On Christmas day, after opening our gift to each other we grabbed a couple of passengers and headed about an hour south of KL to Seremban where our Branch President, Tennyson Renner, his wife, Anne, and their kids, Tennyson, Garrett, Ethan, Janella, Zach and Jezreel live. They also have a little dog named Julie and a pet spitting cobra named Sprinkles. They have a nice house which Anne has made into a beautiful home. I think that they knew we'd be feeling a little melancholy being away from our family for the holidays and graciously allowed us to share their family with them.
The Renners had also invited a bunch of other folks, most of whom were away from their homes for the holidays. Paul "Trip" Baker and his wife Kim (Kim is the daughter of my friend and fellow counselor in the branch presidency, Graham Doxey, who was back home in Utah for the holidays. Also present were fellow expats Steve Smith and Rita Miller, Daniel Olayemi from Nigeria, Eric Acheampong from Ghana (I think) and Joyce Goh, and Tina Lee from KL.
The Renners had prepared a great feast for us and we helped with some of Tobi's broccoli and cauliflower salad (which is now famous on two continents), a turkey, and two apple pies lovingly handmade by Scott. There was no lack of food and it was all delicious. We particularly love Anne Renner's Philippine pasta salad. I think we may have come home with more food than we brought.
After dinner, although we could all feel a post-feast coma coming on, we forestalled the effects by playing a few rounds of "Werewolf," a game introduced to us by the Bakers and which we love to play whenever we all get together. (Our dear readers should find this game and get it. It's great for big groups.) I got a kick out of little Zach Renner. He's about 4 and always seems to have a toy gun in hand; sometimes two. Once I caught sight of him running up the stairs with a gun in each hand and a sword stuck down the back of his shirt. You never know when the bad guys might come. (I just know that he and my grandson, Jace (also 4) would be best buddies.
Too soon, it was time to head back up the road to the big city. We thank all those who were present for helping to make this a very memorable Christmas, and special thanks to the Renners who have become very close friends. Thanks for a wonderful day.
Scott and Tobi
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