Thanks, Aunt Chelsey & Fam!

We love helping Mommy & Daddy in the kitchen!

American Christmas Food a la Anglaise

American Christmas food is fairly unprescribed, so this year we opted for roast beef, but the parsnips and Yorkshire pudding offered a little Britishness to the dish.

 

For dessert we tried a Southern American favorite--sweet potato casserole with praline topping, which is how Wes' mom makes it. But I love the British dessert ethic: Whatever you're eating is probably better with cream on top. Why not?

Thanks, Grandparents E!

Texas-sized bows!

Thanks, Uncle Andrew & Fam!

Reading the bilingual Spanish/English book, Tortillas and Lullabies/Tortillas y Cancioncitas

Thanks, Uncle Bobby & Fam!

Transcript:

"Puzzle."

"Molly's got this set!"

"It's a stamp set."

Thanks, Uncle Josh & Fam!

Thanks, Grandparents H!

Transcript of less clear bits:
Sophia: "Girls' lego!" [mega bloks, actually]
Sophia says as Alathea opens gift: "Another Chuggington bit! Percy!"
Wes: "Oh, you can make a hill with your track."
Alathea: "I wish I could have Percy and Thomas, too!"

 Sophia's new blocks

 Thomas and Percy trains

 Alathea's new train track "hills"

 Both sets of new toys put to good use

Daddy made a car out of new blocks

Night Before Christmas

Here are a couple main events from our Christmas Eve:

Transcript of less clear bits:
Sophia: "What?! Calley's breakdown cars." [toy trains from Chuggington]
Sophia to Alathea later: "Crisps." [chips to Americans]
Sophia reading paper: "Dear Alathea, I will try not to fight with the fuzzy felts." [toy they struggle sharing]
Sophia opening my stocking: "Silly, fluffy boots."
Sophia reading first paper: "Mommy, I will do whatever you say."
Sophia reading second paper: "Mommy, I will tidy up."

We also went to a Christingle service, which our church puts on every December 24th. Here is my Christingle with the explanatory song we sang. Note: each of the four sticks in the orange stands for a season, and the sweets stand for the good things God gives us.

Christingle Song
(to tune of "Give Me Oil in my Lamp")

The Christingle is made with an orange,

which is round like the world God made.

His creation is full of His glory;

all around we see His name displayed.

Sing Hosanna! Sing Hosanna!

Sing Hosanna, for the Light of Christ

Sing Hosanna! Sing Hosanna!

Sing Hosanna, Light of Christ.

Every year we give thanks for the seasons,

and the fruits of the earth God gives.

The Christingle is here to remind us,

of the love of God for all that lives.

Sing Hosanna!...

In His great plan of love God sent Jesus.

We remember His birth again.

But the red ribbon round the Christingle

tells the story of His death and pain.

Sing Hosanna!...

To complete the Christingle--a candle,

telling us of the world's true light,

and the darkness shall not overcome it;

Jesus shines on in the darkest night.

Sing Hosanna!...

Friend in High Places

Dear Barbie, A special 60th birthday greeting from your family in England. Wish we could celebrate with you in person!

Beauty for Ashes

Another post about Betsy in the kitchen gone wrong...

I attempted to make an easy fudge recipe that my mom's made successfully for years. Fudge made with marshmallow creme, I read on the Internet, is foolproof. Not for me! This is what my fudge looked like after I added chocolate chips to a mixture I'd boiled on the stove. The next step was supposed to be pouring it into a greased pan to solidify, so I knew something was terribly wrong. 

My mom has never had this happen. Wes suggested I try melting a little in the oven. It didn't melt, but it did turn a bit crunchy, which would make a nice topping for icecream or whipped cream. 

With the rest I followed my sister-in-law's advice to look for a remedy online. I read someone had added cream to their overcooked fudge and remelted it, so I thought, why not? I used enough leftover evaporated milk to moisten my fudge "soil" and remelted it, stirring like crazy. I poured it into a greased pan, and pressed some nuts on top (to cover up a few imperfections), and this is how it turned out.

 I was pretty pleased, even though the consistency is Tootsie Roll-like. It tastes good, and I was able to give it as a gift to Sophia's teacher, which was what I was originally intending. I don't think I actually prayed at the time that I'd be able to make something usable from the fudge disaster above, but now I'm saying, "Thank you God!"

Angels from the Realms of Bromley Part II

Alathea played an angel in our church's moms' & toddlers' group nativity play.

Transcript: Alathea: "Don't be afraid!"..."Good news."

Angels from the Realms of Bromley Part I

One thing I appreciate about the UK's not having separation of church and state, as we do in the US, is that Sophia can attend a state school that I don't have to pay tuition for, but at the same time her school is a Church of England school. I couldn't have asked for a much more Christ-centered Christmas production. At the end the Headteacher (Principal) stood up and told the children, "Thank you for reminding us what Christmas is really about. We wouldn't have all the things we enjoy at Christmastime today if the story you told us hadn't happened 2,000 years ago."

Sophia & her best friend

Please excuse the shaky videography. I had a two-year-old dancing around me and grabbing my legs!

At the beginning the children are Roman soldiers marching. Then, Sophia is an angel warning the Wise Men in a dream not to go back to King Herod and helping the children at the front of the stage as they put together a puzzle showing the Christmas story.

Transcript of last song: "Now a story has been told; we have seen it all unfold; and the jigsaw has reminded us today--how Joseph found the way to a stable far away and Mary bore God's Son on Christmas day--Christmas bells ring out across the ages, and their message is clear: Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Pre-Christmas Fun

Thanks, mom, for doing the hard work to make the Christmas cookies happen!

 Early one Saturday the girls decorated our tree.

