arriving at grandma and grandpa's:

We drove to Grandma's last Sunday.  We left later than usual and were expecting to stop a few times for Nacho, but we only really had to stop once for him and also made one other stop at McDonald's for some breakfast.  We managed to get the car all packed, including Nacho in his crate, and still have some room to spare.  Last year's drive was so hard.  Manny just flew in from Taiwan less than two days before, and it was just a really rough drive.  This year was probably one of our best drives down, despite there being some traffic.  Nacho got carsick on the drive, so next time we might get him some medicine for it.  But overall he barely made a sound.  He is such a good sound.

They asked if Lucas wanted tacos or spaghetti (he often gets to pick), and he said, "Yes."  So we had both.  I was stuffed!  Then Manny, his sister, and I went to the store to pick up a few items for the week.  Isaac is as picky as ever, but he ate a lot of the pasta with olive oil and a corn quesadilla.  Nacho helped himself to the other dogs' food.  He seems to have gained a little weight there.

Relaxing in the living room while Grandpa cooks.

Nacho meeting his cousins for the first time.  Dexter may look alarmed in this photo, but he was pretty annoyed with Nacho constantly following him and trying to play with him all week.

Grandma crocheted these stockings.  Even Nacho got one!

Delicious tacos!

In addition to this, I had a huge plate of linguini with meat sauce.  Let the holiday eating begin!

misc pre-christmas update:

It's been cold, so that means fewer visits to the park.  My friend wanted to get together, so we just decided to go to an indoor playplace since it was sort of a special occasion.  I wanted to catch up with her about a number of things, and it worked out well for the boys to play in an enclosed space while we did that.  Lucas will age out of being able to play there once he turns 11, but he still likes it a lot.  

Manny had a sort of reunion lunch with coworkers from his original group from 20 years ago.  He and I also had a quick stop at a local place to eat and talk for a little bit.  It's been a while since we've done that.  

Mostly I've just been really busy and had too much to process in the past month or two.  One thing is that we've decided to discontinue homeschooling after the next school year.  I'm also trying to figure out more gainful employment for myself.  I fell behind with packing, but got it together and headed out for our visit to the grandparents'.  First time with Nacho.  Will post on that next.

cc christmas party:

We had our annual CC Christmas Party on Friday, December 14, which was actually the evening before the dog meet-up, so my posts are out of order.  I had so much turmoil going on I felt like I just wanted to cancel, but I'm glad I went.  The other moms took me to a private room afterward to pray while their husbands watched the kids.  It was what I really needed at the time.  Lucas recited Exodus 20:1-17 and also played "Jingle Bells" on the Tin Whistle.  There are two families who do not celebrate Christmas in our community, but they weren't in attendance, so I guess we just went ahead with the Christmas theme after I was told we weren't going to do that.  It was a great party, good food, encouragement, and sharing life.  They asked me to go up there and talk, and I started tearing up, but I always tell myself to take a deep breath and keep going.  I am much more emotional than I seem; I just bottle up a lot, because I learned that as a coping mechanism as a child.  For all the pain I went through as a child and especially as a teen, nothing has come close to what I've felt in the past month or so.  I hope that in the end I will come out of this fiery trial with faith renewed and strengthened.  I am seeing it already.  So many things I griped about before--they seem so petty and trivial now.

Anyway, on to the party.  It was quite a spread.  Lucas ate fine, but Isaac only had the fruit and noodles.  He won't eat meat or a lot of greens, and if I force him, he throws it up.  And I remember my mom forcing me to eat till I threw up as a kid, and I don't feel right doing that to him.  Plus then he throws up whatever he did get down and refuses to eat more.

I was assigned fruit and dessert, and I didn't know others had been signed up as well.  It wasn't on the original sheet.  I was originally going to make sugar cookie truffles, chocolate mochi cake, fruit salad, and possibly a bundt cake.  But with the craziness going on, I only managed the truffles and went out to buy the cake and the fruit instead.  It worked out fine.  Sometimes you just have to let go of plans to save your sanity.

