Lion Kings and Angels

The kids both had Christmas programs at their schools the week before Christmas.  For some reason, Gray's class sang a few songs from The Lion King.  Not very Christmas-y, but very cute.  The kids all had their faces painted to look like lions and they had really cute movements to go with the songs.  Unfortunately, this is the best picture that I have from the actual concert, and I still can't get my videos to upload for some reason.

Scarlett's playschool did the Christmas story, and she got to be an angel.  The kids sang a lot of really cute songs, but, again, can't get my videos to post.  I was really worried about how should would react once she saw Nate and I watching, but she did great!!  She just kept waving at us and giving us a little smirk.  So cute!!

Keeping Busy

The kids and I were incredibly busy during the first couple of weeks of December.  We didn't bring any of our Christmas decorations with us when we moved, so we decided to have a "home-made" Christmas and make all of our own decorations this year. 

We started with snowflake ornaments.  They're just popsicle sticks and buttons, but we had a lot of fun making them.

Thanks to my new addiction to Pinterest, I had a lot of new ideas I wanted to try out this year.  One of the first things I tackled was making my own garland with a string of lights and strips of fleece.  Grayson was especially excited about this for some reason.

Scarlett's project was making Christmas trees out of upside down plastic flower pots.  She loved that she could build them over and over again.  We did eventually glue some sequins on the pots to look like lights and made stars for the tops, but I never got around to photographing them again.

Our completed mantle.  I tried my hand at sewing my own stockings this year.  They are far from perfect, but I absolutely love them. 

The last project we tackled after all of our other decorating was finished was our very first ginger bread house.  We had a blast sitting around the table and listening to music while we attempted to make this come together.

And last, but not least, our finished tree decorated entirely by the kids.

Snow

A few weeks back we woke to find snow on the ground. The kids could not have been more excited. It wasn't much compared to what we're used to, but it sure was pretty. The kids ran around for a few minutes before we had to take Gray to school, and then we spent the next 45 minutes in the car making the normally 12 minute round trip to drop Gray off. It was completely comical to me. Scarlett and I headed out for a walk around our estate when we finally got back home and had a great time enjoying the snow and sunshine. I love the magic of the first snow of the season, and am actually hoping that it won't be the last.

This post that I read today so wonderfully captures what has been on my mind and weighing on my heart the past couple of weeks.  Thought I would share:

http://www.lauraleighparker.com/2011/12/when-skype-falls-woefully-short-on-living-far-away-from-family/

Though we may not be together in person this Christmas, you are all very much with us in our hearts.

Cook Christmas Party

Nate had a taste for fish and chips last Sunday, so we decided to try Durty Nellie's, the oldest pub in Ireland.  It opened in 1620 and is supposedly the best place to get a pint of Guinness. 

Nate and Scarlett had a staring contest while we waited for our food.

Me and my boy.

After lunch we headed to the Cook Christmas party.  The kids had a great time.

Scarlett was thrilled to have her face painted like a fairy princess, and Grayson was completely engrossed while we watched the magician.

They were a little hesitant about seeing Santa at first, but walked right up to him with their letters as soon as they saw him.

Nate and I were so impressed with this party.  Face painting, balloon animals, a magician.  Each child got a gift from Santa, a treat bag with a juice bottle and treats, AND a box of chocolates.  It was amazing.  The kids have already been talking about going again next year.  :)

O Christmas Tree

We went in search of our Christmas tree a little over a week ago.  We didn't get to walk through fields of trees looking for just the right one to chop down, but we all enjoyed the experience none the less.

"How about this one?"

I love these two.

A lot.

"Look Mom!  We have antlers!"

Freshly delivered.

It was strange leaving the lot without the tree, but the kids LOVED the anticipation of waiting for it to be delivered.  Stay tuned for the decorated version.

Catching up

Almost every night I compose post after post for this blog in my head as I lay in bed waiting to fall asleep.  And day after day I think about sitting down and actually writing how I'm feeling about living in Ireland.  And then I don't.  I'm not sure why, really, but today I'm going to attempt to change that.  Especially since my last post was such a downer and I don't feel like it's a good representation of our life here at all.  Yes, there are difficult days, days when I miss our friends and family like you wouldn't believe and want nothing more than to stay home and dwell on how hard it is to be away from everyone.  But mostly?  Things are good here, we like where we are in our life and are loving the opportunity that has been given to us. 

I ran up to the petrol station the other night to grab some milk before they closed....at 7pm.  ;)  I parked the car, ran in and grabbed the milk, paid for it, and was back in the car in about 5 minutes.  And that's when it struck me.  I am so incredibly happy right now and totally and completely love this moment in life.  It was one of those moments when it just kind of hit me and made me pause for a moment.  I love where we are right now.  I love the life that we are creating for ourselves.  I love that it felt incredibly normal to run into the petrol station at 6:30 on a Saturday night for a jug of milk.