Our Merry Christmas Eve Day!

Laura Cate is napping, Alan is wrapping his presents, Cameron is watching a movie and I just got finished  making our breakfast casserole…It is a nice break from spending ALL  morning at Cameron’s pre-school for their Holiday party/program that included the teachers doing a very synchronized dance, the kids dancing and us all playing games.  It was pretty fun. We played lots of races…push the tire around cones and then your parent pulls the tire back with a rope while you are sitting in it.  So, I thought I would give a quick update on what we have been doing.

The kids are finally feeling back to normal, but Alan and I are taking a little longer to recover, so I was not able to do as much this year as I usually do, but I am learning that is ok!  JESUS HAS COME! He has come for me and for you…and his love and salvation is not based on absolutely anything I have done.  It is good and I needed to slow down and really contemplate how amazing that is.  I did not have time or energy with our family being sick to do much shopping, but I am reminded that He is the greatest gift!

We did finally decorate some cookies (in the pictures below) Cameron always enjoys doing that and does a great job helping me roll them out.  Laura Cate was getting the idea of flattening the dough and kept saying “press, press” and then she ate all the dough I would give her.   We also tried to make a gingerbread house, and drank some Glogg (a spiced holiday drink) while we did it, but the house was a kit and it was a little broken and it took several days of us trying to keep it together before we finally gave up…so we enjoyed eating the gingerbread instead!

 

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We just got back from a Christmas Eve celebration with some other young families in our neighborhood. We enjoyed some snacks and reading the Christmas story as well as other fun Christmas books and just being together with all of the kids in their pajamas :)  As soon as we got back we each opened one gift and then the kids went to bed.  We will see how early Cameron wakes up!  Merry Christmas Eve!!

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!

Last night is started to snow!  That rarely happens here and it didn’t stick, but it was so neat to watch as I laid in bed reading Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. What a treat and a wonderful gift in the midst of our sicknesses.  I took both kids to the doctor and our helper came with us…I don’t think I could have managed both of them on the bus and walking a lot. She was such a blessing and we treated her to lunch afterwards.  Cameron has a sore throat and cough, but it is just a virus.  Alan still feels pretty bad and is keeping his distance from the kids :(  Today Laura Cate had a fever and took two naps.  It was so pitiful when I asked her how she felt and all she could say was, “feel bad”.  Yesterday the doctor  said her bites are only mosquito bites and she will be ok.  It has been a week filled with lots of hot chocolate and Christmas movies for us and as Cameron would say, “a good pajama day” as we try to get better.  I will admit it has been kind of fun!  I love having everyone at home and not going anywhere. 

Grandma and Granddad sent us a package (actually 3!) and they arrived right as we returned home from the doctor.  They could not have come at a better time.  Thank you so much!  It warmed our hearts and were so fun to open.  We received really neat Gingerbread shaped and flavored marshmallows…so we had to have some more hot chocolate to try to them….definitely yuuuummy! 

I originally wrote this Thursday afternoon and by evening Laura Cate had a raging fever of 104, so I took her to the Global Doctor' after-hour clinic.  She has swollen tonsils, probably a viral infection. 

Christmas Time!

It took us several days but we finally got our tree up.  Cameron did a great job helping Alan bring in the tree and set it up. Alan graciously did all the lights…We have had these strands of lights for 3 years…which is a pretty long time for where we live, but they do have a mind of their own.  They all blink erratically at different times, but we have grown to love our tree.    

Alan and Cameron putting the tree together…Cameron was so excited to help!  I tried to keep Laura Cate from getting into to too much trouble. 

All of our lights on and the train track around the tree…it was harder than it looks because the train needed a smooth and flat surface, which was hard to manuever around the cords. Cameron mostly wanted the tree up so that we could put the train up.  We ran out of time doing it the first day (last Saturday), so Alan worked on it all Sunday night and finally got it. He did a great job!  It is so fun to watch.

Cameron is demonstrating to Laura Cate how to put an ornament on the tree.  Then he said, “no no, don’t touch, precious”.  She actually doesn’t go near them very often. 

Cameron is pointing out his favorite ornament to Laura Cate…a little snowglobe with his name on it…I just love snowglobes. I am still in awe as an adult and hope Cameron will be too. 

All of the ornaments are finally up!  Cameron is pointing to his snowglobe again :) Cameron did a  fabulous job spreading out the ornaments (although I do think all of his are front and center :) )

Here is our tree all lit up…notice the strands are not in sync…we love it.  It reminds me of how much God loves us despite our weaknesses, failures, and inadequacies.  In Isaiah 62:5 it says, “as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.” 

