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 :)