Sunday, December 29, 2013

Chelsea Moore's Wedding Port Gamble

On Saturday we had the opportunity to witness my teaching partner Don Moore's daughter Chelsea get married in Port Gamble. The venue was classic, a small historic chapel and an elegant reception in a nearby hall. Chelsea's new husband, Allen Slade is from South Africa. The couple met through Bethel Church in Redding, where Chelsea has worked for several years.

Christmas Day

Christmas Day 2013 by Southworth Sailor
Christmas Day 2013, a photo by Southworth Sailor on Flickr.

Christmas Day brought Jack, Sue and Ellen to Southworth for a relaxing day of conversation and good food. Calvin patiently put up with the older generation. I insisted on a ham for dinner as it was our family tradition. Ellen split her time in Southworth and Olympia. We had a short extended Bulthuis get together in Lynden later in the week.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Did I say she was excited to get an iPhone?

Christmas Break 2013 by The Enforcer
Christmas Break 2013, a photo by The Enforcer on Flickr.

Christmas 2013

Christmas 2013 by Southworth Sailor
Christmas 2013, a photo by Southworth Sailor on Flickr.

On Sunday evening, we enjoyed the traditional Christmas Eve clam chowder and gift exchange with the family. Markus and Steph were in Sri Lanka. The girls were excited but patient as we all opened our gifts. A highlight was a surprise iPhone 5s which I gave to Esther. She had no idea and surprisingly was very excited about it. It's hard to imagine that we have held off all these years. It's hard for a Dutchman to shell out that much for a phone.

A dandy dancing holiday start

Our Christmas celebrations this year started with a quick trip to Bellingham as soon as school was dismissed. Ada participated in a ballet performance "We Danced Our Best for Him" at the Mt. Baker theater. She was a dancing donkey and did her daddy proud. The whole performance was very good. The emotion and message gave a great start to our Christmas festivities. It was a short trip to Lynden as we decided to celebrate a gift exchange with Bjorn and Jenny in Southworth as they made their way to Oregon.

Monday, December 09, 2013

Southworth Son Returns

Home in Southworth by Southworth Sailor
Home in Southworth, a photo by Southworth Sailor on Flickr.

The day before Thanksgiving, Calvin returned home from his Asian adventures. After graduating from ICU and working in Tokyo for the summer, he went to India with Sassa to visit the orphanage where she volunteers. After Sassa left to go back to school, Calvin traveled alone around India and Thailand for a month. You can read much more at
http://calvineb.wordpress.com. It is good to have him home after so long. He celebrated his first Thanksgiving in four years. While continuing to do some free lance work by correspondence, he is looking for full time work here. hopefully, he can find something that incorporates interpretation and translation.