This picture is for those of you that enjoy Look-N-Find games.Hidden in this picture are two numbers.
Can you spot them?
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Our Trip to the Waterfall
Garth and Cale eating lunch by one of the pools
Sophie and Emma exploring
A family picture before we left
Sophie - ALWAYS the brave one
Under one of the falls
Of course, I had to try it
Wyatt doing a pose midair
Garth showing us where to jump Waterfall Hike
Today was awesome. You would have had soooooooooo much fun if you were here. We decided to hike up part of the mountain and go to one of the waterfalls with some of our friends. We left around 8 am and drove up as far as we could and then hiked the rest of the way. It was a good hour of often difficult hiking and climbing , but the kids did great. We had to carry Cale through some of the bad spots but he did great too. Once we got up to Middle Falls there were some fantastic pools of cool water that we could swim in. Also some large rocks that we could jump off of into the water. The day was perfect-the weather was sometimes overcast and sometimes sunny. We need it overcast to give us a break from the sun, but then after swimming we needed the sun to warm us up since the water was chilly. The guys all hiked up even farther to another waterfall and a cave. Then we had a nice picnic there by the falls and hiked down and got back home around 3.
I am amazed at all of the “stuff” in the jungle that you don’t see from the ground looking up at the mountain. There are so many different shades of green, so many different shapes of leaves and trees and vines…We saw some beautiful butterflies-orange and brown and bright blue-some big spiders in their webs in the jungle and a huge bright green beetle that was amazing.
We are all tuckered out. We had a light dinner and watched Music Man and put everyone to bed early. I will be heading that way myself after I am done talking to you.
Love to all-Rachel
I am amazed at all of the “stuff” in the jungle that you don’t see from the ground looking up at the mountain. There are so many different shades of green, so many different shapes of leaves and trees and vines…We saw some beautiful butterflies-orange and brown and bright blue-some big spiders in their webs in the jungle and a huge bright green beetle that was amazing.
We are all tuckered out. We had a light dinner and watched Music Man and put everyone to bed early. I will be heading that way myself after I am done talking to you.
Love to all-Rachel
Doing Laundry
Did you ever play Bloody Murder/Ghosts In the Graveyard? I did when I was a kid and now my kids love to play it. They had a blast playing it today. Games are so fun. One thing I found in the States this summer and gave the kids for Christmas this year is a Chinese jump rope. Remember doing that? Inside, outside, side, side, on…Did you ever do Double Dutch? Four square? Recess was always such a great part of the day. I love watching my kids enjoy the same things that I did. Good, wholesome fun.
Well, we have been having loads of fun here. The kids said they would help me with the laundry. Come to find out, they decided if they wear everything in the basket then they have less to fold. Sophie decided to wear all of the underwear so she put them all on and then was running through the house. Wyatt and Emma were wearing the rest. What a bunch of goofballs.
We have the key to the school library so we went up there for awhile this morning and checked out a ton of books. Now, if you know me, you know that when I say a ton, I mean it. Books are one of my favorite things. One day I will have some of my own published. The kids all love to read, and they know that I am a sucker for their night time requests for …”one more book.” So I am always looking for new material. Before we leave we will have read most of the books in the library.
Garth and Wyatt and Cale went out on a motorcycle ride today and about 5 minutes after they left it started to pour. Sure enough they got caught in it and came home soaked. When Garth pulled in, Cale exclaimed, “Yeah, Dad. You made it.” I decided that it would be a good time to mop all our floors while they were gone (of course), so wouldn’t you know that they would get home all wet and muddy??? After I cleaned it up again, and had JUST dumped out my mop bucket, Sophie dropped a glass and shattered it all over the floor. Ha!
You will get a kick out of this-I went out to our gudang (our laundry area outside) to check on the kittens and bring them some food. But when I got there I couldn’t find them. The kids made the kittens a play area with a bunch of boxes that they cut out windows and doors. So I bent my head over to look in one of the doors and there staring back at me was a big (dead) lizard with his arms and legs chewed off. All that was there was his fat body and head.
