Christmas Plates and Greeting Cards

We are now entertaining ourselves by painting ceramic plates and making Christmas cards for our friends. 

Chris, Emma and Walker painted while Olivia ate dinner.  (You can see her in the mirror!)

This is Emma's masterpiece.  She wrote very largely "by Emma", just so we would all know.  The drawing on the left is a gingerbread man.  The one in the middle is a candy cane.  The one on the right is a Christmas cookie.  And she wasn't sure what the lines in the middle were.  Just decoration, I guess.

This is the plate Emma painted for Olivia.  A candy cane, a snowman, a container to put things in (the green thing on the left), and then a heart with hair and a face and maybe legs?  I can't remember what the red thing was.  And she very proudly wrote Merry Christmas 2010. 

This is Chris's plate.  Pretty self explanatory.  He was not a fan of the fact that I put red and white dots on the outside borders of all the plates to kind of "tie them together".  He said he was "not a dot kind of guy". 

This was Walker's green masterpiece.  He practically painted the whole plate green.  And then he said I could finish painting it.  So, I added a snowman and "Let it snow".  Hopeful wishing, I guess.  (It is over 100degrees here- yep, dead of summer!)

This is Walker's other masterpiece.  I am not sure what any of it is.  He didn't know either.  I added the dots, of course, and the Christmas 2010.

Now we have plates to use for the rest of the year.  And, my hope is to add to a whole table setting each year.  Maybe one day we will have a huge table setting, with artwork that the kids have done over the years. 

And then we did our Christmas cards.  We did snowmen, and I think they turned out pretty cute.  Emma and Walker both helped me paint the bodies.  We used sponges.  And then Emma helped me do all the detail work: hats, arms, etc. 

And since Emma and I are the ones who really love to paint and do crafty stuff together, the rest of the family entertained themselves with trying on Santa hats.

Never a dull moment in the Fry household!



Glittery Snowflakes and Gingerbread Cookies

Nothing can get you in the Christmas spirit like glittery paper snowflakes and gingerbread cookies!

Even Olivia enjoyed them! 

New talkers.

There is nothing sweeter than when a little one is learning to talk.  Olivia says lots of words, most of which only our family can understand.  But my very recent favorite is when she says Walker's name.  If she is sitting in her chair eating in the mornings and Walker comes down the stairs, she starts screaming "Kaka, kaka".  For most of you, that just seems cute.  But for those of us who also speak spanish, it is pretty funny!  Especially when she screams it out in public.  "Caca" (pronounced kaka in the english language) means "poop" in spanish.  Walker and Emma are going through a lovely "potty talk" stage (at least I hope it is a stage!) That is all they want to talk about, say to each other, say to other kids, etc.  I sometimes feel as if we are fighting a losing battle with trying to keep it to a minimum.  Anyway, Olivia's new version of Walker's name (kaka) sends them into hysterics.  And I have to admit, that hearing it come out of a one year old's mouth, is pretty funny.  And endearing all at the same time, because I know that she thinks she is saying his name perfectly.  And she says it with such excitement.  I just love hearing her say new words, even if it means I now have three potty mouth kids living in my house! 

The Christmas Countdown Has Begun!

Christmas has officially begun in the Fry household.  For the last three years, on December 1st, we have started our Christmas countdown.  I wanted the kids to enjoy more than just the gift exchanging that goes along with Christmas.  I wanted them to learn to be thankful, to enjoy time together as a family and probably most importantly, I wanted them to learn to think of others.  So, we have a little Christmas calendar that has pockets for each day with a special Christmas activity inside on little slips of paper.  Every morning the kids enjoy pulling one out to see what the day holds for them.  Here is what we are doing this year:

Dec. 1- Make a Christmas wreath out of your hand tracings.

