Happy New Year!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas as you celebrated the birth of our Savior!  

May the Lord draw you near during 2011!  

Happy New Year!  

Return of the Gingerbread Houses!

by Amy

Two years ago, Brad went out of town for a week in December.  So, in an effort to distract us from missing the daddy all week, I decided to make a gingerbread house with my kids.  It was hard and my kids were little, so that meant I did all of the baking, cutting, and building and most of the decorating.  But, my kids loved it, so we did it again last year as well.  In November, my kids began asking if we could build houses again this year. And, with Brad's promise to handle the actual building of the houses, I cheerfully agreed!  I had learned a few things not to do over the last few years, so I had had high hopes that this would be the best year yet -- and it was!

In our house we have a rule - No School on Birthdays - so, I decided my birthday would be a fun day to decorate our houses.  (Little did I know, that this would be just the beginning of our three week Homeschool Christmas Vacation!  We haven't homeschooled since!  Jan 3, we're starting back up again!)  That meant on the Monday before, I needed to bake the pieces and have have Brad build the houses.  My engineer husband is awesome!  He took his responsibilities very seriously!

 
Clearly his creativity is coming out as he used can goods, boxes of soup mix, and tape dispensers to hold the pieces in place as the icing hardened.  For last year's houses I asked my dad to mail me some meringue powder for making royal icing.  It is great!  Royal icing is usually not edible since it requires raw egg whites to make the icing dry hard and fast.  When you use meringue powder, though, you get the hard and fast effect, but can still eat it.  So, last year we used royal icing to make the houses, and just thick sugar cookie icing for decorating.  But that icing took too long to dry and would run easily.  So, this year we used royal icing for everything!  It was fantastic!  I also used a new gingerbread recipe that worked really well and didn't break my kids' teeth when they ate it!  (I used light corn syrup and added brown food coloring.)  I only ate a few bites, when it came out of the oven, but I think it tasted better than anything I had made in the past.

And, although I was busy the whole time helping Peter and Alex squeeze icing, we were done with all three houses in 2.5 hours -- in time for Brad to take me out for a birthday lunch at our new Starbucks!  Here are the final results!

Aren't they great!?!  Although these houses have gotten easier and easier every year, I will say, I’m honestly looking forward to be in the States next Christmas where we can buy a kit with everything already baked, cut and made!

Christmas Reflections

by Amy

I never got around to posting any Christmas pics last week....  Sorry!  So, three parties and 500 Christmas cookies later, I thought I'd take advantage of the couple of hours I have while my kids are at school this morning to share a few pictures and thoughts....

Since mid-October, I have been teaching a class in my home every Saturday.  The class is geared towards young, single women, and it's purpose is to encourage these women to take advantage of their singleness to develop or grow in their relationship with our Father as they wait for Him to provide a husband.  And, since I'm teaching this class in the local language, it requires anywhere from 8-12 hours of prep each week!  So, while my kids are in school four mornings a week, I prepare for my class.  That means many of the optional activities in my world (i.e. blogging)  have been put on hold for a while.  That being said, with both Christmas and New Year's Day falling on a Saturday, I'm in the mist of a three-week-teaching-break!  Hence this blog post being written now.

Anyway....  my first Christmas party of the year was with the ladies in my class.  When I first began teaching this class I had 20 women attending, but as the semester wore on, the numbers began dwindle.  I had about 10- 12 women who wanted to come every week, but often something would happen to prevent them from making it (work, exams, etc.).  So, in November and December I averaged about 8 women each week.  On December 10, I encouraged these women to invite their friends to our party the following week to learn why we celebrate Christmas.  I expected about 15-20 people to come.  Twenty people in my living room is crowded, but doable.  So, the week before, the kids and I baked cookies and  made 'easy candy' to prepare. (Cookie baking pictures below!)  On Saturday morning, Brad and the kids helped pull extra chairs in the living room, light candles, and set out snacks.  Then, Brad went to work.  My first guest arrived 40 minutes early, with four more arriving 10 minutes later.  By 2:30, when the party was actually supposed to begin, we already had over 20 people in my home!  And, the door bell kept on ringing!  By 3:00, we had 33 locals, plus me and my three kids!  Crazy!!

I will say, though, I was super encouraged!  I did not know over half the people that came, and the majority of them had never heard the Christmas Story.  So, we were able to share completely and boldly, on several different levels (reading the Word, a testimony shared, singing songs, explaining why we have certain Christmas traditions, etc.).  Then, while people were mingling, so many of my local believing friends were engaged in good, meaningful conversations.  What a sweet thing to see happening in my home!!