  

Next up is our Advent Calendar.  It is an amazing calendar that I found in Thailand.  The kids love to pull an animal or person out each day and put it up (each with velcro).  It hangs in our hallway on a door and I love being reminded of it every time I go by. 

Here is precious Laura Cate and the bites on her sweet face.  She loved wearing the Christmas dress. I will try to get a better picture of her dress. 

May all of our fun and anticipation fill us with expectant hearts as we celebrate the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Merry Christmas every day!!

 

Update on Construction

We are all sleeping much better now that the clanking has died down.  We still hear some noise every now and then, but nothing compared to what it was like before, which is really good because Alan all of a sudden got sick and felt like he had the flu, but a dry cough.  He ended up going to the doctor today just in time to be diagnosed with early stages of pneumonia.  I am trying to keep him in bed and the kids away from him, but that is really hard to do.  Cameron has had strange dry splotches on his legs and chest that sting when we put lotion on it, so we stopped that, but they still itch.  He has also had a cough and runny nose for the past several weeks and finally got a fever today.  Laura Cate has strange bites on the right side of her face. So…I think I will take both kids to the doctor tomorrow and hopefully Alan can get some good rest while we are gone.  I am thankful that we can just hop on a bus and get to a doctor that we know and trust in about 30 minutes.  I will update you on how tomorrow goes…hopefully better than today!

Halloween

  I know it is late…again, but here are some cute pictures from Halloween.  We basically have a parents and friends stand in different places in our apartment complex and hand out food to the kids (sometimes they have to sing or dance for it) but it is fun and layed back and the kids have fun dressing up and getting creative. 

Cameron (who was Thomas the Tank Engine for the second year) and his friend, Canyon.

Laura Cate not sure what to do.

Laura Cate’s first time eating a lollipop….she is watching Harrison intently to learn how.

Cameron had to hop for some candy from our friend, Travis.

 

Laura Cate learned quickly that candy was yummy! She just stood next to anyone with a bag and and said, “more please” even with her mouth full! (below)

It’s official…she LOVES lollipops, but not as much as she loves her daddy. 

Construction

It is quite maddening sometimes to live in an apartment, especially one made of all concrete.  We live on the third floor, which usually is great, but on the first floor is a store that opens up outside our complex onto a little street and they are completely gutting and remodeling the store.  For the past 2 weeks, every day from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon, then 2 (sometimes 1:45) to 5:30 p.m. (I know the schedule like clockwork)  then sometimes during the night they are working with hammers, chisels, drills, and if feels like it is inside our apartment! The sound just bounces straight through the concrete and is not absorbed one bit.   I went by one day to check it out and the workers were on break. I mentioned that we could hear it up above and they said it was not loud…I gathered my senses and realized (before I got really mad) and I told them that at the moment it was not loud because they were not working, but in the morning and afternoon it is really loud…they said “yes”.  I guess there is nothing they can say or do to  make it better, so I asked when they would be finished…oh I shouldn’t have asked…”maybe another 10 days!” they said.  I couldn’t believe it, but I am hoping that surely they won’t be drilling and everything the whole rest of the time.  Poor Laura Cate has been waking up early from her nap everyday, which makes for a long afternoon for her and for me.  Today I tried to hold her and walk around trying to find a quite place in the apartment, hoping that she would go back to sleep, but there wasn’t one and she never goes back to sleep. 

I will let you know when they are finished!  We will celebrate with nice long naps :)

Thanksgiving Day and More

As Americans living overseas Thanksgiving is such a fun time to be with other Americans and to give thanks for all that God has done over the past year. Even though Laura Cate had a high fever and Alan had a migraine, we had a wonderful day enjoying God's goodness with friends. Alan and I cooked our first turkey!  We were a little anxious, but it wasn’t that hard and we think it turned out well ?! One couple and their parents visiting decided not to come since she the couple is pregnant and due Sunday.  We missed them, but did not want them to get sick. One other family still came and we were so thankful to be able to spend time with them and for their friendship…they have been here single and went back to the States and got married six years ago and just returned…we are thrilled they are back!

 

Our table before the chaos!

Alan carving the turkey!

 

Our best family photo for the day –I don’t think Laura Cate ate anything except maybe bread (she is going through a picky phase…actually maybe it isn’t a phase) and Cameron mostly ate sweet potato casserole and turkey. Alan and I enjoyed the leftovers!

