Kirby AirRide, Kuala Lumpur & the best cake ever!

No matter how old these kids get, I still hear the same sounds emerging from the other room when they are together. Usually it is lots of laughing. This morning, it was hooting an hollering while they played one of their all time favorite video games.....Kirby Air-Ride! It has stood the test of time. They just manage to pick up where they left off. 

Being together is amazing. Ben's request for goodies was a batch of Scotch a Roos. No Christmas season would be complete without them. Mom sent the needed Rice Krispies with the boys and they turned out just fine. Ben and I were a great team. No extra batch this year though, no more Krispies. We managed to gobble them all up  before our trip. 

This year we traveled on Christmas Day. We have had trips to family gatherings but never an international trip that required a plane. Trying to remember exactly when we visited Monkey Island while we lived Niger? We caught our flight from Davao and were whisked straight to KUL. We enjoyed exploring Kuala Lumpur.  

The British influence is apparent (steering wheels on the left) and tons of cool buildings

 and of course we love Asia and there were certainly new things to see, smell and taste. Chestnuts roasting on a an open fire?? Hmmm....there were men playing guitars and singing carols and selling chestnuts....

We enjoyed the market with an abundance of things to look at. I was fascinated with the buildings. 

The mix of old and new was quite stunning. Here are a few pics that I hope capture our fun. 

I am thoroughly enjoying this holiday season.  Becca's request for holiday goodies was a banana chocolate chip bundt cake. Yes, please!! Again, Mom sent a few key ingredients with the boys and we were all set! It was fun listening to Becca and Drew discussing the recipe and making it together. This is an old favorite and it did not disappoint. We did not even let the icing completely set before we ate half of it!!  

I know people used to tell me to enjoy my kids while they were young because it goes so fast...It sure does but I am STILL enjoying them. I love having children who are young adults. I love their perspective, their humor, their relationships, their quirks and individuality.  This journey just gets richer and richer and is truly so wonderful!

Meaning

I have been pretty sick the past few weeks. Having flu in the tropics is no fun (but where is it ever any fun?). After a slow three weeks, I am feeling much more like myself.  This evening, Freckie and I took the opportunity to get a bit of fresh air and take a walk. Funny, but as we walked the path, it felt so much like fall; the wind on my face, the sound of the wind, the gigantic leaves crunching under my feet.  And I mean Jurassic sized leaves...

Only 86 degrees and 47% humidity...still in the islands for sure. Usually this time of the year, I start feeling a bit sad and disconnected. I can tend to focus what I think I am missing. Such a strange feeling, 10 days before Christmas....

I got thinking about what really makes Christmas, "Christmas" to me. What brings meaning? Yes, I love all the lights, the carols, the snow & cooler weather, The Nutcracker, The Sound of Music, cookie baking & sweets, making gingerbread houses and of course,  family. The things that I enjoyed as a kid serve as such sweet memories. The things that I passed to my own children are even sweeter! These are important for sure.

Living abroad have added other fun traditions with new foods and parties galore. We needed to be present, embracing the newness of where we were geographically. That is not always as easy as it sounds. At times, I have not been very good at this.  I love to think about each year and the highlights. I will take this chance to reminisce a bit.

From Niger to the Philippines, it was a BIG change. The Philippines has the longest Christmas season in the world! It starts in SeptemBER. The joke is that it is all the "cold" Brrrr months. SeptemBER, OctoBER, NovemBER and DecemBER. In year's past, this time of the year could be challenging. Everyone has their own traditions. I tended to feel a bit out of sorts. So, we made some new traditions and carried on some others.

We have even had the privilege to pass out Operation Christmas Child boxes and giving various gifts in both Niger and the Philippines. My kids grew up packing those boxes when we lived in the states! Such fun thing for all the kids.Neat how things come full circle!

This year, with two boys off at college wanting family together has felt weightier. 

BUT that is not EVERYTHING! I used to thinks so, but these past few years,  we have enjoyed many gatherings with people we love. Both family and friends. When we are stateside, family time is so much more intentional! 

 I need to consider if all that I know is stripped away, what would be the most important thing to focus on? What brings meaning? So many friends are struggling with very hard things this year. Holidays can be tough in the midst of those things. We all have our trials and it is sometimes nice to escape them? Last year, we were treated to a trip to the states to enjoy all of the traditional American Christmas tradition.! So wonderful! We even got to ice skate. No exactly sure what I am trying to say? I guess, I do not want to hop from experience to experience and let the "seasons" dictate my focus. I want to embrace it all, Good & bad.

 This year, we are far far away again.  D & B will arrive in just a few days, I can not wait!  But then I stop and think that there are people who are missing family members and Christmas comes anyways. They are in my heart and prayers. I guess, I want to focus on the hope I have not what I feel that I don't have. What is my focus? What is the meaning of the season...of life?

At the risk of sounding cliche... the answer is JESUS, He is the reason for  the season. He IS life!  Sharing the truth that we know and rejoicing that Jesus came to give us life and life MORE abundantly is the perfect way to celebrate! "For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17)." JESUS, He is the Good News! The greatest gift ever!

His pleasures are forevermore! Yes, we celebrate the baby in the manger, but let's move further...he was born and that was incredibly important....he lived and he died on the cross for me personally! This Christmas season, I am finding that the joy is coming from the NOW. Who is Jesus to me NOW. He is the Risen Savior of the World! He loves me and I love Him. That is the simple fact.

So this season, I am celebrating the hope and joy of ALL Jesus means to me! He is My Light, My Gift, My Joy, My peace, My future, My delight!!  Maybe it is not snowing and I haven't felt like hanging my lights yet. All that does not really matter. 

 His will be done, His Kingdom come! In HIM I move and have my being 365 days of  the year...not just December 25. The meaning of life is crystal clear. I think that is something wonderful!