Our Holiday Season

Living so far away from extended family makes the traditional holiday visits very impractical.  Although there's no need to even discuss which holiday to spend with which family, the Kisebachs or the Farrells, we miss them more than ever and wish we could somehow be together during this time of year.  Electronically visiting and talking is just not the same.

We've been blessed this year with some amazing friends who have become our family away from home.  Thanks to many of them, we've had some memorable moments this holiday season.

THANKSGIVING

With a larger number of American friends, we celebrated Thanksgiving with a big gathering of about 50 people,   

 ate a traditional dinner complete with turkey, cranberries, potatoes, homemade rolls,

 

and yummy pumpkin pie.

 We even did a few not-so-typical Thanksgiving things like 

roast marshmallows and make s'mores.

We had a very nice Thanksgiving and are especially grateful for the many good friends we've made in the short few months we've been in Hong Kong.

CHRISTMAS

   This Christmas season, our family had an opportunity to participate in a generous service project for some of the people affected by the typhoon that hit the Philippines earlier this year.  Kyle, Cade, and a group of our friends here in Hong Kong, went to the Philippines to help rebuild some homes and schools that were destroyed and provide some much needed supplies.  

This project was a unique way for our family to give during this special time of year.  The next blog post will be about this wonderful experience.

Here in Hong Kong, we found it's not hard to find the sights and sounds of Christmas.  There were lots of Christmas trees, poinsettias, decorations, and Christmas music playing in most of the stores, plazas, and buildings. 

Disneyland had the tallest Christmas tree (we couldn't even fit it all into our picture).

The buildings on both sides of Victoria Harbor decorate with Christmas lights and scenes and put on a special light show with music each night.  Cade, Abby, and Ian got a chance to see these festive lights with some friends but Kyle and I had to attend to Leah who'd fallen and suffered a slight concussion earlier that evening.

Our homeschooling group got together one afternoon for a fun, festive afternoon treat.

Our huge cup of hot chocolate warmed by a tea candle heater, was delicious and a party favorite.

To help us remember the reason for the season and keep Christ is Christmas, we made a paper chain advent calendar with different scriptures about Jesus Christ and His birth.  Each morning we read one of the scriptures and then read a heart-warming Christmas story, often about the sweet miracles that happen during the Christmas season.

We also went caroling with the Primary children from church.  We bundled up for an evening of singing carols outside but learned that caroling in the city is more indoors than out.  We were packed into elevators, hallways, and lobbies singing Christmas songs to friends and neighbors so getting outside in the cool air felt refreshing.  There was no need for our gloves and earmuffs and some of the kids even shed their jackets.

For Christmas Eve, Cade and Abby created a Christmas tree vegetable tray.  This will definitely be part of our holiday traditions for years to come.

Another delicious tradition we started was homemade scones for Christmas morning.
After a fun gift-opening and belly-filling Christmas morning, we went on a hike.

Kyle, Cade, and Leah reached a high peak

and saw our town of Tung Chung below (our building is the one on the far right).

Some of us love the outdoors

and exploring nature

while a few of us 

just wanted to be home playing with our new toys.  But we're so glad everyone came and ended up having a good time.  We had a very Merry Christmas!

NEW YEAR'S EVE

Our church group held an early New Year's Eve party

with lots of food, music, and games

for all ages.

At 9:00, we did a "fake" New Year's celebration.  

After the party, our family ventured downtown to celebrate for "real".

On our way, we were enthralled by this Chinese man playing an instrument we'd never seen before.  I believe it's called an Erhu, a Chinese 2-stringed fiddle.

We found a spot in the Golden Bauhinia Square

with lots and lots and lots and LOTS of other people.

Leah was excited to be there and the only kid who wanted her picture taken.

We counted down in Chinese and cheered and hollered Happy New Year as we watched the fireworks show.  It was fun and an opportunity we thought we might not have again.  Since then, however, we've been told that Chinese New Year celebrations are even bigger and better so call us crazy but we might do this one more time in a few weeks.

Although the journey home may be a deterrent.  Getting sleeping kids on and off trains and buses, is not easy!

It's been a wonderful holiday season.  We love our families, our friends, and our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We feel extremely blessed.  We're thankful for the opportunity to live abroad and are learning so many things.  We're looking forward to another wonderful year full of family, friends, and adventure.  Cheers!