Christmas Weekend

I think this Christmas was about singing for us! 

The girls sang for Grandparents' presents, 

we sang along to Christmas music as we worked on our nativity

now complete with Terracotta warrior wise men,

we sang carols with our church on the river, 

we sang at the Christmas Eve service, 

we sang Happy Birthday, Jesus at breakfast on Christmas day,

 and we ended Christmas day with our own carols by candlelight!

And in between we shopped for, prepared for, and hosted a party for somewhere around 25 refugees,

celebrated a Christmas Eve baptism of a new believer that Michael was a part of his coming to faith,

went skating for Grace's Christmas present...

who can make friends with anybody everywhere she goes

and where Jasmin learned to skate away from the bar

- which we made into a full afternoon outing with a Subway lunch and pictures with the winged unicorns' carriage outside the mall,

Aiden sharing part of Jasmin's fairy costume

Skyped with both sets of Grandparents, and otherwise enjoyed ourselves!

Were we too busy?  I don't think so, as the girls' verdict was: "I don't want this to end..." and "This was the best Christmas ever!"

Definitely much better than last year that is mostly remembered for the "Mommy's bag was stolen, iPhone and all" episode that interrupted our day.

Advent #20

...and we made our own ice cream in a bag for a treat.  It worked beautifully, but it melted too fast: the girls ended up with ice cream soup after a few bites and no pictures of the finished product. I guess doing it in 32 C weather requires some freezer time after making... Still a success at making the day special.

Advent Catchup

Seashells, beads, and glitter angel choir waiting to tell the shepherds the good news
Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus
The three kings
Two shepherds
... all made from an online pattern meant to be glued onto toilet paper tubes - only we didn't have that many free so we just taped them around!

Still working on a star and candles...

Beach Holiday

 

Last weekend we joined our church's retreat at JuniperTree Dolphin Bay, a4-5 hr drive south of BKK.  The girls were delighted to have beach and friends to play!  We had a good time, what with worship and learning morning and evening each day and lots of opportunities to just hang out with and get to know people better.

Sunday afternoon, there was various outings organized.  We took the boat trip to Monkey Island and "the cave." Monkey Island was a bit of a disappointment as we only were greeted by a few shy monkeys, where usually there are at least twenty bold ones.  But the cave was well worth it.  The boat ride to the mountain was delightfully entertaining with the three girls (Grace, Jasmin, and a friend) and Aiden.  Aiden didn't like the lifejacket we put on him, but we all thought it was pretty neat.

 

The cave is up a mountain.  The path is a rough set of stairs made of cemented rocks, roots, and sand. Steep.  The steps are so well used that the rocks are worn smooth and shiny - not the easiest to navigate.  We were a bit nervous about how well the girls would do.  Unnecessarily.  Jasmin led the way, starting off at a fast pace that she kept up until she got there, taking a normally 40 min climb in just under 25 min!  Daddy was hard put to keep up with her - though he was carrying Aiden too. Mommy soon fell behind - to keep Grace company, of course.

 The cave was well worth the climb.  The huge cavern roof had fallen in in places and greenery grew in the center of the main cavern.  With the entering daylight, the stalagmites and stalactites were easy to see and most impressive.  We stayed quite a while, exploring the differing rock formations, and looking at the breathtaking views of trees and sky through the roof.  Not all of our group made it.  We felt rather sorry for Jennifer's dad, who, at 71, gamely climbed after his daughter (who was with speedy Jasmin) only to reach the mouth of the cave in time to turn around and make the return journey (we had to catch our boat at a certain time)!

 

 After we made the decent (also in record time!), Jennifer's dad bought the 3 girls ice cream in celebration of their feat.  And the boat ride back was considerably more subdued and quiet!

 

Once the church retreat weekend was over, we settled in for our own family vacation.  Lots of sleeping, sand castling (or eating), swimming, playing, and exploring with new friends.

 

Thursday we joined a group going for a snorkeling trip.  Unfortunately, after getting up early, a 2 and a half hour van ride, and a roller coaster boat ride, we were told snorkeling would not be possible because of the heavy seas.  Suddenly the fun went out of the high waves, and the gleeful squeals and yells of the kids over the rocking boat went silent as we slowly made our way back to the warf.

Mommy and Daddy were very proud of Grace and Jasmin that day.  Their response to this disappointment? "We're very disappointed, but we're going to make the best of it." And so they did, spending an hour on the new beach enjoying the high surf and loose sand, playing tag with their friends (both dog and boy), and not whining or complaining at all - even when all alternative plans went on hold while Mommy went to the nearby hospital with one of the group who had broken and deeply cut her pinky toe getting of the boat... 

 Now we are home and trying to get back into Christmas preparations and catch up on all we left undone to go away.

Unusualness Growing

 

Stones and flowers decorate the yard of this Nativity stable... under a sprinkling of snow?  

A made-it-myself manger full of  "hay" that looks an awful lot like the snow...

I think the girls have finally caught the create bug on this project (they've done the last two days completely on their own). Hopefully we can keep that yet not stray too far from reality!

Advent plus

Imma's Advent day 4 & 5

We have a very neat stable... either no one changing the hay for weeks so it got flattened so, or some neat-freak laid it so carefully...??
With no access to grass or hay, we used a piece of fibrous wrapping paper...








And a multi-climate location... Grace's tree is a maple - she is very adamant about that - and Jasmin's is a palm tree... perhaps another symbol of Jesus being for everyone everywhere?










Other news of note:
Jasmin had a cold two weeks ago, Daddy was sick last week, and now Mommy has nearly no voice and Jasmin is sniffling and going through rolls of tissue again.
We are going to the beach with our church for the weekend, and then staying for a our first proper holiday in what seems like years.
Aiden is teething, and he is our worst teether :o( He wakes up screaming mad multiple times a night/nap. Too bad ice cubes don't last longer here - playing with them is the best soother we have found so far.

Far-Flung Advent

 

Imma had the brilliant idea of sharing advent with all the grandkids by posting a day-by-day bit-by-bit making of a nativity scene on the family webpage.  We're doing it and posting our pictures here for other cousins to watch our progress.. this is day three...

It so happens to be next to our rather bare coat hangar Christmas tree - that looks much better with the lights on in the dark!