My kids were WONDERFUL as well!  They were still and not distracting while people were sharing or reading; they were quick to help by uncovering the food, taking coats, and answering the door.  They also didn't eat anything since I was concerned about not having enough food!  They helped with our game and were just a delight to have around!  And, since Brad was gone, I really needed their help with a number of things!  I'm so thankful for my sweet kiddos.  
  
When my last guests left about 6:45, I was wiped, but so thankful for the many new friends I met, the many Books we were able to give away, and the sweet memories that were made.  Unfortunately, I didn't take one picture, so the memories will have to live on in my head!  (That's what happens when Brad's not around for the party!)  And, for the first time ever, ALL the food I put out was eaten, even the cucumbers and cherry tomatoes!  (They think eatting raw veggies is strange!)

So, as promised, here are some pictures from our cookie baking and decorating....  This year, all of the cookies I served at parties were just round (read: easy!), but the kids and I had fun rolling out dough and making shaped cookies for our eating enjoyment!

Obviously, Peter had been sneaking a few licks of icing, and missed his mouth!

 
Mmmm!  Those cookies were good!  We and fun making the dough, rolling them out, cutting them, and eating them!  Savannah was quite a cookie helper this year!  One day, while the kids were at school I made some dough, but didn't have time to bake them.  So, after lunch, Savannah assured me she could handle the baking on her own.  She did great!  She baked over 100 cookies, all by herself!  Leigh and I weren't even near the kitchen to offer a word of advice!  She rocks!

Well, I have many more stories of Christmas fun to share, but they'll have to wait for another post.  I need to pick the kids up from school!

Crazy Christmas Hats

by Amy

It’s December!  Life is a little crazy!  Why not have crazy hats to go along with it? 

A sweet friend mailed these hats to us from the Capital city.  My kids love them! Aren't they cute?!?!

We’ve had lots of fun these past few weeks and are looking forward to this next week of baking and parties.  I hope to have a few spare minutes this week to post more fun pics.  Until then....Merry Christmas!    

Fall is Falling

Well, actually....Fall has fallen and 

winter is moving in!

But, since this is the last day in November, I still consider it officially fall, so I thought I'd share a few fall pics with you....  Tuesday is my favorite week day because my kids don't go to the local elementary school at all that day.  So, that means that we have time to complete our homeschooling and do something extra fun as well.  So, one Tuesday a few weeks ago, the kids and I went on a leaf-hunt!  After drawing our bare tree, we walked down to our favorite park and collected leaves of various sizes, shapes, and colors.  Then, we came home an made this tree!  We taped the leaves down under the paper and rubbed crayons on top of the paper to pick up the leaf imprint.  It's simple, but I think it turned out pretty well!  

Can you believe how old my boys look?  What's happened to my babies?!?  And, look at this pic Brad snapped of Savannah just this morning as she sat at the kitchen table doing some school work....  She too is growing up!  

Amazing Grace!

by Amy


Can I just say I'm once again overwhelmed by grace!  As most of you know, my husband has been traveling this week. His trip has gone well; we'll tell you more about that later. What's amazing to me is not that he did well while he was away, but that I had a great week with the kids!  My kids are awesome!  I LOVE being with them, homeschooling, etc., but being a single parent for a week could be challenging, even when parenting the best kids in the world!  ;)  


So, I went into this week praying that I would not want to drop everything and run out the door when Brad walks in.  Thankfully, with him scheduled to walk through the door in about three hours, I feel great!  Other than bathing this week in prayer, I did a few things that contributed to a peaceful, fun week, enjoyed by all!  


First of all, I decided not to school while Brad was gone.  My kids still went to school each day (and I studied while they were gone, as usual), but in the afternoons we were free to play -- and play we did!  I had several special things planned like going on a photo scavenger hunt, doing a 300 piece puzzle together, and going to Dairy Queen and a play area.  I also let each kid plan a dinner.  Peter chose pigs in a blanket; Savannah wanted meatballs and mac'n cheese; and Alex wanted cinnamon rolls and eggs.  Two out of those three dinners were eaten on trays while watching a new movie. (G-Force and Toy Story 3.)  


