Christmas in Vietnam

It has been an odd Christmas season for Linda & I. Our house has no Christmas lights, no decoration, no tree, not even the most important part of Christmas, hanging the stockings! We have done virtually no Christmas shopping. We did not throw our annual Christmas party this year. From all appearances we are skipping Christmas this year. We did dig out the Christmas records and CDs, but that is it.

Linda & I are headed off to Vietnam to spend 3 weeks visiting with our daughter Epiphany who is with the UPS Pacific Rim study abroad program. We will be leaving Sunday. (if we can get to the airport, and the planes are flying!) We will be spending the Christmas and New Years holidays in Vietnam with Epiphany. It just didn't make sense to put up the lights and decorations, buy a tree, and do all the regular Christmas stuff when we won't be here.

We will be celebrating Christmas eve with the PacRim group. Christmas morning we will do a small celebration in our hotel room - we are bringing Christmas stockings with us. For the rest of our Christmas celebrations, Epiphany is in charge and is planning a day out in Hanoi.

It has been a bit odd to not be involved much with all the holiday preparations this year. Any Christmas shopping we do will be in SE Asia. We will also be missing our daughter Rachel & her husband Josh's first Christmas in their new house in Portland, something I regret, but one can't be two places at the same time.

Linda & I are certainly looking forward to our vacation, we have not had one in a long time. Merry Christmas to everyone, hope you have a good one. I will try to write from Asia. If not I will update you all upon our return in January!