Merry Christmas!

by Amy

I hope you had a great Christmas this year as you reflected on the perfect, precious gift that was given to us 2000 years ago! We had a wonderful Christmas this year. On Wednesday night, we had about 20 friends over. We had fun sharing the story with those who had never heard it before as well introducing them to traditional American Christmas cookies. They weren't too sure about the colored icing on the sugar cookies, though.... We also had lots of fun doing a gift exchange and playing some games together. Then, on Christmas Eve morning, we were invited to attend a special gathering of about 700 local, like-minded friends as they celebrated our Savior's birth! It was such a precious thing to get to be apart of - It gave us a glimpse of heaven when those of every tongue, tribe and nation will worship before the King! What a blessing!

Later on Christmas Eve, we each decorated our own heart-shaped birthday cake for Jesus. After dinner and finishing our wonderful advent book, we sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed some delightful chocolate cake! Here are each of the kids displaying their hearts. You gotta love the "V" for victory, my boys are giving ya! That's what all the locals do in every picture they take!

We had quite a bit of batter left over, so we made and decorated some cup cakes too! Mmmm!

On Christmas morning, after eating blueberry muffins for breakfast, we packed up about 50 bags of Christmas cookies and little booklets and hit the streets. We had fun wishing the people we see everyday a merry Christmas. We visited the management office of our apartment complex, the apartment cleaning people and security guards. We also went to the newspaper stands, vegetable market, and flower store. We also went by Savannah's school and took a special gift to her principal and teachers. That afternoon we returned home to do a video call with Brad's mom, and let her watch the kids open some gifts.

This year, our kids Christmas gifts had 2 themes. Leapster and Legos! My boys are so into legos! So, this Christmas I think they each received four sets. And, Savannah really enjoys the Leapster that my parents gave her for her birthday last summer. But she only had 2 games. So, while we were in the States, Brad and I bought several more cartridges to give to her. They also got some fun books, Adventures in Odyssey CDs, markers, a digital camera (for Savannah) and color wonder stuff.

While the gifts were quite abundant, they serve to remind us that "every good and perfect gift comes down from our Father above." And that 2000 years ago the best gift of all was given! This holiday season, may you know the rest and peace that He can provide! Merry Christmas!

Fun in the Snow!

by Amy

Last month it snowed! It was so fun! So, I took the kids down to play on the first afternoon. It was COLD!! And, since snow is pretty rare here, we don't have good snow gear. Our feet and hands were freezing, but not too cold to have a good snowball fight!

After about 10 minutes, Peter and Alex were done! They were frozen through and through! But, not my Savannah girl! She wanted to build a snowman. So, she and I found some untouched snow off the beaten path in our apartment complex, and went to work. Did you know that if you roll a snow ball, it really gets bigger - just like in "Charlie Brown Christmas!" (Being a Texas girl myself, I just assumed that couldn't really work - but it does!)

Our city handles snow about as well as Houston does. Everyone here is clueless! My friend actually saw city trucks out spraying water on the roads to help the snow melt..... Needless to say, we had several fun-filled days INside! Even though this snow was a result of the government's cloud seeding efforts, I'd love to see it again! It was great fun!

Christmas Fun Day #2

by Amy

Well, after having so much fun making and decorating a large gingerbread house last year, we decided to do it again! But, instead of making one big house, we made three small houses -- like a gingerbread village! My dad mailed me a cookie mold, so I could use it to make my sides and roof. It was much easier than cutting out my own pieces that I measured. And, since they were smaller, they were much easier to put together. (It also helped that Brad, my engineer husband was home this time around, and took over during the construction/building phase.)

Making gingerbread houses is quite a project! I'll give you the day-by-day:

Saturday:

I took the kids to the grocery store to pick out the all-important decorating candy! They made choices based on color, size, and of course, taste! I think we ended up buying a little too much, but I doubt we'll have any problem getting leftovers taken care of!

Monday:

I made dough that night after the kids went to bed. That's more difficult here than it would be if we lived in America. I looked all over the Internet for a recipe that didn't use molasses. I couldn't find one, so then I searched for molasses substitutes that I have available here. After reading a few things, I ended up coming up with a recipe that and adaptions that I thought would work. So, I put my dough together and let it rest 24 hours in the frig.

Tuesday:

Tuesday night I baked the houses. I used the mold to make the sides and roof. Although it was easier than last year, I still had 6 of each piece to make (side, end, roof) and 3 chimneys. It ended up taking a couple of hours to get it all cut out, then in and out of the oven.