Dec. 2-Decorate a door in the house with homemade décor.
Dec. 3-Pick a toy that you don’t play with very much and donate to someone who doesn’t have as many.
Dec. 4-Do lots of Christmas activity pages.
Dec. 5- Make snowflakes online.
Dec. 6- Make glittery paper snowflakes and hang them! And at dinner, describe what you like best about each family member.
Dec. 7-Make gingerbread cookies and decorate them for a Christmas treat.
Dec. 8-Buy white plates and paint them with a beautiful Christmas design.
Dec. 9-Make Christmas cards for our friends in Paraguay.
Dec. 10- Have fun with popcorn! Make a popcorn snowman picture and then eat the rest of it while you watch a Christmas movie together!
Dec. 11-Make a snowflake table runner.
Dec. 12-Make a Christmas snack and deliver to someone who might need some Christmas joy.
Dec. 13-Make a list of the blessings you’re thankful for and decorate it.
Dec. 14- Shop for or make a Christmas present for your brother or sister and wrap it.
Dec. 15- Shop for or make a Christmas present for Daddy and wrap it.
Dec. 16- Shop for or make a Chrsitmas present for Mommy and wrap it.
Dec. 17-Pick out your favorite Christmast craft online and make it during the day.  And when it gets dark- go on a car ride to see Christmas lights.
Dec. 18- Go see Santa and tell him what you want for Christmas.
Dec. 19- Make homemade tree decorations and put on the Christmas tree.
Dec. 20- Color and paint lots of Christmas pictures.
Dec. 21-Make table decorations for our Christmas meals.
Dec. 22- Create a snowscape with shaving cream and action figures or fun shaped toys.
Dec. 23-Make food for santa, Rudolph and the other reindeer.  Play Christmas games like Memory, etc
Dec. 24- It’s Christmas Eve! You get to open one present tonight and read “The Night Before Christmas” at bedtime! And don’t forget to feed the reindeer.
Dec. 25- Christmas day is finally here! See what Santa brought, exchange gifts and enjoy a wonderful day! And don’t forget to be thankful for your many blessings!

It should be a fun and busy month!  Today we made wreaths out of their hand prints.  I thought they turned out to be so cute!

And today, our "elf on the shelf" also made his appearance.  He came to us last year, but only the last few days before Christmas.  So, the kids didn't ever really get to enjoy him.  And we were in Florida, so we didn't take the time to name him or anything.  So, they have really been looking forward to his grand appearance.  This morning, they had both forgotten until they saw him.  We read the book for the first time and they named him "Jack"!  They learned that they aren't allowed to touch him or he will lose his magic and not be able to fly each night to the North Pole to tell Santa if they have been good or not.  And, they learned that he is not allowed to talk or move, because Santa told him not to.  But, he listens and watches!  At first Walker said "Why is he so little?"  I asked him if he liked him and he said "no".  But that was when he had just woken up, and well, he is a slight grouch early in the morning.  After we read the book and named him and Walker got to hear all about him, he decided he really liked him.  Emma talked about him all day.  She made him a card and had me give it to him.  I accidentally hit him and he moved.  She was convinced then that he was real!  She said "Mom, I saw him move, now I know he is real!  I guess that card itched his arm and he just couldn't help but move!  He wasn't supposed to move though was he?"  I had to hold back my laughter.  Then this afternoon I asked her to help me put some dishes away and after she did she disappeared.  A few minutes later she came back and said "Mom, I told Jack that I helped you so that he knows I am being good!"  And later Walker came and told me that he had told Jack how good he had been at church during our meeting this morning.  Jack may just become my best friend if he helps the kids be on good behavior!  We may have to find a reason to have an elf around our house the entire year!

He is pretty cute isn't he?

And speaking of cute- I have to add that Olivia decided yesterday that she really likes corn on the cob.  I had been pulling kernels off of the cob for her to eat.  But after I finished with my cob, she kept trying to get it off of my plate.  I finally gave it to her just to see what she would do and she ate it like she was 10 years old!  She loved it!  I guess it is no longer necessary to pull kernels off for her. 

What I Will Miss and What I Won't!

I guess by now most everyone who knows me, knows that our time in Paraguay is coming to a close.  We have about 3 short months left in Paraguay.  In many ways, I am saddened by this.  There are SO many people and things that I am going to miss.  I have loved living here for the past 7 years.  I love our church family here.  My children were all three born here and for them, this is home.  I love this country and always will.  Yet, on the other hand, I am SO excited in many ways about returning to the U.S.  We will finally be closer to our families.  We will finally get to be a part of family Christmas's, Thanksgivings, birthdays, Easters, etc.  And we are going to finally get to buy a house after being married for 11 years!  There are many things that we look forward to.  Every few days, I come across something here in Paraguay that I am going to miss like crazy.  And every few days, I come across something that I can not wait to not have to see again!  So, as I think of them, I am going to try to start blogging about them so that even the tiniest of my blessings/annoyances will be shared and remembered.  After all, I have grown to realize that I have an absolutely terrible memory.  The other day, I had decided I was going to blog about the fact that my memory was really not as bad as my husband claims it is.  My reasoning was that about 200,000 thoughts go through my little brain every minute and I have to try to sort them all out and keep up with 3 little kids all at the same time.  But, after almost blogging about it, I sat down to play the game of Memory with Emma, my 5 year old.  She beat me 4 out of 5 games.  And I did not let her win!  So, I decided that blogging about the fact that my memory is really not that bad, just might not be that true :) 

