December 31, 2008

Happy Birthday, Trinity

Trinity turned five years old on Christmas day!
After everyone opened their Christmas presents, Trinity still had her birthday presents to open at the table. Happy birthday, Lovey!
I made an eggnog cake for dessert. It was delicious. Dinner was great, too - turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, brussel sprouts and more.
(*so*much*food*)
Make a wish, Cin-Cin! Love you.

We wish you a merry Christmas

I think this was our very best Christmas. Everything was perfect. We opened presents, went to church, came home, got the dinner all ready, and once all our guests arrived, we put on a very short concert. Music, good food, nice wine, friends and family...perfect.
After dinner, Tatabun played some really lovely music for us.
Emilie, Luc, Huck and Uncle Gregory.
Sunny and Vic came over, too, as most of their families live in Korea. It was so nice to meet them, and Vic also made some sushi for us, which was so fun, and also delicious.

Father Christmas arrives

Whoa! Check out all the pressies under the tree!
Santa also filled the stockings!
This is Felicity's stocking.
Mary got up at 2:00am to peek at all the gift tags and stockings, before going back to bed. Greg and I were expecting the kids to be up early on Christmas morning, but we actually had to wake the kids up around 7:30. Christmas day is just the best, and the kids make it so wonderful!
Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus!
Trinity made this nativity mobile, isn't it cute?

December 22, 2008

gingerbread men

The kids had fun decorating some store bought gingerbread men.
I can't believe how great it was to just buy cookies and let the kids decorate them!
Heather and Thomas.This one is wearing a tie.
I like the colours you chose, Trinity.
Looks good, girls!
Mary made Mr. Smarty Pants! Ha.
Sweet!

Abbeyfield Christmas concert

I haven't mentioned this before, but I have a part time job at Abbeyfield. Abbeyfield is a non-profit organization that provides affordable housing for independent seniors. My job is to prepare the main meal for the residents, answer phones, and generally make sure everyone is o.k, and if anyone is ill, I have to call 911. It is basically like being a stay at home mom, except the children are a hundred years old.
I absolutely love working there and the seniors are wonderful.
The seniors were very pleased when I asked them if the children could come and put on a Christmas concert for them.
Thomas started the program by reciting a Christmas poem.
Grace sang "Away in a Manger" in French.
Mary Margaret played her guitar.
Eva played her cello.
Grace "Jolly Old St. Nicholas"
Heather also played a couple pieces on the piano.Felicity played her harp and also a song on the piano. Little Trinity handed out the programs to everyone, and sang along with everyone.
Here are some of the residents. After the concert was over, they called for an encore, and the kids played some songs over again.
Gregory, Mary, and Felicity all played together. It sounded so beautiful. The concert was a huge success!
Merry Christmas from the Rhones.

steam train

We took the kids to the forestry museum in Duncan where there is a steam train that rides along and shows off a Christmas light display.
We chose a perfect night to go, as it just started snowing and everything looked so beautiful.
This part of the train is covered, but there are no windows, so it is still sort of open to the elements. Gregory's dad loved the steam train and he said it really brought back fond memories of his childhood.

Chestnut cake

What do you do with a jar of chestnut puree?
Make a vanilla cake with chestnut cream filling!
Grace sure looks excited!
Thomas is quite amused.
Trinity and Mummy.Yup, it was that good.

Heather's toy project

Heather's homework was to make a toy that would move. Of course, she asks us for some help at 10:00 at night, after we got home from the school Christmas concert! *sigh*
After a quick look through a book, we came up with the idea for a push-toy with a horse. The wheels and the base of the toy were from a project that Felicity made a couple years ago, so that was pretty handy.
Heather then used a glue gun to attach a pointer stick as the handle, and she also glued the hind legs of a horse onto the board.
Yay! Good job, Heather. Your toy looks fabulous!

this is making me hungry

Another delicious meal made by Gregory.
French onion soup and salad.
This is Trinity's little bowl of soup.
Vino.Eva, Mary, Thomas.
Wow! Greg's specialty is sea food, and he made clams and muscles for everyone to enjoy.
What a great meal. The bread was home made, too. Yum.
Felicity also has a small glass of wine, but it looks like Heather is trying to get it away from her.
I love how Tatabun is oblivious to the chaos.
The kids are using the empty clam shells as castanets. What a fun night, thanks Gregory!

Catechism with Gracie

Grace drew another cute picture on our chalk board.
"Adam and Eve made the first sin."

Kings and Spies

This is a really good apple cider that is made locally on Vancouver island.
Greg and I were having some quiet time (hiding) in his office, while the kids were inside eating chips. *CRUNCH CRUNCH*
Cheers.