Friday, December 20, 2013

these are for you Jason, Brooklynn, Cossette, Ethan, & Joanna!

For my precious nieces and nephews who have been begging for more video footage of Wes & Briana! 
(okay, well, maybe Joanna hasn't hit the begging stage yet. hehe) 
I love you guys! 
I hope you all have a very wonderful and special Christmas. 
I wish I could be with you to play in the snow! 
We think of you EVERY day and we show your pictures and videos to Wesley. 
We will take more videos to show you soon! 
Merry Christmas! 
hugs from Auntie Nica <3>














Christmas at our house & PPBS parties!

Our Christmas Eve came early this year! Or rather, we get two of them! :) 
On Thursday we enjoyed a Christmas party for the PPBS Faculty. It is always such a treat to all get together--including us wives and children! 
Here we are enjoying a time of worship through Christmas carols, reading meditations and Scriptures, and prayer. Hosted at Mark & Deb's house, it was fun to get out and enjoy yummy food, games, and lots of laughs in such a relaxing setting!
Wes isn't doing so well with crowds these days, though. He'd prefer to escape to a quiet room or go outside to play on his own. Briana, however, is always a center of attraction! :)


I was able to lead everyone in a carol sing! Yay! It's fun to have an excuse to play guitar. Praying for more opportunities to practice! :)



My friend and our collegue, Shirley. I told her she won the prize for looking the most festive!

 Dave & Sonia

 the ladies!

After the Christmas party, we came home to have our own party!
We have the annual tradition of sleeping under the Christmas tree as a family on Christmas eve. However, since we're leaving on Saturday for Vietnam, we thought we'd celebrate early! 
Needless to say, Wes was REALLY excited about the idea! 

This is Briana's facial expression when she's a little concerned about being too close to a hyper-active big brother! Mommy, please save me!!!




Getting into our PJs! Baby Briana's first Christmas!!

My first Christmas as you dress me up like a bottle of milk?? Moooommm... 
haha
  

Pretzels! Part of Joey's 12 Days of Christmas goodies!!



In the morning, after our wonderful sleep, Joey made scrambled eggs, Nica frosted cinnamon rolls, and prepared iced chai, and we all opened our stockings! (yes, Santa comes early to Cambodia when he doesn't want to haul all his presents all the way to Vietnam by bus!! haha!)

A special shout-out to my Auntie Darlene for making Briana's stocking! Her first time to use it! I love all the special memories it's going to give her over the years! such a special gift. :)

 Wes has a lychee in his mouth. that's the big lump in his cheek in all the pictures. haha!

He loved his new ball!

 ...and dinosaurs!!


...and bubbles!

he also had the very important big-brother job of helping Briana open her gifts! :)


 Briana got a new swim suit! Just in time for our trip!

She likes chewing on the paper the best. 
Thanks, Gramma, for these munchkins! She'll be ready to use them soon!
And no, a sock is not the same thing. haha

Santa brought mommy some earrings!! And lots of other goodies. :)


Friday, after opening our stockings and our yummy breakfast, we headed over to PPBS for their Christmas program. We love hanging out with the students and enjoy opportunities to bring the kids to the school. It really helps the students get to know us better by seeing our children.

Here are some photos of those present. This is their weekly
chapel service time, but with a Christmas theme! I love hearing familiar songs sung in different languages!






And, as you can tell from the photos, they love our kids! Briana eats up the attention; Wesley is going through a "don't touch me!" stage with any stranger. So he is good at escaping the crowds and playing with his new soccer ball on the lawn with his daddy. :)







So, we are off in the morning to Vietnam!!!
Here is a map of where we plan to travel:

So, we will leave early Sat AM by bus for the 6-8 hr ride (depending on boarder crossing) from Phnom Penh (A) to the capitol of Vietnam: HoChiMinh (B). We'll go to church there on Sunday and explore a little, then head to the little beach town of MuiNe (C) where we'll be over Christmas, enjoying the beach and the sand dunes. We'll then head up to NhaTrang (D) for a few days to explore the beach and the town. We'll then take the train back to HoChiMinh (B) where we'll finish our city explorations and then take a bus back to Phnom Penh on Sunday, Dec 29!

