Isaac is taking this class at school called Drafting and Design.  He made this little airplane out of a soda can.  Always thinking of his siblings he asked for the plans and brought them home.  One of our advent calendar activities was to make ornaments.  This year we made these planes.  I saved up the cans and cut the top and bottom off the can then opened them up.  Job drew on the pieces and soon became bored with the process. He decided to make his own fighter jet plane instead so drew out the pieces on paper as a template then traced them onto the aluminum and then cut them out. Isaac had already made one at school and was soon into his book. I made one and then Lona made about 5 of them.  She is so meticulous with craft projects.  I have some aluminum ready to others ready to go and want to copy the instructions onto paper and save it on the computer so we have it for another time. 

Another advent activity was to make a ginger bread house.  Costco has this kit where the house is put together and all you have to do is decorate it.  They include the frosting and the candies.  Again the boys spent about 15 minutes on the house and they were off doing other things.  Lona spent a couple of hours working on the house. The boys just wanted to eat it.  They took a hammer to the roof of the house.
Isaac prends une classe au lycee et ils ont faire des avions.  Ils ont utiliser les boites de coke.  Isaac introduits les plans d'avions chez nous pour Job et Lona.  Nous coupons l'haut et bas des boites.  Nous coupons tous les pieces pour l'avions et les collons ensembles.  Job fais un avions et decide qu'il veut creer son avions tout seul alors il concu son propre plans.  Isaac a deja faire un avion au lycee alors il ne veut pas le faire chez nous.  Mais Lona, elle est different.  Elle fini l'avion de Isaac et construit 5 autre avions. 



L'autre chose que nous faison sont construire un maison de pain de gingembre.  J'achete le maison tout ensemble et les enfant le font decorer avec les bon bons et les glacages.  Apres 15 minutes, les garcons sont finir mais Lona depense quelques heures avec le maison.  Le jour apres elle a fini le maison, les garcons l'ont ecraser avec un marteau.  Ils veulent juste le manger.

It has been our tradition for I can't remember how long to go sledding at Mount Baker after Christmas.  The only difference this year was that we went skiing instead.  Isaac has a friend that skis so we brought him with us.  We skied all together in the morning. But in the afternoon, Job took a lesson and we sent Isaac, Ben and Lona off together while John and I had some time on the slopes.  John can ski some hard stuff and I can slide down those slopes gangly and just barely in control.It pushed me to my limits while John was patient and waited and waited and waited some more. 

He's so snowy.  Regarde tout la neige sur son chapeau!

Job needed some help with his turns and linking his turns.  Isaac just needs to be pushed with friends and Lona needs to learn how to use poles.  I think that is her next hurdle.  I think that having a friend aklong with the kids who knew the mountain made the difference on this trip as well as having Job take that class.  By the time his class was over it was time to go home.
Normalement nous allons faire de la luge apres Noel mais cette annee nous allons faire du ski.  Isaac avait un ami qui fait du ski et connaitre la montagne alors il vas avec nous.  Pendant le matin, nous faisons du ski ensemble.  John et moi decidons que Job avoir besoin une lecon.  Apres midi Job prends une lecon, Isaac et Lona font du ski avec l'ami de Isaac.  John et moi avons du temps ensemble.  Il fait du ski bien et moi, je ne suis pas joli quand je fait du ski mais je peux lui suivre.

Another trip to Green's Corner.  We've been waiting for a time when all the kids are home so we could walk down and have hot cocoa.   There's a whole lot of goofing off on the way there and back.  We order a variety of things: hot cocoa, chocolate milkshakes, coffee, chocolate milk, cookies - do you see a pattern?  We bring books and read for about an hour and then head home.  Job and Lona counted over 400 "standard" sized sidewalk squares between Greens and our house.  There is an engineer there somewhere.  Job seems to be made for the position.  The other day he listed everything a person would get for the "Twelve Days of Christmas".  Impressive but then he determined the pattern that the items increase until half way through the song where they start to decrease again.  Next is the graph and then the equation to go with it.  I don't speak that language at all.

I wanted to enjoy Christmas Eve and Day without worrying about getting it on my blog.  After looking at the photos I wish I would have taken a group shot of the kids but I didn't.  Christmas Eve found us going to church for a short candle light service singing songs and listening to short messages about Christ.  After service we went through James street Estates.  Never again will we do this on Christmas Eve.  It took almost 45 minutes just to drive into the neighborhood.  Apparently many other people put it off until Christmas Eve as well.  I didn't take my camera but after getting home I took photos of our house.  the kids were patient and waited until I came in before we opened a present each.  The next morning as I was burning the french toast, the kids opened their stockings.  I thought I had it all planned out of easy baked french toast so we could sit down while enjoying breakfast.  Never again, maybe I'll do cracked wheat cereal or some kind of breakfast casserole instead.  I insisted we wait until the sun was up to open presents, I didn't want to do it again in the dark.  We opened presents and oohed and ahhed.  Then we headed to church for a short service.  In the afternoon we headed over to our friend's house for a Venezuelan dinner and spend Christmas night with them.

