How was your Christmas? Delightful? Mine was.
Well. As delightful as it gets celebrating Christmas in 75 degrees and very humid. On Christmas eve we went to a friends house in the middle of the afternoon for a Christmas party. It was the first one we've been invited to since we've lived here. (*side note, Giddie just walked in, 6:50 p.m. - "Mom. Can I go to the store and get some food?" Yes, Gid. What do you want to get? "Gelato." I've trained him well, as you can see.*) Anyway. The kids decorated ginger bread houses and cookies on the back porch, then ran through the park until they were sweating their guts out. You'd have thought it was the middle of summer, nice weather, shorts and t-shirts, and kids gallivanting away. Nope, it's just Christmas around here.
This year we decided to go very minimal. I read an article last summer that I am sure my children will be regretting for a long time. The gist of the story was this, "My dad believed in giving memories; not gifts." After reading this, we (Peter and I) decided that we travel a lot, and give our kids really neat experiences. And that we have A TON of toys as it is. So we toned things down. Each child got two main gifts. Then a couple little things in their stockings. It was definitely much smaller than years past. But really, I think everyone was very happy. They each got at least one thing they really really really wanted. It was very easy to wrap and clean up; that's for sure.
We had our standard Chinese food for Christmas eve. There is a really creepy Chinese restraunt off of camp, so I made the main part of the meal. This year I made sweet and sour chicken, beef with broccoli and vegetables, and Chinese noodles. From Royal Gulf we got spring rolls, fried wontons, fried shrimp and rice. Their food was SOOOO gross. I'm telling you. We threw almost all of it out. I thought them making the fried stuff would be easier. And it was - and disgusting as well. Oh well. Lesson learned.
Our annual Nativity got a little rowdy this year. With all of the 'costumes' we have available to us around here (or normal wear), most everyone has a little something fun to wear or use. A camel saddle, a camel hearing stick, a drum, tambourine, several jambya's, and lots of clothes. I'd say it wasn't our most spiritual Nativity, but probably our most fun.
We pretty much just laid around all day. We ate crepes and BACON for lunch. When it came out of the pan I said in my best, really loud Polar Express voice, "The First Bacon of Christmas" (my friend is a smuggler and gave Simon a pack of bacon for his birthday - we LOVE smugglers.) Some people watch home movies on holidays; we only have a few of those, from years very recent. So this year we 'watched' my blog. It reminded me, again, of why I need to continue to blog. To record the memories and goings on of this family. I cried a few times, and laughed a lot. Boy, a lot happens in the life of a young family over four years. I can hardly believe it.
I actually spent MANY hours this weeks sorting through thousands of pictures to print up for a project for the kids, and some to put in books around the house. It's so fun to look at all of fun things we've done. One morning this week, Peter had a bit of time to take me off camp to the photo shop. When they saw I had 800 pictures they didn't know what to do. So I gathered my abaya and my let down spirits and went home to reduce the mass number of pictures. I figured I could get it to 400 if I tried. (Please note that I haven't had a picture actually printed in 2 1/2 years. And that many of the pictures I needed five copies of for my project.) At any rate, I was disappointed, but went to work. Two hours later I was ready to go back. I just needed to clean up the files a bit so they were easy for the photos guys to read.....
And then I deleted all of them. NOT the originals. THANK HEAVEN! But all of my sorting and hours and hours of dragging and dropping - gone. Yes. I did cry.
Christmas day Peter and I and the two youngest took a walk in the late afternoon. The air was warm and quiet, just right for the call to prayer to swell through camp. When the wind is right, you can hear several imams throughout our local little town calling everyone to prayer. It's very surreal, and honestly feels very exotic. As they started, I looked at Peter and sang, "Christmas bells are ringing. Hear what they say to you. Jesus is born, in Bethlehem."
I guess it was my little way of proclaiming quietly - the truth.
