It has been a very busy "fall" here in Malaysia and I find that I don't have the time to sit and blog like I once did. Nothing really new or exciting is going on, but I still have things "happen" in my world that I don't ever acknowledge.
Living in Southeast Asia during the Thanksgiving holiday is unique. Last year we were just settling in and I don't really even remember Thanksgiving--I know we didn't "celebrate" in any fashion. But this year we have several new expat friends from America and we (the women) decided to fix a Thanksgiving meal. There is a restaurant in Johor Bahru that will cook the turkey for you, so we did that and added all the extras ourselves. It was a lot of fun to share something from "home" when we are all so far away from our families!
This is a very unique time in our lives and I started thinking about all the things I am NEWLY thankful for this year. Just a few...
***I am thankful for our good health in a foreign country. We each had a cold about a month ago, but besides that we have been very, very blessed.
***I am thankful for our new (to us) house we moved into in October. Everything works and it is a lot more secure than our previous house.
***I am thankful for the Internet. If I couldn't Skype with my family I don't know if I could make it:) I also stay connected through emails and have found I do a much better job of staying in touch with people than when I just would try and find a convenient time to call them.
***I am thankful for our new friends we have made in Malaysia (both expats and locals). I would NEVER have met some of these lovely people and I will forever be blessed by having them in my life.
***I am thankful for getting the chance to not just vacation in another part of the world, but actually live here long enough to truly understand the differences in cultures.
***I am thankful for the sweet group of Christians we meet with in Johor Bahru each Sunday.
***I am thankful Jeff's construction is going so well and we can see daily progress for all his hard work and long hours.
***I am thankful for Sling box so we can catch college football games (sometimes in the middle of the night over here, but it's worth waking up for:)
***I am thankful for my driver--without him I wouldn't have much of a life over here--or at least I would be stuck at home A LOT more!
***I am thankful that Johor Bahru has several Starbucks. I know, kind of lame, but I REALLY am thankful for that.
***I am thankful for our safe travel. I will have made the trip back to the states 3 times by the end of the year, and we have been blessed with non-eventful trips (besides the fact you are travelling 10,000 miles and REALLY have jet-lag).
***I am thankful for my best friend and husband of almost 27 years. We only have each other over here and I am thankful he puts up with me, takes care of me and loves me after a year of being around me almost 24/7. What a saint!
***I am thankful for the beautiful jungle that surrounds our home. I get to see monkeys on almost a daily basis and the birds over here are just gorgeous. (I'm not really thankful for the lizards, but that's another blog.)
***Finally, I am very, very thankful for our kids and family and the way they have supported us during this move and remained a constant in our lives by keeping connected to us. God has truly blessed my life and I thank Him!
