Christmas Holiday Update

I'm sorry for not writing for so long and now writing way too much.  There's so much to catch up on.  I haven't really talked to anyone.  I think I may have been subconsciously avoiding calling because when I hear all the fun and noise in the background it just makes me homesick. 

Christmas Eve we went to the Keeler's and made gingerbread trains and had appetizers and dessert.  It was a lot of fun for all of us.  They have three little boys 6, 4, and 2 so the kids had a great time and we felt right at home in the craziness. 

After we got home, we set out the gifts and read the Nativity story, then wrestled everyone to bed. 

Christmas day was definitely different than we're used to, except waking up at 7 and ripping open the gifts.  After we played with the goods for a bit, we got dressed and headed to the Skytrain station.  The kids have been dying to ride it since we moved here and on Christmas it's really cheap, so we decided to go to the Aquarium and watch their new Polar Express 4D movie.  The movie was very good, and the trip was exciting too.  It was certainly better than sitting at home driving each other crazy.  Boxing day was good for that.  Strange though to have Christmas so warm and without any snow.  It's been tough to get in the spirit, but we had a good one nonetheless.  Missed all of you and the games, food, conversation. 

The new train bridge getting good use already.

Feeding the ducks at Stanley Park on Christmas Day.

Madi as an elf for the Christmas concert; Clayton singing (in red on the top row)

The biggest crab haul yet just before Christmas.  We gave four to our neighbors and considered it our Christmas gift to them.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas.  We missed you.  There is a lot of new things on the blog, so scroll on down and catch up.  Once we get the web cam hooked up we'll try to keep in touch even more - face to face!  The kids are so excited, they can hardly wait and neither can I.  Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Iceberg, Dead Ahead!

Clayton brought home a book on the Titanic from the library and it has thrilled the boys for weeks.  Both he and Malcolm can tell you almost exactly how and why the Titanic sunk after watching whatever videos they could find on National Geographic.  Their new favorite game is building the Titanic out of Duplo, adding an iceberg and then engineering the entire tragedy from start to finish, complete with those poor souls who jumped in the frigid water or plunged to their death when the ship's end went straight up.  Then they "find it" under the water.  They are currently in the bathtub re-enacting the scene once again. They even turn the lights out because the Titanic sunk in the dark. I'm glad they are such sponges for history, I'll just have to work on something not quite so tragic.

The Titanic: The original World's Largest and Safest Ship...

And what happened four days later....

The Cooper boy's version of the ill-fated ship

Family Home Evening Humor

Madison gave us a lovely lesson last night for FHE which she came up with all on her own.  She chose her favorite pictures of Christ from the picture kit and told us, surprisingly well, the stories behind each of them.  Some of these pictures are included here: Jesus being baptised,

Jesus walking on the water (her absolute favorite), the ten lepers, the Garden of Gethsemane. 

It was very thoughtful and we were all listening intently (or as intently as it gets with three little brothers) when she pulled up the next picture and informed us that "then one day Jesus knocked on a door."

A good start to the holidays

We started our break from school with a bang - a birthday party we were all invited to.  There is a family in our ward that has two boys who have birthdays in December and January and they are about Madi and Clay's ages.  Instead of organizing two activities, their parents booked a theatre and invited their friends from church, school and the neighborhood and their whole family to come an celebrate with them.  She says they normally have a summer party, but they had a baby this year and the boys were disappointed that it hadn't happened yet.  This was a great idea though.  The theatre is older and rents out for private functions all the time.  It only costs $120 for the entire 272 seat theatre and their popcorn is $2 if you bring your own container, same for pop.   The Halls provided containers and cupcakes and the boys got to dim the lights and start the movie.  The kids were thrilled.  It was very exciting and fun being in a great big theatre with a bunch of people they knew.  If I knew enough people out here to invite, it would be a great way to combine all four of our birthdays in February and March.

Dan and the boys are out crab fishing again.  They went Saturday and caught eight of the biggest crabs they've ever seen.  We gave four away and kept the others.  Clay finished one off all by himself.  Sorry Scott, Mal and Steve - we have now learned that in the winter they get even bigger and meatier, so you'll have to come back and try again.  If they have as good of luck today Dan will take them to work for his clients to share on Christmas - just a nice treat they don't very often get.  We were missing all of you who eat crab on Saturday with that plentiful bounty.  We phoned three families to invite them to share with us, but they were all busy and sad they couldn't come join in.  I'm sure they'll have another chance.  I think Clay and Dan would go out every day this holiday if they could. 

Dad, do you eat crab?  Clay wanted to know if you want to go with them when you and mom come out, but I can't recall if you like shellfish or not.  Mom, I don't think you do, but maybe I'm wrong.  Maybe they'll be really big by then...