I am such a jumpy person to begin with-these kinds of things do not help my nerves. Garth sure thought it was funny though.
I am off to bed.
Love you all-
Rachel
Well, we have been having loads of fun here. The kids said they would help me with the laundry. Come to find out, they decided if they wear everything in the basket then they have less to fold. Sophie decided to wear all of the underwear so she put them all on and then was running through the house. Wyatt and Emma were wearing the rest. What a bunch of goofballs.
We have the key to the school library so we went up there for awhile this morning and checked out a ton of books. Now, if you know me, you know that when I say a ton, I mean it. Books are one of my favorite things. One day I will have some of my own published. The kids all love to read, and they know that I am a sucker for their night time requests for …”one more book.” So I am always looking for new material. Before we leave we will have read most of the books in the library.
Garth and Wyatt and Cale went out on a motorcycle ride today and about 5 minutes after they left it started to pour. Sure enough they got caught in it and came home soaked. When Garth pulled in, Cale exclaimed, “Yeah, Dad. You made it.” I decided that it would be a good time to mop all our floors while they were gone (of course), so wouldn’t you know that they would get home all wet and muddy??? After I cleaned it up again, and had JUST dumped out my mop bucket, Sophie dropped a glass and shattered it all over the floor. Ha!
You will get a kick out of this-I went out to our gudang (our laundry area outside) to check on the kittens and bring them some food. But when I got there I couldn’t find them. The kids made the kittens a play area with a bunch of boxes that they cut out windows and doors. So I bent my head over to look in one of the doors and there staring back at me was a big (dead) lizard with his arms and legs chewed off. All that was there was his fat body and head.
I am such a jumpy person to begin with-these kinds of things do not help my nerves. Garth sure thought it was funny though.
I am off to bed.
Love you all-
Rachel
Our Day
How did your Christmas go? Was it all you expected? I was so happy to hear the kids say, “That was a really good Christmas.” Since it was just us, I didn’t really have any stress to do stuff ,except for the stress I put on myself. This was our first Christmas without anyone, and we were feeling homesick, so I didn’t want it to be lame. My family had sent some presents and that was wonderful. We did a fun game when it came time to open gifts. We had a die and each person would take turns rolling. If you rolled a 1-Tell something fun you did this year, then get a gift, 2- pick a gift for someone 3- pick a gift for you 4-pick a gift for you or someone else 5- pick a gift for you 6-Say something you like about someone and give them a gift. Well, we were playing this and it came to Cale’s turn. He just turned three and we were trying to explain it. He rolled a six and had to say something about Wyatt. So he was standing there with his present, really thinking of something to say and then he says, “Cereal.” And gives Wyatt a hug. Ha ha, I think he was referring to all the mornings that Wyatt gets him cereal, but it was funny. The kids brought Garth and I breakfast in bed yesterday. What a nice surprise!
We had a great video Skype call with my family and all the relatives that were at the house. It was so fun to see how the cousins are growing up , and the see the new soon-to-be member of our family as my other cousin just got engaged, and just listening to all of the normal family chatter that goes on when you all get together was comforting. After the call we opened presents and then had a yummy brunch. The kids all helped in the kitchen with the food so it was a lot of fun. Back home we always have a brunch for Christmas so I thought I would keep with the tradition. Later we tried to work on our gingerbread houses but the royal icing just would not harden. I don’t know if it was from the heat or all the humidity but the houses looked like they were hit by an earthquake. Oh, well. What can you do?
We played ping-pong, and Sequence and spoons and watched The 12 Dogs of Christmas. We had a special time reading the Christmas story out of Luke and talking about what Jesus means to each of us. I read the words from a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called This Baby. (The words are at the bottom.) It is a new way to imagine and look at Jesus. Wyatt thought it was cool to think of Jesus wrestling with his Dad. If you have time, look at the words.
Hope your holiday was joyful and fun, full of laughter, and happiness and family.
