Christmas Parties

We've been to several Christmas parties this month--Families with Children from China (the pictures from that are on my other computer, and I don't have access to them right now), JT's Tang Soo Do party (no photos of that), the boys' teen church party, our church party tonight, and the homeschool party last Friday. Whew! I was just thinking tonight that I sure don't get out much. I don't, but my children do. So that means I do get out quite a bit. Just as a chauffeur.

Here is our church party tonight. The kids (3 year olds through 6th grade) did a little program. Luci's down there on the front row. What? You can't see her?
Is this better? She spotted me and gave me a big grin. But first, she stuck her tongue out at her brothers who were down front taking pictures for me.
What Christmas party would be complete without the crazed mother, trying to get everyone in place on time?? John called halfway through the party, telling me he was just about to leave his compound to start his trip home. So nice to talk to him! Another reason to love cell phones. But it didn't calm me down any--the trip from compound to the airport is the most dangerous part of the trip. Which explains why I am up so late doing the blog...so I can keep checking the news online, like a ghoul, to see if there's any news out of his area. So far, so good. Maybe after Wednesday I won't feel compelled to check the news so often. I sure hope so.
Homeschool party--we went to a place called "Forest Jumps." Luci's in there somewhere.
They have these big climbing things to play on.
Kalyn came, too! It was so nice to visit with Kathy.
JT played some games during the party. . .and Bryan acted like a teenager.
On the way to our house in the country is this home. They have their yard covered with shiny things. It's lots of fun to look at, and this is only about half of what they have! The lights are timed with music, and you can turn your car radio to the right station and listen.

The song that was playing when we were there was "Mary, Did You Know?" One of the lines goes like this:

Mary, did you know
that when you kissed your little baby
You kissed the face of God?

I said, "Wow. Those are some powerful words."

Luci said, "Did she have Power Kisses?"

Another Hanky Alert

Bryan, JT and Luci are tired of being brave. They just want Daddy to get home.

Four more days!

News from the Front

John received the Commander's Award today, presented to him by Lieutenant General Robert Van Antwerp, the head of the US Army Corps of Engineers. Pretty sharp, John! We are so proud of you.

Guess what we did today?

We got the outside of the house ready for John. Here's how it began:


Even the lawn ornaments got in on the action!

My Favorite Dot on the Map....

...is labeled APO, AE, United States in the "visitors list." You can click on the map to see the list for today's visitors, if you are curious.

I am thankful that the address above will not be showing up in the list after Monday, the day John leaves Kabul.

And I cannot wait until I can scrape this sticker off my van's rear window.
Six days and counting!

Confections

Here is my favorite sugar plum fairy. JT took this photo for me Sunday morning. Doesn't she look yummy enough to eat?

Blowing kisses to JT....
And here's the confection that came from my kitchen this afternoon. Betty Crocker's recipe for brownies, with Glossy Chocolate Frosting. I sprinkled crushed candy canes on top. This is a recipe I remember my mother making when we were growing up, minus the candy canes.
Brownies

2 squares unsweetened chocolate
1/3 cup shortening (use oil for the best outcome)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional--I usually do not add nuts)

Heat oven to 350*. Heat chocolate and shortening over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted. Remove from heat. Mix in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients. Spread in greased 8x8 pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until brownies just begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool and then frost with Glossy Chocolate Frosting. (also delicious plain, or dusted with powdered sugar)

Glossy Chocolate Frosting

3 TBS shortening
3 squares unsweetened chocolate
2 cups powdered sugar (I sifted mine after measuring)
1/4 tsp salt (oops, I forgot that today!)
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

(this amount will easily cover a double-recipe of the brownies--as a matter of fact, that's what I did)

Heat shortening and chocolate in saucepan over low heat until melted. Stir in remaining ingredients and beat with a whisk until smooth. Place pan of frosting in a larger bowl of ice and water. Continue beating until frosting is glossy and thicker. Spread over cooled brownies. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup chopped nuts, or 3 crushed candy canes, if desired.

What a wimp!

OK, so I spent most of my life in the Western U.S. and traveling through the square states is nothin'. Well, sometimes I have little people doing push-ups in Wyoming....

Today I was reading this article: Top Five Gifts for Road-Tripping Families. The writer (and I hope he's not a cousin of yours or something) extolls this car seat:

It is a wonder, a car seat that will fit your child forever and turns itself into a stroller so you don't have to wake Precious up when you get where you're going. The Sit 'n Stroll car seat system, retailing for $249.95! I can see that this would be oh-so-handy if you fly and have to lug the car seat and kid-who-can't-walk-yet through airports (been there, done that, don't want to do it again).