Last year Lona joined the Dancing for Joy ballet school.  They were having a Christmas program so we signed Lona up for that as well.  She was given the part of a Star last year and held the hoopla over Joseph and Mary.  This year her part was that of an Angel.  We went to every Friday practice.  She learned her part and then it was opening night.  They had two showings this year and Lona was in both nights.  Little did I know that some of the kids (particularly the younger ones) were just in one night.  They divided the classes.  We made the decision to go on Sunday and purchased our tickets but I thought I'd help out of Saturday so didn't need any ticket.  Turns out they didn't need my help at all so I purchased a ticket the night of the show.  I sat in the balcony and watched.  Lona didn't come on until the 2nd Act.  I was/am biased and thought she was amazing.  In the balcony it is a little impersonal because you are sitting far away but some of the dances made more sense as far as what was going on.  Then it was Sunday night and the who family went.  The story is about Jesus' birth from the prophecy in the old testament to Joseph, Mary and Jesus fleeing to Egypt all told through ballet.  Lona told me that it felt like the music was written just for this ballet.  I think so too.  We sat in the third row from the front.  It was up close and personal.  At one point Joseph and Mary are traveling and searching for an inn.  they are repeatedly turned down by the innkeepers and she is havin labor pains.  I turn to John and just start bawling.  The rest of the performance was like that.  By the end of the evening John and I felt emotionally exhausted.  They did an incredible job.  It is becoming a family tradition I hope.
Le dimanche nous avons aller au ballet de voir Lona. Elle etait un ange.  L'annee passe elle etait un etoile.  C'ette annee, elle se reveiller les berger et announcer la naissance de Jesus.  C'est l'histoire de la naissance qui commence avec l'announcement de le Messie jusqu'a l'echapper en Egypt.  Elle dance pour deux nuit.  Les petites qui sont les anes et les moutons seulment dance pour un nuit. Un demi danser le samedi et l'autre demi danser le dimanche.  Le samedi c'est juste moi qui aller mais le dimanche c'est notre tout famille.  Je pense que Lona etait magnifique mais je suis sa mere.  Le dimanche je vois le visage a John et il pleut quand je le vois, je commence de pleurer aussi. 

You may think that it is basketball but you would be wrong.  It is actually Futsal.  I know what in the world is Futsal?  Think of five guys a side and a soccer ball but smaller and less bouncy (30% less bounce) than a standard size 5 soccer ball.  Futsal is a game that has been around for 32 years in the US.  Which can be played on any basketball court both inside and outside.  Fustal.com has a wealth of information about Futsal from the history to starting a league. Apparently it was developed in Uruguay at a YMCA there. There are many other names for this game including Mini-soccer and Five-a-Side. I saw it for the first time when I went to watch Isaac play at the YMCA.  I have always loved indoor soccer but it is limited to having an indoor soccer area which is not available in all areas.  With Futsal that need is eliminated.  Almost every school in America has a basketball court either indoor or outdoor.  I can really see this as being a school sport in years to come.  I liken it to basketball in that you have five players on the field that quickly change from offense to defense.  There are screens, passes and rebounds.  It is fast paced like basketball with the scores rapidly adding up.



Nous avons trouver un nouveau jeu.  C'est futsal.  C'est le football mais avec cinq jouers sans gardien.  Ici, nous n'avons pas un gardien.  Ils ont jouer avec une petite balle et sur un cour de basketball.  C'est plus vite de football comme basketball.  C'est developer en Uruguay et en les Etats-Unis, ils le jouent pour 32 ans. Mais c'est annee est le premiere fois que nous l'entendons.  Je pense qu'un jour les etudients jouent le futsal a l'ecole.  Isaac le joue chaque weekend.

Waiting to see if the UPS has a package for them.  Waiting for Christmas morning.  Waiting.  Sometimes Job comes to me as if in agony.  "I just can't bear it.  It's torture.  I can't standing waiting but I have to." he says.
Attendre.  Attendent pour le camion s'il avait un cadeau pour eux.  Attendent pour le matin du Noel.  Attendre. Quelque fois Job me dit, "C'est trop dur d'attendre pour Noel, mais il faut que j'attends.  C'est la torture d'attendre."

We are getting ready for Christmas around here.  We have our fake tree up, the nativity, the advent calendar, and the mantel decorated.  Last year my neighbor invited me to make my own wreath.  I brought my own supplies last year - dried oranges and gold screen leaves.  This year I also brought my own supplies, gold wired ribbon, silvery leaves and gold sparkly pinecones.  I love it.  It's not quite tiddy but I love it.  The gal provides all the greens, the tools, some accents, and ribbons.  You can order a wreath from her for $25 or do it yourself for $15.  It was fun to go with a group of gals and do it together.  We ate cinnamon rolls and drank coffee and cider.  Perfect girls outing.
Je vais avec des autre femmes de faire un guirlande.  L'anne passe ma voisine m'invita de faire un vrai guirlande.  J'ai pris des orange sec et feuille d'or avec moi.  Cette annee je prends des ruban d'or, feuille d'argent et des cônes étincelant d'or.  La place a des formes pour la guirlande, les outils, et les fournitures pour les guirlande.  Nous buvons des cafe et mangeons des rouleaux de cannelle.

Our advent activity was to decorate the tree.  Still waiting for John to put the topper on it.  That's his job besides getting the tree out of storage.  Lona decorated her tree nice all pretty with dolls at the bottom and well then there is the boys' tree.  Let's just say they get no say in the family tree decorating department.





We put up our tree on Friday but no decorations other than lights until Tuesday.  After all the ornaments were up I ordered some french script wired ribbon to use as garland.  I like our tree much better now.  I still like it only with the lights on.  It just is missing something when the lights are turned off.  I had thought about getting a new tree; a 9ft tall one because we have our tree in the entry way and we have tall ceilings there but the one I found (on sale at 50% off) was still too much.  I think our tree will last aboiut 10 more years or so.