Another thing I did was plan to have time away.  I have a house helper, so two afternoons this week, I asked her to watch the kids for a few hours while I went out.  On my first afternoon out, I went to a market I enjoy walking around.  I didn't buy anything, but it was nice to be able to take my time looking around.  The second afternoon out I went to the grand opening of STARBUCKS with Rachel!  Yes, our city now has a Starbucks!  Ahhh......  We waited in line for almost 2 hours to get in, but it was wonderful!  After purchasing our drinks - Toffee Nut Latte for me and Caramel Macchiato for her - we sat in big, cushy seats and chatted for almost another 2 hours!  Lovely....


The time away was helpful in giving me a break from being "on call" for 9+ hours straight, for days on end.  When Brad's home for dinner, he's quick to answer questions, handle discipline, and solve whatever problems that may arise!  Therefore, I don't feel as drained by the time bedtime comes around.  But, with two afternoons out, I got the break I needed and evening times seemed to go smoothly.   


So, all that to say, if you were praying for me and the kids while Brad was gone, thanks....  Your prayers were heard and answered!  We made sweet memories together, didn't have any discipline issues, and I'm not dreading the next trip he has planned in early January!  

Fire Fighting Filter Type Self-Saving Breather

by Amy


We went out of town earlier this month and our safety conscience hotel provided a lovely can of "Fire Fighting Filter Type Self-Saving Breather."  But, just in case the name doesn't say it all, they were kind enough to provide some English instructions.

1) Take out Fire Fighting Filter Type Self Saving Breather.

2) Tear at the package bag of Fire Fighting Filter Type Self Saving Breather.

3) Wear helmet and pull contractive belt fast.

4) Choose way and flee for your life decidedly.

Point for attention:

Once find fire condition, tear at the packaging bag of breather immediately, wear helmet of breather imperturbably and correctly and get away from fire field as quick as possible.

Thankfully, there were no fires in our hotel, so we did not have to flee for our lives decidedly.  

**Special thanks to Beck for posting this on your blog! After we laughed so hard reading this together, I just had to steal your pic! **

School Days

by Amy

Well, it's mid-October and my kids have been attending the local school for 6 weeks.  But, if you recall, when they started school, I wasn't in a blog-postin-mood.  So, now I'll tell you the story....  You may or may not remember from my posts last September talking about Savannah's first grade, that schools here are a little different than they are in the States.  There's lots of differences, but the one that causes this routine-lovin'-mama the most issues is the way they schedule classes.  No two days are alike.  And, no two classes in one grade are even alike.  (Each grade has 6 classes.)  It was challenging when I was taking one kid to school; I knew the challenges would multiply when taking three kids to school.  Sidenote: Peter and Alex started attending the local first grade this year.

Every grade and class either has local language or math for first period and the other for second period.  Since I teach my kids math at home, math class isn't a priority for us.  But, the local language class is top priority.   And, since we have to leave the house at 7.30 to walk to school for first period, I'm happy to let them skip math class so we can have a less-rushed morning routine.  Last year, Savannah's first grade class had local language for first period on Mondays and Tuesdays, then it was second period on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

When we decided last May that we really wanted to send the boys to first grade (instead of doing one more year in a local kindergarten), I began praying about their schedules (and other aspects of school).  About two weeks before school started, Brad sent the principal a text message, asking if they could get together to discuss our boys attending first grade.  He never replied.  Come to find out, he was out of the country, so couldn't receive texts.  A week before school started, we tried to call and were told to call back several days later.  On the Friday before classes would begin on the following Wednesday, Brad and I went up to the school.  We weren't actually allowed in to see the principal, but we were able to talk to him by phone, from the front gate.  He asked Brad to come back to the school on Saturday morning.  Brad went back....  The principal said he'd have to wait and see if there was enough space in the school before he allowed our boys to registrar.  Local students pay a large sum when they enter first grade, and that is their tuition for all 6 years of elementary school.  He knew we were not willing to pay that large sum since our kids will not be attending local school for 6 years.  He asked us to come back an hour after school began on the following Wednesday morning. FYI- Savannah's been attending for free, but we knew we couldn't expect that for our boys.

All along, I had planned on asking to see the class schedules and pick the schedule that was most similar to Savannah's class schedule.  (She has the same teacher and classmates as last year, so her schedule is set.)  So, finally, after approval was given and a price agreed upon, it was time to choose which class they'd be in. I had given up on having them in separate classes, like I originally planned.  He wanted them in the same class, so I didn't argue that.  The principal and assistant principal were talking about all the different teachers and their English ability.  I piped up and asked if I could see the class schedules and chose the best class that way.  They both stared at me, then each other for a second.  Neither one decided to respond, so they went back to talking about teachers and how many students were in each class.  Again, I interrupted and said that the teacher's English ability wasn't so important to me, but that I really would like to have all my kids on the same schedule.  The principal responded with, "The teacher will give you the schedule after we pick the class."  -- Not helpful.  But rather than push it I prayed.  The Lord knew Savannah's schedule and the schedule of each first grade class.  If He wanted my kids to take math at the local school, then I'd be OK with that.  I had no intentions of taking Savannah for first period and the boys for second period, or visa versa.  They were all leaving together each morning.

