So thankful...

...to have our computers up and running and hooked up to the internet! That may sound crazy to you all, but it's HUGE to me. Here's my long story on that. We decided that we could use another computer in the house since the boys now have a lot more of their homework online and it seems that most school evenings they are arguing over who gets the computer first and often need it when I want to check my emails or work on my digital scrapbooking stuff. It was become harder and harder to get everyone's time in during the few hours in evening we have before bedtime on school nights. So, for our family Christmas present this year we decided to get a new computer. We have had two Dell computers in the past 8 years and have had good luck with them so that's what we decided to go with again. The same week we bought the computer, the router we had been using for Greg's school laptop (when he would bring it home from school) and our older computer, decided to cease functioning. Greg went out and bought another one, but despite following the directions to the letter, we just could NOT get the thing to work for us. I spent hours scouring help websites, and trying different things, but to no avail. Then a couple of weeks ago, the monitor on the new computer decides to stop working...ugh. It was under warranty so we knew we wouldn't have to pay anything for a new one, but we had all the hassle that goes with getting the problem diagnosed (which included scheduling a technician to come to our house) and then getting the monitor changed out (which the tech did not bring with him but instead we had to wait two days for one to be shipped to us). I won't go into too much detail, but we had several other little "issues" come up due to this monitor problem. They delivered the new monitor on Wednesday and everything was fine with it, but suddenly we were getting a message saying the computer had no audio output device installed on the it (even though it was supposed to come with one)! That was not a problem before the monitor died! And only being able to get on the internet with one computer (plugged directly into the modem), I was at my whit's end! I had spent sooo much time trying to figure out all the problems (including being on the phone with Dell trying to diagnose the problems over the phone), I broke down (literally)and went to the computer expert at our school and begged for some help in solving my problems. I was not going to ask him to come over, but was going to ask him for the phone number of anyone he might know who could help us out (we had called one outside service two times and they said someone would come over, but no one ever did and they never called us back). In the end this wonderful guy from school offered to come over and take a look at things. Bless his heart! Of course I invited him to stay for dinner for all his trouble (the problem was I didn't have anything to fix for supper so I ran out to the grocery store and grabbed the things I needed to fix our favorite "company" meal- creamy Italian chicken and a salad. Then I baked a batch of brownies and a batch of cookies -so I would have something to send home with him as well). It's amazing how quickly a person can solve all your problems when they know what they are doing! I don't really know what he did to get the router working, but he had it going in about five minutes (something with the settings in the modem not working with the router or something like that)! Then it was on to the sound device "problem" with the new computer...you know what that was? The speakers weren't plugged in all the way (the light was on when the speakers were turned on so I figured they were plugged in fine, but one or the other of the speaker wires was loose)! With Vista, apparently, if you don't have your speakers plugged in tightly the computer will act like there is no output audio device on it (you would think the Dell tech help line would ask you about this the first thing since it was such an obvious answer, instead they had me unistall and then reinstall the driver for the sound device!!)! The only reason they weren't plugged in correctly in the first place is because the Dell technician, who came to our house, had unplugged them when he was diagnosing the monitor problem and had not plugged them back in all the way! So two problems solved in less than 20 minutes! He also took time to look at our older computer because we had not been able to use our mic to talk to anyone on skype or MSN chat for almost a year and a half. With just a few clicks here and there he discovered that the built in mic on the webcam is functioning fine, and although the other ports weren't working, we could at least use the webcam properly again! Yay, three issues resolved!! We went on to have a great dinner and a nice visit. We should have him over for supper again sometime, when we don't have a computer problem to solve! lol! I am just SO thankful for his willingness to come and help us out. We know he gets pleas like ours on a regular basis so we really were hoping not to have to resort to asking him, but I really didn't know where else to turn.

