Christmas Gift

I am blessed beyond measure. My tree is full of gifts from family who have so graciously spent a lot of money to mail boxes full of gifts to us, or prepared months ago to have the gifts brought over early. I am so blessed, not to have gifts but to be loved by our family. Christmas is always the most difficult time being away. We would love to be home with our loved ones, sitting around the table sharing a meal or sitting in various living rooms laughing and sharing memories, or even standing/sitting around dining room tables playing nertz or scrabble eating pie and junk food!

But this year I feel like I received some special gifts from my Saviour as well. They have come in some very special moments of just being obedient to him. He knows our hearts, my heart, and how much we miss home during this season. And yet he continues to help us every step of the way and encourages me as I continue to walk. So, if you will, I would like to share my gifts with you as a testimony of His faithfulness.

Gift #1 - My children

Obviously, those two gifts were given to me several years ago, but they seem to be the "gifts that keep on giving"! This week in particular I have seen their love for their Saviour and it hasblessed me beyond measure. On Monday, we hosted a party for some "little friends" of ours. They came over and we made crafts with them and gingerbread men. I was overwhelmed at the love Hannah and Hudson had for their "little friends" and how excited they were to do something special for them. They gave their day to prepare, play, and then clean up so their little friends could have a special day. It was nothing big, but it blessed this mom completely!

Gift #2 - Baby Jesus and Karaoke

While this may sound a little strange, my second gift was the simple reminder of Father's faithfulness. We have a small group of friends that meets together, and Tuesday night we met for karaoke and a Christmas party, they invited friends and we had triple the number of people we normally have come to our party. So we met new friends that night and were able to tell His story to them, and they heard for the first time. His faithfulness and goodness to us comes as He reminds us "do not grow weary in well doing, for in due time you will reap what you sow". His faithfulness gift to me also came in the fact that I told the Christmas story from start to finish....not in English....which is something I couldn't do a year ago.

Gift #3 - 207 Elementary students

My third gift is summed up in the new song by Shane and Shane that says "Jesus you are my great reward!" After coming home from our Karaoke party we headed back out with some friends to help them with a Christmas activity they had planned. In a small village about an hour away from where I live, there is an elementary school our friends have made relationships with. Their home church has helped sponsor them the last two years and have sent backpacks to each child full of socks, underwear, toys, school supplies, and other goodies. We had the privilege of going yesterday and playing games with these kids and giving them their gifts. These children have parents who have left to go work in factories in the big cities, only coming home maybe once a year. Some of these children even live on their own at the school, cooking for themselves, caring for themselves. Seldom do they have someone play with them, laugh with them, share them love. They were dirty, had clothes on that didn't fit, and were neglected. It was obvious from the time we drove in the gates and got out of the car that this was going to be a special day for them. Jesus said, "when you have done it unto the least of these, you have done it unto me" and yesterday as we served these children and made them smile with our games, songs, and gifts, the Saviour reached into my heart and reminded me visually that His love is for everyone. As I watched my whole family together with our friends love these children, the true reason for the season was glorified. No matter how much I may want to enjoy the "comforts" of home and the love of family this season, my Saviour gave me a sweet gift of Joy and Peace yesterday and truly Jesus is my Great Reward!

I am so thankful for Jesus and so thankful He has led us to this place where we can serve Him and He continues to bless us in so many ways. So, Merry Christmas and may you find his Joy and Peace this season!

A Writing Sample

A few weeks ago Hudson was the "student of the week" in his class. He was asked to write a poem to put on the bulletin board along with his favorite pictures. I thought, for your enjoyment, I would share his poem with you.


Hudson

I like to play football and basketball too.
You can play if you want, but I will beat you.

Oklahoma is my home and I miss it very much,
But thanks to Skype and the computer I still keep in touch.

My birthday is coming, it will be in May.
I will be 10 years old, the 18th is the day.

I have a sister who is older than me.
She has brown hair and goes to NTC.

My mom and dad are lots of fun,
And wouldn't you know it, they have the greatest son!!!

A first....of sorts

I want to document something that happened Thursday night , December 10, 2oo9, because it is a first since moving here, and truly a milestone.

