THE Shoes!!!

 I have to give some props to Poppy and CC for this gift to the girls via TaoBao. They always give great gifts, and always ask for ideas! This was a no-brainer, and SO affordable. So when they said, 'we are kind of having trouble with the older girls, what to get...' I knew the two things they really desired (these and a chalkboard) and that we were going to have to wait until they saved up or for their birthdays.

But actually these were so much cheaper than the Hong Kong Disney version (59 RMB for these vs 200 RMB for the Disney brand). And shipping in China is quite cheaper than shipping in the U.S. and of course incredibly cheaper than shipping across the pond.

These are not Disney brand Elsa shoes, but they have way more bling than those and the girls don't care about brand. They LOVE them. And...I even let them wear them to school once or twice. Hilarious I know. Really these are not far off from what some of the kids wear on a typical day.
Sophia and Bella love these, and love to put on their Elsa dresses and dance around.
Thank you Poppy and CC!

Horse Farm Visit

And Christmas would not be complete without a visit to the horse farm nearby. This year we took a close local friend that had just gotten married and was moving away, along with the S fam. This was a chance for us to meet her new husband and we had a really good time.

I did not ride this time. My heart wasn't in it. It hasn't quite been settled since the last time we were there and witnessed a near tragedy. That mixed with Erica's scary stories from her childhood riding horses were all fresh in my mind....

But for some reason we still keep putting our kids up on them...and they love it...


Really I do too. Beautiful animals, beautiful girls, amazing scenery.

Left Over Hong Kong Pics!

Christmas Morning

We always enjoy finishing up our Advent celebrations and putting the final touches on our calendars that remind us that The Coming One did indeed come in real time, in real life, in a real family.

We never tire of re-thinking through this and challenging our kids to gain better understanding of what it means: Immanuel, God with us...that God became flesh and dwelt among us.

This year we watched 'The Nativity Story' as part of our celebration and this was just another way to portray the reality of what really happened over 2000 years ago and how it impacts us daily.

After singing and praying, we emptied stockings and prepared our bacon and egg biscuits that we eat about 1-2x a year. YUM.

The kids drew pictures or wrote stories and kind notes to put in our stockings.
Bella's for David was quite detailed and ended with a riddle. Clever girl! It was about helicopters, in case you can't tell.

Live Nativity Play

We printed out K's script and read through it once.

Look at this cast and crew...

The sheep

pre-play costume prep (the wise man has a cape, pretty wise)


The Angel Gabriel


Mary, pondering these things in her heart

Joseph...


They go on their long trip to Bethlehem



Joyful Parents...



A Shepherd...

tending her flock...


Wise men come from afar...

They bring their gifts before the baby king.


Final curtain call...


While this was hilariously cute, we actually did listen to the entire story and sing hymns throughout.
I am so glad K organized this, it is always a real blessing.

Christmas Eve

Our fam had been going so hard (still sick a bit) and hosting so much that I was exhausted. But hosting Christmas Eve was EASY with the S family, because they are fam!

I had the most relaxing day I have had in about six months. I baked in the morning and LOVED it because I didn't have to do a math lesson, give a spelling test, or any other school related thing while baking.

I drank a cup of coffee slowwwly while doing a puzzle. Yes, I did a puzzle all by myself in one hour (it was an easy one for the girls from Poppy and CC). David thought this weird: 'read a book on your day off', he suggested. The puzzle required some brain involvement but no need for retention of information, it was exactly what I needed.

We put on Christmas music and danced around.
We let the kids stay home from school and do zero home school and zero Chinese homework.
They were playing with their new chalkboard/whiteboard and playing games outside a lot.
We came together for Advent time in the morning. David took Tobin out on the motorcycle (a treat) to do a little last minute shopping.

It was a gloriously restful day and I was so thankful. It was an unexpected gift.

The S fam ordered a ham that we split and each cooked differently. I made Green Bean Casserole, K made Sweet potato casserole, we both made rolls/biscuits. I  had already made two kinds of fudge, chocolate chip cookies, toffee (which I never cook long enough), pecan pie, and chopped some raw veg (just to make us feel a little better about ourselves).
K's beautiful and delicious cherry pie was a special treat.

We had a very Merry Christmas Eve Dinner, followed by an amazing performance of a live nativity play by the Coker/S crew, stay tuned!

Christmas Eve Family Photos