Our first Christmas in China has been very pleasant and, for the most part, relaxing. On Christmas Eve we had some snow and I was able to take the boys out to play for a bit while Ayi cleaned our place. That was nice:)!
Since we were having a few people over, I prepared some food while Tim finished up some last minute shopping. Once that was done I had time to relax and play the Wii with my boys.
We had a very nice evening with a couple of families that are new(er) to Shenyang. Although it wasn't quite the same as spending Christmas Eve with our families, everyone was excited and happy to be together so it left me feeling warm and fuzzy. After everyone left the four of us watched a Christmas movie together then Tim read Twas The Night Before Christmas (Little Critter style) to the boys. They actually went to bed quite well after that. I guess they were a little tired.
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| Family Self Portrait |
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| I managed to snap this picture after Santa came but before the boys woke up. It's so cozy in here! |
On Christmas morning we managed to sleep in until 6:30 so everyone was well rested when we came out to see what Santa had left. None of us got too many presents this year but really enjoyed what we did receive. As we neared the last of the wrapped gifts, there was one moment that made me feel extra wonderful. Nicholas, seeing that he had four presents left to open while Ryan's were all done, offered to let his little brother open two of his. How sweet is that? I am so proud of my little man.
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| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back! |
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| Lucy getting in on the action. |
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| Santa brought Crazy Forts for the boys. They're awesome! |
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| Lucy going after her new toy. |
Santa and Murray, our elf on the shelf, were kind enough to leave us a proper Chinese tea set and bamboo tray for our hot chocolate parties. I'm sure we'll get lots of use out of it.
Once the gift giving was done Tim and I got to work on cooking our first turkey in China. Most Chinese people don't eat turkey so it's a rare item here. We bought a 15lb bird from YooHoo for the import price of $100 and were really hoping that it would turn out okay. If it didn't, we likely wouldn't be making a second try. Our oven is pretty small and we don't actually have a proper roasting pan, so I was a little skeptical.
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| The red dot is an indicator. When it pops, the turkey is done! |
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| The turkey was heavy enough that it collapsed the rack once. We had to flip it over to get it to stay put. |
So, how did our first attempt turn out? It was incredible! The most delicious turkey I've had in a long time. The kids loved it, too!
Since Tuesday we've been hanging out, playing games and yesterday went out to IKEA for a bit. It's a bit challenging having everyone home for so long, but we are making the most of it. I have started daydreaming and counting down to our next trip. Only 48 days until we are off to Thailand! I am excited to see the greens and blues of the trees, skies and ocean. The hot weather will be nice, too:).
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| It's like the Wild West here with Nerf gun fights. |
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| We told them they could only shoot the darts at each other if they wore glasses or goggles. |
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| Ryan got a Jessie doll from Nanny and Bumpy and a Bullseye from Santa. |
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| We got the boys their own trays for having picnics in the living room or breakfast-in-bed. Today they had a french toast picnic. |
That's it for Christmas and probably 2012. Happy New Year everyone and best of luck to you all in 2013! Let's see what this year will bring...
Wonderful blog Jan! I love the photos! You really had a great Christmas in China. Looks like the boys had so much fun! Even Lucy joined in.
ReplyDeleteWe had a very different but nice Christmas here too. We did our usual thing at Darlene's on Christmas Eve for supper then we went up to Andy's and your Mom's. I had an interesting chat with Nancy Walker one of Andy's friends. We had so many things in common and chatted most of the evening. Then we went down to visit your Mom and Dad and had lots of great chatting and laughs down there. There was tons of delicious food too! Normally we would spend it with Dev and Stef (for the last 28 years) but things change. The had their own things to do. We went to Darlene's again for brunch on Christmas Day (which was delicious) and we always look so forward to that. Andy and Dale came down for that. Since Dev wasn't coming up from Bridgewater (Sam's parents) until the afternoon we all waited until then to open our gifts and we really enjoyed it. Then we all made food to take to Darlene's for Christmas Dinner. It was all soooo very good! Then the boys came back down home and we play games. Dev had gotten a new one for Christmas. Apples to Apples and it was fun. We also borrowed one from Darlene and Stef and Angie stayed to play that with us. So it was a different Christmas in some ways but we had a terrific one. I got an Ipad for Christmas and have Face Timed with Verna so I would like to chat with you some time. We will have to try and get that together.
As I said before we are very blessed! Have a wonderful New Year Jan as I'm sure you will. Thanks again for the blog. Love to you all!
Wonderful pictures Jan, looks like you had a great Christmas. Really love the tea set, the girls would love it as well, they are always wanting tea parties and what a great idea the little trays are. I can see why you decided to purchase your own nerf gun, guess you would be the main target without one. I can see why you needed to buy something to cover the crazy forts, it looks like fun.
ReplyDeleteYour snow angels are so pretty, especially with the color showing through, you must have been making them in the courtyard, they are really cool. We could make some snow angels now after the snow yesterday but I think I will give it a pass.
We had a lovely Christmas, busy but nice. Lots of people around although we did miss Shawn and Devin and Sam on Christmas Eve and for brunch Christmas Day. Devin and Sam made it for Christmas dinner. Shawn didn't get home until Boxing Day night, actually it was 1:00 am and we all went to his place Friday night for their Christmas Dinner. It seemed that all we did for 5 days was eat.
Your mom was down for a visit yesterday, we had a great chat, guess she is working today at home, threading pipe for when they go back to work.
The rink is only booked until 1:00 today, then I will do up the deposit and send Carl off to the bank. Don't know what I would do without him.
We are not going out tonight, Tracy, Stevie and the boys will be here and I think the Georges are coming over as well. The kids will go out on the ice, we might play a game or just sit and visit. We will probably all be in bed before 12:00.
Well Jan, I have a good book on the go so must get some reading done before lunch.
Happy New Year to you all and all the best for 2013.
Love you guys, take care.