Wednesday:

We put together the houses. After making an edible royal icing (again thanks to my dad for mailing me meringue powder), I tried to make the houses stand up by "gluing" the four sides together. I let them dry for an hour, and attempted the roof. It was at that time (as my sides were coming apart and my roof was crooked) that my wonderful husband walked into the kitchen and offered to take over! No prob!

Thursday:

On Thursday morning, my kids ran into the kitchen to find:

They were super excited! So, on Thursday afternoon, (after they had attended their local schools that morning) the decorating began!

It was fun to see them each come up with their own patterns, and to hear why they chose certain candy over others. Alex's goal was to get as much candy on there as possible. Savannah's goal was to use use the icing in a bag with a decorators tip on it. While Peter just wanted to do his own thing. He didn't want suggestions, but he was glad to receive help in making his candy stick well.

After several hours of work, here are the final results:

Savannah:

Alex:

Peter:

When everyone was done adding candy, Savannah took the last of the icing and upon request, she added lots of extra details to the houses. She made "smoke" come out of the chemmnies, put borders on the roofs, added stars on top of the candy.

It was a lot of work, but it was tons of fun! I think we'll do it again next year! :)

Sam I Am

by Amy

Since I'm done with Teach Your Child How to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, I've been doing "reading class" with the boys. Basically, I'm using readers (easy to read books) to review and teach phonics rules. When I was using the 100 Easy Lessons I taught the boys individually. But, now that we're just using normal books, I'm teaching them together. Recently I told them that if they could each successfully read Green Eggs and Ham that we'd eat green eggs and ham for dinner. They were super motivated to work hard! [side note: real ham is a rarity around here, but since it's the holidays, we can order a whole ham from our import store. So, right now, we have ham in our home. -- it's delightful!]

Do those look like happy, smart boys are what!?!?

Our dinner consisted of green scrambled eggs with diced ham, chocolate milk, and cinnamon rolls with green icing. Mmmm! It was yummy! There were definitely smiles all around! Way to go Alex and Peter! Next I'm going to have them read something about chocolate!

Christmas Fun Days

by Amy

This is such a fun time of year! There are cookies to bake, crafts to put together, and memories to make! So, I've decided that once a week - usually on Thursday, we're skipping school (home school, that is) and having a Christmas Fun Day! Last week was my first one. After lunch, the kids and I made sugar cookie dough. (Making cookies is so fun and easy with Savannah's help! She sat at the table with Alex and measured all the dry ingredients--letting him pour--while I took Peter into the kitchen with me to cream the butter and mix the wet ingredients in the mixer. It was super fast!) While our dough rested in the frig for a couple of hours, I gave the kids their own foam kit. Savannah put together and decorated a snowman while Peter and Alex each made a Christmas train. These kits were complete with pre-cut pieces, rhinestones, and glitter glue! (I'd post pictures, but blogger is wiggin' out on me right now!) They're pretty cute. :)

After making our craft and enjoying a delightful cup of hot chocolate, we rolled out the dough and used cookie cutters to make all kinds of fun Christmas shape cookies. I remember doing this last year with my kids and it was a lot of work! They couldn't roll the dough; they would often place the cookie cutters too close together (overlapping) or too far apart. Then, when they tried to transfer the cut-out dough to the cookie sheet for baking, it got quite deformed. That was all OK because it was fun -- to them! This year was SOOOO different. OK, so the boys quickly grew tired of cutting out the cookies, and went to go play, but Savannah stuck it out. We had a two sheet system down. In the 8 minutes it took for cookie sheet of cookies to bake, she could roll out the dough, cut the cookies and place them on the second cookie sheet. She was super fast! We had fun working together!

As I watched Savannah open the oven and put cookie sheets in and take them out, I was amazed.... What happened to my baby? It seems like just yesterday she was learning to walk. Now, she's running around my kitchen, reading recipes and wearing an oven mitt! My the time flies!

Texas: Seeing it again for the first time

by Amy

I've only lived overseas for the last 2.5 years. That's not THAT long. I didn't expect to find many surprises when we headed back to the US. But there were several things that were shocking.

1. The sky is blue. Houston in one of America's most polluted cities (I just read it's #6 - after 5 California cities - in Ozone Ratings -- whatever that means exactly.) But you sure couldn't tell. The sky was amazingly blue. You know Crayola has a color "sky blue." It's really that color! Absolutely breath-taking. (The city I live in is rated one of the world's top 12 most polluted cities. The sky's never blue-blue. Occasionally, it's clear and light blue, though.)

