There are many things I miss about Christmas in Alabama, but this year I have already been reminded so many times that the reason for this celebration is just as glorious no matter where I happen to live!
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| {24 weeks + 1 day!} |
Our December days have been busy, and this month feels like it's flying past us!
Last week, we headed out to watch the movie "Frozen" as a family. Check out this swanky theatre!
Most of the malls here have very nice theaters, but you had still better bring your own toilet paper if you want it! ;) With tickets about $2 per person and popcorn less than $2 for a large, seeing a movie here is a pretty inexpensive family outing. It's also an interesting cultural experience. Each movie begins with the national anthem and includes a 10-minute intermission halfway through. (Which, by the way, is actually a very good idea!)
The movie was cute, and M behaved well throughout the whole thing. It's hard to believe that our little boy is old enough to sit through a full-length movie, laughing at all the right spots!
After the movie, we headed down to the grocery store on the bottom floor of the mall. I was excited to see their display of Christmas trees and was even more excited to see that they were on sale.
However, nothing is ever as simple as we think it ought to be. We asked about a box for the tree and were told that the boxes they originally came in had been "destroyed." They assured us that they would find another box for us and disappeared into the back of the store.
They first returned with an 18" by 12" box... for our 5.5' Christmas tree.
Then they came out with one slightly larger...
Then another...
And another...
Then they came out with one slightly larger...
Then another...
And another...
After lots of waiting (and lots of stifled laughter on mine and K's part), they finally flattened two small boxes and taped them around the tree.
Not exactly the longterm storage solution we had in mind, but at least we were able to make it home on the rickshaw with the tree intact!
We brought a few special (and lightweight, non-breakable) ornaments from home. M had a great time putting them on the tree the next day. Such a great time, in fact, that after we were done, he started taking them off. "Let's take them off so we can do it again."
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| {Has anyone seen little M?} |
Since then, I have been working hard to get ready for our society's Christmas party on Saturday. My role is to provide some ornament crafts for the children that come.
M had a great time "helping" me make salt dough ornaments for the kids to decorate.
As an added bonus, I have been able to make some ornaments for our own tree while preparing for Saturday, so it is looking much more complete now!
Below are a few other recent pictures that we hope you enjoy:
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| {Exploring the older part of the city one Saturday} |
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| {Met a new friend at the playground near our language teacher} |
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| {Daddy's paper airplane made for great fun with our helpers!} |
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| {M went through a few days of defiantly skipping his naps... one day he even tore all the blankets off his bed! Thankfully, he's been doing much better this week. We ALL feel better when he takes one.} |
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| {A perfectly normal sight around here!} |
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| {M loves music, and we love hearing his sweet little voice sing! "Here I Am to Worship" and "Be Careful Little Eyes" have been recent favorites.} |
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| {When M saw our helper lying down to rest, he ran to grab his pillow and blankets so he could join her!} |
My laundry basket has proved to be a fantastic tool for M's imagination! It's been a boat, a bed, and, most recently, a "bed boat"!
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| {I made my first-ever homemade tortillas this week! The packaged kind are about $10 a pack here... no thanks! The homemade ones were much easier than I thought, and tasted great! Now just to work on getting them ROUND :) } |
Thank you all for remembering us and joining our journey. We are blessed to love and be loved by so many!
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