Kyra wanted a nod

 

While writing my blog about how Allen spent Christmas day, Kyra asked if I would be writing about her as well.

My first thought was no, as she played he Sims3 expansion pack game for hours.  Not interesting blog material - My child mindlessly played on the computer.

But then I remembered the other gift she used for hours.  She has wanted a "snow hat" for a while now.  The hat must be knitted, have ear flaps and ties.  She wanted a pom pom on top.  I couldn't find one like that, but I did find one with a long braid/tassel.  As she has worn it every waking hour since unwrapping it, I would say she likes it.

Christmas Surprise

 Not surprisingly, Allen asked for computer games for Christmas.  The one he really wanted was Call of Duty.  He has anticipated receiving this game and playing it for a few months now.

One of his other Christmas wish list items was a soldering iron.  He has begun to experiment with battery electronics and speakers and wires.  One of his grandpas buys and sells similar things at flea markets, so we knew Papa would come through.

I anticipated that if he didn't have anything to solder right away, he would be frustrated so I went on e-bay and bought him a $6 solar cell.  I had no idea what he would do with it, but that was for him to figure out.


So our festival of unwrapping comes to an end and we turn to our gifts - putting them away, powering and registering them (Kyle's kindle) and playing with them.

What I expected - Allen would disappear to his room to play his game only to reluctantly appear again at dinner.

What happened - Allen got out his soldering iron, the solar cell, his Ipod, and the charging/sync cord. He connected the proper wires (the black and red ones) to the properly charged spots on the solar cell.  The cell isn't quite powerful enough to charge the Ipod but it does (in sunlight) keep the battery from running down as fast.

Then Allen went out in the snow to play with the dog.  And yes, then he did go and play and yes he did come to dinner and then he returned to his game.  He is a teenager.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Belgium!

Luke 2

Merry (almost) Christmas!

Tonight if we can get to church (yes this is in question) I have the honor of reading Luke 2:4-20.  I'm excited about it and will be disappointed if I miss it.

When I worked at church, Christmas Eve was a mixed blessing.  It was wonderful to spend hours celebrating Christ's birth, to greet friends with a Merry Christmas and to sing and sing and sing.  I did truly feel like I got to worship on that evening.  On the other hand, it represented significant time away from family at a significant time of year (I never served a church that had fewer than three services).  It meant I was tired on Christmas day.

This year there's only one service.  I'm not in charge.  I haven't had to work.  I simply need to show up and read.  But the reading is significant, it is the Christmas story.  Sure we all know it, even those who don't go to church know the gist of it.  Linus recites this passage in the Charlie Brown Christmas special.  But if it has been awhile since you paid attention to the words, take a moment, slow down and read.  And then, do what Mary did treasure these things and ponder them in your heart.

One more thing - tonight when you see your pastor - say thank you, let them know you appreciate this gift they are sharing with you this evening.

Merry Christmas everyone!

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

 ⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 ¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

 ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
   and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

 ¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

 ¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Fourth Sunday in Advent

 Today is the fourth Sunday in Advent.  Other than Easter, Advent is my favorite season in the liturgical calendar.  I love this time of preparation for and anticipation of the birth of Christ.  I love Advent hymns (not so much O Come O Come Emmanuel but People Look East and Come Thou Long Expected Jesus).

I like taking the time to wait and anticipate to savor rather than rushing headlong into the crazy and joyful celebration of Christmas.  I'm glad when Christmas comes but I really do enjoy this time of expectation.

This year I have a new found appreciation for the advent wreath.  As our daily light decreases and our world stays darker later each morning I love the symbolism of the wreath's increasing light.  Today all four candles are lit.  At the brink of darkness this wreath burns at its brightest proclaiming the coming birth of the Light.

What you see pictured here is a treasured Advent wreath.  It's a paper plate, toilet paper tubes, some fun foam cut outs, a bit of glitter and yellow tissue paper.  Allen made it when he was five.  I love it because we can leave it "burning" 24/7 and because, well, Allen made it.  What's not to love about that?

As we head toward the darkest day of the year (and it will be dark here in Belgium) may you too experience the warmth and light of this Advent season.

Christmas Tree

The Sunday before I got really sick we got our Christmas tree up.

We had hoped for a real tree but they are sold in very few places and did not go on sale until about mid-December.

So we caved and bought an artificial tree at the PXtra. This one we can use when we return to the US.  It is pre-lit and runs on US voltage.  That means that here we have to plug it into a transformer.

When we packed up our Christmas stuff last year, we all picked out 10-20 ornaments we really wanted to have here in Belgium.  We enjoyed seeing these old friends but also missed the ornaments we won't see for a few years.

Allen picked out his guitar ornaments and trucks and tractors.  Kyra made sure she brought her Nutcracker themed ornaments.   Kyle's choices were Williamsburg and White House ornaments.  I picked out churches and the hand-made ornaments the kids have made.  The angel at the top of the tree was made by Kyra when she was 4.