And now for one of the things that I will miss from Paraguay:  orange juice!!!  I was drinking orange juice this morning and realized that I am going to miss that stuff!  Florida has nothing on Paraguayan orange juice.  Fresh squeezed, pure and absolutely delicious, is the orange juice here.  And I think I am going to just miss fresh squeezed juice of any kind.  Paraguayans know how to make juice!  And almost everytime we sit down to a meal with someone here, there are several different pitchers of juice on the table, and always all home made.  Carrot, pineapple, pear, peach, watermelon, orange, apple, strawberry, grapefruit, yum, yum, yum- they are all fabulous.

And what I will not miss:  bags!  Bags are everywhere here!  Let me explain.  First, I will start with trash bags.  Now, of course, we have trash bags in the U.S.  But in the U.S., the trash bags are in boxes.  And inside those boxes, the bags are neatly rolled up so that when you pull on the end of the roll, a bag rolls out.  And it either neatly slides out or you tear it off when you see the dotted line.  Nice and neat and easy.  Now....bags in Paraguay are a bit different.  First of all, they come in bags.  And once you open the bags, they are also neatly rolled up inside.  However, when you pull on the outside, nothing happens.  And it never will.  Because that neat roll is not intended for any one single trash bag to be pulled out.  Nope, you have to open the entire roll, unfold it, pull out your bag of choice and then refold all of the bags, try to squeeze them back into the tiny bag and then put them away.  I honestly do not understand this system!  When we moved here, I actually bought plastic boxes and would undo the plastic bags when I bought them, lay them out, fold them each individually and then stack them in the boxes so that when I needed one, I could just pull it off the top of the pile!  Yes, I know that this sounds absolutely ridiculous.  But, when you need a trash bag in a hurry, it just is not going to happen! .It takes a good 5 minutes to get that trash bag out of the bag and the wad that it is sure to be in.  But, now that I have children, there is just no time for that.  So, I just fight with my bags and throw them back into my cleaning closet.  And every time I open the closet door, it irritates me. 

But, I also want to take the bags thing one step further.  Not only do garbage bags come in bags, everything comes in bags.  For an organizer/stacker, this is a nightmare!  Milk comes in bags!  Spices come in tiny bags.  Rice comes in bags.  Popcorn comes in bags.  Beans come in bags.  Pasta comes in bags.  Cookies come in bags.  Most cereal comes in bags.  Yogurt comes in bags.  I could go on, but I think I made my point.  I am constantly taking things out of bags and putting them into some kind of container.  Not only do they not stack well, they don't keep fresh very well in these little bags.  The weather here is just too hot and humid and most everything here is so fresh and natural, that it goes bad quickly.  (And I will have to do another blog on whether or not I will miss the fresh food here.)

So, miss the juice and not miss the crazy bags!

It's Christmas Time!

We put our Christmas decorations up this past weekend!  We thought we were going to be traveling for Thanksgiving weekend and wouldn't have time to put them up, so we decided to do it a little early.  And why not since all Christmas decorations in Paraguay have already been put up!  It has all caused me to officially catch the Christmas spirit!  And being finished with my Christmas shopping has increased my happy spirit considerably!  We didn't get to put our tree up last year because we were in the states, so the kids were extra excited to get to sort through the decoration boxes to see what all they could find. We had a great time!

Chris and Emma got to put the star on top.

Olivia rolled around on the couch and giggled and got into stuff.

Toby snoozed.

The final product- Emma posed sweetly and Walker posed as...well, Walker- silly.

And I took pictures!

Missing in Action

It has been so long since I have blogged!  I have so much to catch up on and so much to share, but so little time!  So, I will start by sharing my "happy" for today.  And then this week, I will work on "catching up" on my life over the past few months.  It has been a fabulous whirlwind!

Today, I could not have been prouder when I told Emma that she needed to write a thank you note for school.  I asked her who she was most thankful to and she said, "Jesus".  So, she wrote a thank you note to Him.  Here is what it said :

"Dear Jesus,
I love you Jesus.  Thank you for everything that you did for us.  I am excited to go up to heaven with you. 
                                                                                                Love,
                                                                                                      Emma

Does it get any sweeter than that?