Jesse Tree part 2

Christmas crafting has come and gone in this house, but its been a good 4 weeks of sewing & such with the girls.  I attempted to make Jesse Tree ornaments last year and only finished about 10-15 of them.  This year, I added a few more to the collection, and I imagine I will finish them next year.  I never realized how intricate of a project I was undertaking, but I am having a great time piecing together each ornament and making it our own.  The kids really love hearing the stories & lessons along the way too, which is the MAIN reason I am making these!  This year the girls each took turns reading during our evening family time, which makes it even more sweet.  I love hearing them read aloud, and finding lessons we can learn from this rich Story!

Anyhow, here are the most recent additions to our tree:

Rahab & the spies

Ruth & Boaz

Jesse

Samuel

David - shepherd & king

Elijah

Daniel

Ezekiel - God's word is our food!

Isaiah

Zechariah & Elizabeth

Watching & Waiting

On the back of each circle of felt, I stitched the book & chapter of the reading for that day, which is what has taken me so long to complete these ornaments.  I really enjoy coming up with my own design for the front, but the tedious part of stitching words isn't my fave.  Anyhow, it has been so fun & therapeutic to make each of these in the evening after the girls are in bed.  I have about 6-7 more ornaments to complete this project, which I will hopefully attempt next Christmas (2013). 

a different Christmas....

Its that magical time of year again.... 
Twinkling lights, ornaments & crafting, hot cocoa & gingerbread, wrapping presents & warm slippers.  Yet this Christmas is already drastically different than all of our previous Christmases, as we will be missing mom (Rachel) and we aren't in China, our beloved home for the last 7 years.  It has been about 2 months since mom passed away, but the grief continues to come in waves, especially when a holiday arrives.  There is a huge peace in knowing that she is no longer in pain, and at rest with her beloved Savior, but we continue to miss her deeply.  There is such a huge hole without her here, in so many ways.  She was such a go-getter: she made things happen.  She would organize events, gatherings, meals, and she was the life of the party!  We are living in HER old home now, where countless memories surface of past Christmases spent with babies, cousins, aunts & uncles, and ALWAYS piles of presents.

Mom was always a gift-giver.  She loved to watch her granddaughters open a special gift from her.  It brought her so much joy.  She gave extravagantly, yet always fairly.  We (as parents) didn't always make it easy for her to exercise this internal desire -- we limited gifting in certain years, which really felt like the right decision back then.  We still like to keep gift-giving simple and practical, and focused on others, BUT this year (2012) we both feel different.  Different, in that -- we feel like we want to fill in the gaps where mom would have been.  Like maybe, if we buy extra gifts, it won't feel like she is really gone, or if we give extravagantly like she did, it might still feel like a REAL Christmas.  I know this sounds contradictory, but everything does when you lose a loved one. 

It's also hard for me (in a somewhat selfish way), because mom knew how to bless ME.  She knew that I didn't ever get many gifts, and she would always ask me specifically what I wanted - and make sure she got me something that I would never have bought for myself.  She was the first one to bug me for a list (especially when we were overseas) - and she made sure she got the exact item.  She really did want to bless me.  I am not sure if we should have stifled this desire in her - we tended to have high ideals as parents, wanting to shield our kids from materialism & greed.....but her gifting really came from a pure heart.  I am just now realizing that.  It makes me want to give generously and abundantly and specifically - to bless someone who I really love.  She was amazing like that, and I hope we can live out her memory without attempting to fill the hole, but just remembering the JOY that she had in blessing others.  Even though this Christmas will be different, I want to cherish it - and cherish the years of memories I have with mom. 

Happy Birthday Jesus!!

It's not about presents, or glowing lights on the tree, or even family or yummy food. And even though its hard not to get homesick (or family-sick), I truly appreciate these foreign-land Christmases, where we can quiet ourselves and focus on the birth of our Savior, without all the hubbub, and just remember the humility, the scandal, the provision, and the beauty! To remember the poor little family that gave birth in a dirty stable, and had to wrap their baby in cloth and place him in a feeding trough to sleep. Its amazing that 1 birth + 33 years = a life that has changed this planet more than anyone. Happy Birthday Jesus! We celebrate you! May we increase your fame on this earth!

