This will be a Christmas that we will always remember. Not only because it’s our first Christmas in Indonesia, it’s also our first Christmas without convention and tradition. We don’t have an 8-foot fragrant fir elaborately decorated with colorful lights, fragile glass balls, spiraling tendrils of red ribbon, and a treasury of collected ornaments hanging tightly from each branch. We don’t have lavishly decked halls. We don’t have running strings of outdoor lights casting a soft glow on the wet street. We don’t have a 9-pound stuffed turkey roasting in a hot oven. We don’t even have perfectly adorned gifts waiting to be opened.

I’m not going to lie to you, I miss the extravagance! I really do. However, sometimes some of the best memories are created during challenging times. A few years from now, when our knees are back under our dining room table in Arizona, we’ll be saying, “Remember our first Christmas in Indonesia…”

As always, we are grateful to have experienced a joyful and blessed year, and we are looking forward to the upcoming year with the opportunities and possibilities that it holds.

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a blessed year!

Annual Rose Family Trivia

Most Monumental Decision
Moving 7,693 miles from home. Nothing could have prepared us for this adventure, and nothing can prepare us for what is yet to come.

Biggest Achievement
Ally and I competed in the Phoenix 5K Color Run. Even though it rained all day, we still ran across the finish-line looking like we fell into a “Willy Wonka…tie-dyed vat…of colored goodness.”

Most Surprising Announcement
Kylee (our little homebody) came home from school a few weeks ago and announced to the family that she joined the school’s swim team! With a lot of hard work and determination, she may have opportunities to travel to Jakarta to compete in regional meets.

Most Lengthy Rental
Chris and I, collectively and continuously, drove 7 different rental cars in 54 days.

Favorite Family Activities
Kayaking, playing Risk, and adding to our port-o-potty ambush photography collection.

Biggest Loss
After investing six-years in one of TV’s most compelling series, Chris and I are still reeling from the end of Breaking Bad. What’s not to love about being emotionally traumatized and scarred, year after year, by the reckless actions of a high school chemistry teacher!?

Craziest Decision
We went on a week-long vacation to Maui exactly fourteen-days before moving to Indonesia. It’s, by far, one of the most foolish and irresponsible decisions that we’ve ever made, but it was worth all of the extra stress and anxiety that followed.