Goodbye Abby...

Yes, she left us. It was bound to happen sooner or later. It was not unexpected, but a little sudden.

The many ways Abby is irreplaceable:
-she knows how we parent and why, she adjusted and agrees
-she is okay with letting our children cry (not giving into their whims)
-she can make incredible Chili, Salsa, tortillas, granola, and Chinese food, among other things
-when I have nothing for her to do and tell her to sit down and rest, she finds things to do, like take the girls clothes out that are shoved in their dresser and refold and organize.
-on a day when I am sick, she really is a great big sis to our girls, which is invaluable for David, who doesn't need to stay home for a long time.
-trustworthy
-when seeing the Avocados that I forgot about she quickly decides to make Guacamole, (this while I was sick, so unfair), she adjusts the recipe since one is already rotten. When I did get to taste it, it was delicious.
-She has a gentle spirit about her, and has taught Sophia so much Chinese, it is very clear. She is literate in her mother tongue and in Chinese.
- and so much more, but while some of this is trainable, most of it is not, she is/was a great worker, and friend, we will miss her

David's gift

I made a 'shutterfly' book for David remembering our trip to Maine. I couldn't wait to see it (obviously it was a gift for myself too, oops), so I made him open it one night during advent time and we all read through it together.

I am ultra impressed with Shutterfly, I have spent LOTS of money there catching up making our 'yearly' picture albums and some Christmas gifts. Because we just spent time in America with family I really wanted to capture those moments and share them with others. Shutterfly has been so easy, not too time consuming, and though in the end it is expensive (though I got lots of their 'free shipping deals'), I think it is about the price of me printing all my own pictures and putting them in an album, probably a little bit more, but worth it for the quality and keepsake of it. My first ever picture book was made with 'Blurb,' I was very disappointed.

Anyway, the 'remembering Maine' book was great, and David loved it!

Advent

we light our candles, Sophia eats a snack. We let her choose an ornament off of the tree and we talk about how it points us to Jesus.



We sing songs


We put the next piece on our Advent calendar, we read the story or parts of it, and then we pray. Some nights we open a gift some nights not.
This has been such a sweet time each night of anticipating and hoping and thanking God.

Christmas gifts

We are still developing 'how' we will do Christmas every year. So far we have put zero gifts under the tree, and have decided to slowly open some. Poppy and CC have sent us a few packages, so we have chosen a few of those gifts to open, and anticipate the celebrating of THE gift, the begotten not created King of kings!

Here are some pics from our first 'openings.' Thank you Poppy and CC for these wonderful gifts. What a blessing.

Isabella Hayil at 18 months

December 16th, 2010

Wow, girl you are growing up fast. Your hair is... well, longer than it was, your eyes are still as bright, your lashes beautiful, and your demeanor a joy. Every. Single. Day.
You wake up with smiles and new words, you get so excited over simple things. You LOVE to wear shoes (what a girl), but Daddy thinks you may be a tomboy, since you fall and never cry and have the most daring spirit. So, yes, we are working on taming some of that, for your good, but letting you explore and develop your own style too.
You love your Sophia, except when she takes your toy, you love to say 'bye' on your car and blow kisses like you are really leaving. But you know it is all a game.
You are talking more and more, you are now saying: 'help please' (instead whining in frustration, good job sweetie), We are not letting you suck your thumb (except in bed), another 'good job'! You can actually say 'Sophia' but you LOVE to play the game where we say 'So' and you say 'Fia'. You just laugh and laugh at this.
You love to go outside and say 'side! side!' when we are about to leave.
You are starting to understand everything and obey really well, in lots of areas, like: 'take your shoes off and put them in the closet.'
You are the most smiley and cuddly thing ever (maybe I said that about Sophia too, but it is true, we are just so blessed with these girls).
We love you darling.

Irreplaceable

Bella was looking like a little gymnast in these black pants, and, as usual, she flashes a great smile:



Sophia and Abby, playing a hand game. I think Sophia has already figured out that our new Ayi (Aunt, who is helping us now) is no Abby, she is simply irreplaceable.

Two weeks of...

I can't really explain all the nuances of the past two weeks. Working towards really important deadlines, this is David's busiest time (everything is 'urgent' and 'important' really!), we convince our helper not to get married and then a week later she yields to pressure anyway (this is for a long post, I wrote weeks ago, but haven't decided if I will post or not), we are emotional wrecks seeing someone we love make a horrible decision, then sickness comes in all shapes and sizes, then sickness goes, then it comes in yet another variety, scarier than the first. We cannot remember the last time we got a full nights sleep, we trudge on.

I, at 22 weeks pregnant, start with weird abdominal cramping one evening. It subsides when I put my feet up. The next morning, starting at 5 a.m. it comes back with a vengeance and persists on and off for five hours with nothing to show for it. I absolutely cannot tell if this is or will be a GI thing, or if something is horribly wrong with our baby. This is the first time in this pregnancy I have been really scared, and the first time ever in my life that I have prayed for diarrhea. And then when it came (for the following five hours), I was so thankful, seriously. Our doctor, also so concerned that I was having pre-term labor, called us, and suggested we still go get an ultrasound just to make sure all is okay. And so we do, and all is okay. And we just thank our Father for always knowing what we can handle, and taking us through such things even with our grumblings sometimes. And it is not over, the onslaught of things that seek to rob our joy, but give us even greater opportunities to rejoice, no, they are not over..

Even after that episode, we still have children throwing up every few hours, a dear friend's child being rushed to the hospital, deadlines, deadlines, stomach pains that still have me wondering, and our helper telling us the date she is getting married and how she won't be coming back to work starting right then (via telephone mind you).

And so, in this Christmas season, of remembering the perfect gift, the greatest treasure, we are in constant battle to actually remember, to really not forget, and to really treasure the right thing, the right One. This 'onslaught' of things that wreck our comfort remind us of the reason a miraculous birth had to take place, a perfect life had to be lived, and horrific wrath- avenging death had to be died, and the reason death had to be overcome in such a way.

Redeeming glory.
It sounds so abstract in the day to day of cleaning up vomit and counseling wayward souls, redeeming glory is our hope. There is hope that is known and felt and real in all of this, there is restoration, and joy, our very own real joy in pressing on in our uncomfortableness to partake of what the shepherds saw and the wise men knew: this is real, and this is where it begins and ends. He is all in all.

May you abide in Him as your all in all this season, and every season of the soul that leaves you uncomfortable, weary, seemingly forsaken, and despairing. Fear not, He is here.