Eden's first tooth....

Right before Christmas, Eden's first tooth came out. It had been wiggly for weeks, and it hung on forever. Finally we had her wiggle it 5 minutes each night, so that it would loosen quicker. In the end, daddy finally yanked it out - without any fuss! Eden was beaming with excitement, even though she was bleeding a lot! She didn't care at all. She loves the hole in her mouth and sticking her tongue thru.... Her smile is so joyful!! She put the tooth under her pillow that night for the tooth fairy....but she/he forgot to come (we've been SO busy over here)!! We felt SO bad the next morning, that we had to distract her and sneak the tooth out & replace it with some $ and a special note. Maybe the tooth fairy was operating on another time zone?? She had to fly a looooong way!? Eden didn't care one bit. :)

december festivities

We made a Christmas movie this year - these 7 kids wrote the script, painted scenery, created costumes, and acted superbly! We hosted a "premier" with little snacks, so all the parents could enjoy the end-product! It was really great!

We've played in the snow - even though the temps hover right around zero during the day. The kids are just now getting used to the long johns, the layering, the gloves & scarves and ear muffs too. Its really beautiful after a snowfall - so white and crisp and fresh. We'd love another fresh layer so we can maybe take the girls sledding. C'mon SNOW!!


Lots of holiday baking happening around her too ~ I even made some famous cinnamon rolls to share with our neighbors. I think they love me more now.

We inherited a puppy last week. Our business partners had to return to the States last minute, so we are taking care of their little puppy, Oreo. She's not house trained, so we have to take her out 5x a day, and also clean her feet every time we come back inside. She still has accidents, which are not fun. Nor is her constant high-pitched barking. Asia has been very responsible to take Oreo out for her potty breaks, and its incredible to see her rise to the occasion. We aren't going to keep her much longer, only because we don't know when our partners will return, and puppies in apartments during the winter is insane. The girls are loving her though!!


Someday, we will have a puppy for reals. :)

making a Jesse tree

Even though it is hard to be away from loved ones over special holidays, we have really tried to embrace this cross-cultural lifestyle, and make special traditions as our little clan in this place. I am thankful that we are removed from the Christmas hype and commercialism in America, and that we can breathe fresh meaning into the holiday, on this side of the globe....even sharing it with others who have never known the reason for the season. :)

This year - I am attempting to make a Jesse Tree, with ornaments out of felt. It has been pretty therapeutic for me too, sitting and stitching each tiny piece together by hand. I just searched online for ideas, and went for it! There are about 25-29 possible ornaments that I could make...so we will see how it all turns out. The girls are really enjoying the family time at night, lighting a candle, reading and talking about each ornament, and placing them on the tree. I've only made 10 ornaments so far...but its really fun. I love having a creative outlet = it helps me to decompress, relax and fills me up too!

Here are the few that I have made so far:

Creation & the Fall

Noah & Abram

Sarah & Isaac

Jacob & JosephLight & Moses
Isn't this so fun? hehehe.

blogging is hard for me

I'm not a great writer...but really, I'm OK with it. And I am not a "current blogger" posting regularly and in a timely fashion. But neither of those are the real reasons for this blog allowing cobwebs to form and the lack of communication on here. I LOVE to communicate and stay connected to family & friends - far and wide. But right now, I am at a loss for what to write - being such a perfectionist, and not knowing what approach to take: light & fluffy, with some humor thrown in? Solemn & reflective? Mocking & sarcastic with a hint of depth? Add in some emotional family events, cultural stress, and a lot of unknowns....it just makes it hard for this momma to figure out what to say. I want to make sure I communicate things clearly, and share my heart too.