Love you all
Rachel
This Baby
Well, He cried when He was hungry,Did all the things that babies do;He rocked and He napped on His mother's lap,And He wiggled and giggled and cooed.There were the cheers when He took His first step,And the tears when He got His first teeth;Almost everything about this little babySeemed as natural as it could be.CHORUSBut this baby made the angels sing,And this baby made a new star shine in the sky.This baby had come to change the world.This baby was God's own son, this baby was like no other one.This baby was God with us, this baby was Jesus.And this baby grew into a young boy,Who learned to read and write and wrestle with dad;There was the climbin' of trees and the scrapin' of knees,And all the fun that a boy's born to have.He grew taller and some things started changing,Like His complexion and the sound of His voice;There was work to be done as a carpenter's sonAnd all the neighbors said He's such a fine boy.But this boy made the angels sing,And this boy made a new star shine in the sky.This boy had come to change the world.This boy was God's own son, this boy was like no other one.This boy was God with us. This boy became a man,And love made Him laugh and death made Him cry.With the life that He lived and the death that He died,He showed us heaven with His hands and His heart,'Cause this man was God's own son.This man was like no other one,Holy and human right from the start.(chorus)This baby was God with us, this baby, this baby was Jesus; this baby was Jesus, this baby was Jesus.
We had a great video Skype call with my family and all the relatives that were at the house. It was so fun to see how the cousins are growing up , and the see the new soon-to-be member of our family as my other cousin just got engaged, and just listening to all of the normal family chatter that goes on when you all get together was comforting. After the call we opened presents and then had a yummy brunch. The kids all helped in the kitchen with the food so it was a lot of fun. Back home we always have a brunch for Christmas so I thought I would keep with the tradition. Later we tried to work on our gingerbread houses but the royal icing just would not harden. I don’t know if it was from the heat or all the humidity but the houses looked like they were hit by an earthquake. Oh, well. What can you do?
We played ping-pong, and Sequence and spoons and watched The 12 Dogs of Christmas. We had a special time reading the Christmas story out of Luke and talking about what Jesus means to each of us. I read the words from a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called This Baby. (The words are at the bottom.) It is a new way to imagine and look at Jesus. Wyatt thought it was cool to think of Jesus wrestling with his Dad. If you have time, look at the words.
Hope your holiday was joyful and fun, full of laughter, and happiness and family.
Love you all
Rachel
This Baby
Well, He cried when He was hungry,Did all the things that babies do;He rocked and He napped on His mother's lap,And He wiggled and giggled and cooed.There were the cheers when He took His first step,And the tears when He got His first teeth;Almost everything about this little babySeemed as natural as it could be.CHORUSBut this baby made the angels sing,And this baby made a new star shine in the sky.This baby had come to change the world.This baby was God's own son, this baby was like no other one.This baby was God with us, this baby was Jesus.And this baby grew into a young boy,Who learned to read and write and wrestle with dad;There was the climbin' of trees and the scrapin' of knees,And all the fun that a boy's born to have.He grew taller and some things started changing,Like His complexion and the sound of His voice;There was work to be done as a carpenter's sonAnd all the neighbors said He's such a fine boy.But this boy made the angels sing,And this boy made a new star shine in the sky.This boy had come to change the world.This boy was God's own son, this boy was like no other one.This boy was God with us. This boy became a man,And love made Him laugh and death made Him cry.With the life that He lived and the death that He died,He showed us heaven with His hands and His heart,'Cause this man was God's own son.This man was like no other one,Holy and human right from the start.(chorus)This baby was God with us, this baby, this baby was Jesus; this baby was Jesus, this baby was Jesus.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
It is ALMOST here!
