Abigail Turns 15!

Almost a month ago, my baby girl turned 15 years old.  As we were taking a holiday from all things intellectual (work and school), I decided not to blog.  However, now is a good time to celebrate Abigail.

One of the disadvantages of living away from your home country is that usually all your old photos are back where you came from, and that is the case with us.  However, I have managed to collect a few favourites and this is definitely one of them.  Abby was a DOLLY when she was a little girl, and every year we are quite convinced that she gets more beautiful, both inside and out.

Tris and I are pretty proud of her and how hard she works.  I would like to post a photo of her awards and trophies but #1, she's hidden them away in her closet and #2, she'd probably chase me down.  I will say, however, that I believe that the hard work ethic that she maintains at 15 will help her to succeed in future years, and she follows God's leading and puts her mind to what He directs her to.

Although Abby works hard, she also knows how to play.  I'm tempted to post a few of her goofier moments but usually her bbf Zoe is usually in most of those photos and I'm afraid I may be blacklisted if I do.  A few summers ago my mom came up with an old pair of very large, very '80s, glasses, which Abby and Matt have adopted.  They loved them so much they bought a 2nd pair at the Thrift Store.  This past month, Abby and Zoe wore them to the local mall (lense-less), and as I watched them enter the mall, I saw more than a few double-looks.  Made me laugh!

It's good to have Abby around, because when she's ready to relax, she often forces us to as well.  One of my favourite memories is of a picnic (sushi and rice paper spring rolls) we had outside one Sunday afternoon, under our pink Frangipani tree.  It was during Ramadhan, so we weren't really supposed to eat in public, so we made sure we were hidden from inquiring minds.

One of the greatest blessings in my life is my children, and I love that they like each other.  They usually enjoy each other's company, and I hope and pray that this lasts into a lifetime relationship of communication, loyalty and commitment.

I've mentioned it before, and I will say it again, that having a blog is a great way to tell others how wonderful I think my children are.  So, happy birthday my Abby-girl!  You are a blessing to me and your Dad, and we can't think of anything more wonderful than to have you as our daughter.

Abby's 14

Yes, I know.  It's January already.  Our family was too busy relaxing and holidaying for me to blog, and so this is Abby's Official Birthday Blog Post.  My birthday baby was due December 25, but thankfully was born Dec 18.  The 15th would have been nice since that's the date of all the other big events in our home, but Abby likes to do things a little independently and that was her way of introducing that part of her personality to us.  We've come to the conclusion that 18 is a nice number too.

For her birthday, our lovely girl had a few friends over, they ate pizza, and they 'slept'. The next morning they were served a white-linened breakfast of french toast on fine china.  It was the first official day of Christmas break, and so the girls were able to bring in the holiday with fun and style.  

Included in this post are a few photos of Abby, since pictures say so much more than words.  On Christmas Eve we had an open house, just like the ones we used to have in cold Canada.  There are a few families here with kids our kids' ages, and they happen to be great friends as well.  I love that they're all so goofy.  It's fun having them around.

On Christmas Day we took a bike ride into the rice fields, and Matthew shot this one of his sister.  

After Christmas ran its course, we had 2 weeks left of finding wonderful things to do.  Most of our friends went on some kind of holiday and so the kids were left with the next best option:  their parents.  My favourite day was when we visited the largest mosque in Indonesia, and then headed across the street to the Catholic Cathedral (where, on a Tuesday, a wedding happened to be taking place).

This final photo wasn't taken during the holidays, but I love the way it has captured Abby's thoughts.  If I tell you that she's watching a cow being slaughtered during Idul Adha (Muslim holiday), does that make knowing her thoughts any easier?

Birthdays and Bike Rides

Amanda turns 25

This month of March has been a very busy one, full of good things and good people.  On March 4th our Wednesday bible study celebrated Amanda's 25th birthday with her.  Amanda is one of my most loyal 'local' readers and she keeps me encouraged to continue to always write about my time here in Indonesia, both good and bad. Soon Amanda will be a far-away reader as she and her husband head back to the US, and even the thought brings me to tears.  However, as I have learned, even when we are far from friends, they still remain friends.