Thursday afternoon Rob and I had been meeting with some friends who live in our apartment complex. Hannah and Hudson came home and began their homework. As dinner approached we decided to "go out" and eat as I hadn't been home to prepare dinner for the evening. So, Rob and I called the kids and asked them to meet us downstairs and we would all go to dinner.

As we walked to our front gate Rob asked the kids the infamous question, "What do you want for dinner?"

Hudson: "Shao Kao!!"

Hannah:"Guilin Mi Fen!"

Excuse me?

Ladies and Gentlemen, for the first time in 20 months, when going "out" to eat neither one of my children mentioned "Mc Donald's" "KFC" or "Pizza Hut". This is truly a milestone!!!

****in case you are wondering what the kids wanted to eat, "shao kao" is the local variety of grilled meat on a stick and "guilin mi fen" is a local noodle dish with a little beef, peanuts, and pickled green beans

Friends

You know the saying, "Friends are the chocolate chips in the cookie of life!" We have realized that our friends, like chocolate chips are quite a commodity. We are blessed to have so many new and great relationships here where we live. And of course we are thankful for those who are still at home.


There are, however, the few friends that live over here that we were friends with in America from long ago . I think they are the "white chocolate chips" of the "cookie". So, running into them is, well, pure gold. Rob had that opportunity 2 weeks ago when he spent the weekend with the Eggrolls, dear friends we have known for many many years.

I know it was such a blessing to him and I am sad I couldn't make the trip with him. And I am a little jealous as well. I heard the food was good, the fellowship even better, and the after midnight activities, legendary!

I love this picture of Rob playing dress-up! Looks like I missed out!
Thank you so much for hosting my hubby! Next time, I am coming!!

Happy Birthday Hannah

11 years ago today our sweet Hannah came into the world and made us parents! It is so hard to believe we could have an 11 yr.old girl, and watching her literally grow up right before our eyes is astounding! Hannah is such a wonderful girl and we are so blessed by her every day. I couldn't ask for a better daughter. We are so happy to be able to share this birthday with Memaw and Pa too!

This morning Hannah (and Hudson) had a special birthday treat.....CHOCOLATE DONUTS!! It was such a treat as we haven't had these little gems in 2 years!

So....a big thank you to these sweet girls, who sent them to us!!

Hudsonisms....again

It has been a while since I have shared some of the thoughts rolling around in my son's head. Rob, Hannah, and I often end up laughing and laughing becasue of Hudson's comments. So, I thought I would share a few with you.

*During family Bible time we have been reading and discussing the book of James together. As we read James 3, the section about blessings and cursings, and can fresh water and salt water come out of the same sping?, we were discussing what this section means. Hudson suddenly said, "Oh, I get it! It is like OU football. (I love this kid) If you like OU, you could never like Texas. It would be impossible for both to be together! Just like the salt water and the fresh water." Exactly!!

*This week Rob is traveling and we have 3 extra girls staying with us becasue their parents are also traveling. So, poor Hudson is the only male with 5 girls in the house. When I woke him up this morning the girls were already awake, chatting, laughing, etc, his eyes were still closed and very agitatedly groaned, “Mom, I can’t get out of bed, girls……they just talk all day and night! I don't know how Uncle Tom will do it someday when all his girls can talk at the same time.”

*Hudson to Rob on his worship preferences: "Dad, I like it when you lead worship because when you lead you put the words on the paper and it can be folded like a hot dog. I don't like it when people put the words on the paper and you have to fold it like a hamburger." I guess the Spirit only moves him when the words are hot dog style.

*When asked what his favorite songs are:
1. How Great is our God
2. Mighty to Save
3. The Saga Begins (Weird Al)

I would also like to add his Chinglish is VERY good. In other words he will speak the local language and when he doesn't know the word, he just puts the English one in. My tutor thinks this is very funny, and most of the time it really makes us laugh. So, there is no stopping this kid, especially when he tries to crack jokes in the local language just to make our tutor laugh. He continues to be a joy in our lives in so many ways!

It's MONDAY!!!!

