November and December

Scarlet has gotten really into reading. Everynight she practices with Greg and then they read a novel together. First they read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, then Willa Wonka and the Glass Elevator. Then Greg went to Singapore and I read Pippi Longstocking with her, and now it's Harry Potter with Daddy again. They really cruise through books and they love spending the time together. It's really sweet, actually. Scarlet is really gotten skilled at reading. She's starting to read Dr. Seuss books to us and noticing words all around.

 Daddy gave the kids a spa day, complete with foot soak, massage, and pedicure!

The kids (especially the boys) have REALLY been into building houses. Like, they get mad if they're gone the next morning. They are very specific in how they are put together, and they always have doors. It's pretty adorable and I love how creative they are. But when I have nowhere to sit or lay down, I get pretty annoyed.

There is so much to update with the kids. The kids get really crazy with making these horrific piles of everything right in the center of the living room. Greg described them as barricades and that is so accurate. They pile the cushions, kid chairs, strollers, toys, anything they can find and just pile it on. I love them being "wild" and creative, but it is such a pain to clean up.

They LOVE to be in the dark and play with flash lights. SO MUCH. They even started "throwing parties" where they turn out the lights, put a flashlight in a tube for a "disco ball", get snacks prepared and BLAST MUSIC and we dance. It was actually pretty fun, one time. But I despise the intense dark in the middle of the day. But the kids just love it.

Brighton has become totally potty trained, but doesn't have the patience to see it through. If he's excited about a bribe- PERFECTION. No accidents, not even a drop. Then once he forgets or doesn't care anymore, he soaks himself 3 times a day and our whole house just smells like pee now. I really hate it and have given up and put him back in diapers for now.

Marius can swim with a life jacket! It's so adorable! And I love it. One less body to hold. Sometimes the kids just crowd me and all 3 hang on and it's overwhelming. I like that I can have space. I can't believe he'll probly know how to swim sometime next year at 3. Crazy.

Scarlet lost 2 teeth. When she lost her first, she wouldn't let me pull it until I bribed her with letting her get her own room (she'd been begging me for months). So I did, she cried, and she got her own room. Brighton now sleeps alone in the guest room. We tried putting him with Marius for probly a month, but basically nobody slept for a month, until we moved Brighton out. I felt bad, Brighton didn't want to be alone, but what other choice did we have? He's used to it for now, though he gets scared sometimes.

Scarlet loves to fart on people. She thinks it's HILARIOUS. She will sneak over and put her back to you and let one go and laugh and laugh and laugh. I think it's pretty cute. She also has to wear deoderant. I made some and that's what she uses. But if she doesn't she STINKS. But she thinks THAT'S pretty funny too. If she goes too long without a shower and smells and I snuggle her a catch a whiff, I'll say "Ew, smelly!" and then she opens her armpit right over my nose and says, "Smell it! Smell it!" She thinks its hilarious. Its funny, I used to worry about her being the stinky kid at school, but she says she likes being stinky. She thinks it's fun.

Marius can poop and pee in the toilet, but is SO unpredictable. He wants to wear undies, but he always pees in them within 5 minutes. He pooped probably 5 times in the toilet before he ever peed.

Marius has gotten very expressive these days. When he's mad he'll hunch and look down and point his finger and say, "I'm mad at you!" And he keeps doing it until I react. He also tells me he hates me (because Brighton does). But he also tells me he loves me and is very sweet. I don't know why but every morning is drama drama drama with him. A long lasting fit and I never know why.

They've all been growing and getting older and smarter and it's been so much fun to see.

Brighton has changed a lot. He is such a good singer and understands so much. He is always listening in Primary, because he'll ask me about it (weeks later) or just casually mention something and I'm blown away. Like Jesus making the world- so did he make the sidewalks too? He was asking me about Jesus dying and resurrecting 3 days later the other night. He didn't understand it all 100% so he was asking me questions. I love when he asks me questions.

Brighton and Marius are good buds. They play all day long. Marius copies EVERYTHING Brighton does. If Brighton sits a certain way, Marius does. Whatever Brighton says, Marius says. If Brighton stumbles and falls, Marius does it right after. Marius gets owies when Brighton does, in the exact same places. I love that he wants to be him. It's so sweet. And Brighton is so unaware.

Scarlet loves school. She is so comfortable there. She started Occupational Therapy to help her learn how to run, jump and a few other things and it's been so wonderful. A really good facility that is helping a lot. She was really shy about it at first, but now she thinks it's really fun. She has improved so much already!

