Dear Santa...

Wednesday was the King's 80th birthday, which also means that it was Father's Day here in Thailand! Yay, no work or school in the middle of the week! This certainly threw our week a bit, but we LOVED having Jeff and Jack home for a random Wednesday to do next to nothing. Days like that are necessary occasionally. Wednesday is also Jane's swim day, and since her swim school doesn't take Thai holidays off (there are just too many), Jeff got to get in with her this time.

Jane loves all the toys they use during her class. These little Gingerbread men have weights tied to the bottom with strings. She LOVES to dive down and get as many as she can. Her teacher purposely throws extras out because she knows that Jane can't come back with just one!
Jane was especially excited that Jack was there to watch, and in this picture she was showing Jack that she got the yellow one. (On a side note: It turned out to be SO good to have Jack there to watch. He saw how Jane just jumped right in and used her arms, went down the slide, etc., and that made him want to try it! Jane's teacher, knowing how hesitant Jack is in the water, invited him to strip down to his underpants and try the slide with Jane. He did, and he LOVED it! He was more brave in the water than we've ever seen! He was SO excited to show his own teacher in his class the next day how brave he was. It was a breakthrough for him because the next day, he was using his arms and legs enough to doggy paddle his way to the side all by himself! Yay for sibling peer pressure!)

Jane has loved her teacher this term, Cayla. She is from Vermont (which surprised me because I think all the other teachers are Australian), and has been great for Jane. She switches up the songs, games, and activities just right, and is fun to celebrate little successes with each time.

Jack was an inventor this week. He called me into his room to show me "the machine". He had strung up his super long tubing that Mimi brought him from the top of his bunk bed, to the doorknob and basketball hoop. I asked him what his machine was for. He said, "it's not for anything, but it does stuff!". He proceeded to tell me that if you move the beads on the abacus just right, and then pull on the tubing in the right spot, you can make just about anything happen! He was also smart enough to tie the abacus to the bed, so while I was having a heart attack as he knocked it off the rail the first of many times, he was completely calm as the tubing made it dangle at just the right height not to hit anything, and he quickly reeled it back in for another go. By the way, Jack's not growing a little beard, that's chocolate from a cookie or something. Lovely, I know. He also decorated his bed this week with decor from our Christmas tree. He keeps describing these fabulous scenarios of what Santa will say and do when he sees Jack's beautifully decorated bedroom.

Here's Jack's other invention this week. He chose to do his "project" instead of me singing him songs before bed tonight. I was shocked, but what can you do? After 5 minutes, he came in to show us his amazing gadget that makes it very convenient to eat (the fork), have good manners (the napkin), and fight the bad guys (the string with heavy item attached), all at once! Isn't he amazing?

We attended a special Christmas party at our library yesterday, which was crazy (it's a very small library) but very fun. They had the most fantastic reader for story time, can't beat those British accents!

Santa made his appearance near the end, bringing little bags of goodies for all the children. I knew that Jane wouldn't been too keen on sitting with him, but I wasn't sure what to expect with Jack. After the crowd of kids thinned some, Jack marched right up there to get his picture taken. He thought it was great! I'm anxious to see what Jack has to say when he sees a few other Santas this season and they all look different. As if I didn't have enough questions to answer!

I love our sweet little library. It's built in this really old building with all kinds of character. A good portion of the books are not just on shelves, but in wooden cupboards with glass panels. The flooring is all wood, there's a small art gallery inside (and I mean small!), and the children's section is darling. One of my favorite things about this library is that there are always loads of shoes on the front steps. I never really thought anything of it, because that's how a lot of places are here. We take our shoes off all the time. This particular day, we were going in and out of the building, and on my last time in, Jack automatically slides his crocs off (like he does everywhere), but Jane needed a reminder. As I was helping her with hers, one of the librarians said, "oh, you don't have to do that!". I thought, "WHAT? Go in with my shoes ON?". She explained that there is no reason to take our shoes off for the library, it's a very public place. She never does, but for some reason, day after day, the shoes pile up outside as the library gets busier. I thought this was hilarious. My kids see shoes on the doorstep, and off theirs come as well. We are completely conditioned, with no thought to questioning individual situations. Anyway, we do like this custom and have completely adopted it in our home. It does get a bit embarrassing though when my kids very loudly point out when a visitor has forgotten to leave his shoes at the door!

Jane making a snow man after Santa's visit. She thought the glue with a paintbrush was pretty cool. I was peeling it off my fingers hours later because of it!

I've actually had a pretty rough week for one reason or another, but THIS letter I received stapled, taped, and hidden in Jack's Contact book from school, absolutely made my day! Jack has been saying that he wrote a letter to Santa. Mostly in this context, "Mom, I'd really love Santa to bring me a .... but it's too late. I already wrote my letter!". It's actually been great because he accepts that he's written it, and that's that!