WOW! It is almost Christmas! Actually, it is closer for me than you, but still…it is almost here!!!!!! Does that make you excited or stressed? I hope it makes you somewhat excited. The dorm kids are all gone. They went to be with their families for the holidays, so we have a quiet house. I was ready for this change of pace. I have a list of projects and things I want to do with the kids while we have all this time. There really aren’t that many options when it comes to going out to do stuff so we have to be creative with what we have right here. A lot of people are gone on the hill so we are really having a quiet time. One of the projects was converting an old play area into a club or fort for the girls. Actually, it is a play area with two pondoks on top so one is for the girls and one for the boys. The girl one is done and the boys want to do theirs on their own, so we will see when that gets done. There is another family that runs the second hostel and they have some kids our kids age and so they all worked on the project together. It was great fun!
We have also been working on Christmas cookies and fudge and peppermint bark (Thanks to my family for sending us some candy canes!!) and gingerbread men. The kids made a great nativity set out of toilet paper rolls. I am amazed at how well it looks.
We just found out that the family we were going to celebrate Christmas with is sick, so it looks like that won’t work out. I have never had a Christmas with just us…it will be interesting. I am trying to make new traditions here that will still feel special. Tonight before bed we all sat in the girls room and sang Christmas carols. Sophie’s versions of the songs are hilarious. Her words are close but not quite right-they usually rhyme with the right word though.
If you were here this week you would have heard the crazy pondok Natal’s blasting music at all hours of the day along with lots of fireworks going off day and night, you could have watched White Christmas with us (the Indonesian copy) where the movie stopped with only 15 minutes left, or you could have heard Sophie’s thunderous gas during Elf when we invited company over to watch with us or you could have fished a whole deck of cards out of the toilet after Cale peed and threw them in, and laughed at our Indonesian Christmas lights that stopped working the minute we got them up, or helped me find Cale’s gum that he accidentally spit out in our bed and then couldn’t find…should I go on??
Ha Ha, what can you do but laugh? Life is full of bumps, isn’t it? What can you do? You don’t want to stay in the bump, you want to get over it and keep going. So that is what we do.
I am going to leave you with a joyful holiday picture of the kids in front of our tree. Please know that we are thinking of you and missing you tonz!
We have also been working on Christmas cookies and fudge and peppermint bark (Thanks to my family for sending us some candy canes!!) and gingerbread men. The kids made a great nativity set out of toilet paper rolls. I am amazed at how well it looks.
We just found out that the family we were going to celebrate Christmas with is sick, so it looks like that won’t work out. I have never had a Christmas with just us…it will be interesting. I am trying to make new traditions here that will still feel special. Tonight before bed we all sat in the girls room and sang Christmas carols. Sophie’s versions of the songs are hilarious. Her words are close but not quite right-they usually rhyme with the right word though.
If you were here this week you would have heard the crazy pondok Natal’s blasting music at all hours of the day along with lots of fireworks going off day and night, you could have watched White Christmas with us (the Indonesian copy) where the movie stopped with only 15 minutes left, or you could have heard Sophie’s thunderous gas during Elf when we invited company over to watch with us or you could have fished a whole deck of cards out of the toilet after Cale peed and threw them in, and laughed at our Indonesian Christmas lights that stopped working the minute we got them up, or helped me find Cale’s gum that he accidentally spit out in our bed and then couldn’t find…should I go on??
Ha Ha, what can you do but laugh? Life is full of bumps, isn’t it? What can you do? You don’t want to stay in the bump, you want to get over it and keep going. So that is what we do.
I am going to leave you with a joyful holiday picture of the kids in front of our tree. Please know that we are thinking of you and missing you tonz!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Thief?
Sophie will either grow up to be a businesswoman millionaire, or a thief. That girl is so funny when it comes to money. She is always the one that finds money on the ground. When we are waiting in line somewhere she will walk around looking for dropped coins. When she was real little (we found out later) that she would pocket the money we gave her in church for the offering. Well, now the craze continues. She is collecting coins and frequently will ask the dorm kids for their extra change. She told me the other day that she is going to try to trick the tooth fairy into leaving her money. She wrote a note that said, “My tooth fell out but I lost it. Please leave money.” ( Great-a thief and a liar). Yesterday we were in the kitchen together making Christmas cookies and one of the dorm boys came in and asked if he could have one. Sophie, without any hesitation replied, “You can have one if you pay me.” Always looking for a way to make a buck.
