Wednesday, December 12, 2012

It's beginning to look a lot like...


Thanks Tammy for the cute Aussie ornaments!
... a really busy time of year!

Busy and yet fun.

If you don't usually get our Christmas letter and you would like to this year, please email me and I'll send you one.

Well, there's been parties and 
visitors and activities galore
but I'm excited to say there's about to be more!

Let me share some of the past few week's highlights through some of our photographs:

1.  My cousin Mark has been doing a teaching placement at one of the Thai schools here in Chiangmai.  It was great to catch up with him and hear all about his adventures in and around Chiangmai.

2.  I mentioned Spencer's love of all things weird in a recent post. Here's a photo of him guzzling down a serving of frog and rice!!  Yes, you read that correctly... FROG!  No forcing required.  
None of us wanted more than a small taste but not Spencer, he ate the whole lot!

3.  Recently Tobi had his annual Track and Field day at school.  His super competitive parents could barely wait for his first event to begin, but thankfully Tobi was very relaxed about it all.  He did a particularly good job in his 200m and relay events coming away with 2 firsts!

4.  A team visiting ZOE organised some very special Christmas activities for all the kids.  There was card making, cookie decorating, present wrapping and a Christmas tree craft followed by a whole lot of fun playing on the grassy fields afterwards.  It was such a special and fun day.  

5. Our sweet daughter turned 6 this week!  Wow! Where have the years gone?  I feel like it was not so long ago that we were cheering on her first steps and now she is reading to us, talking non stop and asking questions (some I don't even know the answers to).  We enjoyed a cute and wonderful morning celebrating with a pony party last Saturday.  To see some more photos, click here
Happy Birthday Eliana!
6.  On Saturday night we headed off, all rugged up in our long sleeve tops (which was a novelty) to Christmas in the Park at Tobi's school.   We had a great time singing carols, drinking hot chocolate and sampling delicious Christmas cookies. 
photograph c/o Jessica!
7.  Other than that, it's life as normal (whatever that is)!  
School runs and our work at ZOE as well as slowly getting to know our neighbours.  
We still LOVE living in the city and are well and truly enjoying the cheap food spots around us.  
We're getting used to the new noises from the local Thai schools and temples surrounding us which alternate between chanting, drumming, singing, school announcements and the happy chatter of students.  
Our street is often filled with games of soccer, badminton, tag, bike riding or a water fight.  
And in between all that there's the regular visits from the man selling straw brooms, the guy with the coconut ice-cream trolley and the grateful old man collecting anything recyclable.  It continues to be an eye-opening experience and one that we try to absorb and learn from.  
Despite the reoccurring sibling rivalry, outbursts, injuries and normal child-like behavior, we have been blessed with how our three children have so quickly adapted to this new style of living.  They just adore the Thai children and teenagers in the street and have happily played for hours with the 2 older girls who live a few doors up.  They love to chat over the fence with our elderly next door neighbours and the moments when the kids all gather for a game (as well as some of the fathers) the sounds of happiness definitely fill the air.  

And even though it might not be "beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere we go", in the same way that it did in Australia; we really are so very thankful for this wonderful place to live.  
And, personally, I think the "prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be on our own front door"! 


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