I also had to lead my class in reciting all the prepositions.  We did it acapella so everyone could hear the kids, but they were pretty quiet.  Isaac didn't want to go up because he didn't know I'd be leading everyone and was afraid he'd mess up.  We'd practiced it many times, so that was a shame.  And no one took a photo or video of it, but my class did great in reciting all 50+ prepositions with the accompanying hand motions.

Lucas reciting Exodus 20.

Auntie S. (in Chinese culture, everyone is an aunt or uncle) and Lucas. He doesn't like to be touched, but he let her hug him for this photo.  She gave him an In-n-Out gift card as a reward for his efforts.

Lucas' class playing "Jingle Bells" on the tin whistle.

Group photo.

These sugar cookie truffles were great out of the freezer, but because I used freshly baked cookies instead of store-bought or harder ones, they got too soft at the party.

Dessert table!

Starting to set out the food.  One of the dads brings Malaysian laksa to every party, and it's one of my favorite dishes.

We sang this at our wedding.  I thought I might have to fake the joy this advent season, but I didn't.  There is true joy in knowing Jesus Christ.

nacho supreme / small dog meetup:

Nacho will be six months old in a few days.  He's grown quite a bit.  I think most or all of his puppy teeth have been replaced by his adult dog teeth.  He is as funny as ever.  He likes to eat, play fetch, chew on things, and stare at nature.

I missed the boat on puppy socialization classes (or actually, I couldn't make the evenings they were held and I didn't know about the other center, which takes them only up to six months of age).  However, I've joined a couple of smaller dog meet-up groups and try to make them when I can.  The first one I went to a couple of Saturdays ago, the other owners noted that he was the friendliest dog there.  The sad thing is that he wanted to play chase with the other dogs, but they weren't keen on it.  But he was able to do a lot of sniffing and running around meeting everyone, dogs and people included.  I noticed many of the men there all seemed to want to get Nacho's attention and called to him.  He was pretty friendly, but it may be because most of the dogs there were more girly types, like Chihuahuas, Shih-tzu, Maltese, Shiba Inu, etc.  He's a more masculine type.  One of the other owners said he was really sweet, but looked intimidating, so her dog didn't want to be friends.  He was super happy, though, and definitely did not want to leave.  I ended up picking him up and taking him.  Reminds me of the boys when they were younger.  

He outgrew the other pet bed.  This one I got for half off by combining coupons.

Daily ritual--hiding his pig ear (the one in his mouth, not the ones on his head).

Making friends at the dog park.

Meeting a Shiba Inu, one of my favorite dog breeds.  There were about 20 dogs in all.

Sad Nacho after Naomi had to go upstairs to do her homework.  He's like this when Manny leaves, too.

He has a thing for staring out the window/door.  He likes to watch birds, too, both ours and the ones outside.

A great comfort to me in hard times.

Merry Christmas!

presents and presence:

This past month I have needed my friends more than ever, and there are ways they have been there for me that I could never repay. Though we're older now, I still need my mom, too.  These pictures of gifts don't really convey the friendship behind them.  And I don't have pictures of the women who have taken me to a private room to pray for me and pray for our family.  They've been there for me to cry on their shoulder, listen to my self-doubt, and tell me to eat even when I don't feel like it (and I never don't feel like it; that's how hard the past few weeks have been).  I can't get into everything now, especially since it involves other people, but I hope to be able to gather my thoughts about it in the future and explain to you the tremendous lessons I've learned through it and how this fiery trial was exactly what I needed.

My friend Y came over and visited with her kids and brought me herbal mood enhancers, bath salt, a mug, and presents for the kids.  I usually get her family things, but I didn't manage to this year.  She has given me so much of her time and support these past few weeks.  Again, I could never repay.  She also brought some chamomile tea, but unfortunately I'm allergic to it.  I should probably have just kept it and given it to Naomi.  Best of all, she came to remind me I am not alone in my struggles.  She has been a tremendous blessing and help to me.