If you can't read it, he's written in, "a bow and arrow with thirteen arrows". Then, he's drawn a bow with thirteen arrows. Count 'em, they're all there! I have no idea where he got the magical number "thirteen" but, that's a LOT of arrows. A few of you might recall that he asked for a bow and arrow last year too, and has bought at least one set since with his own money. They just don't last long, I guess! Maybe that's why he felt he needed to ask for THIRTEEN this time!

Jack gave his very first talk in Primary today. I even got to go in and see him, and I was such a beaming mother! He was SO excited to get up and share his pictures and talk about Jesus. Jeff sat behind him to hand him the pictures, and Jack took care of the rest! Jane's been pretending to give a "talk" all afternoon. I love my children.

I attended the First Presidency fireside tonight, thanks to Jeff who stayed home with the kids. It was absolutely fantastic, my favorite fireside of the year, every year. Another wonderful event of this season. As much as my heart hurt to see the choir and orchestra playing without me (I always cry), it certainly brought a wonderful sense of "home", something I really needed today. Fay and Carol, thanks for singing your hearts out, I felt like it was just for me. You are wonderful!

Here's a very short video of my Jane at her swim class with Daddy. It doesn't really do her justice, but it does show how she is starting to really use her legs and arms to propel herself, which has been really fun to watch her discover! She also loves to push herself off of the walls, go down the slide, and jump in from the side. She's starting to blow bubbles as she's under, and her new favorite is to turn her whole body around and around under the water. Do I sound like a proud mom? I am. She's already surpassed my own swimming skills!

A happy Christmas memory I recalled tonight: My mom always lit tons and tons of candles in our living room at Christmas time that gave it a very magical feel. I love my parent's home at Christmas. My mom always went overboard, and I always loved it. I remember roasting marshmallows on forks over those beautifully lit candles in the living room, I'm sure it was exactly what she had in mind when she put them out each year. She wanted us to roast in style.

SYS

I heard some time ago that there was some sort of performing group within the mission, but until this last weekend, I had yet to actually see them. It seems like I always have just missed them. They perform at the malls, parks, events, etc. but it seems like everyone had heard them but me! I was thrilled when I heard them singing on Friday night at "Journey to Bethlehem", and was equally thrilled that my 2 year old daughter was an instant fan. We sat and listened for a bit, and luckily, I had room on my camera to shoot a few videos. As I was listening to these young men give such a great performance, and seeing the reaction in the faces of the audience, I immediately thought, "have their mothers seen what they are doing here?". When my brother was on his mission, he was interviewed on the radio about the church, and we thought that was the coolest when he sent it home. Although, it was in Spanish, but still it was way fun to hear his voice and know that he was doing great things while he was away from us.

I only talked to these sweet Elders for a few minutes, and until then, I hadn't really met any of them because the missionaries in our ward rarely change due to us being in the International Ward. I was just very touched at their fun presence, their obvious hours of rehearsals, and the way I could clearly see they were loved by all. They specifically recognized their pianist as their "Christmas in July" because they were in desperate need of a piano player, and then guess who showed up? This Elder's family should be particularly rewarded for keeping him in piano lessons, providing an instrument, or just supporting him (not an easy thing to do I'm realizing as I'm teaching my 4 year old violin!). Sounds like he was an answer to many prayers!

If this was my brother or son doing this, I would definitely want to experience it! So, to the mothers and families of these Elders, here's a taste of just some of what your sons have been up to. Thank you for sharing them with us in Thailand!

Most of these songs are in Thai, so probably doesn't mean much to most, but to a lot of the Thais over here, it was awesome to hear these farang guys singing popular Thai music with good Thai accents!

Here's my disclaimer: My camera is anything but professional. Combine that with two kids climbing all over me, and needing to go to the bathroom (of course at separate times!), and it makes for some pretty terrible quality. This recording really doesn't do them justice, but it's something!

Journey to Bethlehem

Every year our Church in Thailand puts on an amazing Nativity celebration called "Journey to Bethlehem". I've really never seen anything like it. For my readers who have been with us from the beginning, you may remember me posting about it last year. It made for quite a week! But, before we get into that, here's a few from the rest of our week:

We just couldn't wait any later than Tuesday afternoon to get Jack and Scarlett back together after a week of not even seeing each other! We went over and were welcomed by a backyard picnic with a cake made especially for Jack. It said, "welcome back Jack". I'm sure it seemed like much more than a week to sweet little Scarlett. They had a great time playing together, and it is always fun to catch up with Heather and Jim.

