Counting the Days

Even though we spent several Christmases here while we were overseas, I've still gotten overwhelmed with all of the holiday events and to-do lists. Our home leaves were always a whirlwind but living here and juggling the school activities, Christmas parties, shopping, and baking have left me feeling behind for weeks. I think I'll spend more time next year looking at the calendar and planning ahead! But at least we managed to finish almost everything and the boys and I are enjoying this week of school holidays with rest and play while Matt wraps up at the office.

We got our year-end stats on the boys (both at 37.5 lbs! B at 46in and A at 39in) and they wanted to look back at their baby books. Think they've grown a little? Ben's foot nearly covers the page!

Alex's foot

Alex's hands. The originals weren't great but we got an idea of the size of his hands. Since both kids were early we never got the pretty hospital prints.

Alex has been counting the days to Christmas and can tell you exactly how many are left every day! Now we're just trying to keep him busy to pass the time until the big day.

Ben is counting, too, but isn't quite as obsessed as Alex. He has so many animal friends to take care of it's a wonder he has time for anything. These guys all got their own blankets.

We've been playing with the neighbors a lot, too. Alex loves Michelle, another preschooler down the street, so her mom and I swapped some babysitting time to finish our Christmas shopping. These two had a wonderful lunch date.

We baked sugar cookies with sweet Sariah from next door and her brother. My first experience with four kids, icing and sprinkles.

They were so busy! I was busy with a wet rag and dustbuster to try and keep the mess contained.

Yum!

Uh, not exactly how I would have chosen to decorate them but the kids loved them. Nothing wrong with half a pound of sprinkles, right?

Alex enjoyed one last indian summer day in the sprinkler. Gotta love December in Houston when you still get 80 degree days!

Now we're ready to celebrate Christmas with our families and await the arrival of Santa. We're also hoping to take the kids to their first candlelight Christmas eve service so they can understand why we're celebrating in the first place.

Tis the Season!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! And these boys are all over it. Christmas in America sure beats Christmas down under (but we wouldn't mind a trip to the beach these days!) They were SO excited to go see Santa and both got really shy when they saw him. I know they still rattled off a list of things they're hoping to see under the tree but I loved seeing them awestruck with the big guy in red. We went really early so they had lots of time to talk and we took lots of pictures, and Alex looked like this in ALL of them!

At home we got a tall, pre-lit tree so I was pretty thrilled to save all the time stringing lights! The boys helped hang some of the ornaments but I didn't force the issue when they got bored because all of them would have ended up on one branch.

The fireplace is looking cozy and we've had lots of discussions about how Santa will get in. The best part of this picture is that the TV is no longer on the coffee table because we finally got a console!

The most fun we've had is with our Elf on the Shelf that the boys named Bart. For those new to this bribe, er, tradition, the story is that this little guy watches the kids all day then goes to the north pole at night to report to Santa. Awesome parenting tool.

Each day when he gets back from the north pole he shows up in a new spot so the kids have to find him in the morning.

We also went to the big Christmas pageant at our church in Houston and it was amazing! The kids loved parts of it but after the first 200 questions from Ben, I began to lose my patience and didn't get to enjoy it as much as I would have liked. I should have given him a limit on questions before the show started. Live and learn. Regardless, it was their first time to see the story of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus and I hope they'll remember it forever. That and angels all over the sanctuary and coming down from the ceiling, and even an elephant following the wise men. Really awesome.

Thanksgiving in Alabama

We all enjoy a trip to Alabama to play, get dirty, and escape from the real world for a while. We met Grandpa and Grandma Kirkham there for Thanksgiving and had a great time. It was our first time to visit since a tornado came through in April and destroyed about 80 acres of woods and damaged Grandpa's house and cousin Jim's house across the street. Both houses have been repaired (Jim's was pretty severe and just finished up last month!) and the salvageable timber hauled off, but the rest of the debris and stumps still needed to be burned. Jim had already piled most of the debris with Grandpa's new bulldozer, but they still got a little help from two willing volunteers.

I didn't plan this, but Ben happened to be representing Caterpillar courtesy of our friend Mr. Scott, who works at the Cat headquarters.

Shortly after these pictures, I learned that rolling in dirt gets the grease off of clothes. Who knew? My little pigpen cleaned himself up by getting dirtier.

The boys loved riding with Jim!

I even did a little driving myself. I have to admit it was really fun. Log across the road? No problem. I wouldn't mind cruising down I-10 in Houston traffic in this one day.

The boys' favorite part was going back out to the fires after dinner and roasting marshmallows....or "camping" as Alex kept calling it.


It's hard to beat a warm, gooey marshmallow! We're a perfect fit - I want the crispy skin, the boys want the mushy insides.

Messy? Nah, just the sign of a yummy dessert.

The boys' other favorite activity was catching grasshoppers outside. Ben loves anything he can keep as a pet. This one was Cheeky, his favorite. (but shhhh.....don't tell him I quietly removed one of Cheeky's legs so he couldn't escape!)

And Alex loved Donald. Poor Donald lost both his legs in a catch gone wrong, but turns out it didn't matter because Alex loves with all his heart and all his fist.

Little Donald didn't exactly hop away when Alex was finished playing with him.

Happy boys out in the woods!

It was a great Thanksgiving and we were so happy to celebrate it with family this year. Now we're thrilled about Christmas and can't wait for Santa to come down the chimney!