Then the guy gets to a hang-man game that, honestly, looks like fun. And it's only $12.99.

If your brood includes a tween or bickering siblings you’ve likely come to accept as I have that at times it’s desirable to let them plug in to portable electronics and leave the rest of the family alone.

Of course! Get the electronics out! My parents wish they had these things when they were traveling with five kids. Lucky us, to have these things now so the whining is kept to a minimum.

Now here's the wimpy part:

A small part of me still resists it, though, because driving through a state like Connecticut takes forever and it’s a good opportunity to interact.

Y'all, I checked Google Maps and, any way you travel through Connecticut, it's at the very most only 2 hours and 48 minutes!

This kid cracks me up

Tonight we had spaghetti with a white sauce. Luci held up two noodles and said,

"These are functional!"

Where she got that, I have no idea. I got the camera and then she got really silly. Here's the last one before the functional noodles got slurped up.

Getting Ready

Today was fun. Luci and I started the gift-wrapping, with John's presents. Here she is writing "DAD" on a string of "to-from" stickers. In true pre-schooler fashion, when she ran out of room, she'd make the letters backwards and go the opposite direction.
.

You can see the chain behind Luci...we are up to 166 days/links now. The chain goes completely around our dining room. Granted, it's a small dining room, but that chain seems to go on forever!

.
The latest we've heard is that late on December 23, we will be hugging John's neck at the airport in Huntsville.
.