On another electronics note, the boys' Xbox 360 is working again!! It had died from the "red ring of death" in September and the boys have been quite bummed since. I did some research online and discovered a guy who came up with this fix you can do on your own...for $30. Even though this may not be the best way for everyone, due to us being overseas and having used the Xbox on a transformer for over a year, we figured any warranty we may have had would probably be void anyway. So, I read many reviews from several other independent sites and people who had used this method to fix their Xb0xes and we decided to take the plunge and buy the downloadable video. Once we had done that, we discovered we were not able to get some of the items we needed here in Malaysia, so we ordered what we needed off Amazon and had a friend, who was in the States for Christmas, bring the items back with her. Greg was able to get everything else he needed at a hardware store downtown, thankfully. He and the boys spent four hours the night before last following the steps, only to have it not work when they were finished. However, Greg was pretty sure he knew what the problem was so he came up with a solution and was able to get it going last night after the computer guy left. Even though the boys were bummed that it wasn't fixed over the Christmas break, they are so excited to have it running again (Mom isn't as sure yet! lol!).

So, we had two great things happen yesterday. However, there was a little damper on my day when KJ came hurrying down the stairs last night crying her eyes out, only to show me a braid of hair lying in her hand! She had climbed up and gotten the scissors from the top of the computer desk, and proceeded to cut the front braid/twist of her hair off! If I were to estimate, I would say she cut off two years worth of growth...right in the front! It makes me very sad to think about that. I had to cut off the other front braid to match, of course, and she went to bed with two inch bangs sticking straight up (due to the texture of her hair...I forgot to take a picture of that). She told me she wanted to look like KR and that's why she cut it off. I think she is very sorry as she took one look in the mirror and said "I don't want to go to school." In other words, I thinks she's afraid the kids are going to laugh at her. Because she doesn't like the way it looks, I am really hoping that means she will think twice before she is ever tempted to do something like this again.

This morning I was able to take out the box twist behind the two that were cut off and combined them and put a rubber band around hair from both boxes at the base. I then made two strands (divided so I had some long hair in each one) and made two twists going towards the front. The longer hair sort of hides the shorter hair that way. I don't think the average person is going to notice anything wrong with it the way I have it now, but that means I will be having to disguise it for months to come like this and it's certainly not ideal. If it didn't take her hair so long to grow it wouldn't be so bad, but as it is, it's just depressing to think she will be 7 before it's grown out again! ****************
On a positive note, we just finished up our first week of school, which went well. KB had 6 new students join his class this semester, which is the most of any class on campus. His class is already VERY heavy on the boy side and four of the new students were boys! He was hoping there might be more girls! lol! Due to Chinese (lunar) New Year, which is Monday, we are already taking a four day weekend. I guess it's kind of fun to start the semester off with four days last week and then three this coming week before actually getting "serious" about things:-)

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My friend, Athy, is having her birthday this weekend and she has invited several of us to go to KL with her to spend the night tomorrow night since it's a long weekend (she has a seven passenger van so space is limited). I haven't been there for three years, I think, so it will be nice to go. She has many friends and I feel honored to be one of the few asked to go. I'm sure we will have a great time. We will be leaving right after church tomorrow (it's my last Sunday of pre-school Sunday school for the semester as well. Yay!) and returning late Monday night. I guess Greg can hold down the fort while I am gone:-)

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Last week we also had to let the school know whether or not we would be returning for another year of ministry here. It was an agonizing decision, but we have decided we need to stay one more year for sure. The reason this decision was so difficult was because, as I may (or may not) have shared here before, I have had the desire to become a nurse for many years, and we were trying to decide if the timing is right to pursue that now or not. In the end we decided this was not the year to leave, but right now we are saying next year will be our final year here, unless God shows us clearly otherwise. In the past God has been faithful to close doors in situations where we have stepped out, but then asked Him to close doors if that's not His plan for us. We can name several times where He has clearly done that for us and we are trusting Him to do the same this time. In the meantime, I keep looking at my online options (to at least get started) and we will see what happens. I do know that the school will be needing to hire a number of positions and if you, or anyone you know is interested in serving at a wonderful Christian international school feel free to visit the school's website here and find the Employment link under the "Dalat" tab at the top left of the page. The positions needed to be filled should be posted there shortly.

