A Glimpse of Christmas, 2007

Here's a peek at our Christmas celebration--it was a wonderful time! I had low expectations this year, since the past two years very little has gone as planned, (including sudden illnesses, over-busyness which led to tiredness and bah-humbug attitudes, and fussy children). However my low expectations were happily surpassed and we really enjoyed creating some new traditions this year. Christmas Eve found us eating some special food which John and I chose together--we decided on Marinated Chicken Wings with a Mandarin Orange and Carmelized Almond Tossed Salad. I served the wings with rice and it was a very tasty meal! We then lit candles, sang carols, and read the Christmas story before inviting the girls to open some new gifts. This year our plan was to buy the girls a toy kitchen--one big gift that they would both share. However, due to various factors (that's a whole other story) it didn't work out, so we ended up with a bunch of small (read: cheap) toys, including several sets of little dolls and doll furniture, similar to the Polly Pockets. The various parts have already been scattered hither and yon, but since they were very inexpensive I don't mind too much.

Clara Anne's third birthday was also a very special celebration! We began with a special birthday brunch (we had let the girls stay up until 11pm the night before, playing with their new toys--a late-ness record for them--so breakfast was also quite late). We were then able to chat with some family via the internet, which was so special, and then in the afternoon Clara Anne got to take out her new bike for a spin. She did great on it! I think she will really have fun with it, especially when the weather turns a bit warmer. I did make the requested homemade pizza for her birthday supper, and we enjoyed that with some birthday cake. Wow, it's really amazing how quickly the time has gone by--it seems just a short while ago that we were looking forward to the birth of our first child, and now we have two big girls with another babe on the way! We are thankful for our dear Clara Anne and the three years God has given her--and we pray for Him to give her many more! It has been especially encouraging to see how she is understanding and growing in more and more spiritual knowledge--memorizing Bible verses, learning to pray by herself, knowing the gist (and details!) of many Bible stories, and just generally comprehending more of a spiritual nature. I pray that this next year will bring even more understanding to her heart.

But on to the pictures . . . Here my little elves are helping to bake some cookies, several days before Christmas. (Licking the beaters is helping, right?!)

Opening gifts--the girls received some really fun book/CD sets from my mom and dad. Tubby the Tuba has been requested several times a day since then!

Chloe gets excited about some plastic kitchen toys.

I'm not sure what this look means! But Chloe is really enjoying her new doll, named "Zipporah" by Clara Anne. (At her request, we've been reading the Exodus stories over and over recently.) The birthday girl at her birthday brunch, wearing a birthday gift--a new princess bib.
The brunch spread: Homemade Cinnamon Rolls, an Egg-Bake with some leftover Christmas ham that we had ordered through an import store to share with some other Americans, and fresh strawberries, which are now in season. And don't forget the cup of Starbucks Decaf Verona! The birthday girl on her birthday bike! Such fun!


Happy Third Birthday, Clara Anne! We love you! (This was not the requested "green cake with blue candles" since some friends unexpectedly gave us a cake. We still managed the blue candles part, but Clara Anne didn't seem to remember that she had wanted a green cake, so happily ate this one--the frosting first, of course!)