Just a bit ago I heard on the news that thousands more troops will be heading to Afghanistan next summer. This is the first time in eight years that my heart did not skip a beat at the news of deployment. John's trips are over now. He's retired from the US Army Reserves, so they won't be calling him up any more. He has assured Luci that the only trips he will go on from this point are missionary trips, and those are three weeks long at the longest. We are all happy at that news!

~~~~~~~~

I am getting ready to send our Christmas cards out. If you would like one, please email me with your name (first and last) and address...cute kids photo to be taken soon and included. willingham.susan@gmail.com

Kind of Sad

I made this Christmas countdown tree in 1995. Every year there's been a fight/struggle/argument between the kids as to who will get to put Santa on the tree on the 24th. This year, Bryan and JT are both happy to let Luci do all of the ornaments. That makes me sad. Sad that the fighting is over with? Certainly not! But sad that they don't care much any more for this tradition.

We put out our lights on Monday. Tuesday's deluge ruined our outdoor-rated power strip for all our cords, so we rigged up something else. Now they work again.
This is what John got for me for Christmas. I found it (and ordered it myself!) at LaBella Jewels. It has all our names on it, and was not wildly expensive. I am not a fan of jewelry, but I will wear this one. Good job, John!

You're Always On My Mind...

Luci has one thing on her mind most days...Daddy.

Whenever we see an airplane, she says, "They are going to the airport to see their little girl."

Whenever we see a man in military uniform, Luci thinks he is on his way to see his daughter. Today we were in Target and saw an "army guy." Luci said "He is buying something for his little girl."

Luci told the librarian today that her daddy is coming home in two weeks.

Librarian: What will you do first? Kiss him or hug him?

Luci: Hug him! Then kiss him! Then he will give me
presents!

The gingerbread house is from a kit. It was Luci's schoolwork today--following directions, sorting, counting, being creative, and licking fingers. I guess you could count architecture in there, too. I squirted most of the icing; Luci did everything else.

Luci's Yoga??

Ummmmmm.....

More Luci-isms

Yogurts: scary, monster-like creatures in Ella Enchanted. You call them "ogres."
.

Doors: Snow White has several: Dopey, Dashful, Sneezy and Grumpy.

.

Coal: We are watching The Santa Clause 2. The subject of "coal in stockings" came up. I asked Luci if she wanted coal in her stocking, and she said, "NO! He wouldn't fit!"

.

Please meet Cole:

Luci and Cole, July 2009

Some Silly Stuff...

Luci-isms

Glubs--Glove. As in, "Mickey's glubs only have four fingers!"

Carriage--what the rest of the U.S.A. calls a stroller. "Mommy, stop my carriage! I want to get out!"

Harmono-Rail--the Monorail. Luci's favorite ride.




Unicorn Tang

Learning to Hula Hoop

Bryan trying to talk Luci into a wild ride...which would be just about any ride ever invented.

Being brave in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play yard at Hollywood Studios. Last year, she took one look at this ant and ran out of the playground. You'll want to know that as soon as the shutter clicked, she wanted OFF and didn't go near it again. Once was enough!

What in the World...

Disney World, that is. My Dad called this morning, thinking we fell off the face of the Happiest Place on Earth. So this post is for him and my Mom.

What we've been doing: The boys have been on every wild ride and Luci and I...well, we haven't been on many rides at all. We did go on the Winnie the Pooh Honey Pots ride, loved it, and "NEVER DOING THAT AGAIN!"

Went on Buzz Lightyear's ride in Magic Kingdom (did you hear her SREAMING through the whole line? Yes, we used the Fast-Pass option, thank goodness, so the length of screaming was kept to a minimum.) I had to carry her through the line and toss her onto the vehicle. Once inside the vehicle, she quieted down and quickly figured out she could steer us in circles. That kept her happy and once out of the ride, she proclaimed that she loved it, it's her new favorite ride, but..."NEVER DOING THAT AGAIN!"

Went on the carousel, which was a cry-fest last year. This year, she LOVED IT and actually let me take her on it three more times over the next day and a half.

When we got to Disney's Hollywood Studios, Luci had to be talked in to seeing Disney's Playhouse Show. She loved it, and even asked to go see it again, which of course we did. Talked her into seeing Beauty and the Beast show, incredible show, which she did and here's the way she saw most of it: her hands over her ears, and my hand over her eyes:

Most of the time, though, all Luci and I did was stand in line and see characters and get their autographs. At Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, the only thing Luci would do was dance with Cinderella's stepsisters and stepmother.

Another popluar pasttime at Disney World is eating. Here is Luci's way of enjoying the meal: by not eating and PLAYING:

At Shades of Green, our resort, there is a free video game room for the kids. JT, Luci and I checked it out Wednesday. JT had fun with his racing games, and Luci and I played Wii Disney Princesses (what else?):

well, it only looks like she's playing...

Here's what was really going on:

At Hollywood Studios, there is always something going on. I saw this "movie director" head out into the street, so I told him that I knew of someone who would make a great actor--and pointed at Bryan. Here are the results. They are all pretty short, so they shouldn't take too long to load up and watch.

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

A few favorites from today

This photo was taken at the end of a very long day. We had just seen the fireworks at Magic Kingdom. As part of the show, they played I'll be home for Christmas which always makes me cry. The boys were so embarrassed. Then while the fireworks were still going on, John called from Afghanistan! See why I said I love cell phones? Leaving Epcot Tuesday evening. I'm proud of this shot.

I'm proud of this one, too. Cinderella's Castle, all lit up for Christmas.
Luci meeting Mulan. This was the one we had to see this year. Mulan was unhurried and visited quite a while with Luci. Which always makes the child happy, not to mention the mama.

Magic Kingdom

More to come, but I just had to share this with you! Waiting for the parade to start can be tough. The cast members (Disney employees) put out things to keep the kids busy and happy while they wait. Our area had hula hoops. Luci has never hula hooped before. She not only did fine, but after a while picked up a second hula hoop and did well two at a time! Here she is with one:

Thirty Days of Thanks

