The Countdown is On!

This week we've begun the official countdown until my parents (Jim and Bea) come for a 6 week visit. We're so excited! It's been great incentive to buy and hang shelves, photos and to get our guest room ready. Our house is a little small but we've been able to move things around and it's getting more and more to our liking. Tris and I are joining the teacher's choir and we'll probably perform when mom and dad are here. Unfortunately they'll miss Abby's handbell ensemble, but I'm sure there's some other Christmas "stuff" for them to see or participate in. I'm sure the first week will be quite the blur anyways, because it's a long, long plane trip here.

Yesterday marked our 4th month here. In a way that just flew by and in other ways it has been a very long journey already. In one month from today Abby turns 11 (my baby!) and in one month less a day school's out. In one month and 2 days we'll be in Lombok, which is an island beside Bali. Lombok is apparently a quiet, non-touristy place to visit so we'll have a lot of time to just walk, talk, play games with the family. I'm sure mom and dad will love it. With it being the rainy season, we have to take the weather in stride. Around here it deluges (only word for it) and then 15 - 45 minutes later it's all over, the air is thick with humidity, and we go about our merry way. I imagine that the sky in Lombok, like in Bali, will be bright blue and beautiful when the clouds are gone. Here near Jakarta the smog dims the beauty of the sky a bit. Sigh...I am so looking forward to the holidays!

Speaking of holidays, I have been pleasantly surprised by the Christmas "stuff" available here. Some of it is made in China, but if you have access to certain stores or bazaars you can get things that are homemade by various charitable organizations. A friend of mine just ordered a huge, L-shaped wooden Barbie house (with a roof!) complete with furniture for about $230 from an organization where the employees are all in wheelchairs. They spend hours crafting tiny little chairs and tables. This Saturday last I bought some bamboo angels playing instruments, and these were made by men and women in rehab. I'd rather spend my money on handcrafted items than the plastic things from the department and hardware stores here; it's nice to keep my money in the country rather than send it back to the States.

I'm on my way out the door to go and read with some grade 4s and 5s, but just want to solve a little mystery before I go. Tris received a note from immigration (in Bahasa-Indonesia, so difficult to understand fully) saying that they've confiscated a parcel that was sent to us because it contained Ibuprofen. Apparently it's not an approved item here...which is why we would have loved to receive it! So, if you sent us a parcel that had ibuprofen in it, it's here but it may take some time to get it out of customs. We have yet to determine just how it is that we are going to get it...sounds like we may need to have someone official sign for it or something. Whoever the mystery sender is, thank you! We appreciate anything from home and the thought that goes into the parcels is very special. I am determined to get that parcel out of customs!

Thanks for reading.