SNAKE IN THE HOUSE!!!!

About a month ago as we were sitting and enjoying a leisurely Saturday morning, Jeffrey stopped playing the drums for a moment and heard a thud. He followed the sound with his eyes and then exclaimed, "Oh cool. Mom look! Woah that's really cool" I looked over about five feet from where i was sitting at the computer and saw a snake slithering my way. My response differed some from Jeffrey's, "A SNAKE!!!! AHHHHHHH!!!!" I popped up from my chair. Brian came over to check it out. By that time the snake had crawled into the piano books.

There are guards outside our house and one of their responsibilities is to get rid of unwanted creatures in our house. So we called the guard and he came in with snake catching equipment - a long armed gripper and a large water bottle (like the Culligan Man used to deliver). Brian used tongs to move the piano books out of the way and Mr Chiu used the gripper to grab the snake and lower him into the water bottle.
Once captured we were able to identify the snake as a Taiwan Beauty Snake. To our relief and Jeffrey's elation, he is not poisonous.



So now we have a pet snake. THUD.




He eats "pinkies" AKA baby mice.

Thud is about 20 inches long presently. Last week he shed his skin and so he's growing bigger. According to information on line, the Taiwan Beauty Snake is a type of rat snake, a type of constrictor that grows to be 8 to 9 feet long. Watch for bigger pictures in the future.

Sweet 16 Party

For Audrey's 16th birthday, she and her friend Sydney celebrated together with a Hawaiian Luau. Unfortunately it rained and rained that day so the party was held inside by the fireplace (no fire, it wasn't cold) rather than outside by the pool.


Molting Crayfish (the band Brian is playing with) performed at the party and girls had a great time doing karaoke with a live band.

Audrey performed a Doobie Bros song.




Inside in bathing suits and Hawaiian decor, the girls sang, danced, ate, played games and broke open a pinata.


Happy Birthday Audrey and Sydney!!! We love you.

Arrival of Robert Odin

BABY ANNOUNEMENT!!!
Robert Odin Christensen
Born Oct 13, 2011
8lbs 6 oz

2011 Women's Confernece

This free photo slideshow made with Smilebox

Here's our slide show from March 2011 ASIA Women's Conference in Hong Kong. It was a great time. I'm so thankful for all the people who help to put it together and make it happen. I was greatly blessed. The music was written by Jenny Phillips. She allowed us to use the title of her song as the theme for the conference. Live Like You Believe. I'm looking forward to 2012!!

International Christmas Greeting

To all our friends around the world, Merry Christmas. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for every nation, kingdred, tongue and people. No matter the language, the message is the same..... Jesus Christ the Savior of the World was born in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago. It's as important today as it was then. His birth was prophesied by the prophets, it was announced by angels and can be confirmed in our own souls today by the Holy Ghost. May we rejoice again and again and sing praises for the Holy Gift. May the peace, love, joy and hope that this baby brought into the world, continue with us through the new year.

MS Choir - AMIS Festival in Jakata by Ms. Nightingale

Over Easter, I had the pleasure of accompanying eight girls from 6th to 8th grade to participate in the AMIS festival in Jakarta. Ms. Bechdoldt uploaded the music to mydragonnet several weeks before the festival and the girls learned it independently, then rehearsed with Ms. Bechdoldt on Good Friday as well as the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, before we took off. My daughter Rachel and I helped with the section practices - all nine songs were very challenging and the girls did a wonderful job!



The girls enjoyed their homestays with families from Jakarta International School. Rehearsals began at 7:15 am the first two days, and every day we were there, the girls amazed me by their ability to focus, and sing almost all day, with very short breaks. We were also treated to a gamelan performance by 2nd grade students and a Balinese dancing performance. The girls also enjoyed a middle school dance. 78 girls from international schools all over Asia participated in the festival, and the concert was magnificent.



Audrey C earned a special honor by being chosen to sing the only solo in the concert. The audition process was more grueling than American Idol. A line of about 30 singers was slowly whittled down to just two, and then the guest director and the teachers agreed that Audrey would be the soloist. Congratulations, Audrey!



Andrea H summed her experience afterwards: The honor choir was a great experience because I got to make a bunch of friends as well as becoming a better singer.

The AMIS festival was a wonderful, fun challenge for our talented singers, and I’m sure they will never forget it!

Ms C. Nightingale

HKIS Christmas Choir Concert 2009 - from DragonMedia



Five of our children are in this concert! It was a fun evening. Joey is in a suit. Tall, with glasses. He is singing with the young men. He was a special guest allowed to perform with the HS choir when he came back from college. Sarah is in one of the black dresses with the colored stripe across the chest. She designed these dresses, took the measurements of all the girls and picked out the material with the help of a tailor. The tailor is in Shenzhen, China. Sarah directed the tailor's work. Audrey is in the white shirt and black pants middle school choir. She has an orange scarf around her neck. Rebecca and Jeffrey are both in the primary choir. Jeffrey and Becky are wearing the pretty chinese tops with white pants. It's nearly an hour long and very much a school concert but it's a precious memory for us with so many of our children performing together.