Dec 2023, second half

Matthew had an air cadet event at the end of the year. It required him to dress up. That's worth taking a picture of! He even has a bow tie on!  

 

Christmas break is a wonderful time of year! We really like taking it easy!

We had our usual gift giving tradition of Sinterklaas. It's a lot of work, since we all have to make or find something for someone. We also make clues for each gift. It's not easy to come up with new clues every year! The gifts usually start appearing a few days before we will open them, so we have time to solve all the puzzles.

Candy canes are part of the tradition as well, to enjoy while waiting for your turn.

Jennifer made me a fancy boot rack, to go by the sliding door in our kitchen. She didn't stain it yet, so I could choose what color I wanted. I'm so spoiled! It sure is nice to get a custom shelf, made with love! Philip helped out with this project

 

 Matthew got a bunch of electron goodies.

Since our last trip to Smithers my kids have been begging for a toaster oven because it was so amazing...so now we have one too. It does get a lot of use!

Our skating rink had some issues...the big late December thaw didn't help...but we managed to prop it up so that it could hold water again. Here is hoping that the weather will get cold enough so we can use it after all the work Daniel put into making it!

 

Another tradition we have now is hosting a Christmas party. The kids all help tidy up the house and set up various rooms in the house for different games or activities. It's always so nice being tidy that they go and enjoy it ahead of time. ;)

We were expecting a bigger turnout than the previous year, with lots of kids, so we set up ping pong, fuse ball AND air hockey in the "apartment" downstairs. Maybe the noisy kids will stay down there!

And the big day arrives, and all the guests show up! The kitchen fills up with a lot of people...the big draw being all the food that everyone brings to share.

Everyone spills out in to the various rooms in the house, and the games that are set up get some attention.

We share our tradition of opening the meal with Bible reading and prayer.

Lots of hungry people waiting to eat! Considering how many people show up, the dinner is easy to host, since it is buffet style. Most families bring food to share, and a lot of the families also help clean up before they leave. And since our house is rarely that tidy, we can enjoy a super tidy house after the Christmas party...until it becomes "normal" again.

On Christmas morning in our church, the children under age 12 sing a few songs. This year Jennifer and Melanie accompanied them on flute and piano. 

We were planning on spending Christmas dinner with Steve and family, but they were really sick. And then I found out that my friend Litchi's furnace was broken, so her family was going to have a cold Christmas. They came over for Christmas dinner, and since Chinese stores are open on Christmas day, they could also pick up food on the way, and we were treated with Chinese Hot Pot for our Christmas dinner!

It's a slow process to have hot pot, since you cook the food in stages. It's worth waiting for...and then you just keep eating and eating! It was really delicious! They made one side spicy (medium spicy, not really spicy) and the other side mild. Traditionally it can be super spicy!

For New Years Eve Philip alwasy makes us oiliebollen.

He does all the work while we sit around and eat and read books.

I ate my oliebollen with chopsticks, just to change things up a bit. It tasted even better this way.

Yum.

After our evening worship service we had a New Years Party at my friend Sejin's house. We stayed until all the guests were gone...and so did my friend Priscilla. It was a great way to start 2024!

It can be really funny when we reflect on our different backgrounds and cultures, and how we respond to different things. It can really make for some funny stories, especially when shared with humour.

Hanging out. Evelyn struggles to stay up late with big noisy groups. Sometimes she needs to find me to recharge her energy.

The boys spent time time playing hockey downstairs. There is a really big room where the younger kids often roller blade and play hockey.

Jennifer having a good time!

We spent some time in prayer and singing songs (each in our own language...it is very interesting all singing at the same time, but with different words!) before we had the official count down into the new year.