more Christmas photos for fun

Merry Christmas!

Joy to the World! The Lord has Come!
We have really enjoyed celebrating Christ's birth this year, although we are away from family and cool weather (I wore a scarf just for the fun of it at our Christmas dinner out. It was probably in the 90s!). We're opening gifts together as a family Christmas morning. It will be the first Christmas where Emma actually can interact and open her gifts! I baked my Mom's recipe of Christmas sugar cookies and some chocolate chip cookies for when our Muslim and Christian neighbors come to visit. I hope they enjoy the little tastes of America. We're praying you and your family are truly enjoying this season. We are so blessed to be able to receive the ultimate gift of love from God: Jesus. Happy Holidays! Love, the Bs.

Our 6th Anniversary!

Todd and I had a great time reminiscing on our 6th anniversary about how we've celebrated our past anniversaries. We realized that we have now spent more of our married life in SE Asia than in the States. It was a crazy thought for us!

We have felt incredibly blessed in our marriage relationship and felt like this past year was particularly all about learning to be parents together. Having Emma has brought us closer together and has given us experience in having to make important decisions for her well-being like how to get her to sleep and eat. :) Learning how to raise Emma together has been a true joy, though it's had its challenges. We know it's only the beginning.

We spent an evening out and went to dinner at a hotel in the city. We also watched our wedding video. Normally we write in a journal (a letter to each other about the previous year) every year. We're a little late in the game so we'll be doing that this week. As a person who loves traditions, it was a great day. Simple yet memorable. We praise God for giving us the gift of each other. It's truly Him that has kept us thriving together.

Katie's 28th!

T arranged a fun outing with friends for my 28th birthday, dinner on a riverboat. We ate some delicious local fish as we cruised in the traditional wooden boat at around sunset. It was beautiful. Photos are a little fuzzy since we were losing light when we took them. But you can get the general picture of what it was like. Emma wasn't quite sure of the boat when it started moving. She had to be in Mommy or Daddy's arms most of the time. After we got off the boat, she immediately said, "wwwwwwwalk!!" :) For anyone who wants to come and visit us, this would be a "must do." ;)

Our latest fun activity find in town