Merry Christmas!

Cookie Exchange !

Here is my recipe for the online cookie exchange I'm participating in. I love holiday baking! Ultimate Double Chocolate Chip Cookies1lb semisweet chocolate, chopped1 1/2 c packed brown sugar2 c flour1/2 c white sugar1/2 c cocoa4 eggs2 t baking powder2 t instant coffee granules1 t salt10 T unsalted butter2t vanilla Melt chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring occassionally until smooth. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt and set aside. In a medium bowl, cream butter with whtie sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in coffee crystals and vanilla until well blended. Stir in melted chocolate. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the dry ingredients just until everything comes together. Cover, and let stand for 35 minutes so the chocolate can set up.
Preheat the oven to 350 . Line two cookies sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into walnut sized balls or drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving 2 in between cookies. Bake for 8-10 minutes iin the preheated oven. Cookies will be set, but the centers will be very soft because of the chocolate. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

SNOW!!

Just wanted to share some pictures from our time playing in the snow today. We woke up to a beautifully covered yard and street. Luke and Olivia had a lot of fun in it. I can't make Luke wear gloves though - I need help figuring that one out!

Luke was anxious to make a snowman. A few neighbor kids helped him make one today.

Our street looking beautiful

Our Thanksgiving and update from us (lots of pictures!)

Where did November go? Or 2009? The fact that I hardly posted anything in November shows how incredibly busy we have been. OR, that I have been so tired at the end of the day to sit on the internet and try to post pictures. Thanks to a friend I realized it had been a long time with no posts . So, not to make the grandma's mad, here you go!

This is Olivia and our Korean teammates' son Donyor. They have suddenly become best buds. They are a year apart but since he is so small, they are about the same size! He seems to look out for her and give her the beloved giraffe all the time. They hug when he comes over. So cute!

Miss Hollywood, ready for a picnic in the mountains!

Our team took a picnic in the mountains at the beginning of November. We got lucky and had incredible weather. It was great to get out of the city and enjoy the scenery one more time before the cold weather hits.

Luke's preschool class studied the Thanksgiving story and had a special Thanksgiving lunch. Each child was asked to bring his favorite food. His little buddy Alia wanted to bring dough (her mom is an amazing bread maker). She she brough doughnuts. :) Luke requested the meat from the Chinese restaruant in town. High roller! Instead he took kolbasa and cheese . :) This happened to fall on a day when I had to go to the capital city to pick up my new passport. So Forrest was playing both Mom and Dad and I told him to go the easy way out on the lunch.

Alia and Luke enjoying their yummy lunch.

Thanksgiving morning ( I had a 101 fever by the way - so that's why I look half asleep.) I was pretty sick the day and night before Thanksgiving and the days after. This year the flu has been SO bad around here. Seems like it's touching everyone 's household. We hosted about 20 people for lunch and luckily Forrest did a lot of cooking. I couldn't have survived otherwise. It's a week later an I'm still pretty tired from the flu. Unfortunately Forrest is feeling really crummy now.
Despite the illnesses , we had a nice Thanksgiving with some friends here. We have so much to be thankful for. Forrest and I both are so thankful for our little family. God has taught us so much through our kids this year and through this journey of parenthood and marriage.

The kids ready for turkey!

Olivia's new smile for all pictures. She was very happy about all the yummy Thanksgiving food.

Not the greatest picture, but check out the bottom right of our little Charlie Brown tree. Luke very carefully placed all the ornaments in the same place. Yes, as soon as he took a nap I fixed it.

Happy Halloween!

Even though Halloween is not celebrated here (it's a super-American holiday), I do love a reason for a celebration and I love this time of year. We carved a pumpkin, Luke had a Fall Festival at his preschool, and Luke and Olivia went trick-or-treating at 2 of our teammates' houses. Beware, lots of pictures because I couldn't decide which ones!

Very excited about his first ever pumpkin carving

Olivia during the carving. Rough day I think.

Working so hard

Livi in her tutu and wings - so cute!!

House #1 of 2 - Luke too interested in candy to look at the camera

" Yay, trick-or-treat!!" Luke had no idea what trick-or-treating was but was excited that it involved candy.

Luke in his true form at his Fall Festival.

He looks so goofy in this costume and I just love it. That hat makes him look so round! Yes, the same costume at last year for all those avid readers. Got it at consigment sale right before we left the US the last time. Glad it's finally getting some use.

Some of his preschool buddies

Bowling excitement

Scrapbooking night

A few weeks ago I had the chance to teach some local girls how to scrapbook. I've been wanting to do this for so long and finally had the chance. Another American left me a bunch of old Creative Memories paper and stickers when she left, so I was able to share with them. They were so intense and had a lot of fun. I hope this will help to continue to build relationships with them.

I won the hairbow battle!

