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

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!

Setting up the Christmas tree!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!

Although we're still in flip flops and t-shirts, Christmas is definitely in the air. It has been for awhile. As a general rule of thumb we don't do Christmas till after the American Thanksgiving. Unless Joe is at work. hehe. I've been playing Christmas music for awhile now. 

Currently, my favorite Christmas album is:  

Christmas worship. This is the whole point of this time of year. To worship. The newborn King, the life He lived, the life He gave up, the life He still has --resurrected & reigning on the right hand of His Father--our Father! What a gap He has filled! What a glorious day it was when God came to earth in the flesh. Our messed up world welcomed God Himself as a little baby. So humble, so vulnerable, so tiny. I often think about Mary as I cradle my own sweet baby and see her tiny fist clinging to my finger. The sense of awe at the perfection of this little miracle. And yet my baby isn't perfect and still needs a Savior. The Savior that was away in a manger on that night long ago. My heart overflows. Christmas worship. The most wonderful time of the year.

What does a Christmas tree have to do with worship, anyway? I don't know. It's tradition; it's memories; it's our culture all wrapped up in the confusion we have turned Christmas into. At any rate, we have fun doing it and this year put the tree on the main floor and invited our neighbor boys over for a little Christmas party! 

Peanut butter popcorn balls, fun Christmas music, and lots of lights & laughter! A great way to bond with the kids. I don't know how, but I now have 1 candy cane on my tree out of the box of 18 that I bought. haha...boys!

Our little helper! :)

These kids are just so precious! Love them!

Wesley hanging his ornament on the tree! It's the little stocking we hung on the tree in his honor the year I was pregnant with him. It's now his to hang on the tree every year! Briana also has one that I hung on the tree in her honor last year! Since she was sleeping I'll have to take a photo of her with it later. :)

Some of the boys worked on a paper chain, while others worked on wrapping a gift for us!

I found out later it was some of Wesley's stuffed animals that they put in a pretty box with a card the made for us. haha, it's the thought that counts!

I'll post a pic of our finished tree a little closer to Christmas.
We are doing a daily advent with the kids. They're still young so we're keeping it REALLY simple. Every day we tell a Bible story while Wes & I color a picture reflecting that story. We're bringing him through Creation to the birth of Christ. We then hang the picture on the tree. It's a special time together, and the thing he gets the most excited about it writing the number on the back of the picture. We'll have 25 by Christmas! It's a fun little project for us and a good way to prepare our hearts for the celebration of God's arrival to earth as we worship Him for the greatest gift that could ever be given: His life!

Lord, give us boldness and creativity in communicating this message to these beautiful children you've brought into our home!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving for us was a pretty "normal" day. Joe & I taught at the Bible School and Joe also taught at the Korean School. When we came home we enjoyed a quiet little thanksgiving dinner as a family. A little different cuisine than our Canadian thanksgiving...this time we went more traditional. SO delicious! We are so lucky to get to celebrate thanksgiving twice!

As you can see, Wesley wasn't exactly a fan of sitting down for dinner. He is really struggling with making it through a whole day without a nap.
He is good at crashing around 5 or 6 PM.
If he doesn't sleep, he's melt-down-city around dinner time.
If he does sleep, he'll wake up around 10 PM and be ready to play.

This is life with a two-year-old. :D

Here is Wesley testing out the pie! 

Although he didn't prefer pumpkin pie, he has been going to TOWN on the pumpkin muffins that I made! He calls them cake. "More cake!" He asks me for another one, then Joe for another one, and before we realize it, he's eaten 3. Yep! This is why he is growing so much! 

 

Our thanksgiving dinner: our favorite dishes! We didn't spend the money on a whole turkey, but chicken is yummy, too! Dressing, candied sweet potatoes, grated carrots with onions & browned butter, gravy, and of course, pumpkin pie. We left out the cranberries--since they're harder to find here and we're not big fans of them anyway, mashed potatoes--although they're yummy they make us feel bleh, and fresh dinner rolls--because, well, just because. Let's keep it realistic for this working mama! ;) Looking at these pictures makes me want to make another meal like this! SO yummy.

 

Here is my amazing husband about to dig into his pumpkin pie.

I have to say, this was one of the BEST pumpkin pies I've EVER made! 

I couldn't find evaporated milk, so replaced that with sweetened condensed milk (which is found in abundance here!) and then just left out the sugar. It was AMAZING. As is everything with scm. Am I right?

Yes, I fell for more than his hot looks. He still has the touch and knows how to win me over--and over and over! Look at this...he still spoils me with roses! And did you know he's made breakfast for me EVERY MORNING since our return from North America? Scrambled eggs with loads of veggies are waiting for me every morning when I come downstairs. He knows Briana likes the later hours of the night, plus I get up with her so often throughout the night, so he just lets me sleep as long as I can and he takes care of our early-riser two y/o and I wake up to the smell of yummy food. Every morning. I love how he is so selfless is giving of himself for his family and makes every day special for me and the kids. 

Can you tell what my heart is bursting for thankfulness for? 

I love you, Joey.