The March 4th weekend was a busy one, as we had Stacey 'pop over' for a visit from Thailand.  She and her husband were on a working tour, and so Stacey took the opportunity to come and check out our place for a day.  She arrived the eve of March 5 and returned the afternoon of March 7.  In between, on the Sunday, we celebrated Stacey's birthday of March 6 by packing our day full of exercise, food and shopping, all within the confines of Lippo Village.

Stacey comes for a 41 hour visit

Stacey and my Sunday started early, when we strapped on our backpacks and water bottles and rode out into the rice fields behind our home.  Earlier in the week the rains had refused to leave and so I had been praying that my ONE day with Stacey would be pleasant.  Sure enough, the skies were brilliant blue and the clouds puffy white. 

blue skies, white clouds, rice fields to the left  

a farmer's transport

rice ready to be planted

banana tree

papaya tree

Stacey in the 'jungle'

These are photos of a few of the things we saw, mostly fruit, grasses and rice.  The variations of green along the path are incredible and I don't think the camera even did them justice.

 After our bike ride, Stacey and I headed to Royal Beauty for a cream bath and foot massage.  We returned home, at dinner, sang Happy Birthday (of course!) and then headed to the mall for some souvenir shopping.  Later we realized that probably we should have done the shopping and then the massages, because going to the mall on Sunday evening is something I would do to my children as a form of punishment.

Even though Stacey was here for a short time, we had an excellent visit and we were able to catch up on a lot of the 'local'  news from our home town.  I know that there is skype, facebook, email and snail mail, but there's just something wonderful about sitting face to face with a good friend and having a really good chat.

As for my trip to Singapore this month, please click on the "Simply Celiac" link at the right, or click here.

Thanks for reading!

Jenny Turns 40

It's a little late, a month really, but I just want to wish my sister-in-law, Jennifer (or German 'Jenny') a happy 40th birthday. We were able to celebrate a bit with her, but on her actual birthday we flew out of Munich and she was at home, probably washing all of the dirty laundry we left behind:) I'm hoping she was wearing her birthday tiara while doing so.

Jen is my husband's youngest sister, and I actually knew her before I met Tris. We met in Tijuana, Mexico and were bunkmates for a few weeks. It was also there that I met Tris, but that's a story for another time. What I think is neat is that Jen and I have officially known each

other for more than half of our lives. Don't think 'old'...think 'loyal.' Jen has lived in Germany for years now, and it had been at least 3 years since we'd seen her last. Going to Germany and spending time in her house was a blessing. We spent time walking, talking, shopping, folding laundry, wrapping Christmas

presents, cooking and of course, eating together. One of the ways that Jen blessed me was how she really went out of her way to meet our needs as guests. Sometimes I wasn't even sure if I'd said something out loud, like "I need a new towel" and before you know it, there was a fresh towel waiting for me. While in Germany, I took advantage of having a modern medical system available to me, and headed to the doctor for a few tests. For each test or appointment, Jen would work her schedule around my needs as best as she could, and would come along to translate (also, her husband Christian was just as willing and gracious to do the same, and drove us around to so many places at all hours!). Definitely the hostess with the mostess!

This is just a way of saying thank you for your hospitality, Jen, and I hope that the first month of your 40th birthday was as full and as blessed as you deserve. To Christian, happy January birthday as well. We really appreciate you both!

Thanks for reading.

Abby Turns 13...No more little kids here!

Yesterday was my baby's 13th birthday, and so we're now officially the parents of teens. We think we've got two pretty neat kids and we're thankful for the blessing of having them in our lives.

I remember wondering what I'd do if I had a little girl, because I grew up in a household of boys--brothers, cousins and foster brothers, neighbourhood full of boys, hockey, climbing trees, lighting fires--and wasn't sure I knew how to raise a girl. However, Abby has made it a rather easy task, raising a girl, and I wouldn't change having a beautiful daughter like Abby any day:)

Abby's birthday celebrations started last Saturday night with an International Sleepover, only called that because of the countries represented by the girls who were there. We had a Bolivian-born, Kenyan-raised American, 2 Korean girls, an Australian,

an Indonesian-born Canadian, and Abby. What we already knew but it was confirmed anyways is that no matter where girls are from, they all love to eat junk food and laugh together. This is a really nice group of girls and we were glad they had so much fun.