2. Houston traffic isn't all it's cracked up to be.... Granted the freeway (I-10) that runs between my parent's house and my mother-in-law's house has been under construction for the last 10 or 15 years and now it's finished. So, obviously the lack of construction helps things flow faster than I remembered, but still.... The Houston traffic is NOTHING compared to what we're used to here! One day, when Sue was driving Savannah, Savannah said, "Grandma, where are all the cars? It seems like we're the only ones on this road." And, my boys are convinced that Papa has the fastest car in the world. He has open roads on which he can drive 70mph. My kids have only been that fast in on a train.

3. There's something to be said for lots of employees. Here, every aisle in the grocery store has at least one or two employees standing around, waiting to help you or show you how the products work. In the past I've found it annoying. There are enough people in the store without 100+ employees clogging up the aisles. But, while I was in Texas, I cannot tell you how many times I wandered around a store looking for someone to help me. It was tragic, too, because I would have been able to understand their answer. (That's some times a little tricky here!)

4. Pedestrians have the right of way. I forgot that. One day I was driving in front of an HEB and a guy was walking out of the store. After spending 2.5 years sitting in a taxi - driven by aggressive, really aggressive, drivers, I forgot that I should be polite and stop so he could walk in front of me and go to his car. As I zoomed past him, he yelled, "Yeah, thanks!" through my open window. Whoops.

5. People come in all shapes and colors. We live in a place where the majority of people, men included, don't weigh over 120lbs. Typically they're short and skinny here. (Except for grandmas....I'm not sure what happens when they hit 60....) And, there's NO variety in race. 99.5% of all the people in our city look the same. That's why we stand out everywhere we go. It is NOT that way in Houston. It was so cool! You had people from Asia, India, South America, Africa and everywhere! Houston has a minority majority. That means that more than 50% of the people are not "white" (According to the 2000 census). To be honest, my kids were a little confused by that. All of the Americans we know here are white (except for newly adopted Makaria). So, our first few days there, they kept pointing out people and asking if they're American too.

6. Two for $20 - Chili's - SHOCKING! Delightful! Yes, I ate a Chili's 4 times in a month.

7. Pappacitos - 2 for 1 Fajitas -- even MORE SHOCKING!! Yeah, I ate there a few times too. Peter kept asking if he could go back to that "chip restaurant. You know - the place where I ate 3 and a half baskets of chips...." Whoops! I guess I was talking a little too much to pay attention to what my kids were doing!

Well, my husband is ready to turn in for the night, so I must sign off. I'll post some pics and share some more "fun in America" next time.

Brain Freeze

by Amy

One time, probably about a year and a half ago, my kids spent the night at Uncle John and Aunt Rachel's house. After dinner, while enjoying some ice cream, Uncle John introduced my kids to the concept of "Brain Freeze." (You know.... you eat too big of a bite of something cold and your head hurts....) I'm not exactly sure what crazy things Uncle John was doing and saying, but it made a lasting impression on my kids.

Fast forward to today....

Since Peter and Alex are finished with their 100 Easy Reading Lessons, we've been having "Reading Class." In reading class, we just read an easy book together. But, before we read, I review (or teach) some words/sounds they'll come across. Today, we were going over the "ai" sound. So, I wrote several words on the board and had them take turns reading them. Alex - nail. Peter - pain. Alex - train. So far, so good.... Then, I asked Peter to read "brain." He sounded it out, and pronounced in correctly, but slowly. I wasn't sure he knew what he had said, so I asked, "Peter, do you have one of those?" "Uh...no?" he responded. "Sound out again," I said. "See if you can figure out what that is." "br-ai-n...brain... Oh, I know. It's that thing that hurts when Uncle John eats his ice cream too fast!"

Clearly, I need to start teaching a basic science class!

Savannah Read 1000 Pages

... over three months ago!

by Amy

Yes, she met her reading goal in AUGUST!! When I set that goal for Savannah, back in early June, I was sure it would take her unitl mid-September to read that many pages. As you may remember from a previous post, my friend Rachel, made a rock path that lead to something under the rainbow [paper]. For every 5 pages Savannah read, she got to color a rock. Every 200 pages she got to look under a bolder, tree, or bush next to the path to undcover a princess. She also got a small prize. (A new book, a date with me or Brad, etc.) I thought the rock path would help Savannah be motivated to read on her own. I had no idea that it would work so well! She ended up reading 1000 pages in about 2.5 months. That rocks - no pun intended!