Greg's been super focused on getting more fit than he already is. I'm really proud of him. It's really helped to establish his habits with all his time away in Singapore. He had nothing to do after work, but exercise, so he would twice a day a lot of the time. He read and learned a lot about running and learned a completely different way to run and he LOVES IT. It's so much easier on his body and now he just loves to run and just like that is running 6 miles a day. He would run more if he had the time. He wakes at 5am to go on a run. Crazy.

We just got a trampoline and it's so great! The kids LOVE IT. They spend SO MUCH time outside now. It's been so wonderful. They go jump, and then wander off to other things outside. I feel like the kids have been so CREATIVE these days and it just reminds me of my own childhood and I love witnessing it. I love them all so much.

Things are good. I've been sick quite a bit the last month. That's annoying. I've been working on christmas crafts. I bought fabric to make gift bags to put under the tree. I made little fabric tree ornaments. I'm going to make gingerbread ornaments once I feel better. And I'm trying to paint a picture or two, as well. It's exciting! I like doing all this stuff, it's just hard to find the time with kids. They get into it and so it's hard to do when they're awake. And then I'm pretty tuckered out once they're in bed.

Greg and I have been watching less and less TV and reading more together at night. It's been fun. We read Wonder together and now are reading this funny book about modern dating. We've been trying to focus on our time and spend it more wisely (not on tv) if we can manage. Sometimes it's hard and we just have to zone out, but we've been doing better as the weeks pass. We've also been trying to get to bed earlier and eat less sweets. We have mostly offed them, but had icecream in Singapore together, and made some for the kids when they did their parts in the Primary Program- things like that. Special moments and of course holidays.

Christmas is around the corner and Pat and Randy are coming to visit and we're SOOOOO excited. I honestly wish it was tomorrow.

Greg went to Singapore again for a couple weeks in November. I went to visit one more time and it was AWESOME!!!! It was awesome because we saw so much last time, there was no rush and we just hung out and relaxed. I remember we slept A LOT. It was wonderful. We saw a movie we didn't realize was rated R until some things happened . . . but we saw Captain Fantastic and I LOVED IT. It was amazing. It made me want to live in the wilderness away from all that is in the world. But you know- I'd miss people and indoor plumbing and I suppose it would get cold in the winter. But the thought of being COMPLETELY surrounded by the wild, having a NATURAL, chemical free, media free world made me feel so FREE and HAPPY.

We went on an incredible hike. We were right in the middle of the city- but you'd never know it. It was LONG and beautiful. You were just completely surrounded by nature and it was so wonderful. A lot of the plant life looked so different. It was just plants on top of plant, on top of trees and vines and it was all piled high. A lot of it actually reminded me of Dr. Seuss pictures. It just looked strange! It rained pretty good on us, but we were warm and I just kept saying, "Oh! I feel so happy! I love this!" Manila doesn't have anything like this in the city. We haven't been on a trail in a year and a half at least. I was feeling it and needing to fill the void. There were these incredible spots along the trail that were actually THROUGH THE TOPS OF TREES. The path was raised up incredibly high, 100 feet up at least, and it was so beautiful.

Ah, I love my man!

Then we stopped for some fresh Asian fare. I got some hot Chinese soup. It was so good.

Cooked ducks, hung in a row. Such a common sight in these parts. I think it's really gross. They all even have their heads attached.

We went in this maze of a mall- searching for a restaurant and found this very healthy section that was FILLED WITH BEANS. I mean every bean on the planet. It was INSANE. We bought some that we haven't made and who knows if we will. We were hoping to recreate something we had there. An Indian bread that was naturally gluten free (because I hadn't had gluten in a month). It was amazing to see all the product that was there. A million Bob's Red Mill bags of everything under the sun.

We found the restaurant! And look at the size of that "bread". It was paper thin and a little crazy.

Greg and I love eating exotic food.

Then Greg and I visited a Hindu Temple and it was really weird. We took off our socks (that wasn't the weird part).

It had statues everywhere. People were praying to them. Unless I'm mixing this up with another temple we saw- they were making a TON OF FOOD- like barrels of milk- for the Gods/statues and there were monks without shirts and it was just weird.

But if that wasn't strange enough look at these statues! They are scary! People with lots of limbs, stomping on babies, eating people intestines, really horrifying face expressions.