We won't have a lot of internet access, but if our hotels have access we'll contact our families over Christmas. Hope this gives you an idea of where we're going and will help you to pray for our traveling mercies! We're all really excited! So, I'd better go so I can get the kids to bed and finish packing...in that order!

Love you all, and Merry Christmas!! hugs from all of us!
Joe, Nica, Wes, & Bri

Monday, December 16, 2013

The Christmas Struggle

This time of year there really isn't much different around here. 
The weather is still hot.
Most schools don't have holidays. 
Christmas decorations are hung up in random stores or car dealerships, but aren't prominent. 
Traditional candy, trees, decorations, the outward evidences of Christmas, is all western influence and exists mostly to get foreigners to spend money. (But then again, that's what malls in North America are all about, too. haha)

It must be confusing for the Khmer people. Many know Christmas exists because our God was born as a baby. (which might say more than main-stream North Americans!) However, here, the God Incarnate is not special, nor significant to them, since reincarnation is a natural part of their belief system. 

Why celebrate the birth of a baby if reincarnation/incarnation is not special? And why celebrate it by putting up a plastic tree with lights on display in your house? (hmm, the whole tree thing confuses me, too; but it's tradition, so I do it. ;) ) I feel like, when we live in a country where many people are struggling to make enough to survive, spending money on ornaments for the tree and gifts to fill under the tree, when we already have so much in comparison, really conflicts with the message we are trying to communicate: God's immeasurable love, His sacrifice, His victory over sin & death, His power, His plan to return!

These homes are right outside the gated community where we live. Poverty is in our faces every day. Why sell them on the fact that they need a Christmas tree to celebrate the birth of our God? See what I mean about the perplexity of our traditions?






And why make such a big deal about His birth? In order for the message to make sense, we really need to share the rest of the story. His death. His resurrection. His return. Not just that he was a tiny baby with a humble beginning, but that he is a MIGHTY KING who is returning to REIGN and JUDGE and RESTORE. Why can't I find any Christmas tracts to pass out to our neighbors that talk about this?


I wish there was a way to separate the "bling" from the "birth" so we can still celebrate our traditions and people don't confuse our silly customs with the significance of God Incarnate

I like Briana's facial expression here. I snapped this in the tuk tuk while we were driving by the bamboo huts (shown above). It looks like she's contemplating the same things I am!



Despite these thoughts inside me, I still want to give my children traditional Christmas memories! And I love Christmas...the whole package of it. The songs, the decor, the special events, the traditional foods, the memories made.

Last weekend Briana and I left the boys behind and we went to a fancy schmancy hotel for a Holiday Craft Expo! 
Yes, a chance to spend lots of money on things that reflect the very war that wages within me. However, one unique aspect of Cambodia is that often people are rescued from particular lifestyles and given life skills. It's their handiwork that is on display and sold to support their work. So, even if I buy a few things, I know it's supporting a great cause that I fully support! :) So, shopping we went! :)

We went with my friend, Shirley, who is also a teacher at PPBS! We always have fun together. She's from China, so is very patient as I try to muster up conversational Mandarin with her that is gradually getting worse and worse! We laugh a lot together. :D


A very authentic Christmas experience! Complete with carolers!

She's a little young to fully appreciate our girly day, but it'll be fun for Briana to look back at photos someday and know she has a mommy who LOVES hanging out  with her!



Later on that same Saturday, Joe and I got dolled up for a date! We had arranged for Kim to come over in the early evening so we could go out for dinner and then a Christmas concert! Wow, what a treat for us! The only time we get dates in the evenings is when family comes to visit us, or we're with family! Tonight was worth celebrating!


Although our evening was cut short at intermission due to an inconsolable Wesley melting down and Kim calling us in desperation, we had an amazing time together! :D


We dressed up for Anna's wedding, but the photo kinda looks Christmas-y!
blooper 1: oops, her headband is over her eyes!!! oh my!


blooper 2: trying to get a mommy/kids shot -- Wes...you're on my hair!


blooper 3: whoops, get back here, you! Bless you, Briana!

Ah! We got the shot!

So, although it's been said many times, many ways, Merry Christmas to you! 


love you all!