So, since I expected Savannah to take so long, Brad and I decided we'd use this reading goal to tell Savannah (and the boys) about an upcoming trip we had planned to take in October. Giving 2 or 3 weeks notice before our trip would be plenty of advanced notice. And, we wouldn't be asked multiple times a day when we're leaving. So, where did the path lead? To a castle that stated...

"We're going to America!" The "windows" of the castle had pictures of people we'd be seeing. Grandma, Papa and Nana, as well as the Kimbell kiddos. My kids were absolutely in shock!! They were so excited!! And, yes, for the following 7+ weeks we were asked repetedly when we'd be leaving. But the anticipation was fun. To be honest, I don't think I could have waited until mid-September to tell them.

I'm sure most of our blog readers knew we went to the States, but just in case you didn't.... we spent the month of October in Texas. My mom's Alzheimer's has been progressing pretty rapidly. She and my dad came out here to visit us a year and a half ago, but my dad didn't feel like she could make that trip again. She gets really confussed when she's away from the familiar. So, my dad used his air miles to fly our whole family back for free! And, since the purpose of this trip was to see our family, we didn't publicize it. We also decided that the time was too short to take a trip to Colorado and/or Kentucky, even though we so long to see our dear friends in both places.

So, now the cat's out of the bag. Now you know the real reason I didn't blog for over 6 weeks. Our time in the States was great. We had so much fun with family and friends! We have some fun pics that I'll be sure to share in the next few posts.

Happy Thanksgiving!

by Amy

Happy Thanksgiving! Today I made a list of what the kids said they were thankful for:

Peter:
Aunt Becky and Uncle Kevin (I think Becky is Peter's first crush. It's pretty cute!)
Papa, Nana and Grandma
Mom and Dad
snuggle time
home school
toys
snow
Heaven

Alex:
forgiveness
friends
Christopher Columbus (can you tell who we're studying in history class?)
memorizing the Bible
fun times
our family
movies
that God helps him to read
legos
the Vaughns
Jesus is coming back!
Fundazzel
our home

Savannah:
God
friends
family, including grandparents and aunts and uncles
snuggles
Jesus' peace when we're afraid
Pilgrims and Squanto (we've talked about them a lot too in home school!)
home school,
toys and slides
Heaven
thankful hearts

The Lord is faithful and worth to be praised! Happy Thanksgiving!

Alex's Big Decision...

by Amy

This last Friday night, our friends John and Rachel came over for dinner, three precious girls in tow. With that many people at our house, (6 kids and 5 adults - including another friend) we usually have the kids sit at the school table in Savannah's room when it's time to eat. So, I went in to Savannah's room to clear the tables and see a distressed Alex. So, I quickly ask what's going on. This is our conversation:

Me: Alex, are you OK?

Alex: Yes, it's just that three people want to marry me.

Me: (smile) Really? Who are the three people?

Alex: Rachel (Kimbell) Clara (at our house that night) and Emma (Clara's best friend.) It's such a big decision, Mom, I don't know who to pick.

Me: Well, it's OK honey, you have a long time to make that decision....

Peter pipes up from the other side of the room: Yeah, you have like 15 years!

Me: Hopefully more than that!

I'm Back....

by Amy

Sorry.... I get on these blogging kicks. I sit down and upload a ton of pics and write post after post and schedule them to appear every four days or so. Then, I stop. Posts are posting, but I'm not doing any work... Then, they stop. Sometimes, I pick up and do it all over again, and sometimes I don't. Sometimes I so swept up in life I just can't seem to find the time to email, much less blog. So, sorry. Yes, the date on the post before this one is Oct. 8. That's a good 6+weeks ago! Hopefully you Morello Madness readers use Google Reader, so you haven't been clicking on my blog for the last six weeks, staring at the same title.

The only purpose of this post is to say, I'm back! I'm going to start uploading pics and writing posts again - maybe even tonight! So, stay tuned.... the last 6 weeks have been full of fun and adventure!

A Deeper Appreciation....

by Amy

The older I get - and the older my kids get - the more I appreciate my mom. Being a mom is a wonderful job - probably the best one there is! But, it's definitely not the easiest job around. And, as I fight a selfish, complaining attitude that occasionally creeps into my heart, I think of my mom and her example. Now that I'm a mom myself, I realize that my mom probably didn't actually enjoy pooper-scooping the yard. But, I can honestly say, that I never once heard her complain about it. Can my kids say the same thing? Did they ever hear me complain about cleaning up after the bunnies? I also realize that it was probably difficult for her when my dad went out of town, but again, I never heard a complaint. And, we often did extra fun things - like play games, go out to dinner, stay up late, or have a slumber party - when he was gone.

