December around our house ended up not exactly as we had expected or planned. We had a nasty flu that made it's way around the family and were also very busy with Christmas parties and other work. But , we did still stop and enjoy this special holiday with our sweet family as they are beginning to understand more and more of the wonder of the Christmas story.
Here are some pictures from December at our house. Sorry - in no particular order. I'm just happy they're getting on here !
Luke and Olivia's school had a holiday celebration for New Year's (major holiday here). Apparently 2012 is the year of the dragon.
Luke, some kids from his class, his teacher, and some dad of another kid. Oh, and Santa and his granddaughter too. Yes, Luke is dressed as Spiderman. These holiday parties at schools are more like Halloween - costumes and way too much candy.
Olivia, her American buddy, and a few kids from her class.
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| Singing Happy Birthday to Jesus on Christmas morning! |
Christmas break always means tons of game playing for us.
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| Our special stockings. |
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| Enjoying their presents from each other. Luke gave Olivia makeup, Olivia gave Luke a ball that sticks on the wall, and they both gave Maggie some baby soap. |
Making gingerbread houses at a friend's house
always begging for a craft
They do really love each other.
Olivia opening her stocking on Christmas morning.
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| Luke showing off his new ear muffs |
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| Maggie turned 7 months old!! |
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| The expat women in our city have a tradition of a Christmas cookie exchange. You might gain weight just looking at this picture. You have no idea how hard it is to pull off these kind of treats here! |
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| Luke and 2 of the ladies that are planning to marry him. I'm not joking The first girl is from Holland and told her dad, "If I marry Luke, I'l have to move to America and speak English all the time! " The 2nd girl draws him pictures often with "I love Luke" written on them. Who knew we had such a ladies' man! |
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| Sweet Maggie's 1st Christmas |
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| Annual Christmas shopping trip (for each other) |
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| Christmas Eve |
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| Maggie and her 1st stocking! |
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| Maggie and her 1st baby doll - is basically the same doll as Olivia's beloved "Baby Ruth". When we opened it, Olivia said "the same eyes, the same mouth!!" Maggie giggled and then threw it, as she throws most things these days. I bet she will grow to love "Baby Claire" too. |
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| Messy eater but loving every bite |
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| Christmas party with other expat kids |
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| Finally, one of the hardest parts of December. My grandfather passed away after a long battle with emphysema. Here he is in June holding newborn Maggie. I wasn't able to go to the funeral but I'm thankful for his long life and the impact he had on many. I only wish he could see this little sweetie grow up (and the others too). |
2 comments:
Precious fun pictures!!! Maggie looks like she really enjoys being part of all the activities. She looks like a very happy baby, too. Luke and Olivia are like two peas in a pod - - - so adorable and growing extremely fast! What a great end of the year celebration time.
Blog hopped over and found yours! So fun to catch up with your family! All your kids are so adorable (and I can relate to a strong-willed little girl).
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