Smile.

The Princess was feeling left out that everyone knows how to work the new camera, but her. SO...I gave her a couple of lessons and let her practice...FULLY intending to delete the effort.

I changed my mind.

The King and I were working on something together curled up on the bed (it's still cold here) and she snapped away.

She practiced the zoom and counting off for us to pose. She practiced the self-portrait...be amused...and proud.

I must say...if there is one statement that is ALWAYS true about the Princess...it's that she ADORES the King...no matter what mood she wakes up in. :) You'll be able to tell by who is the center of almost every picture. :)

Boys will be boys...

While I was sitting at the table (with the camera on the corner) I noticed the Prince was entertaining himself with this "tub" (this tub was originally a trash can...but we don't use it for that) and a light saber a friend sent to him. I quickly snapped a few pics. Of course, the flash gave it away and he started coming at me... The funniest thing was that he got SO WILD with it that he whacked the trash can a few times and rang his own bell!!! LOL!

Happy Birthday!

Hey S-I-L! I hope your day is FABULOUS! This is one of my favorite pictures! LOL! :)

Side note from musical moment...

My friend was embarrassed that she still had her nativity scene up. I told her I'm leaving mine up all year becuase I want to use it when we have visitors as a conversation piece. Anyway. Looking closely...I noticed an ornament that her youngest had made stuck in there...apparently her gift to the baby Jesus. Too cute.

Playing...

The Princess has finally reached the age and her hair has finally reached the length that she actually wants me to do things with it. I've told her before that I used to have very long hair and I did all kinds of fun things with it for years. So she has now given me the "MOMROCKS" award. We just did some braids this time. But before I took the pictures she got herself stuck in this tub. I wouldn't let her out until I took her picture. She was none too happy about it. :) That's life.

A musical moment...

We had dinner with some friends that have a piano...sweet. The King sat down and music flowed for 30 minutes non-stop. It was a beautiful thing. They didn't know he could do that and I HAVE MISSED it. He played the songs he wrote and they were dumbfounded by his talent. Not me. I was just appreciating it anew. Of course, tears flowed when he sang the songs he wrote about the kids.

(A side note: notice the nativity...more on that later.)

A cooking adventure...

I was not the greatest cook in the states...I took the easy way out...casseroles...crock pots...whatever fit my busy lifestyle...McDonald's...Subway...so on. Anyway, I'm cooking from scratch these days (try explaining that phrase to locals...) and a friend of mine and I decided to make tortillas for the first time. We had big plans for a great Mexican dinner. By the time it was ready...I was frothing at the mouth and forgot to take a picture of the spread. Homemade sour cream, salsa, tortillas. Shredded cheese (a new find), lettuce, ground beef and grilled chicken, tortilla chips (bought not made) and soda. My family has NEVER been quieter at a meal. They were "MMMMing" and "OHing". It makes one feel quite proud. The tortillas were a hit.

Huh?

OK. So, today was the first time I have had to GO pay bills. At the old apartment, our English speaking neighbor did it for us. At this new apartment we paid a certain amount in advance and they've just been deducting from it. We hit a zero balance and they called every English speaking person in our apartment complex to see if they new the "foreigners" in our apartment. Fortunately for us, we've made some friends. Our friends called and said, "You need to go pay your bills." I took the bills printed in a foreign language and my landlord's bankbook(yes, you read that right)also printed in a foreign language and made my way to said bank. When I walked in with all the correct stuff...they assumed I knew what I was doing...I didn't. They fire off in this new language that I know so little of and I immediately asked them, in their language, if they speak mine...of course not. :) It's a bit confusing for them when you tell them you don't speak their language in THEIR LANGUAGE. Anyway. I digress from the reason for this post. I handed the general manager the equivalent of three bills along with the bankbook and he pulled out....not a calculator to add them up, but....wait for it....an ABACUS (Sp?)!!!! I am not kidding people! I did a double take. I didn't know they had those things anymore. I've only read about them in history books. AND his fingers flew across it like it was second nature to him. I was MOST impressed and quite dumbfounded. He checked and double checked himself...how would I know if it was right? Anyway. I paid our bills with little fanfare and moved on. But I was already thinking that I couldn't wait to post about it. I felt like I stepped back in time for a second.

On a side note...a few days ago...I saw another foreigner as she was walking away. I didn't even get to make eye contact. Then today, I saw her again...with a baby. AGAIN, we weren't crossing paths where I could speak to her. Please pray that I get an opportunity. She might not be an English speaker because there are a few German folks in the area. But I can hope. We'll see. It would be a nice ministry opportunity, I think.

Encouragement...

for your soul from mine, but ultimately from the author of encouragement.


Picture "borrowed" from www.absolutelyhis.blogspot.com

"Who is among you that fears the Lord, that obeys the voice of His servant, that walks in the darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely on His God." Isaiah 50:10

"I will give thanks to the Lord according to His righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High." Psalm 7:17

"For the Lord your God (Elohim-creator God), is the God of gods and the Lord of Lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God..." Deuteronomy 10:17

"For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen" Romans 11:36

Guess who's coming to our house tonight...

...times 2. The Princess let me pull these two teeth that were barely hanging in there. Wow. What was I thinking? I remember when the Prince lost his first tooth and then an hour later lost another one. These kinds of kids are tough on the Tooth Fairy. We'll see if she rises to the occasion.

Just pics that may me smile...

Care Package received!

Thanks for all the warm weather stuff...and jewelry, of course. Love you all. Kiss the kids for us....and CYH2.

Confession is good for the soul...

I want to post more, but I'm wading throught the TONS of pictures we taken lately hoping to share some with you all. But (here is the confefssion part), I don't like logging on and there are no comments to post. Sad, but true. I think I am addicted to hearing you responses. So, speak to me people! Please.

Look closely...

...almost every bit of this is made of china. Fascinating.