Christmas 2017

Merry Christmas from Amman, Jordan! We had a low-key Christmas season, with fun activities as a family leading up to the day. The week before Christmas, Santa came to the Embassy on a camel!

This is the first year that both boys have been willing to sit on his lap!

But of course they will sit on a camel :)

Fresh candy cane lips :).

The month leading up to Christmas, we did daily readings throughout the Bible as a family, learning all about God's wonderful creation, the prophecies of Jesus, and his miraculous birth.

Some decorations around the house.

The boys get more and more excited each year for Christmas, and it is so fun to watch the excitement through their eyes. On Christmas Eve, we enjoyed making cut-out cookies.

The Children's church performed at our Christmas Eve service (which was the day before Christmas Eve). They sang Go Tell it On the Mountain, Away in a Manger, and Joy to the World. The boys had been practicing at home, but I'm not sure how much singing was going on during the show, haha! But it was so cute to watch!

On Christmas Eve, we had a friend over for dinner, and it was fun to share our family traditions with her.

Each year on Christmas Eve, the boys get a new pair of PJs and a Christmas activity book. Benjamin loves to draw, and he made this sweet picture for Santa ;).

When the boys were asleep, Nathan and I put out out gifts. We have enjoyed our nightly talks around the tree each night since we put it up:).

On Christmas morning, our family tradition is to eat cinnamon rolls and egg casserole, sing Happy Birthday to baby Jesus, and then open gifts.

Happy boys, waiting patiently!

It was a cold, rainy morning!

The boys received lots of nice gifts from family and say thank you very much!

They made me these sweet cards:)

The boys really enjoyed their gifts to each other - tactical nerf vests! And they had fun playing for a couple of hours while Nathan and I got a good nap!

We had a great Christmas celebrating the birth of Jesus, and enjoying time together as a family.

"Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David." ~Luke 2:11

Busy times, catching up, and doing well

I am way behind on blogging and hope to catch up soon. It's been a busy past couple of months with  my parents and brother's visit, Nathan and my work travels, and current events. I'm sure you have seen a lot in the news recently about this part of the world, regarding the announcement about Jerusalem and the Embassy move. It has sparked anger and protests throughout the country, but please know that we feel safe and are doing well. The Jordanian security services have done a tremendous job keeping the protests under control, and many of our local friends have reached out to us to make sure we are doing and ok. Please pray for all people of this regions, Muslims, Christians, and Jews. Please pray for the situation to stay calm and remain peaceful, despite the tension and emotions, and for God's protection over the people. We know we serve a mighty and sovereign God, and pray that we trust in Him, though all times.

View from the top of Mount Nebo, looking into Palestine.

 Recent visit to little Petra.

Grandpa Art and Uncle Aaron's Arrivals.

Ok, time to catch up on my family's visit to Jordan in November!  A few weeks after my mom arrived, my dad came. It was his first trip to Jordan and we were really excited for him to get here.

The boys knew he was coming but were asleep when he arrived. They were so happy when get got them off the bus the next day.

Happy, happy to be together!

A couple of weeks later, my brother arrived! It was his first visit to Jordan also, and the boys were super excited to see him!

A day later we hit the ground running for a whirlwind trip around Jordan. Next few blog posts will be on our travels.

Halloween Fun!

We had a fun and long Halloween season this year, with several parties and school events to celebrate. This year, the boys dressed up as vampires, check out those teeth! 

The first event was our friend's Halloween party the weekend before Halloween. A few houses went in on the party and they haunted trick-or-treating that ended with a fun party at one of the houses. This is their friend Lydia, who used to be in school with Benjamin the past couple of years, and Benjamin says is still one of his girlfriends ;).

Another day on the weekend, the kids went to a  friend's house to decorate pumpkins and cupcakes.

On Halloween day, Caleb got to dress up for school and they went trick-or-treating! Caleb decided to be "Dr. Bones" on this day. He is the 4th one from the right in the back row.

That night the Embassy had a great Halloween party with a scary haunted house and delicious dinner at the end. The boys liked the haunted house and did not even get scared!

 On Thursday, Benjamin got to dress up at school for a Halloween parade and trick-or-treating. Benjamin is the 4th from the left in the back row.

 Sweet boy getting off the school bus.

It was a fun Halloween had by all!

Yellow-Green Belts

The boys are doing great with Tae Kwon Do, and recently tested for their yellow-green belts. Nathan left that day for a work trip, but  my mom and Tes were here to attend the test. Getting warmed up...

Benjamin starting his yellow belt form.

Caleb doing the same.

Here are their full tests.

Receiving their new belts from the Sensei of the school, and Ms. Irish, their instructor. She is so good with the boys and works them really hard.

They tested with a few other friends too. It was so cute to watch.

Grandma Sue was so excited to be here to see this.

Good-bye yellow belt, hello yellow-green belt! The boys worked really hard and we are proud of how far they have come these past couple of years.

Grandma was home to watch their first yellow-green belt class the next week.

Great job boys!!