One of the things I remember my mom saying to me when I was in college and she looked back on our "growing up years" was that she wished she had played with me and my brother more. In her opinion, my dad was fun and she was always busy. I can honestly say that is not how I remember things. But, I often think of that in relation to my own kids. Do I take the time to play with them? Do we do fun things together? Do they know that I enjoy being with them? Or, am I too busy cleaning up, cooking or doing my own thing that I don't cherish the time I have with them?

I praise the Lord for the great example my mom was to me. She was hard-working, supportive of my dad, loving, gentle, quick to speak an encouraging word, ready to listen, tender-hearted, and so much more. Watching her battle Alzheimer's now breaks my heart - even thousands of miles away.

Good For Nothing

by Amy

If you remember back in March, we had two bunnies, named Rosie and Daisy. Daisy was sweet and cuddly. Rosie was squirmy and naughty.... Well, Daisy died about 3 months ago. Savannah was heart broken. I was not. Having two bunnies is not like having twin boys.... (When the boys were little, I often commented that having twins took more time, but not twice as much time.) It is not so with rabbits. Instead of just having twice the mess to clean up - it was like having 4 times the mess! So, I'll confess right now, I'm a bad mom -- I was not sad to see Daisy go. Although, I was sad to see my daughter so upset. And, if I had to chose one to die, it would have been Rosie, not Daisy.

Well, for the last few months, we've had Rosie. Rabbits typically are very fragile (which is why we've been through so many!) You need to watch what they eat, how far they jump down, etc. That was not the case with Rosie. She would jump off Brad's shoulders while he was standing up and be just fine. She would eat all the crumbs under the table, and not have any issues. She was also very stubborn! She could jump up on to my kitchen table!! I HATED that! I didn't want dirty bunny feet on my kitchen table!! (PTL for Clorox wipes - hard to find and expensive over here but worth it when a rabbit is hopping on the table!) We had a spay bottle that we'd spray her with when she got up there. She didn't like the water, but she'd keep coming back. Then, Brad resorted to "baptizing" her. He'd dunk her under the running water, then throw her back in her cage. When that failed, he began putting her "in jail." Bunny jail is a plastic trash can with small holes on the side and a weight on top so she can't get out. She didn't like it, but she continued to jump on my table.

One day Brad said, "I finally get it! My dad used to always say my pet cat was 'good for nothing'. Now I understand what he means - This bunny is Good For Nothing!"

Well, I'm not sad to report that not too long ago, Rosie died. We have no idea what happened to her. Brad had moved her to a bigger cage and she got stuck between the slats a few times, so maybe she got injured. We're not sure, but I will say, Brad and I weren't too heart broken. Savannah again was pretty upset, but also expressed a thankfulness that she got to live with us for so long (6 months).

So, there's a good chance that the bunny phase of our life is over.... Next spring when they're being sold all over the streets, we'll see if we have that same resolve!

A Rockin' Coffee Cake

by Amy

Since I got so many comments on the last cake recipe I posted, I thought I'd post another one for your dining enjoyment.

This cake recipe is also from The Cake Mix Doctor. She calls it Kathy's Cinnamon Breakfast Cake. It's Brad's favorite breakfast! We have it every year for his birthday breakfast. It's really yummy! But, since it's large and our whole family can't (or shouldn't) eat it all in one sitting, I often cut the recipe in half. I'll give you measurements for the full and my "half" version, which isn't always exactly half.

full (half)

filling:

1/3 (1/4) cup brown sugar
2 (1+) teaspoon ground cinnamon

cake batter:

1 box of yellow cake mix (1 1/2 cups of mix, not packed)

1 small box vanilla pudding mix (1/3 cup mix)

3/4 cup veggie oil (6 Tablespoons)

3/4 cup water (6 Tablespoons)

4 eggs (2)

1 teaspoon vanilla (1/2 teaspoon)

Glaze:

1 cup powder sugar

2 Tables milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Select a pan and grease it. The Cake Mix Doctor recommends you use a bundt pan, but since I don't have one here, I always bake it in my 9x13. If I make half the recipe, I use a round 9in pan.

2.Then, in a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Then, set aside.

3. Place the ingredients for the batter in a bowl and mix thoroughly, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

4. Pour half the batter in the prepared pan. You want to err on the side of pouring less than half in the pan instead of more than half. The batter will be really thick.

5. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture on the top of the batter.

6. Cover the cinnamon sugar with the rest of the batter. Since the batter is so thick, you'll have to carefully pour it evenly since you won't be able to spread it without messing up the cinnamon sugar.