Well, here we are at the end of the month. It's been quite easy to find things to be thankful for, and most days I have to limit it to just one. Today I have two. :)

Today I am going to say Disney World and their Armed Forces Salute. They are giving one FREE 5-day ticket to military and up to five $99 5-day tickets to family members. (Since John's not here, we can get the family members tickets. The offer expires the day John is supposed to get home. You KNOW we would have waited until John got home, otherwise!) Disney has done this at least one other time since September 11th. I know that part of it is just business--the tourist industry's been hit very hard since then, and Disney World was thought to be a target of that dreadful day. But the cast members are so appreciative when they know that we are military. When we came in September 2002, when John was on his first trip, the cast members (and the characters especially) gave the boys such good attention and told us THANK YOU for what their Daddy was doing.

One I remember in particular was Captain Hook. We bought a Mickey t-shirt for characters to sign for John and they all did. Every last one of them. But Captain Hook gave the boys a special thrill when he pantomimed to his "keeper" (remember the characters who don't show their faces can't talk to the public) that he had seen their Daddy when he pulled into port overseas. My, you shoulda seen that 10 year old and 6 year old light up! And I loved it, too.

Chip and Dale cried because they missed John, and Goofy saluted. Really nice. And every single one of them signed John's shirt. We saw another guy ask them to sign his shirt because he'd seen us get the shirt signed, and he was told, "No way. Theirs is special--it's for their dad who's overseas."
Also thankful for the funds to do this--it was totally impromptu yesterday. We did not have a reservation (they are hard to get!) and we just walked in and they had room. Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. And right next to Luci was another little girl, also from China, who lives in Memphis! I had a very nice conversation with her parents. Luci chose Tiana for her character, and she has that newest Disney Princess' outfit on.

Luci and her Minions

Thirty Days of Thanks

I'm thankful today for second chances. (See yesterday's post, OK, so I spoke too soon.)

I'm also thankful for prayer. It is such a calming thing, talking to the One who made everything. When we travel (which includes the 25 minute drives to town on regular days at home) the kids are usually busy watching a DVD, and I pray. Yesterday, the 10-hour trip made for some good praying time.

Today, please join me in praying for Ann, a fellow blog reader. She is having surgery tomorrow, so please pray that it is successful and that Ann recovers quickly.

Ann let me know she is one of our readers after that post on the red dots on the map (see this Thirty Days of Thanks). I also heard from Sarah, who explained how the dots in Israel got there. :) And hey, Brandi and Julie! Remember Ann today and tomorrow, please. Thanks.

OK, so I spoke too soon....

This door is important to today's saga:

Well, the travel today was uneventful, but getting into the car was something else. The boys were doing push-ups in the driveway, if that tells you anything about how our trip started. We didn't even make it to the street--no, we didn't even make it into the van before they had to do push-ups! I nearly unpacked the van and went back inside, canceling the trip. Except that we locked ourselves out and the only extra key had fallen behind a door. (Just the door, it is bolted to the wall--it had the kids measurements on it at the old house and we moved it here and bolted it to the garage wall so we could keep measuring. There it is, above.) It was 30 minutes before Bryan got it outta there, and by that time JT and I had calmed down, I apologized to him, he apologized to Bryan and me, and we prayed (and I'm sure the neighbors went back to sleep after I woke them up YELLING at the boys). Then the key came out, just as I was hunting for a hammer to break the glass in the door to get into the house.

I prayed for calm and peace (not patience, that just brings more difficulties and practice to be patient!) and safety and we set out on our trip. It was a long day, but relatively uneventful. I made JT take an antihistamine before we set out so he'd sleep and that helped a lot. And the absolutely perfect weather was a great help.

A long travel day, but we got here just fine. Tomorrow is just 2 1/2 hours, and then we spend some time at Downtown Disney in Orlando. It is lots of fun, and a makes for a good first day at DisneyWorld.

I must tell you about this little potty chair from One Step Ahead. It has been a lifesaver for me because it is so handy! Luci usually can "hold it" for a very long time. But apple juice and water flow through her like, well, apple juice and water. Today we had to stop in an undesirable location and this potty chair came to the rescue. She and the potty chair are small enough that they fit on the floor of the van, in front of the front seat and she does her thing. Much better than trying to hold her (and me getting wet) or squatting above a coffee can. This little invention has come in handy on several trips.

Thirty Days of Thanks...

I'm thankful our kids are good travelers. We've been all over the place, and they hold up pretty well. Having every electronic gadget that's ever been made in the van with us, helps, too.

Thirty Days of Thanks...

Homeschooling brings lots of challenges. One of them is teaching a foreign language adequately. My "thankful thing" today is the help I've found teaching foreign language. Here is our Rosetta Stone package for Mandarin (Chinese). Luci and I will start that after Christmas. The boys are currently studying Spanish (Latin America). We have the homeschool version of both, which keeps track of scores so I don't have to do that. I love the programs. They are fun. It is almost painless learning!
We also have the Muzzy language DVDs for Luci. They are cute, but not as highly polished as the Rosetta Stone. I watch them with her, with the closed caption turned on so I can translate. They must work because the other day, as we were watching, I was almost asleep and Luci asked me what "(a phrase I can't recall right now)" meant and I said (without even thinking), "It means, 'Where are you?'" and I was right!

We also have several of the Mei Mei DVDs. I like them a lot. Mei Mei sings songs, carries on short conversations with school children, and shows what life is like in some Chinese locations. I just found Vol 7 on amazon.com. It is a trip to Dawei village in Anhui province. I am going to make sure that Santa brings that for Luci. Another of these Mei Mei DVDs taught Luci names for parts of the body. She uses those Mandarin words in casual conversation.