Yesterday, on her official birthday, we spent a whole $50 for our family of 4 to go to the salon, where between us we had a massage, a cream bath, a manicure, a pedicure, a mini-facial and a haircut (and straightened). We came home, Abby unwrapped a hair straightener and lots of money from various relatives, which is great timing for Germany, and then headed out to dinner with a group of about 25 people. To this dinner we brought a cake, and it was fun to embarass Abby at the kids table (across the room from the adults) with us crowding around her and singing happy birthday in both English and Indonesian.

We're heading to Germany soon, loaded with photos and stories to share with our family there, with lots of bragging rights for Abby's accomplishments, and I'm proud of those things that she has accomplished both scholastically and socially. However, I'm most proud of the kind, compassionate, funny, generous, loving person that Abby is, and is intentionally becoming through both her own initiative and with God's direction.

Happy Birthday Abby-Girl!!

Thanks for reading.

Fifteen Photos for 15 Years. Happy Birthday Matt!

This is Matt.

This is Matt's new hat.

See Matt run.

See Matt with a gun.

Look at Matt tell his sister how to do his work.

See Matt dry a dish.

Watch Matt catch a fish.

See him draw.

Watch him swim.

Look at Matt feeding the cute little monkey!

Watch the cute little monkey bite the hand that feeds it. Evil monkey.

See Matt's cool tattoo.

See Matt & his sister's teeth are blue.

This is Matt two years ago, blowing out his 13 candles for the 8th time (trick candles). In two years he's gone from boy to young man,

and we're very proud of him.

Matt, we think you are fun, intelligent, compassionate, funny, courageous, talented, strong, disciplined, good looking (good genes!!) and so much more.

Happy 15th Birthday to my Sunshine.

Thanks for reading.

I'm coming home!

One week left and then I leave on a jet plane for YVR, via Tai Pei. I'm very, very excited, so excited that I haven't allowed myself to do a countdown until only 14 days before. I find that if I get too wrapped up in it I can't sleep, especially when I hear the call to prayer around 4-4:30 am. That's when I know I need to get up soon and my mind starts packing and planning all my Canadian outings.

There are so many things to do here before I go. I need to back up my photos off my laptop (doesn't everybody do that??) and get some videos copied so that we can watch them together in Canada. Gifts are packed, sorted and somehow the pile still continues to grow. There are so many food items that I'd like to bring and share with family and friends, things like dried durian (can't do it myself...the stuff stinks so bad even hotels won't let you take it into your room), prawn flavoured Pringles, coffee candies (from the island of Java), jelly drink (made from grass), and heaps of other things. If there's something you'd like to try specifically, let me know soon! Clothes are no big deal, I can wash and wear and sometimes even borrow. Shopping in Canada is also on the list of things to do. I think I can pack my suitcase in a day.

I've used specific events to pace myself. The deal was that I wouldn't worry about packing up until the Karawaci Ladies' used book sale at the Jakarta Highland Gathering (similar to Comox Valley's Highland Gathering, which was apparently held the same weekend) was over. That was held yesterday and we made a little cash, had good fun and met some great people. It was scorching hot, which later turned into a thunder/lightening storm, and made the area into one huge mud pit. A fun time was had by all, and all went home to scrub mud off of legs, backs, hair, clothes and shoes.

Now that the Gathering is over, my birth-month starts. A few good friends are taking me out to the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta this week, and it's another event that I am very excited about. I'm not necessarily excited about turning 40, but I'm not too worried about it either; I'm excited about the time spent eating and chatting that's coming up. I was talking with one today about how I'd love to get my Cdn girlfriends together with my girlfriends here, and how much fun it would be to be in one place with them all. Whenever anyone has come here and East meets West, we have a good time together. I guess that's what heaven's for...we'll all have tea ( chai, thanks) and get to know each other better.

It's time to end this post. It's too full of "I"s and "me"s.

Thanks for reading!