7. Bake it until it's done! :) If you use a bundt pan, the she says it will take about 58-60 minutes. When I bake it in a 9x13 it usually takes 30-35 (or more) minutes. The 9in cake pan usually is about the same.

8. While the cake is baking make the glaze. Make as much or as little as you like. I typically make a full recipe of glaze when I bake half a recipe. You can pour the glaze on the cake before you serve it, or you can serve it on the side and let people individually ice their own pieces. (That's what we do, so we need more glaze than the recipe requires.)

9. Serve it warm and enjoy!!

** Free Tip: If you're using this as a birthday breakfast, don't put candles into a warm cake unless you want them to melt through the cake....

Too Funny to Pass Up

by Amy

OK, this came from my friend's blog. I thought it was so funny that I had to post it on mine too. (I hope you don't mind, Carrie!) Sorry, if you follow both of our blogs!





She also lives overseas and this is the type of bacon she found in her local grocery store. She writes:

"Nobody, I mean nobody can resist the treasure of 'Elaborate Bacon: Piece in Heart. Fragrance in mouth.'

"The description reads: 'Western New Technicr Offer Everyone High-Quality Nutritive.'"

Oh, that's too fun!

School Update

by Amy

Well, Savannah has now completed her second week of local first grade. And, PTL, it's still going really well. Her teacher agreed to allow her to attend the classes we wanted her to attend, so that was a huge blessing. Here's her basic schedule:

Monday - 7:50-11:15 (language, math, language, PE)
Tuesday - 7:50-8:50 (language)
Wednesday - 8:50-11:15 (language, health, language)
Thursday - 8:50-11:15 (language, English, PE)
Friday - 8:50-11:15 (language, music, art)

(All the other kids go to school everyday from 7:50 to 11:15 and from 1:10 to 3:10.)

Everyday she goes to the same classroom. It's located on the first floor of a five story, U-shaped building and the classroom door opens to the courtyard. She had a different teacher for most of her classes, but she doesn't change rooms - the teachers do. Since she is taller than most of her classmates, she was assigned a seat towards the back of the room. Her classroom has four rows of nine desks. Two students sit at each desk. They sit on a stool - with no back - OUCH! She shares a desk with a boy that likes to lay his head on her and draw on her side of the table. So far, she's handled that OK. We've tried to remind her that all kids are sinners and there's a good chance that would happen if she attended a school in the States. Her new best friend sits next to her on the other side. They enjoy holding hands as they walk together. It's cute!

Savannah usually gets home from school about 11:30 or 11:40ish. We eat lunch around noon and she starts homeschooling about 12:30 or 1:00. I've been really proud of how hard Savannah has worked. I can tell she's making an effort to be diligent and to do her best. I know it's hard to be in school ALL day long, but I haven't heard her complain a bit. In several subjects, I've given Savannah freedom to decide when she finishes her lesson, and it's been fun to watch her manage that. For example, I'll tell her that I need her to complete these five handwriting pages by Friday. She has been really motivated to work hard at the beginning of the week so she can have an easier end of the week. (That's totally what I would have done too!) Actually, Savannah did school until 5:30 on Thursday night so she could have Friday afternoon off. I took her to Mc Donalds for lunch, then we went shopping together. It was really fun!

I have to say, I am so proud of my daughter! She is a hard worker, loving, brave, understanding, and encouraging. It is exciting to see the Lord faithfully develop godly character in her. I praise Him for the joy that she daily brings us!

Summer Fun

by Amy

Some summer fun pics for your viewing enjoyment.....

Flashback to Savannah's 7th Birthday

by Amy

Since we were in Hong Kong for Savannh's birthday, we celebrated her twice this year! While we were in Hong Kong, she started her day off with a Sarah Lee Double Chocolate Pound Cake. It seemed pretty breakfasty and fun! :) Then Anna and Rachel called all the way from Kentucky! They had a great time talking to each other. Then, we went to Toys R Us to spend some money that Grandma had given each of the kids for their summer birthdays. Savannah picked a snorkel, mask, and fins set as well as a cute stuffed bunny. Then after eating lunch at Burger King (Savannah's favorite!), we went back to our flat for naps. While the boys slept we gave Savannah the one present we had brought with us - a princess game her her new leapster (that Papa and Nana sent.) So, she played games while her brothers slept. That evening we went out for some yummy Italian food.

