It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

We decorated the tree yesterday...

We decided to invest is a larger tree this year. I can't stop staring at it. There is something about a tree full of twinkle lights that remind me of Christmases past. I am looking forward to the many Christmases in the future as well that I will be able to spend with Niel and our growing family.

The nativity set is up...

I bought this nativity set in Bethlehem several years ago. Niel and I had just started dating. I decided I did not want to unwrap it and set it up until I was married so that it could be "our family" nativity set instead of just mine. It was so fun to unwrap and set it up together. God has been so good to have brought Niel and I together and to know that our son will be joining us shortly. :)

More Pai Tau pictures

Another weekend walk through our village, this time up Tao Fong Shan.

lots of stairs

Pai Tau Village

We live in a neighborhood called Pai Tau Village. Today I went for a walk to explore and took pictures.

Our village is home to the ten thousand buddha temple.

And also a bee farm. (that was a surprise)

Summer Update

It has been a long time since we have had a new post. WAY TOO LONG!! Sometimes it just feels like life happens and there really isnt a whole lot to share. Let me just fill you in a bit on what we have been up to since June.

In July we went to Australia to visit my brother Caleb and his wife Amanda. It was Niel's first time to visit. I had not been back to visit since their wedding ten years ago. (TEN years flew by! Congratulations guys!!) On the way we spent a night in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. Neither one of us had been there before.

We really liked Vietnam. The weather was cool and not as humid as Hong Kong. The food...I can't begin to describe how delicious it was. It was so flavorful and fresh. We both would love to travel there again and spend more than 24 hours.

Yum, just looking at the pics of food makes me want to go back.

Australia was fun! It was so good to see Caleb and Amanda again. It was great to get see their apartment, visit their church, eat at some of their favorite restaurants and just chill. When I say chill I mean we took it really easy. Niel brought a cold with him from Hong Kong and he passed it on to the rest of us. We were all sick so we spent a lot of time hanging out at their apartment. It was a nice time though.  I'm glad we were able to visit them.

After the week in Canberra with Caleb and Amanda, we spend three nights in Sydney seeing the sites. I forgot how beautiful the city is. Hong Kong has a beautiful harbor but so does Sydney. They are both very different from each other but both are breathtaking.

We didn't travel in August. After visiting the Philippines with my parents in June and Vietnam and Australia in July, we just wanted to stay put. We did celebrate a milestone though - our first anniversary. I cannot describe how grateful I am that God brought Niel into my life. That weekend Niel treated me so special. He bought flowers for me. He made me a romantic dinner and cleaned the house while I was at a meeting. He also bought me a gift. We also went to Discovery Bay (the place where he proposed) and ate a meal at a nice Mexican restaurant. It was wonderful.

Niel's birthday is also in August. This year he wanted to invite his friends over to our place. We had a bit of an open house and people just dropped in and ate cupcakes and snacks and talked. It was very casual and very fun.

In August we also went on a team retreat. We went to guesthouse on Cheung Chau Island. It is a fun island in Hong Kong that does not have any cars on it. I had never been there before. It felt a bit like we were stepping back into an "old China". It was nice to spend some time together outside of the work environment.

Well, that's about it. I guess there has been stuff to blog about all along. ;) Hopefully we can post again soon.

Philippines

When I was ten weeks old my parents moved to the Philippines. We lived there for over two years. My brother Joel was born there. I of course have no memory of this but my parents have talked about the Philippines for as long as I can remember.

Well, while my parents were on this side of the world, Niel and I decided we should make a trip to the Philippines with them and visit the city of Davao in the southern Philippines where they used to live. I am glad we did. It was a pretty remarkable couple of days. The pictures that we have don't even scratched the surface of the things we saw and experienced.

 We walked all over to find a place that made this raw tuna dish that my mom remembered eating. The place was a shack but the tuna was fresh.

 China Town

 The house we used to live in. My Dad knocked on the door to see if he could look inside but the lady who answered did not speak English.

 Standing in front of the gate to the house. The house has been updated but the gate is the same.

 Chicken on a stick. Yummmm!!!

 The Bible Institute my parents used to teach at. It was so fun to visit here. People remembered my parents and they remembered me as a little girl. I think this was my favorite place to visit.

 I used to play with Joy as a little girl. Fun to meet up again 30 some years later. She now works at the Bible School. 

 My mom is standing with Nelrose. She graciously drove us around one of the days we were there. My Dad used to travel all over the island preaching with her Father. (He is no longer alive.) My dad said her Father was like a mentor to him and taught him a lot about ministry as my parents were only 22 when they arrived in the Philippines.

  On the highway back from the Bible School, we had to stop to let the sheep cross the road.

The four of us at an interesting restaurant on our last night in Davao.

We also visited the hospital my brother was born in and I was hospitalized in due to Dengue Fever when I was two. We saw the outside of an apartment building we lived in when we first moved there and went to the market my mom used to buy our food at.

It was a memorable trip. I am so happy we were able to go back with my parents.

Thorson Visit

My parents came to Hong Kong!! It was so fun to have them here. They were only in town for a few days but we did manage to get out and see a few of the sites.

We saw the view of the city from the Peak, took a Star Ferry ride, shopped in Stanley, and ate a variety of food that Hong Kong has to offer (Dim Sum, Indian, Baozi (Steamed Buns) and even Pizza). They also visited our office and met all of our colleagues.

Thanks for coming Mom and Dad!

Kayaking in Stanley

A few weeks ago, I went kayaking with some friends. We took the bus down to Stanley which is in the south-east part of Hong Kong Island. It was fun but exhausting and we all got too much sun.

Dao Feng Shan

Our home is on the side of a hill. At the top of the hill is a large white cross. I see the cross from the valley below all the time as I leave the Subway Station and start my short climb home. I had never been to the top of the hill where the cross is until this morning. I decided I would climb to the cross and have a quiet time.

 The cross says, "It is finished" in Chinese.

 This boulder says Huo zai Zhu nei or "Live in Christ".

 This is where I sat to have my quiet time. It was very special to sit here and see the cross while reading, praying, and journaling.

 Inside were pictures of familiar stories in the Bible from a Chinese perspective. This one was Jesus feeding the 5000.

 The Cross is located on a Lutheran seminary and retreat center. All the architecture is old Chinese style. This is the chapel.

Have I mentioned before that I don't like monkeys and that we see them from time to time? On my walk I saw this sign. It tells people how to be safe from monkeys. It looks as if I have a valid reason to be afraid!

Gecko

Look what I found in my shoe...

I don't mind. I think geckos are cute!!

Flower Market

A few weeks ago Niel and I visited the flower market in Mong Kok. This was the second time I had been there. I love walking the streets with Niel and looking at the flowers and plants.

We ended up buying herbs like cilantro, parsley, basil, sage. rosemary so that we could grow them and use them when we cook. We also bought two tulip plants to hang on our fence. Tulips are my favorite flower. It makes me smile every time I come home and see them.

Wet Market

The other day I stumbled upon a building in the area of Hong Kong where we live that I had not noticed before. I decided to check it out and this is what I found...

A wet market! It made my day. I love shopping at wet markets and did not know there was one in Shatin. We are able to buy fresh fruits and vegetables as well as meat and fish from various little stalls. The market also includes flowers, goldfish, chinese medicine stalls, cheap clothing and slippers as well as other odds and ends. :)