Well, our high schoolers just had their big Christmas Banquet last night. It is a big deal and they do a lot of it themselves. The boys ask the girls and then the day of the party they go around picking flowers and make their date a corsage. We have beautiful flowers here so they look great. The Student Council is in charge of picking the location, decorating, and planning and making some of the food. This is a very responsible group of kids and they do an amazing job with getting everything done well on their own. The kids looked so nice and had a great time.
This afternoon we all decorated Christmas cookies. That is one of my favorite things-Christmas lights on, holiday music playing, everyone together, yummy cookies…. I love seeing all of the creativity. I use the same recipe every year. I got it from my friend Mrs. Dolan-it is a no-fail recipe that is absolutely delicious. In case any of you are looking for a good recipe, I will include it.
Mrs. Dolan’s Sugar Cookies
2c butter
3c. sugar
4 eggs
4 tsp. cream of tartar
2 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
5 c. flour
Combine all ingredients and then chill dough for 1 hour. Roll out on floured surface. Cut with cookie cutters. Place on ungreased pan. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.
Hope your day is as yummy as mine.
Love you all-
Rachel
Well, our high schoolers just had their big Christmas Banquet last night. It is a big deal and they do a lot of it themselves. The boys ask the girls and then the day of the party they go around picking flowers and make their date a corsage. We have beautiful flowers here so they look great. The Student Council is in charge of picking the location, decorating, and planning and making some of the food. This is a very responsible group of kids and they do an amazing job with getting everything done well on their own. The kids looked so nice and had a great time.
This afternoon we all decorated Christmas cookies. That is one of my favorite things-Christmas lights on, holiday music playing, everyone together, yummy cookies…. I love seeing all of the creativity. I use the same recipe every year. I got it from my friend Mrs. Dolan-it is a no-fail recipe that is absolutely delicious. In case any of you are looking for a good recipe, I will include it.
Mrs. Dolan’s Sugar Cookies
2c butter
3c. sugar
4 eggs
4 tsp. cream of tartar
2 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
5 c. flour
Combine all ingredients and then chill dough for 1 hour. Roll out on floured surface. Cut with cookie cutters. Place on ungreased pan. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.
Hope your day is as yummy as mine.
Love you all-
Rachel
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Silent Night?
Isn’t it so wonderful to crawl into your nice, warm bed with crisp, clean sheets and drift into a peaceful night of sleep? Yeah, well, our Tuesday night was quite a bit different than that. The power went off at 2:30 a.m. and was off until 7:00 a.m.. And here you are almost instantly covered in sweat because the fan is off. There is absolutely no light- it is pitch black and I couldn’t find the flashlight so I was desperately searching for Garth’s cell phone light so I could get to Cale who was standing in his room crying. Within minutes all of the kids were in our room awake. It was not easy falling back to sleep. Fans are great and really a necessity here. Not only to blow off the sweat but also to block out the noise of the Pondok Natals. I know I mentioned them last year, but in case you don’t remember they are tall huts that are built around Christmas time for the Indonesians to BLAST music from at all hours of the day and night. At times they are amazingly LOUD. We also hear the Muslim call to prayer starting at 4 a.m. So, I can’t tell you how many hours (minutes) we slept from 2:30 on. It sure makes you appreciate the nights that you have no interruptions. So we are all dragging a bit-good thing there is spell check or all of my words would be spelled worong, wrong. Ha ha.
Today when Garth and I were out with Cale we drove by a river and noticed a bunch of Indonesian kids playing in the water. Garth stripped Cale down and let him join in. He had a really fun time swimming around with them. The mothers were all downstream washing clothes and laughing. Boy, did he look white compared to them! I got some great pictures of the kids that I will put on the blog site tomorrow.
Our kids had their Christmas concert tonight and did a great job. Emma and Wyatt were in it with speaking parts and Sophie did the singing. Guess what the concert was called? The NOT So Silent Night. Funny, huh? It fits right in to our night here. Tomorrow is our staff Christmas party here with the school. That will be fun.
