Week 51

December 18
I hosted a Christmas Cookie party. It was a wonderful afternoon and we had tons of cookies. Everyone brought their favorite treat and we were all able to sample each others delicious cookies. After the party, everyone took a plate home to continue enjoying the cookies. It was a lot of fun!

December 19
Bill wrapped a bunch of presents for me. He got too many gifts for me this year, but I enjoyed all of them! He carefully wrote on each gift...it was super cute!

December 20
Just wanted to show you that even my braces are Christmasy! I got red and green ligatures to show my Christmas spirit!

December 21
My turn to wrap presents. I love presents and wrapping...and opening! These are all for Bill.

December 22
HAM!! We're having HAM for Christmas dinner. We love ham! I splurged and bought an expensive imported ham because we love ham that much. We look forward to our ham Christmas dinner all year long!

December 23
We had a lovely afternoon going to lunch, going to a movie, running errands, etc. One exciting event was driving on the new overpass by our house. They have been doing construction on the overpass and roundabout for a year now and we've been eagerly awaiting it's end. Although the construction isn't completely done...the overpass is open and it alleviates some of the traffic headache near our house. We were able to drive on it to the mall and it was splendid!

December 24
Christmas Eve is not complete without a Candlelight Service. We enjoyed a lovely Candlelight Service at church before our traditional Chinese food dinner. I love Christmas and the candlelight service is one of my favorite parts! Happy Christmas Eve!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone! I love this time of year - it's my favorite. I'm so thankful that we can celebrate Jesus coming to earth as a baby and remember why He came. Christmas always makes me think of family and traditions! So many wonderful Christmases have been spent with my family and life-long friends...and I'm grateful for those memories. Last year was particularly special as my entire family was together and we had a great time. Even though I'm not with my family this year (I miss them), I was able to talk to all of them and share my Christmas with them.

Another reason I like Christmas so much is because I enjoy celebrating traditions! There are so many wonderful traditions this time of year and each one makes me happy for a different reason. Some are old traditions and some are new - but they all add up to a wonderful Christmas season. Here are a few of my favorite traditions and moments from Christmas 2011!

Candlelight Christmas Eve Service - starting the celebration with carols and the Christmas story.

Chinese food on Christmas Eve - this year we picked a restaurant that was practically empty (but it was tasty!)

Opening presents on Christmas morning - I don't care if there is 1 present or 100 under the tree...opening something on Christmas morning is special and important for me. This year we had more presents than we deserve but it was a fun time!

Presents from Santa - with his handwriting. I don't remember when I learned that Santa wasn't real (I don't think it was very traumatic for me) but I still like to get presents from him. And, Santa has distinctive handwriting...I know my dad would be proud that Santa still uses it!

Bill with a few of his gifts from this morning. An 8-bit tie and an Oregon Ducks Calendar!

Me with my penguin gifts...I love penguins!

Bill preparing to take over the world...thanks to his new handy guide!

I love my new bathrobe! I probably won't use it much here in the jungle, but I can't wait to use it next winter!

Bill is very excited about our new printer!

Bacon was very excited to play with all the wrapping paper!

Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast - homemade cinnamon rolls are delicious and we always eat too many..but it wouldn't be Christmas without them!

Relaxing after opening presents - and playing with all our new "toys"!

Christmas dinner - whether it's big or small, Christmas dinner is always special. And, Bill and I look forward to HAM all year long!

It was so special to spend Christmas dinner with good friends. I was afraid we would be alone today, but we were able to spend a wonderful evening with great company!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that you were able to enjoy your family and traditions. Our day was happy and special and I'm already looking forward to next year! Merry Christmas!!

Week 50

December 11
Today we went to the wonderful Christmas Cantata put on by our church. It was a lot of fun to go with a huge group of friends. The cantata was amazing and I sort of wished I had participated in it this year (but I guess there's always next year, somewhere else). It was a great evening and we ended it with dinner at the food court - I'm so thankful for wonderful friends!

December 12
I never showed you a picture of our finished Christmas tree. It would be prettier if you could see the lights better, but this is it. I think our tree is absolutely lovely!!

December 13
Our guest room has become the staging area for presents. We have a lot of gifts in boxes and a lot of wrapping paper...now we just have to put the two together!

December 14
One of my coworkers is leaving this month so we had a going away party for him. He will be missed.

December 15
At our embassy Christmas party this year, there were "guests" in the backyard. They are coatimundis, or "gato solos" as they are called here. I've never been so close to so many of them. They were kind of cute...until someone fed one and then they turned nasty!

December 16
Another going away dinner for the same coworker. A new experience at a boutique restaurant...interesting!

December 17
I started my Christmas baking!! Spritz are one of my favorite cookies - and a Christmas must-have! I made them in preparation for my Christmas Cookie party tomorrow. Now it really feels like Christmas!

Week 49

December 4
We wanted to put Christmas lights on our house, but the ones from last year were all burnt out and very old. So, we went to the store and bought new ones. We decided to buy the cheap ones to last just 1 year and next year we'd buy good LED ones in the US. Unfortunately, we got what we paid for...they were cheap! We tested them and they worked, so we put them all up and then they didn't work. We tried and tried, but finally gave up because they were so cheap! I guess we'll wait until next year to have lights on our house!