This week Rob is traveling to the Capital City for some dental appointments and I am staying home with the kids. He will be bringing his parents back with him next Monday. In the meantime we are having a PAR-TAY at my house. We are adding 3 girls to our house tonight, whose parents are also traveling for the week. It will be lots of fun and excitement.

You know how it goes when the husband leaves town....people start throwing up. Rob made pancakes for dinner last night. Yum! However, at 10pm, 10:30pm, 12:00am, and 3am......pancakes......not so good. So, Hudson is home today on the couch resting and Rob and I are tired as we spent quality time together in the middle of the night spraying down the rug, the bunk bed ladder, and placing them out on balcony to dry. Hopefully, Hudson will not share his goodness with anyone else....or else it could be sick x's 5 children. But....I have 2 children. My daughter....sweet daughter has been "trained up in the way she should go." Becasue at 6:45 when my alarm went off this morning, she opened my door and told me she had made my coffee and it was waiting for me.

Yep!!! It's Monday!!

ER

Today was all planned. The kids were going to come home, change clothes, fluff hair, etc and we were planning to meet Rob to take pictures on this BEAUTIFUL day. It all changed at 11:00am when I got a phone call from the school. Hudson fell down at recess, his chin is busted open, and it looks like he needs stitches. So, I immediately left class, jumped on my bike and called Rob to meet me at the school.

If you are a reader of this blog, you may remember that last year we had a similar occurance, but Rob just superglued Hudson's head back together. After we arrived at home today, we discovered this was NOT a job for super glue. We would be heading to the ER for stitches.

I can't even begin to tell you all that went on at the hospital becasue it is so confusing and long. Everything is more difficult when the language and culture are foreign to you. And when it comes to your child's health you want to understand all that is happening and make the best choices. We are so thankful that our language has improved enought that we could have him taken care of!!

The biggest thing I learned today was that post stitches it is customary here for you to get a tetanus shot. (a word that wasn't in my vocabulary until today) However, we went 9 rounds with the doctor trying to explain we didn't need this shot since we, Americans, keep this shot "up to date". Actually we finally told the doctor we would get it, than left the hospital....that is how we avoided the shot. We also skipped out on the customary IV that is common to all who visit the ER.

Rob stuck my camera in my purse on the way out the door today, so for your viewing pleasure.....a trip to the ER.

Did I mention the customary IV?? EVERYONE gets an IV here. That is the remedy for everything. This is the ER. Can you count how many IVs are in this pic? And yes to the right, that is a lady on a gurney just laying there for who know what reason. Here is a dad and a child out in the ER. Just waiting around.

Ah yes, room number 6 where we would be seen . This is the best hospital in our city. We were thinking about this time that we needed to go elsewhere to have Hudson's chin sewed up. We thankfully were sent to the main hospital for stitches, or "surgery" as they called it. Rob and I had to ask to see the room where he would be stitched up to check for sterility, use of clean needles, and to make sure everything came out of a bag and was not being reused. This is BEFORE, can you tell he is nervous?? (He listened to my ipod the whole time to relax)

DURING. AFTER. Thanks so much to the nice doctor who very carefully answered all of our questions and made sure we understood everything.

In case you were wondering.....this was the 4th time Hudson has "busted open" his face requiring some sort of attention.

Happy Birthday DAD!!

As a child my greatest aspirations were to grow up and be my Dad’s secretary. Every week, I would set music out on all his choir member’s chairs and stack last week’s music on the table to be put away. He had tons of rehearsals each week, so there was always plenty to do in his office. Sadly, I am sure I let him down because I never actually became his secretary. I also remember thinking, “someday I will grow up and sing in Daddy’s choir”. Thankfully, I did get to do that for a few years while in college. My love of music, singing, and worship come from hours of being around my dad’s work!

The summer after my freshman year in college I spent the summer in Eastman, GA as a youth intern. At the end of the summer, my dad flew to Atlanta where I picked him up at the airport and we drove all the way back to Dallas. We had such a great time together talking the whole way back home and I treasure the time we had together just the two of us.