So, now off to bed, hopefully.
Love to all-
Rachel
Today when Garth and I were out with Cale we drove by a river and noticed a bunch of Indonesian kids playing in the water. Garth stripped Cale down and let him join in. He had a really fun time swimming around with them. The mothers were all downstream washing clothes and laughing. Boy, did he look white compared to them! I got some great pictures of the kids that I will put on the blog site tomorrow.
Our kids had their Christmas concert tonight and did a great job. Emma and Wyatt were in it with speaking parts and Sophie did the singing. Guess what the concert was called? The NOT So Silent Night. Funny, huh? It fits right in to our night here. Tomorrow is our staff Christmas party here with the school. That will be fun.
So, now off to bed, hopefully.
Love to all-
Rachel
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Noodle Shirt
Emma was trying on her clothes today looking for the perfect outfit for picture day tomorrow. She knows that they are not allowed to wear shirts with spaghetti straps and wanted to ask me about this one pink shirt-whether or not it would be ok. She couldn’t however remember the name of that kind of shirt. So she says to me, “Mom, is this a noodle shirt?”
Our day today was full, as I am sure yours was too. We have our normal pitfalls of the day. I decided not to “fall” into them and wallow but instead to go on around. Our main cook, Ibu Poppi is still sick. She left early yesterday and came in looking and feeling awful today. She asked for something for her headache, borrowed a bunch of money the other day and said that she was going back to the hospital tonight for x-rays on her shoulder and chest. I am not sure if she will be able to work tomorrow. But we will cross that bridge when we get to it. This morning we needed to run to a store for a few things but when we got there we noticed that it was closed. All of the power in that area was off so the store didn’t open. It wasn’t open yesterday either because it was a holiday…Then, when we got back home I went up to the main school office to help out with some ordering they are trying to do for next year. Talk about being prepared. They have to order the stuff now so that they will have it by next August. Right after lunch, Garth had to take a dorm girl to the hospital for more x-rays on her ankle that may or may not be broken. We take the x-rays here and then email them to a doctor in Singapore. Cale wanted to help me in the kitchen cook up stuff for dinner. I thought he was rinsing my dishes for me, but then noticed that he was dumping the wash water in with the rinse water and then dunking his whole head in, and sloshing it on the floor. (He’s fired!) Garth had to take one of our boys to the next mountain over and one of our girls to piano lessons, in between he played racquetball, we had homework, I did my walking and the final prep for dinner and then devotions and bed. And like a swirl of wind, the day is done.
We had a fun time as a dorm last night. A family here gave us some marshmallows so I decided we HAD to have a bonfire!!!! (I know, a bonfire in 90 degree weather…that’s what Garth said) but it was great fun. Just don’t sit too close to the fire.
We are trying to get in the Christmas spirit. We have a few decorations, and the kids have helped me cut snowflakes and paper angels, and paper chains. We did splurge and buy some Indonesian Christmas lights that play music. One of the “Christmas” songs that they play is “Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water…” How is that a Christmas song?
Oh, and another bit of news is that my Mom and Dad have a new dog---------Yahoo! A beautiful chocolate Labrador. She will be a great addition to our family I am sure.
Well, I hope you are not too stressed out about Christmas, it is 16 days away you know? Did I just stress you out more? Sorry. Speaking as one who is sooooooooooooo far removed from the fun, festive, wonderfulness that the holiday time brings, here is some advice. Don’t do so much that you are caught up in the chaos of all the planning and cooking and craziness. Cut back somehow so that you are able to enjoy the season, the fresh snow, the smell of real pine, and cinnamon cooking on the stove and family being together, cuddling in front of a fire, reading a story together or telling stories together, laughing at old pictures, and playing games, and watching old movies while holding hands etc. O.k. maybe I am going overboard with my romanticness (that is not a word, I know, because I have a red squiggly line under it), but I think you get my point.
Enjoy it, somehow. Because before you know it, it will be over.