Finally I think I've won the hairbow battle with Olivia. Now she asks for them. Yay! Yes this is incredibly superficial, but since I was a girly girl growing up, I've been waiting a long time to have a real live baby doll to play with . Now only if that hair would grow some.
Here's a few pictures from a local wedding we went to recently. We had fun and Luke and Olivia enjoyed all the food and music. It's interesting to see their different personalities. Luke seems more introverted and gets overwhelmed by big groups and events like this. Olivia loves all the attention and people. We'll see - could just be their ages.

My sister got this dress for Olivia at a consignment sale last year. I love monogrammed things but they can be so expensive. Luckily she has a popular name, so we might find more great deals like this in the future!

They love each other so much. Luke also likes to be my XO as Forrest says. We were watching an army show when he came up with that. Luke likes to repeat everything we say and try to mother Olivia as well. Today she was refusing to eat her lunch , and I said "Olivia please eat. You are making me so tired." Luke followed it with "O , ivia, (doesn't say the L) you need to obey Mommy and eat your lunch. Don't make Mommy so tired."

Just call me Laura Ingalls Wilder

This year I've really gotten into canning, which is probably a bit strange for those of my generation in the US. But I've really enjoyed it and I have great satisfaction seeing all the jars lined up in the pantry or opening a jar of jam that I made. Here canning is a necessity to be prepared for the winter.

So now , for the last part of canning - applesauce. If I made 100 liters , I bet Luke and Olivia would eat every bite. They love applesauce. And since I make it unsweetened and they still love it, it's hard to say no when they ask for more. It's so good for them and plus , in the winter here our fruit choices are slim.

But the problem this year, making applesauce and sterilizing the jars takes a lot of gas. BUT, our neighboring country completely cut off the gas to the south of our country b/c our country is $18 million in debt. Seriously, cut the gas off completely. Thankfully we are blessed and have a propane tank hooked up to our oven and stove . But the average person here is really struggling. Most people are cooking outside all the time now. If the power outages start like last fall/ winter, we are all going to struggle.

Anyway, I wanted to make more applesauce while they are cheap. My helper and I had already made 14 liters a few weeks ago. So not to use our whole gas tank, we made applesauce in a big kazan outside over fire! Can you believe it? This definitely had to be my picture of the day. I think we ended up with about 12 liters this time.

Of course we sterilized the jars inside on the gas and sealed them up. Hopefully the gas will come back soon, but we are preparing ourselves for the winter without gas.

Luke's funnies

Collecting "d" items for the Letter Bucket for preschool. I'm so glad we've entered a stage where he will look at the camera with a normal smile!

I need to be more committed to recording the funny things that Luke says, since these days it happens about everyday. So I'm putting them here so you can enjoy them, and I won't lose them.

*In preschool they focused on ABC for 3 weeks and then had a review week. During that week he kept saying everyday, "I no can wait to learn my D." He's determined.

*The first day in preschool that they practiced cutting he had a hard time (he's the youngest). I told him he could practice at home. He walked in the door and went straight to the couch to practice. He actually sat there for 20 minutes just cutting. He asks for scissors almost everyday just to practice.

*His favorite songs right now are "Life is a Highway" by Rascall Flats and "This is the Day that the Lord has made". Interesting combo.

*During lunch the other day he said, "Olivia has new teeth!" I said " Oh really, where do you think they came from?" He said " America. " ???

*Anytime Forrest and I are talking he says "What are you guys talking about? " While asking for snack the other day he said, "you guys need to buy some more teddy grahams." I tried to explain that Teddy Grahams come from America and we get them in care pacakages on special occassions. Not sure it all registered with him.

*Today this was our conversation:

Luke: "Olivia is my sister. I'm going to have brothers. "

Me: " Oh really? When?"

Luke: " On Monday. "

Me: "Where will they come from? "

Luke: "From America. From Nana's house in Tennessee."

Apparently lots of good things come from America!

And NO, this is not a pregnancy announcement!

A few more about Olivia

Olivia has the sudden obsession with carrying around everything with her. I had just woken her up from a nap to go pick Luke up from preschool. She insisted on holding her milk cup, giraffe blanket, and horse. The horse is actually Luke's but she discovered it and decided it was hers. She also calls it "baby."

Usually I just write posts so quickly that I forget to add a bunch of stuff. After that last post about Olivia I thought of so many more things about her at this age. Here's a few :

*Loves to pray - or at least the 2 second act of it - she says something like "pa" at at the table or before bedtime and holds her hands together and very quickly and excitedly yells Amen.

*Is pretty obsessed with babies right now. Sees babies everywhere. Just this week began to say "baby" instead of "baba". Holds her babies and kisses them. Especially loves the babies in the parenting magazines I have. Carries her baby around with her a lot and today started calling all stuffed animals babies. Loves to look at the picture of her cousin Sarah Katherine and say "baby". She has no idea they are the same age!

