Here are some photos from our first Christmas in Cambodia. We had a wonderful day together, filled with lots of activities. Becca asked, “Mommy, can we have Christmas in Cambodia again?”

In December we started our Christmas Countdown Calendar. Everyday our kids got to open a little window and do something special to celebrate the season. We also used Marty Machowski’s Prepare Him Room: Celebrating the Birth of Jesus. It was a great way to celebrate Advent. Becca also made me a Christmas Calendar.

A few days before Christmas we spent lots of time baking four different kids of cookies to deliver to some neighbors and businesses we frequent.

Christmas Eve, after church, we made homemade hot cocoa, ate Christmas cookies, and stayed up late to watch The Muppets’ Christmas Carol.

Christmas morning we enjoyed breakfast — after mopping the floors and spraying down the courtyard! Becca and Isaiah put on a play of the Christmas story for us. We loved her shocked face when Gabriel told her of the coming of Christ.

After opening a few gifts, we packaged up the cookies and went out to sing and deliver the cookies. People seemed pretty pleased with our visits.

Later in the afternoon, Becca put on another Christmas play for us. She used our Fisher Price Little People and recited most of the story from Luke. We invited our American missionary neighbors over to watch.

The main Christmas gift for Becca and Isaiah was to buy each other gifts. Becca gave Isaiah a tool set and Isaiah gave Becca a panda bear. Both kids were delighted with their gifts.

Thank you to many of you for your generosity to our family this Christmas. We used Christmas gift money from our supporters to buy special foods we would not normally buy – cheese, butter, beef for a roast, cocoa powder, whipped cream etc. We used money for gifts (a big hit was a ream of white printer paper for each kid). We appreciate your loving generosity to us as a family. We had a wonderful Christmas of starting new traditions and enjoying old ones.  We are looking forward to celebrating next year…after I recover from all the festivities.