Then a couple of weeks after we got home from HK, we chose a day to celebrate Savannah again! This time she got to open gifts and eat cake! We had issues designing her cake this year. Savannah really wanted an Ariel cake, but as I looked for ideas online, they all seemed impossible with my limited resources here. (I can collect a few things and make it happen next year, though!) So, after we ruled that out, Savannah came up with the idea for a triple layer cake Peppermint Chocolate cake. It was really yummy! The top layer was heart shaped, the middle layer was oval shaped while the bottom layer was a normal 9in. round cake. Between layers was a peppermint butter cream icing. But, since I had some leftover, I also sliced the top two cakes in the middle horizontally (the heart and oval ones) and put some icing in them. It took quite a few hours to put together, but she loved it! And, it was REALLY yummy, if I do say so myself!

And, when you're seven years old, you're old enough to light your own candles!

Savannah got several fun presents including a paint-it-yourself porcelain tea set from me and Brad, make-up from grandma, and a fun book of interview questions from Aunt Mel. But, I think her favorite gift was roller blades. Savannah's been asking for them for months! And, believe it or not, she does OK on them. It so brings back memories.... I used to love to roller blade!

I cannot believe my precious little girl is really seven years old! Oh my, where has the time gone? It has flown by. It seems like it was just yesterday she was taking her first steps and now she's riding her bike (without training wheels) and roller blading. Craziness! We praise the Lord for Savannah and are so thankful for the godly character we see the Lord developing in her. Savannah is thoughtful, hard working, considerate of others, honest and down right beautiful inside and out. What a priceless gift from the Lord she is. May He give her many, many more years serving and loving Him.

Flashback to Hong Kong

By Amy


So I know I already posted a little bit about our trip to Hong Kong, but as I was looking through our summer pictures, I found some cute ones that I couldn't pass up posting.



We had some friends take us out to a beach. It was perfect! There were hardly any people there; there was a Subway sandwiches nearby; and it had a play area on the sand. What more could you want?





During our 12 days in Hong Kong, I think we hit this beach three times. The kids had a blast!


Then, as I mentioned before, we also hit Disneyland. Here are a few pics....

Look at that amazing blue sky! It actually seemed fake. Where we live, the sky NEVER looks like that! So, we couldn't resist taking a picture. Beautiful!

As I'm sure you know, Hong Kong has a beautiful skyline. I think I read it's one of the most famous in the world. So, there's a place called The Peak that you can go to and have a beautiful view of the harbor and downtown HK. To get there, you can either drive yourself, take a busride for about 25+ minutes up winding mountain roads, or you can take the Tram. It takes you to the top in 6 minutes! You go almost straight up. Needless to say, my kids were super excited to take the tram.

We invited our friends to head up there and eat dinner with us. They had a daughter Savannah's age and a son Alex and Peter's age. Needless to say, fun times were had by all!

First Grade

**WARNING ** Really long, and probably pretty boring to most! **WARNING**

by Amy

She did it!! Yesterday was Savannah's first day attending classes at a local first grade! She did great!! When I picked her up for lunch, she was glowing! She seemed so happy! My social little girl finally has an outlet ~ with kids her own age! (At the preschool, she was the oldest. The other kids are Peter and Alex's age or younger.) I am so proud of her, I can hardly stand it!

Monday we had an orientation. So, she got to meet her classmates and teachers. (Brad and I were also there so we got to meet other parents and her teachers as well.) So when Brad dropped her off yesterday morning, Savannah knew right where to go and what to do. She said she felt a little nervous, but was also really excited. She had already made five friends at the orientation and was excited to see them again.

Schools here dismiss students for 2 hours for lunch each day. So, parents have two options. 1. They can either pick their kid up (or send a grandma to do get them), and take them home for lunch. Or. 2. They can hire a lady to come to the school, pick up their kid, with a few others, take them back to their nearby home, feed them lunch, help them with homework or let them nap, then bring them back to school. Most of the women doing this job are grandma-types, but some are younger too.

My plan for the first day of school, was to pick Savannah up for lunch and take her (and Peter and Alex) out for KFC. So, that's exactly what we did! (I also brought along some mint chocolate cookies for the occasion!) On our way to KFC, Savannah mentioned that she got all of her books except for her English book. We need to buy that one ourselves. So, I asked if she liked her English teacher. She quickly replied with, "I was the teacher, Mommy!" Her English teacher called Savannah up to the front of the class and asked her to say certain things and all of the students would repeat after her. She loved it!

Later she told me that the teacher said they only needed four books for school tomorrow, but she wasn't sure which four she needed. I told her that I was sure her teacher or a classmate would be glad to help her after lunch. But, when I picked her up yesterday afternoon and asked about the books, she said she just decided to bring them all back! -- No problem! That's probably what I would have done too!