See the food offering in front of the statue? I don't get it. I don't remember much else from our trip- just that it was wonderful. It's been so great to leave the kids and truly have time alone. We've been so grateful to have someone at home to trust with our little ones. We always try to plan playdates for them and order pizza and Bon Chon (their favorite place to eat) while we're gone so that it's not as bad to have us gone.

We've been searching for a trampoline SINCE WE MOVED HERE and at the beginning of December I SAW ONE at S&R (Philippines version of Costco) and I called Greg at work and within a few hours we bought it. I think he even came home early from work. It was quite a to do to set it up. Greg was out after the kids went to bed with his headlamp and I came out to help and it was stressing me out. I was worried the whole thing wasn't even going to work. He had to buy replacement bolts because the ones it came with were cheap and breaking. But in the end it all worked out and it's been AMAZING!!!!! I LOVE having the trampoline. The kids love it so much. Greg just bought some really colorful dodge balls and the kids love bouncing with them on the trampoline.

For Christmas Pat and Randy came!!! We were SO HAPPY they came to visit. It's nice to have family around for Christmas and they are great visitors. We all went to Borocay. It was my first beach experience in the Philippines and it was pretty incredible! This was right in front of our hotel. Beautiful!!!

We picked the perfect location. It was low key and beautiful. Just down the beach were tons of rocks and little places to explore. I loved it!

This was one of my favorite parts- just walking around with the kids, looking at little crabs, rocks and washed up shells.

Daddy and Marius

You can see this narrow little path off to the left and it was a little scary walking it with the kids.

This night we walked down the beach to White Beach. We hadn't been there yet- it is this beautiful shallow beach that goes so far out into the ocean. The water is warm. The sand is SO SOFT. You step on it in the water and immediately the sand just fluffs up and clouds around your foot. The kids loved playing, the weather was so perfect, I just felt sooooo happy and kept thinking how I loved my life.

Scarlet and Pat

Scarlet, Pat and Brighton

Soooooo happy . . .

Marius is so cute.

We took a boat out to go snorkel and it was quite a fiasco. We "ordered" a sail boat but didn't realize there weren't seats in the sailboats. You literally hang off the sides right above the water. Scarlet was FREAKING OUT, not willing to try it- I was a little concerned myself, but we were SO BUMMED because it actually looked really cool. We got the right kind of boat and off we went. At first it was BEAUTIFUL, so serene and just amazing. Then the water started getting really choppy. Like REALLY. CHOPPY. After about a 40 min ride, he tells us we should go back because it won't be good snorkeling in the waves. So that was annoying and we drove all the way back to a calm spot.

  

It was my first time snorkeling and I was worried I wouldn't be able to float (not the best swimmer) but it was easy! We saw a lot of fish, it was really neat. Like a whole new world under there.

Randy and Greg are pros. I realize Greg gets his confidence in the water from his Dad. He's just like him. They both swam super deep and got to explore more than Pat and I. I would try to swim low but it was hard, I just kept floating up. I was nervous about going deep too. It was my first time snorkeling and I just got nervous about doing more than I could do.

Getting on and off the boat made me so sea sick. The waves just bounced me up and down so much it was hard to even get up and the motion just made me feel ill. After doing that a couple times I was DONE and wanted to be on firm ground.

Greg road back on the sail boat (Pat and Randy rode that out) and he said it was so awesome.

This is how you sit, on the net, far out from the sides of the boat, right above the water.

Scarlet was tuckered out and Pat read her James and the Giant Peach. It was great, in the whole amount of time Pat and Randy were here, they read the whole book together. It was really sweet to watch.

Randy and Greg went for a couple dives and said it was awesome. Randy dives quite a bit but Greg hadn't since we lived in Eugene.

Father and Son

Riding back to the beach . . .

There was a beach that was supposed to have a lot of washed up shells so we went out to find it. This was our ride and it was really fun.

When we first got there it was HOT, we were hungry and thirsty. We couldn't find a good spot to sit ourselves, people were haggling us, Greg and I were disagreeing about where to go and we got in one of our once a year fights and off he went with Pat and Randy and left me with all the kids and no money. Prior to all this the kids were whining nonstop about wanting to buy junk. 15 minutes later they all came back to tell us they found a great spot down the beach. So we bought some Magnum Ice Cream Bars, gobbled them down and off we went. And it really was great. It was totally secluded. This was one side . . .


This was the middle.

This was the other side. Just beautiful!

There were some great rocks again to explore and a CAVE!!! It was really cool, though we only discovered it right at the end. It was HUGE.