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Finally, here are some cute pics of KL and our cats, Hector and Max. He didn't realize I took this first one through the screen.

Have a great weekend!

Staff Retreat 09

It's hard to believe it's been a year since our last staff retreat. We ended up going to the same place we went last year, which was nice. If you were with me last year, you might remember that we were "bumped up" to a nicer room due to the resort overbooking it's other rooms. We knew that this year, that probabaly wouldn't happen again, so we knew we would have to be in a "regular" room. In the end, we had adjoining rooms, so the boys could have one and the girls, Greg and I the other. They were small, but decent and we actually had hot water all the time (last year we didn't have hot water in the mornings for some reason but because we weren't actually paying the high price for the room, I didn't think I had a right to complain about it so never did say anything about the cold/cool showers)! I didn't take as many pictures this year, but I will share a few that I did take. I think the kids all had a great time, and KJ actually cried when we had to leave. She wants to live there forever! lol!

Some friends and our family went over a day early to have some relaxing time before the actual retreat started (and Greg and friends could get in a round of golf). On Tuesday morning we had a session and then in the afternoon we went to the water park that is associated with the resort. The weather was nice, a little overcast, but that was probably better in preventing sunburn. Everyone seem to have a great time.


My friend, Robin and I enjoying a ride down the slide. I am kind of a wimp and won't go down the scary ones! lol!

KB and friend just finishing their trip down the boomerang slide.

Mom and daughter enjoying some cotton candy.

KJ sharing with her brother.

KD had a little accident in the pool the day before where he had bitten into his tongue. This bruise on the bottom was the result of that. Who knew a tongue would bruise like this!

A little scared to go down this one! Lol!

The boys conspiring about something...

Daddy spent some pool time with his youngest.

The girls were waiting for a bucket of water to dump on their heads...

..and here is the best shot I could get of that!
This was the HUGE bucket of water that tips out every few minutes...fun.

KJ and friends getting in on the action...

Loving this water!

Wednesday after the morning sessions were over, we had more free time in the afternoon. KR and others about her age did a "mini-tour" which included horsback riding, archery, paintballing (at targets) and the driving range. KR said she had a really good time doing all of these things an the cost can't be beat... $2.50! What a deal! And while she was gone, I lounged by the pool chatting with friends (and keeping my eye on KJ)...Greg had already gone for a second round of golf and the boys had joined the others who were playing paintball. Although they came away with a few bruises, they really enjoyed their time. I was planning to go and take some pictures, but KJ fell asleep on my lap and I missed my chance.

KR and best friend enjoying each other's company at the hotel pool.

On Thursday morning we completed our last session, packed up, had lunch and then headed home. It's always nice to be back in your own space and in your own bed.

School starts for us on Tuesday. It's been a great vacation, but I am looking forward to getting on with the semester. I pray it's a good one for students and staff alike.

P.S. I guess, since Christmas is over, I am going to have to change my blog theme...hopefully I can get to that this weekend...

Happy New Year!

I started this post yesterday but didn't get it finished....such is life. Here are some New Year's Eve photos from our party the other night. Once again I enjoyed ringing in the new year with friends.


KJ had been asking me for months to make these cakes for Christmas. Since I didn't get it done then I figured I needed to do it for the New Year's party.

The ladies getting ready to play Skipbo. It's kind of become tradition that the men play Greed to pass the time until midnight.
The boys playing their own game of Greed. KR and her friends enjoying themselves.
KJ showing off her glow bracelet that Aunt Jacki gave out to the girls.

Yippee!! It's 2009!!

The old folks ready for bed!! :-)

And Happy Birthday to my big brother, Doug! He was the first one I wished a happy birthday last year on my blog...it's hard to believe it's already been a year again! I did talk to him on the phone, but wanted to mention his special day here too:-) Love you!