Thursdays are a GREAT day for going to the market because the Thursday Market is open right by Jack's school. Clever name, don't you think? I wonder if it's only farangs that call it that? Anyway, after I drop Jack off at school, Jane and I usually head over there to see what's for sale, and we usually see many other mothers there doing the same sort of thing, although usually without child in tow. My friend, Sukma, is like me. We always have our little ones with us and people are worried when they see us without them. It's a bit of a challenge to take them to this market, especially now that they've temporarily narrowed a good part of it. Sukma and I went together this week and had a great time. The best part? Jane and Brandon LOVE being together. If we didn't already call enough attention to ourselves, now people were stopping to take pictures with BOTH of them! I love to see Jane find a friend she looks forward to being with so much, especially when I look forward to being with Brandon's mother just as much!

We had a very "Jack" moment on Thursday. Jack saw Janie's juice box straw and asks, "can I have that? Do you have any more?". I tell him "yes, and no, I don't have any more". He proceeds to take it and cut it into small pieces. A few minutes later, he approaches me with the tape asking, "can you tape these on?". He thought it was awesome to have "real" claws, so he could pretend to be a lion, lizard, cat, or whatever else. I don't know how long they lasted, as he was heading into quiet time shortly after, but I was impressed by the innovative mind of my 4 year old. I'm 27 and I don't think I would have thought to use a straw for claws.

Other events of the week? Jack came running out of his room on Thursday evening after throwing up all over his bed in his sleep. Not fun. We were up with him most of the night watching him be sick like we've never seen before. The next day when I called the school to say I was keeping him home to make sure he was over it, I found out he was one of at least 5 who were out that day with the SAME THING! I later have learned that even more children had it, and much worse than Jack. Some kids in his school were in the hospital, sharing rooms, receiving IV drips for their dehydration. The school administration was doing everything to pinpoint the problem. I tend to think some things get blown out of proportion here (e.g. the doctors being a little anxious to admit people, give meds, etc.), of course Jack got over his quickly, so that's probably just me being insensitive. Like when I was young and my sister, Joanna (love you, Jo!), used to always say she was car sick just so she could sit in the front seat. Yeah, right. Then one time, my dad had to pull over for her to throw up. Oops. I was a little more understanding after that. Anyway, sending your kid to school just comes with certain risks, such as picking up this bug that's going around. I'm hoping everyone will be there tomorrow feeling healthy and normal.

So on with the "Journey". This production literally takes hundreds of people to produce, everyone volunteering happily. They make the inside of our church barely recognizable with sheets painted with Bethlehem scenery. Each room has a different theme with different characters and speakers. Here's how it works. People walk into the parking lot, go to the first booth where they pick up a card with a time on it for when they can go through the journey in either Thai or English. They then can go and buy their "money" for 30 baht (90 cents), which is a small pouch with rocks in it. The rocks will buy fruit, food, drinks, ice cream, or cookies. I didn't eat much last year, but this year since I was there for at least 4 hours both nights, the kids and I ate dinner there both times, and it was delicious!

Tours for the "Journey" started every 5 min. from 6:15 until about 9:30pm. A guide would take each group from room to room which featured angels, wise men, King Herod, shepherds, the inn keeper, and Mary and Joseph. The characters were singing and speaking about their experiences during the time of Christ's birth. It's a fantastic way for children to get familiar with the Christmas story and a very touching experience.

This is our sweet friend from Sri Lanka. He pretty much followed me around all night, both nights, and I was happy to have him! I can see where a nanny would come in handy in situations like this because the kids wanted to run everywhere, and there were a LOT of people. He was extremely helpful to watch Jane while I was running here and there, or especially on Friday night when I was performing, he watched Jane the whole time. He is always SO happy and he and his brother call Jeff and I Auntie and Uncle. If I didn't already just want to adopt them into our family, I do now!

Besides the "Journey" and all the food, there was a stage with entertainment going on all night. Like I said, I played for a bit with Sister Alice Quan on Piano and a vocalist, Sister Breeze. I should have gotten a picture with Alice too, since she is becoming one of my favorite people ever. But, here is me with Breeze. I've met very few people who are as sincerely touched by music as she is.

Jack and Jane were so patient with me as I needed to rehearse with Breeze and Alice on Friday night. They ran around and played with whoever was there. It was nice to be in a contained room for a while. Of course, the cookies didn't hurt with keeping them grounded! Jack loved the shepherd's hats again this year, and much to Jane's enjoyment, they also provided angel halos for the girls!

This is Sarah Quan with the kids while I rehearsed with her mom. Sarah is 11 years old, but acts like she's a very mature 18 year old! She helped me while I was at her house earlier in the week too, and the kids love her. Sarah is also an extremely talented violinist! At first, it felt crazy to talk with the Quan family because they have Chinese origins, but they are as American as I am (parents grew up in Boston)! I'm just used to all Asians I come into contact with having an accent! I can't say enough about how much we LOVE this family!