Weird Little Events

Rebecca is now in the air and on her way home. She should be landing at YVR within the next few hours. She arrived a 44 year old woman and returned to Canada 45 years young. The tropics do that to a person:)

It was a good visit although we didn't get out much, and I think she'd say that being here has changed her perspective on a few things. That's always worth the cost of a plane ticket. When people leave us here I often reflect on how things will be different for them back home, and this time I thought I'd share a few things that happen in our home that are just a little different from what we once knew.

*last Saturday Rebecca and the kids made a few thousand sugar flowers for cake decorating. I

have a feeling that a few of those made their way under the refrigerator, a place that doesn't get swept under daily, because there has been evidence of them found on a regular basis since. There have been little purple and green cicak (gecko) poops all over my house. Normally these droppings are black, and so

I figure the cicaks have been snacking on the sugar flowers under the fridge.

*every morning at 4:30 the Muslim call to prayer occurs. You'd think we'd get used to it, and sometimes we think we do until they turn up the loudspeaker volume. I'm just thankful we don't live closer to a mosque.

*Once or twice a week we hear a man outside yelling "Aqua!" and it's the water delivery truck. For less than a dollar a bottle we can buy treated water that we use for drinking. Because the water in our area is treated, we still use the tap water for cooking, tea, and brushing our teeth. Typically though, in Indonesia one wouldn't use tap water for the latter

three actions. Even in hotels we use bottled water outside of Lippo.

*I have two beautiful orchids in my home right now, and one more outside that is starting to re-bloom. These cost me only $2 each, very different from the $30 I spent on an orchid from Nanaimo Costco a few years back.

*We do not have hot water in our sinks in either the kitchen or the bathroom, so in order for Tris to shave he sprays water from the shower into the sink. In order for us to wash dishes properly we fill two tubs of water from our "powder room" and bring them into the kitchen.

Those are a few things that I realize I'd either miss or at least be aware of their absence if we moved from Indonesia.

Thanks for reading.

Happy New Year 2010

Wow, life just keeps on going even when you don't blog:) Since my last posting we've crammed a lot of "holiday" into our days, starting with Christmas events around town and school, on to Bali and the little island of Lembongan, home again and then a few nights in the mountains at Puncak. Tris and I head into Jakarta for a one night's stay tonight (it's his birthday on Sunday) and school starts on Monday. This is our last week with Tris and Sunny and so we will be slowly easing ourselves into routine once again.

It was Abby's 12th birthday on December 18 and as you can see, she's no baby girl anymore. We're thoroughly enjoying both Matt and Abby as they grow and mature. It

is hard to see my babies grow up but such a joy to see them making their own decisions and

choosing their own style (even if it's not skirts for Abby like I'd like), and watching them test out their personal style of humour and of communication. What is weird is when we see a little of Tris and I in them. I watch Matthew gesticulate (that was the word of the day yesterday on igoogle...) and think...that's my mom...that's ME! Watching Grandpa Tris and (my) Tris walk side by side, each with their hands in their beige short pockets, kind of leaning forward into the nonexistent wind, inspires me to have Matthew walk over to them to ask them a question. In him I see the same walk, the same posture, and it makes me grin.

Abby looks so much like her dad (so much so that my automatic face recognition program in my mac confuses Abby and Tris when Abby's hair is pulled back), and has a sharp, witty sense of humour that is her own, but we can see it 'tainted' with both Tris and my sarcasm and perspective on life. Like I said, we're enjoying watching them mature, whatever the pace may be.

I'll give the highlights of our last

month. Tris and Sunny arrived Dec 11th and in our first week we visited a slum area with Kara

waci Ladies, watched my husband and kids perform at the school Christmas concert (and yes, it was called a Christmas concert...no harvest celebrations here), shopped in a local market, had cookies and tea--lots of tea--and rested. On the following Saturday we headed to Bali, where, on

the first day, we met the Comrie family at Waterbom (waterslides).

After sliding and sleeping all day we headed to Laguna Spa and Resort. Very, very nice. We stayed there over Christmas and although we didn't officially celebrate Christmas there (that was Jan 30th for us) we did invite the Comries and Carla (Judy's sister)

to join us for an incredible Christmas breakfast buffet at our hotel. The photo of Matthew feeding a squirrel shows what our location at this hotel was like. We could choose from 8 different swimming pools, or we could wander down to the beach and swim or sleep. The hut in the left hand corner is a massage hut, which was really tempting, but after our $5 massages here in Lippo, we couldn't bring ourselves to pay the asking $70. After six days of eating, sleeping, reading, swimming and chatting over tea (always tea), we headed to Lembongan Island, one I've mentioned before in July's postings.

