catching up

sorry I haven't posted in way too long... as you can imagine things have been crazy here! Between the boys, studying, potty training, guests, visitors and English Cafe I can barely keep my head on straight!

Here are a few photos for those of you who have been asking about the boys:

G getting into the spirit of Christmas

G and Carter posing after Gavin 'dressed' them both up in their hats

Carter and his 'fuzzy head'

This is pretty much how I find Carter every morning... on his belly with his arm hanging out of the crib- must be comfy!?

In other news... we're all ready for Christmas here- the tree's been up and the decorations have been hung for quite some time. And of course the Christmas music has been playing non stop for nearly a month already! All our shopping is done- we've been trying to avoid the crazy rush that starts here in December- due to everyone getting ready for New Years- the biggest holiday here. All December the stores and grocery stores are packed full of people buying gifts, food and fireworks for the 31st. Last time we went to MEGA (the big mall here w/ Ikea and Ashan (the crazy grocery store)) as soon as we pulled in the parking lot Gavin threw his arms up in the air and shouted "Shopping, All Right!!!"... that's when you know you've taken your child to the mall one too many times! Or maybe he just connected that when we go shopping there he gets a 5 ruble ice cream cone after playtime at the play place outside of Ikea! Either way???

Saturday night was English Cafe again- it went great! Our topic was politics and we discussed lots of controversial topics (abortion, same-sex marriage, nuclear weapons, the war in Iraq, presidents Bush and Putin, etc) and it led to some of the most fruitful conversations we've had as of yet. I invited 2 of the students to come over before the next English Cafe to help me make Christmas cookies b/c at our next EC we'll be here, at our home, celebrating Christmas, eating cookies and watching "It's a Wonderful Life." During this time we'll also talk about Christmas traditions and why we celebrate Christmas- so please be praying for us as we prepare for our next get together.

Also, please remember Gavin and Carter. They are both sick right now. Gavin starting coughing really bad on Saturday and ended up vomitting that night :( And yesterday Carter started coughing, too! We started Gavin back on his meds. Please pray with us for a speedy recovery for both boys!

This week holds several days of meetings, a few days of studying, and tomorrow night we're hosting a friend of ours... Saturday night I asked him what he wanted for supper, if there was anything he wanted that he had during his time in the states (he's worked there the past 2 summers)... he asked for burgers or steak! funny. So... we're going to have burgers, hot wings, fries (and onion rings if I have time)... and some veggies too...not that you can really make that meal "healthy"!

Oh... if you have extra time stop by this site: www.northpole.com. There are tons of games, recipes and even printable worksheets! Gavin and I have been using lots for them during our "school time" in the mornings. And we made a fudge recipe from the site last week that was super yummy! Have fun!