One that first day of school,  after they attended the second half of the morning classes, I picked my kids up for lunch.  At KFC, Savannah pull out her notebook to show me that she had copied her class schedule off the back board - using characters!  I was so impressed - I couldn't even read it and my 8 year old could write it!  Amazing!  One schedule down, one to go.  I decided that the kids should go back to school, just in case any important rules or information were covered in the afternoon of the first day.  So, when I picked up my boys, I asked their teacher for a class schedule.

Would you believe it's EXACTLY the same as Savannah's!  I was absolutely amazed!  It sounds crazy, but  in my world, that was a miracle!

And, another equally miraculous part of this whole things is that I wasn't worried about school all summer long.  Last summer, I struggled with not knowing if Savannah would be admitted or not.  I was constantly handing my fears and concerns to the Lord, only to pick them back up again the next day.  This year, I prayed about their school situation all summer long, but I had complete peace as I looked ahead at the unknown future.  Even my house helper, Leigh, noticed and commented on how differently I handled school this year.  Praise the Lord for his grace!

I'll share more about what a normal weeks looks like and how my kids are doing in school in a later post, but for now I'll share that they're doing well.  I'm especially thankful for how my boys are doing!

A Peter Funny, from Brad

Last night I read the story of Shadrack, Meshak and Abed-nego to my children (you know, they refused to worship the King's idols so they were thrown into the blazing fire). Knowing the importance of this story, this morning I wanted to further impress it upon Peter who was the first one awake. So I asked him, “Peter, let’s talk about last night’s story. What happened to Daniel’s three friends Shadrack, Meshak and Abed-nego?” Peter looked up as if this question was just too easy and replied, “They got fired!”

Of course I laughed and it reminded me of what I often do over here. I take a noun like ‘fire’ and in the middle of speaking, sometimes I’ll need the verb form. If I haven’t studied it or don’t remember it I simply improvise. Often I’ll get it right since this language can be simplistic in its grammar, but there are definitely times I end up misusing a word or saying it incorrectly (like my son). It’s a good thing I’ve learned to laugh at myself, because sometimes the result is quite funny.

The Man

by Amy

A few months ago, Brad and I watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding again.  We hadn't watched it since moving overseas and found it to be even funnier than we remembered.  It was hilarious watching two cultures clash!  We could relate in so many ways!!  Soon, after we watched it, our friends Kevin and Becky re-watched it as well.  That movie is full of some classic lines that the four of us often quote any time we're together.  This is our all time favorite scene:

So, two Greek sisters are working together, trying to figure out how to talk Sister #1's husband into letting their daughter work at Sister #2's travel agency instead of the husband's restaurant.  So, as they approach the husband, they completely manipulate the conversation until the husband comes up with this "great idea": Daughter should work at Sister #2's travel agency!  As the sisters are ohhhing and ahhhing over how smart the husband is to come us with such a plan, he leans back with a smug look on his face, takes his finger, lightly taps his right temple and says, "the man, the man."

So now, anytime Brad does something I couldn't do or know something I didn't know, he looks at me, taps his head and repeats this line.  It's pretty funny, but not nearly as funny as when my kids do it.  Here's a recent recap of a conversation I had with Alex yesterday:

Me:  Alex, run into my bathroom with me.  I’ll get some cream for your face. 

Alex [he had entered the bathroom before me]:  Look, Mom!  I opened the medicine cabinets for you. 

Me:  Thanks, but I don’t think it’s there; it’s still in my make-up bag from our trip.

[I close the medicine cabinet doors so I can dig in my bag without banging my head.  But, low and behold…. The cream wasn’t there.  So, I open the medicine cabinet doors again.]

Me:  Alex you were right.  It wasn’t in my bag; it’s right here in the cabinet like you thought.

Alex, without missing a beat, looks right up at me with a smug look on his face, uses his pointer finger to tap his head and says, “The Man, Mama, the man!” 

I laughed, hard, of course.  Then, I asked:

Me:  What would I say if I were right?

Alex:  You’d say ‘the woman,’ but you’ve never been right before.     

