Christmas

This Christmas has been unique for my family and I. Joy, a friend from Beijing, has joined us for two weeks. She is currently a nanny in the USA but we get her for Christmas and New Years. Lucky us!

My parents met Joy last June when we traveled together to Beijing. I knew Joy from Korean Nazarene University. She was a visiting student in 2006. Joy and her parents were incredible friends to our family in Beijing. Her dad did more than put up with my dad's cultural discomfort; he single handedly put my father at ease with his kind care. They couldn't even speak to each other. So now that Joy is in the USA we've been together in 3 countries and we've seen each others homes. This is incredibly fun for me and again I am seeing that some of the best experiences of Korea continue on this side of the Pacific ocean.

We took Joy to the Christmas Eve service at church and out around town to see the houses decorated with Christmas lights. We did our traditional family breakfast and I made scones...my specialty. We opened presents and shared lots of great food. She met my brothers side of the family. She's gone running with me and she has gone out looking for "treasures" with my mom and her new metal detector. My dad took her on a tour of Whiskeytown Lake. It has been a fun time for us all.