Anna had a Christmas performance with her International School a week or so ago, but I haven’t gotten around to posting any pictures.  This is mainly due to the fact that none of the pictures came out very well.  But there were a few that weren’t too blurry…  Anna along with the other performers all…

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."Isaiah 9:6 All around the world, we want to wish you ALL a very Merry Christmas!  Jesus is the Gift worthy…

a vivid dream of shopping malls Blue lines taped to the floor tell us where to stand and how to move. We are being drawn into Santa’s lair like the Millennium Falcon being pulled into the Death Star’s tractor beam.  The chances of escape are unlikely.  I look at all the diverse yuletide faces around…

One of the coolest gifts ever…  J.R.R. Tolkien wrote Christmas letters (on behalf of Father Christmas) to his kids for years and years–until they had all outgrown it.  These letters (which are very entertaining and touching) are published with his amazing illustrations in a book called The Father Christmas Letters.  I own the book and…

A Christmas candle is a lovely thing; It makes no noise at all, But softly gives itself away. ~Eva Logue

Sorry I haven’t been posting much of my own creative content lately.  I’ve been a bit busy lately with language classes, Christmas parties, performances, ex-pat get-togethers, etc.  We’ve also had some intermittent power "outages" in our apartment complex again which has made posting a bit difficult.  Please bear with me… "When we were children we…

I couldn’t resist posting this one… (I guess that’s one way to circumvent the whole "naughty" black-listing thing…)

"Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree.  In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall."  ~Larry Wilde, The Merry Book of Christmas

I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them…

12 Days of Christmas – Xining Style On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me…a giant bowl of mian pianr*. (pronounced mee-in, pee-ar.) On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me…two monks in Nike(s)… On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me…three frisky…