Happy New Year!!

Sometimes I don't write because I have nothing to say.  Sometimes I don't write because I have so much to say.  Sometimes I don't write because I feel like writing about fun things the family does just seems like bragging.  Sometimes I don't write because I feel like there are so many greater things to read (not my blog) or better things I can be doing with my time :).

I have put it off long enough.  Tonight, as there is a Thai concert nearby and sleep will elude me anyway, I write.

We have had a wonderful month (or 6 weeks?).  Here it is in a nutshell:

• Thanksgiving.  Wonderful time celebrating with friends, although the food, though delicious, just didn't seem like home.  Curt and I chalked it up to the fact that we eat so much spice here, food without spice just tastes bland.  I hope we are not ruined for life...
• Christmas season.  One of our favorite family traditions is coming up with one thing everyday to do for someone else.  It is usually outside of the home and often anonymous.  We string red envelopes across the living room with a card inside with instructions and open one every morning.  It keeps us very busy but we force ourselves to get out and do it because it's SO much fun! Here were our favorite ones this year: 
• delivering homemade banana bread to our local police station, fire station and post office.
• buying 10 kites off the kite lady on the street and delivering them to an orphanage around the corner from us.  This led into us being invited to their big Christmas party, which we attended.
• having the disabled kids over from another orphanage that we have been serving at the last 6 months.
• buying out every single piece of food from a lady who sells it from a small stand on a highway so she could go home early for the day.
• buying our gardner a movie voucher so he could take some friends to a movie one night.
• ordering pizza and having it delivered to Carmen and Zoya's Thai preschool teachers anonymously.
• delivering iced tea to some construction workers around the corner from us
• Erin leaving.  Our homeschool teacher, who lived with us for almost a full 11 months, flew home on December 15th. She did an amazing job all year.  Our new homeschool teacher, Kelsey, arrives January 1st!
• Family!  My older brother and his wife and my younger brother flew over for the week of Christmas.  We had a blast doing all the tourist stuff we have put off: riding elephants, climbing waterfalls, heading up the mountain to the King's palace, shopping at many markets, eating off the street (ok, we haven't put that off!) and a few other fun things.  

And now, we have slowly settled back into routine.  The Christmas stuff is away, old things have been gotten rid of replaced by new, fun toys (thank God for uncles and aunts! :)) and we are looking forward to our second full year here.  We are so, so thankful for everyone who prays for us and supports us to be able to reach this area of the world!  Thank you and Merry Christmas (belated!) and Happy New Year!!

Having the orphanage kids over!