 

Alan and Cameron with their second annual Pumpkin Pie they made together…so yummy!

The kids actually all played well together…they love trains, even Laura Cate.

I made a "Thanksgiving Tree", thanks to the idea of a friend of a friend and her blog :).  It has been a highlight of our November as each night (well, I procrastinated and actually didn't finish the project until November 19th) we all write one thing we are thankful for on a leaf and stick it on the tree right before the kids go to bed.  Cameron always makes sure we don't forget to stick the leaves on the tree.  I made the tree so that we can use it year after year and collect our leaves of thankfulness.  I hope this stirs in us a heart of thankfulness everyday, not just at Thanksgiving.  Here is our tree (maybe next year we will start earlier and it will be more full :) )

  

I have been meditating on Psalm 100 a lot recently and we have a CD from a group called  Seeds Family Worship (http://www.seedsfamilyworship.net) and it is amazing! They put the Word of God straight to music, so I have found Cameron singing and memorizing Psalm 100 all week.  It was perfect timing to think about these verses "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.  Be thankful to Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations" Psalm 100:4-5. 

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Cameron's Birthday!

I always get so overwhelmed celebrating our childrens' birthdays...overwhelmed by God's grace and mercy for giving us these precious gifts and His faithfulness in the past year.  So, I love to celebrate birthdays and this year was so much thinking about what Cameron enjoys...there are so many things, but this year more than any other he has gotten into LEGOs, so we had a LEGO party, but complete with a LEGO toss (I reminded the kids not to do it at home :) ).  We had so much fun and Alan and I enjoyed making the cake together again as well...thankfully it as not an all-nighter! I can't believe I have a 5 year old...he is such a joy and I love learning more about him and being with him every day.  We are so blessed to be Cameron's parents.

We actually celebrated a little before his birthday because I went to a mom's conference over his birthday weekend that only happens every two years.  It was a tough choice to be gone, but I think it was ok. So, we had a birthday party on Sunday, then Alan went out of town until Wednesday, so we celebrated on Thursday as a family, and I left Friday and then Alan and Cameron celebrated again on Saturday...Cameron was a little confused when I called and sang Happy Birthday to him on Saturday. He said, "Mommy, why are you singing again?"  I think he had a GREAT birthday week!

I can't believe his is 5! Great job blowing out the candles of his chocolate poundcake LEGO cake. When we first brought out his cake he wasn't quite sure what it was :) Supposed to be stacked LEGOs...

Here he is with his new headlamp getting into his new sleeping bag...I think he was VERY excited!

I love this picture how Cameron is allowing Laura Cate to help him get into his new sleeping bag

We went downtown and played outside a little bit and then took a train on our city's first subway line and to his Cameron's favorite restaurant

Here we are on the train!

Poor Cameron

I have not posted in a very long time...and a lot has happened this fall. I will write more soon and give some updates.  The most recent news is that we were riding bikes home from dinner Friday night and Cameron was sitting on the back of Alan's bike on a little seat (like all kids do here) and he got his fee entangled in Alan's wheel...it was quite awful, although I was ahead of them with Laura Cate and didn't actually see it happen.  A friend who has a car took us to see a doctor and nothing is broken, just one ankle scraped up really bad. He can walk, but it hurts a little and because of swelling we want him to stay off of it, so we have to carry him around the house. I will take him to the doctor Monday morning to get an x ray and make sure everything is OK.  He has been so brave and such a trooper.  

We are emotionally and physically exhausted. Please pray for Cameron to be able to rest his feet (extremely hard for an active little boy) and for endurance for me as Alan had to go out of town for some meetings and will not be back until Saturday. 

 

Father’s Day

I had great plans for Alan for Father’s Day, but none of it quite worked out…my last egg broke as I was making brownies, I couldn’t find any bread for breakfast this morning, I couldn’t find the “perfect” gift for Alan, but the Lord was so gracious to remind me of His great love for us as our perfect, gracious Heavenly Father.  At our International Fellowship this morning, we sang a song called “The Goodness of God”.   This is something that I have been praying about for our kids, that they would know and claim, “You are good and what you do is good. Teach me your statutes,” Psalm 119:68.  Today I was reminded that He is good, all the time.  During the day the Lord encouraged me and was good to us with things that could not be bought, or even made to encourage and show our love and respect to Alan.  This evening Cameron said, “Happy Father’s Night!”  and at dinner he prayed and thanked God for some sweet things about Alan.  During dinner, Laura Cate also looked at Alan and said for the first time, “I love you!” in her baby babble.  These were the best Father’s Day gifts I think we could have given.  It turned out to be a precious, priceless day.  Praise God for His goodness!

