What a full week!
December 21st
We had our church congregation's annual Christmas party. It was wild, with gifts and lunch for 800+ people, mostly including people we know from the five mini-congregations we have in various parts of the city.
December 22nd
Ella made Christmas cookies with Tessi at Hanna's house. I didn't get any shots of the cookie decorating but I did get this shot of Ella in Tessi's old puppy dog costume. Ella loved it so much she wouldn't take it off. Never mind the sweaty head. As for the cookie making with a 2 and 3 year old? Easier said than done. Hanna and I were determined though and completed the project, but not without a few chaotic moments.
In the evening we hosted some expats for wine, cheese and Christmas cookies.
So thankful for great friends!
We thought we'd let the girls stay up late but by 9:30 Ella was asking for bedtime. I put her to bed and then the fireworks woke her up again at midnight so she got up for a while. After the party I cleaned up and Andrey put Ella to sleep. Again! This time with me in the house. Unheard of.
...because we went for a very fun, celebratory Christmas morning worship service. There were testimonies of the Lord's provision and blessings. Everyone was dancing by the end. Despite how tired we were, it was so much fun.
We went back home for lunch, put Ella down for a nap then Andrey and I ate lunch in bed in the air conditioned comfort of our bedroom and watched a few episodes of Flight of the Concords on my laptop. Then had a nap. So relaxing.
Once Ella was up it was time to open presents. We announced, "Okay Ella, it's time to open our gifts!" and we meant, okay, let's get things ready so we can open our gifts but she didn't quite get that and went directly to the tree, grabbed a present and ripped it open before we could realize what was going on.
Thanks Mimi and Pap for the Leapfrop laptop!
Ella got several books and some fabric ice cream cones for her kitchen.
It didn't take long for Ella to get the hang of her new big girl bike. The same bike that was supposed to be a surprise but on Christmas Eve mommy dropped the ball. I let her out of my sight for a few seconds while daddy was fixing it in the back. I ran after her but it was too late. Oh well. She was happy to finally get to ride it on Christmas day.
I gathered up the energy to make an apple pie (a must for Christmas day in my family) for our simple, family Christmas dinner of leftovers.
I love this group shot with my mom and dad. It's almost like they were here... but not quite.
We stayed home all day (Andrey is taking the whole week off, yay!!). Our good friend Charlotte joined us for dinner and happened to be around during our family pre-bed book reading time with Ella and got these shots for us.
We're off to the beach for two nights tomorrow with some friends. We are so thankful for the community we have here in the Philippines.
Hope you all are having a restful post-Christmas week!
December 21st
We had our church congregation's annual Christmas party. It was wild, with gifts and lunch for 800+ people, mostly including people we know from the five mini-congregations we have in various parts of the city.
December 22nd
Ella made Christmas cookies with Tessi at Hanna's house. I didn't get any shots of the cookie decorating but I did get this shot of Ella in Tessi's old puppy dog costume. Ella loved it so much she wouldn't take it off. Never mind the sweaty head. As for the cookie making with a 2 and 3 year old? Easier said than done. Hanna and I were determined though and completed the project, but not without a few chaotic moments.
That same day Hanna and I took the girls to a play area at the mall. On our way back we found ourselves in traffic with a cowboy! This Pinoy cowboy was for real. The horse was huge and his rider had him galloping when traffic sped up and trotting when traffic slowed, right along with the rest of the cars. We rolled down the windows and hollered. The girls loved it.
In the evening we hosted some expats for wine, cheese and Christmas cookies.
December 23rd.
We went to our church team's Christmas party. It was a blast. I love how every Christmas party in the Philippines has to include games and presentations. I have yet to go to a boring Christmas party here. Here are some of the guys doing a hip hop dance and having a ton of fun.
Since Andrey had the day off, Hanna offered to take Ella for a few hours so Andrey and I could have a date. It was our FIRST DATE since we got Ella nearly 15 months ago. We went to a fancy hotel nearby to a rooftop bar and had a few drinks during dusk. It was SO VERY NICE. Oh my gosh, we really miss being out together. I can't believe our 10th anniversary is coming up next summer. We've decided to celebrate it all year. After all, we are in our 10th year as husband and wife and this is our 10th Christmas together. This feels very significant to us. It's been fun reminiscing what we were doing 10 years ago. In December 2001, Andrey traveled to Florida to meet my family for the first time. We were engaged a month later.
Christmas Eve
We had a party at our house late in the evening and lasted through the fireworks at midnight. Ella and Tessi exchanged gifts and they each got a new book.
So thankful for great friends!
We thought we'd let the girls stay up late but by 9:30 Ella was asking for bedtime. I put her to bed and then the fireworks woke her up again at midnight so she got up for a while. After the party I cleaned up and Andrey put Ella to sleep. Again! This time with me in the house. Unheard of.
Christmas Day
We slept in and then had a yummy breakfast of pancakes and bacon.
We didn't have time to open gifts...
...because we went for a very fun, celebratory Christmas morning worship service. There were testimonies of the Lord's provision and blessings. Everyone was dancing by the end. Despite how tired we were, it was so much fun.
We went back home for lunch, put Ella down for a nap then Andrey and I ate lunch in bed in the air conditioned comfort of our bedroom and watched a few episodes of Flight of the Concords on my laptop. Then had a nap. So relaxing.
Once Ella was up it was time to open presents. We announced, "Okay Ella, it's time to open our gifts!" and we meant, okay, let's get things ready so we can open our gifts but she didn't quite get that and went directly to the tree, grabbed a present and ripped it open before we could realize what was going on.
Thanks Mimi and Pap for the Leapfrop laptop!
Ella got several books and some fabric ice cream cones for her kitchen.
It didn't take long for Ella to get the hang of her new big girl bike. The same bike that was supposed to be a surprise but on Christmas Eve mommy dropped the ball. I let her out of my sight for a few seconds while daddy was fixing it in the back. I ran after her but it was too late. Oh well. She was happy to finally get to ride it on Christmas day.
I gathered up the energy to make an apple pie (a must for Christmas day in my family) for our simple, family Christmas dinner of leftovers.
December 26th
We skyped with both sets of parents while it was still Christmas day for them.
We stayed home all day (Andrey is taking the whole week off, yay!!). Our good friend Charlotte joined us for dinner and happened to be around during our family pre-bed book reading time with Ella and got these shots for us.
We're off to the beach for two nights tomorrow with some friends. We are so thankful for the community we have here in the Philippines.
Hope you all are having a restful post-Christmas week!
3 comments:
What do I love about this post? As always, it made me chuckle. The picture of Ella in the puppy dog costume is hilarious. I love that you carry our tradition from your childhood into the present. Aunt Paula's apple pie recipe is the best. Scrambled eggs and leftover apple pie for Christmas morning breakfast. Yum. I love that you and Andrey have had time to yourselves and that Ella is progressing to her daddy getting her down to sleep. But most of all, that y'all are heading out to the beach!! Yeah! What a lovely place. Have fun Jam fam!!
Wow! You've been very busy!! Sounds like its been lots of fun!! Merry Christmas!!
Blessings!
Deborah
Sounds like a wonderful Christmas all around. Ella looks like such a big girl on her bike. Your date with Andrey sounded lovely! Time alone together is always nice although it rarely happens. We celebrate 10 years in 2012 as well. It's crazy how the time flies. Have a very Happy New Year and I wish you all the best!!!
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