One of the greatest experiences of my life were the countless hours I spent on the bus traveling the country on youth choir tours from the time I was a few months old until adulthood. I have been across the entire country with my dad, worked with him in backyard bible clubs, and sung with him just about everywhere. He was so instrumental in where I am today, teaching me from the beginning to live a life of service for our Heavenly Father.

I have so many fond memories of my dad, but to this day I tear up thinking of when he gave me away and spoke a blessing over me as I married Rob. He quoted Ruth 3:11 and told me how proud he was of me. That moment is one that will always stay with me!

So, for the countless hours of letting us “ride horsey” on your back, and driving us to and fro to watch our games and cheer us on….thank you DAD!! I love you and hope you have a GREAT birthday!

The Colonel, The Lake, and Us

Tonight was another fun-filled Family Night! Rob's choice this week. The last two days have been beautiful in our city. Today, Rob and I even broke out our jeans for the first time. In honor of the wonderful weather, Rob decided that we would swing by KFC and pick up dinner, then drive to the lake in the middle of town and eat in a boat out on the lake. GREAT IDEA!! Here is a glimpse of our fun evening.

Enjoying dinner on the boat. These two are a lot of fun!! Can you tell?? One of the perks of our lake.....is the kids can drive the boat. Hudson is a natural. Pa, you would be so proud. His instincts are very good, and he takes after the Olmstead men in his driving abilites. :) This girl.....well, let's just say in 4 more years, when she is 15, the driving lessons will be challenging. It took her a while to "get in her groove" driving the boat, but finally, she got it. I don't know if you can tell from the blurry background, but Hudson has the boat rockin' back and forth, back and forth.

And.....these two cute kids are brought to you by.....US!

Fall Flashback

Last night we had a fall festival at our apartment complex for all of us "foreigners" who live here. We bobbed for apples, pinned the stem on the pumpkin, had a cupcake walk, and of course....."trick or treated" the foreigners in the area. There were a lot of happy children last night...including my two. It was a fun evening with friends of all ages, whom we dearly love.

As I was looking at pictures tonight, I remembered one of my favorite pictures of my two kiddos from one "dress-up" night at EHC. It was 2001 and Rob had just returned from this side of the world for the first time. He had brought back each child some local costumes. They were so excited to wear them. Actually, Hannah was excited, Hudson could have cared less, he was 18 months old.

Then.

Now.

Last night Hannah and her friend Katy dressed up like they were going to a masquerade ball, and Hudson....well he was an OU football player again. When you are 9 years old and love the Sooners, there is no other option. The funny thing about Hannah and Katy was the planning and preparation into making their outfits perfect. Katy has been coming over for the last 2 weeks trying on clothes, bringing clothes over for Hannah, etc, etc. The girls started getting ready yesterday, about 2 hours before hand, putting on makeup, doing hair, etc....and finally putting on their mother's tall black heeled boots. After 15 minutes at the party, however, the boots had been replaced with flip-flops, the masks and scarves were too hot....all that preparation, for 15 minutes of glory. Girls.

I couldn't pass up this last picture. This is the Hudson I know and love. I think he had just pinned the stem perfectly on the pumpkin.

The Results

Well, the winning prize is buying you dinner in our town....but since none of you guessed correctly...... no dinner. I think each of our pumpkins fit our personalities....if that is even possible. Tell me what you think.

1.

2.3.4

Fall Family Fun

Wednesday night was my family night! I love family night, especially when it is my turn! Just kidding, every week is fun as it brings out the personalities of each one of us.

This week I couldn't decide what to do. I didn't want to watch a movie or play a game, but wanted to something fun as a family. So, I went to the market and bought 4 small pumpkins and decided we would put on some good music and each carve our own pumpkins.

When the pumpkins arrived home, everyone was thrilled with the idea, especially the kids who were going to get carve their own for the first time. Hannah really enjoyed cleaning out the insides, which was good because her dad made it clear that he DOES NOT!!And when would Hudson ever pass up an opportunity to get messy and dirty? We quickly ate tacos, cleaned off the table, and started carving. Here are our finished pumpkins. Can you guess who carved which pumpkin? See if you can figure it out. (none are masterpieces by any stretch)

1.

2.3.

4.

Come back tomorrow to see if you were correct!!