Disneyland

by Amy

When I was two years old, I'm told my parents took me to Disneyland. Supposedly I saw Mickey Mouse and was so scared I turned around and ran right into a turnstyle thing and got a huge goose egg on my head. Thankfully, I don't remember that at all, so I'm not scared for life!

Since I have no memory if Disneyland in the US, I can honestly say I was so surprised at how GREAT Disneyland is in Hong Kong. That has got to be the cleanest place in all of asia! It sparkled! I think I would even let my kids eat off the ground if they dropped something -- well maybe not, but it was really clean! And, everything was done extremely well and efficient. To the right here, the kids are on the Disney Subway Line, waiting for the big day! The subway train was all decorated with Disney characters, so that made the kids even more excited!

Disneyland HK was just perfect for young kids. There were teacups and flying dumbos, Buzzlight years, and princesses. The only real rollar coaster was Space Mountain. Everything else was small enough and slow enough that none of my kiddos were scared.

Savannah's favorite thing about the day was getting to meet the princesses. She was a little shy at first, but soon warmed up to them! She was a little dissapointed that Ariel wasn't there that day, but that was OK. Brad and I thought it was SOOO funny to see how many men were lined up to have their pics taken with the princesses or characters, so Brad decided to pose with Minney Mouse!

Peter's favorite thing was a Buzz Lightyear Ride. It was really fun because you have guns and get to help Buzz shoot the bad guy. I think he rode that 3 or 4 times!

Alex's favorite was Space Mountain. After watching the intro video, Savannah decided not to ride it, but the boys wanted to. Peter went with me and Alex went with Brad. At the end of the ride, I asked the boys what they thought... Peter said it was too scary, but Alex wanted to do it again! He loved it! I'm really thankful we didn't push Savannah to do it. It was definitely longer, darker, and scarier than I expected -- I loved it!

One of my favorite things was getting to watch a 4D movie (you watch a 3D movie, but also have wind blowing or water spraying on you, etc.) Alex and Savannah thought it was great, too. Peter wasn't too excited about it.

It was a really, super fun day! The park was just the right size for us. We were able to do everything we wanted to, then go back and re-do favorites. Needless to say, our kids were exhausted when we got back to our hotel/flat, but that's OK. We took it easy the next day!

Feelin' the Love

By Amy

My birthday was in December. My dear husband gave me a wonderful gift: two days and a night away in the big city up north! Not only that, but he talked my two friends' husbands into watching their kids and sending their wives with me! So, right before Christmas, Rachel, Rachel and I hopped on a train and headed up north! (Thankfully, I had just gotten over my stomach sickness!)

It was quite delightful! We especially enjoyed getting to linger over our meals and have adult conversations! We ate at a really great Italian food restaurant, TGI Fridays and Schlotzskys. We also hit Cold Stone and Starbucks. And, we shopped and shopped and shopped some more! We hit a market I'd never been to, two import grocery stores and IKEA. I went with an empty suitcase and brought it back FULL and HEAVY!! (I paid some dude at the train station to lug it up the stairs for me!) What did I buy, you ask? Several cans of green beans, only 4 boxes of cereal, 2 bags of Cheetos, several really cute Christmas plates/serving platters, some fun candy to stuff in my kids' stockings, a mega roll of paper, some candles, a new pair of jeans for Savannah, and a fun glass serving plate that I've been eyeing for about 7 months, as well as a few other things.... It was really, really fun!

It was also really, really, cold! The coldest day so far this year! The wind was bitter! Even the Rachel from Iowa was FREEZING!! And, living here isn't like living in America where you drive your own car! You wait on the street for a taxi to come by! You shop at markets ~ some are inside buildings, many without heat, and some are in little tents! So, it was really cold! We actually all bought matching ear-warmer things. It's like a knit hat with a hole in the top. It helped a ton!

What a thoughtful husband I have! When he asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I told him I would probably enjoy having a morning out. Last year I sat in a hotel lobby and ready a book for several hours. It was really relaxing. Going out of town with my two friends didn't even cross my mind as an option! It was fantastic! Can you guess what I'll ask for next year?!?