December 5
As part of my Christmas spirit, I tried a new recipe and made Christmas Truffles. In theory, they were good. They tasted great (pure chocolate) but they weren't very easy to make. It was very messy and I'm not sure they were worth the effort. But, don't they look pretty?

December 6
We had our Bible Study Christmas party. It was so much fun. I loved the games - thanks, Abby! And we had delicious food and a gift exchange. It was a wonderful evening with great friends!

December 7
I think our stockings are so cute. We don't have a chimney, so we hang them by the stairs...but it works. The only problem is that the cat likes to weave in and out of them so there is black hair stuck to the tops (mostly on mine!).

December 8
We had a day off work for a local holiday so we started our Christmas movie watching with my favorite...The Muppet Christmas Carol. Abby joined us to watch it since she'd never seen it (can you believe it?). I love that movie - it is a Christmas tradition and definitely a classic!

December 9
Here I am...for the last time! I think I look pretty much the same as my picture from January. Maybe after the year is done, I'll put them all together and you can decide for yourself. I guess I have gained weight - otherwise pretty much the same.

December 10
Hooray!!! Bill graduated!!! He's been taking online classes for the last 2.5 years and he's finally done. He took finals yesterday and his graduation ceremony was today (although he didn't fly to Missouri to attend). Instead, I had a fun party for him! I am so proud of him!

Week 48

November 27
In the airport, on my way back to Panama. I'm sad to leave Oregon...I love Oregon! I like this picture because of the duck, but also because of the small sign that says "No Sales Tax in Oregon". Yet another reason to love Oregon!

November 28
The first Christmas present this year...and it's for Bill. What a cute present...now we just have to set up our tree so we have somewhere to put it.

November 29
Bill is so tired. Just a couple more weeks of school...you can do it! We really should stop staying up so late!

November 30
Ubi was being really cute and trying to scratch his face with his paws. He is a cute dog. Thanks to the antibiotic, his skin disease is improving and he looks much better!

December 1
December means Christmas socks. Yay for Christmas socks. I wear them every day for the whole month!

December 2
This is another picture I've been intending to take all year. At the mall, in addition to animal statues at each entrance (to help you remember where you came in) they have a big King Kong statue. We go to the food court all the time and I thought it would be fun to take my picture with him, but never have. So, finally, in the last month, I took my picture. Do I look like I'm about to be eaten?

December 3
We finally put up our Christmas tree!! The whole day was spent setting up the tree and decorating! So much fun! This really is the most wonderful time of the year!

Week 47

November 20
After talking to my mom and Bill, I decided to fly back to Oregon to see my grandpa. We just made the decision and bought a ticket online...for tomorrow! I can't believe I'm buying a ticket one day and flying the next! This changes all our plans for Thanksgiving and vacation, but it's important.

November 21
Here I am in Houston. Just waiting for my next flight to take off. That's my plane out there waiting for me!

November 22
Back in America! Shopping at Costco to prepare for Thanksgiving. They had PALLETS OF PIES!! It was unbelievable. People were buying so many pies...one guy had about 10 in his cart. There were so many pies! This picture isn't even all of them - the pumpkin pies were behind me in the refrigerated section. They were disappearing about as fast as the employees could restock them. And, they are actually really good pies - considering they only cost $5.99.

November 23
Enjoying my dad's pancakes for breakfast with my family. It was good to be with everyone and the pancakes were delicious too!

November 24
Thanksgiving dinner. This picture doesn't even begin to capture all the food we had. It was a delicious feast with my extended family. We have so much to be thankful for! I wish Bill and the rest of my family could have been with us.

November 25
My mom and I decided to get up early for Black Friday shopping...my first time. We missed my sister - who is the real expert. It would have been more fun if she was with us. We didn't need much, but we were out there and got the good deals (on socks) and free donuts. In the evening, we went out again and I snagged the last TV on sale at Target. I pretended it was early morning and I was fighting off the crowds as I rushed thru the store with the big box in my cart. Good times! (The TV was an early merry Christmas gift for my dad!)

November 26
One of the best things about a big Thanksgiving is the leftovers. We enjoyed turkey sandwiches and all the extras!

Week 46

November 13
Abby came over and we had a BBQ. I made Quinoa and Black Beans...it was really yummy and went well with our polish sausages and chorizo. It was a great meal!

November 14
Bill returned from a 3-day dive trip. He had a lot of fun. And, like a responsible adult, he washed and rinsed his dive gear before putting it away. Good job!

November 15
I got my new camera today...I'm hoping it helps me take better pictures. Although, if the problem with my pictures is the way I take them, then a new camera might not help. Either way, it was fun to play around with it and practice different focal points.

November 16
Still playing with my camera. So far, I think the pictures are better. Ubi looks so cute!!

November 17
I asked Bill to pick up the dog's towel, but when he got downstairs, the cat had claimed it. She decided it was a cozy place to rest.

November 18
We treated ourselves to lunch at our favorite Italian restaurant. It was so good...I'm hungry just thinking about it! It's one of the few places I will miss when we leave here.

November 19
We ordered a pizza and it came cut like this...with lots of itty bitty pieces. Maybe the person cutting the pizza was new. It was actually more convenient for me to eat it this way so I appreciated it.