Selamat Hari Kristmas!

Selamat Hari Kirstmas! I know, Christmas was a few weeks ago, but we all know we should carry the Spirit of the Season with us all year. I'm just helping everyone do that. Christmas was especially magical for Craig this year. He's at that really fun age where he understands and believes in the magic of the season. To help him count down the days, he got a special Lego Star Wars advent calendar. Each day he got a new little Lego figure or a small space ship! He was so excited to open the last day, which was  Yoda dressed in a Santa suit!

On Christmas Eve we enjoyed a buffet dinner at a local Italian restaurant with some of our good friends. Here we are next to the 40 foot tree near the restaurant.

This is our Christmas tree decorated in Asian motifs. It's covered in silk lanterns and mystic knots. Very auspicious!

Craig was so excited for Santa to come! He heard some loud bangs from fireworks that the locals were lighting off and came running from his room shouting "Santa!?" It took a few hours for him to fall asleep, but once he did, Santa came! Craig heard the jingle bells from his sleigh at about 6:30 a.m., and Mom and Dad heard him pattering across the tile floor to check for presents under the tree.

Santa brought Craig just what he wanted! Between Santa, Mom and Dad, and all his Grandmas and Grandpas, Craig was able to check everything off his Christmas list!

After opening presents we did some video calls with Dadpa and Damma (Craig's names for my dad and step mom - and they've stuck). Then we did our annual Jessop Family Christmas Pageant! This year we used the video conferencing again. Isn't technology wonderful? Even though it was Christmas Day in Malaysia, it was still Christmas Eve in the United States. Here are Craig's cousins dressed up as the three kings and an angel. Uncle Aaron is a shepherd and Aunt Leticia looks like she's warming up from the chilly weather.

Here is Grandma and Grandpa Jessop with Aunt Boo, Uncle Don, Uncle Russ, and Aunt Ali (fish). Grandpa Jessop lead us all through reading various scriptures from Luke and Matthew in the New Testament. We also sang Christmas carols, and heard Grandma and Grandpa's famous duet, "I'm Just A Poor Little Shepherd Boy".

And here is the star of the show, Aunt Ali, guiding the three kings to the manger where baby Jesus was born.

After an exciting morning we all got dressed and went to church, then spent the afternoon with some of the members of our congregation. Here is Craig with his good friend Liam enjoying "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". Liam, who is just over 2 years old, missed his nap and fell asleep with Craig.

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! We're so thankful for all of our friends and family who shared the holiday festivities with us!