Santa-Monkey...Hurry Down the Chimney Tonight

It was bathtime tonight and as the weather's gotten quite a bit colder, fleece footie jammies are preferable to keep little ones warm. There was only one clean pair in the closet between the two girls, so I decided to break out a Christmas present early...

"Slip, Slide, Slippy, Slide"

"Manger House Bethlehem"

Am I Big?

Alathea puts this question to me from time to time to confirm her "big girl" status. Apparently little is worse, when one is 2 going on 3, than being accused of regression. So when Sophia says, "When you're big, you'll go to my school," Alathea requires reassurance that although she can never completely catch up with a sister who's 2.5 years older, she too, in her own way, has crossed the threshold from baby to big. Following is a recent reminder from our morning visiting the preschool Alathea will attend in January.

Making an angel

Dressing up as a princess

Patches

Here's Sophia's latest look, two hours per day, for the next two months. Although wearing glasses has improved her vision in both eyes, her brain is still relying on the image from the left eye (which is perfect with glasses) too much, and there's a big gap between the acuity in each eye. So "patching" forces Sophia's brain to use the weaker eye more, and so improve its vision. Watch this space...

If your child must wear a patch, at least the medical industry has done all they can to make it child-friendly--sparkly patches with different patterns, and a princess poster to fill up with your used patches. We'll show you what her dress looks like when it's finished...

Mini-Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a modest affair for us, as we don't have time off and Wes is up to his eyeballs with work for his degree. Still when my parents visited last weekend we were able to have a fairly simple but yummy meal together and put autumnal leaves, listing things for which we thank God, on our "Thanksgiving Tree." That's what Thanksgiving's really about to me, anyway, so I'm happy with our mini-Thanksgiving celebration.

 

 

 

 

Spotty Day

Last Friday at Sophia's school, children who wanted to could come with spotty faces and a donation for charity. Here was our attempt. Getting out the door on time is usually hard enough; I was wondering how face-painting (with a wiggling/talking 5-year-old and curious 2-year-old stepping on my feet and bumping my arm for a better look) would add into the mix. We started earlier and were also helped by Daddy making the girls' breakfasts and Sophia's lunch before he left for work.

How Ballet is Done

Sing-Song

No Snow Snowman

How to Build a Snowman When There's No Snow

Cross Country

The children at Sophia's school (ages 4-10) run an annual autumn cross country race. This year I marshaled (pointed which way to go) on the course, which zigzagged around the school grounds, and that explains why this video of Sophia's race is a bit shaky--I was trying to silently wave girls in the right direction simultaneously. Don't feel bad if you miss Sophia in the clip, so did I at the time! There's a glimpse of her for a second or two toward the back of the pack, just in front of her teacher, who's wearing a bright pink shirt under a dark blue coat.

Front: Lined up to cheer others on;
Back: Warming-up

 Grandma & Alathea spectating

 My marshaling station on the course

As you can see, it was cold--I felt very sorry for the little ones in shorts and t-shirts, but Brits are not easily daunted by weather.

Miscellaneous

 Sophia shows off her new artistic techniques, like branches on trees.

My mom got this sweater (jumper) for Sophia--two cool chicks in specs. (Sophia's stuffed bunny likes it, too!)

Grumpy King Herod

This autumn Alathea has moved up from the nursery (creche) at church to a preschool Sunday school class, and she really enjoys it. Here she demonstrates what she learned with the help of the craft she made...

If My Big Sister Has It, So Should I

Sophia & Alathea's attempt to produce an equal amount of sight-enhancing equipment for each of them

Circus Comes to School

The Parent-Teacher Association at Sophia's school organized a small circus to set up a big-top and perform in a field on the school grounds last night. Sophia really enjoyed it--especially the aerial acrobatics. Alathea began to tire of it when the cotton candy (candy floss) ran out...a bit too loud/overwhelming for a 2-year-old who'd already had a full day and no nap.

Sophia did very well at her eye appointment earlier in the day, and this is the treat she chose last night at the circus as a reward.

Alathea and Wes watch the circus (and nibble cotton candy).

Asleep & Alert

There's something about this highchair. A tired child out of the highchair somehow manages to keep running around, playing, even staying awake for awhile in her bed when put down for the night, but this highchair has a way of charming a child to sleep even while her mouth is still chewing food!

"Look at the crown I built!"

Natural History Museum

Earlier this month the girls and I went to the Natural History Museum in Central London, which I'd heard had good exhibits for kids. I'm sure this is a run-of-the-mill outing for the average mom--of course you take your kids to museums. I and museums, however, are not the best of friends, and until now the prospect of train/bus/underground/stairs + two kids and a stroller on my own in busy Central London was too much to take on. All of that is to say I was proud we "did" the museum successfully, but I didn't manage to take many photos, so here are some shots Sophia captured:

 Part of life-sized model of blue whale

 Stuffed baby seal

 Dinosaur skeletons (or reproductions?)

 Stuffed giraffe and parts of whale skeletons in Mammal section of museum

End of a hot but good day

Sophia found she was out of memory when she wanted to video this T-Rex animatronic, so I videoed it on her behalf. You can hear her laughing at his little arms in the background...The second clip is the girls in the earthquake simulator--I will obviously have to work harder at teaching the distinction between theme-park ride and natural disaster.

Year 1

Here's Sophia's look as she begins Year 1 (note the new pink glasses)!

Sophia's Photos

Sophia got a camera in June for her 5th birthday. Here are some photos she's taken:

 Grandma and Alathea

 Grandpa as the Three Little Pigs

 Her monkey in kaleidoscopic view

 Shots from our neighborhood

 

 Mommy under the sea

 Self-portrait

A new pencilcase from Thailand (plus floral effect)