Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Oops we jumped the tracks

That slow train to Christmas turned into the Polar Express, got out of control and derailed. I scheduled minor surgery that turned into ten stitches and then my stepmother went into hospital (she's still there.) Since I work on Sunday nights, the candle and liturgy fell to the wayside and the notes in the advent house kind of, well, stopped. And even though we've managed to do a Christmas "event" every day, the girls are still wailing for the silly rhymes. In between school parties, dinner parties, and watching the Nutcracker Ballet (on television), for posterity, here is more evidence that we salvaged every day with Christmas spirit:

Nai Nai's first Christmas


bead ornaments for the teachers


cookies and chocolate


fuzzy snowman


nutcracker prince


glittery stockings


happy chilluns

Thursday, December 11, 2008

The slow train to Christmas

Last night Brad made homemade noodles - from scratch - from flour and water and a rolling pin. This morning he made Wuhan morning Bread: a fried flat bread made with sausage and green onion. I think I smell a new tradition in the making! I prefer the slow approach to Christmas. So.
Today we bought the tree. Tomorrow we decorate - if Pillow doesn't interfere.

Monday, December 08, 2008

FYI

In case you forgot, I alternate posts between my two blogs. Check out Paper Trails.......

Friday, December 05, 2008

December 5, 1990. There was a time when I wouldn't "start Christmas" until after the fifth; it was a day of mourning. Today it is a day of remembrance. The girls got to pull out all the Christmas animals I've collected over the years - starting with Brittany's Christmas Monkey. Each year, a treasured but worn out "family member" is added. They bring back such sweet memories.

Bear Village

The Bears and all their friends finally got to see the light of day though it was well past the girls' bedtime before they put the finishing touches on the village trees. Pillow was enthralled and deep into the night performed her own mischief on the village. So we'll get to do it again tonight... and the next night... and the next....




Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Cows, corn, and cocoa

Maria invited the girls over for a play-date today. Her daughters are in the same classes as mine. We discovered this several weeks ago at "art night" and then learned we shared the same alma mater - University of Georgia. So over cookies and cocoa, we entered that first, awkward stage of a friendship: Who are you and where do you come from? Upstairs, our daughters squealed and tumbled, chased and hid.

Maria is from Bolivia. She arrived in America on a scholarship to a small midwestern women's college then, again on scholarship, got her Master's at Mizzou. She sought her PhD in Animal Nutrition Science at UGA but never finished. She specialized in Bovines because they smell less than other farm animals. She laughed that she was so used to lab work when her first child was born, she kept the baby on a strict schedule and measured out all the nutrients.

I visited Columbia, Missouri last summer and met a professor of corn sciences. Who knew so much could be distilled from the study of corn - or cows? It's a far trot from my major "Ancient Studies." I wanted to be a biblical archaeologist and so I studied things like Aramaic and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

People are as unique as snowflakes and there is hope in new friendships.

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Hope Through a Window

Mittens, snowman, tree and bow; On the window they will go!

We may not have snow, but we can still see Frosty through the window pane. Windows are a great way to share happiness.