Well. As delightful as it gets celebrating Christmas in 75 degrees and very humid. On Christmas eve we went to a friends house in the middle of the afternoon for a Christmas party. It was the first one we've been invited to since we've lived here. (*side note, Giddie just walked in, 6:50 p.m. - "Mom. Can I go to the store and get some food?" Yes, Gid. What do you want to get? "Gelato." I've trained him well, as you can see.*) Anyway. The kids decorated ginger bread houses and cookies on the back porch, then ran through the park until they were sweating their guts out. You'd have thought it was the middle of summer, nice weather, shorts and t-shirts, and kids gallivanting away. Nope, it's just Christmas around here.
This year we decided to go very minimal. I read an article last summer that I am sure my children will be regretting for a long time. The gist of the story was this, "My dad believed in giving memories; not gifts." After reading this, we (Peter and I) decided that we travel a lot, and give our kids really neat experiences. And that we have A TON of toys as it is. So we toned things down. Each child got two main gifts. Then a couple little things in their stockings. It was definitely much smaller than years past. But really, I think everyone was very happy. They each got at least one thing they really really really wanted. It was very easy to wrap and clean up; that's for sure.
We had our standard Chinese food for Christmas eve. There is a really creepy Chinese restraunt off of camp, so I made the main part of the meal. This year I made sweet and sour chicken, beef with broccoli and vegetables, and Chinese noodles. From Royal Gulf we got spring rolls, fried wontons, fried shrimp and rice. Their food was SOOOO gross. I'm telling you. We threw almost all of it out. I thought them making the fried stuff would be easier. And it was - and disgusting as well. Oh well. Lesson learned.
Our annual Nativity got a little rowdy this year. With all of the 'costumes' we have available to us around here (or normal wear), most everyone has a little something fun to wear or use. A camel saddle, a camel hearing stick, a drum, tambourine, several jambya's, and lots of clothes. I'd say it wasn't our most spiritual Nativity, but probably our most fun.
 |
| The wise men turn, Mary is terrified, Joseph joins the band of hoodlums and baby Jesus runs off! |
We pretty much just laid around all day. We ate crepes and BACON for lunch. When it came out of the pan I said in my best, really loud Polar Express voice, "The First Bacon of Christmas" (my friend is a smuggler and gave Simon a pack of bacon for his birthday - we LOVE smugglers.) Some people watch home movies on holidays; we only have a few of those, from years very recent. So this year we 'watched' my blog. It reminded me, again, of why I need to continue to blog. To record the memories and goings on of this family. I cried a few times, and laughed a lot. Boy, a lot happens in the life of a young family over four years. I can hardly believe it.
I actually spent MANY hours this weeks sorting through thousands of pictures to print up for a project for the kids, and some to put in books around the house. It's so fun to look at all of fun things we've done. One morning this week, Peter had a bit of time to take me off camp to the photo shop. When they saw I had 800 pictures they didn't know what to do. So I gathered my abaya and my let down spirits and went home to reduce the mass number of pictures. I figured I could get it to 400 if I tried. (Please note that I haven't had a picture actually printed in 2 1/2 years. And that many of the pictures I needed five copies of for my project.) At any rate, I was disappointed, but went to work. Two hours later I was ready to go back. I just needed to clean up the files a bit so they were easy for the photos guys to read.....
And then I deleted all of them. NOT the originals. THANK HEAVEN! But all of my sorting and hours and hours of dragging and dropping - gone. Yes. I did cry.
Christmas day Peter and I and the two youngest took a walk in the late afternoon. The air was warm and quiet, just right for the call to prayer to swell through camp. When the wind is right, you can hear several imams throughout our local little town calling everyone to prayer. It's very surreal, and honestly feels very exotic. As they started, I looked at Peter and sang, "Christmas bells are ringing. Hear what they say to you. Jesus is born, in Bethlehem."
I guess it was my little way of proclaiming quietly - the truth.
1 comment:
So what happened with Si and Sam and the fat man in red? I'm dying!
Post a Comment