Here's Jane being admired by many, as usual. On the left is Dpu from Nepal, middle is Balkrishna, and we've never met the woman.

Jack and Jane were thrilled to see their friend, Pinky, come to the church on Friday night! It was fun to have friends that we know from church and friends from elsewhere all there together!

My friend, Catherine Beck, was a guide for the "Journey". I was asked to do this as well, but was sad to realize it just wouldn't work because Jeff was an angel (very fitting, don't you think?) this year and was involved from start to finish! I just thought Catherine was looking good in her shepherds outfit. Nice!

Also on the stage was this awesome group of missionaries called "SYS", which stands for Latter-Day Saints, in Thai. These Elders were so great, and were the show stoppers for both nights. More about them later...

This is Jane as she watched the Elders being silly and singing songs. She LOVED them. I think we have a new "groupie" on our hands.

Jane LOVING her ice cream. I walked her over to the ice cream booth with a rock to buy it, but was visiting with someone and wasn't paying attention. Of course, they give her 3 SCOOPS! She's never been more excited. I should have gotten a picture right when she got it!

Saturday night was a little more laid back because I wasn't performing or lugging my violin around with me everywhere. We were thrilled to have many friends come to see Jeff do his "angel" thing and enjoy the festivities! Just when I felt like I would going to lose it trying to keep my kids by me, Jeff's friend from work, Pink, showed up with her friend, Lisa. They were so excited to see the kids, and Jack and Janie warmed up to them very quickly. They arrived around 7:30, I think, but couldn't get into a tour until 8:50, so they just ate and played with the children the whole time! Such sweet girls!

Not too long after that, Anutra, Koong, and Bird showed up as well. They brought all kinds of things for the kids to play with from Ko Kret island where they had been during the day. So, for at least an hour, my kids (and any others who were interested) played with these bubbles. Jane was getting pretty good at it after a while!

Anutra brought this toy turtle made out of a coconut shell. When she told me she bought us a pet I started to get a little nervous because I know on Ko Kret they've got all kinds of critters. I was relieved when she pulled this out! My kids love it.

Jack couldn't get enough of Mary and Joseph last year, and it was Jane's turn this year! She kept going in and out, in and out, insisting I take pictures every time. Mary and Joseph were extremely patient and welcoming! This stable is here for picture purposes, as well as Mary and Joseph to sing sporadically. I kept thinking this might warm Jane up for Disneyland in less than a month! Yahoo!

I don't believe I've introduced Kurt yet. This is Jack's friend who just moved into our ward. He moved here with his Mom and Dad from the Philippines, and he and Jack have become fast and best friends! They are both very silly, very physical, and good boys. I love to watch them play together, and Kurt's parents are priceless! They were both singing as angels with Jeff both nights too, so Kurt was there with his Grandmother. As rough and tough as these boys are together, it's hilarious to see them never part ways without a tight hug. Kurt even kissed him on the cheek the other day.

This is the whole cast. Can you find Jeff up on the top row by King Herod? These volunteers sacrificed so much time and energy participating in this! Hours and hours of rehearsals and performances, not to mention all the behind the scenes work that's been going on for months! Very impressive! Last year about 3000 people attended this event. We haven't gotten the count for this year, but I suspect there were even more. It was incredible. Notice Jane watching in awe.

It was so much fun to see Jane enjoy the performances so much. She would just sit and watch the singers, totally content! This makes me excited for taking her to the shows at Disneyland. Can you tell it's on my mind a little bit?

Anybody else just let your daughters plop down right on the asphalt? I'm learning that I'm a little bit of a laid back mom. Maybe too laid back.

So, the missionaries... I was so impressed with what they are doing. I went and asked them if their mothers had been able to see what they are doing with their talents. They all looked at me as if a) they'd never thought of it or b) their mother's wouldn't be at all interested. I thought this was funny, but probably the same response my brother would have given (Jesse, am I right?). I told them I was going to share my video with their families, so I needed their email addresses. Honestly, if this was my brother or son doing this, I would LOVE to actually SEE it, not just hear about it. So, coming soon will be some video clips of these performing elders.

With the passing of Thanksgiving, and this wonderful Nativity experience this weekend, the Christmas season has finally began! But, I have to admit, it's hard to feel it when it's still hot, there's no snow, and just the thought of sitting by a fireplace makes me break into a sweat. After leaving church today (by myself because I had forgotten something and sent everyone ahead), I ran into a Thai man I had met over the weekend. We stopped and chatted and finally exchanged names. As we said our goodbyes, he turned back around and yelled, "Sister, Merry Christmas!". For some reason, that little farewell is what has finally triggered the season for me.