Love you
Rachel
Our day today was full, as I am sure yours was too. We have our normal pitfalls of the day. I decided not to “fall” into them and wallow but instead to go on around. Our main cook, Ibu Poppi is still sick. She left early yesterday and came in looking and feeling awful today. She asked for something for her headache, borrowed a bunch of money the other day and said that she was going back to the hospital tonight for x-rays on her shoulder and chest. I am not sure if she will be able to work tomorrow. But we will cross that bridge when we get to it. This morning we needed to run to a store for a few things but when we got there we noticed that it was closed. All of the power in that area was off so the store didn’t open. It wasn’t open yesterday either because it was a holiday…Then, when we got back home I went up to the main school office to help out with some ordering they are trying to do for next year. Talk about being prepared. They have to order the stuff now so that they will have it by next August. Right after lunch, Garth had to take a dorm girl to the hospital for more x-rays on her ankle that may or may not be broken. We take the x-rays here and then email them to a doctor in Singapore. Cale wanted to help me in the kitchen cook up stuff for dinner. I thought he was rinsing my dishes for me, but then noticed that he was dumping the wash water in with the rinse water and then dunking his whole head in, and sloshing it on the floor. (He’s fired!) Garth had to take one of our boys to the next mountain over and one of our girls to piano lessons, in between he played racquetball, we had homework, I did my walking and the final prep for dinner and then devotions and bed. And like a swirl of wind, the day is done.
We had a fun time as a dorm last night. A family here gave us some marshmallows so I decided we HAD to have a bonfire!!!! (I know, a bonfire in 90 degree weather…that’s what Garth said) but it was great fun. Just don’t sit too close to the fire.
We are trying to get in the Christmas spirit. We have a few decorations, and the kids have helped me cut snowflakes and paper angels, and paper chains. We did splurge and buy some Indonesian Christmas lights that play music. One of the “Christmas” songs that they play is “Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water…” How is that a Christmas song?
Oh, and another bit of news is that my Mom and Dad have a new dog---------Yahoo! A beautiful chocolate Labrador. She will be a great addition to our family I am sure.
Well, I hope you are not too stressed out about Christmas, it is 16 days away you know? Did I just stress you out more? Sorry. Speaking as one who is sooooooooooooo far removed from the fun, festive, wonderfulness that the holiday time brings, here is some advice. Don’t do so much that you are caught up in the chaos of all the planning and cooking and craziness. Cut back somehow so that you are able to enjoy the season, the fresh snow, the smell of real pine, and cinnamon cooking on the stove and family being together, cuddling in front of a fire, reading a story together or telling stories together, laughing at old pictures, and playing games, and watching old movies while holding hands etc. O.k. maybe I am going overboard with my romanticness (that is not a word, I know, because I have a red squiggly line under it), but I think you get my point.
Enjoy it, somehow. Because before you know it, it will be over.
Love you
Rachel
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Happy
Order is being restored to the hostel. Ibu Poppi was at work and able to work today. She is still moving slow so she has just been doing lunch, but hopefully tomorrow she will be able to do both meals. What a blessing having house help is. I am so thankful that I am not in the kitchen all day everyday doing dishes and cooking food.
Cale and Sophie have been home with colds and coughs (Cale sounded like he had croup), but they are both doing much better. Cale had to have some nebulizer treatments because he was having a hard time breathing, but now…better. Yahoo!
Garth had a lovely birthday on Saturday. Can you guess how old? We had a big chocolate cake and microwave popcorn and actual Diet Pepsi (that was a surprise). A friend found two Diet Pepsi’s at a store in Jakarta in August and saved them for Garth’s birthday. How fun! Garth got a lot of homemade things from the kids and Mom and Dad and Donald and Carlena sent some stuff a while ago that I saved for the party.
