Open Gym

Here is Aaron and the kids playing at Open Gym yesterday. We had a lot of the floor to ourselves so we had a sword fight with some props we found in the closet. The kids also enjoyed playing basketball, and rolling hoola-hoops. Aaron was trying to get the kids to jump through the hoops while they were rolling and it was a lot of fun to watch them ducking down and running beside the hoops waiting for just the right moment to jump through.

What a Christmas!

I can't believe it's the morning after Christmas already. We had such a nice day together. This was one of the first years we watched the kids anticipate Santa coming. In years past there was concern expressed because we didn't have a chimney for Santa, but this year we actually set out cookies and milk for him. Miriam was a little upset that he didn't drink all of it until I told her that he probably just needed enough to rinse the cookies down. We had a good morning opening presents and getting ready for our meal. We had another couple and their newborn over for the day and enjoyed eating, playing and hanging out. Aaron had taped the Monday Night football game so the guys got to watch that, and I tried a new roll recipe. If anyone has a good roll recipe I would love to try it. I got a breadmaker for my Christmas gift so I'm excited to discover some new bread recipes too.

We officially have walked into the world of toys with little pieces. Miriam got her first set of Polly Pockets yesterday and I can't believe how small the clothes and things are, and Zach got some new Lego trucks and people and those pieces are all over the place too. Just time for some new organization to go into affect. The nice thing was when we were putting the kids down for bed Zach looked around his room and said he had so much stuff he should give some to some other kids. What a good thought!

Our church had a Christmas program this year at the Gellert Hotel in Budapest on December 22nd. It was a nice night to go into town and see the lights. The kids liked going into town, and it was nice to hear some beautiful Christmas music.

Please take a peek at our album at http://picasaweb.google.com/Langspics/December

Go Bulldogs!

Aaron had his first basketball game last night against the American International School and as you can see they were quite happy with the outcome

Busy Day

Well, this is the table runner that I just finished for my friend, Julie. I recently tried my hand at a Holiday Bazaar trying to sell some tablerunners and baby blankets that I had made, but I sold one piece and just broke even. I just thought I would see what I could do, but I don't think people were buying that day. They were all buying little knick-knack things, but it was a good experience.

I am looking forward to getting my hand back into scrapbooking. It's been a while since I opened the box of pictures, so I feel like I have to sort through things and see what I have to work with and go from there. I can't even remember what month/year I'm up to....that's pretty bad!

Let us know what you are up to this holiday season...we'd love to hear from you!

Where is Budapest?

School Christmas Dinner

Dinner out...woohoo! Last night was the Christmas dinner that the school treats the teachers/staff to. We went to this neat buffet-style Hungarian grill. The food was so good, it was the best steak I've had in a long time. One whole section had marinated meat, including chicken, steak, pork, salmon, calamari and small octopus. We didn't indulge in all those:) There were lots of vegetables, soup, salads and breads to pick from too. I've included a link (in English) if you'd like to see what the inside of the restaurant was like. We had a fun bunch of people to sit with too, so it was a great night out and then to come home to kids already asleep in bed was even better.

http://www.trofeagrill.com/trofea-ujbuda-english/index.php

Zach's head continues to heal, it has now scabbed and he is showing no side effects, so that is good. The kids are very ready for Christmas, as I write the kids are pretending to give each other their own toys that they have wrapped in small blankets. They're working on their surprised faces. They need to, especially since they already found a couple of their stocking stuffers.

If you confess

How Wide

By the skin of his forehead

So, this is my first day "blogging" and how strange it feels to be posting things to whomever would like to read them, but I thought it would be appropriate to share a story of how my son got this huge bump on his head. As some know we live in a small town outside of Budapest in Hungary. Most days we are at home, but some days we walk to the school to get the van and run errands. Since Zach has learned to ride a bike he gets to ride his bike to the school while Miriam and I walk. Yesterday was one of the first days I have ever let him ride without a helmet, but I thought with his winter hat it wasn't a big deal. Needless to say we went down a long hill and he started coasting and got about 10-12 houses in front of me and lost his balance. He stopped the fall with his head. I don't think I have run so fast in my life with such a purpose. He stood up screaming holding his head/face, and I had no idea what to expect until I got up to him. Thank God He was watching over Zach and all that happened was this bump. He was more frustrated with me for continuing to ask him his name and how old he was. The nurse at the school cleaned him up and reminded me to keep an eye on him. What a morning! God was definitely watching over us.

Miriam continues to amaze us with her social tendencies. She participates in a children's worship time at church and they performed 2 songs in front of the church. In one of the videos you can see how she enjoys the spotlight as she places the microphone right in front of her. She loves to sing and dance and must have felt right at home on stage. Click on the links below to see the videos. Miriam is obviously the one in the yellow and green:)

I've got to get back to some sewing. I'm trying to finish up a tablerunner for a friend. So, I think I will end here and leave this as my first post.