Wednesday, December 3, 2008

It's December! Countdown to Christmas....

10 more days 'til we're on the plane home for the holidays and we CAN'T WAIT!! In the meantime, we'll be wrapping things up with students to end the 2nd quintile, meeting Santa at Judah's campus (hopefully Judah and Avery have been nice...), leaving the kiddies at home with Aling overnite for the first time while we go to Macau for Robb's first 1/2 marathon and Cirque du Soleil show, and finishing some Christmas shopping on this side of the world.

Check out some current album links--July, Sept., Oct. 2008! How time flies, uh? We had a smooth transition back to China for our third year, though Judah did not get into the school groove for a few weeks. Now, he's swimming, reading (level AA, but still!), and says school is "perfect!" Avery is speaking a lot of words both in Chinese and English, running!, dancing (just started incorporating hand motions), and still shrieking for no apparent reason. I'm enjoying teaching 10-year-olds again this year 1/2 days and afternoons with the kids, and Robb thrives as secondary principal. It's been good. We're so blessed.

Oct. holiday on Bintan Island in Indonesia, an hour ferry ride from Singapore was outstanding!(I'm loving the resort set-up: bountiful breakfast buffets, fine, sandy beach (Judah's first snorkel), enormous kiddie pool shallow enough for Avery, interesting people from all over the world, kids' club, and more!) We did a mangrove boat tour, which was a lot of fun--saw yellow-ringed mambas, a python (sleeping, fortunately), and a couple monitor lizards (see link). Singapore was, indeed, very clean and urban. We went to the zoo, which was outstanding--the best! We went on a boat tour around the city, checked out the international school, ate amazing Indian food, and found a ridiculously heavy merry-go-round at the park (that was a heckuva workout!). Our hosts, Patrick and Becky Green, were sooo gracious, generous and hospitable--thanks again!!
DongChong: We had a three-day weekend in Nov. following parent-teacher conferences. A perfect amount of time and a great time of year to go camping with twenty-some friends! We packed our tents, sleeping bags, and other camping gear, excited to sleep on the beach for a couple nights with the kids, though everyone else in the group was staying in the villas (way to rough it!). We ended up staying in a villa, too. (: Only a 2-hour drive to this picturesque, clean beach and fresh air--what a difference from where we live! Fun was had by all!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to your family from ours!

About Me

Shekou, China
As a family, we have decided to venture overseas in order to experience new cultures, travel God's beautiful world, and create some amazing family memories. We hope you enjoy our thoughts and pictures!