A Most Precious Gift

I just received an amazing gift.  A package arrived from my sister today that included my birthday present.  She had a hardcover book made from my blog, from the day of Caleb’s second birthday (9/19/2007) to November 1 of this year.  I cannot tell you how special this book is since I don’t scrapbook anymore and hardly have time or energy to journal.  My blog is the story of our lives and the record of all our adventures.

Thank you, Kimberly and Kurt.  You have no idea what this means to me.  I love you both.

Christmas, Christmas Everywhere!

When Santa visited the boys' school

Caleb getting his present from Santa at school (not a great picture, but Levi would not detach himself from my hip so I could get a better one...not a fan of Santa)

The boys opening gifts from my Nana (Dad's mom)

One of Levi's gifts from Nana was a pair of pajamas with sock monkeys on them...he's showing you that they match his real sock monkey!

My friend, Sue, who lives in our apartment complex invited the boys over to decorate a gingerbread house. Much candy was eaten and fun was had by all!

What? Your kids don't dress like this at Christmastime? This is seasonal attire in Singapore. ;-)

Christmas Songs

I love Christmas music. One of my favorites this Christmas is "Mary, Did You Know?" Probably since we've been focusing every day on celebrating the birth of Jesus with our Jesse Tree.

(I like Kimberley Locke's version, but many artists have recorded the song.)

Savor the words:

Mary Did You Know
written by Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene

Mary, did you know

that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know

that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know,

that your baby boy has come to make you new?

This child that you've delivered,
will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know

that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know

your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know,

that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?

When you kiss your little baby,

you've kissed the face of God.

The blind will see

The deaf will hear

The dead will live again.

The lame will leap

The dumb will speak

The praises of The Lamb.

Mary, did you know

that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know

that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know,

that your baby boy is heaven's perfect lamb?

This sleeping child you're holding, is the great I AM.

Merry CHRISTmas!

Kelly and Sara's Visit

We were so excited that Kelly and Sara Davidson were in Singapore and able to stay the night with us! We were honored to have them here with us since we think the world of this couple. Theirs is one of the marriages on our list of "inspirational marriages," so we love to spend time with them. Justin and I met on a mission trip to SE Asia with Kelly and Sara in 2000 (which included Singapore!), and Kelly was the one who married us. We've got a lot of memories with these two! We met for dinner on Friday night with Camille, Blake, and Pierce at Villa Bali (where this photo was taken).

Saturday morning Kelly went into full "grandpa" mode! His grandkids are just about the same ages as our two, and our kids miss their grandparents a lot, so it was fun for all. Caleb was really sad to see Kelly and Sara leave. He kept asking why they had to live in Texas. :-( Kelly said it was weird for them to be overseas staying with us after we'd traveled in Asia with them, especially since they are the ones who were missionaries in Thailand for almost 20 years!

Here they are trying to see who can spin the football the most times!

Thanks, Kelly and Sara, for staying with us; we love your family so much! It was so fun to catch up with you; we've learned so much from the two of you over the years. Our guest room is always open (that goes for any of our friends who find themselves in Singapore!!)

Attitude

Levi is definitely two years old, and the attitude is starting to show. :-) I tried to capture it on camera, but didn't get it just right. He learned this folding his arms when he's not happy thing from his older brother. And in the bottom picture you can see he's not happy with me. He looks cute doing it, but it gets old fast.

Advent Celebration

Starting on December 1, we are celebrating Advent! Each day we read a Bible story and pull out the ornament for that day's story. The book we're using, The Advent Jesse Tree, takes us all the way back to the beginning and goes through God's story of creation and redemption, culminating on December 25 when we get to open the Nativity ornament. Each day's story points to Jesus and God's plan for His people. Caleb is really excited to open each day's ornament and put it on on our tree. (Levi is not in these pictures because he cannot sit still long enough!)

These are a few of the special ornaments we brought from home (not part of the Jesse Tree)

Daddy reading the story of the day, and Caleb waiting patiently to open the ornament!

Caleb showing off the ornament for Day 4, Abram's tent
Day 5, the lamb that was slain in place of Isaac (made by my Dad and me)
Day 6, Jacob's ladder

All the ornaments were made by friends at our church in Houston. We each were assigned a day and made 25 (one to keep and 24 to give away) of the same ornament, then exchanged. What a GREAT project!

Asking God

Caleb: Mom, Can you ask God if they have Transformers umbrellas.

Me: Okay, Caleb.

Caleb: Right now.

Me: Oh, you want me to pray right now and ask God?

Caleb: Yes.

Me: Ok. Dear God, please let us know if there are Transformers umbrellas so we can get one for Caleb. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Caleb: Did He say yes?

*smile*

Six Months

On June 2 we left Texas for Singapore. That was six months ago today. I can't believe it...the time has passed so quickly (although our families might not say the same thing). We have adjusted quite well and quickly to life here. We still miss our home and our families and our dear friends, but this is where God has us for now and we are content. We have a great group of friends (or as one of the guys in our Supper Club said on Thanksgiving..."I'm thankful that my wife has made friends because I now have friends, too. We're happy to serve our husbands by being friends with each other!), and we are enjoying our temporary life here.

God is good. All the time.