Kyra was especially pleased to have our Christmas decorations out and on display.  It now feels more "christmasy" to her.  It's not quite as "christmasy" as it would be if we were in Virginia but it is enough of home to make us feel warm and get us in the Christmas spirit.

Christmas Caves

 On Sunday, before we went to Snow World, we stopped in Valkenburg in the Netherlands for their Christmas Caves.  Almost every town in Europe (at least in our area) has a Christmas market.  These are primarily located in the town squares.

In Valkenburg, the market is located in caves below the downtown.  The caves are decorated for Christmas with trees, lights, Santas, and manger scenes.  This was Flat Stanley 2's first time out, as you can see he is not as photogenic as Stanley 1.

Given the enclosed nature of the market, there is controlled access to the market.  Even so, we found it to be crowded and that we were constantly struggling to make our way through the caves.

On the plus side, it was far warmer than an outside market and there wasn't any wind.

I enjoyed the unique atmosphere of the Christmas Cave.  I was disappointed that the merchandise for sale was not very special. I had hoped to see hand-crafted goods, but the majority of the goods were things you could buy in a store.

Kyra found some of those bracelets that are popular among school kids these days.  Apparently the animal shapes are numerous and easy to find, but she found fruit shaped bracelets which she called "rare."  She was willing to pay a euro for the purchase.

Allen spent more - 10 euro.  He found a non-sport watch that he wanted.  It was a pretty good deal, as the seller removed the extra links so it fit him and threw in an extra watch battery.  Allen was pleased with his purchase.

I told the kids that we couldn't leave the caves until I took a photo of them.  Can you tell which kid was the least thrilled by the experience?

In Pursuit of a Christmas Tree

As a family we have a tradition of putting up and decorating our fake Christmas tree over the course of Thanksgiving weekend.

When we were preparing to move I made the unilateral decision not to move our tree.  The main reason being I did not want to have to store such a huge item for 11 months of the year in a home that was certain to have limited storage space.

So now we are in need of a Christmas tree.  Belgians have not adopted the whole Christmas tree tradition.  I understand they are sold here, but not until closer to Christmas.

We are already on the look out for trees though.  Kyra spotted some yesterday as she was leaving school.  The Germans are having their Christmas market on SHAPE today.  We went over to check it out in hopes that the Germans might be selling them as part of their market.  They are not.  They were using the trees for decoration.

Plan B is to stop by at the time the market is closing and see if they will give us one and/or sell us one cheaply.  If not we'll keep trying.

Traditions are important particularly when we find ourselves far away from so much that is familiar and comfortable.  The decorations, ornaments and traditions connect us with family, memories and each other.

If you get a lead on a tree, let us know..

No Last Minute Christmas

Three weeks ago signs went up in our post office here on SHAPE.  On it were several dates, dates in November!  It listed drop dead shipping deadlines for posting packages to the United States.   So if one wanted to get one's packages to the United States by Christmas, these were the shipping deadlines.  My initial reaction (keep in mind I am an advanced planner) was "yikes!"

I usually am ready for Christmas by Thanksgiving.  This year with moving and keeping up with the kids I'm not sure I'm going to make that deadline.

Many gifts have been purchased, many have been thought about. But I am not ready.  All the local Christmas markets, held in town squares across Europe don't even open until next weekend.  Maybe I'll be shopping for next year's gifts - really advanced planning.

The postage deadline doesn't just mean sending gifts out, it also means I've got to get things ordered in hopes that they arrive here in time.  Allen and Kyra keep revising and re-prioritizing their lists so I've got to make an educated guess as to where they will have landed by Christmas time.

I'm also working on Christmas cards.  Family photo - check.  Cards in hand - check.  Chasing down everyone's new addresses - in process.  We weren't the only ones moving this year.

After I get all the packages and cards taken care of I then need to turn to the task of keeping family traditions up in a new place.  Belgians don't have a long standing tradition of Christmas trees, so finding a tree might take some work.  Hopefully the commissary or PX will help me out.  I'll let you know.

PTA Fall Bazaar

This weekend the kids' school is having their Fall Bazaar.  As entry is free and the location convenient, Kyra and I went to check it out.

Vendors were local professional crafters, antique sellers, home crafters and food sellers.  The products were of uneven quality but some items were really quite charming and interesting.  There was wine, chocolate and cheese.  There were the ubiquitous Belgian waffles for sale - by Americans.  One stall had antique mantle clocks.  Several tables displayed jewelry - mostly hand made.  Christmas ornaments were also a popular theme.

I'd show you photos of things I bought, but all are Christmas gifts and my gift recipients all read this blog.  I don't want to spoil the surprise.

 My favorite item was a handmade manger scene from Poland.  It is soft sculpture with the figures standing about 7 inches tall.  Jesus can rest in his manger or in Mary's arms.  The kings are all well detailed with gold braiding and lovely fabrics.  The animals are soft and fuzzy.  The donkey is particularly charming.  By the time I purchased Christmas gifts, I did not have enough cash to purchase this.

The bazaar is still going on tomorrow.  Kyle reads this blog and Kyra is also aware of my love for this item.  Hint, hint, hint.....