A Nice Christmas Gift

From Brad. So, what did I buy my wife for Christmas? Here's a couple of picts to help you out. Happy New Year! (They're especially helpful for disciplining kids or lighting candles.)

Hong Kong

by Amy

It's after 10pm, and we're getting up at 5am in the morning to head to the airport, but I thought I just share a few HK memories....

We have had a great time here! HK was great! We spent our first day here at Disneyland. I'll post pics from that later. It was really great, though! Another day we went to a local park, with a great play area, and had a picnic. The weather here has been great ~ bright sunshiny days, cool enough to wear a jacket, but warm enough to take it off in the afternoons -- perfect! Today was Peter's Perfect Day! We rode three double buses, plus a ferry and a subway train! He's all about transportation, so this was great! We also found a Salvation Army store at a local market. We found some fun deals, including a children's birthday cake book for $3, and a Thomas the Train holder thing that Brad had just found at Toys R Us for almost $25. Today he bought the same exact thing (gently used) for $3. Isn't that delightful! ?!

Tomorrow early morning, we're off to our education conference. I'll post HK pics soon!

Christmas Recap

by Amy


December seems to be one of our busiest times of the year. It's amazing how open and interested people are in why we celebrate this famous holiday. What a blessing to be here during these days!


Unfortunately, December also came with some sicknesses this year. As I've already posted, the week Brad was gone, the kids were all sick. Well, he got home just in time to take over... I got a stomach bug that lasted the better part of four days. YUCK!! We ended up canceling one of our parties because I just couldn't do it.... And, I spent one party on my bed while Brad and the kids entertained everyone. I said hello, put the food on the table, and went to bed! YUCK!

But, thankfully, by the time Christmas rolled around, we were all healthy and ready to celebrate! Every year we make a birthday cake for Jesus. We decided we'd make an angel cake this year. And, Savannah really wanted to get in on the action! So, I didn't use any of the new skills or tools I acquired with my Wilton's cake decorating class, but that's OK. This cake was made with love!

On the morning of the 24th, we picked out a couple of presents to let our kids open. The boys got to open this cool three-in-one tee ball, pitching machine combo thing! And, since the balls are really soft, we decided it would be an "inside toy." We just close our curtains and let them hit right into them! It's really fun! I think Brad likes it more than the kids!

Then, that afternoon after naps, we opened the rest of our gifts. From us, Savannah's "big" present was Adventure's in Odyssey's 20 year Platinum CDs with 36 episodes! She was quite excited! Alex got some Mega Bloks construction trucks and Peter got a set of Lincoln Logs. They also received several books, raincoats, horses, superheros, and other fun things. Brad and I gave each other an elliptical machine (which I LOVE!), so this year under the tree Brad got to open a $1.50, battery operated, milk froter. He gave me some flame throwers (that we've never been able to find here) and candles!

For our Christmas Eve dinner, we had crabbies, creamy Italian chicken with rice, and green bean casserole. Mmmm! It was actually so yummy that we decided to eat J's birthday cake on Christmas day. We were all too full after dinner!! (Maybe the fact that we ate almost a whole bag of mint M&M throughout the day had something to do with it too!) We also enjoyed getting to read our whole Advent Book and reflecting on the most precious gift ever given!

On Christmas day, our kids woke up and got to dig in their stockings! I had saved some fun small things to stuff their stockings with. I think the biggest hits were the fun dip that Lori Ann sent and the tootsie roll pops Grandma mailed! (Thanks again ~ don't worry, you both got the credit, not me or Santa!)

Then, we got to do a video call with my family. It was fun to let them watch my kids open the presents they had sent over. And, it was great to see my brother and his family. My niece is absolutely precious!! After that, we ate a yummy brunch including coffee cake and a ham quiche. It was quite delightful!

