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It
is safe to say that this was the busiest Christmas we have ever
had as a family. We are humbly grateful for everything Heavenly Father
has given us. You probably hear this a lot, especially from parents, but
our two kids, Alec and Sam have been such blessings. They completely transformed our lives,
helping us to purge unimportant things which used to seem so important but
which now seem frivolous. Once you have kids, nothing else seems to matter. This year's highlights
for Alec were his learning to ride his
bicycle without training wheels, being able to read common and simple
words, and learning to love (sometimes, at least) his sister Sam. In
what seems like an effort to keep up with
her brother, Sam decided to walk on her Dad's birthday, one month shy of her
first birthday. She has wanted to do everything by herself ever
since, including washing her hands, eating, watching movies. She is
very vocal; she isn't shy about telling us what she wants. Work has never been better
for Sean (except when it isn't) and he has been spending a lot of time with
his family. Besides
keeping up with our two fireballs and getting them to play nice with each other, Cheech has
completed her courses from the Foreign Service Institute and is continuing
on to higher level courses.
We mostly
did our Christmas shopping in Jakarta and Singapore. We enjoyed the
beautiful Christmas lights on orchard road, playing on the soft white beaches
of Sentosa, and
building a giant sand castle complete with moat, walls, and with a tunnel so Alec can
drive his motorbike inside. Alligators for the moat were about the
only thing missing. At Alec's insistence, we bicycled for a very long time
-- up and down Siloso and Palawan beaches -- and of course checked in with the man in the red suit. We all
got what we asked for from Santa this Christmas and the Steins
have been busy playing with their toys this holiday season.
We wish you all a very merry Christmas wherever you are.
We hope you stay warm (or cool for those of you in the tropics) and
that you are able to spend this magnificent holiday with your loved ones. Please
know we think of you all often and that we are only one phone
call or key stroke away. Keep in touch as we are trying to keep up
with you.
May your
Christmas cheer last all through the year.
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