Thankful

We are so happy to be celebrating Thanksgiving in the land of turkey and pumpkin! Last year a very thoughtful friend sent us a can of pumpkin and I shared a big batch of pumpkin spice cupcakes with all our American friends because it was too precious to keep to ourselves. Aside from the ease of shopping here, we are thankful for a multitude of blessings this year - family, good health, happy kids, the list could go on and on. I love sharing this with the kids and hearing what they're thankful for as well.
(click on the pictures to enlarge)


Ben and Alex are also getting caught up in decorating for the holidays so yesterday we made hand turkeys and they spend the evening doing the "turkey tango" with them. Not sure where these ideas originate but they're fun to watch.

My little guys are getting very artistic these days, thanks in part to some of the kindergarten assignments Ben brings home and part due to longer attention spans, I think. The kitchen counter is such a great space for them to get creative while I cook on the other side.

They're also loving the laundry. I'm cheering for this one! They worked together to empty the dryer and move the clean clothes out of the washer....hooray!!

They're also enjoying the jeep again these days, thanks to cooler weather and a new battery that lasts a lot longer. Alex was driving and Ben was consulting the map.

Ben got himself dressed recently and came back with some extra clothes...

...and naturally Thing 2 had to follow suit about 12 seconds later.

Alex has some new moves these days. Loving the booty shake and the breakdancing on the floor.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Chalk and Puddles

What happens after the first rain in weeks?

Fire Station Birthday Party

On Saturday we got to take the kids to one of the best birthday parties ever. It was at the fire station where their friend Jackson was born two years ago! It's one of those amazing birth stories you'd see on TV, but the little guy was in such a hurry to get out his parents didn't make it to the hospital and pulled into this fire station just a few minutes before he was born. The firemen there have kept up with little Jackson and even offered to open the station for the first time to a birthday party so he could celebrate. Naturally, the boys were thrilled at the prospect of fire trucks and cupcakes. All my pictures came from my camera and I didn't even get one of the birthday boy, but I captured a lot of the fun.

I didn't realize this little boy's parents weren't there with him and couldn't figure out why he was in all our pictures!

The kids got to climb all over the trucks so it was little boy heaven.

Let's wait a few more years before you take that out for a spin, Ben...

We got to see the jaws of life and the hydraulic cutters for car accidents and lots of other cool equipment. Matt and I were just as excited as the kids to see a lot of the things.

The kids all got to take turns with the hose.

These guys were SERIOUS.

Matt was the lucky volunteer to put on all 80lbs of equipment. It's amazing what firemen can do with all that extra weight.

The kids were all enthralled.

Fireman Matt came to say hello once he was fully equipped.

Ben did a little demo of Stop, Drop, and Roll that he remembered from school. He must have learned it the day he came home to ask how long it had been since we checked the batteries in the smoke detectors. How is it he can remember that but not remember what he ate for lunch?

After all the fun in the firehouse, we went inside for pizza and cupcakes. What a great time! Too bad it's not a regular event there because I know Ben and Alex will probably be asking for that kind of party next summer.

Here and Now

Wow...6 months already. Exactly half a year ago Monday we spent our last glorious day on Cottesloe beach, had our sweet babysitter watch the kids one last time, and Matt and I watched our last sunset over the Indian ocean. I can't believe how the time has flown by. I'd heard so many warnings about how hard it is to repatriate and readjust to life back home that I was pretty nervous about it but honestly, we've all been so happy back in Texas that there is no doubt it was the right move for our family at just the right time. A lot of prayer goes into each move we've made and God definitely opened the right doors for us each time. Singapore was a wonderful adventure and an exciting multi-cultural experience. Perth was a laid-back, peaceful time in a beautiful country. But Texas, well, Texas is HOME. It may not always be as exciting or breathtaking, but it's where our hearts have always been. Our families are here, our roots are here, and now our children are setting roots here as well.

The best part of this last move is that it was not an assignment, it was a permanent relocation. That is a huge difference mentally. Gone are the "when we get back we'll...." or "in the next house..." and even the "for our next move we should..." It's tough as an expat to enjoy life in the moment sometimes when you're thinking ahead to when "real" life will begin again. Now we're enjoying the real life and I'm finding so much peace and satisfaction in living in our own house again, washing my own car, putting nails in the wall for things to stay, going to a church we really love. Last Saturday we got to have lunch with Grammy and Grumpy and dinner with Grandpa, Grandma, and Aunt Amanda. Life is good.

I think a big bonus to our readjustment was settling in a new part of Houston, ironically something I was very against when the opportunity initially presented itself. We're almost an hour from our old house so we are learning all about a new community and making new friends, but we're still close enough to see old friends every once in a while. It may have been a lot harder had we gone back to our old neighborhood and tried to pick up life as we knew it four years ago since everyone's lives have gone on without us. Several families on our street have relocated from overseas or distant corners of the US so we're not alone in adjusting here.

I guess we'll always be a little different now, though. I'll want to say "air-con" forever because it's easier than air-conditioning. I still call trash cans "bins" because that's what Ben knows to call them. I have to remember at the seafood counter that it's okay to ask for "fil-lays" instead of "fil-lits" (a word I hated and usually refused to say in Australia). I still get confused occasionally about which side of the road I need to drive on or which stick controls the wipers or blinkers. Matt and I decide if we want take-away for dinner. I'm slowly resisting the urge to buy 6 cans of rotel every time I go down the aisle in the store because I remind myself I can get them anytime I need them. Our kids are learning about America's obsessive need to overdo every holiday and things like daylight savings time that they've never experienced. Boy, did Ben have a lot of questions about that! Not every 5-year old's drawings of airplanes always include inflight TV's. I'm growing more and more excited about the fact that our holidays this year won't include any marathon flights or jetlag, and we can buy freely without worrying about whether it will get back in our luggage.

It's wonderful to live life now. In the moment. And feel content. We thank God for a wonderful experience overseas and even more for a wonderful place to return home.