I have been wanting to tell you about how I did on my goals. I made much improvement. The one I was having the hardest time with was being happy. It is interesting that these last two weeks before the deadline was when I was tested the most. Without our pembantus and with the kids sick and Garth speaking everyday at school…it was tough. But you know? (And I am DEFINITELY not saying this to toot my own horn, but to show you that God really can do miracles) I was able to be ok with the situation. I really was. Not a fake ok, but I was calm, and together. I put my iPod in the kitchen and was singing away to Christmas carols while I was cooking, and I really was happy. There is a lady here that teaches high school and she has been here since 1967. She told me the other day that there is no where she would rather be and nothing she would rather be doing. I am not at the point that I can say that, but I am working on being content where ever I am. And for that I can only thank God, because last year at this time, I couldn’t wait to move back home.
What makes you happy? What is it that truly makes you happy? I am happiest when I am around my whole family, that is why it so tough for me to be here. But I am learning that when I am willing to be content in a tough situation, God can bless me. And He has. There are a lot of little things here that God is using to make me happy. Garth and I see each other so much more now than we ever did. The kids get to spend time with both parents. The sunsets here are out of this world! I have help with laundry-wouldn’t you love someone to help you sort socks? I could go on, but my point is that, we can find happiness in little things. And even if our situation is not ideal, we can still find ways to be content. Please know that I am not perfect in this-I am a work in progress. When I talk like this I am always including myself. For sure. I have just as many grump days as you.
HAPPY - Having A Positive Perspective Year-round.
Send me some snow…snow makes me happy! Ha ha.
Love you all-
Rachel
Cale and Sophie have been home with colds and coughs (Cale sounded like he had croup), but they are both doing much better. Cale had to have some nebulizer treatments because he was having a hard time breathing, but now…better. Yahoo!
Garth had a lovely birthday on Saturday. Can you guess how old? We had a big chocolate cake and microwave popcorn and actual Diet Pepsi (that was a surprise). A friend found two Diet Pepsi’s at a store in Jakarta in August and saved them for Garth’s birthday. How fun! Garth got a lot of homemade things from the kids and Mom and Dad and Donald and Carlena sent some stuff a while ago that I saved for the party.
I have been wanting to tell you about how I did on my goals. I made much improvement. The one I was having the hardest time with was being happy. It is interesting that these last two weeks before the deadline was when I was tested the most. Without our pembantus and with the kids sick and Garth speaking everyday at school…it was tough. But you know? (And I am DEFINITELY not saying this to toot my own horn, but to show you that God really can do miracles) I was able to be ok with the situation. I really was. Not a fake ok, but I was calm, and together. I put my iPod in the kitchen and was singing away to Christmas carols while I was cooking, and I really was happy. There is a lady here that teaches high school and she has been here since 1967. She told me the other day that there is no where she would rather be and nothing she would rather be doing. I am not at the point that I can say that, but I am working on being content where ever I am. And for that I can only thank God, because last year at this time, I couldn’t wait to move back home.
What makes you happy? What is it that truly makes you happy? I am happiest when I am around my whole family, that is why it so tough for me to be here. But I am learning that when I am willing to be content in a tough situation, God can bless me. And He has. There are a lot of little things here that God is using to make me happy. Garth and I see each other so much more now than we ever did. The kids get to spend time with both parents. The sunsets here are out of this world! I have help with laundry-wouldn’t you love someone to help you sort socks? I could go on, but my point is that, we can find happiness in little things. And even if our situation is not ideal, we can still find ways to be content. Please know that I am not perfect in this-I am a work in progress. When I talk like this I am always including myself. For sure. I have just as many grump days as you.
HAPPY - Having A Positive Perspective Year-round.
Send me some snow…snow makes me happy! Ha ha.
Love you all-
Rachel
The ocean just keeps going and going and going...
Cale always makes himself at home in the water
What a beautiful day!
Talking about all the fun they had
This is where Cale always sleeps-wouldn't that be nice?
Digging to China-it's closer than you think!
Swimming in the lagoon
The lagoon is an awesome place to hang out with friends
Working on another sand project
Garth playing a splashing game
Sad because Timber died-Sophie said shelost a best friend
No more tears
No more tears
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