Christmastime was here

So, what have we been up to in the last few weeks? Clearly having too much fun to keep up on the blog! :-) The weeks leading up to Christmas were quite full, and the week after Christmas has been sooo relaxing. It is so nice to have the whole family together...we generally sleep in (even the kids!), laze around for awhile, eat breakfast, work on a puzzle for a bit, then we head down to do a quick workout while the kids play, eat lunch and then do some sort of activity. This is the life - and I'm enjoying every second!

So - the best way to explain what we've been up to is through pictures...here goes:

(Below) We went on the Bethlehem walk. It is an amazing production put on by a local church. They replicate what Bethlehem would have been like at the time Jesus was born. Complete with singing angels from the sky, lots of animals and a market it is a great event.
(Below) The kids learned how to press olives into olive oil, and here Mebira is crushing spices. Mebira said that they used this a lot in Ethiopia. It was amazing how much the "Bethlehem market" looked like any market you would see in Ethiopia and I'm sure it brought back some memories for her.

(Below) We attended a few Christmas parties. This was the Christian Adoption Services party where the kids got to meet Santa. I was just glad that Mebira didn't pull off his beard and yell, "You're not Santa!" like she saw Buddy do in Elf. :-)
(Below) We watched quite a few Christmas specials. Next up? After Christmas specials like the Sound of Music and Mary Poppins!
(Below) We had the girls' favourite supper - "snacky supper around the tree".
(Below) A yearly tradition with Dad - gingerbread house. The gingerbread "mysteriously" disappeared a few days ago and no one noticed!
(Below) The girls had their school Christmas concert and we took a few pictures before we left.
(Below) Still more pics from before the concert. I was thoroughly amazed at how well they all did at the concert. Mebira, especially, could have been totally terrified having only been in Canada for 6 months, but she got up on stage with her class in front of 500ish people, smiled and did all of her actions and sang along. This girl is willing to take anything on!
(Below) Our Advent Pyramid. I bought this in Germany during my year there and the girls enjoy seeing it spin every year.

(Below) We did something new this year. We are not really a singing family...but I thought it would be nice to do some caroling this year so we each picked a song, found it on one of the many Christmas cds I have, cranked it up and sang along. It was actually a nice time.

(Below) Christmas Eve turned out a bit different than we had planned. My mom (the host this year) came down with a brutal stomach flu and had to miss out and we switched locations to K&A's at the last minute. It was so sad not to have Omi (i.e. Mrs. Christmas) there, but we made the most of it. Mebi was sooooo excited for Christmas and it was fun to experience the first Christmas with her.
(Below) Such a cute pic with their wonderful cousins!
(Below) "Wait kids! Just a few more pictures before presents!"
(Below) Opening presents on Christmas Eve! So fun and I'm so glad we don't have to wait for Christmas morning!
(Below) Back at home, Christmas morning, stocking time!
(Below) Christmas Day eve - another cute picture with more wonderful cousins! Although it was sad to have the first Christmas without Arvid's dad, we had some nice talks and were still able to make it a really nice evening.
Well, that sums it up...lots of fun and lots of food! I hope your Christmas was enjoyable as well.