Our stay at Lembongan was very different from Laguna Resort, but wonderful just the same. One day the kids and I walked 20 minutes into the interior village and bought some water at a small outdoor, family-owned shop. Instead of drinking down the water and walking on, we got to chatting with one of the sons of the shop owner and in turn met his two children. They didn't know much English so we were able to practice our Indonesian. Eventually a small group of village boys came along with a few English instruction books and a child's dictionary, so we went over the words with them and had an impromptu English-Indonesian language class.

Definitely a highlight for me.

The next day all six of us walked down to the lower, seaside part of the village. Here a bunch of local kids were swimming in the rising tide, splashing and laughing right up to the moment four white (some whiter than others) foreigners jumped into the ocean with them. It was then that the laughing stopped, for a moment, while the kids stared at my family (minus me, the photographer) and my mom in law (Tris Sr. watched, too). Once

the kids got over the shock, they went back to what they were doing, and some even warmed up to Abby and Sunny enough to chat with them. After most of the gang climbed out, Tris sat

down among a bunch of boys lined up along the ledge of a house and began to chat with them, again using his Indonesian. Just prior to him sitting down, I took a photo of these boys,

but didn't pay much attention. Check out the greeting the middle kid is giving me (middle finger salute). It was actually this same "friendly" kid who did most of the talking to Tris once he sat down. Again, another highlight. This time, I didn't do any talking, but it was neat to watch the interaction between my family members and the local kids. It was neat to hear Tris

speaking Indonesian as well.

After four days on Lembongan we took a small boat to Bali, got picked up by a transport van and then flied home. I have to admit that arriving home to a decorated house when Christmas has come and gone definitely sinks the emotions

for a bit. However, I determined to celebrate Christmas as typically as possible. Once next morning's breakfast of pancakes, bacon, sweet potato and eggs was on the table, presents were unwrapped and stacked in various corners, and Bruce Cockburn's Christmas cd was playing a Huron Christmas Carol (as well as other Christmassy tunes), it felt like Christmas, if only for a few hours. I must admit, once the dishes were finished, courtesy of our helper Ami....hallelujah for Ami and not having to wash up the Christmas morning dishes ourselves...I tackled the decorations and had the place back to normal by 3 in the afternoon.

It was Sunny's (mom in law) birthday on the 4th and we celebrated by taking her and Tris Sr. to the Marriott international buffet. The food was incredible and we had a lot of fun. Sunny thoroughly enjoyed celebrating her birthday this way. On her actual birthday we went and watched Avatar in 3d. Interesting movie.

Since then, we've had some quiet days, lots of reading and eating again, and then we headed to Puncak. We spent 2 nights in the mountain villa, accompanied by our neighbours (and fellow SPH teachers) the Mercer family. It's the first time we've spent 2 nights up there and so it was nice to have one full day to explore, and explore we did. We found a 200 ft waterfall that we had to hike in to see, and it was so refreshing and breezy and cold! Minus the palm trees and huge vegetation, it was a little taste of home.

That brings us up to date, with the exception of the news that I'm officially a university student (after 17 years) again. A very scary but

thoroughly exciting thought. Talk about procrastination...I thought, prayed, cried (seriously), almost threw up from anxiety a couple of times I'm sure, and finally decided that it was time to stop mulling it over and just do it. Now it's paid and I'm enrolled and there's no turning back. Along with this decision came a wonderful Macbook Pro laptop that I'm

typing on right now and LOVING it. There are a few quirks to figure out, but time and other people's knowledge (DALE!) will get me by.

This posting will have taken some time to get through, but I have time and the means to write so I thought I'd get in as much as possible. Now I'm off to Jakarta on a golf club hunting date with my husband (surfing is a thing of the past...). To be left-handed in Indonesia is very unique (it's the 'dirty' hand in this culture) and so Tris, a lefty, is having difficulty buying clubs. We'll check out a few stores and then spend the night in the city.

Thanks for reading.