Blessings of a Multicultural Ward

Yesterday was our ward Christmas party.  We had a great turnout with lots and lots of food.  Surprisingly, more food than desserts.  Which was okay.  We had the usual Christmas fare - turkey, ham, potatoes, mixed veggies, stuffing etc., but we also had a nice surprise.  Due to the number of Korean, Japanese and Phillipino people in our ward, we also got to have homemade noodle dishes (what we would call Chinese food, even though not one of them is Chinese).  The kids were thrilled because rice noodles and shanghai noodles are one of their favorite things, and these people know how to cook them.  No one even took potatoes.  We can have those any old time!  Someone also brought lasagna, which was a change from the usual starches.   (We also have Italian members, not to mention a Scottish family and a woman from Britain).  What a fun dinner!  We sat with a Philippino woman who gave Madi the leftover noodles she brought because she knew how much she loved them.  While we were excited by noodles, she was excited to have potatoes!  Along with the food, we also got to hear 'Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer' in Korean and French.  It was a lot of fun.

On the same note, there is a woman in our ward who grew up in Ottawa.  I was mentioning that Steve is going to Toronot West and she was so excited for him because it is apparently the most multicultural, diverse mission in Canada.  We are second or something.  So, looks like Steve will get to enjoy some of these fun dinners and amazing people too.  We have really enjoyed getting to know all the oriental people in our ward.  They are very soft-spoken and gentle, but honest to a fault, and-maybe because they have to work harder at the language-they always remember the kids names and make sure to say hello and give a compliment.  Someone else told me that Steve will get to pick up lots of phrases from all sorts of languages out that way.  Maybe he's going more foreign than he realizes...

We do really love our ward here though.  It's kind of nice being in a ward with only twenty primary kids.  Everyone gets to know your family pretty quick, and they are all willing to lend a hand when needed.  Dan was sick at home last week and I wouldn't have even made it to the car after church if it wasn't for two priesthood who chased the boys (Clayton) down and strapped them in.  All in good fun, of course.  I really appreciate it because we don't have all of you out here, and they need people who act like aunts and uncles and grandparents.  My visiting teaching partner is about Mom's age and her kids are all grown up and she loves to help the kids whenever she sees them.  Spencer has a nursery leader, Sister Cho, who barely speaks a word of english, but always gives him big hugs and tells him she loves him.  And I must hear at least once a Sunday how 'beautiful' our children are and how glad they are to have them in the ward.  You need to hear that once in a while when you have 1/5 primary kids sitting on your bench in Sacrament meeting not being the example of reverence.

We also have another family in our ward who joined the church about 3 or 4 years ago and is in a similar family situation as we are.  They have three children  - 3, 2, and 1- and I love to watch them because I can sympathize with them.  They like to watch us and know they are not alone.  Their oldest, the boy, loves to run around with ours.  But their middle daughter, for some reason, has made me her second choice when mom is busy with the baby.  She sat with us more than them last night, and would only eat what I fed her.  She's adorable.  She reminds me of Mya- very petite and blonde and quiet.  She also loves Madi, and followed her around most of the night.  What fun!

Anyway, those are my ramblings on our very diverse, wonderful ward.  It is a real bright spot out here and we are learning a lot.  We are always impressed that our kids really don't see race or culture.  Our blessing living in Okotoks was that our kids learned to look past differences because we lived by Andy and Dan, who both deal with disorders like Autism.  Our blessing here is that they are learning to love people from all walks of life.  And so are we. 

A Barrel of Monkeys

Two funny stories to brighten up the colder days:

1. Malcolm and Dan were playing together.  Dan had him counting from 1-5, then running and jumping into his arms.  To make it a little more challenging, Dan asked him to count backwards, then run and jump.  Dan started counting, "5...4..".  Malcolm turned around to face "backwards", and counted "1...2...". 

2.  Dan was driving Malcolm and Spencer home from Superstore yesterday.  It was around 1:30, far too late for Spencer to start sleeping or he would just be up all night.  We're phasing out naps, otherwise we have a 21/2 year old up til 10 or 11.  As luck would have it, he started to doze just as Dan passed the 7-11.  Quickly thinking that he might be able to keep him awake with the promise of a few penny candies, Dan veered into the 7-11 parking lot.  He jumped out and went to Spencer's door, opening it and asking him if he wanted a treat.  Spencer raised his face towards him with his eyes closed and said," Yes, Dad, yes!"  Dan asked him again because he thought he was still sleeping, but he could tell Spen was straining to look at him.  Spenny answered again, but this time explained in a very worried tone, "Yes, Dad, but my eyes won't open!  I can't open my eyes!" 

These two keep us laughing, but the attached picture shows them demonstrating saying a prayer for a book we were making.  I imagine the face Spencer is pulling is the same one he would have turned towards Dan when he found it impossible to open his eyes.  Happy morning!