After packing up over 60 little baggies of cookies, we hit the streets! We had a great time walking around our neighborhood, seeing people we see everyday, and wishing them a Merry Christmas by giving them some cookies and a little booklet. We did this last year too. I think it's one of our favorite family traditions!

Christmas night, after eating popcorn, apples and birthday cake, we watched the Sound of Music. Brad remembers watching that movie every Christmas as a child, so we thought it would be fun to do with our kiddos too!

We had a really fun Christmas, but I will say, this year I really missed being with our extended family. The webcams and phone calls were great, but just not the same. They all seemed really far away.... Thankfully, although I miss "home," I have no doubt we're right where we need to be. So, my heart is full of peace.

I hope that each of you had a wonderful Christmas honoring the Giver of all good gifts and rejoicing in the most wonderful Gift ever given! May your hearts be filled with the peace that comes from knowing Him.

Travels

by Amy

On Thursday we are leaving home for a month! Craziness! Our first stop will be Hong Kong. We're so excited! And on the top of our "must-do" list is a trip to Disneyland! My kids are so pumped!! I'll try to post pics! It should be really fun! After Hong Kong, we're heading to SE Asia to attend an education conference for homeschoolers. Then, we'll have a few days vacation before heading down south to a beach town for another conference. We took a similar trip last year and had a blast! We are looking forward to creating some special family memories, meeting together with like-minded folks, and getting some rest. I'm sure blog posts will be sporadic for a while (not too shocking to regular Morello Madness readers) but I do have a few posts already written and scheduled to publish over the next week.

Quotables

by Amy

My boys have said some funny things lately, so I thought I'd quickly share....

Brad gave the boys a hair cut yesterday - their annual heading to the beach/hot weather haircut. (AKA - buzz!) I was holding Peter and he saw his reflection and said, "When I put on my new hair, I don't look cute; I look crazy!"

Tonight at dinner, Alex turned to Savannah and said, "Savannah, it's true ~ you're the best sister because you always do nice things for me -- Mama says so!" It made her smile, and us too.

Also at dinner, Peter asked how old God is. Brad told him to guess.... "29!" "No, he's way older than that, Peter..." Pedo responded with, "How 'bout 40?" YIKES!! He really knows how to make us feel old!

Christmas Trees

by Amy

I love my Christmas tree! Granted it's nothing like my mother-in-law's beautifully coordinated tree, but I still like it. It's basically just a hodge-podge of ornaments thrown on a fake, somewhat sparse, asianese tree. But, our Christmas tree speaks love to me! I can tell you the story behind almost every ornament on there. Many have been there since our first Christmas as a married couple.

That year we had a fake tree that was given to us by the Hahns. We hardly had any ornaments, so we had some youth group kids over to our home one evening. I had bought some of those cheap, colored, glass balls and some glitter glue. I gave all the kids some glue and balls. They wrote their favorite attributes of God on the ball and their initials on the bottom. then they hung them on our tree. Many have broken over the last 9 years, but I still have some (thanks, SS, KW, CM, JG, Q, AH, SM, and more!) Then, we went to a Christmas party at the Grant's house. Little did we know, but everyone had brought us a Christmas ornament as a gift! I still have many from that night, including an Abraham Lincoln commemorative ornament from the Millers. This year Savannah asked me, "Mommy, who is that guy and why is he on our tree?" :) That same year my mom mailed me a box of Christmas decorations including some beautiful ornaments from my grandmother.

Then, through the years we've collected some more.... Anne Marie made a beautiful ornament for us before we left Colorado. Q gave us a penguin, which just fits... We have a Hallmark ornament from Goodin and a couple of Clifton Christmas Tea ornaments. I have a precious little lamb that Caitlyn made and gave to us a good 5+ years ago. I also have beautifully hand painted ornament Brian made a year before we left the states. Then, we also have some fun ornaments that were on Brad's tree as a child, including a picture of Brad when he was 12 (that Savannah mistakenly thought was Mr. Kimbell :))

Oh, I love my Christmas tree! Others may look at it and feel it's cluttered or ugly, but when I look at it, I feel loved!