Tis' the Season

It's the holiday season and Christmas is right around the corner! It is the festive, yet hectic barrage of parties, teacher gifts, Christmas cards, shopping, wrapping and baking that leads up to Dec. 25th, but for us we toss in a birthday and pepper in our new life in East Asia to add a bit more complexity to the mix. The amount of rushing around never seems to change, just the location.

We kicked things off with a Thanksgiving celebration hosted by an American family, to an international crowd, serving up two fried turkeys and all the traditional trimmings (or at least all that we could find the ingredients for.) It was a relaxing and fun evening with our new expatriate family and if you can believe it, I was so busy eating and chatting that I didn't take one photo.

Instead of setting up the tripod for our Christmas card photo this year, we decided to get a mini session with a local photographer in the KLCC park which is right near our condo. Thankfully, it was a beautiful morning, but it was crazy humid. We were in the park when I took this screen shot and the sun had just come up.

Thanks to the 100% humidity (doesn't that mean it should be raining?), the temps were skyrocketing and there was not a cloud in the sky.  You can see it in my hair, as it kept growing throughout the 90 min.

It was a fun photo shoot and we were able to get some great, new family photos! 

Ashleigh and I had an enjoyable afternoon at the Girl Scout Mother/Daughter Tea.  It is a rare treat to be able to hang out with Little Miss Personality one-on-one, and we had such a good time. 

This tree is in the lobby of our condo.

Anna's 12th birthday was December 14th and we celebrated with a mall scavenger hunt and ten sweet friends. 


On our way to the mall.

The girls had a blast searching out answers to the twenty-five clues David had masterfully come up with.  There were two teams and about 90 minutes of time. It was great fun watching the teamwork and getting to see the personalities of Anna's new friends.

After the hunt we headed home for presents, cake, and a new twist to the birthday song.  We have been used to the Australian addition of "hip-hip hooray..." after the standard song, but here the kids chanted in unison and loudly the following:

Cha, cha, cha
Kum ba ya
Pizza Hut
Noodles!

Don't ask.

I still can't wrap my head around the fact that 2015 will be our last year before we have a teenager! 

Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country, so we were surprised by the amount of large-scale Christmas decorations there are around town. All of the malls are heavily decorated, as well as the grocery stores, office buildings, storefronts, coffee shops, etc.



 

You can't see it in this photo, but there is even a small Ferris wheel down there.

Christmas music, religious music included, is pumped through the speakers loudly and clearly.  I was pleasantly surprised, ok more like shocked, to hear songs like "Hark the Herald" and "Angels we Have Heard on High" while I was grocery and mall shopping.



As much as I am yearning for cozy socks, warm comfort food, crackling fires, a chill in the air, and extended family, we are celebrating in our own sandal wearing, sweat dripping, cool beverage drinking, swimming pool kind of way.  We have been able to celebrate with new friends.

  

 

We have our Christmas tree, our stockings, and even our elf, Jingleheimer, was able to find us. 

 

 

We will celebrate the birth of Christ, try and keep as many traditions as we can, and maybe add a new one or two.  In three days the rush will be over. Until then, I best get going. I still have shopping and baking and wrapping to finish.  Merry Christmas everyone!