Merry Christmas!!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas with family or friends. We had a very nice day. It started off with us all going to McDonald's for breakfast, which is something we very rarely do here. We used to be invited to a Christmas breakfast put on by a couple from our school, which had become a wonderful tradition for many families here. Unfortunately this couple left us at the end of last year and so we now need to establish another tradition for breakfast. So perhaps we will go to McDonald's every year from here on out....hmm... :-) In the early afternoon we invited some friends over for a dinner of swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, a VERY yummy sweet potato dish that my friend brought and a veggie tray. Besides the fact that turkeys cost around $45 here, we wanted to keep things simple so that we didn't have to work too much! lol! Later in the afternoon we enjoyed some chocolate cake and of course, pumpkin pie for dessert. We spent the afternoon sitting around chatting while the kids played. I forgot to take pictures, though, so I am bummed about that! I had taken my camera downstairs and thought of it right when we were saying grace, but then forgot about it after that. Sorry.

I do have photos from the few days before...gift wrapping, our gift-giving on Christmas Eve as well as the opening of our stockings on Christmas Eve eve.

We had a nice Christmas Eve eve service at our church on Tuesday evening, but again I didn't get any photos of the event even though I took my camera. There were quite a number of people in attendance and we all had refreshments afterwards. I made a pan of coconut and chocolate chip bars and they were consumed pretty quickly.

Christmas Eve...

KJ had been asking for flip flops for months...she finally got some from Santa.

Reading the Christmas story...

Pretending to read the Christmas story because it made a cute picture:-)

The stockings on Christmas Eve eve...somehow I missed KD and his stocking...ugh...

Helping wrap daddy's gifts...

I cannot believe it's already been ten days since I last updated this. There has been so much going on and so many events happening that I hardly know where to begin with the update. It's possible this post could take me hours to do and I'm not sure if I am up to that task right now. I will start and see how it goes...if I don't get them all in today I can try again tomorrow...or soon.

And because trying to get the format right on a post that covers so many different days and events, can take a long time I am just going to write about the photos and not worry about the order. Reality is you probably could care less about which days we did what! lol!

This past Monday, KL, and his classmates went to a place of charity downtown where the homeless people can go to get a meal, some clothes and some of their other needs met. The class went there to sing Christmas songs and to play the angklungs (the instruments you see in the pictures), but since it ended up being too crowded in the room, they only were able to do the singing while there. Fortunately on Thursday, they did their performance again during the elementary chapel time. I think they all did a fantastic job...and KL looked so handsome:-0
Each student had a small speaking part in the program.

Here KJ and her friends are playing with the water table on the second to last day of school before the Christmas holiday. I think that most of them really need the next few weeks to relax and rest and take a break.

KJ and her friend, Lana.

Tuesday night was the elementary Christmas concert. Although KR didn't have any major parts in the play, she did make a beautiful angel.

On Wednesday of this past week was the annual elementary sports day. I was unable to attend the whole morning because I had to give my final exams in my Spanish classes, but did manage to see a few events of the morning. The rest of the pictures are courtesy of my friend, Jackie, who actually has a better camera anyway.

Christmas party on Saturday night, December 13th....

Greg chatting away with his friend, Clay (and unknown other).

The lady on the left is the middle school art teacher and on the right is the middle school social studies teacher so they have taught (and still do teach) the two older boys.

Athy, (the hostess) with Vicky, Jacki and myself...enjoying ourselves :-)

Some michief maker decided to "match" up everyone's shoes while they were inside at the party! lol!These friends all have their birthdays in December so we decided to celebrate them collectively since this is such a busy time of the year for everyone. We had a great time doing a little shopping at the mall and then enjoyed lunch at a pasta place with donuts for dessert! This Big Apple Donut shop just opened up this fall in the mall and the donuts are pretty good...not as good as Krispy Kreme but that is to be expected. We are just glad for a decent donut place in town. KL has had a Dunkin Donuts since we have been here but it has never made it to Penang.

Great dessert, huh?

This was the cutest face at the celebration:-)