"When so I ponder, here apart, what shallow boons suffice my heart, what dust-bound trivia capture me,
I marvel at my normalcy."--Dorothy Parker

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

gelukkige kerstmis

 Wishing you joy, peace & love!

Sunday, December 8, 2013

party party party

It's that time of year again. While others have turkey in the oven or travel to see loved ones for a feast of giving thanks, we give thanks by staying home and celebrating the births of our babies. After last year's dual blow-outs, we swore it would be quiet family outings only going forward, but how do you resist throwing a party for your six-year-old who is at a new school in a new country? We couldn't.
 
  Invitations went out via Paperless Post to all the girls in her class and within a couple of days we had fourteen positive responses, leaving us with the question of what to do with fifteen six-year-old girls. Decorate cookies, pin-the-necklace-on-the-donkey, and open presents! Pictures do not capture the squeals reverberating from every surface in our home, but trust me, it was a rave.

Perhaps it was the residual memory of those supersonic sound levels that led Townsie to cry No! when we greeted him with smiles and Happy Birthday! as he woke the following Saturday. We kept it low-key. For the boy whose mealtime prayers of thanks go something like:

Heavenly Father
Thank you for pancakes
Bless Rich on his mission
Amen,

Steve arranged a birthday pancake feast. It was a quiet success.


 
And now, let the holiday festivities begin!