*Also LOVES Elmo. And correctly says his name. Luke for the longest time called him Mo Mo. Gets really excited to see Elmo come on but has about a 10 second attention span so she doesn't last long on an Elmo dvd.

*Likes to color and pretend to play with playdough. This is all to do keep with Luke I'm sure.

*LOVES to dance. When we clean up after dinner, she and Luke love to dance to "Life is a Highway" by Rascall Flatts from the Cars Soundtrack.

*Tries to take off her shirt as soon as she hears the word "bath".

*Can say "rahmat" which is "thank you" in the local language here. As soon as she hears us say it, she is putting her hand on her chest and saying "rahmat " too.

As you can see, we have quite the little character on our hands.

Olivia at 15 months

Isn't she a cutie? Please don't notice the dinner on her shirt collar. Thanks to Felsnaptha, I can get that out for sure.

When I wrote down the date on October 2, I was shocked to think that Olivia is already 15 months old. She is a MESS! She continues to amaze us each day with how much she is learning, trying to say, copying Luke , and becoming a bit wild. Says lots of words and here are a few: apple (for apples, potatoes, carrots , tomatoes), Ba Ba for Blackie (our dog), Mama, Dada, outside, Opa (her babysitter), Aka (our taxi driver friend), Eja (another local language version of Opa), Ma Ma (for Madi our friend), rice (yes she is Central Asian!), hello, phone, eat, milk, water, and the list goes on and on. She and Luke are great buds already (just hope it stays that way!). Today I was reading her a book and the word "nothing" was in it. She immediately started shaking her finger saying "nothing" , which in one of Luke's favorite Sunday School songs he says "absolutely nothing" and shakes his finger. Smart little cookie ! When I put on new clothes or a dress on her , Luke usually says " O -ivia , you are so pretty! " and she smiles and rubs her hands on the clothes. :)

All I wanted was a picture today

Attempt #1- what in the world is Luke doing?
Attempt #2 - STOP Mom!!

I really wanted it of the 2 of them but I had to get in there to hold down Olivia. These 2 sure do make our life interesting (a bit crazy at times) and fun. I know some one who always tells me how blessed we are. We sure are.

I think I've got a problem

I'm a bit obsessed or over the top when it comes to recording my children's lives. I'm almost done with Olivia's Baby Album and here are all the pages all laid out. I'm a bit embarrassed to show how many. Plus this isn't all I've done for her baby year. Yes I know it's a bit ridiculous to have this many pages but it was an important year !! Hopefully she will appreciate this one day. Since preschool started I haven't had as much time to scrapbook in the evenings . But I think I need I may need to go digital - cheaper in the long run and easier to work on and less stuff to carry across the ocean! I've already decided the next time we go to the US I'm taking back all the finished albums to store them there. Bummer to not get to look at them here, but they each probably weigh about 6 or 7 lbs!! Whenever we leave here, we won't have that much space to spare.

I love recording and documenting their lives and growth and us as family. I just wonder how long I can keep this up for them? Luke's current album is now for ages 2-5 , and supposed to be just the highlights of each year. I need some accountability to keep it that way!

Happy 3rd Birthday Luke!

Our little Luke turned 3 today. How did that time go so fast? He's been talking a lot these days about when he's 3 and is a " big boy" and how Olivia is not a "big girl". It was fun to see him so excited about his birthday this year - probably the first time he really understood what it means. What a joy Luke is to our family. He sure does make life interesting!

The theme of his party was Cars. I'm no great cake decorator , but I had fun with this one. I've come a long way since the Curious George disaster last year. He (and the other kids) were pretty excited about a McQueen cake.

For some reason he decided to eat his cake and ice cream with his hands. No reason to waste time with a spoon.

Olivia was up on the sura with all the other kids. Luke requested osh , the main national dish here. He truly is a local kid in what foods he likes. Olivia was just downing all her osh while the other kids complained about it being so hot. She didn't seem to care at all!

Right before , Luke said "no it's my birthday and I get to blow out the candles. " He's been waiting a long time for this!

Looking a bit tired and rough at the end of the party...note to self :take family picture first!

On Sunday we had our neighbor kids over for osh and cupcakes. Look how many came - it was WILD. I'm still recovering.

Random picture , but a cute one. Olivia is obsessed with phones . As soon as she hears the phone ring she puts her hand up to her ears and says "hello." She has decided her favorite place to talk on her cell phone is in the corner beside the refrigerator. I have no idea why. And to answer your questions : yes, it's getting that cool here now (at least at night) that Olivia needs to wear fleece footy pajamas. Yes I know this pj's are Santa but they are 12 mo and fit her perfectly. Even though this girl can eat a lot of food, she still is tiny!