The Birthday Boy and His Cake

Hello again! Here are some shots from David's birthday. Here's his ultracool Harry Potter cake.

















Here he is with some very special gifts!


















And here, making a wish, with great focus...

















Happy New Year to everyone!!!

In Honor of David's Birthday....

...we got snow!!!

Yes, it snowed so that yesterday we could go out and play. Not good snowman snow, but good rolling around and making snowball snow. Today David is 7, and we will be having a special birthday cake, to be chosen by David himself in a little while. He says "It doesn't feel any different [being 7]. Only 3 years until I'm a subteen." Our big kid :)


Beautiful view over back fence into horse pasture...

















Snow and kids and house...

















Clarke makes a snow angel, pretty professionally for someone from Florida!

















Ahhh, we love the snow!
















Lily enjoyed scavenging other people's snowballs.

Christmas Morning Here in England

Well, it's a beautiful, and bittersweet, morning here in England. No snow...FIE on you, Mr. Winter, for giving us 50-degree weather :)

No Daddy, either...we sure miss you, and especially so today. We really loved to talk with you today, even for a very few minutes. Even Lily managed to say Hello and Merry Christmas loudly enough to be heard.

Clarke got, and gave, some lovely presents, and helped make a delicious post-gift breakfast. She is surviving the homesick feeling of a first Christmas without her family, and I am making her wait to phone home until at least 8 AM their time. No, 4 AM their time is *not* going to get a loving, chatty response on the phone!!

Lily and David also love their presents, and gave some lovely presents. Thanks, kiddoes!!

A view of the gifts just before being pounced upon!!



















The Christmas gifts with children in the picture:


















Lily wearing her new scarf and hat, and a SMASHING pair of
Thomas the Tank wellies. She will be the envy of her preschool mates:






















This is a traditional Afghan hat from Daddy. From above,
it looks like an elaborately embroidered pancake.























Here's Clarke, pondering her next gift, in a scarf from me.
Mohair, fisherman's rib stitch, if you care...























Here Lily is wearing a head scarf that is part of a native Afghan (?) costume Daddy sent her. It is a lovely outfit, and I will post a picture when she puts on the whole thing sometime soon...






















David and Lily left cookies, carrots, and reindeer chow for Santa and Co. He left them a Thank You note:


















This is the Rice Krispy Treat house. Long story, but Rice Krispies, despite the claims in the recipe for this, do NOT like to be a house shape with a roof. Had to reroof with plain cardboard...

It's So....Organic!

Today, we found a Christmas tree at the garden center in Dersingham. It's a real tree, which we haven't done in a few years, and it's so...short...and uneven...and real-looking! I like it.

Decorated this afternoon with only one box of ornaments of the four boxes I have here. Clarke thinks it's overdressed. I think I may open another box in the dark of night and add more baubles.

(Note the IMMENSE tree stand beneath the tree. My options were limited at the base exchange.)

The Official Royal Holiday Card...Not

A visit with Father Christmas

Greetings from Non-snowy Olde England! I hope you are all getting into the holiday spirit, wherever you are. David is thick into preparations for the Christmas concert and nativity play (that's to be performed by the littlest ones in school; should be cute!) this week.

Last Friday was the school Christmas Coffee Evening (inexpensive coffee and cakes, expensive raffle tickets, interesting stuff, and things the kids made). Father Christmas was there and they took a picture for us. Sadly, D's eyes were closed, but at least Lily is not shrieking (see last year's picture, back in the archives of this site, for a comparison). They had a good time!

Happy Christmas!

David is practicing Christmas carols for the concert in 2 weeks at school. They are doing 10 or so songs, I think, none of which I have ever heard before.

He is in the holiday spirit, Clarke and I are in shock that it is December 1st already, and Lily is peevish that Advent calendars only supply one piece of chocolate per day. We also have the Jul Tomte back again - he is the Swedish Christmas elf who watches children before Christmas to tell Santa if they are being good. David found him perched on a bookcase this morning.

Here's David's artwork from Paint on the computer!