My friend M. from church made some tasty slow-roasted feijoa with some kind of liquor, but I don't remember what.  I love homemade presents.

My friend Y came over and got Naomi an art set, Isaac a Lego set, and Lucas a trajectory game.

Lucas does not like to rip wrapping paper, so he carefully takes the tape off and keeps the wrapping paper in tact.  He did this one in just two minutes, though, which is a record.  Your best bet with him is to wrap loosely or use gift bags.

My mug.

My friend S in Chicago sent me this.  I love it and remember to have courage.  I also am doing an online study about Joshua entering Canaan with courage, which is timely and goes well with this.

My friend G in Hawaii sends us goodies every year.  We have cookies and Snoopy stuff!

And a lot of chocolate--three boxes' worth, one from friend in Chicago, one from CC friends, and one from our neighbor.  So grateful.  I know Christmas isn't just about presents, but the presents themselves are an extension of love and friendship, so I think presents are great!

birthday parties:

The boys and I went to S's pajama birthday party at Pump It Up.  It's been a while since we've gone, but the boys always remember it well.  They've grown so much since then.  It was a fun party, and I'm glad both boys were invited.  Naomi was at her friend's birthday/sleepover in the morning and then they had a Christmas gift exchange at church and then a Christmas gift exchange party/hangout at her other friend's place (with the same girls who were at the birthday sleepover).  She's often somewhere doing something.  Manny had to work, but did get to go out during the weekend as well.

Wobbling around on the wobbly jump pad.

Everyone up the slide!

Coming down.  Both boys got scraped up a bit.

Balloon drop.

This was new to us.  Two teams compete to push the buttons on their side as they light up.

Bubbles!

Birthday girl.

The boys got a kick out of the little Pringles chip canisters they served with the pizza.  The kids all got bunny sleep masks as well.

Naomi's third party of the weekend.  She's actually less social these days, or at least concentrates more on her close friends.

sisterly love (breakfast and christmas tea, naomi's sleepover):

On Dec 1, I was able to go to breakfast and also our moms group women's tea.  Originally we were  supposed to host it at our clubhouse, but with a terrible week for me, a friend offered to host at her home.  I'm so thankful she did.  I was so out of sorts and barely slept that week.  I was so glad to have friends to whom I could to reach out.  In the morning, I met with J and A for breakfast.  I can't disclose details of our discussion, but everything was still raw for me, and I don't think I was ready yet to talk about things the way we did.  I kind of just wanted someone to listen.  In the afternoon, I had processed things a little more, and talked to some of the other ladies organizing the tea.  For my sake, our joyful tea time turned into a time of deep sharing and prayers.  Still joyful, but filled with solemn and sobering moments.  We were all at different places in life, from different denominations, but we shared in the love of Christ with one another.  It was really beautiful and so refreshing for my soul.  The food was so good, too, especially since I hadn't eaten well in a few days.

After I returned from the tea, I took Naomi to her sleepover at church.  The group leader had just returned from visiting her hometown, which had been destroyed in the Camp Fire.  It has been a difficult time, but she still did this for the girls.  They had a fun time with a donut-eating contest, paint night, and just sharing in communion and fellowship with each other.  Naomi said she managed to not make a mess during the donut contest by strategizing.  And she got to wear her cow onesie again.  Fun times!

Always a savory breakfast for me.  I hadn't eaten much in four days, and I made up for it that day.

Friend's Christmas tree setting.  She has small children who actually haven't broken any of the pieces.

Tea time.

An abundance of beautiful and delicious food.

We did sort of a candlelight service as well.

First time wearing a fascinator.  I was really tired and emotional, but feeling blessed.

Group photo.

Sorry these photos taken by the group leader are out of order, but here are the girls getting ready for bed.  

Paint Night.

Doughnut-eating contest.

Dinnertime.

Streetlights in the snow.  Merry Christmas!