The only accurate thing that I can share right now is that our lives are in His hands. We can't control the circumstances, but He is trustworthy. I want to be honest on here, and share the moments when we are content AND the flip side when life feels out of control. Being so far from family also takes its tolls. In any given day, I both love+hate life in this Central Asian metropolis. It's true. :)

I love that life is simple out here. I love cooking from scratch, and being reminded that I don't need more things to make me happy. I love the big, fresh markets and getting out for my daily needs. I love interacting with my neighbors, and feeling part of this Asian community. I love seeing the older generations socialize, exercise, and be involved in raising their grandchild. I love that my kids are getting a different world-view, and growing up in a foreign culture. I love the parks (in summer) and finding a patch of grass in the middle of some concrete. ....but even that was a little sarcastic, hinting at my underlying frustration.

I am tired of language learning. Even after 6 years, I am not fluent or completely comfortable in this culture. I am tired of side-stepping around gross loogies spit onto the street, or to be breathing in smoke fumes in the taxi. Stinky tofu smells wafting into my nostrils make me want to vomit. I am tired of crusty, stiff, stretched-out clothes, hung on my indoor rack. I feel so lonely for deep conversations, a bosom friend, or the freedom of driving a car. And that is barely scratching the surface. It may not help that winter has officially come, and we are headed into 4-5 months of freezing cold weather that brings on a dreary feeling that zaps my joy.

Its really hard to keep the right perspective when people do things that defy my own reason, or break my hygiene comfort-ability. I have a certain patience threshold, and most days I feel like I live right at the tipping point. Maybe this threshold applies to my joy, my ability to have grace, and my ability to love....and is a good indicator that I need to rely more on the One who gives me a higher threshold. He is the ultimate patient One, grace-giver, joy-filler-upper, love-abounder. :) And this is the part of me that wants to justify and share the right things, since I know in my heart what is right and how I "should" respond when I am living fully aligned with Him. Just know that my heart longs to see this place with the right eyes, and be more fully able to love and not judge. But I am weak. So this is good for me to share & vent my frustrations so that you know I struggle and that life is not always peachy.

Eventually, I want to catch up on this blog - and fill in the gaps (mostly for myself), but for now I am going to attempt some current goings-on, so that I don't get overwhelmed and forget it altogether. :) The last few months have been a doozie - so I may not update those for awhile. I am thankful for TODAY. Today I am staying cozy indoors, recovering from a nasty cold-bug, and I might make these granola bars......and sewing advent ornaments for our Jesse tree.

Harvest Party 2011!!

This is our 3rd annual Harvest Party extravaganza...and I think we have gotten a bit out-of-control with the amount of people we wanted to invite, so we decided to ask a local restaurant to host our party this year! Thankfully, the wonderful 'Texas Cafe' has agreed to cook up an amazing Taco-bar, and let us play games in our costumes. This was the perfect alternative to having our home trampled by candy-crazed kids and messy carnival games, which isn't usually that crazy (unless you try to fit 50+kids & parents inside).  We are getting much better at planning these types of events, and we even made a fun Activity Book for the youngsters.  It has become such a fun tradition, that all the families across the city look forward to this holiday - and we've never even gone trick-or-treating!

The girls decided they wanted to dress up as Native Americans this year, which was so fun for me.  I loved finding material & creating a pattern for each of them.  We even found this incredible Kazakh ribbon that looks authentic, and bird feathers at the park too.  They each added beads to the arm tassels and a headband to match.  I just love this little tribe of mine. 

Syd (4) Eden (6) Asia (8)

 Another fun treat:  One family we know lives kinda far out in the countryside, and they decided to plant REAL pumpkins this year.  They must have brought their own seeds in, because the only pumpkins we can buy at the local markets are tiny (about the size of a huge grapefruit).  Well, somehow we lucked out - and they gave us a beautiful BIG pumpkin - ready to CARVE!! 

Believe it or not, this is the first time the girls have ever tried carving a pumpkin!  They needed a little coaxing, as the stringy pumpkin guts were not their favorite.  Maybe next time it won't freak them out so much.  My favorite part is roasting the seeds! 

the girls named the pumpkin:  PUMPY (so original)

sharing PUMPY with our neighbor friends

photo time with PUMPY

PUMPY with a candle

the whole gang!

Wing Feather & the Sheriff

Little Fawn & Batgirl

Magpie & Space Cowboy

Happy Harvest to everyone!!