Greetings from our Family in Jakarta!
I know it's been a while since we updated, ...yes it has been that kind of busy year for all of us. As we look back, we are so thankful that everyone at home is healthy and safe in Jakarta. It was an intense year due to the war in Iraq and the threat that came with it in Indonesia. We were evacuated to Singapore when the war broke out, and came back to Jakarta when the outbreak of SARS paralized Singapore and the rest of Asia. It was tough on kids and Grace but we survived through. Through it all, our company were very understanding and made sure that we were all safe and well taken care of.
We took annual homeleave and it was really good to see friends and family in Korea and in Chicago. Also, we took some time off to spend time in Bangkok and Bali where we had great time with family and friends. You will find some those pictures throughout the webpage which I know you will enjoy.
Chris now is in prep senior (kindergarten) and will be in first grade this fall and he really loves school. He now can read and discovered the whole world of books, ...sometimes we can not get him to put down the books. He also figured out how to turn the TV, VCR and AMP on, and this might explain why he wants to stay home rather than going to grocery shopping with mom. He is now a green belt in tae kwun do, and teaching Ashley how correctly kick and punch!?? He also began taking violin lessons, ..and he sounds, ...uhhmm, ...well, after four months I think he can play twinkle twinkle, ..yeah, I think that's what he is playing?! He also joined the soccer and watch out Beckem, ..he was in team Spain, and was the youngest member of the team and it showed. He thinks kicking the ball hardest at any direction is the object of the game, ..and he did just that during one of the games, ..towards his own goal! His writing skills are improving and his drawings don't look like from Picasso's workshop anymore.
Ashley now is in second grade and loving the school and her friends and teacher. She still eats like no kid I know and so full of vitality and energy, not too many could keep up with her. She has such a sweet and sensitive heart (of course except to her brother!)it is such a joy to be with her. She loves to read, draw, sing, dance and now plays pretty good piano. Still takes ballet lesson and now a yellow belt in tae kwun do, ..and hates when her brother trys to show how to kick and punch! She was the mama bear during her first grade end of the year play where she played the main character in front of hundreds of people to a perfection! We were so proud of her.
Grace is also very busy with kid's school, church choir, bible study group and recently teaching English at our church. Never realized how much school requires parents involvement. Yon is as always darting off from Irian Jaya to Australia to India, to Singaproe, ..sometimes it's hard to figure out where he is and what he does, ..and he says the same thing. Yon is also involved in choir as well as directing the youth orchestra at church, which has been quite challenging
We look forward to another exciting year of 2004, and we ask our family and friends for continued prayers for our family. Take care and we hope to update the homepage every quarter.
December 25 2003 Jakarta Indonesia.
Chris, Ashley, Grace and Yon |