Here are the lyrics to the song “The Goodness of God”

My God is a giver, an overflowing river
Pouring His lavish love on us
Season after season we give him every reason
To stop, but he never does
Chorus:
oh-oh-oh, the goodness of God
Is flooding my heart with peace
Oh-oh-oh, the goodness of God
Is bringing me to my knees
Verse Two
My God is a Father, who ransoms sons and daughters
Pouring His costly love on us
Greatest treasure given, so we can be forgiven
His Son crushed to make us whole
Repeat Chorus
Bridge
We say... We believe You are good
We believe You are good, You are good.
We believe You are good
We believe You are good, You are good.

Silly Girl

Laura Cate makes us laugh so much, even though she is only 15 months old.  Here are some pictures we thought you might enjoy.  Cameron can make her laugh too!  She was playing with one of Cameron’s hats. 

   

One thing we love to do on the weekends is to enjoy chocolate pancakes, of course for Laura Cate,  eating with your hands is even more fun!

Here Cameron was reading her a book…she LOVES books….maybe it is the difference between boys and girls, but I don’t ever remember Cameron at this age sitting and looking at books. I have a feeling she loves her brother even more though :) 

“To Infinity and Beyond!”

Saturday was a big, fun day for Cameron.  I took Cameron with some friends to see his first movie in a movie theater (and it was also our first 3-D movie).  We got to see Toy Story 3 and it was sooo great!  We both laughed and enjoyed it a lot…oh I love being with my buddy…he makes everything so fun. 

Bunk Beds!!!

I never thought having bunk beds would be so much fun for Cameron.  We  have been planning on getting some for the past six months, but we were buying them from some people that were moving, so we had to wait on them to leave. It was so hard to wait, but Cameron was patient and we finally got them and stained them to match some other furniture.  Cameron and Alan stayed up late Friday night working hard putting them together, so here are the before and after shots.  Now the bunkbeds are not only a really cool place to sleep and snuggle and read books, but they are also used as a fort, treehouse, ship, car, or train.   

 

Here she comes!

Laura Cate is officially walking, almost running, as of April 28th.   She loves it and is on the go all the time.  She is also a climber...climbing onto everything.  She loves to sit in any chair she can find and act like such a big girl.  I just to had to share these pictures. The first was when Laura Cate hopped into Cameron’s seat while watching Alan play baseball….she is such a fan of her daddy! The second was  taken on our balcony. I was surprised Laura when Cate first crawled into the seat (it is a little unstable) but she kept herself amused getting in and out all by herself.  The latter was taken in our hotel room while we were in Hong Kong for our visas…watch out, she is on the move and loving it!  Below is when Cameron was playing “train” with some chairs and of course Laura Cate climbed on board…she loves the red chairs.  They have so much fun together. Praise God for brothers and sisters! 

 

When you've got lemons, make lemonade...

We don't really have a lot of lemons here, but what we do have is TON of rice! So, one day after lots of water was on the floor again and Cameron's clothes were wet because he needed to "wash" his cars, I decided we needed to move outside onto our balcony and make a sandbox. Sand is not a commodity that many people go out and buy and there is not a Home Depot around the corner, so I decided to use rice instead. The next day, I went and bought a big, flat rectangular tupperware bin and the cheapest 10 pound bag of rice I could find...not very hard to do :).....and VOILA! The kids have their very own "sandbox" as we call it and we ALL LOVE IT! For the most part the rice stays in it and one kid can sit in it one at a time. It is so much fun playing with them and watching Laura Cate pour and dig for the first time. I do find random pieces of rice throughout the apartment, but nothing a quick vacuum can't handle!

My Birthday Wish

We bought a used three-wheeled rickshaw (don’t worry it is motorized!) about six months ago, but it took a while for the weather to cooperate and for us to get it going.  Nonetheless, for the birthday (April 19th) all I wanted to do was for Alan to take us for a ride to my favorite local restaurant in our neighborhood.  So, we went as a family to clean it and get air in the tires and an hour hour ready we were ready to ride!  I loved sitting in the back next to Cameron and holding Laura Cate, except Laura Cate REALLY does not like to wear her helmet, so this is a bit of a problem.  It was a wonderful birthday with 3 amazing gifts from the Lord…Alan, Cameron, and Laura Cate!