Christmases

It's been fun exposing our kids to American Christmas-y things (like Santa photo boots) and doing fun American Christmas-y things together (a Gingerbread Village, Gingerbread Houses, and Gingerbread Train too!). It's also been nice not having to stress about having so many events to plan, take part in, and invite people to, bake up a storm, try to do something for Juhee's birthday, and try to get Christmas presents ready for our kids too. 

Milk carton & graham cracker gingerbread house + ice cream cone Christmas tree Sungjae made at school (I had fun helping!), another gingerbread house and gingerbread train sets with cousins, gingerbread village with Liz, enjoying the gingerbread village with cousin JJ

You know... I only realized while preparing our Christmas and New Year greeting e-card, that even though we've only been on the field for 4 and a half years, it's been 6 years since we celebrated Christmas and New Year's together with our family in the U.S., since we left right before the holiday season in 2010.

And then I went back a bit further down memory lane and remembered that the two previous Christmases, we'd just returned from traveling to Korea to fundraise in 2009, and to Korea and Japan on our vision trip in 2008. We were jetlagged and missed almost all of the parties and holiday season food!

Lunch + baking and decorating Christmas cookies with my side of the family. One thing grandmas love to do: feed their grandchildren! :)

In 2007, we almost spent Christmas Day in the hospital. I gave birth to Juhee at 11:38pm on December 22nd and was discharged on the 24th - phew! Our first Christmas as a married couple also became our first Christmas as a family of three. :)

In 2006, our first Christmas together as a couple, I think I was sick with a bad cold and fever in between two youth retreats. Ha! In mid-December, Peter picked me up from the airport (having arrived from the U.K.), drove me straight to a youth teacher's appreciation dinner where I was kind of unofficially introduced, and a couple of weeks later, I found myself being the only female counselor at a youth leader's retreat! We were home for Christmas and then at another youth retreat with over 100 kids (I think it was actually close to 200...?) at another retreat site. We went back home and a few days later on New Year's Eve, after the New Year's Eve service, Peter officially proposed.

And now, we're a family of five. :)

Looking forward to many more Christmases together!