, 12 May 2010 00:00:00 +0700

Neale, Dalissa, and Ellie at the Bangkok airport.

Some of the members of the Somprasong Church of Christ came to the airport to see us off. Back row: P’Petch (Neale’s student) , P’Rung, Neale, Dalissa, P’Sam Front Row: Lynne (Dalissa’s former student), Gratae (Dalissa’s former student), P’Eung, Nong, P’Neung, and Ellie.

It was sad to say goodbye to everyone, but we are looking forward to seeing our friends and family back in the States.

90 Seconds with Ellie - Episode 17

Fri, 07 May 2010 16:17:50 +0700

90 Seconds with Ellie - Episode 17

Our last little vacation in Thailand. We drove over to...

Fri, 07 May 2010 00:00:00 +0700

Our last little vacation in Thailand. We drove over to Katchanaburi Thailand for the weekend.

Photo

Fri, 07 May 2010 00:00:00 +0700

"Hand, daddy. (While walking down the street and reaching up for Neale’s hand.) Thank you,..."

Mon, 03 May 2010 23:24:02 +0700

“Hand, daddy. (While walking down the street and reaching up for Neale’s hand.) Thank you, daddy. Yea!!! Daddy hand!”

- Eleanor Jean

90 Seconds with Ellie - Episode 16

Mon, 03 May 2010 08:26:47 +0700

90 Seconds with Ellie - Episode 16

A rainy day in Bangkok.

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0700

A rainy day in Bangkok.

More Tot School

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0700

We’ve been pretty busy lately, so we haven’t done much with our tot school. Here are some of the things that we’ve done. Warning: Lots of pictures

Playing with pattern blocks.

Ellie’s first attempt.

…and her second.

planting flowers

sorting flowers by color.

coloring with purple

reading the calendar

learning our colors

learning about Adam and Eve

practicing sweeping

playing with purple clay

and painting on paper…and our body.

Photo

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0700

Neale, Ellie, and I took a little trip up to Chiang Mai and...

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0700

Neale, Ellie, and I took a little trip up to Chiang Mai and Chaing Rai, Thailand with Neale’s parents.

Camp Cha-am

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0700

We were all able to attend the annual Bible Camp Somprasong 4 hosts every year. It is held in April on a beach site in Cha-am, Thailand. We had an amazing time during the week-long retreat, worshiping and fellowshiping with more than 500 of our brothers and sisters from around Thailand, and around the world. Neale’s father was given the opportunity to both teach the adult class each day of camp and also to speak during the first evening lecture. The camp’s theme was putting ourselves 2nd in every situation, with our family, friends, and in our service to God. Here are a few photos from camp.

Ready for Songkran.

Ellie in her Bible class.

Bill preaching with P’Glome translating.

Can you find us?

Ellie’s first French braids.

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0700

Ellie’s first French braids.

Bangkok Zoo

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0700

Neale, Ellie, Yaya, and I went out one morning to visit the zoo in Bangkok. They were doing some construction on some of the exhibits, so we didn’t get to see all the animals there. Ellie really enjoyed looking at all the animals.. (she actually got more excited to see the cartoon animals on the side of the train than she did the real animals.) We finished our visit with the elephants and then headed back home.

Photo

Sun, 04 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0700

Happy Easter!

Sun, 04 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0700

Not really in the picture-taking mood, but she did stand still long enough for me to get a picture.

Modeling her bunny shirt that I made for her. I was in the mood to make something, so I took a plain pink onesie, a few old shirts for the pieces, and made her a bunny shirt (which she called kitten the first few times). It took me a while to hand sew all the pieces, especially around the edges to keep them from fraying. I think it turned out pretty cute.

Searching for candied eggs that Papa and Yaya brought with them from the U.S.

Yellow Week

Sat, 03 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0700

Besides doing things with the color yellow, we did a few Easter activities as well. We had to go to a market in Chinatown to find Easter eggs and they only came in sets of 100, so we did a lot of things with our eggs. We matched the colors, learned how to open and close the eggs, put little animal erasers inside the eggs and matched them, used our eggs as a scoop in beans, and played with them during our bath to see if they would float or sink.

Ellie playing with the sound eggs that I filled with various items to make different sounds. She really enjoyed these until she figured out how to pull the tape off and open the eggs up.

Showing off her bunny that we made together.

…and playing peek-a-boo!

Painting yellow Big Bird. She knows now that when we do any kind of painting, gluing, or coloring that we use her Elmo mat. She goes to get it herself and when she is finished with what we are doing she says “done!” and then folds (wads up in a ball) up her mat and puts it back under the sink.

Creation day 6 : God made the animals.

Matching up the animals and then…

knocking them all down.

Singing “5 Little Ducks”. Ellie loves the “quack, quack, quack” part.