Christmas Morning

Mery Christmas!  We've had a wonderful day here in Salatiga.  We woke up early (not as early as Zach, he was up at 4 am wondering if it was time to open presents!) and then connected with family in Thomas, Oklahoma via skype.  The kids opened their presents while Papa & Grandma Jackson watched.  Thank goodness for technology.  Unfortunately even technology is unpredictable.  Our electricity went out during the call, but we were able to reconnect with them later in the morning.  We did finally open the rest of our gifts.  The picture shows our family showing off our new Hesston College t-shirts from Papa & Grandma Selzer.  We are proud supporters of the Larks and always welcome new paraphernalia.

Jeff & I decided to get the kids sarongs, traditional clothing worn in Asian countries.  We went shopping at a Batik store downtown and chose fabric.  From the reactions of those standing around we were probably charged three times the original price.  At some point we will start to make sense of the Indonesian language.  Ibu Ti's husband is a tailor (she is one of our pembantus) and he sewed the fabric into sarongs for us.  Abby & Zach were very excited about the sarongs and have had them on most of the day.  Quin's reaction to the sarong was a little different.  In fact this picture may be the only time he is seen in it!

The rest of our day has been a mix of eating, sleeping and playing, all with Christmas in mind.  We are always mindful of our loved ones at home and you are always in our prayers and in our hearts.  We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!