Today and yesterday (Tuesday and Wednesday) we sent Savannah to school all day, just like the other kids. We wanted her to get a feel for what happened in the mornings and the afternoons. We also wanted her to be there when books were passed out or other important "School-Just-Started" things happened. But, normally, Savannah will only attend school part-time and home school part-time. I was hoping to send Savannah to school each afternoon, so I could continue homeschooling in the morning. (Mornings are her best time!) But, they only have 2 class periods in the afternoon (1:10-3:10) and one of them is a homeroom/study hall type class. So, we decided that probably would not be the best time to send her. Leigh (my house helper) and I have a meeting scheduled with the teacher this afternoon. I plan on letting her know what classes Savannah will attend and when.

One other interesting (and slightly annoying) thing about schools here is that no two days are alike. For example on Monday morning her four classes are 1. local language, 2, math, 3. local language. 4. PE. But Tuesday morning, her four classes are: 1. local language, 2. math. 3. English, 4. social studies. Wednesday she has 1. Math 2. local language, 3. music, 4. local language. Thursday and Friday are different too, with a local language class in the morning and in the afternoon. It's crazy!! So, since local language class is the most important class for her to attend (in our opinion), this will be her daily schedule:

Monday 7:50-11:10 - she'll attend all four classes
Tuesday 7:50-8:30 - she'll only attend local language class
Wednesday - Friday 8:30-11:10 - she'll attend three classes, skipping the math class each day (since I cover that in home schooling.) She'll also skip the two local language classes in the afternoon.

We asked Savannah if she wanted to go all morning on Tuesday or only attend local language class, and she said she really wants a long time to home school, so she'd prefer to only go for one class that day. I was glad! Hopefully we can get her teacher to agree!

I have spend months and months praying about Savannah's school situation, and I am so thankful for how all of the details have worked out thus far. The One in charge has taken good care of us! Last night as we prayed with Savannah we asked her what she was thankful for - "She said, I have 8 friends now!" She was also thankful she was able to understand most of what was going on in class. What sweet blessings in deed! I realize there may be some hard things coming, but for now I too am so thankful!

Wow - you did it! You made it to the end of a REALLY long post! Thanks for allowing this mother's heart to process and share!

Facebook

By Amy

OK, so I'm often one that's behind the times.... That's clear in the clothes I wear, my hair style (or lack there of), my choice shoes, my knowledge of actors and movies, and in many other areas too, I'm sure. So, talk to me about facebook....

In my opinion, it seems like just one more thing to keep up with, and one more thing that pulls for my attention. I already have a hard enough time reading my friends blogs and updating my own blog. But, every time my sister-in-law emails us, she tells us we "have to get on facebook!" So, I'm wondering, what's the big deal? How time consuming is it? Is it really that much better than a blog? Should I do both blog and facebook? What do you do and what would you recommend?

Flashback: 10 down & 60 to go!

by Amy

On June 19 of this year, Brad and I celebrated ten years of marriage! And, as cheesy as it sounds, I can honestly say, I love him even more now than I did ten years ago. I remember when Brad was pursuing me, I lived in Texas and he was in Colorado. That meant we spent a lot of time on the phone. I don't remember all the things we talked about, but anyone who heard us on the phone remembers hearing me laugh. I don't know what he used to say to me, but it was funny! Ten years later, he still makes me laugh. We have so much fun together; I love being with him! I love watching him play with our kids. I love remembering our past and thinking of our future together. I love learning how to live in a new culture with him by my side. I love how he loves his Savior and is faithful to point me to the cross. I love that he makes me feel safe. I love his humble, teachable heart. I love how he's quick to listen to me, quick to forgive and slow to become angry. Oh, how the list could go on and on.... Let's just say, I praise the Lord for giving me ten years of marriage to Brad and pray he gives us at least sixty more!

Flashback to Five Dragons Park

By Amy

This summer we have enjoyed cooling off at the Five Dragons Park. It's a pretty nice park with several areas with some shallow water for the kids to play in. (This is the same park Peter and Alex wanted to visit on their birthday.) Earlier this summer we were there on a beautifully clear, sunny day. So, I got some super cute pics of our kids. There was also a local newspaper reporter there and he got some fun pics of our kids, too. So, the next morning, when Brad went to drop the kids off at their preschool, the teachers had a copy of a newspaper with a picture of my boys on the front page. It's pretty cute! Too bad, I don't have any idea how to find it online and paste it here!