 

We told the kids they could buy ONE THING and it took a LONG LONG TIME for them to decide what to get.

Then we drove home!

More playing in the sand in front of our hotel . . .

One of the days Brighton was seriously grumpy and demanded that we stay in our room and he, Marius and I literally stayed in the hotel and watched TV all day. It was not fun. I read a lot. And watched a couple movies on TV. They had a beautiful little pool that the kids loved and a great little playground right by the restaurant. One night a really creative and unique band played. They were so fun! I even bought their album. They used really odd objects to add sounds to their music and it was so fun! Halfway thru an incredible storm happened and the rain was POURING (it was outside, under cover) and it was a really cool atmosphere. The restaurant sent around really yummy appetizers and the whole experience was just really fun. The food at the restaurant was so good. They had great variety and it was just yummy! Within a few days we were eating their Magnum Ice Cream bars every night after the kids went to bed. It was such a lovely vacation! There's nothing we would have changed!

A few days after we arrived home was Christmas Eve! Last year Greg and I realized our New Christmas Eve Tradition . . . quality German sausage, grapes, chocolate, artisan bread and brie. It's so delicious. We like that it's all finger food, and easy to clean up. The last few years I've realized I want Christmas to be STRESS FREE. I don't want my Christmas Spirit to be vanquished by the stress of meal preparation. But we want it to be tasty! We found the perfect balance. Usually we watch a movie, but this year I decided I want to play games instead. When the night came, we watched Home Alone instead. We all loved it.

I worked really hard to simplify the words in the scriptures telling of Christ's birth. I edited it so that it was much easier for the kids to understand. As I read each part, I had the kids use the Kyrgyzstan felt nativity to tell the story. I just really loved the whole ting. Then Greg read The Night Before Christmas.

This year I worked my butt off sewing cloth gift bags for Christmas. Though the work was hard- I was so glad I did it! I love that they're colorful. I love that they are our family's, and not wrapping paper we're just going to throw away. It was sooooo much easier to "wrap" presents, along with unwrapping and cleaning up the mess. I really like this new tradition.

Christmas morning! It was really sweet to see the kids unwrap their gifts. They were mostly all from Pat and Randy. Santa brought them all Razor Scooters- which they LOVE and Greg and I got them games- Charades, Hot Potato and Guess Who. The games were such a big hit- so fun for all of us to play together. We wanted more activities for Family Home Evening and the kids are just outgrowing the games that we already have.

I was pretty happy with the stockings this year . . . band aids, sun glasses, water colors, colored pencils, stickers and a little candy.

Marius gets a real good stare at us now. He's turning out to be just as expressive as, if not more than, the rest of us.

Our helper, Lorna, was so generous and bought our children gifts. Marius had told her he wanted a doggy, because Scarlet and Brighton had one and he didn't. Well she got him one and he went BESERK he was so happy! I've never seen him like this in his little life. He was bouncing and jumping all over the couch. He just couldn't contain himself. It went on for minutes! He was very very happy.

Lorna got Scarlet a craft kit.

She got Brighton this really nice turtle and he sleeps with it every night!

We went to church after presents and I sung in the choir. It was a nice meeting. Alma, my good friend, gave us these really cool blocks cut out of wood. WE LOVE THEM!!!! And they were perfect to pair with the army men for playing. It made it seem like they were out in the woods. It has been a really cool present.

Pat read a lot to the kids one night and she was even losing her voice a bit, but kept going. She is such a diligent grandma. They give us so much of their love and time. Randy and her always drop everything they're doing for a chance to talk to the kids online, when we call and they are so generous with their gifts. We love them so much and the kids do too.

Right before they left Greg and I took Pat and Randy to go buy pearls. Pearls here are 1/5 of the price at home, so they got everyone they knew pearls (including me). It was fun. Pat took a lot of time picking out just the right string of pearls for everyone. It was very sweet. I liked seeing that side of her. I'm the same way. Finicky and picky about certain kinds of decisions. Everything they got was beautiful. Randy got Pat a really fancy set of pearls. They were beautiful.

Then they flew home. It was such a nice visit. We're so glad they come to visit us.

Scarlet has been loving to cook for us. I taught her how to make Brownie in a Mug. I drew up a recipe with pictures for her. I need to get her a real recipe book.

For New Years Eve we were all sick so we did not stay up- which I didn't care anyway. We were going to throw a last minute party- which last minute everybody had to cancel anyway, so it all worked out.