Hong Kong Fun -- Part 2

by Amy

When we're at home we take taxi's everywhere.  Occasionally I'll hop on a bus if the one outside my gate will take me directly where I want to go (without having to change buses.) But, since there's been construction, there's bus outside my gate, so that means I don't do buses anymore!  Most places I go (my friends houses, Brad's office, the square, etc,) can all be reached for under $2 USD.  Occasionally I'll have a $3.50 taxi ride in traffic when we go all the way across town to the new Dairy Queen, but that's rare and so worth the $3.50!  In Hong Kong, though, we NEVER do taxis!  They are super expensive, comparatively speaking, of course.  So, we ride buses or subways everywhere.  The flat we often stay is near a big bus stop and subway station, so it's super convenient!  For some reason, on this trip, we took pictures while we were riding the subway.  I'm not sure if it was a way to provide entertainment for the kids or what, but we did get some pretty cute shots....

Here we're coming home from swimming somewhere...

and here we're heading out to dinner one night....

But these are my favorite...

So, first Brad snapped a shot of Sue and Savannah, then Peter and me.  Then, he decided to get all four of us.  But there was one problem ... the dude between us...  Oh well, maybe he'll smile, too  -- or not!

And now, this last subway pic will prepare you for the rest of the post.  We're on the Disneyline heading out to HK Disneyland.  You can barely tell that this train has Mickey Mouse shaped windows.  It's really cool!  We were all so excited!  

HK Disneyland is the only Disneyland/world I've been to (that I remember.)  So, I can't compare it to the others, but as far as I'm concerned, it ROCKS!!  It is so clean and everything they do is top quality!  This was our third trip and we still loved every show, every ride, every minute!

Alice walked by us about 5 hours after snapping this picuture and she waved and said, "Oh, hello, Savannah!"  I was shocked she remembered her.  Savannah promptly said, "She must remember me because I'm so pretty!"  Clearly, she hears that a lot!  We've got to work on teaching modesty!

Those three pics above were taken as we waited to meet Belle and Aurora.  (Can you see why people tell her she's pretty all the time?)

And, of course, we rode Space Mountain!  It's my favorite!  The kids each wanted a chance to ride next to Sue, so we did it three times.  (Good thing the lines weren't long!)  So, even though she was ready to be done after second ride, she was quite the trooper and made my Peter a happy guy!  

(Brad made Sue a nervous wreck as he held her camera over her head snapping pics behind him through the whole ride. It was hilarious riding between the two of them as she hollered at him!)  

    

That was taken at the end of a long, fun day at Disneyland!  We were tired, but it was great!

Here are a few random pics that were taken while we were there, but I can't remember where we were or what we were doing.  So, just in case your not pictured out, here's a few more....

We also went swimming twice.  I had a blast watching my kids jump of the diving board -- too bad the pool wouldn't allow us to bring cameras in -- and slide down water slides.  We also spent several hours playing in Toys R Us with all the cool toys that are out there now!  And, thanks to my parents birthday money, the kids each got to choose a few toys to bring back home.  And, Sue and I did some shopping at markets around town.  It was a really great trip!  We loved having Sue there to share it with us!   

Hong Kong Fun -- Part 1

by Amy

Rather than give the day-by-day playback of everything we did in HK, I'm going to let the pictures speak for me....  But, since I selected over 30 pictures to post, I think I'm going to divide it into two posts!  So here we go....

Starting at the beach:

We spent 2 days at the beach.  Notice how calm the water was!  It was crazy!  This beach is our favorite because it’s never crowded - look at the wide open space behind the boys!  Compare that to our Tuesday morning beach pics from my Vacation  post.... Crazy! We were even there over the weekend, and it was empty!  My boys especially love this beach because there's a play area on the sand.  

  

We also spent a day visiting a life-size replica of Noah's Ark.  It was really cool!!

As we walked from the ferry to the ark, we saw this precious dog.  My kids instantly fell in love!

Several morning, we walked over to a great park that was near the place we stayed.  Brad had fun jogging while the kids played.  It was hot, but we had fun!  (Notice that BLUE sky!!)  

And, we spent an evening at The Peak.  We rode a tram up a really steep mountain side so we could look down over the harbor.  What a great view!  The pictures don't do it justice!  (that's where the family pic I posted yesterday was taken.)

So, I guess that wraps up the first round of our HK pics.  Sorry there weren't more pictures of Savannah.  I think she took a lot of the pictures above.  That will definitely change when I post the Disneyland pics!  I got some cute snapshots of her!