Ladies Retreat

Last week was the annual ladies retreat for the missionaries on the island.  What a blessing to be able to spend a few days away from home with a great group of ladies.  This year was especially fun as 6 of us from Hsinchu hopped on a train and headed over to beautiful Hualien (on the east coast) where the retreat was held!

The Hsinchu group (minus me, of course)

The Hualien coastline

 I love watching the waves roll in.  They are so peaceful and relaxing to watch!

 

Cherry Blossoms and Goofy Kids

In February we had our annual field conference.  The place where we met had a BEAUTIFUL cherry blossom tree that was in full bloom. 

I also found some goofy kids up there.  Ok, they were my kids, and they had to fend for themselves for the better part of 4 days, so I guess I can't blame them for being so goofy. 

They did let me take one "normal" picture.

Happy Birthday Andy!

A Day at the Beach

We took advantage of some unusually warm winter weather and headed to the beach.  The sun does wonders for the body....mostly putting me in a MUCH better mood!

The beautiful ocean

Brrrr...while the day was warm, the water was still really cold!  That didn't stop the kids from playing in it, though.  More power to them, I'll stick with the beach.

New Year's Day

On New Year's Day we had BEAUTIFUL weather, so our family ventured into the mountains for a great hike (after a lazy morning at home, of course).

Ike and Elle out on the trail.

Beautiful scenery.

The family (minus Andy who was taking the picture).

The location - 5 Finger Mountain

Christmas 2013

We were blessed to spend Christmas Eve with our friends, "Ferb's grandparents" and his "uncle", this year, followed by a wonderful Christmas Day with our mission family.  We sure missed our families back home, but are thankful that the Lord has given us wonderful friends here.

Christmas Eve the kids watched videos that Santa sent to them.  Can you see Santa in Ellie's glasses?

The kids painted cookies with Bev after our Christmas Eve dinner.

Our Christmas Eve bunch.  Yes, even Ferb got to go to Bev and John's!

The kids weren't the only ones who enjoyed opening Christmas gifts.

Christmas Day we were treated to Ethan's fruit soup.  While fruit soup is definitely not my favorite food, it always brings back memories of my Grandma Bestemor (or Grandma Louise, but I never called her that....didn't even know it was her name until I was a teenager). 

Wedding Time

Our friend's daughter asked Joey and Ellie to be in her wedding.  What a fun day to be part of.  The kids had a great time, and while I know I am biased being their mother and all, I think they looked pretty cute all dressed up in their wedding attire.

Thanksgiving Trip to GuanWu

Thanksgiving Day we headed into the mountains with a group of friends for a 2 day getaway.  It was an "exciting" drive there (you know....narrow, washed out roads), but the drive was worth it!  We were able to enjoy a beautiful hike through giant cypress trees, watched a beautiful sunrise over the mountains, and even saw snow (from a distance) on Snow Mountain (thanks to below zero celcius temps).  

Just in case you can't tell from the picture, we were COLD!

 

 Hiking

 Tough guys on the hike

 Smiley girls

 Fridays hike consisted of stairs, stairs, and more stairs.  These two kiddos were my hiking buddies.

 Look closely at the far right mountain peak and you'll see the snow!  That was the first time we've seen snow here in Taiwan.

Hiking

My kiddos

Time at the Horse Farm

Cousins

 Kvenild cousins

Larsen cousins plus Grandma and Grandpa

Time with Grandma

One of the most special things about our trip home in October was the time we got to spend with my Grandma Gladys.  I am so thankful for her and all of the lessons she has taught me.  I am also so thankful that my kids have been able to know her as well as they do.  We may not be able to see her as often as I would like, but we get to talk to her often, and for that I am also grateful.