Tag: christmas

Bonding in Breckenridge Colorado / Family / Spirituality / Travel / United States

Bonding in Breckenridge

by Mar 18, 2016 16 Comments

We thought we’d be extra adventurous this year, and trade our typical tropical climate for a brave escapade into an extremely harsh and frozen one. Our girls have been craving snow almost ever since we left it six years ago. To appease them, we decided to venture a ski vacation with Brandon’s Mom and sister Ashley’s family, over Christmas and the New Year. Little did we...

Read More

A Victorian December Education / Entrepreneurship / Family / Friends / Photography / Victoria

A Victorian December

by Feb 23, 2016 2 Comments

Have you noticed we keep coming back to Victoria? This time we settled in for the month of December, curious to see if its winter season was really as mild as cold-phobic people like ourselves tend to prefer. This is Canada we’re talking about, after all. Wouldn’t you know, we discovered it really does live up to its reputation! It’s in a sub-Mediterranean zone, not...

Read More

Sunset in Bali Bali / Family / Personal

Silence

by Jan 12, 2013 2 Comments

Silence is blissful, distressing, revealing, and difficult to maintain. You may have noticed I haven’t written on this blog for over a month. I think that’s the longest I’ve ever gone. I’ve also been posting less on Facebook and Twitter. When we decided to settle in Bali, I wanted the next year to be one of contemplation, inner growth, and self-discovery. (Yes, even more than...

Read More

Fun Activities Around Penang Malaysia / Penang

Fun Activities Around Penang

by Dec 15, 2011 5 Comments

Wow, we’ve been having so much fun in Penang! The island is full of entertaining and free activities right now, from jazz and orchid festivals to horse shows and dragon boat races. Most kids are out of school this month, which is why there’s more going on than usual. But even without all the extra activities, there’s a lot to do in Penang, and we’ve...

Read More

A Different Kind of Christmas Family / Finances / Goals / Personal / Volunteering

A Different Kind of Christmas

by Dec 01, 2011 23 Comments

Christmas has been very different for us since we moved abroad, in more ways than just being far from extended family. Even before we left, we became disenchanted with certain aspects of the holiday, particularly surrounding gift giving. Actually, I love giving and receiving gifts, but it’s not always as satisfying as I’d like. I think giving is most enjoyable for both sides when the...

Read More

First Christmas in Costa Rica Costa Rica

First Christmas in Costa Rica

by Dec 24, 2010 8 Comments

If you didn’t get a Christmas card from me this year, it’s not because I don’t love you. It’s just because I’m lazy. :) In fact, we’ve been consciously lazy about Christmas this year, and it’s been our least stressful holiday season yet! Well, maybe “minimalist” is a better word choice than “lazy”. Regardless, it’s been a great holiday season for us. Gifts Jen and...

Read More

Marie’s Christmas Prayer Family

Marie’s Christmas Prayer

by Dec 24, 2009 4 Comments

Tonight, Marie gave the family prayer, and in that sweet voice of hers, expressed her concern for Santa's welfare. I wish we would have recorded it. But I've tried to reconstruct it from memory, below. It went something like this. Dear Heavenly Father, We're thankful for this good day. Please help us have the Spirit to be with us. Please bless Santa to be safe when he comes to give us presents. Help him be safe when he [...]