"We're Going on Vacation!"

Oh, I love Christmastime even though it throws every routine off. We've had a very busy past few weeks, and an even busier weekend with family and friends. I worked one day today and then I'm off again two more days. As part of the kids' Christmas gift, we are taking them for a night to an indoor waterpark. We're pretty excited. We wrapped up one of their bathing suits, flip flops, and a note in a box and made them open it up together after all the other Christmas gifts were opened. Ashleigh of course understood right away. When she told Jay-R we were going to a hotel, he jumped up and down and exclaimed, "We're going on vacation!!!" Both of the kids love water, so we'll have a great time. Kory is playing with the new GPS trying to figure out an alternative route than we normally take. That in and of itself should make the trip interesting! He always gets us lost when he does that, but I guess that's the point of the GPS...so we don't get lost! When we return, I'll post some Christmas pictures and waterpark pictures! Enjoy the rest of your holiday season!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!!! We had a wonderful Christmas morning! The kids let us sleep until 9:30 am! We had a late night after the late Christmas eve service. Jay-R was soooo excited to see all the presents and he has been playing with everything. We feel so blessed to have our two children!

But, I was reminded this morning of all the children who don't have mommies and daddies this Christmas morning. I heard this song on the radio. Please take a moment and listen to it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnRNP0Qipws

This brings tears to me and touches me so much...I know we are going to adopt again.

Merry Christmas! I'll post pictures soon...now it's off to my family's!

Parol Making Websites/Philippines Christmas

Here are some websites we found helpful when researching Filipino Christmas traditions:

http://hubpages.com/hub/Parol---Filipino-Christmas-Lantern-

http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Tagalog/Cynthia/festivals/philippine_christmas.htm#Sino%20si%20Santa%20Klaus?

http://www.myparol.com/myparol/parolkit.html

http://cdn.dickblick.com/lessonplans/filipino-parol/filipino-parol-parol-stars.pdf

http://filipino.biz.ph/tourism/pasko.html

They were all filled with great information!!! If anyone knows of any other great websites, let me know!!!
Sorry....haven't had much time to be on the computer let alone blog! I love Christmas but it's a busy time at work and home! I'll post some Christmas pictures soon!

Finalization!!!!

We had our court date, today, Tuesday, December 15th for the finalization of Jay-R's adoption. He wore his barong to mark the importance of the day of going to tourt (as he called it). It was short, sweet, and final. He has been our little boy since we first laid eyes on his picture September 2, 2008, but now he is legally ours, legally an Allison, and legally a US citizen. Or, as he told me, "Mom, don't forget the A." Okay, legally a USA citizen! We celebrated with ice cream. What a sweet Christmas present. And, for all of you bloggy friends waiting, I am praying for you!

Sleep Success!

Finally, Jay-R is going to sleep in his bedroom at night by himself without panicking that no one is upstairs. There is the initial, "I want someone upstairs with me." Then, I reassure him he is fine and we are all downstairs if he needs anything. Then there is the hug and kiss, then another, the "I love yous" and then I flip the light off. Then, minutes later, a sleeping little boy. I think we owe Ate Ashleigh a big thank for the teddy bear Christmas lights she strung in his room. These have been a huge incentive to encouraging him to go to sleep. Also, a little bribery that he can have a small piece of candy after he eats breakfast doesn't hurt either. I know, candy in the morning is awful, but the incentive is working, he brushes his teeth well, and we are all getting sleep! Life is good! :)

Happy Birthday Ashleigh!

Ashleigh turned 12 today...where has the time gone? She is growing up so fast!

I love this picture of her....I took it at the sand dunes a few months ago (obviously by the way she is dressed) but she just looks so grown up!

We had the youth group Christmas party tonight, and she was embarrassed by the group singing to her and another girl whose birthday is tomorrow. She'll celebrate with a few school friends this weekend and some alone time with mom and dad while Jay-R goes to his church children's practice.

Happy Birthday Ashleigh!!!!

"It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!"

It's beginning to look and feel a lot like Christmas in the Allison household. Sunday, we made our first parol, the traditional Filipino Christmas decoration. It represents the star of Bethlehem. After much research on the internet for the perfect directions and a trip to Hobby Lobby for bamboo from the Philippines and Japanese rice paper, we were ready to begin! The whole project took about 2 hours and was a family effort. We were pleased with the end results and plan to make one each year to help weave Jay-R's Filipino traditions into our traditions at Christmas.

The kids were happy with the finished parol. Jay-R told me, "Thank you Mommy for making my star."

I let the kids go crazy with glitter. I know it's a mess, but I love glitter and I love to see my kids getting along, working together on something.

The star frame for our parol.

My not so crafy husband hard at work cutting the bamboo into strips. He is not a crafty person but he did enjoy this project.

Ashleigh had her first band concert, a Christmas concert tonight. Afterwards, Jay-R decided to do some conducting of his own. Look at the serious expression on his face.

In her band shirt...growing up so fast...

Our annual family photo with the dancing/singing Santa at Kory's parents house. As you can see from the next picture, Jay-R loved him!

Dancing and singing with Santa

Jay-R's first visit with Santa Claus in the US. Santa visited White Cross in the Philippines, too, so Jay-R knows who Santa is. He was a little nervous about sitting on Santa's lap, but did tell Santa he wanted a car for Christmas.

Hiding under the tree...our puppy's favorite spot, too. Right now, if we can't find something, we look under the tree and Franklin has probably dragged it there!

A family photo by the Christmas tree

Trimming the tree

Jay-R with Daddy Santa

Ashleigh at my Mom & Dad's on Thanksgiving with their puppy

Jay-R and Daddy at Kory's parents on Thanksgiving

Ashleigh and Mom at Kory's parents on Thanksgiving

Ashleigh and her cousin Kelsey...I remember when these two were babies playing together...doesn't seem that long ago!

Jay-R dressed up for the Thanksgiving play the cousins performed for us

All smiles...doesn't like mashed potatoes, stuffing, or pumpkin pie, but Scotcheroos....now that's a Thanksgiving treat worth smiling about!